Post by ucfinfan86 on Aug 6, 2019 15:56:27 GMT
Zheld and I have teamed up to do a season preview article for each division. Starting with the Atlantic
Nets (UCF: 1, Zheld: 1)
PG Bob Cousy
SG Sergei Belov
SF Drazen Daliapagic
PF Perry Crosswhite
C Robert Bobroczky
Key Dick Barnett
Key Mieczyslaw Lopatka
Key Bevo Nordmann
UCF: The Nets are fresh off an Eastern Conference Finals loss and retooled a bit. They lost C Chuck Share, PF Tommaso Felici, and SG Alain Gilles and brought in PF Perry Crosswhite and SF Drazen Dalipagic. While Drazen declined in TC, he should still give the team a more reliable 3rd scorer and will be an upgrade defensively on what Lopatka was providing. Surprisingly Belov (+1 reb) and Cousy (+1 outside) both had small boosts in TC and gives the team hope they can replicate what they provided in the 2nd half of last season. The team really goes 9 deep with youngsters hopefully providing very nice bench depth. Barnett should continue to be in the running for 6th man of the year. As long as Jerry West has an adequate team around him, I think the Hornets should be considered the favorites, but the Nets should give them a run for their money again this season.
Zheld: With all do respect to the Knicks and Hornets the Nets are my favorites in the east. They struck out a little bit in FA but rebounded nicely dealing for Drazen. Drazen is also expiring so they will have another shot at signing a big time free agent next year. I think they still have assets to make moves if they need to but right now their lineup with the depth of Lopatka, Barnett and Bevo coming off the bench means that this team has a great Big 3 in Cousy Belov and Drazen and is very deep. I think with Cousy on their squad for the whole year they will finish with the top seed in the east. That being said West is so good in the playoffs I think the Hornets will still give them a run but I think the Nets will come out of the east this year.
Knicks (UCF: 2, Zheld: 2)
PG Tal Brody
SG Hubert Ausbie
SF Jack Twyman
PF Djorde Pazin
C Honglin Qu
Key Forest Sale
Key Killian Hayes
Key Michael Foster
PG Tal Brody
SG Hubert Ausbie
SF Jack Twyman
PF Djorde Pazin
C Honglin Qu
Key Forest Sale
Key Killian Hayes
Key Michael Foster
UCF: The Knicks were the regular season win leader last season, but lost Qu to injury late in the season and stumbled in the playoffs. They lost Queeley (FA) and Trae (Trade) and brought in Brody and Twyman. I’m expecting them to take a step back this season, somewhere in the mid 50s win range. They have a pretty deep roster and did a good job in FA filling out the bench, but not sure of the starting lineup fit. They are going to ask Pazin to play PF and have Ausbie as a starting SG. They are a prime candidate for a trade and should be looking to move Pazin/Twyman for a SG/PF. Besides the roster fit, I think how Brody fairs will be key for them. The Trae/Queeley pairing was one of the best in the league last year and a real catalyst for their success.
Zheld: The Knicks had a weird offseason but have a very deep team. I think the only issue for them is that their 2 best players play the same position in Twyman and Pazin. I would expect them to still easily make the playoffs and be a top 4 seed but they definitely wont be as good as last year. I think all you need to do is look at their backcourt. Trae and Queeley were probably the best backcourt in the league (at least until Cousy and Belov got together). But now it is Brody and Ausbie. Nothing to sneeze at and should still very solid but not nearly as good as last year. I think Sale can still provide what they need at PF but I think they desperately need to get a better SG and Twyman or Pazin would probably have to go to make that happen. I think Qu’s injury really changed the course of this Knicks franchise if he is healthy and they can get out of the east maybe they don’t make such drastic changes this year. They will definitely make the playoffs but in my opinion have some moves to make to go far.
Celtics (UCF: 3, Zheld: 4)
PG Dick McGuire
SG BJ Boston
SF Paul Arizin
PF Oscar Schmidt
C Gus Johnson
Key Phil Jordan
Key Lenny Wilkins
Key Terry Dischinger
PG Dick McGuire
SG BJ Boston
SF Paul Arizin
PF Oscar Schmidt
C Gus Johnson
Key Phil Jordan
Key Lenny Wilkins
Key Terry Dischinger
UCF: The Celtics just keep hanging around and toying with the idea of a rebuild until they lucked out in FA with some nice signings of McGuire and Arizin. They could ask themselves, why do they need to rebuild when they might already have their next franchise piece in BJ Boston, who exploded in TC. Like the Knicks, they have talent, but not sure how it all fits together. They are SF heavy with Oscar/Arizin and will be asking one of them to play PF. Unlike the Knicks, they don’t have a bonafide big man. They severely lack rim protection and rebounding. Schmidt is a great rebounder at SF, but would be below average as a PF. They could be among the league leaders in offense, but will definitely be among the worst defensively. The East looks rather weak outside of the top 5 (Nets, Knicks, Cavs, Hornets, Raptors) and they should still be a pretty solid playoff team. Nate enjoys to trade and I’m not expecting him to roll with this lineup for too long.
Zheld: I like what the Celtics did this offseason. I know they probably weren’t expecting to get Azirin but he is on a 2 year deal and is very movable with the contracts being signed this past offseason. There is also reason to be excited about their two young guys Gus Johnson and BJ Boston. Anytime you have the past two #2 overall picks on your roster you will probably have good young talent. I think the unfortunate thing for the Celtics is that the east is so bad right now that they are looking at a probable playoff spot with their current roster. They will need to make some significant moves to be in the bottom part of the league if they decide to go full rebuild. Looking around the league there are some teams that could use Schmidt and Azirin so I would guess that there are moves to be made. I think McGuire resigning on his current deal was one of the most underrated moves of the offseason and I would say with their current roster they make the playoffs but if they deal Azirin or Schmidt I would expect them to barely miss the playoffs.
76ers (UCF: 5, Zheld: 3)
PG Gianfranco Pieri
SG Art Heyman
SF Don Nelson
PF Jean-Paul Beugnot
C Tom Barlow
Key Guy Rodgers
Key Ed Macauley
Key Glenn Roberts
PG Gianfranco Pieri
SG Art Heyman
SF Don Nelson
PF Jean-Paul Beugnot
C Tom Barlow
Key Guy Rodgers
Key Ed Macauley
Key Glenn Roberts
UCF: The 76ers probably have more overall talent than the Magic, but I think their weakness on the wings could lead to less wins. Pieri development looks like it may have stalled after a fantastic 1st TC, but he’s still a very nice piece. I really like the C rebounding from a PG. I didn’t agree with the FA signings of JPB and Quigg, but they made in my opinion a fantastic trade to get Barlow. JPB stats are inflated being on the Bucks the past few years and is a below average rebounder and shot blocker for a big, but paired next to Barlow alleviates some of those weaknesses. Also similarly to the Magic, they will remain competitive and fight for the playoffs while developing their recent lotto picks in Heyman, Pieri, and Nelson. I can see them trying to sell off JPB/Barlow during the season for a pick or acquiring one of the stud SFs that are seemingly available and could really solidify their team.
Zheld: LOVE the Sixers offseason. I am still pretty high on Pieri and think with proper camping he can be a great PG. That being said they are in a weird place in that they have some weaknesses at SG and Sf (which are very important positions) but they have young guys who could develop so they don’t want to do anything drastic. Heyman probably isn’t ready for a starting role but Done Nelson could be worth a look with his camps still to come as well. I think if they can get a starting SG they can easily be a playoff team in the east. They have probably one of the best if not the best big man rotations in the league in Mcauley, Duarte, JPB, and Barlow. In fantasy land I imagine a deal around JPB Heyman and Rodgers to the Heat for Guerin (free Richie Guerin!). But they have a good team and a ton of assets they can use to round it out. I think the Sixers will have to decide if they want to make the playoffs this year or sell their guys off because in the east I think they are a playoff team.
Magic (UCF: 4, Zheld: 5)
PG Jalen Lecque
SG Eddie Palubinskas
SF Todd Blanchfield
PF Don Barksdale
C Bob Ferry
Key Liu Jianli
Key Jerry Lucas
PG Jalen Lecque
SG Eddie Palubinskas
SF Todd Blanchfield
PF Don Barksdale
C Bob Ferry
Key Liu Jianli
Key Jerry Lucas
UCF: The Magic have been a breathe of fresh air and brought a lot of activity since joining. Rather surprisingly, they’ve built a playoff contender through trades and FA without really sacrificing anything of their future. They have a couple of pieces in Ferry/Jianli they can build around while also being competitive. There are some very bad teams in the East, so tanking would be pretty difficult, so I respect them putting out a real team. The only move I didn’t like is Jalen Lecque. He’s a below average PG and think they could have gotten someone better for 2 picks. I liked the Palubinskas pickup and think he can give them much of what they had in Tanenbaum. It’s also time to see what Ferry can do as a starter and he surrounded them with 2 good veteran players in Blanchfield and Barksdale. They also still have cap space to add more talent. Overall I think they should be around a 40-45 win team and battle for a playoff spot.
Zheld: The Magic are another team that had a weird offseason. I really liked what they were doing with their rebuild and seemed to be headed for a fullscale teardown. But then they traded two 1sts for Jalen Lecque and it made me question what their goals are for this year. I don’t think Lecque is worth 2 1sts (even from a good Knicks team) but I am not sure the end outcome of Jalen Lecque and a 1st for Tal Brody is worth it. I think a lineupe of Lecque-Palubinskas-Blanchfield-Barksdale-Ferry will easily make the playoffs in the east especially if they can make some moves for depth. Just not sure making the playoffs is what is best for them. I am excited about how active they have been though and their Gm seems to know what he is doing so I have no doubts that in a few years they will be a good team in the east.
Heat (UCF: 6, Zheld: 6)
PG Zoran Slavnic
SG Dick Van Arsdale
SF Richie Guerin
PF Zelmo Beaty
C Bailey Howell
Key Dariq Miller-Whitehead
Key Wali Jones
Key Earl Manigault
UCF: This Heat team is a mess and really lacks any type of direction. I have no idea why they would sign Cockburn (8mil), Petrov (8mil), Samuel (10mil), Marques (5mil) and waste their cap space on min salary guys. Why not keep that cap space open for teams that will inevitably want to dump salary? They are in a rebuild and continue to waste Guerin’s career. Guerin could have went down as one of the best wings in NBN, but instead has toiled away on lotto teams. The same could go for Howell. They made a fantastic signing a few seasons ago, stealing him away from LA on a great contract and did nothing with it. If they aren’t going to try and compete, why not move Howell/Guerin for assets? All that being said, they do have a couple of young players in Slanvic and Beaty but it’s hard to see how they get out of this cycle of being a perennial lotto team.
Zheld: Another year another status quo offseason for the Heat. They have one of the best SGs in the league in Guerin who has 3 or so elite years left so if they are going to make some moves now is the time to do so. I have no idea why they just filled out their roster with 1 year overpays. I look at their team and the talent available in FA and I feel like they could have easily signed Azirin. At the very least don’t sign Cockburn and Samuel who are terrible and they would have had enough money to sign Dino or JPB. They had a chance to really compete but I don’t see it for them this year. Really think this team was 1-2 good moves from being a top team in a shitty eastern conference. Even now Azirin and Schmidt are available as are good bigs like Barlow and JPB. They will have to pay for them not but I think the best way to look at this team is Cockburn and Samuel make a combined 18mill this year and JPB will make 16mill. I think that says it all about this teams priorities.
Wizards (UCF: 7, Zheld: 7)
PG Dilon Hunter
SG Alain Gilles
SF Dave DeBusschere
PF Gene Dyier
C Wayne Embry
Key Jim King
Key Zeerack Rana
Key Ron Livingston
UCF: The Wizards went full rebuild in about 2 days and did a great job. They got one over on their buddy to steal a potential lotto pick for Felici. Somehow got 2 firsts for Lecque. They also stacked up some other picks by continuing to flip the assets they receive. They also have DeBusschere who might not be a franchise building piece, but could be a key player on a great team. Gilles, with his draft notes, gives them a prospect to have fun with while tanking and G-league call-up Dilon Hunter looks like he has some real potential. They’ll go into next year with 3 potential prospects, a likely top 5 pick and an open salary cap to make a big move in a loaded FA class. I’m expecting a quick turnaround if they can steal some guys in FA.
Wizards (UCF: 7, Zheld: 7)
PG Dilon Hunter
SG Alain Gilles
SF Dave DeBusschere
PF Gene Dyier
C Wayne Embry
Key Jim King
Key Zeerack Rana
Key Ron Livingston
UCF: The Wizards went full rebuild in about 2 days and did a great job. They got one over on their buddy to steal a potential lotto pick for Felici. Somehow got 2 firsts for Lecque. They also stacked up some other picks by continuing to flip the assets they receive. They also have DeBusschere who might not be a franchise building piece, but could be a key player on a great team. Gilles, with his draft notes, gives them a prospect to have fun with while tanking and G-league call-up Dilon Hunter looks like he has some real potential. They’ll go into next year with 3 potential prospects, a likely top 5 pick and an open salary cap to make a big move in a loaded FA class. I’m expecting a quick turnaround if they can steal some guys in FA.
Zheld: Well that escalated quickly. I love the wizards offseason as well but for different reasons than the 6ers. I think the Wizards have made some amazing trades this offseason. I would say they got lucky because they destroyed a few teams in trades but it happened like 2-3 times so maybe its not luck. The fact that they got 3 1st rounders for Jalen Lecque and Tomas Felici might be the difference in their rebuild. Combine that with getting one of the best young players in the game in Dave DeBusschere and all of a sudden, they have a great young core with multiple chances at high draft picks in the coming years. I think Dilon Hunter with 4 years of camping left could end up being an absolute star for them and combined with DD they have 2/5 young pieces locked in at 22 and 23. With a possible top pick coming their way this year and a ton of picks (both their own and other teams) they could have the best young core in the league soon. They won’t make the playoffs this year but if you are looking for a team on the rise this is where I would start. They probably will also be the first team to have to figure out what to do with all their young talent needing huge deals under the new cap system because they are going to have a lot of high end talent soon.