Post by carmelo115 on Jun 18, 2024 13:02:26 GMT
1. Jalen Duren has been a revalation on the defensive end this year. What do you think is the biggest reason for his surgence?
Honestly it’s clear he had some pretty big under the hood improvements, but I don't think it’s that huge. It’s possible he broke a threshold to breakout or simply the move from PF to C helped him unlock his shot blocking ability. I don't know really, didn't scout him when I got him and haven't scouted him since. Either way it’s been a huge thing for me to be near the lead league in stocks to have our defense just be that good.
2. You have a historically good opponent PPG half way through this season. While the offense isn't at the top of the league, do you think your defense is good enough to truly contend?
I don't honestly, there are too many times where the offense just goes stale and eventually I'm gonna run out of teams with bad wings that allow Trae Young and Cody Williams not to be liabilities(for different reasons). Almost all of my losses this year have been a SG going off or Cody Williams getting completely shut down offensively. Its a good thing there aren't too many great wings but come playoff time we'll have to play some combination of Isaiah Collier, Desmond Bane, Luka Doncic(If CLE keeps playing him at SG), and DJ Wagner Jr. You can't hide Trae Young for 7 games a series aginst those guys, it'll be tough. I do think it gives me an insanely good chance, just waiting for these to start to fall apart because as much as I was aiming for this year I'm surprised at how good we've played so far.
3. What makes Xavian Lee so good? Is he proving that assists don't mean as much besides awards in FBB?
I've long been a proponent of the idea that you don't need assists in this game to win a lot of games. I also think having your guards go nuts offensively is the way to do it and let your forwards and bigs do the other stuff. Couple things though here. First of all, despite the fact that Lee averages only 6 assists a game, we're 10th in assists in the league because everyone is chipping in there. Trae Young gets 4 a game, Cody Williams is averaging almost 3.5, and Chet averages 4.5 a game. We still dish it out just not not necessarily from the PG spot. Second, I'm simply a big fan of the Lee type build. Hes high quickness, handles, and has solid offensive ratings. The quickness and lack of passing means he shoots a bunch and the good offensively ratings means he isn't awful efficiency-wise. Hopefully as he keeps improving he'll hit those shots at a better clip and I think he has 30 PPG potential. He'd get burned at SG though IMO as the Lee/Philon mold also has him with lowish jumping and bad strength. I won a title with Harlan Page in the previous league and while it’s not THAT drastic, Lee has the same type of energy.
4. Cody Williams had a huge TC. Where would you rank him among young SFs in the league?
Thats tough because it depends on how we're ranking them. If we're talking about current skills and under 25, I don't know that there is anyone I'd take over him right now. I'd probably relent and say Dame Sarr because the scoring is nearly elite already but I HATE a SF averaging under 6 rebounds per game and Cody Williams brings more stocks. Certainly preference wise you can argue Sarr easily, but for how I build I like Williams better right now. If you're ranking them on projection, as in how good they are gonna be then that widens a little bit. AJ Dybantsa might be the best player in the league in a couple years with the first TC He had, so him for sure. I also think Tajh Ariza has the chance to be really good. I'd probably have him 3rd on the projection ranking only because hes already 24 and I don't know how much more improvement he has purely from TC coming.
5. A year or so out of the Chet deal. Do you have any regrets or like the way your team has progressed since the move?
No ragrets. Chet is great, just won a player of the month and looking at that list that means he has an MVP chance. Hes carrying us offensively along with Lee and we're 40-16 right now. That move was always about this year and next year and so far it’s paying off. Another year of development and i'll feel even better about it next year.
6. It seems like we have over half of the league not actively trying to compete. This has always been an issue, but can you think of a way to incentivize teams to try and win a bit more?
Part of the issue that I haven't seen someone really mention is that we have too many open teams that we're expecting to not trade their picks and keep the roster attractive, which typically means not pushing the cap hard and obviously handicaps what assets they can move to be competitive. The other issue is there are a few other GMs that are inactive and have been tanking since the jump with no active attempt to turn it around, like the Celtics. That means about 18-20 active GMs in varying stages of competitiveness. It’s tough to see a spot where you have a ton of competitive teams. We need more Gms badly.
7. There have been some huge trades since the start of the new league that have netted 6, 7, or 8 firsts for a player. Do you think the value of a first rounder has decreased or are teams just star hunting while inflation hasn't kicked in yet?
I mean it’s a bit of a few things really. The perception of the early drafts were how weak they are but that hasn't proved true, but perception is reality and that has lowered the value of picks a bit. Another thing is absolutely inflation makes the league feel more like real life where a really good player can carry a roster quite a bit more. Third, it’s always been like that! Superstars in their prime have always netted a ton of picks, especially when its the team trading for the stars picks as theoretically you have to assume that if they are trading for a star their picks are not gonna be worth it, pushing their value down, making more picks be needed to get value done.
8. PGs still reign supreme in FBB's eyes, but the value of a big man has stayed super high with the new league. If you had to choose between a guy like Tyrese Maxey or Victor Wembanyama to start your team with, who would it be and why?
I'm gonna go against the grain so far and say Maxey. Look at how good the 76ers are this year after losing a true superstar big. Maxey has carried that roster. Plus eventually, inflation will come and the big drop off will happen, potentially fast. Even at that point, Maxey will remain a stud and a guy like Wemby's scoring would come down. I'm trying to keep that from happening for as long as possible but having Maxey future proofs you, as I build around a big.
9. All of the top rookies had pretty good TCs to start their careers. With your current roster build, if you could take any rookie off another team, who would it be and why?
Right now I'd probably go with Alijah Arenas honestly. I need a SG who can get buckets in a hurry and thats the type of player Arenas looks set to be. If he can develop defensively hes gonna be a stud. But yeah for team build, I need someone to take Trae Young's spot after next year and Arenas sounds like the perfect someone.
10. Give me your East winner, West winner, and Champsionship winner predicitons half way through the season?
East: Raptors. Wemby and Jokic is just ridiculous. I don't see how you play with that. I feel like I match up with them the best given my own post duo but man, thats 55+ from just their post players.
West: That is a little tougher. I'd be shocked if it wasn't one of the Lakers, Grizzlies, or Kings. Right now I think I'll take the Grizzlies just because they have the better record, lead the league in rebounding, and UC knows how to get the best out of his team, plus Zion is fucking incredible. But I'll be super interested to see how the Lakers perform once Reaves is back. Their defense is just a tick better than the Grizzlies and they were finding their groove offensively before AR15 went out. Grizzlies for now, Lakers a serious threat and I loved the Kings move for Claxton.
Title: Raptors.
Rog
Honestly it’s clear he had some pretty big under the hood improvements, but I don't think it’s that huge. It’s possible he broke a threshold to breakout or simply the move from PF to C helped him unlock his shot blocking ability. I don't know really, didn't scout him when I got him and haven't scouted him since. Either way it’s been a huge thing for me to be near the lead league in stocks to have our defense just be that good.
2. You have a historically good opponent PPG half way through this season. While the offense isn't at the top of the league, do you think your defense is good enough to truly contend?
I don't honestly, there are too many times where the offense just goes stale and eventually I'm gonna run out of teams with bad wings that allow Trae Young and Cody Williams not to be liabilities(for different reasons). Almost all of my losses this year have been a SG going off or Cody Williams getting completely shut down offensively. Its a good thing there aren't too many great wings but come playoff time we'll have to play some combination of Isaiah Collier, Desmond Bane, Luka Doncic(If CLE keeps playing him at SG), and DJ Wagner Jr. You can't hide Trae Young for 7 games a series aginst those guys, it'll be tough. I do think it gives me an insanely good chance, just waiting for these to start to fall apart because as much as I was aiming for this year I'm surprised at how good we've played so far.
3. What makes Xavian Lee so good? Is he proving that assists don't mean as much besides awards in FBB?
I've long been a proponent of the idea that you don't need assists in this game to win a lot of games. I also think having your guards go nuts offensively is the way to do it and let your forwards and bigs do the other stuff. Couple things though here. First of all, despite the fact that Lee averages only 6 assists a game, we're 10th in assists in the league because everyone is chipping in there. Trae Young gets 4 a game, Cody Williams is averaging almost 3.5, and Chet averages 4.5 a game. We still dish it out just not not necessarily from the PG spot. Second, I'm simply a big fan of the Lee type build. Hes high quickness, handles, and has solid offensive ratings. The quickness and lack of passing means he shoots a bunch and the good offensively ratings means he isn't awful efficiency-wise. Hopefully as he keeps improving he'll hit those shots at a better clip and I think he has 30 PPG potential. He'd get burned at SG though IMO as the Lee/Philon mold also has him with lowish jumping and bad strength. I won a title with Harlan Page in the previous league and while it’s not THAT drastic, Lee has the same type of energy.
4. Cody Williams had a huge TC. Where would you rank him among young SFs in the league?
Thats tough because it depends on how we're ranking them. If we're talking about current skills and under 25, I don't know that there is anyone I'd take over him right now. I'd probably relent and say Dame Sarr because the scoring is nearly elite already but I HATE a SF averaging under 6 rebounds per game and Cody Williams brings more stocks. Certainly preference wise you can argue Sarr easily, but for how I build I like Williams better right now. If you're ranking them on projection, as in how good they are gonna be then that widens a little bit. AJ Dybantsa might be the best player in the league in a couple years with the first TC He had, so him for sure. I also think Tajh Ariza has the chance to be really good. I'd probably have him 3rd on the projection ranking only because hes already 24 and I don't know how much more improvement he has purely from TC coming.
5. A year or so out of the Chet deal. Do you have any regrets or like the way your team has progressed since the move?
No ragrets. Chet is great, just won a player of the month and looking at that list that means he has an MVP chance. Hes carrying us offensively along with Lee and we're 40-16 right now. That move was always about this year and next year and so far it’s paying off. Another year of development and i'll feel even better about it next year.
6. It seems like we have over half of the league not actively trying to compete. This has always been an issue, but can you think of a way to incentivize teams to try and win a bit more?
Part of the issue that I haven't seen someone really mention is that we have too many open teams that we're expecting to not trade their picks and keep the roster attractive, which typically means not pushing the cap hard and obviously handicaps what assets they can move to be competitive. The other issue is there are a few other GMs that are inactive and have been tanking since the jump with no active attempt to turn it around, like the Celtics. That means about 18-20 active GMs in varying stages of competitiveness. It’s tough to see a spot where you have a ton of competitive teams. We need more Gms badly.
7. There have been some huge trades since the start of the new league that have netted 6, 7, or 8 firsts for a player. Do you think the value of a first rounder has decreased or are teams just star hunting while inflation hasn't kicked in yet?
I mean it’s a bit of a few things really. The perception of the early drafts were how weak they are but that hasn't proved true, but perception is reality and that has lowered the value of picks a bit. Another thing is absolutely inflation makes the league feel more like real life where a really good player can carry a roster quite a bit more. Third, it’s always been like that! Superstars in their prime have always netted a ton of picks, especially when its the team trading for the stars picks as theoretically you have to assume that if they are trading for a star their picks are not gonna be worth it, pushing their value down, making more picks be needed to get value done.
8. PGs still reign supreme in FBB's eyes, but the value of a big man has stayed super high with the new league. If you had to choose between a guy like Tyrese Maxey or Victor Wembanyama to start your team with, who would it be and why?
I'm gonna go against the grain so far and say Maxey. Look at how good the 76ers are this year after losing a true superstar big. Maxey has carried that roster. Plus eventually, inflation will come and the big drop off will happen, potentially fast. Even at that point, Maxey will remain a stud and a guy like Wemby's scoring would come down. I'm trying to keep that from happening for as long as possible but having Maxey future proofs you, as I build around a big.
9. All of the top rookies had pretty good TCs to start their careers. With your current roster build, if you could take any rookie off another team, who would it be and why?
Right now I'd probably go with Alijah Arenas honestly. I need a SG who can get buckets in a hurry and thats the type of player Arenas looks set to be. If he can develop defensively hes gonna be a stud. But yeah for team build, I need someone to take Trae Young's spot after next year and Arenas sounds like the perfect someone.
10. Give me your East winner, West winner, and Champsionship winner predicitons half way through the season?
East: Raptors. Wemby and Jokic is just ridiculous. I don't see how you play with that. I feel like I match up with them the best given my own post duo but man, thats 55+ from just their post players.
West: That is a little tougher. I'd be shocked if it wasn't one of the Lakers, Grizzlies, or Kings. Right now I think I'll take the Grizzlies just because they have the better record, lead the league in rebounding, and UC knows how to get the best out of his team, plus Zion is fucking incredible. But I'll be super interested to see how the Lakers perform once Reaves is back. Their defense is just a tick better than the Grizzlies and they were finding their groove offensively before AR15 went out. Grizzlies for now, Lakers a serious threat and I loved the Kings move for Claxton.
Title: Raptors.
Rog
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