ua
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2014 3NC Dynasty Champion
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Post by ua on Aug 3, 2016 1:15:11 GMT -5
Just thought I would start a thread And chat about things going on in basketball. A lot has happened in the last couple months… Cleveland wins an unlikely and historic title, A couple of little tweaks to the rules were past, Salary caps went way up and as a result a lot of bad players are suddenly making a lot of money, We had an eventful and successful rookie draft in here, and probably of most immediate interest… The Olympics begin on Friday.
I know we are still two months away from the start of preseason… But the way I see it, we are only two months away from The start of preseason! I can get bored during the summer and I can talk about basketball Or Fantasy basketball any time of the year so that's what this thread is all about really. I also like to make Outlandish predictions that almost never come true., so that's always amusing.
The poll above Is mostly a curiosity. I don't usually Use these tropes in threads because it messes something up… But it's been so long I don't remember what it is so I guess I'll find out. I will probably post my thoughts on who the playoff teams in each conference are going to be here in a little bit, accompanied by some vague and highly generalized commentary.
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pm24
1x Champion (2009 SL), KL Commissioner
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Post by pm24 on Aug 3, 2016 1:54:33 GMT -5
So i votes simmons for ROY because of his ability and opportunity to contribute immediately. I'd put Dunn in the equation if not for the fact he is behind Rubio and Lavine. One long shot could be Caris LeVert because he has potential but more importantly an opportunity to contribute immediately if he get healthy. Other rooks in this draft seem a few years or trades away from being able to make a meaningful impact for their teams teams with a possible exception for Buddy Hield.
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Post by Mr. Clutch's Gang on Aug 3, 2016 2:54:18 GMT -5
I'll say Simmons as well. His minutes will be immediately there. He will have the ball in his hands a lot and he will be a stat stuffer. His outside shooting is pretty bad but that's pretty much it. I feel in time he will develop his shot and be one of the top players in the league. All that being said there is still a very slim chance he could be a bust (as far as his high hopes for greatness) if he can't get his shot going. Defenders will sag off him and not let him get to the hole easily. Summer league is one thing but going against the best he may have problem. To be a great in this league you have to have an outside shot at his position. I really want to say Ingram wins it this year since I am a Lakers homer, but I think he will be a dominate force in his 3rd year. During the next couple of years he will have some nice games and put up some decent stats averaging 17-8-3 mixed in with some good D Stats. I like Dunn but playing time may hurt him for a ROY candidate. I see a trade for Rubio coming soon.
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Reavers
1x Champion (2013 SL)
Things are looking Grim for you
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Post by Reavers on Aug 3, 2016 8:25:05 GMT -5
I think Dunn takes it, Rubio will be on the bench or gone at the deadline and Thibs will have their defense in the top 10. Simmons is going to have some games with absolutely sick stats and plays but the Sixers roster is a mess and Colangelo and Brown probably clash over playing time for the veteran players. Embiid looks like an absolute monster but I'm sure they'll take their time with him and bring him along very slowly especially with their log jam of bigs. Saric or one of the guys that played 4 years of college like Valentine or Heild could be a dark horse to put up more efficient/consistent stats by the end of the season.
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Post by cam2win on Aug 3, 2016 8:49:35 GMT -5
I'm voting Ingram with a high consideration for Embiid. I'm a Simmons believer and think he'll put up crazy across the board stats in time, I just don't think he has that killer instinct to be dominant from day 1. He showed more willingness to take over in SL than he did I feel at LSU but I think that maturity to lead isn't there yet. His outside shot will also hurt him in Philly with the lane being clogged by Okafor, Noel, Embiid...etc. Dunn could also win this but I just don't believe Minny moves on from Rubio so quick. Rumors have been there for a long time but I'll believe it when i see it.
As for Ingram, his growth at Duke and willingness to be the star i think will shine from day 1. They do have a couple of ball dominant guards in LA that could keep him from scoring as much as i think he will but still think by mid year he's the go to scorer.
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Post by ardamus on Aug 3, 2016 12:37:54 GMT -5
I would have to say Simmons here the offense will be designed around him giving him more opportunities to put up big numbers, the one thing that could sink him is his shooting-- it's a real problem in 33 games played for LSU he shot .560% fg .670% ft ( another problem, he can't figure out witch hand to use...) i believe the ball will be in his hands, witch is a good thing but again as a passer he avg 4.8 ast but also had a 3.4 to/g giving a 1.42 asst/to avg in summer league it didn't improve much w a .409% fg Comparatively speaking Kris Dunn in 33 games for Providence shot .448%fg , .695%ft and .372% 3pt with 6.2 asst & 3.5 to/g ... I'm not expecting much out of Ingram his rookie yr w " the Dang'er " starting but after all-star break I'm thinking he'll pick up a bit...
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Post by ardamus on Aug 4, 2016 16:27:29 GMT -5
Looks like Westbrook is staying with the Thunder, that'll round out my guards for a couple of seasons good thing I'm looking forward to a season where he's going to go all out...now all i have to do is find some bigs to get me some balance...
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ua
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Post by ua on Aug 7, 2016 7:48:05 GMT -5
My biggest fear with Simmons is that he becomes a YouTube sensation highlight machine but never a superstar, or that he will be a life long liability in free-throw percentage (A problem at this point that I just have to believe is mendable), and in the short-term I am already preparing myself mentally for the first time this season that I see him throw a double digit turnover game. Dunn gets my vote for roty. With or without Ricky rubio traded I think Dunn might quickly make it obvious which of them should be playing the most minutes.
Probably the more interesting question would have been Who Will be MVP? It's going to be hard to justify giving it to curry again now that kd joined gs. I figure the early obvious favorites will be LeBron and Westbrook, Harden as a Darkhorse possibility. I suppose the Warriors could win 70 games and have a shot at the rare co mvp.
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ua
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Post by ua on Aug 7, 2016 11:02:01 GMT -5
Some thoughts on storylines of the upcoming season…
There are probably less then 4 teams league-wide that have a legitimate chance of tripping up the warriors on their way to a championship title this season. The kd signing was certainly a coup a gm can be proud of. This year though I think they "only" will win 68 games, somehow I don't think they will put as much emphasis this year on winning as many regular-season games as possible.
Okc I think will finish around fourth or fifth in the west. Clearly Westbrook could be on the verge of a historic fantasy season, but questions will persist about if they are as good as the clippers or no better than teams like Portland and Utah. Personally I am excited to see how Kantor performs in this post kd era. Oladipo's Fantasy value might have been best served with a Westbrook trade, but that didn't happen. But by no means is Victor useless, I think OKC is going to have a great defense and he will be a big part of it.
San Antonio is one of those teams that has a chance to take out the Warriors in the playoffs, though I admit they are certainly the underdog along with everybody else. Fortunately Kevin Durant had the good taste to make his free agency decision quickly so the rest of us could move on with our lives. As a consolation the Spurs signed pau gasol, which is a pretty high-quality stopgap for a couple years at best while we figure out who the real big man of the future is going to be. Don't get me wrong, I like pau but he wasn't exactly the gasol I was hoping for. Boris Diaw, David West, and Boban! are all gone so there's a lot of new blood that's going to need to be stepping it up this season, Kyle Anderson comes most immediately to mind, Jonathan Simmons too. The reason the Spurs get bounced out of the playoffs will almost certainly be because of the PG... Tony Parker started looking pretty old before our eyes this year and rookie Dijonte Murray is nowhere near ready to take the reins of a championship level team. Hate to say it but a title does not seem to be in the cards this year, though I still have hopes.
As a fan I am comforted in the knowledge that state rivals Dallas and Houston are much worse off. They still don't know the first rule of getting out of a hole is to stop digging. Is Dallas trying to tank? I can't tell with them anymore. Harrison Barnes seems spectacularly overpaid. I could go on and on about Dallas goofs over the last five years so i'll just stop myself now. Fantasy wise I am interested to see if any of Justin Anderson, Seth curry, or Dwight Powell emerge this year with some big minutes for me.
I just about fell off my couch laughing when I heard Mike Diantoni is the new head coach of the Rockets. Good luck with that. One thing is for sure, if we know Mike Diantoni we know he will try to completely unharness James Harden offensively. I have Ryan Anderson so I'm hoping he fits as well with this new team and coach as he theoretically should. The question is always where will that shiny unknown diamond rise from this mess... My early money is on Sam Dekker.
More after breakfast…
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ua
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Post by ua on Aug 7, 2016 19:13:36 GMT -5
I think history will show that the era of dominance of the clippers over the Lakers didn't last but only a few years. It's hard to believe the clippers will be able to keep this group together much pass this season if they still can't win a ring with them... But for now they are still easily in the playoffs. I can't recall that they made any significant personnel moves in the off-season, unless you count firing the trainer Blake Griffin broke his hand on. Aside the usual suspects there really isn't anything new that is fantasy interesting, I suppose if he turns out to be any good Bryce Johnson could be the best fantasy player on this team in a couple years when it is completely gutted and returned to its historically humiliating existence as a lottery team… So there is a bright side.
The Lakers will be bad again this year but at least there is a light at the end of the tunnel as this confusing Buss sibling drama supposedly comes to a head. Paying Mozgov to such a large contract would be comical if there weren't so many starving children in the world. Besides that they have an interesting trio of guards and an interesting trio of forwards that should be pretty consistent fantasy players.
I guess the rebuild in Portland is finished? They signed most of the relevant part of the team too expensive long-term contract so I guess they are taking this group into the forseeable future. I liked the signing of Esili and this may finally be the year to own him in fantasy… The Blazers are actually quietly pretty deep with the signing of Evan Turner and re-signing of Crab and harkless.
Will Denver and or utah make the playoffs? There seems to be a lot of reason for optimism for both. There are a lot of interesting fantasy options between these teams to be excited about, along with a landmine or two.
Hard to believe Minnesota or Phoenix will be good for much more than 30 wins apiece this season but there is potential stat stuffing studs on both rosters to be excited about. For me I'm hoping the Suns do the logical thing and start booker at SG while bringing Brandon Knight off the bench. All of phoenixes forwards will be tough to own for a few months until the two best ones ultimately rise to the top. I follow Phoenix closer than Minnesota so I don't really know what's going on with the wolves, until recently they just haven't had any interesting players to follow, so maybe someone else could comment on them in more depth than I will.
The pelicans seem like such a depressing waste of Anthony Davis.
Memphis should be re-loaded and ready to play spoiler in the playoffs, but except for all of the known names there doesn't seem to be anybody that's right there on the verge of a surprise breakout. I suppose if Jermajesty Green is ever going to step up and make something bigger of himself then this would be the year. It will also be interesting to see how quickly they try to bring WB4 along.
Sacramento seems like such a poorly run organization that I just try to stay away from their players at all costs. I drafted Skal because I have long term hope for him, but Matt Barnes signing with the Kings was not part of my fantasy plan. But Boogie needed a bodyguard so maybe Barnes will work out for me after all.
Moving on to the Eastern conference soon...
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Post by ardamus on Aug 8, 2016 7:37:12 GMT -5
See, I'm of the mindset that OKC is going to be at around 65 + wins w golden state trying to gear down from a 70 win pase, the "clip" joint are going to be around but might have it together ovr the spurs witch i see as a 5th or 6th seed Yes, Memphis is going to be around the top but "scoring the basketball" is still a problem for them ( i would love it if jermajesty green went off, but unlikely) I am going to keep an eye on both Phx & Minn two young and energetic teams Houston is just a joke if they pull themselves to over 47 wins then the lower teams should be ashamed... The Lakers are going to surprise a few teams butvi can't see them going over 38 wins or so... For the west the story is definitely at the top who gets the #1 spot and how close to GS can OKC finish , outside of that...not else much matters....
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spurs champs
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Post by spurs champs on Aug 8, 2016 8:41:54 GMT -5
I see it being GS Spurs LAC then am uncertain without looking much farther. While the Spurs record may not be better I think the Spurs will be better. Gasol in his current state should be ab better overall player then Duncan. Aldridge should be more settled in and Kawi should be a better player. Their bigs got hurt a little bit but I could see as a group being better. I don't see Murry having much effect this year but I am hoping in about 2-3 years he can be a solid player.
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ua
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Post by ua on Aug 8, 2016 8:54:13 GMT -5
An argument could be made for almost every Eastern conference team to make the playoffs this year.
Even I have to admit what LeBron has accomplished in the last six years has been very impressive. I don't really follow Cleveland very closely because the primary fantasy players are always owned by somebody else already so there is no point. May be the change up the season will be Irving being the mvp candidate representing the team?
Boston might be the next best team in the conference now that Al Horford is there. Al and Isaiah Thomas are critical, but it seems like every other piece on the team is interchangeable and replaceable. A lot of unproven young depth here so it's a great place to look for Fantasy free-agent talent. Boston might not be done dealing so player outlooks can change rapidly. Rozier looks like a nice piece.
Until this last playoff season I thought Atlanta was on the right track but now they are clearly on the way to sucking again, and I knew that the moment I heard they signed Dwight Howard. I like Coach Bud but I have to call into question the competence of any general manager that would sign Dwight Howard.
I think Detroit will be pretty good this season. I like Reggie Jackson and Tobias, and curious to see what they do with Ellinson and how quickly.
Miami is so different nowadays. To me it always seemed like Wade and Dragic were in each others way, and when that happens the smart thing to do is get rid of the older of the two players. For my fantasy team I am pretty excited to have Josh Richardson who's per 36 minute statistics last year will be made all the more nicer this year when his actual minutes are close to that. With Wade and Deng gone, and Bosh still possibly needing to retire for medical reasons, there have suddenly opened up a lot of opportunities for other people to start shining.
Frank Vogel is the new head coach in Orlando and I couldn't be happier. Over the last year my Orlando fantasy players have been stuck under the strange regime of Scott Skiles... Whew, I knew that was going to be painful and it was, i'm just happy they fired him the first chance they got. I have Elf Payton so I am hoping for the start of something consistent in his career now, but the guy am really going to be watching is Aron Gordon.
Indiana signing out Jefferson doesn't exactly blow up my skirt, but I guess it means Miles Turner doesn't have to play center and Paul George then doesn't have to play power forward. I thought they got rid of Frank Vogel because they wanted to be more of a run and gun team, seems like it's just the same slow down half court strategy they always have though. Starting pg Jeff Teague isn't on any better of a team than he left in Atlanta, but at least now he gets to play in front of a packed home crowd for once, so I am happy for him.
New York is stealth tanking this season. They signed a few players to help give them a decent product on the floor this year without overpaying in sacrificing the future, so I think they came out about as well as they could considering the whole they are climbing out of. Themight flirt with the playoffs but I don't think they will make it, and I don't think they really want to. Besides Zingus I don't really see where the future of this team lies.
Brooklyn seems to be blatantly and deliberately tanking this season and that is most definitely the right move. I think the new management understands that they have to rebuild this through the draft and over time, no more high-profile swings and misses at free agents they never really had a chance at only to then panic sign old dogs with little left in the gas tank. Brook Lopez looks to be the most consistent fantasy asset on the team, and for my sake I hope that holds up. RHJ is capable of some impressive statistical flashes, Lin has a great shot at good fantasy numbers this year also. Levert Will almost certainly get a good opportunity this season to show what he can do.
I'll be back a little later with more random pointlessness...
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Post by ardamus on Aug 10, 2016 20:12:04 GMT -5
To me the East is for more interesting... Cleveland should be at the top w most of their players returning wither to bring back JR is going to be a thing ( they might bring in Nick Young ) witch would be hilarious... Miami went thru a number of changes that might effect play ( also Bosh is on his last legs) but i can see miami dropping a bit from last year New York is something I'd like to watch in action all the pieces seem intriguing to me w Zingus & Rose that might be a pick & roll offense that could put up some numbers....maybe? Charlotte is the one that could be in trouble, with a few teams getting better and they pretty much stayed pat, biggest change was they showed Jefferson the door frank the tank & cody get more run The Bucks is also another team to watch grow and possible get better Toronto should be something to watch out for although they do have a number of their players playing in Rio and something I've seen before is that the players every Olympics are tired after and w their main guys playing they could get out to a slow start Something to watch for....
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ua
2x Champion (2014 & 2015 KL) ![*](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/stars/star.png)
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Post by ua on Aug 11, 2016 9:57:59 GMT -5
The Aussies gave team usa A healthy scare in men's basketball. Hopefully that instills in us some of that appropriate fear… no such thing as the unsinkable ship.
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