2nd ODL appearance and 1st effort at evals so don't expect much by way of insight. Have a bunch of dh52s behind me but this is a different animal. Although next week will be a rough one for me, I'll try to put something together after round 2 and update my thoughts after rounds 3, 5 and 7. Don't hold back on supplementing or negating my take on things.
Starting to get a little slap-happy here, but went with it.
Feel free to comment, but these predictions are pretty much gut reactions so I would encourage all of you to treat then as such. The distinctions between these teams were sometimes hard to come by, but a decision had to be made.
mikee1 - Wilt Chamberlain, Mookie Blaylock, Tracy McGrady, Pau Gasol, Nerlens Noel, Kenny Smith, Dale Ellis
When you buy the biggest house on the ODL block in the person of Wilt, you're always going to have the problem of enough cap space for furnishings. In addition to his superior skills, he never comes off the court, which does take some of the sting out of his cost. Mookie is not a bad choice here. Low TOs and competent PG play will serve this team well. This team as with all Wilt teams, is off to a good start. McGrady would seem to be the right pick here. He complements Wilt on offense and helps out with assists. Now it's a question of which version of Wilt is to be used. Does Mikee want to establish usage, or go with efficiency and try to deal with additional usage later? The cap now becomes serious player in Mikee's fortunes. Pau Gasol fits in well here. He offers a very well balanced game from the PF spot with enough scoring to suggest that mikee will be going with the efficient 66-67 version of Wilt. Noel is a strong play for defense who looks like he'll be moving to SF where he is 98%. As defense is his game, a move to SF will work fine. This team has a major strength in that it will be drawing fouls courtesy of Wilt and McGrady and will not be putting the opponent on the FT line. Kenny Smith light on D. Just OK with assists. Dale Ellis has some high usage seasons near the minutes that will be needed but also light on D.
Prediction: Playoffs. McGrady's high usage cuts into Wilt's 66-67 efficiency and the bench is weak as would be expected with Wilt in the ODL, but enough here to get in.
amerk80- Lebron James, Kevin McHale, Shawn Kemp, Bo Outlaw, Brent Barry, Chris Gatling, Pat Cummings
Lebron is the clear choice at 2. he does everything you can ask for and unless you have a really bad draft, you're pretty much guaranteed a playoff run . With what McHale does well in terms of scoring , D and efficiency, he pairs nicely with Lebron as a 1-2. The task at this point is rebounding the ball. Plenty of time to resolve this issue... and huge step toward resolution in the form of Kemp. Although heavy on the fouls, Amerk brings more D and shores up his rebounding. A few more areas to address but with dwindling resources. Outlaw is a good defender who will back up the Kemp for 20 or so minutes and McHale. Outlaw is not a top notch rebounder but the backcourt will help out substantially in this phase of the game. Brent Barry is indeed s great pick in the 5th. He is an offensive presence who creates the offensive balance this team needed with his very efficient outside shooting. Gatling is decent off the bench though foul prone. Cummings is adequate as a backup. Does nothing particularly well but provides pretty cheap minutes. Not known for his defense.
Prediction: Playoffs. Tough to bet against Lebron.
robocoach - Dwight Howard, James Harden, Tom Boerwinkle, Kawhi Leonard, Don Buse, Steve Novak, Theo Ratliff
Howard seems to go early in this league which is understandable in this low cap environment. Third does seem a little high as he is considered a notch below the elite centers by some, although he is considered bona fide elite by others. That being said, his 90 D and efficiency are major assets. Harden is now up there as an elite scorer and just helps the offense in so many ways. His D getting better, he is now making his presence felt at both ends of the floor. Pretty good pick at this point. Back to the frontcourt goes robocoach. The right version of Boerwinkle helps with both rebounding and dishing the ball. Not too many minutes on the floor, though. Not moving those feet usually leads to fouls trouble. Leonard brings that great 90/96 D and it looks like he'll be doing it from the SF spot. Don Buse is a defensive minded PG. This is another team that will not foul except for maybe Boerwinkle. The rebounding is marginal at this point mostly because Boerwinkle plays limited minutes.. In any case robo has the minutes and hopefully the cap room to address this concern. Novak does nothing but 3s . No D but not an issue with this very stong defensive team. Ratliff is a light rebounder for his position on a team with barely adequate RBs. he does play good defense, a major strength of this team.
Prediction: Playoffs. As good as they are and as good as the D may be, a little too much reliance on Dwight and Harden for offense. That being said, probably good enough to get in.
bds9992 - Moses Malone, Gary Payton, Robert Parish, Andre Iguodala, A C Green, John Henson, Andre Miller
Extremely impressive traditional inside/outside game here. Actually, kind of an anomaly in this league. Getting Moses in what turns out to be the 9 slot is a major coup as he is dominant in every sphere of the game in terms of center play. Payton brings intense D with a great all around PG game. Great start to this team as dominant pieces are already there at crucial positions. This is a great pick that now gives bds a powerful 4-5 combo. bds now has to decide to go with the more expensive efficient, or the cheaper D version of Parish. More directly, do you improve an area of relative mediocrity, or further build on an area of relative strength? Iguodala is steady as a SG and rebounds well or that position. He has some more expense offensive seasons and some cheaper defensive seasons so there is flexibility with how you want to use him. May depend on what version of Parish is used. Green is solid in all aspects of the game. Does a little of everything and plays a clean game. Sources close to bds now say that the 80-81, 91 D season of Parish will be used. This is a productive, shot blocking season which his best defensive season Only down side is the high foul rate. Sources are additionally telling me that the 12-13 version of Iguodala is to be used. This is more of a defensive season. Bottom line is if you're going to be on this team, better play D. If it's the 14-15 season of Henson, and it must be, it will make for an exceptional tough 4-5 for 48 minutes. Andre Miller is a capable, good assist back up to Payton.
Prediction: Playoffs. Balanced team with few weaknesses and a nice bench.
jhsukow - Karl Malone, Shaq O'Neal, Chris Webber, Dan Majerle, Ryan Anderson, Jason Williams, Brent Price.
We start with a freight train of 4-5 usage and rebounding ever after. These 1-6 deals create a hell of a lot intrigue, but they aslo create situations where the real work won't begin until a couple of days from now. During these few days, jh is going to have to be creative because that request for a cap waiver may not come through. Maybe Jh has a plan to somehow get this done but it's going to be a tough deal. Long wait. How to Shaq and Karl pass the time together, gin rummy?
Looks like Webber will take his PF game to SF as jh brings yet another front line scorer into the fold. The 96-97 version will also add some 3's had a pretty good clip so I'm thinking jh will go for that version. A lot of of positions to fill with thinning talent and only so much cap space left. Time for the GM to mix scour the pool and mix and match to fill out the backcourt, maybe stretch the floor a bit and fill in the bench. Sources close to jh are now telling me that the 94-95 season of Webber will be used. The 94-95 season of Webber will be used. This is one of his more efficient, and better ORB seasons. It also opens up almost $3M more in cap space and gives jh a lot more flexibility to deal with the backcourt. Majerle is underrated and a very nice late pick who contributes in all areas of offense as well as provide 80 or so D. Jason Williams is an adequate Backup at PG. Looks like 10-11 season Ryan Anderson will back up at SF and provide even more offense on this high usage team.
Prediction: Bubble. Probably way off on this but too much usage is going to blunt the scoring of the big 3 and tough going at the back end of the draft.
ysw128 - Deron Williams, Patrick Ewing, Rudy Gobert, Tyson Chandler, Nate McMillan, Kyle Korver, Vince Carter.
Deron as a 1st pick seems odd courtesy of that 1-6 trade. That being said he is still a top 5 PG here. Ewing is the right pick at this point because his rebounding concerns can be quickly rectified with some very timely upcoming picks. The intrigue of these 1-6 trades just keeps on rolling forward. You may be relegated to a slight flaw in the merchandise but the solution is only a few picks away. Good call by me here, but I thought a SF would be in play. Could be Ewing support overkill on the part of ysw. Like Tyson Chandler with Ewing. Gobert is a huge talent, but not quite sure he fits in here. His presence could mean SF by committee...and we all know how most committees function. Nate McMillan is an excellent choice at PG. He brings very nice D high assists and helps out with rebounding. Looks like he'll back up at PG and SG. Kyle Korver will keep defenses honest with that unbelievable 14-15 season and would seem to be the perfect pick here. Vince Carter helps out Ewing with some much needed usage. Just wasn't sinking in before but I now realize a lesser minute version of Tyson will be used to accommodate floor time for Gobert. We are now seeing how trading the #1 pick is beginning to pay off in terms of team depth.
Prediction: Lottery. Originally thought no place for Gobert But now I'm thinking not enough. Lack of offensive rebounding is going to hurt.
seapilots - David Robinson, Terry Porter, Clifford Ray, Kris Humphries, Jerry West, Cedric Ceballos, Alexis Ajinca
The Admiral did very well in last season's rendition of this league and his stock is up. Robinson is not the rebounding animal you would like but he but his D and excellence in every other sphere of the game make him fairly easy to build around. Thought Terry Porter went a little early, particularly with PGs like Payton and maybe Blaylock still around. Ray might be bit early but he's is just what the Admiral ordered on the rebound side. Lot more work to do, but seapilots seems to be playing the cap well. I think the next move will be a big one. Kris Humphries in the 4th seems a little early but then again I may be thinking with a dh52 mindset with which I'm a lot more familiar. West offer great scoring very good D, so-so efficiency and gets to the line. That being said, I think seapilots has some cap space left, but I'm not getting the chemistry on this team. Not sure what the plan is here. Will Humphries start at SF? If so, Ceballos can offer his best, most efficient season. If not, I see a rebounding issue. Ajinca can rebound and score a bit in his few minutes. Seems disjointed. Do not have a handle on this team
Prediction: Lottery. The Humphries s pick really bothers me.
cjok1051 - Michael Jordan, Marcus Camby, Donyell Marshall, Terrell Brandon, Carlos Boozer, Mark Jackson, Mike Miller
MJ going 8th classifies as a steal. When your 1st round pick is a steal it seems to change everything. Camby is that nice complementary pick as we have very good D. and rebounding to go with what Micheal brings to the court. A nice foundation here and cj now has a range of possibilities. Donyell is a real find in the 3rd round. If from the 3, he is a better than average rebounder, plays 85 D, and shoots the 3 very well- all major pluses that make him a nice fit with MJ and Camby. Brandon is a very nice choice at PG. he is not prolific with the assists but Jordan will help him out in that area. Although this team does a lot of things well, right now MJ is lacking a 2nd fiddle to help carry the scoring load. Boozer will help with the scoring and is a good rebounder with reasonably good efficiency. He tends to foul, but his other weakness, D, can be covered by Camby. Mark Jackson's prolific assists should squeeze a few more points out of MJ and Maybe Marshall in a limited role. Mike Miller will add a few highly efficient 3's which will take some of the pressure off Marshall in that facet of the game.
Prediction: Bubble. Tough to go against Jordan but I think rebounding is not quite what is needs to be.
jt7king - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Julius Erving, Draymond Green, Derek Harper, JR Smith, Samuel Dalembert, Jim Les
Couldn't figure out that Moses- Kareem deal but with Kareem here with and with Dr J things are looking very nice , indeed. Do not know how Dr J fell to 40. Never has he had DrJ had the luxury of playing with such a dominating, all-time great center. This is in an extremely advantageous position here- almost as if the 1-6 trade thing was made but without losing any middle picks. GM has a dream job with this team- as long as he keeps an eye on the budget. Draymond Green is pretty much a defensive play and maybe could have been picked up a bit later. His rebounding is so-so for a PF. Thinking Kareem would have wanted more help in that area or, at least ,someone who could get him the ball from the PG spot. More picks coming, so we'll see what jt has in mind. Derek Harper is steady, all-around PG and is never a mistake to have on your roster. He Plays good D and keeps fouls and TOs to a minimum. On the other hand, the 3P shooting JR can be a mistake, but fortunately this is not RL and the game engine smooths out his wild inconsistency and masks his bonehead plays. Dalembert does some pretty good things backing up 4-5 but he does foul. Fortunately this is a low foul team so not a big issue. If affordable, Jim Les has that one 90-91 season where he is a legitimate offensive weapon who will fit in with Harper very well. His D is so-so on a pretty good defensive team.
Prediction: Playoffs. Kareem and Dr J. Everyone else has a purpose with few weaknesses.
jcred5 - Kevin Durant, Andre Drummond, Anthony Davis, Mark Price, Maurice Cheeks, Eddie House, Marvin Webster
Draft Kevin Durant. Note the one thing he does not do well. Fix it immediately in one big statement named Andre Drummond. This game is not hard at all. It's that nagging weakness that goes unaddressed through a bunch of picks that causes agita. Jcred now has a lot of ways he can go unencumbered by weaknesses. This is just a great pick in this spot. Was hoping he would fall to me, but this is about jcred, not me. Davis has the superb defensive season and offers a numbers profile that fits in extremely well between Drummond and Durant. This team is being artfully constructed. Now on the backcourt unless of course, it has a start with Durant already there. Mark Price is a very nice piece to establish a highly efficient outside presence. His defense is a little on the light side but that is not what you're paying him for. As a SG, he ensures that they'll be plenty of assists. If jc can sign him for that 88-89 season he will be a major offensive asset to this team. Cheeks is the classic point guard with modest but very efficient scoring and who makes everyone around him better. He's a great cover for Price on D and is another guy who is careful with the fouls. House is more of a SG who will push price to PG when Cheeks is not in the came. Has a few good 3P seasons but otherwise pretty unremarkable.
Prediction: Playoffs. Great balance. Everyone has a function which they do extremely well.
carbonjones - Dikembe Mutombo, Bill Walton, Andrei Kirilenko, Kobe Bryant, Walt Frazier, Charlie Ward, Andrew Bogut
Another build from the inside, out team with two defensive monsters. With all Walton teams, and particularly so with this cap and with Dikembe, is the issue of adequately covering for Walton offensively for the 20 minutes or so he's on the bench. Lets see if carbon now moves to the backcourt or continues with the up front dominance. The good news he that he has picks coming up early and often. That trade may well work out very well for carbon. Kirilenko is another defensive play. Carbon's next 2 picks will determine the fate of this team. To me, the Kirilenko play seems a little redundant on a Mutombo team. No question about the defense, but getting a bit worried about usage. Kobe is a big injection of usage and that 90 D goes well with this team's on going theme of defense. He also brings some much needed assists and FTAs. The fly in the ointment is that a large percentage of this team's usage is tied into Kobe's marginal efficiency. Will have to see if D overcomes this team weakness. Walt Frazier offers another dose of 90 D and brings a clean all-around game. Bunch of seasons to choose from but I'm thinking a lot of consideration will be given to the 69-70 8.2 assist, 54 efficiency version as someone needs to get Kobe the ball in a good spot. on the floor. Ward is kind of a Frazier without the scoring player. Everything he does, he does well. This team is going to force some TO's which should give it the additional possessions it needs to offset any efficiency issues. Bogut has some really good 20 minute seasons where he will dovetail perfectly with Walton. Sometimes you need that perfect piece to address a weakness (minutes here). This one is perfect.
Prediction: Bubble. Mutombo teams are tough to build around and Kobe's efficiency issue is difficult to overcome on a team focused on defense.
thomcat - Chris Paul, Alonzo Mourning, Horace Grant, Buck Williams, Chris Mullin, Reggie Evans, Johnny Moore
Although I almost always start with C/PF in these types of leagues, Paul at 12 seemed a reasonable play. Alonzo Mourning is a bit heavy on the fouling and his rebounding is on the light sid. but like his D and efficiency on the inside. I like teams that evolve in a way that keep options open and I feel I'm on track here. Although I like the way my team is developing and although Horace plays a clean game with good offensive rebounding, I'm getting concerned about DR so there is a very good chance Horace will be at SF. Horace, in fact will be at SF. Buck Williams fall to the 4th round which is a big deal here. Mourning is not helped out with some decent offensive rebounding. Was thinking about Lucas in this spot. Close call. In order to accommodate Chris Mullin with the cap issue, both Horace and Buck will be sitting on the bench a few minutes more than I expected. Horace will have to sacrifice his 58% shooting. Giving up a little offense to get more offense in Mullins. This team os going to have score to win and 25 pt avg version of Mullin will be needed. Reggie is not here for D, but he is here for rebounds which is a somewhat of a weakness on this team. Johnny Moore adds a bunch more much needed assists.
Prediction: Playoffs. Someone else tell me why.
uptowngbv - Charles Barkley, Oscar Robertson, Larry Sanders!, Andrew Bynum, Paul George Martin Gortat, Shane Battier
This is the pair I rode to the championship last season. Barkley is the alpha dog and Big O offers a number of versions where he can either help Charles carry the load or make others around him better. Let's see how Uptown does this. This team pairing is proven so the draft is obviously off to a good start. Scorers now in the fold with Charles and Big O. May be a tad early for Larry! but he gives you 24 minutes of coverage 92 D for Barkley's not-much-better-than-average D. As great as is Sanders! D and rebounding is, Larry! can also put the ball in the hoop with reasonable efficiency. This team is also beginning to establish some creditable rebounding numbers. Bynum is a good addition here. He brings a nice balance of good usage around 56% efficiency and rebounding to work alongside Charles. Bynum also has that one very low foul rate season, which is a nice plus. One concern here is that's Sanders! is going to have to decide who to cover for on D. George offers a nice 3 p dimension to this office and plays great defense, particularly if his great 13-14 season is used. This team will be big on FTAs. George will provide the 3's to balance out the offense although he is not a terribly efficient offensive player. He does play great defense, particularly for a 3 P shooter. Gortat offers multiple skills as a back C-PF. Battier as a defensive SF on a team that will benefit from more D.
Prediction: Bubble. I thought my last seasons Barkley-O team was a on the bubble but got hot at the right time. No reason to think differently.
dh555 - Dennis Rodman, Dwayne Wade, Kevin Johnson, Anthony Mason, Willis Reed, Michael Ruffin, Dominic McGuire
There are some combinations not yet imagined that just evoke fear when they materialize.. Unfortunately for dh's prospective division mates, this is one of them. This pairing does of course, come at a cost as dh will have to cobble together complementary players with later picks. We do know there is a very good possibility that dh. will pounce on a couple of leftover gems and make his usual very good showing... . Long wait. Must be very tough on Dwayne. I mean all those slides of Rodman in N. Korea!. KJ is a big start in phase 2 of this teams draft. He brings an elite level of assists of which Wade will be benefitting greatly. KJ also offers decent outside scoring for inside the 3P line. His 20 pts or so a game along with the assists make him a multidimensional offensive player pretty late in the draft. Anthony Mason is a nice find at this point tin the draft with some D, defensive rebounds and a nice touch of dishing the ball on occassion. With the Willis Reed pick I think dh offsets the losses of the middle round picks. Would seem to be a great pairing with the rebounding of Rodman. The strengths of these 2 complement each other very well. Ruffin is a smaller less defensive version as he can get some offensive rebounds. McGuire is a pretty good defending SF who can get some rebounds.
Prediction: Playoffs. A little short on 3s but those late Mason and Reed picks are just enough to push into the playoffs.
98average - Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Serge Ibaka, Bob Lanier, Tree Rollins, Chris Andersen, Kyrie Irving
Yet another big bet on the backcourt. 1200 3's already in the fold so these guys will really be stretching defenses. This is a strategy whereby even journeymen 4-5s would be given enough space to grab more rebounds than would be expected. Risky strategy that would not get Phil Jackson's approval. I also have serious doubts but 98 has a track record of making things work really well. Let's see what 98 finds with his pivotal 3rd round pick- if we can find 98, that is. when 98 picks, I have this image of he being at a tomato stand, patiently and carefully digging through for not the biggest, but selectively picking the best, juiciest tomatoes he only can identify and tossing the many others off to the side and maybe a couple roll on to the floor. Ibaka is a great tomato - 98 or so D with great efficiency. My only question is, where do you find the tomatoes that rebound really well? Maybe I'm just being impatient. 98still has more shopping to do. 4th round pick is Bob Lanier. Lanier offers a number of seasons. 98 can go with the 84 D season or one of his more prolific scoring seasons that come with average defense. In any case he adds much needed rebounds. Tree Rollins offers D in the 99-100 range and is a good but not great rebounder. Work his still need with ORBs and RBs in general and look for 98 to find a combination of some productive rebounder in the next few rounds. Chris Anderson is a good D, pretty efficient though modest scorer who will fill in well for Lanier and Rollins. Irving is an excellent backup who brings a full range of PG skills with the added benefit of still more 3s.
Prediction: Lottery. Not enough rebounds. If 98 somehow pulls this off, well, he's in the playoffs.
slymonium- Tim Duncan, Chauncey Billups, Joakim Noah, Gerald Wallace, Jose Calderon, Arvydas Sabonis, Kenny Anderson
Both these players bring nice skill sets to the table. The offense should provide good outside-inside balance and neither are mistake prone.. Sly is free to go in any direstion he pleases because neither of these picks other bring weaknesses that have to be dealt with at a later point. Okay, Noah is a pretty good direction. We now have more defense to go with Duncan's probable 100 and Tim also gets quality rebounding support. Noah does one unexpected thing that makes him pretty unique, notably dishing off the ball. This is a nice dimension from a guy who rebounds and defends. Gerald Wallace is a solid SF. The 09-10 version offers superior defense and very nice 21.6 DRB% for the SF position which gives this team 3 up front positions with both good rebounding and very good defense. Calderon is a nice pairing with Billups in the backcourt. He'll help this team out offensively with up to 425 3s, depending on the season, at a 40+% clip. Billups will cover for him on defense and opponents will have to consider defending against the 3, which should open things up more for Duncan. Sabonis backs up on the inside Not a great offensive rebounder, but competent in all phases of the game. Kenny Anderson is a capable backup PG.
Prediction: Playoffs. Nicely structured to perform in all aspects of the game
ncmusician_7 - John Stockton, Steve Nash, Grant Hill, Jalen Rose, Oliver Miller, George Hill, David Lee
This is going to be an interesting league because backcourt-frontcourt balance is not a high priority. Don't think I've ever seen Nash go in round 2, This team will answer some of those eternal questions like how many assists are enough? What is the point of diminishing returns? Will they feed each other? Will be interested in seeing which bigs nc feels will benefit from all these touches. Grant Hill can do a bunch of things for you and could be a nice addition, lack of efficiency notwithstanding, on an already well balanced team. This is not the case here and though nc would really draft for need here, that is more rebounds and clearly not more assists. A lot of untraditional approaches which makes for intrigue...and this is one of them. With the Jalen Rose and Oliver Miller picks, this team is now going sideways. We're at a point of less intrigue and more of a sense of a lab experiment gone wrong. Know that nc is an extremely skilled player here and that's all I have to say about that. George Hill something of a shoot first PG who can hit some 3s. His assist rate is modest at best with an adequate level of defense. David Lee will provide some much needed rebounding but he's gonna carry an awfully heavy load on his shoulders. Unfortunately, this team is going to be rebounded by double figures on a routine basis.
Prediction: Lottery. Apparent experiment gone awry. Can't win without rebounds.
jkaye24 - Larry Bird, DeAndre Jordan, Ray Allen, Jerry Lucas, Jamaal Tinsley, Carmelo Anthony, Anthony Carter.
Bird does everything well, so he pairs well with someone who has very specific skills. He allows for great flexibility. A great option for Larry is yes, DeAndre. He's only 39% with the FTAs, but then gain, scoring is not his game so the damage of those 61% misses will be limited. Jordan is a nice pick and is just plain dominant within his skill set. Jkaye can go any number of ways here, but he's off to a nice start. Good pick here in Allen. Great 3 point shooting that extends the floor. Allen also brings additional efficiency. Everyone has got their roles around Bird and this team is shaping up very nicely. Jerry Lucas along with DeAndre will dominate the boards. Although Lucas puts up some nice offensive numbers his usage is only in the average range which means that Bird is the only high usage player on this team at this point. DeAndre will cover for Lucas defensively. The usage weakness will have to be addressed and it will be a tough challenge at this juncture. Jamaal Tinsley is a nice PG with limited minutes and High assist volume. He plays good D but is light on the scoring. A lot on Bird's shoulders here. The addition of Carmelo helps out with scoring but I'm assuming his 10-11 low minute, relatively high efficient season will be used. Not sure how much impact he will actually gave. Carter is a journeyman PG who plays pretty OK D and a nice assist rate.
Prediction: Bubble. A little short on usage.
Copernicus - Jason Kidd, Artis Gilmore, Marques Johnson, Clyde Drexler, Emeka Okafor, Omer Asik, Anderson Varejeo
Gilmore a steal in round 2. . Can Kidd do enough with his assists to pump up the volume of Gilmore's very efficient scoring. Kidd is multitalented and should be able to get Gilmore plenty of touches on the ball. He also takes a lot of rebounding pressure off the bigs. This team is off to a very promising start. Marques in the middle, and he fits very well. A certain symmetry about this team. Marques has that very efficient 55 season that complements Artis very well. Everyone here helps out with the rebounding and plays at least good D. All the basic pieces are here. Let's see Copernicus' finishing touches at PF and SG. Clyde Drexler is a really nice pick up in the 4th round. Many good seasons to choose from and he is such a well-rounded player in most every phase of the game on both sides of the ball. Okafor is solid and will play PF here. He rebounds well and is pretty efficient with the ball. Kidd will run the offense through primarily Drexler and Johnson, two mid-range players which makes this offensive structure a little different from the typical inside-outside game. In Asik and Varejeo, This team features good team rebounding but Copernicus obviously felt he need more. Problem fixed, as both these guys deliver on both ends of the floor (need Varejeo's lesser minute seasons). This is another team that my be a little short on 3s in order the stretch the defense a little more.
Prediction: Playoffs. No weaknesses and I like the strength at 2 and 3 with Kidd in command.
scudmissle - Hakeem Olajuwon, Kevin Garnett, Larry Nance, Rajon Rondo, Raja Bell, Alvin Robertson, Roy Tarpley
Big time volume scoring, rebounding and major D up front, but the efficiency for the large volume of points these 2 will provide will be a concern. With the heavy cash invested up front, The skill level of the backcourt to get these guys the ball provide some balance in scoring and play enough backcourt D will be a challenge. Lets's see what scud has up his sleeve. Nance brings more top notch D, good rebounding from the SF spot and a measure of some needed efficiency. Will need to generate some assists at some point to oil the offense. As good as the D may be, still need 100 pts a game. With the addition of Rondo a good number of assists are now on the board although he is somewhat TO prone in his big assist seasons. Rondo also brings some serious D in keeping with the theme of this team. Bell adds some 3s and is another fine defensive player. Unfortunately he does not do much with the assists on a team that could use some more help in that area. Robertson and Tarpley continue with the emphasis on a defense first philosophy. Robertson is a mixed bag of strengths and weaknesses. He'll turn the ball over and has a tendency to foul. On the plus side he is an asset in terms of much needed assists and rebounds well for a SG. His best season comes with an acceptable 50 or so efficiency. Tarpley is a monster rebounder with good defense and efficiency. He is a more than competent backup for Olajuwon and Garnett. This team is currently a little short on the 3s needed to keep defenses honest. The 3 thing is typically the price for 48 minutes x 5 quality defense.
Prediction: Playoffs. Hakeem and Garnett as the highest usage players bring into play a question about team efficiency. On the other hand, the defense is smothering and will carry this team.
eleibowitz - Ben Wallace, Scottie Pippen, Shawn Marion, Amare Stoudemire, Rickey Green, Al Horford, Rodrigues Beaubois
A pure D theme that gets off to a good start here. This is one of those starts that tell me leibowitz has been thinking about this for awhile. Wallace will need a big time usage PF he can protect defensively, if needed. Pippen has a wide range of skills and does a good job complementing the other 2 of the SF, SG and PG positions, depending how he is used. Leibowitz suddenly executes a trade here and snags Shawn Marion hiding under the table in the green room. Life in the ODL. This goes a long way toward offense in the frontcourt. Marion also provides additional D, helps with the team theme of keeping people off the line and not turning the ball over. All good things for L and his boys. I'd say this was a real coup for the leibowitz. Yet another find for leib in the 5th round by way of Amare Stoudemire. This takes a lot of usage pressure off Pippen and pumps up team efficiency. Amare is maybe somewhat below average defensively and tends to defer on rebounding but Wallace will be there for him defensively and Marion will compensate with his rebounding as he is a very good rebounder frorm his probable SF position. Ricky Green is a very competent PG who I have not seen drafted in the 1st 5 rounds. His assist rate is good and he'll put a few points on the board. defense is maybe a bit better than average. What I'm not seeing on this team is usage and this will be an area on which leibowitz will have to focus his very fine team construction skills over the next few rounds. Horford is a pretty efficient backup C-PF with average D and a little light on the rebounds. Beaubois will provide a very efficient 10 minutes in the backcourt as a nice change of pace from Green.
Prediction: Playoffs. Wallace another tough one to build around but the Amare pick up sold me.
benhoidal - Magic Johnson, Anfernee Hardaway, Bobby Jones, Mark Eaton, Hassan White, Bobby Phills, Jameer Nelson
Wow. Dynamic backcourt with Magic offering some alternatives going forward because of those very usable rebounding seasons. Anyway you cut it, that 's a lot of cap tied up in the backcourt and there will be a need for some creative thinking in putting together a frontcourt that can hang with some of those I see pairing up elsewhere. This team's success may be elusive in a front court oriented division. I like Bobby Jones only after I've taken big steps with the basics of the game. Here some heavy lifting still needed on the front line and Jones is just not that kind of player. Sterling D and efficiency and all, but light on the rebounds and minutes. He's kind of like putting butter on a baked potato before you actually have the potato. Let's see if benhoidal can pick up some big *** potatoes for that front line. Maybe he'll bump into 98 over at the potato stand. Mark Eaton is a big, defensive presence but not really a rebounder. Defensively, their excellent, but not sure how well he and Bobby Jones pair up in terms of controlling the boards. Magic helps in this area, but I don't think enough. Hassan White, on the other hand, is an animal in that regard, but he just doesn't offer enough minutes to have a meaningful impact on the rebounding needs of this team. Phills is an underated ballplayer who does some thing on offense and plays a decent 60-80 D. Jameer Nelson is an OK backup in the backcourt. This team continues to have front court issues.
Prediction: Lottery. Another case of insufficient rebounding.
thohoops- Bill Russell, Manu Ginobli, Dirk Nowitzki, Cedric Maxwell, Brandon Wright, Baron Davis, Nick Anderson
Those 48 minutes of offensive inefficiency on the part of Russell go along with the great rebounding and good D. A bunch of efficient minutes now needed to offset Russel's weakness. Ginobli is the everything man and a winner, but my thinking is that a big, efficient scorer to partner with Bill may have been a better way to go. That can still happen, so let's see what thohoops has in mind. Really did not have Nowitzke in mind at this point. Still going to have a struggle with efficiency and I thought tho would make a big move here to address the issue before it gets too late. Cedric is a step in the right direction in terms of efficiency but his usage is just not high enough o make an impact in that regard. This team plays OK, but not great D Still a lot of holes and some weaknesses to adderss. Let's what tho has in mind ovwr the next few rounds. Brandon Wright is a nice defensive player with so-so rebounding on a team that has put this task squarely on Russell's shoulders. Grabbing Russell in the 1st round should result in rebounding as a team strength but don't see that here. That has happened to me a few times, you feel you'll dominate a certain aspect of the game with your first pick, then at some point later, you're not. Baron davis and Anderson form a nice rotation with Manu. Davis has a few decent seasons with a good number of assists and pretty good D. He may shoot the ball a little too much for his efficiency, though. Nick Anderson is a nice find in 6-7. Plays a clean game helps out with assists and 3s with a very efficient season on his resume.
Prediction: Lottery. Not enough efficiency. Ironically, maybe even a rebounding deficiency.
banditone - Bob McAdoo, Elton Brand, Kevin Love, Dana Barros, Jeff Mullins, Jeff Ruland, Mark Aguirre
Elite offense skills in McAdoo with at least passable D. As a SF, Brand will bring D and additional rebounding along with very nice scoring numbers. If PF version of Brand is used, will need additional rebounding from SF spot. Pretty decent start for banditone. If the best season version of Barros, he rounds out the offense with some pretty decent efficiency with those 20 point/game. A lot of offense here but after the Brand pick, the concept of defense has taken a hit. May have been some better choices offering more D and less O. Another pick coming, so let's see what happens. With the addition of Mullins, Ruland and Aguirre, shots are going to fill the air. Just seems like way too much usage from players with a one dimensional game. Mullins puts the ball up with blah efficiency and not much else. Ruland is efficient at least, but the price will be paid at the other end of the floor. Aguirre may grab an occasional rebound but he's much like Mullins with worse D. Don't see McAdoo getting the touches he needs. He's gonna be hurt badly. in terms of production. Will not be surprised if Elton asks for a trade as he is the only guy willing to do the dirty work.
Prediction: Lottery. Just not enough defense.
8/1/2015 10:46 AM (edited)