· I didn’t load each of these teams, so I am basing this off of what I remember from each of these players in the simulation. I am user agnostic so nothing is meant to be antagonistic, just an unbiased cursory glance of the teams.
· East
o skypilot "Starblazers": David Robinson, Mitch Richmond. Rony Seikaly, Brevin Knight, Lionel Simmons, Popeye Jones, Michael Smith, Anthony Bowie, Stephon Marbury, Blue Edwards, George Lynch DONE
§ It looks like this team will have plenty of usage, assists and rebounds but I suspect defense and possibly shooting and fouls could become an issue
o kacyon "Quantumbo Leap": Dikembe Mutombo, Larry Bird, Rodney McCray, Rod Strickland, Jayson Williams, Will Perdue, Chuck Person, Brian Williams (Bison Dele), Bernard King, John Bagley, Antoine Carr, John Paxson DONE
§ The starting lineup should have a lot of defense and it looks like there are enough big men to rebound. Rod Strickland will need to play a lot of minutes. The bench is a little shaky but the starting lineup is quite good.
o samuelyork93 "Freaks & Geeks": Scottie Pippen, Joe Dumars, Pervis Ellison, Derrick Coleman, Michael Adams, Manute Bol, Andrew Lang, Sarunas Marciulionis, Drazen Petrovic, Scott Skiles, Dickie Simpkins, Sam Mack DONE
§ I like a lot of the pieces but I will be curious to see how it fits together. A number of people with higher usage but poor shooting plus a mix of good defenders and terrible defenders.
o scudmissle "The X-Files": Moses Malone, Derek Harper, Charles Oakley, Kobe Bryant, Michael Williams, Scott Williams, Marcus Camby, Paul Pressey, Jermaine O'Neal, Jerry Stackhouse, Mario Bennett, Donyell Marshall DONE
§ Pretty good squad. Lots of defense. Usage might be an issue along with eFG but lots of other great aspects.
o coolmay_one "Malone Improvement": Karl Malone, Jeff Hornacek, Elden Campbell, AC Green, Hersey Hawkins, Greg Ostertag, Lamond Murray, Laphonso Ellis, Mark Eaton, Rodney Rogers, Richard Dumas, Mike Sanders DONE
§ Malone is a stud and I like AC Green in the sim. Hawkins should be better in this kind of league. Couple solid guy at the back end of the bench. Thought Elden Campbell went kind of early but good team.
o cmcafeeky "Blue Man Group": Hakeem Olajuwon, Robert Parish, James Worthy, Muggsy Bogues, Paul Pierce, Bobby Phills, Felton Spencer, Greg Anthony. Jeff Malone, Antonio Harvey, Lorenzo Williams, Sam Cassell DONE
§ Tough front line with a couple sneaky picks at the end of the bench. Not a lot of flaws in this team that are jumping out to me honestly.
· Central
o longtallbrad "My so-called life": Dennis Rodman, Mark Price, Allen Iverson, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Danny Fortson, Roy Tarpley, Sherman Douglas, Rasheed Wallace, Ken Norman, Jud Buechler, Brad Lohaus, Chris Childs DONE
§ Going Rodman first is always a challenge. The rebounding benefit is awesome but then you get stuck drafting people like Iverson fairly high so you can get enough usage. Love the Mark Price pick. Fortson will be a good backup if he doesn’t foul out every other game. Childs and Buechler might actually play and provide okay lot minutes. Uneven but cool roster.
o maglor1: Jason Kidd. Clarence Weatherspoon. Eddie Jones. Tom Gugliotta, Joe Smith, Fat Lever, Ed Pinckney, Antonio Davis, Dee Brown, Keith Jennings, Jerry Reynolds, Roy Rogers DONE
§ I like a lot of this roster but the shooting is a problem. At least half the roster is below average shooters but everything else on the team is average to good so it will be a curious watch to see how it plays out.
o thomcat "Mullinfeld": Chris Webber. Chris Mullin, Buck Williams, Damon Stoudamire. Charles D Smith, Cadillac Anderson, Voshon Lenard, Pooh Richardson, Wayne Cooper, Chris Morris. Erick Dampier, Rex Chapman DONE
§ The top three picks are all pretty awesome. Voshon Lenard has a really good season available too. Defense isn’t great and assists come with the tradeoff of playing Damon and Pooh but this team should be good.
o superrobb420 "Party of 5": Michael Jordan, Antonio McDyess, Otis Thorpe, Wesley Person, Bill Laimbeer, Kenny Smith, Jay Humphries, Glenn Robinson. James Donaldson, Khalid Reeves, Stacy Augmon, Mario Elie DONE
§ I don’t think this team did enough to get rebounds but every other area of the team is awesome. Jordan is a stud obviously, but McDyess has a good season, Thorpe has a number of options, Laimbeer and Smith will provide some threes and the back of the bench has a lot of flexible pieces. If they get enough boards this team will be dangerous.
o amerk1180 "Wonder Years": Tim Duncan, Terry Porter, Detlef Schrempf, Nick Anderson. Shawn Bradley, Clifford Robinson, PJ Brown. Jim Les, Terry Cummings, Isaiah "JR" Rider, Jim McIlvane, Randy Brown DONE
§ This team got a couple players who will be awesome. Porter, Schrempf and Nick Anderson are all super great picks and will do well with Duncan. I don’t like too many people after the top 4 but it may not matter.
o thohoops "The Pretender": Anthony Mason, Horace Grant, Latrell Sprewell, Brian Grant, Christian Laettner, Avery Johnson, Walt Williams, Doug Christie, Jerome Kersey, Kenny Williams, Reggie Williams, Chris Smith DONE
§ Mason and Grant are a good start, with super flexible and effective big minute seasons available, and Sprewell offers some positional flexibility with a lot of minutes as well. Williams and Christie can play three positions too so at positions 1-4 I love this team in a lot of ways. I think they have issues finding guys who matchup well at the 5 and I worry about getting effective usage on the floor.
· Midwest
o grayfoxx "Growing Pains": Kevin Garnett, Larry Nance, Vlade Divac, Oliver Miller. Domenique Wilkins, Nick Van Exel, Terry Mills, Isiah Thomas, Rick Mahorn, Allen Houston, Kevin Gamble, Kerry Kittles DONE
§ Was surprised to see Garnett go that soon, but then Nance, Divac and Miller were all great picks. Thought the Kittles and Van Exel picks were strong late options too. Front line it awesome but the scoring/usage/backcourt options will have trouble against some of the better perimeter teams.
o 666ace "Fresh Prince": Patrick Ewing, Tim Hardaway, Kenny Anderson. Theo Ratliff, Billy Owens, Olden Polynice, Sleepy Floyd, Jalen Rose, Jamie Feick, Tim Legler, Doc Rivers, Don Reid DONE
§ This team strikes me as one with guys who were better in real life than in the sim. Ewing, Hardaway, Anderson, Owens and Rose were all super talented (if underachieving) players in real life who may not translate as well. That being Said, the roster has a lot of flexibility, good shooting with enough rebounding.
o 98average: Gary Payton, Mookie Blaylock, John "Hot Rod" Williams, Matt Geiger, Armon Gilliam, Carlos Rogers, Grant Long, Dell Curry, Mo Cheeks, Jerome Williams
§ Good good team. Payton and Blaylock make up one of the best, if not the best backcourt. Hot Rod is a stud defender and I really like the sneaky Geiger pick. After that, Cheeks and Jerome are maybe the only players I would have considered.
o kern_82 "Mr. Bean": Anfernee Hardaway, Reggie Miller, Danny Manning, Bo Outlaw, Toni Kukoc, Michael Cage, BJ Armstrong, Stanley Roberts, Brad Miller, Steve Kerr, Bob Sura, Tim Perry DONE
§ The backcourt will score a lot and get to the line. It’s nice. I am one of very few Outlaw fans and the Kukoc/Cage picks were great. I am not a Manning fan so don’t know how he fits in the it is a deep skilled team.
o roadhouse19 "The Soup Nazi's": Magic Johnson, Vin Baker, Tyrone Hill, Dan Majerle, Bryon Russell, Frank Brickowski, Scott Burrell, Scott Brooks, Sean Rooks, Robert Pack, Tyrone Corbin, Alaa Abdelnaby DONE
§ I ma in the minority, so it is probably my issue, but I do not have any love for Vin Baker in the sim. Hill bring a lot to the table even if he fouls too much. Love Johnson and Majerle in the back court. Uneasy about the rest of the bench. Will be curious to see if this team puts it together.
o robocoach "Shaqalon Five": Shaquille O'Neal, Charlie Ward. Darrell Armstrong, Cedric Ceballos, Tracy McGrady, Loy Vaught, Dean Garrett, Tracy Murray, Eric Snow, Tree Rollins, Corey Gaines, Spud Webb DONE
§ The start was so so good. Shaq with Ward and Armstrong in the backcourt is a nightmare to deal with. That alone makes this team tough and Ceballos has great seasons that come in around 25 minutes. After that, I really didn’t like any of the picks so I am unsure how I feel about the team. It may not matter with that top 4 though.
· West
o uptowngbv "Northern Exposure": Charles Barkley, Dana Barros, Dennis Scott. Ervin Johnson, Rolando Blackmon, Ben Wallace, Eric Murdock, Brent Barry, Jelani McCoy, Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Sean Elliott, Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf DONE
§ Apparently everyone likes Barros more than me. He has great seasons but Terry Porter all day for this guy. Barkley, Barros and Scott will drain threes and put up buckets. Seems like uptown had the strategy of catching his defense on the backend and it may not have been a bad strategy looking at the roster. Wallace is better than you think with his available years. This is a tough team.
o skypilot (2) "Dr Who": John Stockton. Kevin Willis, Arvydas Sabonis, Dale Ellis, Derrick McKey, Rik Smits, Gary Grant, Ray Allen, Willie Anderson, Billy Thompson, Lorenzan Wright, Terry Davis DONE
§ Stockton passing and Willis and Sabonis catching boards is a tough trio. Allen and McKey bring specific skills to the table. Not sure the team did enough to pick up enough scoring/usage but every player on this team has a role and skillset to match.
o samuelyork (2) "Ball and Order": Clyde Drexler, Kevin McHale, Alvin Robertson, Tom Chambers, Mark Jackson, Ricky Pierce, Ron Harper, John Salley. Duane Causwell, Wayman Tisdale, Gerald Henderson, Chucky Brown DONE
§ Drexler, McHale and Robertson are three studs who play both ends of the floor, but their most effective seasons don’t have a lot of minutes so he is going to need a lot from the likes of Jackson, Chamber, Pierce and Harper. It could be a lot worse but I don’t know if there is enough rebounding and scoring to make it work.
o jt7king "Teenage Mutant Ninja Johnsons": Alonzo Mourning. Kevin Johnson, Larry Johnson, Mark West, John Starks, Terry Dehere. Chris Dudley, Mark Strickland, Marlon Maxey, Sedale Threatt, Alton Lister, Danny Ferry DONE
§ I have to avoid being biased because Zo is my favorite player of all time even if he doesn’t do super awesome in the sim. Larry Johnson is better in a progressive than in a league like this but Kevin Johnson will rock. Mark West was a nice pick. I think the bench is thin but the starting five will play a lot of minutes so it may not be a big deal.
o dh555 "King of the Hill": Grant Hill, Brad Daugherty, Dale Davis, Glen Rice, Darrell Walker, Chris Gatling, Brent Price, Michael Stewart, Adam Keefe, Jon Barry, Hubert Davis, Vince Carter DONE
§ Hill, Daugherty and Walker offer such a broad compliment of points/rebounds/assists that they let DH do whatever he wanted with the rest of the roster. Means he can pick up specific players like Gatling, Price and Barry who are awesome at one thing without hurting the roster too much. Davis can try and anchor the defense but besides him it could become a minor issue. The west has a few really tough teams; FML.
o robusk "Reggie Lewis Can't Lose": Shawn Kemp, Terrell Brandon, Gheorghe Muresan, Benoit Benjamin, Reggie Lewis, Nate McMillan, Robert Horry, Dino Radja, Cory Alexander, Elliot Perry, Lester Connor, Ed Nealy DONE
§ The players who will get minutes are all above average to stellar defenders. eFG and usage are in good shape and there should be plenty of assists. Threes are low and even though the 4 and 5 position are deep with 4 guys who can play, 1-3 have poor rebounders. If rebounds and fouls don’t hold them back this team can compete.