10/11 Season Preview Part 2 - West
I've again simulated a week into the new season to get the squads and starting 5s sorted. Don't get too caught up on your team's record so far. It's a stupidly long season.
@Solius is now on the
Memphis Grizzlies (53-29, Conference Finals)
I think this is one of those seasons where it will 100% come down to
Solius to define what success looks like for the Grizzlies. He's by far the best player on the team, though they've at least got
decent players in every position. Trust me, that's not a given.
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@Stobzilla is on the very ugly
New Orleans Hornets (38-44)
Stobzilla II is
not on one of those "decent players plus a superstar" teams. The Hornets aren't terrible by any means, at least they don't look like it, but even getting to the playoffs would be a pretty big achievement for them. For Stobzilla II's sake, he's still young and learning, and his contract expires at the end of the season. So he's not in a rush.
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@altodevil is still on the 3-in-a-row
Los Angeles Lakers (64-18, NBA Champions)
altodevil keeps... not declining, exactly, but
slowly changing. Conventional wisdom would suggest that he'll get a lot less effective as his physical attributes decline, but it's not like he'll be any kind of defensive liability. The slight increase in offensive skills might actually make a difference at some point. It also goes without saying that the Lakers are digustingly good. They're old, but somehow they keep improving.
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@reelworld is on the
Denver Nuggets (18-64)
I didn't actually put young
reelworld II into the game before the season had technically started, which is why he hasn't had any change in his stats. It's also why he's only 17, which means he's got a long, long time to get better. It's not like his Nuggets are that bad either, though there's a pretty jarring lack of competent non-reelworld Guards.
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@oneniltothearsenal and
@P-Nut are both on the
Sacramento Kings (28-54)
It seems like father time has really set his sights on
oneniltothearsenal. That's the second year in a row with a pretty substantial stats decrease. Mind you, after the last one he actually got
more Triple-Doubles than before, so who the hell knows. More worrying is the fact that
P-Nut also saw a decline, though we've seen plenty of times before that a decline at 26 doesn't have to mean anything. He might go +3 in the green again next season, there's no causality here.
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@Dr. Dwayne is on the
Utah Jazz (31-51)
Speaking of old, declining players... actually,
Dr. Dwayne got
better since last time, at the tender age of 33. His Jazz aren't very good, but nor are they particularly bad. Still, getting to the playoffs might be difficult enough on its own. Either way, if
Dr. Dwayne can keep warding off the grim reaper he might actually have one last shot at playoff success, given his contract expires at the end of the season. I suspect he'll not be as expensive next contract, for whichever team he chooses.