2019/2020 Season Preview Part 2
There's a new Play-in Tournament this season (as there was in real life in 2020). You have to finish 6th to be guaranteed a spot in the playoffs. 7-8 and 9-10 will play each other, and then the loser of 7-8 will play the winner of 9-10. That also means that if you're a big-game player you might scam yourself into the playoffs as a 10-seed. How about that.
@Solius @altodevil @hobbers @Heine @Dan @Stobzilla @reelworld @oneniltothearsenal @Salt Bailly
Solius - Sacramento Kings (16-66)
Solius left the bad New Orleans Pelicans, and joined the worse Sacramento Kings. Yet again he finds himself the best player on the team. I don't know how many times that
hasn't been the case, but it's not many. He keeps declining, but at 40 he's still a 60 rating player. He's also being paid $10.21M per year, while most people his age - those who haven't retired half a decade ago - are usually paid a third or less than that.
Nobbers, Heine, Sonius & altodevil - San Antonio Spurs (74-8, Conference Finals)
Last season was actually the first time in 4 seasons where the Spurs didn't make the NBA Final. Does that mean they're on the decline? Looking at the team, clearly not. But it does mean that there are other teams in the West that can challenge them, at least in theory. We'll see how much they rely on
altodevil's defence, particularly in the playoffs, as he keeps (slowly) declining. They also don't have a deep team, though their starting 5 is obviously disgusting. They might conceivably have three 80+ rating players next season, if
Sonius keeps making up for lost time. I know I predicted this last season too, but I do think they'll be back in the Final this year, and win it. How could they not? Well, unless two of them get injured again, of course.
Dan II - Philadelphia 76ers (47-35, 2nd Round)
We're getting pretty damn close to 30ppg-
Dan II here. Obviously his shooting has never been in doubt, but he's developed in a lot of other areas since his rookie year. 57 offensive IQ is a ridiculous improvement, for one. He also finds himself on a pretty decent team. Their biggest weakness is their lack of depth, though I do think they'll find their way to the playoffs again.
reelworld II, Two Nil & Stobzilla II - New York Knicks (44-38, 1st Round)
Have we got a new super-team here? It's hard to say, but we might finally have another challenge for the Wizards in the East. Durant can't keep winning forever, so at some point
someone has to have a shot at the championship. That might as well be
reelworld II,
Two Nil and
Stobzilla II. Their team isn't particularly deep, but their roster construction is on point. No three-PG lineups here, I can promise you that.
BenitwoSTARRLET - New Orleans Pelicans (32-50)
Why did
BenitwoSTARRLET leave the Denver Nuggets in favour of the New Orleans Pelicans? A look at her salary might give an indication. Her prime motivation is winning, but I guess everyone has a number. She's got plenty of time, in any case. I doubt the Pelicans are going to be particularly good this year, but crazier things have happened. The West is awfully strong, though...
Pepper Bailly - Minnesota Timberwolves (42-40, 1st Round)
Pepper Bailly has had one of those off-off-seasons, where he takes a slight step back in development. I doubt it will be permanent, though. He's also lucky enough to be on a team that doesn't need him to be
the guy every single game. The Timberwolves have a reasonably deep roster as well, so there's every chance they'll find themselves in the playoffs at the end of the season.