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2019/2020 Season Preview Part 2
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)
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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)
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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)
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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)
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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)
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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)
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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.
 
Spurs having almost half the ticket prices compared to Houston shows were the real attraction lies.
 
2019/2020 Season Preview Part 3
2019/2020 Season Preview Part 3

@sebsheep @P-Nut @The Cat @altodevil @V.O. @hobbers @BenitoSTARR @Dr. Dwayne @Skizzo @weetee


SebJr & Lil-Nut - Miami Heat (27-55)
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Miami drafted Lil-Nut in the 2019 draft, getting one step closer to the unicorn line-up of 5 Point Guards. He was the best player in the draft, to be fair, and he immediately improved. It'll be interesting to see whether he and SebJr can lead the Heat from 2nd last the previous season to a playoff spot this season. If you ignore the whole "PG" thing, it's not a bad little squad.


sontodevil & The Cub - Memphis Grizzlies (40-42, 1st Round)
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sontodevil seems desperate to leave the Memphis Grizzlies, but then he undercut that by immediately re-signing with the team. Maybe the acquisition of The Cub had something to do with it? The Grizzlies really ought to be pretty good this year, though they've flattered to deceive before. If nothing else, The Cub should be getting his first look at the playoffs. He's been one of the best players in the league for years, without playing one minute in the playoffs. Let's see if he's up to it.


weeweetee & Lil' V.O. - Houston Rockets (74-8, Runners-up)
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I didn't expect the Rockets to win their first ring at the start of last season, but I definitely did by the time they were in the NBA Final. They look pretty different from last year, maybe as a response to the disappointing Final loss. Bismack Biyombo is gone, for one, as are several other players. Their regular season records might suffer, but there's no way they don't make the playoffs anyway. They've still got a very deep team, and the true test will be what happens in the playoffs.


hobbers - Golden State Warriors (51-31, 1st Round)
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This is true late-stage hobbers. Just putting up stats and picking up money. The Warriors are almost certainly not going to be as good as they were last season, but nor are they quite bad enough to be bad. There might still be some tanking trades to come, but I reckon there's a good chance hobbers gets at least one last (?) look at the playoffs.


P-Nut - Denver Nuggets (58-24, 2nd Round)
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How will the Denver Nuggets handle the departure of BenitwoSTARRLET? If nothing else, that probably means more minutes for P-Nut. The team itself is actually still pretty strong, though they're lacking those important 60-65 rating players. They're not likely to make it very far in the playoffs, but they should definitely be making it there in the first place.


Dr. Junior & BenitoSTARR - Cleveland Cavaliers (50-32, 1st Round)
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The Cleveland Cavaliers aren't bad. Are they good? It's hard to say. They're reasonably deep, and they've got Dr. Junior leading the charge. It remains to be seen whether he's yet good enough to make a proper playoff run, but there's no reason why they couldn't replicate their previous season. The East got a bit stronger, but so did the Cavs. BenitoSTARR is aging quite gracefully now, and might be able to contribute as well.


Skizzlet - Atlanta Hawks (35-47)

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I want to say that the Atlanta Hawks are deceptively good, but I'm not sure how good they actually are. Skizzlet himself improved quite a lot, and one argument to say that yes, they are good, is that there are many "Skizzlet-level" players in this team. They've got some good, young players, so the future might be bright even if it turns out that they aren't actually good after all.
 
hobbers - Golden State Warriors (51-31, 1st Round)

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This is true late-stage hobbers. Just putting up stats and picking up money.

He desperately needs the dough to build a spaceship for him and his son to feck off to where they came from. Spending half my salary to help them with that too.
 
19/20 30-Game Update
At least we're shipping out PGs to make room for me
 
28-1 :wenger: Lets do a goat season!

I think that Wizard trade is smart, while it looks like the Rockets are getting weaker. Do they understand that their chanse was last season?
 
2020 All Star Weekend Part 1
19/20 All Star Weekend Part 1

@BenitoSTARR @Dan @Dr. Dwayne @P-Nut @Salt Bailly @Skizzo @Solius @Stobzilla @The Cat @V.O. @altodevil @hobbers @oneniltothearsenal @reelworld @sebsheep @weetee @Heine
The All Star Game will come in the next update, but the draft is at the end of this one.

Team Lil' V.O. vs. Team Nobbers

All Stars

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Trades (so many trades)


Dr. Junior (Cavaliers), BenitoSTARR (Cavaliers > Grizzlies), sontodevil & The Cub (Grizzlies)
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Dr. Junior (Cavaliers), Nobbers, Heine, Sonius & altodevil (Spurs)
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Nobbers, Heine, Sonius & altodevil (Spurs)
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Dr. Junior (Cavaliers), Solius (Kings)
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Dr. Junior (Cavaliers)
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P-Nut (Nuggets)
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weeweetee & Lil' V.O (Rockets), Lil-Nut (Heat)
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Lil-Nut (Heat)
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Standings

Top 6 make the playoffs, 7-10 in the play-in tournament. ~25 games to go.

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Dunk Contest

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Round 1
Sonius: 14
Zion: 0
Ja Morant: 50
Skizzlet: 40
Sonius: 49 (63 total)
Zion: 0 (50 total)
Ja Morant: 33 (83 total)
Skizzlet: 32 (72 total)

It's Skizzlet against Ja Morant for the win

Round 2
Ja Morant: 29
Skizzlet: 34
Ja Morant: 45 (74 total)
Skizzlet: 45 (79 total)

Skizzlet has won his second Dunk Contest! He joins The Cub and BenitoSTARR in the 2x club. Nobbers and Sonius have both won it once (Jerry Stackhouse and Vince Carter are still ahead with 4 and 3 wins respectively).


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All Star Draft

Nobbers with first pick (then alternating)

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Look at all those assists I'm giving out, KD knows a baller.
 
54-2, and that MOV :eek:

Not sure if I am a fan of giving up
Mirotic to get Irving, but gived us another passer and initiater. Sonius and Alto can get the rebounds anyway
 
Look at all those assists I'm giving out, KD knows a baller.
"Gimme the Ball, Junior, quick!"

--

I know when I see a bad management eversince the early SuperSonic days - and Houston does have one. Have a little success immediately mess up your brain and go nuts in the transfer market.
 
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2020 All Star Weekend Part 2
19/20 All Star Weekend Part 2

@BenitoSTARR @reelworld @P-Nut @hobbers @weetee @V.O. @sebsheep @oneniltothearsenal @Salt Bailly @Skizzo @altodevil @Stobzilla @Heine @Solius @The Cat

3 Point Contest

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1st Round - 4 advance

Derrick Williams: 16
Alex Abrines: 27
Devin Booker: 22
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That means we'll have BenitwoSTARRLET, reelworld II, weeweetee and Alex Abrines in the 2nd Round.

2nd Round - 2 advance
Alex Abrines: 24
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Much better shooting than in the 1st Round! A tiebreak on 28 is harsh for whoever loses.

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It's reelworld II versus weeweetee in the Final Round!

Final Round
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Congratulations to reelworld II, who wins for the third time (previously in 2013 and 2016)! That puts him equal with Kyle Korver, and only behind Solius and BenitoSTARR (5 each). Dan II and P-Nut are trailing with 2 each.

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All Star Game

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It's Team Lil' V.O.! I suspected as much, looking at the draft. Lil' V.O. wins his 2nd All Star MVP.

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Award race

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Feats

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Well, we can win all-star games in our sleep at this stage. Now onto the real deal.

How did Durant not get into the top 10 of the MVP race? Did he break his legs?
 
It's a well known fact that the best nba players in this sim all play werewolf.
 
Well, we can win all-star games in our sleep at this stage. Now onto the real deal.

How did Durant not get into the top 10 of the MVP race? Did he break his legs?

He only had some small injuries, so I'm not sure. He did decline a bit (which matters more when you're so high rating), but I think it might also be that he's got a couple other players to share his performances with. Last season, meaning the one they won, the two after him had a regular season PER of 22.1 and 18.3, this season 25.1 and 22.4.
 
I can reveal that this season has seen the best and worst regular season teams since 1996 (the start of the experiment), measured in MOV (Margin of Victory). Mind you, none of the four previously "best" teams won the Championship (Spurs in '17 and '19, Rockets in '18 and '19).

So... don't take anything for granted.
 
Play-In Tournament

Just before I go to bed, let's get this thing out of the way.

Only @hobbers is involved, the rest of you somehow missed it (one way or another...)

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Yellow teams are through. Teams 9-10 have to win twice to get through, while teams 7-8 only have to win once.

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Old man hobbers makes it! Tomorrow you'll get to see who he has to play. I'm going away for the rest of the week on Wednesday, so we might just get all the way through the playoffs tomorrow. Alternatively I might leave you hanging on the Final again. We'll see how I feel.