20/21 Season Preview Part 3
20/21 Season Preview Part 3
@sebsheep @BenitoSTARR @Solius @Stobzilla @reelworld @oneniltothearsenal @Dan @altodevil @hobbers @Heine
BenitwoSTARRLET & SebJr - New Orleans Pelicans (28-54)
It's difficult to gauge how good the New Orleans Pelicans are, or how bad they are. Last season they were very bad, but this is largely a new team. They've started the season poorly, but that doesn't necessarily mean anything. Their two best players got even better, and they added SebJr. He got worse, technically, but only physically - no surprise given he just entered his 30s (tick-tock). His skills actually got better, though. We'll see if the Assist King is still the Assist King in New Orleans, given the two better players are both also guards. The true star(let) is BenitwoSTARRLET, who is coming into her own. At least as far as her rating is concerned; it's still not entirely clear how her insane dad-inspired build is going to translate to the league.
reelworld II, Two Nil, Stobzilla II & Solius - New York Knicks (63-19, Conference Finals)
Solius just loves RedCafe. There's no other explanation for the fact that he so frequently finds himself on teams with one, two and now three other Cafites. The craziest part is that he's actually still a pretty good player, despite being the 3rd oldest player in the league. He's declining, obviously, but he's going to be a decent back-up scorer if the Knicks need one, though there are many good players to get it done. reelworld II is perhaps at his peak, as is Two Nil, who was already one of those better-than-his-rating players. Now that is rating is 80, what does that mean for the league? The only negative is that Stobzilla II got quite a bit worse over the summer, now that he's into his 30s. He's still a very good player, mind, and the Knicks have DeAndre Ayton coming up too, to relieve the pressure.
The Knicks are some way off the pure firepower of the other Caf-Quad team, the Spurs, but with a significantly deeper team. I don't think that makes them favourites or anything, but I'd be very surprised not to see the New York boys in the NBA Final this year. They haven't been there since 2002, in BenitoSTARR's heyday. Actually, before BenitoSTARR's heyday, given he won all 5 of his MVPs after that. In fact, the MVP getting a ring is a rare occurrence, only having happened 4 times since we started in 1996.
Dan II - Philadelphia 76ers (44-38, 1st Round)
You know, the 76ers don't look too shabby this year. The addition of John Collins was shrewd. The biggest worry will be that they're lacking a good Center. The scoring should already be taken care of, as Dan II will certainly be in the running for scoring leader this season. He's not going to give you a lot else, though his physicality is improving to the point where he might not be a complete defensive liability either. It'll be interesting to see what Dan II can do on a non-terrible team.
Nobbers, Heine, Sonius & altodevil - San Antonio Spurs (79-3, Champions)
What is there to say about the Spurs that I didn't already say last time, and the time before that, and before that? They've got the best starting 5 in the history of the NBA. It seems to have gotten even better, particularly with non-Cafite (presumably) Jamal Murray improving nicely himself. Heine takes the step up into the very elite of the league, ratings wise. Though I suspect that Nobbers' decline will hurt them more than Heine's improvements will help them. Sonius also got significantly better, though, and he's now consistently adding scoring to his great defensive skills. The Spurs will hope that this offsets the continued decline of altodevil. Though if you're relying on a 42-year old to win, you've got bigger problems.
It's hard to predict anything other than a repeat championship for a team that went 79-3 in the regular season and 16-0 in the playoffs last season. Though if we're going by tradition they're going to lose, it being an odd year. It also remains to be seen how potentially no longer having the best player on the court is going to affect them in the playoffs.
@sebsheep @BenitoSTARR @Solius @Stobzilla @reelworld @oneniltothearsenal @Dan @altodevil @hobbers @Heine
BenitwoSTARRLET & SebJr - New Orleans Pelicans (28-54)
It's difficult to gauge how good the New Orleans Pelicans are, or how bad they are. Last season they were very bad, but this is largely a new team. They've started the season poorly, but that doesn't necessarily mean anything. Their two best players got even better, and they added SebJr. He got worse, technically, but only physically - no surprise given he just entered his 30s (tick-tock). His skills actually got better, though. We'll see if the Assist King is still the Assist King in New Orleans, given the two better players are both also guards. The true star(let) is BenitwoSTARRLET, who is coming into her own. At least as far as her rating is concerned; it's still not entirely clear how her insane dad-inspired build is going to translate to the league.
reelworld II, Two Nil, Stobzilla II & Solius - New York Knicks (63-19, Conference Finals)
Solius just loves RedCafe. There's no other explanation for the fact that he so frequently finds himself on teams with one, two and now three other Cafites. The craziest part is that he's actually still a pretty good player, despite being the 3rd oldest player in the league. He's declining, obviously, but he's going to be a decent back-up scorer if the Knicks need one, though there are many good players to get it done. reelworld II is perhaps at his peak, as is Two Nil, who was already one of those better-than-his-rating players. Now that is rating is 80, what does that mean for the league? The only negative is that Stobzilla II got quite a bit worse over the summer, now that he's into his 30s. He's still a very good player, mind, and the Knicks have DeAndre Ayton coming up too, to relieve the pressure.
The Knicks are some way off the pure firepower of the other Caf-Quad team, the Spurs, but with a significantly deeper team. I don't think that makes them favourites or anything, but I'd be very surprised not to see the New York boys in the NBA Final this year. They haven't been there since 2002, in BenitoSTARR's heyday. Actually, before BenitoSTARR's heyday, given he won all 5 of his MVPs after that. In fact, the MVP getting a ring is a rare occurrence, only having happened 4 times since we started in 1996.
Dan II - Philadelphia 76ers (44-38, 1st Round)
You know, the 76ers don't look too shabby this year. The addition of John Collins was shrewd. The biggest worry will be that they're lacking a good Center. The scoring should already be taken care of, as Dan II will certainly be in the running for scoring leader this season. He's not going to give you a lot else, though his physicality is improving to the point where he might not be a complete defensive liability either. It'll be interesting to see what Dan II can do on a non-terrible team.
Nobbers, Heine, Sonius & altodevil - San Antonio Spurs (79-3, Champions)
What is there to say about the Spurs that I didn't already say last time, and the time before that, and before that? They've got the best starting 5 in the history of the NBA. It seems to have gotten even better, particularly with non-Cafite (presumably) Jamal Murray improving nicely himself. Heine takes the step up into the very elite of the league, ratings wise. Though I suspect that Nobbers' decline will hurt them more than Heine's improvements will help them. Sonius also got significantly better, though, and he's now consistently adding scoring to his great defensive skills. The Spurs will hope that this offsets the continued decline of altodevil. Though if you're relying on a 42-year old to win, you've got bigger problems.
It's hard to predict anything other than a repeat championship for a team that went 79-3 in the regular season and 16-0 in the playoffs last season. Though if we're going by tradition they're going to lose, it being an odd year. It also remains to be seen how potentially no longer having the best player on the court is going to affect them in the playoffs.
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