Post by Brooklyn on Jun 5, 2016 16:11:40 GMT
Playoff teams
1. New York Knicks - The defending league champions have only improved since last season, with their young players filling out and with a full season of John Stockton as the quarterback
2. Minnesota Timberwolves - Minnesota is coming back with a similar roster, plus the addition of Louie Dampier. The cohesion on this team should continue to build and they'll cruise through the regular season.
3. Seattle Supersonics - The overhaul of this roster will see the 2nd worst franchise in league history finally make a playoff appearance. Sabonis - Saric - Anthony - Jordan - Stoudamire is an incredible starting 5 that will win a lot of regular season games. The rookie mistake with this team is the lack of depth, which will ultimately cost them an early exit in the playoffs.
4. Washington Generals - Washington's youth continues to grow, with Okafor, Aguirre, Sprewell and Havlicek all looking ready to go.
5. San Antonio Spurs - A complete overhaul of this roster (which happens every 2 weeks) has landed this organization with a significant chance to do some damage this year. If management can refrain from blowing it up, they'll make the playoffs. They not only have a great starting 5, but a solid bench as well.
6. Mexico City Titans - The GM here should buy a lottery ticket because I've never seen a luckier guy - he jumped in the lottery again this year. The odds of jumping once are slim, but the odds of jumping back-to-back is almost impossible. Bringing in Malone in FA and Kidd via trade will land the organization in the playoffs.
7. Rio de Janeiro Flamengo - Rio had a strong FA, adding Eddy Curry and Jason Richardson. As long as Anthony Davis stays healthy, he should carry this team to the playoffs
8. Portland Trailblazers - Having barely missed the playoffs last year, the addition of Korac should get Portland in this year
Just missing the playoffs
Boston Celtics - A once proud franchise, Seer has come in and made his mark. Moving Ewing for Embiid was a good longterm move, but should cost their offensive production this year. It's very possible they get in, but we also expect more random destruction of the team throughout the season.
San Fransisco Warriors - The Warriors have a lot of nice pieces that could see them make it, but unfortunately the GM might be a little too passive to build anything significant.
Toronto Raptors - Their defense continues to look strong, but with a GM too scared to make moves, we'll see yet another mediocre season for this franchise.
Not in contention
New Orleans Jazz - They made it last year, and they definitely didn't get worse, its that other teams have gotten better. Unfortunately the team is a little handcuffed about which direction to go, so maybe a lottery pick wouldn't be the worst thing for this team.
Brazil Franca BC - With really only 3 players on this roster, plus a few role players, it'll be a long season in Brazil. Barkley alone will keep them out of the basement and near .500, but unless they can add some players they won't make it. If they can somehow add depth, they could quickly jump back into the playoff race
Vancouver Grizzlies - This GM is like a used car salesman; each deal he makes adds value to the bottom line, but overall it's a junk operation
Buenos Aires Boca Juniors - With a GM on leave, BA will fizzle out this season
Los Angeles Lakers - A roster with no direction, they should get beat up by other teams all year
Chicago Bulls - The Bulls tanked last year and added a mediocre player in Larry Kenon. Not much is expected again this year.
Harlem Globetrotters - A team that is rebuilding and will continue to shed active assets for future assets
PLAYOFF PREDICTIONS
Minnesota and New York should meet in the conference finals. The only team that could interfere with this matchup are the San Antonio Spurs - they have talent in their starting lineup and have managed to build a solid bench. The question will be whether the cohesion can build and if the GM can keep his patience.
Seattle, who looks good on paper, could go out in the 1st or 2nd round, as their bench is awful and it doesn't appear the GM will do anything to address it. If the stars align for Washington, they could have a nice playoff run, but they might need one more piece to be a real contender. Rio and Mexico will be tough outs and could play spoiler to everything. Portland (or whoever lands the 8th spot) won't be able to put up much of a fight.
1. New York Knicks - The defending league champions have only improved since last season, with their young players filling out and with a full season of John Stockton as the quarterback
2. Minnesota Timberwolves - Minnesota is coming back with a similar roster, plus the addition of Louie Dampier. The cohesion on this team should continue to build and they'll cruise through the regular season.
3. Seattle Supersonics - The overhaul of this roster will see the 2nd worst franchise in league history finally make a playoff appearance. Sabonis - Saric - Anthony - Jordan - Stoudamire is an incredible starting 5 that will win a lot of regular season games. The rookie mistake with this team is the lack of depth, which will ultimately cost them an early exit in the playoffs.
4. Washington Generals - Washington's youth continues to grow, with Okafor, Aguirre, Sprewell and Havlicek all looking ready to go.
5. San Antonio Spurs - A complete overhaul of this roster (which happens every 2 weeks) has landed this organization with a significant chance to do some damage this year. If management can refrain from blowing it up, they'll make the playoffs. They not only have a great starting 5, but a solid bench as well.
6. Mexico City Titans - The GM here should buy a lottery ticket because I've never seen a luckier guy - he jumped in the lottery again this year. The odds of jumping once are slim, but the odds of jumping back-to-back is almost impossible. Bringing in Malone in FA and Kidd via trade will land the organization in the playoffs.
7. Rio de Janeiro Flamengo - Rio had a strong FA, adding Eddy Curry and Jason Richardson. As long as Anthony Davis stays healthy, he should carry this team to the playoffs
8. Portland Trailblazers - Having barely missed the playoffs last year, the addition of Korac should get Portland in this year
Just missing the playoffs
Boston Celtics - A once proud franchise, Seer has come in and made his mark. Moving Ewing for Embiid was a good longterm move, but should cost their offensive production this year. It's very possible they get in, but we also expect more random destruction of the team throughout the season.
San Fransisco Warriors - The Warriors have a lot of nice pieces that could see them make it, but unfortunately the GM might be a little too passive to build anything significant.
Toronto Raptors - Their defense continues to look strong, but with a GM too scared to make moves, we'll see yet another mediocre season for this franchise.
Not in contention
New Orleans Jazz - They made it last year, and they definitely didn't get worse, its that other teams have gotten better. Unfortunately the team is a little handcuffed about which direction to go, so maybe a lottery pick wouldn't be the worst thing for this team.
Brazil Franca BC - With really only 3 players on this roster, plus a few role players, it'll be a long season in Brazil. Barkley alone will keep them out of the basement and near .500, but unless they can add some players they won't make it. If they can somehow add depth, they could quickly jump back into the playoff race
Vancouver Grizzlies - This GM is like a used car salesman; each deal he makes adds value to the bottom line, but overall it's a junk operation
Buenos Aires Boca Juniors - With a GM on leave, BA will fizzle out this season
Los Angeles Lakers - A roster with no direction, they should get beat up by other teams all year
Chicago Bulls - The Bulls tanked last year and added a mediocre player in Larry Kenon. Not much is expected again this year.
Harlem Globetrotters - A team that is rebuilding and will continue to shed active assets for future assets
PLAYOFF PREDICTIONS
Minnesota and New York should meet in the conference finals. The only team that could interfere with this matchup are the San Antonio Spurs - they have talent in their starting lineup and have managed to build a solid bench. The question will be whether the cohesion can build and if the GM can keep his patience.
Seattle, who looks good on paper, could go out in the 1st or 2nd round, as their bench is awful and it doesn't appear the GM will do anything to address it. If the stars align for Washington, they could have a nice playoff run, but they might need one more piece to be a real contender. Rio and Mexico will be tough outs and could play spoiler to everything. Portland (or whoever lands the 8th spot) won't be able to put up much of a fight.
