Post by Minnesota on Oct 2, 2015 14:12:34 GMT
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- Most teams have played just under 40 games which makes the inagural Ultimate ABCA season almost half-way done. I wanted to take a look at the teams and where they stand now that we have more than just a couple of game sample size to reflect on. There were some major moves made recently which changes where some teams are headed. As you'll see I've also made some recommendations to specific teams about who should be moved by the deadline.
#1 Vancouver Grizzlies - Vancouver finds themselves on top of the list because they have clearly the best record and just made a big splashy trade for Walt Frazier. Not many teams have two first round picks and even fewer have two that are both ready to win now. Doesn't hurt that both Frazier and Sabonis were Top 10 picks.
#2 Chicago Bulls - Barkley is a stud. No way around that. He's averaging over 36 point per game which no one else is even close to. He is the clear MVP which makes the Bulls a team you don't want to see in the playoffs. Can you stop Sir Charles?
#3 Mexico City Titans - Really like what this team did in the draft to set them up in this position. Getting another Top 20 pick in order to pair Pau Gasol and Sergei Belov makes them legit now and gives them some room to grow. This team is deeper than most contenders. Neil Johnston needs to be re-signed but I like this squad for this year and beyond.
#4 Beijing Aoshen - Mikan and Chuck Taylor are leading the charge for the Aoshen. They'll probably both be killed in TC by the coaching staff so lets remember this moment.
#5 Auckland Breakers - Auckland really did well for themselves in the draft by snagging Korac and Gallatin who are both having very good seasons. The Breakers are clearly one of the better teams in Eurasia with a very balanced roster. Ideally they could find some bench help before the deadline. Gotta figure out how to replace Gallatin's production if they wanna keep this up for the next few seasons.
#6 New York Knicks - Daniels and Oden were picks that were scoffed at by some/most but the Knicks just kept on laughing all the way to the bank. Together they are one of the best front court duos in the league. Haynes is playing better of late and Ron Anderson has been a pleasent surprised. Real shocked that New York found late-round sleepers.
#7 Buenos Aires Boca Juniors - All the talk surrounding the Boca Juniors is about Kevin Durant, Al Horford, and how good that future pairing will be but what most people overlook is how good Point Guard Louie Dampier is playing. He is setting everything up for those guys for 7.7 assist per game which puts him 8th in the league. Not bad for a late round pick. Dude's only 27 too. How did everyone sleep on him?
#8 CSKA Moscow - Moscow has one of the best shooting teams in the league which is good because they take the most amount of 3s in the league. McDyess is having a very nice season for a young big man. The rest of the team is fairly young and has room to improve going forward. Helps that they have a few picks to use in trade or the draft too.
#9 Mikawa Aisin Seahorses - Sherman White is another guy who was taken outside of the 1st who is surprising the league. He's currently 3rd in league scoring by averaging 29.1 ppg. I don't want to sell short the rest of their frontcourt either. Xavier McDaniel and Ubiratan Pereira Maciel have been dominating the paint offensively. Mikawa has the best C/PF/SF combination in the league and I'm not sure it's close.
#10 Newcastle Eagles - Hakeem is a stud without question. Zoran is a solid player who needs to grow a bit before this team is really ready to make a run. They don't really have any picks to move to add talent this year so they will need to find a way to add talent in Free Agency or hope the can develop it through a good training camp this offseason.
#11 Piraeus Olympiacos BC - Leading the way for this team is Karl Malone. Without his 20+ ppg this team may be struggling to score. They have good depth though and a fairly balanced team. I just think they could be a lot tougher to beat if they had someone to compliment Karl's scoring a bit. Hank isn't bad but I'm not sure he is capable of sustaining almost 20 ppg.
#12 New Orleans Jazz - Finley is turrible. Parker is a brightspot and Schayes is putting up good numbers. I like what this team has going for it's future if their guys develop. Right now it seems like the youth is just good enough to make the playoffs but probably not good enough to get around the elite teams in the league.
#13 Guangdong Southern Tigers - Surprise Team of the Year Guangdong Southern Tigers are doing it with youth lead by Jabari Parker and Julius Randle. The one guy probably having the best season is Gilbert Arenas who is quietly averaging 20/6/6 while keepig this team relevant. Must be the excellent coaching.
#14 Barcelona Regal FC - Jordan is only playing 32 minutes per game and that may be why he isn't in consideration for league MVP. He was the #1 overall pick but Barca is having a difficult time getting him produce like some of the other superstars in the league. Injury to Ed Mikan doesn't help but even if he were healthy I think they'd need more to really compete. Maybe it makes sense for them to try and be buyers at the deadline.
#15 Bamberg Brose Baskets - The team who landed the pick to take Ewing made a huge trade that seems to be working out well for them. They've got good depth, are winning games, and have some solid picks coming to them. Gotta find a way to develop, draft, or sign a centerpiece player if they wanna win it all. Injuries to Alvin and Kurland's re-signing status both kinda suck.
#16 Cairo Zamalek - The big two experiment is... working.. not working? I don't know, kind of depends on what sim you check. Got off to a hot start but have been struggling a little since. Stockton is a scrub. Ewing is alright. I'd trade 'em both.
#17 Zagreb KK Cibona - Kidd is having a really nice season but I'll be honest I don't see this team as a real contender so I'd probably sell Macauley and Rocka to a team looking for some help. Grab a first and/or a good prospect and look forward to next season. Either that or try to add some talent and really make a run but going for the 8th seed when you are both young and old doesn't make a ton of sense.
#18 Perth Wildcats - I like the combination of Bob McAdoo and Benoit Benjamin. Borderline playoff team who needs to find more scoring if they wanna make the playoffs let alone make any noise in the playoffs. Wanzer hitting the glass but not setting up his teammates offensively as much as you might like.
#19 Rio de Janeiro Flamengo - I like the depth that Rio has but they need to find a way to get some more production out of the Center position. Gonna be decision time for them soon to see which way they are headed this season.
#20 Seattle Supersonics - Sonics were expect to be a playoff contender this year. I think going into the season some had them pegged as a team who might make it to the 2nd round but they didn't live up to that hype early on so trades were made. After those trades the team seems to be playing better. They dug themselves a bit of a hole early. Let's see if they can climb out.
#21 Harlem Globetrotters - I love the Julius Erving is in Harlem. Dr J in the Red, White, and Blue makes so much sense. Noah and Rose should give them some capable players going forward but right now they are stuck waiting on those guys as Erving dazzles other teams. Just not enough to get a lot of wins. Still have a shot at the playoffs though if they can add some talent. Maybe they wdon't want to.
#22 San Francisco Warriors - The good news is that Hill and Myshkin are total capable of playing with anyone in the league. The bad news is that the Warriors just don't have a Point Guard who can get them the ball efficiently. Paulaskas might be better suited to be a Shooting Guard. Perhaps finding a ball-handler/passer can jump start this team.
#23 Belgrade KK Partizan - Really like what Marc Gasol and Joe Johnson are giving them. Those guys need to develop and they need to find a young Point Guard to pair with those two. They'd really ahve something going then.
#24 Taipei Fubon Braves - Gordon is a nice surprise for this team and with so few wins he is the focal point of this team. Wouldn't be shocked if Jack Nichols is moved before the Trade Deadline. Hawkins and Fleming would still be useful going foward.
#25 Toronto Raptors - This team is pretty young. They need to hit on their draft picks and have some training camp luck. Not sure it's a good situation when Tyson Chandler is your cornerstone at this point. He should be fine but he's somewhat one-dimensional as just a defensive player. Can't win with just that.
#26 Portland Trailblazers - Mullin and Mighty Mouse playing well but this team is focused on adding talent in the draft. Could use some size to compliment those two.
#27 Boston Celtics - Boston is one of the teams who traded out of the first round. They are currently built for youth and are down there in the mess of teams with 8-10 wins. Jeff Green is having a nice season.
#28 San Antonio Spurs - A ton of recent moves have this team reeling a bit. Pretty deep team that probably needs to develop a bit more. Not ready to compete this year.
#29 Brazil Franca BC - Kind of shocked to see a team with Earl Monroe, Oscar Schmidt, and the other talent way down here but they haven't been able to put wins together this season. Tough to overcome things when the team doesn't have a GM currently.
#30 Istanbul Anadolu Efes - Questionable Creation Draft trades leave Istanbul is a pretty tough spot for year 1. Frankly how this team already has 11 wins is beyond me. I think they have the least amount of talent next to Washington but at least the Generals are holding on to other team's lottery picks. Istanbul only has 2 late firsts (when they could have had Barkley instead). Really a poor use of assets.
#31 Maccabi Tel Aviv - With Ben Wallace testing FA this year it could get pretty ugly for Maccabi in the offseason. They do have their pick and a late 1st from Newcastle. Could be a slow rebuild here.
#32 REAL Madrid - The 50+ day injury to Marcus Smart really hurts. He was the engine that drove the car but perhaps this can work out for them. They already have a good backcourt and need some size which this draft looks to have.
#33 Milano Olimpia - Recent trade has Sheed playing well but the team is terrible. Someone's gotta score right?
#34 Los Angeles Lakers - Adams looks pretty good but they need more help. Good thing they have their picks. This team could turn around quick.
#35 Minnesota Timberwolves - KG and Wiggins are playing well but the rest of the starters should be bench players.
#36 Washington Generals - Meh, only 1 win. Sad. Good thing the Spurs are struggling or their outlook would be pretty bleak.
#1 Vancouver Grizzlies - Vancouver finds themselves on top of the list because they have clearly the best record and just made a big splashy trade for Walt Frazier. Not many teams have two first round picks and even fewer have two that are both ready to win now. Doesn't hurt that both Frazier and Sabonis were Top 10 picks.
#2 Chicago Bulls - Barkley is a stud. No way around that. He's averaging over 36 point per game which no one else is even close to. He is the clear MVP which makes the Bulls a team you don't want to see in the playoffs. Can you stop Sir Charles?
#3 Mexico City Titans - Really like what this team did in the draft to set them up in this position. Getting another Top 20 pick in order to pair Pau Gasol and Sergei Belov makes them legit now and gives them some room to grow. This team is deeper than most contenders. Neil Johnston needs to be re-signed but I like this squad for this year and beyond.
#4 Beijing Aoshen - Mikan and Chuck Taylor are leading the charge for the Aoshen. They'll probably both be killed in TC by the coaching staff so lets remember this moment.
#5 Auckland Breakers - Auckland really did well for themselves in the draft by snagging Korac and Gallatin who are both having very good seasons. The Breakers are clearly one of the better teams in Eurasia with a very balanced roster. Ideally they could find some bench help before the deadline. Gotta figure out how to replace Gallatin's production if they wanna keep this up for the next few seasons.
#6 New York Knicks - Daniels and Oden were picks that were scoffed at by some/most but the Knicks just kept on laughing all the way to the bank. Together they are one of the best front court duos in the league. Haynes is playing better of late and Ron Anderson has been a pleasent surprised. Real shocked that New York found late-round sleepers.
#7 Buenos Aires Boca Juniors - All the talk surrounding the Boca Juniors is about Kevin Durant, Al Horford, and how good that future pairing will be but what most people overlook is how good Point Guard Louie Dampier is playing. He is setting everything up for those guys for 7.7 assist per game which puts him 8th in the league. Not bad for a late round pick. Dude's only 27 too. How did everyone sleep on him?
#8 CSKA Moscow - Moscow has one of the best shooting teams in the league which is good because they take the most amount of 3s in the league. McDyess is having a very nice season for a young big man. The rest of the team is fairly young and has room to improve going forward. Helps that they have a few picks to use in trade or the draft too.
#9 Mikawa Aisin Seahorses - Sherman White is another guy who was taken outside of the 1st who is surprising the league. He's currently 3rd in league scoring by averaging 29.1 ppg. I don't want to sell short the rest of their frontcourt either. Xavier McDaniel and Ubiratan Pereira Maciel have been dominating the paint offensively. Mikawa has the best C/PF/SF combination in the league and I'm not sure it's close.
#10 Newcastle Eagles - Hakeem is a stud without question. Zoran is a solid player who needs to grow a bit before this team is really ready to make a run. They don't really have any picks to move to add talent this year so they will need to find a way to add talent in Free Agency or hope the can develop it through a good training camp this offseason.
#11 Piraeus Olympiacos BC - Leading the way for this team is Karl Malone. Without his 20+ ppg this team may be struggling to score. They have good depth though and a fairly balanced team. I just think they could be a lot tougher to beat if they had someone to compliment Karl's scoring a bit. Hank isn't bad but I'm not sure he is capable of sustaining almost 20 ppg.
#12 New Orleans Jazz - Finley is turrible. Parker is a brightspot and Schayes is putting up good numbers. I like what this team has going for it's future if their guys develop. Right now it seems like the youth is just good enough to make the playoffs but probably not good enough to get around the elite teams in the league.
#13 Guangdong Southern Tigers - Surprise Team of the Year Guangdong Southern Tigers are doing it with youth lead by Jabari Parker and Julius Randle. The one guy probably having the best season is Gilbert Arenas who is quietly averaging 20/6/6 while keepig this team relevant. Must be the excellent coaching.
#14 Barcelona Regal FC - Jordan is only playing 32 minutes per game and that may be why he isn't in consideration for league MVP. He was the #1 overall pick but Barca is having a difficult time getting him produce like some of the other superstars in the league. Injury to Ed Mikan doesn't help but even if he were healthy I think they'd need more to really compete. Maybe it makes sense for them to try and be buyers at the deadline.
#15 Bamberg Brose Baskets - The team who landed the pick to take Ewing made a huge trade that seems to be working out well for them. They've got good depth, are winning games, and have some solid picks coming to them. Gotta find a way to develop, draft, or sign a centerpiece player if they wanna win it all. Injuries to Alvin and Kurland's re-signing status both kinda suck.
#16 Cairo Zamalek - The big two experiment is... working.. not working? I don't know, kind of depends on what sim you check. Got off to a hot start but have been struggling a little since. Stockton is a scrub. Ewing is alright. I'd trade 'em both.
#17 Zagreb KK Cibona - Kidd is having a really nice season but I'll be honest I don't see this team as a real contender so I'd probably sell Macauley and Rocka to a team looking for some help. Grab a first and/or a good prospect and look forward to next season. Either that or try to add some talent and really make a run but going for the 8th seed when you are both young and old doesn't make a ton of sense.
#18 Perth Wildcats - I like the combination of Bob McAdoo and Benoit Benjamin. Borderline playoff team who needs to find more scoring if they wanna make the playoffs let alone make any noise in the playoffs. Wanzer hitting the glass but not setting up his teammates offensively as much as you might like.
#19 Rio de Janeiro Flamengo - I like the depth that Rio has but they need to find a way to get some more production out of the Center position. Gonna be decision time for them soon to see which way they are headed this season.
#20 Seattle Supersonics - Sonics were expect to be a playoff contender this year. I think going into the season some had them pegged as a team who might make it to the 2nd round but they didn't live up to that hype early on so trades were made. After those trades the team seems to be playing better. They dug themselves a bit of a hole early. Let's see if they can climb out.
#21 Harlem Globetrotters - I love the Julius Erving is in Harlem. Dr J in the Red, White, and Blue makes so much sense. Noah and Rose should give them some capable players going forward but right now they are stuck waiting on those guys as Erving dazzles other teams. Just not enough to get a lot of wins. Still have a shot at the playoffs though if they can add some talent. Maybe they wdon't want to.
#22 San Francisco Warriors - The good news is that Hill and Myshkin are total capable of playing with anyone in the league. The bad news is that the Warriors just don't have a Point Guard who can get them the ball efficiently. Paulaskas might be better suited to be a Shooting Guard. Perhaps finding a ball-handler/passer can jump start this team.
#23 Belgrade KK Partizan - Really like what Marc Gasol and Joe Johnson are giving them. Those guys need to develop and they need to find a young Point Guard to pair with those two. They'd really ahve something going then.
#24 Taipei Fubon Braves - Gordon is a nice surprise for this team and with so few wins he is the focal point of this team. Wouldn't be shocked if Jack Nichols is moved before the Trade Deadline. Hawkins and Fleming would still be useful going foward.
#25 Toronto Raptors - This team is pretty young. They need to hit on their draft picks and have some training camp luck. Not sure it's a good situation when Tyson Chandler is your cornerstone at this point. He should be fine but he's somewhat one-dimensional as just a defensive player. Can't win with just that.
#26 Portland Trailblazers - Mullin and Mighty Mouse playing well but this team is focused on adding talent in the draft. Could use some size to compliment those two.
#27 Boston Celtics - Boston is one of the teams who traded out of the first round. They are currently built for youth and are down there in the mess of teams with 8-10 wins. Jeff Green is having a nice season.
#28 San Antonio Spurs - A ton of recent moves have this team reeling a bit. Pretty deep team that probably needs to develop a bit more. Not ready to compete this year.
#29 Brazil Franca BC - Kind of shocked to see a team with Earl Monroe, Oscar Schmidt, and the other talent way down here but they haven't been able to put wins together this season. Tough to overcome things when the team doesn't have a GM currently.
#30 Istanbul Anadolu Efes - Questionable Creation Draft trades leave Istanbul is a pretty tough spot for year 1. Frankly how this team already has 11 wins is beyond me. I think they have the least amount of talent next to Washington but at least the Generals are holding on to other team's lottery picks. Istanbul only has 2 late firsts (when they could have had Barkley instead). Really a poor use of assets.
#31 Maccabi Tel Aviv - With Ben Wallace testing FA this year it could get pretty ugly for Maccabi in the offseason. They do have their pick and a late 1st from Newcastle. Could be a slow rebuild here.
#32 REAL Madrid - The 50+ day injury to Marcus Smart really hurts. He was the engine that drove the car but perhaps this can work out for them. They already have a good backcourt and need some size which this draft looks to have.
#33 Milano Olimpia - Recent trade has Sheed playing well but the team is terrible. Someone's gotta score right?
#34 Los Angeles Lakers - Adams looks pretty good but they need more help. Good thing they have their picks. This team could turn around quick.
#35 Minnesota Timberwolves - KG and Wiggins are playing well but the rest of the starters should be bench players.
#36 Washington Generals - Meh, only 1 win. Sad. Good thing the Spurs are struggling or their outlook would be pretty bleak.
