Post by Contract Year on May 24, 2010 19:44:10 GMT -5
Sim 1 Power Rankings
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1. Los Angeles Clippers (7-0)
After getting blasted for having the same core players for over 9 seasons, Crazymike and the Clippers find themselves not only at the top of the West, but at the top of the league. Gilbert Arenas may be returning to MVP form after a relatively quiet year at the 2 spot the previous season. I highly doubt the Clippers continue this kind of dominance but they should be a top 5 or 6 team like usual. "If it ain't broken don't fix it" applies wonderfully here.
2. Indiana Pacers (4-0)
The Indiana Pacers find themselves amongst the top of the league like usual. They only played 4 games but since I'm going by win percentage here they get the nod over others. They suffered a big blow 8 minutes into the Hawks game as Michael Redd went down with a broken skull. It's ok though. At this point the Pacers are only playing for championships. It should be interesting to see how far their highly talked about depth can get them.
3. Minnesota Timberwolves (6-2)
Both the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Orlando Magic have the same record at 6 and 2 after the first sim but I decided to go with the Wolves here as they only played 2 home games (1-1) to he Magic's 5 home games (4-1). The Wolves have been on the up and up as of late and they have just acquired Sean Williams to help their quest for another ring. Many general managers around the league were not feeling the Sean Williams deal for the Timberwolves but as he is averaging 19 points, 9 rebounds and nearly 2 steals and 4 blocks, Trunks probably doesn't care what anyone has to say.
4. Orlando Magic (6-2)
The Magic have been slowly but surely building up to this moment here. Now they feature a great starting line-up in which their highest starter is only 28 (Eddie Griffin). The relatively recent addition of Andre Iguodala has been a significant piece to the puzzle as the Magic now have the great wing scorer that they so desperately needed. Led by defensive stalwarts Josh Smith and Eddie Griffin, expect this team to remain amongst the top seeds of the East.
5. New York Knicks (5-2)
A bit suprising to see that the Knicks have started this well. I guess this goes to show just the type of impact drafting a guy like Perry Jones can have on a franchise. These guys definitely won't be able to keep it up but lets give credit where it's due and only reflect on the good things. After looking like a bust, Blake Griffin had a clutch training camp and is showcasing his new skills with his 13.6 /12.4/2 Block averages. Jeff Teague is doing what he does best, averaging 17.6 points on super-efficient percentages from the field. Last but not least, rookie Perry Jones has proven to already be one of the better players in the league with his 20 point, 9 rebound averages. Always nice to see a young team performing well.
6. Philadelphia 76ers (6-3)
The 76ers haven't been one of the greater regular season teams but they have exceeded expectations in recent post seasons by either upsetting an elite team or at least pushing them to the limit. The 76ers currently find themselves 3rd in the East with a 6-3 record. Jermaine O'Neal seems to be playing better and better as he ages and both Larry Hughes and Deron Williams remain one of the best backcourts in the league in spite of many poor training camps as of late.
7. Sacramento Kings (4-2)
Three teams are tied at 4-2 but the Kings get the nod. Many have questioned the ability of Travis Outlaw, citing that his numbers were inflated due to playing for a very poor Dallas team. Although it is only a 6 game sample, Travis Outlaw is proving quite a few general managers wrong at the moment. Averaging 26.8 points, 10.7 rebounds, 4.2 assists to go along with a steal and a block, Outlaw is looking like a LeBron James clone to start the season. New comer Chris Bosh has provided efficient post scoring and great rebounding for the Kings, while young guys Ricky Rubio and Marcus Williams take turns manning the point. Things look good in Sac town.
8. Miami Heat (4-2)
The Miami Heat are usually an interesting team to follow as they always seem to overachieve under GM iflip. The Heat don't have their firsts for the next 3 seasons and they don't really a true franchise player. The majority of their roster is filled with scrubbish looking players but just like last year, these guys look like they could very well be a low-seeded playoff team.
9. Atlanta Hawks (4-2)
The Hawks are historically one of the worst franchises in the league so it was interesting to find out that a player the caliber of DeShawn Stevenson was willing to jump ship from a perennial championship contender to a dud. Money talks.
10. Houston Rockets (5-3)
Hannah Montana may be in her first situation where daddy's fame or her cute looks (no pedo) won't get her anywhere. Alright corny.. Anyway after nice deals for Ray Allen and Mike Bibby, the Rockets are in great position to make their contract year. Averaging nearly 114 points in 8 games this sim, the Rockets are simply looking to run and gun teams out of the building. Fun stuff.
11. Golden State Warriors (3-2)
After experiencing the fail of the LeBron James and Chauncey Billups combo first hand, the Warriors are now trying to take another route and move everyone for expirings or just trade LeBron. Will be interesting to see what happens with this situation as the season moves along.
12. Vancouver Grizzlies (4-3)
Eteinne Preira and Tim Duncan do not want to die and the best player in the league is steadily improving year after year. To make matters worse, the Grizzlies always seem to get scrubbish looking players to overachieve. I guess the game is easy for anyone when you're playing with the 3 future hall-of-famers. Duncan missed 4 games so the Grizzlies started slow. Expect them to rapidly climb up the list.
13. Seattle Supersonics (4-3)
The Sonics are yet another case of a franchise that gets blasted only to (temporarily) prove everyone wrong. The ignorant posts of "Dwight Howard sucks" were rampant yesterday and it seems he may have heard all of the chatter. 23.4 points, 15.7 rebounds and over 5 blocks a game during the first sim. There is no doubt that his production will drop quite a bit, but he'll definitely lead the Sonics past their contract year. Great trade by the Sonics.
14. Chicago Bulls (4-3)
From DeShawn Stevenson to Jason Williams. The Chicago Bulls are definitely hurting right now. At these they have what is arguably the best front court in the league with Al Jefferson, Big 'n' Long Pause Wang Zhi-Zhi and Luol Deng who has averaged huge numbers in the absence of Wang.
15. Toronto Raptors (5-4)
What looked like a reach in Trey Thompkins turned out to be a great pick by the Raptors. Unfortunately for them however, Thompkins went down with injury in the game against the Dallas Mavericks. Out 50 days with Patella Tendinitis... ouch. At least the Raptors have an improved Gordon Hayward and a very surprising Dexter Pittman to look at for a while.
16. Portland Trailblazers (3-4)
The Blazers definitely want this sim back. Unlike many other teams, the Blazers can't claim injury as their reason for a poor star as only Nene missed time and it was just 1 game. Josh Howard and especially Dirk Nowitzki have had a really shitty start to the season. Expect these guys to fly up the standings immediately within the next few sims.
17. Boston Celtics (4-4)
This franchise has looked very lost over the past few seasons but it looks like they finally have something to look forward to in Alec Burks.
18. Milwaukee Bucks (4-5)
The Bucks have one of the best collections of young talent in the league if not the best. Freshly drafted Travis Leslie looks like an extremely interesting prospect as he has managed to average just over a block a game in the 9 games the Bucks have played so far.
19. Charlotte Hornets (3-4)
I thought Even Turner had a rather disappointing training camp as he simply switched around various ratings as opposed to flat out getting better. This franchise doesn't have much going for it aside from Evan Turner and Paul Millsap. Newly hired general manager James is looking to change that.
20. Denver Nuggets (4-6)
John Wall is quickly developing into a top guard in the league as he had a huge training camp a few days ago. He is currently averaging nearly 20 points and 10 assists to go along with 6 rebounds a game. He turns it over quite a bit but these numbers are still very impressive. Elton Brand is trash btw.
21. Los Angeles Lakers (3-5)
I decided to blow shit up though with Nelson scoring over 40 points in 6 games this sim and Howard, Ray and Sean all looking dope I probably should have waited. Oh well. Sullinger and Bradley kinda suck right now.
22. Utah Jazz (3-5)
Well... Viktor Khyrapa is some how averaging 22 points and 8 rebounds in 32 minutes. Pretty much the only interesting thing about this roster.
23. San Antonio Spurs (2-4)
Al-Farouq Aminu is stud.
24. Cleveland Cavaliers (2-4)
They should have started better than this. They are in the same boat as the Blazers as far as a fluke first sim.
25. Phoenix Suns (2-4)
Slow start but then they always start off slow. Losing Eddy Curry was huge but Tyson Chandler is a very nice replacement. Rashard Lewis still putting up nice numbers on shit ratings. Raul Lopez continues to be never mentioned even though he's a very good player. The Suns will probably get a low seed like usual.
26. Dallas Mavericks (2-6)
Surprised they have even won a game after trading Outlaw. Terrico White looks like he could very well develop into a top 10 scorer one day with his 16 points in 28 minutes of play.
27. New Jersey Nets (1-7)
Another sick young core. Unfortunately, these guys seem to really suck at playing with each other.
28. Detroit Pistons (1-7)
Well... they have a bunch of win now players in Devin Harris, Vince Carter, Manu Ginobli and Marc Gasol and they are losing. I think that is what the Pistons management wanted to do anyway so it's cool
29. Washington Bullets (0-7)
lol
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