A League of a Changing Game - A 30 Team MyLeague

**Crystar500** · 02-25-2015, 03:17 PM

Re: A League of a Changing Game - A 30 Team MyLeague

World News Roundup

Future-Broadcast Bought by NBA

New York - New York-based news broadcasting company Future-Broadcast was bought over by the NBA early this morning, according to the New York Times and multiple NBA sources. The move was questionable regarding it’s purpose until Adam Silver’s press conference later this afternoon.

“We see the opportunity to broadcast global news to a the world population, due to the rapid growth of basketball globally.” Silver said at his press conference. “Basketball is a global game now. People need to be informed of things outside of basketball.”

Future-Broadcast will have it’s own channel on TV networks worldwide, which would either be free of charge or an extra cost to your monthly bill, depending on the TV network in use. Cablevision already charges an extra cost for NBA TV, so the extra charge for Future-Broadcast is highly likely by the TV giant.

The purpose, as Silver said, would be to report on World News, and relate it to the NBA on occasion, with interviews with people inside the NBA.

I’d like to say that as writer for the NBA, I’m very excited to be joining Future-Broadcast. It is a great step forward into the future!

10/27/14, Janine Hollins, NBA.com

2016 Olympics to be Hosted in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

With the 2014-15 NBA season about to kick off, the players are warming up for another exciting year of basketball. Deep down, though, the stars of the league are ready to win another gold medal in 2016. The last team to win it in 2012, featured NBA stars such as LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Chris Paul, and Carmelo Anthony. On the 2016 tournament, there will be no absence of talent on the roster either.

Kevin Durant has already pledged his entrance to Team USA for the 2016 Olympics. Paul George is another who has claimed he will participate. With the way the two are performing, they’ll be on the Team USA practice floor in no time at all. LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony, however, are two players whose participation has come in question. In 2016, Anthony will be 32 years of age, and James will be 31. Both have been quiet regarding the 2016 Olympics, and were both unavailable for comment.

Even if the two are unable to participate for whatever reason, there is tons of great talent left in the NBA to make up for their absences. Young stars such as Damian Lillard, Anthony Davis, and Kyrie Irving have all expressed interest in participating in the 2016 Olympics. Anthony Davis, only just a rookie in the 2012 Olympics, was on the Team USA roster when they won the gold.

However, the NBA is filled with foreign talent that is on the rise as well. Italian-born Marco Belinelli of the San Antonio Spurs has already pledged his participation for Italy in the 2015 Eurobasket, along with the 2016 Olympics. Philadelphia 76ers rookie Joel Embiid and his mentor, Luc Mbah a Moute are both ‘excited’ for the opportunity to participate for their home country Cameroon on a global scale.

Much like current aging stars, some foreign-born players who have aged considerably are questionable to participate this time around. Those in question are Dirk Nowitzki (Germany), Andrei Kirilenko (Russia), Hedo Turkoglu (Turkey), and Manu Ginobili (Argentina), among others.

As we watch to see who potential participants are, NBA.com will feature a tracker, tracking those who have pledged to participate.

10/27/14, Preston Bradford, Future-Broadcast

FIBA Basketball World Cup Rescheduled from 2018 to 2019

In light of new rules and regulations coming to the FIBA Basketball World Cup format, the tournament has been pushed back from 2018 to 2019. After 2019, the tournament will go back to the four year gap format.

The main reason for the rescheduling was an attempt to keep the Basketball World Cup “out of the shadow” of the FIFA World Cup, which received much higher TV ratings that the FIBA World Cup. The next FIFA World Cup takes place in 2018.

The format will involve an even number of teams in a Round Robin format, with those who qualify at the end moving on to an elimination, Best-of-3 round.

(If someone doing a FIFA or any other sport dynasty for that matter, wants me to refer to them in a news article, just let me know. I think that’d be cool.)

10/27/14, Harper Womack, Future-Broadcast

**Crystar500** · 02-25-2015, 03:27 PM

Re: A League of a Changing Game - A 30 Team MyLeague

D-League is Now Full-Blown League

The NBA and the NBA Developmental League have come to a deal to make massive expansions to the small Developmental League, creating a 30-team D-League, with every team having an NBA affiliate.

The new D-League also has new rules. Each D-League team will be in the same division as their NBA affiliate. The D-League has games on the same days as their affiliates, essentially following the same schedule and seeding rules until the All-Star Break, where the Developmental League Playoffs will begin in the week off, allowing people to watch the action on ESPN and ESPN2.

This seems to be a direct blow to the American Basketball Association, a minor league named after the original league of the same name. ABA games were broadcast on ESPN3. With the new move, many of those games were pulled from television in favor of D-League games.

Jermaine O’Neal, an 18 year NBA veteran, announced he was joining the Santa Cruz Archers of the new D-League, while he awaits a return to the NBA. The Archers are affiliates of the Golden State Warriors, the last team he played for. O’Neal praised the expansion.

“I think it’s great for both young and old players. The young guys get a chance to develop instead of being in a situation where they’d be bench warmers without getting minutes. The veterans can get a chance to get back into the league, or they can just stay in this league. I think one of the main reasons why veterans didn’t like the D-League was more of an ego thing, you know? But, now, I think, guys are going to see it as a whole other league, so they’d enjoy the opportunity more.” O’Neal said on the topic.

Only two NBA teams have their D-League affiliate located in the same city as the NBA team, the two being the Orlando Magic and Brooklyn Nets.

Below is the breakdown of every D-League team now in service. Rosters are not complete as of yet, as the league is very new. Some Euroleague players wish to join as well, which makes signing more complicate due to their contracts.

Atlantic Division

Montreal Huskies - Toronto Raptors
Westchester Knicks - New York Knicks
Coney Island Warriors - Brooklyn Nets
Delaware 87ers - Philadelphia 76ers
Maine Red Claws - Boston Celtics

Southeast Division

Baltimore Bullets - Washington Wizards
Louisville Lions - Atlanta Hawks
South Carolina Cougars - Charlotte Hornets
Orlando Wizards - Orlando Magic
Puerto Rico Hurricanes - Miami Heat

Central Division

Iowa Energy - Milwaukee Bucks
St.Louis Hawks - Chicago Bulls
Canton Charge - Cleveland Cavaliers
Fort Wayne Mad Ants - Indiana Pacers
Grand Rapids Drive - Detroit Pistons

Southwest Division

Texas Legends - Dallas Mavericks
Austin Spurs - San Antonio Spurs
Rio Grande Valley Vipers - Houston Rockets
Kansas City Whirlwinds - Memphis Grizzlies
Birmingham Blitz - New Orleans Pelicans

Northwest Division

Vancouver Mounties - Portland Trail Blazers
Tulsa 66ers - Oklahoma City Thunder
Arkansas Tigers - Utah Jazz
Sioux Falls Skyforce - Denver Nuggets
North Dakota Bison - Minnesota Timberwolves

Pacific Division

Los Angeles D-Fenders - Los Angeles Lakers
Hawaii Blazes - Los Angeles Clippers
Reno Bighorns - Sacramento Kings
Santa Cruz Archers - Golden State Warriors
Las Vegas Aces - Phoenix Suns

(** D-League Rosters will be posted after the NBA Rosters are posted.)

2015 Jersey Retirements

Cliff Hagan, #16 - Atlanta Hawks
Danny Ainge, #44 - Boston Celtics
Muggsy Bogues, #1 - Charlotte Hornets
Horace Grant, #54 - Chicago Bulls
Dennis Rodman, #91 - Chicago Bulls
Derek Harper, #12 - Dallas Mavericks
Mark Aguirre, #24 - Dallas Mavericks
Fat Lever, #12 - Denver Nuggets
Dikembe Mutombo, #55 - Denver Nuggets
Chauncey Billups, #1 - Detroit Pistons
Ben Wallace, #3 - Detroit Pistons
Larry Foust, #16 - Detroit Pistons (Number already retired for Bob Lanier)
Rasheed Wallace, #30 - Detroit Pistons
Richard Hamilton, #32 - Detroit Pistons
Paul Arizin, #11 - Golden State Warriors
Tracy McGrady, #1 - Houston Rockets
Yao Ming, #11 - Houston Rockets
Rik Smits, #45 - Indiana Pacers
Derek Fisher, #2 - Los Angeles Lakers
Byron Scott, #4 - Los Angeles Lakers
Michael Cooper, #21 - Los Angeles Lakers
A.C. Green, #45 - Los Angeles Lakers
All Retired Minneapolis Lakers Numbers - Los Angeles Lakers, such as;
George Mikan, #99 - Los Angeles Lakers
Marques Johnson, #8 - Milwaukee Bucks
Harry Gallatin, #11 - New York Knicks (Long Overdue!)
Moses Malone, #2 - Philadelphia 76ers (Already out of circulation, but wasn’t officially retired)
Dolph Schayes, #4 - Philadelphia 76ers
Grant Hill, #33 - Phoenix Suns (Already retired for Alvan Adams)
Brandon Roy, #7 - Portland Trail Blazers
Jerome Kersey, #25 - Portland Trail Blazers (R.I.P. :’( )
Mike Bibby, #10 - Sacramento Kings (Hmm… okay? Interesting.)
Doug Christie, #13 - Sacramento Kings
Jerry Lucas, #16 - Sacramento Kings (Already retired for Peja Stojakovic)
Avery Johnson, #6 - San Antonio Spurs
Gary Payton, #20 - Oklahoma City Thunder (Gary Payton declined to show up to the ceremony.)
Bob Dandridge, #10 - Washington Wizards (Already retired for Earl Monroe)

The franchises below have their first retired numbers in franchise history. Every franchise now has at least one jersey in the rafters except for the Raptors.

Shane Battier, #31 - Memphis Grizzlies
Bob McAdoo, #11 - Los Angeles Clippers
Penny Hardaway, #1 - Orlando Magic
Nick Anderson, #25 - Orlando Magic

Feel free to suggest players who deserve a jersey retirement, whether they are retired or still playing. When suggesting current players, try not to suggest obvious jersey retirements (Kobe, Duncan, Dirk, etc.). If the player is retired already, they’ll be in the 2016 jersey retirement class.

NBA News and Rumor Mill Roundup for 10/27/2014

Atlanta Hawks: Walt Frazier and Dominique Wilkins are partnering with other investors to purchase the Atlanta Hawks franchise, after the leaked emails of the previous owner came to national league attention. Frazier is an Atlanta native who is best known for his playing days with the New York Knicks. Wilkins, well, we all know what he’s done for the Hawks. - Tatianna Neal, NBA Atlanta.

New York Knicks: Does Lin returning to New York mean the Knicks are shooting for the playoffs? The Knicks gave up Jose Calderon recently to re-acquire Jeremy Lin, and bring him back to the Big Apple. Are they shooting for the playoffs, or what? It’s a somewhat questionable move, since Lin hits free agency this summer anyway. Perhaps we will have Linsanity 2.0 in New York once again. - Frank Isola, New York.

Brooklyn Nets: Billy King was relieved of his duties this morning. King has made many questionable trades that have left the Nets in a deep pit, with almost no way to climb out. The roster’s core of Deron Williams, Joe Johnson, and Brook Lopez is aging (although Lopez is just 25). They have little to no draft picks for the rest of the decade due to Billy King. He traded away the 6th pick of the 2012 Draft before March Madness started, for an aging Gerald Wallace. Damian Lillard was that pick. He traded away many draft picks in the Garnett/Pierce deal. The three players acquired in that trade have all left or been traded away. (Garnett to the Wolves, Pierce to the Wizards, and Terry to the Kings, who then signed with Houston.) The bright side is that President of Basketball Operations, Irina Pavlova, is taking full control. We trust her! She worked with CSKA Moscow before. We love you, Irina. Hopefully you love us too. - “The Brooklyn Game.” Brooklyn, New York.

Milwaukee Bucks: Here’s a conspiracy for you all. Milwaukee needs a new arena by October 1st, 2017 or else the league gets to buy back the team from the ownership group for $575 million. In three years, it’ll be worth more than that. They don’t even have a location for the new arena yet, and then they have about only a year to build it. The conspiracy is that the NBA does not want them to build this arena. They’d rather that this arena was never built. They buy the team back for $575 million, then sell it to Seattle for $1.6 million. The other 29 owners would have to split the difference between $575 million and $1.6 million. That’s a lot of money! It’s in there vested interests for Milwaukee not to have an arena. The owners have said all the right things, they want basketball to exist in Milwaukee and the whole nine yard, but they need public funding. They need the state of Wisconsin to throw some money in. What worries me is… really who cares if Milwaukee has a basketball team other than the people in Milwaukee and people who are Bucks fans? Whereas, in this situation, the commissioner could say to Lasry and Edens, “maybe you don’t build that arena, then you throw in more money, and we’ll move the team to Seattle.” The best hope is for the Greek Freak, MCW, and/or Jabari to become All-Stars or even superstars. Then the entire area of Milwaukee would benefit from the visibility they’ll gain, and they get to keep their arena. - Bill Simmons, Grantland.

Los Angeles Lakers: Rumor: Will Kobe be wearing orange and blue in 2017? Rumors around the league have come around that after Kobe Bryant’s contract expires, he’d be interested in going one more year with Phil Jackson and the New York Knicks, along with Carmelo Anthony. Is there any truth to these? Probably not. We’re biased Lakers fans, though. - Andrina Henryson, Los Angeles Sports Radio.

Minnesota Timberwolves: Will Kevin Garnett and Flip Saunders join together to buy the Timberwolves? It’s very likely that Flip Saunders and Garnett will partner together to purchase the team, assumingly whenever Garnett decides to retire. An assistant coaching job with Flip Saunders seems to be in order as well. Whatever it is, Garnett seems to be staying long-term for sure, to mentor the young talent on the team. That also leads to other rumors… trade rumors. There’s a lot of players on this roster I want to see playing, but are blocked by other players who should be playing as well. Examples of that would be Kevin Martin and Shabazz Muhammad, or Gorgui Dieng and Nikola Pekovic. Or even LaVine and Rubio. I’m predicting one or more of those guys is getting shipped out. At least one. - Rick Averill, Minnesota Inquirer.

Utah Jazz: Are the Jazz going to switch back to their Malone-Stockton era pinkish, purple jerseys? I hope so. They’re much better than the current ones, in my honest opinion. - Angelina Darrell, Utah News.

Quote of the Day:

Bill: “Would you call Rafer Alston sane?”

Jalen: “Ah, no.”

Grantland

**Crystar500** · 02-25-2015, 03:29 PM

Re: A League of a Changing Game - A 30 Team MyLeague

NBA D-League News Roundup for 10/27/14

Coney Island Warriors: Very nice move by the Nets to pay homage to “The Warriors”, a cult classic movie that took place in New York. The movie, in short, was about a gang from Coney Island, Brooklyn, (named the Warriors of course) who went to a big meeting with every gang in New York in the Bronx. The meeting was held by the biggest gang in the city, the Riffs. Another gang, led by a crazy dude named Luther, shot the Riffs leader during his speech, then framed The Warriors. The Warriors then had to fight their way home to Coney Island. It’s pretty old school, right? See, the movie had such an impact that even today in Coney Island, it’s almost as if those events actually happened! The Coney Island gift shops sell merchandise based on the movie (not the leather vests, sadly.) and people at events can be seen wearing them. Why do I care so much about Coney Island culture? I was born right in Coney Island Hospital. And I wouldn’t have it any other way. - Chris Huston, Brooklyn Basketball News.

Coney Island Warriors: Jason Collins announced he was moving to Coney Island recently, which also led to him publicly saying he would join the Coney Island Warriors for the 2014-15 D-League season. Good to see him back on the court. The annual “Mermaid Parade” every June is well known for being openly gay. We support that as well. Good for you, Jason. It’s great for the area too. New York has a very big homosexual population, and I’m sure they’ll be in the games often to support him, in a sort of Linsanity-esque sort of way. Coney Island now has a reason to bring in folk during the cold winter months now. C.I. was cold, empty, and plain during the winter months. During the months of summer, where the landmark amusement rides of the Cyclone and Wonder Wheel kick into action, when the Coney Island Dancers have ages 8-90 dancing on the boardwalk, when the arcades light up, and the Parachute Jump illuminates just as bright as the Empire State Building (take that Knicks), that’s when the true nature of C.I. is shown. - “The Brooklyn Game”, Brooklyn, New York.

Santa Cruz Archers: With the Warriors team name taken by Brooklyn’s affiliate, the Golden State Warriors went the clever route with the new name by going with “Archers”, another reference to war. I’m sure the headlines will be very punny too when the two teams face off. Oh, lord… Nicole Rome, Bay Area News.

NBA D-League: Word around both the NBA and the D-League is that Mr. Allen Iverson (Where have we heard that name before?) may decide on going on a run for a D-League title. If he does, perhaps Jermaine O’Neal was right regarding player egos and the D-League. I’m sure it’s all just rumors, though. Right? A.I. wouldn’t submit to that level, right? Right? - Sekou Smith, NBA.com

**Crystar500** · 02-26-2015, 08:26 PM

Re: A League of a Changing Game - A 30 Team MyLeague

NBA and D-League Atlantic Division Preview

(Presented by Grantland.)

Philadelphia 76ers and Delaware 87ers

The 76ers Roster:

Starters:

Tony Wroten, PG/SG
Jason Richardson, SG/SF
Robert Covington, SF/PF
Nerlens Noel, PF/C
Joel Embiid, C

The lineup is very young. Everyone in the starting lineup, except for Jason Richardson (Keep getting them checks.), is under the age of 25. Now, this is fine for a Playoff team. They traded away Evan Turner and Thaddeus Young, doing them both a favor. The surprising move here, really, is the 76ers trading away Michael Carter-Williams, reigning Rookie of the Year, over the summer to Milwaukee for essentially just draft picks. It was kind of surprising how quickly they gave up on him. Perhaps Hinkie didn’t think he was capable of being a superstar? The Bucks sure thought he was, at least.

Besides that, though, when the starting lineup is healthy, we’re sure it’s going to be fun to watch this high-paced offence this offense is going to run.

Bench:

PGs: Isaiah Canaan/Ish Smith
SGs: Hollis Thompson/JaKarr Sampson
SFs: Luc Mbah a Moute/Jerami Grant
PFs: Thomas Robinson/Furkan Aldemir
Cs: Henry Sims/JaVale McGee

I like this too. Everyone here is under the age of 30 as well. What worries me here is that JaVale McGee might want a bigger role at some point, and might force his way out. So far, though, he seems to be happy in Philly. He was quoted saying he wanted to “mentor” the younger players here. That’s nice. I like that! The three veterans here that are important include McGee, J-Rich, and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute. Mbah a Moute is Embiid’s mentor, which seems to be why they acquired him. McGee would tell the bigs here what not to do, and J-Rich is just an overall veteran. I think it’s a nice mix.

The 87ers Starters:

Tim Frazier, PG
Charles Jenkins, SG
Rakim Sanders, SF
Brandon Davies, PF/C
Arnett Moultrie, C/PF

Bench:

PGs: Larry Drew II/Ismet Akpinar
SGs: Elliott Williams/Aloysius Tavares
SFs: Malcolm Thomas/Andrew Bullock
PFs: Justin Harper/Jarvis Varnado
Cs: Kwame Brown/Daniel Orton

Who are these guys? Well, it’s the D-League, right? I like the fact that most of the guys here were associated with the Sixers at some point in the past, and were waived by them. That means Hinkie wants to keep this young players around to see how they develop. Jenkins, Sanders, and Akpinar are the three ‘import’ players who have come over from the Euroleague to play in Delaware. Akpinar is the youngest here at only 19. Now, the problem here is Tavares and Bullock, who are virtually unknowns, and I’m waiting to see how they play. They both hail from the Philadelphia Spirit of the ABA, and are now here in Delaware. And ugh… Kwame Brown? Really?

Goals?: The 76ers are in a rebuilding year. They got a lot of young talent in a fast-paced playstyle that suits them very well. Embiid was a great pick for them. Hinkie has said, however, that they view Nerlens Noel as a Center. That’s not a problem now, but maybe it will be a problem down the road. I think J-Rich will leave this summer, so they have to start thinking about who’s going to fill the veteran hole. I like their sleeper potential a tiny bit, too, although I doubt they’ll be that good. They’ll be really fun to watch, though! The main goal here is, develop Noel and Embiid (or just Embiid if you’re not keeping Noel), and let this young talent get time to get on the court and get better. Tony Wroten is going to be productive, I’m sure. I like his game as well.

As for Delaware, there really isn’t much to be said yet. I don’t like the bench too much, although they need time to develop more. Their division is going to bury them, I’m sure. We’ll see if their offence is anything like their NBA affiliate.

Zach Lowe’s Lurking Question:

So we got Zach to ask a question for every NBA team that involves an “elephant in the room”, and for the 76ers, he chose…

“Will the 76ers make Nerlens Noel secretly available for a trade?”

It’s likely this will occur. I doubt anyone will make a trade right away without seeing how Noel performs this season. At the deadline, though, if Noel is playing well, it opens the door for a trade.

Unless we have things all wrong, and they like Noel more than Embiid.

Call Me Worrisome, But..

I think Brett Brown is annoyed with management. I think he and Sam Hinkie will have it out at some point. The moves Hinkie has been making has been rubbing Brown the wrong way, and it seems it’s only a matter of time before a rift between them is made public…

They traded away Michael Carter-Williams, a guy Brown liked. Last year, both MCW and Brown claimed they weren’t trying to tank, but it seemed like Hinkie was trying to work against them. Brown got upset when the team shipped Davies to Brooklyn, even though Davies signed with their affiliate once he got cut. I think Brett Brown wants to fight his way to the Playoffs, but Hinkie keeps trying to blow it up. My prediction is that Brown forces his way out this summer by resigning, or he waits until his contract is up to leave. I just hope he ends up with a job afterwards, though, because he’s going to be a really good coach.

Scrimmage

So, every team is doing a Scrimmage before the season starts with their D-League affiliate, just as a way to get everyone warmed up, let everyone practice together and see how everyone has improved over the summer.

Below, are the stats for the game between the 76ers and the 87ers.

(Xbox One doesn't have screenshots yet, sadly, so I have to write this out.)

Final Score: Philadelphia 90, Delaware 81
Field Goals: 87ers go 29-72, 40% from the field. 76ers go 33/77, 43% from the field.
Three Pointers: 87ers go 11/29, 38% from deep. 76ers go 8/24, 33% from long-range.
Free Throws: 87ers go 12/20, 60% from the line. 76ers go 16/23 from the line, 70%.
Fast Break Points: 87ers - 12. 76ers - 14.
Points in the Paint: 87ers - 16. 76ers - 30.
Second Chance Points: 87ers with just 2! 76ers with 8.
Bench Points: 87ers with 25. 76ers with 26.
Assists: 87ers with 18. 76ers with 21.
Offensive Rebounds: 87ers with 4. 76ers with 7.
Defensive Rebounds: 87ers with 39. 76ers with 40.
Steals: 87ers with 5. 76ers with 8.
Blocks: 87ers with 3. 76ers with 2.
Turnovers: 87ers with 10, 8 points off TOs. 76ers with 7, 12 points off TOs.
Biggest Lead: 87ers never had the lead. (0) 76ers - 15.
Team Fouls: 87ers with 13 total fouls. 76ers had 15 total fouls.

I think when a pro team faces a D-League team, and the game is this close, they’re probably going to struggle. They got us a bit worried that they’d lose to this 87ers team, but they managed to pull off the win. Now, does that mean the 76ers are just bad, or does it mean that 87ers are kind of good? A little of both?

Game Leaders:

76ers:

Scoring - Tony Wroten, 26 Points
Rebounds - Two Players; Nerlens Noel and Joel Embiid, 10 Rebounds
Assists - Tony Wroten, 8 Assists
Steals - Nerlens Noel - 3 Steals
Blocks - Two Players; JaVale McGee and Jerami Grant, 1 Block
Minutes - Tony Wroten, 37 Minutes
Turnovers - Robert Covington, 2 Turnovers

87ers:

Scoring - Charles Jenkins, 18 Points
Rebounds - Arnett Moultrie, 11 Rebounds
Assists - Charles Jenkins, 6 Assists
Steals - Rakim Sanders, 3 Steals
Blocks - Three Players; Larry Drew II, Kwame Brown and Arnett Moultrie, 1 Block
Minutes - Rakim Sanders, 37 Minutes
Turnovers - Tim Frazier, 4 Turnovers

Top Performers:

76ers:
Tony Wroten - 26 Points/4 Rebounds/8 Assists/3-4 from 3PT Range
Jason Richardson - 15 Points/3 Rebounds/2 Assists/2 Steals
Robert Covington - 14 Points/4 Rebounds/4 Assists/1 Steal/7-8 on FTs

87ers:
Charles Jenkins - 18 Points/3 Rebounds/6 Assists/2-2 on FTs
Tim Frazier - 14 Points/5 Rebounds/2 Assists/1 Steal
Rakim Sanders - 14 Points/3 Rebounds/1 Assists/3 Steals/37 Minutes

Rookie Report:

Joel Embiid had four points and ten rebounds in 20 minutes of action. He also put up a single assist, along with a +13 in plus-minus. Not bad from the young fella. Embiid said after the game that his foot felt a bit sore, but he said he’d be ready to go against Indiana on opening night.

Nerlens Noel had 29 minutes total of playing time, scoring five points and grabbing 10 boards. He also led the team in steals with three. Noel was known more in college for blocks, however, averaging around 4 per game. Noel didn’t have any blocks in this game, sadly. The steals were very good, however, and his defense looked good. Noel didn’t get much touches, though, going only 2-2 from the field. Both of his field goals were and-ones, though, and Noel finished the game going 1-2 from the line. He posted a plus-minus of 5.

Injuries?

None going into the season. Joel Embiid’s sore foot will be fine by opening night.

Wrapping Up Predictions

I think if Noel does well, it increases the chance of a trade. Although, if the Sixers like him at Power Forward, they may just keep him. If I’m them, you’re throwing away this season anyway, I wouldn’t trade anybody. You get another lottery pick this year, perhaps Mudiay, you bring him in, and then you have building blocks like Noel and Embiid around.

Well, Philly, we’ll see you in the lottery.

(You guys can post now if you'd like. I'm doing each team one by one.)

**Crystar500** · 02-26-2015, 11:47 PM

Re: A League of a Changing Game - A 30 Team MyLeague

Boston Celtics and Maine Red Claws

Celtics Starters:

Isaiah Thomas, PG/SG
Avery Bradley, SG/PG
Evan Turner, SF/PG
Jared Sullinger, PF/C
Tyler Zeller, C/PF

You know what I don’t see there in the lineup? A good shot blocker or rim protector. No offense, Tyler Zeller. I like all these guys, really. Danny Ainge recently said Sullinger needs to basically work on his conditioning more, so that’s something to work on. Isaiah Thomas is a small point guard, but he’s quick. I think he can somewhat heal the wound leftover by Rondo being traded to Dallas. He didn’t seem to be too happy he was entering Phoenix in a Sixth Man role, so hopefully down the line when Marcus Smart is well enough to start, he won’t force his way out. That’s a problem for later, not now though. They have Evan Turner playing as a point forward, which should be interesting to see. Ainge also reunited long-time friends in Thomas and Avery Bradley by breaking up two other long-time friends, Brandon Bass and Marcus Thornton. Speaking of Bass…

Celtics Bench:

PGs: Marcus Smart/Phil Pressey
SGs: James Young/Luigi Datome
SFs: Jae Crowder/Gerald Wallace
PFs: Brandon Bass/Jonas Jerebko
Cs: Kelly Olynyk/Shavlik Randolph

Brandon Bass, I think, doesn’t want to be on this squad long-term. I think he was happier playing with his friend Marcus Thornton. That’s why I wouldn’t rule out a trade to Phoenix at some point. By the way, Phoenix literally blew up their roster so much, they have to play P.J. Tucker and T.J. Warren at Power Forward, because they have like seven Small Forwards and only three bigs. I like Marcus Smart and James Young as picks in the draft. I think Gerald Wallace needs to be bought out sometime soon. He seemed to decline so quickly, as if it was overnight. Unless they’re going the mentor route and decide to keep him for the rest of the season. All of these young players are nice, except for Randolph, who’s like 30 already, and is basically just a bench warmer. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s cut sometime soon. The only problem currently besides the Bass thing, in my opinion, is the playing time for James Young. He got a DNP in the NBA vs. D-League game that we’re going to bring up soon. Hopefully Stevens has some plans for this kid, because I want to see him play soon.

Red Claws Starters:

Cliff Hammonds, PG/SG
Keith Bogans, SG/SF
Reggie Redding, SF/PF
DaJuan Summers, PF/SF
Vitor Faverani, C

Ooh… Cliff Hammonds. I saw a few clips of him playing for Alba Berlin before. I like his game. Bogans and Faverani were Celtics before, both cut for different reasons. Faverani can develop, I think, but he needs to develop at least a decent Shot IQ first… Also, the players in the Euroleague, when they heard about the D-League expansion, all probably ran to the nearest airport to fly back to the U.S. This new expansion gives more players an opportunity to prove their worth out there. Good job, Adam Silver.

Red Claws Bench:

PGs: Aaron Jackson/Jeremy Pargo
SGs: Chris Johnson/Andre Dawkins
SFs: Matt Simon/Alex King
PFs: Levon Kendall/Gani Lawal
Cs: Fab Melo/Denis Kilici

Matt Simon is a sixteen year old kid. How is… Ah, whatever. There’s no rule in the D-League saying you have to be a certain age to join. At least not anymore. I’m interested to see how he plays. From what I’ve been told, he’s a point forward. Fab Melo was a bust back in 2012, so it’s interesting to see that Danny is taking a chance on developing him here in Maine. Chris Johnson, he deserves a chance too, in my opinion. Other than that, I have nothing really to say.

Goals?: The Celtics are in a great spot where they can be one of the premier trade teams at the deadline. This team can sneak into the playoffs if things are working on all cylinders. I’d like that a lot if they were able too. I’m sure Coach Brad Stevens will too, since he’s competitive. I don’t think he’ll be able to withstand too many rebuilding years. Main goal for the Celtics this year, basically, is eighth seed or bust. A lot of other teams are gunning for that eight seed though, so it’s not going to be easy, of course. Secondary goal would be to do “Spring Cleaning” a bit early, say “Trade Deadline” early. Whether it’s by trade or by waiving or buyout, the three that need to go are Brandon Bass, Gerald Wallace, and Randolph. If they decide to keep Wallace on as a mentor, then that’s the only reason he stays.

Zach Lowe’s Lurking Question:

“Can a backcourt this small succeed in the East?”
(I had a bit of writer’s block..)

Well, let’s take a look at the starting backcourt of every other team in the division.

New York: Jeremy Lin, 6’3” and Tim Hardaway Jr., 6’6”
Brooklyn: Deron Williams, 6’3” and Joe Johnson, 6’7”
Philadelphia: Tony Wroten, 6’5” and Jason Richardson, 6’6”
Toronto: Kyle Lowry, 6’0” and Louis Williams, 6’1”

And then Thomas and Avery:

Isaiah Thomas - 5’9”
Avery Bradley - 6’2”

I think the lineup will encounter some troubles at times. I think Philly would be the best bet to give them trouble, but Brooklyn is a close second. If D-Will decides to post-up against Thomas, then I think he will have some troubles. Toronto is switching to a small lineup this year, with DeRozan now at Small Forward. We’ll see how that works out for them, but last I checked, they’re pretty good. So, to answer this… A little of both, I guess? Sometimes they’ll struggle depending on who they face, and sometimes they won’t. They’re both quick, though, so I like their chances.

On the Rumor Front!:

There is no rumors right now. Honest. No rumors at all, sadly. There’s no real certainty that Bass wants out, either. All just speculation.

Scrimmage

Final Score - Celtics 102, Red Claws 82
Field Goals - Red Claws go 29/73, 40%. Celtics go 35/80, 44%.
3 Pointers - Red Claws go 8/26, 31%. Celtics go 9/21, 43%.
Free Throws - Red Claws go 16/19, 84%. Celtics go 23/26, 88%.
Fast Break Points - Red Claws: 10. Celtics: 14.
Points in the Point - Red Claws: 24. Celtics: 28.
Second Chance Points - Red Claws: 0. Celtics: 6.
Bench Points - Red Claws: 29. Celtics: 27.
Assists - Red Claws: 18. Celtics: 19.
Offensive Rebounds - Red Claws: 3. Celtics: 9.
Defensive Rebounds - Red Claws: 37. Celtics: 42.
Steals - Red Claws: 4. Celtics: 9.
Blocks - Red Claws: 3. Celtics: 1.
Turnovers - Red Claws, 11, with 8 points off. Celtics, 6, with 15 points off.
Team Fouls - Red Claws: 15. Celtics: 12.
Biggest Lead - Red Claws: 4. Celtics: 22.
Time of Possession - Red Claws: 25:03. Celtics: 22:56.
Timeouts Remaining - Red Claws: 2. Celtics: 2.

The Red Claws seemed to be holding their own at first. The Celtics were very obviously slacking in the early quarters, knowing they can just flip a switch and beat this Red Claws team. I just hope they don’t act that casual during the regular season.

Game Leaders:

Celtics:

Scoring - Isaiah Thomas, 27 Points
Rebounds - Jared Sullinger, 15 Rebounds
Assists - Isaiah Thomas, 8 Assists
Steals - Avery Bradley, 4 Steals
Blocks - Kelly Olynyk, 1 Block
Minutes - Isaiah Thomas, 37 Minutes
Turnovers - Isaiah Thomas, 2 Turnovers
Fouls - Avery Bradley, 3 Fouls
Best/Worst Plus-Minus - Jared Sullinger +18, Gerald Wallace - 1

Red Claws:

Scoring - Cliff Hammonds, 19 Points
Rebounds - Vitor Faverani, 10 Rebounds
Assists - Cliff Hammonds, 5 Assists
Steals - Fab Melo, 2 Steals
Blocks - Three Players; Chris Johnson, Vitor Faverani, Gani Lawal - 1
Minutes - DaJuan Summers, 36 Minutes
Turnovers - Cliff Hammonds, 4 Turnovers
Fouls - Two Players; Cliff Hammonds and Keith Bogans - 3 Fouls
Best/Worst Plus-Minus - Fab Melo +2, Keith Bogans - 21

Top Performers:

Celtics:
Isaiah Thomas - 27 Points, 3 Rebounds, 8 Assists, 3 Steals, 9-9 on Free Throws, 4-6 from 3PT
Avery Bradley - 23 Points, 6 Rebounds, 1 Assist, 4 Steals, 36 Minutes
Evan Turner - 16 Points, 1 Rebound, 7-13 from the field

Red Claws:
Cliff Hammonds - 19 Points, 7 Rebounds, 5 Assists, 4-4 on Free Throws
Keith Bogans - 14 Points, 8 Rebounds, 3 Assists
Matt Simon - 13 Points, 2 Rebounds, 3 Assists, 1 Steal

Injuries?:

None going into the season.

Wrapping Up Predictions

Aw, look happy they are together. I think the Celtics have a legit chance to grab the eighth seed if Thomas plays as well as he did in the scrimmage. Although, he seemed to go off because of the level of talent he was up against. Nevertheless, Thomas and his buddy Avery should have a nice season. I’m also excited to see the blend of different defensive styles that take place when Avery and Marcus Smart take the floor together. Avery’s more sneaky in his defense, while Marcus is more physical. I like that blend.

The Red Claws might have a chance to get into the Playoffs themselves. I like this kid Matt Simon. I think if he stays in Maine until he’s 19, he’ll develop into a nice NBA player. It also means he’ll have one of the longest basketball careers depending on when he decides to retire. That’s really thinking into the future, though. Cliff Hammonds is going to have a good season as well. I think these two teams will end up mirroring each other, you know? Hammonds = Thomas, and Simon = Turner. Let’s see how well they do.

**Crystar500** · 02-28-2015, 10:25 PM

Re: A League of a Changing Game - A 30 Team MyLeague

New York Knicks and Westchester Knicks

NY Knicks Starting Lineup:

Jeremy Lin, PG/SG
Tim Hardaway Jr., SG
Carmelo Anthony, SF/PF
Jason Smith, PF/C
Cole Aldrich, C

Ah, well. Cole Aldrich is starting. Right off the bat, that’s something I don’t like. I’d rather have Bargnani there, but either way, I don’t think they’ll get better defensively. I like them bringing Jeremy Lin back. I think Hardaway had a great year last year. This might be forward thinking, but I think there’s a chance he might be better than his father. Thats what he’s striving for, at least. I think Carmelo’s going to strive in the triangle as well. It’s the bigmen that irk me. Smith is decent, though. He’s had a lot of injury troubles the past few seasons, but he has a really nice mid-range jumper that I think would be great in the triangle.

NY Knicks Bench:

PG: Nate Wolters/Shane Larkin
SG: Langston Galloway/Alexey Shved
SF: Cleanthony Early/Lance Thomas
PF: Quincy Acy/Travis Wear
C: Andrea Bargnani/Louis Amundson

Ooh… yeah. This is where they’ll struggle. I bet a lot of people don’t know who these guys even are. It’s not all bad, though. Nate Wolters was a sneaky pickup by the Zen Master… I thought he was a second round sleeper last year, that was really good for the Bucks.

I think best-case scenario for Wolters is a Mark Price type of player. The way he split the defence with those pick-and-rolls last year was reminiscent of Price. I like that. Worst-case scenario, a John Paxson type. Either way, he’s a great type of player for the triangle, and I’m glad the Knicks picked him up. Larkin and Galloway are both speedy point guards that are nice as well. Both need to work on their shooting, though. Galloway… another D.J. Augustin? He reminds me of that type of guard. Shved isn’t bad, either. We like the Cleanthony Early pick a lot. I think that’s a steal. He should’ve gone much higher than thirty-four. The problem here is the bigmen, again. That’s not going to work on a nightly basis. I think if they’re going to succeed at all this season, they need to go out and get some better bench help in the middle.

Westchester Knicks Starters:

John Goldsberry, PG/SG
Shannon Brown, SG/PG
Thanasis Antetokounmpo, SF/PG
Earl Clark, PF/SF
D’Or Fischer, C/PF

Thanasis was another great pick by the Zen Master. I can’t believe the Bucks had the opportunity to draft him, and then they decided not to. That’s ridiculous. Anyway, Thanasis is going to have a good season here over in Westchester. I think he’ll be brought in next season to New York. John Goldsberry isn’t bad either. He’s played overseas most of his career, now at the age of thirty-two. I think he’ll do fine here too.

Westchester Knicks Bench:

PGs: Toure’ Murry/Dogus Balbay
SGs: David Logan/Jamar Smith
SFs: Travis Outlaw/Casey Jacobsen
PFs: Sharrod Ford/Jan-Hendrick Jagla
Cs: Josh Powell/D.J. Mbenga

Um… well. Let’s see how they fare this season!

Goals?: Playoffs? That’s what it seems like they’re shooting for by bringing in Jeremy Lin again. They shouldn’t make the same mistake as last time, though. Extend him now, or at least before the deadline, before you lose him in free agency again. I think that should be a minor goal for the Knicks. I like Derek Fisher as coach, but I think he needs time to develop his coaching skills. I think Phil should’ve coached this season at least. Or at least, hire Kurt Rambis as head coach, who’s been an assistant of Phil’s before, and has actually been a head coach before. I think that would’ve been better off for the Knicks. We’ll see. The main goal would be to sneak into the playoffs, I suppose, but in order to do that, they need to make some moves. That bench is not going to be enough. I think if things go south and this season blows up in their face, they shut Carmelo down, who’s been having nagging knee troubles lately.

Zach Lowe’s Lurking Question:

“Can Jeremy Lin, or this roster for that matter, run in the triangle?”

No. Let’s move on.

Just kidding. I’m waiting to see how Lin does in the triangle. He’s a decent three-point shooter, but he’s better off the dribble when it comes to shooting. He’s also really good at getting to them. He and Ramon Sessions are the two guys in the league who are better at getting to the rim than you think they are. Which is good in the triangle, with the cuts needed on some plays by guards.

We’ll have to wait and see how Derek Fisher utilizes this roster.

On the Rumor Front:

The Knicks, being one of the biggest markets and one of the storied franchises in league history, will always have rumors surrounding the team.

It seems like Phil’s grand plan here is the summer of 2015. I don’t think it matters too much what happens this season for him, besides getting maybe the eighth seed. The salary cap is going way up this summer, and the Knicks are going to have crazy money to blow, especially with Bargnani coming off the books.

Paul Millsap
Brook Lopez (Player Option)
Kevin Love (Player Option)
Rajon Rondo
Greg Monroe
DeAndre Jordan
Marc Gasol
Luol Deng (Player Option)
Goran Dragic (Player Option)
LaMarcus Aldridge
Wesley Matthews
Rudy Gay
Kawhi Leonard (Restricted)
Tobias Harris (Restricted)
Jimmy Butler (Restricted)
Al Jefferson (Player Option)
Brandon Knight (Restricted)
Monta Ellis (Player Option)
Reggie Jackson (Restricted)
Draymond Green (Restricted)
Aaron Afflalo (Player Option)

(LeBron is technically a free agent too with a player option, but he’s probably not leaving. Even though he has been on record saying that he loves playing in the Garden. Don’t get your hopes up Knick fans. A lot of superstars liked playing in the Garden.)

If Phil Jackson and the New York Knicks don’t nab one or more of these names this summer, they’ve failed in their efforts for the 2015 offseason. There’s a lot of players up there, though. We’re sure they’ll get one of them. This is where the loyalty of the above players comes into question. Tobias Harris has already been rumored as someone who’s interested in the Knicks. Dragic also put the Knicks on his list of teams he wanted to be traded to this summer.

Don’t be surprised if Melo trade rumors surface near the deadline if the Knicks are doing bad. They won’t be true, but we all know how the media works.

Scrimmage:

Final Score - New York 93, Westchester 88.
Field Goals - Westchester: 31/77, 40%. New York: 33/79, 42%.
3 Pointers - Westchester: 13/31, 42%. New York: 7/24, 29%.
Free Throws - Westchester: 13/20, 65%. New York: 20/25, 80%.
Fast Break Points - Westchester 7, New York 8.
Points in the Paint - Westchester 18, New York 35.
Second Chance Points - Westchester 6, New York 10.
Bench Points - Westchester 51, New York 18.
Assists - Westchester 21, New York 15.
Offensive Rebounds - Westchester 5, New York 10.
Defensive Rebounds - Westchester, 37, New York 43.
Steals - Westchester 5, New York 3.
Blocks - Westchester 1, New York 2.
Turnovers - Westchester 5, 9 points off. New York 8, 4 points off.
Team Fouls - Westchester 17. New York 13.
Biggest Lead - Westchester 8. New York 11.
Time of Possession - Westchester: 23:54. New York: 24:05.
Timeouts Remaining - Westchester 0. New York 1.

Leave it to the Knicks to be the team to end up in overtime against a D-League team. Even with Anthony playing. Hopefully it’s not an indication of how their upcoming season will go. Westchester also seemed to do a lot of switching around with it’s lineup… The one we listed earlier is what they’ll go into the season with, but it seems like their coach used the scrimmage as time to experiment.

Game Leaders:

New York:

Scoring: Carmelo Anthony, 20 Points.
Rebounds: Jason Smith, 15 Rebounds.
Assists: Jeremy Lin, 5 Assists.
Steals: Tim Hardaway Jr., 2 Steals.
Blocks: Carmelo Anthony, 2 Blocks.
Minutes: Carmelo Anthony, 39 Minutes.
Turnovers: Jeremy Lin, 5 Turnovers.
Fouls: Two Players; Tim Hardaway Jr. and Cole Aldrich, 3 Fouls.
Best/Worst Plus-Minus: Jeremy Lin, +22/Langston Galloway - 12.

Westchester:

Scoring: Thanasis Antetokounmpo, 15 Points.
Rebounds: D’Or Fischer, 15 Rebounds.
Assists: Shannon Brown, 6 Rebounds.
Steals: Five Players; 1 Steal Each.
Blocks: Travis Outlaw, 1 Block.
Minutes: Shannon Brown, 36 Minutes.
Turnovers: Jan-Hendrick Jagla, 2 Turnovers.
Fouls: Earl Clark, 3 Fouls.
Best/Worst Plus-Minus: Thanasis Antetokounmpo, +10/Shannon Brown -17.

Top Performers:

New York:

Carmelo Anthony, 20 Points, 10 Rebounds, 1 Assist, 2 Blocks, 39 Minutes.
Cole Aldrich, 18 Points, 10 Rebounds, 1 Assist, 8-10 from the field.
Jason Smith, 17 Points, 15 Rebounds, 4-4 on FGs, 9-10 on FTs.

Westchester:

Thanasis Antetokounmpo, 15 Points, 2 Rebounds, 3 Assists, 3-4 on FTs.
D’Or Fischer, 12 Points, 15 Rebounds, 1 Assist, 1 Steal.
Travis Outlaw, 11 Points, 4 Rebounds, 1 Block.

Injuries?

Jamar Smith of the Westchester Knicks suffered a Sore Right Ankle in the scrimmage. He’ll sit out the season opener at home against St.Louis, but should be ready to face Canton in the game after.

Wrapping Up Predictions

The scrimmage really worries me about the Knicks’ season. Jeremy Lin finished with 9 points and 5 assists, but he was +22, since he was responsible for 19 of the points scored by New York. I think Linsanity will be back. I think the fanbase is going to get behind him again. He’ll be a real heat check guy. Melo will have a good year as usual, but his team having a good year is the question. Lin and Melo will have to be outstanding in order for them to make the playoffs. ‘If’ is the question here. If the Knicks are doing well after improving their bench, then the playoffs is what they’ll be shooting for. If everything goes south, I think Melo gets knee surgery after the All-Star break, then the Knicks tank for a lottery pick after extending Lin.

The only reason to watch Westchester this season really, is to see Thanasis Antetokounmpo. I don’t think they’re really D-League contenders, but it’ll be fun to watch Thanasis develop.

Both Knicks teams, we will see.

**Crystar500** · 03-02-2015, 06:18 PM

Re: A League of a Changing Game - A 30 Team MyLeague

(Alright, so the previews are going to take a while, and I want to speed this up, so here’s all the rosters. Let’s pretend Bill Simmons got suspended again. Like he did in real life around this time. Ok? Good.)

I did this in bullet list format, because I’m more comfortable with it. Sure, it looks better in the little chart thing, but I’m doing it my way.

Philadelphia 76ers

Starting Lineup:

PG - Tony Wroten
SG - Jason Richardson
SF - Robert Covington
PF - Nerlens Noel
C - Joel Embiid

Bench:

PG - Isaiah Canaan/Ish Smith
SG - JaKarr Sampson/Hollis Thompson
SF - Luc Mbah a Moute/Jerami Grant
PF - Thomas Robinson/Furkan Aldemir
C - Henry Sims/JaVale McGee

Head Coach: Brett Brown

Milwaukee Bucks

Starting Lineup:

PG - Michael Carter-Williams
SG - O.J. Mayo
SF - Giannis Antetokounmpo
PF - Jabari Parker
C - John Henson

Bench:

PG - Jerryd Bayless/Tyler Ennis
SG - Khris Middleton/Jordan Crawford
SF - Jared Dudley/Damien Inglis
PF - Ersan Ilyasova/Johnny O’Bryant
C - Zaza Pachulia/Miles Plumlee

Head Coach: Jason Kidd

Chicago Bulls

Starting Lineup:

PG - Derrick Rose
SG - Jimmy Butler
SF - Mike Dunleavy Jr.
PF - Pau Gasol
C - Joakim Noah

Bench:

PG - Aaron Brooks/E’Twaun Moore
SG - Kirk Hinrich/Tony Snell
SF - John Salmons/Doug McDermott
PF - Taj Gibson/Nikola Mirotic
C - Nazr Mohammed/Cameron Bairstow

Head Coach: Tom Thibodeau

Cleveland Cavaliers

Starters:

PG - Kyrie Irving
SG - Iman Shumpert
SF - LeBron James
PF - Kevin Love
C - Anderson Varejao

Bench:

Jordan Farmar/Matthew Dellavedova
J.R. Smith/Joe Harris
Mike Miller/James Jones
Tristan Thompson/Shawn Marion
Timofey Mozgov/Kendrick Perkins

Head Coach: David Blatt

Boston Celtics

Starters:

PG - Isaiah Thomas
SG - Avery Bradley
SF - Evan Turner
PF - Jared Sullinger
C - Tyler Zeller

Bench:

PG - Marcus Smart/Phil Pressey
SG - Jae Crowder/James Young
SF - Gerald Wallace/Luigi Datome
PF - Brandon Bass/Jonas Jerebko
C - Kelly Olynyk/Shavlik Randolph

Head Coach: Brad Stevens

Los Angeles Clippers

Starters:

PG - Chris Paul
SG - Jamal Crawford
SF - Matt Barnes
PF - Blake Griffin
C - DeAndre Jordan

Bench:

PG - Nate Robinson/Austin Rivers
SG - J.J. Redick/C.J. Wilcox
SF - Hedo Turkoglu/Jordan Hamilton
PF - Glen Davis/Andrei Kirilenko
C - Spencer Hawes/Ekpe Udoh

Head Coach: Doc Rivers

Memphis Grizzlies

Starters:

PG - Mike Conley Jr.
SG - Tony Allen
SF - Jeff Green
PF - Zach Randolph
C - Marc Gasol

Bench:

PG - Beno Udrih/Nick Calathes
SG - Courtney Lee/Jordan Adams
SF - Vince Carter/JaMychal Green
PF - Jon Leuer/Jarnell Stokes
C - Kosta Koufos/Samuel Dalembert

Head Coach: David Joerger

Atlanta Hawks

Starters:

PG - Jeff Teague
SG - Kyle Korver
SF - DeMarre Carroll
PF - Paul Millsap
C - Al Horford

Bench:

PG - Dennis Schroder/Shelvin Mack
SG - Thabo Sefolosha/John Jenkins
SF - Darius Miller/Kent Bazemore
PF - Mike Scott/Pero Antic
C - Elton Brand/Mike Muscala

Head Coach: Mike Budenholzer

Miami Heat

Starters:

PG - Goran Dragic
SG - Dwyane Wade
SF - Luol Deng
PF - Chris Bosh
C - Hassan Whiteside

Bench:

PG - Mario Chalmers/Shabazz Napier
SG - Zoran Dragic/Tyler Johnson
SF - James Ennis/Henry Walker
PF - Josh McRoberts/Udonis Haslem
C - Chris Andersen/Jermaine O’Neal

Head Coach: Erik Spoelstra

Charlotte Hornets

Starters:

PG - Kemba Walker
SG - Lance Stephenson
SF - Michael Kidd-Gilchrist
PF - Cody Zeller
C - Al Jefferson

Bench:

PG - Mo Williams/Brian Roberts
SG - Gerald Henderson/Troy Daniels
SF - Jeff Taylor/P.J. Hairston
PF - Marvin Williams/Noah Vonleh
C - Bismack Biyombo/Jason Maxiell

Head Coach: Steve Clifford

Utah Jazz

Starters:

PG - Trey Burke
SG - Alec Burks
SF - Gordon Hayward
PF - Derrick Favors
C - Rudy Gobert

Bench:

PG - Dante Exum/Bryce Cotton
SG - Ian Clark/Elijah Millsap
SF - Joe Ingles/Rodney Hood
PF - Trevor Booker/Jack Cooley
C - Jeremy Evans/Grant Jerrett

Head Coach: Quin Snyder

Sacramento Kings

Starters:

PG - Darren Collison
SG - Ben McLemore
SF - Rudy Gay
PF - Carl Landry
C - DeMarcus Cousins

Bench:

PG - Andre Miller/David Stockton
SG - Ray McCallum/Nik Stauskas
SF - Omri Casspi/Derrick Williams
PF - Reggie Evans/Jason Thompson
C - Ryan Hollins/Eric Moreland

Head Coach: George Karl

New York Knicks

Starters:

PG - Jeremy Lin
SG - Tim Hardaway Jr.
SF - Carmelo Anthony
PF - Jason Smith
C - Andrea Bargnani

Bench:

PG - Nate Wolters/Shane Larkin
SG - Langston Galloway/Alexey Shved
SF - Cleanthony Early/Lance Thomas
PF - Quincy Acy/Travis Wear
C - Cole Aldrich/Louis Amundson

Head Coach: Derek Fisher

Los Angeles Lakers

Starters:

PG - Steve Nash
SG - Kobe Bryant
SF - Nick Young
PF - Ed Davis
C - Jordan Hill

Bench:

PG - Jordan Clarkson/Ronnie Price
SG - Jose Calderon/Wayne Ellington
SF - Wesley Johnson/Ryan Kelly
PF - Julius Randle/Carlos Boozer
C - Tarik Black/Robert Sacre

Head Coach: Byron Scott

Orlando Magic

Starters:

PG - Elfrid Payton
SG - Victor Oladipo
SF - Tobias Harris
PF - Channing Frye
C - Nikola Vucevic

Bench:

PG - Kendall Marshall/Luke Ridnour
SG - Evan Fournier/Willie Green
SF - Maurice Harkless/Roy Devyn Marble
PF - Aaron Gordon/Andrew Nicholson
C - Kyle O’Quinn/Dewayne Dedmon

Head Coach: James Borrego

Dallas Mavericks

Starters:

PG - Rajon Rondo
SG - Monta Ellis
SF - Chandler Parsons
PF - Dirk Nowitzki
C - Tyson Chandler

Bench:

PG - J.J. Barea/Devin Harris
SG - Raymond Felton/James Anderson
SF - Al-Farouq Aminu/Richard Jefferson
PF - Charlie Villanueva/Dwight Powell
C - Amar’e Stoudemire/Bernard James

Head Coach: Rick Carlisle

Brooklyn Nets

Starters:

PG - Deron Williams
SG - Joe Johnson
SF - Thaddeus Young
PF - Mason Plumlee
C - Brook Lopez

Bench:

PG - Jarrett Jack/Darius Morris
SG - Bojan Bogdanovic/Markel Brown
SF - Alan Anderson/Sergey Karasev
PF - Mirza Teletovic/Cory Jefferson
C - Jerome Jordan/Kenyon Martin

Head Coach: Lionel Hollins

Denver Nuggets

Starters:

PG - Ty Lawson
SG - Randy Foye
SF - Wilson Chandler
PF - Kenneth Faried
C - J.J. Hickson

Bench:

PG - Jameer Nelson/Erick Green
SG - Gary Harris/Will Barton
SF - Danilo Gallinari/Chris Douglas-Roberts
PF - Darrell Arthur/Joffrey Lauvergne
C - Jusuf Nurkic/Isaiah Austin

Head Coach: Brian Shaw

Indiana Pacers

Starters:

PG - George Hill
SG - Rodney Stuckey
SF - Paul George
PF - David West
C - Roy Hibbert

Bench:

PG - C.J. Watson/Donald Sloan
SG - C.J. Miles/Damjan Rudez
SF - Solomon Hill/Chris Copeland
PF - Luis Scola/Lavoy Allen
C - Ian Mahinmi/Shayne Whittington

Head Coach: Frank Vogel

New Orleans Pelicans

Starters:

PG - Jrue Holiday
SG - Eric Gordon
SF - Tyreke Evans
PF - Anthony Davis
C - Omer Asik

Bench:

PG - Norris Cole/Jimmer Fredette
SG - Ben Gordon/Quincy Pondexter
SF - Dante Cunningham/Luke Babbitt
PF - Ryan Anderson/Justin Hamilton
C - Jeff Withey/Alexis Ajinca

Head Coach: Monty Williams

Detroit Pistons

Starters:

PG - Brandon Jennings
SG - Reggie Jackson
SF - Tayshaun Prince (Welcome home!)
PF - Greg Monroe
C - Andre Drummond

Bench:

PG - Spencer Dinwiddie/John Lucas III
SG - Jodie Meeks/Kentavious Caldwell-Pope
SF - Caron Butler/Quincy Miller
PF - Shawne Williams/Anthony Tolliver
C - Emeka Okafor/Joel Anthony

Head Coach: Stan Van Gundy

Toronto Raptors

Starters:

PG - Kyle Lowry
SG - Louis Williams
SF - DeMar DeRozan
PF - Amir Johnson
C - Jonas Valanciunas

Bench:

PG - Greivis Vasquez/Toney Douglas
SG - Landry Fields/Bruno Caboclo
SF - James Johnson/Terrence Ross
PF - Patrick Patterson/Tyler Hansbrough
C - Chuck Hayes/Lucas Nogueira

Head Coach: Dwane Casey

Houston Rockets

Starters:

PG - Patrick Beverley
SG - James Harden
SF - Trevor Ariza
PF - Terrence Jones
C - Dwight Howard

Bench:

PG - Jason Terry/Pablo Prigioni
SG - K.J. McDaniels/Nick Johnson
SF - Corey Brewer/Kostas Papanikolaou
PF - Donatas Montiejunas/Josh Smith
C - Joey Dorsey/Clint Capela

Head Coach: Kevin McHale

San Antonio Spurs

Starters:

PG - Tony Parker
SG - Manu Ginobili
SF - Kawhi Leonard
PF - Tim Duncan
C - Tiago Splitter

Bench:

PG - Patty Mills/Cory Joseph
SG - Danny Green/Marco Belinelli
SF - Kyle Anderson/Reggie Williams
PF - Boris Diaw/Matt Bonner
C - Aron Baynes/Jeff Ayres

Head Coach: Gregg Popovich

Phoenix Suns

Starters:

PG - Eric Bledsoe
SG - Brandon Knight
SF - Gerald Green
PF - Markieff Morris
C - Brandan Wright

Bench:

PG - Will Bynum/A.J. Price
SG - Marcus Thornton/Archie Goodwin
SF - Marcus Morris/Danny Granger
PF - P.J. Tucker/T.J. Warren
C - Alex Len/Earl Barron

Head Coach: Jeff Hornacek

Oklahoma City Thunder

Starters:

PG - Russell Westbrook
SG - Ray Allen
SF - Kevin Durant
PF - Serge Ibaka
C - Enes Kanter

Bench:

PG - D.J. Augustin/Gary Neal
SG - Jeremy Lamb/Andre Roberson
SF - Kyle Singler/Steve Novak
PF - Nick Collison/Perry Jones
Steven Adams/Mitch McGary

Head Coach: Scott Brooks

Minnesota Timberwolves

Starters:

PG - Ricky Rubio
SG - Kevin Martin
SF - Andrew Wiggins
PF - Kevin Garnett
C - Nikola Pekovic

Bench:

PG - Zach LaVine/Lorenzo Brown
SG - Dion Waiters/Shabazz Muhammad
SF - Glenn Robinson III/Chase Budinger
PF - Anthony Bennett/Robbie Hummel
C - Gorgui Dieng/Adreian Payne

Head Coach: Flip Saunders

Portland Trail Blazers

Starters:

PG - Damian Lillard
SG - Wesley Matthews
SF - Nicolas Batum
PF - LaMarcus Aldridge
C - Chris Kaman

Bench:

PG - Steve Blake/Jannero Pargo
SG - Aaron Afflalo/C.J. McCollum
SF - Alonzo Gee/Allen Crabbe
PF - Joel Freeland/Dorell Wright
C - Robin Lopez/Meyers Leonard

Head Coach: Terry Stotts

Golden State Warriors

Starters:

PG - Stephen Curry
SG - Klay Thompson
SF - Andre Iguodala
PF - Draymond Green
C - Andrew Bogut

Bench:

PG - Shaun Livingston/Will Cherry
SG - Leandro Barbosa/Justin Holiday
SF - Harrison Barnes/Brandon Rush
PF - David Lee/James Michael McAdoo
C - Marreese Speights/Festus Ezeli

Head Coach: Steve Kerr

Washington Wizards

Starters:

PG - John Wall
SG - Bradley Beal
SF - Paul Pierce
PF - Nene
C - Marcin Gortat

Bench:

PG - Ramon Sessions/Garrett Temple
SG - Rasual Butler/Otto Porter Jr.
SF - Martell Webster/Reggie Bullock
PF - Kris Humphries/DeJuan Blair
C - Kevin Seraphin/Drew Gooden III

Head Coach: Randy Wittman

**Crystar500** · 03-02-2015, 06:20 PM

Re: A League of a Changing Game - A 30 Team MyLeague

Coaching Job Security
Atlantic Division:

Dwane Casey - Safe
Lionel Hollins - Safe
Derek Fisher - Safe
Brad Stevens - Questionable- Stevens is competitive. He may put in a resignation if the Celtics miss the playoffs again.
Brett Brown - Questionable - It’s not out of the equation for Brown to resign from his position from tensions with GM Sam Hinkie. If those rumors are true.

Southeast Division:

Erik Spoelstra - Safe
Randy Wittman - Safe
Steve Clifford - Getting a Bit of Heat - Playoffs or bust. Clifford may be out of a job if the Hornets miss the playoffs.
Mike Budenholzer - Safe
James Borrego - Interim - Since he’s an interim coach, the Magic will try to replace him as soon as they find the right man for the job.

Central Division:

Frank Vogel - Safe
Tom Thibodeau - Questionable - When rumors of tension with management circulate for about two years consistently, there’s got to be some truth to them, right?
David Blatt - Somewhat Safe - When you have a roster like he has, you have to be able to execute. How this season goes will determine if Blatt still has a job with the Cavaliers.
Stan Van Gundy - Safe
Jason Kidd - Safe

Southeast Division:

Gregg Popovich - Safe
Kevin McHale - Safe
Dave Joerger - Safe
Rick Carlisle - Safe
Monty Williams - Hotseat - When you have an anomaly like Anthony Davis on your squad, you should be in the playoffs. If the Pelicans miss the playoffs, don’t be surprised if Williams is out of a job.

Northwest Division:

Scott Brooks - Safe
Terry Stotts - Safe
Flip Saunders - Safe
Brian Shaw - Hotseat - Shaw hasn’t been coach long, but after reports of players not giving enough effort under his command, it’s not unlikely he’d be fired by the Nuggets.
Quin Snyder - Safe

Pacific Division:

Doc Rivers - Safe
Steve Kerr - Safe
Jeff Hornacek - Safe
George Karl - Safe
Byron Scott - Safe

A League of a Changing Game - A 30 Team MyLeague

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A League of a Changing Game - A 30 Team MyLeague

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