SimWorld NBA: The Chronicle

[bryan3169]

Re: SimWorld NBA: The Chronicle

May 14th, 2018

Joel Embiid on his Game 1 performance vs. Raptors: "I'm just confident in my abilities on the court. Ain't a man or woman alive that can tell me that there is a big man in the NBA is better than me. Jonas was calling me "little man" like I'm a kid or somethin, thats why he got a 30 piece in his grill. I showed him who the little man was tonight! HAHA! Just continuing to trust the process and put our team night in and night out in the position to win."

Raptors HC, Dwayne Casey on lack of physicality in the 4th quarter: "We just got soft in the 4th quarter and sagging off guys, might have been going 7 games last series, these guys just looked over cooked out there in the late minutes. That's gotta change especially since they stole one on our floor."

Sixers HC, Brett Brown on Markelle Fultz 4th quarter scoring fest: "Markelle has worked so hard to get back, and he has been so hungry for an opportunity to put the ball in his hands and tonight he got it. 10 points in 3 minutes shows what he could possibly be capable of, hopefully we get more of that out of him in this series, he deserves it."

Paul Pierce on The Raptors performance: "Youth is showed last night in that Raptors/Sixers game. Youth dominated Embiid and Simmons made the Raptors look over the hill. I know that Raptors just came off a 7 game series comeback, but it looks like they left all their gas in the 2nd round...I know with rest, you can recuperate, but Sixers' depth and youth if they have it in them they have the advantage after stealing one in Toronto they can keep the pressure on. The Raptors have some adjusting to do for sure."

Adrian Wojnarowski on the Hornets head coaching search: "Sources out of Charlotte that Kupchak and Jordan have had 2 in person interviews with former Grizzlies coach, David Fizdale for their vacant coaching opening. Sources say the official announcement should be made public by tomorrow!"

[ronyell]

Re: SimWorld NBA: The Chronicle

[AdamJones113]

Re: SimWorld NBA: The Chronicle




Adam Jones

May 14, 2018

Playoff Update: Game 1 in the Books


Looking Back
Game 1 of both Conference Finals is in the books, as the Eastern Conference saw the visiting Philadelphia 76ers take a 1-0 lead over the Toronto Raptors while the West's top-seeded Houston Rockets defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder. The 76ers won on the road, immediately putting the Raptors in numerical and psychological jeopardy. The Raptors have never been good in game 1s, but seemed to have snapped their streak this postseason. The Rockets, on the other hand, are expert series-openers, and triumphed on their home floor through a show of offensive dominance.

Looking Forward
Game 2s remain in the same venues, but the Raptors will be facing an almost must-win game. They came back from a 3-1 deficit to the Cavs in the last round, but Cleveland was without LeBron, and only won one game in Toronto. To cede home court advantage in such a comprehensive fashion would be a true blow to Toronto's title hopes that would be difficult to rebound from. Meanwhile, the Rockets look to rush out to a commanding 2-0 lead. As the top-seeded team, they're not in trouble even if they can't win on the road, as long as they maintain their homecourt advantage.

Around the League
The Hornets hired former Grizzlies head coach David Fizdale, who spent two years at the helm in Memphis as the Grizzlies aged and fell out of the Western Conference playoff picture. Charlotte is counting on 'Fiz' to take Kemba Walker to the next level, and well and get the entire team into the playoff picture in the East after Steve Clifford failed to have a long-lasting impact in his Charlotte tenure. Speaking of the Grizzlies, more details have emerged about the potential Marc Gasol trade: the Knicks, who are also believed to have considered Fizdale, are the team rumoured to be the Grizz's partner. It's hard to see what the rebuilding Knicks' endgame with Gasol is, but there may be an unrevealed third team in the trade prepared to eat salary or even take Gasol himself along with a first-round pick or two.

[johnstone1987]

Re: SimWorld NBA: The Chronicle

Gonna be a fresh change to see who makes FINALS with Golden State and Cleveland sitting at home

Keep em' coming!

[ayyitskev]

Re: SimWorld NBA: The Chronicle

May 14th, 2018

By: Kevs

What's Next: Eliminated Western Playoff Teams

As always, welcome back to Kev's Korner! That's right, this is a two-part edition of the Korner, where I'm going to take a look at what the playoff losers have to do to take the next step. I'll list the teams in the order they were eliminated, starting with the West, then the East in part two.

P.S. I encourage your thoughts on what these teams should do as well in the offseason!

#8 Denver Nuggets: Denver did not last very long in the first round against the 1 seed Houston Rockets. Granted, three of the four first round matchups in the West were all 4-0 sweeps to the hands of the opponent. Denver has a decent playoff bubble squad right now, but lack another star. Nikola Jokic is a complete stud, Jamal Murray and Gary Harris are good scorers. What the team could use is a wing to handle the ball and play good defense. A Jae Crowder, Robert Covington-esque player could take Denver to another level. Can they acquire just the right player to make Denver contenders?

#3 Portland Trailblazers: In one of the most shocking exits in the playoffs, Damian Lillard and Co. fell in four to the beast that is Russell Westbrook in the first round. This marks a string of disappointing playoff runs for Portland, and some may question whether it's time to blow it up. Damian Lillard is starting to be frustrated in the team's lack of talent. CJ McCollum could be trade bait, ditto for Jusef Nurkic and anyone else on the team that doesn't rhyme with Lamian Dillard. If the Blazers decide to keep the band together, they're paying far too much for Evan Turner, Al-Farouq Aminu and Maurice Harkless to make a free agent splash. Portland could be stuck in purgatory.

#2 Golden State Warriors: Nobody, and I mean nobody, saw this coming. A sweep by the Spurs. In round one. What. This is the most vulnerable the Warriors have looked since Monta Ellis was running the show. It's fair to assume Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant are staying. The team can make the playoffs based on their talent alone. Klay Thompson may be the subject of trade rumors, but I foresee him sticking around as well. After flashes, I think Jordan Bell can directly replace Draymond Green in the starting lineup, who should be moved for a defensive-minded center, such as a Hassan Whiteside. This does not mark the end for the Warriors, only the beginning of the end if they don't have a strong offseason.

#4 Minnesota Timberwolves: Unlike the other three above teams, Minnesota needs to stay the course. They lost in the first round to the 5 seeded Jazz, however it's safe to say the T-Wolves had a successful season. Keep the group together, another year of development for Karl Anthony-Towns, Andrew Wiggins, and the other youngsters can be good. Perhaps a low-end bench piece, like a Joe Harris, in free agency can be just what Minny needs.

#5 Utah Jazz: Into the second round, where Utah would take Houston two six games before falling. It's been a great season for Utah, Donovan Mitchell is without a doubt a stud, and Rudy Gobert, Ricky Rubio, Joe Ingles and Derrick Favors provides a nice core. Still, if Utah can convince a high-level free agent, or swing a trade for a stud, I would argue Utah as a top 5 team in the NBA. That being said, I don't expect Jae Crowder or Dante Exum to return, and the bench could look a lot different.

#7 San Antonio Spurs: After the extremely unpredictable upset of the Warriors in round one, they fall to the Thunder in our only 7-game series of the West to this point. Unfortunately, the Spurs fall under the "impending rebuild" category. Manu Ginobili has been leaning towards retirement. Tony Parker, Pau Gasol, Danny Green, Patty Mills, and soon LaMarcus Aldridge, don't exactly strike fear into opponents like they did years ago. Kawhi Leonard can keep this team in playoff contention, but it's simply time to pull the plug on the Spurs. Leonard would be better suited elsewhere after the reported lack of effort in the second round. Greg Popovich may have coached his final game as well, after telling reporters he doesn't want to rebuild. If the Spurs stay together, I'll give them one more year tops.

[ayyitskev]

Re: SimWorld NBA: The Chronicle

May 14th, 2018

By: Kevs

What's Next: Eliminated Eastern Playoff Teams

As always, welcome back to Kev's Korner! That's right, this is a two-part edition of the Korner, where I'm going to take a look at what the playoff losers have to do to take the next step. I'll list the teams in the order they were eliminated, starting with the West, then the East in part two.

P.S. I encourage your thoughts on what these teams should do as well in the offseason!

#6 Milwaukee Bucks: The Bucks are an interesting team. They were the lone team in the East to get swept, to the 3 seed 76ers. They have a top-tier talent in Giannis Antetkounmpo, and a decent supporting staff with Khris Middleton, Eric Bledsoe and others. That being said, it may be time to trade Jabari Parker, and move on from him. He doesn't play well with the core, and a young team could take a flyer on him. Still, the Bucks should be in the playoff hunt again next year, so long as the Greek Freak stays in the area.

#8 Washington Wizards: Falling in five to the Toronto Raptors, the Wizards have a top five backcourt in John Wall and Bradley Beal. They also have a good third, in Otto Porter. However, it is time to upgrade at center. Marcin Gortat doesn't cut it anymore as a starter, and Ian Mahinmi is paid far too much for something a rookie can do. I'd say dangle Kelly Oubre for a young up-and-coming center, and hope that's the missing piece. Much like the Bucks, as long as they have their stars, playoffs next season seems like a foregone conclusion.

#5 Indiana Pacers: Much like the Utah Jazz in the West, Indiana was expected to be a bottom-feeder but performed well on the breakout year from Victor Oladipo. The Pacers should add a role player or two in the offseason, and explore upgrading at point guard. On top of that, Thad Young may have outgrown his starting role, and the team could use another offensive stud to take the load off of Oladipo. Myles Turner could finally see an all-star leap next season as well if all goes right. Otherwise, the Pacers seem like a quality team with room to grow.

#2 Boston Celtics: After a tough 7-game series to the tough Miami Heat, more on them later, the Celtics fall in the first round. Of course, this was a Boston team without their two best players. Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward should return to full strength next season, and Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Al Horford provide the team with a stellar top five. Marcus Smart becomes expendable with the emergence of Terry Rozier. They can run it back with this core, or trade for a star. Basically, Boston can trust the process and should be a top five team next season no matter what they decide to do.

#7 Miami Heat: For a team that's slightly above average, kudos for Miami for taking down a tough Boston team, with or without their star players. Still, they battled the 76ers and fell one game shy of the Eastern Conference Finals. And yet, this team can look vastly different next year. Hassan Whiteside is as good as gone, and the Heat can afford that loss with Bam Adebayo in town. They should look to continue shedding salary with exploring Dion Waiters and Tyler & James Johnson. Does Dwyane Wade retire? What about Heat leader Udonis Haslem? Do they look to trade Justise Winslow or Josh Richardson for a star? So many different ways this Heat team can go.

#4 Cleveland Cavaliers: Tough luck in what could be LeBron's last hurrah in Cleveland. He missed the whole second round that saw the Cavs up 3-1 on Toronto before dropping three straight. If LeBron returns to Cleveland, they should pick up where they left off. If he leaves, Cleveland will have no choice but to spiral out of control over the next 2-3 years before falling into oblivion and returning to their state before King James of ceasing to exist. Kevin Love showed he can still be a dominant presence, which is fine. Otherwise without LeBron, the team has a mishmash of a bunch of decent, but not great players, and a lack of funds to improve the team without major roster turnover.

[ronyell]

Re: SimWorld NBA: The Chronicle

OKC at HOU Game 2 (Western Conference Finals) streaming live tomorrow at 10pm est at youtube.com/SimWorldTV

[johnstone1987]

Re: SimWorld NBA: The Chronicle

Someone refresh my mind real quick. How did GS get swept? Was it major injuries?

If that's the case they need some more depth on the bench. Durant, Curry, and Thompson can't carry the team.

On a side note, as a DIE HARD Sacramento Kings can THEY PLEASE have a damn good Off-Season?? My god we've been rebuilding since 2006

[ayyitskev]

Re: SimWorld NBA: The Chronicle

Someone refresh my mind real quick. How did GS get swept? Was it major injuries?



If that's the case they need some more depth on the bench. Durant, Curry, and Thompson can't carry the team.



On a side note, as a DIE HARD Sacramento Kings can THEY PLEASE have a damn good Off-Season?? My god we've been rebuilding since 2006

The Warriors missed Stephen Curry and Patrick McCaw the whole first round. Draymond Green got suspended for a game after an altercation and had an alleged rift with Kevin Durant. The team couldn’t recover after that and the Spurs outplayed them.


Sent from my iPhone using Operation Sports

[johnstone1987]

Re: SimWorld NBA: The Chronicle

The Warriors missed Stephen Curry and Patrick McCaw the whole first round. Draymond Green got suspended for a game after an altercation and had an alleged rift with Kevin Durant. The team couldn’t recover after that and the Spurs outplayed them.


Sent from my iPhone using Operation Sports

Thanks for the refresher. Yeah GS needs some major depth.

[cormag001]

Re: SimWorld NBA: The Chronicle

May 15th, 2018

Offseason Expectations: Southeast Division



Miami Heat (44-38, #7 in East, lost in Second Round)

Expiring Contracts: Wayne Ellington, Dwyane Wade, Luke Babbitt, Udonis Haslem, Derrick Jones, Derrick Walton Jr
Options: Jordan Mickey (TEAM - 1.6M)
Expected Cap Room: -$19.5M
Draft Picks: No draft picks
Overview: Hassan Whiteside remains a question mark on this roster, and he may be in play this offseason for a trade. If that were to happen, this Heat team may begin a rebuilding period after failing to muster much success with a Dragic/Whiteside core. If he stays put, chances are the Heat aren’t going to look too much different due to limited cap flexibility. D-Wade’s free agency will be interesting as well – he proved he still has something left in the tank, but it’s tough to imagine Riley wanting to give him much money… or will he cut him a check to avoid another 2016 offseason fiasco?

Washington Wizards (43-39, #8 in East, lost in First Round)

Expiring Contracts: Tim Frazier, Chris McCullough, Mike Scott
Options: Jason Smith (PLAYER – 5.45M), Jodie Meeks (PLAYER – 3.45M)
Expected Cap Room: -$27.2M
Draft Picks: WAS 1st, WAS 2nd
Overview: Much like the Heat, this offseason has the potential to be either franchise-altering or extremely mundane for Washington. There’s definitely tension between the core players on the roster, but essentially everyone is signed through 2019 – and Wall, Beal, and Porter have contracts lasting until 2021. It’s obvious that this team is still a few pieces away from actually contending, but their lack of flexibility means that they can’t make any moves to really put themselves in a better position. The rebuild might be coming sooner than we think.

Charlotte Hornets (36-46, #10 in East)

Expiring Contracts: Michael Carter-Williams, Treveon Graham,
Options: N/A
Expected Cap Room: -$21.9M
Draft Picks: CHA 1st, CLE 2nd
Overview: Very similar to the other teams in the division, the Hornets have tied themselves down with long-term mediocre contracts. The only difference between Charlotte and Miami and Washington is that the Hornets are yet to contend at all. With a shakeup in the front office and on the coaching staff, is the roster next? Kemba Walker is a name that some people flirted with in trade scenarios at the deadline – but Kemba has made clear that it is his goal to succeed in Charlotte.

Atlanta Hawks (24-58, #14 in East)

Expiring Contracts: Malcolm Delaney, Sheldon McClellan,
Options: Dewayne Dedmon (PLAYER - $6.3M), Mike Muscala (PLAYER - $5M)
Expected Cap Room: $25M
Draft Picks: ATL 1st, HOU 1st, MIN 1st, ATL 2nd
Overview: Finally, a team with some cap room! Unfortunately, Atlanta probably isn’t in a hurry to use it. They’re still a long way off being competitive, and that makes who they draft the biggest decision of their offseason. The only long-term piece this team really has is Dennis Schröder, so you’d think this team will be searching for a marquee wing player. I expect this offseason will be used to prepare for the 2019 offseason, where the Hawks currently only have 3 players contracted to the team – meaning a ton of cap flexibility and team-building freedom.

Orlando Magic (23-59, #15 in East)

Expiring Contracts: Aaron Gordon, Mario Hezonja, Arron Afflalo, Marreese Speights
Options: N/A
Expected Cap Room: -$3.7M
Draft Picks: ORL 1st, ORL 2nd, CHA 2nd
Overview: The biggest offseason decision the Orlando Magic will have to make will involve the long-term status of Aaron Gordon. There’s no doubt he is going to get interest from all over the league, and you’d expect him to get max contract numbers. Unfortunately, the Magic have $85M over the next three years tied up in Bismack Biyombo and Evan Fournier, reducing their ability to contend during that time. It’s becoming a common theme for Magic fans since Dwight Howard’s departure, but Orlando really needs a franchise player from this draft. Sitting at #3 in the lottery odds, will they have the opportunity?

[cormag001]

Re: SimWorld NBA: The Chronicle

May 15th, 2018

Report: Bradley Beal Wants Out of DC

ESPN has learned through a source close to the Washington Wizard's locker room that Bradley Beal has requested a trade from the organization, declining to participate in any offseason team workouts.

Beal averaged 22.6 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 4.5 assists per game this season, shooting 38% from 3.

The Wizards, who this year snuck in the playoffs as the 8 seed, have been through various levels of success throughout their core's tenure together. This season, it was apparent that there was tension between the players, coaches, and even the front office.

ESPN will keep you updated as this story develops.

[ronyell]

Re: SimWorld NBA: The Chronicle

Wednesday May 16th, 2018




OKC at HOU Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals streaming live TONIGHT at 10pm est at youtube.com/SimWorldTV

[ronyell]

Re: SimWorld NBA: The Chronicle

Wednesday May 16th, 2018

Tony: So let me ask you Micheal... what can the Thunder do to slow down the Rockets & their high powered offense?

Michael: Nothing. There's nothing they can do Tony. Nobody's been able to stop them all year and the Thunder's defense isn't even CLOSE the what the Jazz's is or was. They gave up 129 points and TWENTY-TWO THREES. Scrambling all over the court like chickens with th...

Tony: It doesn't matter what happened in Game 1 Michael. It's the playoffs. It's a totally different animal and the narrative changes from game to game. Tonight we're gonna see Paul George on Harden all night.

Michael: It doesn't matter who they put on Harden because the Rockets still have a guy that goes by the name of... Chris Paul. And the last time I checked he's called a Point God. Houston not only hit 22 threes in Game 1. They had 35 assists. 35 assists from a team that's known to play iso-ball as their primary mode of offense.

Tony: I see your point Wilbon but but I stand by mine in that Paul George is one of, if not the top two-way player and wing defender in the league (depending on where you place Kawhi after this season) & him being on Harden full time WILL make a difference. If Houston wouldn't have had that CRAZY 4th quarter that game could've played out a lot differently. PG played well. Melo certainly played well or at least better than he has the majority of these playoffs and Russ HARDLY went into "Brodie-mode". ALLLLL that being said and it was still a competitive game up until 6 minutes and 4 threes to go in the game. You're gonna sit here and tell me that the Thunder have NO chance...

Michael: No chance...

Tony: ... to beat...

Michael: No chance.... at all!

Tony: the Houston Rockets. A team who has TWO players that have a HISTORY of faulting when it counts.

Michael: That's exactly what I'm saying.

Tony: Michael never lacking the confidence and I can't say that I don't blame him on this one. When we return... was it the RIGHT thing to do for Lowry to try to suit up and play injured without notifying his team or was it the absolute worst thing he could do AAAAAND does DeMar DeRozan deserve some blame? And later we'll talk about just what it means for the rest of the NBA for us to be in the midst of the conference finals and there's NO Cleveland or Golden State.

[ronyell]

Re: SimWorld NBA: The Chronicle

FIRST COMMENT IN THE STREAM WILL BE NAMED THE NEXT HEAD COACH OF THE PHOENIX SUNS! TUNE IN!