Post by Heebs on Jul 16, 2016 1:16:25 GMT -6
Good morning sim GMs and welcome back to the Cuban Report's (sometimes) annual Power Rankings!
In this edition, to spare the feelings of the western conference, we've separated the teams and ranked them within each conference.
Enjoy!
East
1. Bullets
The defending champion Bullets are the top team in the East and sadly its not close. Kyrie, Jesus, and KG may be the top players at their respective positions in the league. Add to that the tremendous depth and the Bullets are going to compete for sim league titles for the foreseeable future.
2. Bulls
The Baby Bulls have quite the core. JJ headlines this roster, but Newell is an elite PG and Mikan is showing signs of being the next great big. If the Bulls can add a little depth to this core they will be serious contenders for years to come.
3. Raptors
Webber, Wang, Randolph, Popeye, and Ackles is an incredible front court. The Raptors need a star at SG to be in the Bullets stratosphere, but make no mistake they are an outstanding team.
4. Sixers
There is basically no separation between the Raptors and Sixers as far as talent. The Sixers don’t have quite the front court, but they’ve got elite PGs and brought back Ben McLemore. God damn the East is stacked.
5. Bucks
After the top 4 in the east things become more grey. We at the Report like the Bucks because of their 1-3 in Lewis, Calbert, and Borat – but we recognize some may disagree and that’s alright.
6. Knicks
This is the lowest we could rank the Knicks after their season last year. We are not sure how they do it, but they do. All they did was add Ron Artest, Broderick Williamson, and Isiah Canaan, too. Their team looks like a doo-doo platter, but it gets the job done.
7. Heat
Canes got his man back in Dolph. And that may not be a good thing based on his contract. The Heat will likely make the playoffs, but it’s not clear to the Report how they will take the next step to competing for a championship.
8. Magic
Welcome back, MJ. While you were off losing pounds, JHB was losing trades to Trofie. Now you’re stuck with a medicore core and that’s about it.
9. Nets
The Nets tried to make power moves this offseason to land Embiid and Sim Dump. They wound up with Embiid and Derrick Rewwwwwwse. They may still make the playoffs with a little luck, though.
10. Hornets
The Hornets situation is quite interesting. They’ve got three very nice pieces in Randle, Chitwood, and Arizin. Miner has been coveted by GMs in the past, but we’re not very impressed with him. Without a competent point guard and a second big man, the Hornets will have a tough time making the playoffs. They could either make some moves to try to compete for a playoff spot or try to sell off their pieces and make a run at Larry Legend.
11. Hawks
I don’t know what to say. Lil Penny is decent. Matthews is slightly worse. Baker is a big contract and not enough production. This roster is not bad enough to tank, and not anywhere close to good enough to compete.
12. Cavs
Ditto Hawks. What happened to LJ?
13. Pacers
Doug Overton looks like Carl Nicks in 8 sim years. Woof. Pau looks nice, and Sabonis could probably contribute for a contender. But that’s about it in Indiana.
14. Bobcats
With Cousy handling PG duties, it’s hard to see how the Bobcats could be worse than the Celtics.
15. Celtics
Dumptime signs Chris Washburn, but will he be able to start him? Good news is Brian Scalabrine looks terrible, so just put him in the game.
West
1. Kings
The Kings made a move to ship Biyombo to Philly for underrated Alvaro Teheran. It will likely hurt Brooks scoring numbers playing with an offensively competent big, but it will also probably make the Kings a better team. The Report has the Kings as the best team out West.
2. Suns
The fact that the Suns are the second best team in the West without a competent point guard should tell you all you need to know about the conference. Lopez, Shaq, and Odom make up an elite front court though, and that should be enough to carry the Suns to the #2 seed in the West.
3. Wolves
We expect this will be Sim Dump’s swan song in Minnesota. Rudy Gay, Vanbiesbrouck, and Ellis are not getting any younger and one or all of them may be in their final sim season. That said, they will go as far as ageless Joe Silvestri will take them.
4. Rockets
Epstein has stagnated, but Tobi just keeps getting better with age. The Rockets likely won’t repeat as regular season champions in the West, but they are a fine team that has a good chance to represent the West in the finals.
5. Clippers
Dirt has enjoyed an extended run of success and stability. We don’t see that ending any time soon with the Francis/Porter/Hound/Wright core. We especially like the Mark Price MLE.
6. Grizzlies
The Grizzlies are the last of the respectable teams in the West. It’s doubtful they’d make the playoffs in the East, but it’d take major injuries for the Grizzlies to miss the playoffs in the West.
7. Nuggets
Despite not having a point guard, we think the Nuggets will still make the playoffs. If that’s not an indictment of the entire Western conference, I don’t know what . . . it’s an indictment of the entire Western conference. It’s terrible and they should be ashamed.
8. Blazers
Well well well. Maxwell Horry is looking very nice. He and Elgin Baylor could make some noise and challenge for a playoff spot this year. Or the Blazers could trade Baylor to the Grizzlies for [insert bad salary on Druce’s team].
9. Sonics
The Sonics should probably be lower than this, but the West is absolutely horrible. Brandon and Jonas are nice. There isn’t much else in the cupboard though. Hopefully Delap can make something happen with this roster as the Sonics don’t have their pick for a while.
10. Jazz
SPL finally gets his pick back and now he needs to quickly breakdown his roster. Unfortunately he’s going to have a lot of work to do if he wants to tank effectively this year.
11. Lakers
Talk about no man’s land. Go home Tyler, you’re drunk and your roster makes no sense.
12. Warriors
Tough luck with Taco losing Newell. We expect him to sell off Lockhart try to rebuild. Hopefully he does it soon enough to make a push for lotto odds.
13. Thunder
As long as the Thunder have Brand and his merry band of defensive-rebounding bigs, it’s unlikely the Thunder will overtake the Spurs as the worst team in the West.
14. Spurs
Even with 1.1 and 1.2 last year, the fighting Victors take the bottom spot in the West. Congrats!
