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Post by Heebs on Oct 11, 2016 9:47:25 GMT -6
 Good afternoon sim GMs! We're pleased to bring you our first ever Cuban Report: Playoff Projections!
Some of you might be saying, "But the Report has done power rankings in the past, what makes this different?" We at the Report wanted to give our loyal readers a more comprehensive view of the playoff landscape. Our decision to do a playoff preview had nothing to do with removing 13 teams we needed to rank, and everything to do with wanting to please you all!
Without further ado, we bring you the pre-season playoff preview brought to you by the Cuban Report!
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1.  (61-21)
The Bullets are the class of the league right now after adding Sim Dump and McHale. They will battle all year with the Celtics for the #1 seed, but we think they’ll wind up with the league’s best record.
2.  (18-64)
This is a little deceiving because I think the Cavs definitely worse than the Celtics, but the way we seed gives the Central champ the #2 seed. The Cavs made some power moves this offseason and totally overhauled their roster. They have moved to the top of the class in the Special Ed Central Division.
3.  (65-17)
Despite being 2x* reigning champions, the Celtics aren’t even the best team in the Atlantic. Losing Rodney hurts their wing depth, but they’ve still got the best wing tandem in league history. With reports of Franchise spending some time in Germany, the Celtics will contend yet again.
4.  (59-23)
The Nets didn’t do much to help or hurt their team this offseason as they return essentially the same roster. This may be their ceiling in an Atlantic dominated by the Bullets and Celtics.
5.  (57-25)
The Raptors also brought back essentially the same squad. Unfortunately, the Cavs got way better. That said, 5th seed in an historically strong conference is not too shabby for the fighting Dinos.
6.  (50-32)
Despite the doom and gloom out of Charlotte, Odin’s squad is still looking very nice. There are holes, but they are clearly in the playoffs with their strong defense and the addition of Sidney Deane.
7.  (47-35)
The Knicks appear to be setting themselves up for the Bird sweepstakes this offseason. He’s got very little committed cap space after this year, but should field a competitive team with him money-ball strategy. He should make the playoffs, but this is the point in the rankings were our confidence level drops significantly.
8.  (46-36)
GM Lids quietly has a pretty nice squad. Newell is still a tier 2 PG, his big rotation is very solid, and the Isodoro Meyers signing should reinforce his wings. He’s got major holes, but these Bulls take home the last spot in the pre-season playoff rankings.
Last Team Out: Heat (45-37)
Wildcard: Pacers (20-62)
1.  (61-21)
The strongest team in the West despite some significant front court depth issues – Arenas, Baylor, and Randall are just that good. That Woodson signing though – yikes.
2.  (51-31)
Ward came on strong after his mini tank. His front court of Embiid and Ewing is rivaled only by the Webber/Zbo front court in Toronto. Picking up Westbrook as a super sub at the 1-3 solidifies a rotation that is a little light on quality wings.
3.  (59-23)
The Suns are our second favorite team out west, but due to playoff seeding they rank third in the pre-season playoff rankings. The question now is whether spreadsheet darling Aldrick Hughes can force the Suns to the top spot, or will Ank continue to be the Nets of the West.
4.  (62-20)
New GM Ian inherits a very nice squad in LA. The PG/wing combo of Prince, Porter, and Karasev is elite. With a trade or two to improve his front court, the Lakers could move up these rankings soon enough.
5.  (10-72)
Like Shaun in Cleveland, GBG made power moves this offseason. His team is still a little too young to truly compete for the top seed, but it’s only a matter of time. Will he finally move out of Soup’s shadow?
6.  (49-33)
The Spurs failed to bring back Joe Johnson, but did manage to secure JRich for one more year. Despite the loss of Johnson, the Spurs still have a solid roster of players, including Noel, Brand, Theus, and Willie Lewis. It’s not certain at this point what he’ll do to solve his wing issue.
7.  (38-44)
The Kings are in a little bit of no-man’s land. This should be their last year competing before beginning to tank for the ’42 draft. The Kings are really one Knight injury from plummeting into the lotto.
8.  (23-59)
The Sonics made some solid additions with Joe Johnson, Ryan Robertson, and Eddie Griffin. They are not going to be world beaters, but they’ve got a nice, young, core of players that should give them a solid chance at the 8 seed.
Last Team Out: Jazz (35-47)
Wildcard: Clippers (17-65)
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Post by Deleted on Oct 11, 2016 10:18:08 GMT -6
Mentions losing Rodney hurting wing depth Doesnt mention the Cousy and Covington additions  |
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Post by Heebs on Oct 11, 2016 10:20:36 GMT -6
Rodney is better than both.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 11, 2016 10:23:38 GMT -6
Rodney is better than both. Suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuure |
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Post by 20s Navidad on Oct 11, 2016 10:28:12 GMT -6
Rodney is better than both.  |
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Post by Heebs on Oct 11, 2016 11:23:08 GMT -6
20s races to the defense of Robert Covington.  |
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Post by Heebs on Oct 17, 2016 7:28:26 GMT -6
UPDATED PREVIEW!1. Raptors (26-5) (+21.0 PPG) ThunderMav style dominance in a better conference. Quite impressive feat from the Fighting Petes. 2. Celtics (19-12) (+13.1 PPG) Shitty luck has the Celtics looking worse than they are. Oh, and we paid off the refs. Suck it, dumptime! 3. Nets (28-7) (+15.5 PPG) The Nets have had a pretty easy slate so far this year. We expect them to fall back to earth as they face more Eastern Conference teams. 4. Bobcats (24-9) (+13.1 PPG) The Bobcats have not disappointed. Their defense and shooting efficiency are outstanding. 5.  Heat (21-9) (12.2 PPG) Despite trying to sell all season, Canes has got one of the better looking teams he’s had in a while. Will he buy to try to compete? No way. 6. Cavs (18-13) (+5.8 PPG) Overhyped coming into the season, the Cavs are a disappointment compared to expectations. Turnovers and poor-shooting from the bigs appear to be the issues, but we at the Report don’t have any suggested solutions. 7. Bullets (15-10) (+3.3 PPG) This is proof that even the most respected sim league news network worth billions of dollars is fallible. We had the Bullets as world beaters with the offseason additions of Sim Dump and McHale, but it seems they’ve not quite found their groove. Makes no sense. 8. Knicks (17-11) (+2.4 PPG) Right where they want to be. Last Team Out: Bulls (14-19) (-2.9 PPG) 1. Blazers (21-6) (+11.4 PPG) It’s a toss up between the Blazers and Rockets, but we’ll go with the Blazers for the top seed based on the PG star power in Portland. 2. Rockets (26-7) (+11.4 PPG) Adding Schröder solidified the Rockets roster as a contending team. He’s not in the same conversation with Arenas unfortunately. 3. Lakers (23-8) (+10.6 PPG) The Lakers are the third and final team in the West with a chance to win it all. This is probably the end of their window, too, unless Ian can dump a contract to be in a position to afford Prince. 4. Thunder (18-10) (+7.6 PPG) Dame is making a name for himself in Oklahoma City. Soon they will be saying, “David Harriwho?” 5. Suns (15-11) (+5.7 PPG) Alderrick Hughley has got to be a frustrating player. The scoring, the efficiency, and then the turnovers. We wonder if Ankly is missing Covington yet. 6. Spurs (19-9) (+6.9 PPG) Theus is an incredible player and is every bit as good as Arenas. The Spurs have a decent front court, but their success is pretty much all attributable to Theus. 7. Sonics (17-9) (+2.5 PPG) Joe Johnson has proven to be a great signing for the Sonics. Ryan Robertson really should be starting at SF for this team. 8.  Nuggets (14-12) (+2.7 PPG) I really wish the Nuggets could amnesty that Bucky contract. Is it the worst contract in sim league history? How many picks would Bankz have needed to give away to trade Bucky for William Donovan? Last Team Out: Grizzlies (15-17) (-1.4 PPG)
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Post by eric on Oct 17, 2016 8:49:15 GMT -6
al
red
ick
alredick
his mama call him alredick
you better call him alredick
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Post by Lazy Pete on Oct 17, 2016 8:59:10 GMT -6
The good times are never gonna end here in Toronto!
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Post by Heebs on Oct 25, 2016 13:07:55 GMT -6
As expected, our predictions were highly successful. Our only real mistake was underrating the Raptors, overrating the Bullets, and anything else we got wrong. Pretty great if you ask us!
At this point, we'd like to give you our preview of the actual playoffs.
Raptors v. Knicks (Dinos won the regular season series 3-1) - Prediction: Raptors 4-0.
The kids from New York Village are in for a shock when they head to the Great White North. The Raptors are better than the Knicks at literally ever position. It's no contest.
Celtics v. Bullets (Regular season series tied 2-2) - Prediction: Celtics 4-2
The Bullets were our favorite team coming into this year, and we still think they have the players to make a run to a title. Unfortunately, the Celtics have better players to make a run to a title. The league will be cheering for you, though, KN.
Nets v. Cavs (Cavs won the regular season series 2-1) - Prediction: Cavs 4-3
This one comes down to PGs and the Cavs have the better PG in Jesse Epstein. If the Nets pull this out, it will be because they are able to get Ackles into foul trouble. The Cavs lack of wing depth is troubling.
Heat v. Bobcats (Bobcats won the regular season series 3-0) - Prediction: Bobcats 4-2
While the Bobcats swept the regular season series, they will be without Bender and Biyombo for at least game 1. That gives them the edge in Game 1, plus we think they steal another from the Bobcats. When healthy the Bobcats are the better team. They'll show it and win in 6.
Rockets v. Sonics (Rockets won the regular season series 3-1) - Prediction: Rockets 4-1
The Sonics will be able to steal a game, but that's it. This Rockets squad is too good.
Lakers v. Nuggets (Lakers won the regular season series 3-1) - Prediction: Lakers 4-3
We wanted to give Ian a sweep in his first season back as GM, but Tyler's roster is too good. At least the Nuggets have a GM now - one that is not scared to compete like a certain liquid-based foot item named former GM.
Suns v. Thunder (Suns swept the regular season series 4-0) - Prediction: Suns 4-0
Without Lillard this is going to go poorly for the Thunder. Plus the Suns swept the regular season with relative ease. Grats Ankly!
Blazers v. Spurs (Blazers won the regular season series 3-1) - Predictions: Blazers 4-1
A battle of two elite PGs will come down to their supporting casts. We think the Blazers have a much better 2-5 and will win this series easily.
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Post by SugarShaun on Oct 25, 2016 13:17:36 GMT -6
If you get Ackles into foul trouble that would be impressive since he isn't on my roster.
Elie is really the only wing depth I have unless Harkless turns into something useful. That is because Isidoro Meyers is a traitor
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Post by Citizen Cane on Oct 25, 2016 13:19:08 GMT -6
bobcats in 7 imo. it is fate
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Post by Heebs on Oct 25, 2016 13:20:16 GMT -6
Saric and Ackles always confuse me.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 25, 2016 13:31:47 GMT -6
Bullets in 6
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Post by eric on Oct 25, 2016 13:33:28 GMT -6
you're crazy if you think every raptor is ahead of every knick
nicks >>> tink, they're not the toronto rapattons
zach randolph is great in the clean international FIBA game but he can't handle jonas valanciunas' bruising back alley style bball
shane battier is so cerebral, how is he gonna react when dario saric comes out of nowhere to play SF for the knicks
put that in your spreadsheet press F9 and recalculate it, shane
full eyes
ian blood
can't lose
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Post by Delap on Oct 25, 2016 14:47:23 GMT -6
Sonics in 7, IMO.
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