Post by the original michael on May 7, 2023 12:10:16 GMT -8
1. TC came and gone. As usual, we had some happy GM and the same cast of characters who were angry with TC. After having some time to look around, talk me through your TC.
autumn harold : It sucked! No surprises, no big improvements. Mike Green’s defense and inside went up. Marv Roberts jumped to A- inside. Like, overall it was positive, but you want some excitement out of TC, and this didn’t provide any. Looking at some of the other TCs around the league makes me want to rebuild.
hf : I had a good tc, Gervin went like +3 as well as English. Need English to get to A- outside asap but I still have a 3 point AC for him. I’m very happy with Major Jones as well, he just needs some rebounding help and should be good.
ashes : No complaints here. For the second season in a row, I had a pretty great TC. Just about every one of my young fellas had a great TC. Webster, Bryant, and Sobers all had follow-up great TCs, and were basically all uncamped as well. Marques Johnson had an amazing first TC and he's looking like he could become a top SF in the league, which would be awesome. Overall, some long overdue TC success.
2. Aside from your squad, which team or player surprised you most with their improvement or lack of improvement in TC & why?
autumn harold : I’m sure you camped his scoring out but looking up and seeing Dennis Johnson at B outside was like a jolt of electricity running through my body, getting me fucking insanely hard and hot and heavy. Turn this thing off! I’m dry!
hf : Idk, this TC actually looked amazing for everyone. I was surprised DJ went to B outside for you. He should be a superstar.
ashes : Not sure on this one. Parish seems a little disappointing, but I'm not sure I can say it was surprising. Best answer I can come up with though.
3. I know you can’t pay too much attention to preseason, but Indy just went 4-8 with a -8PPG differential. As currently constructed, can they make CY? What moves do they need to make?
autumn harold : No, they can’t reset with the current roster. I was surprised to see they didn’t go after Love and Cunningham. Biggest need is a big. They have a great SG in Phil and a nice big in Lacey. Campy and Bo are promising, but they’re not difference makers at all. But Kelley and Lucas aren’t rotation pieces, so Styro needs to focus on frontcourt upgrades. I offered Green for Gus + Lucas + a pick. He should do it.
hf : They need some bigs and that’s about it I think they will make it easily.
ashes : Indy looks to be in very real trouble. They don't block shots, don't rebound, turn the ball over too much, etc etc. They definitely need to make some moves. A lot of their guys seem more like rotation players to me, outside of Smith and Lacey I guess? Maurice Lucas and Campy Russell are pretty ass, I'd look to upgrade those for sure, maybe some better frontcourt depth. Maybe pray Lamar's 4+ TPG will come back down to earth? Looking rough out in Indy.
4. Looking back to FA, we seem to continue to run into the same issue every year: missing bids. In my opinion, we should sim without these fucks. What are your thoughts and what would you propose to close that gap?
autumn harold : Yeah, it’s a recurring issue that we could clean up immediately by making a rule that FA Day 1 gets simmed the night the draft ends. It’s frustrating because everyone is on during the draft and people just sleep on their bids. If we had a rule, they’d follow it.
hf : There’s really nothing you can do, people are either gonna send or not. I don’t think there was a problem this year as we actually did fa all in one day.
ashes : Sim without them. If I'm busy/forget to do my bids, I don't care if Spencer sims without me. I probably wouldn't sim without Day 1 bids the same day as the draft was run/finished, but otherwise, just sim it. It's usually the same few guys missing bids anyway. Also, I barely care about Days 4/5, sim that shit next opportunity regardless of bids.
5. Which position do you think is most over saturated right now and which is the most barren?
autumn harold : Good question. For barren, I’ll say PG. I think the current crop of PGs is underwhelming, but teams don’t seem to be willing to pay up for PGs. There are playoff-level teams in the East starting guys like Fred Brown, Dick Barnett, Slick Watts, Earl Monroe, etc. And some of the well-regarded young guys look like shit to me but not gonna name names. Guys like Freddie, Bing, Clyde have also fallen off a lot. Oversaturated, I’m not sure. There are way more bigs than ever before, but bigs tend to hold their value even when there’s depth at the position since you typically need three good shotblockers and rebounders to compete. Lots more complete-package wing types than ever before too.
hf : I think there’s a lack of doninant point guards and there’s a lot of elite wings. But they’re all needed so it’s not a big deal.
ashes : Bigs seem the most saturated with maybe SGs a close second. Seems like every big is B A A and every SG is some form of B/B+ and A/A+ scoring. There is basically no shortage of starters around the league at these positions. As for barren, I guess I'd go with PGs? I'm not sure I'd go as far as to say it's barren, but I think it's the position with the least amount of big talent right now. I could be wrong though since I haven't been able to pay too much attention these past few seasons, but just glancing around the league, PG seems pretty weak overall.
6. Robert Parrish went #1, but underwhelmed in pre with a 8/8/2 line. I’m sure he will be fine, but did Portland make the right decision?
autumn harold : I would’ve gone King or Dantley at #1, and after TC, DJ is #1 in the class by miles. But I like Parrish. He’ll come along as a rebounder. The shotblocking is make or break, and it looks like he has the foundation to get up to 3 bpg. IDC about scoring in a big, so I’d be happy as long as he has midrange and good handles.
hf : I never thought Parish was the number one pick. It was always King. Then Dantley. I honestly would of considered DJ over Parish. Just wasn’t a big fan.
ashes : Mentioned it early, but yeah Parish seems very disappointing. Like you said, he will probably be fine, but these Sam Lacey/Rudy Gobert type bigs (oh the pain) are never worth being picked this high, especially with how many quality big men are around the league. It was absolutely the wrong decision to take Parish over King/Dantley, and honestly after TC, I would take Dennis and Marques Johnson over Parish as well. Portland will be fine with him, because he will likely develop into a solid double-double big that blocks a couple shots. Cool.
7. This draft was very deep IMO. We have a lot of quality players in the middle of the first all the way to the second. Which player selected outside of the lottery do you think has the chance the be the best?
autumn harold : Painful subject for me but it’s Willie Hodge.
hf : Ben from the Bulls looks awesome. As well as Hodge on the Knicks.
ashes : Yeah it was a solid draft for sure. The first that comes to mind is Ben Poquette, not really because he's super impressive or anything, but he's basically Robert Parish lol so that's funny to me. He looks like a solid starting big or a great 3rd big. James Edwards looks like he might be a really good pick outside the lotto as well if his potential is close to true. There were a bunch of the high inside, no 3P, good defender type players that always look pretty but kind of suck. Didn't give the 2nd rounders much of a look, so I'll just shout out my boy Scott Lloyd with his 2+ blocks preseason!
8. Can someone tell me why we all love playing this silly game so much?
autumn harold : It’s a fucking disease. But like a good one. If I die walking into traffic while I’m reading PMs, rest in peace for sure but definitely don’t let it delay a sim…
hf : I think we all enjoy each others company on the boards and the community. The game is simple yet complex enough to keep everyone interested. Nothing too difficult about the league makes it fun.
ashes : Comradery? Friendship?? Maybe we just can't get over this hobby from when we were young. I'd imagine most people here, if they play sports games, enjoy the dynasty/franchise modes and building teams. Or really like fantasy sports. Or maybe we just enjoy suffering!
autumn harold : It sucked! No surprises, no big improvements. Mike Green’s defense and inside went up. Marv Roberts jumped to A- inside. Like, overall it was positive, but you want some excitement out of TC, and this didn’t provide any. Looking at some of the other TCs around the league makes me want to rebuild.
hf : I had a good tc, Gervin went like +3 as well as English. Need English to get to A- outside asap but I still have a 3 point AC for him. I’m very happy with Major Jones as well, he just needs some rebounding help and should be good.
ashes : No complaints here. For the second season in a row, I had a pretty great TC. Just about every one of my young fellas had a great TC. Webster, Bryant, and Sobers all had follow-up great TCs, and were basically all uncamped as well. Marques Johnson had an amazing first TC and he's looking like he could become a top SF in the league, which would be awesome. Overall, some long overdue TC success.
2. Aside from your squad, which team or player surprised you most with their improvement or lack of improvement in TC & why?
autumn harold : I’m sure you camped his scoring out but looking up and seeing Dennis Johnson at B outside was like a jolt of electricity running through my body, getting me fucking insanely hard and hot and heavy. Turn this thing off! I’m dry!
hf : Idk, this TC actually looked amazing for everyone. I was surprised DJ went to B outside for you. He should be a superstar.
ashes : Not sure on this one. Parish seems a little disappointing, but I'm not sure I can say it was surprising. Best answer I can come up with though.
3. I know you can’t pay too much attention to preseason, but Indy just went 4-8 with a -8PPG differential. As currently constructed, can they make CY? What moves do they need to make?
autumn harold : No, they can’t reset with the current roster. I was surprised to see they didn’t go after Love and Cunningham. Biggest need is a big. They have a great SG in Phil and a nice big in Lacey. Campy and Bo are promising, but they’re not difference makers at all. But Kelley and Lucas aren’t rotation pieces, so Styro needs to focus on frontcourt upgrades. I offered Green for Gus + Lucas + a pick. He should do it.
hf : They need some bigs and that’s about it I think they will make it easily.
ashes : Indy looks to be in very real trouble. They don't block shots, don't rebound, turn the ball over too much, etc etc. They definitely need to make some moves. A lot of their guys seem more like rotation players to me, outside of Smith and Lacey I guess? Maurice Lucas and Campy Russell are pretty ass, I'd look to upgrade those for sure, maybe some better frontcourt depth. Maybe pray Lamar's 4+ TPG will come back down to earth? Looking rough out in Indy.
4. Looking back to FA, we seem to continue to run into the same issue every year: missing bids. In my opinion, we should sim without these fucks. What are your thoughts and what would you propose to close that gap?
autumn harold : Yeah, it’s a recurring issue that we could clean up immediately by making a rule that FA Day 1 gets simmed the night the draft ends. It’s frustrating because everyone is on during the draft and people just sleep on their bids. If we had a rule, they’d follow it.
hf : There’s really nothing you can do, people are either gonna send or not. I don’t think there was a problem this year as we actually did fa all in one day.
ashes : Sim without them. If I'm busy/forget to do my bids, I don't care if Spencer sims without me. I probably wouldn't sim without Day 1 bids the same day as the draft was run/finished, but otherwise, just sim it. It's usually the same few guys missing bids anyway. Also, I barely care about Days 4/5, sim that shit next opportunity regardless of bids.
5. Which position do you think is most over saturated right now and which is the most barren?
autumn harold : Good question. For barren, I’ll say PG. I think the current crop of PGs is underwhelming, but teams don’t seem to be willing to pay up for PGs. There are playoff-level teams in the East starting guys like Fred Brown, Dick Barnett, Slick Watts, Earl Monroe, etc. And some of the well-regarded young guys look like shit to me but not gonna name names. Guys like Freddie, Bing, Clyde have also fallen off a lot. Oversaturated, I’m not sure. There are way more bigs than ever before, but bigs tend to hold their value even when there’s depth at the position since you typically need three good shotblockers and rebounders to compete. Lots more complete-package wing types than ever before too.
hf : I think there’s a lack of doninant point guards and there’s a lot of elite wings. But they’re all needed so it’s not a big deal.
ashes : Bigs seem the most saturated with maybe SGs a close second. Seems like every big is B A A and every SG is some form of B/B+ and A/A+ scoring. There is basically no shortage of starters around the league at these positions. As for barren, I guess I'd go with PGs? I'm not sure I'd go as far as to say it's barren, but I think it's the position with the least amount of big talent right now. I could be wrong though since I haven't been able to pay too much attention these past few seasons, but just glancing around the league, PG seems pretty weak overall.
6. Robert Parrish went #1, but underwhelmed in pre with a 8/8/2 line. I’m sure he will be fine, but did Portland make the right decision?
autumn harold : I would’ve gone King or Dantley at #1, and after TC, DJ is #1 in the class by miles. But I like Parrish. He’ll come along as a rebounder. The shotblocking is make or break, and it looks like he has the foundation to get up to 3 bpg. IDC about scoring in a big, so I’d be happy as long as he has midrange and good handles.
hf : I never thought Parish was the number one pick. It was always King. Then Dantley. I honestly would of considered DJ over Parish. Just wasn’t a big fan.
ashes : Mentioned it early, but yeah Parish seems very disappointing. Like you said, he will probably be fine, but these Sam Lacey/Rudy Gobert type bigs (oh the pain) are never worth being picked this high, especially with how many quality big men are around the league. It was absolutely the wrong decision to take Parish over King/Dantley, and honestly after TC, I would take Dennis and Marques Johnson over Parish as well. Portland will be fine with him, because he will likely develop into a solid double-double big that blocks a couple shots. Cool.
7. This draft was very deep IMO. We have a lot of quality players in the middle of the first all the way to the second. Which player selected outside of the lottery do you think has the chance the be the best?
autumn harold : Painful subject for me but it’s Willie Hodge.
hf : Ben from the Bulls looks awesome. As well as Hodge on the Knicks.
ashes : Yeah it was a solid draft for sure. The first that comes to mind is Ben Poquette, not really because he's super impressive or anything, but he's basically Robert Parish lol so that's funny to me. He looks like a solid starting big or a great 3rd big. James Edwards looks like he might be a really good pick outside the lotto as well if his potential is close to true. There were a bunch of the high inside, no 3P, good defender type players that always look pretty but kind of suck. Didn't give the 2nd rounders much of a look, so I'll just shout out my boy Scott Lloyd with his 2+ blocks preseason!
8. Can someone tell me why we all love playing this silly game so much?
autumn harold : It’s a fucking disease. But like a good one. If I die walking into traffic while I’m reading PMs, rest in peace for sure but definitely don’t let it delay a sim…
hf : I think we all enjoy each others company on the boards and the community. The game is simple yet complex enough to keep everyone interested. Nothing too difficult about the league makes it fun.
ashes : Comradery? Friendship?? Maybe we just can't get over this hobby from when we were young. I'd imagine most people here, if they play sports games, enjoy the dynasty/franchise modes and building teams. Or really like fantasy sports. Or maybe we just enjoy suffering!
