#SLOE: People's Basketball Sim League

Pacific
Division Best - Kings (13-7)
Division Worst - Supersonics/Clippers (5-17)
MVP - Dirk Nowitzki
Top Storyline - KG Trade

This division has traditionally been one of the most competitive in sim league. More often than not, the division title was murky all the way through to the last sim. However, a clear cut favorite has already emerged so early in this season. Dubbed GM of the year by some fellow GMs before the season started, the Kings have assembled a championship team that seemingly came out of no where. At this point in the year, the Lakers seemed to have the best chance to possibly challenge for the division title. BUT WAIT. With the biggest trade of the year up to this point, Inner GI decided to ship out the face of the franchise in Kevin Garnett for a rebuild package of 3 first round picks. The Lakers have 9 first round picks over the next 3 drafts which is a great place to start a rebuild. At this point in the draft preview file, the picks acquired for this upcoming draft is set to be Andrew Bogut and Monta Ellis. That starts a good inside outside game from which to build. Let's take a look at the remaining teams in the division. The clippers, sonics, and warriors are on the decline. The Suns (assholes) are on an incline. The Trailblazers are holding steady behind my vote for MVP of the division Dirk Nowitzki. A lot of hype could be made that T-Mac deserves that honor at this point, but Dirk is just doing more with less in my opinion. NOLA is costing his player an award by building too good of a team around him. Looks like the really good chance of a World Title will have to make up for it.



OTHER DIVISIONS COMING THROUGHOUT THE DAY.

May need to update Top Storyline to NEW LAKER OWNERSHIP lol

Midwest
Division Best - Mavericks (19-3)
Division Worst - Nuggets (6-14)
MVP - Tim Duncan
Top Storyline - The 7 year drought

This division, in my opinion, has been the most confusing in the past few years. I honestly think this division has had some of the best pieces on a team that have been assembled. This year, the top is filled with two teams in the Mavericks and the Rockets. The Rockets seem to have the more complete starting five, but these are some aging players. Meanwhile, the Mavs have a solid player in Jameson, but the pieces around him don't seem to be as solid as the Rockets. I give a nod to any team with Webber on it. The middle of the division is crowded with the Jazz, Spurs, Grizzlies, and Timberwolves. The best player in the division, and probably the league, is Tim Duncan. He has been dominant since entering the league. This grouping of teams seem to be on the rise, but either haven't gotten the pieces around a superstar or haven't had the players reach the anticipated potential. The bottom of the barrel is possibly the best looking team going forward. The Denver Nuggets. With current pieces of Dwyane Wade and Gilbert Arenas, a blockbuster trade for KG gives this team an immediate solid team without a prospect of a downward trend going forward. If that is the case, why is this not the top storyline? This division is notorious for having 3 or 4 top teams in the west and have not won the title in 7 years since Darth last led the Mavericks. With the amount of talent in this division and two complete teams, the storyline will continue to be this until a championship returns to this division.

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Central
Division Best - Hawks (15-6)
Division Worst - Cavaliers (2-21)
MVP - Paul Pierce
Top Storyline - The decline of the big dogs

How the mighty have fallen. Or have they? With only 6 losses from a 4 time champ and only 6 losses from the Eastern Conference Champion, how can this be considered a fall? The Hawks and Raptors have been the elite of the East for the past 4 years. Trading away some assets due to the repeater tax has caused these giants to become mere mortals. Penny is having one of his least productive years, which he is still a top player in the league. The Raptors have reset around three of their championship players. Until someone unhinges these two, these are still the east Elite. The Bulls and Hornets are right there record wise with the two ahead of them, but I separated them because a championship is a different class. These two seem to be heading in different directions. The bulls have been third fiddle to the two beasts for the past few years even though they have maintained the same roster and only developed better players. I think this is their year to make a run. The Hornets are built around youth and are new comers to this territory. With players like Jefferson, Randolph, and O'Neal, the youth movement is real. I like the long term of this team more than the immediate future. The Pistons and Bucks are super young and really seem to be a year or two away from making a big time push. The Bucks are a lot closer than the Pistons, but Detroit got a quick overhaul having the top two picks this past year. At the bottom of the division, the Pacers are a team that always had that superstar in Pierce but never got the team around him. With getting Kemp, the team looked poised to have a decent year with the masterful gameplanning of Pauly, but even that couldn't get this team going. The Cavs are so far behind the pack in all aspects at this point having already overhauled their roster for cap relief, and is seemingly building towards the future on what can be anticipated as a 5 year plan. The two future pieces they have in place in Redd and Outlaw are building blocks but not the face of the franchise.

Atlantic
Division Best - Magic (17-3)
Division Worst - Nets (9-14)
MVP - Lebron James
Top Storyline - Size Matters

If you want to see what it takes to be at the top of the division, look at the Washington Wizards. Nine of their thirteen players are 6-10 or taller, and all starters but the point guard fall into this category. Pairing up Shaq with Lamar and Rashard, this team should be the clear favorite in the division. However, the Orlando Magic are leading the division behind arguably their most important asset in Shane Battier. Battier isn't the traditional scorer, but rather he is a lock down defender. Rounding out the top tier teams in this division is the Boston Celtics. Having Alonzo back, this team is expected to dominate the division, but the rest of the division has caught up. This team is scary young and has a top 5 manager putting in the depth charts. The second tier of the division is the Heat and the 76ers. I struggled putting Lebron as the MVP of the division for fear of home team comments, but he is doing more for this team and keeping them afloat than any other one player is doing for their one team. This team should be in the clear bottom of this division, but Lebron is keeping them over 500. To fit into the size storyline, Lebron is a mere 6'8", 241 lb small forward. To continue along those lines, the 76ers bring in a 6'9" small forward in Tayshaun Prince and the 7'6" Shawn Bradley. the 76ers need a rapid development from Luis Scola and they can have a quality starting player at each position. The last tier of the division is Knicks and Nets. Its a rough time in the greater New York area. New York brings in the second 7'6" center of the division in Yao Ming, and they also pair him with the 6'8" Carmello Anthony. Needing role players, this team is a few more lotto drafts away from being a complete team. The Nets need time to develop this team. They have a up and coming starter at each position all at 25 years old or less. This division should be a good division going forward with so much youth.

Nice work man! I'm hoping I can turn around my season... starting this sim!

Fantastic read Logan! Thanks for the time you put into this!

Signed with a Scarlet Letter

AWARDED 5 POINTS! Great work!