Seven Things I Learned Since Sim #7

[WigNosy]

1. The Bobcats officially tapped out for this season

In a move that drew surprisingly little commentary, the Bobcats traded Joakim Noah back to the Hawks organization they swiped him away from in Free Agency for what amounted to SF Thomas Elliott and 10 points (they got some other vet min players in the deal who they cut immediately). Maybe the lack of commentary is due to the fact that Noah has been injured most of the season (sim league imitating real life) and people assumed his injuries have already cost them the division in an arms race between the Hawks and the Magic, but Noah represented the best chance the Bobcats had to hold down the middle in any deep playoff run they might entertain.

2. The Southeast Race is going to come down to the wire

The Magic had to deal with James Harden being out with injury for most of January and kept within striking range of the Hawks. Now that Deron Williams will spend a month sidelined himself, and at a time when the Hawks have there 7 of their next 10 games on the road, there is a great chance the Magic can close the gap and possibly even take the division lead away from the Hawks before they get healthy again. The season series between the two teams is tied at 2-2 so who will get the tiebreaker is anyone's guess. If the Magic surge down the stretch, they could set themselves up nicely for the playoffs.

3. The #1 seed in the East is up for grabs

The Nets are still dealing with injury problems of their own - Medina could come back mid-sim - but they're 14 and 1 over their last 15 games and have put themselves in the discussion for the #1 seed in the East. They could also have quite a bit of say in their own destiny as they have two games against both the Magic and the Hawks as the season winds down. Watch the Nets as we close the season out - they may have the most compelling schedule down the stretch of anyone.

4. The Southwest is really heating up.

The Grizzlies pulled away early and seemed to have the division locked up and Louie was getting ready to laugh at the expense of the tax man... but now I notice that the Grizzlies have the Mavericks and Pelicans creeping up on them in their rear-view mirror. The good news for the Grizz is both of those teams can't catch them - the Mavs and Pels play each other three times down the strecth. The Mavs are probably the biggest threat to chase them down - they have a home-heavy close to the schedule, they have the Clippers (with no Durant) twice this sim, and if the Grizzlies don't find a way to win on 4/4, the Mavs will have the extra bonus of having won the head-to-head season series 3-1.

5. The lotto favorite will be decided with today's sim.

The Jazz host the Kings on 3/7 on the schedule - which will be simmed in mere hours. These are the only teams in the league still rocking single-digit wins so this one will give someone a 10th win - and the loser gets the inside track to the top lotto odds. The Jazz will be without Robert Neeley due to injury but have the homecourt "advantage" so it's tough to guess who will come out on top here.

6. Tani will be paying more attention to the Clippers' results than his own (except that Jazz game)

They've been bad most of the year, but with KD out due to injury, and only two home games in their next eight contests, expect the Kings to be downright putrid. This sim. The bad news for Tani is that Durant will be healthy in time for the Clippers' late-season matchups with the Celtics, one of the teams their tank is chasing.

7. Russell Gomez is surprisingly good

Don't know who he is? Russell is the guy who stepped in for the Rockets when Horford was injured. In those starts he averaged more than 16 points and 10 rebounds. A lot of teams in the league would love to get those numbers from a starter. For all the fretting about what the Rockets will do after their aging core comes off the books because they don't have any young pieces... maybe the Rockets have something in this kid.

[ballsohard]

5 Points