JNR of the Minnesota Timberwolves
NickMalone77 of the New Orleans Pelicans
NOLa. of the Sacremento Kings
Inner_GI of the New York Knicks
1. We've had some breathing room from trade deadline day now. What move has had the biggest impact so far? What was the worst move?
JNR: I don’t really know. This trade deadline was lame as hell. Lots of cap moves and not many real blockbusters. The Jared Dudley trade was close, but honestly I don’t have anything positive or negative to say about any of the moves.
NickMalone77: I think it's safe to say that the move of Lebron James to Utah had the most impact of any trade made around the trade deadline. The Pelicans were rolling at 21-10. Then a 2-6 sim happens and the tail spin starts. Lebron gets angry at Dame and Blake, forces a trade, Pels acquire Andrew Bogut who gets hurt in his first sim as a Pels starter and has to mix the next two weeks. 23-16 turns into 33-33 (At this time). McDermott isn't a viable option to replace Lebron and that's where the pain is being felt right now in the middle of that lineup. Teams are able to let Blake and Lillard get their's in exchange for letting Chris Paul play an average brand of basketball. It's been an ugly few months in NOLA since disbanding the fantastic 4.
NOLa: Focusing primarily on just the actual trades on trade deadline day, I think the biggest impact move was by the Nuggets sending off Steven Hunter and his $7mil salary to get under the luxury tax. thesyndicate just barely paid the luxury tax last season in time for the offseason by the skin of his teeth, so getting out of the luxury tax and resetting the repeater is huge. However, he just lost Jrue Holiday and only has 8 active players, if he even gets a small 8 day injury to any other guy, he is back in the tax and the repeater is back on. Nuggets better pray nothing else happens. The worst move is hard to judge because the trades were so "meh" but I'll go with using my hindsight 20/20 vision and put the Rockets trade of DJ White as the worst, only because Bosh got hurt and no other move was impactful. It wasn't a bad trade and the Rockets haven't missed a beat.
Inner_GI: While this trade wasn't on deadline day, I think the best trade was the Kings/Pacers trade. The Kings sent Reggie Jackson for a defensive utility player, Iman Shumpert (the type of player that is invaluable in the playoffs). After that trade, the Kings have raced to the top of the league with the best record. On the flip side, the worst trade can go to the Pelicans/Jazz or Bull/Grizzlies. Lets take a look:
Pelicans sent Lebron James for Andrew Bogut, Lou Williams, and Thomas Elliot(who?). Not much to say here, this was a move I don't understand. The pelicans effectively gave up on this season with this trade. Teams sometimes try to get cute with cap savings near the deadline, and it can really come back to haunt a team. Pelicans might miss the playoffs...
Next, we have the Bulls and Grizzlies trade where the Grizzlies sent LMA to the Bulls for Hawes. No, this isn't me shitting on the Grizzlies. I understand this move from their perspective. They have a tax bill, they will never be able to pay, so FA isn't an option. This trade keeps the Grizzly train rolling. The Bulls though... I'm just blown away that one year after making big splash signings in Dragic and Hawes, they are now dumping players for future cap relief. It seems like the Bulls showed up the Prom without any pants on.
false9: I was a big fan of the Jackson/Shumpert trade, but I'll take this in a different direction for the sake of variety. Here's a fun fact on an underrated trade- BSH's Sixers have been 29-14 since the addition of Bob Covington. Convington's acquisition led to Gordon Hayward being moved to point guard, where he's putting up career bests across the board. The Sixers are starting to look the the dangerous team I forecasted in THE LOST POD.
I'll throw some more dirt on the Pelicans trading LeBron- why why why?! Maybe we all need to learn a lesson from Louie and not fear the taxman. I'd be curious if there were a different version of this trade, except with Chris "Playing liked Cliff" Paul going to the Jazz instead of LeBron. Even with LeDecline in effect, it's possible Nick could have recaptured some of the "LeBron at PG" magic from a few seasons ago. Instead, they're stuck on the outside looking in right now.
2. I'm stealing thunder from the rookie report- it looks like it's down to KenHenBen Simmons and Joseph Kight for rookie of the year. Who's your RoY?
JNR: It should be Simmons. He’s on a good team and putting up good numbers on amazing efficiency. But Kight has the raw numbers which the game tends to overvalue. So I think it will be Kight, but Simmons is MY ROY.
NickMalone77: Of the rookie of the year race, I'd have to give it to Ben Simmons. Ben's displayed an awesome inside game and has really been a bridge for the surprising 76ers this year. If only he can develop a bit more defensively, He'd really be a central figure on that 76ers team this year.
NOLa: I feel confident that Joseph Kight is going to win this mainly due to the excess minutes he receives and the Jazz having no other option to take away those scoring opportunities. KenHenBenSim is currently limited to 24.5 mpg, which may be due to his fouling tendency since he's averaging 3.8 fpg. With equal minutes, KHBS would be the favorite here, but currently it's Kight.
Inner_GI: Ben Simmons in a landslide. He actually plays for a good team. Knight is good because the Jazz have no shame. Maybe now BSH will stop holding some crazy grudge about a 6moy year vote from 5 seasons ago. (Ben Simmons could also win 6moy, if he was eligible)
False9: I'm taking the cop out answer here as well- the game will award Rookie of the Year to Kight. But KHBS is the people's rookie of the year. Per 36 minutes, he'd be averaging 22.3 points, 6.9 rebounds, and uhh 5.6 fouls. Most notably, he'd be starting in the playoffs! This guy looks like the future star we all thought he'd be.
3. The Bucks, 76ers, and Magic are separated by 2.5 games. Can the Bucks hold onto the 4 spot?
JNR- I think so. They’re trending in the right direction. They also have a lot of home games left, so that’s a nice advantage for them. The Sixers would be my pick to take them out, though, since they have one more game with them and a chance to cut that deficit.
NickMalone77: With just 5 road games remaining, The Bucks SHOULD be able to hold onto the 4th spot in the conference. The Magic have been a tad underwhelming while forming a completely new team this year than what they were last season. The feel good 76ers have been exciting to watch but don't have the front court to uphold down the stretch. I really liked the Bucks getting a hold of Drummond at the deadline. He and Ed Davis will be a major factor down the stretch for this team cleaning up all the Irving and Rubio misses.
NOLa: I feel the Bucks will hold. The Bucks have currently played 8 more road games than home games, where they are excellent at. The 76ers and Magic have currently played more home games than away games. It's hard to find a true weak spot on the Bucks, whereas the Magic are still tinkering with their gameplans and lineups and the 76ers are trying to improve their offensive production.
Inner_GI: Yes, the Bucks should hold onto the 4th spot. They have considerably more home games left than the 76ers or the Magic. Also, the Bucks don't have to play the ADs anymore this year.
false9: I'll be the contrarian (and probably wrong for the reasons stated above) for the sake of entertainment. Toss the Magic out- they're still "figuring things out," also know as "their GM might be bad at this game." I think the SIXERS can climb. They certainly have more road games than the Bucks, but their road opponents look beatable. SAVE THE DATE- Sixers at Bucks on 4/12 could be a pivotal game.
4. Out West, the Nuggets are in the midst of a four game losing streak. Can they right the ship without Jrue Holliday or will Denver find themselves out of the playoffs?
JNR: I always trust Ryan to make the playoffs. He’ll find a way to stay in.
NickMalone77: With the way the Pels have been in a funk/tail spin, the Nuggets don't have any reason to be concerned. Now being 7th or 8th in the conference isn't great at any stretch when you have to match up against the Kings or Spurs but Klay and Collison have put this team on their back all season long and will continue to do so. Grizzlies and Rockets also look to move up a few spots. Nuggets will slide but I'd be shocked if they missed the playoffs.
NOLa: The only team that looks like they can challenge for their spot in the playoffs are the Pelicans, however, they are in a similar situation as the Nuggets in which they shipped off LeBron James for a salary dump for the future. Both teams are floundering, but I think the Nuggets will hold on. Their 4 game losing streak only has 1 bad loss against the Mavs, but they lost to teams like the Pistons and Clippers without Jrue Holiday. I can definitely see the Nuggets as an 8th seed.
Inner_GI: Well what team is going to catch them? The Pelicans look terrible since the Lebron trade, and the combination of the Thunder and Cruise Control Warriors don't exactly scream "HERE WE COME 8TH SEED." The west is extremely top heavy, but luckily the Grizzlies salary bill is a nice anchor to keep the likes of the Kings, Clippers, and Spurs from defying gravity and floating away(that is me shitting on the Grizzlies.
).false9: Time for ANOTHER BAD PREDICTION. In spite of the post-LeBron hangover, I think Nick and the Pels figure it out and get the eighth seed. Maybe starting Jae Crowder over Doug "lower PER than Tassin" McDermott could be a start. It looks like the Nuggets have four more road games than the Pelicans. Seeing the paper- thin eight man roster in Denver also makes me uneasy. Of course, tonight's release of the draft class could lead to an intentional unintentional tank for a lottery spot, so who knows.
5. This sim brought the unfortunate news of Rudy Gay being out the rest of the season. How do you see the top of the Atlantic and the East playing out now?
JNR: The Knicks will still win the Atlantic handily, but they will likely slip to the 3 seed. Hawks are starting to come on hot, and the Knicks had a good sim without Lin and Gay but I don’t expect that to last for the whole season.
NickMalone77: The last Knicks standing. Without Rudy Gay, will be very interesting to see how the Knicks hold up offensively. Will this now be Jokic and Harris that lead the show and the Knicks to hold on? Time will tell. They should get Tyson Chandler back this next sim and Jeremy Lin the sim after that to stabilize this team. I still think the Hawks are ultimately the team to beat in the East and wouldn't count out the Magic either come playoff time.
NOLa: The Knicks went 5-2 despite the mounting injuries, and they still hold an 8 game lead on the 76ers who are 2nd in the division. I don't think that will change, but it may get close. For the East, I think this injury pretty much solidifies the Pistons as the top team in the East. I thought the Knicks could push the Pistons for the #1 seed as the end of the season started to come into view, but losing Gay, their leading scorer, for what looks to be the rest of the playoffs is a huge blow. I viewed the East as two tiers: the Pistons and Knicks, then the rest of the playoff teams. Currently, it looks like the Pistons are at the top of the mountain by themselves.
Inner_GI: Frye Rudy Gay
false9: Tell us how you really feel, Logan. I think Bill Belicheck, err I mean, Wig's Hawks can climb up to the two seed, but the Knicks shouldn't slide any further than the three seed. Chandler Parsons should help fill the scoring load and they'll be able to tread water. Playoff time will be a different matter- Gay was acquired as a title winning difference maker, and this is a gut punch to Logan's title aspirations.
With that- what does everyone else think? Leave your comments/accusations of hate below!
