S81 Town Hall for Sim 10

[Mike Lowry]

Seems like this season is unfolding some separation between winning teams and losing teams.
What do you see as the defining characteristics of each?
Who are the teams most likely to join the other group soon?

Rules: 1 point if you give thoughtful answers, which I will award after the timer ends for responses. The timer ends for responses at the moment the corresponding week's Sim is run.

Note: Use approximately 5 sentences as your bare minimum for 1 point. If you write 3 long, complex sentences, you'll still get a point. If you write 5, 3 word sentences, you will not get a point. Don't @ me.

Due: Due by the deadline for sim 10

[BigDaddyd8720]

What do you see as the defining characteristics of each?
Winning teams: Points and rebounding. The winning teams all score a lot of points (makes sense) and when shots are missed, they are there to either gain an extra possession or get right back on offense. It's the most obvious way to win games.

Losing teams: The main reason for this seems to be the teams that are tanking to get a better draft pick. It may not necessarily be anything wrong with their team, just that they aren't ready to compete so they take the season off. I remember trying to trade with losing teams and they all wanted to keep their team as it was since they felt they could get a good draft pick to help their teams

Who are the teams most likely to join the other group soon?
I want to say my team, Supersonics, but that would be too easy. But the Clippers could be a team to join the winning side sooner than my Supersonics so I'll go with them. They already have some very good players, just need a good TC, grab a couple of FAs to help fill out their top 7, and then get a good young draft pick to help develop. They really could become a contender if they make the right moves this offseason

I wouldn't be surprised if the Nuggets join the losing side soon. Going into a second consecutive draft without a first, and no real depth once FA hits, along with not as much free space as other teams, they may not be in a position to win soon. They have no young talent on the roster so they need to pray to the TC gods that their older vets don't get hit too hard. This might be their last chance to win the championship this season or they may be looking at a rebuild soon.

[WigNosy]

Seems like this season is unfolding some separation between winning teams and losing teams.
What do you see as the defining characteristics of each?

This may be an unpopular take, but I really think this season's separation has been about either "GM indfference" or "making a deliberate choice to be bad." The first group is the owners that haven't done much since the creation draft; the 76ers and Hawks and the Rockets stand out here. None of them have made positive moves to improve their team (and in some cases, inaction has actively harmed them - see the Rockets' neglecting to protect Bird with TC Insurance). These teams are becoming bad by default. In the second group, the Spurs sold off all their veterans in the offseason to go with rookies and knew they weren't going to win now. The Pistons sold off most of their pieces to accumulate draft picks, as did the Supersonics. They chose to be bad in the hopes of a future payoff.

The teams that have moved to the upper echelon of the league have made bold moves to acquire the players to make them better. These teams haven't been afraid to make moves. The Bucks were the first such team with their acquisition of Robert Parish, even at the cost of multiple first round picks. The Kings gave up multiple firsts for Natt at the trade deadline. The Blazers gave up a 24-year-old Bernard King who was leading the league in scoring heading into the all star break (Moses has retaken the lead).

Who are the teams most likely to join the other group soon?

First of all, the teams that are currently losing by choice did so with a particular plan, exchanging win-now for future assets. As they cash in those future assets, they will rapidly improve. You don't need to look much farther than the Knicks to see how winning the lottery and drafting the right player can drastically improve your team's fortunes. But winning usually requires boldness, either by trading for winning pieces now or by trading for winning pieces in the future. Timidity is usually not the recipe for building a strong team. For those reasons, I think the Spurs, Pistons, and Supersonics have a very bright future in 3 seasons.

As to the winning teams that are likely to start losing, I think the Blazers are honestly the team I worry most about, and not just because I'm running them. Their win-now move was for an old player (Kareem) instead of a young player (Natt) or a just-entering-his-prime player (Parish) and I think they gave up more future power (a 24-year-old stud) than the Kings or Bucks (if they are good, the picks they gave up are going to be bad).