S83 Town Hall 2

[Mike Lowry]

Who is you dark horse to make the playoffs?
What makes you think they'll make it?
Why is it not obvious that they will?

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 3 - acknowledging late post

[Darth Vegito]

Who is you dark horse to make the playoffs?
What makes you think they'll make it?
Why is it not obvious that they will?

I'm gonna pick a hard one. I'll go with the Supersonics squeezing in this season. It's been one sim. He started off with a brutal AWAY schedule and he came out of it better than expected. I think he'll manage to grab a playoff spot as some of these other teams fall by the wayside. Until about Sim 3-4 you can't see the playoffs clearing up. He'll improve his gameplan and DC and get this team where it needs to be. The West is rough but I think the talent and his attention to the team will pay off this season.

It's not obvious because they are 3-4 after 1 sim and the West is a gauntlet. And most ppl will write them off since they haven't been good and have had some very rough seasons. But they clearly are trying to compete this season, they don't have their own pick and that will be enough incentive for them to get into the playoffs this year.

[greepleairport]

Who is you dark horse to make the playoffs?
What makes you think they'll make it?
Why is it not obvious that they will?

Damn, Darth took my team for this one (and my <expletive deleted> championship last season - damn you Darth!)!

Alright, someone else then... I'll go with the 76ers. I think they had a tough first sim with a lot of road games, and a horrendous point differential, so they are not obvious contenders after 1 sim.

Actually... on closer look... I gotta pivot. I was wrong. This team is Walter Davis and...other people.

I'll take the Celtics. Same narrative I tried to construct around the 76ers- tough first sim, gauntlet of road games, all against tough teams. On the flipside they have incredible output from two players, Sampson and Toney. In a conference that has been light this far on dominant teams, I think this team is good enough to pull out a 4-6 seed spot in the playoffs. Especially if Leavell racks up more assists against lesser competition at home, and Benson and Johnson's numbers improve as well (or if the Celtics take a swing at a higher caliber player).

[BigDaddyd8720]

My dark horse for this season is the Cavaliers.

They got off to a slow start but I think that may be more of a product of their division having taken a step forward. They still have some really good players and don't have their 1st next draft so I wouldn't be surprised to see them make the necessary moves to keep them in playoff contention.

I don't think it's as obvious because of the slow start in Sim 1 but they do get a favorable Sim 2 so they could look to jump the pistons or Bulls this sim if those other teams falter a bit. All in all, I see the cavaliers getting better throughout the season

[Eazy P]

Who is you dark horse to make the playoffs?

My dark horse team to make the post season is the Nets.


What makes you think they'll make it?

They are coming off of a unfortunate situation with Fat lever's injury. With him back healthy and a really good team around him, they should be able to make the post season. The Nets game planning has been historically sus but I think he's figured out the game planning side thing. He basically still has the team that won a title with a stud in Dale Ellis.

Why is it not obvious that they will?

It won't obvious only if some type of freak thing happens again but I don't see that happening. I see them winning the division.

[WigNosy]

Who is you dark horse to make the playoffs?

A "dark horse" to make the playoffs tells me it needs to be a team that not a lot of people expect to make the playoffs. Which means to me that you can only pick a playoff team from the previous season as a "dark horse" if (a) they just barely squeaked in and the consensus is teams behind them improved enough to run them down or (b) they did a complete roster tear-down (e.g., Celtics). To me, that eliminates: Bullets, Bucks, Cavaliers, Knicks, Pacers, Warriors, Kings, Blazers, and Suns easily, and probably the Lakers and the Supersonics, too (I think some teams behind them improved, but I don't think consensus is teams behind the Lakers and Sonics improved enough to for sure knock them out). I also can't really use the Bulls since they're the Celtics playoff team from last season with extra pieces. I'll drop the Clippers from the list of Dark Horses as they just missed I think consensus is they improved (whether or not they improved ENOUGH is TBD), and the Jazz (also just missed). I'm not sure if the Nets can be considered a dark horse since they're two seasons removed from a title and the core of that teams remains intact.

That leave my options to pick from as: Celtics, 76ers, Hawks, Pistons, Rockets, Nuggets, Mavericks, Spurs.

I'm going to go with the Pistons here.

What makes you think they'll make it?

I think their reload in the offseason made sense... they brought in defense (Wayne Cooper, Dennis Johnson) around Terry Cummings and his offensive skills but most of the guys they brought in are pretty solid offensively as well. I think the East being a little weakened this season helps.

Why is it not obvious that they will?

They lost three really good scorers in Clark Kellogg, Marques Johnson and Andrew Toney, so you have to wonder if they lost more on offense than they gained on defense. Dennis Johnson didn't translate to wins for the Hawks and Cooper and MRR weren't exactly the centerpieces of the Knicks and Bullets respectively, so I think there are legitimate questions about how much impact they really have on a roster - are they just "role players" or are they "tone setters?" Also, none of the Eastern Playoff Teams last season really took a significant step back (the Celtics' playoff core moved to Chicago, so I expect the Bulls to replace the Celtics), so there's not an obvious opening in the playoff picture for them to climb into.

[Mike Lowry]

I'm going to dark horse the Pacers, which sounds crazy to me because they are perennial playoff contenders but this season will certainly challenge them.
For all the lopsided talk about Western dominance, the East will likely play out more drama.
It doesn't lend to an obvious pick because of their current record and positioning in the East.
They also have a roster that looks light on talent and impact players.
However, they withstood the loss of their best scorer for a month and maintained contact with the pack.
I imagine they will game plan their way in and break some hearts at the end of the season.
Hope mine is not one of them.

[logpmess]

The dark horse for me is the Bullets. I know sim 2 shook some things up, but currently they are outside of the playoffs.

Washington has too much talent in the frontcourt in a league that is short on big men. With Nance and Buck scoring so much, the team has the ability to make a push. With John Lucas providing defense at the guard position, I could see the Bullets getting into the playoffs.

[Mike Lowry]

@Darth Vegito
@greepleairport
@BigDaddyd8720
@Eazy P
@WigNosy
@Mike Lowry
@logpmess

+1 point