#SLOE: People's Basketball Sim League

Seems like plenty of teams with action at the ship this season, who do you like to make a run and win it all?
What do you think will factor into this team surviving the playoff stretch?
Which players will play pivotal roles?

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 9

Much as I hate to say it, I like the Lakers to make a run and win it all. There's really only one factor involved - Magic Johnson. I ran my personal MVP numbers yesterday and he's so far ahead of the field it's stupid. I also have to give LTS credit for making a number of moves around him this season to surround him with win-now vets on a roster that is now no longer stuck with an obvious hole at PF. They're even starting 6-11 Jack Sikma at SG for goodness' sake! It's a team that is big, talented, and with all that, I think we've all overlooked the play of Norm Nixon this season. Dude brought his field goal percentage up from mid-40's to basically 50% shooting while pushing his assist-to-turnover ratio north of 4. I wasn't able to get that production out of him in Portland, but LTS has found something.

Seems like plenty of teams with action at the ship this season, who do you like to make a run and win it all?
Lakers and Bucks seem like the easy answers so I'm gonna go with the Knicks. They went on a 10 game win streak and have taken over the East completely. If they can hold on to the 1 seed, I look at them to make a deep run this season.

What do you think will factor into this team surviving the playoff stretch?
As with almost any other championship team ever, health. If their top players (Malone, King, Moore, Greenwood) all stay healthy, this team is going to be really tough to beat. This team is the only team with a top 6 offense and defense. They have all the makings of a championship team.

Which players will play pivotal roles?
Malone and King are the obvious ones. They keep playing the way they have been then teams will have a very tough time stopping them. Moore is great at passing the ball and setting up shots for players so teams will have their hands full when they meet the Knicks in the playoffs

Maybe I’m a sucker - or just an old fart - but in the playoffs I tend to side with the most experienced game planners. I think the Bucks and Kings and Blazers will be a problem in the playoffs. Magic could absolutely win a series on his own, but I don’t trust it necessarily.

So yeah, this playoffs to me will be a fun dichotomy between the young, the experienced, the superstars, and the depth. No idea which way it’ll go, but I’m amused.

Mike Lowry wrote: Thu Aug 21, 2025 10:57 pm Seems like plenty of teams with action at the ship this season, who do you like to make a run and win it all?
What do you think will factor into this team surviving the playoff stretch?
Which players will play pivotal roles?

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 9

The Knicks get no love. I think they are the team to beat from the East. The combination of Moses and Bernard took a little time to get going, but they are a force on the court. It makes a need for defense both inside and outside. Good depth for this team makes them a real factor in the playoffs. The biggest asset to me is Bernard King. I think his rebounding will really make him the difference maker for the Knicks to take home the title.

Seems like plenty of teams with action at the ship this season, who do you like to make a run and win it all?
What do you think will factor into this team surviving the playoff stretch?
Which players will play pivotal roles?

Even though the Lakers are the obvious and most likely to win it all, I'd like to highlight the Blazers stopped their run last season, and I don't think the Lakers have developed in any kind of way to combat how the Blazers beat them last year. I could be wrong, but I have the Blazers' tenacious gameplay going all the way this year. Wig has been dancing at the top since NPBSL's inception but hasn't won it all. I think it's Wig's year.

I also think the Blazers are the only team that could have an answer to Magic Johnson, and if the Blazers don't solve the Magic problem, no one else will.

That said, I'd love to see the Knicks come out of the east and win it all with Moses. I think it was a franchise-changing move that they pursued for a long time, and it took a few sims, but they're finally playing at their height, with momentum on their side.

I do think we see a Knicks/Blazers finals, and while I'd hate for Wig to go down one more time against Moses, I'd really like to see Moses get a ring before his career hits its twilight years.

I'm going with the BluntTrauma.
This team has been knocking at the door longer than any other without tasting the champagne.
They did phenomenol in UFA, signed 3 guys that I bid on.
They have the most depth, and the willingness to win by attrition.
This is a year where they can break enough legs to make it work.
I look for Cartwright to anchor the defense and Tripucka to step up on offense.

Mike Lowry wrote: Thu Aug 21, 2025 10:57 pm Seems like plenty of teams with action at the ship this season, who do you like to make a run and win it all?
What do you think will factor into this team surviving the playoff stretch?
Which players will play pivotal roles?

I still think the Spurs can figure it out, but until then I will say the Lakers are the team to beat in the West and possibly to win it all. The biggst factor is the presumed MVP Magic Johnson just taking them to the top. I will say though, they are ONE injury away from being eliminated in the first round they play in. Tread lightly. James Donaldson can't carry the torch the whole way.

In the East though, I will say the BULLS are the team to watch out for. The Depth and domination that Calvin Natt brings is something you cannot overstate. This team is crazy deep yet top-heavy, and they very much so have the capability of making a title run THIS YEAR.

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+1 point