#SLOE: People's Basketball Sim League

Which team will make the biggest move in the standings before the season ends?
Why is this team in the position they are in?
How will their fortune change as the season carries on?
How far will they fall or climb in the standings?

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: Deadline for Sim 5

Which team will make the biggest move in the standings before the season ends?
76ers

Why is this team in the position they are in?
Currently on cruise control, need to configure a new lineup with Moses Malone

How will their fortune change as the season carries on?
Submit a depth chart and let the team cook

How far will they fall or climb in the standings?
I think they will jump from #6 to #4. There is a lot of offensive talent on the squad and they can attack both inside and from the perimeter. If they can tinker with the lineup now they have a legit chance to compete for the division but really just make sure Malone gets his appropriate minutes after the trade.

Which team will make the biggest move in the standings before the season ends?
I think the Nets make the biggest move in the standings.

Why is this team in the position they are in?
They lost Fat Lever for 40 days but this team should be able to hold steady until he gets back. Once he does, he just has to hope the Celtics fall a little bit and then he can jump right back into the division lead.

How will their fortune change as the season carries on?
Once Fat comes back healthy they should be able to go right back to dominating like they were before his injury. They still are loaded with talent and have a serviceable backup PG to help them out in the meantime

How far will they fall or climb in the standings?
I think they climb all the way to at least the #2 seed as they take control of the division again.

Which team will make the biggest move in the standings before the season ends?
I'm going with the Denver Nuggets who are currently sitting in the 9 hole in the West.

Why is this team in the position they are in?
Mostly they had one really bad road trip, and lost 5 straight to some mediocre to bad teams.

How will their fortune change as the season carries on?
Their margins are really close, and I think the numbers will break through the record sooner than later. I also think they will make some moves to support the front court. They have some very good contract flexibility that can allow for good moves to be made.

How far will they fall or climb in the standings?
I see them jumping past the Sonics, Suns, and Warriors and getting into the last playoff spot in the West.

Lakers are sitting outside the playoffs looking in, and it's going to be incredibly hard to bring in talent with the current financial makeup of the team. But maybe they can leverage Dantley's expiring and others to get a deal done... take advantage of someone desperate. But it's looking rough. They completely underestimated the importance of Alton Lister on this team. Whatley for Lister broke them, and if they can't make the playoffs with Magic, then they need to trade him. They got their one title finally.. and maybe that;s enough for this Lakers core.

That said, I think they can easily climb back into the playoff picture, at least to the 6th seed.

I think the Lakers’ demise has been vastly overstated. When Magic left the Suns, they collapsed. When the Lakers added him, they skyrocketed. Magic is still in his prime. He didn’t decline in TC. He is still going to be MVP. The Lakers’ schedule to this point has been road heavy so their record is misleading. Assuming Magic stays healthy, I still expect them to win the Pacific, even with the Blazers’ and Warriors’ early success… both of those teams are coming back to earth and the Lakers have already started to surge.