#SLOE: People's Basketball Sim League

Hello and welcome to the Orlando Magic's 2010 Preseason Presser! Boy has it been a magical offseason for this squad. To briefly recap last season, we entered the season with relatively low expectations and one of the most promising young cores in the NBA. Along the way, we picked up Dwight Howard, Ryan Anderson, and managed to shed some long term contracts. After finishing the season right outside the playoffs, we were determined to stand set with our young roster and continue building through the draft. That was until we performed some wizardry and made our first big trade to acquired young star Carmelo Anthony. Melo brings crafty scoring and jaw dropping athleticism to this team, something sorely missing from last season.
After this trade we had two options, keep the young core together given Melo's age or go for a championship in what was shaping up to be a down year in the East at the time. We chose the latter and made the incredibly tough decision to trade players we loved in Shaun Livingston, recently drafted Grievis Vasquez, and the energetic Tyler Hansbrough. In this trade, we acquired a top 5 player and the best scorer in the league in Rashard Lewis. Shard is an absolute superstar and we are elated to have him on board. After this we waited out RFA with little cap and then, prior to free agency, acquired Wesley Matthews, a player who will hold down the SG spot tremendously.
In addition we filled out the roster in Free Agency with Luke Walton, Jermaine O'Neal, Andrei Kirilenko, Mo Williams, and Vladimir Radmanovic.

Now to announce our starting 5:

C: Dwight Howard - Dwight took some big steps in TC and figures to be a top tier player at his position. He will utilize his strength and athleticism to overwhelm the opposing player and become the defensive anchor for this team.

PF: Rashard Lewis - Given his age, and declining athleticism, we have decided to play Rashard Lewis at the PF position where he can be a mismatch nightmare and drop buckets on opposing, slower big men.

SF: Carmelo Anthony - Carmelo will be a scoring machine and should wow you with his athletic abilities and efficiency.

SG: Wesley Matthews - Matthews made massive strides in Training camp after acquiring him and should have a much bigger role on this team than we anticipated. He provides elite shooting and solid defense at the SG position.

PG: Goran Dragic - Goran has continued to develop into one of the league's top PG's and once again had one of the best training camps in the league. With his size, athleticism, and marksmanship shooting, he gives the Magic yet another top tier scorer and player at his position.

Do you think your team ia better than the Nets? It's pretty much a forgone conclusion the Atlantic will be a battle between the Nets and Magic.

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NOLa. wrote:Do you think your team ia better than the Nets? It's pretty much a forgone conclusion the Atlantic will be a battle between the Nets and Magic.

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I actually think it will be a three team battle between the Nets, 76ers, and, of course, the Magic. Out of those three, I feel I have the most complete team and the strongest starting 5 of them all. The Sixers may give us more trouble because of their elite post players, but I think our perimeter game should prevail.

Your team seems very strong, maybe even unstoppable on the offensive end, but it leaves a huge hole on the defensive end outside of Dwight Howard in the middle. What is the strategy to compete when you face the elite teams? Is ti keep up with us as you can, or are you going to try and formulate a defensive strategy?

GWR: What do you think changed with Dwight this training camp?

ballsohard wrote:Your team seems very strong, maybe even unstoppable on the offensive end, but it leaves a huge hole on the defensive end outside of Dwight Howard in the middle. What is the strategy to compete when you face the elite teams? Is ti keep up with us as you can, or are you going to try and formulate a defensive strategy?

Although this won't be an elite defensive team by any means, I think we are being underrated on that end. Dwight is a beast in the middle and our anchor. Rashard, while not his former self, is still a very serviceable defender especially in the post as a PF. Melo is a defensive liability and there's no getting around that. Matthews developed tremendously on that end and should be a solid wing defender at the shooting guard spot. Finally, Goran brings great defense at PG which is one of the most important positions in this game. He is very athletic and has strong technique at this point in his career. Obviously, the goal is to outscore teams, but I feel we will be good enough defensively to hold up and win the title.

Sports Guy Bill Simmons here, your starting 5 will be one of the best in the league, but your bench while having some 'names' O'Neal, Mo Williams, AK, etc... looks like will lack some production. How much does this worry you, especially as the schedule starts to wear on and players get banged up or get into foul trouble?

JNR wrote:GWR: What do you think changed with Dwight this training camp?

Dwight was a solid post defender and rebounder last season, but left much to be desired given his immense size, athleticism, and talents. This offseason, he worked on his technique in both rebounding and post positioning and has learned better timing in his shot blocking. We needed him to emerge in these ways given our solid, not great defensive talent. He can clean things up. Also, with Titan Chandler leading one of the top teams in the Conference, we needed Dwight to improve in order to combat him. And I think he will provide a good battle.

Conroy wrote:Sports Guy Bill Simmons here, your starting 5 will be one of the best in the league, but your bench while having some 'names' O'Neal, Mo Williams, AK, etc... looks like will lack some production. How much does this worry you, especially as the schedule starts to wear on and players get banged up or get into foul trouble?

I am actually very satisfied with the depth on this team. Luke Walton is an underrated player who gives us strong ball handling and passing from the wing. AK has the athleticism and defense to make an impact. Jermaine O'Neal is a strong post scorer off the bench and will help tremendously off the bench. The rest of the bunch are solid players and can help.

Nick Melon; The Advocate: How does Dwight feel about being a 3rd banana now that you've brought in the likes of Melo and Rashard?

NickMalone77 wrote:Nick Melon; The Advocate: How does Dwight feel about being a 3rd banana now that you've brought in the likes of Melo and Rashard?

I think that question would be better applied to Goran, as he was the head honcho the last couple seasons. Dwight is used to being a complementary player from his time last season to Livingston and Goran as well as his time in Detroit. Now Goran may take a bit to adjust, but he's improved his passing and should be much more willing to share the ball this year.

Magical, indeed. What else can you pull out of your magic hat/ass? Doves? Cute bunnies? 7 of spades? Rashard's penis? Who knows, but whatever it is I'm sure there will be someone hanging around to clean up your failures.

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