NBA SIMS LEAGUE |
Atlanta (28 - 49) | Expert Pick 0% >< 0% |
Brooklyn (15 - 62) |
Lottery Bout
The Hawks: The Hawks have made no secret of how they thought they would
fare this season and no secret of how they are rebuilding towards being a team
that will hopefully grace the playoff bracket for many years once established.
They went all out draft and it’s worked out pretty well, you’d have to suggest.
Of course, they also traded for young lead guard Immanuel Quickley along the
way, which seemed like a wrinkle, and maybe was overpriced, but when they had
so much young talent already, and so many picks in last years draft, it made
some sense with Desmond Bane already locked in for the future. They also
up-traded in the draft to get to the #1 pick, since again, they had so many
picks to choose from, and now have solidified their frontcourt for the long
term with promising big men rookies, Alex Sarr and Donovan Clingan showing what
made them top targets in this past draft. Put them with the likes of Dick,
Jaime, Podziemski and Hendricks, and that’s a lot of top level youth. Bane, Quickley
and White lead the backcourt with experience and that really is the makings of
a team that can make the playoffs multiple years In a row if health and growth
permits. Health has been key, for this season, particularly with their key guy
in Quickley, but they weren’t going to be making full noise this year anyway.
Despite that, they are only a handful of games outside the play in, and much
room to grow for next year as they try to make that their goal. The Nets: Nets have simply never really had a run at it. Between mortgaging
their future a few times with their bi-annual Portland trades, and never really
getting healthy runs at it with Murray, Ingram, Irving, Markkanen, Nurkic, and
a handful of other stars that really should be propelling them into a playoff
birth, they once again find themselves at the bottom of the East despite
boasting strong vet players right down from the top. Vucevic, Ingram, LaVine,
Portis and Smart with the kid Lively, and fresher faced kids with upside in
Shead and Walter, should be a team that is far better than this standing
position, if not for so many missed games. For now, they’ll finish out the year
with at least 3 of these guys on the shelf the whole way, and then pray that
their lottery balls fall the right way and regroup with what is still a strong
well rounded vet team, that like we keep saying every year, should be making
that push up. It won’t be now, but next year? Surely, just surely Breece gets that
run of health and actually gets to see what all these nice pieces look like together
before possibly cutting ties with some to make it work even better. Fingers
crossed to him, he deserves a go finally! The Projected Match-Ups: C: Donovan Clingan Vs Nikola Vucevic Clingan might just be the favourite for rookie of the year
as the kid has started 50 of 58 games and really anchored the Hawks already, as
a rookie, like would be expected of him for years to come. 9 points, 11
rebounds, 2 assists and 2 blocks on the season is a great effort and guys with
his size and skillset are 2k friendly as long as they have an NBA contract, let
alone if they’re actually any good. He’ll try and lockdown on Vucevic whom has
only played 4 games for Brooklyn, starting them all, and putting up 15 points and
13 rebounds in that lone week. He’s much more offensive than defensive, which
suits both these guys cause Vuc won’t need to bother with Don, and Don can
bother the big Vuc. Fun match up. PF: Alex Sarr Vs Bismack Biyombo Sarr is PF eligible at least for now and next to Clingan he’s
been nice for stints averaging 9 points, 6 rebounds and 2 blocks while spacing
the floor and using his ridiculous size and length as a plus more often than
not. He needs to work on his all round game, but the tools are there. His match
up won’t cause as much impact, you wouldn’t have thought. Every year Bismack
gets a deal somewhere near all star break and gets some good minutes down the
stretch but he’s still just a tiny “big” man lending a hand in roles that are
too big for his skillset. As a starter he’s averaged 4 points and 7 rebounds at
PF and that’s about the extent of it. SF: Desmond Bane Vs JaKobe
Walter Bane is the star of this team and
he’s busted out this year too. He’s much better suited to the SG spot, however,
so the SF spot this week will hinder him. He’s a 19 point per game guy at the
3, compared to 25 at the 2, and that’s his lack of size and athleticism.
Luckily, he’s only got the rookie Walter in this game. Walter has started all
of his 17 starts for the Nets this year and in the 12 of them at SF, he’s
averaged 9 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists which is just solid. He’s the same
height as bane, which probably helps Bane more than Walter, as they’re both
undersized and bane is the far superior talent. This one might be the decider. SG: Brandin Podziemski Vs Marcus
Smart Podz gets the starting nod this week with Quickley and Dick
out, and it’s his first start of the year. As a sub SG, he’s averaged 4 points,
1 rebound and 1 assist, so it’s really hard to gauge what he might do as a
starter where he’s going to not only get his number called more, but actually
handle the ball more too. If Smart lines up on him though, he’s going to have a
rough night. Smart might have had his star fall a bit over the last couple
years, but he’s an elite defender and will bother anyone. As a starting SG on
the year for multiple teams, he’s averaged 11 points and 3 assists and likes it
a little more than the PG spot. If Smart can control Podz, that’s a big plus,
but Podz is the wildcard. PG: Coby White Vs
Zach LaVine Coby has started
every game this year across both guard spots and he’s been a real bright spot
for this Hawks team showing some consistency and vet presence for the young
team. He might even be one of those guys noted in the most improved. As a PG
this year he’s been a little lesser than at SG, but 18 points a game with 3 rebounds
and 4 assists is a strong season. He will have his work cut out for him if he
has to face the offensive powerhouse of Zach LaVine head on though. LaVine has
finally been healthy this year and he’s been handed the reins to yet another team
in the NSL. Since leaving the Spurs, he’s been much better being his own man
and calling his own number, averaging 27 points on 50/40/83 splits and really
showing what he can do to help this team when they get healthy next year. White
won’t be able to slow him down, and his size might bother White even if he’s
not the best defender out there. Bench V Bench: Payton Pritchard, Isaiah Stewart, Tim
Hardaway, Jaime Jaquez The Hawks bench screams how deep they are with talent. With
guys out, and a solid starting 5, they still have guys like Pritchard and Stewart
doing their thing off the pine, along with Hardaway and Jaquez, which might
actually be one of the better 4 man benches you’ll see going round. Size,
handles and scoring. The Nets have much less talent on the bench but it is
rounded. It ticks all boxes and could be a surprise packet, but the Hawks
should have an advantage here. |
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| X-Factor |
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In the end, I think the Xfactor in this one is
simply depth. The Hawks depth looks like it’s far too strong for the Nets to
get a look in. So the secondary Xfactor would be, can LaVine produce an all
timer? Cause I think that’s what it takes if this result is to swing round to
the Nets favour. LaVine going off tap and carrying them to the promise land. |
| Injury Report | |
|---|---|
| Injured Players: Dereck Lively II (Shoulder/Knee/Hip/Ankle) - 44 NBA Games missed this season Brandon Ingram (Calf/Ankle) - 57 NBA Games missed this season Bobby Portis (Elbow/Personal) - 32 NBA Games missed this season Returning Players: Jalen Hood-Schifino (returning from Illness/Groin/Hamstring) - 36 NBA Games missed this season Marcus Smart (returning from Ankle/Illness/Shoulder/Finger/Injury Management) - 39 NBA Games missed this season | Injured Players: Gradey Dick (Calf/Hamstring/Illness/Pelvis) - 23 NBA Games missed this season Taylor Hendricks (Leg) - 74 NBA Games missed this season Immanuel Quickley (Pelvis/Elbow/Hip/Injury Management/Rest) - 45 NBA Games missed this season |
| Prediction |
|---|
Head to Head Prediction: The Hawks simply look too talented with the Nets outs. They
are bigger, stronger and more rounded with more propensity to play both ends of
the court, too, and I think that simply overwhelms the team lower on the
standings. Hawks by 13. |
| Comments (2) | |||
| Bulldog63 04/11 10:49 am | Gg to you as well breece | ||
| breece 04/10 09:23 pm | Thanks for the write-up! Well done, Bulldog! Solid victory. | ||