NBA SIMS LEAGUE
NSL Insider - Team by Team: San Antonio Spursby jessedunne, updated on Wednesday, October 27 2021, 12:02 am EST What an honor. To write about The Champs. Where do i start? Nelson has been amazing for this league. Really a symbol of the new NSL. Came in, full of passion and enthusiasm, on the back of yahoo winning fantasy seasons. The guy knew what he was doing from day 1. All of that passion and knowledge cumulated in a title. What a dream season Nelson had. He was overshadowed early. By Joel and the Blazers winning 32 in a row. But hot on their heels the entire season were The Spurs. Now the injury to Kawhi certainly helped them. But don't get it wrong, Joel was worried about these Spurs even when he was at full strength. The deserved this title and no one could ever deny that. Not even me, Nelsons biggest hater. So what do you do when you win a title? Do you rest on your laurels. Do you go out and party and not see your wife and kids for weeks? Or do you go out and bring in the best player to ever grace the hardwood? That's right. Nelson messed around this offseason and got the GOAT Lebron. He got better. The Champions got better. All be it, they lost their championship Point Guard Dame Dollar. But well worth it. Lebron is not slowing down it seems. And even when he does, Ronnie 2K will still be jerking Lebron off, as they ride off into the sunset rated 95 and above. So the trade held no qualms for Nels. He is in his window and added a guy who is just going to expand that window even further. What does this season hold for our reigning champ? I do think wins are going to be harder to come by all round. I dont think 2 teams are gonna both win 70 plus again. Joel, naturally will have to take a drop from his 78 without the big 3 fully functioning. Nelson has added Lebron, so why would he drop? 71 wins is such a lofty standard and the league is getting better across the board. I must be crazy though to think this team couldn't win 70 again? Lebron, Jimmy, Jrue. There is no better big 3 in any sport ever in terms of 2k output. Great defense, explosive offence and amazing playmaking skills. Throw in some nifty FA Day pick ups, Porter Jnr, Rondo and Noel. That has the makings of a squad that will almost definitely go back to back. Don't get me wrong, i am sure they will. I am just not sure it will be so convincingly. I don't want to step on the toes of the Southwest Division write up, but even the division Nelson is in, let alone the conference and league has improved. There are some dangerous teams in there Nelson has to play 4 times. He won't fear any of them, or any team for that matter, which is fair enough. But no one can deny this league is going to be hotter than ever. Especially with cool teams with cool GM's like the Raps rolling around. STARTING 5: Nelsons starting 5 opening night is a tricky one to predict. There are lots of questions and interchangeable pieces. Does Lebron start at the Point? Or Power Forward? Does Jrue Play SG or PG. Where does Jimmy fit into it all. I am going to be boring, but the line up Nels rolled out for the Pre season win against The Bulls looks pretty solid to me.  But that is the scary thing. These pieces fit so well together and are so flexible, there is no telling what Nels can do and still have great success with. MVP Candidates: Easy. Lebron will step into this well oiled machine and step right into League MVP discussions. He will be a nightly Triple Double threat and will do it from a multitude of positions. Nelson will just plug him in and let him roll. He will be impossible to stop and has to be the early favourite for the award.  All Stars: Lebron, Jimmy and Jrue are all locks. But i am not telling you anything you dont know. MIP: Nerlens Noel can play a really handy role on this team. Just hustle hard, show up every night and get in the right position and you will average a double double in your sleep. He will go under teams radars, But will be in line for a career best season under Nelsons tutelage. Breakout Candidate: Terrance Mann has had a lot of hype this off season and many people think he might Pop. He hasn't got the starting gig in the NBA yet, but he will start at the Spurs and be every chance to flourish and have his best season yet. Watch for him to really compliment the big 3 and play a great role fore Nelson. Words from The GM: "Being a champion was surreal last season. We pushed all the chips in purely to challenge the Blazers and give the league hope. We absolutely sacrificed the long term future but bringing the 2020-21 title to San Antonio more than justified the moves. Maintaining a title contender has been a challenge with the cap squeeze this year. We weren�t about to go over the Hard cap, so had to make some seriously tough decisions on who would go and who we couldn�t replace. Noel was the most important piece this off-season and we feel his glitch like abilities were irreplaceable. Lebron was a huge addition for us at the expense of our finals MVP dame. We feel Dame was a beneficiary of the engine and thought it best to move him while his value was all-time high. Lebron is the best player in the game and with Jimmy and Jrue, our D has gone up a notch. Offensively, we will need to find a player who can pinch hit off the bench. This year, we feel we have enough to be at the top again but there�s teams on the rise. Portland will contend again, Denver are going to be tough and teams like Minny, Toronto, New Orleans and Memphis are going to be good enough to win it all. 2021-22 will be the most competitive season yet" Predictions: I think Nelson will make the NSL Finals again and give himself a chance to be the first B2B winner in league history. He won't be winning finals games by 50 points this season though. The engine looks tougher, the competition looks tougher but The Spurs will still be there when it matters. I predicted they will win between 64-69 games. Their biggest challenge in the west will be Portland if they manage to move Kawhi or an improving Pelicans. They will roll through that task and face a relentless Raptors team in the finals. Where who knows what will happen then. Congrats again on an amazing season last year Nelson and best of luck in 2021/22. You are a class GM and this league is a far better place for having you in it. Go well and i hope you make some nice friends along the way and remember it is not the destination that defines us, but the journey. |
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