Surprise

Jaylen Brown – Gimme a large ratings boost with a side of more ratings, please!

Without having watched Jaylen Brown too closely, you could forgive me that I had him pegged as a big, athletic guy who is a worthy defender but who was a bit clunky on offense, lacked any real guile or poise when it came to performing scoring moves and would end up buried down the pecking order in NBA Boston.

Boy… Was I wrong.

At the start of the season, Brown was rated a respectable 79. A month into the season, he had skyrocketed to a borderline-elite 85. His attributes rose across the board in order for such an
incremental jump and Rootsey must be excited that he is the face of the Grizzlies.

Jaylen obviously spent a heap of time over his summer slaving away on the hardwood, working on his dribbling, posting up, fluidity and most importantly, his shooting. Shooting has never been a more important part of professional basketball.

Last year’s NBA shooting splits – 46/34/66.

This year’s NBA shooting splits - 51/39/77.

Surprise

Luka Doncic – Hello, superstardom!

Another player who made monumental ratings leaps this year has been the wunderkind Luka ‘watchout for Nic’s erection’ Doncic. Luka, still unbelievably considered a child by some American customs like drinking legally, started the year rated an already juicy 87. However, and it’s still hard to fathom how much better he has been made by 2k, he now resides at 96, putting him in the top five rated players in the game. At 20 years old, he’s arguably the most valuable asset in the league.

He too has seen huge jumps in his shooting efficiency, raising his NBA field goal percentage by 5 points and free throw percentage by a whopping 9 points – the latter improvement being absolutely critical for a player who has as much usage as he does and drives into the key as often as he does.

Let’s see if Nic can get a little proactive and try and build a winner around him within the next 3-5 years.

Question Marks

Philadelphia 76ers – Muddled roster

Philadelphia has All-World good guy and very successful manager Nenjabin at the helm. Nenjabin, with his eye for talent and penchant for building great chemistry, may have drafted the ugliest team in the entire NSL. I mean that with no disrespect, as he drafted talented pieces, he drafted valuable assets and he has made quality trades… but goddamn, the 76ers are the melted Picnic bar of the NSL when I look at their roster.




Their name value is about as enjoyable to view as a movie sex scene in the family living room. Gobert? Great defender and anchor but no sex appeal. Siakim? Superstar to be, perhaps, but nothing shiny there. Chris Paul most keep at arms length. Andre iguodala, wasting away on the bench. Whiteside, having an amazing season yet no one will trade for him because he is an all-time dickhead.

Muddled too are their results, continuing to slide away from the eight seed.

Here’s your rocket, Phila. Get a makeover.

Surprise

Markelle Fultz – I now resurrect thee!

Don’t get me wrong... Gavin is a great guy; really nice tanned, athletic with a great sense of humour. However, trading Steven Adams for Fultz sucks. What doesn’t suck, however, is how good Fultz has looked this season considering what a clusterfuck he was last season. We can’t look at him as a former no.1 pick any longer because he will never live up to it. But… if we look at him like we look at most young players, there’s so much to be excited about.

He started the year rated at 74 and has climbed to 79, making him an above average point guard in terms of ratings and a wonderful asset at just 21 years old. Fultz has come on as of late, with his January seeing him shooting over 50% from the field for 16+ points with 5+ dimes. Wowee. Don’t disturb Gav’s room when Markelle’s jersey is hanging on the handle!

Maybe this former bust is ready to bust out? Or maybe Laddas is right and he’s done dick all thus far and we should move on and talk about Kyle Kuzma.

Oh hey there, Gav!

Surprise

Duncan Robinson – Mr #467

I am peacocking as I am writing this and I don’t even care because this is what dreams are made of. He was passed over 466 times in the draft. 29 other teams didn’t want him. He was 25 years old, undrafted. He played for a Division III team in college. He was white and lanky and one-dimensional and kept getting asked for ID because he looks 14. Still, the Blazers took a chance on him and, well, here’s what happened.

He happens to be one of the best three-point shooters on the planet. His off-ball movement is already extremely good. He can shoot from the carpark and his useless 67 overall rating has skyrocketed to 76 overall, good for a 12% boost or 9 ratings points for you playing at home.

He has played major minutes for the Miami Heat in the NBA and has likely earned himself a career.

‘cause Duncans our mate!

Question Marks
Blake Griffin – Is this the beginning of the end?

New year, same old bad knees for Blake Griffin.

I feel sorry for Blake, and for the GMs who he plays for. He is enigmatic, he is athletic, he tries really hard and he has a wonderful personality. However, jumping really high and ferociously for decades and being quite muscular and heavy has to take it’s toll, and it appears Blake could miss the rest of the season.

He has dropped 4 overall ratings points this season in 2k land, and in the NBA, he has seen regression in almost every statistical category as his Detroit Pistons languish in the East. Blake is turning 31 and still has 36.5M and 39M on his contract through the next two seasons.

There’s no denying he is a beast when he is on the court, but these days, you can just about be assured that he’s going to miss at least 25 games.

I really like Blake and hope that this rights the ship for him over the next few seasons. If it doesn’t, there’s going to be a huge, charismatic paper-weight at the end of the bench/roster for a while yet.

Surprise

Devonte Graham – Bam! Breakout!

He has a sweet name. I really like it. Sounds like a really cool character from an action movie to me. You know what else is sweet? Graham is likely the most-improved player in the whole NBA.

Graham was a second round pick in the NBA a few years back and was picked in the 11^th round by the Minnesota Timberwolves during the inaugural draft.  He was end of the bench depth in the NBA until this season where he absolutely exploded in the pre-season and forced the coach to start him from day dot. Last season he shot like shit and averaged 4.7 points and 2.6 assists. Fast-forward a year and he’s averaging 19 points, 4 rebounds and 8 assists on improved shooting! What an epic increase and epic find for the Wolves.





He started the year rated by 2k as 69 and has skyrocketed to 83 (I had no idea it was such an epic increase, far out!!!). That’s totally remarkable. I had to go back and double check that I read it correctly. 14 points increased is a total revision and improvement of all of his traits. The Wolves just need to be patient and let his DNA catch up.

Surprise
Carmelo Anthony, Dwight Howard - Redemption

A warm and fuzzy to finish off with, this season has been about more than saving face for some aging greats – it’s about making a new one.