B Draft Fall 23 Preseason Preview
by Jason on
BY HARRY DEMAKES
- Nate’s team
For some reason unclear to everyone, but Nate. Nate wanted to trade out of his second pick, which was odd, because this draft had 7 surefire first rounders. The rest of the players are going to be miscasted as either 2s or 3s this season. Nonetheless, Nate going to do his dishes! Joel at 8 was the correct choice probably, unless Joel is taking his usual vacation time away from us. When he’s there, you know the story, it’s been told by me for centuries. Joel, isn’t a number 1, because in his heart he’s a secondary third piece. Ghost isn’t a bad pick either, but who’s going to pass him the ball? Troy was disappointing and I don’t see this team helping him. Apparently he’s missing games too. Don’t know Maloof, other than his bio smells like chucker. Silva is a good last pick, but I see him getting lost on this team. My forecast for this team isn’t great. Joel is going to have to score AND guard the other teams best guy. He’s not capable of doing both. I also see no one who id describe as a point guard or passer here, which hurts because these guys need someone like that to succeed. These guys feel like bottom fodder.
- Calderan
Miller was a good start, then this train went off the rails. I thought Paul could have did a lot better than the Julien brothers at 16-17, especially since they’re the same player. Like the homeless man’s version of the Mulholland brothers. Not the guys I’d want with Miller, who’s going to be facing a lot of clogged paints. Taha and Danner are good picks at the end, but Miller is going to have to do A LOT of heavy lifting. I just don’t know how this team succeeds if their opponent has someone who can keep up with Miller.
- Civale
Civale goes back where he belongs, down in the rankings. It’s mostly, because I don’t know what his rookie will bring. I also don’t know if Remy is still good. It’s been a while and his stats didn’t look great from other leagues. I like Clarke, Great One and Glynn. They all play their role well. I just don’t know who’s running point on this team. Remy? The rookie? If their rookie is a guy who can get everyone going, they’ll be in the hunt.
- Me
I’ll stick my team here, because we’ll probably be in for some absences and won’t look pretty at times. I thought Nair was the best player in the draft, yes better than Miller. Dunks only count for 2 points people! I traded up because I counted about 9 guys I wanted as a second that could guard top scorers. That was Karim, who played great last season. Eloi may be old, but he plays hard physical defense and I love that. I finished with the aging sharp shooter, who apparently works with Karim. Then of course, BIG GUNS! It’ll take us a minute to get going, but watch out!
- Cam
I thought Cam made the best trades in the draft and ended up with a very mediocre, vanilla team. Cam traded up and got Lynch, which I thought was a terrible pick. Unless Lynch and DTO channel their SDL versions, how will this team score? Lynch had a lot of dud scoring games and DTO will most likely draw the best perimeter defender. Obviously, Bauman was a great pick and I like Gray being freed from Ian’s clutches. I don’t know KG though. I do know this team probably be one of the better defensive squads. I just don’t know where the scoring will come from.
- Ian
Ian didn’t get enough of the Koller experience, so he passed on Pollock for him. Odd choice, but the good thing is he had pretty much had this team last season, so they got the chemistry here. I got a scouting report on Roberts and it’s that he can score, but he’s a traffic cone on D. I don’t know Padavick. Packard was a little reach, but he tries and Ian likes him. Of course, gotta love OTTOMATIC. There are two pretty big unknowns here, with Padavick and Packard. It’s also kind of funny Koller complained that only he rebounded last season and Ian got presumably no one who could do that again. Still, I think their experience and reliability on Koller to show up, gives them a slight edge on the field.
- Noah
Another reliable person is Pollock, who somehow fell to Noah at 6. Pollock is always consistent, game in and game out. He’ll help Robel and Noah get shots. I like Angry Ian and obviously trick or treat Kenny, who was underrated again this draft. Dias wasn’t too bad last I saw him either. This is a very solid team. The only question is who can handle the ball outside of Pollock. This also doesn’t profile as a Pollock type team. Pollock likes to run and this isn’t a running team. Still, they’re championship contenders.
- Etheridge
I’m sticking Etheridge at number 1 here. AJ, is also quite reliable. I love his defensive fire and kid gets buckets. Angelo, is a kind of a mystery. I’ve played against him twice and well, I passed on him at 9. He played on a bad 5v5 team that played no serious games. How does that translate here? I have no clue. Hanks is a great pick, he may be hurt, but the playoffs aren’t for months. So, who cares? The bench isn’t deep, but then again, I haven’t seen these guys. Maybe they’re fucking awesome? I think this team ultimately comes down to what Angelo and Etheridge bring. If Etheridge is 80% his former self and Angelo is a competent big, they’ll be in business. They feel like title contenders.
Franchise League Preseason Preview
by Jason on
We've got Chris Stull stepping in for Matt Kaplan this Fall 23 season and while the shoes aren't literally too big for him to full, figuretiely, they may be! He's got a preseason power rankigns to get us started on the Discord, and so does Chas, so head over there to talk trash with the rest of the league!
BY CHRIS STULL
Way too early overreactions Pre-Season Rankings Chasito is taking me under his wing and I’m trying my hand at this whole scribe thing,…
#8 STAT A lot of questions on Hollis for $82M (who you think you got Chelsea Clinton?!?!?!) will need to score at least 41 points a game to earn that contract. Can Hollis play well with Robel for twin tower championship vibes?! Time will tell. Love the O’Donnell trade (when will we get brother Danny to join?!) could use him now on this team as a shooting PG (start the recruiting process now).
#7 DP Love my SDL guy DP but the smaller court stops him from getting out on the break as much. Franchise is also a more physical league which makes for a grind of a season. Also have to bring fellow scribe Chas down a notch as I know he always has his squad’s back on the discord. Lerner/DP will get buckets. EJ will hit threes (pending no bachelor party injuries) but does this team have the size and physicality to make a run?! Will need ball movement by Chas to get Craig and Jmul involved. Let’s find out but will be rooting for these all-time nice guys.
#6 JOEL I’ll take Joel’s squad at 6. They impressed me with the fight in the playoffs last year but needed scorching shooting to do it. Let’s see if Joel can start this season how he finished last. DJ will bring the hustle and rebounding but will have a lot of size to contend with across the league. Cawley was a huge pickup for them but will need him to return to form from what I thought was a down session from him compared to two seasons ago. Reily is a hustler and can’t wait to play with him in SDL and they will need Demetri and Filip to show up. If they have some of the same attendance issues as last session, then I put them dead last.
#5 KOELLER It’s the end of the BMAC era to break up the team of two Ben’s so how the chemistry bounces back will be huge after an early exit last session. Koeller will do his thing and my guy KAPVP will bring the team together. I think there was a comment by Harry about KAP moving to his older glory PG days but I do not buy that. KAP comes from the playoff MAZZ school and is always ready to turn up which I saw first hand when he roasted me in the playoffs last year. JJ will hustle but will need to step up his offense. I feel like Leblanc has been underrated though so far in the discord and I think he will pick up the slack on offense with B-Mac’s departure. Give me this squad to be a dark horse to make a playoff run.
#4 Keith Keith is a triple double machine but will have to make sure the third double digit stat isn’t TO’s. He knows the right play to make but sometimes takes too many chances. He will need to cut those down and stay focused for this squad which as noted made great strides at last session which I got to be a part of. Tyler will also need to continue build off a great session and continue to force the action on the drive and look for kickouts. Let’s see if he worked on his three point shot during the offseason as I know he can also shoot and that will make a deadly combo. We saw a couple Matty J dazzler games but then he disappeared at other times. He will need more consistency at both ends of the court. Perhaps cousin Timmy can help keep him focused and make sure he stays aggressive. James is a great pickup and will have plenty of shots for this team (can’t leave him). My guy Steve is joining franchise and I saw him light it up in 5v5 draft for a game so let’s see if he can bring that energy over to CHISE. Will he clash with Keith as he also likes to be a vocal leader?! They also get to ball in SDL so that chemistry will either grow or crumble quickly……
#3 HARDING (or Harry) HARRY (or Harding) Who’s the captain? Who will handle subs? I assume Harry is the proxy here and will ensure all guys get involved and handle matchups. Harding can score from anywhere at anytime on anyone and proxy Harry will let him focus on that. Liam impressed me with his shooting last session and will need to keep that up to pull other squad’s bigs out of the lane. Vladi will be able to shoot open three all days which is his game but will he settle for those too much? Walker will hustle his ass off and clean up any misses while also getting his own at times if he can get the ball. Everything all goes through Harding though and I think he handles the pressure and takes the squad on his back.[17:33]
#2 ERIC The Super Hoopers always seem to be there at the end and Eric has ice in his veins. He’s got his guys Frongi and Jakobsons by his side and Ouelette will make shots and play Robin to Eric’s Batman. I feel like this team has good chemistry and Skates and Wise should fill in nicely. Wise will need to bring the physicality and turn back the clock to hang with some of the big guys down low but I think he can do it.
#1 MAZZ To be the best you have to beat the best and that has been MAZZ and the corp. MAZZ has his pick and role guy Hohrath who already brings great chemistry. INI joins the squad with me (if you cant beat them join them) and always bring the hustle and athleticism. I hope he get’s some damn respect from the ref this year cuz he get’s hacked every time. With the lane clogged up Luigi will need that mid-range to be consistent this year but I got him to knock that down consistently when the paint is clogged. I’ll be scouting what MAZZ’s favorite color Gatorade is to move sure he stays hydrated as we know when all else fails give MAZZ the ball and let’s face it that usually works. Assuming I get some PT I’ll be able to come in and make an open shot otherwise I expect not to see the court again. Give me the Corp though to win it all and my first CAC title after 4 second place finishes. In CEO MAZZ we trust. Let’s get it.
That’s a wrap can’t wait to hoop with y’all!
BY CHAS BELLS
Impossible Power Rankings
#8 Team STAT: Yes, he has a player with a highlight reel, did going for D3 players work last session for him? I will tell you what didnt work, that piss poor defensive effort, and unless that changes with some of the guys on this squad then its going to be tough sledding. I can say if they do it right they may be able to get some good mismatahces with their size, might force some teams to go zone on them. What changes the story, is if Hollins is everything STAT Paid for, and is dropping 60 a night. They are here for now.
#7 Team Red Barron- Did Keith do enough with the money he had? I am not sure, and he had a bunch of $ and did not come away with his top target in INI, in fact I think he got out of the race way to early. There is defitneyly potential for this team to take the next step as the rookie Tim Johnson could be the person to elevate this team, but hard to say without seeing him play. This team will be tough on the O, and defensive boards which will keep thiem in most games. If Mulv can build off last session and knock down 3-4 3’s a game, then this team will be moving up this list.
#6 Team Joel- I like this team, I cant say I LOVE this team. Right away I can see a weakness in 3pt shoooting, feel like team will pack the paint and dare them to hit jumpers/3’s. How many games will Demitri miss, because he missed like 6 last session, that is no beuno with this roster construction. What I like about his team is defense, Cawley/Joel together is no fuckign joke, and I cant wait to watch them shutdown/harraass peoples lives. This team will be in most games, but I see them coming up short in the long run. P.S Why would you give Mazz the best defender in the league??? !!!!!!!!
#5 Team Koller- A top big with two great facilitators in Kap/Leblanc you have to be excited about that. Did he do enough after that though? Underhills bio was UNDERwhelming , JJ is an awesome hustle guy, but people can double team, and force him to take midrages, making it hard on the other guys. Euler can be a huge wild card, but again the unknown is the unknown. This team could have size issues at times, where they will have to make adjustments with certain line ups. I see a uphill climb here, especially with Leblanc reporting that he will miss atleast 3 -4 games.
#4 Team DP! When DP contacted me and told me he wanted to take over the team I was elated. DP was a MVP caddiate last session , and was doing it in all areas of the game. DP loves to fly so he added the super explosive high scoring Lerner to the mix, those two will be a handful. Our roleplayers will determine everything though I need to not play like a BITCH, and get back to my Chasmanian ways, Craig will have to continue his steady improvement, J.Mul will have to be the versatile x factor that we all know he can be, and EJ needs to hit his open 3’s, and I think we really got something here. I think with any team that I am on, we will be a little small sometimes, but we will figre out the proper rotations.
#3 Team Super Hoopers- They still have that championship duo in Olly /Rosi so that why they are so high on this list, but did they do enough? Getting Frongi back was huge because now they have a solid trio, but with the rumors of Wise being like legend Pat Mcgir I question how they will deal with the athletic bigs in this league, and coud find themselves getting posted up alot, or just getting beatup. They will need Skates/Jakobson to elevate their play, but I can say Rosi/Oully have shown to make everyone betetr around them, so they are here for now.
#2 Team Harry- I really like what he did, had a ton of money and went to work with the hardhat, he really robbed the bank with Walker.A lot of these guys have played together multiple times so the chemistry is already solidified. Harding can outscore just about anyone, and if he is cooking that means he draws the attention, and Valdi nails the open 3. Losing out on INI was not a good thing at all for this team, as they went from a heavy favorite to win it all, to they are just like the rest of us, which is beatable. Landon was a nice nab at the end, as I feel like he is one of the most underrated players in the whole league, he could give them the edge they need.
#1 Team Corp- Mazz did a truly masterful job here. He stole Hohrath as teams with alot of money were trying to save bread for the Hollins sweepstakes, I bet if captains could go back they Make mazz go to atleast 60$ for his big man friend. Then he makes 2 savy trades...... why did the capatains agree???? The trades landed the best defensive playerin the league , and that is not debatable. The only thing that could derail this team is stamina , I could see this team running out of gas agaisnt the deeper teams. Overall when I take a step back it Mazz combined with could be the best scoring big in Hohrath, and defensive big in INI, and that sounds like a winning combination to me.