shortfuse122829

3 rounds or 5?

Thank god, super proud of PA today for doing the right thing. The sky is falling reaction predicted in the market today didn't really happen (yet anyway but doubt it will at this point). The overnight futures predicted a 800+ point drop today & instead we're up 160 points. Economic growth will heal most wounds from the last 18 mo. & unite us once more, let's hope anyway bc our divide in this country right now can't continue

Damn PA is going to play a huge factor in this election

I knew this election was going to go down to the wire and said so when she was crushing him in the polls before the whole comey scandal. I'm guessing we won't find out until the morning

I did a write in ballot for my vote and I voted for our man Ken

Yeah my bad dude, I'm kind of a part-time player right now so hadn't really kept up w/ the thread....I've been keeping up w/ the Olympics thread out of obligation more than anything and a few off-topic things but I'm kinda 50/50 on activity and accepted a fight w/ him by accident No risk of me going anywhere btw so I'd still like to get in this even if I have to forfeit the first match-up. Just a lot of new creations on my roster right now w/ about 4 more cuts to go so I always lose interest during a rebuild

Unfortunately I accepted a fight on the 23rd because I didn't consistently check this thread so I'm going to have to take a forfeit in week 1 I think

Damn not how I intended to do this. I wanted to make a prediction now that I've actually seen some games from everybody and see how it differed from my pre-season predictions! Just a few of the changes I made out west....I moved the Jazz into the playoff picture, they only missed by 1 game last year and only got about 60 games from Favors and Gobert. I think if those two can stay healthy w/ the addition of George Hill and role players like Boris Diaw they should have a good chance making the playoffs out west this year. I also moved the Thunder up a spot or two and dropped the Grizzlies but I think Memphis, Phoenix, LAL and MIN will be in a real battle for that 8th seed come the end of the year. I really expected Minnesota to take a step forward this year w/ Thibs as the coach and him having a wing defender like Wiggins and a post defender like Towns, I expected their defense to be outstanding this season...they still have plenty of time to figure it out though In the east I dropped the Pacers from 2nd to 7th. I thought the additions of Al Jefferson, Jeff Teague and Thad Young to go along w/ Paul and Ellis would make them a legit threat in the east. But it doesn't appear that team can play a lick of defense thus far. I expected the Bulls to struggle because I didn't think they had ANY perimeter shooting at all, so they've looked a bit better than I thought they'd be. The east after cleveland looks like a total crap shoot to me though

Yeah I saw he dropped 38 and then 39 in two separate games this week so that put an end to that hope for me lol. I still don't think my trade was awful though considering it'd free up enough space for a max contract in addition to landing you some pretty good young players and also most likely they'd have two top 10 picks in the next draft. Especially because even w/ all that young talent that team doesn't appear to be going anywhere soon. I don't get to see them play all the time since they're on the west coast, so I dunno if they're all good at scoring but not a 1 of them can play defense or what their problem is exactly but they look like a 40'ish win team to me which will land you the 9th or 10th seed out west in recent history. Exactly where they tend to finish The 76'ers looked absolutely terrible against Utah yesterday. Having Gobert at C gives the Utah guards the freedom to really put pressure on other teams guards and unfortunately that was a recipe for disaster for guys like TJ, Sergio and Stauskas. Watching those guys try to guard people is a joke as well. Embiid had a rough first half going 1-5 and getting two shots blocked by Gobert but rebounded a bit in the 2nd half going 3-3 and 6-9 from FT (which isn't good for him actually) for 14 pts and 9 reb in 19 min. I think he was 4-8 from the floor and as mentioned 6-9 from the charity stripe. Okafor also had a pretty good game w/ 15 points on 7-14 shooting in 22 mins. It was also nice to see Covington finally get going. He shot 39.5% from 3 last year and I think like 38% from 3 the year before but started off shooting like 17% this season. I know he started 4-4 from 3pt in that game against Utah but not sure what he finished at. Embiid season stats so far: 5G 107 minutes 88 points 28 of 58 (48.3%) - I'd like this to see this go up over time for a guy his size 6 of 9 (66.7%) from 3 pt 26 of 34 (76.5%) from FT line - I think he'll be somewhere around a 75-80% FT shooter 34 rebounds 22 turnovers - this is where he needs the most work imo so far 3 steals 13 blocks I'm not sure how long it'll take for them to remove his minutes restriction or if that's something he'll have to deal w/ the whole year. If he has to deal w/ it the whole year I could potentially see someone else grabbing rookie of the year. But considering he averages almost 18 and 7 in only 22 min played on average it's going to be hard for anybody to touch him if he gets more playing time. BTW I think it's ridiculous a guy in his 3rd year is somehow still eligible for that award

Ravens Texans Saints Rams Falcons Chiefs Bucs Redskins Titans Chargers Cardinals Steelers Patriots Giants Well if the Vikings are gonna fall apart here and not make the NFC championship game then I sure hope it's an epic collapse so we can get a higher pick. Felt weird making some of the picks I did this week like Titans over Packers but w/ the way Murray is running the ball I'm just thinking they may be able to play keep away

Not entirely sure how good or bad his injury hidden is in general but I can tell you that fucker had 3 losses due to 16 day injury in ITFL season 4 which was a royal pain in my ass as the team captain lol. Remove those 3 injury losses and Danny's been on quite a roll w/ Perk since picking him up though

Thanks Louie! Yes Helix Cabrera @ 155lbs & the winner of Rose/Hale @ 170lbs. Both fight on Thurs so will be released by fri at the latest. We're still gonna roll w/ Pandahammer @ 205lbs bc Fortunado has unfinished business with Vinetto I'd like to get too b4 either retires & while the fight makes sense. Plus with only respectable TDD i just don't think he's our best chance at gold

I'm working on a fight for Rocker while the Olympics takes place just waiting on a result

I dunno if Simmons can shoot but from what I saw of him he can get to the rim. The difference to me between those 2 is Ingram looks about 200lbs soaking wet. Simmons was 217 on draft night but about 250lbs during pre-season. My prediction for what Simmons will be once up to full min is about 14 to 15 ppg, 8 reb & 5 ast. But probably a decent amount of turnovers as well. Rebounding & facilitating seemed to be things that come naturally to him. I think he'll struggle scoring 'efficiently' early. But at 6'10 I like his chances at at least getting a cleaner look at a shot then Henderson who has been unable to even get a shot up. Simmons could very well be 0-3 trying to close but I think he'd have gotten a shot up at least

We've released everyone w/o a fight signed. Only guy I still need under contract at SHW is Holy Jenova

Yeah we lost 102-101 to Cavs yesterday. We need Ben Simmons badly. He can deliver an entry pass in late game situations or can get to the rim at will. So far in our losses to CLE, ORL & OKC we should've won but we draw up our last play to get Embiid the ball, can't get it to him, so Gerald Henderson drives & can't even get off a shot in all 3 games we lost by 1 pt Embiid had 22 pts (7-13, 4-4 from 3pt), 6 reb & 4 blk's in 25 min. That's 2 games in a row with 4 blk's in 25 min for him

Yeah I would jump on a Russell for Noel or Okafor deal too. We definitely need some help in our guard play. We should be 2-1 right now despite the fact we don't have Simmons or Noel and also Okafor and Embiid are on limited minutes but our guards aren't good enough to close the deal. The thing I'd like about getting some combo of Knight or Bledsoe + a Booker type player is I think they would get better shots here. I can't say that I get to see PHX play too much but based on how their team is made up I imagine those guys have to try to create a lot of offense for themselves, where on our team a guy like Knight is going to be the 3rd option. His job...or Russell's job if they'd make a trade for him is going to be to bring the ball up and swing it to Ben Simmons who will be their primary ball handler imo. He'll penetrate and try to score or try to create for somebody else off that penetration or they'll run him & Embiid in a pick and roll. I think they'll mix in the PG in the pick and roll as well don't get me wrong but I just think Embiid is going to be their primary scorer. He's averaging like 17.5 ppg and 6.5 rpb in 22 min a game so far and that's consistent w/ what he did in the pre-season too. I doubt he would keep that pace up over starters minutes but he looks like he should definitely be a 20 & 10 guy (assuming health ofc). So I would say Simmons is your #1 option only because he'll have the ball the majority of the time. Embiid will be your leading scorer....so I think Russell or Knight/Bledsoe...is just going to get clean looks. Especially if we have a stretch 4 on the team where they're not the only deep threat on the floor.... That was part of the problem the sixers had last year. Covington is around a 37-38% 3 pt shooter but he's been our only real threat from down town that gets a lot of minutes for the most part. So last year Okafor started drawing double teams in the 2nd game of the year and as long as you made sure you covered Covington most of our other guys haven't been great shooters so we create no space at all. We're not quite that terrible this year but it's not a huge upgrade either. Of course Bayless hasn't been playing either and he's supposed to be our other catch and shoot role player. He's out a month w/ a wrist injury. I don't think he makes any difference w/o a Simmons on the roster though. He had a career year to get these numbers but when we signed him the article I read was how he fits in w/ Simmons and this is why they brought him here. But we don't really have another guy who can create offense for other guys besides Ben w/ the exception of Sergio who runs an amazing pick and roll game. "This newfound style of play peaked for Bayless in 2015-16, where Bayless shot 46.1 percent on catch-and-shoot shots, an incredible number considering almost all of them were from three-point range. Among the 201 players who used at least 100 possessions out of catch-and-shoot opportunities, Bayless ranked 5th in points per possessions, behind guys like Stephen Curry and J.J. Redick." Read more at http://www.phillymag.com/news/2016/07/03/jerryd-bayless-fit-ben-simmons/#ScwJZx4iktBLFedd.99

I think they have to move them both. RIght now our 6 best players are all PF and C's. Simmons (PF), Okafor ©, Noel ©, Embiid ©, Saric (PF), Rashuan Holmes (PF). Noel is already complaining about all the bigs so he's most likely the first person that gets moved. There is a chance they will try to keep Okafor but I don't think they're going to get any good guards in return for just Noel so I think he's really the only piece they have any chance of getting something in return for tbh. Whether Embiid stays healthy is going to make or break the whole deal either way. He's the clear star on your team and with him and simmons I think you can be a legit contender in a few years. With Simmons and Okafor I think you're a 5th-8th seed team at best.

Anyway I realize this trade is highly unlikely & we'll move Noel & Okafor in completely separate deals. I've seen rumors of Noel to Toronto for T. Ross, a player & a pick. I think my trade makes sense for all involved though. I realize losing Booker would hurt but they'd still have TJ Warren, either Bledsoe or Knight. They'd get Jeryd Bayless as a back up or catch & shoot specialist. A young stretch 4 who will blossom into a really nice player. A 23 yr old C who will grow with the team & be a perrenial defensive player of the year candidate. A top 10 draft pick in addition to wherever they draft with their pick. & most importantly they'd go from 84 million $ payroll (93 mil cap) to a 73 mil payroll leaving the opportunity to add a max contract So I realize this is a lot of speculation but since it's all hypothetical anyway let me just speculate at what kinda potential team PHX could put together w/ the two draft picks and the max contract. Using the current nba draft projections where they have PHX and LAL picking.... G: Knight or Bledsoe (whichever they would keep) G: Jeryd Bayless G: Dennis Smith Jr. G: Leandro Barbosa G: Tyler Ulis F: Harry Giles F: TJ Warren F: Dario Saric F: Dragan Bender F: Marquise Chriss F: Serj Ibaka (max contract added) C: Nerleans Noel C: Alex Len I think that'd be a pretty decent team. You'd have guys who can create offense for themselves in Knight/Bledsoe and TJ Warren. A catch and shoot role player in Bayless. Speed and ability to attack the rim and create offense off the bench in Barbosa and Smith Jr. Some of the best rim protection in the league w/ Ibaka and Noel. Or better yet how about both guys ability to cover guards on the perimeter if they get caught in a switch. Tell me that wouldn't be a valuable asset in the west where you're facing some of the guard combos out there. Ibaka can also stretch the floor a little bit but you'd get a stretch 4 in Saric as well. A high upside player in Giles. Now who knows how the draft would actually go and if you can attract a guy like Ibaka but that's just one idea what they could turn that into

Okay cool Louie, I've released my guys Geralt of Rivia @ 135lbs division, Don Juan Matus @ 145lbs division, Gymer Alexandersson @ 265lbs division, but my 155, 170 and 185 fighters still have fights on the 6th or 10th yet so have to wait to release those guys

Yeah I've already got 4 of my guys under contract and have an offer out to CEC's representative. I have pm's out to two other orgs but CFC's guy has a fight booked tomorrow so have to wait on him. He's the last of the guys w/ a fight offer however so I'm thinking that I'm going to do round 1 on 11/23.

Well I dunno which weight he'll want so def need to ask his employee that but I was told by my fighter Sellus Gravius that he's representing MFN in the olympics and he's already at my org. Funny enough 3 of the fighters in the weight I picked are already at my org lol that's gonna make my job easy

& I doubt any team in the league w/ something valuable to give in return can take 2 contracts at 15+ mil per year

You are probably right Mentor the reasons I used Knight & Booker in place of Gordon is the money. They may not want to give him up but you always have to part w/ pieces you'd rather not to make fair trades & Phoenix isn't going anywhere right now. By the time they can make a legit run at the west Chandler is washed up so he holds 0 value to them besides helping their chances at competing for an 8th seed. Also I think Noel is very undervalued because he doesn't bring a ton offensively besides running the floor and garbage baskets. But IMO he's going to blossom into one of the best rim protectors in the league for the next 10 years. So I think if the Suns keep either Knight/Bledsoe and TJ Warren they can afford to give up Devin Booker. They will have Bayless to catch and shoot for a few seasons and two top 10 picks they can replenish their guard play. This is what Noel is capable of though in an article from his rookie year.... "Since the All-Star Break (so, a period of 20 games), Noel is averaging 10 rebounds, 2.7 steals and 2.9 blocks per game. Those are stats that have never been replicated for a full season -- and stats that obviously Noel will never accumulate over a season. But what Noel is doing over the course of this season in those categories -- 7.7 rebounds, 1.8 steals, and 1.9 blocks -- has never been done before as a rookie. Ever."

& don't overlook Saric going to Phoenix either. He's already had a 21 pt game & 14 pt game in his first 4 games as a rookie. He's gonna take a year or so to adjust to the NBA but he was considered the best player in Europe & will be a solid player in this league. I think he's averaging 12 & 5 so far. The 1 adjustment he's struggled with is in Europe he'd set a pick & when he pops out he's already at the 3 line. Here he keeps having to look for the line which has thrown him off a bit. He's also rushed a bit but really settled in the last 2 games