98/99 Season Preview
Power rankings (initial)
We're starting to see Cafites in stronger teams now. The two bad teams aren't even
that bad, ratings wise. Expecting to see quite a few of you in the playoffs.
Players and Teams
@altodevil and @V.O. on the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Marginal changes for altodevil yet again. I very much doubt it's going to do anything to his performances. Maybe his new teammate is what he needs? V.O. looks to be quite an offensive power, if we look past his height. He took quite a leap already over the summer, so it might appear that altodevil and the Cavs got really lucky with a draft pick as low as #8. Right now it seems like the Cleveland coach is content to play two Centers instead of his new rookie, but that will probably change. Maybe.
@Salt Bailly on the Denver Nuggets
Some gains, some losses, but ultimately it resulted in no change in Salt Bailly's overall rating. His team is good, but maybe lacks a superstar to really compete. Salt Bailly probably won't be that this season, but let's see what he comes up with.
@oneniltothearsenal on the Miami Heat
oneniltothearsenal took quite the leap over the off-season, improving significantly in many areas. 71 rating puts him
just outside of the top 10 for the entire NBA. He wasn't very happy at his former team, so maybe they really were holding him back? Miami aren't incredible, but they do have some contracts coming off the books next season, which might see them continue building. Could we maybe see another star paired with our man?
@Dan on the Philadelphia 76ers
Dan saw very slight changes since last season, but nothing to get worried over. He's the only one out of the 4 original players who decided to stay with his team. We'll see how that pans out, given that they're not particularly strong. Still, in the starting 5 alone they have a lot of money in expiring contracts, which presents an opportunity to maybe build something around Dan soon.
@hobbers and @sebsheep on the Portland Trailblazers
hobbers has finally been joined by a fellow cafite. I can only assume Portland see greatness in sebsheep's future, because his beginnings are rather humble (after he was forced off those performance enhancing drugs). They also drafted a Forward/Center for a team full of Forwards and Centers. Consequently, he's not in the starting lineup. He's just barely outside of it though, so he'll surely play. I wouldn't be too worried about the rating, we've seen how quick things can turn around.
@Solius, @The Cat and @weetee on the Seattle Supersonics
Seattle is not a good team, yet, but they sure stacked up on potential so far. Solius took a slight step forward across the board, which doesn't hurt. The Cat took a very slight step backwards, though, and he wasn't too happy with where he was to begin with. Still, things can change quickly for young players in this game. We've already seen a few examples so far, and there's another one coming up (spoiler alert). Their new man seems a good addition too - just don't give weetee the ball anywhere close to the basket.
@Dr. Dwayne and @Stobzilla on the Vancouver Grizzlies
Speaking of players suddenly improving, I give you Dr. Dwayne. +13 is a
very healthy increase. Perhaps a new scene was just the thing he needed, as it came just as he joined Stobzilla in Vancouver. Stobzilla seems to have enjoyed a good off-season too, going up to 57 in rating. Their team is quite good too, though they'll surely hope to hold on to Allen Iverson when his contract expires after the season. Dr. Dwayne is outside of the starting line-up right now, for some reason, but he probably just needs to come out of his shell a bit after his humble beginnings.