We begin the first year for our six expansion teams, here in 2018, where I was pleasantly surprised by what our teams accomplished. I expected to have the six worst records in the league, just competing for draft picks, and while a couple of these teams did struggle, several others provided a complete shock to the establishment of the NBA. Let's take a look.
(Henry's Note- this series will differ from The New Millennium, since I'm just focused on our teams rather than the entire league. You may hear something about what's going on league-wise from time to time if it's relevant, but I will remain laser focused on just these teams. Also, this breakdown will begin with the worst team of the six, and go up from there).
San Diego Surf
Record: (26-56, 6th in Pacific Division, 18th in Western Conference)
It was a rough opening year for the Surf, who only avoided being the worst team in the league thanks to the hapless New York Knicks, who won just 19 games. Their best player was one I didn't even mention in my opening evaluation, former Baylor big man Johnathan Motley, who averaged 14 points and 8 rebounds per game to go along with a block a night on 42 percent shooting. Those are fine numbers but it was all downhill from there, as Wesley Matthews averaged just 13 points a night, and Avery Bradley and George Hill just barely cracked double digit scoring. They had the lowest field goal percentage in the NBA, though their mediocre defense at least saved them from a devastatingly awful point differential. They traded center Boban Marjanovic at the end of January to pick up 73 OVR Courtney Lee, a rather pointless move. For now, head coach Justin Forrest and his staff have all kept their jobs, though surely the pressure will be on to do some serious improvement to this roster in the offseason.
Cincinnati Lions
Record: (30-52, 6th in Central Division, 15th in Eastern Conference)
The struggles of J.R. Smith, who averaged just under 10 points a game on 44 percent shooting, largely doomed the Lions this year, as they had the worst offense in the NBA. His backcourt partner Jeff Teague, on the other hand, was stellar, averaging 15 points and 5 assists a night, while trade acquisition Jon Leuer added 12 points and 7 boards. They picked up Leuer by sending Vince Carter to Detroit, and obviously, that trade paid off. Rajon Rondo added 7 assists a game, and Zaza Pachulia added a solid 9 rebounds a night, plus both men helped the Lions put together a top ten defense, a very impressive feat in Year 1. With good odds to score a high pick, it appears the Lions have found an identity and now have a solid chance to greatly improve heading into Year 2.
Las Vegas Aces
Record: (30-52, 5th in Pacific Division, 16th in Western Conference)
The debut year for the Aces was a bit of a mixed bag, as they competed well but struggled in a division featuring the likes of LeBron James and Stephen Curry. Vegas struggled to put together consistent performances, leading to both their offense and defense finishing very low in the rankings. Isaiah Thomas emerged as the leader of the team, averaging just over 20 points a night, but shot just 40 percent from the floor. Most of the rest of the team struggled, but a surprise contributor emerged off the bench in the former of Michael Carter-Williams,who averaged 12 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists per game on a decent 47 percent shooting, one of the better years of his career. Joakim Noah added 10 boards per game but didn't get much going offensively, while Timofey Mozgov provided surprisingly consistent offense, averaging 11 points a night and was the only player on the team to shoot over 50 percent. Ultimately, Floyd Goldworthy proved just how cut-throat he is, unsatisfied with what Milan Mack had done in his first year, firing the head coach at the end of the year to pick up Benjamin Walker, a significantly better defensive tactician on a 1 year deal.
Vancouver Ravens
Record: (31-51, 6th in Northwest Division, 15th in Western Conference)
Vancouver were a slight bit better than Las Vegas offensively, which helped them pick up an extra win. They were lead by Kent Bazemore, who put up 17 points per night on 41 percent shooting, while Quinn Cook was a little more consistent, averaging 14 points on 45 percent shooting. Kadeem Allen was also solid off the bench, averaging 12 points a night, but with so many ballhandlers, it seems like they had trouble coexisting, as not one player on the team average more than 4 assists a game. Andrew Bogut had a very old school year, averaging 10 rebounds and 2 blocks per game, but failing to average 5 points. The Ravens didn't make any changes all year, so coach Lloyd Cook will get another year to try and balance this roster out.
Virginia Storm
Record: (32-50, 5th in Southeast Division, 14th in Eastern Conference)
The Storm's biggest failing this year was the lack of a quality point guard, as Isaiah Whitehead and Ryan Arcidiacono both struggled to run the offense, resulting in the lowest amount of team assists in the league. Forced to play iso ball, Marco Belinelli took over 1000 shots, easily the highest total in his career, to average 15 points per night on 40 percent shooting. Big man Alan Williams, who I didn't spotlight in the roster breakdown, had a fantastic year, putting up 15 points and 8 rebound per game, and shot 53 percent from the floor, proving himself as a long term building piece. His frontcourt partner Bismack Biyombo was also very impressive, almost averaging a double-double for the year and shooting 53 percent from the field as well. The Storm made no changes to their staff, as Chester Hodges will be expected to build upon a shockingly impressive opening campaign.
Baltimore Barons
Record: (38-44, 4th in Atlantic Division, 8th in Eastern Conference)
An unbelievable first year for the Barons sees them shock the entire NBA, somehow earning the final playoff spot. They can credit their incredible year to the efforts of Tyreke Evans and Jeremy Lin, as the perfectly matched backcourt duo carved up defenses all year, averaging over 35 points per game between them. They were complemented by the play of Robin Lopez inside, who put up 12 points, 6 boards and a block and a half per night on 51 percent shooting, one of the best years of his career. The perimeter hounding of DeMarre Carroll and David Nwaba off the bench also bolstered the Barons to put together the 8th best defense in the league, an incredible accomplishment. Without any trades or free agent signings, the Barons are playoff bound, and will meet the 59 win Milwaukee Bucks in the first round. While I have significant doubts that Baltimore will even be able to take one game in that series, it's still an awesome start to Barons history and has to be a huge morale boost to Mr. Goldworthy.
So there you have it, a pretty good first year I have to say. All six teams achieved expectations, with the Barons as the obvious highlight, and now they all have something to build off of. I know this post was quite long and very wordy, but I wanted to paint a good picture of what each team did and how their players performed. I'll probably be more brief in the future. Tune in tomorrow to see what Jeremy Lin, Tyreke Evans and Robin Lopez can do in their first appearance in the NBA Playoffs!
- Henry
(Henry's Note- this series will differ from The New Millennium, since I'm just focused on our teams rather than the entire league. You may hear something about what's going on league-wise from time to time if it's relevant, but I will remain laser focused on just these teams. Also, this breakdown will begin with the worst team of the six, and go up from there).
San Diego Surf
Record: (26-56, 6th in Pacific Division, 18th in Western Conference)
It was a rough opening year for the Surf, who only avoided being the worst team in the league thanks to the hapless New York Knicks, who won just 19 games. Their best player was one I didn't even mention in my opening evaluation, former Baylor big man Johnathan Motley, who averaged 14 points and 8 rebounds per game to go along with a block a night on 42 percent shooting. Those are fine numbers but it was all downhill from there, as Wesley Matthews averaged just 13 points a night, and Avery Bradley and George Hill just barely cracked double digit scoring. They had the lowest field goal percentage in the NBA, though their mediocre defense at least saved them from a devastatingly awful point differential. They traded center Boban Marjanovic at the end of January to pick up 73 OVR Courtney Lee, a rather pointless move. For now, head coach Justin Forrest and his staff have all kept their jobs, though surely the pressure will be on to do some serious improvement to this roster in the offseason.
Cincinnati Lions
Record: (30-52, 6th in Central Division, 15th in Eastern Conference)
The struggles of J.R. Smith, who averaged just under 10 points a game on 44 percent shooting, largely doomed the Lions this year, as they had the worst offense in the NBA. His backcourt partner Jeff Teague, on the other hand, was stellar, averaging 15 points and 5 assists a night, while trade acquisition Jon Leuer added 12 points and 7 boards. They picked up Leuer by sending Vince Carter to Detroit, and obviously, that trade paid off. Rajon Rondo added 7 assists a game, and Zaza Pachulia added a solid 9 rebounds a night, plus both men helped the Lions put together a top ten defense, a very impressive feat in Year 1. With good odds to score a high pick, it appears the Lions have found an identity and now have a solid chance to greatly improve heading into Year 2.
Las Vegas Aces
Record: (30-52, 5th in Pacific Division, 16th in Western Conference)
The debut year for the Aces was a bit of a mixed bag, as they competed well but struggled in a division featuring the likes of LeBron James and Stephen Curry. Vegas struggled to put together consistent performances, leading to both their offense and defense finishing very low in the rankings. Isaiah Thomas emerged as the leader of the team, averaging just over 20 points a night, but shot just 40 percent from the floor. Most of the rest of the team struggled, but a surprise contributor emerged off the bench in the former of Michael Carter-Williams,who averaged 12 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists per game on a decent 47 percent shooting, one of the better years of his career. Joakim Noah added 10 boards per game but didn't get much going offensively, while Timofey Mozgov provided surprisingly consistent offense, averaging 11 points a night and was the only player on the team to shoot over 50 percent. Ultimately, Floyd Goldworthy proved just how cut-throat he is, unsatisfied with what Milan Mack had done in his first year, firing the head coach at the end of the year to pick up Benjamin Walker, a significantly better defensive tactician on a 1 year deal.
Vancouver Ravens
Record: (31-51, 6th in Northwest Division, 15th in Western Conference)
Vancouver were a slight bit better than Las Vegas offensively, which helped them pick up an extra win. They were lead by Kent Bazemore, who put up 17 points per night on 41 percent shooting, while Quinn Cook was a little more consistent, averaging 14 points on 45 percent shooting. Kadeem Allen was also solid off the bench, averaging 12 points a night, but with so many ballhandlers, it seems like they had trouble coexisting, as not one player on the team average more than 4 assists a game. Andrew Bogut had a very old school year, averaging 10 rebounds and 2 blocks per game, but failing to average 5 points. The Ravens didn't make any changes all year, so coach Lloyd Cook will get another year to try and balance this roster out.
Virginia Storm
Record: (32-50, 5th in Southeast Division, 14th in Eastern Conference)
The Storm's biggest failing this year was the lack of a quality point guard, as Isaiah Whitehead and Ryan Arcidiacono both struggled to run the offense, resulting in the lowest amount of team assists in the league. Forced to play iso ball, Marco Belinelli took over 1000 shots, easily the highest total in his career, to average 15 points per night on 40 percent shooting. Big man Alan Williams, who I didn't spotlight in the roster breakdown, had a fantastic year, putting up 15 points and 8 rebound per game, and shot 53 percent from the floor, proving himself as a long term building piece. His frontcourt partner Bismack Biyombo was also very impressive, almost averaging a double-double for the year and shooting 53 percent from the field as well. The Storm made no changes to their staff, as Chester Hodges will be expected to build upon a shockingly impressive opening campaign.
Baltimore Barons
Record: (38-44, 4th in Atlantic Division, 8th in Eastern Conference)
An unbelievable first year for the Barons sees them shock the entire NBA, somehow earning the final playoff spot. They can credit their incredible year to the efforts of Tyreke Evans and Jeremy Lin, as the perfectly matched backcourt duo carved up defenses all year, averaging over 35 points per game between them. They were complemented by the play of Robin Lopez inside, who put up 12 points, 6 boards and a block and a half per night on 51 percent shooting, one of the best years of his career. The perimeter hounding of DeMarre Carroll and David Nwaba off the bench also bolstered the Barons to put together the 8th best defense in the league, an incredible accomplishment. Without any trades or free agent signings, the Barons are playoff bound, and will meet the 59 win Milwaukee Bucks in the first round. While I have significant doubts that Baltimore will even be able to take one game in that series, it's still an awesome start to Barons history and has to be a huge morale boost to Mr. Goldworthy.
So there you have it, a pretty good first year I have to say. All six teams achieved expectations, with the Barons as the obvious highlight, and now they all have something to build off of. I know this post was quite long and very wordy, but I wanted to paint a good picture of what each team did and how their players performed. I'll probably be more brief in the future. Tune in tomorrow to see what Jeremy Lin, Tyreke Evans and Robin Lopez can do in their first appearance in the NBA Playoffs!
- Henry
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