JNBA, Season 8, November

JNBA Season 8

End of November

East 

Playoff Teams:

1. Washington (22-6):  Jack Jay went down for two months, and won't be back until the end of December.  But Washington is still two games in first, which goes to show that this is still Washington's conference to lose.
2. Cincinnati (20-8):  Cincinnati's dominance this year has surprised everyone.  Steven Holmquist is a perennial All-Star, and no injuries have helped, but they have strong defenders across the board.  Maybe it's as simple as Steven Holmquist + No Injuries + acquiring Ramiro Deltrick = a year in contention.  But you can't forget that Holmquist especially has a reputation for injury, and the season is still young.
3. New Jersey (19-9):  New Jersey has managed a very respectable record in the face of two separate injuries to Joshua Chilton.  They're an injury prone team in general, but make no mistake, the addition of Jeffrey Sherer makes New Jersey the smart man's pick for the #2 team in the conference.
4. Pittsburgh (17-11):  Pittsburgh is enjoying its presence in the top 4, the first time every for the team to even be in playoff contention.  But Ronnie Gilfillian is out until the beginning of January, and Pittsburgh will fall off a bit.  But I think Pittsburgh has a legitimate shot at home-court in the first round of the playoffs.
5. Atlanta (17-11):  Atlanta is another mystery.  They have more or less the same team as last year, only now they're in 5th place.  Then again, they just lost Albert Bolling for a month, so we'll see where things shake up in the new year.
6. Philadelphia (16-12):  Philly's a team still on the slow rise.  They have no stars, unless you count the shut-down defender Ernesto Mervis, but they're deep and injury resistant.  And young.  Philly should make the playoffs, and should have a bright future.
7. Boston (15-13):  Boston's season has been a bit disappointing.  To be sure, they've avoided injuries and are on the hunt for a playoff spot, something Boston doesn't have a lot of experience with.  The future is built on Archambeault and Beardsley, and that future may take a bit to come to fruition.
8. Miami (15-13):  Miami's success has been modest, but nevertheless notable.  They boast arguably the finest defense in the JNBA, which would be more impressive if their offense were less anemic.  Nevertheless, they have a reasonable shot at getting a playoff spot this year.  And with the incredible haul they're owed in the draft in the coming year, they could be well set in the future.

Non-Playoff Teams:

1. Baltimore (14-14):  Baltimore has had a surprisingly good season for a team in the rebuild.  But they've lucked into a lack of injuries, and I don't expect them to continue their performance.
2. Tampa Bay (13-15):  First time Tampa's not been in the playoff picture.  Ever.  I expect them to improve markedly.  Just from sheer balance.
3. Orlando (10-18):  Orlando's assumption that they could lose Ronnie Gilfillian and still make the playoffs was proved quite mistaken.  To be sure, they have a lot of upside, and Todd Witte combined with Larry Caro could be very good indeed.  But not this year.
4. Chicago (9-19):  Chicago should not be ruled out yet.  They've been missing Rodney McDougal for the last month.  Without McDougal, Chicago is a bottom four team.  With him, they'll likely make the playoffs.  So we'll see.
5. New York (9-19):  New York was absolutely riddled with injuries.  This is expected, they may still rally.  But they're down Ronny Szeto for the season, and that's no good.
6. Detroit (9-19):  Yeah.  They suck.
7. Cleveland (5-23):  But more.  

West:

Playoff Teams:

1. Houston (25-3):  Houston's acquisition of Mike Colvin seems to have gone swimmingly; a three loss two-month stretch is about as good as it gets.  But they'll need every advantage they can get past Kansas City.
2. Kansas City (24-4):  One game down from Houston, and they haven't had Sean Caswell for a month.  Read into that whatever you will.
3. Denver (18-10):  Sure, they lost Manuel Greenlee for a month.  But they're six games back from Kansas City, and they still have what, on paper, should be one of the very best lineups in the league.  Anything less than a top-2 seed will be considered a disappointment.
4. Minnesota (18-10):  Minnesota's putting together another strong season.  Brett Whitesell is leading the team with new addition Johnny Edmonson, and they're making a great case for a top 4 seed.
5. Los Angeles (17-11):  An remarkably solid team, top to bottom.  We'll see if they can keep this up.
6. San Antonio (15-13):  A rough opening, but there is plenty of room for improvement, especially when Horney returns from injury.
7. Portland (15-13):  Darrell Stickel is making Portland a surprisingly contentious team this year, but we'll see if they can actually stay the course.
8. Seattle (14-14):  Seattle's been putting together a solid season, with the addition of Ronald Heisler (now down with injury), but in the West, they'll need every advantage they can.

Non-Playoff Teams:

1. Las Vegas (14-14):  Las Vegas has been missing All-Star center Franklin Crowl for a month, and it has hurt.  But look for them to rebound into the playoffs.
2. Sacramento (13-15):  Sacramento lost Adam Jason and Alan Farber to injury, but this is a playoff team without a doubt.
3. Dallas (12-16):  #1 pick Stephen Abrego has held his own quite well, but this is not the year for Dallas to make the playoffs.
4. Phoenix (9-19):  The addition of Clifford Selfridge has done nothing to make this team a playoff contender.  
5. San Diego (6-22):  This franchise is in serious rebuilding mode.
6. San Francisco (5-23):  Losing Brandon Huffman from the season so early completely decided the season.  
7. St. Louis (5-23):  Alas for St. Louis.  They have a lot of upside, but it's all several years down the road.