Russell Conference: Thundercats Division

Officially the toughest division in the league, Thundercats has sent three teams to the playoffs each year, with Funk Coalition being left behind each time. This could be the year for change however, as one squad has likely decided to Riggins for Wiggin or um, Hungry for Jabari. Also, this is the home of the defending champs! [2013 Preview]

#6: Funk Coalition (8-9-2, 3-9)
After two losing seasons — the only team in Thundercats to have any losing season in the past two years — Funk Coalition finally has the team they’ve been rebuilding for. A big ball lineup that features Dwight Howard, Al Jefferson, Josh Smith, and Andre Drummond will be out to destroy backboards and annihilate shots. The backcourt will be without Rajon Rondo for an unknown amount of time though, so it’s only Tony Parker at the controls. Eschewing any outside shooting whatsoever, Jon picked up Iman Shumpert and Avery Bradley to fill out the backcourt. Both are tremendous NBA defenders, and hopefully that translates into plenty of STL. Funk also traded down in the draft three times, picking up a few extra picks that translated into those two plus Andrei Kirilenko, Kevin Seraphin (less intriguing with Marcin Gortat now on the Wizards), Jared Dudley, and Thomas Robinson. First round pick Anthony Bennett will be in a playing time log jam and will likely need time to develop, unless he’s a big fat bust… We’re not sure if Funk would have been better served by not trading down and securing the likes of a David West or Caron Butler, but time will tell.
Status: Rebuilt, but with a super big ball approach that is still in the testing phase.

#11: Chunky Monkeys (11-7-1, 8-4)
For a team that had 19 wins over the past two seasons, it sure seemed like Monkeys hit the reset button rather quickly. Perhaps sensing that his team was losing talent by attrition — Markieff Morris was an off-season keeper — Evan traded away Chris Paul and abandoned the small ball he’d been successfully using for years. In comes Marc Gasol and a whole slew of big men to accompany him. The question is, are late round picks Donatas Montiejunas, Vitor Faverani, and Taj Gibson the answer? All three smell like transition pieces. Luol Deng was a value selection in round one and it’s possible that Alec Burks emerges as a nice shooting guard but he’s not going to get much time behind James Harden, Wesley Matthews,  and a slew of quality point guards. After capturing the #3 playoff seed in last year’s Russell Conference, it sure looks like Chunky Monkeys is headed straight for the basement.
Status: Tanking (but won't admit it). With two first round picks next year, Monkeys are likely fighting for a loaded draft class.

#14: NJ All-Stars (15-4, 8-4)
In his second season as owner, Eddie hoped to win a title after a rookie season run that saw them sprint to the 2012 Finals. NJ All-Stars was led or nearly led the league in 3PT, REB, AST, STL, and PTS. Plus they were above average in FG% and FT%. Their only weak spots were BLK and TO. But then they got upset by division foe 100 Acre Wood Heffalumps in the first round. Ouch. With a keeper core featuring multi-everything LeBron James and Paul George, this team has a lot of bases covered. It seemed like this was the off-season for them to build on more strengths and get ready for another title run. Instead they swerved a bit by taking two rookies — Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Nerlens Noel — that aren’t likely to help immediately, and another semi-young guy, James Anderson in the fifth round that we know nothing about. Last year’s off-season trade of Luis Scola and DeAndre Jordan resulted in this year’s RD2.2 Reggie Jackson, and he should contribute with Russell Westbrook out. J.J. Hickson is back for another spin, and Channing Frye and Trevor Ariza were also drafted. Do we prefer last year’s support players of Luol Deng, Isaiah Thomas, Hickson, AK47, and Al-Farouq Aminu better than Caldwell-Pope, Jackson, Frye, Hickson, and Ariza? We think so. It’ll be interesting to see what NJ All-Stars can do with a supporting cast that seems slightly weaker. We do love the long term potential of Noel though, who will be stashed away for next season.
Status: True contender. Always a favorite to win the division but fuming from a first round exit last season.

#16: Spade (9-8-2, 8-4)
After a stunning playoff run that saw them upset higher ranked teams in three straight rounds to win the championship, the former 100 Acre Wood Heffalumps have reloaded with new ownership and an even better roster than last season. Their championship win was the closest ever in SlamNation history, but Spade can silence any doubters by being the first repeat champion. It looks like new owner Randall is out to destroy all challengers by flooding his team with outside shooting. Kevin Martin and Kyle Korver are on-board, along with Danilo Gallinari, who will wait on injured reserve alongside Kobe Bryant. Last year’s point guard, George Hill, returns via the draft to run the team and he’ll team up with new addition Eric Bledsoe to form a strong backcourt. Arron Afflalo and Marcus Thorton were drafted in RD4&5 to hold the SG spot until Kobe returns. With Kevin Love, Al Horford and Paul Millsap up front, this team has all the pieces to repeat.  Plus, the new Lakers’ starting power forward, troubled retread Shawne Williams, is on hand to make appearances from the Spade bench. We heard he gives great cautionary talks about getting arrested and going to jail too.
Status: The odds on favorite to take it all, especially with Kobe on the bench waiting/lurking/scheming.