Mid-Season Report: Voltron

And here with the mid-season reviews. It’s already twelve, almost thirteen weeks in, and the NBA has been on full tilt with storylines everywhere and surprises, disappointments, trades, and injuries galore. Let’s take a look at where SlamNation stands, starting with the Voltron division! [2015 Pre-Season Voltron | 2014 Early Season]

MoRRie’s Pogiboys (10-2)
Last year at this time Alvin’s team stood at 4-8, headed toward yet another Toilet Bowl. Now Alvin sits atop the Russell Conference by a wide margin and has basically the best fantasy player on the planet, Anthony Davis, anchoring his team. Oh yeah, did we mention GM Alvin hit on quite a few upside picks in the draft too? His first four draft picks this year: Elfrid Payton, Draymond Green, Gorgui Dieng, and Alec Burks. Payton can’t shoot but he’s easily going to be one of the top rookies for the 2014-15 NBA draft class. And well, Draymond is the new darling of the NBA, and his stat sheet stuffing stats are pretty incredible -- this is one Spartan alum Alvin hasn't had a problem rooting for. And Dieng is already almost a double double guy and it looks like his minutes will only increase. Alvin is doing a better job putting pieces around The Brow than the Pelicans are!

Oh yeah, Davis is averaging 24.2 PTS, 10.4 REB, 2.9 BLK, 1.5 STL, 55.7 FG% and 82.2 FT%. Geezes. Would you take him over Kevin Durant or LeBron? Of course right? And also, Pogiboys already have Mike Conley, Brandon Jennings, Victor Oladipo, Roy Hibbert, and Brook Lopez as keepers entering the season. This is the year Pogiboys (finally) hit the post-season, and they could make some major noise there -- right before 2016 when they’ll have quite a few roster decisions on the horizon. Get ready SlamNation, the Pogiboys are (finally) coming!

High Riser (9-2-1)
Nipping on Pogiboys’ heels for the Voltron crown is John Wall and Damian Lillard, both of whom are looking for post-season success in the NBA as well as in SlamNation. Thien’s team went to the playoffs last year, as usual, but were bounced early, as usual. High Riser has always had regular season success under any name — they’ve won seven of their last eight matchups — but their high flying offensive style hasn’t helped them to many post-season wins. This team is fun to watch though, ranking first in AST, second in STL, third in 3PT, and fourth in PTS. The offseason saw Thien bring in Trevor Ariza and Tyreke Evans for draft picks, and both have helped round out the starting lineup.

It’s a shame first round pick Julius Randle won’t play this season, but free agent surprise Hassan Whiteside has taken the opportunity to earn a starting nod alongside Omer Asik and Steven Adams. The four guard rotation of Lillard, Wall, Brandon Knight (18.1 PTS, 5.1 AST, 4.2 REB, 1.6 STL, 1.9 3PT), and Dwayne Wade are one of the best in the league, and they’ll continue to power High Riser to almost contention. What's the next step though, how can this team make a final move for the ring? Is the answer Dion Waiters?!

So Buckets (6-6)
After ruling the Voltron den for a number of seasons, Josh’s team is in danger of dropping out of the playoffs. Then again, the non-Spade teams in the other Russell Conference division are pretty pathetic so Voltron could easily send three representatives to the post-season. However, Buckets has to contend with the sudden rise of Pogiboys, as well as the steady winning ways of High Riser. All that and this season has been tough on the injury front. The rejuvenated Pau Gasol is leading this team in games played, as virtually everyone else has hit the shelf, including long stints outs for DeMar DeRozan and Nikola Pekovic. And then there’s the M.I.A. Larry Sanders, who is in danger of washing/weeding out of the NBA. Still, Coach Josh has steadied this team after a 3-5 start, and being at 0.500 mid-season can be called a success.

There’s good news too, as the aforementoned Gasol is throwing up mid-2000's Pau numbers of 18.4 PTS, 11.6 REB, and 2.1 BLK. And Kyrie Irving is still a fantasy star, even if he’s not exactly meshing with his new Cavaliers teammates. Third round pick Rudy Gobert has earned the nickname “The French Rejection” and he’s more than capable of helping this team remain ranked third in BLKs post-Sanders. Plus, young keepers Jared Sullinger and Ben McLemore are still growing and overall this team is trending upwards. With an anticipated healthier second half of the season, So Buckets will focus on entering the post-season and setting their sights on upsetting one of the top seeds -- instead of the other way around. Note: First rounder Joel Embiid is still tucked away on this roster, waiting for the 2016 season...

Inept Henchmen (4-8)
So, how’s Trevor’s second season in SlamNation going? Last year’s team had only six wins total so this year’s four victories are a baby step up even after their 3-2 start crumbled to six losses in their last seven games. The defensive anchors for Henchmen, Dwight Howard and Andrew Bogut, have been in and out of the lineup, making it tough to establish an inside presence. Before his injury though, Dwight was putting up monster games, making last year’s trade of Derrick Rose look brilliant. And it’s not really the frontcourt that this team is lacking in, as they have Howard, Bogut, Derrick Favors, and Kenneth Faried pogo-sticking around. Plus, Jeff Green has shown that he can still put up points in his new Memphis home.

That backcourt though, filled with an old man crew of Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, Greivis Vasquez, and Jose Calderon. That’s not great. Sixth round pick Tony Wroten had been averaging 16.9 PTS, 5.2 AST, 1.6 STL, 1.2 3PT before his ACL tear, but now he’s out for the season. Rookies Nik Stauskas and TJ Warren were drafted with high hopes but both were cut long ago. Some fresh blood is needed here, and Kyle Korver is an intriguing trade chip. Surely some contender could use a rocket launcher who drops in 3.0 3PT at a 51.6 FG% clip? We like the direction GM Trevor has taken this team, and a few more steps upwards would make this a successful second year of rebuilding.