Almost out in time to match the NBA regular season, it's our team previews for the 2022 season, starting with Chamberlain Conference! [ 2021 Chamberlain | 2021 Russell ]
TeamID - Abbrev - Name (2021 Record, 2020 Record)
9 SQSQ Squirtle Squad (7-9, 14-3-2)
Coming off a 2020 season that saw them accumulate the best regular season record in the league, big things were expected from SQSQ in 2021. Unfortunately, even an all-in move for LeBron James was not enough to stop a backslide out of the playoffs.
Giannis Antetokounmpo and King James won’t stand for that! The good news is that SQSQ pulled their 2021 season together enough to win the Toilet Bowl — although the pick went to KSKT. They were still a top four ranked offense — and top five defense as well — on the year, but taking into account that they were basically punting FT% and TOS, Squirtle needed to be much more dominant in the other categories.
Two keepers were swapped out: Bogdan Bogdanovich and Jrue Holiday took John Wall and Tobias Harris’ places respectively. Both are upgrades, and with a healthy-ish season from Jusuf Nurkic, SQSQ will have a great bully ball lineup. And don’t look now but Lonzo Ball is a pretty stellar fantasy asset now, with his poor FG% barely hurting this team.
The 2022 draft brought outside shooters Joe Harris, Donte DiVincenzo, and Seth Curry to complement Giannis and LeBron, with Mo Bamba being an upside wild card and Marcus Morris as the veteran bulldog (Morris was already cut). Post-draft free agency gave SQSQ Nic Claxton and Jae’Sean Tate, who could both end up being defensive steals.
Overall, there’s no reason SQSQ can’t return to contender status this season. It may be one year later than they anticipated for a proper title run but SQSQ is here now and ready to win again!
It’s been three long years since ABCX had a winning record, and despite winning the 2021 draft and selecting LaMelo Ball at RD1.1, ABCX couldn’t muster up more than five wins last season. However, getting back-to-back franchise players in Ja Morant and Ball in subsequent seasons will set this franchise back on the path to success.
An aged keeper core — Russell Westbrook, Derrick Rose, Evan Fournier, and TJ Warren — still wants to win now and GM Oliver continued going for veterans with his 2022 draft. Picking up Jonas Valanciunas at RD1.7 could be great value grab and plug a hole in the lineup, but we’re not sure if Thaddeus Young, Harrison Barnes, Kelly Oubre Jr., Doug McDermott, and Terrence Ross are future-focused enough for a franchise that is neither winning nor rebuilding.
A healthy sophomore season from Ball will be huge, as ABCX was still a top ten offense without him, ranking top-two in AST. What this team will need to focus on is some defense, so if Valanciunas can put up similar numbers to what he’s always done, that’s going to be huge for ABCX.
We don’t foresee much more than another Toilet Bowl run for ABCX this season, but maybe some veteran for youth trades might shake things up as the transition from old to young takes place.
11 BUFF Buffy (8-8, 5-14)
After four sub-0.500 seasons, BUFF found themselves in the playoffs last year. Not only that, BUFF had the temerity to upset top-seeded SWMP in their first round matchup, before falling to eventual champion FJUB in round two. One could say that without Buffy’s huge upset however, we would be celebrating a very different champion… Great job BUFF, great job! FJUB should take you out to a steak dinner!
The goal for Buffy entering 2022 is to get above 0.500, which is something they hasn’t done since 2013, eight seasons ago. It would help a lot, of course, if Ben Simmons’ playing status was more known, but BUFF may have to play on without him until whatever is happening in Philly resolves itself.
Meanwhile, Domantas Sabonis, Brandon Ingram, and last year’s RD1.6 Anthony Edwards are a stellar core to keep moving upward. Sabonis and Ingram are both All-Star level and Edwards has already shown that he’s got similar upside as well. Should Klay Thompson return to add anything this season, BUFF should have an enviable — and young — core to win with. Heck, even Kyle Kuzma has room to improve after moving to a new Wizard-y home.
BUFF’s 2022 draft brought Spencer Dinwiddie back to the team, along with useful youngish vets like Jakob Poetl, Tim Hardaway Jr., Malik Beasley, and Gary Trent Jr. We’re not exactly sold on John Wall doing anything — or recent FA pickup Kevin Love — but he’ll get minutes I guess. Last year’s version of BUFF had only steals as a standout category, but we predict their overall offensive numbers will rise this year.
After almost a decade meandering around and not having winning seasons or a good young core, BUFF suddenly has everything a franchise on the rise could want: four All-Star caliber guys and good depth to surround them. Let’s go, it’s the return of Buffy!
Two straight years out of the playoffs?! No titles in two years? Is SOUR collapsing?! After a strategic tank job in 2020, it seemed like SOUR would be ready for a resurgence last year. Alas, that was not the case as they found themselves just outside the playoffs and back in the Toilet Bowl. Despite being the top seed there, SOUR found themselves upended by sixteenth-seeded TRUO — a strategic brotherly loss perhaps? — and out of the running for a top-three pick.
What went so wrong? SOUR had an ODE split of 3/10/3 — with incredible strengths in PTS, 3PT, FT% — which would indicate that they were capable of much more. The healthy returns of both Steph Curry and Kevin Durant -- plus a breakout All-Star campaign from Zach LaVine — should’ve been enough for a playoff berth right?
Unfortunately, something in SOUR land was wrong, and pre-draft GM Trieu set about blowing put his team to the tune of trading away both Durant (with SOUR since 2017) and LaVine. Never afraid of mega deals, Trieu decided that Christian Wood’s big man numbers were needed on this team, and that Bradley Beal could replace Durant’s offensive contributions. Will the swaps make this team a contender again? A better season from Pascal Siakam would certainly help toward that end, and if Derrick White and PJ Washington can continue their growth, that should at least bring SOUR back to the playoffs.
SOUR’s 2022 draft looks good too. So far in this young season, RD1.5 Scottie Barnes seems like he’ll be headed toward Rookie of the Year contention — averaging a double-double out of the gate — and that could be another feather in the cap for SOUR’s scouting department. This year’s draft also brought in Montrezl Harrel, rookie Davion Mitchell, the oft-injured Thomas Bryant, breakout candidate Terence Mann, and utility piece Bruce Brown to round out the SOUR roster. (Note: Brown was cut for Ricky Rubio.)
Will all this be enough bring SOUR to another title? We kind of hope not, to be honest, but we do love to see big trade action rewarded by equally big winning seasons so let’s see what SOUR can pull off with this revamped lineup.
13 SBUK So Buckets (9-7, 8-10-1)
After two years out of the playoffs with an overloaded roster, SBUK made their return to the postseason with a thrilling run to the Finals, their first as a franchise. Along the way, they dispatched higher seeded CHMK and MELO, before losing by just one three-pointer versus Fat Jubas in the title game. It’s hard to get closer to a championship and despite their heartbreaking loss, SBUK has to chalk 2021 up as a huge success.
Led by twin tower combo of Joel Embiid and Rudy Gobert, SBUK dominated the paint — ranking top-two in PTS and BLK and fourth in REB — and are at least average across the board. The backcourt is solid with Kyrie Irving and CJ McCollum, while youngsters RJ Barrett (2020 RD1.3) and Miles Bridges (2021 RD3.6) were both deemed keeper worthy — unfortunately 2021 RD1.3 Killian Hayes wasn’t, and Jonathan Isaac was let go as well.
The biggest issue facing SBUK going into the 2022 season, of course, is the mercurial Irving and his availability for the season. If Kyrie can’t/won’t play, SBUK will slide in their first round pick from this year, Terry Rozier, who is Irving-like, if you blink really hard. Okay, maybe not. But Rozier is still pretty decent and can serve as a lead guard for awhile.
In the second round, SBUK took super-skinny, uber-productive Chris Boucher to add to the Embiid-Gobert pairing, and then he took swings on Marvin Bagley III, sophomore Chuma Okeke, Jalen Brunson, and (the already replaced) Kevin Huerter for the rest of his 2022 draft. Grabbing rookie Franz Wagner in post-draft FAAB could pay dividends sooner than later.
SBUK has the talent to get to the title game, they’ve already proven that. Now it’s just a matter of getting everyone healthy and most importantly, getting Irving back on the court to lead them to a proper championship!
After putting together six playoff runs in seven years — with two division titles and one Finals showing — the bottom may be falling out for one of the most consistent teams in SlamNation. SPDE collapsed to the second-worst team last season after coming out of the gates very slowly, torpedoing their championship hopes along the way.
Aging quickly, and faced with the prospect of a Kawhi Leonard-less season, SPDE is faced with a rebuild, and GM Randall knows it. Out the door went Kevin Love and Danilo Gallinari, with sophomore Obi Toppin and 2021 RD1.9 Victor Oladipo joining the keeper core of Leonard, Devin Booker, Eric Bledsoe, and Tyler Herro.
More importantly, SPDE didn’t spend their draft picks on dependable veterans like Brook Lopez, instead targeting youth, grabbing rookie Josh Giddey (RD1.8), sophomore Killian Hayes (RD2.15), and bringing on youngsters Darius Bazley and Tyrese Maxey as well. Daniel Theis and Hassan Whiteside are less young, but they are fine as stop-gap solutions in the middle.
As it currently stands, Leonard and Oladipo are both out to start the season so it’s just Booker and the kids. It’s almost assured SPDE will see the Toilet Bowl again, so the best they can hope for is to win a high pick next season, so they can chase a fast rebuild. It’s a shame such a great team never saw the title, but injuries plagued them year to year and it’s time for SPDE to face the future.
15 ILCN IL Conceived (10-5-1, 9-10)
After three seasons in SlamNation, ILCN broke through and captured a Chamberlain Conference title — and was the fifth seed overall — outperforming any preseason expectations. That’s the Luka Doncic effect! Despite losing to MELO in the first round of the playoffs, ILCN proved that they were more than competitive enough, sporting the best offense in the league, along with a top-seven rating on defense.
Aside from some FG% woes, ILCN was strong everywhere and they seemed to have the Midas touch with transactions, hitting big on 2021 draft picks Jerami Grant (RD2.8) and Michael Beasley (RD4.3), which gave them additional offensive weapons. Also, the continued growth by Darius Garland (2020 RD1.4) and the mostly healthy season from Draymond Green bumped ILCN to tops in assists, and the only dark spot on ILCN’s roster last year was Jaren Jackson Jr.’s continued lack of health.
Heading into 2022, ILCN had nine total draft picks and should be on the verge of breaking through as a serious contender. Still, GM Frank prioritized upside by taking Jonathan Isaac and Wendell Carter Jr. to start off, and then continuing with more youth in sophomore Aleksej Pokusevski, improving Cam Reddish, De’Anthony Melton, Precious Achiuwa, and Malachi Flynn. Twenty-seven year old Nerlens Noel was the oldest person brought on-board, and even he is pretty young. (Markelle Fultz was drafted and cut due to roster limits.)
ILCN is in an interesting place as they have one of the younger cores with Doncic, Donovan Mitchell, Jackson, and Garland, but are also capable of winning right now. Enviable position for a franchise to be in? It sure is!
Despite only thirty-plus games from franchise cornerstone Anthony Davis, SCRM managed to almost make the playoffs, ending up just outside. In the Toilet Bowl, SCRM picked up two wins, making the finals, and secured themselves the third overall pick, which they used on Evan Mobley, who could end up being the best player in the 2022 draft. That’s quite a first season for Jordan!
Aside from Davis, SCRM also has Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and OG Anunoby creeping closer to All-Star status while Dejounte Murray is a unique near triple-double threat in San Antonio. Sophomore Isaiah Stewart looked promising enough to be a keeper and he’ll be joining Davis, Mobley, and Mitchell Robinson in a promising big men rotation — possibly much needed due to how injury-prone Davis and Robinson can be.
Last year’s version of SCRM featured a ball-control team that rarely turned the ball over and led Slam in steals, and that seems to be the formula moving forward with 2022 high-efficiency draft picks like TJ McConnell, Duncan Robinson, and Brandon Clarke coming on-board. Sophomore Patrick Williams has a grip on defensive minutes in Chicago but will need to up his offensive game to become more of a fantasy asset. And last round flier rookie Chris Duarte (2022 RD6.10) has already set Pacers’ records in his debut week, which seems like another prescient move by Jordan, much like their grab of then-rookie Immanuel Quickley (2021 RD6.16) with the last pick last season.
If Davis returns for a full run, there’s no reason SCRM can’t get into the playoffs this year and from there anything is possible, isn’t it?
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