7. Ballstars - team salary - 256 544 - average starters' salary - 40 933 - average backup's (6-10) salary - 8 842 - arena size - 13 475
their first playoff appearance was last season, and they'd expect to continue that, now absent powerhouse orlando tragic. back to back playoff appearances lets the league know you're for real, and are a heartbeat away from title contention. i think they can, and will make it. no reason not to think that. it'll be tight on the red side. svj can still be good, and the rookie relegatee low posters look strong. but ballstars look strong. moreau has been dominant, christianson is an excellent big, carone is coming along nicely and should be able to get much better as the season wears on, and orlowski and drugics round out the starting 5 well. 3 bigtime bench players... it's a well put-together team. very versatile. i highly doubt they have the bank to upgrade drugics, which makes them not quite title contenders, but they're close. honestly, 2 seasons of improvement from carone might be enough. might not even have to upgrade at all.
8. HoopsterDoofuses - team salary - 264 724 - average starters' salary - 44 488 - average backup's (6-10) salary - 6 174 - arena size - 17 550
uh oh, tompkins has competition. warren's stature is minute, but his play is enormous. the latter part of last season, he was putting up 17.5 ratings and dropping 35+ most nights. yes, it was in d4, but still, that's a lot of scoring no matter how you slice it. joining him in the backcourt is yet another stud, oshri englander. they might actually be more difficult to stop than bucsblue's backcourt. might. i wonder if warren has anymore pops left in him? i think this team is going to get worked by the ones with quality forwards for the most part, occasionally surprising one when warren goes off for 50, which won't be every night, but it's GOING to happen, and it could happen to a good team. not much else to say about them. 2 of their 3 best players are in decline, which isn't a great thing. they have a lot of homegrown talent, warren being the most notable, but holbrook is a quality player as well. an 8th season vet manager, coachinator is the youngest amongst us.
9. Scrap Heap Low Posters - team salary - 251 793 - average starters' salary - 42 323 - average backup's (6-10) salary - 6 347 - arena size - 17 523
as if this league, particularly this side of the league, needed another d2 demotee. the low posters got bounced in 2 games in their relegation series, and find themselves back in d3. and oh what a league in which to find yourself. i took out that 100k monster cuz he already has a million dollar bid on him, so he's effectively off the team. does that mean he's going to put that money toward the transfer market? well, it does if he wants to win this league. as it stands, the playoff race is EXTREMELY crowded on this side. however, just judging by the smell test, looking at their team composition, i kinda doubt it. at least not this season. gorbera is a starter that needs to be addressed sooner rather than later, and i'd put my money on that being where their money is going. a legit rounded 50k sf, bout 27 years old. just a wild guess. they're 7 deep, fairly balanced, though they lean toward the interior, and not much else to say. they could be here for a really, really long time.