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NBA Week 18 PICKS

by @TheGM 🏀  NBA Free ⚡

Friends in fast breaks,

We're in the home stretch now - 8 weeks left to make a podium push for our regular season Pools. You've gotta leave it all on the court! But it's not just about you making good picks...

The difficulty level is increasing. It started in Survivor #2 this week, and is coming for Survivor #1 and All 30 next week. You'll have to make more than 1 pick each week. We're going to get our champs, but you're going to have to fight for that crown!


WEEK 18 PICKS

 

The GM AWARDS

Rewarding whatever random things I feel like. Feel free to suggest topics! 


Longest Wait - Post All Star Game

We had to go 6 days without real basketball. I'm not a "worst ASG ever!" guy, but it's definitely not REAL ball. I. Have. Been. BORED. Games coming back last night was a breath of fresh air.


Best ASG Event - Steph vs Sabrina

My expectations were low. It was literally going to be a single round 3 Point Contest with two (incredible) shooters? Sounds boring. But then Sabrina posted a score that matched the high from the main contest, from men's range. And then Steph scored 29, crushing everyone. 

Was the concept of the even meh? Certainly. Did they end up delivering two awesome performances? Indubitably.


Worst ASG Event - Everything else?

There was just nothing "good" out there. The main game was a chuck-fest - I get not wanting to get hurt, but there wasn't anything redeeming there. The dunk contest was boring. The BEST dunk was McClung's first round dunk and it got a terrible score, no other decent creativity shown. The Skills Challenge was only redeemed by the hometown Pacers team actually trying. The others weren't trying and couldn't follow BASIC instructions. The Celebrity Game has never been good.


Best ASG Surprise - LED Court

I had so many questions. That was FUTURISTIC and I won't hear otherwise. Of course they overdid the effects - Lime green the ENTIRE 3 Point Contest had everyone looking like a cartoon that feels sick. But the core concept - Playing on screens that can show ANYTHING and do interactive and dynamic things? That's cool as hell and I won't hear otherwise. Just have to wait for the endless ads ON THE FLOOR during the game to make me dislike it.


PICK STATS


Points OAD

  • The return of P. Banchero - He takes the top spot again
    • I don't know what made him so popular in W16, and I don't know about this week either!
  • Our other big picks: A. Davis, K. Towns, and Z. Williamson
    • We're ALL about the big forwards this week
  • As the roster options recede, we're seeing young guns moving up in pick volume
    • F. Wagner, A. Simons, C. Cunningham, S. Barnes, C. Holmgren
    • Those are potential All Stars in the next 5 years, but we need them to shine now
  • Interesting low volume picks: J. Ivey (new guy gets picks!), J. Poole (the bench man!), J. Green (the inconsistent!)


Survivor #1

  • Status check
    • 18 of you are still flawless (no wrong picks)
    • 41 of you have missed once, but are still kicking
  • LAL is our top team (vs SAS)
    • Picking on SAS, a standard MO for us
    • Did ya'll see Wemby was 1 assist short of a 5x5 last night?
  • A ways behind them is OKC (vs WAS)
    • We think WAS hasn't figured it out by benching Poole?
    • Surely THAT will help them win more games!


"All 30" One-And-Done

  • Now here, OKC (vs WAS) jumps into first
    • I assume this is partially due to availability (compared to Survivor #1)
    • But also because WAS is just SO much less threatening than SAS
  • Close behind is LAL (vs SAS), ORL (@ DET), and ATL (vs TOR)
    • ORL getting respect has been fun to see, their defense can be TOUGH
    • Are we THAT confident in ATL?


Survivor #2

  • Status check
    • 55 of you are still flawless (no wrong picks)
    • 92 of you have missed once, but are still kicking
    • Double picks have begun!
  • GSW (vs CHA) is our top pick by a wide margin
    • CHA has looked great recently, even without LaMelo
    • If GSW has a cold night... ouch!
  • Way down the way is OKC (vs WAS), ORL (@ DET), LAL (vs SAS), and DEN (@ POR)
    • All our top pick opponents are a rouges gallery of the bad teams
  • GLORY to the MEM and TOR pickers, you deserve Ws!


Weekly Pick'em

  • 13 games in the slate this week
    • We're probably splitting that top record prize this week
    • This could also lead to someone getting the first perfect score in a week
  • We've have NO close matchups this week
    • I call it a "close" matchup if neither team pulls 60%+ of the picks
    • The lowest share of picks for a winning team was ~68% on NOP (vs MIA)
  • That left 6 lopsided matchups
    • I call it a "lopsided" matchup if one team takes 90%+ of the picks
    • We're looking at the same dead horses: WAS, POR, CHA, BKN, MEM, and SAS couldn't manage getting 10% of picks in their matchup
  • That leaves 7 games in the "middle"


BEST PICK COMMENTS

Ya'll were REALLY quiet this week. Tired from the break? Tough coming up with something to talk about? I'm going to adding "theme suggestions" starting next week to see if we can stir up some more discussion. But it's only a suggestion! You can ignore it and continue being as deranged as you want to be in the comments if you like!

 

Yours in Roundball Rock,
The GM

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