Friends in fast breaks,
7 out of 8 series in the First Round managed to finish before the Conference Semifinals started. 87.5%. That's quite good for free throw shooting! Less so for "how much of the last round finished before starting the next one?" Just give me clean delineation between rounds, is that really too much to ask?
What this means is we've got WEIRD going on with picking. I'm sorry, that's just the way it is. Because the CLE/ORL matchup was unresolved, that means this week we listed BOS vs CLE/ORL for picking. Those picks were "hidden" at lock, and I've reopened picks for that matchup. Your previously made pick is still there! You just have time to change it if you like prior to the series beginning on Tuesday 5/7. Yay weird!
Conference Semifinals PICKS
- Playoffs Pick'em
- Finals Props
- Coming Soon
PICK STATS
Playoffs Pick'em
- First, a review of Round 1
- Obviously incomplete...
- 44 players sitting at 7/8 correct this round
- They look to lean just a bit more toward CLE than ORL
- There's a 6-way tie at the top of the leaderboard as we stand
- 315 took BOS over MIA
- BOS made this look like child's play, and MIA just didn't have any juice without Butler
- Biggest issue being the Porzingis injury that might hold him out until the next round at the earliest
- 305 had OKC over NOP
- Another case of "this isn't that fun" thanks to Zion's injury
- The OKC youngsters look good and adds to the playoff experience keeps saying they need
- 290 got DEN over LAL
- Defending champs gonna defend
- Another disappointing LAL exit
- 224 got DAL over LAC
- The DAL roster changes from last year look like they're working great
- LAC was a pile of "not surpising" outcomes - Kawhi was on the sideline, Paul George having one good game, and Harden looking great until it mattered
- 189 took IND over MIL
- Giannis out entirely AND Dame hobbled, weak stuff
- I miss pre-IST Haliburton
- 180 took NYK over PHI
- More Embiid injuries (and Draymond impressions), but Embiid and Maxey put up big games
- But Brunson and the Nova boys will not be denied!
- CLE/ORL - TBD
- Now, how about the Conference Semifinals?
- MIN v DEN - 69.6% to DEN
- OKC v DAL - 63.8% to OKC
- IND v NYK - 71.4% to NYK
- BOS v CLE/ORL - TBD
- We respect the champs!
- But we all saw Ant's performance last night right?
- MIN/DEN should be a bloodbath
- We respect the youngsters!
- Having them reach the WCF in their first run would be incredible
- But I'm not read to doubt Luka just yet, as limpy as he's seemed
- We respect the short king!
- Brunson has been an animal
- I don't believe he's 6'2", but the chip on his shoulder makes up for the height gap with Haliburton
- We respect... someone in the BOS game... TBD
BEST PICK COMMENTS (Theme: Biggest disappointment so far?)
Reminder: The weekly themes are totally voluntary, you can always be as wild as you want. Consider them a suggestion if you need a jumping-off point for your comment.
@StatCzar (Mavs, Nuggets, Pacers): "Somehow the biggest disappointment of the playoffs has been Drake and he’s not even on a team, bad as he wishes he was, that’s how bad it’s been for him lately. "
GM says: 3 diss tracks against you in 48 hours is good, right?
@kbanaian (Mavs, Nuggets, Knicks): "I think most people will say the Suns were the biggest disappointment, but I'm going to say Philly. Sure they played well, all the games were tight, but they were playing a shorthanded, undersized team (WHO I JUST PICKED TO WIN THE NEXT ROUND BECAUSE HALI LOOKS HURT) that they could beat if their best player was on the floor and then collapsed the minute he sat down. Joel came back early, wasn't 100%, and after months of playing without him you, Nick Nurse, had NO plan for 10-12 non-Joel minutes? He's a bad coach, and it's horrible to see a top-5 player risking his health being wasted by such poor planning. Oh, and go Celtics!"
GM says: I can't disagree too much with anything here, but the fact they don't sink more money into a decent backup big considering Joel's history... Seems like mismanagement. Oh wait, the money for that fell into the Tobias hole.
@YikesVikes (Thunder, T'Wolves, Knicks): "For 20 years, the Timberwolves have been the butt of jokes across the league, and deservedly so. Michael Beasley once showed up to a game with scratches on his face and later said that they came from a Tasmanian Devil that had gotten out of its cage at his home. Kevin Love once said he broke his hand while doing knuckle push-ups. David Kahn passed on Steph Curry … twice, Jimmy Butler detonated the organization from the inside and Gersson Rosas was fired days before training camp opened. Not this year - watch out Boston the Wolfies are destined to take it all - The Nuggets are just a small speed bump alone the way. "
GM says: Commish started nodding so hard he actually got airborne
@mconnaughton (Thunder, Nuggets, Knicks): "Joel embiid’s 4th quarter. What a scrub"
GM says: Big man get tired, no score good. Makes his Q1-Q3 being most of his output sort of impressive though?
@bowser48 (Thunder, T'Wolves, Pacers): "The biggest disappointment in the playoffs so far are my picks and let me end by predicting The Thunder and Pacers will be 8n the NBA Finals! WOOHOO !!!"
GM says: OKC/IND would be another year of "small markets killed the ratings" ramblings. Don't care, let's see it!
@schm0869 (Thunder, T'Wolves, Pacers): "The Winnipeg Jets."
GM says: To be fair, have you tried steering a jet on ice?
@petemadness (Thunder, Nuggets, Pacers): "Mantis’ twin brother "
GM says: He was so nice and gave that lady in the crowd a ball though
@Jts5522 (Thunder, T'Wolves, Knicks): "I guess my disappointment is all the injuries and how little the player really has to say. I know injuries are part of the game but when you have rules for sitting your “superstars,” something is up. Typically, everyone goes in the playoff period. And you go hard. I haven’t seen the latter as much this season except from some of these younger and hungrier teams. "
GM says: Injuries, I'm onboard. But we're generally talking about $100M+ investments in these players. If they're going to put their (and your team's) future at risk and your team isn't legitimately a contender, I get it. Zion out? NOP done. Kawhi out? LAC done. Giannis out? MIL is done. Butler out? MIA is done. There's just not enough talent remaining to drag those teams forward AND risk your star compounding their injury risk.
@ClayBaby8 (Thunder, Nuggets, Knicks): "Doc Rivers once again"
GM says: But I heard it wasn't his fault! Let me throw you under this bus real quick
Yours in Roundball Rock,
The GM