Friends in fast breaks,

Can you believe we're 9 weeks in? That's over a third of the SZN complete! How have you been liking NBA SZN? If you haven't filled it out yet, take the NBA Mid-SZN Survey and let us know what you think! It should take only a couple minutes, and we ready EVERY response when we're thinking about how SZNs evolve.

WEEK 9 PICKS

• Walking Bucket Wilt OAD
  • Summary | Overall Standings | Golden Spreadsheet
• VC's Knees Survivor
  • Summary | Overall Standings | Golden Spreadsheet
• The Worm Survivor
  • Summary | Overall Standings | Golden Spreadsheet
• Your group picks (get in a group with friends!)

There's so much extra data now with The Worm in full effect. Let's just get started!

PICK STATS

Walking Bucket Wilt OAD

Interval 2 is upon us! We'll keep accumulating points for the Overall standings, but we're all also back to zero for the next 8 weeks. Let's go!

• Our top pick was G. Antetokounmpo with 45 picks
  • Confirming that I'm still uncomfortable spelling it
  • He's had two straight 40 point outbursts, and we're hoping for a third!
• Our other big picks: S. Gilgeous (32 picks) and L. James (31)
• What does the Golden Spreadsheet show?
  • This is the second week with only three players receiving 30+ picks
  • The strategy is upon us!
  • 11 players have been used by 40%+ of us
  • Only two players haven't been successfully picked yet: C. Sexton and S. Bey
• Interesting low volume picks: T. Herro (1 pick), K. Porter Jr (1), J. Harden (1), B. Simmons (1), C. McCollum (1)

VC’s Knees Survivor

• We're down to 5 players this week, 1.1% of our starting size
• NYK (vs CHI) has 2 picks
  • CHI has been disappointing all season and is in "blow it up?" conversations
  • NYK has already beaten CHI twice in the last 6 games
• ORL (vs SAS) has 2 picks
  • Are they both bad right now? Yes
  • Does ORL at least look like there are flashes of a bright future? Also yes
• SAC (vs WAS) has 1 pick
  • This is our only "pure champ" outcome, should NYK and ORL lose
  • SAC has been on the upswing, while WAS has lost 14 of their last 16 games
• Good luck!

The Worm Survivor

• And we're back!
• Only 307 paid attention to their emails, so that's where we start
• Now can the survivor gods leave us alone for just ONE week?
• Our top pick was ATL (vs DET) with 74 picks (24.1%)
  • We know DET is bad. We know ATL can be okay. And so we pray...
• Our other big picks: BOS (vs MIN) with 44 picks, SAC (vs WAS) with 41 picks, and DAL (@ HOU) with 33 picks
  • That IS over 62% of our picks on four teams
  • Survivor gods... be goood...
• Respect to those taking unique and riskier picks: CHI (@ NYK), MIL (@BKN), and PHI (vs LAC)
• I'm starting to question if our alphabetical team sort playes a role in picking... three of our top teams are A, B, and D...

WEEKLY AWARDS

Westbrook Bank Shot Moxie Award

Boldest pick WITH a comment. You can't win a SZN competition without a little Moxie!

@YikesVikes (CLE): "Mitchell continues to make the impossible look routine in a way few have in a Cavalier uniform. Mitchell will likely never be the best player in the league or even in that conversation. But he does have the it factor you need from your best player to get you to the promise land. I'm looking to be in the promised land this week with the Cavs"
GM says: The Cavs have looked stellar, I'm not doubting you. But the Raptors have the CAPACITY to play really well. If Spicy P drops another 50 bomb, who knows what could happen

"Who's the GOAT?" Award

Our best weekly comment (or three)

@kempsoos (NYK): "If I let Commish beat me ill never forgive myself, Gm will never forgive me, my wife and son will lose all respect for me. I'll likely end up a sad shell of my former self, Making SZN picks from a ditch on the side of the Interstate and bathing in the sink at my local library. Not to mention the strain on me and Commish's relationship. If we were to break up who would take care of Merf and StatCzar? If you're reading this Commish it didn't have to be this way, you could've been just a little worse at picking. maybe you could have fell in week 7... still an admirable but non threatening performance, but no you had too much pride, you had to prove yourself to be one of the final 5. Now I must end it. Just know even after all this that when I look up at the moon each night it warms my heart knowing you're looking at the same moon from however far away... Unless you win, in which case you're dead to me and so is the moon. and I'll lawyer up and fight to make sure you only see StatCzar and Merf on alternating weekends and never any of the good holidays."
GM says: The custody hearings are going to be long and painful, but we're gonna get through this

"I Could Sell You Kings Tickets" Award

Most convincing comment.

@desks1448 (ATL): "It’s like the old days looking for a plumber in the yellow pages - Atlanta was team at the top of the page so that’s who I’m going with. I’m gonna roll with this strategy each week and see how far it will get me."
GM says: Alphabetical order. The letters cannot be questioned!!!

KD Would Retweet This Award

The spiciest/wildest take.

@StatCzar (CLE): "Scottie Barnes has been out here lately looking like Maple Carter Williams " 
GM says: "Maple Jordan" reference. Excellent. MCW call-back. Excellent. You just gotta hope this is a crazy sophomore slump, right?

MORE PICK COMMENTS

@NEELERSBTB1 (SAC): "I hope, I hope, I hope"
GM says: May the BEAM protect you

@StatCzar (L. Doncic): "Last week The GM seemed both amused and confused about my grandmother's ice cream Iditarod. So in honor of Avatar 2 coming out, I would like to share another grandma exploit. When the first Avatar was released, my grandmother went and enjoyed it. A few weeks later she complained to my mother that she thought she needed new sunglasses, her old ones had stopped working. Our confusion as to how sunglasses could stop working was soon explained when we discovered she had carried her sunglasses in her house and had been using the Avatar 3D glasses for sunglasses the last few weeks. Anyway, picking Luka in he gets hurt from doing everything, or gets some help, in the next few weeks."
GM says: She needs an biography for these antics

@LeviLeo (K. Middleton): "Middleton gonna go off, I can feel it ""
GM says: The injury report would beg to differ 😬

@MONSTERXXX (A. Davis): WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH !!!"
GM says: I said WOOOOOOOOOH!!!

@kbanaian (L. Doncic): "Luka gets a cookie. The only thing that seems to stop him is his mouth running at a ref."
GM says: But I thought cookies were part of the chubby Luka problem... 🍪

@YikesVikes (A. Edwards): "Anthony Edwards we’ve been waiting for this, keep it going.... Ant reminds me of a learning type athlete steadily accumulating BB IQ with a rare funny personality for a rising star - the Wolfs can rejoice with a guy like him, they might actually become a winning team.."
GM says: Remember everybody questioning if he even liked basketball back at the draft?

@Logan2273 (L. James): "40 point bomb from Old Man James incoming"
GM says: 20 years into his career and I still don't question that he can do this if he wants to

@LeviLeo (LAL): "I feel like I'm less confident in my picks now then in the first survivor competition, maybe thats a good sign? Probably not.""
GM says: I know this feeling

@Merf (ORL): "You KNOW The Worm loves him some Moxie."
GM says: I mean, If that hair doesn't scream Moxie, what does?

@JoshAllenLooksGoodInShorts (DAL): "If Luka doesn't get kicked out for whining to the officials yet again, I like my chances."
GM says: Even if he does... it's still just HOU we're talking about

@yjcc (LAL): "I am so nervous making this anti-moxie pick against the lowly Hornets. So @TheCommish @TheGM can I start petitioning now for an Avery Johnson "Third Time's the Charm" NBA Survivor in honor of his third stint with the Spurs that included the shortened yet dominant Spurs 1999 run to the championship where he hit the final shot to seal the deal? Fun fact: Danny Green also had three stints with the Spurs with a championship in the third. Maybe it should be themed after the Spurs..."
GM says: You already got the naming convention down. Maybe next year is just twelve Survivors starting every other week...

@kempsoos (LAL): "I have at least four other Carolina based teams I would trust more to win this game than the Hornets. The Tar Heels and Duke need no explanation. The Panthers are an obvious 3rd pick, I hear punter Johnny Hekker has handles and they have a couple 6ft 6 offensive lineman to get rebounds. Carolina Hurricanes could probably get it done but I bet Pyotr Kochetkov gets called for Goaltending anytime he's on the court (that's a hockey joke for those of you outside of MN or Canada). "
GM says: What about the local elementary school team, are they available?

@jrcondon (SAC): "OK, here we go...will I see week 2?!?!?""
GM says: We DESERVE a 90%+ survival rate, dangit

@kbanaian (SAC): "Let's try to sneak one in here. If we can hit with Sacto then I like my chances"
GM says: I don't know why, but I've never heard "Sacto" before and it makes me giggle

@mandreasian (SAC): "Give me the BEAM!!!"
GM says: You're gonna need these 🕶

@Mr_Rodgers_Neighborhood (ATL): "Like Trae Young's hairline, I'm"
GM says: ...Gone? 

@Rthecity (ATL): "This isn’t a pick *for* the Hawks. It’s more of a pick AGAINST the Pistons."
GM says: Fail DET, fail!

@Logan2273 (Magic): "Go big or go home"
GM says:  I hope we aren't going home trusting Orlando..

Yours in Roundball Rock,
The GM