Friends in fast breaks,
"There must be some way out of here" said the Joker to the 8 Seed - Followed by a super sick guitar solo. Yeah, "Joker and the Thief" was originally by Bob Dylan, but the Hendrix version is the one I love, and the Jimi/Jimmy connection can't be an accident.
ROUND BY ROUND PICKS
The Playoffs have been OUT there this year, especially when we got served up a Conference Semifinals with one of each seed (1 through 8) represented. I'm not one to call any team a "fake X seed", I think we just had some great parity heading in.
First, some scenario considerations...
- DEN is the enormous favorite
- If DEN wins:
- @osalcedo510 (currently 1st) will take the crown
- Our top 3 won't change at all
- If MIA wins:
- @JeremyBailey (currently 4th) will jump into 1st
- @SomL (currently 6th) will jump into 2nd
- @Trebs (currently 8th) will jump into 3rd
- And now, we wait....
But how did we get here? Let's break down each round...
PICK STATS
| First Round | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Picks | Away | Score | @ | Score | Home | Picks |
| 21 | (8) MIN | 1 | @ | 4 | (1) DEN | 359 |
| 44 | (5) LAC | 1 | @ | 4 | (4) PHX | 336 |
| 281 | (6) GSW | 4 | @ | 3 | (3) SAC | 99 |
| 180 | (7) LAL | 4 | @ | 2 | (2) MEM | 200 |
| 7 | (8) MIA | 4 | @ | 1 | (1) MIL | 373 |
| 140 | (5) NYK | 4 | @ | 1 | (4) CLE | 240 |
| 16 | (6) BKN | 0 | @ | 4 | (3) PHI | 364 |
| 5 | (7) ATL | 2 | @ | 4 | (2) BOS | 375 |
This is some solid picking. We averaged 5.37 wins each, including the GSW "upset" of Sacramento. We also had decent volume on the NYK and LAL upsets. But what blindsided us most? MIA toppling MIL, with only 7 people rocking that moxie for that. We ended the round with only a single perfect week - Shout out to @JeremyBailey managing to go 8 for 8!
| Conference Semifinals | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Picks | Away | Score | @ | Score | Home | Picks |
| 141 | (8)MIA | 4 | @ | 2 | (5) NYK | 203 |
| 84 | (3) PHI | 3 | @ | 4 | (2) BOS | 260 |
| 177 | (4) PHX | 2 | @ | 4 | (1) DEN | 167 |
| 118 | (7) LAL | 4 | @ | 2 | (6) GSW | 243 |
Aaand we stumbled. We only averaged 1.99 wins this round. Supporting an 8 seed was still too scary here, and we straight up DISRESPECTED our 1-seed and (eventual) Western Conference Champs. The BOS pickers got a thrilling ride to 7. 14 pickers managed to go perfect this round.
| Conference Finals | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Picks | Away | Score | @ | Score | Home | Picks |
| 87 | (8) MIA | 4 | @ | 3 | (2) BOS | 256 |
| 138 | (7) LAL | 0 | @ | 4 | (1) DEN | 205 |
Here we gave DEN their dues, but MIA was still too big of reach. They went to the brink of losing after 3-0 only to blow out the final game and clinch. 42 perfect pickers rose from these two games.
| Finals | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Picks | Away | Score | @ | Score | Home | Picks |
| 90 | (8) MIA | ? | @ | ? | (1) DEN | 253 |
DEN is the enormous and deserved favorite here. But after multiple rounds of surprises (and maybe the high value of an upset), MIA snagged about 26% of picks. DEN rolled strong in Game 1, but hopefully we'll get a good competitive series!
An enormous MOXIE shoutout to @JeremyBailey and @Barblovesbb - They're the ONLY two players who picked MIA in every single round from Play-In to Finals. I respect calling your shot and sticking with it!
PICK COMMENT ROUNDUP
Your GM let you down these last couple weeks. Here's some stellar comments from the last few rounds of the playoffs!
Finals
@BigDaddy (Heat): "I’ve been wrong all along this NBA Postseason. There’s nothing more powerful than self-confidence and a winning mentality. From Play-in to ECCs, the East overlooked the Heat. Miami in Six — 🔥⚡️💪🧲🕶️💯🏀"
GM says: BigDaddy dropping the jinx 😭
@theCAVSpack (Nuggets): "Nicola Jokic is a beast - Jamal Murray is a cheetah. Denver in 5. "
GM says: No one knows what it means. It's provocative. It gets the people going!
@tedlwalsh (Nuggets): "Denver in 4"
GM says: Come on, no sweeps!
@kbanaian (Nuggets): "Man I hate to pick against Playoff Jimmy, The Spo and Pat Combback, but Joker is simply from a different planet and this isn't Space Jam. "
GM says: I can't believe this feels relevant - In Space Jam they steal the skills of players. I saw a Reddit comment: He watched film of Magic, Hakeem, and Jordan as a kid in Serbia. He copied Magic's passing. He copied Hakeem's post moves. Why didn't he copy MJ's 50" vert???
@Shibby015 (Nuggets): "NUGGGZZZ"
GM says: What do I request 50 of from CFA for my birthday?
@NEELERSBTB1 (Nuggets): "Come on now!"
GM says: Get them their first!
Conference Finals
@Merf (Lakers, Heat): "Am I going to win?"
GM says: Oh honey... no
@Mr_Rodgers_Neighborhood (Lakers, Celtics): "I'm just hoping for a meteor to hit one of the arenas in the ECF more than anything else. Without the players or fans there, of course."
GM says: Just a fan of infrastructure spending?
@bowser48 (Lakers, Celtics): "Remember Magic vs Bird ? No brainer. Heat vs Nuggets , I wouldn’t watch it. "
GM says: Sorry Bowser 😔
@MONSTERXXX (Nuggets, Celtics): "WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!"
GM says: WOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!
@pheezy42 (Nuggets, Celtics): "are we really looking at 7 vs 8 in the NBA finals? what is this, the NHL? "
GM says: I did love the absurd seed stats this year!
@mshaw03 (Lakers, Celtics): "We all fucking know what's going to happen. #embiidsosoft #disgruntledsixersfan"
GM says: Are you onboard with the ship Embiid to Portland people?
Conference Semifinals
@cegriffi (Suns, Heat, Celtics, Lakers): "Yeowww underdog seeds for the winzzz"
GM says: Underdogs did pretty good for themselves this year!
@YikesVikes (Nuggets, Knicks, Celtics, Lakers): "Have no idea if NBA home teams have an advantage, but that's my starting strategy, for what ever it's worth. A bigger question has BLL fallen out of favor?"
GM says: BLL falling out of favor? BLASPHEMY!!!
@RajahVGK (Nuggets, Heat, Celtics, Warriors): "Joke is on the Joker doubters. "
GM says: RAJAH KNOWS WHAT'S UP!
First Round
@StatCzar (Nuggets, Suns, Warriors, Lakers, Bucks, Cavs, Sixers, Celtics): "I have a grandma tangential story today, that relates back to the last one, where I explained how she had an absentee father. She also claims her mother was ahead of her time, with frequent marriages, late nights out, and a very outspoken personality. Back in the late 80s when my parents married, my dad went to the bank to, I believe merge accounts, but may have been there for another task. Anyway, turns out even before computers, security questions existed to avoid fraudulent withdrawals from bank accounts. The security question my mom had chosen was, mother's maiden name. He knew what my great grandmother's last name was, and assumed that was my grandmother's maiden name. He was unaware of how many times my great grandma had been married, and provided the wrong answer multiple times, but had all of the other info correct. The bank thought this was a case of someone attempting to commit fraud, and secretly and urgently contacted my mother to come down as soon as possible, as someone was trying to steal her money. She came there to find the police already arrived and my dad being told not to leave as they thought he was some sort of conman. Given the lack of cell phones during that time period, it's really a miracle that they were able to get ahold of my mom and my dad didn't have to spend any time detained detained. Anyway, let's go Cavs!!!!"
GM says: First, respect to Old Crone being a trail blazer. Second, I love that she basically got a taste of "Catch Me If You Can" intrigue!
@kbanaian (Nuggets, Suns, Warriors, Lakers, Bucks, Knicks, Sixers, Celtics): "I just really want Lakers-Dubs. "
GM says: Ask and ye shall receive!
@LasLiLo1432 (Nuggets, Suns, Kings, Lakers, Bucks, Knicks, Sixers, Celtics): "Sacramento Kings coach Mike Brown wins coach of the year award, De'Aaron Fox wins clutch player award, Keegan Murray makes all-rookie first team, and the Kings dethrone the defending champs in the first round."
GM says: They were SO close, they even went to 7. You can't be too disappointed in such a strong showing from a young team ending a long playoff drought!
@YikesVikes (Nuggets, Clippers, Warriors, Grizzlies, Bucks, Knicks, Sixers, Celtics): "What the ---- is going on in the west, to many BLL's or wacky tobaccy prompts this question: Is this flipping of the Western Conference a true changing of the guard or a one-off anomaly? The history of the NBA is at stake. From the Denver Nuggets earning their franchise's first No. 1 seed to all four California teams making the postseason, and what happened to Texas? The East might have some good bits next pick. "
GM says: Denver is REAL. Age and salary caps are affecting the old guard. 2/3 or Texas is in rebuild mode and the other 1/3 is wasting incredible talent. It's a new day!
@TigersLovePepper (Nuggets, Suns, Kings, Grizzlies, Bucks, Cavs, Sixers, Celtics): "Light the beam!!! Let’s go Sactown! Mitch Richmond for MVP!"
GM says: MITCH MITCH MITCH MITCH MITCH!
Yours in Roundball Rock,
The GM