Friends in fast breaks,
I can't believe we made it, the 2023 NBA SZN is here. A big salute to all of you who are here for the party, let's make it a good one!
A quick re-introduction: I'm @TheGM, Commish's partner as well as owner/operator/writerman for our NBA SZN. I'm not Commish, but I DID watch Jimmy Butler score 40 on my high school team from the bench, so you could say I'm pretty qualified.
Let's get into it!
WEEK 1 PICKS
- Points One-And-Done
- Survivor #1
- "All 30" One-And-Done
It's another season, we're all a year older, and Lebron's out there jumping like this to deflect passes at 38? Give me a break! I tore my meniscus 4 months ago stretching, this man makes no sense.
(Sorry for the quality, this was best I could find at the moment)
But this is why I love the NBA - the excitement and theatrics are always amazing. Even the off-season is turning into a soap opera. The NBA has something for everyone! So let's indulge me for a minute with...
TheGM AWARDS
Rewarding whatever random things I feel like for a fun Week 1 start.
Best Nickname - Freak Time
Sure, pairing Dame and Giannis should result in some basketball success. But I'd be lying if I said merging "Greek Freak" and "Dame Time" wasn't my favorite part of the whole deal.
Best Twist(s) - The Harden Saga
As tiresome as his repeated (and even valid) trade requests are, this off-season was special. Demanding a trade. Then signing his player option. Publicly accusing Morey of being a liar, including via a sign in the club and at a Chinese basketball camp. NOT getting fat. Now testing the NBA's new player participation rules. He's versatile and innovative, and I have to respect it.
Most Tiresome - Wembanyama Coverage
And through no fault of Vic's own. I'm actively cheering the kid on and praying for his gangly limbs. But NBA, my dude, chill. It's annoying like the NFL's TSwift coverage - cover the GAME, not just the single story you're determined to drown me with.
Worst City Edition Jersey - Most of them!
Not a hot take at all at this point, but my god they're bad this year. DEN, BKN, IND, LAC, LAL, MIA, and WAS should be extra ashamed. Link if you haven't seen them yet.
Most Discomfort Seeing Them in a New Jersey - Dame
11 years, including several iconic buzzer beater moments, in one jersey. Now he's in green? Sure, City Edition jerseys might find an excuse for a green POR jersey soon, but this one is going to take some adjusting.
NBA Champ Prediction - Bucks
Dame and Giannis just seem like a stellar pairing. Excessive range, paint dominance, and enough defensive support to cover. Open to any and all counter-arguments!
And that concludes the random things I had to get off my chest. Now let's do numbers...
PICK STATS
Walking Bucket Wilt OAD
- Our top picks were L. Doncic and D. Mitchell both with 43 picks
- Luka's been a walking 30-piece for years now, this isn't a surprise
- I still question if that holds with Irving fully integrated
- And did you see the connection with Lively? Maybe the assist numbers bump up and he takes fewer tough layups
- Spida on the other hand? He's still so clearly the #1 for CLE
- Our other big picks: S. Curry (36), SGA (33), K. Durant (31)
- Love having the Mitchell/SGA face-off being at the top here, that game will be twice as interesting thanks to that alone
- Durant's already showed he's going to keep popping off with or without his super teammates around
- C. Cunningham pulling down 28 picks is a surprise
- He did great in his first game back, but I didn't expect so many to jump on him immediately
- J. Poole with 18 picks is fun
- He's always been inconsistent
- The final two preseason games being the perfect example: a 41 point flamethrower followed by a 1 for 15 dud
- Interesting low volume picks: S. Henderson (4 picks), V. Wembenyama (3), B. Miller (2), C. Holmgren (2)
- Look at the rooks! Love seeing us get brave and hoping for young success
Survivor #1
- To paraphrase Commish - "What is this brutal Week 1 slate? Everyone is gonna pile on DAL and lose just like W1 last year!"
- I replied, "But at least we made Survivor double elimination?"
- PHX and DAL dominate our picks with 63 and 55 respectively
- PHX I (think) I get - Picking on the Jazz on a back-to-back
- DAL though... I'm less sure
- They've still got a lot of meshing to do with Irving and Williams, plus rookie Lively potentially getting more and more minutes
- And BKN is no slouch, they've got spicy defensive potential
- Our couple other big picks are BOS (36 picks), DEN (35), and CHA (27)
- BOS vs MIA, right off the rip? I can't question your bravery
- Even CHA vs DET - Two tankers clashing early on does NOT inspire predictability
- 24 of 28 available teams were picked, I always love the early season bravery
- How much extra bravado is because of the double elimination?
- We picked 10 teams who had losing records last year *chef kiss*
"All 30" One-And-Done
- Now here's a place where I expect more interesting picks all year long
- Remember, you're going to have to pick EVERY team by the end of the season
- That means when there's a good matchup for a bad team, you might want to jump on it
- Exhibit A: CHA is our top team with 36 picks
- DET is still fetching 3 picks themselves
- Until we see how both these teams shake out, this is exactly the kind of picking strategy I expect
- DAL and PHX are the other big picks at 29 and 25 respectively
- SAS sneaks in with 17 picks
- That's MORE than in Survivor despite a smaller picking base
WEEKLY AWARDS
Westbrook Bank Shot Moxie Award
Boldest pick WITH a comment. You can't win a SZN competition without a little Moxie!
@StatCzar (P. Banchero, A. Simons): "Predicting zero defense, lots of scoring, in this game"
GM says: Paolo, I get it. Simons though - That's where I'm seeing the Moxie. He didn't even look too flashy in preseason, but you're taking the matchup swing!
"Who's the GOAT?" Award
Our best weekly comment (or three)
@Jdizzy007 (J. Embiid, D. Fox): "Mikal Bridges is incorrectly listed as a Suns player...please fix"
GM says: Coming out the gates and dunking on me missing Mikal's team update. RESPECT.
@Davidb113 (Hornets, Survivor): "(said in my best Tobin Bell voice) Commish I want to play a game... The last 3 weeks I've been featured in the email and it's gone to my head.. from here on out the more emails I'm featured in the more pools I buy into...do you cave to the extortion or lose my money and risk not being able to feed your family... Live or die the choice is yours"
GM says: Which Saw movie was it where Jigsaw grabbed the wrong guy but the guy played along anyways because he loves a good Tobin Bell impression? I'm living in that one.
"I Could Sell You Kings Tickets" Award
Most convincing comment. The Kings were terrible before the BEAM.
@mrestafl (T'Wolves, All 30): "Miami, 3rd in 4 nights, road back-2-back, after a boston game. Minnesota off the prior 2 nights, what could possibly go wrong here...."
GM says: A stellar argument. But then I know Commish would point to his extensive history of extreme disappointed delivered by the T'Wolves and... fingers crossed!
KD Would Retweet This Award
The spiciest/wildest take.
@yjcc (D. Ayton, L. Ball): "Alphabetical is as good as any other strategy I could devise."
GM says: The madman did it. Unfortunately, sorting will be based on PPG going forward, but Banchero and Bane are your picks for next week, write that down.
MORE PICK COMMENTS
@kbanaian (P. Banchero, M. Bridges): "Picking for lousy defenses more than great offense. "
GM says: The disrespect to perennial DPOY candidate Luka Doncic!
@Davidb113 (D. Booker, J. Butler): "Sucked at baseball and football sure let's try basketball "
GM says: “Dude, sucking at something is the first step towards sorta being good at something” — Jake, The Dog
@Rodgers_is_dead_to_me (S. Curry, A. Edwards): "I'm excited to see if the NBA script has a better plot than the NFL! Tush push... nobody wants to see that."
GM says: What's the unstoppable NBA equivalent of the Tush Push? KD middies? Shaq dropsteps? Curry Free Throws?
@YikesVikes (A. Edwards, S. Gilgeous): "I've been told, the number-one tip for having the best possible time at an NBA game is to arrive early. It's already a good idea to arrive with plenty of time to get concessions and find your seats, but don't miss out on the unique experience that is watching NBA warm-up routines. I've never been to an NBA game but the commish convinced or made an offer I couldn't refuse to get in the SZN - NBA pools. So here's my guesses! "
GM says: Seeing pros draining 3s with no issue just feels magical. Really shows how the competition affects them.
@pheezy42 (D. Mitchell, Z. Williamson): "we're guessing again! "
GM says: The name of the game is "guess them point scorers" and pheezy is IN IT TO WIN IT
@JeremyBailey (K. Durant, K. Towns): "Yes"
GM says: *nods approvingly*
@rjprocopio (N. Jokic, K. Porzingis): "Going Euro"
GM says: Big Euro bois chasing big buckets
@anthony2tran (L. Doncic, K. Durant): "Luka for 50 pts"
GM says: On the list of very believable things, both these guys hitting 50 is near the top.
@Flem (Suns, Survivor): "Picking Phoenix, a team that has no reason to care about the regular season, over Utah, the team that shocked everyone to open last year's regular season, is not scary at all."
GM says: Are... you trying to talk me out of my pick? Please stop.
@kempsoos (Sixers, Survivor): "I think there's a chance they completely fall apart within the first few weeks. so ill pick them right away in what looks like a pillow fight with our neighbors to the north. yall will just have to trust my process..."
GM says:
@InSpainAsylum (Celtics, Survivor): "I have no clue what I'm doing"
GM says: You're in, so you know more than all the people who aren't!
@Rodgers_is_dead_to_me (Suns, Survivor): "Talk about a hard week 1 for Survivor!"
GM says: *Commish nodding furiously*
@Salroc_ (Mavs, Survivor): "The world is flat. Kyrie will flattly drop 40"
GM says: Why if you said Luka drops 40 I'd just think it's business as usual, but you say it for Kyrie and I'm worried about the Mavs winning?
@RedEd4 (Mavs, Survivor): "Um, is Brooklyn any good? "
GM says: I heard they've got this Ben Simmons guy...
@connerru (Hawks, Survivor): "Ice Trae owns the Knicks"
GM says: I'll admit here the "Ice Trae" nickname didn't click for me until the very end of last season. Definitely embarassing.
@kempsoos (Hornets, All 30): "I'm trying a revolutionary new strategy where I pick games based on which city I'd rather spend a long weekend in...."
GM says: WE'RE INNOVATING!
@Trentoff (Kings, All 30): "Revenge game, means more to Sac than it does GSW. Light that muddy forkin Beam!!!!"
GM says: You sound like you're from a movie censored for TV. Yippee Ki-Yay muddy forkers!
@GiantDukieHowserJones (Suns, All 30): "The Suns rise in week 1"
GM says: I remember reading this Hemingway book back in high school.
@Logan2273 (Hornets, All 30): "Scary Terry SZN"
GM says: Scare Terry is still an awesome nickname. Love that NBA (Rozier) and NFL (McLaurin) both have one.
@Jts5522 (Magic, All 30): "Can the Magic continue to show a lil something something? With my luck, probably not. "
GM says: They crushed the Rockets. Does that count for anything? No? Oh.
@MP (Bulls), All 30: "Raps have not beat bulls on the road since 2019 "
GM says: We're out here picking based on vacation destinations and alphabetical order and you're busting out stats? Tsk tsk
Yours in Roundball Rock,
The GM