Locked On Sim League: Article 1

[Bowtothebill23]

Hey everyone! I have an idea for something I'd like to do every once in a while. First of all, sorry, but no this isn't and won't be a podcast. I wish, but I don't have the equipment, software, or know-how to produce a podcast. But Locked On Podcasts, for those who don't know, has someone for almost every sports team who, every day, will produce a very short podcast covering the news of that team for the day, just for some basic listening material for those who want to hear more about their team. I really enjoyed the SimCenter I did, and, while that's probably too much for myself to do each sim, I figure I could put out one of these that just covers some basics in what's going on in Sim League every once in a while. I have no idea of a schedule (if I have an easy week, could be 3-4 in a week, if I have a busy week, I might not get to any). With that said, here's the first installment of Locked On Sim League.


Welcome to Locked On Sim League! I'm your host, Bowtothebill23. Last night, games 5-6 were simmed, and we had 5 teams close out with 3 game sevens on the horizon tonight. Let's get it started out West.

The Kings, up 3-1 over the 8th seeded Spurs, seemed like they had an easy path to a 4-1 series victory. The Spurs made it interesting though, stealing game 5 in Sacramento with Josh Smith at PG. The Kings responded terrifically, however, opening up a 22 point lead at halftime in game 6 and never looking back. Credit to the Spurs: they are far better than your typical 8 seed, and had a chance to force a game 7 against maybe the best team in the NBA.

In a battle to match up with the Kings in Round 2, the Clippers and Suns went into this sim locked up at 2-2. You have to give credit to Aburns here: Kevin Love is maybe the best overall player in the league right now, and he was frustrated beyond belief these two games, shooting 10-28 in game 5 and 8-25 in game 6. The Clippers capitalized, closing out the series in 6.

The 2nd seeded Nuggets had to go through the motions against an injured Rockets team. The Rockets without Horford never had a chance this series, and bowed out in game 5. The Nuggets will face their first real challenge in Round 2.

Locked up at 2-2, the Warriors looked to have an easy path to a matchup with the Nuggets with homecourt and an injury to Ron Artest. It certainly looked that way in Game 5, which the Warriors won by 46 points. But, as has been the case all series, the Blazers found a way to squeak out a game, winning game 6 by 3 points. This has been a weird series. The Blazers have won their 3 games by an average of 3 points a game. The Warriors have won their 3 games by an average of 28 points a game. Game 7 is tonight.


Out East, the top seeded Hawks were surprisingly locked in a 2-2 dogfight with the 8th seeded Cavs. They took care of business at home, and stole a road shootout 147-141 in Cleveland. Once again, credit to both our 8 seeds. The Cavs were given very little chance by the league, and they went toe-to-toe with the best offense in the league, and were 6 points away from forcing an improbable game 7.

We will find out tonight who the Hawks will be facing as the Bulls won both games after trailing 3-1 to the Heat. After the first 2 games, it looked like the Heat had the edge, and after winning both in Miami, the Heat looked totally superior to the Bulls. But the Bulls locked in defensively. After allowing 3 straight games of 109+ points, the Bulls held the Heat to just 83 each game. They now come back to Chicago for game 7 with the series on the line.

The second seeded Wizards closed out the Pacers despite a masterful performance from Deron Williams. Williams scored 51 points, had 16 assists, and brought the Pacers to within 1 point of sending the series back to Indiana for game 6. But Ersan Illyasova put together a 48 point performance to close the series for the Wizards. Overall, this was a disappointing end for the Pacers, who started the season on fire and stole game 2 in Washington before losing the next 3 straight.

Finally, we have the Bucks and Raptors who, again, split the sim to send this one to game 7. Both teams held serve at home, and now we go to Milwaukee for game 7. Despite the Bucks' having homecourt, this one is a toss up. The 3 games in Milwaukee have been decided by 2,3, and 6 points with the Raptors winning one of those 3.




WHAT'S NEXT?

Tonight we have 3 big Game Sevens. Let's go through them real quick.

Out West, the Warriors take on the Blazers at home. The Blazers took Game 1 in Golden State by 3 off great performances by Artest and Rose, but since then, Artest has gone out, and the Warriors have won the last 2 home games by 25 and 46. The Blazers have been incredibly scrappy, but I think the Warriors win this handily in game 7 with no Artest. I just have a hard time seeing where the Blazers have the firepower to go on the road and win.

Out East, let's start with Bulls/Heat. In games 1/2 in Chicago, the Bulls won game 1 by 2, and the Heat won game 2 by 9. Overall, the Heat outplayed the Bulls in Chicago. But then things turned last sim when the Bulls locked in defensively and won 97-83. I think the key for this game is simple to see. If the Heat are hitting their shots, the Bulls haven't had the firepower to keep up. If the Bulls can hold the Heat to a slow-paced game where neither team scores 100, I think the Bulls pull it out. If the Heat come out hot, I think they can win this game by double digits in Chicago. Personally, I think the Bulls found a gameplan that works, and they'll control the pace and grind out a win to get to a date with the Hawks.

Finally, we get to the Raptors @ Bucks. This is the definition of a toss-up for me. These teams have been very evenly matched, and I think it could go either way. In Game 7's, I tend to lean towards the team with the best player in general: GMs are playing their best players most of the game and are getting them the ball. I think this is going to come down to Boozer vs Bosh. Boozer's had 4 games this series scoring 30+ points, but one game with 15 and another with just 8 (both losses). Bosh has scored 36, 44, and 36 in Milwaukee this series. I think he puts up a 40 point performance, so I'll take the Raptors in a total coin flip game.

That's it for this edition of Locked On Sim League: Episode 1. If I have time tonight/tomorrow morning, I'll try and put out a recap of Game Sevens and a preview of the next round before I go out of town. Note: If you have any interest in doing one of these with me, just message me, we'll find a time when the 2 of us are free, and we can spend 15-20 minutes messaging on Skype, and I can copy and paste the messages into an article.

[NickMalone77]

Thank you for your media contribution, Ben. Here's +5 for your article.