Mamba's Dead Wrong Playoff Predictions

[MexicanMamba]

** 3,092 word count **

ALPHA

1st Round

(1) Indiana Pacers: Bye

(4) Denver Nuggets vs. (5) Los Angeles Lakers
Season series: 3-1, Nuggets

12/3/24: 112-84 Nuggets (In Denver)
3/8/35: 92-90 Lakers (In Los Angeles)
3/12/35: 109-101 Nuggets (In Los Angeles)
3/16/35: 113-110 Nuggets (In Denver)

Key Players:
David Leiker
James Kirkendall
Jerry West
Delmar Lopez

When looking at the season series, I was ready to go with the Nuggets to win the playoff series as well. Unfortunately for the Nuggets, they lost SF Carl Howard to a significant injury during the last sim (as of this writing). The Nuggets are a talented team but they are also a very thin team and dealing with an injury to their key perimeter defender may be difficult to overcome. Taking away the opening game between these teams which was a blowout, the final 3 games of the season series were won by a combined 13 points, two of those games going to the Nuggets. It is not that Howard lit the Lakers up, though he did drop a 27 point, 5 steal game on 3/12, more so that the Nuggets have no one to really make-up the difference in an already tight match-up. Delmar Lopez, Howard's counterpart in the series, seemed to have his share of struggles scoring against Howard and could now be given more of a greenlight. Jerry West is also a strength for the Lakers and he can also be deployed in a way to take advantage of Howard's absence. Full strength, I'd probably take the Nuggets but as things stand today, I am going to say that the Lakers flip the script and take the series 4-3. I feel like it will be competitive even without Howard due to what I see as a significant Nuggets advantage in the front court, led by one of the league's best shot blockers, James Kirkendall, and that former Laker David Leiker has certainly lived up to the hype this season in Denver.

WINNER: LAKERS

(3) San Antonio Spurs vs. (6) Washington Wizards
Season series: 2-1, Spurs

11/10/34: 113-104 Wizards (In Washington)
11/18/34: 110-92 Spurs (In San Antonio)
3/4/35: 120-116 Spurs (In San Antonio)
4/16/35: TBD (In Washington)

Key Players:
Grayson Allen
Clifford Paugh
Quintin Kidd
Shareef O'Neal

With one game to go in the season series, the home team has won all three match-ups. Though the Spurs have been a more consistent team on the year, their individual match-ups have shown that they are pretty evenly matched though perhaps the final game will dictate a different feeling. Clifford Paugh and Quintin Kidd is probably the most exciting head-to-head positional match-up on the court. Kidd is the more electric player night to night, but he also has to carry more of the offensive load since he does not have a player like Grayson Allen to share touches with. It is the presence of Allen as well as homecourt advantage that has me leaning towards a Spurs victory, though this will not be a walk in the park for the team from Texas. Sharef O'Neal will not be afraid to bang with Allen and as a 20 point scorer himself, O'Neal has the talent and confidence to make things difficult. Still, give me the Spurs in 6 games and make a real push to win the entire things this season.

WINNER: SPURS

(2) Milwaukee Bucks vs. (7) Brooklyn Nets
Season series: 2-2 Tie

11/11/34: 139-135 Nets (In Brooklyn)
12/5/34: 136-126 Nets (In Brooklyn)
1/22/35: 120-115 Bucks (In Milwaukee)
3/1/35: 149-108 Bucks (In Milwaukee)

Key Players:
Bjorn Ironside
Ja Morant
Slim Jenkins
Luka Doncic

Division rivals get to lock horns (definitely not a Bucks jokes, I swear) in the opening round of the playoffs. Though there is significant different in their seeding, based on what was seen in the season series, there may not be as big a difference in the talent between the two teams. Both teams had double digit wins and closer wins. Neither team was able to take a road game away from the other. The Bucks did have a rather wide margin of victory in their final match-up but when you look at it more closely you can see that Slim Jenkins was on the injured list for that game and his match-up with superstar Bjorn Ironside would seem to be critical in the series as the winning team always coincided with which team's star SG could get the upperhand over the other. With homecourt advantage belonging to the Bucks and Ironside being the man I would trust more in a playoff atmosphere, I will go with a 4-2 series win for the guys in Milwaukee.

WINNER: BUCKS

OMEGA


1st Round

(1) Chicago Bulls: Bye

(4) Dallas Mavericks vs. (5) Houston Rockets
Season series: 4-1, Mavericks

11/14/34: 143-127 Mavericks (In Dallas)
12/17/34: 111-92 Mavericks (In Houston)
1/10/35: 107-98 Rockets (In Houston)
4/3/35: 134-90 Mavericks (In Dallas)
4/7/35: 103-93 Mavericks (In Dallas)

Key Players:
Jarrett Allen
Geoff Rickly
Timo Cruz
Ash Ketchum

Much like the regular season match-up, I see this playoff series being very one-sided. The Mavericks are deeper and have better talent at the top. Jarrett Allen and Rickly are incredibly productive players whom the Rockets simply do not have much in the way of competition for. Timo Cruz is a very good player but I cannot say that he has shown much to make me feel like he can be relied on to lead a big winner. I think we may be in for a sweep, but perhaps the Rockets can pull one win away to save some face.

WINNER: MAVERICKS

(3) Los Angeles Clippers vs. (6) Detroit Pistons
Season series: 3-1, Clippers

11/14/34: 131-99 Clippers (In Los Angeles)
1/5/35: 138-115 Clippers (In Detroit)
3/17/35: 153-133 Clippers (In Detroit)
4/6/35: 133-123 Pistons (In Los Angeles)

Key Players:
Boban Marjanovic
Glen Sabo
Dominick Cobb
William Jackson

This is one where we can probably toss out the overall view of the season series. The first two games between these teams was when the Pistons were aimless and mostly talentless. Once taken over by a living, breathing General Manager with ambition, the Pistons made trades to bring in big time talent to take a shot as a playoff spot. It turned out to be a smart move as they are now in position to make a bit of noise. Dominick Cobb came out on fire this season and even as he has had to share quality touches as talent has been added, he has hardly cooled off. The final game between these two teams had the Pistons winning a road game by double digits and Cobb dominated at his Power Forward spot, dropping 40 on the All-Star big man duo of Boban and Sabo. William Jackson also has a definite advantage when he gets to play against Curtin as opposed to the more challenging assignment of Michael Garvin. The Clippers have mostly had a massively successful season, breaking the 60 win mark for the 2nd straight year and if not for the Bulls' being in the same division, they could have been the top seed again. Boban and Sabo are a load for any team to deal with and BDJ and Garvin can put in work as well. The Pistons can and will make the Clippers sweat, and Cobb will still dominate no matter who he has to match-up with but the Clippers can and should win and advance off the back of the former MVP.

WINNER: CLIPPERS

(2) New Orleans Pelicans vs. (7) Oklahoma City Thunder
Season series: 3-2, Pelicans

11/14/34: 120-111 Thunder (In New Orleans)
1/7/35: 114-95 Pelicans (In New Orleans)
1/8/35: 103-95 Pelicans (In Oklahoma City)
3/1/35: 110-83 Pelicans (In New Orleans)
3/14/35: 129-113 Thunder (In Oklahoma City)

Key Players:
Phil Brooks
Wanderlei Silva
Ernest Long
Josh Hart

The Thunder may very well miss out on this playoff spot as the Jazz are running neck and neck with them but I already had these guys listed before the Jazz took them over. Either way, I do not see the Thunder or Jazz beating the Pelicans in a series. Phil Brooks is a genuine star and will lead the Pelicans to this win. The addition of bigs such as Silva bring a championship pedigree to the squad in New Orleans. Long and Hart have to be kept in check for OKC for sure, but I figure the Pelicans can win with depth as well as talent and will make fairly quick work out of the Thunder (or Jazz).

WINNER: PELICANS

ALPHA

2nd Round

(1) Indiana Pacers vs. (5) Los Angeles Lakers
Season series: 4-1, Pacers

2/4/35: 132-104 Pacers (In Indiana)
2/16/35: 123-113 Lakers (In Los Angeles)
2/26/35: 116-111 Pacers (In Los Angeles)
3/5/35: 97-81 Pacers (In Indiana)
4/2/35: 113-99 Pacers (In Indiana)

Key Players:
De'Aron Fox
John Stoll
Jerry West
Pete Maravich

Unlike the last few weeks of the season (barring anything in the final sim or 1st round, of course) De'Aron Fox would come into this series fully healthy with the ability to handle a starter's role. Everyone knows that the man can change a team's fortunes all on his own. The Lakers do have a nice backcourt duo of West and Maravich, but I still bet on Fox to adapt and overcome. Fox has a tendency to turn the ball over, one of his only weaknesses, and the other guard for Indiana, Stoll, also is not an elite ball handler. This opens the door for West and Maravich to try to pull a couple games out but that is as far as I see things going.

WINNER: PACERS

(2) Milwaukee Bucks vs. (3) San Antonio Spurs
Season series: 2-1, Bucks

12/26/34: 115-97 Spurs (In Milwaukee)
1/30/35: 116-109 Bucks (In San Antonio)
2/2/35: 136-124 Bucks (In San Antonio)
4/15/35: TBD (In Milwaukee)
4/19/35: TBD (In Milwaukee)

Key Players:
Bjorn Ironside
Justin Rodriguez
Jonathan Lewis
Grayson Allen

I really wish that I were able to finish this article after the final sim so that I could see how these final two regular season games go between these two squads. The road teams have won all three match-ups to this point which is a rarity. Does this show that the home team (Bucks) are in trouble because their advantage is not really an advantage? Or will things level out now and that homecourt advantage is ready to come into effect? The Bucks are the higher seed simply because they did not have to be in the toughest division in the league. The Spurs have the 2nd best record in the conference but will have to travel. The Bucks will rely heavily on superstar Bjorn Ironside, whom we know can be counted on to dominate high stakes games. The Spurs have a nice mix of young players who will be getting their first real taste of big time basketball and veterans who can handle some heat. This is one I see coming down to a big time game 7 but I am going to say that Grayson Allen pulls out all of the stops and helps the Spurs take one on the road.

WINNER: SPURS

OMEGA

2nd Round

(1) Chicago Bulls vs. (4) Dallas Mavericks
Season series: 4-1, Bulls

11/9/34: 116-91 Bulls (In Chicago)
11/19/34: 115-99 Bulls (In Chicago)
11/28/34: 115-93 Bulls (In Dallas)
12/30/34: 122-115 Bulls (In Chicago)
1/20/35: 140-129 Mavericks (In Dallas)

Key Players:
RJ Barrett
Jaren Jackson Jr.
Jarrett Allen
Geoff Rickly

Unlike the Mavericks' first round opponent, the Bulls are a team that were built to win a championship. The Bulls also did not briefly become sellers at the deadline the way the Rockets did, so they are deep and at full-strength. I believe you can pull a lot of useful information from the regular season games between the teams and the Bulls dominated there just as I expect them to pull it out here. RJ Barrett is a front runner for the Defensive Player of the Year award and could even grab some MVP votes. He's a champion and versatile and will be ready for the difficult Jarrett Allen match-up on the other side. Give me a Bulls sweep.

WINNER: BULLS

(2) New Orleans Pelicans vs. (3) Los Angeles Clippers
Season series: 2-2 Tied

11/5/34: 141-114 Pelicans (In Los Angeles)
11/9/34: 138-114 Clippers (In New Orleans)
1/23/35: 107-86 Clippers (In Los Angeles)
3/3/35: 107-106 Pelicans (In New Orleans)
4/16/35: TBD (In Los Angeles)

Key Players:
Wanderlei Silva
Phil Brooks
Boban Marjanovic
Bryce Dejean-Jones

Another primetime battle between Boban and Silva will arrive in round 2. Boban is still the more productive player but Silva can do damn near everything Boban can, just on a slightly lesser scale. Boban is not a particularly strong defender either so Silva can certainly wear him out some. Phil Brooks is going to be a load for Garvin, Curtin and Wiley to deal with and the Pelicans have some talented defenders on the perimeter and down low to make the Clippers work harder than they would against teams who are not as well-rounded. The Pelicans woulld have homecourt advantage in the series but the Clippers have been particularly strong as a road team this season. I am going with a grueling 7 game series, with All-Star BDJ winning his match-up at the Point and propelling the Clippers over the Pelicans in a tight game 7.

WINNER: CLIPPERS

ALPHA

Conference Championship

(1) Indiana Pacers vs. (3) San Antonio Spurs
Season series: 3-2, Spurs

12/5/34: 101-100 Pacers (In Indiana)
2/17/35: 125-107 Spurs (In San Antonio)
2/21/35: 133-115 Pacers In Indiana)
3/10/35: 121-113 Spurs (In San Antonio)
4/8/35: 125-123 Spurs (In San Antonio)

Key Players:
De'Aron Fox
Josh Jackson
Grayson Allen
Clifford Paugh

A powerhouse match-up. Great players, great teams. The Spurs won the season series due to having one extra game at home. No road team took a win in the regular season. Unfortunately for the Spurs, they will not get the chance to have an extra game at home here since the Pacers will be the #1 seed in the conference (and possibly the league, but we won't know that until after the final sim ... those Bulls are coming). The Fox/Paugh head-to-head will be quite interesting though I think most would give Fox the advantage. Grayson Allen is better than his counterpart of Josh Jackson due to a slight quickness advantage but also because Jackson is not strong defending the post and I believe Allen can take advantage of that. I believe this is yet another 7 game series, but I cannot bet against a team with De'Aron Fox, a perennial MVP candidate, in a crucial deciding final game.

WINNER: PACERS

OMEGA

Conference Championship

(1) Chicago Bulls vs. (3) Los Angeles Clippers
Season series: 2-2 Tied

11/24/34: 108-91 Clippers (In Los Angeles)
12/6/34: 138-130 Bulls (In Chicago)
12/12/34: 133-121 Bulls (In Los Angeles)
12/31/34: 130-117 Clippers (In Chicago)

Key Players:
RJ Barrett
Silky Johnson
Glen Sabo
Bryce Dejean-Jones

With a 2 game lead for the division and conference, the Bulls will very likely have homecourt. The question is, will that matter? In the regular season the teams split the 4 games but also each won once on the road. RJ Barrett and Boban are the best players on each team, but for the most part neither of them completely dominated any of the games between them. Outliers Jaren Jackson and Michael Garvin were responsible for wins by each team, though their stars were steady and productive. The PG match-up is also incredibly close between Silky Johnson and BDJ and could end up a stalemate. The two played all of their games prior to the new year so it will be interesting to see how the Clippers' move for Hollis Wiley and tighter rotation will impact the series. My head wants to go with the Bulls due to homecourt and overall depth of the roster, but since I fully expect this to be a street fight I am going to let my homer side take over and give my Clippers a series win!
WINNER: CLIPPERS

SLOE FINALS

(1) Indiana Pacers vs. (3) Los Angeles Clippers
Season series: 2-0, Pacers

1/22/35: 110-110 Pacers (In Indiana)
2/23/35: 125-120 Pacers (In Los Angeles)

Key Players:
Every-Damn-Body

Though the Pacers won both season match-ups, they were decided by a combined 6 points. For the Pacers, Fox and Stoll played up to their usual standards but did not dominate in the way that you might think. The Pacers won with balance and depth that barely edged out the Clippers. The Clippers' most dominate player in both games in the series was Michael Garvin who put up 36 and 30 in both games. His dominance obviously did not lead to wins though so they will need to find ways to get more out of Sabo and Wiley while still allowing Garvin to cut loose. The Pacers used Josh Jackson at SF in those games and his lack of speed had him chasing Garvin around all night. If this is the finals, I anticipate both teams tinkering with which match-ups they really want their best players going after and the one who finds that groove first will be the one who pulls it out. Just like the conference finals, my head says that the Pacers will win. I am not the type of person that actually feels like my squad has an upper-hand. In fact, if my head won out in the writing of this article, I would put the Pacers and Bulls here and give the Bulls the nod to win it all.

That said, I am going to let my heart go wild and say that the Clippers top the Pacers in 6 games with MVP Michael Garvin bringing home a title for the city of Los Angeles. Its first since Kevin Durant and my first as a GM.
WINNER: CLIPPERS

I can't wait to be wrong!

Mamba OUT-

[IamQuailman]

Great article man! Loved the read!

[ballsohard]

Wait these aren’t the right matchups ?


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[garbageman]

Wait these aren’t the right matchups ?


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He did mention the predictions were dead wrong (and per his Thunder inclusion, wrote most of this two sims ago?)

[ballsohard]

Smh was waiting on a slurp


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[garbageman]

Smh was waiting on a slurp


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Then check the GMOY thread

[false9]

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