#SLOE: People's Basketball Sim League

Tons of action at the bottom of the brackets, Who will be the five and six seeds for the playoffs this season?
How will they separate from the contenders?
Who will be heart broken on the outside?

Rules: 1 point if you give thoughtful answers, which I will award after the timer ends for responses. The timer ends for responses at the moment the corresponding week's Sim is run.

Note: Use approximately 5 sentences as your bare minimum for 1 point. If you write 3 long, complex sentences, you'll still get a point. If you write 5, 3 word sentences, you will not get a point. Don't @ me.

Due: Deadline for Sim 11

East

5: Cavaliers, the Boston Celtics are finally healthy and the team is cohesive again. They will surpass the Cavs and take the 4th seed.

6: Nets, the Eddie Johnson injury is a tough break in what has already been a disappointing season for the league's most expensive team. They will barely get over the finish line but they have enough talent to stave off the pesky Pacers for the final spot.

West

5: Jazz, the Sampson trade was an interesting move and while it has had a few hiccups, fortune favors the bold and the Jazz are about to reap the rewards. They will hold off the Clippers and Mavs for the 5 seed.

6: Clippers, the trade for Alex English saved their season. The Clippers are the Nets of the West. Lot of talent, always underperforming. This is another team with a lofty tax bill that will limp into the playoffs but they will hold off the Mavs for the final spot.

Mike Lowry wrote: Sun Dec 21, 2025 4:54 pm Tons of action at the bottom of the brackets, Who will be the five and six seeds for the playoffs this season?
How will they separate from the contenders?
Who will be heart broken on the outside?

Rules: 1 point if you give thoughtful answers, which I will award after the timer ends for responses. The timer ends for responses at the moment the corresponding week's Sim is run.

Note: Use approximately 5 sentences as your bare minimum for 1 point. If you write 3 long, complex sentences, you'll still get a point. If you write 5, 3 word sentences, you will not get a point. Don't @ me.

Due: Deadline for Sim 11

EAST: The Celtics seem likely to capture the 5 seed and I still pick the Nets for the 6 seed despite Eddie A. Johnson's broken arm. The Pacers have been hanging around all season, but I don't think they have the talent to surge down the stretch and the Hawks are dealing with injury issues of their own (Ron Harper) - so they may not be heartbroken, but they are arm-broken.

WEST: I think I called this for the Jazz and Clippers on Chat with a Cat. The Clippers' pickup of Alex English was exactly what they needed to replace the injured Mike Mitchell down the stretch, and English has stepped in seamlessly, averaging 23.8 ppg on 47.5% shooting since the trade (Mitchell's season averages? 23.7 ppg on 47.1% shooting, so it really is a like-for-like swap). But on further inspection I think I might need to reverse my call on "Chat with a Cat" - I now think the Mavericks have the inside track to beat the Clippers out for the 6 spot (4 road games/10 home games remaining for the Mavs but 4 home games and 8 road games left for the Clips). The good news is the Mavericks play the Jazz twice and the Clippers once down the stretch so there are some "virtual" playoff games coming up in the final two sims - if the Mavericks catch either team, it will likely be by beating them head-to-head so there shouldn't be any complaints "we were the better team" - there's likely to be a head-to-head matchup late in the year proving otherwise.

In the East I think the biggest wild card is the Pacers.
I do expect the Nets to continue surging.
Their addition of Bill Cartwright gave them a rugged presence in the paint that they were sorely missing, and I think they climb all the way to the 4 spot.
I do think the Celtics catch the Cavs as well because the Cavs actually have a brutal schedule that I think might open the door for the Pacers to sneak in.
They have two head up match ups, but the Pacers also have the luxury of seeing the Bullets twice.
If they can sweep the head up games it will likely be enough to get them in.

In the West it seems like a higher level competition.
These are some heavy hitting potential six seeds, that shouldn't have anyone excited to face off with in the first round.
Starting from the bottom of the current standings, the Nuggets have a great chance to make it depending on how they compete with the Warriors.
They have two games against the Dubs to add with three against the Suns and one against the Rockets.
You could make up a lot of ground feasting at a buffet like that.
That being said, I don't think anyone catches the Warriors, and there is four teams fighting for the last two spots.
Clippers, Jazz, Mavs are all loaded with talent, but I'm going to give the edge to Xist and the Jazz as far as game planning and getting the best production out of his roster.
I think they're in.
On the opposite end of the same principle, I'm going to count the Mavs out.
They have a pretty tough schedule to begin with, and I don't expect them to invest a lot of energy into how to game plan for max wins.
Ironically enough, the Clippers have the same recipe as the Nuggets in order to hold them off for the last spot, beat up on the Warriors and you're in.
It's literally a tall order, because they're not deep, but they're big.
I like the Clippers to have a better match up in the front court with Dawkins, Corzine, and English presenting more resistance against Parish, Chambers, and Ruland.
The absence of Lister will certainly impact the make up of the Warriors, and I think the Clippers take two of three and hold off the Nuggets for the last spot.

I really think the playoffs standings stay as they are, in regards to the 5 and 6 seed. I don't think Mavericks or Nuggets overtake the 6 seed. Both of those teams are too inconsistent and the Clippers know how to gameplan a bit better. Nuggets are sitting with a -2.2 point differential so it's gonna be hard to win the games they need to win to jump anybody so they are the first ones out. The Mavericks seem content with throwing out the same gameplan they've been running all season so I think that will also help keep them out of the playoffs. Maybe the fact that the Mavs have more home games could help them jump the Clippers if they should slip up but being 20-11 at home isn't really a good sign for them to take care of things at home.

In the East, it's simple. I'm not sure the Pacers have the fire power to come back from being under .500 to taking over the 6 seed. I think the last two spots in the East are essentially locked up, barring injuries

@K-100
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+1 point