#SLOE: People's Basketball Sim League

Current Standings:
1. Atlantic - $4350
2. Central - $4150
3. Midwest - $3750
4. Pacific - $3050

This Sim's Division Representatives:
OPEN PICK'EM - first to post from each division gets it

You may claim a point if you provide a write-up/rationale for at least 5 picks - though feel free to do more! Otherwise, you're just competing for the divisional race which awards 5 points per GM in the winning division at the end of the season.

Pick the 10 games with the spread below from 3/2/14 and rank them in confidence from 10 (most confident) to 1 (least confident). You'll get 10pts for winning your most confident, 9 for second, etc. You will then be paid off the following scale:
1st - $1000
2nd - $600
3rd - $200
4th - Nothing but shame

The team with the minus number is the favorite (needs to win by at LEAST that number). The underdog just has to stay within that number. If the game is marked (pk) there is no spread.

A really good example of this being done was last week's thread, if you need a reference.

3/2/2014
Knicks @ Cavaliers (-9)
Nuggets @ Kings (-6)
76ers @ Nets (-4)
Magic @ Bulls (-6)
Trailblazers @ Pacers (-3)
Wizards @ Bucks (-6)
Raptors @ Hawks (-14)
Celtics (-11) @ Lakers
Clippers (-13) @ Jazz
Hornets @ Timberwolves (-9)

Example of picks:
10. Wiz +6
9. Nets -4
8. Jazz +13
etc.

claimed

garbageman wrote:claimed

Sweep the leg

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No Trade List: Hornets

Claim for Atlantic

10. Wizards +6 I think Mbah a Moute can give Boozer some trouble and slow down his hot scoring. Plus its hard to pass up a 6 point bonus for a division leader
9. Magic +6 The Magic have a couple of guys who are lights from 3. Who is the worst team in the league to defend the 3; you guessed it, the Bulls.
8. Kings -6 Nuggets are on a road trip and they get the Kings on the second half of a back to back. Plus the nuggets aren't very deep; I think tired legs get the best of them.
7. Jazz +13 Clippers have Durant and not much else. Paul George should slow him a tad; the real separator is that the Jazz are at home and getting 13; feel like I have to take that.
6. Pacers -3 I like the Pacers at home and I have a feeling Deron has a huge game. Rose is solid but not sure he can defend Deron well enough here.
5. Lakers +11
4. 76ers +4
3. Raptors +14
2. Cavs -9
1. Hornets +9

It's Friday, and most of the folks in the Bulls front office called in sick, so this Pick 'Em provides a welcome opportunity for me to pass some time until gametime. That being said, March 2nd has a lot of tough matchups to call and tough spreads to cover. My strategy for this round? Trust my division. If they do their parts in winning their matchups, it'll give us back the Pick 'Em lead.

3/2/2014
Knicks @ Cavaliers (-9)
The Cavaliers have taken a big drop from the previous couple of seasons, but they're still in the conversation to make the playoffs. The Knicks, meanwhile, are looking towards the future. Right now they stand to gain two high lottery prospects in the upcoming draft as long as the recent acquisition of PG Jeremy Lin doesn't give them TOO much of a boost. I think the Knicks start winning more games than they would have otherwise, but this game ain't one of them with Lin matched up against CP3, one of the best PGs in basketball. The Cavs just beat the Knicks by 8 in MSG. They can do 9 at home.

Nuggets @ Kings (-6)
The winner of this bout? THE FANS! Two Western Conference division leaders square off in a match that pits former 76ers big men, Amare Stoudemire and Tyson Chandler against each other. Both teams have tough starting lineups, but the Kings have a little more depth. While the Nuggets have a great record on the road, the Kings are one of the few teams who should be able to stifle them, with a better overall record and the staunchest D around.

76ers @ Nets (-4)
While eking out road wins is no small task for a young team like the 76ers, there is one vital difference between the 76ers and the Nets that sticks out to me right after the trade deadline. The 76ers were able to deal their underperforming big man, Andrew Bynum, who was on a longer and more bloated contract than the Nets' Chris Kaman. New Jersey was unable to offload the Kaman contract, which is shorter for an older and slower, but better performing C, and their woes continued this season, whereas the 76ers looked solid with their new additions.

Magic @ Bulls (-6)
The Bulls and Magic are both teams that are performing better than most expected this year. The Magic looked like a potential basement team, but their backcourt remains one of the most dangerous tandems in the league. I'm happy with the Chicago team I've put together. Our starting lineup is all averaging double figures, and while the team may not be particularly deep, there's a lot of veteran leadership off the bench. Given that the Bulls and Magic have faced off both before and split a pair in Orlando (3 point differences each), I see Chicago performing better than that at home, where there are some real nice steakhouses.

Trailblazers @ Pacers (-3)
Even with the return of Ron Artest, the Trailblazers aren't where everyone thought they'd be this season. There's still time for that to change, and the Blazers currently sit in 8th right now with the potential to move up, but I haven't seen definitively better ball from them yet. At least not enough to topple the Pacers at home, where they have a much better than expected record behind the play of Deron Williams, who is single-handedly keeping the Pacers afloat as a viable Eastern Conference playoff team in a stacked Central Division.

Wizards @ Bucks (-6)
This is going to be another colossal matchup. The Wizards have a strong lead in the Easter conference, but the Bucks are just catching fire. After winning 5 straight since the ASB, the Bucks--now outfitted with Draymond Green instead of Otto Porter, Jr.--have bounded ahead to 3rd place. I still think the Warriors are a stacked team, and I think Carlos Boozer, growing cohesion, and a surplus of home games are more to blame for the Bucks success than the Green/Porter swap. Honestly, I was going to pick the Wizards (maybe not to win, but to make it as close a game as possible), but I'm showing the Central Division some love here and going with the Bucks.

Raptors @ Hawks (-14)
The Hawks were easily able to hit the ridiculous spread in the two previous Pick 'Em events, and now they find themselves face to face with the Raptors, a much tougher opponent, and a 14 point spread. I'm picking with the Division regardless, and I'm going to stick with the Hawks. They've been able to handle the Raptors so far this year. A lot of folks had the Raptors slated to be higher up than they are right now, and they could still achieve that, but as good as Chris Bosh is, if he and Lowry couldn't bring home a championship with a much more solid team around them on the Timberwolves for the past two seasons, I'm not surprised that they're not cakewalking to home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. And even after the Hawks dished off a very good player in Lin for Middleton, I think this allows the Hawks to move Rudy Gay down to SG and have a more versatile lineup in the 2, 3, and 4 spots.

Celtics (-11) @ Lakers
Maybe it's just coincidence, but I've noticed that the Celtics, probably due to some good GMing decisions, always tend to improve as the season goes on, really finding how to best utilize the players they have. They've pulled out some road wins against tougher teams, and it appears that after a rocky start, they're finally putting things together (12-6 in their last 18 starts). The Lakers, on the other hand, are having a real tough go. They've only one 1 out of their last 18 starts (1 out of their last 23 to be completely precise).

Clippers (-13) @ Jazz
On paper, these teams look a lot closer than the Clippers -13 on the road advantage would imply. Durant is an MVP level player, but Paul George looks like he could be the next gen version of the Slim Reaper. There are pretty solid matchups at every position: Bogut vs. Hibbert, Rubio vs. Delonte, Ed Davis vs. DJ White...I think with Bogut manning the C spot for the Jazz, their defense looks a lot better. Maybe not enough to defeat the Clippers, but certainly enough to keep it closer than 13.

Hornets @ Timberwolves (-9)
Does either team really want to win this game?


10. Bulls -6
9. Pacers -3
8. Hawks -14
7. Celtics -11
6. Cavaliers -9
5. 76ers +4
4. Bucks -6
3. Hornets +9
2. Kings -6
1. Jazz +13

Knicks @ Cavaliers (-9)
Nuggets @ Kings (-6)
76ers @ Nets (-4)
Magic @ Bulls (-6)
Trailblazers @ Pacers (-3)
Wizards @ Bucks (-6)
Raptors @ Hawks (-14)
Celtics (-11) @ Lakers
Clippers (-13) @ Jazz
Hornets @ Timberwolves (-9)

10. Hornets @ Timberwolves (-9) - I know how my season is going, so I'm pretty sure I'll win this.
9. 76ers @ Nets (-4) - That seems like too few points, and even though the Sixers aren't great they'll beat the Nets.
8. Celtics (-11) @ Lakers - Man the Lakers are bad. I know the Celtics are middling but...man the Lakers are bad.
7. Magic @ Bulls (-6) - GBJ and The Bulls deserve some love for GMOY. Great job he's done.
6. Trailblazers @ Pacers (-3) - This is probably a trap game but boy do I love the Blazers here.
5. Knicks @ Cavaliers (-9) - I wish I was more confident in this, but the Cavs are having a very un-Lincoln-like season.
4. Wizards @ Bucks (-6)
3. Nuggets @ Kings (-6)
2. Clippers (-13) @ Jazz
1. Raptors @ Hawks (-14)

Save the date


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Knicks @ Cavaliers (-9): CP3 is too good and New York marches onto the lottery.
Nuggets @ Kings (-6)- what a game! The Kings are stacked and home court will be too much.
76ers @ Nets (-4): too much upfront for the Nets to handle. Time for Boogie to shine.
Magic @ Bulls (-6): Begrudgingly, the garbagemen are better from top to bottom.
Trailblazers @ Pacers (-3): Ron's return makes the difference
Wizards @ Bucks (-6): nobody beats the Wiz, and Kanter's injury will hurt.
Raptors @ Hawks (-14)- the Hawks are unstoppable, especially down at the Fortress.
Celtics (-11) @ Lakers: the tank is on full speed in LA
Clippers (-13) @ Jazz: the Jazz should be competent at home and Paul George and Durant should negate each other
Hornets @ Timberwolves (-9): Dame is the difference in this lottery bound battle

Confidence
10- Bulls
9- Wiz
8- Blazers
7- Sixers
6- Hornets
5- Cavs
4- Jazz
3- Celtics
2- Kings
1- Hawks

JNR wrote: Fri Apr 07, 2017 3:59 pm
10. Hornets @ Timberwolves (-9) - I know how my season is going, so I'm pretty sure I'll win this.

Reverse curse is real!

Tallies for this Sim (all participants may claim a point - thanks for the write-ups!!!):
1. WITH THE BEST SCORE SINCE WE SWITCHED TO THIS FORMAT - Aburns - Pacific - 52/55 - $1000
2. JNR - Midwest - 29/55 - $600
3. False9 - Atlantic - 22/55 - $200
4. Garbageman - Central - 17/55 - $0

Which brings our standings to:
1. Atlantic - $4550
2. Midwest - $4350
3. Central - $4150
4. Pacific - $4050