NBA Championship Round Preview
Playoff Matchups
CHAMPIONSHIP:
MN Moose Knuckles (3) -50 vs Win’s Up Doc (4)
3RD PLACE GAME:
DTC Porkchop Express (1) vs The Pullies (2)
CONSOLATION CHAMPIONSHIP:
Las Cabras (7) vs Ornery Otters (8)
9TH PLACE GAME:
The BamO’s (9) vs Shepherd Goods Choppers (10)
FINALIZED POINTS:
5th - Wait ‘Til Next Year: 8 NBA points (13 total)
6th - Sporty Strauss: 7 NBA points (22 total)
11th - Cooper Troopers: 2 NBA points (8 total)
Last - $traight Cash Homie: 0 NBA points (4 total)
Notes: This week went exactly according to plan. Almost every favorite won. Almost every underdog lost. Most importantly, the NBA Toilet Bowl has officially been claimed by $traight Cash Homie (12). After his massive sell-out, this was expected. But it’s another thing to formally award the Toilet Bowl to Jack. Now, he knows for sure that he needs to score 5 points or more than the Cooper Troopers (11) to avoid doing the last place punishment in the League of Leagues.
The only game that didn’t go according to projections was the 5th Place Game where Sporty Strauss (5) lost to Wait ‘Til Next Year (6). Sporty Strauss had a disappointing showing, and it really wouldn’t have mattered whether or not he would have made his trades or not. Sporty Strauss ends up with the worst point total that he could have by making the playoffs, leaving an icky feeling in Strauss’ stomach.
Win’s Up Doc (4) and the MN Moose Knuckles (3) make the Championship, a really interesting matchup by teams that have a 1-point difference from football. Both teams have given themselves a chance this season, but the winner could be within 4 or 5 points of Sporty Strauss for the season-long wins tally.
In the Consolation Championship, both Las Cabras (7) and the Ornery Otters (8) were victorious and now face off to score 6 points, the highest in the Consolation Bracket. Las Cabras (7) pull themselves within 4 points of Sporty Strauss towards the end-of-season total.
In the 9th-place game, the Choppers (10) play The BamO’s (9), who suffered one of the most frustrating weeklong playoff losses in the League of Leagues to date after Steph Curry’s injury and a really bad lineup drown. The BamO’s really need to keep their points total as high as possible, whereas the Shepherd Goods Choppers are preparing for next season.
Now, we just need to see who can finish strong this season, including the Championship Game this week.
CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
Win’s Up Doc (4) vs MN Moose Knuckles (3)
Win’s Up Doc: Projected … 1400 points
MN Moose Knuckles: Projected… 145 points
GAME LINE: Win’s Up Doc +50 vs MN Moose Knuckles
Lineups:
PG1 – Luka Doncic (48ppg - 4 plays) vs Terry Rozier (32ppg - 4 plays)
PG2 – Dejounte Murray (46ppg - 2 plays) vs Markelle Fultz (22ppg - 3 plays)
SG1 – Desmond Bane (27ppg - 3 plays) vs Devin Booker (36ppg - 3 plays)
SG2 – Kevin Porter, Jr. (24ppg - 4 plays) vs Devin Vassell (21ppg - 2 plays)
SF1 – Scottie Barnes (30ppg - 3 plays) vs RJ Barrett (25ppg - 4 plays)
SF2 – Herbert Jones (23ppg - 4 plays) vs Terance Mann (25 proj. ppg - 2 plays)
PF1 – Kristaps Porzingis (34ppg - 3 plays) vs Julius Randle (36ppg - 4 plays)
PF2 – Brandon Clarke (22ppg - 3 plays) vs Wendell Carter (31ppg - 3 plays)
C1 – Jonas Valanciunas (34ppg - 4 plays) vs Joel Embiid (50ppg - 3 plays)
C1 – Mo Bamba (26ppg - 3 plays) vs Rudy Gobert (41ppg - 4 plays)
FLEX1 – Jordan Poole (25ppg - 4 plays) vs Bobby Portis (29ppg - 3 plays)
FLEX2 – Malik Monk (21ppg - 3 plays) vs Aleksej Pokusevski (30 proj. ppg - 3 plays)
FLEX3 – Kevon Looney (20ppg - 4 plays) vs Jarred Vanderbilt (24ppg - 4 plays)
FLEX4 – Daniel Gafford (21ppg - 4 plays) vs Jae Crowder (20ppg - 3 plays)
FLEX5 – Caleb Martin (19ppg - 2 play) vs Isaac Okoro (18 proj. ppg - 3 plays)
FLEX – N/A vs Justice Winslow (16 ppg - 2 plays)
Win’s up Doc: Advantage at 5/14 positions
MN Moose Knuckles: Advantage at 9/14 positions
Win’s Up Doc INJURIES: Jarrett Allen (O - Hand), Eric Gordon (Q - Rest), Lamarcus Aldridge (O - Hip)
MN Moose Knuckles INJURIES: Joel Embiid (Q - Back), Cam Johnson (Q - Quad), Rudy Gobert (Q - Foot), Jalen Suggs (Q - Ankle), Jarred Vanderbilt (Q - Quad), Gabe Vincent (Q - Foot)
Notes: A close line for the Championship – a fitting turn of events for two teams that are largely even. The big factor in evening these teams out this week is Dejounte Murray’s 2-play week. It’s hugely unfortunate for Win’s Up Doc (4) to lose one of his two superstars to a 2-play week, and even one more game from Murray and this whole like looks much closer.
On the other side, the MN Moose Knuckles injuries aren’t all getting better. In fact, now they’re getting worse. Joel Embiid is OUT to start this week with a back injury – the real fear of having Embiid as your primary player. If Embiid doesn’t come back, that’s enough to give Win’s Up Doc the edge.
In general, this matchup is what it’s all about in the League of Leagues. Both teams crushed the draft. Doc was the best team all season and deserves to be here. But the MN Moose Knuckles put their chips on the table to win this year. There’s no real luck here – both teams DESERVE this. With only 3 points in NFL from Win’s Up Doc, and only 2 points for the MN Moose Knuckles, it’s pretty amazing that they’ve been able to do as well in NBA this season. Congratulations to both teams.
Projected Season Long Points:
1- Sporty Strauss: 22 POINTS
2- Las Cabras: 18 points (NBA proj. finish: 7th)
3- MN Moose Knuckles: 17 points (NBA proj. finish: 1st)
4- DTC Porkchop Express: 16 points (NBA proj. finish: 4th)
5- Win’s Up Doc: 15 points (NBA proj. finish: 2nd)
6- The BamO’s: 14 points (NBA proj. finish: 9th)
7- Wait ‘Til Next year: 13 POINTS
8- Ornery Otters: 13 points (NBA proj. finish: 8th)
9- Shepherd Goods Choppers: 12 points (NBA proj. finish: 10th)
10- The Pullies: 10 points (NBA proj. finish: 3rd)
11- Cooper Troopers: 8 POINTS
12- $traight Cash Homies: 4 POINTS