1st seed actually... Don't really understand it as we seem to be getting weaker every season, at the same time it looks like I had an MVP season and that might explain it
With Murray out injured this could be a tougher match than it should be against a play-in team
I'm done hoping for a title. I'll just take not being embarrassed before reaching the finals. So far, we have to be one of the most underperforming super teams of the whole experiment.
With two Caf teams in the West and four in the East, I'm going to split this update into games instead of conferences. Sorry (not sorry) for all the cliff-hangers!
34/9/15/6/6 from Heine, and that's that. Easy 1-0 for the ring-hungry Spurs.
The Big Three of weeweetee, Lil' V.O. and Tyus Jones make short work of the Suns. Nothing else to say, is there?
The Knicks holding the Wizards to only 81 points - at that point it hardly even matters that Two Nil went 1-7 for 5 points, or that reelworld II only got 11 points.
If there's one thing I've learned from watching the Pacers in the playoffs the last few seasons, it's that Kevin Knox is a very valuable player. Put him next to a defensive giant like Sonius and they have at least a chance at beating anyone.
6 points is closer than the reigning champions would have hoped for, perhaps, but a win is a win. Though Skizzlet probably isn't scoring a ridiculously efficient 38 every game, so hopefully other players can do their part next time. If they don't, SebJr and the Magic might have an actual part - and certainly if SebJr keeps scoring and assisting at that rate.
Ideally Stobzilla II would have more points than rebounds, assists and, particularly, fouls. They didn't really give him the shots for that to happen, to be fair.
The closest of margins, but the Warriors get one back!
The Rockets aren't crushing the Suns, but a 16 point win is a 16 point win. This one might be over already.
Easy win for New York, despite another relatively low-scoring showing from reelworld II. Two Nil with only 14 himself, but also 17 rebounds and 13 assists. The real hero is Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, with a very efficient 41 points.
A pretty good game by Sonius, but it's not enough - it's 1-1!
Atlanta holding Orlando to 64 points. SebJr with one to forget, going 0-12 from the field.
Charlotte win - but Stobzilla II is knocked out of the tie altogether. The Hornets might come to regret the loss, methinks.
A very close game indeed, but the Spurs take the narrow lead. Lil-Nut could have scored more (story of his career so far), but provided a fantastic 19 assists (with only 2 turnovers).
First sweep coming up, surely?
The bad news is that the Wizards won game 3. The worse news is that reelworld II will miss the rest of the tie, and at least 2-3 games in the next round. If they make it that far. Now Two Nilreally needs to find his scoring.
A stupid 12 blocks from Sonius, and clearly they needed every single one of them. Indiana regain the lead, but this tie is far from over.
After getting trounced in game 2, Orlando do a much better job in game 3. The end result is still a win for the Hawks, but... it's something, isn't it? I reckon the Magic coach might have to answer some questions after that. For example: "why didn't you play SebJr more than 20 minutes, when he was the only player in the starting 5 with a positive +/-?"
Easy win for the Celtics over the Stobzilla II-less Hornets.
Other games: The injury-stricken Memphis Grizzlies are in the process of getting swept by the Los Angles Clippers, and the inevitable Utah Jazz are in the process of sweeping the Los Angeles Lakers.
3-1! There just seems to be a clear quality difference here, and it's hard to overcome for the Warriors.
A close game, but who cares as long as the end result is a sweep? It's a decent sign that the Rockets can win when everyone who isn't called weeweetee or Lil' V.O. can have awful games (at least in the starting 5), and when even those two only have good games themselves.
Another good playoff triple double from Two Nil, but 19 points isn't going to be enough with reelworld II's injury. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander can make up for it, but if he doesn't then our man has to do it. If he doesn't... well, the Wizards have a chance, don't they?
A great 28/23/6 from Sonius, and it looks likely that we're going to get the upset. Not that a 5-seed beating a 4-seed is much of an upset, and I favoured the Pacers to begin with in any case. Sonius has that playoff experience.
The Magic get one back! SebJr and his teammates weren't going to accept getting swept, it seems. Our man had a good game, though again he's playing less than he maybe should, and shooting less than he maybe could. But if the result is a win... fine, I guess?
Stobzilla II's teammates take this one back to square one!
Well, it wasn't a sweep, but the Spurs take the series. A pretty monstrous performance by Heine, but we also finally saw what Lil-Nut is capable of. The series win was probably never on the cards, if we're being honest.
Speaking of monstrous performances: here's the Two Nil we need with reelworld II out injured! 29/18/16 is just a nice-looking stat line, isn't it?
The Pacers win, as expected. It was a very low-scoring game. Sonius had a good game, but picked up 5 early fouls and so ended up only playing 28 minutes. Probably for the best, since we've seen some Cafites have playoff runs ruined by injuries.
And the Hawks are through as well. There were many good performances on the Hawks, including Skizzlet himself. I don't know if they're favourites to repeat their championship run from last year, but if nothing else it's clear that they're still a very deep and capable team. SebJr might not be happy about the result, but I never thought the Magic had a real chance.
And the Hornets are in the lead!
The very closest of margins, but the reelworld II-less New York Knicks manage to despatch the Washington Wizards. Two Nil gave his all, as you can tell by both the ridiculous 34/24/8 stat line and the fact that he fouled out and still managed to play the most of anyone on the team.
So close, but Boston take it to 3-3. We're at least getting one game 7 this round!
Heartbreak for Stobzilla II and the Charlotte Hornets. Though the Celtics were the very clear favourites going into the first round, and doubly so after Stobzilla II went out injured. It seems like old man Anthony Davis still has some tricks up his sleeves.
Exactly the same Cafites in the 2nd Round as last year. The only difference is that the Knicks and the Hawks swapped positions this time. By both regular season record and MOV (margin of victory), the East has the three best teams remaining in the playoffs - and it would be all 4 if Indiana hadn't eliminated Chicago already.
If I could shoot we'd be doing alright.
