Post by IanBoyd on Jul 21, 2014 9:02:08 GMT -6
Bringing back my annual playoff preview articles, starting with the West.
Round One
#1
vs
#8
Regular Season Matches: 3-1 Grizzlies
Series Overview:
Fresh off of a lottery win and a relocation of the franchise to the north, the formerly Memphis Grizzlies team used the city of Vancouver as a major selling point in wooing veteran forward Bobby Jones away from the wasteland that is Oklahoma City. Taking advantage of a season in which as many as 15 teams tried to sell off talent in anticipation for the hyped 3004 rookie class, the Grizzlies went on a shopping spree for talent, taking on players such as Billy Knight and Bill Laimbeer for relatively low costs. Now on a mission to finally make some noise in 4.0, the city of Vancouver is swept with Grizzlies fever as they host their first ever playoff series against a Pacific rival.
For the trailblazers, the continuity of a stable roster seems to have taken a slight bit of stagnation. Having gradually performed worse the last 2 years in a row during the regular season; (58 wins, 55 wins, 52 wins this year) Portland managed to capture only a modest 8th seed in a weakened west, ironically beating out their old nemesis George Gervin's new team for the last playoff seed. With their tormentors the Utah Jazz in shambles, the Blazers hope to finally rid themselves of the demons of being swept, unfortunately as the 8th seed, their first round match up isn't any more favorable for them than the Utah teams of the past; with only 1 win in 4 tries against the Grizzlies, Portland's chances of an upset is unlikely.
Prediction: Grizzlies win 4-2
#2
vs
#7
Regular Season Matches: 4-0 Mavericks
Series Overview:
When the dust finally settled on George Gervin's free agency decision, the aftermath left the Dallas Mavericks standing as the proverbial new king of jungle in the highly competitive Midwest division. With David Thompson's own free agency looming, GM soup alvarado has to be looking at last year's seemingly invincible Jazz team and take caution in how quickly an empire can fall when dealing with the fickle mistress known as sim free agency. All future worries aside however, this year's Mavericks team has but one goal in mind - title or bust; having resigned the popular shotblocking big man Catfish™ to a long term deal, Dallas has almost an embarrassment of riches in both star quality and depth as they begin their journey to capture that first 4.0 title that has eluded the franchise for the past few years.
For the Utah Jazz, not much can be said that hasn't been uttered out by GM 2poor in bursts of 4 lettered expletives. Now left with a gaping hole the size of dump's head where once Finals MVP and all around the best scorer in the league Ice Man occupied, the Jazz limped through this season simply counting down the clock for the 3004 year so they can start a rebuilding process. While the fact that Gervin's new team has missed the playoffs entirely and that they will not be receiving a lottery pick from this loaded draft has to bring some comfort to the Mormon fans of Utah, the motto for the Jazz in this year's playoffs is simply "just get it over with already".
Prediction: Mavericks win 4-0
#3
vs
#6
Regular Season Matches: 3-1 Thunder
Series Overview:
Following the departure of Bobby Jones, the Thunder franchise worked quickly to fill the void left by their scoring leader from both within the roster and from potential trade partners; enter Dan Roundfield to the starting SF spot, a player GM jhb was quick to take on for free from a Warriors team needing to shed salaries, along with another questionable contract from a questionable franchise, chocolate thunder Darryl Dawkins. With the Midwest the weakest it has been since the start of 4.0, the Thunder cruised during the regular season to the tune of nearly 60 wins. Though OKC has a glaring weakness at the point guard spot, their regular season was still good enough for a 3rd seed and a 1st round home series in the playoffs.
Not one to shy away from controversy, after the self-veto of the lopsided Nate Williams offer to rookie gm handsomepete, Rockets gm dilworth kept close contact with the Raptors front office and acquired the talented expiring wingman on day 60 to bolster their playoff chances. Late season moves that sent long time Rocket veteran Elmore Smith to Portland in order to acquire PG Mike Gale and Steve Mix (which was promptly traded to Dallas for Tom Burleson) has Houston's roster looking completely different from the start of the season. Unfortunately, the shortened period to acquire sim chemistry together with a new roster and Mike Gale's lack of scoring prowess to take advantage of the Thunder's weakness at PG makes a first round upset a tall task.
Prediction: Thunder win 4-3
#4
vs
#5
Regular Season Matches: 3-1 Lakers
Series Overview:
The LA Lakers, without a doubt made the most headlines during this season. Tired of simply tanking to slowly acquire talent, Lakers gm Buster (5000?) started his series of Hollywood headlines by trading the young face of Lakers franchise, Grant Hill to the Bucks for creation #1 pick Julius Erving. With a Finals MVP caliber player finally on the roster, Lakers front office worked around the clock to assemble a roster for immediate contention, bringing a trio of highly talented guards to support Dr. J in Charlie Ward, Brian Winters and Sidney Moncrief. With Moncrief and Ward both on rookie contracts that will expire in a few years, future cap implications loom as a concern; however, all that means now is cheap contracts in their pursuit of a championship as they host rival LA franchise, the Clippers in the opening round of the 3003 playoffs.
Having spent the entire off season in an alcohol (also drug?) induced depression over Magic Johnson's lack of shot attempts and wasted rookie contract, gm joseph dirt tried to make a splash on day 60 by taking on the bloated contract of aging guard Walt Fraizer from the Bucks by matching him with the salary of John Lucas with the attempt to trade back for him next year in mind. In a late season controversial move that saw Lucas being moved to the Nets for 2 meager 2nd round picks (one of which from last year's draft), the Clippers gm has sworn off trading with the Bucks and sworn back on alcohol (also drugs?) as they open the playoffs on the road against the Lakers. With the playoff deadline looming hours away and the front court duo of Sidney Wicks and Artis Gilmore still injured, Clipper nation hopes GM dirt can sober up enough to cash in on some dump bucks before another year of Magic's rookie contract goes to waste.
Prediction: Lakers win 4-2
Conference Semifinals
#1
vs
#4
Regular Season Matches: 3-1 Grizzlies
Series Overview:
Following what should be an opening round dismissal of a Portland team they had little trouble with during regular season, the Grizzlies will receive another playoff welcome in their inaugural season as a Pacific franchise against one of the LA squads; should the Grizzlies face the Lakers in the 2nd round, they'll take solace in the knowledge that they match up very well against wing and guard heavy Lakers team. Bobby Jones has played on par if not better than Dr. J this season and their experienced back court should should play at worst evenly with the young legs of Ward and Moncrief. However, with little front court depth to deal with Bob McAdoo, GM druce might be forced to slide Bobby Jones back to PF and rely on a rookie Marques Johnson against Julius Erving. Whatever formula for success the Grizzlies had against the Lakers in the regular season, Vancouver will need to hope for similar success.
For the Lakers, they will need to rely on a few things in order to pull off the upset; either Bob McAdoo need to play back into his creation season dominant form and carve up the thin Grizzlies front line or Julius Erving needs to take young Marques Johnson to school and dominate the entire series. As this is the first trip into the post season for young guards Sidney Moncrief and Charlie Ward, the Finals MVP experience from PG Brian Winters will be invaluable in the back court. Ultimately, the unknown factor of how the youngsters will react in the often erratic playoff software coding and playing on the road 4 times could prove too much to overcome.
Prediction: Grizzlies win 4-3
#2
vs
#3
Regular Season Matches: 3-1 Mavericks
Series Overview:
With the likely sweep of the ghost of Utah done, the Mavericks will get a much better barometer measurement in the 2nd round. Being one of the few teams in the league with a truly elite PG running the show, Dallas will need to ride skywalker for the entire series against OKC. In this match up, the Mavericks enjoy positional advantages in every position besides shooting guard, having been unable to find an upgrade over Jimmy Paxson in the trade market, Dallas hopes the mismatch against Adrian Dantley will be limited enough that their more talented roster will prevail with home court advantage.
From the Thunder standpoint, their game plan is much simpler: pray that Adrian Dantley has an out of body playoff series rivaling those of Steve Smith circa 2.0 or John Williamson from 2 years ago. Should Dantley dominant Paxson enough that will force Dallas to play Thompson at shooting guard, OKC might have a slight chance at pulling off the upset. However, the difference in talent of the star players coupled with lack of home court should be too much to overcome.
Prediction: Mavericks win 4-2
Conference Finals
#1
vs
#2
Regular Season Matches: 2-2 Split
Series Overview:
With the shared regular season of 64 wins each, the Grizzlies cannot treat this match up against Dallas as they would any home series. Should they escape the Lakers in the conference semi-finals, Vancouver will be facing perhaps the most loaded roster, whom many consider the title favorites in the conference finals. The same strategy of switching Bobby Jones to PF to deal with Elvin Hayes might have to be employed again and hope that Marques Johnson can hold his own against Larry Kenon. Without an answer for Thompson at PG, the Grizzlies will have to rely on the home court advantage providing the extra edge they need.
For the Mavericks, the road to the title is within striking distance again, the last several years that has ended in heartbreak for Dallas has done nothing but fan the flames in the franchise starving for a title 3 years in the making since converting David Thompson to a PG. At this point in the playoffs, all concerns of impending free agency set aside, the game plan is simply to put the ball in Thompson's hands and hope he dominates the mismatched back court from Vancouver.
Prediction: Mavericks win 4-3
Round One
#1
vs
#8
Regular Season Matches: 3-1 Grizzlies
Series Overview:
Fresh off of a lottery win and a relocation of the franchise to the north, the formerly Memphis Grizzlies team used the city of Vancouver as a major selling point in wooing veteran forward Bobby Jones away from the wasteland that is Oklahoma City. Taking advantage of a season in which as many as 15 teams tried to sell off talent in anticipation for the hyped 3004 rookie class, the Grizzlies went on a shopping spree for talent, taking on players such as Billy Knight and Bill Laimbeer for relatively low costs. Now on a mission to finally make some noise in 4.0, the city of Vancouver is swept with Grizzlies fever as they host their first ever playoff series against a Pacific rival.
For the trailblazers, the continuity of a stable roster seems to have taken a slight bit of stagnation. Having gradually performed worse the last 2 years in a row during the regular season; (58 wins, 55 wins, 52 wins this year) Portland managed to capture only a modest 8th seed in a weakened west, ironically beating out their old nemesis George Gervin's new team for the last playoff seed. With their tormentors the Utah Jazz in shambles, the Blazers hope to finally rid themselves of the demons of being swept, unfortunately as the 8th seed, their first round match up isn't any more favorable for them than the Utah teams of the past; with only 1 win in 4 tries against the Grizzlies, Portland's chances of an upset is unlikely.
Prediction: Grizzlies win 4-2
#2
vs
#7
Regular Season Matches: 4-0 Mavericks
Series Overview:
When the dust finally settled on George Gervin's free agency decision, the aftermath left the Dallas Mavericks standing as the proverbial new king of jungle in the highly competitive Midwest division. With David Thompson's own free agency looming, GM soup alvarado has to be looking at last year's seemingly invincible Jazz team and take caution in how quickly an empire can fall when dealing with the fickle mistress known as sim free agency. All future worries aside however, this year's Mavericks team has but one goal in mind - title or bust; having resigned the popular shotblocking big man Catfish™ to a long term deal, Dallas has almost an embarrassment of riches in both star quality and depth as they begin their journey to capture that first 4.0 title that has eluded the franchise for the past few years.
For the Utah Jazz, not much can be said that hasn't been uttered out by GM 2poor in bursts of 4 lettered expletives. Now left with a gaping hole the size of dump's head where once Finals MVP and all around the best scorer in the league Ice Man occupied, the Jazz limped through this season simply counting down the clock for the 3004 year so they can start a rebuilding process. While the fact that Gervin's new team has missed the playoffs entirely and that they will not be receiving a lottery pick from this loaded draft has to bring some comfort to the Mormon fans of Utah, the motto for the Jazz in this year's playoffs is simply "just get it over with already".
Prediction: Mavericks win 4-0
#3
vs
#6
Regular Season Matches: 3-1 Thunder
Series Overview:
Following the departure of Bobby Jones, the Thunder franchise worked quickly to fill the void left by their scoring leader from both within the roster and from potential trade partners; enter Dan Roundfield to the starting SF spot, a player GM jhb was quick to take on for free from a Warriors team needing to shed salaries, along with another questionable contract from a questionable franchise, chocolate thunder Darryl Dawkins. With the Midwest the weakest it has been since the start of 4.0, the Thunder cruised during the regular season to the tune of nearly 60 wins. Though OKC has a glaring weakness at the point guard spot, their regular season was still good enough for a 3rd seed and a 1st round home series in the playoffs.
Not one to shy away from controversy, after the self-veto of the lopsided Nate Williams offer to rookie gm handsomepete, Rockets gm dilworth kept close contact with the Raptors front office and acquired the talented expiring wingman on day 60 to bolster their playoff chances. Late season moves that sent long time Rocket veteran Elmore Smith to Portland in order to acquire PG Mike Gale and Steve Mix (which was promptly traded to Dallas for Tom Burleson) has Houston's roster looking completely different from the start of the season. Unfortunately, the shortened period to acquire sim chemistry together with a new roster and Mike Gale's lack of scoring prowess to take advantage of the Thunder's weakness at PG makes a first round upset a tall task.
Prediction: Thunder win 4-3
#4
vs
#5
Regular Season Matches: 3-1 Lakers
Series Overview:
The LA Lakers, without a doubt made the most headlines during this season. Tired of simply tanking to slowly acquire talent, Lakers gm Buster (5000?) started his series of Hollywood headlines by trading the young face of Lakers franchise, Grant Hill to the Bucks for creation #1 pick Julius Erving. With a Finals MVP caliber player finally on the roster, Lakers front office worked around the clock to assemble a roster for immediate contention, bringing a trio of highly talented guards to support Dr. J in Charlie Ward, Brian Winters and Sidney Moncrief. With Moncrief and Ward both on rookie contracts that will expire in a few years, future cap implications loom as a concern; however, all that means now is cheap contracts in their pursuit of a championship as they host rival LA franchise, the Clippers in the opening round of the 3003 playoffs.
Having spent the entire off season in an alcohol (also drug?) induced depression over Magic Johnson's lack of shot attempts and wasted rookie contract, gm joseph dirt tried to make a splash on day 60 by taking on the bloated contract of aging guard Walt Fraizer from the Bucks by matching him with the salary of John Lucas with the attempt to trade back for him next year in mind. In a late season controversial move that saw Lucas being moved to the Nets for 2 meager 2nd round picks (one of which from last year's draft), the Clippers gm has sworn off trading with the Bucks and sworn back on alcohol (also drugs?) as they open the playoffs on the road against the Lakers. With the playoff deadline looming hours away and the front court duo of Sidney Wicks and Artis Gilmore still injured, Clipper nation hopes GM dirt can sober up enough to cash in on some dump bucks before another year of Magic's rookie contract goes to waste.
Prediction: Lakers win 4-2
Conference Semifinals
#1
vs
#4
Regular Season Matches: 3-1 Grizzlies
Series Overview:
Following what should be an opening round dismissal of a Portland team they had little trouble with during regular season, the Grizzlies will receive another playoff welcome in their inaugural season as a Pacific franchise against one of the LA squads; should the Grizzlies face the Lakers in the 2nd round, they'll take solace in the knowledge that they match up very well against wing and guard heavy Lakers team. Bobby Jones has played on par if not better than Dr. J this season and their experienced back court should should play at worst evenly with the young legs of Ward and Moncrief. However, with little front court depth to deal with Bob McAdoo, GM druce might be forced to slide Bobby Jones back to PF and rely on a rookie Marques Johnson against Julius Erving. Whatever formula for success the Grizzlies had against the Lakers in the regular season, Vancouver will need to hope for similar success.
For the Lakers, they will need to rely on a few things in order to pull off the upset; either Bob McAdoo need to play back into his creation season dominant form and carve up the thin Grizzlies front line or Julius Erving needs to take young Marques Johnson to school and dominate the entire series. As this is the first trip into the post season for young guards Sidney Moncrief and Charlie Ward, the Finals MVP experience from PG Brian Winters will be invaluable in the back court. Ultimately, the unknown factor of how the youngsters will react in the often erratic playoff software coding and playing on the road 4 times could prove too much to overcome.
Prediction: Grizzlies win 4-3
#2
vs
#3
Regular Season Matches: 3-1 Mavericks
Series Overview:
With the likely sweep of the ghost of Utah done, the Mavericks will get a much better barometer measurement in the 2nd round. Being one of the few teams in the league with a truly elite PG running the show, Dallas will need to ride skywalker for the entire series against OKC. In this match up, the Mavericks enjoy positional advantages in every position besides shooting guard, having been unable to find an upgrade over Jimmy Paxson in the trade market, Dallas hopes the mismatch against Adrian Dantley will be limited enough that their more talented roster will prevail with home court advantage.
From the Thunder standpoint, their game plan is much simpler: pray that Adrian Dantley has an out of body playoff series rivaling those of Steve Smith circa 2.0 or John Williamson from 2 years ago. Should Dantley dominant Paxson enough that will force Dallas to play Thompson at shooting guard, OKC might have a slight chance at pulling off the upset. However, the difference in talent of the star players coupled with lack of home court should be too much to overcome.
Prediction: Mavericks win 4-2
Conference Finals
#1
vs
#2
Regular Season Matches: 2-2 Split
Series Overview:
With the shared regular season of 64 wins each, the Grizzlies cannot treat this match up against Dallas as they would any home series. Should they escape the Lakers in the conference semi-finals, Vancouver will be facing perhaps the most loaded roster, whom many consider the title favorites in the conference finals. The same strategy of switching Bobby Jones to PF to deal with Elvin Hayes might have to be employed again and hope that Marques Johnson can hold his own against Larry Kenon. Without an answer for Thompson at PG, the Grizzlies will have to rely on the home court advantage providing the extra edge they need.
For the Mavericks, the road to the title is within striking distance again, the last several years that has ended in heartbreak for Dallas has done nothing but fan the flames in the franchise starving for a title 3 years in the making since converting David Thompson to a PG. At this point in the playoffs, all concerns of impending free agency set aside, the game plan is simply to put the ball in Thompson's hands and hope he dominates the mismatched back court from Vancouver.
Prediction: Mavericks win 4-3
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