2009 Championship: The Last Run

As we prepare to move into a reset year, new rules, and expansion, I thought it'd be nice to put up a quick recap of Season 3. Interest may have waned but the games went on!

EAST
MoRRie's Pogiboys (12-5-3)
After the Sour Snails Cinderella last-to-first run in Season 2, Alvin basically did the same thing in Season 3. I mean, they were second to last in Season 1, went all the way to the Conference Finals in Season 2, and then jetpacked their way to a championship in Season 3. With point guards Chris Paul and Chauncey Billups leading the way, no opponent won more than two categories versus Alvin's team on his playoff run. Despite losing out on the Kevin Durant sweepstakes in Season 2, the Pogiboys never looked for excuses and used multiple trades and savvy pickups to create an unstoppable force.

Poobic Heirs (13-6-1)
Oliver's team finished atop the Eastern conference during the regular season, making a strong case for him being the dominant team during our three year run. He won the championship in year one, finished with a high playoff seed in year two, and finished with the second best record in the league in year three. The only downside is that the Heirs were bounced from the playoffs in both of their non-championship years by the Pogiboys. Despite that intense rivalry, Oliver's core of Kobe Bryant, Yao Ming, Caron Butler, Devin Harris, and sharpshooter Kevin Martin were always championship caliber.

Human Amoebas (11-9)
The Amoebas always looked great on paper. Dirk Nowitzki, Amare Stoudemire (later traded for Dwayne Wade), Jason Kidd, Tracy McGrady, and a slew of other big names. While they had an uneven first year at nine wins versus eleven losses, the Amoebas came back to make the playoffs in their second season and then advanced all the way to the Finals in the last year of this cycle. As the number five seed, they pulled off a huge upset by defeating Season 3's top ranked Shanghai Chunky Monkeys. Now the Amoebas are rededicated and back for more.

Squirtle Squad (7-12-1)
The Squirtles have seen better days. Kevin Garnett was hampered by a knee injury. Bradon Roy was awesome but banged up. Ray Allen and JR Smith provided solid outside shooting to complement Carlos Boozer, David Lee, and Deron Williams, but this team still couldn't get anywhere. All that talent and nothing to show for it, except a Toilet Bowl win -- in the year we redraft. There was a time when the Squirtles were the most feared team in the league, notching fourteen wins in both Seasons 1 and 2, but they slipped badly in Year Three.

100 Acre Wood Pooh Bears (7-13)
J's team finished their last season on a five game losing streak. Ouch. As the bottom fell out, the only star pulling his weight was Pau Gasol, as other franchise cornerstones such as Ben Gordon and Shawn Marion played horrifically down the stretch. Overall, the Pooh Bears haven't experienced much success, as they've never topped eight wins and have been the only three time participant in the Toilet Bowl -- but they made it to the finals this last time!

Jedi Knights (5-15)
The Knights had a tough go of it. As a replacement owner who stepped in after Season 1, he faced an uphill battle from the beginning. While the Jedis certainly improved on their nine game losing streak from Season 2 (when they went 3-16-1), their Four Gigantic Horsemen lineup of Dwight Howard, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Chris Bosh, and Emeka Okafor couldn't find the balance to consistently win. That's okay, with new management and a draft coming around the corner, the Knights are no longer playing with someone else's pieces.

WEST
Shanghai Chunky Monkeys (14-6)
The only other team able to challenge the Poobic Heirs for sustained success, the Monkeys were Finals participants in season one (albeit with a ridiculously battered team that started Mardy Collins and Allan Ray. Yes, Allan Ray), lost to another eventual champion in season two, and finished with the best record in the league in season three. That's a lot of wins. Their swingmen heavy lineup of Danny Granger, Joe Johnson, Josh Smith, Manu Ginobili, and nice depth and balance always kept them in the hunt but without a healthy Gilbert Arena for almost two full years, the Monkeys just couldn't quite win a ring. Still, for a long time, the Monkeys were the class to the West.

Buffy (11-9)
When Elton Brand went down for the season, Roger probably shed a tear. See, they had just acquired Elton a year ago. The price? Eventual league MVP Chris Paul. At one time, Buffy seemed to have the deepest and most flexible team in the league (just a few names: Baron Davis, Tim Duncan, Rashard Lewis, Jose Calderon, Antawn Jamison, Elton Brand, Shaquille O'Neal). They finished 13-8 and 14-6 in the two years before this and were serious contenders each time. They backslid a little bit but still managed to get home court advantage in Season 3 before being upset by the Human Amoebas.

Fobsters (10-9-1)
Was previous owner Ping even around? Jimmy stepped in for him during Season 3 and put in a good showing, going to the playoffs and letting his unbalanced but powerful team some post-season shine. There was nary a good point guard on the roster but Paul Pierce, Vince Carter, Lamar Odom, David West, Richard Jefferson, Nene, and Marcus Camby were nothing to sneeze at. Still, that combination of big name talent only went 7-13 and 8-13 in previous years so applause to the coach of the Fobsters for Season 3's upgrade.

Sleepy Sour Snails (10-9-1)
The Snails were a pathetic 3-18 in Season 1 but managed to win the Toilet Bowl and then proceeded to small ball their way to a championship in Season 2. Their lineup gelled D'Antoni-like and Steve Nash, Allen Iverson, Stephon Jackson, Hedo Turkoglu, Ron Artest, and Jason Richardson shot their way to a crown. Then they semi-collapsed for a weak title defense but their place in SlamNation lore will always be secure. Worst to first, an impossible Cinderella season. From now all, any last place team can cite the Snails of '08 as inspiration for future success.

Fat Jubas (9-11)
Eric-L's team made some big moves to try to save Season 3 but ultimately came up short of the playoffs. Amare Stoudemire for Dwayne Wade didn't exactly work out. Shifting Tony Parker away for (someone I forgot) wasn't exactly a landslide win. Al Jefferson lost most of his season and the Jubas collapsed under the weight of injuries, a theme of theirs historically. After a sterling 16-4-1 first season, the Jubas went 11-8-1 the next year but then accumulated problems with Tracy McGrady and Jermaine O'Neal really dragged them down. In the end, Andre Igoudala emerged as a cornerstone but he wasn't enough. Hey, at least he was healthy though.

Funk Coalition (7-12-1)
Despite owning the incomparable Lebron James, the Funk just perpetually stunk. After an inaugural season in which their daring "almost all point guard" lineup sort of worked and they won twelve games, Jon's team could barely equal that win total in the next two seasons combined. Much of the blame could be traced to the decline of a guard heavy roster that included TJ Ford, Rafer Alston, Jameer Nelson, Raymond Felton, Sebastien Telfair, Randy Foye, and other such luminaries over the years. At least NBA draftmates Lebron and Carmelo got a few runs in together.