Conference Round Recap

What a semi-finals! Both games came down to Sunday, with hotly contested categories all around. Over in the Chamberlain Conference, the Fat Jubas upset Squirtle Squad by the smallest 3PT margin. The golden oldies used grit and grunts to lock up the REB category, hit all their free throws, and barely outscored the top ranked Squirtles.

For Brian, it really hurts that they keep getting upset in the playoffs with no Finals appearances to show for it. This time it was their FT%, a scintillating 61.25 FT% showing that doomed them. While big men Blake Griffin and Greg Monroe are excellent elsewhere, they combined to hit only 16/43 free throws, with Griffin shooting 23.8% from the charity stripe. Ouch.

Eric-L used a team effort from Kevin Garnett, Steve Nash, Nicolas Batum, Marcin Gortat, and even a solid Gordon Hayward to seal the win. Most surprising of all, Kevin Seraphin (who?) might have been the hero as he pretty much averaged a double double all week. The Jubas are riding a six game winning streak and are looking to crush their way to a first SlamNation championship. Standing in their way will be a young upstart, making this a true old versus new matchup.

In the Russell Conference, it was a bloodbath between two teams who share good/bad blood. Cousins Evan and Eddie faced off and got their families involved in the trash talking but in the end, it was upstart Eddie who squeezed into the Finals. With both owners hawking their lineups all week, the record book will show that NJ All-Stars defeated the Chunky Monkeys by a mere five PTS, four STL, or 0.22 difference in FG%. Oh and the two teams also tied in 3PT.

Usually Evan's small ball team does well in particular matchups, but even with Chris Paul really picking pockets (13 STL), the Monkeys were outstolen by the All-Stars quick hands. That's pretty hard to do. I mean, both teams put up over 40+ STL. Looking closer at the stats, it seems like Andrea Bargnani's injury on Sunday could have been the difference maker, as it's hard to argue that Barg couldn't have contributed more than seven total points, and at least hit another three to break the deadlock.

For Eddie, flush with first season owner pride, his team isn't just going to be happy to be here. Sure they are a little wilted after many battles but they are focused on getting a huge upset -- and the 2012 crown. Ryan Anderson needs to return soon, DeAndre Jordan needs to be amnestied from his fat contract, and Jameer Nelson and J.J. Barea need to make up for the loss of Kyle Lowry. Well, unless Lowry comes back this week, which he could. Can LeBron James win a fantasy championship with rookie Isaiah Thomas as his second leading scorer? It sure looks like it's possible. Thomas is peaking at exactly the right time and is fast displacing Luol Deng as the Robin to LBJ's Batman. "I believe the children are our future / Teach them well and let them lead the way!"

Still, the Fat Jubas are the heavy favorite here and will likely win both percentages and TO, while NJ All-Stars has the edge in AST and STL. The question will be who can hit more 3PT and who can score more PTS. It's gonna be a fascinating championship week, best of luck to Eric-A and Eddie.

Over in the Toilet Bowl, things were close too as Funk Coalition threatened a big upset but lost by a handful of 3PT and STL despite playing a few more games. Tyreke Evans had a puncher's chance of sending Pogiboys packing but failed. Now Alvin will have Brandon Jennings leading the way for a shot at the number one overall draft pick in 2013.

His opponent in the Toilet Bowl finals is Trieu, who can't seem to be prevented from getting to any finals, even the losing sides'. This will be a Herculean task though because his entire bench is bascially not suiting up next week: Stephen Curry, Danilo Gallinari, Wilson Chandler, and Grant Hill. The Snails barely upset LA Buffy, surviving by a few PTS and one last second 3PT that rimmed out. This time they'll need Kevin Love and crew to really step up to lock up a huge win.

Based on last week's stats, the matchup between Pogiboys and Sour Snails will be very close as they evenly matched in AST/STL, TO, and PTS. The Snails will win REB and BLK most likely, but likely lose both of the percentage categories as Alvin is great there. We hope the Toilet Bowl won't come down to injuries, and wish both teams the best.

PLAYOFFS - THE FINALS
#2 Fat Jubas (9-3)* vs #4 NJ All-Stars (8-4)

TOILET BOWL FINALS
#1 MoRRie's Pogiboys (8-4) vs #2 Sour Snails (4-8)