SlamNation: 2013 Championship: Pooh and Heffa Forever

Whew, what a Finals! How about a game that came right down to the wire and featured quite a few lead changes as we headed into the homestretch. Early Sunday afternoon, Buffy clung to a tenuous lead as their seven players were facing off against Heffalumps' five. With most of the categories squared away, it was likely down to PTS and STL for who would take the 2013 crown. Despite Kobe Bryant and Jamal Crawford putting up their regular 20+ points, it looked like Buffy would take the win as they had a plethora of players left to go. But John Salmons put up a two point clunker, and Elton Brand and Jameer Nelson remained on the bench due to injury. After a hard fought week, 100 Acre Wood Heffalumps emerged with a 5-4 victory, winning by a mere 4 PTS (404 to 401). What?! This has to be our closest Finals matchup ever

We told you last week that this game could come down to PTS, STL and TO, and on this we were right. Heffalumps big men -- Al Horford, Kenneth Faried, Omer Asik, Shawn Marion -- secured the REB and BLK categories early on, even with a huge week by Buffy's Tim Duncan (20.0 PTS, 9.7 REB, 2.3 BLK). The Big Fundamental missed an early week game at Memphis, and clearly he would have pushed Buffy to a win. Alas, Chris Bosh also missed a crucial mid-week matchup with a sore knee, and his fantastic scoring numbers were missed. Carlos Boozer, Jeremy Lin, and Raymond Felton played the bulk of the minutes for Buffy, and while all three had some stellar numbers, it just wasn't quite enough. Buffy won FT% and AST pretty easily, but those came at the cost of higher TOs. Our embedded reporter was brought to tears after witnessing Roger's shock at his close loss. Shed a tear for denizens of Buffyland, better luck next year.

As for our champions, 100 Acre Wood Heffalumps won with a low scoring squad that is likely unique in Finals history. They shot the ball well, avoided turnovers, and played tough defense throughout. There were a lot of heroes during this championship week.

Omer Asik averaged 12.0 REB over four games, while Kenneth Faried had 11.0 REB and 3.0 BLK over his three games. Kawhi Leonard missed half the week but came out huge, averaging 24.0 PTS, 10.0 REB, 5.0 AST, 1.5 STL, and 1.0 BLK in his two games. Jamal Crawford, a Sixth Man of the Year candidate, put up 19.3 PTS on 45.2 FG%. Kobe Bryant only shot forty percent from the field but his 24.0 PTS, 7.7 REB, 10.0 AST, and 1.7 STL were obviously MVP-worthy.

However, the real hero might just be Shawn Marion -- an original Heffalumps / Pooh Bears draft pick, and number three overall, dating back to our old cycle. With a season average of only 11.8 PTS, Marion threw up 25 and 20 points on back to back nights, and his solid play on Sunday afternoon turned out to be the difference between a trophy and a "good try."

The path to the championship wasn't easy though. 100 Acre Wood started off the season 5-1-1 before slipping into six week winless streak. Spirits were low, Kobe was pissed off, and the Manimal was about to maim somebody. It looked like they might slip out of the playoffs, before they righted the ship with a 4-1 streak to nudge into a wildcard spot. Once there, J's team created havoc by upending the #1 seed, NJ All Stars, and then knocking off another higher seed, Chunky Monkeys, in the Russell Conference Finals. Through it all, J quietly managed his team and kept his team focused on the prize. It just goes to show that once you get into the playoffs, anything can happen. For the Heffalumps, 2013 ended in a glorious run to the trophy celebration. Congratulations!

We do have a bit of sad news on this parade worthy day. Heffalumps owner/GM/coach J, after careful consideration, has decided to retire on top. In a heartfelt and open letter to his fanbase, J said that he would be stepping down after almost a decade at the helm. After winning the SlamNation championship, he walked off the court, leaving nothing behind. An excerpt from his final address: "I'm damn proud of winning this league, but my work is done. I'm dropping the microphone. I think that Shawn Marion was my first ever pick in SlamNation and he ended up being the last one on the court to seal the victory for the Heffalumps."

That leaves an opening for a new owner to take over the defending champions. It seems J has taken a cue from his beloved fantasy football league, Maize and Blue, when their owner abdicated the throne after a 2011 championship. Since I was the lucky owner to slide into the defending champion's seat, I can say that it is some big shoes to fill. Thank you J for your many years of SlamNation participation and your always highly competitive skills will be missed!