Playoffs 2014: Russell Conference

Matchups:

• #1 NJ All-Stars (14-5) vs #4 Fighting Dragons (10-8-1)
• #2 So Buckets (11-8) vs #3 Spade (12-7)

#1 NJ All-Stars (14-5)
Eddie hasn’t missed the playoffs since entering the league in 2012, they’ve gone 37-13 in three seasons while leading SlamNation in wins in 2013, plus they went to the Finals a few years ago on the strength of an exhilarating series of upsets. All they need to immortalize themselves is a championship. They are Russell Conference favorites for a second straight year and quite nasty a lot of categories. Despite just average scores in FG%, FT%, REB, NJ All-Stars make up a lot of ground due to being ranked first in 3PT and second in PTS/AST/STL. They are dead last in BLK and turn over the ball tons due to their scoring ways but that's to be expected. NJ All-Stars are a heavy favorite and perhaps the only team, on paper, capable of taking down Sour Snails -- they met in WK4 this season, with Eddie taking the win despite playing eight less games.

Most of the other SlamNation teams are lucky to have one player with 60+ games played. All-Stars has five such players. Plus they have two other players with 50+ GP in Jose Calderon and Reggie Jackson. That’s super continuity and a top seven rotation that barely misses any games. That ill first five features Kyle Lowry at point, Lance Stephenson at shooting guard, Paul George as small forward, LeBron James at the four, and an ideal spread big man in Spencer Hawes. We talked about how many 3PT this team puts up before, but it’s seriously gross. Hawes, the center, averages 1.6 3PT per game. Lowry, Calderon, and extra big man shooter Channing Frye all average two plus threes a game. This team is seriously inverted as LBJ, George, and Stephenson grab a ton of rebounds. And if Coach Eddie needs a bit of a boost, J.J. Hickson and his 9.1 REB are available -- not to mention a surprising useful late season burst by Kris Humphries. And let’s not overlook Stephenson’s crucial 5.0 AST, which is second only to James Harden’s for pure shooting guard eligible players. There’s a lot of superlatives to use for this team, probably too many. NJ All-Stars are entering the postseason with five wins in their last six games. It’s championship or bust for them!

[Edit: In late breaking news, right before the roster lock, Eddie moved two players who are out for the season, Ryan Anderson and All-Stars' 2014 RD2 pick Nerlens Noel, for Joakim Noah. The deal could solidify their playoff positioning and they've now officially pushed all their chips into the center of the table. Bold moves!]

MVP: The King, LeBron James. A "down year" of 26.7 PTS, 6.9 REB, 6.5 AST, 1.6 STL, 1.4 3PT, and 56.9 FG% while hitting 74.6 FT%? No weaknesses.
LVP: Maybe a name change. NJ All-Stars? We want to advocate for a flashier name that would better reflect the winning ways of this franchise. Maybe a rebrand is in order if a trophy comes to town.

#2 So Buckets (11-8)
The other owner that joined us in 2012 has been pretty successful too. After a 3-9 inaugural season, Josh has ripped off two straight division titles while slowly adding talent to his core. This year’s highlight addition is DeMar DeRozan, a 2014 RD2 pick that has blossomed into a NBA All-Star and is averaging 22.5 PTS, 4.4 REB, 3.8 AST, 1.1 STL. The draft also yielded Nikola Pekovic in the first round, and the Montenegrin brute crushes to the tune of 17.7 PTS, 9.0 REB, and 53.5 FG%. After starting off 1-4 this season, So Buckets righted the ship with four straight wins and then strong-armed their way to that repeat division title with a 6-3 finish, narrowly edging out Fighting Dragons. Trivia: This is the second year in a row that So Buckets is higher seeded than their opponent from Thundercats Division, despite having a lower record.

With last year’s waiver wonder Larry Sanders ineffective all year, it’s been good to see Pau Gasol return to proper Gasolian numbers. It’s been an uphill battle for Josh, as in retrospect, their dispersal core of Pau Gasol, Andre Iguodala, Gerald Wallace, David West, Darren Collison, and Toney Douglas yielded some pretty big zeros. (Why is Wallace the bane of all our dispersal drafts?) More to add to this year’s successes: Jodie Meeks’ late season Kobe-lite impression with 18.8 PTS and 2.1 3PT; Jared Sullinger’s contribution of 12.9 PTS and 8.3 REB; and Evan Turner was throwing up some big numbers before getting traded to Indiana. It’s fair to say that this is definitely So Bucket’s most talented team. Oh right, and then there’s franchise cornerstone Kyrie Irving, the prize from the 2011 Toilet Bowl win by the previous owner. Irving may an All-Star game starter and fantasy wise he’s gold with 21.2 PTS, 6.2 AST, 1.4 STL, 1.8 3PT, albeit with 42.8 FG%. [Edit: Irving is out for a few weeks with a biceps injury. Just like Irving's late season injury last year, this seriously curtails So Buckets' playoff advancement hopes.]

MVP: DeMar DeRozan. Kyrie is the easy answer as he leads this team in PTS, AST, STL, and is second in 3PT, but DeRozan became Toronto’s first All-Star since Vince Carter and leapt from draft pick to important key cog for Buckets.
LVP: Andre Iguodala. His still has some fill-the-stat box value with 4.5 REB, 4.2 AST, 1.6 STL, 1.0 3PT but only 9.3 PTS hurts.

#3 Spade (12-7)
Before the season started, I was honestly afraid Randall’s team would have a shot at going undefeated. His roster was insane. Spade came roaring out of the gates with nine straight wins and there looked to be no stopping them. Then the injuries hit. And damn did they hit hard. At one point I think first year owner Randall had like half a roster filled with players with a red mark next to their names. We knew Kobe Bryant would miss a lot of games, but losing Al Horford for the season after 29 GP was unexpected. Then Eric Bledsoe’s breakout year was put on pause for months. And then Kawhi Leonard was dinged up, as was Kevin Martin, and now George Hill. Spade spun out to only one win in their next six games, yet had accrued enough victories to get the second most wins in Russell Conference. They are only a lower seed in name only, as they face So Buckets in Round 1, a team they beat 9-0-0 in WK2 and is only higher seeded by virtue of a division title. (To be fair, So Buckets got payback with a 7-2 win in WK15.)

The good news is that there’s only two red “O’s” next to Spade’s players now. Kobe and Horford are definitely out, however, the rest of the roster is back. Oh wait, that’s horrible news for everyone! Spade still has the ability to go far after such an up-and-down season. I mean, Kevin Love is healthy isn’t he? And Paul Millsap is back from a short injury absence and will continue being fantasy gold with 17.7 PTS, 8.2 REB, 3.1 AST, 1.1 3PT, 1.8 STL, 1.1 BLK, and good percentages. Yup, Millsap has basically evolved into a slightly lesser in-prime Dirk Nowitzki! Speaking of breakouts, how about Arron Afflalo with 19.5 PTS, 3.6 REB, 3.6 AST, 1.9 3PT? Anyone see that coming? It’s not even worth looking at Spade’s season long numbers because with Bledsoe, Martin, and Leonard back, they are an entirely different team. It’s crazy but everyone healthy on the roster, aside from recent pickup Nate Wolters, averages around one or more three pointers per game -- highlighted by Kyle Korver’s 2.7 3PT per. The deepest team in the league is officially back to scary status and there could be lots of nightmares ahead for opposing playoff teams.

MVP: Kevin Love. Aside from his 26.4 PTS, 12.9 REB, 4.2 AST, 2.5 3PT, plus 81.5 FT% on 8.4 attempts, Love had 58 GP and didn’t get injured for any stretches.
LVP: Has Randall made any wrong moves yet? I haven’t seen any.

#4 Fighting Dragons (10-8-1)
Thien’s team went into the final week of the season on a 4-1-1 tear, fighting for a division title, but were upended in WK19 by So Buckets in a game that came down to a handful of REB, STL, and BLK. Still, the former Super Ninjas keep their streak of not having a losing season alive by making the playoffs for their fourth consecutive year. They finish a half game behind the division leader and now get the honor of facing the high powered NJ All-Stars. Here’s the good news: In the past two years, the #4 seed from Russell Conference have upset their way all the way to the Finals -- with 100 Acre Wood Heffalumps taking the title last year. (In 2011, the year before those four seed runs, it was #3 seeded Human Amoebas who streaked all the way to an improbably title.) Obviously, fate shines on with the lower seeded Russell Conference teams.

Since acquiring Damian Lillard to pair with John Wall, Fighting Dragons is 9-5-1, and they’ve handily dispatched NJ All-Stars before, during that run, in WK10. The Wall plus Lillard pairing combines for 41.0 PTS, 14.3 AST, 2.6 STL, and 4.0 3PT per game. They also share just about the same percentages on similar shots and free throws attempted. Behind that wonder duo is a few more question marks. Dwyane Wade has become a part time player with only 39 GP for this team. When he plays he’s a monster but he tends to sit out a lot. Dragons will need all of Wade for a playoff run. Paul Pierce was moved last week for Khris Middleton and Kendall Marshall, which should be a net positive. Robin Lopez and Brandon Knight were the #3 and #4 most GP for Thien, which speaks to the turnover this team has experienced.

Lopez has been all alone in the middle this year, post-Chandler trade, and he’s been useful with 10.8 PTS, 8.5 REB, 1.7 BLK. Knight has been pretty spectacular, relatively. With 17.4 PTS, 4.9 AST, 1.6 3PT, 1.0 STL, and a high rate of free throws at 81.9 FT%, he’s helped Dragaon lead SlamNation in that category. Surprise spark plug D.J. Augustin has been playing out of his mind while hitting 51.7 FG% while putting up 18.8 PTS and 2.4 3PT on an extended two week hot streak. Old fogey Vince Carter and young buck Terrence “51” Ross both bomb 3PT from the outside and are basically interchangeable. Fighting Dragons have morphed into a small ball team, with only Lopez, Andrew Bynum, and Jeff Adrien capable of playing the big men spots. We love that their unpredicable swerve in that direction but we’re pretty sure small ball is a bad matchup versus NJ All-Stars.

MVP: John Wall leads this party. He's put it all together this year and aside from a bit of FG% issues, is dominant across the board.
LVP: Andrea Bargnani. Bynum could be a choice here as his corpse has been on the roster for two years, but he's at least got a chance to play this postseason for Dragons. Instead we'll go with 2014 RD2 pick Bargnani who had the opportunity, in real life and in SlamNation, to play as the perfect small ball center for a team that could've use him.