#1 Sour Snails (17-1-1) vs #3 Fat Jubas (11-6-2)
Trieu’s been here before. Many times in fact. Post-season favorite and then upsetsville. Last year it was to eventual champion Eron, Joven, and Chandler. And this year, the renamed Silent Crows almost did it again, taking Snails down to the wire in round one before falling under a few handful of 3PT. With the defending champs out of the way and last year’s upset avenged, Trieu’s team, who lost just one game all season, will try to barrel their way toward another Finals behind the awesome might of Russell Westbrook, Stephen Curry, Rudy Gay, and um, rookie Rodney Hood? The Sour Snails are a little sore, with DeMarcus Cousins, Klay Thompson, and Jimmy Butler are all ailing, making them slightly vulnerable. The question is, can Fat Jubas take advantage?
With Chris Paul leading the way, Jubas crushed Transformers’ division champ Squirtle Squad by a big margin last week but now face a much tougher challenge. Based on last week’s stats, Jubas would lose to Snails pretty tidily, but that’s why they play the game! Eric’s team is out-talented at nearly position but this former champ won’t be cowed by anyone. Especially with spark plug Isaiah Thomas coming back this week and a rejuvenated Danilo Gallinari. Can CP3 pull his guys through to a major upset? Jubas were on a four game win streak until they ran into Snails in the last week of the regular season. That loss cost them a division title, will they take revenge in the playoffs? We're hoping Steve Nash's retirement announcement will pump up Eric's squad and make this a matchup to remember.
#1 MoRRie’s Pogiboys (14-5) vs #3 High Riser (13-6-1)
Alvin’s team is having the breakout year he’d long planned for and he even got his first playoff win after five straight years in the losers bracket. Going from the bottom to the top can be a dizzying ride but Pogiboys have the most enviable asset in fantasy, Anthony Davis, plus the core of Mike Conley, Victor Oladipo, rookie triple double man Elfrid Payton, breakout sensation Draymond Green, and shot swatter Gorgui Dieng finally getting real minutes. That’s a lot of great talent. Plus Brook Lopez is averaging 18.4 PTS, 8.6 REB, 2.0 BLK, 53.1 FG% over the past month. Pogiboys is poised for continued success and if they can make the Finals this year, it’ll be a hugely successful accomplishment. (We’ll overlook the terrible fallout from the Wes Matthews and D.J. Augustin trade…)
Of course, standing in Pogiboys' way is Hassan Whiteside and the High Risers. Sure, Whiteside has cooled off significantly since his mid-season out of nowhere explosion, but he’s still been awesome. In last week’s narrow upset of Spade, Whiteside basically almost single-handedly won BLK for High Risers — Whiteside had 14 blocks to 17 total for Spade. With an inside presence, Thien’s guard collection of John Wall, Damian Lillard, a rejuvenated Dwayne Wade, and Tyreke Evans can go to work on the perimeter. It’ll be tough for High Riser to get another upset but if they can come through, a Brother Bowl versus Trieu is in play!
And since I didn't get to do RD1 previews and team recaps, here's a bit about our losers:
Silent Crows (11-8)
After last year’s dream run, 2015 was bound to be a disappointment short of a back-to-back championship. But Lucas’ team had another terrific year despite a bevy of injuries to Carmelo Anthony, Blake Griffin, and semi-newly acquired Derrick Rose. Since taking over as owner, Lucas has put together the best two year stretch in franchise history, plus that gaudy championship run to boot. The Silent Crows are here to stay as true contenders…even though their "crow" logo is an owl. A loss to Sour Snails stung, especially since another big upset was within reach, but Lucas will return next year healthy and ready to pursue that second title.
Squirtle Squad (12-7)
Last week’s joy from another division title quickly turned to dust as Brian’s team got upset by High Riser, despite a few trades at the deadline to prep for a championship run. That’s four straight playoff appearances and three straight first round exits for Squirtles. The only thing for GM Brian to do is keep his promising core moving forward, and getting healthy, and taking solace in the fact that next year should be the long awaited Giannis Antetokounmpo fantasy explosion. It’s hard to argue with Squirtle’s success but the fan base is itching for a deep post-season run.
Spade (12-7)
Two straight twelve win seasons aren’t a bad way to start off an ownership reign. Randall’s team kept this franchise’s run of six consecutive playoff appearances alive but fell a little short of a postseason win. The good news is Spade won a Thundercats division title, the franchise's first since 2011. A healthy season from Eric Bledsoe was offset by injuries to Kawhi Leonard and Kobe Bryant, sapping this team of some depth. Plus, the frontline of Kevin Love and Al Horford saw some regression. We’re looking for a bounceback season from Spade next year, if “bounceback” can be applied to a division champ and top contender.
Chunky Monkeys (10-8-1)
Monkeys got run over by the Pogiboys juggernaut but I’m sure they weren’t too upset about it. After all, Monkeys were probably just happy to be here. After starting off the season 1-3, Evan’s team righted the ship by going 7-0-1 over the second half the season. All this in a year where they were hit hard by injuries to Jrue Holiday, Jabari Parker, and Terrence Jones. At the end of the day, James Harden solidified himself as a fantasy and NBA MVP candidate, Goran Dragic is in a new and much better situation, and Marc Gasol is still the most well-rounded fantasy center around. Oh yeah, there’s also dueling Rookie of the Year’s in Andrew Wiggins and Nikola Mirotic. Jabari who? So a growing year for Evan turned into a double digit win season and their fourth post-season apperance. Hard to complain!
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