2026 Playoffs RD4 - Finals

RD3 Recap

While the top seeds did advance, it certainly wasn’t easy. For 2 FJUB, it faced off against the Bam Adebayo 83 point game—who should change his jersey number to "83" asap—who ultimately put up 124 points for SQSQ. Alas, that historic outburst wasn’t enough for SQSQ to win PTS. (The next closest PTS for SQSQ was James Harden with 68 on the week.)

SQSQ chose to finish their week on Saturday, giving FJUB eight Sunday games to make up the difference. And what a nail biter it was, as they were all tied up at 4-4-1 for a long time before Nique Clifford got a late STL—making for seven total—in the last Utah versus Sacramento game to secure a close win for FJUB. Whew!

For SQSQ, it was missed opportunities, as Derrick White missed a game, which could’ve been huge in retrospect. Even closer, veteran DeMar DeRozan found himself in SQSQ's IR slot on Tuesday and Wednesday, as he exploded for a huge game that second time around. Alas, hindsight can only make us akk go crazy if we look too hard. It was a well fought match for both sides and FJUB narrowly escaped...

For awhile Sunday, 1 ILCN was similarly excoriating themselves for pulling Robert Williams out of the lineup for the 76ers free agent duo of Dominick Barlow and Adem Bona. Had Williams been used, his three BLK would have sealed the win for ILCN before that night’s Utah versus Sacramento game. Instead, ILCN would need big games from newly picked up Brice Sensabaugh ($52 FAAB) and Cody Williams ($12) to secure the win in a number of categories--they were close in PTS, 3PT, STL, BLK, FG%, and TOS.

Led by great Sunday games by Quentin Grimes and Naji Marshall, SPDE hit almost all their FT too, to put on the pressure.  Even down a huge number of injuries and missed games—Tyrese Maxey and Jarrett Allen were already counted out, a previously red hot Tyler Herro missed two games, Chet Holmgren missed one, and Victor Wembanyama sat one as well. Despite all that, SPDE was in position to win!

Eventually however, the two Jazz youngsters dropped in a combined 56 PTS and 6 3PT, giving ILCN the late 5-3-1 win, even as they lost TOS and tied STL. An incredibly close shave!

RD4 Matchup - Finals

This will be FJUB’s fourth Finals appearance, and both previous times they entered as the two seed, they won the title—in 2012 and 2021. Their only Finals loss to date was 2023, when they were the fifth seed facing off against third seeded SOUR. As for ILCN, they had never advanced beyond the first round until this year--in four tries--marking this playoff run already a huge success for them. A title would be true breakthrough though!

FJUB has already beaten ILCN twice this year, in WK1 and WK16. It’s safe to say that ILCN enters this matchup as the underdog despite being the higher seed. In theory, ILCN has a 6-3 category advantage over the season, going by ODE metrics, but that is season long. Of late, FJUB has been shooting the lights out and has been an offensive superpower. Led by Kawhi Leonard, Karl Anthony-Towns, Trey Murphy, and OG Anonuby, FJUB has a lot of all-around talent in spades.

ILCN will counter with the big three of Luka Doncic, Donovan Mitchell, and Paolo Banchero, along with the healthy return of Darius Garland, who has been crucial to this playoff run. And don’t forget Matas Bezels, who put up a shocking 41 point game last week.

Injury wise, FJUB already had Kyshawn George and Peyton Watson out, but the rest of the team is healthy—keep an eye out for Leonard’s early week status though. One big X-factor is the recent return of Trae Young for FJUB, who may provide the AST to challenge a very good passing team in ILCN. For ILCN, they are full healthy minus Jaren Jackson Jr., who was never in the playoff calculation anyway.

Overall, both these teams are loaded up, with interesting role players galore. Who will play the most impactful side pieces? Which stars will blow up this week? The contested categories should be PTS, 3PT, and REB, with the two teams splitting the percentage and defense categories. It’s the two best teams in SlamNation for one battle to take the ring, let’s go!