This has been massively delayed due to my work schedule, but it's finally time for the NBA Showdown 30 for 30 season's results for YEAR ONE. Without further ado, let's get into the standings, stats, and a playoff preview!!
Could one of the most expensive players in the game, 2009 LeBron James,
carry his Cavaliers to an Eastern Conference playoff berth? Let's find out!
STANDINGS
Eastern Conference
The end result can't be a surprise based on how things went in the early portion of the year, as the Knicks were on top of the East wire-to-wire, basically. With a four-headed monster of 20+ ppg players, the Knicks absolutely ran away with the "best offense" title in the league. Indeed, only one other team managed more than 120 ppg (Nuggets, 120.5), and they were almost a full NINE ppg behind the Knicks. Not only did they have four guys average over 20 ppg, but Carmelo, Ewing and Randle all averaged over 10 rebounds per game too, which is a key reason they blew out so many opponents. Absolutely diabolical team construction that should translate powerfully into the playoffs.
However..... they were nearly caught in the standings by the surging Chicago Bulls, who have the third best offense in the East and a stout defense tied for fifth best in the East. The Nets are another substantial challenger thanks to their rebounding prowess, and the Sixers and Celtics are two other teams that appear posed to go deeper than their seeding would indicate.
Here, we'll make more mention of some of the disappointing teams. My beloved Raptors had their wheels absolutely fall off down the stretch, going on a massive losing streak and dropping 12 games below .500. They just couldn't do enough scoring in this "round down" simulation to keep up with their atrocious defense (122 ppg surrendered, easily the worst in the East and barely the worst in the NBA). However, it is the Cavs that suffered the worst in this simulation. Barely averaging 100 ppg, the Cavs limped to a measly 13 wins despite having LEBRON JAMES at the helm. Truly a brutal season and a lesson that you need scorers to win (only THREE players averaging double figures)... LeBron still appeared amazing, averaging 27.7/5.9/6.1, but for 1430 points, you NEED more out of him. Particularly when his real life 2009 statline was 29.7/8.6/7.3. For most heartbreaking, let's pour one out for the Hornets, who barely missed the eight seed because they lost head-to-head vs the Wizards.
Western Conference
The Sonics** returned to the NBA and claimed the Western Conference crown, largely thanks to their dynamic duo of Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant. Westbrook absolutely lived up to my prediction that he was the best value star in the game, turning out a triple double despite only costing 1080 points. Durant was no slouch either, scoring over 32 ppg. These two were supported by the 16+ ppg of Rashaard Lewis, and even though both Kemp and Schroder put up disappointing years, both averaged double figures and had position +/- ratings.
The Spurs and Mavericks had a hot dual in the desert for 2nd place, and I'm hoping we see that second round matchup. San Antonio had the best defense in basketball and the Mavs have felt like they've been rolling lucky all year, but that mightly Luka/Dirk combo is as good as you're going to find! Honestly, the West feels like it's got 8 teams that can make a run through the conference in it, so buckle up for the postseason war that's about to be unleashed!
Unfortunately, the Blazers - a very, very fun squad - just missed out on the 8 seed. Both Dame Time and Clyde the Glide scored over 27 ppg, but the poor bench play just barely did them in. Most unfortunately, that landed both of Fragrant Olives' teams in the 9 seed and out of the playoffs in this first season... I'm a big believer that his squads are too well constructed to both miss in future years!
Finally, the bottom of the West was brutal, but the Lakers ended up in last place. The draft mistake of taking Shaq (guaranteed to be there in R2) over Dwight Howard, who then got sniped by Houston, definitely cost them. They had a better point differential than the other sub-30 win teams, including Phoenix (tough draft mistake that got them stuck with Oliver Miller), Utah (AK47 just didn't produce enough for his point value) and Memphis (just... just not enough offense). However, the team that was the most disappointing was the Warriors -- I think Draymond's game just didn't translate enough in the round down, as he put up 11.2/6.2/6.3 for over 1000 points of salary. That said, Steph was a beast with 35.1 ppg. However, with the albatross of a salary that Draymond had, the Warriors didn't have anyone outside of their top four players score more than 3.3 ppg. It's hard to win when everything is on the shoulders of a very, very select few in such a deep league.
Now that we've looked at the final standings, let's turn to the stat leaders!
**Riley, the manager of the Sonics, refers to them as Seattle and treats them as such, no matter if the graphics Matt uses still calls them the Thunder ;)
INDIVIDUAL STAT LEADERS
Here are the winners of the "big three" stats:
Now let's dive in with a little more specificity...
Points Per Game
"Only" six players in this super league averaged over 30 ppg, but it's definitely a list of suspects you would anticipate -- Curry, Harden, Durant, McGrady, Kobe and MJ! Of the players on this list, I think Trae Young was the most surprising to me, but I guess that he really took advantage of the overall lack of great PG defense in the league. AI putting up 28 ppg for the Nuggets was also a shock! The most disappointing scorer who still made this list is LeBron at "only" 27.7 ppg, but I'm also giving Giannis the side eye for his 27.5.
Assists Per Game
Chris Paul and Steve Nash tied atop the assist leaderboard, and only ten players reached double digit assist averages on the season. Considering the incredible guards that are in this league, I was a little surprised. However, the stars involved were not shocking, especially the Paul-Nash-Stockton-Kidd-Westbrook group at the top of the leaderboard. I was, once again, very pleasantly surprised to see Trae Young near the top of this list. The Hawks may have been near the bottom of the East, but Young's averages of 28/10 are impressive! The other major surprise was Kyle Lowry leading the way for the Rockets in assists at 9.8 apg while James Harden is nowhere to be found on the leaderboard. Looks like they managed to get the rock out of his hands after all! The sole big man on the list is, unsurprisingly, Nikola Jokic (8.6 apg). He didn't get a triple double, but his playoff-bound Nuggets have him in the MVP conversation!
Rebounds Per Game
Andre Drummond absolutely ran away with the rebound title. I was shocked that none of his Pistons teammates joined him on this list, as Detroit was designed to be a rebounding super team. Instead, it looks like that title goes to the Knicks and their THREE participants on this list. However, by far the most stunning part of this list is the second place finisher in rebounds per game - Russell Westbrook! From the PG position and at only 1080 points, Russ absolutely cleaned up for Seattle** and may have just rebounded his way into a runaway MVP finish. After all, only five players finished with 11+ rpg and of the top 20 in rebounds, he's the only guard.
AWARDS
ALL NBA TEAMS
First Team
- G Russell Westbrook, Seattle Supersonics
- G Steph Curry, Golden State Warriors
- F Carmelo Anthony, New York Knicks
- F Tim Duncan, San Antonio Spurs
- C Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets
Second Team
- G Luka Doncic, Dallas Mavericks
- G Trae Young, Atlanta Hawks
- F Tracy McGrady, Orlando Magic
- F Kevin Garnett, Minnesota Timberwolves
- C Patrick Ewing, New York Knicks
Third Team
- G Chris Paul, Los Angeles Clippers
- G John Wall, Washington Wizards
- F Michael Jordan, Chicago Bulls*
- F Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks
- C David Robinson, San Antonio Spurs
*That's right, Michael Jordan is SG/SF eligible, and so his 30+ ppg for the 60 win Bulls is making an All-NBA team!
Defensive Player of the Year
The best defender in the league this season was Tim Duncan, who led San Antonio, the best defensive team in the league. Furthermore, Duncan had the best +/- in the league for anyone not on the main line for the New York Knicks, which beat teams with offensive blitzing rather than defensive prowess.
Most Improved Player
Just to explain at the outset, obviously there's no prior season to compare to.... so we're looking at what player best exceeded his card's projections/expectations (mainly his point value). With that in mind, the winner is going to be.... Michael Beasley!
Despite being only 490 points - so mediocre that he didn't even have a card made - Beasley put up 16.7 ppg and had a higher average game score than his 830 pt teammate Ricky Rubio. His ppg, apg, and rpg were only marginally below 890 pt Anthony Edwards... for basically half the cost! To put in perspective, the 490 pt Beasley exceeded the #1 seeded Sonics' Rashard Lewis, who cost 770 pts, and his 16.3 ppg without a dropoff in assist/rebounds. Just insane, this sub-500 pt player (9 offense, 9 defense) was basically a medium star player (750-800 pts).... Needless to say, this nebulous, hard to quantify award has to be his!
Coach of the Year
This was the hardest award to hand out -- "thankfully", my beloved Raptors and Clippers were both far too dreadful on defensive for me to even be in the running for this one, clearing me of the biased urge to select myself..... nevertheless, a lot of people put together teams that vastly overperformed the standard expectation. After all, we all had the same salary cap, so to put together a squad that was well over .500 is a testament to some magnificent team building!
So while I think Chicago and Seattle did great, both had a pair of superstar MVPs already locked and loaded (MJ/Rose, Russ/KD).... whereas the New York Knicks built an absolute juggernaut this season. With easily the best offense and point differential in basketball, the Knicks also accumulated the most wins and did it with pure scoring power AND by dominating the glass. This was the best version of "four stars and lots of scrubs" utilized in the league, which is saying a lot because other teams that tried it (Warriors, Bucks, Rockets) tended to fall flat. The only team comparable is the Mavs, and the Knicks were clearly the better squad during the regular season.
So without further ado, the COACH OF THE YEAR is Dom, aka Booyakuhhsha!!! Best of luck to him and his beloved Knicks in the post-season!
62-20 with 129.2 ppg, the Knicks are title favorites!
MOST VALUABLE PLAYER
Meanwhile, MVP was actually one of the easier awards to hand out this season thanks to the incomparable production of the PG for the best team in the West -- RUSSELL WESTBROOK.
Russ finished the year averaging 26 ppg, 12.1 apg and 11.7 rpg. He was top five in assists and rebounds, and obviously his scoring was no slouch. He led his team to 61 wins, the only Western team to cross the 60 win plateau. He also had a 10.4 +/- rating, which was the best on the Sonics.** Based on his unequalled production and leading the best team in his conference, Russell Westbrook was the obvious and only choice for MVP in the first 30/30 NBA season!
PLAYOFF PREVIEW
Now we turn to looking at the playoff bracket!
There's a lot of fun and juicy match-ups early in this bracket, especially in the West!
HERE ARE MY PICKS:
ROUND 1
Sonics over Timberwolves, 4-3 -- This is a nightmare scenario for Seattle, as Garnett and Towns are a matchup nightmare for the 1 seed. However, I'm banking on Durant getting put on 9 defense Beasley to overcome the giant duo in MN.
Clippers over Kings, 4-2 -- Let's be honest, I'm biased in this one... but I believe in Chris Paul's advantage over D'Aaron Fox paying off. The Kings are extremely balanced, but I'm leaning towards the Paul firepower at the top and lots of assists pumping up LAC's offense.
Mavericks over Nuggets, 4-3 -- Dallas is definitely the favorite with their four stars plus a solid Rondo running the show. And you KNOW I hate Jokic, he is an absolute stud, and I like his rebounding combo with McDyess while AI goes off on the offensive end.... but the key will be whether Denver can slow down Luka. I'm going to say they BARELY cannot do enough over the course of 7 games, and Denver's poor guard defense ends their year in R1.
Pelicans over Spurs, 4-3 -- Controversial pick here, but the Pelicans have the unique team that can match up to the Spurs giant combo of Duncan/Robinson with AD and Zion. In this battle of the bigs, I favor the Pelicans' big men having more scoring potential, plus Baron Davis and Brandon Ingram score a higher clip than Tony Parker/Manu Ginobili.... and the Spurs have NO ONE else who can score effectively. The Pelicans 5th and 6th scoring options both outscore the Spurs' 5th. Obviously, San Antonio's defense is elite, but I'm leaning towards NOLA's offense helping pull the upset.
Knicks over Wizards, 4-0 -- The Knicks are the most electric team in the league, and I don't see anything about the Wizards (and their poor defense) that can out-do the Knicks' firepower. New York rolls into round 2.
76ers over Pacers, 4-1 -- The Sixers have a team built to rebound and play defense, especially with Barkley (23.2 ppg and 11.6 rpg) and Embiid (27.7 ppg and 9.7 rpg), but the true sneaky wild card is Ben Simmons (5.4 rpg from the PG position). Iguodala has not been scoring as well as Matt hoped, but I love his 12 defense. Indeed, each of Philly's four stars has a defense of 11 or higher (3 are 12 or higher)... I think that matches up great against Indiana, who rely on 9 defense Tyrese Haliburton and 8 defense Reggie Miller... so as much as I love their PG13/Oladipo combo, I've got to say Philly rolls in this one.
Celtics over Nets, 4-3 -- Honestly, the matchup that I'm most hyped to see in R1. I love the Celtics' construction, and I was shocked they fell to the six seed. Similar to Philly, the Nets are built to out rebound their foes, but it's their Kenny Anderson/Jason Kidd double PG lineup (thanks to Kidd's SG eligibility) that can create extreme boosts for the rest of the team. However, the firepower that Boston has at the top is so enticing -- Kyrie (24.6 ppg, 10 apg) and Tatum (24.9 ppg) are a dynamic 1-2 punch... wait, 2-3 punch!!! Paul Pierce is also putting up over 26 ppg from the SF slot and, surprise surprise, the Nets don't have a SF that matches up against him well (Van Horn is a 9 defense). I see Pierce lifting his squad over the Nets in game 7.
Bulls over Bucks, 4-1 -- I love the Bucks, and I LOVE Giannis... but Milwaukee simply doesn't have what it takes to slow down the GOAT and his 30+ ppg, the 25.7 ppg from D-Rose, and Pippen's 23.9 ppg. Milwaukee is more big man focused, so the Bulls backcourt is going to GO OFF. I'll give Milwaukee a game though, Giannis is just too competitive to let his team go down easy.
ROUND 2
Sonics over Clippers, 4-1 -- Unfortunately, this is a matchup nightmare for the Clippers. I think Durant goes crazy against Dominique's 9 defense, although Paul vs Russ is a heckuva matchup.
Mavericks over Pelicans, 4-3 -- This is a great matchup but, at the end of the day, I'm banking on NOLA's inability to matchup with Luka being the difference in the series. Dallas' dynamic duo squeaks into the conference finals!
Sixers over Knicks, 4-3 -- UPSET ALERT, but I think Philly is the worst possible matchup for the Knicks. The high defense can slow the Knicks, and the Sixers have the ability to out-rebound the Knicks... and Embiid is the rare C who can still go off against Ewing. Am I being ridiculous relying on BEN SIMMONS to show up in a big series??? Maybe, but this is "on paper" Ben Simmons and I think he's going to do enough to slow down Marbury and get Philly into the Eastern finals!
Bulls over Celtics, 4-2 -- Boston's backcourt meets its match in Chicago's big three... Tatum will have some incredible games against Kukoc, but overall, you've gotta keep believing in Chicago's elite Big Three. The GOAT is onto the conference finals.
ROUND 3
Sonics over Mavericks, 4-3 -- That's right, THREE Game 7s for Dallas! This would be an incredible matchup, but I think the difference would be Russ going insane against Rondo. Shroder's defense is good enough, maybe JUST enough to slow down Luka in game 7 while Durant feasts on Finley's 10 defense. This would be a fun one, and I'm going to bet on Russ/Durant (even though they needed Harden to get to a finals) over Luka/Dirk.... whew, I'm already second-guessing myself.
Sixers over Bulls, 4-3 -- Another UPSET ALERT..... what can I say, I'm a big believer in the Philly frontcourt FINALLY doing enough to take out the Bulls' backcourt. Simmons and Iguodala are *just* enough of a defender to slow them down, but Chicago doesn't have what it takes to stop Embiid and Barkley. I'm taking a BIG SWING on this one.... but I'm a believer in this team!
NBA FINALS
Sixers over Sonics, 4-2 -- I'm following through all the way to the end and crowning the SIXERS as NBA Champions!!!!!
Not to mention, Matt created these cards and the sim, so I'm banking on his team being best built for these playoffs ;) But the only thing to do now is sit back and watch the results (and cheer on the Clippers!)... I hope you enjoyed, and check in before too long with more sim results!!
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