PO rd 1 done

[PacersGM]

the first 3 games are simmed. only pacers are 3-0 up. but pacers already had to accept a possible carreer ending injury to shultz. stupid FBB told him he has severe depression the next 73 days 
still dennis did a good job against the knicks forced into 40+mins games. but loosing my best outside defender is hard to accept. with shultz, drexler and hopson i thought i had a good chance to compete against nets and hornets. now i have to reconsider my strategy.
the rest of rd 1 will be simmed in 12 hours.

[CelticsGM]

damn, blew out the Cavs in game 1 on the road but somehow managed to let them get back in after they stole game 3 in Boston. Guess i have to do a better job on offense ...

[PacersGM]

i know it is only 3 games but boy did Kevin Willis destroy Roy. Avg. over 20/20 in 3 games is very impressive. still the raptors are in big troubles if wilkins continues to win his matchup with buck.

[BlazersGM]

Erm, Kerr is spectacular, but so far both teams took easy home wins, and Nuggs have homecourt, ill have to think of something better.

[CelticsGM]

I can't believe how close I was getting Stevie Kerr.
Really should have given you what you wanted then, like Divac ...

[NetsGM]

Happy to be up 2-1 in the series - again, our team D is a shell of itself with Jonny Koncak on the sidelines as we lost at home with out him, then two sound wins with him back. Gonna keep the DC the same to try and ride things out. Manning is having a hard time containing and going at Karl, but he's giving it a good go, so it's time for some tough love for him- it'll be the best way for him to learn. Same thing with JP - Munson is a man, and he's a just a pup - but he's giving it his all....including two 6-block games. Mags has been the glue with some solid performances.

I have no idea why MJ is so wildly inconsistent for me...two games around 15pts, then exploding for 42....

[BlazersGM]

I can't believe how close I was getting Stevie Kerr.
Really should have given you what you wanted then, like Divac ...

True. But then after that great sim where he shot down MJ, i saw Kerr is way better then his ratings suggest. I expect big things from him in next few seasons.

[RaptorsGM]

Well the 1st three games of the series went ok for the raptors as we proved we will not be going away without a fight...we are clearly, clearly not even close to being in the Hornets' league, but a game 4 win will make this a series. We got smoked in the 1st two games in nawlins, but took game 3 back home as Buck was able to answer the call that he missed in the first two games. The real story has been Willis who has been completely dominant up front, which has been entirely neccessary for our somewhat limited success. My DC is going to need alot of changes so I don't mind posting more in depth stats...

We scored just 84 points per game and the Hornets scored 96.6. That's not exactly a recipe for success.

The C matchup has been interesting. Bol is the type of player that I hope to see Kite turn into a poor man's version of. Kite has been pretty solid with 6 ppg, 9.7rpg, 2bpg. However, Bol is justing playing amazingly with 12.7ppg, 12.7rpg, 4.7bpg. Wow. No wonder the HornetsGM traded Sampson for him. Bol is clearly dominant but I feel like I still have a chance at winning another game or two if Kite can keep the gap where it is right now. Both players are far exceeding their regular season performances.

The PF matchup is probably the only reason I've got a win in this series. Hinson played allright for the Hornets with 2.7ppg, 11.3rpg, 2.7bpg. Those are right around his regular season numbers so it's hard to say he's playing poorly, but he is clearly getting beat in the matchup as Willis has put up 23.7ppg, 21rpg, 1bpg. Absolutely incredible numbers and I'm thrilled to see it against a frontcourt like Bol/Hinson as I think the minor tweaks to my DC I made for the first 3 games may have been the key to Willis getting over the hump from good to great player.

Everyone knew coming into this series that the difference would be the SF position - if Wilkins equaled or bettered Buck I have no chance of winning - I need Buck to significantly outplay Wilkins and that really didn't happen. Buck was ok with 20.3ppg, 6.3rpg, 1.3spg, 0.7bpg. Certainly not what I need from him but I can take a little poor play if Willis will play like he has. However, Wilkins has been amazing as we knew he would, with 22ppg, 7.7rpg, 1.3apg, 1.3spg. At first glance these numbers don't look too amazing as they are under his season averages - and I'm happy about that from Buck - but like I said, Buck needs to outplay Nique for us to have any chance, and he's getting outplayed himself.

The SG matchup has made me very happy and has made me feel like the trade with the Mavs was indeed worth it, despite the lack of regular season success. Fresh off his selection to All-Defensive First Team, Pressey showed up when it mattered the most - at playoff time. Pressey had 15ppg, 10rpg, 4apg, 1spg. On top of that, which is good enough as-is, he held Macy to 16ppg, 4rpg, 4apg, 1.6spg. At first glance you'd have to say well, I wouldn't say holding a guy to 16/4/4 is that great, but Macy is a 27/5/3.5/3 regular season player and he was held significantly below these numbers.


The last matchup was argueably equally as important as the SF matchup, as the PGs went head to head. I thought Kersey did a great job of Stockton even though Stockton had 24.7ppg, 4.7rpg, 6.3apg, 3.7topg. Great offensive numbers but all he is doing is scoring, as that 6.3:3.7 is signficantly lower than his season average of 9.6:3.3. Kersey was consistent as usual - not a breath of offense - which I know will continue as long as our focus is inside - with 4ppg, 3rpg, 9.3apg, 3topg.


Ultimately, it's only going to be a successful series for us if we can grind out some nice low scoring games like game 3....but with bol scoring and the three-headed monster that is the Hornets' backcourt getting their 60+ ppg I can't really see that happening. Hopefully some major changes to the DC can make for some major surprises.

[HornetsGM]

The Raps have some real matchup advantages. It has me a bit worried. The first two games weren't close, but my weaknesses and the raps strengths were evident.

[GoldenStateGM]

Not a good start to the playoffs for the Warriors...

Terrible, terrible shooting...  Have to try a slight tweak, and see if it will improve the teams shooting.

[CelticsGM]

c'mon man, my money is on you ...

[BlazersGM]

So is mine, at least till....

[GoldenStateGM]

I will be having a meeting with both Vern and Lester...

Vern gets the "You are a 25 ppg scorer, and the best player on this team.  We need you to step up, and start improving your shot selection.  Just take smart shots, Vern..."

Lester gets the "You are not F#&#@ Michael Jordan...  if you are shooting 9 for 26, what, in god's name, makes you think you should be taking another shot!!! Pass the ball, you are a (beeeeep) point guard, remember?"

[PacersGM]

well east without any upsets but the defending champs and the number 4 in the west are already out. blazers done 3-1 but still upset the champs 

[HornetsGM]

Wow.