00s Tournament: West Region

[IceMan2]

As many of you may know, I am going to run a tournament featuring the Top teams of the 2000s. For a quest to who was the best. 64 of the top are presented in this March Madness Style Tournament. Here is the main thread:

http://www.insidehoops.com/forum/sho...d.php?t=304930

Here is a link to the full bracket:

http://challonge.com/00NBATournament


This thread is solely for the simulation of the West Region. Featuring these teams:

1 03 Spurs

2 02 Lakers

3 06 Pistons

4 02 Kings

5 03 Mavericks

6 04 Timberwolves

7 01 Bucks

8 08 Hornets

9 02 Celtics

10 00 Heat

11 09 Spurs

12 04 Nets

13 05 Rockets

14 03 Blazers

15 04 Grizzlies

16 05 Bulls

[IceMan2]

[LIST][*]Each Round Will Be Best out of 7[*]I will start with the Top Seeds[*]The higher seed will have Homecout Advantage[*]I will be using whatifsports.com to simulate. Box Scores and Play-by-Plays will also be included with each matchup[*]For those who have whatifsports.com experience, they can validate my results and ensure nothing is rigged. [/LIST]


Predictions for the West Region???
Who will win it?
Upsets?
Dark-Horse picks?

[KG215]

The '03 Spurs are the weakest of the 4 Duncan championship teams. I don't see them getting out of the region. I like the '02 Lakers or '02 Kings.

[IceMan2]

The '03 Spurs are the weakest of the 4 Duncan championship teams. I don't see them getting out of the region. I like the '02 Lakers or '02 Kings.

Not necessarily. They did finish with the best regular season and playoff run. They also did beat the 3 time defending champion Lakers with Kobe&Shaq both in their primes (something all the other Duncan teams failed to do). And they did have Duncan at his peak (all other championship Duncan versions were worse) and they did have basically all the other good teammates of Duncan (Only championship team with Parker, Manu, and Robinson) though they weren't in their primes.


But really the 2003 Spurs accomplished more than any other Spur teams in franchise history.

[Doctor K]

I want to see a 02 Lakers and Kings rematch

[Gifted Mind]

Interesting idea


One thing I think we'll notice is the east will struggle in this tournament. The seeding was given based on record, however I expect a 50 win team in the west to be much tougher than a 50 win team in the east, especially early on in the decade. Thus, upsets will likely happen places where an eastern conference team was given a high seed due to an inflated record or postseason success.

[IceMan2]

1 2003 San Antonio Spurs



vs.




16 2005 Chicago Bulls

Preview: The 2003 San Antonio Spurs finished with a 60-22 season. They then went along and won the NBA Championship. Many would call this the weakest Spurs team but I would call it the strongest. It featured Tim Duncan at his peak, winning his 2nd MVP award in a row. In the playoffs they knocked off the 3 time defending champion LA Lakers in route to a title. They were a strong defensive team while being very good on offense. All the important pieces of the Spurs championship runs were present on this team: Duncan, Ginobili, Parker, and Robinson.

The 2005 Chicago Bulls were the 1st Bulls team to make the playoffs after Jordan had left them. They surprised many people that year after years of struggle. They played good team basketball and were led by Curry, Hinrich, and Gordon all averaging above 15. Their strength was their defense and they will need to give it all they have to force an upset here.

2 great defensive teams so it figures to be a good tough series. The Bulls offense wasn't that strong and the Spurs are a top defensive team. They will cause the Bulls to struggle, the Bulls have to find a way to score the ball effectively to have a shot here. The other question is can they stop Tim Duncan. He was at his peak here. Tyson Chandler is their best bet to slow him down.

[IceMan2]

Game 1: at Spurs 98, Bulls 86

Box Score: http://whatifsports.com/nba/boxscore...u=1&teamfee=-1

Player of the Game: B.Bowen 14pts/6reb on 6/10 FG


Recap: In a game where Duncan was mostly a non-factor, the Bulls still failed to get a win. Duncan struggled as the tough Bulls was focused on stopping him, but it led to open looks for the rest of his teammates as they won in a balanced effort.



Game 2: at Spurs 104, Bulls 75

Box Score: http://whatifsports.com/nba/boxscore...u=1&teamfee=-1

Player of the Game: T.Duncan 21points/18reb/6ast/6blk

Recap: The Spurs dominated Game 2 with a 29 point blow-out win. Tim Duncan continued to face tough defense but still found a way to control the game dominating on the defensive end as the Bulls overall as a team shot just 31% from the field. The Spurs continued with a balance effort on offense to take a 2-0 lead in the series.


G2G will sim the rest later

[KG215]

Kind of odd Duncan only got 35 minutes in game one since he wasn't in foul trouble or anything.

[IceMan2]

Game 3: Spurs 97, at Bulls 95


Box Score: http://whatifsports.com/nba/boxscore...u=1&teamfee=-1

Player of the Game: T.Duncan 22pts/15reb/3blk

Recap: The Bulls played their best game giving everything they had in this crucial game 3. But the Spurs pulled away again behind another great effort by Duncan and once again good-balanced scoring on offense. The Spurs now lead the series 3-0.

Game 4: Spurs 88, at Bulls 83

Box Score: http://whatifsports.com/nba/boxscore...u=1&teamfee=-1

Player of the Game: T.Duncan 17pts/15reb/6blk

Recap: The Spurs sweep the Bulls 4-0. The Bulls played very hard at home once again, holding a 10 point lead in the 4th, but the Spurs scrambled back and finished the game strong sweeping the series. This was a tough defensive battle but the Spurs came up on top.

2003 Spurs Win Series 4-0

[IceMan2]

Kind of odd Duncan only got 35 minutes in game one since he wasn't in foul trouble or anything.

Well he was in a little bit of foul-trouble, see 1st quarter play-by-play

[KG215]

Duncan: 39.7 MPG, 18.0 PPG, 15.2 RPG, 4.0 APG, 4.2 BPG, 1.2 SPG, 2.2 TOV, .423 FG%, .720 FT%

Parker: 38.2 MPG, 17.7 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 5.0 APG, 0.0 BPG, 1.2 SPG, 3.5 TOV, .473 FG%, .181 3P%, .714 FT%

Robinson: 32.2 MPG, 11.2 PPG, 11.0 RPG, 0.7 APG, 2.2 BPG, 0.5 SPG, 2.5 TOV, .422 FG%, .778 FT%

Ginobili: 25.0 MPG, 11.2 PPG, 3.0 RPG, 1.5 APG, 0.0 BPG, 2.2 SPG, 0.2 TOV, .485 FG%, .357 3P%, .750 FT%


Can't believe how inefficient Duncan was, but still, an 18-15-4-4-1 stat-line is pretty nice. 18-4-5-1 on 47% shooting from Parker was pretty good, too.

[KG215]

Well he was in a little bit of foul-trouble, see 1st quarter play-by-play

Didn't think about that. Still, only 35 minutes in a semi-close game where he only had 2 fouls seems a bit odd.

[IceMan2]

Duncan: 39.7 MPG, 18.0 PPG, 15.2 RPG, 4.0 APG, 4.2 BPG, 1.2 SPG, 2.2 TOV, .423 FG%, .720 FT%

Parker: 38.2 MPG, 17.7 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 5.0 APG, 0.0 BPG, 1.2 SPG, 3.5 TOV, .473 FG%, .181 3P%, .714 FT%

Robinson: 32.2 MPG, 11.2 PPG, 11.0 RPG, 0.7 APG, 2.2 BPG, 0.5 SPG, 2.5 TOV, .422 FG%, .778 FT%

Ginobili: 25.0 MPG, 11.2 PPG, 3.0 RPG, 1.5 APG, 0.0 BPG, 2.2 SPG, 0.2 TOV, .485 FG%, .357 3P%, .750 FT%


Can't believe how inefficient Duncan was, but still, an 18-15-4-4-1 stat-line is pretty nice. 18-4-5-1 on 47% shooting from Parker was pretty good, too.

And despite that inefficiency the Spurs swept. Like I said this team had a lot of good balance and is going to be a tough team to beat in this tournament. A worthy #1 seed.

[IceMan2]

2 2002 Los Angeles Lakers



vs.




15 2004 Memphis Grizzlies

Preview: The 2002 Lakers finished with a 58-24 record and helped complete a Laker 3-peat. Most people call them the weakest of the 3-peat, as they had a lot of trouble getting past the 2002 Kings. Nonetheless, they were champions and have Kobe and Shaq both in their primes on this roster.

The 2004 Grizzlies finished with a 50-32 record, the most wins in franchise history at that time. Pau Gasol had turned this franchise around and put them in the winning direction. Along with Gasol this team had 4 other players scoring in double-figures giving them a balanced look on offense. Their season success did not last long though as they got swept in the 1st round.

We have seen this matchup before, as the 00 Lakers beat the 06 Grizzlies in 6 games. That series was competitive so this one maybe too. The 06 Grizzlies did a good job of slowing down Kobe throwing Battier/Eddie Jones at him, however this 04 Grizzly team may not have that luxury ,and even Kobe was a better player in 2002. Nonetheless, if the Grizzlies want to upset they will have to at least slow down Kobe/Shaq in this series.