NBA Tournament of Champions: Magic Johnson Bracket Finals

Magic Johnson was able to get one of his championship teams through out of the bracket stage already, but in his namesake bracket, he got bumped a couple weeks ago. In his place in the finals of this bracket are a pair of juggernauts that have gone 8-1 through the first two rounds. And somewhere, maybe the leader of one of these juggernauts is shrugging at Magic again. Ultimately one question ensures with this matchup: will the dirty little secret of one of the greatest dynasties in NBA history be exposed for all to see? We're about to find out.

As a refresher, this series, like all the preceding ones, is a best of seven (2-2-1-1-1 format) with home court advantage going to the team with the better overall record (regular season plus playoffs). All simulations are provided by WhatIfSports.com. You can view the first and second round results at the links provided. Let's play ball.

'97 Chicago Bulls (84-17) vs '83 Philadelphia 76ers (77-18)
Game 1: @ '97 Bulls 111, '83 76ers 102 (CHI leads 1-0)
Game 2: @ '97 Bulls 111, '83 76ers 93 (CHI leads 2-0)
Game 3: @ '83 76ers 106, '97 Bulls 94 (CHI leads 2-1)
Game 4: '97 Bulls 119, @ '83 76ers 109 (CHI leads 3-1)
Game 5: @ '97 Bulls 122, '83 76ers 89 (CHI wins 4-1)
Full disclosure: I'm making sure to note each time I do a Bulls series involving the second three-peat, that I have to keep changing the depth chart. Whoever the idiot who set up those Bulls teams must not have watched them because Toni Kukoc continues to be an afterthought. I also had to make sure Brian Williams got minutes. Ultimately I don't think that made the difference though. While yes, Moses and Dr. J did their damage, MJ must have heard me mention the "dirty little secret", said something to the effect of "I'll show you a 'dirty little secret', you [string of profanities]!" and proceeded to destroy the Sixers. His 44 points in the clincher are one of the higher numbers for the tournament so far. Scottie and Rodman certainly helped, and guys like Kukoc and Williams did have their contributions to help out.

To see the updated bracket, click here.

Honestly, I expected that series to be a little more competitive than it was just because I didn't think the Bulls would have an answer for Moses other than MJ saying "Screw it, I'm taking over." But my pre-tournament championship pick is into the top 8, and now that we're through another bracket, it's time to figure out a top lineup from these teams. Posted with each player will be their per-game averages plus their shooting percentages (field goals/threes/free throws). Here is the Magic Johnson All Bracket Team:

• PG: Magic Johnson ('85 LAL, 10 G): 15.1 PPG, 6.9 RPG, 9.9 APG, 0.7 BPG, 1.5 SPG; 49/67/86
• SG: Michael Jordan ('97 CHI, 14 G): 29.8 PPG, 8.0 RPG, 4.0 APG, 0.6 BPG, 1.1 SPG; 46/25/83
• SF: Julius Erving ('83 PHI, 14 G): 20.7 PPG, 6.4 RPG, 3.5 APG, 2.4 BPG, 1.1 SPG; 50/50/76
• PF: Scottie Pippen ('97 CHI, 14 G): 18.7 PPG, 6.6 RPG, 5.6 APG, 0.8 BPG, 1.4 SPG; 46/38/72
• C: Moses Malone ('83 PHI, 14 G): 23.6 PPG, 13.9 RPG, 1.6 APG, 2.4 BPG, 1.4 SPG; 51/NA/74

Magic Johnson Bracket MVP: Michael Jordan, '97 CHI. In a bracket where Dr. J had an offensive explosion, Scottie did a little bit of everything, and Moses wasn't worrying about "Foot broken," Michael was back doing his thing. While his distribution on this team is down, his rebounds are up and his scoring is just as effective as ever. His average in the 3 clinching games: over 36 points per game. That's absurd.

There's one bracket left to finish, and one last version of MJ who has yet to play. Can the winningest regular season team ever knock off a more modern champ, or will the magic that Boston's more recent Big Three captured in 2008 overcome them? Tomorrow the Third Round of the Tournament of Champions concludes with the answer to that question.