We've greatly narrowed down the field of the NBA Tournament of Champions from the 64 just a couple months ago to eight by the end of today. Were this tournament not going on in computer simulations, games would have been taking place in reality over the last two weeks. I do wish this sort of tournament could take place in reality though, as it would get a more realistic answer, but on the whole, I can't fault the simulator so far.
As a refresher, I am actually keeping all the stats for the Elimination Round. All the data from the Round of 32 is in, and the results from the other half of the Round of 16 games is now as well. You can view those stats on my Google Sheet, and at some point I will try to fill in the blanks from Group Play.
Today's games are part of series that, like yesterday, are best of seven played in a 2-2-1-1-1 format. Home court advantage goes to the higher seed based on finish in Group Play. All simulations are provided by WhatIfSports.com. Here's the conclusion to the Round of 16.
LeBron James Bracket
(2) 1971 Milwaukee Bucks vs (1) 2013 Miami Heat
Game 2: '71 Bucks 107, @ '13 Heat 97 (Series tied 1-1)
Game 3: '13 Heat 115, @ '71 Bucks 102 ('13 Heat lead 2-1)
Game 4: '13 Heat 118, @ '71 Bucks 109 ('13 Heat lead 3-1)
Game 5: '71 Bucks 124, @ '13 Heat 114 ('13 Heat lead 3-2)
Game 6: @ '71 Bucks 105, '13 Heat 93 (Series tied 3-3)
Game 7: '71 Bucks 108, @ '13 Heat 103 ('71 Bucks win 4-3)
Miami held the Bucks to just 40.4 percent shooting in Game 1 while putting up twice as many free throws to firmly control Game 1 and take the early advantage. Milwaukee turned the tables in Game 2 and held the Heat to under 40 percent while Kareem Abdul-Jabbar went off for 27 points and 25 rebounds to even the series. LeBron and company attacked the basket again in Game 3, getting to the line 43 times to Milwaukee's 20 while shooting 54.1 percent from the field to steal a road win. LeBron then went off for 36 points while Dwyane Wade added 30 in Game 4 to give the Heat command of the series going back home. Kareem refused to let the Bucks die however, putting up 34 points and 18 rebounds in Game 5 while Jon McGlocklin added 26 to push the series back to Wisconsin. The Bucks forced 23 turnovers in Game 6 and hit 18 of 21 free throws to spoil 26 points, eight rebounds and eight assists from LeBron to force a winner-take-all game. In Game 7, Oscar Robertson went off for 27 points, Kareem added 22, and the Bucks continued their parade to the free throw line, taking twice as many as Miami while the Heat hit just seven of their 26 threes in their elimination.
Dwyane Wade Bracket
(4) 1999 San Antonio Spurs vs (3) 1985 Los Angeles Lakers
Game 2: @ '85 Lakers 112, '99 Spurs 98 (Series tied 1-1)
Game 3: '85 Lakers 103, @ '99 Spurs 90 ('85 Lakers lead 2-1)
Game 4: '85 Lakers 107, @ '99 Spurs 104 ('85 Lakers lead 3-1)
Game 5: @ '85 Lakers 109, '99 Spurs 96 ('85 Lakers win 4-1)
The Spurs committed a mind-boggling six fouls in Game 1, and actually missed more free throws (11) than the Lakers took as a team (eight) en route to a narrow win. Showtime came to play in Game 2, overcoming a 7-12 day from deep by the Spurs with a 55.7 percent clip from the floor and a balanced attack to tie the series. The Lakers continued their torrid shooting in San Antonio while holding the Spurs to 42.2 percent in Game 3 to take the lead. Game 4 was a back and forth affair with the Lakers leading by nine with less than four minutes to play before the Spurs mounted a late comeback attempt, scoring seven straight points in under a minute and a half to pull within two, but with a chance to get within one with 20 seconds left, Tim Duncan missed a pair of free throws, and a Sean Elliot three at the buzzer to tie the game clanged off the rim. The Lakers wasted no time in Game 5, shooting 58.8 percent from the floor while keeping the Spurs at 39.8 percent to advance to the quarterfinals.
Scottie Pippen Bracket
(3) 1976 Boston Celtics vs (1) 1992 Chicago Bulls
Game 2: @ '92 Bulls 135, '76 Celtics 99 ('92 Bulls lead 2-0)
Game 3: '92 Bulls 129, @ '76 Celtics 101 ('92 Bulls lead 3-0)
Game 4: @ '76 Celtics 110, '92 Bulls 96 ('92 Bulls lead 3-1)
Game 5: @ '92 Bulls 121, '76 Celtics 112 ('92 Bulls win 4-1)
Game 1 was a thriller; despite only shooting 38.1 percent, the Celtics ralled back from down five with 20 seconds left to tie the game with five to go, but Michael Jordan buried a jumper from the right wing with a second to go for two of his 33 points, and John Havlicek, who tied the game before, missed on his second attempt and the Bulls escaped with the win. Chicago shot 58.7 percent in Game 2, with Scottie Pippen putting up 34 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists while wreaking all sorts of havoc on defense in a blowout win. The Bulls' numbers dropped to 57.9 percent in Game 3, but the results were pretty much the same as a balanced attack combined with holding the Celtics to just 15 first quarter points put Boston on the brink. With Jo Jo White struggling, Charlie Scott took a bunch of his minutes in Game 4 at point guard and put up 29 points and was a big part of a six and a half minute stretch where the Celtics outscored the Bulls 16-2. Back in Chicago, the Bulls overcame a 50 percent day from deep by the Celtics thanks to a Pippen triple-double and 38 points from MJ. After being a first round elimination in 2013, the '92 Bulls are in the quarterfinals this year.
Michael Jordan Bracket
(2) 2001 Los Angeles Lakers vs (1) 1997 Chicago Bulls
Game 2: '01 Lakers 116, @ '97 Bulls 107 (Series tied 1-1)
Game 3: '97 Bulls 91, @ '01 Lakers 79 ('97 Bulls lead 2-1)
Game 4: '97 Bulls 110, @ '01 Lakers 95 ('97 Bulls lead 3-1)
Game 5: @ '97 Bulls 102, '01 Lakers 93 ('97 Bulls win 4-1)
The Bulls controlled the glass in Game 1 and Michael Jordan went off for 39 points as the Bulls pulled away with a 33-15 third quarter. It was Scottie Pippen's turn to go off for 39 points in Game 2, but the Lakers hit 26 of 32 free throws, Shaq and Kobe combined for 57 points and Rick Fox added a surprising 26 to tie the series. Shaq and Kobe combined for just 38 points in Game 3 and the team shot just 41.8 percent as the Bulls forced 19 turnovers to retake control of the series. Chicago then got to the line 33 times in Game 4 to take control by halftime and hold on for the 3-1 series lead. The Bulls brought their defense to the table in Game 5, holding LA to 39.3 percent while shooting 52 percent at their end, while the Lakers missed 10 free throws and lost by nine. Shaq put up 36 points in the final blaze of glory for Los Angeles.
To see the updated bracket for the Quarterfinals, click here.
The surviving eight teams are set. Of our Final Four from 2013, only one remains, and that's our defending champion '96 Bulls. Three other MJ teams are still standing to go along with the '71 Bucks, '86 Celtics and '15 Warriors. Who will remain standing? They have to get through the Quarterfinals first. Those games will begin (were this being played in reality) over the weekend, and in a couple weeks I will be back with the results from the third round.
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