Last month, we got the 2016 Tournament underway with a round robin for the ABA teams. With those results in, our nine ABA champs are ranked and have groupings to combine with our NBA champions that participated in last year's tournament. We're also throwing the upcoming NBA champion into the exact middle of the pack among the NBA teams at 33rd out of 65, just because that seems like the fairest place to put them. However, to get down to our cutoff mark of 72 champions, we need to trim some teams from the bottom.
Before the tournament started, I ranked every NBA champion from 1952 onward based on their performances in prior Tournaments of Champions. I have broken all of them up into nine groups of seven with the exception of the group at the bottom of the rankings, which has nine teams. We're then taking the bottom five teams from that group and having them play a double round robin during the NBA Finals to eliminate the worst two of the bunch.
Now, 20 games is a lot to get done over a short span of time here this month, but I ultimately decided the fairest way to play this was to take all three: the '55 Nationals, '56 Warriors, and '59 Celtics will join the '53 and '54 Lakers as my play-in teams. These five squads will play a double round robin tournament. The top three teams will remain alive and get to play in Group Play once again, while the bottom two teams are done early. In the event of a tie in the standings involving an elimination spot, head to head record will be your first tiebreaker, followed by record against teams above the tie, then against teams below the tie, and finally point differential.
Since this is a double round robin, teams are playing a home-and-home with each team receiving two byes. All simulations are provided by WhatIfSports.com. Let's get this tournament officially underway.
Standings
Round 1
This was kind of a bizarre game. A 10-0 Laker run late in the second quarter combined with holding the Celtics to 17 points in the frame helped the Lakers build a 14 point halftime lead. But Boston exploded for 42 points in the final stanza to steal a win on the road. Bob Cousy was great, with 33 points, seven rebounds, and nine assists to lead Boston, while Bill Russell added 23 points, 15 rebounds, and five blocks. Vern Mikkelsen had 30 points and seven rebounds to lead Minneapolis, but had to sit for stretches in the fourth quarter with foul trouble before fouling out in the waning seconds. George Mikan had 18 points and a game-high 21 rebounds for the Lakers.
'55 Syracuse Nationals 103, @ '56 Philadelphia Warriors 99
Philadelphia led by nine early in the fourth quarter, but couldn't stem a 20-4 run by the Nationals that included a six minute scoring drought from the Warriors as Syracuse completed the crazy comeback. The Nationals had a balanced attack led by 19 points and nine rebounds from Dolph Schayes, 17 and 13 from Red Rocha and 15 and 15 from Earl Lloyd. Neil Johnston paced the Warriors with 27 points and 13 rebounds, Paul Arizin added 25 points, and Tom Gola had five points, 15 rebounds, and seven assists.
Round 2
This was a great game. The two teams were pretty much dead even for most of the contest, and the teams traded leads down the stretch. George King put the Nationals ahead for good with just over a minute to go, and Dolph Schayes drained a three with 24 ticks left to seal it. Schayes finished with 29 points and 17 rebounds to lead Syracuse to a 2-0 start, Red Rocha had 18 points, and William Gabor came off the bench for 14. George Mikan led the Lakers with 29 points and 15 rebounds, while Vern Mikkelsen added 23 and 11.
@ '56 Philadelphia Warriors 103, '53 Minneapolis Lakers 102
The '53 Lakers are still winless in Tournament of Champions play, but this one was heartbreaking. Minneapolis trailed by 11 midway through the fourth quarter, but stormed back thanks to the Warriors going ice cold. Vern Mikkelsen hit a runner with one second left that put the Lakers up 102-101, but after a timeout, Joe Graboski buried a shot at the buzzer to steal the win. It gave Graboski 25 points to go with 11 rebounds, Neil Johnston had 15 points and 11 rebounds, and Jack George had 11 points and 12 assists for Philadelphia. James Pollard led the Lakers with 25 points and 12 rebounds, while George Mikan had 15 points, 12 rebounds, five assists and five blocks.
Round 3
The Celtics complete the sweep thanks to jumping out to a 30-14 lead after one quarter. Boston shot just 38.8 percent from the floor, but hit 35 of their 38 free throws to make up for it. Bob Cousy led the way with 22 points, Tommy Heinsohn added 21 points and 17 rebounds, and Bill Russell had 13 points to go with 20 rebounds. George Mikan had a phenomenal game, recording 19 points, 16 rebounds, five assists and eight blocks. James Pollard added 15 points and 15 rebounds for the Lakers.
'56 Philadelphia Warriors 115, @ '55 Syracuse Nationals 105
Philadelphia avenged its opening game loss, using a 12-0 run late in the fourth quarter to steal the lead and put the game away and force a tie with the Nationals. Neil Johnston exploded for 36 points and 14 rebounds to lead the Warriors, Paul Arizin added 29 points, and Jack George chipped in 16 points, seven rebounds, and 10 assists. Dolph Schayes had 22 points and 15 rebounds to pace Syracuse, while Red Rocha added 15 points.
Round 4
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The Nationals blew out the Lakers early on, jumping out to a 33-18 lead after one quarter, and survived a couple of Minneapolis runs to improve to 3-1 and drop the Lakers to 0-4. Dolph Schayes led the way with 21 points and 10 rebounds for Syracuse, Red Rocha added 16 points and 12 rebounds, and William Gabor chipped in 16 points off the bench. George Mikan paced the Lakers with 19 points, eight rebounds, and six blocks, while Vern Mikkelsen had 16 points and 10 rebounds.
'56 Philadelphia Warriors 106, @ '53 Minneapolis Lakers 96
Philly keeps pace with Syracuse while handing the '53 Lakers their second consecutive loss in this tournament and 20th over the course of the last three years. Minneapolis largely kept pace for much of the game and were only down three going into the fourth, but surrendered a 12-2 run to start the frame. Joe Graboski had 23 points and 12 rebounds to pace the Warriors, Tom Gola had 19 and 13, and Neil Johnston added 13 and 11. George Mikan was phenomenal, going off for 25 points, 20 rebounds, and seven blocks for Minneapolis.
Round 5
Boston trailed by 12 with eight and a half minutes to play, but were able to rally late, with Bill Sharman scoring six straight in the final two minutes, including the go-ahead basket with 43 seconds to play while also coming up with a key steal to kill some clock. Sharman finished with 17 points, but Tommy Heinsohn had 24 points and 16 rebounds to lead the way. Bob Cousy had 19 points, six rebounds and nine assists, and Bill Russell added 14 points and 16 rebounds for the Celtics. Neil Johnston had 34 points, nine rebounds, and eight assists to pace the Warriors, Paul Arizin had 24 points and 10 rebounds, Tom Gola added 17 and 21, and Jack George chipped in 12 points, six rebounds, and 10 assists.
'53 Minneapolis Lakers 94, @ '55 Syracuse Nationals 84
They did it! The Lakers held the Nationals to just 34.1 percent shooting and used a 10-0 run early in the fourth quarter to pull away from Syracuse for their first ever Tournament of Champions victory. George Mikan had 22 points and 18 rebounds in the victory, James Pollard added 18 points, and Vern Mikkelsen had 17 points and 12 rebounds for Minneapolis. Red Rocha led the Nationals with 16 points while Dolph Schayes had 10 points and 15 rebounds.
Round 6
Our first overtime game of the play-in round and second of the Tournament overall was an instant classic that saw the Celtics overcome a 12 point deficit coming into the fourth quarter. Minneapolis also led by 4 with 14 seconds left, but Bob Cousy drained a three with five ticks left, Vern Mikkelsen split a pair of free throws, and after a time out, Tommy Heinsohn drilled a jumper at the buzzer to force overtime. Heinsohn caught fire from there, scoring nine of Boston's 12 points in the extra frame, including the game-winning dunk with two seconds left. He finished the night with 29 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists. Bob Cousy added 25 points and 10 assists, and Bill Russell chipped in 11 points, 17 rebounds, and four blocks for the Celtics. Heinsohn spoiled a 37 point, 23 rebound, four block night from George Mikan, while Vern Mikkelsen added 26 points and 18 rebounds for the Lakers.
'56 Philadelphia Warriors 104, @ '54 Minneapolis Lakers 88
Philadelphia forced 21 turnovers and went to the free throw line 48 times, outscoring Minneapolis 26-13 in the second quarter to move to 4-2 on the tournament. Neil Johnston led the way with 24 points and 10 rebounds for the Warriors, while Paul Arizin contributed 17 points and Joe Graboski had 16 points and 11 rebounds. George Mikan had 24 points and 12 rebounds to pace the Lakers, and James Pollard added 16 points.
Round 7
Clearly these teams are evenly matched, even though the Celtics have earned the sweep. Minneapolis led 97-91 with 6:46 to play, but surrendered a 10-0 run over the next two and a half minutes. The Lakers did come back to take a lead, but a Bill Sharman fadeaway with 35 seconds to go turned out to be the game-winner for Boston. Bob Cousy led the Celtics with 25 points, while Bill Russell had 17 points, a tournament-high 33 rebounds, including 13 on the offensive glass, and six blocks. George Mikan had 28 points and 13 rebounds to pace the Lakers, while Vern Mikkelsen had 22 points and 21 rebounds.
@ '56 Philadelphia Warriors 109, '54 Minneapolis Lakers 102
This game was not as close as the final score makes it appear. An 11-2 Warrior run early in the second quarter turned a six point gap into 15 in just a few short minutes, and some garbage time points in the fourth made the margin look more respectable. Paul Arizin led the way for Philly with 24 points and nine rebounds, and Neil Johnston backed him with 20 points and 10 rebounds. George Mikan put up 19 points and 14 rebounds to lead the Lakers, Vern Mikkelsen had 16 and 10, and Clyde Lovellette had 14 points and nine rebounds in 17 minutes off the bench.
Round 8
The Warriors clinch their berth in Group Play with a shocking blowout win where they held the Celtics to just eight third quarter points. Philly controlled the paint, outrebounding the Celtics 76-62 and attacking the basket to the tune of 40 free throws compared to Boston's 15. Joe Graboski led the way with 29 points and 18 rebounds. Neil Johnston added 13 points, 16 rebounds, five assists and six blocks, and Tom Gola chipped in 13 points, 11 rebounds, eight assists and five blocks.
@ '53 Minneapolis Lakers 106, '55 Syracuse Nationals 94
Minneapolis gets a key tiebreaker over the Nationals with the sweep by forcing 22 turnovers and shooting 47.7 percent from the floor. Syracuse also missed 12 free throws and wasn't able to get any closer than within eight in the final frame. Vern Mikkelsen had 22 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Lakers, while George Mikan added 18 points, 13 rebounds, and seven assists. William Gabor had 15 points off the bench to lead the Nationals, Red Rocha was held to 12 points and nine rebounds, and Dolph Schayes only managed 13 and eight.
Round 9
The Celtics advance to Group Play thanks to a 20-4 run that spanned almost seven minutes in the third quarter. The Nationals tried to answer back in the fourth, but never got closer than within nine points as they drop a crucial game on the road. Bob Cousy had 18 points and seven assists to lead the Celtics, while Bill Russell dropped 11 points and 25 rebounds. Bill Sharman and Tommy Heinsohn each chipped in 15 points. Syracuse got 17 points out of Paul Seymour, while Dolph Schayes contributed 16 points, 14 rebounds, five assists, three steals, and three blocks.
@ '53 Minneapolis Lakers 96, '54 Minneapolis Lakers 90
The '53 Lakers find themselves in control of their tournament fate all of the sudden with a road win combined with Syracuse's loss, while the '54 Lakers, who had already been eliminated, now have just one game left to try and match their win total from 2013 and 2015 combined. '53 George Mikan led the way with 25 points and 20 rebounds, while '53 Vern Mikkelsen chipped in 19 points and 14 rebounds. '54 George Mikan was valiant in defeat with 19 points and 16 rebounds, while '54 Mikkelsen added 16 points and 14 rebounds.
Round 10
'59 Boston Celtics 112, @ '55 Syracuse Nationals 104
Boston's victory is twofold: they clinch the top spot in the Play In Round, and they have eliminated the Nationals from Group Play. Syracuse kept it close for most of the contest, but only shot 35.5 percent from the floor in a must-win game. Tommy Heinsohn went off for 31 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Celtics, while Bill Russell did the dirty work to the tune of 14 points, 23 rebounds, five assists and six blocks, and Bob Cousy chipped in 18 points, eight rebounds, and eight assists. Paul Seymour had 20 points, six rebounds, and eight assists to pace the Nationals while Dolph Schayes put up 16 points and 19 rebounds.
'53 Frank Saul buried a pair of free throws with 1:42 to play to give the Lakers their fourth win in the past two weeks (and four more than they've picked up in the last two Tournaments of Champions) to finish .500 in this stage and clinch the third and final open spot for these teams in Group Play. The '53 Lakers also hit five of their 12 three point attempts in keeping the '54 Lakers winless. '53 George Mikan had 22 points, 12 rebounds, and six assists to lead the way for his Lakers, while Robert Harrison added 16 points off the bench. '54 George Mikan had 20 points and 11 rebounds in defeat, '54 Myer Skoog added 13 points off the bench, and '54 Slater Martin had a decent floor game of nine points, five rebounds, and eight assists.
Congratulations to the '55 Nationals, '59 Celtics, and '53 Lakers, who all return to tournament play. They will get returned into their pool of teams at the bottom of the standings and await the revealing of the field. Our thanks as well to '54 Lakers and '55 Nationals, who see their dreams at immortality end early.
I figured 20 games would be easier to simulate all in one go, which is why we're at this stage this early. It also times out pretty well with the NBA Finals, so this part is set and ready to go. Once the 2016 NBA Champion is determined, I will go through my rankings and assign groups to the 72 teams still standing in anticipation of Group Play.
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