Yesterday, I unveiled the bracket of 32 teams who will be playing to earn the title of Champion of Champions. Those games are beginning today, but I'm not posting anything about those games until next week to cover every series as a whole rather than just do games one at a time.
In the meantime, I am taking the teams that finished anywhere from fifth through eighth in their respective groups over the past month-plus and having them play in a double elimination consolation tournament. I unveiled that field on Saturday, and today the games begin for this round.
I've got these games spread out so that teams in the winner bracket get more benefit from a bye week than the teams that end up in the loser bracket as an incentive to win. Teams are seeded 5-8 based on group finish, and any ties from there go to record, then point differential from group play, and if needed (which it wasn't), average seeding of the other teams from their group. These seedings will determine home court advantage for most of the tournament unless we get a Game 63 winner-take-all game.
So for the first two days, I am just playing the opening round of games, splitting the 16 matchups into two halves. Half of the teams will play today, with no matchups in the next round being decided. All simulations are provided by WhatIfSports.com. Let's play some basketball!
Hakeem Olajuwon Pod
Boston actually led by five points after the first quarter, but Houston caught fire in the second quarter for 44 points and built a 16 point halftime lead, then outscored the Celtics 38-17 in the third to make it a blowout. Hakeem Olajuwon led the top overall seed with 32 points, 19 rebounds, and five blocks, Otis Thorpe added 24 points and 15 rebounds, Clyde Drexler put up 25 points, seven rebounds, and six assists, and Robert Horry chipped in 12 points, eight rebounds, and five assists for the Rockets. Boston got 14 points and 18 rebounds out of Bill Russell, Tommy Heinsohn chipped in 20 and five, and Bill Sharman scored 17 points.
(8) '04 Detroit Pistons 106, @ (5) '81 Boston Celtics 99
The Celtics went over three minutes in the fourth quarter without a point, and the Pistons took advantage to pull the upset and stay in the Winner's Bracket. Tayshaun Prince scored 21 points, Chauncey Billups added 12 points and nine assists, Rasheed Wallace had 15 points, 17 rebounds, and five assists, and Ben Wallace contributed eight points and 17 rebounds for Detroit. Larry Bird paced Boston with 26 points, seven rebounds, and four steals, Nate Archibald scored 16 points, and Robert Parish finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
Magic Johnson Pod
The Lakers shot 49 percent from the floor and held the Celtics to a 4-20 day from beyond the arc to rock chalk. Mostly, the Celtics had absolutely no answer for Magic, as he went for a triple-double of 24 points, 12 rebounds, and 16 assists, Byron Scott added 30 points and seven rebounds, and James Worthy put up 17 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists for Los Angeles. Bill Russell had 14 points, 23 rebounds, six assists, and four blocks, Tommy Heinsohn managed 18 points and seven rebounds, and Bill Sharman chipped in 18 points and four steals for Boston.
(7) '99 San Antonio Spurs 92, @ (6) '75 Golden State Warriors 88
Mario Elie put the Spurs ahead for good with 3:26 to play, and Tim Duncan and David Robinson put up the Spurs' final four points to seal the deal for the upset. Duncan had 25 points and 11 rebounds, Robinson finished with 19 points, 13 rebounds, six assists, and five blocks, and Elie finished with 10 points and five rebounds for San Antonio. Rick Barry paced Golden State with 18 points and five assists, Derrek Dickey chipped in 13 points and 11 rebounds, and Jamaal Wilkes finished with 12 and six.
Larry Bird Pod
The Celtics hit 35 of 40 free throws to help overcome a 5-12 day from beyond the arc by the Hawks, but also saw their starting five annihilate St. Louis. Larry Bird did much of the work with 33 points, 14 rebounds, and seven assists, Kevin McHale added 23 points and 15 rebounds, Danny Ainge had 22 points and seven assists, and Robert Parish finished with 18 points and 13 rebounds for Boston. Cliff Hagan paced the Hawks with 28 points and seven rebounds, Ed Macauley had 20 and eight off the bench, and Bob Pettit logged 13 points, 13 rebounds, and four blocks.
@ (6) '06 Miami Heat 108, (7) '60 Boston Celtics 104
Boston led by as many as six in the fourth quarter, but Miami stayed with them and took the lead for good with 1:32 left on a Dwyane Wade tip in. It spoils a solid performance for the Celtics, who forced 18 turnovers and won the rebounding battle, but gave up a 30-36 day at the line and only shot 39.2 percent from the floor. Wade also had a ridiculous performance with 40 points, nine rebounds, eight assists, and five steals, Udonis Haslem added 18 points and 13 rebounds, and Alonzo Mourning chipped in 12 points, nine rebounds, and five blocks off the bench with Shaquille O'Neal in constant foul trouble. Bill Russell had 19 points and 19 rebounds to pace the Celtics, Tommy Heinsohn added 16 and eight, and Bob Cousy recorded 13 points and 13 assists.
Kobe Bryant Pod
@ (5) '10 Los Angeles Lakers 106, (8) '74 Boston Celtics 85
The Celtics shot just 38.8 percent and turned the ball over 20 times against a Laker team that also went 9-19 from beyond the arc to keep the first round mostly chalk so far. Kobe Bryant paced Los Angeles with 18 points, nine rebounds, and six assists, Derek Fisher scored 19 points, and Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol each put up 16 points and eight rebounds. John Havlicek had 17 points, nine rebounds, and five assists, Dave Cowens added 14, 13, and six, and Jo Jo White scored 15 points for Boston.
The Lakers made one more free throw than Boston attempted and won the rebounding battle to help take home the victory at Staples Center. It also helped that Shaquille O'Neal went off for 25 points, 19 rebounds, and six assists, while Glen Rice scored 18 points and Kobe Bryant added 15 points and seven rebounds for Los Angeles. Sam Jones scored 17 points to pace the Celtics, Bill Russell had nine points and 20 rebounds, and Satch Sanders finished with 11 and five.
To see the updated bracket, click here.
Every team's opponent in their next game will be decided tomorrow. The losers will also enjoy a rare day off now that they have dropped into the Loser's Bracket, while the winners all get two days off to prepare for their next game. I'll be back tomorrow with the Day 2 results!
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