2016 NBA/ABA Tournament of Champions: Round of 32 Part 1

The NBA/ABA Tournament of Champions is in full swing. I've done a week's worth of consolation games and have narrowed that field down from 32 teams to eight. But while all of this has been going on, the top 32 teams have also been hard at work.

The Elimination Stage field has been unveiled, and we're now working to narrow that field down to find the greatest NBA or ABA Champion of all time. All of the teams playing in this series of posts finished in the top four of their respective double round robin groups, and have been seeded accordingly, then further seeded based on record and point differential. Those seeds based on Group Play placing will be the primary factor in determining home court advantage, followed by those aforementioned factors.

It's important to note though that from here, the battles get tougher. This part of the tournament isn't just a one-off; this is a best-of-seven series played in a 2-2-1-1-1 format. All simulations are provided by WhatIfSports.com.

So without further ado, let's play out a few of these series.

Isiah Thomas Pod

(4) '85 Los Angeles Lakers vs (1) '90 Detroit Pistons
Game 1: '85 LAL 102, @ '90 DET 86 ('85 LAL leads 1-0)
Game 2: '85 LAL 110, @ '90 DET 85 ('85 LAL leads 2-0)
Game 3: @ '85 LAL 110, '90 DET 98 ('85 LAL leads 3-0)
Game 4: @ '85 LAL 113, '90 DET 97 ('85 LAL wins 4-0)
Our last remaining undefeated team from Group Play and #2 overall seed goes out with a whimper. The Lakers shot 51.9 percent from the floor in Game 1 and got a 16 point, seven rebound, eight assists night from Magic Johnson as well as 24 points out of Byron Scott to steal home court advantage. Los Angeles shot nearly as well in Game 2 and got 29 points from James Worthy while Kareem Abdul-Jabbar put up 20 points and eight rebounds to really put the Pistons in a hole despite Bill Laimbeer's 21 points, 17 rebounds, and five assists. Kareem exploded for 32 points, 11 rebounds, and six assists back in Southern California in Game 3 as the Lakers shot a blistering 55.7 percent. Kareem finished with 19 points, 10 rebounds, six assists, and six blocks in the clincher while Isiah Thomas was held to just eight points and nine assists in 37 minutes for Detroit.

Magic Johnson Pod

(3) '89 Detroit Pistons vs (2) '87 Los Angeles Lakers
Game 1: @ '87 LAL 109, '89 DET 102 ('87 LAL leads 1-0)
Game 2: @ '87 LAL 106, '89 DET 93 ('87 LAL leads 2-0)
Game 3: '87 LAL 118, @ '89 DET 116 ('87 LAL leads 3-0)
Game 4: '87 LAL 116, @ '89 DET 107 ('87 LAL wins 4-0)
It's a terrible failure in the Motor City, as both Pistons teams get swept at the hands of Showtime. The Lakers got 23 points, five rebounds, 10 assists, and four steals out of Magic Johnson to help spark an 11-1 run in the fourth quarter that gave the hosts the Game 1 victory. Detroit failed to break the 40 percent barrier in Game 2 and committed 22 turnovers as Magic put up 29 points, eight rebounds, and 14 assists in another victory to go up 2-0. Mark Aguirre missed a game-tying fadeaway at the buzzer of Game 3 and the Pistons found themselves facing elimination despite a 28 point, seven assist night out of Isiah Thomas, though James Worthy's 29 points and eight rebounds may have had something to do with that. The Lakers then outscored the Pistons 15-2 over a seven minute span to star the fourth quarter of Game 4 and secure the sweep behind 24 points, seven rebounds, 17 assists, and five steals from Magic, 22 points and five rebounds for Worthy, and 20 and six from Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Bill Laimbeer finished with 21 points, 16 rebounds, and seven blocks in Game 4.

Tim Duncan Pod

(3) '05 San Antonio Spurs vs (2) '08 Boston Celtics
Game 1: @ '08 BOS 96, '05 SA 94 ('08 BOS leads 1-0)
Game 2: '05 SA 92, @ '08 BOS 83 (Series tied 1-1)
Game 3: @ '05 SA 104, '08 BOS 92 ('05 SA leads 2-1)
Game 4: @ '05 SA 90, '80 BOS 85 ('05 SA leads 3-1)
Game 5: @ '08 BOS 103, '05 SA 91 ('05 SA leads 3-2)
Game 6: @ '05 SA 111, '08 BOS 88 ('05 SA wins 4-2)
Boston swept San Antonio in their two Group C games, but that did them no good in the Elimination Stage as the Spurs pull the upset. Kevin Garnett converted a three point play with 3:50 to play in Game 1 that ignited a 10-0 run that sealed the game for the Celtics. Garnett had 19 points, eight rebounds, and four steals to outduel Tim Duncan's 24 points and 14 rebounds. KG put up 29 and 10 in Game 2, but Boston hit just four of 17 threes while the Spurs nailed seven of their 14 and Tony Parker chipped in nine points, 10 assists, and four steals in support of the 19 points and nine assists from Duncan to even the series. Parker exploded for 29 points, six rebounds, and seven assists while Duncan added 21 points, 13 rebounds, and four blocks back in San Antonio to go up 2-1 in the series. The Celtics missed 13 free throws in Game 4, including four in the final frame that could have turned the tide and kept them off the brink. Parker finished with 21 points and Duncan added 16 points, 17 rebounds, and five assists in the win. The Celtics staved off elimination back home in Game 5 after Kevin Garnett went off for 26 points, 11 rebounds, and seven assists, and Ray Allen drained six threes to the tune of 24 points. They only delayed the inevitable though, as Duncan put up 26 points, 16 rebounds, and four blocks, while Radoslav Nesterovic added 19 points and seven rebounds and Manu Ginobili chipped in 16 points and eight rebounds to advance the Spurs to the Round of 16.

LeBron James Pod

(3) '77 Portland Trail Blazers vs (2) '01 Los Angeles Lakers
Game 1: @ '01 LAL 108, '77 POR 89 ('01 LAL leads 1-0)
Game 2: @ '01 LAL 114, '77 POR 108 ('01 LAL leads 2-0)
Game 3: @ '77 POR 93, '01 LAL 91 ('01 LAL leads 2-1)
Game 4: @ '77 POR 114, '01 LAL 105 (Series tied 2-2)
Game 5: '77 POR 126, @ '01 LAL 98 ('77 POR leads 3-2)
Game 6: @ '77 POR 114, '01 LAL 109 ('77 POR wins 4-2)
The Lakers annihilated the boards in Game 1 and got 30 points and 12 rebounds out of Shaquille O'Neal while Kobe Bryant played the complementary role with eight points, nine rebounds, and nine assists to give LA the opener. It was Kobe's turn to be a force in Game 2, and he destroyed the Blazers to the tune of 43 points and five rebounds while Shaq put up 21 points and 13 rebounds to outduel Bill Walton's 12 points and 17 rebounds, as the Blazers did battle back from down 22 after the first quarter. Bob Gross hit the game-winning fadeaway with 1:03 left in Game 3 to give the Blazers their first win of the series. Gross finished with 17 points and eight rebounds while Bill Walton put up 10 and 20 to go with four blocks. Walton had 21, 13, and four in Game 4 to outduel Shaq's 26 points, 17 rebounds, and six assists, and Portland shot almost twice as many free throws as LA to even up the series. The Blazers held the Lakers to just 38.5 percent shooting in Game 5 and shot 51.6 percent on their side to grab the series' first road win and take a 3-2 lead behind 27 points and 18 rebounds from Walton, negating a 35 point, 12 rebound day from Shaq. Walton put up 22 points, 16 rebounds, and four blocks in the decisive Game 6 as the Blazers hit 30 of 39 free throws to help survive a late rally by the Lakers to save their tournament, but Shaq's 31 points, nine rebounds, and four blocks weren't enough as the Blazers make it another upset.

To see the updated bracket, click here.

Today's results fly in the face of my dad's 75 percent figure from three years ago; all four advancing teams today were the older ones. Maybe more surprising, after a 2015 Elimination Stage that saw just three first round upsets total, we've already matched that total through my simulating out just four series. For the most part, these aren't big surprise upsets; the Blazers won the 16-17 matchup, the '05 Spurs matched the '08 Celtics with an 11-5 record despite losing both Group Play matchups, and I had kind of pegged the 1990 Detroit Pistons as something of a fluke 14-2 team. It's either that, or the Lakers just matched up that well with them. I think it's a combination of both factors. Regardless, the #2 overall seed is out, as are a pair of second place finishers to go with the '89 Pistons, who were the only team in today's series who failed to pull off an upset.

The Round of 32 continues tomorrow. After a midday look at the consolation bracket, I'll be back in the afternoon with a look at four more series in the Elimination Stage as our quest to find the Greatest of All Time continues.