74 teams entered this gauntlet earlier this year, and that field has been narrowed down to eight. It's a mix of new and old, as three of last year's quarterfinalists have matched last year's performance by making it this far. In terms of longer term success in prior years, we have two semifinalists from the 2013 tournament and one from last year, but our two-time defending champion is gone, as are their two opponents from the championship rounds.
Thus, a new champion must be crowned. To find that out, we have a pair of series that will result in some cannibalization in a sense as a franchise has two representatives facing each other. All four series though are great, and considering the Round of 16 featured no sweeps and seven of eight series going six games or more, we should be in for a treat.
This round is once again a best-of-seven series played in a 2-2-1-1-1 format. Home court advantage is a little trickier to determine from here on out, though the primary factor remains seeding based on group play. If the competitors are seeded the same, the tie is first broken by Group Play record, and if there is still a tie, Group Play point differential will break that. All simulations are provided by WhatIfSports.com. Let's get started!
Game 1: @ '13 MIA 119, '15 GS 117 (OT) ('13 MIA leads 1-0)
Game 2: '15 GS 104, @ '13 MIA 96 (Series tied 1-1)
Game 3: @ '15 GS 96, '13 MIA 93 ('15 GS leads 2-1)
Game 4: @ '15 GS 98, '13 MIA 90 ('15 GS leads 3-1)
Game 5: '15 GS 98, @ '13 MIA 92 ('15 GS wins 4-1)
The series opener was as thrilling as you'd expect. Steph Curry's triple-double of 29 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists as the Warriors blew a seven point lead with three minutes to go as Dwyane Wade buried a game-tying three with ten seconds to go in regulation, and Curry missed from deep to avoid the extra session. Curry would bury a game-tying three with three seconds to go in overtime, but the Dubs left LeBron James open for a game-winning layup at the buzzer to cap a 27 point, 11 rebound, seven assist night while Wade finished with 24, 10, and eight. The Warriors only hit six of 21 threes in Game 2, but Klay Thompson still scored 24 points, Curry added 20, and Andre Igoudala and Andrew Bogut combined for 28 points to overcome 22 points, seven rebounds, and eight assists from Wade while James added 19, six, and 10. Thompson knocked home a go-ahead three with 35 seconds left in Game 3 to cap off a 21 point night while Curry added 22 and Golden State forced 19 turnovers to take the series lead despite 28 points from Wade and 24 points, 10 rebounds, and seven assists from James. Curry put up 29 points, five rebounds, and 11 assists in Game 4 while Thompson went bombs away for 27 points as the Warriors roared out to a 38-18 lead after one quarter and held on late to take a commanding lead back to South Beach. The Heat led by five going into the fourth quarter of Game 5 and got a triple-double of 30 points, 10 rebounds, and 13 assists from LeBron, but Golden State went on a 14-0 run that spanned six minutes to turn the tables and advance back to the semifinals behind 29 points and 10 assists from Curry and double-doubles from Draymond Green and Harrison Barnes.
Game 1: @' 97 CHI 106, '92 CHI 69 ('97 CHI leads 1-0)
Game 2: @ '97 CHI 104, '92 CHI 83 ('97 CHI leads 2-0)
Game 3: @ '92 CHI 110, '97 CHI 101 ('97 CHI leads 2-1)
Game 4: @ '92 CHI 102, '97 CHI 96 (Series tied 2-2)
Game 5: @ '97 CHI 105, '92 CHI 95 ('97 CHI leads 3-2)
Game 6: '97 CHI 99, @ '92 CHI 96 ('97 CHI wins 4-2)
The '97 Bulls outscored their '92 counterparts 36-15 in the second quarter of Game 1 and held '92 Michael Jordan to just 10 points while '92 Scottie Pippen managed just 11. '97 Scottie put up 21 points, seven rebounds, and six assists to lead four other '97 Bulls who reached double figures to take the early advantage. '97 Pippen put up 21 more points in Game 2, Toni Kukoc added 15 points and nine rebounds off the bench, and '97 Jordan scored 14 points to beat out 15 points, nine rebounds, and six assists by '92 Pippen and 12 points apiece from '92 Jordan, B.J. Armstrong, and Bill Cartwright. '97 Scottie went off for 27 points in Game 3, but it wasn't enough to beat out 21 points, six rebounds, and five assists from his '92 counterpart as well as 18, eight, and six from '92 Jordan as the '92 Bulls got on the board. The Jordans finally broke out big time in Game 4, with '92 MJ's 36 points beating out 32 points and six rebounds from '97 MJ and '92 Pippen's 19 and 11 beat his older self's 17 points, 12 rebounds, and seven assists as the '92 Bulls evened up the series with Horace Grant chipping in six points, 14 rebounds, and eight assists. The '97 Bulls got back on track at home in Game 5 behind 20 points and 10 rebounds from their MJ while Steve Kerr caught fire and scored 21 points to beat out 19 points, nine rebounds, and eight assists from '92 Pippen and 14, 10, and eight for '92 Jordan. '97 Jordan scored 21 points in Game 6, Toni Kukoc added 16 points, seven rebounds, and six assists, and Luc Longley put his Bulls ahead for good with about four and a half minutes to go with two of his 13 points. '92 Jordan went down with 27 points and five rebounds, and they also beat out a triple-double of 15 points, 13 rebounds, and 10 assists from '92 Pippen.
Game 1: @ '87 LAL 110, '85 LAL 103 ('87 LAL leads 1-0)
Game 2: @ '87 LAL 118, '85 LAL 113 ('87 LAL leads 2-0)
Game 3: @ '85 LAL 115, '87 LAL 102 ('87 LAL leads 2-1)
Game 4: '87 LAL 109, @ '85 LAL 99 ('87 LAL leads 3-1)
Game 5: '85 LAL 118, @ '87 LAL 115 ('87 LAL leads 3-2)
Game 6: @ '85 LAL 123, '87 LAL 110 (Series tied 3-3)
Game 7: '85 LAL 102, @ '87 LAL 101 ('85 LAL wins 4-3)
The '85 Lakers couldn't stop Big Game James in Game 1, as '87 James Worthy went off for 28 points, eight rebounds, and six assists, '87 Magic Johnson chipped in 22, five, and nine, and '87 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar put up 20 points and 16 rebounds to help take the early advantage. Game 2 was tightly contested, but '87 Worthy went off again for 23 points and 15 rebounds, '87 Byron Scott added 23 and five, and '87 Magic finished with 17 points and 16 assists to outduel 30 points and seven rebounds for '85 Worthy and 17 points, seven rebounds, and 14 assists from '85 Magic. '85 Los Angeles broke through in Game 3 behind 27 points and nine rebounds from Kareem, while '85 Magic had a near triple-double with 17 points, nine rebounds, and 13 assists. The tables turned right back in Game 4 as the '87 Lakers got to the line 27 times to their '85 counterparts' 10 trips, and '87 Magic put up 24 points, eight rebounds, and 11 assists to lead six other teammates who scored in double figures and beating out a triple-double of 23 points, 11 rebounds, and 12 assists from his '85 doppelganger. '85 Magic followed that up with 11 points and 19 assists in Game 5, but he also got 23 points and 10 rebounds from '85 Kareem and 20 points and 11 rebounds off the bench from '85 Kurt Rambis to extend the series. '85 Kareem exploded for 35 points and 14 rebounds in Game 6 while '85 Magic put up 29 points, nine rebounds, and 15 assists to push the series to the brink. Game 7 was an instant classic, as after '87 Worthy hit a 13 foot pullup to put his team up one, '85 Magic responded with a layup with two seconds left, and '87 Magic's shot was blocked by '85 Rambis at the buzzer as the Cinderella Lakers continue their shocking tournament run. '85 Magic's triple-double of 22 points, 10 rebounds, and 14 assists were supported by 23 points and 12 rebounds from '85 Kareem while '85 Big Game James added 21 and 12. '87 Magic went out with 28 points, six rebounds, and nine assists, while '87 Kareem put up 18 points and 17 rebounds in defeat.
Game 1: @ '12 MIA 95, '02 LAL 77 ('12 MIA leads 1-0)
Game 2: '02 LAL 111, @ '12 MIA 105 (Series tied 1-1)
Game 3: @ '02 LAL 104, '12 MIA 100 ('02 LAL leads 2-1)
Game 4: '12 MIA 99, @ '02 LAL 60 (Series tied 2-2)
Game 5: '02 LAL 86, @ '12 MIA 69 ('02 LAL leads 3-2)
Game 6: @ '02 LAL 93, '12 MIA 89 ('02 LAL wins 4-2)
LeBron James had 27 points and 11 rebounds and Dwyane Wade racked up a near triple-double of 16 points, 10 rebounds, and nine assists while Miami's defense held Kobe Bryant to 3-13 shooting to minimize the 25 point, 13 rebound, five block performance from Shaquille O'Neal in Game 1. The Lakers bounced back in Game 2 as Shaq put up 25 points, 12 rebounds, and five assists while Kobe improved his line to 16, seven, and nine, and Samaki Walker scored 15 points off the bench to help outduel 29 points and six assists from Wade and 26 points, 13 rebounds, and nine assists from LeBron. James put up 26 points, 16 rebounds, and six assists in Game 3 out west and Wade scored 28 points, but the Lakers mounted a late comeback led by 28 points and 10 rebounds from Shaq, including a pair of icing free throws with 15 seconds to go. The Heat stepped up their defense considerably in Game 4, holding Los Angeles to a tournament-low 26.6 percent shooting for the game and just 24 first half points while LeBron finished with 23 points, nine rebounds, and nine assists for the game to even the series. Los Angeles brought its defense to bear in Game 5 and held the Heat under 20 points in every quarter while getting 23 points and eight rebounds out of Shaq. Kobe finished off the upset in Game 6 with 32 points while Shaq added 25 points and 12 rebounds to beat out 28 and 14 from LeBron while Chris Bosh finished with 18 points, 11 rebounds, and five assists in the loss.
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