Playoffs in Review: Game Re-Caps

So here I am, with the final match-up already halfway over, and I still haven't written anything about the first two rounds. This could be attributed to general laziness on my part, or fatigue from the blogging season wearing on, or disinterest after my team's elimination in Round 1. And all of those would probably be correct attributions. But another factor is that I'm also not exactly sure how to write these. Normally, I am guided by the team highs and lows for the week, the players that contribute the most on each team, and the individual leaders in each category. Suddenly, in the playoffs, all those factors have become less important. Everyone is so focused on just beating their opponent that being high or low in the league is basically irrelevant. Player contributions are obviously important, but with so much adding and dropping going on, the individual achievements have taken a backseat to the owners' ability to get a few key stats out of different guys each night. What I really needed was to keep a running log of what pick-ups worked and didn't, how the category match-ups played out over the course of the week, and how the owners reacted (or didn't) to try and snatch every win they could. I did none of those things. So these game re-caps might be a little under-informed, but I'll do my best.


Round 1:
Teen Wolf 4 (REB, AST, ST, BLK)
Noah's Ark 4 (FGP, FTP, 3PM, PTS)
Here's this match-up in a nutshell: In the first three days of this match-up, Dekker had already made six roster moves. DeYoung, on the other hand, spent the weekend at my place down in Richmond and on Saturday afternoon blurted out "Oh shit how's my playoff match-up going?" Slightly different levels of attention there. And yet, the Ark almost survived the flood of add/drops, managing a tie thanks to a ridiculous week by Manu Ginobili (10 threes, 101 points, 90% free throw shooting) and some awesome shooting by Amare' Stoudemire (.630 fgp, .906 ftp). Still, Deezer's stud Gerald Wallace spent part of the week on the bench, and that doomed Noah's Ark to a tie, with Dekker holding the breaker. Here's where we start to look at some of those moves: Dekker won board, and while stalwart Andrew Bynum threw in 31, it was new additions Jrue Holliday (33) and Jason Maxiell (25) who really lifted him to the victory. Maxiell also kicked in four blocks, one less than Javale McGee, Al Jefferson, Dwight Howard, and Bynum, who had five each. Besides boarding like a forward, Holliday also put up numbers in his expected (guard) categories, notching 18 assists (second on the team to Baron Davis' 26) and eight steals (best on the team). Wow, I had been thinking that Jrue was an added-games pick-up; turns out he's the new team captain! And he led his team right into the second round.

WWTMD 5 (FGP, 3PM, PTS, REB, BLK)
Black Prezodents 3 (FTP, AST, ST)
God this was frustrating. As you all know, while I obviously want to win, I'm a little more carefree in my attitude towards fantasy basketball than I am towards football, limiting myself (mostly) to players I like to root for. And once I've decided I like them, I stay loyal, always looking for excuses to re-add guys who I've dropped (e.g. Roy Hibbert). Will, then, is like my Cluj anti-Christ*. He is constantly scouring the waiver wire for random-ass dudes he's never heard of or seen play. He changes his roster at the "drop" of a hat, and curses his players for bad nights or injuries. Worst of all, he traded away the heart and soul of his team, the man he'd named his squad after, for an outside shot at an injured superstar coming back and winning him a title. I realize that I've said all this before, I'm just writing it all again to emphasize: if there was one thing I wanted to do in these playoffs, it was eliminate Will. And it looked like I was in good position to do it. And then it happened: first, I realized that it was a low game-count week for the Blazers and Thunder, two teams that I rely heavily on (this also forced me to drop Andre Miller, who was a really solid contributor for me and has been an under-rated factor for Dekker in these playoffs). Then, after a season in which my team was relatively injury-free, we started dropping like flies. Joe Johnson missed a game or two. Michael Beasley missed a game. Marc Gasol missed the whole damn week. And crazy shit started happening, like Russell Westbrook losing playing time to Kyle Lowry, and David West getting teed up and thrown out of a game. The Black Prezodents were out of control, and needed their owner to right the ship. Unfortunately, this captain is used to calmer waters. I re-added the Birdman for blocks; he gave me 3 points, 4 boards, 0 blocks. I added Mike Bibby for points and assists; he gave me 4 points and 1 assist. I added Carlos Delfino for anything; he showed up to the game in a walking boot (not joking).  Meanwhile, Will was wheeling and dealing with greater success, getting 8 assists out of Earl Watson here, 4 blocks out of Chris Andersen (yes, the same one) there. Really, though, for all my griping, it was not the daily add-drops but the long(er)-term WWTMDers that won this one. Marcus Camby hoovered 39 boards and blocked 9 shots. Nene was right behind him with 31 boards and 8 blocks, and added in 6 steals. Another ex-Prezodent, Danny Granger popped 7 threes en route to 87 points on the week. As disgusted as I am by Will's ownership style, it's a lot easier to stay on your high horse when you're winning the race. In the playoffs, my high horse went all Christopher Reeve on me, and it cost me the game. Congrats, Shoaf.

*in case you missed it, I'm Christ in this analogy. Happy Easter!

Tomorrow: Round 2!