BuzzerBeater Forums

Yet again, there were not any real surprises to be had in the conference championship games. Those Guys got everything they could handle from the Donner Pass Cannibals in the Big 8 title game. However, strong performances from Bekman, Prozorov, and Tuokko, and scoring contributions from 9 different players allowed Those Guys to pull away in the fourth quarter in an incredibly tight conference title matchup. In the Great 8, for most of the game The Disciples' defense looked impenetrable, holding the Muffin Men to just two 4th quarter points. And on offense the team made THIRTEEN 3 point baskets. I feel sorry for whoever has to deal with them next...

Oh. Riiiight...


IV.47 LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES

1 (Great 8) THE DISCIPLES (23-1) vs 1 (Big 8) THOSE GUYS (22-2)

These teams have proven this season that balance is Key; Both have balanced offenses and defenses, and both rank in the top 3 in the league in both scoring offense (Combined average of 124 ppg) and scoring defense (combined average of 73 ppg allowed). And that balance is what has allowed them to win their respective conferences.

In terms of playstyle, these teams have an incredible amount in common. I could sit here listing it all out for an hour. But the simple fact is that all season long, we have yet to see the Disciples use the full extent of their ability. Because they haven't needed it to win 21 games. They're that dominant. If there's any team in this league that can force them to go all out, it's probably Those Guys. But without a little luck or some brilliant stroke of genius on the tactics side, there's simply no way I can pick even my own team to take two of three from the Disciples at their full power. Maybe next season I'll be ready to win a league title. But this season, it appears we'll be making it 3 straight times a relegated team from D-3 wins the crown

PREDICTION: THE DISCIPLES

Of course, as per always, I wish the very best of luck to Jesus2012 in this week's finals matchup.

Best of luck to you. Should be a great series! Wish more playoffs were two out of three i feel like it shows who the better gameplanners are. Im not convinced ive got you beat though my outside shooting is inconsistent i need to continue my great inside scoring.

Well, I agree, it'd be wonderful to see more two-of-three series, and I wish it were doable! But I do understand why the first two rounds are single games. Making those rounds into 3 game series would add another week to the playoff portion of the season, where progressively more teams have no official games to play. (during the extra week, 12 of the 16 teams in each league would have no postseason games). It also would mess with game-shape minutes because some teams would have more games than others in playoff weeks. (it doesn't affect the finals series because the last update before the season starts resets game-shape anyway)

I would absolutely LOVE to see multiple playoff series, but I know why it shouldn't actually happen.

Great first game! Im shocked at how that game turned out. I used a lineup/tactics i hadnt used all year going guard heavy and man to man in hopes of catching you off guard and bolstering my 3 point shooting. It looks like the man to man was a great decision with you being 7-37 on 3 point attempts. The threes still didnt fall and it took a superhuman effort and 48 minutes by my PG (and a few calls going my way) to pull this win out. I was extremely worried about this first game.

Yeah, I tried to play some mindgames and got burned on it big-time. The Motion offense was for two reasons; First, it was to keep you from trying to game-day-prep me (since I used either Base or Look-inside for most games). Second, my team as a whole has shot well from beyond the arc this season (44%), and 51% overall, so the math told me against the average team in this league I'd get more points per shot if I shot more threes than I currently do. Obviously I was forgetting to factor in which specific team I was facing this week. Also, gotta give props for your tactics; they were pretty much perfect for the matchup.

I was actually pretty happy with the game overall, once you consider the fact I totally blew it with some of the tactical decisions. I expected to have a hard time winning even if I DID hit the game-day-prep. Obviously, I'm not proud of the 18% mark from three, but my team hung in there really well for most of the game (it was tied up with about 9 minutes to go and I even had a couple shots to take the lead before my team went totally cold on the offensive end down the stretch)

I agree, AMAZING first game, even from the losing side of it! I hope the next one is just as exciting! Best of luck Saturday!

I'm absolutely amazed i won this series in game two i got both predictions wrong, started my bench and played playoff normal for the second straight game in hopes of having a very high enthusiasm for a strong game 3 outing. I dont know how you lost game 2. With that being said I'm happy i won hopefully i can stay in D3 this time. Best of luck to you in the future sir you have a great team!

Well, I feel like the tactical advantage you gained by playing 2-3 zone (massive rebounding advantage and better matchup for my low post offense than a man to man would have been) played a role, as did the injury to my backup SG early on. And whoever was guarding my SGs in the series did a phenomenal job, holding my starter to 35% shooting over those 2 games. I'm just glad to see I didn't let your team dominate me any of the three times we played this season, honestly. I wish you the best of luck in division 3, but for now it's time for me to start preparing to join you up there!

yall still active?

Well, I'm here most days. But I'm not surprised that the others don't seem to post much; about half of them are either new teams just discovering the game or players who have been here a while and just don't like to talk much.

yeah i am here most days i just didnt talk a lot. im always active

Glad to hear it! I've been thinking for a while that the big issue with this league is there aren't enough active players... That's why the overall level of play around here is kinda weak (for reference, there are 336 teams in higher divisions, and 1024 slots in division 4. So it stands to reason that the average division 4 team has a US ranking in the low-to-mid 800s, and the average league-leader is in the upper 300s. But in this league we only have 2 teams in the top 850 and none above 400.)

Now, none of that is the fault of any particular player here. But the fact remains that only a handful of us, like you, are really trying to get good at this game, and it's making the competition around here boring as heck. If more of us were active, the whole group of us would have more interesting games and we'd be stronger as a whole.