The Bulgarian Brothers – A College Hoops 2K8 & NBA 2K20 Dynasty

[studbucket]

Many of the juicy matchups turned out to be duds, with the exception of the Warriors-Rockets matchup.

Boston Celtics (4) vs Indiana Pacers (0)
None of these games were especially close as Jason Tatum was efficient and effective in dispatching the Pacers.

Brooklyn Nets (4) vs Toronto Raptors (0)
No surprises here. Most games were 20+ point blowouts.

Denver Nuggets (4) vs Los Angeles Lakers (1)
The Lakers won game 1 then lost 4 straight in what is likely the end for Frank Vogel in LA. Jokic was a stat-stuffing machine as the Nuggets won all their by an average of 22 points. The big Serbian averaged 23 points, 15.6 rebounds, and 10 assists in the series as Davis was completely unable to stop him.

Phoenix Suns (4) vs Utah Jazz (1)
For the Suns, they were on the winning side of every key question we asked before the series. Elie Okobo, Bam Adebayo, and Harrison Barnes were all effective in supporting Booker and took a 3-0 lead before the Jazz squeaked out a 1 point win. Adebayo will need to be better if this team wants to win a title, but this was a good start for Phoenix.

Memphis Grizzlies (4) vs Dallas Mavericks (1)
Porzingis scored 36 and grabbed 15 rebounds in a game 1 loss, then hurt his knee in game 2 and it all fell apart for Dallas. There were some high scoring games as Jalen Brunson, Evan Fournier, and Luka Doncic had the restraints removed, but in the end the Grizzlies advance to round 2.

Philadelphia 76ers (4) vs Cleveland Cavaliers (2)
The Cavs managed to take a 2-1 series lead before Ben Simmons decided to take over and willed the 76ers to the 2^nd round. The Cavaliers have to be happy with their performances, with several close games and good performances.

Milwaukee Bucks (4) vs Chicago Bulls (3)
Milwaukee may have won, but this was a shocker. After a game 1 blowout (winning by 31 at home), Milwaukee saw Chicago take the series to 3-3 before the Bucks sealed it. Giannis Antetokounmpo’s game 3 performance is one for the record books as he recorded 57 points, 26 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, and 5 blocks in 43 minutes. The Greek Freak helped seal the series with 43 points and 21 rebounds in game 7.

Houston Rockets (4) vs Golden State Warriors (3)
We knew it may be tough without Ayton, but it was clear the Warriors were in trouble right from game 1. They were down 18 at half and lost by 32 points as Russell Westbrook did whatever he wanted in game 1 and in most of the series. Steph Curry did all that he could but got no help from Klay Thompson (who was 1-14 in a key game 6 that Golden State lost by 3 points). Curry averaged 35.7 points in the series, with the next best player being Klay at 17.3 ppg. LaMarcus Aldridge and Juan King did whatever they wanted to the Warriors backup bigs.



Round 2 Preview

Boston looked good in round 1, but the Nets are not the Pacers. It’s not clear how the are going to stop the 3 headed scoring monster of Irving, Parkinson, and Durant and I don’t expect them to succeed there. Nets in 4.

This is a rematch of last year’s Eastern Conference finals that the Bucks comfortably won in 6 games. Philadelphia has been very good this year and Milwaukee struggled in round 1. Will this be the first time in a while the Bucks don’t make the Finals? They are getting healthier and have far more bodies to throw at Embiid, but Khris Middleton is still nursing an injury. Bucks in 7.

Jokic was fantastic in round 1 and the Grizzlies played very well as a team. Can Morant outshine Beal? Can JJJ, Clarke, and Jonas manage to slow down and harass Jokic? This is going to be a fascinating series, and I’m going with the star power. Nuggets in 7.

Suns head coach Logan Schmidt has made a few changes to his starting lineup, as he has decided to start Harrison Barnes over Mikal Bridges and Darren Collison over Elie Okobo. These moves raised a few eyebrows, but Phoenix should be winning this series. They are a better defensive team than the Warriors and deeper. They seem to have won the mid-season trade and hope to win this series as Booker looks to outduel Harden. Suns in 6.

[studbucket]

Quote: Originally Posted by milldaddy35

Raps in 7 Bucks in 5 76ers in 5 Celtics in 6 Warriors in 4 Mavs in 7 Nuggets in 6 Jazz in 6

Quote: Originally Posted by studbucket

I'll see which of us did better after posting the next round

Here's my rudimentary scoring system (1 point for getting winner correct, 1 bonus point if you get # of games correct as well).

Studbucket		Milldaddy35
Nets in 4	2	Raptors in 7	0
Bucks in 4	1	Bucks in 5	1
76ers in 5	1	76ers in 5	1
Celtics in 6	1	Celtics in 6	1
Warriors in 5	0	Warriors in 4	1
Grizz in 7	1	Mavs in 7	0
Denver in 5	2	Nuggets in 6	1
Suns in 6	1	Jazz in 6	0
	9		5

[marshdaddy]

Impressive you got seven series right, but wouldn't it be 0 for my Dubs losing? Shook by that one, but I've noticed in simulations 2k heavily favors the play of centers.

Also, I forgot Beal ended up in Denver for you. Washington dealt him there in my league too, through the CPU nonetheless. Maybe 2k is trying to tell us something, because Jokic-Beal-Murray would be a ton of fun to watch in real life, though anemic on defense.

[studbucket]

Quote: Originally Posted by marshdaddy

Impressive you got seven series right, but wouldn't it be 0 for my Dubs losing? Shook by that one, but I've noticed in simulations 2k heavily favors the play of centers. Also, I forgot Beal ended up in Denver for you. Washington dealt him there in my league too, through the CPU nonetheless. Maybe 2k is trying to tell us something, because Jokic-Beal-Murray would be a ton of fun to watch in real life, though anemic on defense.

Good call, I accidentally cheated. Will update now. Ayton's rim protection and rebounding seemed to help them and he was definitely missed.

Last year the Nuggets had MPJ in that rotation as well. Murray, Beal, MPJ, Bol Bol, and Jokic would be very entertaining. The Nuggets have been solid in this universe, but not as good as you would think they should be with those three. Maybe with the Warriors out they can make it to the Finals this year.

[studbucket]

This offseason is a big deal for the brothers in different ways. While they both have a number of scholarships, Dinko has a lot of talent and needs some height and someone to replace Mo Payne’s scoring. On the other hand, Oggy has plenty of height and he needs ball-handlers and shooters. If they want to be successful in 2022-23, they will need to bring in meaningful contributors this offseason.

Dinko already has a commitment from PG Tanoris Houston and has 4 remaining scholarships. Here are the 4 players that Dinko has offered a scholarship to, along with the likelihood that they will sign.

Recruit	Pos	Height	Home	Sign Chance	Sign Notes	Prospect Notes
Clarence Bowen	C	6’11”	Jacksonville, FL	Medium	High interest, but hometown Jacksonville has inside track	3* JuCo Freshman
Lorenzo Angounou	PF	6’6”	Mobile, AL	Medium	Only offer. Medium terest, but high interest in Louisiana.	3* HS Senior. Mr. BBall Alabama. #31 PF, #166 overall.
Chris Thomson	PF	6’8”	New Zealand	Medium	Only offer. Moderate interest. No other schools competing.	3* HS Senior
Willis Holman	PF	6’7”	Paterson, NJ	Medium	Only offer, higher interest in Rutgers and Delaware	3* HS Senior. #66 PF, #361 overall.

Oggy also has 4 remaining scholarships and joins his brother in pursuit of the talented Clarence Bowen.

Recruit	Pos	Height	Home	Chance	Sign Notes	Prospect Notes
Iker Starkey	SG	6’2”	Savannah, GA	High	Very interested in both Stetson and Wofford.	3* HS Sr. #53 SG, #183 overall
Clarence Bowen	C	6’11”	Jacksonville, FL	Medium	High interest, but hometown Jacksonville has inside track	3* JuCo Freshman
Pierre Schafer	PG	6’2”	Atlanta, GA	Medium	High interest, but offered and most interested in Georgia State.	3* HS Senior. #124 PG, #396 overall
Michael Rost	C	6’11”	Orlando, FL	High	Very interested in both Stetson and North Florida	3* HS Senior. #9 C, #144 overall

[RolePlayer]

Interesting that Oggy stayed more local whilst Dinko recruited across the east coast even internationally. I guess that shows the perks of two straight tournament bids.

[studbucket]

Quote: Originally Posted by RolePlayer

Interesting that Oggy stayed more local whilst Dinko recruited across the east coast even internationally. I guess that shows the perks of two straight tournament bids.

Yes, precisely that plus central/North Florida having a lot more local talent in the Orlando and Jacksonville areas. St. Francis is an hour from Pittsburgh and several hours from another major city. So Dinko naturally also needs to look a bit broader.

[studbucket]

Brooklyn Nets (4) vs Boston Celtics (1)
This one wasn’t especially close as the Celtics won game 3 and nothing else. Durant and Irving regularly scored over 30 points in the series.

Milwaukee Bucks (4) vs Philadelphia 76ers (2)
The 76ers took a 2-0 after winning two games in Milwaukee, then the Bucks started winning and never looked back. Giannis wasn’t as dominant offensively, but he didn’t need to be as the Bucks held the 76ers under 103 points in three of the four wins and Middleton and Capela shared the scoring load.

Memphis Grizzlies (4) vs Denver Nuggets (3)
The Denver Nuggets took a 3-0 series lead before falling apart as the Grizzlies won four straight games by 38, 24, 7, and 23 points. Ja Morant had 50 points in game 6 to lead the Grizzlies to the Western Conference finals.

Houston Rockets (4) vs Phoenix Suns (3)
The postseason run continues for the Rockets despite losing Derrick Jones Jr for the rest of the season to a broken leg in game 2 and seeing Juan King break his ribs (out 2-4 weeks) in game 7. The Rockets had a 2-0 lead and 3-2 series lead before managing to win game 7 in Phoenix.

Conference Finals Preview

This is the matchup we’ve all been waiting for. The two titans of the regular season: both finished at 67-15, twelve games ahead of any other team in the league. Led by lanky transcendent superstars and surrounded by great scorers and solid role players, these teams are very similar in some ways. The Bucks have a slightly better scoring differential and won the season series 2-1. However, they had a harder time getting here, playing 13 games so far to the Nets’ 9. Many consider the winner of this series the easy favorite in the Finals. Nets in 7.

Houston has completely turned around their awful finish to the regular season and has beaten two teams that many consider better than the second-seeded Grizzlies. However, their depth will greatly be tested as they are without talented second year big man Juan King and their starting small forward Derrick Jones Jr. Can Gallinari and Aldridge handle JJJ, Valanciunas, and Clark? That will be a tough matchup. Memphis may not be able to slow down hard, though they can certainly throw bodies at him, and this is part of the reason they traded for Jrue Holiday: to lead their second unit and play great defense. Grizzlies in 6.