pull down to refresh

Time to make our first picks!
Remember that not every team plays in each round of Group Play, so you might want to peak ahead and see who's playing next week. There are always enough that you won't literally run out of options, though.
Also, we'll keep going into the playoff rounds, if people are still alive, so you might not want to pick everyone you expect to make it into the playoff rounds.
At least 5000 sats to the winner and it will almost certainly be more. The first post netted more than half that (2700) and all sats raised by these posts (beyond 5k) will go into the pot. Remember that Stacker News rewards big zappers.
Here are the matchups for Friday with their current W-L records: -Cavs (1-3) @ Pacers (2-1) -Knicks (2-2) @ Bucks (2-1) -Wizards (1-2) @ Heat (1-3) -Nets (1-2) @ Bulls (2-2) -Warriors (3-1) @ Thunder (3-1) -Mavericks (3-0) @ Nuggets (4-0) -Grizzlies (0-4) @ Blazers (1-3)
Tagging you because you participated in at least one of the NBA Playoff bounties I ran in the spring. Thought you might like to join @Undisciplined's in-season tournament survivor pool. No buy in. Just pick one winner for every tournament post he makes. It's double elimination so you can lose once and stay in but lose twice and you are out. Hope you will join the fun.
reply
Thanks @grayruby for letting me know about this tournament. Been so busy with work lately, and haven't been on Stacker News as much as I normally like; I would have missed out on this fun game if it wasn't for the notification.
reply
You're welcome.
reply
I can't piggyback off your collective wisdom until you pick.
reply
I heard the Bulls have some guy named Jordan that is pretty good.
reply
He was on the court when Freddy Brown made that horrible pass to Worthy that crushed Georgetown. I didn't know Jordan turned pro?
reply
I'm higher on this Bowie kid in Portland. We'll just have to see how things shake out.
reply
Fair enough. I will make my pick in nine minutes, because I'm very cheap and I just replied to this post a minute ago.
reply
Whenever you're ready, @POTUS and I have both taken the 1-3 Miami Heat, for some reason. Feel free to make a wiser choice.
reply
never doubt the zombie heat
reply
zombie heat
Maybe the most apt sports nickname
reply
Heat
reply
Great minds...
reply
reply
Bang bang
reply
Warriors
reply
Glad you joined in. Good luck!
reply
That was close, but you made it.
reply
No joke, down to the very last second. But Curry delivers! I picked the Warriors because I didn't want to pick an "obvious" choice like Nuggets or Heat; something close enough to provide some excitement, but with one team still better enough to likely beat the other. I had not idea it was going to be this close. And damn it was exciting to watch!
reply
Warriors were one of the teams I was considering, but I don't want to go against these young teams that might actually care about the tournament.
reply
Nuggets
reply
Enjoy your victory Saturday
reply
That's two for the best team in the league. It makes you wonder why more of us didn't take the best team.
reply
I am not sure the Bucks will ever be the same after they suffer the beat down they have coming to them tonight so I will follow the crowd and take the Heat.
reply
the beat down they have coming to them tonight
The important thing is that you can believe it.
That's three for the Heat, who have done nothing to deserve this level of confidence. Good thing we made it double elimination.
reply
Bucks will have no answer for what the Raps have in store for them.
I felt like going contrarian and taking the Grizzlies, since I don't think they should be this bad even without Morant but thought Heat at home was a safer bet.
reply
Five minutes in and the Raps are running wild.
reply
Hell of a game. Especially since the refs gave the Bucks 38 FT attempts compared to 14 for Raps. I don't want to gripe about the refs after a big win but some of those calls were completely ridiculous.
reply
I was thinking about the Bucks, but that wasn't factoring in their soon to be shattered egos.
reply
I was at this game:
This is how I will forever view every Bucks v.s Raptors matchup.
reply
It wasn't clear what year that was, but judging by the rosters, I'm guessing you got swept by Lebron soon after.
reply
All the way back in 2014
reply
Their most convincing win so far
reply
I don't like any of these games. Do I get a rebuy of my zero buy in?
reply
Good question. We could go double-elimination. I was actually thinking about that, but forgot to suggest it.
reply
I think it is good especially if we don't have a lot of players. Would make for a pretty lousy outcome if we all go out the first night. Haha.
reply
Bulls
reply
Oh no! We were just giving you a hard time earlier. Michael Jordan is 60 years old and hasn't played for the Bulls at any point this century.
reply
What?? This is bullshit!! Someone told me he was really good. I'm outta here.
reply
Someone told me he was really good
He was. 30 years ago he was really good. Some even say the best.
reply
I heard he was a great baseball player too.
reply
At least it's double elimination. Jordan must be rolling over in his grave.
reply
Oh. It's double elimination? Is Magic still with the Lakers?
reply
Surprisingly, Magic is not with the Lakers.
He came back from retirement once, then did a stint as head coach, and recently was the general manager, but at the moment he has no roll with the team that I'm aware of.
We decided to go double elimination when it seemed like there might only be three of us, just in case we all followed your lead and blew our first picks.
reply
Wise move. Next time I'm piggybacking on one of you.
reply
reply
Finally, an interesting pick. What's the theory behind the Pacers or do you prefer to keep your strategy secret until the victory parade?
reply
Just darts at a dartboard
reply
Sounds like hustler talk. I'm keeping an eye on you.
reply
Keep your eye on the ball, nothing to see here, I watch 0 basketball
reply
Pacers definitely need a bounce back game after last night.
reply
That sounds like they might have lost in ugly fashion?
reply
Shockingly, you survived.
reply
Go team!
reply
And you still have all the good teams to choose from. Well done
reply
How often do we make picks?
reply
Usually, it will be twice a week, but there are no NBA games on this upcoming Tuesday. I'll put the posts up on Saturdays and Wednesdays.
reply
Nuggets
reply
reply
Solid pick. They look awesome this year. I'm hoping to save them for later, because I think they might win this whole thing despite not caring about it at all.
reply
Nuggets
reply
reply
Got it. That's three for the best team in the league.
After last night, those of us who picked Miami are sweating bullets.
reply
Well I was hoping to keep the Nuggets for later. Plus you never know what you are going to get with the Mavs. They could lose that game by 30 or they might win it 130-129
reply
That's almost exactly what I was thinking. I was very surprised to see the Mavs at 3-0.
reply
Update!
After careful consideration and consultation with the Stacker Sports team, we have decided to make this survivor pool double-elimination.
If you don't know what that means, just keep showing up and making picks until you're notified of your demise.
reply
Haha perfect. We just need a few more competitors now. Let me look through my old playoff bounties and see who participated and I will tag them.
reply
I realized that at no point in this post did I make it clear that this is a survivor pool, so for new comers pick one team to win their game.
reply
Good addition. Just a thought, maybe you should promote this in the saloon and see if it gets any interest. When I did the NBA playoff bounties I had a few folks that I don't see participate in our regular stacker sports crowd. Also seem to get a couple new people each week for the nfl pick 'ems. I am sure there are some NBA fans that aren't regularly talking with us that might want to join in.
reply
reply
I'm glad it's double-elimination.
My pick is the Miami Heat. I know they don't care about the regular season or this tournament, but Heat Culture should beat the Wizards.
reply