OUTLOOK:

Portland comes to this series as the top NSL team.That has to be said, and Nelsbet confirms it.

The Blazers have blazed through the playoffs after having retired Zingis and the Mavs in a 4-2 series and sweeping very good San Antonio Spurs, who’s managed by his buddy Nelson, author of the aforementioned Nelsbet. There’s no question about it, the Blazers are rolling!!
They have arguably 2 top-5 players on their squad in Kawhi and Harden, and this makes a lot of things easier. Jmac is a trade guru and has put together one of the all-time best NSL rosters ever assembled. That’s what I think the legacy of this squad will be.

The one constant throughout the season is the current MVP candidate James Harden, which is shooting a million three balls a game, and making them! James has played everywhere except the 5, I think, and he was crucial on the dismantling of the Spurs lining up at the 4 to force KAT out of the paint, smart move by the GM and even better execution by the beard.

The engine agrees with them and they are so talented for a team that was already expected to being in the running for the ring in the pre-season, they’ve come really far, so many trades but with a sparkling record and two of the league biggest stars at the moment on the team GM Jmac has a lot of reasons to smile.
So we’ll see a bunch of 2k studs together in this one, which makes for an entirely different series experience.

Of course, the Blazers’s biggest star is Harden, and is on a tour mission about making people regret not picking him up earlier in the NSL draft and will play a big part on motivating his guys, making sure they make that extra push to take this one. Harden’s leadership, alongside Kawhi will be very important for what they do up there.

The player to watch will be the bench god, Rudy Gay, who can do a little bit of everything an even play from the 2 to the 4 with ease and has quickly become one of the steals of the season for GM Jmac and the Blazers, however he’ll be asked to do and perform up to par and balance that starting lineup. While we still don’t know where Rudy will line up, I will bet it is back to the old days and head to the bench.

The biggest thing for the Blazers at this point is to just go head first into the next opponent head first, full power and see what comes of it, because it’s doubtful anyone can realistically stop this train.


Sacramento had the 3^rd spot to show for their season, which means they’ve had a great one! From then on it was all about man-handling Russell Westbrook and come out of a real trial by fire against the mighty Suns and their own brand of space ball!

Punch after punch, adjustment after adjustment, and sources say more than 100+ sims from the tough Phoenix GM Laddas, the Kings came out victorious with two sparkling perfomances by some unknown player.

His name…Lebron James. Oh you’ve heard of him? Good!
 
Now it’s time to face the juggernaut as a reward! Something’s gotta give!

After drafting Lebron, trading his whole team twice, normal procedure, and proceeding to the season, there was already some talk that the Kings could be title contenders in the hard and competitive Western Conference.
Well, you can’t really argue with the man’s results. Getting to this stage is massive, but no, the Kings aren’t done! Cheeky GM Klemmmelo wants the Kings to be the surprise team that knocks down Goliath.
They have proven themselves to be a great team so far and are solid everywhere. With Lebron playing the way he’s playing, at point even, they get just dangerous enough so that Jmac has to rethink his strategies probably once or twice, I bet. As he should, btw.

When you take a look at their roster, they have veteran players that can contribute immediately, and this is a team built with the baller mindset and therefore, they should not be underestimated! They aren’t afraid and will go out there and take it, if you let them, these Kings are hard-nosed and nasty. The kind of old school attitude that has proven to be rare these days. That is there advantage!

What's interesting is that they also went on a couple of roster shake-ups and curiously got better after the whole process. That is a credit to the GMship of Klemmelo but also when you have the constant called Lebron James averaging 30 ppg in the playoffs, the wheels get oiled up quickly. Bron has a serious case for MVP and we wonder where the Kings would be without him and they will go as far as he takes them, and that is a SCARY thought for the entire league, because the dude is a BAAAAAAAAD MAN!!

When asked if he had anything to say, GM Klemmelo allegedly said: “You guys think this is a done deal, you better think twice. The Kings should not be underestimated, and I’m so pumped for us to shock the world! My Kings are ready to be crowned”

X-FACTOR MATCH-UP:  

Lebron James X James Harden

The battle of guys named James.
It is important to note that 2k still thinks Lebron is a god, so the defensive edge will go his way, and I think these two will face off as I believe Jmac wants the ball in Harden’s hands just as much as Klemm wants it on Lebron’s. Bron has a great post game nd harden takes the edge on the outside shot and foul line. This is going to be a huge battle of 2 of the NSL’s best ball handlers, playmakers and ballers, really.
The winner of this matchup will most definitely set the tone for the entire series, and it can turn quickly. My popcorn will be ready. 

OUR PICK – Portland Trail Blazers:

Although the Kings have the most OP star, I think, Portland has the slight frontcourt advantage because of Howard.
I believe the Blazers can compensate for Bron’s damage with Kawhi’s production and tenacity even on Harden’s off nights. With the amount of three pointers they take and if they get hot, watch out, Portland that is.
In the end, I believe Portland has too much talent for the Kings to overcome in this one.
My predictor pick was 4-1 Portland, but I’ll tick that up a bit.
Blazers blazing in 6.