NSL PLAYOFFS: FIRST ROUND

1. Detroit Pistons vs 8. Toronto Raptors

Foreplayword

Passion.

What is life without it? Stale. Linear. Expected. Assumed.

Passion, a flaming force that fuels one’s actions and reactions, and at times, without reason, without logic or regard. It makes them be better, it makes them more explosive, it makes them more abrasive to others and the league needs more of it. But it is critical to success and these two GMs have it in spades.

Above all else, it shows that they really care; that this darn league means something. That winning still Some would refer to this state as ‘wearing one’s heart on their sleeve’, but with these two… they wear their heart all over their bodies. Their entire body is covered with sleeves with hearts on each respective sleeve.

No matter how you calculate it, there are going to be broken hearts and jubilation during this series. And hopefully, some irrational, reactionary smack talk. I’d not rule out seeing tears, or long periods of non-talk on discord, or rubbing salt into the wounds. These two GMS, however, with their chequered history, currently are as close to amicable and respectful as I can remember. Discord analytics show that Sheed’s comments are 45% more genuine this season than any previous seasons, whereas the Raptors GM Jessedunne is down 19% in sublte attacks on character and 23% down on fueling mass-arguments.

Maybe it’s because Sheed has found a winning formula and had good injury luck? Some would say he’s even become cheerful, a jokester. He would have to be to pick the Rockets in four games. Maybe it’s because Jesse has found love for the first time and it’s really put things into perspective and poured some coolant into his big ol’ radiator. There’s been nothing but Taylor Swift lyrics and commendation of others since Cupid’s arrow struck his firm, handsome buttock.



Either way – this is a passion-fuelled fight is reminiscent of two star-crossed lovers in a doomed situation, or two bitter, life-long rivals of wealth and status in Europe going for the crown. Any TV soap opera would be proud to pick up and run with as key storyline, and we are lucky to have it streamed live to our living rooms as the playoffs tip off. If this doesn’t put some lead in your pencil, then I would think you should stick to crayons and maybe leave your GM-ship with someone who deserves it.
 

Give me a passion-fuelled idiot over a responsible, logical stiff any day of the week. I hope there is mud thrown, I hope there is jubilation, and heartbreak, and excitement and regret and validation. The rollercoaster of emotions lets us know we are alive and this series is well and truly alive! May the best team win.

NSL PLAYOFF BASKETBALL: PISTONS VS RAPTORS. It’s here!

How did the teams get here?

The Detroit Pistons have been on top of the East for as long as I can remember. 69 wins is a huge achievement and they've had their way with most NSL teams this season in what is one of the most winningest regular seasons we have seen. Irving, Gobert and Adebayo have been in place all season in what has been a very stable and consistent Pistons lineup. Trades for Lowry and Melo early in the season gave the team new playmaking and scoring dynamism. The most consecutive games they lost was just two.

Toronto, on the other hand, has been inconsistent in who has been available to play and out of those who are available to play, who was and wasn't playing up to their potential. Paul George has been the mainstay and their best player, with trades bringing in the rest of the crew in. They shipped of Wood for Hayward and then moved Hayward for Adams. Caris Levert made way for Mitch Robinson and Miles Bridges. Looking back, they made lots of big trades. Looking at their season, it must have been maddening for their GM, jessedunne. It's lucky he's such a straight arrow and that he could handle the ups and downs - I count six 4+ game losing streaks and seven 4+ game winning streaks. They finished up on 42 wins, down on last season and unders for what they would have aimed for.

Key storylines:

Let’s just address the elephant in the room right away – Kyrie Irving’s injury. Kyrie Irving has had one of the best seasons of his career (35.7 points, 6.8 assists) and has been magical to watch for the Pistons. He has a team that fits around him and elevates his weaknesses, allowing him to be the offensive maestro that his is, night in, and night out. At the moment, with speculation of the severity of the injury running rampant on the Socials, it seems to be a question of not whether he will be back in time for Game 1, but how many games he will miss. I hope this isn’t the case, as most fans would be (besides Toronto fans), as he truly is a wonder to watch with the basketball. Without him, I struggle to see how the Pistons will consistently score enough points, with Lowry and Melo seeing a huge bump in usage and responsibility (which isn’t always a good thing).




Which Raptors unit will we see, and will they bring the heat when it’s needed most? Sure, the Raptors have been consistently hampered by a turnstile of injuries through the season, but for all their upside when they play well, there have been times where they, well, don’t look that good. Paul George has genuinely had an MVP-calibre season (32.8 points, 5 rebounds) and his impact goes beyond the counting stats, so he has done his part. However, Malcolm Brogdon, Montrezl Harrell, Lauri Markannen and even Steven Adams, since his arrival, has had some games where they really haven’t been what George, and the Raptors, need them to be.

Line-ups:

I’m predicting some line-up creativity for both teams. For now, I will play it with a straight bat and won’t let my insights and instinct infer or inspire any line-up moves that may, or may not, be on the horizon.

Lowry vs Brogdon

Similar types of players, but Lowry has the edge here. Better scorer, better shooter and more experienced. Brogdon has been a bit flat this season, but he plays a role of a good defender, passer and scorer. Can he turn it up and give his team an advantage here? Lowry has been integral to the Piston’s consistent success and hates to lose.

Irving* vs Batum

Who stops Irving? Nobody. I think savvy veteran Nicolas Batum gets a shot at trying to slow him down. He has length and good lateral quickness, but he will have to be locked-in to genuinely trouble Kyrie. Irving is a master of footwork, inside and outside scoring and shaking free of his defender with his handles to get off clean jump-shots. He can’t be stopped. The only question is, does he make it back in time to help the Pistons this series?

Anthony vs George

Sure, Melo is a good three-point shooter and decent athlete, but Paul George is one of the best players in 2k with his size, athleticism and all-around game. He will crush Melo and likely anyone else the Pistons put on him. Big advantage to the Raptors, here.

Adebayo vs Markannen

Everything I said about PG/Melo, apply it here. Bam is PG; equipped with every tool a basketball player could want and possessing a huge advantage over nice-guy Lauri. Markannen has to start spreading the floor for the Raps and hitting shots, make Bam pay him respect as a shooter and open up the floor for his teammates. Big advantage to Bam.

Gobert vs Adams

The big brutes go at it in what should be a fascinating, close match-up of two of the stronger, tougher defensive bigs in the league. Gobert is clearly the more talented and highly touted, but Adams is big and strong as fuck and sometimes that’s enough. This will be a savage battle on the block, with an edge to Rudy but it’s not huge.


Benches: Robinson, Bridges, Harrell vs Thompson, Simons, Satoransky

I think the inclusion of Robinson is massive, with his Raptors debut coming on the eve of the playoffs. He can match Thompson for what he does and Harrell should take advantage of tired Bam when he comes on to provide energy and scoring. It’s pretty close, but the Raptors have more upside with their reserves.


Who wins?

As it stands, the NSL community is backing the Pistons in a landslide (83% for the Pistons), but I would think that a large portion of these votes were cast before Kyrie unfortunately went down with what seems to be a pretty significant ankle injury. I think it will be a closely fought series.

The regular season saw it go 2-1 to the Pistons, but one of the games was a one-point victory to Detroit. So, despite it being 1^st vs 8^th, the matchup would appear to be a lot closer than the seedings suggest. The Raptors win was sans-Kyrie, and the Pistons have gotten better since then, but so have the Raptors.