Conference Finals: Recap

WESTERN CONFERENCE
5-4, Chunky Monkeys vs Fat Jubas
Talk about the battle of the invalids. Fat Jubas were already hurting without Dwayne Wade and Jermaine O'Neal, but then Tracy McGrady, Kwame Brown, Al Jefferson, Josh Howard, and Zaza Pachulia decided to all take a hit to the proverbial groin too. Cakewalk for their opponents, the Monkeys right? Well, not quite. The Monkeys were already without the services of Joe Johnson and Charlie Villanueva. They lost Gilbert Arenas and Tyson Chandler during the week, and Mo Williams for a bit too. Ouch.

So really, it was like a 5-on-5 game this week and both West "contenders" suffered from major injuries. In the end, the Monkeys squeaked this one out (by 5 STL and 4 BLK) but really, they're less prepared for the Finals since their depth is hardly anything to envy. Josh Smith will now have to carry the team -- and he's capable, with 20 PTS, 10 REB, 2 BLK avg last week -- but he may be suspended. Woo-ha! Can Jason Terry, Manu Ginobili, Mehmet Okur, and Danny Granger carry this team to a championship? Ugh....

EASTERN CONFERENCE
5-4, Poobic Heirs vs Squirtle Squad
Things were a little better injury wise in the East. Barely. The only injury casualty was Yao Ming for the Heirs and Jamaal Tinsley and Delonte West for the Squirtles. Then again, given the injury ravaged state of the Squad (already minus Ray Allen, Nenad Krstic, David Lee, Andres Nocioni), they put up a good enough fight -- led by Walter Herrman of all people in PTS (71 in four games) -- but ended up just one category short.

The Heirs actually could have won in a landslide since they only lost REB by 1 and 3PT by 2. For the Heirs, it's the Kobe Bryant show, as he single-handedly pumped in 37 PTS, 5 AST, and 1.5 STL/BLK. Can Kobe lead this team toward a championship? It sure looks possible against the injury ravaged Monkeys.

TOILET BOWL
5-4, Sour Snails vs MoRRie's Pogiboys
For the two worst teams in the league go the two best draft positions. The Snails really picked it up and took their last few games of the season, putting up an astounding final week stat line of 154 AST, 56 STL, and 62 3PT. In fact, both the Snails and Pogiboys stayed relatively healthy (playing 36 and 32 games respectively for the week) and would have had a great showing in the real playoffs. What if...

In the end, it was Allen Iverson (23 PTS and 6 AST avg), Steve Nash (53.3 FG%, 12 AST per), Ron Artest (2.5 STL avg), and Jason Richardson (17 3PT) finally coming through for the Snails, all in one week. In a week where Florida's 04's won the championship, Trieu's top four picks win the choice of selecting Kevin Durant or Greg Oden. Not bad for a team given up for dead eh?

Toilet Bowl Consolidation
7-2, Phanatics vs Pooh Bears
In a shellacking, the Phanatics win the #3 pick in the draft, meaning that the Pooh Bears, holders of the best record among all Toilet Bowl contestants, ends up with the worst lottery pick. Weird hunh?