October 16, 2018

Enter the SportsFilter NBA Pick 'Em: The Pace Mannion is back. Pick the winner and spread of the nationally televised NBA games this season on TNT, ESPN and ABC. Lock as many games as you like to double your points in victory or lose points in defeat. First prize this season is an official NBA game ball.

How This Works

SportsFilter is running a season-long NBA Pick 'Em contest and awarding a prize to the season's winner: an official NBA game ball ($109 value).

To play, pick who you think will win and by how many points. You then get points based on the result:

Picked the winner? You get 5 points
Picked the winner and a spread within the margin of error? You get 3 more points
Picked the winner and the exact spread? You get 2 more points

What's the Margin of Error?

A window around the spread that's defined as the following:

spread - round(0.3 * spread) <= Margin of Error <= spread + round(0.3 * spread)

You get rewarded for being close to the spread. The bigger the spread, the bigger the margin of error, so you don't have to be as accurate predicting a blowout as a close game.

Examples:

Actual SpreadMargin Starts atMargin Ends at
111
435
759
11814
201426
So if you picked Miami by 15, here's how you'd fare given certain outcomes:
OutcomeYour score
Miami by 208 points (winner + spread within MoE)
Miami by 105 points (winner only)
Miami by 1510 points (winner + nailed spread)
Miami by 50 points

Slam Dunks

You can choose any game as a slam dunk. This doubles the points you win for that game, but if that team doesn't win, you lose 10 points (even if you get the spread). You can make as many picks a slam dunk as you like or pick no dunks at all.

The Small Print

In order to receive the prize, you must respond to our email within 14 days of the winner announcement. Make sure you have a valid email address on SportsFilter or contact me within that time period. The prize does not include international shipping, so in that situation you can pay the cost or receive an equivalent cash prize over Paypal.

Hall of Champions

2015-16: Howard_T
2016-17: Ufez Jones
2017-18: NoMich
2018-19: rcade

This Week's Games 1

Philadelphia at Boston on TNT (Tuesday)
Oklahoma City at Golden State on TNT (Tuesday)
New Orleans at Houston on ESPN (Wednesday)
Dallas at Phoenix on ESPN (Wednesday)
Chicago at Philadelphia on TNT (Thursday)
L.A. Lakers at Portland on TNT (Thursday)
Boston at Toronto on ESPN (Friday)
Golden State at Utah on ESPN (Friday)
Houston at L.A. Lakers on ESPN (Saturday)

Teams playing more than once: Boston, Philadelphia, Golden State, Houston, L.A. Lakers.

Picks must be submitted in this discussion before the game's tipoff. So if you miss Tuesday games you can still choose the games for the rest of the week.

posted by rcade to basketball at 11:10 AM - 16 comments

Did we ever find out who won the NBA Playoff Pick 'em this year?

posted by NoMich at 01:55 PM on October 16, 2018

I have two contests whose champions need to be crowned. I think that's one of them.

I like running these contests and don't like being late on them, so I end up in a deep shame spiral when they're a couple weeks late in being announced.

(A "shame spiral" is not to be confused with a Blake Bortles forward pass.)

posted by rcade at 02:29 PM on October 16, 2018

TUESDAY
Boston by 7
Golden State by 8

WEDNESDAY
Houston by 9
Phoenix by 5

THURSDAY
Philadelphia by 17
L.A. Lakers by 7

FRIDAY
Toronto by 5
Utah by 5

SATURDAY
Houston by 5

posted by NoMich at 02:31 PM on October 16, 2018

Tue:
Boston by 8
Golden State by 12 - slam

Wed:
Houston by 7
Phoenix by 5

posted by Ufez Jones at 02:34 PM on October 16, 2018

I'm in! Looking forward to another great season, starting with tonight when my wife and I will be at TD Garden to cheer for the Celtics. For those of you who might be interested, nba.com releases the power rankings each Monday during the season. For the opening, it's Golden State at #1 and Boston at #2. There's useful team statistics for each team: Pace (possessions per game), OffRtg (points per 100 possessions), DefRtg (points allowed per 100 possessions), and NetRtg (the difference between OffRtg and DefRtg). nba.com has a lot of good content.

Now for the picks:

Tuesday, 16 October

Gotta go with my homies, but it will be close, and a good one. Boston by 8

Another bell ringer on the left coast Golden State by 12

Wednesday, 17 October

The NBA schedule maker shows some genius for week 1 Houston by 11

Suns have a rookie to watch Phoenix by 14 SLAM

Thursday, 18 October

76ers show off their talent Philadelphia by 16 SLAM

One word: LeBron Los Angeles (purple and gold variety) by 10

Friday, 19 October

Raptors want to prove a point Toronto by 9

Jazz could set a difficult beat Golden State by 6

Saturday, 20 October

Another great matchup to close the week Houston by 7

posted by Howard_T at 03:02 PM on October 16, 2018

Boston by 8
Golden State by 10 <-- dunk
Houston by 9
Dallas by 8
Philadelphia by 16 <-- dunk
Portland by 4
Boston by 8
Golden State by 10
Houston by 12 <-- dunk

posted by rcade at 04:37 PM on October 16, 2018

Boston (Tuesday) by 7
Golden State (Tuesday) by 13
Houston (Wednesday) by 11
Dallas (Wednesday) by 6
Philadelphia (Thursday) by 14
Portland (Thursday) by 10
Toronto (Friday) by 4
Golden State (Friday) by 3
Houston (Saturday) by 4

posted by tron7 at 05:56 PM on October 16, 2018

SLAM Boston (Tuesday) by 11 SLAM
Golden State (Tuesday) by 6
New Orleans (Wednesday) by 4
Dallas (Wednesday) by 3
Philadelphia (Thursday) by 5
L.A. Lakers (Thursday) by 3
Toronto (Friday) by 4
Golden State (Friday) by 5
SLAM L.A. Lakers (Saturday) by 9 SLAM

posted by bender at 06:26 PM on October 16, 2018

Boston by 6.

Golden State by 10 (slam)

New Orleans by 4

Phoenix by 6

Philadelphia by 11 (slam)

L.A. Lakers by 5

Boston by 2

Golden State by 7

Houston by 1

posted by Goyoucolts at 07:23 PM on October 16, 2018

Tuesday 10-16

Boston by 4 Golden St by 5 SLAM

Wednesday 10-17

Houston by 6 Dallas by 3 SLAM

posted by scooby10672 at 07:39 PM on October 16, 2018

Changing my pick in the late game tonight.

Wed:
Houston by 7
Dallas by 6

Thu:
Philly by 11 (SLAM)
Portland by 4

posted by Ufez Jones at 04:29 PM on October 17, 2018

Thurs 10-18
Phil by 6
Port by 3 SLAM

posted by scooby10672 at 08:07 PM on October 18, 2018

Man, tonight's games are tough.

Friday:
Bos by 4
GSW by 6

Saturday:
Houston by 7

posted by Ufez Jones at 12:48 PM on October 19, 2018

Friday 10-19

Toronto by 2 Golden State by 3 SLAM

Sat 10-20

LA Lakers by 2

posted by scooby10672 at 06:45 PM on October 19, 2018

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