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This thread is another in my Pythagorean series, but it's different in that it will focus on one team: the ABA's Pittsburgh Pipers, who were original members of the ABA in 1967 and won the first ABA title, but fell completely apart shortly thereafter and were out of the league for good in the spring of 1972. They were in Pittsburgh for four years (they spent 1968-69 in Minneapolis) and we'll examine each of them to see if the Pipers can do better in the Pythagorean universe (here called "expected" wins and losses) than they did in real life. We begin with 1967-68, the Pipers' championship year:

Eastern Division:

Minneapolis Muskies: 49-29 (-1)
Pipers: 47-31 (-7)
Indiana Pacers: 40-38 (-2)
Kentucky Colonels: 37-41 (+1)
New Jersey Americans: 35-43 (-1)

Right from the start, the Pipers had bad luck if they had any luck at all. No one else in their division moved more than two games either way. Fortunately, the rest of the division was so mediocre that the Pipers finished second in spite of everything. In real life, the Colonels and Americans finished tied for fourth, which was a big deal since the top four teams in each division made the playoffs.

Western Division:

New Orleans Buccaneers: 51-27 (+3)
Denver Rockets: 50-28 (+5)
Dallas Chapparals: 42-36 (-4)
Houston Mavericks: 28-50 (-1)
Anaheim Amigos: 28-50 (+3)
Oakland Oaks: 24-54 (+2)

The Bucs gained three games to attain the best overall record in the league, while the Rockets gained five to make the division race tight. It's quite amazing that a pair of 28-50 teams are in playoff position, but that's the state of affairs with the Mavericks and Amigos, who will stage a one-game playoff to determine the West's final postseason team.

The Amigos won six of the nine regular season meetings between the two teams, so the playoff will take place at the Anaheim Convention Center.

Mavericks 109, Amigos 103

Houston's Art Becker provided a double-double of 22 points and ten rebounds to pace the visiting Mavericks, who will now meet the Buccaneers in the Western Division semifinals.

The semifinals are thus set in the West: the Mavs will face the Bucs, while the Rockets meet the Chaps. Both series will be best-of-five. In the East, we have real-life results: the Pipers swept the Pacers in three straight, while the Muskies outlasted the Colonels in five.

Next: We begin the Western Division semis.

Thoughts?













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