NBA 1v1 Madness: Round of 16

By: Wayne and Schwartz

Welcome to the Round of 16 in our NBA 1v1 Madness tournament. We hope you enjoy digging through the next round of matchups.

Round of 32 Recap:

• West Region:

  • Kawhi Leonard beat Kyle Lowry 21-9

  • Paul George beat Jaylen Brown 21-14

  • Damian Lillard beat Zach LaVine 21-15

  • Pascal Siakam beat Devin Booker 21-16

• Midwest Region:

  • LeBron James beat Trae Young 21-13

  • Anthony Davis beat Ja Morant 21-8

  • Klay Thompson beat John Collins 21-14

  • C.J. McCollum beat Joel Embiid 21-12

• East Region:

  • Giannis Antetokounmpo beat Bam Adebayo 21-12

  • Kevin Durant beat DeAaron Fox 21-6

  • Karl Anthony-Towns beat Jimmy Butler 21-16

  • Kyrie Irving beat Kemba Walker 27-25

• South Region: 

  • Chris Paul beat James Harden 23-21

  • Steph Curry beat Russell Westbrook 21-12

  • Jayson Tatum beat Donovan Mitchell 21-16

  • Zion Williamson beat D'Angelo Russell 21-13

West Region (location: Venice Beach)

1) Kawhi Leonard over 4) Pascal Siakam

The master meets the apprentice for a duel between the two best players from the Raptors’ historic champion team a year ago. Siakam has come a long way since these two stars last met, but his abilities are not quite enough to knock off his old teammate, as Kawhi’s stifling defense and a raucous crowd of LA natives at the Venice Beach court is the difference makers in this clash between two highly talented wings. 

Final score: 21-15

West Region (location: Venice Beach)

3) Damian Lillard over 2) Paul George

These two are pretty familiar with each other, as Dame knocked down one of the best game-winning, buzzer-beater 3s I’ve ever seen live in PG’s face during last year’s playoffs. PG has a slight home-court advantage in this clash of California natives out at Venice Beach, but he’s still not 100% after his shoulder surgeries during last offseason. PG has the defensive advantage, but after last year’s matchup, Dame owns the mental edge, burying numerous “bad shots” as he continues to build the apartment complex he owns in PG’s head. A hot, late shooting streak carries the Blazers star to a thrilling win. 

Final score: 22-20

Midwest Region (location: Hoosier Gym)

1) LeBron James over 12) C.J. McCollum 

Unfortunately, McCollum’s attempt to continue his Lehigh Cinderella story is stopped short when he encounters the King. LeBron is one of the best players in NBA history for a reason, and he takes down CJ rather easily despite his hot streak from his prior matchups. McCollum has the outside shooting advantage but no hope of defending LeBron inside or competing with him on the glass.

Final score: 21-9

Midwest Region (location: Hoosier Gym)

2) Anthony Davis over 10) Klay Thompson

There aren’t a ton of players in this league that Klay Thompson doesn’t have a chance to defend, but unfortunately, he runs into one of them in the Sweet 16. Davis’s length and physical ability stifle Klay, never letting him get hot from deep, and deliver the Brow into a big LA matchup in the Elite 8.

Final score: 21-15

East Region (location: Rucker Park)

1) Giannis Antetokounmpo over 4) Kyrie Irving

Contrary to Irving’s belief, he cannot take on Giannis by himself. No, really. The last time he tried to defend Giannis on his own in a big spot it went very very poorly as the Bucks exposed the Celtics in the playoffs. At least in this matchup, Kyrie will get to pass the ball exactly as much as he did last time. Sorry, Kyrie, not even your Uncle Drew alter ego can get you out of jail against the Greek Freak. Giannis is just too damn good.

Final score: 21-12

East Region (location: Rucker Park)

2) Kevin Durant over 6) Karl Anthony-Towns

KAT has made a nice run to the Sweet Sixteen, but he shouldn’t really have any chance against KD. Durant is just too good at, well, everything. Both players can snipe from long range, and both can score inside, but there’s one major piece of the game that sets the MVP in this matchup apart- defense. Towns, while a unique offensive force, is fairly inept on the other end of the court, and one of the most versatile scorers in league history methodically picks him apart from all parts of the floor, getting buckets on almost every possession.

Final score: 21-13

South Region (location: Cameron Indoor Stadium)

5) Zion Williamson over 8) Chris Paul 

CP3’s Cinderella run ends here, as Zion catches a break in not having to take on Harden who’s foul-drawing capability would surely ruin the young big man… oh, wait. Regardless, it’s CP3 he has to face, and no amount of veteran know-how is able to help NOLA’s former hero bridge the physical gap with the Pels’ new superstar. Zion dominates on the way to a convincing win with a handful of highlight-reel, high-flying dunks along the way.

Final score: 21-14

South Region (location: Cameron Indoor Stadium)

An NC native and a Duke one-and-done come together to provide the Durham crowd with one of the most intriguing matchups of the whole bracket. Jayson is a much-improved defender these days, but Steph’s unmatched ability to either find a favorable shot, or nail a challenging one still leaves the young Celtic scrambling to hold his own on defense. Still, Jayson has developed some slick perimeter moves himself, and Steph isn’t exactly an all-world defender. The young wing’s size is a serious issue for an undersized guard too, as Jay is able to score inside at will to help ice the upset win after using the deep ball to pull ahead early on. A fighter to the last, Steph gets red-hot and unleashes a barrage of long-range missiles to storm back into the game, but Taco Jay continues to eat, and effortlessly drives past Steph after getting the ball back with a 1-point lead, and ends the game. 

Final score: 21-19