The first round of the first ever SB Nation NBA 3 on 3 Tournament is now in the books! On the last day of the first round, the 2 seeds both advanced to fill out the round of 16.
In the East, the mighty Miami Heat, the team built for this very competition, easily handled the Washington Wizards. Dwyane Wade, LeBron James and Chris Bosh of the Heat were given a 96 percent chance of beating John Wall, Trevor Ariza and Nene in any given game. The Wizards therefore needed very big rolls (97 or higher) to win, but instead the dice came up 29 and 49, giving the Heat the sweep. Miami moves on to face its old foes the New York Knicks in the second round.
Out West, the Western Conference champion Oklahoma City Thunder fell into a hole early against the upstart Sacramento Kings. The Thunder threesome of Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant and Nick Collison were adjudged to have an 80 percent chance of winning any given game against a Kings trio of Isaiah Thomas, Tyreke Evans and DeMarcus Cousins. Needing rolls of 81 or higher, the Kings pulled off the roll one upset when the dice settled on 90. Needing two straight wins to advance, the Thunder dug deep as indicated by the rolls of 70 and 27. The Thunder will now face the Dallas Mavericks when the second round gets started next week.
We'll have a preview of the second round of the tournament right here Friday, so stay tuned.
For a complete look at the SB Nation 3 on 3 Tournament, check back with this StoryStream.