Dallas Mavericks vs Miami Heat, Charlotte Hornets vs Toronto Raptors, the NHL Winter Classic and more make Stump the Stiffs this Week

The Winter Classic is a showcase game for the NHL. A sport that has to compete with the NBA, NFL and NCAA Football and Basketball, hockey can sometimes get lost in the fold. One of the ways the NHL has tried to drum up some more interest is by going nostalgic, having a game played outdoors on New Years Day and dubbing it the Winter Classic. This year’s game pits two original NHL franchises, the Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadiens, against one another to double down on the nostalgia.

So, of course we have to pick the winner! On top of that we’ll make picks on two inter-conference showdowns and two eastern conference showdowns. On the side of the Stiffs Staff we’ve got the coach, Gibson Pyper, if his picks are half as good as his breakdowns we should be in good shape. For the Stiffs Commenters we have the often verbose, never ordinary, Longwinded…I mean NewLeafHank. Lastly, a man who knows a good hockey game only gets better with a good beer, we’ve got /u/Bigred27 from the Nuggets Subreddit. Pick time!

Gibson Pyper: Heat and Mavs can both be confusing on a nightly basis. Looking at rosters and talent, Heat should be able to take care of the Mavericks. The Lakers vs 76ers realistically could go both ways, but more talent for Lakers should translate to a win, also Kobe! Wizards handle Magic and Raptors shouldn't even worry about the Hornets. I don't watch hockey but the Canadiens are from Canada where hockey is what they do!

NewLeafHank: Happy New Year to all you Stiffs. It's no secret that the Nuggets Subreddit team is kicking our asses: We Stiffs, and most especially our (on-)crack(?) writing staff, are indeed Stumped. So I decided to set a new standard for research. I put a large world map on the wall and asked my lovely gal pal to blindfold me, hand me a dart, and spin me around 21 times, once for each Nuggets loss. (If you try this approach later in the season, please hang up and dial 911). South Dakota dart says Mavs beat the Heat. Newfoundland dart tells us all we need to know about the 76ers dominating the Lakers. Whoa, Tierra del Fuego, closer to Orlando, so Magic whip the Wizards. Let's see, the Kerguelen Islands in the Indian Ocean west of Australia are ever so slightly closer to Charlotte than Toronto, so the Hornets will vanquish the Raptors. Okay, last dart. Wow, Baffin Bay! So the Canadiens will easily dispatch the Bruins in the Winter Classic. Well, it looks like the road teams win all five games. No way will those Subreddit pretenders predict that!

/u/Bigred27: The Heat have a solid core, including a dominating set of Twin Towers, but the Mavs have been streaking, and are coming off of a trouncing of the champs on the Bay, so I’m taking the hot hand. I don’t believe that anyone will truly “win” the 76ers-Lakers game, including the fans, but the Lakers will have more points by the time the 4th quarter ends. The Wiz have struggled to stay afloat this year, which is understandable when you have no capable power forwards, while the Magic and their up and coming talent have cemented their place in the suddenly competitive East. Charlotte is slowly coming back down to earth after a surprisingly hot start, and they eked out an overtime win at home when they played Toronto just two weeks ago, so I’ll take the home team. My hockey knowledge is limited to cold, drunken nights in The Can, but my gut says to pick the dirty, cheating Boston team (Sorry, that was my inner Broncos fan talking!).

And there you have it! Make sure to contact Russ Hamilton (@rscotham) or Alec Gwin (@alecgwin) If you'd like to participate. Happy New Year everyone!

If you're keeping score:

Stiffs Staff: 16-29

Stiffs Commenters: 21-24

Nuggets Subreddit: 27-18