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          Zodiac GM credits astrology for NBA teams' synergy

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          Holiday picks Nembhard's pocket to secure game 3 win (0:44)

          Jrue Holiday shuts down Andrew Nembhard with a steal in the final seconds of Game 3. (0:44)

          • Anthony Gharib, ESPNJul 9, 2024, 09:30 AM ET

          LATE IN GAME 3 of the 2024 Eastern Conference finals, the Boston Celtics were fighting.

          The Indiana Pacers held a 2-point lead with 1:11 remaining in the fourth quarter. A win would cut the Celtics' advantage to 2-1, ensuring the series would return to Boston.

          After the Pacers missed an opportunity to extend their lead, Jrue Holiday converted an and-one, snatching the Celtics' first lead since the opening quarter. With just over seven seconds left, Andrew Nembhard had a final chance to steal it back.

          The Pacers guard pushed the floor, defended by Holiday. As Nembhard dribbled behind his back at Indiana's 3-point line and attacked with his right hand, Holiday cut him off, stripping the ball and the Pacers' chance for a win.

          Seven months ago, Boston's trade for Holiday checked boxes for perimeter defense, playmaking and championship experience. It also checked a more tangible one -- the team's on-court synergy.

          An account on X called the Zodiac GM foreshadowed Holiday's impact when the Celtics acquired him in June 2023.

          "I was like, man, this is big because he connects well with [Kristaps] Porzingis," the Zodiac GM told ESPN. "Because if not, Porzingis would've been ... by himself feeling awkward. It's sort of like having your best friend on the team [who] you connect with and you feel a little bit more at ease."

          The Zodiac GM was referring to the fact that Holiday's birthday makes him a Gemini, which is highly compatible with Porzingis' sign of Leo. Or else Porzingis would've been on a team full of water signs and without an energy that would help him feel at ease, according to the Zodiac GM.

          In a league increasingly reliant on 3-pointers and analytics, there may be another trend that links the NBA's best teams.

          The Zodiac GM is at the forefront of this renaissance, breaking down potential success using a team's respective synergy based solely on astrological signs.

          "NBA teams are spending millions, millions of dollars [on] players. And it's kind of just, 'Hey, here, see if it works,'" they said. "But if you add this synergy analysis, you kind of get a sense, 'Hey, okay, this could work because he fits with our best player and that's what we want.'"

          ASTROLOGY IS NOTHING new. It refers to studying the position of stars and planets for the potential influence it could have on human affairs.

          There are four elements -- Earth (Taurus, Virgo and Capricorn), air (Gemini, Libra and Aquarius), water (Cancer, Scorpio and Pisces) and fire (Aries, Leo and Sagittarius). Each group represents three different characteristics: Cardinal, fixed and mutables.

          Each element has its own way of getting along with another. The Zodiac GM compared the understanding of element energies to speaking languages.

          Water and Earth elements communicate in one way, while fire and air elements communicate in another. However, according to the Zodiac GM, this difference in language doesn't necessarily mean they won't get along. Instead, it highlights their unique understanding of energy.

          The Zodiac GM uses this breakdown when analyzing the compatibility of teams. They focus on the signs of the key players, superstars, coaching staff or front office management to see if they match each other's energies.

          This compatibility equation fits a part of basketball that can't be explained through Xs and Os.

          It's like being on the court in a pick-up game with teammates you've never met. A pass is made and immediately the player cuts, receiving the ball again toward the hoop. Somehow the two players are aligned, even though they aren't aware of each other's tendencies.

          The Zodiac GM says that's synergy.

          "It factors into a whole season because when you have that togetherness, everything is more precise," they said. "They understand what's going on. It's like you don't even have to second guess. It's more refined."

          THE ZODIAC GM'S passion for astrology first crossed over to sports in 2017 when the Houston Rockets paired Chris Paul and James Harden.

          With Paul and Harden both primary ball handlers, then-Rockets head coach Mike D'Antoni acknowledged that they would "just have to figure it out a little bit."

          "James Harden being a Virgo, Chris Paul being a Taurus," the Zodiac GM said. "I had envisioned that it would work because of that energy matching. And I thought to myself, 'Hey, what if this has some sort of correlation on the court?'"

          In Paul and Harden's first season together, the Rockets won a franchise-high 65 games and were one win away from an NBA Finals berth.

          So what draws the Zodiac GM to basketball in particular?

          Unlike baseball or football, where a single position typically handles the ball during a play, basketball allows multiple positions to handle the ball within a single possession. The Zodiac GM explained that this connectivity impacts their play more than other sports.

          As their analysis for the Rockets began, they created a database on Excel, breaking down the zodiac signs team by team, eventually expanding to include the sun, moon and Mars signs of each player. Then they began researching championship teams and top duos dating back to 2000 to identify correlation with compatibility and success.

          What they found reaffirmed their beliefs -- a high percentage of the top duos were very compatible, just like Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, key players in Boston's 18th title win.

          "And no one looks at that," the Zodiac GM said. "Michael Jordan, [Scottie] Pippen, very compatible. [Karl] Malone, [John] Stockton, very compatible. [Stephen] Curry, Draymond [Green], very compatible. I mean, I can go on and on and on."

          The Knicks are a recent example of a team hoping the energies of their players match up.

          The New York Knicks acquired Mikal Bridges in a trade June 25, expanding the "Villanova Knicks."

          New York reunited Bridges with Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart and Donte DiVincenzo, who won a national championship together with the Villanova Wildcats. As analysts broke down the basketball fit, the Zodiac GM checked their astrological rolodex and prepared for rapid analysis. The Zodiac GM said they have most signs already memorized.

          "With that already in mind, I'm already calculating who are their strong influences," the Zodiac GM said.

          Key members of the Knicks franchise have created a solid foundation. The Zodiac GM said Brunson, a Virgo, and head coach Tom Thibodeau, a Capricorn, have a strong compatibility with each other's energy, which Bridges elevates.

          It's similar to the Denver Nuggets trading for Aaron Gordon in 2021. The Zodiac GM identified the Nuggets as a team with strong synergy in 2018, but adding Gordon took it to another level.

          "That one stood out a lot because I knew that they were gonna click, and this was [Nikola] Jokic and Gordon because Jokic is a Pisces and Gordon's a Virgo," they said. "Not only that, because they also connect well with their coach [Michael Malone], also connect well with their point guard, Jamal Murray."

          OTHER TEAMS haven't been as aligned.

          The Milwaukee Bucks paired Damian Lillard with two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo last September. The partnership looked dynamic on paper, but Milwaukee struggled in the duo's first season.

          The Bucks fired head coach Adrian Griffin in January and were bounced in the first round of the playoffs. The Zodiac GM saw it coming, even predicting Griffin's energy wouldn't be compatible with Antetokounmpo's.

          Astrologically speaking, new head coach Doc Rivers syncs with Antetokounmpo more than he does with Lillard, but the Zodiac GM believes Milwaukee is still trending in the wrong direction.

          The Zodiac GM said the Los Angeles Lakers have similar astrological woes because LeBron James, a Capricorn, isn't a great fit with the rest of the current Lakers roster. Excluding Anthony Davis, a Pisces, the Lakers locker room is full of energies opposite of James'.

          "I don't think they see it," the Zodiac GM said. "But that team doesn't favor LeBron one bit. But recently with [new head coach] JJ Redick [a Cancer] it's a step to move upwards."

          Luckily for NBA front offices, there might be an astrology blueprint for success.

          JULIUS ERVING KNOWS all about using zodiac signs to build a basketball team. Erving had a role in the 1979 comedic film, "The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh."

          The premise of the movie is simple: A struggling fictional basketball team decides to build its entire roster with players who are Pisces, the same sign as Erving's character. Forty-five years later, the value of a Pisces is evident in the NBA.

          Three of the nine players to finish in the 2023-24 MVP voting (Nikola Jokic, Tatum and Luka Doncic) are Pisces. That doesn't account for Joel Embiid, Stephen Curry, Draymond Green or Davis, who are also all Pisces.

          Pisces paired with Virgos -- such as Brunson or Harden -- create one of the more potent combinations for synergy.

          "As the game goes, whether it's within the game, a team jumps up to a 20-point lead, you need to adapt, you need to be flexible," the Zodiac GM said. "And signs like Pisces ... They tend to adapt well to that scenario. Their downside is inconsistency. But the trait of adaptability is a big deal. Same thing with Virgo[s]."

          Water and earth signs dominate the league compared to fire and air ones, the duo of Taurus and Capricorn being another example. Capricorns, such as James or Victor Wembanyama, tend to be good initiators and leaders. But they struggle with holding stability, which is where a Taurus can come in.

          THE ZODIAC GM acknowledged that when they went public with their analyses, they expected people to dismiss it. That didn't matter to them.

          "I just really wanted to get the point out there," they said. "Sort of, one, build a platform ... [and] kind of prove to the sports world and the NBA in particular [that], hey, there's something there. And I know there's something there because I've been seeing it for the past [seven] years."

          And people around professional sports have taken notice.

          The Zodiac GM revealed that numerous scouts across professional and college sports, a lower level employee of an NBA team and a general manager of a sports franchise have all reached out. They would not disclose names or team affiliations of who contacted them.

          The Zodiac GM made it clear that, in their opinion, teams should always still go for talent, which can overtake a lack of synergy -- though they said the Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and Harden Nets trio is one example of poor compatibility canceling talent out.

          But the Zodiac GM advised that the next time a big swing is possible, players with similar energies could make the difference between success and starting over.

          "Nothing is 100% right?" they said. "But you get a good feel of how players will connect. And in my opinion, I think that's a big factor. Organizations, they can scout talent, they can scout skill, but how are you going to anticipate chemistry?"

          Maybe it's written in the stars.