A LEGEND IS BORN II

[Fresh8]

Jason Kidd Still Has Some Magic Left Up His Sleeve

Preview | Box Score | Recap


Jason Kidd hits a second free throw before
making a game and seires clinching steal

29 April, 2010

SEATTLE (AP) – The Seattle Stealth were always in control for most of Game 7 against the Los Angeles Lakers, except for the start and near the finish. The Lakers started the game strongly on their opponent’s homecourt with a 13-5 run before Seattle came back and grabbed a 20-19 lead for their first of the game late in the opening quarter.

Seattle would then use the second quarter to build a 52-43 cushion leading into the halftime break before continuing with their strong play in the third quarter. The Stealth opened up a 15 point lead following two Derek Fisher turnovers that led to buckets and a Jason Kidd triple two steps behind the arc.

The Lakers staged a comeback to close the third quarter, turning their deficit around and cutting the Seattle lead to 5 points. Brad Miller had a surprising dunk to halt the Lakers’ run. “Brad looked like he dunked from the free throw line,” Kidd said, “I didn’t think that it was possible for him to get up that high at his age.” Miller’s dunk got the crowd into the game and the vocal support helped to bring Seattle home.

The Lakers remained stubborn and gave the Stealth one final challenge. Seattle found it tough to contain the Kobe Bryant-led onslaught and found themselves leading by only a meagre three points with just 34.0 second left in the match, after two Bryant free throws. When it seemed that Bryant would will his team to a win, it was Kidd who reached into his bag of tricks to produce a clutch performance to help his side to the win.

Kidd scored a short jumper with 21.9 left to put his side up by 5. Kevin Durant then fouled Bryant on the other end to prevent him from socring an easy two points; Bryant made both free throws though. With 11.3 left in the game, Kidd was sent to the free throw line where he calmly sank both freebies leading to the Lakers using their final timeout. After Phil Jackson rallied his troops and looked confident that either Fisher or Bryant would hit a big shot, Kidd came up with a big steal on the inbounds pass; it led to Durant scoring on the fastbreak with a dunk.

“That steal and dunk sealed the game,” George Karl stated, “No doubt about it. Kevin has been our best scorer all season long but Jason, Jason Kidd is our MVP. He came up big tonight.” Kidd went on to force a jumpball with 3.3 seconds left and David Lee won the tip, allowing Kidd to hold onto the rock and completing the seven game series with a Seattle victory against the Lakers.

As the Lakers walked off the Seattle floor dejectedly, the Stealth celebrated making the second round with their homecrowd booming with approval. “The sweet taste of victory!” Kidd said in a postgame interview, “No one thought we could have pulled this off. We sure proved them wrong.”

Kidd led the Stealth with 17 points and 16 assists while Durant led the team in scoring. Seattle’s bench came up big in this matchup with Jeff Green and Adam Morrison scoring 16 apiece. Brad Miller scored 8 of his 10 points in the third quarter, including his highlight reel dunk.

Bryant was the Lakers’ best and finished with 30 points while Fisher started the game strong with 15 first half points but was held scorless in the final period. Andrew Bynum was also strong in the first half with 10 of his 12 points scored in the first half. Luke Walton was chastised by Phil Jackson at the end of the game following his 4-14 shooting performance. Pau Gasol was once again disappointing and failed to score in double digits.

As the Stealth look towards their second round matchup against the defending NBA champions, New Orleans Hornets; the Lakers are looking back at the series and wondering what if Jordan Farmar had not been injured in Game 1. “If Jordan had played, I’m sure the series could have been different,” Phil Jackson stated in his last ever interview as an NBA head coach, “We have a lot to thank Adam Morrison for.”

Notes: Lakers PG Farmar was hurt in a collison with Morrison in Game 1… When questioned about what adjustments were made for Game 7, Karl stated that rookie C Rocky Akonnor made a big difference in the second half. “We were able to put a big body out there and bother the Lakers’ frontcourt. Gasol and Bynum couldn’t score against Rocky.” Akonnor finished with 6 rebounds… The Seattle frontcourt sturggled against the interior defence of Gasol and Bynum; the two of them combined for 7 blocks…

Quarter-by-Quarter Team Score

LA Lakers (Away) 21 – 22 – 25 – 25 – 93
Seattle (Home) 24 – 28 – 24 – 24 – 100

Jordan Player of the Game

Jason Kidd
17 Points
16 Assists
2 Rebounds
2 Steals
1 Block
7-13 FG
1-1 3PT
2-2 FT

Key Performers

Los Angeles Lakers

K Bryant 30 pt, 3 reb, 8 ast, 12-20 FG, 2-7 3PT, 4-4 FT
D Fisher 21 pt, 7 ast, 3 stl, 8-17 FG, 3-7 3PT, 2-2 FT
A Bynum 12 pt, 11 reb, 3 blk, 6-7 FG
L Walton 9 pt, 5 ast, 4-14 FG, 1-5 3PT
P Gasol 8 pt, 8 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl, 4 blk, 4-6 FG

Seattle Stealth (Win Series 4-3)

K Durant 20 pt, 9-13 FG, 2-3 3PT
A Morrison/b] 16 pt, 6-10 FG, 3-7 3PT, 1-1 FT
[b]J Green 16 pt, 4 reb, 7-8 FG, 2-3 3PT
B Miller 10 pt, 5-8 FG
D Lee 6 pt, 7 reb, 6 ast, 2 stl

[Fresh8]

Playoff News

Wade Leads Heat To Win

April 30, 2010

MIAMI (AP) – Dwyane Wade refused to let his teammates down and poured in 31 points and 8 assists in Game 7 against the Orlando Magic. Michael Beasley, a non-factor in the first six games, added 19 points and 9 rebounds.

Dwight Howard had a forgetable performance as he shot 5 for 16 from the field but did provide Orlando with 13 points, 9 rebounds, and 7 blocks. Courtney Lee’s 29 points was not enough to save the Magic from their 98-87 loss.

Read More…

- - -

Portland Trailblazers Upset Houston

April 30, 2010

HOUSTON (AP) – Homecourt advantage didn’t mean much to Blazers PG Steve Nash with 2.1 seconds left and a 1 point Rockets lead. Nash had his best game of the series and a series winning jumper at the buzzer, off a clean inbounds pass from Travis Outlaw. Nash finished the game with 23 points and 7 assists while Brandon Roy added 18 points and 10 assists.

Tracy MacGrady scored 23 points, Ron Artest had 19, and Yao Ming added 17 points and 14 rebounds in a 101-100 losing effort.

Read More…

- - -

New Orleans Closes Out Series

April 30, 2010

NEW ORLEANS (AP) – Game 7 saw the Hornets take out the eight seeded Minnesota Timberwolves 116-101 and allowed Byron Scott to have a bit more breathing space. The coach admitted, “I was a bit scared we wouldn’t pull through.” Chris Paul knows that his side needs to play a lot better if they are to have a chance of repeating their feat of winning the championship. “Minnesota made it tough for us but we also made it tough for ourselves,” the 2009 regular season MVP stated, “If we want to make the Finals, we need to step up.”

Paul finished the game with 15 points and 12 assists while David West added 24. Mike Bibby led Minnesota with 19 points and 12 assists and Al Jefferson also had a double double with 19 points and 11 rebounds. Mike Miller may have played his last game as a member of the Timberwolves, contributing 15 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 assists.

Read More…

- - -

Williams Hurt, Jazz Unable To Stop Nuggets

April 30, 2010

DENVER (AP) – Deron Williams was in pain just a minute into the game and it looked a sure thing that the Utah Jazz had no chance of pulling off a win in Game 7 of their series against the Denver Nuggets. Williams, playing hurt all series, aggravated his groin muscle and should have plenty of time to recuperate.

The star PG scored just 3 points in 43 minutes of game time but shot 1 for 17 from the field. “That was the worst game of my career,” Williams stated, “I’m pretty sure it was.” The Jazz were a much worse team with their superstar hurt and it showed as the Nuggets went on a scoring tear and finished with a 30 point blowout. Morris Almond led the Jazz with 17 points and 8 reobunds while rookie Donnel Lawrence was second best with 13 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 assists.

Carmelo Anthony had 25 points, 9 rebounds, and 5 assists, leading six other players in double figures. Chauncey Billups added 21 points, 7 assists, and 4 steals while Andrew Watson scored 11 points and had 6 assists.

Read More…

[Martti.]

Nice way to close out the series! Didn't think Kidd would be the hero..

What's important is that my prediction went correctly and that you beat the Hornets. (Although I bet them to be the champs )

[The X]

Yeah, Stealth & Nuggets advance....nice work

[Mandich]

Ole!!!! J-Kidd still got it. Be bye Lakers, Great win dude, as for the Hornets and Paul, just let Morrison guard Paul and injure him by "accident"

[Valor]

At last, Game 7
Great game by Kidd and certainly a great finish to the series, keep it up!

[Lamrock]

Stealth win! Glad to see Nuggets and Blazers advance as well. The victory is bittersweet though, as it leaves a cliffhanger for the second round. Nonetheless, congratulations!

[puttincomputers]

NEWS FLASH
-AP LA, California
Yemeni Feranski
Well the wait is over. The FBI has named the two players and some other surprise people!
Among the contraband confiscated were documents tying someone within the Lakers organization to the referee scandal. This news will rock the nba world as well as the college basketball world as the two players are non other than Hakim Warrick and Mikki Moore! this may be the reason that Luke Walton was so absentminded in the last game. He said the following.

I am deeply saddened by the shadow that has befallen my two friends. We became very close. I knew that something was up last fall as one them gave an odd excuse to being late to practice.

I asked Phil Jackson about the proceedings earlier this week and he stated...

...this will haunt me and I will not be able too coach again because I no longer have any confidence in nba players

It was amazing he stated this as it has come to light that the 2 players were actually lower level drug traffickers! The FBI actually arrested PHIL JACKSON this morning at his home! As he was being led away he was heard saying

If only those players would have practiced zen I would not be in this position!

This was an odd thin for Phil to say as it has come to light that Phil himself introduced drugs to each player at the beginning of the season and stated that it would enhance the power of zen!

Because of this coming to light stealth player Trevor Ariza was under public suspicion! Then it came to light that he himself was the one who blew the whistle!

When Phil Jackson heard that a former player was the whistle blower he was heard to say...

It must be Ariza! That kid always was a self righteous softy!

Other well known people also under investigation are Phil Mickelson, Dennis Rodman, and Spike Lee.

When Tiger Woods heard he stated..

I always knee he was a little weird

as to the referee scandal the FBI is still mum on that

[kibaxx7]

Yes! Great win bro, it will be really hard to beat the defending champions. Good luck!

[Lamrock]

Holy shit. 1000th reply. This thread is insane.

[Fresh8]

Thank you everyone for helping me get to 1000 replies and 20 pages. Holy moly.

It has been a lot of fun bringing you this association!

I hope you all enjoy!

Shoutouts to, in particular order, Lamrock, The X, Martti, StupidBoy, Thierryhenry, Oskar, Valor, ratrac, homicide, puttincomputers, mandich, mark, zanshadow (who i hope is still reading... that kevin durant lover)... I know I'm missing a ton more people but my head is fucked right now, just finished a 2500 word paper in 5 hours... Just holla and I can put you in this post.

I've had so much success, you guys think I can get this in the Dynasty Hall of Fame?

[kibaxx7]

I've had so much success, you guys think I can get this in the Dynasty Hall of Fame?

Stupid question bro. Of course you will... I hope I can get one, if I finish one

[puttincomputers]

it most definitely will be!
.. and not because of anything i did!

[Lamrock]

I've had so much success, you guys think I can get this in the Dynasty Hall of Fame?

I've been meaning to try and get some quality control in the HOF, since some weak dynasties have been inducted I think standards should be raised, even if it means mine is removed.

And even with standards raised to the very highest, this would get in immediately and with flying colors. The fact that its a 2K9 association could eliminate it on a technicality, but I think this is too good not to induct. Its up there with A Legend Is Born 1 and X's Bobcats in the greatest dynasties ever ranks. It has everything.

[Valor]

The fact that its a 2K9 association could eliminate it on a technicality,

Maybe we could ask Andrew to make a HOF section for 2K Associations?
and yes Sit, i agree with everyone else, your association not being inducted in the dynasty HOF is like saying Michael Jordan shouldn't be inducted in the basketball HOF, it's simply too good

[The X]

I doubt the dynasty would be in the HOF as it's not Live....but rest assured, if it is not, then I might make my own Hall of Fame thread to add the control element that Lamrock is talking about....would cover Live/2k/Other Sports Stories....and what's better than an "X Hall of Fame"?!? Actually, don't answer that

[homicide1550]

Damn! Vintage J-Kidd.. 17 points and 16 assists.. awesome numbers.. good to see you advance to the next round!

edit: This is clearly HOF material, it may be a 2K Association story but this is just too good for it not to be inducted...

[homicide1550]

I've been meaning to try and get some quality control in the HOF, since some weak dynasties have been inducted I think standards should be raised, even if it means mine is removed.

I hope you do get some control over the HOF and clean it up, there are some really weak dynasties over there...

[Martti.]

There has to be a 2K dynasty HOF just because of this story.

[StupidBoy]

Is that even a question? Of course this is HOF material, this dynasty itself deserves its own HOF And dude, thanks for the shoutout First ever for me xD

Anyway, I'm glad that you disposed of the Lakers They went a bit too far this year xD Good luck, who's your next opponent?

[kibaxx7]

Didn't see the shoutout Thanks bro!

[Fresh8]

Thanks everyone. It's just that this isn't Live. I wonder if they would make an exception, just this once...

Anyways StupidBoy, the next update should answer your question.

[Fresh8]

NBA Playoffs: Second Round
NBA Playoffs: Previews At-A-Glance

Join ESPN.com’s Woody Hannes in this quick series-by-series preview to get up to speed with the NBA playoffs as it enters the second stage. Click on the links to read more about the series you are interested in.

Western Conference

1. New Orleans Hornets (58-24) vs 5. Seattle Stealth (50-32)

The Seattle Stealth surprised many when they came out of their first round match up against the LA Lakers as 4-3 winners. Those same critics aren’t changing their tune as the young Stealth run into the defending NBA champions. New Orleans sans Tyson Chandler are still a formidable side and were a little bit surprised to find themselves playing in a Game 7 against the relatively lowly Minnesota Timberwolves.

The Hornets won all of their home games to close out the series and shouldn’t expect much resistence from Seattle as the Stealth had problems of their own; failing to close out their series against the Lakers in Games 5 and 6 before running out as 7 point winners in the seventh and deciding game thanks to some inspirational play from Jason Kidd. Without homecourt advantage, it is hard to see Seattle upsetting the Hornets but Seattle’s George Karl is quietly confident due to the absense of Chanlder and the recent erratic play of Chris Paul.

Kevin Durant and Jason Kidd should see plenty more game time against the Hornets in this series as they were able to be afforded plenty of rest in the first round. While New Orleans has a number of defenders to throw at Durant, the NBA leading scorer, Seattle might have little resistence against 2009 MVP Chris Paul. Kidd’s age and lack of speed should be exposed by Paul while Sebastian Telfair is too small and shouldn’t fare any better. If Seattle are to win, they will need to stop Chris Paul.

Read More…

2. Denver Nuggets (55-27) vs 6. Portland Trailblazers (48-34)

The Denver Nuggets were supposed to cruise throughout the playoffs but allowed the Utah Jazz to get in the way. The Nuggets just did not execute against Utah in Salt Lake City despite Jazz star Deron Williams playing with an injury and Denver only survived Utah’s assualt in Game 7 thanks to William’s groin injury flaring up and resulting in a 1-17 shooting night from the PG.

Denver has incredible depth at all positions, their bench boasts Lineas Kleiza, JR Smith, and Bobby Jackson who are all starting-caliber players. Their starting five of Nene, Kenyon Martin, Carmelo Anthony, Andrew Watson, and Chauncey Billups is one of the best in the Western Conference. If there is any team that rivals that depth, it would be the Portland Trailblazers whom Denver did not expect to meet in the second round. “This will make things interesting,” Anthony commented when told they would face Portland.

Portland made a number of big signings but it hasn’t payed off. Carlos Boozer, an All-Star caliber PF, has not performed up to scratch while Steve Nash has seemingly made Brandon Roy a lesser player. Nevertheless, on paper, Portland has a strong squad that is able to match up against Denver. The Blazers actually have a chance of winning this series.

Read More…

Eastern Conference

1. Detroit Pistons (54-28) vs 4. Boston Celtics (47-35)

Detorit and Boston are the only two undefeated teams in the playoffs so far but don’t expect that to stay that way. The Pistons and Celtics series should go the full seven games with plenty of low scores. One NBA scout said, “I just don’t see these teams scoring a lot. Detroit has been really defensive orientated and although Boston likes to put points on their opponents, they’re not the run and gun type and should be drawn into a physical contest. I think Boston likes that though.”

Everyone expected Detroit to brush aside the Washington Wizards but no one thought that Boston would sweep the MVP-led Cavaliers. “I guess we even surprised ourselves a litte,” Ray Allen admitted before Paul Pierce interjected, “We’re just showing that we mean business right now.” Boston was impressive as they used a team effort to defeat LeBron and his Cavs. With Garnett, Allen, Pierce, and even Rajon Rondo all socring 20 points a night, Boston looks tough to stop as they want to avenge their loss to Detroit last season in the same stage of the playoffs; Boston lost 4-1 to Detroit as the Pistons went on to contest the Finals.

“They stopped us last year and we couldn’t defend our crown,” Garnett said, “There’s no pressure on us, it’s on them because they are desperate to get back to the Finals. We can beat them.”

Read More…

2. Atlanta Hawks (50-32) vs 3. Miami Heat (49-33)

This series will be a test between having one superstar and having a team. Atlanta has plenty of depth with Joe Johnson and Josh Smith at the forefront. Al Horford, Tayshawn Prince, Ben Gordon, and Marvin Williams are just some of the players who make the Hawks look like a darkhorse to contend for the title this season.

The Heat are led by Dwyane Wade who has impressively and single handily led his side to the second round behind a number of big scoring efforts in the first round. That includes his 31 points and 8 assists he racked up against the Magic in a 98-87 Game 7 win. “What D Wade has done to get his team to face us makes me speechless,” Johnson told reporters after a team training, “But I’m confident that our team can slow him down and we should be able to beat the Heat.”

Michael Beasley and Mario Chalmers are the Heat’s next best players but have been inconsistent during these playoffs. Meanwhile, Atlanta vows that it will send both Williams and Prince at Wade on defence with the hope that their length will be able to stop the swingman. Former Heat star Ben Gordon is looking forward to taking on the team he turned his back on last Summer, “It’s time for me to prove why I decided to sign with the Hawks. We’re a better team and a better chance to contend for a title.”

Read More…

[Lamrock]

Hornets in 6
Nuggets in 7
Celtics in 7
Heat in 6

Great playoff previews. Doubt mine will hold a candle to them but I'll try. I think with this association, Thierry's Magic and mine (maybe), we could get a HOF going. At the very least, this topic could be pinned.

[puttincomputers]

Hornets in 7
Nuggets in 5
Pistons in 5
Heat in 7