A LEGEND IS BORN II

[StupidBoy]

Great chapter
And I think that was just a flashback of what happened to his mom, since she's in a hospital So Ty will just continue playing

[Fresh8]

Nice try but his mom wasn't in a car crash.

[The X]

It was probably Kevin Durant's mum

[Valor]

nice chapter here Sit
looking forward to the chapter 20

[KlemenPipic]

great chapter man i was shocked when i read that Tyson crashed

[Fresh8]

The X, you're evil. But no, it's not Durant's mom.

[Fresh8]

Which Team Will Be The Cinderella Story For The NBA?
Western Conference Finals Preview: 5. Seattle Stealth (50-32) vs. 6. Portland Trailblazers (48-34)


By Woody Hannes
ESPN.com Junior Writer

The two surprise teams of the NBA postseason will match up in what may turn out to be a more evenly contested Western Conference Finals than expected. Woody Hannes presents an in-depth position by position analysis.

Centre: Greg Oden vs. Brad Miller. The experience of Brad Miller will make no difference as we are expecting a futile effort from the former All-Star C in his attempt to hold down the younger and finally healthy Greg Oden. Oden will shut down Miller and Miller will struggle to stop the big man from overpowering him. Edge: Blazers

Power Forward: Carlos Boozer vs. David Lee. David Lee is coming off a great series, especially in Games 3 and 4, against the New Orleans Hornets. Carlos Boozer is in the same boat though, playing fully healthy for the first time in months. Lee prefers the open court and a faster tempo while Boozer is the opposite and enjoys a slower game. However, Boozer is a much better rebounder and can score in a variety of ways. Boozer should win this matchup but if Lee and the Stealth bait the Blazers into a run and gun affair, Boozer could very much be left behind in the midst of it. Edge: Blazers

Small Forward: Travis Outlaw vs. Kevin Durant. Outlaw will hit a few threes and might take advantage of the fact that Durant is injured with a strained MCL; Outlaw certainly has the physical tools to put his body up against the NBA’s leading scorer. Realistically though, do you think Outlaw is going to be able to shut down Durant for a whole series? Edge: Stealth

Shooting Guard: Brandon Roy vs. Reshawn Tyson. Roy is the Blazers’ best player. He doesn’t top score every night and sometimes he may seem to have been a total non-factor but what Roy does sometimes does not appear on a score sheet. The special thing about the All-Star SG is that he does a bit of everything. Reshawn Tyson will have his hands full but if the rookie can shut down Roy, like he did to Chris Paul, then Portland may be in trouble. Edge: Blazers

Point Guard: Steve Nash vs. Jason Kidd. This is an interesting matchup because during the last offseason, both players were targets of the Seattle franchise. The Stealth ended up signing Kidd mainly because of the fact that he is a more of an all-around talent than Nash. The move seems to have paid off because Nash has been terribly inconsistent for the Blazers. Kidd still has what it takes to be an above-average defender despite of his age while also having the energy to set up team mates for easy opportunities. Kidd also has more experience than Nash, leading the New Jersey Nets to two previous NBA Finals appearances. Nash has been to the Western Conference Finals three times in his career and will be hoping that this fourth time will be the first time he wins it. It’s great to have the two veteran All-Stars in this matchup. Edge: Stealth

Bench: LeMarcus Aldridge, Jerryd Bayless, Martell Webster vs. Adam Morrison, Jeff Green, Chris Wilcox. Both benches bring a lot for their respective teams. LeMarcus Aldridge is probably the most talented out of both team benches not to be starting. Jeff Green is not far off though. Both benches add size, scoring, and defense to their teams and are major reasons for getting so far in the postseason. Edge: Tie

Coaches: Nate McMillan vs. George Karl. McMillan faces off against his former coach. He knows how Karl likes his teams to play and this becomes even more advantageous because Karl has been molding his team to be in similar form to his Seattle Sonics teams of the 90s. And surprise surprise, McMillan (known as Mr Sonic) was a defensive specialist on those teams. Karl is still the master though so expect him to make some adjustments; his one to start Tyson at SG worked wonders in the sweep of the Hornets. McMillan on the other hand has been criticized for not starting Aldridge, even with Boozer struggling with injury, and this makes one wonder whether he would be willing to put on a player in a tight ball game ahead of one he favors. Edge: Stealth

Intangibles: Blazers’ health and size vs. Stealth’s home court advantage. Seattle struggled to contain the Lakers’ duo of Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum. No one would ever call these two tough. Portland has Oden, Boozer, and Aldridge and this is a scary proposition right there. And for the first time this season, Portland’s whole roster is actually healthy. This is why they were able to knock off the higher seeded Houston Rockets and Denver Nuggets, prompting people to be ‘shocked’. Note to fans: Don’t be shocked because the Blazers are stacked the last time I checked. The reason they only won 48 games was because of chemistry issues and injury issues earlier this season. The teams are actually fairly even matched (the season series was 2-2 between these two sides) and if it does come down to anything, it may well be Seattle’s home court advantage that decides the series. Portland needs to open the series with a win in Seattle to have any chance to winning. Seattle is in real danger if they can’t win at home. Edge: Blazers

Result: Blazers in 6

[kibaxx7]

Great preview bro If Tyson plays and contains Roy, then you have the series on your pocket.

[XpLosibo]

i love reading matchup analysis, with the exception of aldridge i think u hav a more solid bench w/c could be the key against the blazers.. Realistically, this is going to be a great series that is going down the wire

[Mark.]

stealth in 6
Celtics in 7

[Fresh8]

Great preview bro If Tyson plays and contains Roy, then you have the series on your pocket.

Thanks man, I hope Tyson can step up and shut down Roy... Brandon Roy gives my team nightmares!

i love reading matchup analysis, with the exception of aldridge i think u hav a more solid bench w/c could be the key against the blazers.. Realistically, this is going to be a great series that is going down the wire

Well, the Blazers front court of Oden and Boozer and then Joel Pryzbilla and Lemarcus Aldridge is what worries me the most. Bayless and Webster are awesome great shooters from off bench... I think Seattle has met its match here.

[hova-]

This will be tough. I dont know how you can contain Oden and Boozer. You really have to shoot well, especially from 3pt range I guess. You wont see many boards .. and will see many of your shots flying into the stands. Anyway, nice in depth preview and good luck against the Blaz0rs.

[Oskar]

This will be tough. I dont know how you can contain Oden and Boozer. You really have to shoot well, especially from 3pt range I guess. You wont see many boards .. and will see many of your shots flying into the stands. Anyway, nice in depth preview and good luck against the Blaz0rs.

Boozer can't block or rebound, so only Oden is the problem. G'luck against the Blazers by the way, Roy is god, but Tyson will do good against him. Still lovin' the stories, the greatest dynasty I've got to say again.

[Lamrock]

Boozer can't block, but he has averaged 10+ rebounds for the past three seasons. :S Meanwhile, Greg Oden is just terrible. Aldridge and Pryzbilla are concerns, but their overall is probably lowered by their morale.

I think Seattle has this. They were hoping to get Potland in the first round, and now they have them in the third. Stealth win the I-5 series.

[hova-]

Boozers a beast on the boards. In real life as well as in the game. Those shots flying into the stands would be from Oden and Przbylla .. and maybe even Aldridge in the game.

[Fresh8]

Oskar, Boozer can score and rebound.

Lamrock, Oden is a beast.

And hova, word on the street is that Chris Hova is a potential first overall draft pick. (checked on the mock draft and it says you are number 1 ahead of nba_baller)

[Fresh8]

Chapter 20

Ty couldn’t move his right arm and all he could hear was a funny buzz in his ears. The noise was getting deafening. Then he started to cough up blood.
My girl! Ty quickly thought to himself.
He tried to turn his head but he couldn’t turn it far enough to see if she was ok. Ty knew he should have been hearing sirens by now. He felt an arm tugging at his sleeve but he was not too sure if it was real. Then, his world turned pitch black.

“He‘s going to be fine, he’s stable now!” the paramedic called to the nurses who had come out to help wheel Ty into the hospital.
Ahead of them was Ty’s girlfriend.
“She’s in a critical condition!”
They wheeled her into the emergency section and transferred her onto a hospital bed. A doctor was rushed to her side.
A nurse checked for her pulse, “I don’t have a pulse!”
The doctor worked hurriedly, “Quick, get me…”
Meanwhile, another doctor was checking on Ty who was still unconscious. Rocky Akonnor and Mrs Akonnor had arrived at the hospital half an hour later after receiving news of the accident. The doctors managed to save Ty’s girlfriend but bad news was to ensue.

It was early morning and Ty was lying down in the bed. His right arm was in a sling and both his left leg was plastered. He had done quite some damage to his body. Rocky had gone out to make a few phone calls while Mrs Akonnor stayed by Ty’s side. Ty had just been on the phone to Coach Williams. The Tar Heels coach wanted to know if he was ok.
“How is she?” Ty asked Mrs Akonnor.
Mrs Akonnor lied, “She’s fine right now.”
“That’s good…” Ty said, as he shut his eyes.
He was tired and he was happy to know that his high school sweetheart wasn’t hurt. Mrs Akonnor sat there in the dark with tears rolling down her cheeks.

* * *

Ty had returned to New York so that he could go to the hospital. As he looked at her through the glass, he felt weak at the knees and shook his head in disbelief.
“I’m sorry,” he said to himself.
A nurse gave him a tissue to wipe his face. She knew that he was a regular to visit Maria Newman; the victim of a near-fatal car crash.
“It wasn’t your fault. It was an accident,” the nurse consoled Ty.
Ty didn’t say anything. All he could think of was the moment the doctor had told him that Maria was in a coma and might never wake up again. Maria didn’t have family as she was an orphan. She met Rehsawn in high school and the two had dated since their senior year. When Ty went to UNC, she could not follow because her grades were not good enough to go to college. She stayed at home and went to a small college in a bid to raise her test scores. She wanted to go to college one day.
“One day, I’m going to become something Ty,” he remembered her telling him, “You’re going to be a big star and I’m not going to be who I was before. We’re going to have a family and we’re going to have kids. We’re going to be happy!”
Maria had hung out with the wrong crowd in high school before Ty came along into her life. He made her realize that she had to work so that there would be something for her at the end of school. What touched her most was that a clean cut guy like Ty would take notice of her. He didn’t care about her past and didn’t worry about what people said. His mom did not like her but over time she had grown to accept her. Ty ended up falling in love with her.
“You know why this hurts so much?” Ty asked the nurse who had heard this so many times before.
“I can’t believe I did this to someone I love so much.”

The graves of his mother and brother were beside each other, Ty had gone to visit them with flowers. He knelt on the ground and looked at them.
“I’m making it mom,” he said, “I know that you would be proud of me.”
He would always feel guilty about all the people he had lost already. His mother and brother. His girlfriend hooked up on life support.
“It’s time for me to go now, I will visit some other time,” Ty got up.
He turned around and left the graveyard. He drove home and collected his belongings. Three hours later, he would be back at the airport and getting on a flight to return to Seattle. He had to rejoin his team to prepare for the Western Conference Finals.

* * *

Coach Karl had put his team through another grueling workout to get his players back up to speed.
“I know you all went home for two days and probably have not picked up a basketball. That’s I need to whip you all back into shape!”
The team was then separated into a grey and purple team. The grey team was led by Kidd and the purple team was led by Durant. Ty was on Kidd’s side. The scrimmage had lasted twenty minutes with Grey leading 48-47.
One of the assistants called out, “First one to 50 wins!”
Durant’s team had the ball and he smiled. Durant ran up to Telfair at halfway and was handed the ball. Ty immediately check onto Durant.
“You can’t stop me,” Durant told him.
Ty stayed in defensive stance, “You want to bet?”
Durant then drove to his left with Ty sticking on him. Durant was dribbling towards the three point line and caught Jeff Green with a lightning quick pass. Green caught the ball in stride near the free throw line and continued with it. Green scored a layup past the outstretched arms of Chris Wilcox and Brad Miller. Purple led 49-48.
“Told you that you couldn’t do nothing,” Durant boasted.
Purple were in a full court press and Kidd called a timeout. Karl hesitated because he didn’t like practices to start and stop. He wanted them to play on but he decided that it was good to practice as if it were an actual game. Both teams got together in their own respective huddles.
Kidd said to Ty, “I’m going to get you the ball and you hit that jumper to win this.”
Durant was telling his team at the same time, “They’re going to give it to the rookie. Let me take care of things.”
Both teams got back onto the court. Miller inbounded the ball to Kidd. Kidd looked around and spotted Ty. He passed the ball to Ty, who caught it with ease, and Durant wasted no time to come up to his man. Ty head faked and dribbled to his right. Durant stuck his foot out and Ty tripped. Ty lost the ball and looked up as Durant had the ball. Telfair had come up to them and got it off Durant. Telfair began to dribble up the floor with Durant already ahead.
“Hey! What was that?” Ty was yelling as he pulled himself off the floor.
Telfair passed the ball back to Durant who was going up for a game winning layup. Adam Morrison had somehow caught up to Durant and went up at the same time as Durant, tackling him onto the ground. Durant quickly jumped up and lunged at Morrison. Morrison didn’t hesitate and the two were entangled, with team mates and coaching staff jumping in between to stop them from hurting one another.

* * *

“I can’t believe we let this one slip away,” Andrew Watson was saying to Chauncey Billups.
Carmelo Anthony was at the other side of the room, talking to some reporters, “I guess we just didn’t work hard enough for it. We came into these playoffs thinking we were the team to beat but we didn’t handle the pressure too well.”
The Nuggets had just lost Game Six at home, setting up a Seattle and Portland Western Conference Final. In the other change room, the Blazers were in high spirits. Their captain Steve Nash, seemed more serious than usual though, reminding his troops that a tougher test awaited them in a matter of days.
“Good win guys,” Nash had said to everyone, “We need to keep this play up if we want to make the Finals. There’s no room for error now. I’ve been this far before three times and I really want to make it further this year.”
Brandon Roy stated, “We got you man. We’re going to get that ring for you.”
Carlos Boozer challenged Greg Oden, “You going to show that you’re better than Durant?”
Oden joked, “I’m going to murder him.”
Boozer laughed, “Yeah boy.”
“Stay focused guys. Let’s win that ring,” Nash reminded everyone.
The Portland Trailblazers were ready to try and become the big surprise of the season.

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[Lamrock]

Great chapter. Life sucks for Ty. Hope Rocky's not next. I'm glad to see that he'll play against the Blazers. BEAT PORTLAND!

[kibaxx7]

Great chapter. I just can't stand Durant

[Valor]

Nice chapter here, great flashback story in the beginning revealing the tragedies that has occurred in Ty's life so far.

looking forward to the Blazers series

[homicide1550]

Damn! Never really thought that it would just be flashback, I guess Ty will be playing.. Portland is a well-stacked team, good luck bro!

[Martti.]

Ty will play, you will win, Durant's an ass.

[Fresh8]

Life sucks for Ty. Hope Rocky's not next.

Actually, as you can probably tell, Rocky has had more luck than Ty... Rocky's family gets by and brought Ty in as a second son after his mom, brother passed away.

I just can't stand Durant

No one can right now.

Nice chapter here, great flashback story in the beginning revealing the tragedies that has occurred in Ty's life so far.

And more to come unfortunately...

Damn! Never really thought that it would just be flashback

That was the plan!

Ty will play, you will win, Durant's an ass.

Thanks man... and oh, a message from the Memphis Grizzlies Coaching staff: 'How do you feel about playing C despite being 6'8''?'

[The X]

Yep, we definitely didn't come out & play very well the entire playoffs to tell you the truth....needing 7 games to dispatch the Jazz, blowing opportunities against the Blazers....there's always next year I guess

[Fresh8]

I've got to say losing to Portland was less surprising than needing 7 games against Utah. Utah had nobody and their star player Deron Williams was injured the whole series... Portland at least has a great team. Oh well, as you said there's always next year!