A LEGEND IS BORN II

[Lamrock]

Blazers are my team. Only reason I haven't done a Blazers association in a few years is because I like to use mediocre/below average teams. Nice previews. The Pistons have a very weak roster!

[megarover]

I never understand why Miami is so good here

[kaiser_kobe]

Wow, Farmar had that rare Lebron-esque performance!

Pretty balanced scoring soars the Stealth to the next round, nice job!

Good luck with the Blazers, you will need it.

Sorta balanced... Durant had like 30 and everyone else had 10...

Not sure if that kind of effort will get us past the Blazers.

Haha, I still want it to be termed as balanced! If Durant had been more ballhog in that game, then his supporting cast would have scores further lower than that!

Go Durantula, shoot your web against the Blazers!

[The X]

Yey go Lakers, Farmar really step up big time.

The Nuggets lose The X would be very upset

The X will cry like a baby!

You will pay for that. To make such a comment just before I was going to edit draft classes

Actually, doesn't matter. I already have my own plans & potential college storylines for NLSC-ers (if I put them in) & not everybody will be happy

[Fresh8]

Blazers are my team. Only reason I haven't done a Blazers association in a few years is because I like to use mediocre/below average teams. Nice previews. The Pistons have a very weak roster!

Pistons are teh awesome!

I never understand why Miami is so good here

Wade + Beasley = Awesomeness!

Wow, Farmar had that rare Lebron-esque performance!

Pretty balanced scoring soars the Stealth to the next round, nice job!

Good luck with the Blazers, you will need it.

Sorta balanced... Durant had like 30 and everyone else had 10...

Not sure if that kind of effort will get us past the Blazers.

Haha, I still want it to be termed as balanced! If Durant had been more ballhog in that game, then his supporting cast would have scores further lower than that!

Go Durantula, shoot your web against the Blazers!

Kevin Team Durant is the man!

Yey go Lakers, Farmar really step up big time.

The Nuggets lose The X would be very upset

The X will cry like a baby!

You will pay for that. To make such a comment just before I was going to edit draft classes

Actually, doesn't matter. I already have my own plans & potential college storylines for NLSC-ers (if I put them in) & not everybody will be happy

I will fight fire with fire.

[Fresh8]

NBA Playoffs: Second Round
NBA Playoffs: Western Conference 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 before they begin. Click on the links to read more about the series you are interested in.

1. Portland Trailblazers (55-27) vs. 5. Seattle Stealth (46-36)

Team Rotations
Portland: C: G Oden | PF: C Boozer | SF: B Roy | SG: B Gordon | PG: S Nash | J Bayless
Seattle: C: A Bogut | PF: D Lee | SF: K Durant | SG: R Bell | PG: J Kidd | R Wallace

Series Breakdown The Stealth always knew that they would be facing off against the Portland Trailblazers and after a horror series last year against them; it’s going to be pretty hard to root for Seattle considering how much better the Blazers are this year. With a season and NBA Finals appearance under their belts, the Blazers finished with the League-best record of 55 wins.

Despite losing Travis Outlaw and Lamarcus Aldridge; the Blazers made a crucial move in replacing both of them with the gunning Ben Gordon. The undersized backcourt of Nash and Gordon has exceeded everyone’s expectations. Although perimeter defense is not there, instant offense is especially with Jerryd Bayless coming from off the bench. James Posey was also traded for to add some experience to the side by offloading the young Martell Webster. Brandon Roy has played exceptionally well at small forward while Greg Oden and Carlos Boozer have formed an effective frontline.

The Stealth have also made giant strides since last playoffs. Raja Bell was added to start at shooting guard and allowing the team to finally have a consistent threat from behind the arc. Seattle traded for Andrew Bogut with the expendable Adam Morrison and the Australian big man has proved to be an important cog of the team’s engine room. The team’s biggest move however was the deal for Rasheed Wallace who has turned out to be an invaluable sixth man and leader for Seattle.

Both teams are more experienced and skilled than last year but there is still a gap in talent between the two sides. Portland has a starting lineup of guys who can each score 20 a game for any other team in the league. Seattle has Durant. That’s it. Expect Durant to keep Seattle in this but for Portland to ultimately prove that they are a superior team and continue their march towards a championship.

Read More…

Woody’s Prediction Portland in 6

6. Golden State Warriors (46-36) vs. 7. Los Angeles Lakers (45-37)

Team Rotations
Golden State: C: A Biedrins | PF: B Wright | SF: C Maggette | SG: M Belinelli | PG: M Ellis | L Nixon
LA Lakers: C: A Bynum | PF: P Gasol | SF: K Bryant | SG: J Carter | PG: J Farmar | R Stuckey

Series Breakdown The two surprise teams of the playoffs are matched up here. Knocking off two of the strongest contenders for the NBA title, the Warriors and Lakers have a lot to live up to. Both teams are exciting and play at a fast pace; so expect this series to be another high scoring affair. This one could go either way and most probably to 7 games.

The Warriors get home court advantage and that could prove beneficial for them if the series goes the distance. Monta Ellis has played great but did not necessarily outplay anyone during the Nuggets-Warriors series as Chauncey Billups looked like an All-Star also. If Golden State wants to win, Ellis needs to be able to contain the likes of Jordan Farmar and Rodney Stuckey. That actually goes for the entire Warriors team who look like they’ve never played defense at all in their lives. The one key for the Warriors though is rookie guard Louis Nixon who has been stunning all season. If Nixon is able to provide the Warriors with his high scoring, precision passing game then the Bay Area team is hard to stop.

The Lakers will want to get Golden State into a half court game. There is no doubt that the Lakers could match the Warriors in a full court pelting, there is no denying that they are a superior team in the half court. Slowing down the tempo will allow the side to take advantage of their size advantage in their frontline while keeping games close will help them because they have Kobe Bryant to close games for them. Bryant has been on and off recently and it will be on him if the Lakers fail to advance against the Warriors.

This series is like a flip of a coin; it can go either way. However, look for LA to advance with their superior size and the mere fact that Kobe Bryant is motivated to keep gunning for his elusive fourth ring and first without Shaquille O’Neal. Kobe knows that time is running out and this is the perfect scenario for his Lakers. Bryant and the Lakers always thought they would have to play Denver if they got this far but it seems that the basketball gods have answered his call and delivered the Warriors to them in the second round.

Read More…

Woody’s Prediction Lakers in 6

[The X]

My predictions:

Miami in 6
Cavs in 7

Blazers in 7
Lakers in 4

[Fresh8]

NBA Playoff Predictions
Get Your Tips In, Earn Points, Your Virtual Player Reaps The Benefits

Get your tips in guys for each playoff series and earn points that you will be able to use on your virtual player in this Association! Please participate even if your player has not appeared in this Association because it will be worthwhile. All rewards will be announced at the completion of the Postseason.

How This Works?

The playoff matchups will be posted in a series-by-series playoff preview. You will then be given some time to post your predicted outcome of each series. Don’t forget to choose the winner and amount of games won by each team.

Scores will be accumulated and posted prior to the commencement of the next round.

What Implications Does It Have For You?

All the points accumulated, no matter if you finish first or last, will be able to be used on your virtual player. How that will happen will be explained at the completion of the postseason.

And if you do not have a virtual player part of this association, don’t forget that there are still spots available for additional rookies in future Draft Classes!

Scoring System

General Scoring

If you pick the winner of the series - +10 Point
If the winner has a worse record than their opponent - +5 Points
If you correctly pick the amount of games won by each team - +5 Points

Other

If you come first in the competition - +50 Points
If you come second in the competition - +25 Points
If you come third in the competition - +10 Points

Now that you are aware of this competition, please start positing your predictions!

An example of how to vote will be posted below this post.

[Fresh8]

How To Make Your Predictions
An Example Of How To Submit Your Predictions For the Second Round

Note that this is for the Second Round only. Please follow this template! Thank you.

Second Round Predictions

Portland win 4-2
LA Lakers win 4-3

Miami win 4-2
Cleveland win 4-2

Leaderboard: Name | Points | Tiebreaker*

1. Kaiser_kobe | 85 | 7
2. Clutch | 80 | 6
3. Mark. | 75 | 6
4. Hova | 70 | 5
5. Martti | 65 | 5
6. Lamrock | 60 | 5
6. Valor | 60 | 5
7. ChrisO0 | 45 | 4
7. Dare | 45 | 4
7. De8 | 45 | 4
7. The X | 45 | 4
8. megarover | 40 | 4
9. Cartar | 40 | 3
9. puttincomputers | 40 | 3
10. Thierry | 30 | 3
11. Skills | 0 | 0

* Tiebreaker – If two or more people have the same amount of points, the tiebreaker is decided by how many series you correctly picked.

[Lamrock]

Seattle win 4-3
LA Lakers win 4-2

Miami win 4-1
Detroit win 4-3

[dare]

Seattle win 4-2
LA Lakers win 4-2

Miami win 4-1
Cleveland win 4-1

[kibaxx7]

Seattle win 4-3
LA Lakers win 4-3

Miami win 4-1
Cleveland win 4-2

[Valor]

Portland win 4-3
LA Lakers win 4-2

Miami Win 4-2
Cleveland Win 4-3

[hova-]

Stealth in 7
Warriors in 6

Heat in 5
Cavs in 6


Good job on the whole coverage. Read it all in a hurry, since I'm at my gf's laptop. Like it!

[Fresh8]

Everyone, you only have 24 hours to make your predictions. It ends after I release the next chapter!

[Martti.]

Heat in 5
Cavs in 6

Lakers in 7
Stealth in 7

[Cartar]

Miami in 6
Cleveland in 5

Portland in 6
Lakers in 5

[|)e8*]

Second Round Predictions

Portland win 4-3
LA Lakers win 4-2

Miami win 4-3
Cleveland win 4-2

[Clutch]

Stealth win 4-3
GSWs win 4-3
Miami win 4-2
Cleveland win 4-1

[kaiser_kobe]

Is that leaderboard for real? Didn't realize that my predictions were correct...Dallas will have their next star in me next season, haha

Heat in 6
Cavs in 6

Stealth in 7 (hoping this will be a David-Goliath story)
Lakers in 5

[Oskar]

Going to give it a shot afterall aswell, Brock needs to start beasting. ; )

Seattle win 4-3
LA Lakers win 4-2

Miami win 4-1
Detroit win 4-3

[megarover]

Seattle in 6
Lakers in 5

Orlando in 7
Cavs in 6

[Fresh8]

Ok, 4 hours till predicitons are not accepted!

[Fresh8]

Chapter 30

“I am here to announce that my season ends tonight. I have decided that for injury and personal reasons, it is best that I take a long break from basketball. It will be more beneficial for me and the team that I take time off until next season.”
The room was silent as Reshawn Tyson looked up from the script he was reading off. The cameras were flashing as the small number of journalists present quickly scribbled onto the notepads. No one said a word to one another. Will Sit and George Karl sat beside Ty and both remained still, waiting for Ty to finish.
“I wish my teammates luck as they enter the first round of the playoffs. I hope that they will be able to have the success that we had last season when we reached the Western Conference Finals. I thank all of them and the coaching staff here for the support I have received in my second season as an NBA player.”
Ty paused for a moment, “I have learnt a lot in my past two years and hope to continue my strong play next season.”
Ty stood up as the Sit announced, “Reshawn will not be answering any questions today. George and I are more than happy to do that however.”
Ty had left the room and was escorted out of the Stealth’s training facility. He sat in the back of the S.U.V. as his driver drove him to the airport. Ty was going home to New York and would meet one of the team trainers the next day to continue rehab.

* * *

“Kevin Durant has just been phenomenal tonight!” Marv Albert stated.
“19 points in the third quarter to get his team back in the game,” Reggie Miller said, “This guy is a scoring machine.”
Albert added, “I don’t know about you Reggie but I think Durant is really carrying his team on his shoulders. He should have been considered more seriously as an MVP candidate.”
Miller argued, “No way, I wouldn’t put Durant ahead of Lebron…”
Albert interrupted Miller’s analysis, “Ricky Davis hits a three pointer to tie the game for the Clippers!”
The two of them watched on in disbelief as Davis picked off a pass and dunked. The Staples Centre crowd was aloof.
“Davis just picked that one out of the air and threw it down. Throw it down big man!” Albert was about to have a heart attack as Davis made yet another big play a few moments later, “This is amazing! Davis just hit another three pointer and look at the crowd giving him a standing ovation!”
“This has got to be one of the biggest moments in his career,” Miller stated, “And the only big moment he did not cheat to have!”
Albert laughed, “That’s a good one Reg. And the Stealth call a time out with a little over 2 minutes left in the game. The Clippers lead the Stealth in Game 1; the score 101-96!”

Coach Karl sat on the bench and watched his starting five form a small huddle on the sideline. He wasn’t going to join them; he let Durant do the leading.
“Get the ball to me,” Durant instructed everyone, “I’m feeling it. I’m ready.”
Bogut, Lee, Bell, and Kidd all nodded in agreement; all of them trusted Durant with the rock.
“This is crunch time,” Kidd shouted, “Let’s not screw this up!”
The five of them returned to the court at the Clippers were still in a huddle near their bench. The Stealth was inbounding close to the Clippers bench.
“Hurry up with your talking already,” Durant yelled at the Clippers as he jogged past, “No amount of talking is going to stop me!”
Amare Stoudemire turned around and shouted at Durant, “Quit with your jerking around man.”
Durant laughed and taunted Amare, “Don’t be all bitter about me dunking on you.”
Bell high fived Durant as the Clippers finished their timeout after the refs called for the game to resume.
Stoudemire jogged past Durant and purposely bumped into him, “Don’t mess with me. If you do, you’re going to get a smack down.”
Durant was jawing away as the Clippers forward ran to the other end, “Oh it’s on! You better stop running your mouth at me!”
Durant hit a jumper on the other end before deflecting a cross court pass on the next play then finishing with a dunk on the fast break. The Stealth were behind by just a single point, 101-100, with a little more than a minute left in the game. Durant raised his arms in the air as he ran down the court and smiled as the crowd was in a chorus of boos.
“I told you not to piss me off,” Durant yapped to Stoudemire.
Stoudemire returned the favor and put his side up by three with a reverse layup. He didn’t bother saying anything to Durant. Durant proceeded to hit a three from the corner of the court and continued his trash talking with Stoudemire. Davis came up with another big three pointer. Following that play, Durant took it upon himself to hit a jump shot after dribbling out the shot clock. The Stealth were still behind by one point. Kidd fouled Rafer Alston who missed both free throws. Bogut gathered the board and the Stealth called a timeout.
“28 seconds left,” Karl said, “We’ve got to get the ball to Kevin. Kevin, you take that shot and you sink it.”
The players had gathered around Karl. Durant looked around as Kidd and Bell took a quick drink each. The Clippers crowd was on their feet. Game 1 was going to have a nail-biting finish. The buzz in the Staples Centre was something that the Clippers had not experienced in so long and the energy was something that Durant was feeding off. The players returned to the floor.
“Watch me win this game,” Durant smirked to Stoudemire.
Durant caught the ball near halfway and the Stealth cleared out to let Durant go one on one against Eric Gordon. Gordon did not stand a chance as Durant danced with the ball and rose up at the top of the key to swish the ball through the net with 12 seconds left; putting Seattle up by 1 point. The crowd cheered even louder as the Clippers would have a shot at winning it. They then booed as Durant manhandled Rafer Alston, sending him to the line for two. Alston missed the first. He missed the second.
“God damn it!” yelled Coach Karl as Stoudemire grabbed the rebound.
“Foul him!” Rasheed Wallace shouted from the bench.
Half of the Steath players were jumping up and down while the other half had covered their eyes. They watched on as their team mates were in a shambles on the court. The Clippers calmly passed the ball around the perimeter as the Stealth scrambled back into a zone defence.
“No!” cried Trevor Ariza who was sitting next to a shell-shocked DJ White.
Eric Gordon got the last laugh as he calmly scored a runner as the buzzer sounded.

* * *

“That’s a foul!” the referee yelled out whilst pointing straight at Amare Stoudemire.
The crowd booed and Stoudemire put him arms up in frustration. Durant smiled and gave a few of his team mates high fives before walking towards the baseline. He passed Stoudemire who elbowed him in his side. Durant immediately turned to face Stoudemire and shoved him backwards. The officials blew their whistles as Clippers and Stealth players jumped in to separate the two of them.
“Don’t you dare touch me again!” Durant was calling out to Stoudemire, “You don’t know who you’re messing with.”
“Your team?” Stoudemire mocked Durant.
The lanky Stealth forward missed his first free throw but made the second one. After keeping his shooting arm in the air, he pointed to the scoreboard and yelled over to the fans sitting courtside.
“Look at the score, tell me what you see!” he called over.
Durant finished with a triple double; 35 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists. Seattle had pulled off victory in Game 2 as well; 96-89. Stoudemire wasn’t happy after the game as he blew up in the post-game press conference. Durant would respond with indifference before saying he was wasting his time answering questions on Amare Stoudemire.
Durant taunted, “This guy is not even in the same zip code as me, I’m wasting my focus thinking about how to answer your questions about him. If he has beef with me, tell him to come to tell it to my face. Even then, he probably needs to wait at the end of the line of all the people who want to talk to me. I’m just that important.”
Seattle cruised in Game 3 as George Karl unloaded his bench during the third quarter. Although at times he was frustrated by the lackluster play from his reserves, Karl was feeling very positive about his team’s playoff chances. Game 4 was more of a contest and it turned out to be a fiery and passionate affair for Seattle. It all boiled down to the final quarter when things went awry after Durant swatted Stoudemire.
“What do you mean that’s a foul?” Durant was visibly upset and chasing after the game official.
Durant was pointing in the face of the ref, “That was not a foul! This is pathetic! Are you blind? Are you some kind of D-League official?”
Bogut was pulling Durant away as Durant started swearing loudly, “Fuck you! Fuck you! How much money did they pay you? This game is fixed! I swear!”
“Calm down!” Bogut was saying to Durant as he pulled him back.
The ref called a technical on Durant and Stoudemire went to the line to take his two free throws. In between them, Durant strode up to Stoudemire and looked right into his eyes.
“So you think you so damn good don’t you? I’m still waiting for that fight,” Durant was right in Stoudemire’s face and kept nodding his head and jawing away, “You think you’re so tough man…”
The ref shouted, “Kevin, I’m going to call another one on you if you keep delaying the game. Stop wasting time!”
Durant turned, smiled, then shrugged, “Hey whatever ref.”
Durant was a non-factor for the rest of the game and it was lucky for Seattle that Bogut and Kidd both found their grooves and delivered an important 3-1 edge to the team ahead of Game 5.

As the buzzer sounded in Los Angeles, Kevin Durant looked around the Staples Centre and smiled. He had finally helped knock off the Clippers and Seattle were headed to the next round against the Portland Trailblazers. The sideline reporter quickly sought out Durant for a post-game interview.
“Kevin, congratulations on advancing from the first round,” the reported said, “What are your thoughts on your upcoming opponents?”
Durant boasted, “For as long as I am around, no one will get past my team. You feeling me? This is my team baby!”
“Woo!” Durant had both arms in the air and screaming into the camera.
The sideline reporter cut the interview short and turned to look for Amare Stoudemire. Durant turned and was greeted by his teammates who all gave him high fives and hugs. Some Clippers were still trickling by to congratulate Durant. Durant and his team mates then headed for the tunnel. As they walked passed by the bench, Stoudemire was being interviewed. Raja Bell went over to shake his former team mate’s hand.
Stoudemire whispered to Bell, “Good series man but you’re playing with the biggest jerk in the league, I swear.”
Bell defended Durant, “Amare, he’s not that bad.”
Stoudemire looked up as Durant walk by. They did not acknowledge one another. The bad blood would be there for a long time. Meanwhile, Ray Lliach was waiting outside the visitor’s locker room. Rocky Akonnor recognized him.
“Hey man!” Rocky called.
Ray Lliach smiled, “Congratualtions. Good luck with Portland.”
“It’s a shame you were hurt, your team could have used you out there,” Rocky said to Lliach.
Lliach nodded, “When I’m healthy, Martti wants us to work out again.”
Rocky gave him a fist bump, “That’s dope. We will keep in touch.”

* * *

George Karl was pacing up and down the sideline. His team was down by double digits. Not just 10 or 15 points but down by 25. It was the third quarter of Game 1 of the second round. The NBA’s best regular season team was kicking Seattle’s butts. Karl looked down his bench and saw Kidd hiding beneath a towel and Bell icing his knees. The whistle was blown and a foul was called on Kevin Durant. Durant had just tripped Brandon Roy and stood over him before other players jumped in to pull the leading scorer away. Karl shook his head.
“What else can go wrong?” Karl asked out aloud.
He turned and pointed to Tevor Ariza, “Get in there son.”
Ariza pulled jumped on his feet and ran over to half court. He called for his sub and waited for the refs to acknowledge it. Play resumed and the Blazers showed off their half court play with a series of passes that kept the Stealth on their toes. Ariza jumped out of the blue and intercepted the ball near the top of the key. He finished at the other end with one of his super athletic slams. The Stealth bench was jumping up and down. Steve Nash got the ball back on the inbounds before noticing something down the court.
“Ref, time out,” he called over and pointed down the other end.
Karl looked over to where Nash was pointing. His bench did the same thing. All eyes were transfixed on Greg Oden, Chris Wilcox, and Sebastian Telfair surrounding a fallen player on the court. It was Rasheed Wallace, on the ground and struggling to get up.
“What else could go wrong?” Karl sighed as the team doctor ran onto the court and both team’s players returned to their benches.

[Martti.]

Superb chapter again!

I'm with Amare on this one. And by the looks of things, you lost game #1 and Sheed. Don't make it so that my prediction is wrong.

Also, thanks for mentioning me. No pain, no gain!!