Garden Of Oden: RELOADED | NLSC Draftees??

[hova-]

Batum with his Scottie Pippen impersonation. Decent win. LA's playing sick, how did you get his 2-2 3pt in Game? Thought you were playing with real FG% (which I also like a lot recently), so he shouldn't be able to hit those shots ... should he?

Your alternatorz rock.

[Lamrock]

Aldridge can hit the open three from time to time. He's rated like 55 in 3's I think so if he's open enough, I'll put it up.

[Martti.]

I knocked down quite a few threes with Bosh too, I used Shot-stick timing, though I didn't really see any differences between the two.

[KidJustin]

yup same with me and Blake...i feel like i'm cheating every time i make it...

[Lamrock]

AROUND THE LEAGUE

Kyrie Irving Headlines All-Rookie Teams



All-Rookie 1st Team
Kyrie Irving | CLE
Jonas Valanciunas | TOR
Ricky Rubio | MIN
Enes Kanter | UTA
Marshon Brooks | NJN

All-Rookie 2nd Team
Derrick Williams | MIN
Tristan Thompson | HOU
Kemba Walker | CHA
Travis Leslie | LAC
Jimmer Fredette | SAC

Other Game 3's

Memphis 116 @ Houston 98

The Grizzlies are now one game away from their first conference finals appearance in franchise history. The only undefeated team of the playoffs used a 33-15 third quarter, and big games from their all-star forwards to take a 3-0 lead.

MEM: Gay: 25/7/1, 6-8 FG, 11-12 FT (PotG); Randolph: 20/6/4, 8-13 FG; Conley: 15/3/5
HOU: Scola: 22/8/3 blks; Martin: 28/2/0; Flynn: 1/0/5/4 TO's, 0-2 FG (Shitass)

Grizzlies lead series 3-0.

Chicago 100 @ Boston 93

Despite a big game from Jermaine O'Neal, the Celtics were not able to be the first team to win a home game in this series, losing to Chicago 100-93. The Bulls entered the fourth quarter down 6 points, but hot shooting from Kyle Korver helped make this a series. The Celtics most recently upset a #1 seed as the #4 in 2010 against LeBron's final Cavaliers team.

CHI: Korver: 17/3/3, 5-8 FG, 3-3 3pt (PotG), 4-4 FT; Rose: 23/6/6; Boozer: 17/12/4 TO's
BOS: O'Neal: 20/10/4 TO's, 5-7 FG; Rondo: 21/4/7; Garnett: 1/3/4 TO's, 5 fouls (Shitass)

Celtics lead series 2-1.

Orlando 95 @ Indiana 100

With Dwight in foul trouble and the Magic turning it over 21 times, the Pacers were able to take game 3 at home to stay alive in the series. The Pacers were led by Danny Granger, who had 23 points on just 10 field goal attempts.

IND: Granger: 23/3/1, 7-10 FG, 6-7 FT; Collison: 13/0/14; George: 13/4/2 blks
ORL: Arenas: 17/4/5; Turkoglu: 11/5/4; Howard: 8/5/3 TO's, 6 fouls (Shitass)

Magic lead series 2-1.

Western Conference | Eastern Conference

1-2 | 1-2
3-0 | 2-1

[BD1899]

Gonna be a huge Game 4 for you. My guess is that if you take Game 4, you take the whole series.

Surprised to see the Celtics beating the Bulls. From experience, 2k's simulation engine isn't too kind on Celtics. Other than that, the other series are playing out how I'd expect.

[Justine.]

Lamama And wow, Memphis is sure rocking.

[Lamrock]

Episode 2: I'm Also Your Coach

After going behind his back with the Carl Landry trade, Liam Washburn was hated by Don Nelson. Unfortunately for Nelson, Blazers' owner Paul Allen was actually pleased with the trade, and opted not to fire Liam.

'Nobody makes a fool of Nellie', thought Nelson as he put on his sweatpants and ran out on to the court.

"Hey Don, what are you doing out here?", asked Nate McMillan in a friendly tone.

"Oh. Shit. I'm uh, coaching. Yeah, coaching", to a skeptical look on Nate' face. "Uh, drop and give me twenty!"

The players all looked at Nate, who sighed. "Okay guys. Today, we have a special guest in the practice arena. Don Nelson! You heard the man. 20!" As the players dropped and gave them twenty, one player stood up: Ronnie Turiaf.

"Oh hell no. Not this shit again. This man ain't our coach. I already dealt with this fat fuck for two years in Golden State! I'm leaving," said the big man, storming out. Nate turned to Nelson, "sorry about that", then turned to his players. "Okay, we're 14-14, tomorrow's the big night. If we win, we make the playoffs. If we lose, well... Anyway, listen to coach Nelson. He's the all-time leader in wins and used to coach them."

Nelson took Nate's megaphone. "Thank you Nate. Now, to beat my old team, we need the three S's. Shooting, stealing and uh, sweet ball movement. We need to get the tempo up, like we've been doing." McMillan had a look of uncertainty but nodded. Nellie continued, "Nick Batoomb. You seem like a prototypical 5. You'll be key against them."

Brandon Roy took the state-of-the-art hose out of his knee, and spoke up. "Damn it Don. This is ridiculous. Don't interrupt me LaMarcus. We can't just - damn it LA, not now. That isn't our style of play - do you want us to lose? Fuck, LaMarcus, WHAT?"

"What's that liquid dripping from your knee?"

36 Hours Later...

"Holy shit we actually won", laughed Wes Matthews after the game. Don Nelson gave Nate McMillan a smug look. Gerald Wallace led the way with an incredible 27 point, 15 rebound performance. "The way I see it, Portland goes the way Gerald Wallace goes", said the forward in his now infamous post-game interview. in which some have speculated he was drunk.

Despite a lack of injuries, Portland saw their winning percentage fall for the third straight year, limping into the playoffs with a 15-14 record (on pace for 42 wins in an 82 game season). Brandon Roy bounced back somewhat, becoming an efficient bench scoring option but Oden is just getting back to his serviceable rookie season form. 'We're gonna get swept', thought Liam.

----------

Russell Westbrook was warming up for game 1 of the 2012 playoffs. 'This is it.' Westbrook went up for a layup but slipped. "Ah, what the fuck?!", barked Westbrook at the bored looking man holding a broom. "I don't even know what this stuff is."

Cole Aldrich then jumped off the bench. "I'll handle this," he said, bending down to taste the liquid. "Hmm... Tastes like... knee fluid?"

Scott Brooks ran on to the court. "Jesus, Russell, are you okay?", to a disapproving look from Kevin Durant. "Sorry Kevin. Fuck, Russell, are you okay?!" Westbrook sighed. "Just a twisted ankle."

Brooks was relieved. "Good. You ready guys? It begins tonight."

"Nothing is going to go wrong for the Thunder."

[deihatein]

It's a good thing Memphis is dominating, because I wish they win the whole thing

[rise]

Epic update.

[shadowgrin]

we need the three S's. Shooting, stealing and uh, sweet ball movement.

Red Auerbach used to preach all about sweet ball movement. Don Nelson learned well from his mentor.

[Lamrock]

Warriors Hold On To Knot Series
Golden State Recovers After Blowing 19 Point Lead


Fans: "Let Shannon Dunk!" Batum: "Okay."

Golden State 92, Portland 85

May 21, 2012; Portland, OR - Thanks to a phenomenal defensive effort in the second, and some big shots down the stretch, the Warriors have tied the series at two games apiece.

The game was tight from the start, with Portland holding a small lead after the first quarter. It looked like another tight game where the Blazers would have a good chance to win. Then, the run happened. The Warriors opened the second with 14 straight points en route to a 19-2 run. LaMarcus Aldridge was held to just 6 points in the first half.

The third quarter turned out to be the inverse of the second. Thanks to their offense suddenly clicking on all cylinders, the Blazers dominated in the third period, with Aldridge scoring 17 of his 30 points in it. After being down as many as 19 points, the Blazers managed to tie it briefly, before entering the fourth quarter down just 2, 69-67.

The fourth quarter started with a 10-2 Golden State run. The Blazers reined it in a bit after that, but failed to ignite all period. Meanwhile, Monta Ellis was carrying the Warriors offensively. Aldridge had 7 fourth quarter points, but all of those came in the final 2 minutes, where Portland furiously tried to erase a nine point deficit. They got as close as within four points, but would lose 92-85.

The Blazers' lack of a bench really hurt them in this one. After bench play has been so crucial in this Cinderella run, the gutted Blazers were held to just 8 bench points. Though regular reserves Nicolas Batum and Brandon Roy overcame foul trouble to score 16 each for the Portland side, Portland's offense was held back by their bench (-15 and -14 for Elliot Williams and Carl Landry respectively were by far the worst on the team) Meanwhile, Golden State's Austin Daye came off the bench to cool down Batum (who was destroying undersized combo guard playing the 3 Shannon Brown) and post a game-best +19.

The Warriors will return home for the pivotal game 5, and then game 6 in Portland will decide if there is a need for a game 7 at the Oracle Arena. When asked, the injured Gerald Wallace guaranteed a Portland victory in game 5, while the also injured Wesley Matthews had a more apprehensive answer.

Series tied 2-2.

24 28 17 23 92 | PTS: Ellis (26); REBS: Lee (12); ASTS: Curry (13)
26 9 32 18 85 | PTS: Aldridge (30); REBS: Aldridge (7); ASTS: Felton (13)

Mo Lucas Player of the game:
Monta Ellis: 28 Points, 6 Rebounds, 2 Assists

Golden State [1-2] notables
David Lee: 15 pts, 12 rebs, 5 asts, 6-9 FG
Shannon Brown: 15 pts, 7 rebs, 3 asts
Stephen Curry: 8 pts, 13 asts, 7 rebs, 3-15 FG
Austin Daye: 9 pts, 5 rebs, 4-6 FG, +19

Portland [2-2] notables
LaMarcus Aldridge: 30 pts, 7 rebs, 2 blks, 4 TO's, 14-28 FG
Brandon Roy: 16 pts, 7 asts, 4 rebs
Greg Oden: 11 pts, 5 rebs, 5 blks, 5-7 FG
Nicolas Batum: 16 pts, 4 rebs, 3 asts
Elliot Williams: 2 pts, 3 rebs, 1 TO, 1-4 FG, -15 (shitass)

[Lamrock]

AROUND THE LEAGUE

NBA Releases All-Defensive Teams


Old Friends Meet Again On The 1st Team All Defense

All-Defense 1st Team
Chris Paul | NOH
Dwyane Wade | MIA
Tyrus Thomas | CHA
Josh Smith | ATL
Dwight Howard | ORL

All-Defense 2nd Team
Tyreke Evans | SAC
Manu Ginobili | SAS
LaMarcus Aldridge | POR
Blake Griffin | LAC
Greg Monroe | DET

Other Game 4's

Memphis 109 @ Houston 83

The last two teams that went 8-0 in the first two rounds (09 Cavs, 10 Magic) were ousted in the conference finals. Somehow, it seems unlikely that the Warriors or Blazers could stop them now. Winning by 26 on the other team's court, the Grizzlies were absolutely dominant as the clearly outmatched Rockets were ousted.

MEM: Randolph: 28/7/2 (PotG); Mayo: 29/2/3 stls, 10-16 FG; Gasol: 8/19/3 blks
HOU: Scola: 20/16/1; Martin: 26/3/3; Lowry: 7/4/3/6 TO's, 2-8 FG (shitass)

Grizzlies win series 4-0.

Chicago 92 @ Boston 106

A monster game from Derrick Rose was not enough as the Celtics shut everyone else down, while playing a doozy of a game themselves. In a game that saw the two teams combine for 78 free throws, it was pretty hard to watch - especially for Bulls fans. The Bulls are now in a familiar situation, going home for game 5 down 3-1.

BOS: Rondo: 12/5/13/3 stls (PotG); Piece: 23/6/1; Allen: 19/5/1, 6-8 FG
CHI: Rose: 39/2/2/4 stls; Noah: 11/8/4; Bogans: 0/4/3, 0-6 FG, 33 minutes (Shitass)

Celtics lead series 3-1.

Orlando 84 @ Indiana 78

The Magic locked down the Pacers to take a commanding 3-1 lead. Howard managed to stay out of foul trouble to put up a big game on both ends. Despite spirited play by Granger and the Pacers, 22-69 shooting just wasn't going to cut it.

ORL: Howard: 23/14/3 blks (PotG); Turkoglu: 14/3/4; Arenas: 15/0/2
IND: Granger: 28/8/1; Hibbert: 14/7/3 TO's; Hansbrough: 1/3/0, 0-5 FG, 1-4 FT (Shitass)

Magic lead series 3-1.

Western Conference | Eastern Conference

2-2 | 1-3
4-0 | 3-1

[Lamrock]

Blazers Weather Injury Storm Better, Take 3-2 Lead
Blazers lose Roy for series, Warriors lose Lee for playoffs


ELLIOT WILLIAMS of all people lights up the Warriors

Portland 108, Golden State 100

May 24, 2012; Oakland, CA - Roy got hurt (lower back strain) and he's out for the rest of the series. David Lee broke his hand and he's out for the rest of the playoffs. Nicolas Batum and Elliot Williams (!), our fourth and fifth swingmen, had huge games and kept dunking on Golden State's laughable defense. Monta played well, but Aldridge was better - the Blazers were better, and now the series is 3-2, advantage Portland.

I had a full recap written for this, and it was actually a decent one for a change, but then I typed back space, and it sent me to the previous page, and of course when I clicked to go forward, the text box is empty, and I wrote the recap here and not in Notepad because I'm not an intelligent person.

Blazers lead series 3-2.

22 29 31 26 108
21 25 28 26 100

Mo Lucas Player of the game:
Elliot Williams: 27 Points, 12 Assists, 3 Rebounds

Portland [3-2] notables
Nicolas Batum: 23 pts, 7 rebs, 4 asts, 9-13 FG
LaMarcus Aldridge: 27 pts, 5 asts, 3 rebs, 3 blks
Brandon Roy: 11 pts, 2 rebs, 1 ast, 4-5 FG, 10 minutes

Golden State [2-3] notables
Monta Ellis: 22 pts, 7 asts, 3 rebs
Kris Humphries: 14 pts, 7 rebs, 6-9 FG
David Lee: 8 pts, 1 reb, 3-4 FG, 9 minutes

[kc2135]

Wow, Elliot Williams stepping up

[kibaxx7]

Elliot didn't play like in a videogame, he played real basketball

[Lamrock]

AROUND THE LEAGUE

Other Game 5's

Boston 89 @ Chicago 117
Celtics lead series 3-2

CHI: Rose: 24/2/7 (PotG): Boozer: 20/13/1; Deng: 19/8/1
BOS: Pierce: 25/2/1, 6-8 FG; R. Allen: 15/3/3; J. O'Neal: 2/8/4 TO's, 1-8 FG (Shitass)

The Bulls finally got strong production across the board, and the result was a blowout win. Chicago dominated on both ends, and stay alive. Boston will have another chance to close out the series at home in Game 6.

Indiana 100 @ Orlando 101
Magic win series 4-1

ORL: Turkoglu: 27/3/5, 9-13 FG (PotG); Nelson: 19/7/4; Kenyon Martin: 12/13/1
IND: Granger: 25/7/2; Collison: 12/1/6; Hibbert: 10/10/4 TO's, 3-14 FG (Shitass)

The Magic closed out the upstart Pacers at home despite Dwight Howard playing just 22 minutes thanks to a tremendous fourth quarter comeback. Down 10 points entering the fourth, the Magic called upon an unlikely hero: Hedo Turkoglu. Turkoglu took over the fourth with his efficient offense, and Orlando returns to the conference finals for the third time in four seasons.

Western Conference | Eastern Conference

2-3 | 2-3
4-0 | 4-1

[Lamrock]

Blazers' Edge.
Portland Advances to WCF For First Time In 12 Years


Elliot Williams: Revelation or product of the Warriors' defense?

Portland 103, Golden State 86

May 26, 2012; Portland, OR - No Roy, no problem! Without David Lee, the Warriors have regressed to a lottery caliber team, and as a result, Portland is going to the conference finals. You're next, Memphis!

Injuries have been a major factor in this series, and in this decisive game, we were short three rotation players, while the Warriors had Dorell Wright miss games and more importantly, were missing David Lee. From the start, this game was all Portland. Elliot Williams continued to dominate against the Warriors' D, and has seemed to emerge as a breakout player similar to Jeff Teague in last year's conference semis. Up 15 after one and by 23 at the half, this game was never close. LaMarcus Aldridge didn't even need to do much as there was little threat.

Portland advances to the conference finals for the first time in 12 years. The last conference finals run (2000) ended after a crushing seven game loss to the eventual champion Los Angeles Lakers, in which the Lakers came back from down 17 points in the fourth quarter in the deciding game. Up next is the #2 seed and favored Memphis Grizzlies, who defeated us in the regular season meeting, are undefeated in the playoffs thus far and will have home court advantage in the series. Portland also becomes the first #8 seed to make the conference finals round since the 1999 New York Knicks, in the last lockout shortened season.

Blazers win series 4-2.

17 16 25 28 83
32 24 23 24 103

Mo Lucas Player of the game:
Elliot Williams: 26 pts, 9 rebs, 7 asts, 3 stls, 6 TO's, 8-15 FG

Portland [4-2] notables
LaMarcus Aldridge: 30 pts, 6 rebs, 4 asts
Nicolas Batum: 19 pts, 6 rebs, 4 asts, 6-9 FG, 3-4 3pt, 6-6 FT

Golden State [2-4] notables
Monta Ellis: 21 pts, 9 asts, 8 rebs, 4 stls, 3 TO's, 9-19 FG
Stephen Curry: 12 pts, 5 rebs, 6 asts, 7 TO's
David Lee: DNP (Shitass)

[kibaxx7]

Superb job Lamrock (question: Roy appeared in street clothes because you have less than 12 players? 'Cause I've always tried to get that pic and couldn't).

[BD1899]

Great win, Lamrock! Looked like you were in trouble with the injuries to your team but you still won anyway. Good luck against the Grizzlies.

As far as the Eastern Conference goes, it looks like we may see an Orlando/Boston rematch if the Celtics take care of business.

[Lamrock]

Thierry •, Yeah, there were only 11 active guys, and there was no room on the IR. If you want to get that picture, I'd suggest putting your IR guys in the D-League so that your guys will be in suits when injured.

BD1899, Thanks man. Injuries are a major theme in this era of Blazers basketball, but fortunately my team is deep and the Warriors suck.

[Cruzerr]

Damn, my post did not go up.

ELLIOT IS BEASTING. Grizzlies next, hows your roster now?

[Lamrock]

AROUND THE LEAGUE

Other Game 6's + NBA News

Chicago 68 @ Boston 82
Celtics win series 4-2

BOS: Pierce: 28/5/4, 10-15 FG; Garnett: 14/6/1; Rondo: 10/4/7
CHI: Rose: 16/4/7; Noah: 17/7/4 TO's, 4-16 FG; Boozer: 4/5/0 (Shitass)

Thanks to some suffocating defense (Bulls held to 11 points in fourth quarter and just 27 in the half) and another huge game from Paul Pierce, the Celtics have returned to the conference finals. They will get a rematch with the Orlando Magic.

Roy Unlikely To Play In Game 1

Injured Blazers' guard Brandon Roy is expected to miss game 1 of the conference finals in Memphis with back spasms. The fifth year player is second on the team in playoff scoring and assists with 15.9 and 6.5 per game respectively. Elliot Williams will continue to start for the Blazers, who are now without both starting swingmen in Wes Matthews and Gerald Wallace, as well as their sixth man in Brandon Roy. Roy could return as soon as game 2, while Matthews is out for the season, and Gerald Wallace is unlikely to return this series.

Western Conference | Eastern Conference

2-4 | 2-4
4-0 | 4-1

Updated Roster

Starters



PG | Raymond Felton | Starter | 81^3
SG | Elliot Williams | Role Player | 66^2
SF | Nicolas Batum | Role Player | 79^1
PF | LaMarcus Aldridge | Star | 90^2 (C) *All-Star*
C | Greg Oden | Starter | 78^1

Reserves



F | Carl Landry | Role Player | 77^2
C/F | Ronnie Turiaf | Role Player | 68^1
G | Patrick Mills | Role Player | 68^2
G | Nolan Smith | Prospect | 65
C/F | Chris Johnson | Bench Warmer | 63^1
F | Luke Babbitt | Bench Warmer | 64^1
G | Brandon Roy | Sixth Man | 70-9 (C)

Injury Reserve



SG | Wesley Matthews | Starter | 54-24
SF | Gerald Wallace | Starter | 61-24

You can always see the state of the roster here.

[Lamrock]

RESULTS: Playoff Tipping Game Round 2

Series to predict:

(8) Blazers 4-2 Warriors (4)
(3) Rockets 0-4 Grizzlies (2)
(1) Bulls 2-4 Celtics (4)
(3) Magic 4-1 Pacers (7)

Round 2 Multiplier: 1.5

Scoreboard

Justine. | 22.5 Winner (+5 bonus points)
Thierry | 21
KidJustin | 16.5
Martti. | 13.5
Valor | 13.5
Axel. | 12
shadowgrin | 12
dare | 10.5
dei. | 9
badreligiouau | 6

Leaderboard

1. shadowgrin | 55
2. dei. | 46
3. Axel. | 37
4. dare | 34.5
5. Martti. | 32.5
6. Valor | 31.5
7. KidJustin | 29.5
8. Justine. | 28.5
9. Thierry | 21
10. badreligionau | 16
11. z02 | 8

[Lamrock]

2012 Conference Finals Preview

Western Conference

2 Memphis [27-10] Vs. [23-18] Portland 8
The Blazers' Cinderella run continues as they become the first 8 seed in thirteen years to qualify for the conference finals. After a middling regular season in which the Blazers barely made the playoffs despite injuries no longer plaguing the team, adversity has seemed to bring out the best in Portland, who lost three rotation players, but were still able to defeat the Warriors in the previous round. However, the Warriors suffered some injuries themselves, and the Grizzlies, undefeated in these playoffs thus far, will be a huge test. Brandon Roy and Gerald Wallace are supposed to return soon, but when?

Memphis is favored to win this series. With three all-stars (and cases could be made for guards Mike Conley and OJ Mayo), the Grizzlies have been compared to the 2004 Pistons for their balanced, defensive team. If the Grizzlies are able to stay healthy, there's no reason why they should lose this series. The OKC series should put them on alert, but with the injuries Portland has sustained, anything but a Finals appearance would be considered a serious failure.

MEM: M Conley OJ Mayo R Gay* Z Randolph* M Gasol* (T Allen, D Arthur, G Vasquez)
POR: R Felton E Williams N Batum L Aldridge* G Oden (C Landry R Turiaf P Mills (B Roy W Matthews G Wallace))

Eastern Conference

3 Orlando [25-14] Vs. [26-16] Boston 4
All four #1 seeds have been knocked out, and we have our final two remaining East teams: Orlando and Boston. Meeting in the conference finals for the second time in three years (they also met in the 2009 conference semifinals, in which Orlando won 4-3), the Magic will seek revenge on the Celtics. Orlando will have homecourt advantage in this series. However, the well-rounded Celtics have paid their dues, knocking out juggernauts Miami and Chicago on their way to the ECF. Should be a good series.

ORL: J Nelson G Arenas H Turkoglu K Martin D Howard* (JJ Redick, R Anderson, G Davis)
BOS: R Rondo R Allen P Pierce K Garnett J O'Neal (T Prince, J Green, J Foster)

----------
Playoff Tipping Game: Conference Finals

Post your predictions for the third round of the 2012 playoffs! Post the team you expect to win each series, and how many games they win it in. Correctly selecting the winning team will get you 2 points, picking the correct team and number of games, you get 5 points. If you are one game off, you get 3 points. One bonus point is added if you correctly pick the lower seed to win and/or. Correctly picking a seven game series but picking the wrong team is worth one point.

Round 3 Multiplier: x2

Series to predict:

(2) Grizzlies - Trail Blazers (8)
(4) Celtics - Magic (3)

See all active contests and results here.

Leaderboard

1. shadowgrin | 55
2. dei. | 46
3. Axel. | 37
4. dare | 34.5
5. Martti. | 32.5
6. Valor | 31.5
7. KidJustin | 29.5
8. Justine. | 28.5
9. Thierry | 21
10. badreligionau | 16
11. z02 | 8