Garden Of Oden: RELOADED | NLSC Draftees??

[Lamrock]

They're tough, but I thought they would be a lot harder (went into the series expecting to lose in 4 or 5). Westbrook has been playing with a minor injury (Roy and Gerald Wallace as well though) and James Harden is disgruntled for whatever reason.

Batum is my Durant stopper though. We've won all three games he's played so far, and lost the two in which he was injured. Far better at contesting his shots than Wallace. Will be interesting to see how you did against them.

In case you missed it: Game 5 Recap

[Lamrock]

AROUND THE LEAGUE

Tyrus Thomas Named Defensive Player Of The Year



Charlotte Bobcats big man Tyrus Thomas was announced today as is the 2012 Defensive Player of the Year. Thomas, whose teammate DJ Augustin was named Most Improved Player yesterday, has had a career season for the Bobcats. The fifth year player led the league in blocks with 2.2 a game, and also averaged 1.7 steals and over 10 boards a contest. Thomas ends Dwight Howard's three year reign of winning this award and is the first player in Bobcats' franchise history to win it. Dwight Howard and Josh Smith placed second and third respectively.

Other Game 5's

Warriors 112, Spurs 108
GSW leads 3-2

GSW: Curry: 26/10/9 (PotG); Lee: 26/8/2; Ellis: 18/4/6
SAS: Ginobili: 32/7/4; Parker: 15/3/6; Leonard: 0/1/2 TO's, 0-4 FG (Shitass)

The home team continues to rule in the high scoring Spurs/Warriors first round series. A tremendous game for the Warriors' big three of Curry, Ellis and Lee helped the Warriors outscore San Antonio to take a 3-2 lead. Both teams would likely prefer to see Portland in the next round.

Rockets 97, Lakers 73
HOU leads 3-2

HOU: Scola: 14/19/3 blks, 6-9 FG (PotG); Martin: 23/4/2; Lowry: 12/2/7
LAL: Bryant: 24/3/9, 8-25 FG; Bynum: 15/11/1; Gasol: 6/1/6 fouls (Shitass)

A hobbled (and fouled out after 17 minutes) Pau Gasol proved to be little help for the Lakers, who face a 3-2 deficit after being blown out in game 5. The Lakers continue to get owned by the Rockets bench, who outscored their's 35 to 10.

Bulls 104, Knicks 88
CHI leads 3-2

CHI: Rose: 35/4/4, 14-21 FG (PotG); Deng: 26/2/3; Korver: 14/1/4
NYK: Stoudemire: 21/11/0; Anthony: 11/2/0; Billups: 12/1/5/5 TO's, 3-15 FG (Shitass)

The Bulls return to their winning ways as Rose and Deng carry the Bulls to a blowout over the Knicks. Though Stoudemire has been emergent after suffering from foul trouble in the first two games, Anthony has since disappeared.

Heat 101, Celtics 100
MIA leads 3-2

MIA: Wade: 27/10/5 (PotG); James: 22/7/9; Bosh: 9/7/2 blks, 3-14 FG (Shitass)
BOS: Garnett: 22/16/3 blks; Rondo: 21/5/9; J. O'Neal: 18/12/3 blks, 7-11 FG

A Dwyane Wade game-winner thwarted a ferocious Boston comeback, as the Heat win game 5 101-100 to steal back homecourt advantage. Despite another huge game from Jermaine O'Neal (who has been excellent these playoffs), Boston fell just short, and will now need to win in Miami.

Magic 110, Cavaliers 81
ORL wins 4-1

ORL: Nelson: 20/3/6; Arenas: 20/5/2; Kenyon Martin: 6/19/4 stls
CLE: Jamison: 20/9/5 TO's; Davis: 13/2/9; Irving: 5/8/3/4 TO's, 2-11 FG (Shitass)

Move along, nothing to see here...

Pacers 112, Hawks 102
IND leads 3-2

IND: Granger: 24/3/2, 7-11 FG (PotG); Hibbert: 15/6/2 blks; Collison: 14/3/6
ATL: David West: 18/4/0, 9-13 FG; Johnson: 13/5/9; Marvin Willins: 7/2/2 TO's, 2-11 FG (Shitass)

The Pacers have now won three straight against the Hawks to take a 3-2 series lead. The Hawks were in a similar position against the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round two seasons ago. In that series, the Hawks won games 6 and 7 convincingly against the Bogut-less Bucks.

Western Conference | Eastern Conference

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

[Mavs4Life]

That was... unexpected.

[Axel The Great]

Rockets blowing out the Lakers... that's more like it. Now to close them out and advance without Yao.

[qfrmcpt310]

Wow, these are some crazy series. Please take out the Blunder so I can rest easy

[BD1899]

Great job taking the series lead against the Thunder. Hopefully, you take them out in Game 6 so you don't have to face them in a tough Game 7 on their home court. Also hoping the Celtics can take the series against the Heat despite being 3-2, but that's a different story.

[hova-]

Thomas as DPOTY .... Nice win in game 5, L-Train killing the Thunder in the high post.

[Justine.]

Upset in the making. But I've got a feeling the series will have a game 7. Good luck man.

[Martti.]

Hell yeah, Free Money DPOY! At least he's sort of awesome in virtual world.

Miami, finally finish the Celtics oldies off. So should you with OKC, you can make it happen.

[Lamrock]

The ball was out of Allan Houston's hands, and so was the Knicks' fate. He had fired a running 14-foot jumper, and the ball hovered above the rim as the final seconds ticked away.

"It seemed like two minutes," Houston said.

Miami Arena turned quiet for the first time all day as a sellout crowd, the Heat and the Knicks held their breath. The shot bounced off the front of the rim, kissed off the backboard and finally fell softly through the net.

Knicks 78, Heat 77.

Oh, wait...

Roy Knocks Out Thunder With Buzzer-Beater Three
Reserves Once Again Difference As Blazers Complete Upset



Portland 94, Oklahoma City 91

May 9, 2012; Portland, OR - You could tell from the start that it was going to be a blowout, my axed game recap I started in the first quarter read. It was easy to see why: the Thunder were leading 21-5! In the most important game since game 7 of the Western Conference Finals in 2000 (let's not go there), it looked like we would get blown out and face a game 7 in Oklahoma City that would surely be a free throw parade. And so Nate McMillan did what has inexplicably worked all series and subbed our three reserves in. Carl Landry went to work off the bench and the lead became a somewhat managable 11 points at the end of the first.

Despite Kevin Durant making shot after shot, we were staying in it thanks to nobody else stepping up. Batum was subbed in in at the 2, and the combination of him and Gerald Wallace shut him down. Wes Matthews sank a three to end the half and we suddenly found ourselves up a point at the half, despite just 6 points from Aldridge and none from Roy.

The second half started with a 12-0 Portland run sparked by Wesley Matthews that made it start to look like the last couple games in the series. The Thunder adjusted, and Durant got back on track a bit. The score read Portland 71, Oklahoma City 68 entering the fourth.

The lead was held for as long as possible, but a pair of Durant free throws gave Oklahoma City a one point lead midway through the fourth. The shooting went cold in the fourth, so Aldridge went to work, seasing player of the gme honors by scoring 13 of his 26 on the fourth. Durant would amass 45 points in the game to keep Oklahoma City in it, and his final points of the season came from a triple to give the Thunder a one point lead with 25 seconds left. Nate McMillan called the final timeout.

"Thunder up 1 with 25 seconds to go. Aldridge - he's fouled - and he makes the basket! The free throw's good. Durant has it - for three! No. Ibaka gets the offensive board - to Westbrook, and he's fouled. He will go to the line for 2. First one's good, and he can tie it with this one. Free throw's good. And it's tied 3.7 seconds left! Blazers out of timeouts. Roy has it. Can the Thunder save their season with a stop? Roy for the win - IT'S IN! The Blazers are advancing to the next round!"

Portland wins series 4-2.

27 14 27 23 91 | PTS: Durant (45); REBS: Durant, Perkins (9); ASTS: Westbrook (12)
16 26 29 23 94 | PTS: Aldridge (26); REBS: Aldridge (9); ASTS: Roy (7)

Portland [4-2] notables
LaMarcus Aldridge: 26 pts, 9 rebs, 3 blks (PotG)
Carl Landry: 18 pts, 8 rebs, 7-8 FG
Wesley Matthews: 17 pts, 4 rebs, 6 asts
Brandon Roy: 12 pts, 7 asts, 3-13 FG, 2-10 3pt, hit game-winning 3pt shot

Oklahoma City [2-4] notables
Kevin Durant: 45 pts, 9 rebs, 18-37 FG, 5-12 3pt, 4-6 FT
Serge Ibaka: 9 pts, 8 rebs, 2 blks
Russell Westbrook: 12 pts, 12 asts, 4 rebs, 4 TO's, 4-13 FG (Shitass)

[kibaxx7]

Roy being 2/12 from the floor before the game-winner makes it so much better

[hova-]

Boom. Reminds me of Roy's game against the Mavs. He ain't done yet. (actually his knees won't allow him to be anything better than a role player, but maybe he can make it Grant Hill-like).

Exciting win. Looking forward to the end of this one (maybe with a ring?) and hope you start a new one with 2k12.

[Lamrock]

AROUND THE LEAGUE

Louis Williams Named Sixth Man Of The Year



The league has announced today that Philadelphia 76ers guard Louis Williams is the 2012 recipient of the NBA's sixth man of the year award. Williams, in his seventh season, averaged a career-best 19.6 points per game to go with 4 assists for the Sixers, who failed to make the playoffs despite the contributions. Williams was the only reserve to lead his team in scoring this season. He beat out the Blazers' Brandon Roy, the Lakers' Lamar Odom and teammate Thaddeus Young among other vote-getters for the award.

Other Game 6's

Spurs 128, Warriors 96
Series tied 3-3

SAS: Ginobili: 43/6/6, 12-16 FG, 5-7 3pt, 14-15 FT (PotG); Blair: 20/12/4 blks; Parker: 20/2/7
GSW: Curry: 22/6/7; Lee: 16/6/3 TO's; Brown: 4/0/3 TO's, 1-8 FG (Shitass)

A dominant first quarter kicked off a blowout victory for the Spurs, who force a game 7. The Spurs were led by Manu Ginobili, who had a legendary game. The winner will face the #8 seed Blazers in the next round.

Rockets 127, Lakers 97
Rockets win series 4-2

HOU: Lowry: 25/3/11, 8-12 FG (PotG) Scola: 26/11/3; Martin: 26/4/0
LAL: Bryant: 27/0/5, 10-16 FG; Odom: 14/10/3; Gasol: 11/7/3 TO's, 4-17 FG (Shitass)

The Rockets blew out the Lakers in Staples to eliminate the crumbling former champions. For the second consecutive year, it was Pau Gasol who came up short in the playoffs. The Rockets, though the higher seed, were widely predicted to lose the series, but the league's most efficient offense has it's say, and will advance to face Memphis in the next round.

Bulls 116, Knicks 114
Bulls win series 4-2

CHI: Rose: 35/4/11 (PotG); Boozer: 25/9/1; Noah: 10/8/4 blks
NYK: Stoudemire: 38/12/2; Anthony: 30/8/0, 10-16 FG; Billups: 5/0/9/5 TO's, 2-7 FG (Shitass)

After getting absolutely demolished in the first two games of the series, the Knicks have arguably been the better team in these last four. Unfortunately, they couldn't get it done to force game 7. Behind 68 points from their superstar duo, they dropped 114 on the Bull's vaunted D. The problem? They gave up 116. The Bulls will face the winner of the Heat/Celtics series.

Celtics 105, Heat 101
Series tied 3-3

BOS: J. O'Neal: 22/10/0, 9-13 FG (PotG); Rondo: 19/5/10; Pierce: 16/8/4
MIA: Wade: 24/6/6; James: 23/7/1; Miller: 1/2/4/3 TO's, 0-6 FG (Shitass)

In the East's best series, the Celtics prevailed 105-101 to force a game 7. Once again, it has been the surprising resurgence for Jermaine O'Neal these playoffs, that made the difference. The Celtics will host game 7 in a series where the road team has taken 4 of 6 games.

Magic 110, Cavaliers 81
ORL wins 4-1

ORL: Nelson: 20/3/6; Arenas: 20/5/2; Kenyon Martin: 6/19/4 stls
CLE: Jamison: 20/9/5 TO's; Davis: 13/2/9; Irving: 5/8/3/4 TO's, 2-11 FG (Shitass)

Move along, nothing to see here...

Pacers 110, Hawks 92
Pacers win series 4-2

IND: George: 27/5/3 stls (PotG); Collison: 19/2/6; Hibbert: 14/8/2 blks
ATL: Josh Smith: 14/9/5; Hinrich 10/5/5; Horford: 13/7/3 TO's, 4-18 FG (Shitass)

Time to put Paul George on star notice. The second year forward stepped up in place of the foul troubled Danny Granger to carry his team to a huge closeout win. George had 27 points as the Pacers dominated on both ends of the floor. The #7 seed Pacers finish off the series upset and fill face the Orlando Magic in the next round.

Western Conference | Eastern Conference

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

[The X]

Great to see you advance. Hopefully that is good omen for me when I finally play out rest of series against OKC.

[Houndy]

Nice upset. Roy is clutch

[Lamrock]

Thanks. I expected to lose this series in 4 or 5 games to be honest. During the regular season, we were an elite team in simmed games, but I only won about a third of the ones I played. Luckily, our team has incredible chemistry and so everybody's rating is inflated 3 points, and things came together.

It's not going to be easy, but things have converged in a way that a run to the conference finals doesn't look too unlikely. I blew out both Golden State and San Antonio in the regular season but winning 4 out of 7 will be difficult. Health will be key as it was our depth that gave us the win against OKC.

The X, Do you have any long armed perimeter defenders? We were 0-2 without Batum and 4-0 with because I let KD take 40 contested shots per game.

[shadowgrin]

Fuck you Lamrock. Your team ruined my prediction.

[Lamrock]

AROUND THE LEAGUE

Derrick Rose Repeats As Most Valuable Player



2010-11 NBA MVP Derrick Rose has won his second consecutive Most Valuable Player award. The Chicago Bull was the favorite to win the 2012 MVP after a successful 29 campaign in which Rose's Bulls tied for the league's best record at 20-9. Rose also led the league in both scoring and Player Efficiency Rating. Rose was the youngest player to ever win the award last season, and now the fourth year player has two MVP trophies to his name. Rose averaged 27.1 points, 8.1 assists and 3.9 boards per game. He beats out Kevin Durant and Zach Randolph among others for the award.

Last 5 MVP's

2012 - Derrick Rose (CHI)
2011 - Derrick Rose (CHI)
2010 - LeBron James (CLE)
2009 - LeBron James (CLE)
2008 - Kobe Bryant (LAL)

Game 7's

Warriors 115, Spurs 114
Warriors win series 4-3

GSW: Lee: 22/7/2, 9-13 FG (PotG); Ellis: 24/2/5; Curry: 20/1/5
SAS: Ginobili: 32/6/10; Parker: 24/6/7; Jefferson: 4/1/2/4 TO's, 1-6 FG (Shitass)

In a series of herculean performances from Manu Ginobili, the Argentinian star couldn't cap one of his best performances with a win. In a thrilling game that was close from the start, the Warriors stayed in the game with a balanced attack and came out on top in the end. They knock out the aging Spurs, who lose in the first round for the second straight season, and third in four years. The Warriors advance to the second round, where they will meet the #8 seed Portland Trailblazers.

Celtics 111, Heat 104
Celtics win series 4-3

BOS: Rondo: 26/5/11/3 stls, 12-12 FG, 6-8 FT; Garnett: 18/10/0; Pierce: 19/5/2
MIA: James: 34/3/7; Wade: 21/4/3; Bosh: 9/9/3 TO's, 3-14 FG (Shitass)

Add this one to the list of LOLebron failures. Thanks to an incredible performance by Rajon Rondo and the Celtics, the Miami Heat have been eliminated in the first round of the playoffs. The game was close and high scoring all game long. There was no love lost as many technicals were issued and the game was hardcore playoff basketball.

The Celtics entered the fourth quarter down one, but Rondo took over. The all-star snub had perhaps the best game of his already illustrious playoff career. He had 26 points, 11 asts, 5 boards and 3 steals on 10-12 shooting from the field and 6-8 from the line. James and Wade had their usual big games, but Bosh was an embarassment in the loss, failing to hit double figures. Start the trade rumors for Bosh Spice now. The Celtics advance to face the Bulls in the next round.

Western Conference | Eastern Conference

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

Most Valuable Player: Derrick Rose (CHI)
Sixth Man of the Year: Louis Williams (PHI)
Defensive Player of the Year: Tyrus Thomas (CHA)
Rookie of the Year: Kyrie Irving (CLE)
Most Improved Player: DJ Augustin (CHA)

[Lamrock]

2012 Conference Semifinals Preview

Western Conference

4 Golden State [22-14] Vs. [19-16] Portland 8
Although Monta and Biedrins are the only two players left on the team from the We Believe era, it seems fitting that the 8 seed Blazers' Cinderella run must run through Golden State. This series should be interesting as the Warriors still run and gun, while the Blazers' offense runs at a glacial pace. It looks like depth will be key for Portland, while getting big games out of their big three will be a focus for the Warriors.

GSW: S Curry M Ellis D Wright D Lee A Biedrins (K Thompson, E Udoh, R Williams)
POR: R Felton W Matthews G Wallace L Aldridge* G Oden (B Roy, C Landry, N Batum)

2 Memphis [23-10] Vs. [22-13] Houston 3
After proving themselves in last season's playoffs, the Grizzlies have been unstoppable this year, opening these playoffs by sweeping the defending champions. That will be put to the test against the upstart Rockets, who were able to take advantage of an injured Pau to easily knock out the Lakers. Houston will need to find a way to contain the Grizzlies' star-studded frontcourt.

MEM: M Conley OJ Mayo R Gay* Z Randolph* M Gasol* (T Allen, D Arthur, G Vasquez)
HOU: K Lowry K Martin S Battier L Scola J Hill (T Thompson, J Calderon, M Morris)

Eastern Conference

1 Chicago [24-11] Vs. [22-14] Boston 4
MVP Derrick Rose and the Bulls take on the veteran Celtics. In year 5 of the big 3 era, the Celtics are still a major contender, with no small thanks to Jermaine O'Neal's resurgent play. Fresh off a seven game series win against the conference champion Heat, the Celtics will be out of the frying pan and into the fire against the league's best remaining regular season team.

CHI: D Rose* K Bogans L Deng C Boozer J Noah (T Gibson, K Korver, R Brewer)
BOS: R Rondo R Allen P Pierce K Garnett J O'Neal (T Prince, J Green, J Foster)

3 Orlando [21-13] Vs. [18-17] Indiana 7
Entering the playoffs with a losing record, few expected this series to include the Pacers. However, they earned it with their shocking upset of the Hawks, and so here they are. These teams are similar in a way, as they both take a lot of threes and run their offense through their centers a lot. These teams both look even on paper, but I reckon the Pacers will need to play their hearts out on D and get something big from their reserves to have a chance.

ORL: J Nelson G Arenas H Turkoglu K Martin D Howard* (JJ Redick, R Anderson, G Davis)
IND: D Collison P George D Granger JJ Hickson R Hibbert (C Hayes, T Hansbrough, E Ilyasova)

----------
Playoff Tipping Game: Round 2

Post your predictions for the second 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 2 Multiplier: 1.5

Series to predict:

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

See all active contests and results here.

Leaderboard

1. shadowgrin | 43
2. dei. | 37
3. Axel. | 25
4. dare | 24
5. Martti. | 19
6. Valor | 18
8. badreligionau | 10
7. KidJustin | 13
9. z02 | 8

[Kenny]

Interesting (and surprising) matchup for this round. It's hard seeing them taking you to anymore than 5, considering you knocked off the top seed.

You may also want to change the Warriors' logo

EDIT:

(8) Blazers - Warriors (4) - Blazers in 5
(3) Rockets - Grizzlies (2) - Rockets in 6
(1) Bulls - Celtics (4) - Bulls in 7
(3) Magic - Pacers (7) - Pacers in 7

[Martti.]

Damn, did rather shit in the first round. And the Heat losing already, dislike. (Though I'm the only one)

(8) Blazers - Warriors (4) - Blazers in 7
(3) Rockets - Grizzlies (2) - Grizzlies in 6
(1) Bulls - Celtics (4) - Bulls in 7
(3) Magic - Pacers (7) - Magic in 6

[newc]

Go Biedrins!

[Lamrock]

Thanks man. After lots of editing and re-posting, I think I've finally finished all the first round wrap-up stuff. All the content on the hub posts (First post/rules, Archives, Roster, Contests) are all up to date.

Second round coverage will start in the next couple of days. In the meantime, get your picks in if you're interested.

[The X]

The X, Do you have any long armed perimeter defenders? We were 0-2 without Batum and 4-0 with because I let KD take 40 contested shots per game.

Rookie Jaime Buford at 6'8". He actually has even blocked a couple of Durant's jumpers

Rookie Richard Sharpe is also 6'8" & has some athleticism & length but isn't as much of a stopper as Buford but can contest shots.

[mp3]

Tough matchup with the Warriors imo Ellis and Curry can be a nightmare and if they miss David Lee is there to mop up the mess.