Road to Glory II

[Valor]

2012 NBA Finals Preview


NBA Finals
2. New Orleans Hornets (66-12) v 2. Chicago Bulls (60-22)
New Orleans Hornets: Chris Paul | Ben Gordon | Al Harrington | David West | Emeka Okafor | Kemba Walker | Peja Stojakovic | Anthony Morrow
Chicago Bulls: Derrick Rose | Kirk Hinrich | Luol Deng | Carlos Boozer | Joakim Noah | Shaquille O'Neal | Kyle Korver | Sasha Vujacic

Comment: It's only appropriate that these two teams meet up in this year's NBA Finals. Back on November 27th, 2011, the Hornets made history as they clinched the best start in NBA history at 16-0 by beating the Chicago Bulls, 100-91. They would then go on to win another 9 straight and make the list as the second longest win streak in NBA history. Chris Paul knew then that this season was going to be special.

"It was a magical start" Paul said "Everything was going so right for us, we just felt as though we are invincible"

For Derrick Rose and the Bulls, they took it personal.

"Anytime you are the reason behind someone else making a record, it fustrates you as a competitor" Rose said

Now, it's their chance to pay them back.

After winning 66 and 60 games respectively, both the Hornets and the Bulls knocked off worthy contestents en-route to the NBA's biggest stage. With New Orleans knocking off the Spurs, the Rockets, and finally, the Mavericks; and the Bulls taking revenge on the Celtics and the Heat, as well as defeating the Magic; it's all set and ready to go for the two best point guards on the planet and their respective teams.

Would Paul's savvy win out? or would he be set back by the explosiveness of Derrick Rose? These are the questions that will be answered, here in the 2012 NBA Finals.

ESPN Prediction: Hornets in 7

[Valor]

Lineups Subjected to change



Starting Five

PG. Derrick Rose
SG. Kirk Hinrich
SF. Luol Deng
PF. Carlos Boozer
C. Joakim Noah

Bench
Sasha Vujacic
Kyle Korver
Shaquille O'Neal
Taj Gibson
Brad Miller
Jeremy Lin*
Marcus Jordan


Inactive Rotation
Jason Williams - Ankle Sprain*

Head Coach: Byron Scott
Injury Report: Jason Williams - Ankle Sprain (Hurt)





Starting Five

PG. Chris Paul
SG. Ben Gordon
SF. Al Harrington
PF. David West
C. Emeka Okafor

Bench
Kemba Walker
Peja Stojakovic
Anthony Morrow
Ronny Turiaf
Kurt Thomas
Marreese Speights
Sean Williams


Inactive Rotation
N/A

Head Coach: Grant McCloud
Injury Report: Sean Williams – Out (Torn ACL)

* Indicates changes during the series



Game 1 Game Recap
Date/Time: June 3rd 2012, 10:00pm
Location: New Orleans Arena, New Orleans LA
Series: New Orleans Hornets 0-0 Chicago Bulls

Game 2 Game Recap
Date/Time: June 5th 2012, 8:00pm
Location: New Orleans Arena, New Orleans LA
Series: New Orleans Hornets 1-0 Chicago Bulls

Game 3 Game Recap
Date/Time: June 7th 2012, 9:00pm
Location: United Center, Chicago IL
Series: Chicago Bulls 1-1 New Orleans Hornets

Game 4 Game Recap
Date/Time: June 9th 2012, 7:00pm
Location: United Center, Chicago IL
Series: Chicago Bulls 2-1 New Orleans Hornets

Game 5 Game Recap
Date/Time: June 11th 2012, 8:00pm
Location: United Center, Chicago IL
Series: Chicago Bulls 2-2 New Orleans Hornets

Game 6 Game Recap
Date/Time: June 13th 2012, 6:30pm
Location: New Orleans Arena, New Orleans LA
Series: New Orleans Hornets 2-3 Chicago Bulls

Bulls Win Series 4-2

[kibaxx7]

Good luck man Got to stop CP3.

[Martti.]

Bulls in 6.

[Valor]

Good luck man Got to stop CP3.

Easier said than done Thanks buddy

Bulls in 6.

Haha that'll be great, lets hope that's the case

[Valor]

Hornets go up 1-0 as Paul stuns Bulls at the Buzzer

CP3 wins the game for New Orleans at the Buzzer

New Orleans, LA Chris Paul only took 10 shots in total and made just one three pointer.

It was all he needed to do.

After watching Derrick Rose and the Chicago Bulls come roaring back from a 22 point deficit to finally taking a two point lead with 4.3 seconds remaining, Paul knew exactly what he had to do.

Shaking free of Kirk Hinrich's defense, Paul rose up from just beyond the three point line and shot the potential game winner with 0.6 seconds remaining. As the whole arena tensed up and held their breath, CP3 turned and pumped his fist in the air.

Nothing but net.

"There was no doubt it was going in" Paul said, "Got myself a clean look and it felt good"

The Bulls gave it their all, with Derrick Rose leading the way with a game high 34 points alongside 7 assists, and 4 other Bulls in double figures; but it just wasn't enough to stop CP3.

Paul finished with 17 points and 10 assists, and only shot the ball 10 times (made 5) to get his teammates involved. It worked to perfection. As David West took home player of the game honors following a 28 point, 7 rebound performance that saw him went an efficient 12 for 19 from the field.

Al Harrington had 19 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists; while Emeka Okafor had 18 points and also 9 boards.

However, it was not all easy for the Hornets, as former Bull Ben Gordon was limited to just 8 points on 3-13 shooting.

"Give them credit but it just wasn't my night" Gordon said, "I was missing wide open looks"

The Bulls shot 32% in the first half and scored just 30 points heading into the break, but behind Rose was able to rally back in the fourth.

"We've got to play better than that" Bulls coach Bryon Scott said, "We need better ball movement if we want to get past their defense"

Chicago only had 17 assists in the game. In contrast, the Hornets registered 13 by the half and finished the game with 30.

New Orleans, who won 66 games in the regular season and has home court advantage in the Finals, now leads the series 1-0. Game two will be back here in New Orleans Arena on the 5th of June.







Highlights




Player of the Game Highlights

[hova-]

Pretty tough way to loose the first game of a final series. Maybe get a little more out of your 2nd or 3rd option.

[kibaxx7]

Man, you need Booz to step up a little more. Tough fall

[Axel The Great]

Heartbreaking to lose a game like that, especially after a huge comeback. Looks like David West did most of the damage, he's always so hard to stop in 2K with his turnaround jumpshots. Did you try guarding him with Noah?

Hope you guys steal Game 2.

[Valor]

Pretty tough way to loose the first game of a final series. Maybe get a little more out of your 2nd or 3rd option.

They really need to start playing better...D-Rose can only do so much

Man, you need Booz to step up a little more. Tough fall

He's stinking it up for sure, Shaq's playing heaps better than him

Heartbreaking to lose a game like that, especially after a huge comeback. Looks like David West did most of the damage, he's always so hard to stop in 2K with his turnaround jumpshots. Did you try guarding him with Noah?

Hope you guys steal Game 2.

Yep, since Booze's been sucking I've been going with a rotation that involves Shaq and Noah being out there at the same time, Noah's been guarding West but to no avail so far...
We definitely need to take one game on the road to win the title so I do hope it's in Game 2, better early than late...I wouldn't want to have the series go to a game 7 on the road

[Lamrock]

Tough loss. That Hornets team looks hard to stop.

[Houndy]

That Hornets team is tough

[Cruzerr]

First loss was a close one, damn. Hornets seem really tough, Booz needs to step up. As for Rose, keep him going strong.

[Valor]

Tough loss. That Hornets team looks hard to stop.

Yeah, with CP3 penetrating and loads of shooters on the outside, and West on the inside, if I mess up for a second on D they are gonna score. They are also a great defensive team as well

That Hornets team is tough

They've been giving me fits over the last two seasons

First loss was a close one, damn. Hornets seem really tough, Booz needs to step up. As for Rose, keep him going strong.

Heartbreaking loss for sure, coming all the way back only to get a CP3 buzzer beater in my face
Booze really needs to play better if we wanna win

[Martti.]

Tough loss, but if you steak the next, you've got the advantage straight away with 3 straight home games.

[Valor]

Tough loss, but if you steak the next, you've got the advantage straight away with 3 straight home games.

Definitely, there's added pressure of winning all three of those though....cause if I lose even one of them I'll have to clinch it on the road

[Valor]

Alright guys, so I've finally re-acquired stable internet a while ago and whether or not I decide to continue doing Dynasties/Associations, I felt like at the least I'll need to wrap this up So here it is, I'm back with what is perhaps the final few games of Road to Glory II. Appropriately, it's the Finals, so hope y'all enjoy the rest of the ride Game 2 will be coming in the next day or so

[Martti.]

Great news, def wrap this up. Association HOF is waiting.

[cavs4872]

Will be looking forward to it That Hornets team has all the lethal 2K players. CP3, Gordon, Harrington, and West can all go off and take the scoring load on any given night

[Valor]

Great news, def wrap this up. Association HOF is waiting.

Thanks Martti, dunno about HOF with all the hiatuses this one has had but appreciate it all the same and it'll be an honor if this one goes in

Will be looking forward to it That Hornets team has all the lethal 2K players. CP3, Gordon, Harrington, and West can all go off and take the scoring load on any given night

Yeah it was almost a blowout in game 1 for them, luckily I managed to come back but still got nailed by CP3 at the buzzer

[hova-]

Looking forward to a deserving end to this HOF Ass.

[Bulls#1]

I just read it and it's HOF Worthy Valor don't lose hope!

[Valor]

Looking forward to a deserving end to this HOF Ass.

Thanks Hov, will try to finish things off well

I just read it and it's HOF Worthy Valor don't lose hope!

Cheers man thanks for the praise

[Valor]

Bulls clamp down on Hornets, ties series at one game apiece

Playing with a purpose, Derrick Rose dominated on both ends of the floor tonight

New Orleans, LA – After losing to a Chris Paul buzzer beater on Sunday night, Derrick Rose and the Chicago Bulls wasn’t about to let that happen again.

To make a long story short, they didn’t allow the game to get close. Period.

Motivated and angered by their last-second defeat in Game 1, the Chicago Bulls played with a passion and level of aggression that is hard to rival from start to finish. Led by Derrick Rose, they locked down on defense and held the Hornets to just 27 for 79 from the field (34%). The 27 field goals by the Hornets is one of the fewest field goals made in an NBA Finals game ever, the fewest being the Utah Jazz on June 7th 1998 (21 field goals).

"Every coach talks about playing a playoff game, every possession having value, every possession having intensity to it," said Bryon Scott, “I though the guys did an excellent job doing that, especially defensively and also rebounding the basketball”

On the other end of the floor, Derrick Rose once again led the way for Chicago, as he earned Player of the Game honors following an all-rounded performance of 25 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds, 2 steals and a block. Rose did an excellent job shutting down the Hornets superstar Chris Paul, holding the latter to just 14 points on 6 for 18 shooting. Paul did, however, get 9 assists.

While backup center Shaquille O’Neal was the only other Bull to reach double figures (14 points, 8 rebounds), a total team effort was evident as all 12 players on the Chicago roster got on the scoreboard, as the Bulls got 38 bench points compared to the Hornets’ mere two.

Ben Gordon led the charge for the Hornets with his own 25 points, but he, like the rest of his team, struggled with his shot against the pressure of the Bulls defense (8-22 FG, 1-6 3PT). Al Harrington and David West finished with 12 and 11 points respectively. West also added 11 rebounds.

However, it just wasn’t enough, as the Hornets never got within striking distance after the first quarter. The Bulls’ lead only grew as the game progressed and New Orleans simply lost all control of the flow of the game.

“They played harder tonight,” said Chris Paul, “It’s that simple, they just played harder”

With this win, the Bulls now knot up the NBA Finals series to 1 game apiece, and will head back to the United Center for the 3 game homestand that awaits them in this 2-3-2 Finals format.






Highlights




Player of the Game Highlights


Haier Play of the Day

[Bulls#1]

Nice Job destroying the hornets