Andrew wrote:Huge game from George to get the job done. Lakers hung in there admirably without LeBron.
seaboh13 wrote:Great win over the Lakers. Like the Westbrook step over after dunk! George was very impressive! Equally impressed by Noel, some really solid performances by him throughout. Adams pops up every second game with big numbers thought! I wouldn't feel pressured to trade PG in this universe, I think if the Thunder knocked off the Lakers in real life he may not have been so receptive to Kawhi's phone call. Disappointing to do what he did. There is always the hope now they trade Westy, tank, do so poorly they return to Seattle! Good luck v Denver!!
Andrew wrote:Second round could be quite a battle. A shame that even if you win, they're going to end up with Westbrook...or will they?
Andrew wrote:The only problem with moving to Seattle is that once the servers are shut down, any MyLEAGUE saves that use custom assets also get locked (as you unfortunately found out). Of course, that's a while off yet.
wdt92 wrote:Because we know for certain that the duo will be split, this is the most depressing Playoff run I think ever experienced.
A good win against LA, good luck against Houston!
It will be very strange seeing PG demand a trade if you guys can make it to the Finals. I guess because KD just did something similar in real life, it isn't abnormal, just will be odd. Though, for me, every move this offseason has been strange. Everyone is moving around and it just doesn't feel the same anymore. I guess I'm just getting too old for the new player empowerment and miss the old days of players having a mostly team loyalty.
OKC | 36 | 34 | 39 | 24 | 133 |
HOU | 24 | 23 | 31 | 26 | 106 |
Player of the Game: Steven Adams
(24pts, 17reb, 3ast, 2stl, 2blk)
(12-18 FG, 0-2 FT)
Andrew wrote:Confidence riding high after downing the Lakers!
Did you feel you were going to Westbrook and George less because you know they're on the way out? (Any chance you'd reconsider that and make your own reality?)
OKC | 30 | 23 | 34 | 31 | 118 |
HOU | 27 | 29 | 28 | 28 | 112 |
Player of the Game: Russell Westbrook
(22pts, 11reb, 9ast, 1stl, 1blk)
(9-15 FG, 4-8 FT)
Andrew wrote:I was going to say, that's a very ordinary performance by Harden there. Not a bad performance by your (possible) future point guard!
HOU | 43 | 24 | 38 | 41 | 146 |
OKC | 29 | 26 | 35 | 28 | 118 |
Player of the Game: James Harden
(37pts, 4reb, 6ast)
(14-32 FG, 2-9 3PT, 7-7 FT)
Andrew wrote:Wow, Harden had a point to prove after the previous game. Looks like you still made him work for it with those shooting percentages, but he put up numbers.
HOU | 26 | 21 | 33 | 29 | 109 |
OKC | 35 | 33 | 34 | 40 | 142 |
Player of the Game: Steven Adams
(17pts, 16reb, 6ast, 3stl, 4blk)
(7-10 FG, 3-4 FT)
OKC | 32 | 29 | 29 | 42 | 132 |
HOU | 24 | 28 | 38 | 24 | 114 |
Player of the Game: Paul George
(30pts, 3reb, 4ast, 1stl, 2blk)
(12-21 FG, 1-4 3PT, 5-6 FT)
1. Golden State Warriors [67-15] vs 2. Oklahoma City Thunder [65-17]
It's the match-up that a lot of neutral fans wanted to see. The two best teams from the regular season, who also just happen to have become bitter rivals in recent years.
The main reason for that rivalry will ironically be missing for this series though. Superstar Kevin Durant, who defected from the Thunder to the Warriors in 2016, is out for a fortnight with a calf strain.
Golden State made it through to the conference finals for the fifth year in a row after comfortably accounting for both Portland and Utah. But things aren't all sunshine and lollipops for the Warriors.
Durant pulled up lame in the second quarter of game 5 against the Jazz. Scans later revealed that he had a right calf strain and that he could be out for a number of weeks.
Star center DeMarcus Cousins will also miss this series after suffering a torn left quadriceps in game 1 against the Jazz. He is out indefinitely, but could return if the Warriors reach the NBA Finals.
Even without those two stars the Warriors still have the core of the team that won 73 regular season games in 2016. Steph Curry and Klay Thompson are the most dangerous offensive duo in the league as either one of them could drop 50 points on any given night if they are in the mood.
Andre Iguodala and Andrew Bogut are both older now, but still providing solid defense for the team. Both will have important roles to play against the Thunder.
Oklahoma City come into this series after impressively dispatching with both the Lakers and the Rockets in the previous rounds. But they face their ultimate nemesis here in the Warriors.
Thunder fans and perhaps even members of the organisation itself have never forgiven Kevin Durant for his decision to leave them and join Golden State. It particularly hurt because it happened just weeks after giving up a 3-1 series lead against them.
The Thunder have had to rebuild themselves into contenders again after that disappointment. They eventually managed to pair MVP Russell Westbrook with all-star forward Paul George and the partnership has produced impressive results, despite a disappointing first round exit last season.
Within the overall rivalry between the two teams are individual conflicts. Draymond Green deliberately kicked Steven Adams in the groin on two occasions during that 2016 series. The latter incident saw him fined $25,000 by the league. Thunder fans have disliked him ever since and will no doubt let him know about it every time he touches the ball.
There is also reportedly some tension between star guards Steph Curry and Russell Westbrook after Curry allegedly suggested the he had deserved the MVP award over Westbrook after guiding his team to a 67 win season.
This series is very evenly poised now with the Warriors losing both Durant and Cousins. Ultimately the winner of this series may be the team which takes their chances better at the offensive end, as both of these teams are elite defensively.
In NBA history there have only ever been five teams to win 65 games during the regular season and not go on to win the championship. One of these teams will unfortunately join that list after this series.
Key Match-Up: Stephen Curry vs Russell WestbrookGolden State
Starters
Andrew Bogut - Draymond Green - Andre Iguodala - Klay Thompson - Stephen Curry
Bench
Kevon Looney, Quinn Cook, Shaun Livingston, Jonas Jerebko, Jordan Bell, Damian Jones, Alfonzo McKinnie, Damion Lee
Inactive
Jacob Evans III, Marcus Derrickson, DeMarcus Cousins*, Kevin Durant*
Oklahoma City
Starters
Steven Adams - Jerami Grant - Paul George - Andre Roberson - Russell Westbrook
Bench
Nerlens Noel, Raymond Felton, Darren Collison, Patrick Patterson, Deonte Burton, Terrance Ferguson, Hamidou Diallo, Deyonta Davis*
Inactive
Abdel Nader, Scotty Hopson
1. Boston Celtics [59-23] vs 6. Philadelphia 76ers [42-40]
The Eastern Conference finals will be contested between arguably the conference's two biggest rivals, the Boston Celtics and the Philadelphia 76ers. This will be the 22nd time these two have faced each other in the post-season.
Boston only dropped one game on their way past Indiana and Miami. Philadelphia on the other hand have had to win two hard-fought series against the Raptors and the Bucks to get to this point.
The Celtics will come into this series full of confidence being the number one seed and on the back of eliminating the 76ers in the playoffs last season. They eventually lost in the conference finals to the Cavaliers, but there is no LeBron standing in their way this year.
Both Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward missed the series last year through injury. The pair will be integral for the Celtics against an improved 76ers line-up.
Philadelphia are a much better team than last season, on paper at least. Through trades they replaced Dario Saric and Robert Covington with Jimmy Butler and Tobias Harris. They have proved in the post-season that they are a much better team than their regular season record suggests.
Ben Simmons will need to find a way to be more effective against the Celtics this time around. Last time they sagged off him on defense and it helped restrict how his teammates from getting open shots. Luckily for him he has got Jimmy Butler, JJ Redick and Tobias Harris to space the floor for him now.
Joel Embiid is one of the most unguardable players in the league when he is in the zone. But Celtics big man Al Horford has been as good as anyone at slowing him down in recent years.
It will be interesting to see which of these two Atlantic division rivals will prevail and head to the NBA Finals. Either one would likely go in as underdogs against either the Warriors or Thunder.
Key Match-Up: Kyrie Irving vs Ben SimmonsBoston
Starters
Al Horford - Marcus Morris Sr - Jayson Tatum - Jaylen Brown - Kyrie Irving
Bench
Marcus Smart, Gordon Hayward, Terry Rozier III, Daniel Theis, Aron Baynes, Robert Williams, Brad Wanamaker, Semi Ojeleye
Inactive
RJ Hunter, PJ Dozier, Guerschon Yabusele
Philadelphia
Starters
Joel Embiid - Tobias Harris - Jimmy Butler - JJ Redick - Ben Simmons
Bench
TJ McConnell, Boban Marjanovic, Furkan Korkmaz, Amir Johnson, Mike Scott, James Ennis, Jonathan Simmons, Zhaire Smith
Inactive
Shake Milton, Jonah Bolden, Justin Patton, Haywood Highsmith
Andrew wrote:Sounds like an exciting one, glad to see you pick up the win and advance though.
GSW | 21 | 34 | 31 | 27 | 113 |
OKC | 23 | 23 | 26 | 31 | 103 |
Player of the Game: Andre Iguodala
(27pts, 3reb, 7ast, 4stl, 2blk)
(11-19 FG, 2-4 3PT, 3-6 FT)
Return to Stories from the Virtual Hardwood
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 19 guests