The last Player of the Game title for the season went to Orlando’s Blake Griffin who averaged 28.3 points, 12.3 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 1.9 steals and 1.9 blocks in a fantastic display of all around skill. His Magic went 10-5 in March.
Making it a clean sweep, Matt Bailey from the Los Angeles Lakers has won the March Rookie of the Month crown. His averages were stellar during the month, putting up 19.7 points, 9.7 rebounds and 2.7 blocks a game as the Lakers went 9-6 during that stretch.
We have 11 games to go in the regular season and a half game lead for first place and I’m hoping it stays on our side.
Kevin King makes sure that the streak continues with a dazzling display in our 106-91 win over Detroit. King had 39 points while keeping opposing SF Joe Taylor to only 5 points. Kenneth Thornton showed how good of a player he is with 6 points, 9 rebounds and 6 blocks as Dwight Howard was troubled with fouls. JJ Hickson lived up to his monstrous contract at least for one night with 20 points.
Toronto Raptors 63-9
Mike Miller fouls out in 9 minutes trying to defend Kevin King as we rout the Heat 118-105. King and Lebron James went blow for blow the whole game with King amassing 34 points while James countered with 35 points of his own. Dwight Howard was the different with 21 points, 15 rebounds and 6 blocks as the Miami has not corrected their big man woes.
Toronto Raptors 64-9
The Knicks have lost two games to start the month taking our lead out to 2.5 games with nine to go.
Kenny Costa earns his first ever Player of the Game title in our 114-90 win over Cleveland by collecting 22 points and 6 assists. What a devastating display of our depth with Trent Bailey helping his backcourt bud out with 23 points in 23 minutes. Carmelo Anthony has 22 points on 23 shots while Sam Dye puts in 22 points of his own.
Toronto Raptors 65-9
We won 105-81 over Detroit but it came with a cost as both Reggie Williams and Kenneth Thornton pick up injuries that will keep them from their best for at least a week. Kevin King continues his torrid play with 35 points while Dwight Howard has 17 points and 17 rebounds. No one on the Pistons play well as they shoot 34% from the field.
Toronto Raptors 66-9
It was always going to be a struggle backing it up the next night, especially going up against the very good 76ers but we eke out a 114-111 win behind Dwight Howard’s 27 points and Kevin King’s 20 points. What is so remarkable about King’s performance is that he went 2/15 from the field and 16/21 from the line. Kenny Costa doubles up again showing great signs for the future. Chris Paul shoots badly but comes close to a triple double with 8 points, 14 assists and 7 rebounds and Wesley Johnson had 27 points and 8 turnovers.
Toronto Raptors 67-9
Charlotte has a massive eight players in double figures as we never led in their 118-88 beatdown. Povilas Tailos was named Player of the Game with 21 points and 8 assists while we were tired and sore which showed from the start.
Toronto Raptors 67-10
The Knicks pounded the Heat to come within two games but the next night Milwaukee upsets them to take our lead out to 2.5 games with five games to go.
We always seem to lose to Chicago, this time going down 116-101 as Derrick Rose took Kenny Costa to school with 30 points and 10 assists. D&M paced us with 38 points and 24 rebounds but I think it’s time to throw in the towel and rest our starters.
Toronto Raptors 67-11
Rudy T starts the starters again which is a blessing as we blow out Indiana early 100-79 and our bench could have a go while resting the starters. Kevin King had 25 points and 8 turnovers while DeMar DeRozan pitched in with 14 points in 16 minutes off the bench.
Toronto Raptors 68-11
You can’t write a better storyline than this: we have a two game lead over New York with three games to go. So what does the schedule serve up? An away game in New York to decide the Eastern Conference minor champions. We go down by 12 points at three quarter time but race back into the game but end up coming short 115-111. Varlam Bebutov has become an elite PG and showed it tonight with 30 points, 10 assists and 7 rebounds to pace the team. Danilo Gallinari had 25 points but shot 17 three pointers. Mario Chalmers (who I picked up after Eric Maynor was a jerk on the team) had 11 points in 19 minutes but we really missed Rajon Rondo out there.
Toronto Raptors 68-12
We beat the Nets 122-101 as we were supposed to do as DeMar DeRozan had 17 points off the bench and Kenny Costa had 15 points and 11 assists but with one game to go we need to win it to have home court advantage. Sorry bench players you won’t get a go while the starters rest because I want that HCA.
Toronto Raptors 69-12
And luckily we stomp the Pacers 95-69 behind Dwight Howard’s fantastic game with 25 points, 21 rebounds and 6 blocks and the bench play more than they should which eases me a little. The Pacers shot 28% from the field as we are the best team in the league and lock up home court advantage for the entire playoffs.
Toronto Raptors 70-12
Eastern Conference:
1st – Toronto Raptors – 70-12 (.854)
2nd – New York Knicks – 69-13 (.841)
3rd – Chicago Bulls – 62-20 (.756)
4th – Philadelphia 76ers – 55-27 (.671)
5th – Washington Wizards – 55-27 (.671)
6th – Miami Heat – 53-29 (.646)
7th – New Jersey Nets – 50-32 (.610)
8th – Orlando Magic – 42-40 (.512)
Last – Detroit Pistons – 19-63 (.232)
Wow, seven teams with 50 wins.
Western Conference:
1st – Oklahoma City Thunder – 57-25 (.695)
2nd – Portland Trailblazers – 45-37 (.549)
3rd – Los Angeles Clippers – 44-38 (.537)
4th – Golden State Warriors – 43-39 (.524)
5th – Los Angeles Lakers – 42-40 (.512)
6th – Utah Jazz – 42-40 (.512)
7th – Houston Rockets – 40-42 (.488)
8th – Minnesota Timberwolves – 39-43 (.476)
Last – Nevada Neon – 22-60 (.268)
Wow, only one team with 50 wins. Number seven New Jersey would be a second seed.
Toronto Top Points – Kevin King (22.1), Dwight Howard (18.5), Tim Mozgov (16.7), Trent Bailey (13.6)
Toronto Top Rebounds – Dwight Howard (12.0), Tim Mozgov (10.2), Kenneth Thornton (5.8), Kevin King (4.8)
Toronto Top Assists – Rajon Rondo (10.3), Kevin King (3.9), Trent Bailey (3.5), Kenny Costa (3.5)
League Top Points – Lebron James MIA (25.6), Kevin Durant OKC (24.3), Carmelo Anthony CLE (23.4), Derrick Rose CHI (23.3)
League Top Rebounds – Dwight Howard TOR (12.0), Amar’e Stoudemire NYK (11.8), Andrew Bogut LAC (11.4), Marc Gasol MEM (11.2)
League Top Assists – Chris Paul PHI (10.9), Rajon Rondo TOR (10.3), Deron Williams UTA (10.2), Russell Westbrook OKC (9.2)
League Top Blocks – Justin Cabrera PHI (4.4), Andrew Bogut LAC (4.0), Travis Randolph DEN (3.8), Derrick Favors NJN (3.7)
League Top Steals – Monta Ellis GSW (1.9), Gerald Wallace CHA (1.8), Chris Paul PHI (1.8), Brian Iacona NOH (1.7)
League Top FG% - Greg Oden POR (.579), Dwight Howard TOR (.568), Anthony Morrow MIN (.555), Nikola Pekovic UTA (.554)
League Top 3P% - Trent Bailey TOR (.480), Anthony Morrow MIN (.477), Mo Williams DEN (.442), Mike Miller MIA (.440)
League Top FT% - Luke Babbitt POR (.950), Paul George POR (.935), Mo Williams DEN (.913), Dirk Nowitzki DAL (.897)
League Top Turnovers – OJ Mayo MEM (4.7), Vlasi Kazapov LAC (4.1), Boleslav Silajdic NEV (4.1), Tyreke Evans SAC (3.9)
Rookie Top Points – Kyle Craig NOH (17.4), Matt Bailey LAL (16.1), Matt Davis CLE (14.9), Joshua Potter DEN (9.8)
Rookie Top Rebounds – Matt Bailey LAL (9.4), Derrick Chambless BOS (8.5), Joshua Potter DEN (5.6), MAXIME Videnov CLE (5.4)
Rookie Top Assists – Brian Iacona NOH (5.9), Matt Davis CLE (3.0), Jason Roe ORL (2.8), Jeremy Dumic DAL (2.7)
Up next – Playoffs! Rajon Rondo is healthy in less than a week to battle for back to back championships.
You're Moving Us To Toronto?!!
by zike_42 » Wed Jul 06, 2011 2:43 am
2016 NBA Playoffs
Eastern Conference:
#1 Toronto vs. #8 Orlando
#2 New York vs. #7 New Jersey
#3 Chicago vs. #6 Miami
#4 Washington vs. #5 Philadelphia
Western Conference:
#1 Oklahoma City vs. #8 Minnesota
#2 Portland vs. #7 Utah
#3 Los Angeles Clippers vs. #6 Los Angeles Lakers
#4 Houston vs. #5 Golden State
We went 3-0 against the Magic and hopefully we do the same in the playoffs.
Eastern Conference first round Orlando vs. Toronto
Point Guard
Jameer Nelson vs. Kenny Costa
13.8 points, 2.4 rebounds, 6.2 assists vs. 6.6 points, 1.6 rebounds, 3.5 assists
Usual starter Rajon Rondo is still injured but should be back this series but Costa has been a good back up. Nelson is more of a scorer than distributor but is still dangerous as he is a deadeye outside shooter.
Winner – Orlando (for now)
Shooting Guard
Jamal Crawford vs. Trent Bailey
17.1 points, 2.4 rebounds, 2.2 assists vs. 13.6 points, 2.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists
With Rondo out Bailey has stepped up his play by averaging over 20 points since their leader went down. He will need all his defensive skills if he is to slow down Crawford who is very streaky but when he is on he can take over games.
Winner - Draw
Small Forward
Mike Tillman vs. Kevin King
2.4 points, 1.7 rebounds, 0.6 assists vs. 22.1 points, 4.8 rebounds, 3.9 assists
It’s a bit of a head scratcher that Tillman is starting over rookie Jason Roe as Roe has been great this year. It might be because Tillman is a better defender but good luck as he will be running into the King buzzsaw.
Winner - Toronto
Power Forward
Blake Griffin vs. Tim Mozgov
23.2 points, 11.1 rebounds, 2.2 assists vs. 16.7 points, 10.2 rebounds, 1.4 assists
Griffin was a Raptor but was ceremoniously dumped for Dwight Howard and Blake has gone and made his case for MVP this season. The Magic will need Griffin to play out of his mind for them to win.
Winner - Orlando
Centre
Anderson Varejao vs. Dwight Howard
9.6 points, 8.2 rebounds, 1.3 assists vs.18.5 points, 12.0 rebounds, 1.3 assists
Good luck AV Dwight Howard has been on a tear this season and is hungry for another championship. He may have played for the Magic but he is now Toronto’s favourite son.
Winner - Toronto
Bench
Daniel Orton, Jason Roe, Jarian Turner vs. Reggie Williams, Kenneth Thornton, DeMar DeRozan
Orton has finally fulfilled his potential to be a good bench player while Roe has started most games this season. The Raptors bench has been fantastic all year with the addition of Thornton at the trade deadline made them even deadlier.
Winner – Toronto
Prediction – Toronto in 5.
It was a sea of white for our first game of the series as everyone in the crowd were expecting a quick and painless ticket to the next round. And through three quarters it seemed that way as we got out to a 22 point lead, only to see Jamal Crawford and Jameer Nelson claw their way back to within four points. Luckily we have the new, mature Trent Bailey who took over and delivered us a 107-93 win. Bailey had 25 points and 6 assists while Kenny Costa continued his fine form with 12 points and 11 assists. Jameer Nelson top scored with 27 points but the player of the game should have gone to Tim Mozgov who bullied Blake Griffin for 3/14 shooting for totals of 9 points, 16 rebounds and 7 assists.
Toronto leads 1-0
It was Kevin King’s turn to do some game saving as we barely snuck past the Magic again, this time 94-90. King had 25 points while Dwight Howard tallied 18 points and 15 rebounds. Trent Bailey tried to do too much in this game as he took 28 shots for only 21 points. Blake Griffin is slowly warming up, this time having 20 points and 9 rebounds, but he shot 9/21 and had 6 turnovers.
Toronto leads 2-0
Going into Florida we wanted to get both games to sew this series up but if that wasn’t possible at least one game would be crucial. Unfortunately for us four of the five Orlando starters had more than 20 points –
Blake Griffin – 23 points, 14 rebounds
Daniel Orton (filling in for the injured Anderson Varejao) – 21 points
Jamal Crawford – 23 points
Jameer Nelson – 21 points, 8 assists.
On our side Dwight Howard had 21 points, 19 rebounds and 5 blocks but the hero of the game was DeMar DeRozan who filled in for the foul troubled Trent Bailey who scored the final six points of the game to finish with 17 points as he took the game away from the Magic as we won 116-110 to take a 3-0 lead. I was close to trading DeMar at the deadline but I’m thanking my lucky stars that I held onto him.
Toronto leads 3-0
That last game fired up the Magic and in the third quarter outscored us 40-18 as Jamal Crawford again caught fire. So what did we do in the fourth? Outscore them 32-12 to win the series 108-93. Tim Mozgov played out of his mind with 26 points and 12 rebounds while keeping Blake Griffin to only 12 points. Rajon Rondo was inserted into the starting lineup and immediately picked up where he left off with 15 points and 12 assists.
Toronto wins series 4-0
There were no other sweeps but the next night #6 Miami trounced #3 Chicago to go through to the next round 4-1 as they are looking dangerous.
The Thunder go through mostly unscathed with a 4-2 series win over Minnesota while #2 Portland get shocked by #7 Utah by the same margin. The two #5 seeds, Philadelphia and Golden State upstage their more fancied opponents 4-2.
Two nights later the Knicks come back from a 3-1 series deficit to win 125-116 over New Jersey and the Clippers finally get revenge on the Lakers by also beating their cross town rivals 4-3.
[With that post I have reached 100,000 words in my Word file that I write this in! Big accomplishment for me.]
Eastern Conference:
#1 Toronto vs. #8 Orlando
#2 New York vs. #7 New Jersey
#3 Chicago vs. #6 Miami
#4 Washington vs. #5 Philadelphia
Western Conference:
#1 Oklahoma City vs. #8 Minnesota
#2 Portland vs. #7 Utah
#3 Los Angeles Clippers vs. #6 Los Angeles Lakers
#4 Houston vs. #5 Golden State
We went 3-0 against the Magic and hopefully we do the same in the playoffs.
Eastern Conference first round Orlando vs. Toronto
Point Guard
Jameer Nelson vs. Kenny Costa
13.8 points, 2.4 rebounds, 6.2 assists vs. 6.6 points, 1.6 rebounds, 3.5 assists
Usual starter Rajon Rondo is still injured but should be back this series but Costa has been a good back up. Nelson is more of a scorer than distributor but is still dangerous as he is a deadeye outside shooter.
Winner – Orlando (for now)
Shooting Guard
Jamal Crawford vs. Trent Bailey
17.1 points, 2.4 rebounds, 2.2 assists vs. 13.6 points, 2.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists
With Rondo out Bailey has stepped up his play by averaging over 20 points since their leader went down. He will need all his defensive skills if he is to slow down Crawford who is very streaky but when he is on he can take over games.
Winner - Draw
Small Forward
Mike Tillman vs. Kevin King
2.4 points, 1.7 rebounds, 0.6 assists vs. 22.1 points, 4.8 rebounds, 3.9 assists
It’s a bit of a head scratcher that Tillman is starting over rookie Jason Roe as Roe has been great this year. It might be because Tillman is a better defender but good luck as he will be running into the King buzzsaw.
Winner - Toronto
Power Forward
Blake Griffin vs. Tim Mozgov
23.2 points, 11.1 rebounds, 2.2 assists vs. 16.7 points, 10.2 rebounds, 1.4 assists
Griffin was a Raptor but was ceremoniously dumped for Dwight Howard and Blake has gone and made his case for MVP this season. The Magic will need Griffin to play out of his mind for them to win.
Winner - Orlando
Centre
Anderson Varejao vs. Dwight Howard
9.6 points, 8.2 rebounds, 1.3 assists vs.18.5 points, 12.0 rebounds, 1.3 assists
Good luck AV Dwight Howard has been on a tear this season and is hungry for another championship. He may have played for the Magic but he is now Toronto’s favourite son.
Winner - Toronto
Bench
Daniel Orton, Jason Roe, Jarian Turner vs. Reggie Williams, Kenneth Thornton, DeMar DeRozan
Orton has finally fulfilled his potential to be a good bench player while Roe has started most games this season. The Raptors bench has been fantastic all year with the addition of Thornton at the trade deadline made them even deadlier.
Winner – Toronto
Prediction – Toronto in 5.
It was a sea of white for our first game of the series as everyone in the crowd were expecting a quick and painless ticket to the next round. And through three quarters it seemed that way as we got out to a 22 point lead, only to see Jamal Crawford and Jameer Nelson claw their way back to within four points. Luckily we have the new, mature Trent Bailey who took over and delivered us a 107-93 win. Bailey had 25 points and 6 assists while Kenny Costa continued his fine form with 12 points and 11 assists. Jameer Nelson top scored with 27 points but the player of the game should have gone to Tim Mozgov who bullied Blake Griffin for 3/14 shooting for totals of 9 points, 16 rebounds and 7 assists.
Toronto leads 1-0
It was Kevin King’s turn to do some game saving as we barely snuck past the Magic again, this time 94-90. King had 25 points while Dwight Howard tallied 18 points and 15 rebounds. Trent Bailey tried to do too much in this game as he took 28 shots for only 21 points. Blake Griffin is slowly warming up, this time having 20 points and 9 rebounds, but he shot 9/21 and had 6 turnovers.
Toronto leads 2-0
Going into Florida we wanted to get both games to sew this series up but if that wasn’t possible at least one game would be crucial. Unfortunately for us four of the five Orlando starters had more than 20 points –
Blake Griffin – 23 points, 14 rebounds
Daniel Orton (filling in for the injured Anderson Varejao) – 21 points
Jamal Crawford – 23 points
Jameer Nelson – 21 points, 8 assists.
On our side Dwight Howard had 21 points, 19 rebounds and 5 blocks but the hero of the game was DeMar DeRozan who filled in for the foul troubled Trent Bailey who scored the final six points of the game to finish with 17 points as he took the game away from the Magic as we won 116-110 to take a 3-0 lead. I was close to trading DeMar at the deadline but I’m thanking my lucky stars that I held onto him.
Toronto leads 3-0
That last game fired up the Magic and in the third quarter outscored us 40-18 as Jamal Crawford again caught fire. So what did we do in the fourth? Outscore them 32-12 to win the series 108-93. Tim Mozgov played out of his mind with 26 points and 12 rebounds while keeping Blake Griffin to only 12 points. Rajon Rondo was inserted into the starting lineup and immediately picked up where he left off with 15 points and 12 assists.
Toronto wins series 4-0
There were no other sweeps but the next night #6 Miami trounced #3 Chicago to go through to the next round 4-1 as they are looking dangerous.
The Thunder go through mostly unscathed with a 4-2 series win over Minnesota while #2 Portland get shocked by #7 Utah by the same margin. The two #5 seeds, Philadelphia and Golden State upstage their more fancied opponents 4-2.
Two nights later the Knicks come back from a 3-1 series deficit to win 125-116 over New Jersey and the Clippers finally get revenge on the Lakers by also beating their cross town rivals 4-3.
[With that post I have reached 100,000 words in my Word file that I write this in! Big accomplishment for me.]
- zike_42
- Elite Member
- Posts: 1096
- Joined: Mon Feb 05, 2007 4:52 am
by zike_42 » Thu Jul 07, 2011 2:27 am
2016 NBA Playoffs
Eastern Conference:
#1 Toronto vs. #5 Philadelphia
#2 New York vs. #6 Miami
Western Conference:
#1 Oklahoma City vs. #5 Golden State
#3 Los Angeles Clippers vs. #7 Utah
Another team we swept this year (4-0) but with the addition of Justin Cabrera they look very dangerous.
Eastern Conference Semi-Final Philadelphia vs. Toronto
Point Guard
Chris Paul vs. Rajon Rondo
18.2 points, 3.2 rebounds, 13.3 assists vs. 12.0 points, 1.0 rebound, 10.0 assists
Chris Paul has been magnificent once again and is the front runner for league MVP so for the Raptors to win Paul needs to be slowed down. Luckily for them Rondo is healthy and ready to win another championship.
Winner - Philadelphia
Shooting Guard
Luol Deng vs. Trent Bailey
15.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, 1.5 assists vs. 18.3 points, 1.0 rebound, 6.0 assists
Bailey is a big SG but Deng is a 6’9 SF in disguise. His long reach a great feet will be a problem for the young Raptor but Bailey has stepped his game up ever since Rondo went down.
Winner - Draw
Small Forward
Wesley Johnson vs. Kevin King
24.2 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists vs. 20.8 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.0 assists
King’s numbers are misleading – his supporting cast this year has been stronger than other times so he hasn’t needed to do as much. Johnson is a great player and an elite defender but King can not only take over games but entire series.
Winner - Toronto
Power Forward
Patrick Patterson vs. Tim Mozgov
10.7 points, 7.8 rebounds, 2.0 assists vs. 18.0 points, 10.3 rebounds, 1.5 assists
One half of the D&M combo that terrorises oppositions, Mozgov has quietly stepped out of Howard’s shadow and is casting a pretty big one himself. Named to the Eastern All Star team he is four inches taller than Patterson and should have a big series.
Winner - Toronto
Centre
Justin Cabrera vs. Dwight Howard
7.8 points, 10.7 rebounds, 1.2 assists vs. 16.5 points, 13.3 rebounds, 1.8 assists
One point missing from those stats is Cabrera is averaging a mind boggling 5.2 blocks in the first round. He has a terrible attitude and is as dumb as a shoe but his talent is remarkable. Dwight Howard is still Dwight Howard and will continue to eat opposition front line for breakfast but this one won’t go down that easily.
Winner - Toronto
Bench
Boroda Beketov, Jason Richardson, Tengiz Davidov vs. Reggie Williams, Kenny Costa, Kenneth Thornton
The quality of the 76ers bench is unmistakable but they have no PGs other than Chris Paul on the team with Jason Richardson the only other player to be comfortable playing that position while Kenny Costa has shown that he is not only comfortable but excels leading a team.
Winner – Toronto
Prediction – Toronto in 6
That lack of PG depth was on show in our first game with Chris Paul playing 45 minutes as we grind them down 101-84 behind Dwight Howard’s 17 points, 13 rebounds and 6 blocks while Trent Bailey had a massive 7 steals. Paul was great with 23 points, 10 assists and 6 rebounds but the team shot 40% from the field and a terrible 58% from the line.
Toronto leads 1-0
Our next home game is an embarrassment to the entire Philadelphia area as we run rings around them 129-94 as we shoot 68 free throws for the game, hitting 45. Boris Diaw was one of the main culprits if you can believe it shooting 8/10 in only 16 minutes. Tim Mozgov nullified Patrick Patterson again with 29 points and 12 rebounds while Kevin King had 23 points and 8 assists on only 7 field goals (15/20 foul shots). On the losing side Chris Paul and Luol Deng were the only players to get over 10 points with 21 and 22 points respectively as they had seven players with 4 fouls or more.
Toronto leads 2-0
The 76ers stayed with us for the first quarter but when half time rolled around we had a comfortable double digit lead as we went on to win 105-87 in Philadelphia as this series is becoming a huge anti-climax. Dwight Howard taught Justin Cabrera how to play basketball with 33 points, 17 rebounds and 4 blocks and fouled out Cabrera in only 13 minutes. We kept them to 36% shooting as Chris Paul is starting to tire after all his huge games, going 4/14 for 15 points. Wesley Johnson had a night to forget going 7/24 for 18 points and 6 turnovers.
Toronto leads 3-0
That night Chris Paul announced to the world that he is definitely not tired and will show everyone how good this 76er team can be by winning the series. Yeah good luck with that Chris.
He may be short but he lives up to his words as we fight furiously in the fourth quarter to no avail as Philadelphia gets one back 104-102 as Paul lights us up with 30 points and 12 assists. Wesley Johnson fails again for only 13 points but when your PG is playing like Paul was tonight you just get out of the way. Dwight Howard had 17 points, 17 rebounds and 7 blocks but we were let down by our guards as Rajon Rondo fouled out and Trent Bailey shot 2/14 from the field.
Toronto leads 3-1
The crowd is ready and so is the team as we hold Wesley Johnson to 11 points and Luol Deng shoots 7/19 in our series clinching 101-94 win behind Kevin King’s 30 points on a staggering 19/26 shooting from the foul line. He is helped by Rajon Rondo with 19 points on an awful 7/16 from the foul line as he fouls out Chris Paul. I’m happy with the way the guys have been playing but either the Knicks or Heat will be a tougher test.
Toronto wins series 4-1
#1 Oklahoma City shrugs off my criticism by blasting the Warriors 4-1. The next night the #7 Jazz continued their Cinderella run by beating the #3 Clippers in six games while the much talked about Knicks/Heat series is going the distance. Too bad game seven was a fizzler as the Heat shot 34% from the field with the Knicks winning the game 99-75 to book their ticket to match up with us.
Eastern Conference:
#1 Toronto vs. #5 Philadelphia
#2 New York vs. #6 Miami
Western Conference:
#1 Oklahoma City vs. #5 Golden State
#3 Los Angeles Clippers vs. #7 Utah
Another team we swept this year (4-0) but with the addition of Justin Cabrera they look very dangerous.
Eastern Conference Semi-Final Philadelphia vs. Toronto
Point Guard
Chris Paul vs. Rajon Rondo
18.2 points, 3.2 rebounds, 13.3 assists vs. 12.0 points, 1.0 rebound, 10.0 assists
Chris Paul has been magnificent once again and is the front runner for league MVP so for the Raptors to win Paul needs to be slowed down. Luckily for them Rondo is healthy and ready to win another championship.
Winner - Philadelphia
Shooting Guard
Luol Deng vs. Trent Bailey
15.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, 1.5 assists vs. 18.3 points, 1.0 rebound, 6.0 assists
Bailey is a big SG but Deng is a 6’9 SF in disguise. His long reach a great feet will be a problem for the young Raptor but Bailey has stepped his game up ever since Rondo went down.
Winner - Draw
Small Forward
Wesley Johnson vs. Kevin King
24.2 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists vs. 20.8 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.0 assists
King’s numbers are misleading – his supporting cast this year has been stronger than other times so he hasn’t needed to do as much. Johnson is a great player and an elite defender but King can not only take over games but entire series.
Winner - Toronto
Power Forward
Patrick Patterson vs. Tim Mozgov
10.7 points, 7.8 rebounds, 2.0 assists vs. 18.0 points, 10.3 rebounds, 1.5 assists
One half of the D&M combo that terrorises oppositions, Mozgov has quietly stepped out of Howard’s shadow and is casting a pretty big one himself. Named to the Eastern All Star team he is four inches taller than Patterson and should have a big series.
Winner - Toronto
Centre
Justin Cabrera vs. Dwight Howard
7.8 points, 10.7 rebounds, 1.2 assists vs. 16.5 points, 13.3 rebounds, 1.8 assists
One point missing from those stats is Cabrera is averaging a mind boggling 5.2 blocks in the first round. He has a terrible attitude and is as dumb as a shoe but his talent is remarkable. Dwight Howard is still Dwight Howard and will continue to eat opposition front line for breakfast but this one won’t go down that easily.
Winner - Toronto
Bench
Boroda Beketov, Jason Richardson, Tengiz Davidov vs. Reggie Williams, Kenny Costa, Kenneth Thornton
The quality of the 76ers bench is unmistakable but they have no PGs other than Chris Paul on the team with Jason Richardson the only other player to be comfortable playing that position while Kenny Costa has shown that he is not only comfortable but excels leading a team.
Winner – Toronto
Prediction – Toronto in 6
That lack of PG depth was on show in our first game with Chris Paul playing 45 minutes as we grind them down 101-84 behind Dwight Howard’s 17 points, 13 rebounds and 6 blocks while Trent Bailey had a massive 7 steals. Paul was great with 23 points, 10 assists and 6 rebounds but the team shot 40% from the field and a terrible 58% from the line.
Toronto leads 1-0
Our next home game is an embarrassment to the entire Philadelphia area as we run rings around them 129-94 as we shoot 68 free throws for the game, hitting 45. Boris Diaw was one of the main culprits if you can believe it shooting 8/10 in only 16 minutes. Tim Mozgov nullified Patrick Patterson again with 29 points and 12 rebounds while Kevin King had 23 points and 8 assists on only 7 field goals (15/20 foul shots). On the losing side Chris Paul and Luol Deng were the only players to get over 10 points with 21 and 22 points respectively as they had seven players with 4 fouls or more.
Toronto leads 2-0
The 76ers stayed with us for the first quarter but when half time rolled around we had a comfortable double digit lead as we went on to win 105-87 in Philadelphia as this series is becoming a huge anti-climax. Dwight Howard taught Justin Cabrera how to play basketball with 33 points, 17 rebounds and 4 blocks and fouled out Cabrera in only 13 minutes. We kept them to 36% shooting as Chris Paul is starting to tire after all his huge games, going 4/14 for 15 points. Wesley Johnson had a night to forget going 7/24 for 18 points and 6 turnovers.
Toronto leads 3-0
That night Chris Paul announced to the world that he is definitely not tired and will show everyone how good this 76er team can be by winning the series. Yeah good luck with that Chris.
He may be short but he lives up to his words as we fight furiously in the fourth quarter to no avail as Philadelphia gets one back 104-102 as Paul lights us up with 30 points and 12 assists. Wesley Johnson fails again for only 13 points but when your PG is playing like Paul was tonight you just get out of the way. Dwight Howard had 17 points, 17 rebounds and 7 blocks but we were let down by our guards as Rajon Rondo fouled out and Trent Bailey shot 2/14 from the field.
Toronto leads 3-1
The crowd is ready and so is the team as we hold Wesley Johnson to 11 points and Luol Deng shoots 7/19 in our series clinching 101-94 win behind Kevin King’s 30 points on a staggering 19/26 shooting from the foul line. He is helped by Rajon Rondo with 19 points on an awful 7/16 from the foul line as he fouls out Chris Paul. I’m happy with the way the guys have been playing but either the Knicks or Heat will be a tougher test.
Toronto wins series 4-1
#1 Oklahoma City shrugs off my criticism by blasting the Warriors 4-1. The next night the #7 Jazz continued their Cinderella run by beating the #3 Clippers in six games while the much talked about Knicks/Heat series is going the distance. Too bad game seven was a fizzler as the Heat shot 34% from the field with the Knicks winning the game 99-75 to book their ticket to match up with us.
- zike_42
- Elite Member
- Posts: 1096
- Joined: Mon Feb 05, 2007 4:52 am
by zike_42 » Thu Jul 07, 2011 6:57 am
2016 NBA Playoffs
Eastern Conference:
#1 Toronto vs. #2 New York
Western Conference:
#1 Oklahoma City vs. #7 Utah
We won the series 3-1 but the Knicks have been fantastic this season, winning 69 games so it’s not going to be a push over.
Eastern Conference Finals New York vs. Toronto
Point Guard
Varlam Bebutov vs. Rajon Rondo
18.9 points, 6.0 rebounds, 6.9 assists vs. 12.9 points, 2.7 rebounds, 9.6 assists
For a player who was one of the rawest draftees in recent memory, Bebutov has become an elite PG in this league as he can do it all. He is a fantastic rebounder for his position while his defence is on par with Rondo’s so the Toronto captain will have to bring his A game to be effective.
Winner – New York
Shooting Guard
Raymond Felton vs. Trent Bailey
17.9 points, 4.3 rebounds, 6.5 assists vs. 15.0 points, 2.4 rebounds, 4.2 assists
Ever since Felton came to New York they have been winning and now he has become part of one of the best back court tandems in the league. He may have trouble containing Bailey as he his giving up five inches and with the new and improved Raptor cutting loose it will be an exciting battle.
Winner - Draw
Small Forward
Danilo Gallinari vs. Kevin King
19.3 points, 5.6 rebounds, 1.9 assists vs. 22.0 points, 4.4 rebounds, 2.9 assists
Although King’s numbers are down from his usual lofty heights he is still a manic scorer. He has become more of a slasher than a spot up shooter in previous years which shows in his free throw numbers. Gallinari on the other hand is a three point specialist and has been hitting them from all angles.
Winner - Toronto
Power Forward
Chucky Durden vs. Tim Mozgov
6.6 points, 6.1 rebounds, 1.2 assists vs. 18.6 points, 8.4 rebounds, 1.8 assists
Usual starting PF Marlon Sanden has broken his arm and will not play a part in this post season so it’s up to Durden to slow the big Russian. Good luck with that as Mozgov was named to the All Star game and is on top of his game.
Winner - Toronto
Centre
Amar’e Stoudemire vs. Dwight Howard
19.3 points, 10.4 rebounds, 2.3 assists vs. 18.4 points, 13.2 rebounds, 1.9 assists
Howard is a beast, everyone knows that but Stoudemire has the quickness to trouble Dwight and has the range on his shot to bring Superman out of the key. The match up will go a long way to working out the Eastern Conference champions.
Winner - Toronto
Bench
Wilson Chandler, Pete Conley, Anthony Randolph vs. Reggie Williams, Kenny Costa, Kenneth Thornton
All three of the Knicks’ bench players are quality defenders and more importantly very long. While the Raptor bench have more talent the Knicks bench has a fantastic chemistry.
Winner – Draw
Prediction – Toronto in 6
In a crazy PR stunt that I have never seen before the crowd were totally silent whenever the Knicks had the ball. Not even a cough. Starting from when they were introduced to when the final siren sounded. And it worked. Our largest lead was a massive 55 points as we win game 1 134-82 in a stunning display of power. Some stats –
Kevin King – 45 points, 8/12 three pointers
Dwight Howard – 22 points, 14 rebounds
Rajon Rondo – 11 points, 15 assists, 4 steals
Emeka Okafor – 11 points in 9 minutes. Yep, Okafor got some burn as our starters were rested early.
The only player who tried tonight was Raymond Felton with 27 points while Danilo Gallinari shot 4/19 from the field for 13 points. Wow is all I can say after this game.
Toronto leads 1-0
We have lost one game at home all season and we showed our class by humiliating the Knicks again, this time 125-91 as Kevin King monsters Danilo Gallinari again with 36 points. DeMar DeRozan has a perfect game going 6/6 from the field and 2/2 from the line for 14 points and 0 turnovers in 12 minutes. Amar’e Stoudemire was terrible with 3/12 shooting and 4 turnovers while Varlam Bebutov was their only shining light with 23 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists. The real test begins next game in New York.
Toronto leads 2-0
The New York crowd are pissed. Not just you and me angry but “don’t cross me buddy” angry that so many TV New Yorkers are. Luckily for them Chucky Durden decided to step up his game in the absence of their usual leaders as he had 15 points, 17 rebounds and 3 blocks as the Knicks won game 3 by the margin 104-97. Dwight Howard had foul trouble so Kenneth Thornton stepped up with 6 points, 7 rebounds and 4 blocks in 19 minutes while Kevin King was over 30 points again with 31. I’m not worried as it’s only one game and we still have home court advantage.
Toronto leads 2-1
Some numbers for you – Amar’e Stoudemire had 39 points and 18 rebounds. Raymond Felton had 30 points and Varlam Bebutov played third fiddle with 16 points and 8 assists. Now add in Dwight Howard fouling out in only 16 minutes. You would think that the Knicks killed us, right? Wrong as we snuck out of New York with a 116-113 win and a 3-1 lead in the series. And the hero? Trent Bailey with 28 points, helped out by Kenneth Thornton with 14 points, 7 rebounds and 5 blocks in a game changing 32 minutes. Thank god I traded for him at the deadline. We need to play better if we want to win the series by we are going back to Canada with the wind in our sails.
Toronto leads 3-1
The crowd shut out anyone who didn’t have a Canadian accent or played for the actual team. I saw some guy with an orange shirt on being refused admission because it was one of the Knicks colours. Harsh, so I bought him a Rondo jersey and snuck him in with the coaching staff. Hey he had paid for his ticket I didn’t want him missing out on the game. Anyway, Amar’e Stoudemire had another blinder of a game with 31 points and 14 rebounds but was matched by Tim Mozgov who won player of the game with 33 points, 18 rebounds and 4 blocks as we won 124-117 to win the series and go back to the NBA Finals. Rajon Rondo was instrumental in the game with 20 points and 16 assists while Kevin King had 21 points and he outplayed Danilo Gallinari all series.
Toronto wins series 4-1
I met up with that guy I bought the jersey for and he was so excited that he offered to take me and my wife out for drinks. I declined but gave him my card if he needed tickets for the NBA Finals as I have some floor seats that need a serious fan to occupy.
In the Western Conference Finals Utah are upstaging the number one seed Thunder 3-2 with the chance to win the series in Utah. And guess what, the #7 Jazz thumped Oklahoma City 114-99 behind Deron Williams’ 33 points, 10 assists and 5 rebounds to set up a NBA Finals repeat of last year when we won 4-1 to win our first ever championship.
And you excited? Cos you can bet I’m excited!
Eastern Conference:
#1 Toronto vs. #2 New York
Western Conference:
#1 Oklahoma City vs. #7 Utah
We won the series 3-1 but the Knicks have been fantastic this season, winning 69 games so it’s not going to be a push over.
Eastern Conference Finals New York vs. Toronto
Point Guard
Varlam Bebutov vs. Rajon Rondo
18.9 points, 6.0 rebounds, 6.9 assists vs. 12.9 points, 2.7 rebounds, 9.6 assists
For a player who was one of the rawest draftees in recent memory, Bebutov has become an elite PG in this league as he can do it all. He is a fantastic rebounder for his position while his defence is on par with Rondo’s so the Toronto captain will have to bring his A game to be effective.
Winner – New York
Shooting Guard
Raymond Felton vs. Trent Bailey
17.9 points, 4.3 rebounds, 6.5 assists vs. 15.0 points, 2.4 rebounds, 4.2 assists
Ever since Felton came to New York they have been winning and now he has become part of one of the best back court tandems in the league. He may have trouble containing Bailey as he his giving up five inches and with the new and improved Raptor cutting loose it will be an exciting battle.
Winner - Draw
Small Forward
Danilo Gallinari vs. Kevin King
19.3 points, 5.6 rebounds, 1.9 assists vs. 22.0 points, 4.4 rebounds, 2.9 assists
Although King’s numbers are down from his usual lofty heights he is still a manic scorer. He has become more of a slasher than a spot up shooter in previous years which shows in his free throw numbers. Gallinari on the other hand is a three point specialist and has been hitting them from all angles.
Winner - Toronto
Power Forward
Chucky Durden vs. Tim Mozgov
6.6 points, 6.1 rebounds, 1.2 assists vs. 18.6 points, 8.4 rebounds, 1.8 assists
Usual starting PF Marlon Sanden has broken his arm and will not play a part in this post season so it’s up to Durden to slow the big Russian. Good luck with that as Mozgov was named to the All Star game and is on top of his game.
Winner - Toronto
Centre
Amar’e Stoudemire vs. Dwight Howard
19.3 points, 10.4 rebounds, 2.3 assists vs. 18.4 points, 13.2 rebounds, 1.9 assists
Howard is a beast, everyone knows that but Stoudemire has the quickness to trouble Dwight and has the range on his shot to bring Superman out of the key. The match up will go a long way to working out the Eastern Conference champions.
Winner - Toronto
Bench
Wilson Chandler, Pete Conley, Anthony Randolph vs. Reggie Williams, Kenny Costa, Kenneth Thornton
All three of the Knicks’ bench players are quality defenders and more importantly very long. While the Raptor bench have more talent the Knicks bench has a fantastic chemistry.
Winner – Draw
Prediction – Toronto in 6
In a crazy PR stunt that I have never seen before the crowd were totally silent whenever the Knicks had the ball. Not even a cough. Starting from when they were introduced to when the final siren sounded. And it worked. Our largest lead was a massive 55 points as we win game 1 134-82 in a stunning display of power. Some stats –
Kevin King – 45 points, 8/12 three pointers
Dwight Howard – 22 points, 14 rebounds
Rajon Rondo – 11 points, 15 assists, 4 steals
Emeka Okafor – 11 points in 9 minutes. Yep, Okafor got some burn as our starters were rested early.
The only player who tried tonight was Raymond Felton with 27 points while Danilo Gallinari shot 4/19 from the field for 13 points. Wow is all I can say after this game.
Toronto leads 1-0
We have lost one game at home all season and we showed our class by humiliating the Knicks again, this time 125-91 as Kevin King monsters Danilo Gallinari again with 36 points. DeMar DeRozan has a perfect game going 6/6 from the field and 2/2 from the line for 14 points and 0 turnovers in 12 minutes. Amar’e Stoudemire was terrible with 3/12 shooting and 4 turnovers while Varlam Bebutov was their only shining light with 23 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists. The real test begins next game in New York.
Toronto leads 2-0
The New York crowd are pissed. Not just you and me angry but “don’t cross me buddy” angry that so many TV New Yorkers are. Luckily for them Chucky Durden decided to step up his game in the absence of their usual leaders as he had 15 points, 17 rebounds and 3 blocks as the Knicks won game 3 by the margin 104-97. Dwight Howard had foul trouble so Kenneth Thornton stepped up with 6 points, 7 rebounds and 4 blocks in 19 minutes while Kevin King was over 30 points again with 31. I’m not worried as it’s only one game and we still have home court advantage.
Toronto leads 2-1
Some numbers for you – Amar’e Stoudemire had 39 points and 18 rebounds. Raymond Felton had 30 points and Varlam Bebutov played third fiddle with 16 points and 8 assists. Now add in Dwight Howard fouling out in only 16 minutes. You would think that the Knicks killed us, right? Wrong as we snuck out of New York with a 116-113 win and a 3-1 lead in the series. And the hero? Trent Bailey with 28 points, helped out by Kenneth Thornton with 14 points, 7 rebounds and 5 blocks in a game changing 32 minutes. Thank god I traded for him at the deadline. We need to play better if we want to win the series by we are going back to Canada with the wind in our sails.
Toronto leads 3-1
The crowd shut out anyone who didn’t have a Canadian accent or played for the actual team. I saw some guy with an orange shirt on being refused admission because it was one of the Knicks colours. Harsh, so I bought him a Rondo jersey and snuck him in with the coaching staff. Hey he had paid for his ticket I didn’t want him missing out on the game. Anyway, Amar’e Stoudemire had another blinder of a game with 31 points and 14 rebounds but was matched by Tim Mozgov who won player of the game with 33 points, 18 rebounds and 4 blocks as we won 124-117 to win the series and go back to the NBA Finals. Rajon Rondo was instrumental in the game with 20 points and 16 assists while Kevin King had 21 points and he outplayed Danilo Gallinari all series.
Toronto wins series 4-1
I met up with that guy I bought the jersey for and he was so excited that he offered to take me and my wife out for drinks. I declined but gave him my card if he needed tickets for the NBA Finals as I have some floor seats that need a serious fan to occupy.
In the Western Conference Finals Utah are upstaging the number one seed Thunder 3-2 with the chance to win the series in Utah. And guess what, the #7 Jazz thumped Oklahoma City 114-99 behind Deron Williams’ 33 points, 10 assists and 5 rebounds to set up a NBA Finals repeat of last year when we won 4-1 to win our first ever championship.
And you excited? Cos you can bet I’m excited!
- zike_42
- Elite Member
- Posts: 1096
- Joined: Mon Feb 05, 2007 4:52 am
by zike_42 » Fri Jul 08, 2011 3:31 am
2016 NBA Finals
#1 Toronto vs. #7 Utah
So here we go again. The same two teams from last year duke it out to see who will be crowned champion. And if you go by the betting agencies the Toronto Raptors are going to repeat. I hate how we have been awarded the title already because I still have flashbacks to 2013 where we won 70 games and lost in the first round so I will be happy when we are given that trophy. Onto the preview.
Point Guard
Deron Williams vs. Rajon Rondo
23.2 points, 4.6 rebounds, 9.6 assists vs. 12.4 points, 2.3 rebounds, 10.8 assists
The biggest reason that the Jazz are in the finals again is that man at PG. He has been other-worldly and if Utah hopes to win this series he needs to be other-universe. Rondo is a fantastic defender but is a lot skinner than Williams who will bully him around.
Winner - Utah
Shooting Guard
Andrei Kirilenko vs. Trent Bailey
9.1 points, 2.9 rebounds, 2.2 assists vs. 14.9 points, 3.1 rebounds, 4.1 assists
Even though Bailey is a solid 6’6, 222lbs he cannot compare to the gangly frame of AK47. To boot, the 6’9 Kirilenko is a lock down defender and can take people out of games without breaking a sweat. Will see chunks of time on Kevin King so Bailey can work his magic. Bailey is a great all around player and will need to break the Russian’s chains to be effective.
Winner - Draw
Small Forward
Corey Maggette vs. Kevin King
12.3 points, 3.9 rebounds, 1.6 assists vs. 25.2 points, 4.8 rebounds, 3.4 assists
King averaged 31 points in the Eastern Conference Finals on a better defensive player than Maggette so this could get embarrassing. Luckily the Jazz have AK47 who will move onto King if he catches fire.
Winner - Toronto
Power Forward
Paul Milsap vs. Tim Mozgov
12.2 points, 6.8 rebounds, 1.8 assists vs. 18.6 points, 9.6 rebounds, 1.7 assists
Still thinking of his statement performance in their close out of New York Tim Mozgov has confidence in spades. He also towers over Milsap who is hoping his nimble feet and good hands will make up for a five inch height difference. For Utah’s sake let’s hope it does.
Winner - Toronto
Centre
Nikola Pekovic vs. Dwight Howard
17.4 points, 12.1 rebounds, 1.8 assists vs. 18.0 points, 11.6 rebounds, 1.4 assists
There aren’t many centres who can match Dwight Howard in stats but there is one statistic that Pekovic falters – blocks. Howard is a shot blocking maestro and will be on his guard against this young upstart who has given the Jazz a legitamite low post presence since Al Jefferson a couple of years ago.
Winner - Toronto
Bench
Channing Frye, Quincy Stidham, Manu Ginobili vs. Reggie Williams, Kenny Costa, Kenneth Thornton
The Utah bench is built to run and spread the floor as the first three players off their bench can drain the three like a can of sardines. Look for the tempo to be pushed with both Deron Williams and Quincy Stidham is on the court together.
Winner – Toronto
Prediction – Toronto in 4
I’m really not feeling these overwhelming odds in our favour but we have a great team and we have worked hard to get here. And apparently I have been taking cliché lessons.
The silent treatment was in full force again tonight as the Jazz just had no answer to our team all night. We did not trail all night and lead by as much as 41 points in our 130-92 win. Dwight Howard was ever so close to a triple double with 8 points, 19 rebounds and 11 blocks while Trent Bailey go out from AK47 with 27 points. Rajon Rondo kept his teammates well fed with 18 assists to go along with his 17 points and DeMar DeRozan was a great spark off the bench with 14 points in 12 minutes. We shot a whopping 60% from the field to their 37% as Deron Williams was their top scorer with 15 points to go along with 13 assists. If that isn’t a statement game then I don’t know what is.
Toronto leads 1-0
What do you get when Toronto has 7 out of the top 10 scorers in a game? A 108-74 win to put us up 2-0. Rajon Rondo wins player of the match with 18 points and 9 assists while D&M rear their twin heads to combine for 28 points, 25 rebounds and 7 blocks. Deron Williams was again their top scorer with 14 points but he was joined only by Andrei Kirilenko with 12 as the two Jazz players in double figures. Sure we have won very comfortably in our two home games but the Jazz have three straight games in Utah to claw their way back into this series.
Toronto leads 2-0
The whole state of Utah is not happy with us; they even had billboards trashing Canada. I’m not sure but at the end of this series there could be some unhappy foreign relations people out there on each side. But enough with politics we have a championship to win. Luckily for Utah they had some fire in this game as they were only down by five at half time with Rajon Rondo racked with 4 fouls. He fouls out shortly after but Kenny Costa saddles up and we outscore them 70-35 in the second half to go up 3-0 with a 128-98 win. Dwight Howard was a man among boys with 31 points and 16 rebounds while we had three bench players in double figures – Kenneth Thornton (14 points in 17 minutes), DeMar DeRozan (11 points in 14 minutes) and Reggie Williams (11 points). Utah actually had more than two players in double figures with Deron Williams leading four other Jazz players with 25 points and 9 assists.
Toronto leads 3-0
So in the first three games we have outscored the Jazz 366-264 in what must be the most in NBA Finals history through three games. But the one number we want is 1. As in one more win. Unfortunately the Jazz want one win to save them from embarrassment. And with that Corey Maggette shows up with 20 points and Deron Williams had 16 points and 7 assists as they took a slim 100-99 lead with 2.5 minutes to go. For all you readers out there who have been wondering what has happened to Kevin King well he has been very quiet by his standards during the series. Luckily for us and unluckily for Utah he decided he wanted to play basketball in those final 2.5 minutes as he went on a tear, scoring the next 10 points and snatching the win out of Utah’s hands 109-100 giving us our SECOND STRAIGHT NBA CHAMPIONSHIP!!! King scored 25 points for the game while D&M had 32 points, 23 rebounds and 7 blocks and were helped by Trent Bailey’s 25 points.
Toronto wins series 4-0
As the shell shocked fans quietly (and some not so quietly) left the building our players were at centre court together creating a mosh pit to dance in. Dwight Howard was awarded the Finals MVP with averages of 18.3 points, 15.3 rebounds and 4.0 blocks. I don’t think he cares about that as he is now a three time NBA Champion. The photo of the series was of Rajon Rondo blocking Nikola Pekovic’s dunk attempt to spark the final comeback in game 4 to win the series. It was taken by a fantastic photographer named Kevin ‘KJ’ Jackson who has been following the Raptors ever since I took over the team and he has taken some spectacular shots.
CONGRATULATIONS TO THE TORONTO RAPTORS, THE 2016 NBA CHAMPIONS!!
Coming up next – the NBA Lottery and the unveiling of the expansion teams.
#1 Toronto vs. #7 Utah
So here we go again. The same two teams from last year duke it out to see who will be crowned champion. And if you go by the betting agencies the Toronto Raptors are going to repeat. I hate how we have been awarded the title already because I still have flashbacks to 2013 where we won 70 games and lost in the first round so I will be happy when we are given that trophy. Onto the preview.
Point Guard
Deron Williams vs. Rajon Rondo
23.2 points, 4.6 rebounds, 9.6 assists vs. 12.4 points, 2.3 rebounds, 10.8 assists
The biggest reason that the Jazz are in the finals again is that man at PG. He has been other-worldly and if Utah hopes to win this series he needs to be other-universe. Rondo is a fantastic defender but is a lot skinner than Williams who will bully him around.
Winner - Utah
Shooting Guard
Andrei Kirilenko vs. Trent Bailey
9.1 points, 2.9 rebounds, 2.2 assists vs. 14.9 points, 3.1 rebounds, 4.1 assists
Even though Bailey is a solid 6’6, 222lbs he cannot compare to the gangly frame of AK47. To boot, the 6’9 Kirilenko is a lock down defender and can take people out of games without breaking a sweat. Will see chunks of time on Kevin King so Bailey can work his magic. Bailey is a great all around player and will need to break the Russian’s chains to be effective.
Winner - Draw
Small Forward
Corey Maggette vs. Kevin King
12.3 points, 3.9 rebounds, 1.6 assists vs. 25.2 points, 4.8 rebounds, 3.4 assists
King averaged 31 points in the Eastern Conference Finals on a better defensive player than Maggette so this could get embarrassing. Luckily the Jazz have AK47 who will move onto King if he catches fire.
Winner - Toronto
Power Forward
Paul Milsap vs. Tim Mozgov
12.2 points, 6.8 rebounds, 1.8 assists vs. 18.6 points, 9.6 rebounds, 1.7 assists
Still thinking of his statement performance in their close out of New York Tim Mozgov has confidence in spades. He also towers over Milsap who is hoping his nimble feet and good hands will make up for a five inch height difference. For Utah’s sake let’s hope it does.
Winner - Toronto
Centre
Nikola Pekovic vs. Dwight Howard
17.4 points, 12.1 rebounds, 1.8 assists vs. 18.0 points, 11.6 rebounds, 1.4 assists
There aren’t many centres who can match Dwight Howard in stats but there is one statistic that Pekovic falters – blocks. Howard is a shot blocking maestro and will be on his guard against this young upstart who has given the Jazz a legitamite low post presence since Al Jefferson a couple of years ago.
Winner - Toronto
Bench
Channing Frye, Quincy Stidham, Manu Ginobili vs. Reggie Williams, Kenny Costa, Kenneth Thornton
The Utah bench is built to run and spread the floor as the first three players off their bench can drain the three like a can of sardines. Look for the tempo to be pushed with both Deron Williams and Quincy Stidham is on the court together.
Winner – Toronto
Prediction – Toronto in 4
I’m really not feeling these overwhelming odds in our favour but we have a great team and we have worked hard to get here. And apparently I have been taking cliché lessons.
The silent treatment was in full force again tonight as the Jazz just had no answer to our team all night. We did not trail all night and lead by as much as 41 points in our 130-92 win. Dwight Howard was ever so close to a triple double with 8 points, 19 rebounds and 11 blocks while Trent Bailey go out from AK47 with 27 points. Rajon Rondo kept his teammates well fed with 18 assists to go along with his 17 points and DeMar DeRozan was a great spark off the bench with 14 points in 12 minutes. We shot a whopping 60% from the field to their 37% as Deron Williams was their top scorer with 15 points to go along with 13 assists. If that isn’t a statement game then I don’t know what is.
Toronto leads 1-0
What do you get when Toronto has 7 out of the top 10 scorers in a game? A 108-74 win to put us up 2-0. Rajon Rondo wins player of the match with 18 points and 9 assists while D&M rear their twin heads to combine for 28 points, 25 rebounds and 7 blocks. Deron Williams was again their top scorer with 14 points but he was joined only by Andrei Kirilenko with 12 as the two Jazz players in double figures. Sure we have won very comfortably in our two home games but the Jazz have three straight games in Utah to claw their way back into this series.
Toronto leads 2-0
The whole state of Utah is not happy with us; they even had billboards trashing Canada. I’m not sure but at the end of this series there could be some unhappy foreign relations people out there on each side. But enough with politics we have a championship to win. Luckily for Utah they had some fire in this game as they were only down by five at half time with Rajon Rondo racked with 4 fouls. He fouls out shortly after but Kenny Costa saddles up and we outscore them 70-35 in the second half to go up 3-0 with a 128-98 win. Dwight Howard was a man among boys with 31 points and 16 rebounds while we had three bench players in double figures – Kenneth Thornton (14 points in 17 minutes), DeMar DeRozan (11 points in 14 minutes) and Reggie Williams (11 points). Utah actually had more than two players in double figures with Deron Williams leading four other Jazz players with 25 points and 9 assists.
Toronto leads 3-0
So in the first three games we have outscored the Jazz 366-264 in what must be the most in NBA Finals history through three games. But the one number we want is 1. As in one more win. Unfortunately the Jazz want one win to save them from embarrassment. And with that Corey Maggette shows up with 20 points and Deron Williams had 16 points and 7 assists as they took a slim 100-99 lead with 2.5 minutes to go. For all you readers out there who have been wondering what has happened to Kevin King well he has been very quiet by his standards during the series. Luckily for us and unluckily for Utah he decided he wanted to play basketball in those final 2.5 minutes as he went on a tear, scoring the next 10 points and snatching the win out of Utah’s hands 109-100 giving us our SECOND STRAIGHT NBA CHAMPIONSHIP!!! King scored 25 points for the game while D&M had 32 points, 23 rebounds and 7 blocks and were helped by Trent Bailey’s 25 points.
Toronto wins series 4-0
As the shell shocked fans quietly (and some not so quietly) left the building our players were at centre court together creating a mosh pit to dance in. Dwight Howard was awarded the Finals MVP with averages of 18.3 points, 15.3 rebounds and 4.0 blocks. I don’t think he cares about that as he is now a three time NBA Champion. The photo of the series was of Rajon Rondo blocking Nikola Pekovic’s dunk attempt to spark the final comeback in game 4 to win the series. It was taken by a fantastic photographer named Kevin ‘KJ’ Jackson who has been following the Raptors ever since I took over the team and he has taken some spectacular shots.
CONGRATULATIONS TO THE TORONTO RAPTORS, THE 2016 NBA CHAMPIONS!!
Coming up next – the NBA Lottery and the unveiling of the expansion teams.
- zike_42
- Elite Member
- Posts: 1096
- Joined: Mon Feb 05, 2007 4:52 am
by zike_42 » Fri Jul 08, 2011 6:40 am
Lottery time and we have the 4th best odds at getting the number one pick. Detroit, Phoenix and Oklahoma City all have two picks in the lottery.
14 – Utah (0)
13 – Detroit (0)
12 – New Orleans (0)
11 – Phoenix (0)
10 – Oklahoma City (0)
9 – Sacramento (0)
8 – Phoenix (0)
7 – Dallas (0)
6 – Charlotte (0)
5 – San Antonio (-2)
Finally a team moves up.
4 – Detroit (-3)
3 – Philadelphia (-1)
2 – Oklahoma City (+3)
1 – Toronto (+3).
Welp, there goes the league for a long time. The teams with the best record in each conference gets the top two picks, the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.
Awards –
Most Valuable Player:
Blake Griffin, Orlando Magic – 23.2 points, 2.2 assists, 11.1 rebounds, 1.2 steals, 2.3 blocks
Defensive Player of the Year:
Dwight Howard, Toronto Raptors – 18.5 points, 1.3 assists, 12.0 rebounds, 0.7 steals, 3.7 blocks
Sixth Man of the Year:
Al Horford, Los Angeles Lakers – 11.3 points, 1.6 assists, 7.8 rebounds, 0.9 steals, 1.1 blocks
Rookie of the Year:
Matt Bailey, Los Angeles Lakers – 16.1 points, 1.3 assists, 9.4 rebounds, 0.9 steals, 3.3 blocks
Coach of the Year:
Mike D’Antoni, New York Knicks – 69-13 (.841)
I’m becoming a broken record by saying that Rudy T has been robbed but it’s nothing to get worked up about as the other awards seem pretty on the money.
All NBA First Team:
Chris Paul, Philadelphia 76ers
Tyreke Evans, Sacramento Kings
Lebron James, Miami Heat
Blake Griffin, Orlando Magic
Dwight Howard, Toronto Raptors
All NBA Second Team:
Derrick Rose, Chicago Bulls
Evan Turner, Minnesota Timberwolves
Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City Thunder
Derrick Favors, New Jersey Nets
Andrew Bogut, Los Angeles Clippers
All NBA Third Team:
John Wall, Washington Wizards
Dwayne Wade, Miami Heat
Kevin King, Toronto Raptors
David Lee, Golden State Warriors
Amar’e Stoudemire, New York Knicks
It’s starting to show that the young guys are taking over the league with the likes of Kobe Bryant and Brandon Roy being squeezed out by Evan Turner and Derrick Rose.
All Defense First Team:
Chris Paul, Philadelphia 76ers
Dwayne Wade, Miami Heat
Gerald Wallace, Charlotte Bobcats
Derrick Favors, New Jersey Nets
Dwight Howard, Toronto Raptors
All Defense Second Team:
Varlam Bebutov, New York Knicks
Evan Turner, Minnesota Timberwolves
Wesley Johnson, Philadelphia 76ers
Blake Griffin, Orlando Magic
Andrew Bogut, Los Angeles Clippers
All Rookie First Team:
Brian Iacona, New Orleans Hornets
Kyle Craig, New Orleans Hornets
Jason Roe, Orlando Magic
Joshua Potter, Denver Nuggets
Matt Bailey, Los Angeles Lakers
All Rookie Second Team:
Dana Moore, Indiana Pacers
Matt Davis, Cleveland Cavaliers
Jason Thornton, Milwaukee Bucks
Brian Henderson, Miami Heat
Mike Ohnstad, Los Angeles Clippers
This draft was very top heavy as the second team is filled with scrubs.
I go to Mr. Petway’s office to go over the year that was and to talk about our future. I say that we did all we could this year and he agreed.
“You have done so much for this great team and with all the pressure of a whole country on your shoulders you did magnificently. You spent a little too much money for my liking but you can’t argue with results. This is just a formality but would you like to come back for another season?”
I pause.
“I love this team and I love that you have given me this opportunity but as a college coach at heart I want to build teams from nothing to powerhouses. Hell when I came to Toronto our first season we lost 60 games. But now look. After six years we won 70 games, won our second consecutive championship and have the number one draft pick. What else can I do for this team?” I ask.
“What are you saying Felix?” Mr. Petway quizzed.
“With all due respect but I don’t have anywhere further to go with this team, I need to move on.” I say.
He sighs and takes a drink.
“I admire you Felix, you don’t mince words and you are honesty. I would be upset but the way you have left this team I can’t say a word. But don’t think we will go easy on you at your new team.”
I quip back while shaking his hand, “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
And with that I was unemployed. However, as soon as the news hit the media I was inundated with phone calls from teams around the world but only three from the NBA. One was scratched straight away – Boston. I loathe them too much to make them a winner. The second team that was taken off the list because they were too good and I’m looking for a challenge was the Lakers. So that meant only one team.
So I will be the General Manager of the Detroit Pistons from this moment on.
14 – Utah (0)
13 – Detroit (0)
12 – New Orleans (0)
11 – Phoenix (0)
10 – Oklahoma City (0)
9 – Sacramento (0)
8 – Phoenix (0)
7 – Dallas (0)
6 – Charlotte (0)
5 – San Antonio (-2)
Finally a team moves up.
4 – Detroit (-3)
3 – Philadelphia (-1)
2 – Oklahoma City (+3)
1 – Toronto (+3).
Welp, there goes the league for a long time. The teams with the best record in each conference gets the top two picks, the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.
Awards –
Most Valuable Player:
Blake Griffin, Orlando Magic – 23.2 points, 2.2 assists, 11.1 rebounds, 1.2 steals, 2.3 blocks
Defensive Player of the Year:
Dwight Howard, Toronto Raptors – 18.5 points, 1.3 assists, 12.0 rebounds, 0.7 steals, 3.7 blocks
Sixth Man of the Year:
Al Horford, Los Angeles Lakers – 11.3 points, 1.6 assists, 7.8 rebounds, 0.9 steals, 1.1 blocks
Rookie of the Year:
Matt Bailey, Los Angeles Lakers – 16.1 points, 1.3 assists, 9.4 rebounds, 0.9 steals, 3.3 blocks
Coach of the Year:
Mike D’Antoni, New York Knicks – 69-13 (.841)
I’m becoming a broken record by saying that Rudy T has been robbed but it’s nothing to get worked up about as the other awards seem pretty on the money.
All NBA First Team:
Chris Paul, Philadelphia 76ers
Tyreke Evans, Sacramento Kings
Lebron James, Miami Heat
Blake Griffin, Orlando Magic
Dwight Howard, Toronto Raptors
All NBA Second Team:
Derrick Rose, Chicago Bulls
Evan Turner, Minnesota Timberwolves
Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City Thunder
Derrick Favors, New Jersey Nets
Andrew Bogut, Los Angeles Clippers
All NBA Third Team:
John Wall, Washington Wizards
Dwayne Wade, Miami Heat
Kevin King, Toronto Raptors
David Lee, Golden State Warriors
Amar’e Stoudemire, New York Knicks
It’s starting to show that the young guys are taking over the league with the likes of Kobe Bryant and Brandon Roy being squeezed out by Evan Turner and Derrick Rose.
All Defense First Team:
Chris Paul, Philadelphia 76ers
Dwayne Wade, Miami Heat
Gerald Wallace, Charlotte Bobcats
Derrick Favors, New Jersey Nets
Dwight Howard, Toronto Raptors
All Defense Second Team:
Varlam Bebutov, New York Knicks
Evan Turner, Minnesota Timberwolves
Wesley Johnson, Philadelphia 76ers
Blake Griffin, Orlando Magic
Andrew Bogut, Los Angeles Clippers
All Rookie First Team:
Brian Iacona, New Orleans Hornets
Kyle Craig, New Orleans Hornets
Jason Roe, Orlando Magic
Joshua Potter, Denver Nuggets
Matt Bailey, Los Angeles Lakers
All Rookie Second Team:
Dana Moore, Indiana Pacers
Matt Davis, Cleveland Cavaliers
Jason Thornton, Milwaukee Bucks
Brian Henderson, Miami Heat
Mike Ohnstad, Los Angeles Clippers
This draft was very top heavy as the second team is filled with scrubs.
I go to Mr. Petway’s office to go over the year that was and to talk about our future. I say that we did all we could this year and he agreed.
“You have done so much for this great team and with all the pressure of a whole country on your shoulders you did magnificently. You spent a little too much money for my liking but you can’t argue with results. This is just a formality but would you like to come back for another season?”
I pause.
“I love this team and I love that you have given me this opportunity but as a college coach at heart I want to build teams from nothing to powerhouses. Hell when I came to Toronto our first season we lost 60 games. But now look. After six years we won 70 games, won our second consecutive championship and have the number one draft pick. What else can I do for this team?” I ask.
“What are you saying Felix?” Mr. Petway quizzed.
“With all due respect but I don’t have anywhere further to go with this team, I need to move on.” I say.
He sighs and takes a drink.
“I admire you Felix, you don’t mince words and you are honesty. I would be upset but the way you have left this team I can’t say a word. But don’t think we will go easy on you at your new team.”
I quip back while shaking his hand, “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
And with that I was unemployed. However, as soon as the news hit the media I was inundated with phone calls from teams around the world but only three from the NBA. One was scratched straight away – Boston. I loathe them too much to make them a winner. The second team that was taken off the list because they were too good and I’m looking for a challenge was the Lakers. So that meant only one team.
So I will be the General Manager of the Detroit Pistons from this moment on.
- zike_42
- Elite Member
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- Joined: Mon Feb 05, 2007 4:52 am
by Alex86 » Fri Jul 08, 2011 10:53 am
Congrats on the title, the Raps as you've managed to construct them look almost unbeatable when healthy, which means you might be a victim of your own success for the next few seasons now if your replacement manages not to make a hash of things. 
Bold move to leave for Detroit. It's kind of a shame we won't see how many titles you could have won in partnership with Kevin King but you're certainly a man after my own heart, moving on when you've built a team that you could essentially run on autopilot for the next couple of years. Good luck with the new challenge, I'll definitely be reading.
Bold move to leave for Detroit. It's kind of a shame we won't see how many titles you could have won in partnership with Kevin King but you're certainly a man after my own heart, moving on when you've built a team that you could essentially run on autopilot for the next couple of years. Good luck with the new challenge, I'll definitely be reading.
- Alex86
- Junior Member
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- Joined: Mon May 30, 2011 6:55 am
by zike_42 » Sat Jul 09, 2011 6:59 am
Thanks guys.
@Alex - That is a great word: Autopilot. I didn't have to do anything with this team and I was getting bored with it. After playing DDS:CB A LOT I have a feeling that I need to leave a team in a great position and go help another team and it doesn't get any better than back to back champions with the #1 pick.
Detroit seemed like a good team to rebuild as they have been terrible ever since I have been in the league.
@Alex - That is a great word: Autopilot. I didn't have to do anything with this team and I was getting bored with it. After playing DDS:CB A LOT I have a feeling that I need to leave a team in a great position and go help another team and it doesn't get any better than back to back champions with the #1 pick.
Detroit seemed like a good team to rebuild as they have been terrible ever since I have been in the league.
- zike_42
- Elite Member
- Posts: 1096
- Joined: Mon Feb 05, 2007 4:52 am
by zike_42 » Sat Jul 09, 2011 7:03 am
The owner of the Pistons, Corey McCreight, called in to my newly furnished Detroit home a week later and asked me about my plan to turn this team around.
I think for a bit and say, “I’m going to do what I did in Toronto, draft well, recruit big names and trade sneakily. A town like Detroit will be able to lure elite free agents so freeing up cap space will be my first priority.”
“Playoffs?” He asked quietly.
I reply straight away, “Not this year. I can’t turn a 19 win team into a playoff team in one season, especially in the East.”
“Fair enough, at least put a competitive team out there and people will come. What about our cap situation?”
“Around the cap, nothing over would be my best bet.” I answer.
“Good, good. I will be very interested in what you do with this team.” He replied, walking away.
I look over the team before the expansion teams are announced, and it doesn’t look good.
PG Aaron Lavin – Was drafted last year and shouldn’t be on the team. He is a decent passer and defender but will not get any burn if it was up to me. Expiring contract.
SG Jeff Brown – I was in love with this guy when he was drafted two years ago and even though he is very raw he has the potential to be an All Star player. His work ethic is off the charts but the Pistons’ previous coach didn’t give him enough time. Expiring contract.
SF Joe Taylor – Good at most things but great at nothing. Also his defence sucks and if there is one type of player that I don’t like is a poor defender. He is a great guy so will stick around but I will be looking to trade him as soon as possible. Expiring contract.
SF Trevor Ariza – Has torn his Achilles so will be out for a few months but when healthy he would be our starting SF. Too bad he has had enough of this team and wants out, which I’m glad to help him with. Expiring contract.
SF Brian Perkins – A large SF who is a lockdown defender but he is not any good at all other areas. He is also sick of this team so will be traded if the right deal comes around. Expiring contract.
PF Kelvin Rivers – Cannot score to save his life but his rebounding and defensive skills have me drooling. He is also a rock of a person and looks like he has never been injured in his life. Will get playing time in my line up as a Ben Wallace enforcer. Expiring contract.
PF Chezley Jones – Our second rounder with the funny name he is decent but will never be more than a third stringer. Will be kept around unless he becomes a distraction. Expiring contract.
PF JJ Hickson – Yuck. Not that he is a bad player but his contract is atrocious. Four years worth $44.6 million? No thanks. If I can find a taker for Hickson, even for a second rounder I will pull the trigger.
C Al Jefferson – Double Yuck. Our only C on the team he is also our best player but has a 3 year, $50 million contract which is weighing us down and will be shopped aggressively.
I will hand it to the previous GM he has used contracts wisely. All but two players will be expiring but I need to give out rookie options to most of them which I give to Jeff Brown and Kelvin Rivers. Ever since I have been in the league the Pistons have not made the playoffs, hell the most wins in a season they have ever had is 31. Eww.
Time for a team make over.
I think for a bit and say, “I’m going to do what I did in Toronto, draft well, recruit big names and trade sneakily. A town like Detroit will be able to lure elite free agents so freeing up cap space will be my first priority.”
“Playoffs?” He asked quietly.
I reply straight away, “Not this year. I can’t turn a 19 win team into a playoff team in one season, especially in the East.”
“Fair enough, at least put a competitive team out there and people will come. What about our cap situation?”
“Around the cap, nothing over would be my best bet.” I answer.
“Good, good. I will be very interested in what you do with this team.” He replied, walking away.
I look over the team before the expansion teams are announced, and it doesn’t look good.
PG Aaron Lavin – Was drafted last year and shouldn’t be on the team. He is a decent passer and defender but will not get any burn if it was up to me. Expiring contract.
SG Jeff Brown – I was in love with this guy when he was drafted two years ago and even though he is very raw he has the potential to be an All Star player. His work ethic is off the charts but the Pistons’ previous coach didn’t give him enough time. Expiring contract.
SF Joe Taylor – Good at most things but great at nothing. Also his defence sucks and if there is one type of player that I don’t like is a poor defender. He is a great guy so will stick around but I will be looking to trade him as soon as possible. Expiring contract.
SF Trevor Ariza – Has torn his Achilles so will be out for a few months but when healthy he would be our starting SF. Too bad he has had enough of this team and wants out, which I’m glad to help him with. Expiring contract.
SF Brian Perkins – A large SF who is a lockdown defender but he is not any good at all other areas. He is also sick of this team so will be traded if the right deal comes around. Expiring contract.
PF Kelvin Rivers – Cannot score to save his life but his rebounding and defensive skills have me drooling. He is also a rock of a person and looks like he has never been injured in his life. Will get playing time in my line up as a Ben Wallace enforcer. Expiring contract.
PF Chezley Jones – Our second rounder with the funny name he is decent but will never be more than a third stringer. Will be kept around unless he becomes a distraction. Expiring contract.
PF JJ Hickson – Yuck. Not that he is a bad player but his contract is atrocious. Four years worth $44.6 million? No thanks. If I can find a taker for Hickson, even for a second rounder I will pull the trigger.
C Al Jefferson – Double Yuck. Our only C on the team he is also our best player but has a 3 year, $50 million contract which is weighing us down and will be shopped aggressively.
I will hand it to the previous GM he has used contracts wisely. All but two players will be expiring but I need to give out rookie options to most of them which I give to Jeff Brown and Kelvin Rivers. Ever since I have been in the league the Pistons have not made the playoffs, hell the most wins in a season they have ever had is 31. Eww.
Time for a team make over.
- zike_42
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