Arena The Basketball Draft II

trimaj - my appologies, man. I've caught an error a handful of times where it reverted back to the default player after I clicked away before hitting tab. And, apparently, I've not caught it twice (Gunny sent me a note about one earlier). My keyboard on my laptop died middle of the game, and I'm adjusting to my new USB keyboard. If you want me to resim, I'm willing to. But, as you're in the playoffs, I don't see you really complaining about the results. Just let me know.

 

LeBron and the Frontrunners vs. The Tune Squad

Game 1 Play-by-Play | Full Box Score
Game 2 Play-by-Play | Full Box Score

LeBron and the frontrunners needed one win to almost certainly lock up home court advantage, and two wins to completely seal it. When LeBron James drove and hit a jumper to tie it up with just about a second to go in the game, it looked like his team would have a chance to get that win on the road. But, a face familiar to James denied him that chance. Dwyane Wade hit a jumper at the buzzer to win the game, and prolong (and put in doubt) the clinching for a little bit longer. Wade's buzzer-beater capped a 23 point, 9 rebound, 5 assist effort, and took some of the shine off of a 43 points, 10 assist, 7 rebound effort from James.

That doubt grew into concern as The Tune Squad built a huge first quarter lead. And hopes for Home Field Advantage were out completely when the Tune Squad held on for a shock road win to end their season. Wade scored 26 and added 12 rebounds and 7 assists, and got huge contributions from Damian Lillard (22 points, 10 assists), Kenneth Faried (26 points, 12 rebounds) and Greg Monroe (18 points, 13 rebounds) to get the win. That was enough to overcome 35 points from LeBron.

 

gah, my team really fell apart down the stretch. kind of bizarre. not looking good for the playoffs.

 

Fast and Furious Floppers vs. 10 Points for Griffindor

Game 1 Play-by-Play | Full Box Score
Game 2 Play-by-Play | Full Box Score

10 Points for Griffindor didn't take their foot off the gas as they approached the regular season finish line.

James Harden scored 23 points, and added 8 rebounds and 8 assists as he lead his team to a big road win in the series opener. Josh Smith added 18 and 11, Blake Griffin added 24 and 12, and the team shot 47% from deep (compared to just over 13% for the Floppers).

The home game was an even bigger blowout for Griffindor. It was Nicola Vucevic leading the way in this one, scoring 20 points and grabbing 19 rebounds. The overall offense for Griffindor was even better in this one. They shot 58% from the field, 55% from beyond the arc, and controlled the glass, owning a rebounding edge of 56-43.

 

Where is this heat coming from? Oh, it's probably just us burning up in the atmosphere before we crash spectacularly down to Earth.

 

Updated Standings

Tiebreakers for 10 Points for Griffindor and Heads for Hibbert:

• Split Series 2-2
• In Head-to-Head games, Heads for Hibbert scored 399 points, Griffindor scored 400.

Playoffs Conference Semi-Finals:

NBA Conference

LeBron and the Frontrunners - BYE
Game, Blouses vs. Boogie and the Indecisions.

Best-of-Seven Series. Game, Blouses will host games 1, 2, 5 (If necessary), and 7 (if necessary)


ABA Conference

10 Points for Griffindor - BYE
Heads for Hibbert vs. Shaqtastic - 29 Points

Best-of-Seven Series. Heads for Hibbert will host games 1, 2, 5 (If necessary), and 7 (if necessary)

 

As a reminder, I will allow for lineup changes in between every game in the playoffs. We'll start with the NBA conference.

Point Given and PRENNTACULAR please submit your game one lineups.

 

One point.

 

one point. bah.

well, i can't say what i was going to since that's not true anymore. i have a sneaking suspicion i'd have had 3 of 4 in that series against shaqtastic (maybe swept it, but that's highly unlikely) if i'd had noah getting the right minutes and have number one overall. but... i don't want to be that guy. since i can't say for certain what would have happened if the minutes had been right, i guess i'll just roll with it. mildly annoying though, i have to say. not blaming you inty, stuff happens. tempted to ask you to do it just for curiosities sake and not have it effect anything, but that's just being a pain, so i won't.

anyway, i'll stick with the minutes as they're supposed to be:

Heads for Hibbert

Starting LIneup

1. PG Mike Conley 38 min
2. SG Stephen Curry 38 min
3. SF Paul George 40 min
4. C/PF Joakim Noah 28 min PF, 6 min C
5. C Tyson Chandler 24 min C

Bench

6. C Roy Hibbert 18 min C, 20 min PF
7. SF Andrei Kirilenko 8 min SF
8. PG Kyle Lowry 10 min PG
9. SG Tony Allen 10 min SG
10. PF/C Tiago Splitter 0 min PF
11. PG Will Bynum 0 min SG, 0 min PG
12. SF Jimmy Butler 0 min SF

 

Same lineup.

 

Coming up next, it's game one of the NBA Conference Semifinals, live from Madison Square Garden in New York City.

But first, a series preview from our in-studio analyst, Fake Stephen A. Smith.



The NBA Conference Semifinals start tonight. It's Boogie and the Indecisions against Game, Blouses.

And, all you've heard all year is that the NBA Conference is the weaker conference. The ABA conference has the best teams.

QUITE FRANKLY none of that matters. This is the playoffs. The PLAYOFFS. This is different. This is what you been playing for ALL SEASON.

But, NEVER MIND THAT.

I'm sorry. I'm NOT BUYING THAT!

You've got NEW YORK CITY, and you've got LOS ANGELES. MADISON SQUARE GARDEN. BASKETBALL MECCA. AND THE FORUM. THE FORUM. You've got THE FORUM and you've got MECCA.

Now, look at these two teams. Tony Parker and Duh-wight Howard. That's an inside-outside combination that Boogie will be hard pressed to match. Kevin Durant gives them an edge on the wing, but you don't win a championship with the SECOND BEST player in the game. You need the best player in the game to win a CHAMPIONSHIP. Plus, TONY PARKER is much too much for Rajon Rondo to handle. That to me is the difference maker, and that's why I'm taking Game, Blouses to win in six games.




Thank you, Fake Stephen A. Smith

Season Recap: These two teams met for a four game series in Match Day Six. Boogie and the Indecisions swept the series, winning all four games.

 

Game 1 of the NBA Conference Semifinals

Boogie and The Indecisions at Game, Blouses
From Madison Square Garden in New York City

Full Play-by-Play
Box Score

It took until the very last second of the game to get it done, but Game, Blouses finally got a win over Boogie and the Indecisions.

But, it seemed as if it wasn't to be.

Kevin Durant scored 34 points, and for a while it seemed as if he was going to will his team to another victory. His back-to-back triples with just over two minutes left in the game put Boogie back on top for the first time in the fourth quarter. Durant was setting himself up to be the hero.

Until a more unlikely hero stepped up for Game, Blouses. Evan Turner - apparently feeling like he was back in college where he could actually make big plays - scored the next two buckets, giving momentum, and the lead back to Game, Blouses. A Danilo Gallinari three moments later provided a larger cushion for the Blouses, and gave them the edge they needed to hold off Boogie.

For the game, Turner scored 9 points in only ten minutes of game time, and Gallinari hit only 2 of his 6 three-point attempts. But that last one was a back-breaker for Boogie. Dwight Howard was the anchor Game, Blouses needed, providing 20 points, 11 rebounds, and keeping DeMarcus Cousins in foul trouble all night.

Game two is soon. Can Game, Blouses keep the momentum going? Or will Boogie steal a game on the road?

Final Score: Game, Blouses 105, Boogie & The Indecisions 103
Game, Blouses leads the Best-of-Seven Series 1-0

 

Any Lineup changes for game two?

 

oh, so we're only doing one series at a time?

 

Yes. Since I can only store three teams at a time at WhatIf, this keeps me from needing to reenter rosters before every game.

 

ah. that definitely makes sense. yay for logistics!

 

But, focusing on one series at a time let's me do things like Fake Stephen A Smith and the upcoming Fake Skip Bayless. By the time we get to the finals, we may even get Fake Bill Simmons.

 

also pretty cool.

was just curious was all, and didn't know the limits of whatif.

 

Please please please do a Fake Bill Simmons.

 

Same lineups for me! In the future, if you don't hear from me just assume I want the same lineups. That might expedite things.

 

Game 1 of the NBA Conference Semifinals

Boogie and The Indecisions at Game, Blouses
From Madison Square Garden in New York City

Full Play-by-Play
Box Score

It was a game where Game, Blouses always seemed just a little bit better than Boogie and the Indecisions. Not a lot better, but just a little better.

They had a margin in points scored every quarter. Never a huge margin, but a margin anyways. Six points, one point, one point, 5 points. All of that added up to a nice, cushioned win for Game, Blouses. And a stranglehold on the series, as Boogie and the Indecisions will now have to win four out of the next five games to advance.

Even on an individual level, Game, Blouses was just a little bit better.

Dwight Howard had a nice game with 20 points and 11 rebounds, edging out Carlos Boozer and his 19 points, 10 rebounds. Kevin Durant lead all scorers with 29 points, but his all around game - he added six assists and six rebounds - was slightly outdone by Tony Parker with 7 assists and 7 rebounds, to go with 19 points. The Indecisions shot a marvelous 51.9% from the floor. Game, Blouses shot 52.8%.

All of that added up to a 2-0 win after their two home games.

And it adds up to desperation time for Boogie and the Indecisions as they head back home down 0-2.

Final Score: Game, Blouses 114, Boogie & The Indecisions 101
Game, Blouses leads the Best-of-Seven Series 2-0

 

Game Three of the NBA Conference Semifinals

Game, Blouses at Boogie and the Indecisions
From the Forum in Los Angeles

This guy was sitting courtside for the game:



This guy was arrested pregame trying to protest ... something. We're not sure what. Maybe the Clippers. Maybe Wal Mart. Maybe the DH.



In any case, Boogie and the Indecisions came into the game facing, pretty much, a must win.

Full Play By Play
Box Score

Kevin Durant knew what a 3-0 hole would mean for his team.

He didn't want his team in that position.

Durant scored 28 points, and grabbed 10 rebounds. But, it was his 27th and 28th point that mattered the most.

After Tony Parker hit a floater with only 2 seconds left on the clock, it appeared we were heading for overtime. Momentum seemed to be shifting towards Game, Blouses as they rallied from being a half-dozen down earlier in the fourth quarter.

But, just as the buzzer sounded, Durant let the ball leave his fingertips. The ball sailed through the air. And it found the nylon. And nothing else.

Durant's teammates mobbed him, as they halved their deficit in the series and kept hope alive for advancing to the finals.

Gerald Henderson provided much needed bench minutes for Boogie, scoring 10 points in just 13 minutes. Dwight Howard had an impressive 25 points and 13 rebounds in the losing effort.

Final Score: Boogie & The Indecisions 98, Game, Blouses 96
Game, Blouses leads the Best-of-Seven Series 2-1

 

Game Four of the NBA Conference Semifinals

Game, Blouses at Boogie and the Indecisions
From the Forum in Los Angeles

Full Play-by-Play
Box Score

At the end of the night, one of two realities would be true. Either Game, Blouses would have gotten a HUGE road win, and taken a stranglehold on the series, owning a 3-1 advantage heading home to New York. Or, Boogie and the Indecisions would have held serve at home, evened the series, and made it a best-of-three series, guaranteeing one more home game for themselves in the process.

Dwight Howard left his massive imprint on this game, and ensured his team - Game, Blouses - would get that stranglehold.

Howard scored 15 points, grabbed 19 rebounds, and was able to stay out of foul trouble the entire game (the big man wasn't guilty of a single personal foul all game), as he powered his team to a commanding road win in game four. Tony Parker added 23 points and 10 assists, as he combined with Howard for the inside-outside punch the GM envisioned when he put this team together. Once you threw in 25 points from Danilo Gallinari, the output was simply too much for Boogie and the Indecisions to overcome.

Not that they did much to help themselves.

Kevin Durant was his normal, assertive self, scoring 24 points, and grabbing 9 rebounds. But poor shot selection and awful shooting from the outside helped to doom his team. Not a single starter for Boogie made a three-point attempt all night, as they combined to shoot 0-for-10 from downtown.

The result means Game, Blouses will head home looking to clinch, while Boogie and the Indecisions will head to New York and look for a minor miracle.

Final Score: Game, Blouses 107, Boogie & The Indecisions 98
Game, Blouses leads the Best-of-Seven Series 3-1