Arena The Basketball Draft II

Game Five of the NBA Conference Semifinals

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

Full Play-by-Play
Box Score

For Game, Blouses it was simple. Win and advance; a date with LeBron and the Frontrunners awaited.

For Boogie and the Indecisions, it was even simpler. Win, or go home. One more loss would eliminate them.

Those two simple realities collided, and Blouses Coach Jeff Van Gundy had one simple message for his team: Shoot. And keep shooting 'till we're in the conference finals.

It was a simplistic plan that paid dividends.

Game, Blouses shot 55% from the floor for the game, including 54.5% from downtown, as they buried the Indecisions under their highly efficient offense. That offense - beautifully conducted by Tony Parker (18 points, 11 assists) - had a whopping SEVEN players score in double figures, giving a balance to the offense that Boogie couldn't defend and couldn't overcome.

And now, Game, Blouses will get their crack at LeBron and the Frontrunners in the conference finals. Meanwhile, Boogie and the Indecisions ...



Final Score: Game, Blouses 108, Boogie & The Indecisions 93
Game, Blouses wins the Best-of-Seven Series 4-1

 

LloydChristmas and Trimaj ... lineups and minute allocations, please!

 

let's get this show on the road, yo.

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

 

Does this mean you're giving up homecourt? Thanks Trim!

 

Coming up next, Game 1 of the ABA Conference Semifinals, live from the Cincinnati Gardens, in Cincinnati, Ohio.

But first, a series preview from our special guests ... Fake Mike and Mike!



Greenie: Tonight is game one of the ABA Conference semifinals.

Golic: Uh huh

Greenie: You've got the magic perimeter duo of John Wall and Kyrie Irving

Golic: Yup

Greenie: They're up against the impenetrible inside defense of Joakim Noah, Roy Hibbert, and Tyson Chandler.

Golic: Yup

Greenie: They're calling it the battle for Ohio. Which is funny, because everyone knows the real battle from Ohio is the Browns and the Bengals, because the only thing that actually matters. I mean, there's the NFL, and then there's everything else. Football, football, football. NFL NFL NFL. Peyton Manning!

Golic: Yup.

Greenie: Justin Beiber!

Golic: Uh Huh

Greenie: Still, all things considered, I'll take Heads for Hibbert to win in seven games, with the home team winning every game.

Golic: I'm hungry. Let's get some Five Dollar Footlongs!



Thank you, Fake Mike and Mike.

Season recap: The teams split four games, though somewhat with an asterisk as an illness to Joakim Noah saw his minutes limited, and Jimmy Butler forced into some action he's not used to.

 

not only minutes he wasn't used to, but at a position he was ill-equipped to play.

 

Game 1 of the ABA Conference Semifinals

Shaqtastic - 29 Points at Heads for Hibbert
From The Cincinnati Gardens in Cincinnati, Ohio

Full Play-by-Play
Box Score

Steph Curry couldn't hit a shot inside the arc tonight.

Thanks to his three-point shooting and free-throw shooting, that didn't matter.

Curry only hit five field goals on the night, but all five of those were from behind the arc. That hot three-point shooting and stingy, efficient defense leads Heads for Hibbert to a resounding game one victory.

Heads for Hibbert held a 23-9 edge in free throw attempts, and limited the young duo of Kyrie Irving and John Wall to only 16 assists on the night. Wall, in particular, had a rough night dealing with the defense of Heads for Hibbert, having 8 turnovers to go with his 6 assists. He also struggled shooting, going 11-for-27.

Heads for Hibbert had no problem with offensive efficiency, and balanced their scoring efforts. Paul George scored 18 to join with Curry as the team's leader, with Mike Conley, Roy Hibbert, Tyson Chandler, and Andrei Kirilenko also scoring in double figures. Conley was almost as deadly as Curry behind the arc, hitting 3-of-5, as the team shot a whopping 52.6% from behind the arc. Heads for Hibbert was also careful with the basketball - as a team they had only one more turnover than Wall.

The result is a big win for Heads for Hibbert, and Shaqtastic looking for answers. How to hold onto the ball, how to get to the line, how to not collapse in the third quarter, and - most importantly - how to get their young guard duo going.

Final Score: Heads for Hibbert 102, Shaqtastic - 29 Points 82
Heads for Hibbert leads the Best-of-Seven Series 1-0

 

no changes here.

 

Shaq says let it roll...


http://sagr.us/dumb****/shaq/shaqvs/shaqhat.gif

 

Game 2 of the ABA Conference Semifinals

Shaqtastic - 29 Points at Heads for Hibbert
From The Cincinnati Gardens in Cincinnati, Ohio

Full Play-by-Play
Box Score

Kyrie Irving hit his shots in the clutch.

Steph Curry, Mike Conley, and Paul George all missed theirs.

As a result, the series heads north on I-71, tied at one.

To be fair, Curry nailed an amazing three point shot with 1:45 remaining to give his team a lead. But, after a Roy Hibbert turnover, Kyrie Irving hit a jump shot to give the lead back to Shaqtastic with less than a minute to play. Heads for Hibbert had three more chances to hit a shot to take the lead or tie it up. But, Conley missed a three, and after Paul George blocked a Kyrie Irving shot, Curry missed a jumper with nine seconds left. After Irving hit both of his free throws to stretch the lead to three, George had a shot at the buzzer, but his three pointer wasn't true, and Shaqtastic stole the road win.

Irving's final minute heroics capped off a great night for him. He scored 32 points and dished out 8 assists. John Wall struggled shooting again - 5-of-15 from the floor, only 10 points - but his 15 assists (and only 4 turnovers) helped run an offense that saw J.J. Hickson unleash for 24 points and 17 rebounds.

Curry scored 18 points, but wasn't nearly as efficient from downtown in this game, as he shot only 2-for-8 from downtown. George added 19, and Joakim Noah added 16 points and 12 rebounds in the losing effort.

Both teams will take positives from this game as they head to Cleveland. But Shaqtastic has to feel a little better, having stolen home court advantage. At least for the moment.

Final Score: Shaqtastic - 29 Points 95, Heads for Hibbert 92
The Best-of-Seven Series is tied 1-1.

 

how is will bynum getting more minutes than kyle lowry, when lowry is supposed to actually get some minutes, and bynum isn't? that's confused me all season. my electronic coach must be an idiot.

actually... i think i'm gonna make a couple changes...

Heads for Hibbert

Starting LIneup

1. PG Mike Conley 48 min
2. SG Stephen Curry 48 min
3. SF Paul George 48 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 0 min SF
8. PG Kyle Lowry 0 min PG
9. SG Tony Allen 0 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

 

Game 3 of the ABA Conference Semifinals

Heads for Hibbert at Shaqtastic - 29 Points
From Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio

Full Play-by-Play
Box Score

The scoreboard at the "Q" has a little feature on it called "The Diff".
It shows the current difference, +/-, between the home team and the visitors.

Tonight, rather than helping Clevelanders with their mathematics, it could have simply said two words:

Steph. Curry.

Curry exploded in game three, scoring 40 points and handing out 9 assists. He shredded Shaqtastic by hitting seven three-point shots, and almost single-handidly outscored both young phenom guards from Shaqtastic.

Kyrie Irving, in particular, had a round night, as his team lost the home court advantage they had gained only one game earlier. Irving scored 19 points, but did so on 7-of-16 shooting, including an awful 2-of-8 from beyond the arc. In addition, Irving had a miserable 5 turnovers and 4 personal fouls, while contributing only 7 assists.

John Wall had a stellar 24 point, 14 rebound performance, and JJ Hickson 18 points and 16 rebounds, but those efforts weren't enough to turn back Curry.

MIke Conley caused a bit of trouble for Shaqtastic, as he contributed 14 points and 11 assists to the offense, but more importantly, had five steals. On the night, Heads for Hibbert got 14 steals, with Joakim Noah getting in on the pestering with 3, and Paul George adding 4.

Game four will be back at Quicken Loans Arena. It's almost a must-win for Shaqtastic, who won't want to face an elimination game on the road in game five.

Final Score: Heads for Hibbert 109, Shaqtastic - 29 Points 100
Heads for Hibbert leads the Best-of-Seven Series 2-1.

 

let it roll.

 

Shaq says rolllll it!

 

Game 4 of the ABA Conference Semifinals

Heads for Hibbert at Shaqtastic - 29 Points
From Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio

Full Play-by-Play
Box Score

My, what a difference a game can make, especially for a young player.

Called out by some as the goat of the Game Three loss by Shaqtastic, Kyrie Irving rebounded to have an impressive game four and lead his team to a series-tying victory.

Irving scored 29 points, handed out 9 assists, and had only one turnover, as he and John Wall lead a smooth offensive attack that was simply too much for Heads for Hibbert to overcome. Wall added 23 points and 11 assists, and he and Irving helped drive an attack that got to the line 25 times - making 22 of them. Andre Drummond had a beastly 15 point, 18 rebound (9 of them on the offensive glass) performance playing off the young guard combo.

Steph Curry remained hot for Heads for Hibbert, but slowed down a bit. He "only" scored 28, and was hot from the outside again with a 6-for-12 performance from the outside.

It was the bigs on the inside - assumed to be a strength - who lost this game for Hibbert. They were out rebounded 57-39, lost the battle on the offensive glass 21-9, and while Roy Hibbert blocked six shots, he also had 5 turnovers and 5 fouls - the kind of inefficiencies that lead to the offense Shaqtastic wanted to run.

Will the bigs turn it around for Hibbert in game five? Will Irving and Wall put together consecutive dominant games? Which team can win a pivitol game 5 in what is now a best-of-three series? Can anything stop this series from what looks like it's destiny of going to game seven?

We'll find out, back in Cincy.

Final Score: Shaqtastic - 29 Points 110, Heads for Hibbert 95
The Best-of-Seven Series is tied 2-2.

 

yay for back and forths! or something.

keep it going. don't think changing things at this point'll really help.

 

Rolllll it!

 

Game 5 of the ABA Conference Semifinals

Shaqtastic - 29 Points at Heads for Hibbert
From The Cincinnati Gardens in Cincinnati, Ohio

Full Play-by-Play
Box Score

In this series, there should be no surprise that it came down to the wire.

After rallying from a 7-point deficit with less than two minutes left, to get to within three in the closing half-minute, Shaqtastic - 29 points learned a difficult lesson:

Even when you stop Steph Curry, you can only hope to contain him.

Curry went for a game-icing shot with six seconds left - his team up by three. But, he was rejected by J.J. Hickson.

Unfortunately for Hickson, though, Tyson Chandler came down with the ball and was fouled. As Shaqtastic still had a foul to give, the corresponding inbound got the ball to MIke Conley who did ice the game from the free-throw line.

Not that Shaqtastic did all that much throughout the game to actually stop Curry. Curry exploded for 40 points and 10 assists, negating strong games from John Wall and Kyrie Irving. Wall and Irving combined for 40 points, and had 24 assists - Irving, in fact, was one rebound shy of a triple-double. But, that duo just wasn't enough to get a road win and take control of the series.

Paul George (16 points, 16 rebounds, 7 assists) and Joakim Noah (16 points, 12 rebounds, 6 assists) had very strong nights in support of Curry.

The series will now shift back to Cleveland, where Shaqtastic will face an elimination game, with their backs against the wall.

Final Score: Heads for Hibbert 104, Shaqtastic - 29 Points 100
Heads for Hibbert leads the Best-of-Seven Series 3-2.

 

WE AIN'T DEAD YET, ROLL IT

 

rolling, rolling, rolling, keep them boxcars rolling.

 

wow, close one. hope we get a game 7.

 

i don't. i'd much rather win in six. but it seems to be on alternate, so that probably won't happen.

 

Game 6 of the ABA Conference Semifinals

Heads for Hibbert at Shaqtastic - 29 Points
From Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio

Full Play-by-Play
Box Score

J.J. Hickson came down with the rebound - his 20th of the game. As his feet hit the ground, he let out a massive roar.

His teammates let out a sigh of relief.

Fans everywhere cheered in excitement of what was to come next. The best two-word phrase in sports: Game Seven.

Hickson's final, game-clinching rebound capped off an impressive night for him. He scored 19 points, grabbed 20 rebounds, and stayed out of foul trouble for the entire night. But, it was almost for naught.

Holding onto a precious three-point lead with a minute to play, Kevin Garnett turned the ball over on bad pass. Tyson Chandler made him pay, by hitting a floater that cut the lead to one. Garnett then missed a shot with twenty seconds left, giving Heads for Hibbert one last chance to win the game and escape a game seven.

But, Paul George let his three go from the right wing. It clanged off the front of the rim. Hickson grabbed the rebound. And we were on our way to game seven.

Steph Curry continued his hot shooting from outside - going 6-for-6 from downtown, but didn't get enough help form his teammates. Heads for Hibbert was dominated on the glass - only getting 9 offensive rebounds, to Shaqtastic - 29 Points' 16. They were also sloppy with the ball, committing 17 turnovers, with Joakim Noah "leading" the way with 5.

All that added up for a dramatic finish.

And a game seven on deck.

Who will survive the battle for Ohio? Only the next game will tell.

Final Score: Shaqtastic - 29 Points 84, Heads for Hibbert 83.
Best-of-Seven Series tied 3-3.

 

guess we'll just keep it going.

 

I kind of don't want this series to end. I want someone to create these teams on X-Box and put the games on YouTube.