Arena The Fifth Basketball Draft (Winner: Point Given!)

Game 7 Picks from the Staff of The Ringer

 

We go now to our Locker Room Corespondent @LloydChristmas, who is getting a live reaction from Russel Westbrook being told his scoring doesn't matter and won't impact wins and losses ...


And, in the other locker room, @DarthTunick is with Kobe Bryant, getting his reaction to being told that the key for the other team to win is to let him score ...

 

"It's Shaq-fu here, aka the BIG DIANE SAWYER, live with the backstage interview. I've got Russell Westbrook-- Russell, did you hear that some people think your scoring don't impact wins & losses?"



"I agree my man, it was prolly Chuck. I told him you should keep attacking. And reboundin', hustlin'. Hustle away my son! You know what I'ma call you if ya keep crashing the boards that way? I'ma call you the Shaq of guards."



"You're also gettin' teammates involved. How different is it to play on this squad vs. playing with PG and Melo?"



"Careful Russ, your team manager was a Melo fan for the past few years..."



"You're good brother, you're good. Good luck out there tonight. Any last words for the Chuckster before you hit that hardwood?"



"You heard it here first folks! From the Shaq of guards himself. Back to you Ernuh."

 

Just a few minutes before tip-off, head coach of the new World order, Donald Trump, attempted to slip a few bills into the pocket of the lead official for game 7, who was unusually large and muscular for a referee. As Coach Trump turned him around to get his attention he--GOOD GOD THAT'S STONE COLD'S MUSIC!!!



Ummm, the front office of the new World order would like to announce that Coach Pop will be assuming head coaching duties for game 7.

 

Trying something a little different this time ...

 

Game Seven of the Best-of-Seven Series
new World order and Game,Blouses are tied at 3-3
Game Seven is in Daytona Beach, Florida


At the end of the first quarter, it looks like we're in for a good one, tonight. Game,Blouses hold a slight 27-23 lead.

Both teams have had a lead. new World order lead early at 2-0, when Kevin McHale scored on the opening possession of the game. The only ties of the game were at 2-2 and 5-5, and Game,Blouses has lead since the 10:39 mark. Game,Blouses have lead by as many as six.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Russel Westbrook are the early leaders for Game,Blouses with 8 points each, while Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan each have 7 for new World order.

Kevin Durant and Dwyane Wade each picked up two fouls in the first quarter, while nobody on new World order has more than one.

 

I LIKE ALL OF THIS KEEP GOING

 

The second quarter started with a flurry for Game,Blouses, ignited by Paul Pierce. Pierce scored on his team's first two possession, and stole the ball from Kobe Bryant on the possession in between, keying a 6-0 run to start the quarter that pushed the lead for Game,Blouses to ten. The Game,Blouses lead would push as high as eleven, but a 6-0 run for Game,Blouses kept it from getting away from them. new World order would push to within five, but end the half down by 8.

Pierce lead the quarter for Game,Blouses scoring 8, but it was a team effort that bolstered their halftime lead, with 7 players scoring in the quarter. new World order were paced by 6 each from Kevin McHale and Larry Bird.

Only one player finds himself in anything resembling foul trouble at the half, and that's Kevin Durant. The players with multiple fouls are:

Kevin Durant - 3
Dwyane Wade - 2
Brad Daugherty - 2
Larry Bird - 2

At the Half: Game,Blouses 57, new World order 49

 

Halftime show:

 

new World order did not get the start they were looking for coming out of the half. Quick buckets from Wilt Chamberlain and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar pushed the lead to 12 less than a minute into the second half. The lead hit fourteen less than a minute later, and wouldn't get back to single digits until there was only 4:12 left in the quarter, when Michael Jordan scored a couple of buckets sandwiched around a Kevin Durant miss.

new World order would get it to within six twice, and in fact faced only a six point deficit with a minute to play. But, they were outscored 5-0 in the final minute of the quarter and will enter the fourth down by 11.

new World order tried to get their scoring done through their big three, getting 21 of their 23 in the quarter from Michael Jordan (8), Kobe Bryant (7), and Larry Bird (6), with only Brad Daugherty joining them in scoring, with 2. In contrast, Game,Blouses had eight different players score in the quarter, with 8 from Russel Westbrook leading the way.

Your foul situation, entering the fourth:

Kevin Durant - 4
Brad Daugherty - 3
Larry Bird - 3
Jerry West - 3

After Three Quarters: Game,Blouses 83, new World order 72

 

NooOOOOOooo!O! Okay, inspiration time!









Whichever one works for you, team!

 

Starting at the 11:30 to go mark in the 4th quarter, new World order's defense stepped up in a way that they desperately needed.

They would surrender only a single field goal for the next 3 minutes and 26 seconds, and when Larry Bird split a pair of free throws with 8:15 left, the deficit had shrunk all the way to three, and we had a one possession game! 23 seconds later, Michael Jordan would finish an and-1, and we were looking at just a two-point game.

That, however, was as close as new World order could come in this one. On their next four possessions, they would turn it over three times, and miss a jumper, that lead to a quick 7-0 run from Game,Blouses to push the lead to 9, and they'd push it back to 13 with 4 minutes left.

The mountain proved too tall for new World order to climb as the lead reached as high as 14 in the 4th quarter, and would only get down to ten the rest of the way, allowing Russel Westbrook to dribble out the clock, and celebrate a championship coming to New York in Professional Basketball.

The night belonged to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Russel Westbrook. Kareem scored 17 points, grabbed 9 rebounds, dished out 4 assists and blocked 3 shots, while Westbrook scored 22, and had 7 points and 7 assists, while throwing in 3 steals.

Wilt Chamberlain also had a double-double with 12 rebounds and 10 points, and Dwight Howard grabbed 8 rebounds off the bench. That lead to Game,Blouses having a +10 edge on the boards at 53-43, including an absolutely massive 14-7 edge on offensive rebounds.

Turnovers plagued new World order in this one, with Kobe Bryant committing 5, Moses Malone having 4, and Larry Bird and Michael Jordan each having 3. In total, they turned it over 18 times on the night.

Jordan scored 24 points, and added 9 assists and 8 rebounds, while Kobe had 20 points and 4 steals. Moses Malone with 11 rebounds, and Larry Bird, with 10 rebounds and 18 points, held their own on the inside, but the bench for new World order were out-rebounded by a margin of 17-6.

Final score: Game,Blouses 109, new World order 99
Full Play-by-Play
Box Score

Game,Blouses win the Best-of-Seven Series 4-3, and are crowned the Champions!

 

THE SHAQ OF GUARDS

I TOLD YOU CHUCK

 

Congrats (again) @Point Given . Well fought, as always. And thanks to Inty for running this. Good times all around. Now, if you'll excuse me...

 

To those of you who played, commented, and followed along ...



This was maybe the most fun I've had in any of the Sports Drafts. From the acquisition of nothing by Shaqs, to the drama of the regular season, to some fantastic and fun playoff games, to a seven-game epic final. You've all helped to distract me from real life and enjoy some time every day. Can't wait to do it again.