Through The Storm: A St. Louis Story

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  • trekfan
    Designated Red Shirt
    • Sep 2009
    • 5817

    #136
    Re: Through The Storm: A St. Louis Story

    Originally posted by Slyone14
    Beautiful read bro;


    So what are you doing, playing one and simming 5? I cant believe your turning it around so quick. In my Pitt Chise, I am actually sitting at .500 at the break and considering it a blessing. You sir, are very good at this game.
    Thank you!

    What I do is limit myself to playing 20 games a season of my choosing. 4 in the first month (spanning Oct-Nov, depending on the season start), 3 in December, January, February, and March (making a total of 12), and then 4 more in April (being it's a short month and those 4 could be the difference between a playoff spot or not).

    Come playoff time (assuming I make it), I plan on playing the opening game of the series and then 1 other game in that series -- either the first elimination game (either me or AI, whichever one of us is about to be eliminated) or Game 7, should I make it there. Whatever the case, Game 1 is for sure me and I get one more.

    If I ever make it to the Finals, that series will have three games played; Game 1, Game 3, and either the first elimination game (either way, me or the AI) or Game 7.

    Playing by these rules, assuming I did my job as a GM/coach, I give my squad a shot at getting further in the playoffs -- if I win my two games and they win two games, that's four wins and advancing. Finals have special rules of course, but I firmly expect to be tested mightily in the 1st round if I make the playoffs this year.
    Any comments are welcome.
    Texas Two-Step (2K20 Alt History)
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    You Don't Know Jack (2K18 Pacers Dynasty - Complete)
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    Comment

    • JackNCoke
      Rookie
      • Jun 2013
      • 42

      #137
      Re: Through The Storm: A St. Louis Story

      Nice job with the team so far. Looking like Jackson is the future/current face of the franchise. Hopefully you can surround him with some proven talent and start to really make noise. It looks like Nerlins is picking up where he left off in your Sonics chose and doing the little things that help you win ball games.

      Comment

      • trekfan
        Designated Red Shirt
        • Sep 2009
        • 5817

        #138
        Re: Through The Storm: A St. Louis Story

        Originally posted by JackNCoke
        Nice job with the team so far. Looking like Jackson is the future/current face of the franchise. Hopefully you can surround him with some proven talent and start to really make noise. It looks like Nerlins is picking up where he left off in your Sonics chose and doing the little things that help you win ball games.
        Jackson is SO good, way better than I expected. He's really taking it to other teams, just getting inside and hitting enough shots to keep opponents honest. Really think I landed a stud there with that pick.

        Nerlens fell into my lap by complete luck, I didn't anticipate him landing with me; I looked for somewhere else to stick him, but he just made the most sense with my team. With the money he was asking for, he was out of the price range for most squads. I don't know if he'll stay once his contract runs out, but I got him now. Will have to prepare for the possibility of defection with him.

        He continues to justify why he's one of my favorite players.
        Any comments are welcome.
        Texas Two-Step (2K20 Alt History)
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        Comment

        • trekfan
          Designated Red Shirt
          • Sep 2009
          • 5817

          #139
          Re: Through The Storm: A St. Louis Story



          Ch. 37


          The final game of March had us going against the Jazz, in Utah. The Jazz were witnessing the last days of Derrick Favors in a uniform for them — Favors wasn’t coming back and everyone knew it. He knew it. The Jazz front office knew it. His teammates knew it. But Favors knew that these were his “audition” games and he needed to be good. He was going to be one of the top free agents on the market in 2018 and whatever team he ended up on was probably watching.

          So he was coming out to play and Utah, sitting at 31-41, wanted to end the season on a good note. The year had been entirely too disappointing and the wait for the squad to finally make the playoffs was going to be another season in the making. People in Utah were restless, more so than you’d think for a place that was mostly comprised of calm as *uck Mormons. But you could feel the tension in the building … the place was on edge.

          We weren’t. We got there and we were flying high — pun fully intended — at 40-32. But the Jazz gave us a hell of a game, their defense — led by Gobert — being no joke. They stifled us largely as a team, but Jackson did plenty in that first half to keep us afloat. Really, he was the only one scoring consistently and it was his scoring that opened up looks for other guys.

          We ended up tied after the first, then up by only one point at halftime. It was too close a game and the pressure was mounting … could we win this one? Could we get to 41 wins before March ended? Guys were tight coming out in the third. Shots weren’t falling and that was the quarter we usually rested Jackson — we knew we’d need him in the fourth and we saved him for that, but that third … god awful offense for us.

          The Jazz? They road the sweet shooting of Burks and Hood in that quarter, just sinking triples at will. Our rotations were a touch slow and their cuts were damned sharp, I mean cheddar cheese, steak-knife sharp; they were precise and I was impressed. There was a good team buried under that disappointing record and that team was there when Derrick Favors was off the floor.

          Utah got the lead at the end of third and held onto it as we progressed into the fourth. It took us until we got under 8 minutes, but we closed the gap to one point; they led 73-72 and that’s when cracks started to show. We had been going at them all game in the paint, we had been playing inside out, and there legs started to give out on them. They got tired. And then Delly came up with a steal …



          And we struck. We managed to get a five point lead and held onto that for two minutes, but at the 2:20 mark the Jazz hit a fading triple — Rodney Hood. The next possession was an ugly turnover as Delly’s pass missed its mark and Hood launched a transition triple, giving them back the lead and back momentum.

          McHale could have called a timeout but instead let the team play. Next trip down Delly got the ball to a cutting Noel, who dunked all over Gobert along the baseline. The Jazz started jacking up shots and we had them; we grabbed the lead, grabbed their misses, and capitalized on their mistakes. We finally hit our threes — Jackson, who else — and ended the Jazz’s chance at a comeback.

          We had escaped Utah. We were two victories away from my goal. We were 41-32.


          Any comments are welcome.
          Texas Two-Step (2K20 Alt History)
          Orange And Blue Forever (NCAA 14 Dynasty)
          You Don't Know Jack (2K18 Pacers Dynasty - Complete)
          Second Coming (2K16 Sonics MyLeague - Complete)
          The Gold Standard (2K13 Dynasty - Complete)

          Comment

          • trekfan
            Designated Red Shirt
            • Sep 2009
            • 5817

            #140
            Re: Through The Storm: A St. Louis Story


            Ch. 38

            We were in a battle to the death. Looking back on the 17-18 season, I see it now for what it was; the last gasps of former empires, the rise of new challengers, and the changing of the guard. The NBA was in a transition period and its players, coaches, and teams were all a part of it. We were a part of it — a pretty big part. We had our rookie, Josh Jackson, who was elevating his game to places we only dared to hope. We had Thon Maker, a stretch four who wasn’t soft, and he could score in any number of ways. We had Noel locking down the paint, Delly locking down the perimeter, and Delon Wright launching triples from deep.

            We were a team on the rise and, by the time we reached April 13th, we were 44-35. We hadn’t yet guaranteed ourselves a playoff spot, but with a win and a Clippers loss, we’d have it by the end of the night. We were playing in Miami, a day after barely squeaking by the Knights. The Heat were a paltry 30-49 and it was a rough life for them; Dragic broke his ankle two weeks before and their rookie, DeArron Fox, took over the starting role. Fox was lighting it up and the Heat knew they were going to have to move the kid into the starting role next season.

            Dragic’s time was up and Fox was using the last few weeks of the season as his coming out party. We were tired when we got to Miami and the first three quarters was about as unpleasant as it got. Jackson was trying to duel Fox, but Jackson was worn down; his shot was off, and it became a night where we had to be carried to the finish line by Junkyard Dog, who came through with big triples in the fourth.

            It was Thon’s night to shine, this game putting on some Tim Duncan-esqe moves on Chris Bosh. Thon was getting inside and working his turnaround mid-range game, a wrinkle only a few teams had seen over the course of his short career. He took only one three all game, but he didn’t need to launch them from deep; Bosh just couldn’t stay with him inside.

            The Heat didn’t go away. They hung on and made it tight till the last three minutes of the game, when Delly came alive and hit a backbreaking three, then followed that up with a herky-jerky dance between the Heat bigs inside for an and-1. He scored six tough points in the span of just thirty seconds and that put the Heat away.

            When we got out of the game, we had our 45th win. More than that, the Clippers had lost — meaning we had our guaranteed spot in the playoffs.

            I’ll admit, we celebrated. It was a victory for the players and the organization and I drank a *hit ton that night; our next game was in two days and so McHale let the players have the night. Miami was a town like few others and even in April, it was still a good place to let the *uck loose.

            It was a night where the entire city of St. Louis seemed to unite behind us. We had made the playoffs and we got congratulations from around the NBA, even from the Cardinals, and we were in the conversation. We had done what no expansion team had ever done in modern NBA history: in our second season of existence, we had made the playoffs.

            With two more games to go — one against the Pistons and the last game of the year against the Clippers, it was all about seeding now. We could go as high as the 4th seed if things broke our way, or we could drop to the 7th seed. We’d avoid the Warriors for sure, but if we could avoid the Thunder and the Pelicans, we could match up against the Blazers — a team I wasn’t nearly as scared of. The last two games of the season mattered now.

            We had a chance to do the unthinkable.


            Any comments are welcome.
            Texas Two-Step (2K20 Alt History)
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            • trekfan
              Designated Red Shirt
              • Sep 2009
              • 5817

              #141
              Re: Through The Storm: A St. Louis Story


              Ch. 39


              We got destroyed by the Pistons, in Detroit. It was a 101-72 loss and our team played like complete *hit. Even with two days to work it off, the team was still suffering from the celebration in Miami. Was it a miscalculation? Maybe. I didn’t question McHale then and I still don’t now … the squad deserved to celebrate and they got it all out of their systems in South Beach.

              We returned home on the 16th, got a day of rest in before the final game of the season between us and the Clippers. We were 45-36, LA was 46-35 and the winner would take the season series — and the 5th seed, granting a pass from whomever finished as the 3rd seed (either the Blazers or Pelicans). Neither opponent was one I was looking forward to facing, but if I had to pick our poison, I’d rather face NOLA.

              But before we had to worry about that, we had to worry about the Clippers — they were coming to play. They wanted the win and the 5th seed just as much as we did and from tip-off it was a shootout. Led by JJ Mother*ucking Redick, the Clippers hit on their first three shots, all triples — two for Redick, one for Paul — and put us down 9-2 early. They were going to bury us and went up by 11 in the first, looking to extend the lead.

              McHale wisely subbed in Junkyard Dog and Carroll shut Redick down; not only did he clamp JJ, he also hit a couple of corner threes to narrow that lead. In the second, we continued to ride the momentum of Carroll and Josh Jackson, who found himself with a hot hand from deep. We got out to a nine-point lead and then CP3 decided to jack some triples.

              And he just. Kept. Hitting.

              Over and over the Clippers would run a high-screen, Paul would dive inside but instead of running for the hoop he’d dash to the corner, give up the rock, circle back around under the hoop to the other corner, and get a corner three. The Clippers must have been saving that action for the playoffs and this game was a playoff game; last game of the regular season with a seed on the line, we both needed it.

              The Clippers went on an 8-0 run to end the half and we narrowly avoided them taking the lead. We were only up 60-59 and though we were scoring fine, our defense was no where to be found. Thon was in foul trouble, Noel was almost there, and Jordan Mickey — super-reliable as he was — already had three fouls. Not only that, but we had missed over half our free throws in the first half and we looked *ucked. The Clippers were hot and they were going to shoot as soon as the half started.

              That’s exactly what they did, too. We spent the third quarter dueling, back and forth, as both teams tried to get a lead and hold it and we barely squeaked out a four-point lead heading into the final frame. Redick and Paul were both knocking down shots at will, like our defenders weren’t there.

              Our guys were tired. Fouls had piled up and we were playing Lauvergne and Mickey earlier than usual do to the foul trouble of Thon and Noel (both with four heading into the fourth). I was sure Griffin would finally come alive and start punishing us and, sure as hell, he did just that. But Mickey hacked him, Lauvergne hacked him, and even Carroll and Jackson got in there and hit him.

              And Blake choked at the line. He just kept clanking them and that kept the Clippers back far enough — and long enough — for Noel and Thon to rest up and come back in. They both made a difference and then Griffin started fouling them, racking up his fourth and fifth foul once they got back into the game. Noel actually hit most of his shots from the line and Thon was better than he had been in the first half.

              But the game wasn’t over yet. With 3:24 to go Thon fouled out, and we were forced to put Lauvergne in — he was getting paid money to be our best big off the bench and this was why he got that money. Lauvergne got Griffin to foul out a minute later, with the Clippers down five, and that — as they say — was the *ucking end of them. No Griffin and Redick being smothered by Jackson, CP3 tried to do it himself and did some — but not enough.

              We got out of there, finishing the season 46-36 as our fans celebrated our playoff birth and the 5th seed. It remained to be seen who our opponent was, but we had the win.

              The postseason awaited.


              Any comments are welcome.
              Texas Two-Step (2K20 Alt History)
              Orange And Blue Forever (NCAA 14 Dynasty)
              You Don't Know Jack (2K18 Pacers Dynasty - Complete)
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              • trekfan
                Designated Red Shirt
                • Sep 2009
                • 5817

                #142
                Re: Through The Storm: A St. Louis Story

                2017-18 Regular Season Awards













                Any comments are welcome.
                Texas Two-Step (2K20 Alt History)
                Orange And Blue Forever (NCAA 14 Dynasty)
                You Don't Know Jack (2K18 Pacers Dynasty - Complete)
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                The Gold Standard (2K13 Dynasty - Complete)

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                • trekfan
                  Designated Red Shirt
                  • Sep 2009
                  • 5817

                  #143
                  Re: Through The Storm: A St. Louis Story

                  NBA 2017-18 Final Regular Season Standings





                  Any comments are welcome.
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                  • JackNCoke
                    Rookie
                    • Jun 2013
                    • 42

                    #144
                    Re: Through The Storm: A St. Louis Story

                    Way to go getting in the playoffs. I know it'd be off character for Leo but it may have ended up better for a chance to run at the Conference finals if you ended up on the other side of the bracket.

                    What does the Pelicans said look like at this point?

                    Comment

                    • trekfan
                      Designated Red Shirt
                      • Sep 2009
                      • 5817

                      #145
                      Re: Through The Storm: A St. Louis Story

                      Originally posted by JackNCoke
                      Way to go getting in the playoffs. I know it'd be off character for Leo but it may have ended up better for a chance to run at the Conference finals if you ended up on the other side of the bracket.

                      What does the Pelicans said look like at this point?
                      Yeah, ending up as the 6th seed would have been better for our long-term prospects, but I honestly don't see us advancing further than the 2nd round -- the Warriors are the surest form of death in the NBA.

                      The Pelicans are a fun bunch. The 2016-17 season was abysmal for them, they ended up trading Holiday, Evans, and a top 10 protected pick (which they didn't convey, which means their 2018 pick is the Suns, period) to the Suns for Eric Bledsoe and TJ Warren.

                      Their starting five is legit. Bledsoe, Jamal Murray (2016 1st round pick), Johnathan Issac (2017 1st round pick), Davis, and Biyombo. Their bench is Warren, Norris Cole, and Marcus Thornton, and this team can play.

                      Bledsoe, in particular, is a dangerous guard for my guys. Delly and Wright have trouble keeping up with him and the shooting for the Pelicans is on point. We're really going to have to patrol the 3pt line and hope our interior defense can hold against Davis.
                      Any comments are welcome.
                      Texas Two-Step (2K20 Alt History)
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                      • trekfan
                        Designated Red Shirt
                        • Sep 2009
                        • 5817

                        #146
                        Re: Through The Storm: A St. Louis Story



                        Ch. 40

                        We had made it. The postseason. The playoffs. The NBA’s second season and its most important. 82 games over six months had led to this and it was time to step up. It was time to show the world that we mattered. It was easier said than done … our playoff matchup was the one I preferred, the Pelicans, but this team wasn’t a joke.

                        It wasn’t just Anthony Davis and *hit bought at Wal-Mart, it was Anthony Davis, Eric Bledsoe, Jamal Murray, and Johnathan Issac — along with defensive stud Biyombo. That was their starting five and, on the whole, their starting five outclassed ours. By a lot.

                        We were guaranteed four games, that’s the beauty of a seven game series, but I thought — never said it aloud — but I thought we were completely *ucked. If we managed to make it a five game series, I was going to be happy. We could steal one from NOLA without much issue, but they were division rivals; they knew us like we knew them. Considering both San Antonio and Houston made the playoffs, too, we were well represented as a division.

                        But I wasn’t too concerned about winning or losing at that point. Sure, I wanted to win, but basic math says 2+2=4 and guess what? Even if we did somehow manage to get past the Pelicans, the Warriors would be waiting. No way in hell the Spurs would have beat them — they barely snuck in again and were without their MIP Kyle Anderson (and boy, was Noel pissed about not getting the MIP — he was robbed).

                        Portland would probably take care of the Clippers because the Clippers — as we proved — choked in big games. That was their legacy. And the Thunder got the Rockets, who weren’t looking nearly as good as they did earlier in the season. Houston was likely a goner — no surprise there.

                        The East side of the playoffs was going to be more interesting. Cleveland was going to murder the Grizzlies; that seemed to be Memphis’ fate no matter what conference they were in, just serve as the warm-up team as the conference contenders get ready for the real *hit to fly further on.

                        The Nets — the *ucking Nets — were facing off against the 76ers in the “Teams you’d never believe would make the playoffs again” series and I didn’t have a dog in that fight. Honestly, I was happy for Brooklyn, they managed to turn it around without trading Lopez — the biggest shock of anything they did or didn’t do that season.

                        Wizards vs. Celtics was a toss up; sure, Boston had sucked its way to the 6th seed and had been mostly *hit since the all-star break. Hell, they could have suited up Larry Bird with his busted back and gotten more consistent play than what their players had done the last two months. The Wizards had gotten this far and there was no reason to think they couldn’t put Boston away, but these were the Wizards — if there was a team that could underperform and disappoint, it was these guys.

                        And finally we had the grudge match series, Pacers vs. Bulls. That promised to be an old-school affair as the Bulls, once again, managed to do just enough to make the playoffs but not enough to be a threat to anyone once they got there. I fully expected PG13 and the Pacers to eviscerate the Bulls in four, easy games.

                        My call for the Finals? Warriors vs. Pacers. PG13 got his taste of the Finals the year before and he wanted that trophy — winning it would make him a legend above Reggie Miller in Indiana. The Warriors had the firepower and would probably win that matchup, but I was pulling for the Pacers. They deserved to not get slaughtered by a West team in the Finals — third time in for the franchise if they got there, and I hoped they’d win it.

                        As for us, I figured one game would be enough. Unless Davis or Bledsoe went down with an injury, we had no chance of advancing.

                        But I was going to watch every *ucking game all the same.
                        Any comments are welcome.
                        Texas Two-Step (2K20 Alt History)
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                        You Don't Know Jack (2K18 Pacers Dynasty - Complete)
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                        Comment

                        • trekfan
                          Designated Red Shirt
                          • Sep 2009
                          • 5817

                          #147
                          Re: Through The Storm: A St. Louis Story



                          Ch. 41


                          Game 1 in New Orleans was loud, loudest I’ve ever seen the place. The NOLA faithful were hyped that the Pelicans were back in the playoffs and had finished the season with nearly 50 wins. The future looked bright for the team, even if Anthony Davis eventually left. We entered into the game with a bunch of guys who had never been in the playoffs before — Thon, Jackson, Noel, Lauvergne, Gbinije — all of them had heard about the place where “Amazing Happens” but had never been on the path to the Finals.

                          But that’s where we were — on the yellow brick road, so to speak, except this road wasn’t yellow: it was red. Stained in the blood, sweat, and tears of every team that had ever won a title; they had commitment and the absolute psychotic need to win a title. It was addicting, confusing, and primal all at once.

                          We felt it, as a team, as an organization. The days leading up to the game were filled with me arguing over strategy with my brothers. The fans, online, were busy outlying the wildest scenarios of how we’d win the series, beat the Warriors, somehow overcome our lack of experience, and get to the Finals. It was a heady time to be in St. Louis … the city was abuzz with our team.

                          Anywhere I went I heard about us. “What are the Flight’s best options in the post? Is Thon really ready to take on Davis in the playoffs? How the hell is Jackson going to get into the paint?” All these questions and more were being asked. At parties, at art galleries, in bars, on the street … the city was behind us. Cautiously optimistic, totally enthralled, and barely able to contain themselves.

                          Year two of our franchise and were putting down some serious roots. Young fans now would be old fans twenty years from now and they’d fondly recall our first playoff season … the first season where we mattered outside of St. Louis.

                          When it came time for tip-off, the whole arena in NOLA was shaking. The crowd was raucous, alive, and wired. The first quarter was a scoring festival — both teams came out shooting, but the Pelicans came out shooting triples. Jamal Murray, their designated sniper, was running screens left, right, up, down and about any other direction to get open and he got open. He launched, he hit, and the crowd went wild.

                          We were down by 11 at one point in the first and it looked like we were on our way to a blowout loss, but McHale knew it was way too early for that. He subbed out Wright — who was getting burned like your mom’s meatloaf on those screens — and stuck in Carroll. He tasked Jackson with getting inside and I watched him, from right behind the bench, tell our guys calmly to simply, “Chill the *uck out and play our game. We’re okay, guys.”

                          McHale was never going to be known as a master motivator, hell, he was probably a bit too relaxed for some teams. But for our team, filled with young guys and a few vets, we needed that kind of head coach who could just do that. We started getting into our game — we’d run it inside, get into the paint, muck it up and show the refs we were willing to get bloodied for fouls.

                          The refs started rewarding us. Jackson started warming up and we closed the quarter down only 32-28. Momentum was on our side and in the second, we unleashed; Jackson took it to the Pelicans bench unit, led by Warren, and when they collapsed on him, he just dished it to Junkyard Dog in the corner. Carroll gladly hit his triples.

                          We exploded in the second and it looked really good. The Pelicans were stumbling, their defensive panicking if Jackson got inside because Jackson was making plays like this:



                          Our defense shut down their offense, we let Jackson do his thing, and we went into the half high as the sky — 63-55 we led, in enemy territory. Everything was coming together; we were hitting enough threes to keep the Pelicans honest, we had rattled their bench, and we were taking the crowd out of it. I couldn’t have drawn up a better first half.

                          The third quarter began with us doing more of the same; our defense locked them down, our offense was humming with Jackson in there, and we were rolling.

                          And then Biyombo and Jackson went up for a rebound … and Biyombo knocked Jackson off, causing him to land awkwardly. He went to the court, gripped his ankle, and was down.

                          The rebound went out of bounds, stopping play, but Jackson didn’t get up. Our trainers went out there and looked him over, then his teammates picked him up and took him off the floor, back to the locker room. You could see our entire bench just follow him with their eyes — there goes our leading scorer, there goes our ROY, there goes our chances.

                          There goes the *ucking win.

                          McHale had to snap our guys out of it and he put in Carroll and Gbinije. We needed them both to step in and contain the forthcoming Pelicans run. They tried, but our hearts weren’t in. The third quarter saw our lead get eaten away for the most part and NOLA got within five of us multiple times before we managed to kick them back. McHale got funky with his rotations, threw the gameplan with Jackson out the window, and I watched as our team slowly got up off the floor. We went on a 20-6 run to end the quarter, our defense putting on a show.

                          We still managed to take a 13-point lead into the fourth thanks to Lauvergne and Carroll, but it was the most unstable 13-point lead in history. NOLA smelled blood and they launched triples that didn’t hit in the third.

                          But those triples fell in the fourth. Murray found his stroke, Issac — the rookie — found his stroke, Bledsoe drove inside and kicked to Davis, and the Pelicans slowly trudged back, cutting the lead to eight points, then six, then five, then four, and every shot we took looked forced. Our free throws were clanking, the pressure was eating at us, and news had come down about Jackson.

                          He was done.



                          Out for the season, he wasn’t coming back even if we made it all the way to the Finals. His ankle was broken, not badly, but bad enough. We needed someone to step up and guess who did? Thon Maker. He had contained Davis for most of the game but Thon was done being contained by him. He put on a show in the post, cutting to the rim, knocking down midrange turnarounds, and drawing fouls — he nearly single-handedly got the Pelicans into the bonus by himself with under five minutes to go.

                          And once we got them into the bonus, we drove inside time and time again, kicking out for threes or for better looks. We got out, barely, but we got out of NOLA with our first ever playoff win.

                          We also came out knowing the rest of the series was likely already decided. Without our leading scorer and ROY, we were had a hellish road to travel. It was the most subdued win we’d had in our history … we came out of it like we lost because we felt our chances were done.

                          And really, we had to be, right?


                          Any comments are welcome.
                          Texas Two-Step (2K20 Alt History)
                          Orange And Blue Forever (NCAA 14 Dynasty)
                          You Don't Know Jack (2K18 Pacers Dynasty - Complete)
                          Second Coming (2K16 Sonics MyLeague - Complete)
                          The Gold Standard (2K13 Dynasty - Complete)

                          Comment

                          • trekfan
                            Designated Red Shirt
                            • Sep 2009
                            • 5817

                            #148
                            Re: Through The Storm: A St. Louis Story



                            Ch. 42

                            We won the next game in NOLA, then the Pelicans came into our house and dominated us. We went back to NOLA for Game 5 and lost by four points. Entering Game 6, down 3-2 in the series, our season was on the line. The team had performed better than I could have hoped without Jackson in it and part of me was sure that if we had Jackson, we would be up 3-2 — not down.

                            But I couldn’t go back in time and I was about as educated in the ways of medicine as Google let me, so there was no way I could make Jackson come back. The kid was taking it as well as he could, cheering his teammates from the bench, but you could tell it ate at him just sitting there. He wanted to be out there.

                            Game 6, back at The Dome, was loud. It wasn’t as loud as Game 3, when we came in up 2-0 on the Pelicans, but it was loud. The crowd donned our playoff shirts, scrawled across the chest “ALL IN” and we, as a team, a city, and an organization were really all in.



                            Tip-off went to the Pelicans and they went right back to blitzing us — Bledsoe set the temp early for the game, getting inside, breaking down Delly, trying his damnedest to put us away early. We went down 9-0 but, like every other game, we didn’t panic; we tended to start slow and found our pace. The first quarter was ugly for both sides, particularly for us, as every shot we took from deep clanked off the rim. We were *ucking horrible from beyond the arc and it didn’t help that Carroll kept trying. Junkyard Dog had performed well in every game from deep, but he sucked that game.

                            We entered the second down by four, but pulled out of our funk thanks to Gbinije; he came in and was a breath of fresh air for our stagnant offense. He cut to the rim, he went into the post and pounded Bledsoe and Murray down low, using his size. He was a weird type of a player, but he did his part. Thanks to him we entered halftime deadlocked 48-48.

                            The third was where things got really interesting. Early on, it looked like the Pelicans were going to shoot us out of the gym, but both Bledsoe and Davis tweaked their ankles on back-to-back possessions, making the Pelicans play their bench longer than they wanted to. Delon Wright, free of Davis patrolling the inside, started getting going. Delly started hitting some triples and Thon started nailing some tough jumpers.

                            The Pelicans bent, but didn’t break with Bledsoe and Davis out that third quarter — we only managed a three point lead heading into the fourth and *hit, I knew that lead should have been bigger. Both Davis and Bledsoe returned in the fourth and they played the whole quarter … we got into a tug of war battle, and we had no triples falling.

                            We were toothless from outside, we were locked away inside, so we had to go to our midrange game. It wasn’t something we liked — no NBA offense liked it — and only a few guys were good enough to do work in that area. Thon was one of those guys and he stepped up in a big way, drawing fouls on his shots and kicking the ball to backdoor cutters when the Pelicans doubled him.

                            The play of the game was in the fourth, where Delly and Wright made a play that still gives me chills:



                            We pulled out the win — our first on our home court — but there was no excitement. No celebration. We had tied the series and forced a Game 7, but we had played a pretty ugly game, despite the score.




                            We ended up falling in Game 7, 90-76; Davis turned on the jets in the fourth and buried us. We finally ran out of gas and, truthfully, we looked *ucking winded at the end of Game 6. I doubt we could have won even if we had Jackson.

                            But we had performed better than expected, we had taken a superior opponent to seven games, and we had acquitted ourselves well. The offseason had arrived for us and, though it certainly wasn’t the way we wanted the season to end, we accomplished our goals.

                            We won at least 43 games. We made the playoffs. We had won a playoff game. We actually exceeded our goals and that was something I hadn’t thought possible. Our roster was bound to change in the offseason — Gbinije had himself a good series, he could easily sign elsewhere for major money and minutes. Mickey looked like he was ready for a bigger role somewhere else.

                            I wasn’t sure where we were going after year two … there were a lot of factors to weigh. We weren’t just a lowly expansion team now, we were a playoff team and expectations were going to change.

                            And with changed expectations came more chances to *uck it up to hell and back.

                            Any comments are welcome.
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                            • michaellowll
                              All Star
                              • Oct 2012
                              • 5608

                              #149
                              Re: Through The Storm: A St. Louis Story

                              Tough loss at the end of series, next season will be much more exciting

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                              Sorry Guys For My English
                              PSN: mickej1
                              The Orlando Magic

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                              • trekfan
                                Designated Red Shirt
                                • Sep 2009
                                • 5817

                                #150
                                Re: Through The Storm: A St. Louis Story

                                Originally posted by michaellowll
                                Tough loss at the end of series, next season will be much more exciting

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                                I think the West is going to be way tougher next year -- the Lakers and Suns are close, the Lakers will likely be a playoff team with Boogie (they went on a great win streak at the end of the year, finished 41-41 -- a big improvement over how poorly they seemed to be headed).

                                We'll have to improve across the board. I definitely need a better SG, Wright simply isn't good enough to be a starter. We'll see what things look like going forward.
                                Any comments are welcome.
                                Texas Two-Step (2K20 Alt History)
                                Orange And Blue Forever (NCAA 14 Dynasty)
                                You Don't Know Jack (2K18 Pacers Dynasty - Complete)
                                Second Coming (2K16 Sonics MyLeague - Complete)
                                The Gold Standard (2K13 Dynasty - Complete)

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