Thunder Up! - OVER.

[Justine.]

Valdis, I hope they can win it. But Shaq is too old. I simmed this a lot of times and he always retire.

Cruzerr, He'll retire no matter what, I guess. I just made that story

hova-, It's all about 18th!

BD1899, I'm playing the games simultaneously, play and sim. But I'm pretty confident, your Celtics will win

Grandmama Johnson, Wish Spurs will bounce back and take the next two games, but Celtics is just too strong for them.

Excited to the near off-season, I don't even have a plan, maybe you guys throw me some ideas? Like players I can sign?

[kibaxx7]

Excited to the near off-season, I don't even have a plan, maybe you guys throw me some ideas? Like players I can sign?

Make a new save file, sim until the offseason, check the FAs and mix it up a little

[Justine.]

Thierry •, Thanks for the tip man, will try that now

[KidJustin]

if u dont want shaq to retire....maybe try making him younger (player edit) during the finals

then after the retire screen player edit his age back to normal

if Marcus Thornton is a FA...he is a really good backup that u might be able to sign to a decent 3yr+ deal starting at maybe $5-6M

not sure how much u would want him though since u have harden and Eiji

Thadd Young is another guy u can look at...

if ur looking for some cheap filler players to go at the end of the bench...there's Rodney Carney at SF

[Justine.]

Ginobili's late fury attack to lift Spurs win Game 3



Manu Ginobili scored his eight of his 29 points within the closing minutes of the game and lift the Spurs to a thrilling 109-101 win over the Celtics to mark the Game 3 and cut the series lead to 1.

Ginobili sparked a one-man 8-0 run with only 1:26 seconds remaining in the last quarter and held the Celtics scoreless. As the score was tied at 101-101, Ginobili made basket after basket and didn't let the fans down as they able to turn the NBA Finals into a true series. Help was also felt by his other teammates, where Yao Ming had a dominant 26 points including four blocks, Aaron Brooks also played well, scoring 23 points and dishing eight assists for the Spurs who converted a flawless 42 free throws out of their 48 attempts.

For the Celtics, Paul Pierce tallied 26 points, Shaquille O'Neal continued his dominant play, he had 16 points and eight rebounds in the game, Rajon Rondo had a double-double, 13 points and 13 assists while Ray Allen chipped in 11 points.


Spurs' balanced scoring, outplayed Celtics to tie the series



Despite struggling the first two games, Spurs showed the Celtics they are a true championship caliber team. And it showed excellently in Game 4, where six Spurs scored in double figures to a high-scoring game victory, 132-127 to win the fourth game of the series and tie the series 2-2.

Yao Ming led his fourth-seeded Spurs and scored a team-high 26 points to go along with 12 rebounds and five swats, Tim Duncan also had a double-double, 22 points and 14 rebounds, Aaron Brooks and Manu Ginobili had 16 and 15 points respectively, while role player like George Hill came out also scoring 14, Richard Jefferson added 12.

Rajon Rondo led Celtics by his 27 points, 13 assists performance, Nate Robinson chipped 18 points in 18 minutes, Paul Pierce had a double-double, 18 points and 10 rebounds. Series will fly back to Boston where the two team may look to take a one game lead to of their hard-fought series.

[Justine.]

KidJustin, Oh yea, but I think I will not do that, Shaq's is too old and a sure Hall of Famer Thornton is on my radar and I'm sure that created player bitch Eiji will walk out and test the free agent market, Young is a good suggestion too Planning to do a sign and trade for Green to get a lottery pick Good idea or not?

[KidJustin]

I was hoping you would move Green. But you would need to get some help on the front court for sure...ur roster seems like its mainly guards...i dont think there are many bigs available in this years FA...unless u are trying to get Perk so maybe there is a good PF u can pick up in the lottery?

how are the draftees going? (2k + nlsc) it's almost that time

[Justine.]

KidJustin, Perk is my main target in FA, about the big mans in the draft, I think they are few, Donte Robertson, Jimmie Gardner seems like the best two out of the power forwards out there, as for the prospects, I think you might go on the lottery

[Justine.]

Spurs blowout Celtics to take a 3-2 series lead



Once again the San Antonio Spurs showed everyone that they must believe on them, believe that they can win another trophy on their history. One more win and they are ready to go.

They showed an excellent teamwork in Game 4 where six players scored in double figures, now they still had it where five of them finished the game with at least 10 points. Manu Ginobili once again led the team by scoring 30 points on a efficient 9-of-15 shooting to go along with eight assists, seven rebounds and three steals and help the Spurs to win and blowout the Celtics by 29 points, 112-83. Tim Duncan struggled in the whole game and shot a woeful 5-of-22 en route to 16 points, he also had 14 rebounds. Yao Ming's dominance again was felt, he had 16 points and 15 boards in the outing, Aaron Brooks 17 points while Richard Jefferson contributed 14.

Unusually, Shaquille O'Neal led again the scoring load, he tallied 20 points and had three blocks, Paul Pierce had 15 points and 10 rebounds, Ray Allen struggled to find his shots, scoring only 12 points on a 4-of-15 night.

Spurs totally outrebounded the Celtics, 54-36, Spurs made 12-of-17 of their three point attempts, while Celtics only made 6 out of 18. One game away for the championship for the Spurs, will they finish it next game?


Celtics refuse to lose, Allen's buzzer-beating 3 helps Celtics win over Spurs



The top team Boston Celtics are in a very familiar place, and they don't want to let the chance slip away from them just like last year.

Ray Allen sank a three-pointer as time expired to deliver a dramatic 108-105 win Game 6 victory and to force a decisive Game 7 in Boston Garden. Allen made only his first three in the game but it matter the most, as the shot concluded the outcome. The sharpshooter ended up with 20 points and six assists, Paul Pierce added 22 points and Rajon Rondo contributed 14 points and 15 assists for the Celtics who struggled the last three games resulting to a loss.

The Spurs put on a seesaw game against the green team as the lead changes take places one moment at a time. Aaron Brooks found again his game by scoring a team-high 32 points in the losing effort, Manu Ginobili added 20 while Tim Duncan and Yao Ming scored 16 and 14 respectively.

Tied 3-3, the season now culminates in a winner-take-all Game 7 between the two top team in the NBA.

[Justine.]

Celtics win decisive Game 7, win 18th title

BOSTON -- 82 games had passed, 15 playoff series had been played, team practices, struggles, joy, disappointments and most important success.

As the clock ticked to zero, once again, green and white confetti are falling, they have returned to glory, the Boston Celtics are back on the top of the league once again by winning their 18th NBA Finals Championship, most number by any team in the league history.

Celtics, despite losing Games 3 to 6 and put a scare to their fans, they bounced back and take the remaining games. The last game featured another heroic act of Ray Allen, but this time, after a 48-minutes of hard-fought, no-more-tomorrow basketball, the Celtics emerged as the best team in league.

Paul Pierce scored a team-high 27 points on a 10-of-18 shooting to go along with seven rebounds, six of these points came along within the last two minutes of the ballgame to win the Game 7 over the San Antonio Spurs, 91-83. Shaquille O'Neal looked very sharp and might had his last game of his basketball career, he ended up the night with a double-double, 18 points and 12 boards, Kevin Garnett also racked up a double-double, 19 points and 10 rebounds to cap off his second ring in his career. Despite shooting only 1-of-6, Rajon Rondo is named as the Finals MVP for what he had done in this year's playoffs, he finished the Game 7 with 12 assists, six rebounds, three points and made two steals.

In the final two minutes of the quarter, Pierce single-handledly carry the Celtics' offense. When the score was 86-83, in favor of the Celtics, Pierce made a tough lay-up to increase the lead to five, then Rondo stole a bad pass from Aaron Brooks and found Pierce in the open lane, by then he drained a three-pointer late in the game to put the dagger in the heart of the Spurs team. The Spurs couldn't find any bucket during their possession and the only thing they can do is to foul the opponent and watch them celebrate, they found themselves stuck on the 83 point mark.

Manu Ginobili finished his last game of the season with an all-around performance, scoring 30 points, crashing nine boards, dished five assists and made four steals, but he couldn't carry the team to capture the title, Tim Duncan had only just 10 points in the most important game of their season, Yao Ming scored 14 and grabbed seven rebounds, adding more to the loss, he injured again himself and exited the game limping, Brooks tallied 13 for the Spurs who just shot .398% from the field compared to Spurs, .450%. Celtics also won the rebounding battle, 49-36.

Yet is the battle of two of the oldest team, and seems like the window is closing for both, but they ended and showed to us how to finish the season with perseverance and dedication that resulted to a well-earned success.











2011 NBA Finals MVP
#9 | G | Rajon Rondo
Playoff Averages
15.8 PPG | 7.6 RPG | 11.2 APG | 2.7 SPG | 0.1 BPG | 2.8 TOPG | .540% FG | .214% 3PT | .619% FT | 39.5 MPG

[Axel The Great]

Wanted the Spurs to win. Either way, just glad the Lakers didn't even get to the Finals. Next season it'll be the Thunder picking up the championship.

[Grandmama Johnson]

Loved reading this Finals series. Celtics deserve this one and showed a lot of heart. Great job with this, Justine.

Two questions: Where did you get the Finals banner? Also, did you play/watch/sim most of the games in the series?

[BD1899]

Great recap. Glad to see the Celtics managed to win it in Game 7.

If only they did that last year....

[KidJustin]

KidJustin, Perk is my main target in FA, about the big mans in the draft, I think they are few, Donte Robertson, Jimmie Gardner seems like the best two out of the power forwards out there, as for the prospects, I think you might go on the lottery

hehe.....a Russell Westbrook-KidJustin-KD-Ibaka-Perk team would be..................INTENSE!

almost as intense as this picture...

Kevin Garnett: "SPARTAAAAAAA.....uh I mean CELTICCCCCCCC"

[Cruzerr]

Wow, Rondo averaged a double-double, not bad. C took it

[kibaxx7]

Terrible.

[Bucket]

YEAH!!!
And now, draft and FA. This will be hot off-season.

[Houndy]

What a win by the Celtics! Proves that Shaq has age.... but he'll retire

[Justine.]

Axel., I so hate the Spurs, and me too, I'm so glad the Fakers didn't reach the Finals or even the WCF That's my promise, a championship banner in OKC next season

Grandmama Johnson, True heart win games, did you mean the banner with the Coca-Cola sponsor? Got it from nba.com/finals2008 as for the logo, I just used the Google for it, anyway if you are planning to use it, no problem for me man.

BD1899, This time they did it

KidJustin, Ah, so far, I am no needing shooting guard, I'll put Harden on the starting lineup next season and try to get some defensive-minded guard in the FA. Will also try to deal Thabo to get some draft picks. I just want to load the team with rookies and youngsters

Cruzerr, As for me, I will take Pierce as the MVP, but the game speaks itself and you can't blame Rondo's dominance throughout the Playoffs.

Thierry •, Your Spurs are not terrible, they won Games 3 to 5, I thought they will finish the Finals ala-Heat 2006. Better luck next season.

Valdis, Most exciting time for me

Houndy, A perfect time to retire isn't?

[Justine.]

Boston Celtics visit White House; Obama congratulated them

WASHINGTON -- US President and avid basketball fan Barack Obama welcomed the newly NBA champion Boston Celtics to the White House, honouring the club for their newest achievement. The Celtics, powered by NBA Finals MVP Rajon Rondo and the rest of the crew defeated the San Antonio Spurs in seven games to capture their 18th NBA Title. Obama praised the team for their individual as so as the total team-effort that helps them to win the championship and be on the top of the league once again.

Here are the other pictures in the special event:





Your 2010-2011 NBA Champions: Boston Celtics

[KidJustin]

nate robinson is shorter than obama haha

t-mac gets a ring! haha


so when are we going to expect the mock draft? i want to see which team i might end up leading to the finals next season

[Bucket]

Finally T-Mac in White House as a champion.

[hova-]

Great pics, looks like a great series. Good to see the Cs winning it all.

[Justine.]

We've got some amazing pictures through the course of the season 2010-2011. Now it's time for you to vote who deserved to be the NBA.com Photo of the Year. Just take a look at the nominees below:

Nominee 1. Serge Ibaka put Richard Hamilton on a sick poster as his teammates is watching | Nominee 2. Now it's Ben Wallace turn, as James Harden flew high to bring his knees on Wallace's arms.

Nominee 3. Kobe Bryant went for a one-handed jam in the 2011 NBA All-Star Game | Nominee 4. Blake Griffin used a green Kia car to win the Slam Dunk crown, as he jumped over it.

Nominee 5. A poster for Yao Ming's career, as LeBron James dunked the ball in front of the 7-footer's face | Nominee 6. Russell Westbrook elevated and finished with authority

Nominee 7. Kevin Martin drove to the lane and made a lay-up as the lights went on | Nominee 8. Grizzlie forward Rudy Gay slashed through the defense and finished it with a nasty jam

Nominee 9. MVP Kevin Durant dunked over two Warriors player, as the cameras captured it | Nominee 10. Kevin Garnett gets pumped up for his Boston Celtics

[Bucket]

Nominee 10.
We can vote for only one?