NBA Finals Cleveland Cavaliers vs Memphis Grizzlies - cgalligan's Dynasty

cgalligan's Dynasty Blog

NBA Finals Cleveland Cavaliers vs Memphis Grizzlies

Posted on June 23, 2012 at 10:56 PM.

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Well, its been a long time, far too long but I got very, VERY busy this past year (new baby) and I haven't had much time to get back into my NBA 2k11 Association.

I recently posted a question, to all my "loyal readers" <<-- really only a few, buts its cool

The question was, should I continue my 2k11 Franchise? or Start over new with 2k12?...

After a few responses I've decided that I put in too much time and effort to start over. Also, the fact that 2k12 has been out so long and the new 2k13 is right around the corner played a big factor in my decision <--- no pun intended.

So without further ado, here we go.
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As you remember, we left off with the Cleveland Cavaliers, the #2 seed in the Eastern Conference, squaring off against the Memphis Grizzlies, the #1 seed in the Western Conference, in the NBA Finals...

Here is how those two teams stack up against each other...

Memphis Grizzlies
PG - Mike Conley (83)
SG - OJ Mayo (83)
SF - Rudy Gay (88)
PF - Troy Murphy (66)
C - Marc Gasol (80)
6th - Xavier Henry (72)
BN - CJ Watson (70)
BN - Kirk Hinrich (71)
BN - Sam Young (67)
BN - Mason Plumlee (69)

Cleveland Cavaliers
PG - Kyrie Irving (90)
SG - Reggie Bullock (75)
SF - Harrison Barnes (90)
PF - JJ Hickson (84)
C - Greg Oden (75)
6th - Trevor Ariza (77)
BN - Chauncey Billups (81)
BN - Brandon Rush (73)
BN - Hasheem Thabeet (67)
BN - Jon Diebler (67)
BN - Brandon Wright (66)
BN - Jeff Teague (68)

By looking at the two teams side by side above, you can see that the Grizzlies appear to be slightly more balanced and just a little deeper than the Cavaliers. Xavier Henry, CJ Watson and Kirk Hinrich are big contributers off the bench for the Grizzlies... Cleveland will counter with Chauncey Billups, Brandon Rush and Hasheem Thabeet... The Cavs also use 3-Point specialist Jon Diebler off the bench to give a spark when needed.

This Series should be an even matchup <<--- if you already know I won, just play along

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*NOTE* Since I advanced past the Finals, I don't have access to my game scores or stats from each game... I can look through my roster at my player and team news stats though to get some Idea of the results...

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GAME 1

Game 1 of the NBA Finals went to the Memphis Grizzlies. Despite 35 points from Cavaliers Forward Harrison Barnes, the Cavs still came up short...

OJ Mayo was the player of the game for the Grizzlies as he came off the bench and absolutely shot the lights out. Mayo dropped 40 points on the Cavs and they simple couldn't slow him down at all.

Grizzlies win 116-113 and take a 1-0 Series lead.

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GAME 2

Game 2 was a back and forth battle all game long. The Cavaliers relied heavily on Harrison Barnes to carry the scoring load and he did just that. Barnes rained buckets from the opening tip on his way to a career high 44 points.

Along with Barnes, Kyrie Irving had a fabulous game as well. 25 points, 12 assists, 6 rebounds and 4 steals. Irving was the ring leader all game long and really the catalyst of the entire offense. Without him, Barnes would not have been able to go off the way he did.

Cavs win 110-108. Series - Tied 1-1

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GAME 3

After spiting the 2 games in Memphis, the Series shifted to Cleveland and Quicken Loans Arena for 3 straight. The Cavaliers knew they had to cease the Opportunity to play in front of a Championship Starved and Frenzied fan base at Home. Harrison Barnes picked up where he left off in Game 3, scoring 18 point in the 1st quarter on his way to another huge game as he would score 40 points for the second straight game. Kyrie Irving again flirted with a triple double with 20 points, 11 assists and 8 rebounds as the Cavs took won game 3 and took a 2-1 lead in the Series.

Cavs win 112-100 and take a 2-1 Series lead.

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GAME 4

Looking to take a commanding 3-1 Series lead, the Cavaliers took the floor in Game 4 with a Attacking Mindset. Harrison Barnes, who had back to back 40 point games in Games 2 and 3 was not as dominant in Game 4... Barnes finished Game 4 with just 17 points, but his 15 rebounds and 3 steals really made up for his lack of Scoring...

Cavs point guard Kyrie Irving picked up the slack in the scoring department for the struggling Barnes, and then some... Kyrie, who had flirted with a triple double in the first 3 games, finally got it in Game 4... Kyrie scored 38 points, dropped 13 assists and hauled in 11 rebounds, for what was truly one of the greatest NBA Finals performances of recent memory... Greg Oden and Hasheem Thabeet were monsters in the paint in Game 4, both hauling in over 10 rebounds and blocking 4 shots each... There presence was felt big time, as the Cavaliers held the Grizzlies under 100 points for the first time in the Series.

Cavs win 98-88 and take a 3-1 Series lead.

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GAME 5

Being up 3-1, one would think that the Cavaliers would be lose and wouldn't feel very much pressure, well, if you think that, you obviously don't know the history of Cleveland Sports... To say that the teams and the fans of Cleveland have been cursed would be an extreme understatement... For the sanity of my fellow Cleveland Sports fans, I wont go into any furthur detail or bring up any of those horrific moments of the past that we've all tried our best to forget...

In Game 5, this Cavaliers team had a chance to ease some of the pain from the past... If they could get 1 more victory, they would bring home the first Championship for the City of Cleveland in over 50 years...

No pressure, right?

Knowing what was on the line, the Cavaliers came out like gangbusters... Behind one of the loudest crowds in all of the NBA the Cavaliers took an early 15 point halftime lead on the Grizzlies... Cleveland fans could taste it at this point... In the 2nd half however, the Grizzlies were able to fight back, and tie the game at 90 with just over 7:00 minutes to go... From that point forward however, the Cavaliers would buckle down and go on an amazing 13-5 to give Cleveland its first Championship since Jim Brown and the 1964 Cleveland Browns...

Cavs win 103-95 and win the NBA Finals 4-1

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Kyrie Irving was named the 2013 NBA Finals MVP... For the series Kyrie averaged 23 points, 12 assists and 7 rebounds per game.

Thanks to some good fortune in the NBA Draft lottery a few years back, that landed the Cavaliers the #1 and #2 picks in the NBA Draft (Barnes and Irving), Dan Gilbert's promise to the Cleveland fans came to fruition. His team, did in fact win a Championship before the "self proclaimed king" won one...

Now, can they do it again?