RealGM

WELCOME TO THE 2ND ROUND OF THE
2012 NBA PLAYOFFS!


WEST

1. SEATTLE SONICS


vs

4. LOS ANGELES LAKERS


__________________________________________________________________________________________

2. SAN ANTONIO SPURS


vs

3. BUFFALO BRAVES

Please allow a bit of time for teams to post write ups for their 2nd round match ups before voting begins.

Good Luck!

1. SEATTLE SONICS


ROTATION

Coach: Tom Thibodeau

Irving(30)/Chalmers(18)/T-Mac
Thabo(18)/Harden(30)/Green
LeBron(36)/Novak(12)/Jeffries
LMA(30)/Faried(18)/Thompkins
Dwight(34)/Camby(14)/Seraphin


vs

4. LOS ANGELES LAKERS


ROTATION

Coach - Mike Brown

PG - Hinrich(35)/Hughes(13)
SG - Kobe(38)/Malcolm Lee(10)
SF - Deng(35)/Marvin Williams(13)/J.Wright
PF - Pau(35)/McRoberts(13)/D.Carroll
C - Bynum(35)/R.Lopez(10)/Mozgov(3)

GAMEPLAN

The plan will remain much the same as it did last round.

We hold a decisive athletic advantage while also being loaded with skill at every position. Thibs has our defense playing lockdown ball on the highest level and LA will have trouble scoring in the paint compared to last rounds match up v Portland. We expect Kobe to go into chuck mode as a result and shoot LA out of this series. He is a great player having a nice season but his efficiency has been rather average at best.

Our efficiency on the other hand has been exceptional. We will hit them inside and out with PnR and kick outs to our exceptional shooters. Our youth and depth will wear them down and seal the deal. With both Irving and Harden able to come through in the clutch if needed we don't expect this series to last very long. We will constantly attack to force foul trouble and then take advantage of the weak bench they have. Chalmers, Harden, Faried, Camby will be our trump cards in this hustle n flow.

I expect this series to last no more than 5 games assuming we have an off night. Starters and bench are all going to bring it hard on both ends of the floor while the Lakers succumb to our onslaught, it will not be pretty if you are a Laker fan but hey, at least you have past glories to fall back on.

We are making the future ours, good luck stopping it.

Buffalo vs San Antonio

PG: Chris Paul (38) | George Hill (04) | Joe Johnson (06)
SG: Joe Johnson (30) | George Hill (18)
SF: Carmelo Anthony (42) | Bobby Simmons (06)
PF: Kenyon Martin (30) | Jordan Hill (10) | Ivan Johnson (08)
Ce: Tyson Chandler (40) | Jordan Hill (04) | Kurt Thomas (04)

Chris Paul/George Hill vs Tony Parker/Norris Cole/Gary Neal
- This should be a good matchup, but CP3 is considered the best for a reason. We believe he can keep Parker at bay and force him to pass-only this series. Hill's size and experience should benefit against Cole (and possibly Parker). We'll also have JJ play some point to get a size advantage.

Joe Johnson/George Hill vs Tony Allen/Manu Ginobili
- Allen is the best wing defender in the league, so SAS would have to pick their poison with him guarding either Johnson or Anthony. Manu is going to cause us fits but we believe JJ can guard him comfortably.

Carmelo Anthony/Bobby Simmons vs Hedo Turkoglu/Stephen Jackson/Danny Green
- Melo is going to have fun here. Turk isn't the player he once was so we don't see him being much of a threat as long as we keep a body on him. Jackson is a terrific bench player but he can't keep up offensively and defensively with Melo. Simmons is still a good outside shooter so he'll be great for Paul to kick out to.

[/b]Kenyon Martin/Jordan Hill vs Josh Smith/Udonis Haslem[/b]
- Martin can keep Smith on the outside and force him to take jumpers. He can make them but we prefer him to take jumpers over getting to the rim. Haslem just isn't the same but as long as someone is face-to-face with him we should keep his production low.

Tyson Chandler/Kurt Thomas vs Tim Duncan/Boris Diaw
- Should be a good one to watch. Chandler's elite defense could give oldman Duncan some fits. Keep him on the outside and force him to take difficult shots.

Player roles

K.Hinrich - starter
K.Bryant - star
L.Deng - starter
P.Gasol - starter
A.Bynum - star
L.Hughes - role
M.Lee - bench
M.Williams - sixth man
J.Wright - bench
D.Carroll - bench
J.McRoberts - bench
R.Lopez - role
T.Mozgov - bench

Rotation

PG - Hinrich(30)/Hughes(18)
SG - Kobe(40)/Malcolm Lee(8)
SF - Deng(36)/Marvin Williams(12)/J.Wright
PF - Pau(32)/McRoberts(16)/D.Carroll
C - Bynum(34)/R.Lopez(7)/Mozgov(7)

Gameplan

Play Laker basketball.

Seattle gets out to a 3 to 1 lead with relative ease. When the Sonics talent and youth is not reminding the Lakers of their showtime history, they simply exploit the match up with favor the Sonics at most positions. Thibs does find a way to switch up defenses on Bynum, rendering him ineffective at both ends. Kobe closes game 5 with a 27 point 4th quarter to single handedly extended the series. But game 6 is a 17 pt Sonic victory marking the changing of the guard in the West. Sonics win in 6.

Game 1: Sonics
Game 2: Sonics
Game 3: Lakers
Game 4: Sonics
Game 5: Lakers
Game 6: Sonics

Sonics in 6

SAS - BUF (BUF 4-2)

SEA-LAL - Seattle wins in 6.
SAS-BUF - San Antonio wins in 7.

San Antonio Spurs v Buffalo

Tony Parker [34] / Norris Cole [14] or Gary Neal [14]
Tony Allen [22] / Manu Ginobili [26]
Stephen Jackson [28] / Hedo Turkoglu [20]
Josh Smith [32] / Udonis Haslem [16]
Tim Duncan [32] / Boris Diaw [16]

More perimeter D oriented lineup to match Melo/JJ.

Parker has played as well as Paul this season, so we feel that matchup is a was. Tony Allen will frustrate the hell out Joe Johnson; whilst Melo hasn't played well for much of the season so S-Jax will get into his head. Our real advantage comes up front where Smith will abuse old KMart; Chandler has been exposed in the playoffs and Duncan has the skillset to work around him.

For the 15 or so minutes the benches match up, Cole/Manu/Turk/Haslem/Diaw is a much more effective unit than Hill/Simmons/Hill - we'll really open up an advantage, lead by Manu, that Buffalo won't come back from.

Lakers over Seattle in 7 games
Buffalo over San Antonio in 6 games

Seattle in 5, Buffalo in 6.

Seatte in 6, Buffalo in 6.

Spurs win 7 game series. After all - they are the Clippers!

Sonics in 5
Spurs in 7

Western Conference Finals will be Seattle 6-1 v Buffalo 4-3