Atlanta was not as good as the Miami Heat, who we had just dispatched 4 games to 1. The Roanoke Railguns coach anticipated a
sweep. Never mind that the Hawks were rated at 81 to the Guns' 73. They were worse than the Heat on paper and on the court.
Joe Dumars had a bad hammy that is day to day. The lineups were very different than at the start of the season. That's attrition for you. But the rest of the team was prepared and relaxed.
Joe Dumars had a bad hammy that is day to day. The lineups were very different than at the start of the season. That's attrition for you. But the rest of the team was prepared and relaxed.
Game 1, in Roanoke: Roanoke wins, 87-56. At some point, the Hawks got a doppelganger of our Willie Wolfe. On our team, Wolfe is a lead-footed bench warmer. On Atlanta he was a starter.
Enough said. Mack Long, our Shawn Kemp-like backup center, was a 70 rating but if he ever got to 90 or so, he could be lethal. He went 24 pts, 6 reb, 5 steals, a block and an assist. That was off the bench...
Game 2, in Roanoke: Roanoke wins, 82-58. John Derry Stevens poured in 28 [13-19 shooting], 4 assists, 4 rebounds, 4 steals. Nevalove nearly fouled out before getting 17 acrobatic points. The Warriors lead 2-0 over OKC; same for Memphis over New Orleans and Chicago over Cleveland....
Game 3, in Atlanta: Roanoke wins, 65-49. Ugggly! Stevens was the player of the game and he shot 5 for 20. 11 points, 5 steals, 4 boards, 2 assists. Nothing to see here. Clear the area.
Game 4, in Atlanta: Roanoke clinches, 68-61. Good news arrived after that crime scene victory we got in Game 3--Joe Dumars was healed up from his hamstring injury and we had our starting PG back. Swole Whitehead might not have been happy, and he played pretty well in relief. But Dumars was simply better; the game would have been closer without him, because Alanta took it up a notch and were tough... he scored 18 points. Stevens had an 18 point, 6 board game.
The Oklahoma City Thunder eliminated Golden State, 4 games to 3, on the other side of the bracket. A one-point victory in Game 7 at GSW, with Russell Westbrook missing because of injury. So much for beating the Warriors in the Finals... OKC would face the 8 seed New Orleans Pelicans in the Western Finals. Next up for the Roanoke Railguns: #2 seed Chicago Bulls.
Enough said. Mack Long, our Shawn Kemp-like backup center, was a 70 rating but if he ever got to 90 or so, he could be lethal. He went 24 pts, 6 reb, 5 steals, a block and an assist. That was off the bench...
Game 2, in Roanoke: Roanoke wins, 82-58. John Derry Stevens poured in 28 [13-19 shooting], 4 assists, 4 rebounds, 4 steals. Nevalove nearly fouled out before getting 17 acrobatic points. The Warriors lead 2-0 over OKC; same for Memphis over New Orleans and Chicago over Cleveland....
Game 3, in Atlanta: Roanoke wins, 65-49. Ugggly! Stevens was the player of the game and he shot 5 for 20. 11 points, 5 steals, 4 boards, 2 assists. Nothing to see here. Clear the area.
Game 4, in Atlanta: Roanoke clinches, 68-61. Good news arrived after that crime scene victory we got in Game 3--Joe Dumars was healed up from his hamstring injury and we had our starting PG back. Swole Whitehead might not have been happy, and he played pretty well in relief. But Dumars was simply better; the game would have been closer without him, because Alanta took it up a notch and were tough... he scored 18 points. Stevens had an 18 point, 6 board game.
The Oklahoma City Thunder eliminated Golden State, 4 games to 3, on the other side of the bracket. A one-point victory in Game 7 at GSW, with Russell Westbrook missing because of injury. So much for beating the Warriors in the Finals... OKC would face the 8 seed New Orleans Pelicans in the Western Finals. Next up for the Roanoke Railguns: #2 seed Chicago Bulls.
