Last time on The New Millennium, the Lakers and Bulls were once again the best in their respective conferences. With former champions like the Pacers and Raptors not far behind, both teams will face tremendous fights to reach the promised land. Who will claim the ultimate prize and win the 2009 NBA Championship?
First Round
Out West, the Lakers faced the dominant young big man duo of Sherman Conway and Kevin Love, but were able to eliminate the Nuggets in five. Golden State took out Portland to advance, with the Kings got a tremendous series from Chris Paul, who helped push San Antonio all the way to five, only for the Spurs to pull out the victory. In the conference's biggest upset, Vancouver took out the Clippers, with veteran Mike Bibby posting 17 points and 12 assists to win Game 5.
Meanwhile in the East, LeBron James gave the Bulls all they could handle, but Chicago forced several key turnovers late in Game 5 to survive. Orlando took out Milwaukee and New Jersey eliminated Toronto, with Jason Richardson scoring an impressive 31 points to win the decisive Game 4. And in the biggest shocker of them all, consistent playoff performers in the Indiana Pacers went down in five games to the Charlotte Hornets, as young Daniel Gibson came off the bench to score 20 in 22 minutes. What a world we have created.
Second Round
The West was far from competitive in the second round, as Los Angeles and San Antonio both easily won in 5, eliminating Golden State and Vancouver. The East was a different story. The Magic would give the Bulls another very hard fought series, but Chicago won, this time by offense, as Jamal Crawford hit several clutch threes to win Game 6 and advance. The Hornets were itching for another upset, and had a late lead at home in Game 6, looking to force seven. But Jason Richardson continued to cement his legacy in Nets lore, drilling the game winner to book New Jersey's spot in the Conference Finals.
Conference Finals
There was no slowing down New Jersey, who only grew stronger throughout these playoffs. They punished the Bulls on both sides of the ball, winning in a sweep with three of their four wins in double digits.
The Spurs and Lakers traded wins in the Western Conference Finals, but San Antonio stayed a step ahead, and were up 2-1, setting up Game 4 on home court. There, the Lakers posted a whopping 147 points, with 57 coming from Kobe Bryant and Joe Johnson. But they had yet to face the full might of Tim Duncan. The Spurs legend, constantly denied success in this alternate reality, took complete control in the paint, posting back to back double-doubles to send the Spurs to the Finals.
NBA Finals
In New Jersey to start the series, the Spurs brought the Nets' momentum to a screeching halt, as sixth man Jackie Singleton came from out of nowhere to drop 39 points in an easy Game 1 victory. The Nets would get their revenge in Game 2, tying things up.
Despite 37 points and 18 rebounds from Dwight Howard, New Jersey won an overtime thriller in Game 3, as Jason Richardson recovered from a slow start to take control late. But the war continued on, as Howard and Duncan had double-doubles to win Game 4 by 7 points.
The Nets came out firing in Game 5 on their home floor, scoring 43 points in the 1st quarter, and San Antonio never recovered. New Jersey was one win away from their first title, as the series went back to the Lone Star State.
In Game 6, Jason Richardson just couldn't get into a rhythm, going 5-16 from the floor in a 9 point loss. For only the second time in The New Millennium, the NBA Finals would be decided in Game 7.
But in Game 7, it all fell apart for the Spurs. The normally calm and fundamentally sound team imploded, committing 21 ugly turnovers and failing to score 90 points. On the other end, former first round pick Jamaal Teague put on a show, scoring 27 points and grabbing 15 rebounds en route to the 26 point win. In front of their home fans, in their first NBA Finals appearance in this alternate timeline, the New Jersey Nets are NBA Champions!
NBA Finals MVP: Jason Richardson(20.9 ppg, 9.1 rpg, 4.6 apg)
Yet another brand new champion is crowned, as the Nets have certainly reversed the course of history with this win. In real life, they had back to back trips in the early 2000s, but couldn't get the job done either time before eventually bolting the state. But New Jersey is rewarded with a champion in this timeline, a welcome sight to so many die-hard fans. Join me next time on The New Millennium for the 2009 offseason.
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