For the final time, who will claim the ultimate prize and lay claim to the title as basketball champions of the world? Who will be declared the 2019 NBA Champions?
First Round
The East, for all it's competitiveness in the regular season, showed none of the that to open the playoffs, as no series was close. The Hawks lost the first game to the Wizards, before easily dispatching them in 4, while the Nets also advanced in 4, ousting the Pacers to set up an intriguing match-up of Derrick Rose against LeBron James. The Knicks swept the Pistons and the Raptors did the same to the Bucks, as Carmelo Anthony and Chris Paul will do battle with Kyrie Irving, Paul George and Giannis Antetokounmpo in the second round.
The West nearly started with a massive upset, as the league best Nuggets went 2-0 against the underdog Warriors. But Dion Waiters brought Denver back into it with a couple great games, then finished Golden State off with 33 points in the decisive Game 5. The Kings had the opposite experience, quickly sweeping the Jazz to earn a shot at the Nuggets. Phoenix and San Antonio put on a show, as these real life rivals squared off in a doozy that went all 5 games. In Game 5, the Spurs offense was completely shut down, as they commit 24 turnovers and shot just 34% from the field as the Suns cruised to Round 2. And in the biggest shocker of not just this playoffs, but The New Millennium's history, the Dallas Mavericks were stunned in a sweep by the Minnesota Timberwolves. Although Tony Parker and Pau Gasol are not the offensive magicians they used to be, they provided excellent defense on Stephen Curry and DeMarcus Cousins, allowing Kevin Durant and Jabari Parker to lead the offense. The two Parkers would combine in Game 3, as Jabari hit the game winner off an assist from Tony and the defending champs were out.
Second Round
But the magic ran out for Minnesota in Round 2, as the younger and better Phoenix Suns marched right over the Timberwolves, sending them home in just 5 games as D'Angelo Russell never scored less than 22 points in any game. Denver and Sacramento had themselves a great series, full of plenty of scoring and highlight worthy plays. In Game 6 with the Nuggets up 3-2, the Kings collapsed, as several players fouled out and Denver advanced to face Phoenix.
The Nets and Hawks was an absolute slugfest, as you could've expected. Derrick Rose was absolutely stellar, especially in Game 3s and 4, where he scored above 30 points, but they were both losses for New Jersey as Atlanta was just that little bit better. With everything on the line, Rose delivered a vintage performance in Game 5, dropping 42 points as the Nets kept their season alive. But it all came to an end in Game 6, as LeBron posted a triple-double with 28 points and the Nets were sent packing. It certainly looked like the Toronto Raptors would be joining the Hawks in the Eastern Conference Finals, after winning the first three games against the overmatched Knicks. With their backs against the wall, the Knicks forced an absolute classic in Game 4, which went all the way to quadruple overtime. Melo had 45 points, CP3 had 24 assists, but it didn't matter, because after over 50 minutes on the court, Kyrie Irving buried the game winner to send the Raptors through, still without a single loss on their resume.
Conference Finals
The Raptors made it 7 wins in a row when they won Game 1, but LeBron had the answer, dropping 46 points to hand Toronto their first loss. Then J.R. Smith gave them their second, coming off the bench for 32 points to win Game 3. Game 4 went to the Raptors, but Game 5 was all LeBron, who scored 27 points and held Giannis to 14 points with 4 turnovers in 40 minutes. Game 6 was another duel between LeBron and Giannis, with both men over 30 points, but it was the Greek Freak who stood tall this time, making several key blocks down the stretch to force a Game 7. At home, Atlanta had an excellent strategy, using time wasting techniques and ensuring it stayed a halfcourt game, not letting Toronto run the fastbreak. This strategy proved excellent, as the Hawks would go up by as many as 21 in the 3rd quarter, cruising towards an NBA Finals berth. But shooting guard Dane Grimes came to life, hitting three after three for 15 points in the 3rd, and suddenly, everything flipped. George, Giannis and Kyrie got going, the fastbreak ran wild, and the lead was blown, and Atlanta was left heartbroken once more, another great lead blown.
Out West, the Nuggets were red hot, and quickly took a 3-0 lead, on the verge of an easy run to the NBA Finals. But the Suns fought back, forcing 20 turnovers to win Game 4, before Brook Lopez dominated Game 5, delivering 43 points to keep Phoenix's season alive. But Denver's defense clamped down in Game 6, forcing 19 turnovers as Tyreke Evans had a triple-double and the league's best team made it all the way.
NBA Finals
Game 1 was a seesaw affair, with Denver taking a small lead into halftime that melted away in the 3rd quarter. It would come down to late game execution, and Denver's was abysmal, as Dion Waiters just took every shot, missed most of them and Paul George took command on the offensive end, finishing with 36 points and a victory. But Denver got revenge in Game 2, as Tyreke Evans led an incredibly effective offense that opened up a 20 point lead early and held on after a late Raptors rally to tie the series.
Waiters opened strong in Game 3, but Dane Grimes quickly answered, posting 20 points in the 2nd quarter alone and it was over from there, as Grimes finished with 33 and Irving added 24 and Toronto's guards put the Nuggets away. The Raptors best stars certainly came to play in Game 4, as Irving, George and Antetokounmpo combined for 79 points, but it was Grimes that was the hero once more. He three consecutive threes late that put the game out of reach, and left Toronto one win short of another title.
And a motivated and hungry Raptors squad left no doubt of who was the best in Game 5, a game that was never close despite Denver being at home. Giannis had a triple-double, Paul George had 34 points and 6 steals, and the Nuggets were absolutely blown out of the water and The New Millennium ends with the same champions as in real life. For the second time, the Raptors are kings of the basketball world, and could be for a long time to come. The Toronto Raptors are your 2019 NBA Champions!
NBA Finals MVP: Paul George(28 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 6.6 apg, 2.6 spg)
Thank you all for reading these posts, this series has been an absolute blast to make, an unexpected success for me. I run a lot of these simulation type series in my spare time, but I never imagined anyone would want to read them. Certainly, there is an audience for this content, and I already have an idea in mind for another of these long simulations that I will be bringing to this blog in the future. But for now, I thank you for reading The New Millennium, for going along for this crazy ride and sticking with me the entire way. Congratulations to the two-time champion Toronto Raptors!
- Henry
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