30 Completing The Sweep
After coming home and taking an ice bath, Lonzo relaxed on his couch. He took out his phone and caught up with the league news. His game made some huge headlines, overshadowing the rest of the NBA despite him playing for a relatively small-market team (well, it was a growing market because of him). Lonzo had completely shattered the highest-scoring playoff debut record which was held by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (34 points, also tied by Derrick Rose) with his 50 point performance. In truth, his game could be argued to be the greatest playoff game of all-time in terms of stats.
However, it was a game against the 8th seed... so it's importance was downplayed heavily, especially by Lonzo's group of haters. Jordan stans were already drawing their swords against him as his existence threatened MJ's position as GOAT. If he continues his other-worldly production and grabs six championships in ten or so years... their only argument would be "the 90s were a tougher era".
There were plenty of Pelicans bandwagons who made the real fans look bad. This was to be expected... as the same thing had happened to Golden State. People started to see the Pelicans, who ran through the entire NBA, as an arrogant team led by the most arrogant player in the league. This was not the case but the haters needed some straws to grasp.
If this continues... we'll be the villains of the NBA.
Lonzo chuckled as he looked at his highlight video. In the third person, his performance looked even better. Lonzo had made a Youtube channel but it had no recent uploads and so, it did not have many subscribers. Lonzo's Instagram and Twitter, however, were popping off like crazy for the entire year. He had 48 million and 35 million followers respectively.
"Damn, the NBA is not ready for PLAYOFF ZO. He's coming for that 🏆 and Finals MVP... ain't nobody stopping this man 💯."
"The 🐐 with 50 POINTS, 15 BOARDS, 21 ASSISTS, 2 STEALS, 4 BLOCKS in his FIRST playoff game. Look at Lonzo man, so inspirational! The Black MAMBA, Kobe Bean Bryant, would be proud of #24 Ball."
"There's only one GOAT and that's MJ. Lonzo hasn't even gotten his first championship, let alone six. Don't ever call him the GOAT again... it's disrespectful to the real one."
"It's just his third season... where was MJ in his third season 🤔? 50-32 record and your GOAT lost in the second round LMAO. Settle down, you oldhead, Lonzo is going to be greater than your God in seven years."
"ZO was hounding Ja the entire game LOL, let the man breath for once!"
"Remember when everyone was calling this man a bust?"
"I believe you were one of them 🤡."
The NBA's fanbase never fails to impress... oh, LeBron had 34 points, 9 rebounds and 7 assists?
Lonzo nodded.
That's the second-best player in the NBA right there. Kuzma had an efficient 16 point game as well... cool. The Clippers lost game one to the Jazz and the Bucks lost game one to the Cavaliers... interesting.
Apart from those two games, there were no other upsets. Lonzo glanced at his six Western Conference Player of the Month awards which stood beside his Summer League MVP on a luxurious shelf. A league MVP, DPOY and MIP were going to join that shelf soon enough. The only reward that remained for Lonzo was the coveted Finals MVP.
Nothing matters more than the playoffs...
Lonzo made a mental note not to get loose during the Playoffs. There were many things he wanted to do but he decided to leave it for the off-season. Now, he only had the thought of winning on his mind.
He checked his 2k app for some upgrades.
-
Well done for simulating the rest of the season, you lazy, impatient bum >_>. Anyways, you evolved to a 100 overall but your badges are the same (except for a free silver One Man Fast Break because you are... well, fast.). There has been an update... VC is no longer relevant, instead, the upgrades are determined by your performance. For example... the thing that stood out most in your last game was your lockdown defence. So, it will upgrade a tier. Only one badge gets upgraded per game if not then... zero.
Defensive Stopper Bronze - Defensive Stopper Silver.
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OVERALL
Name: Lonzo Ball
Primary position: PG
Secondary positions: SG, SF, PF, C (very rarely, but it works well.)
Archetype: Point God (Lonzo)
Tier: GOAT Galaxy Opal
Overall: 100
Potential: Best to ever do it
4 HoF badges
5 Gold Badges
5 Silver Badges
20 Bronze Badges
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BODY
Age: 22
Height: 6'9
Weight: 230lbs
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ATTRIBUTES
100 Outside Scoring
100 Inside Scoring
100 Athleticism
100 Defending
100 Playmaking
100 Rebounding
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BADGES
Mental: Floor General, The Zone, Copy Cat, Alpha Dog, Clutch Performer, Microwave, Extremely Confident, Enforcer, Spark Plug, Defensive Anchor, Expressive
HoF Badges: Pick & Roll Maestro, Hustle Rebounder, Pick Pocket, Drop-stepper
Gold Badges: Relentless Finisher, Putback King, Dimer, Deep Range Deadeye, Flashy Passer
Silver Badges: Chase Down Artist, Difficult Shots, Charge Card, One Man Fast Break, Defensive Stopper
Bronze Badges: A lot.
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~
Game 2 (135-92) and 3 (144-82) were all BLOWOUTS. He had to wear the #2 for those games since #24 wasn't his official number which was a minor inconvenience. Still, in his mind, he made every game a tribute (and a statement).
Game 2: 53 points, 16 rebounds, 17 assists, 8 steals and 8 blocks (Morant was getting bullied LOL), 8 turnovers (oof), 19-31 FG, 8-14 3PT, 7-7 FT
Game 3: 49 points, 13 rebounds, 18 assists, 12 steals (a new record!), 2 blocks, 7 turnovers, 20-28 FG, 6-10 3PT, 3-3 FT
~Game 4, 4th quarter with three minutes remaining~
Lonzo had 22 assists, just a few away from the record. The Pelicans were up 119-84 as he dribbled up the court. Zion made a back-door cut and Zo threw up the easy lob.
SLAM.
Zion, as usual, did not disappoint.
The Pelicans clamped up the Grizzlies, who threw up some last-second shot which led to a brick. Zo grabbed the board and dribbled up the court. Okafor set the screen for some pick-and-roll action, something Lonzo was a specialist in.
Lonzo used the screen to drive to the rim, gaining the attention of both defenders. Then he did a simple bounce pass to Okafor which ended with an easy layup. That was the assist which tied the playoff record but Lonzo wasn't done yet.
Grizzlies failed to do something with the ball again, Lonzo snagged the board and started the fastbreak. Hayes was in position for the alley-oop and Lonzo threw it up for him. Unfortunately, the man could not catch it. Adams caught the ball...
The Grizzlies managed to score right after (Brooks with the mid-range).
Following that, Lonzo did another pick-and-roll with Okafor, leading to his record-breaking assist. The Grizzlies called a timeout to celebrate the occasion (they weren't going anywhere) and show respect.
...
The game (134-88) ended with Jones dribbling out the ball. The Pelicans celebrated with a lot of energy on the Grizzlies home court. Despite being bullied and blown out for 4 games in a row, the Grizzlies kept their cool and showed great sportsmanship by hugging it out.
"You have a lot of potential... keep it up and you will go far," Lonzo spoke with Ja after the hug.
"How do you have the energy to play like that?"
"I'm just built different." Lonzo shrugged and walked away.
~Box score
Lonzo: 46 points, 14 rebounds, 25 assists, 3 steals, 6 blocks, 3 turnovers, 18-29 FG, 5-9 3PT, 5-5 FT. 🐐
Zion: 18 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists. 🍔
Holiday: 15, 2, 7
Hayes: 12, 6, 1
Okafor: 11, 4
Ingram: 10, 2 assists
Grizzlies:
Morant: 23 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 5 turnovers, 9-26 FG, 0-3 3PT, 5-7 FT. 🥶
Valanciunas: 19 points, 3 rebounds, 1 steal, 9-14 FG
Brooks: 16, 1
Jackson Jr.: 10, 4, 3
~
Pelicans proceed onto the second round as the only team with a sweep. Meanwhile, the other teams were still playing the first round so the Pelicans could have some rest (which isn't even needed). Lonzo decided to go to the studio in his free time, working on his rap game again.
