Somworld Articles

SOM Basketball Tournament
By Tom Gantert

This is a 16-team tournament of the greatest SOM basketball teams available on computer. It was single-elimination, played on a neutral court. All the games were auto-played for both teams. I selected the field. I have all season discs except 1970-71 and 1974-75 ABA/NBA.

Here are the results, game-by-game.

Game 1
(84-85) Lakers 126, (76-77) 76ers 108:  Kareem Abdul Jabbar scores 27 points with 10 re­bounds and Magic Johnson has 11 points and 16 as­sists. Doug Collins leads the 76ers with 25 points.

Game 2
(83-84) Bucks 112, (76-77} Trail Blazers 110:  Sidney Moncrief makes two free throws with one second left to clinch the victory. Marques Johnson scored 31points and has eight rebounds. Port­land's Bill Walton has 16 points and 11rebounds.

Game 3
(88-89) Pistons 117, (84-85) 76ers 110:  Mark Aguirre leads the Pistons with 35 points. Moses Malone scored 23 points and had 23 rebounds and Julius Erving scores 34 points in a losing cause.

Game 4
(76-77) Celtics 106, (83-84) Celtics 102:  Sidney Wicks scored 22 points with nine rebounds and JoJo White has 21points for the 70s Celtics.  Larry Bird scores 30 points with nine rebounds for the 80s Celtics.

Game 5
(88-89) Cavs 131, (92-93) Suns 121:  Brad Daugherty scores 38 points and grabs 10 rebounds. Dan Majerle has 25 points in a losing cause.

Game 6
(95-96) Bulls 104, (93-94) Knicks 98:  Michael Jordan has 26 points and Scottie Pippen gets 29 points for the Bulls. Patrick Ewing scores 36 points with 13 rebounds but not enough help.

Game 7
(97-98) Jazz 107, (94-95) Magic 92:  Karl Malone is unstoppable as he scores 40 points and gets 14 rebounds for the Jazz. Shaquille O'Neal gets in foul trouble and scores 24 points in 27 minutes while Penny Hardway scores 23 points.

Game 8
 95-96Sonics 119, (94-95) Rockets 92:  Gary Payton scores 23 points and Shawn Kemp has 21 points for the Sonics. Hakeem Olajuwon has 29 points for the Rockets.

QUARTERFINALS
Game 9
(83-84) Bucks 112, (84-85) Lakers 98: Sidney Moncrief scores 26 points with 10 rebounds and Marques Johnson has 20 points with 10 rebounds as the Bucks knock off their second-consecutive world champ. James Worthy leads the Lakers with 16 points as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar goes 5-13 FG shooting and has 12 points.

Game 10
(88-89) Pistons 103, (76-77) Celtics 91:  The last of the 70s era teams dies as Joe Dumars scores 18 points. JoJo White has 19 points but John Havlicek goes 5-15 FG shooting and has 12 points.

Game 11
(95-96) Sonics 106, (97-98) Jazz 85:  Shawn Kemp has 30 points and 15 rebounds and Gary Payton has 16 points for the Sonics. Karl Malone scores 19 points but goes 7-22 FG shooting with 12 rebounds for the Jazz.

Game 12
(95-96) Bulls 116, (88-89) Cavs 111:  Michael Jordan scores 38 points and Toni Kukoc adds 21 points for the Bulls. Brad Daugherty has 30 points and eight rebounds is a losing effort.

SEMIFINALS
Game 13
(83-84) Bucks 111, (88-89) Pistons 99:  The Bucks knock off their third straight world champ as Marques Johnson has 28 points and eight rebounds and Sidney Moncrief had 26 points. Isaiah Thomas has 16 points for Detroit.

Game 14
(95-96) Bulls 108, (95-96) Sonics 96:  In a rematch of the real life finals, Michael Jor­dan scores 28 points with 10 rebounds, Scottie Pippen has 15 points and Dennis Rodman has 16 re­bounds for the Bulls. Shawn Kemp has 22 points and 12 rebounds and Gary Payton has 24 points but no other Sonics break double figures.

CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
(95-96) Bulls 105, (83-84) Bucks 96:  The Bucks fantasy run ended in the finals. Chi­cago's John Salley makes two free throws with 6:37 left in the second quarter to give the Bulls a 48-31 lead and the Bucks never get closer than four the rest of the game. Chicago's Michael Jordan scores 29 points on 15-21 FT shooting. Scottie Pippen scores 20 points. But the Bulls role players are strong. Steve Kerr scores 16 points in 25 minutes and Dennis Rodman gets 11 rebounds in 16 minutes. Milwaukee's Sidney Moncreif scored 15 points and Marques Johnson has 22 points and eight assists.