[NBA2k24 Expansion] Aloha! A Hawaii Honu Story

[R1zzo23]

The Hawaii Honu lined up for the first game in the franchise's history. As one would expect, they were basically lined up for their own funeral against the mighty Thunder. After seemingly hanging around early, a 12-0 run to end the first quarter saw the home team pull out to a 34-16 lead after the first quarter, essentially locking up the win.

The Honu were unable to slow down Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (32 pts, 6 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl) and Josh Giddey (29 pts, 6 reb, 6 ast, 1 blk) and made things easier by throwing 15 turnovers, constantly shooting themselves in the foot play after play.



One of the more exciting plays of the game came when rookie big man Alex Sarr swatted a Chet Holmgren layup into the 3rd row for one of his three blocks on the night. The 6th overall pick finished his first career game with four points (2-5 shooting), four boards, two assists, a steal and the aforementioned three blocks. While the team is trying to fit all of these pieces into the offensive puzzle, it's clear that Sarr is going to be a dominant defender.

Ben Simmons, the ultimate reclamation project, finished the night with six points, five boards and 10 assists to go along with one steal. Most of the dimes came in garbage time as Simmons picked apart the Thunder bench, constantly finding Jae'Sean Tate for three on his way to 19 points (7-8 FG, 5-6 3PT). John Collins struggled his way to a near double-double with 16 points and nine boards.

With the final score of 128-101, this game wasn't nearly as close as it would indicate. With the first loss in franchise history under their belt, it's time to grind towards the franchise's first win.

[R1zzo23]

The newly minted Honu fans come to their feet and greet their new team as Hawaii hosts their first ever NBA home game with the visiting Minnesota Timberwolves coming to the island. After a beat down at the hands of the Thunder, the hope was that the Honu could keep their composure early to make this a game. They did just that and more!

After just one quarter of play, the Honu took a 28-19 lead as they completely shocked the Wolves. In seven minutes of play in the first quarter, Ben Simmons looked great with four points, three boards, three dimes and a steal, though his fatal flaw of free throw shooting came to head as he missed all three "freebies".



The real shock came when John Collins (24 points, 6 boards) threw down this hammer in traffic over Jaden McDaniels and Naz Reid, bringing the stadium back on their feet. Collins poured in 10 points in the first quarter and none were louder than those two.

The game was tied going into halftime, though the home team had missed seven of their 11 free throws. This would come back to bite them in the end. The lack of depth on this team is going to be a huge issue as Hawaii wilted down the stretch, running on absolute fumes in the fourth quarter as they got outscored 32-21 in the final frame for a 109-97 final score.

The Wolves were led by Anthony Edwards' 23 points and 7 assists, Karl-Anthony Towns' 21 points, 8 boards and 4 assists and Rudy Gobert's 16 points, 10 boards, 2 steals and 2 blocks. Minnesota's top-3 players refused to be the first team to lose to the Honu in their young history, combining for 21 points on 8-10 shooting overall in the 4th.

Notable Honu Stats:
J. Collins - 24 pts, 6 reb, 11-17 FG, 2-4 3PT
Z. Collins - 14 pts, 7 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl
D. Robinson - 10 pts, 3 ast, 1 stl, 2-6 3PT
J. Tate - 10 pts, 2 reb, 4 ast
A. Sarr - 9 pts, 1 reb, 1 stl
B. Simmons - 8 pts, 6 reb, 4 ast, 1 stl, 0-5 FT
D. Banton - 5 pts, 5 reb, 10 ast, 2 blk

Current Record: 0-2

[studbucket]

Glad to have you back, and I like the way that arena/court looks.

[R1zzo23]

Quote: Originally Posted by studbucket

Glad to have you back, and I like the way that arena/court looks.

Appreciate it my man. I like the look of the logo and feel of the arena and court which was a huge reason why I chose to roll with the Honu.


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[marshdaddy]

Rizzo back in the fold! Love to see it. Interested to see how this goes, love the uniforms. I'm ready to see John Collins cook.

[R1zzo23]

Quote: Originally Posted by marshdaddy

Rizzo back in the fold! Love to see it. Interested to see how this goes, love the uniforms. I'm ready to see John Collins cook.

If I can figure out how to unlock him, Collins will be the lead dog on this team!


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[R1zzo23]

Welcome to the league, Hawaii! Being in the Western Conference, and more specifically the Pacific Division, is going to lend the Honu's schedule to be flooded by incredibly difficult competition nearly night in and night out. In the brief month of October, the Honu get humbled by the who's who of the West, losing all five of their games.

[R1zzo23]

Heat Outlast Honu in Hawaii

Looking for their first win, Hawaii welcomed in their first Eastern Conference opponent in Bam Adebayo, Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat. Going from the Eastern Time Zone all the way across the country, there was a hope that the Honu could catch the Heat sleeping and off their game.

That seemed to be true through the first half. At the break, the home Honu were actually up by two points, getting great contributions from John Collins and Jaylin Williams. The two big men were making the most of their shot attempts, with Collins being leaned on early and often and Williams coming off the bench firing, connecting on 3-4 of his shots from deep.

But then the second half happened. Not only did Bam Adebayo (31 pts, 19 reb, 4 ast, 6 stl) continue to dominate the glass with his game-high 19 on the night, he went to work offensively. Whether he was matched up with Zach Collins, Alex Sarr or John Collins, Adebayo was pouring in buckets off the cut, post ups and pull-up mid-rangers jumpers. His energy was unmatched and was the sole reason the Heat were able to pull away with a six point lead going into the fourth.

Then, disaster took over. Hawaii committed 7 of their 17 turnovers in the final frame, all of which leading to easy buckets for the Heat, to put even more distance on the score board. On top of the run out layups, Jimmy Butler (27 pts, 2 reb, 9 ast, 2 stl) and D'Angelo Russell (18 pts, 4 reb, 7 ast, 1 stl) combined for 15 points to ice the game.




Honu Stats:
J. Collins - 33 pts, 5 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl, 16-21 FG
D. Robinson - 12 pts, 2 reb, 3 ast, 4-7 3PT
J. Williams - 11 pts, 3 reb, 3-4 3PT
D. Banton - 8 pts, 5 reb, 6 ast
J. Tate - 8 pts, 3 ast
J. Strawther - 7 pts, 3 reb, 2 ast
A. Sarr - 6 pts, 6 reb, 1 stl
N. Little - 6 pts, 2 reb, 2 ast
P. Baldwin Jr. - 6 pts, 1 stl
T. Flowers - 3 pts, 2 reb, 1 ast
B. Simmons - 2 pts, 2 reb, 7 ast, 0-6 FT

Current Record: 0-6