Lakers vs. Celtics and the NBA Playoffs (Sega Genesis)

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Herschie
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Lakers vs. Celtics and the NBA Playoffs (Sega Genesis)

Postby Herschie » February 26th, 2019, 5:34 pm

I'll never forget the first time I saw this game. My friend Dennis had it, and his mother was making him write a book report, despite the fact that we were on summer vacation. Lame! But he had the opportunity to take a break, so he invited me over. My father said I could go after I finished mowing the lawn, but I was almost done anyway. Hopped on my bicycle, cut through the neighbor's yard, and went on over to Dennis' house.

Now you have to understand that at the time, I was the biggest Clyde Drexler fan. So imagine my delight when I get there, and Dennis is playing a basketball game on his Genesis. He was in the middle of the 4th quarter, so I would get my turn to play soon. When I did, I chose to be the Portland Trailblazers because, you know, Drexler.

But poor Dennis kept on getting annoyed because I kept on asking who Drexler was. You'd think it'd be easy to tell, just give it to the shorter black guy wearing number 22:

Drexler.jpg
Drexler.jpg (84.07 KiB) Viewed 1966 times


Only problem was, I wasn't used to seeing numbers on jerseys because my parents only sprung for an NES. So I guess that I was used to playing games where all the players looked alike. I think that was the last time Dennis ever invited me over. I'm not sure if it was because I kept on asking for Drexler, or because my wayward elbow hit a pitcher of Kool-aid they had in the kitchen.

The game itself is fairly fun, though not too memorable. What really stands out is the halftime show. I was playing Blazers vs. Suns, and they showed a highlight of Michael Jordan in another game which was in progress. Does it get any better on 16-bit?

Playing it nowadays, I enjoy it. Wonder what Dennis is up to though?

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VideoGameCritic
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Re: Lakers vs. Celtics and the NBA Playoffs (Sega Genesis)

Postby VideoGameCritic » February 26th, 2019, 7:28 pm

Oh while you brought the memories flooding back with this one. I remember my friend Keith brought this over to my house and all my friends were taking turns playing it. We were impressed. Of course, once NBA Jam came out these EA games seemed painfully slow.

I remember there were certain spots of the floor where you could hit the A button and score at will. I especially remember John Paxton of the Bulls could always drive the hoop for an easy layup from the free-throw line.

jon
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Re: Lakers vs. Celtics and the NBA Playoffs (Sega Genesis)

Postby jon » March 7th, 2019, 3:42 pm

I love this game and series as well. It really would get tense when it went down to the wire and you’re playing against friends. I 2nd the Drexler era Trailblazers. He was my favorite player and I thought he was as good as Jordan at least for a while. I also loved the supporting cast including Terry Porter who I loved almost as much as Drexler. Then there was Clifford Robinson and the late Kevin Duckworth. They lost 2 finals and some of their losses were close.

lynchie137
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Re: Lakers vs. Celtics and the NBA Playoffs (Sega Genesis)

Postby lynchie137 » March 20th, 2019, 1:57 pm

I picked this one up from Amazon not too long ago. And pretty much everything The Critic said about it in his review was pretty much bang on the money. It's painfully slow and sluggish compared to some of the other B'Ball games that came out not long after. And to tell you the truth, it's not even as fast as some of it's counterparts on the 8-Bit systems like Double Dribble, for instance. But with that being said it is pretty fun to play around with in small doses. And the TV styled cut scenes during the pregame,between the intermissions and postgame are pretty rad as well. Probably the most entertaining part of the game imho..

Herschie
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Re: Lakers vs. Celtics and the NBA Playoffs (Sega Genesis)

Postby Herschie » May 21st, 2020, 8:26 pm

VideoGameCritic wrote:I remember there were certain spots of the floor where you could hit the A button and score at will. I especially remember John Paxton of the Bulls could always drive the hoop for an easy layup from the free-throw line.


Paxson is about as bad in this game as he is in the front office! I do myself a favor and put in BJ Armstrong or Craig Hodges instead.

Herschie
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Re: Lakers vs. Celtics and the NBA Playoffs (Sega Genesis)

Postby Herschie » May 21st, 2020, 9:55 pm

Herschie wrote:Paxson is about as bad in this game as he is in the front office! I do myself a favor and put in BJ Armstrong or Craig Hodges instead.


Whoa, I take that back! Pax just led me back from an 11-point 4th quarter deficit. What's more is I was playing 2 minute quarters. He had two four point plays that cut it to 3, then he drained another one from downtown to tie it. Pippen took care of the rest.

Voor
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Re: Lakers vs. Celtics and the NBA Playoffs (Sega Genesis)

Postby Voor » May 22nd, 2020, 8:03 am

That line in the OP about Koolaid took me back. It seemed like every kitchen in the 90s had a Neverending pitcher of koolaid (or Tang). Do people still drink Koolaid? I have had any in over a decade....

CharlieR
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Re: Lakers vs. Celtics and the NBA Playoffs (Sega Genesis)

Postby CharlieR » May 22nd, 2020, 2:05 pm

I think I have Bulls vs. Blazers for the Genesis, which I hear is very similar. It does feel somewhat slow, but it is probably the basketball game with the most nostalgic charm. Always fun to go back and play. I also have tecmo super NBA basketball, and the action is more fluid, but it can be hard to tell who you are passing to at times, and the ball seems to bounce of the rim like a ping-pong ball.

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velcrozombie
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Re: Lakers vs. Celtics and the NBA Playoffs (Sega Genesis)

Postby velcrozombie » May 22nd, 2020, 3:47 pm

CharlieR wrote:I think I have Bulls vs. Blazers for the Genesis, which I hear is very similar. It does feel somewhat slow, but it is probably the basketball game with the most nostalgic charm.


This is pretty much how I feel. My cousins and I would play these back together back in the early 90s and, while I never liked them (they always felt like a slog for me, especially since my cousins would usually set the game for full-length quarters), thinking about them does take me back. I've always been more of an arcade-style sports guy, though - we played a lot of NBA Jam and Double Dribble back they were much more fun to me (even the less-than-perfect Arch Rivals was preferable).

djc
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Re: Lakers vs. Celtics and the NBA Playoffs (Sega Genesis)

Postby djc » May 23rd, 2020, 12:30 am

This is by far one of my favorite games. Of course knowing that the CPU does position by position matchups, I would (and still) cheat a bit by playing as the Bulls and switching Michael Jordan to be the center. It looks hilarious when he is standing next to the other center but he runs circles around the opposing team's center and can pretty much score at will.

Makes the game a lot more fun to play :)


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