SimWorld Presents: Reaching for Greatness (A NBA2K Dynasty)

[ronyell]

Quote: Originally Posted by bkeith1

Sounds like Paul George had already checked out. Interested to see how this affects the Pacers in the Playoffs. Might be a 1st round exit. Sent from my LGLS991 using Tapatalk

Quote: Originally Posted by ronyell

April 10th, 2017

Yeah think he checked out at the break... they had 11 straight losses right out of the gate and Turner went down. Playoffs went out the window for them about a week ago.

[bkeith1]

Quote: Originally Posted by ronyell

Yeah think he checked out at the break... they had 11 straight losses right out of the gate and Turner went down. Playoffs went out the window for them about a week ago.

Wow I didn't even notice that. Wonder where he ends up. Indiana going to be in straight rebuild mode.

Sent from my LGLS991 using Tapatalk

[ronyell]

BOX SCORES

[ronyell]

BOX SCORES

[ronyell]

April 12th, 2017




THE ROCKET'S STARTING SMALL FORWARD TREVOR ARIZA WILL BE OUT FOR AT LEAST THE FIRST ROUND WITH SORENESS IN HIS RIGHT LEG. ARIZA HAS BATTLED TENDINITIS IN HIS RIGHT KNEE AND SUFFERED A BRUISE TO HIS RIGHT FOOT LAST NIGHT

[ronyell]

April 12th, 2017

[AdamJones113]

These Trail Blazers would have had a very different look

10 Years On: A Look Back at the 2007 Draft (Part 1)

Has ten years been long enough to right wrongs, and wrong rights?


Wow. April 12th, and already 10 years since these guys were picked? Some are still household names—either for good or bad reasons—and some have fallen off the face of the earth. With the playoffs right around the corner, we look back at the 2007 draft class. We begin with Part 1, counting down slowly to this year's draft, here looking exclusively at the top 2 picks, whose stories could not be more different. The question is, of course, have these players changed the league?


1. Greg Oden (Portland Trail Blazers)
The first overall pick out of The Ohio State, whom Steve Kerr called a "once-in-a-generation player," Oden is considered one of the worst busts in NBA history. He won the title of Defensive Player of the Year, and leading Ohio State to the NCAA title game (where they would lose to Florida and three guys who went top-10 in the same draft). Yet Oden sat out the 2007-08 season with a microfracture surgery on his knee, and later missed three other seasons because of knee problems. He played in only 3 different seasons and never started more than 39 games in a season.

2. Kevin Durant (Seattle Supersonics)
The first freshman to be named the College Player of the year was knocked out of the NCAA tournament in the second round (playing for Texas). He has found even more success in the pros, going from winning rookie of the year (and joining LeBron and Melo as the only teenagers to average more than 20 PPG) to an NBA Finals appearance in 2012. Durant is the youngest player to join the 50-40-90 club. Yet early in the 2013 playoffs—on the heels of an incredibly successful 60-22 season by the Thunder—Russell Westbrook tore a meniscus, and the Thunder were bounced by the Grizzlies in the second round. He joined the Warriors this past summer after Golden State rallied to overcome a 3-1 deficit against Durant's Thunder (you don't need me to tell you what happened in the next round), and the Warriors are poised to recapture the title.

Just saying each name provides all the necessary connotation. Greg Oden, horrible injury-prone bust. Kevin Durant, scoring superstar. These players have most certainly changed the league—in more way, perhaps, than you would think. Durant has helped usher in a scoring revolution, with his prolific long-distance shooting and incredible length on the perimeter. His position on so-called "SuperTeams" has gone from completely against to very much for: the Warriors are the biggest, baddest SuperTeam around.

Yet it is Oden, I think, who has had a more sublime impact. Teams are now slower to pull the plug on big, bruising centers. The first center picked the next season was Brook Lopez, 10th. The next year saw only two centers go in the first round—Hasheem Thabeet, 2nd (look how that turned out!), and Byron Mullens, 24th, both of whom were terrible. The next year—after Oden went down yet again—saw an immensely talented and skilled freshman center from Kentucky go off the board fifth; very respectable, coming on the heels of sharpshooter (or, then-sharpshooter) Wesley Johnson. That center, of course, was DeMarcus Cousins. The Timberwolves' decision to pick Johnson over Cousins was no doubt influenced by Oden's failure. What's more, consider the 76ers hesitancy with Joel Embiid. He sat out two years before making an impact in this, his third year after being drafted. That caution—that extra year of caution—could have saved Oden's career and changed the landscape of the league dramatically.

In part 2, we'll round out the Florida Gators-led top 10, and discuss how Jeff Green kicked off the Boston Three Party.

[Knickerbocker91]

Just a heads up, Oden went to Ohio State not Georgetown.