NBA 2k15 MyLeague: Rebuilding the 76ers

[Eaglesfan27]

This will be my 2nd and hopefully more long lived dynasty on rebuilding the 76ers. With MyLeague, I am toning down the draft classes which are reportedly overpowered in MyGM...

Our first season is abysmal as we practice hard, have lots of injuries and lose lots of games. We did make a trade or two of note:

We traded away Jerami Grant (68 SF with some athletic potential) and our 2nd round pick (from the Rockets) for Darius Miller, a 72 rated SF with less potential and a 1st round pick from the Pelicans in 2017...

We finished the year 11-71 and morale is horrible. We need a star #1 pick to build around...

News from around the NBA:

Durant won the MVP with a 30.4 ppg average as well as 8.8 rpg and 5.5 apg.

Jabari Parker won Rookie of the year with 16 ppg and 7 rpg.

Reggie Jackson won 6th man of the year with 12 ppg and 5 apg.

Anthony Davis won Best Defensive Player of the year. He averaged 21.4 ppg, 11 rpg, and 2 bpg.

John Wall won most improved. He averaged 20 ppg and 8 apg.

Scoot Brooks guided the Thunder to a 67-15 record to win Coach of the year.

Final Standings:

West:

Thunder 67-15
Spurs 62-20
Trail Blazers 54-28
Clippers 53-29
Grizzlies 52-30
Rockets 48-34
Pelicans 46-36
Warriors 41-41

Lakers were worst in the West at 24-58.


East:

Cleveland 60-22
Heat 49-33
Bulls 49-33
Hornets 48-34
Knicks 43-39
Pacers 43-39
Hawks 43-39
Raptors 40-42

We were worst by far with 11-71.

Pistons were 26-56 for 2nd worst in the East. Wizards were 27-55...

The LeBron led Cavs crushed the Raptors and Knicks to get to the Finals and then struggled to beat the Hawks in 6...

The Thunder barely beat the Warriors in 7 to get out of the 1st round. They had to play 7 to get by the Clippers. They had to play 7 to get by the Trail Blazers...

The Thunder then crushed the Cavs in 5 games to win Durant a title. He was MVP of the Finals.. as he averaged 36 ppg in the Finals.

[Eaglesfan27]

Retirements:

Garnett (39), Nash (41), Ray Allen (39), Vince Carter (38), Nazr Mohammed (37), Jason Terry (37), Andre Miller (39), Crhis Andersen (36), Jannero Pargo (35)

HOF Inductees: Garnett, Nash, Allen, and Carter.


We have a 25% chance at the #1 pick... come on luck!


wow... we get the 4th pick.

The top 10:

1. Jazz (via Wolves)
2. Lakers
3. Suns (via Wizards)
4. 76ers
5. Hornets (via Pistons)
6. Suns (via Jazz)
7. Magic
8. Bucks
9. Runs
10. Thunder (via Mavericks)

We also have the 20th pick via the Pelicans...


We hire a new coach, Monty Williams who is a better teacher for our young players, we hope.

Most importantly, we hire a much better director of scouting for 5 years. Don Carter will find us some quality players.


In the offseason LeBron and Love opted out of their contracts. I made non-financial considerations matter... will loyalty keep LeBron in Cleveland? What about Love?


But, first we have the draft. With the tweaked settings, there are only a few guys who look like real stars. I'll do random fluctuations in the quality from year to year...

This year from what I can see there are 5 guys who could be superstars. 2 PG's, 1 SG, 1 SF, and 1 C.

I want either the SG or SF but the C is the best player and two of the PG's could be amazing...

The Jazz take the #1 PG in the draft from Chine.

The Lakers get the clear #1 C.

With the 3rd pick, the Suns take the SG that I really wanted, Karl Nelson from FSU who could shoot the lights out :(

The SF is a big question mark.

Craig Holloway is 6'9 270 and can shoot the 3 fairly well.. he also has a nice inside scoring touch. He is incredibly strong and had the highest bench press of all players in the draft. He is known to have a tremendous work ethic.. He is a 22 year old 4 starter at Penn State...

PG Hakan Ozat from Turkey is a 19 year old PG who is only 6'1 155. He is freakishly athletic and has a nice outside shot.. some experts picked him to go as high as #2... He is a pick and roll maestro and is a very smart offensive player. His defense is a question mark. Teammates reportedly love him and our morale is low. But, how would MCW feel about moving to SG?

Holloway impressed us so much with his work ethic and his desire to be one of the greatest of all time. I'll take his offensive game and work him in with Noel and Embiid...

The PG Ozat goes to the Hornets with the next pick.

The Suns trade their 1st round pick from the Jazz in this draft and P.J. Tucker to the Lakers for Nic Young and their 2017 1st round pick...

The Lakers then use that pick to get Roderick Grant who is a quality C with the 6th pick. Guess they are going with their own twin towers along with Randle...

The rest of the players left are "just guys."


The Pistons want Holloway and offer me Josh Smith (PF rated 80) and their 1st round pick for him. I decline.

The Pistons then trade Smith for Joe Johnson from the Bets. The Pistons also give us a 1st round pick.

With that pick, the Nets get a decent SG, Donta Braxson.

Several other teams try to get Holloway from me.. I feel good about selecting him.

The SF who I thought might be great goes to the Kings with the 13th pick... he is definitely a big question mark...

With our 20th pick, I take Havel Bajza, a SG from Hungary who the experts liked. Our staff isn't as sure about him, but they like him better than other players.

We trade away Eliot Williams for a future 1st round pick from the Hornets as well as a late 1st round pick in this draft...

With that 27th pick, we select PG Vladmir Stojic from Lithuania. He is 21 and has some potential to develop according to our scouts. He is 6'3 and 165 pounds.


Late trade: The Wizards trade Paul Pierce (81 now) and their 2nd round pick for two young wing players.


With our 2nd round pick, we take a massive C Bert O'Bryant. No quality players left and he can at least add a big body if he makes the team...


We have the rookies in for our workouts and we decide not to sign Bert. The other 3 rookies will get contracts.


Now, we have to make our plays for the big time FA's....

Of Note, LeBron decided to renew with the Cavs for a max 5 year deal. He is now loyal to Cleveland... I think the sliders for loyalty and other things worked nicely here.

The best FA's available are:

Love at 26 years old and rated 89 overall..

LaMarcus Aldridge at age 29 and rated 88 overall...

Rajon Rondo at 29 and rated 87 overall..

Paul Millsap at 30 years old and rated 85 overall...

Kawhi Leonard at 24 years old and rated 85 overall...

Monta Ellis at 29 and rated 83 overall..

C Marc Gasol at age 30 and rated 83 overall...


We go after Love with a max deal....

Love tells us he has zero interest in coming to Philly and won't even consider us...

We offer Leonard a 4 year deal worth 60 million...

We also offer Jimmy Butler a 3 year deal worth 30 million

We also sign PG/SG Goran Dragic to a 3 year deal worth 45 million.

Finally, we add SF Evan Turner who returns to Philly for a 3 year 18 million dollar deal.

We just added some great building pieces around our young nucleus to satisfy our owner who is ready to win now...

[Eaglesfan27]

Notable FA's movements:

Love went to the Magic for a 4 year max deal.

The Celtics re-signed Rondo for 5 years and 65 million.

The Grizzlies took the C we cut and signed him to a 2 year rookie deal.. interesting. We'll see what happens. He is a massive 7'2 320 lbs...

The Hawks signed Aldridge to a 4 year max deal.

Ellis went to the Trail Blazers for a 4 year 50 million dollar deal.

The Warriors got Klay Thompson to sign for 4 years and 44 million.

The Nets signed Lopez for 5 years and 71 million.

Spurs signed Duncan for 1 year and 10 million.

Hornets resigned Al Jefferson to a 4 year deal for 72 million.

[Groundhog]

How'd the ratings end up for your 1st rounders?

[Eaglesfan27]

How'd the ratings end up for your 1st rounders?

With a draft class quality slider at 25...

The top 3 guys were 80 overall, 79, and 78 overall with potential to be superstars.

My guy is a 78 overall as well but my scouts think he only has a potential around a B+.

The 5th guy is a 76 with B+ potential.

The 6th guy is a 74 with a B potential.

A few more 70 guys sprinkled in the top 10, but outside the top 10, they are almost all in their 60's. My 20th pick is one of the better rated players around that slot and he is a 68.

My 27th pick is a 66 overall.

My 2nd round pick (33 overall) was a 56 rating.

[Groundhog]

OK that seems better - at least, it's closer in line with what you typically see as far as the real life rookies 2K creates each year.

[Eaglesfan27]

A look at the roster now that training camp is over. I pushed Noel the hardest all season long and he had the most growth by far. K.J. McDaniels also had some very nice growth this past season.

PG MCW is rated 81 overall. At 6'6 185, he is poised to have a very big year with great weapons around him.

SG Jimmy Butler is a defensive specialist. He is 6'7 220 and is 25 years old. Rated 81 overall and he can defend the 3 position as well.

SF Kawhi Leonard is now 24 years old and rated 86 overall. He is 6'7 225 and is our most talented player on the team and has a great work ethic. He could become a superstar. He has great shooting potential and will get a lot of shots for us...

PF Noel - He worked hard to improve his game this summer and is now rated 80 overall. He is a fierce post defender and rebounder with good athleticism. He is only 21 years old and he is 6'11 228.

C Embiid - Rated 79 overall. 7'0 250 lbs. 21 years old. He is an athletic big guy who blocks shots very well. Decent post game.

6th man - Goran Dragic is 6'3 190 and 29 years old. He is instant offense off the bench. 1 of our best shooters, maybe the best.

Our 1st big man off the bench - Craig Holloway will provide instant offense off the bench. He is rated 78 overall. He is probably our best post scorer and he has 3 point range but doesn't like the mid range shot... He is 6'9 272.

SF Evan Turner can also play some PG or SG in a pinch. He is a versatile guy who doesn't excel in any area but does a bunch ok. Rated 77 overall. 6'7 220 and only 26 years old as he returns to Philly.

9th - K.J. McDaniels is a 6'6 195 lb player from Clemson who is only 22. He played big minutes last year due to injuries and developed nicely with the PT. He has become an average shooter with good athleticism. Hopefully, he continues to improve.

10th - PF Arnett Moultrie also got big minutes last year and he developed nicely. He is 6'10 240 and only 24 years old. A reliable rebounder who can make the occasional midrange shot.

11th - SG Havel Bazja was the 20th pick and is now rated 69 overall. He is a 6'5 shooterwhose best attribute is his athleticism which is slightly above average.

12th - Vladmir Stojic is our 27th pick. The PG is rated 66 overall and probably won't play unless there are injuries...

13th - PF Jarvis Varnado is 27 and probably won't see any PT.

Reserve - PF Brandon Davies from BYU is only 24 and might develop into a useful player...

[Eaglesfan27]

We start our the season facing the Pistons who have a talented starting 5 but we are favored to win. Their starting 5:

PG Brandon Jennings (81), SG Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (75), SF Joe Johnson (79), PG Paul Millsap (85), and C Andre Drummond (85).

Their bench is led by PG D.J Augustin (77)

[Eaglesfan27]

Nice strong defense in the 1st half to build a 46-41 lead.

Butler with some breakaway dunks.

Leonard with a few different types of scoring. Goran with the spark off the bench. Halloway is strugging early to score.

Goran was limited by foul trouble or he might have scored more..


We take a 46-41 lead to the half. Noel with 8 points and 10 boards.

We open the half with 10-0 run including a Leonard steal for a fast break dunk.

We have Johnson in foul trouble.

65-45 lead as we go on another 9-0 run after they scored a basket.

Jennings with a 3 to end our run. Leonard answers with a 3.

At the end of 3, we are up 72-57. Turner with a few nice baskets for us.

With 8 minutes to go, Holloway with his first point on a FT.


We win the game 95-81. When MCW, Butler, Leonard, Noel, and Embiid are in the game together, our defense is very good.

MCW is the player of the game with 19 points, 8 assists, 3 boards, and only 2 turnovers. He shot 9 of 11.

Butler with 14 points, 8 boards, and 6 assists. He shot 5 of 11.

Leonard with 14 points, 4 boards, 3 assists, and a block. He shot 6 of 13.

Dragic with 13 points and 4 assists off the bench in 25 minutes.

Turner with 13 points in 16 minutes. HE shot 5 of 7 and was 1 of 2 from the line.

Noel with 11 points, 13 boards, and 2 blocks.

Embiid with 6 points, 12 boards, and 1 block.

Holloway with 5 points, 11 boards, and 1 block in 30 minutes off the bench.


Millsap led them with 17 points and 9 boards.

Johnson with 16 points on 6 of 18 shooting.

Caldwell Pope with 13 points on 4 of 12.

We held Jennings to 3 of 13 shooting.

[Eaglesfan27]

The next nigh we travel to Cleveland and they beat us 130-127 in OT.

LeBron led the way with 33 points, 11 boards, and 9 assists.

Irving added 33 points and 9 assists. Gerald Henderson with 19 points as well. Waiters with 13.

MCW led us with 22 points, 7 boards, and 4 assists.

Dragic with 22 points and 10 assists.

Noel with 21 points, 12 boards, and a block.

Leonard with 20 points, 10 boards, 2 assists, 1 steal, and a block.

Turner with 14 points, 3 boards, and 2 assists.

Embiid with 8 points, 8 boards, and a block.


A few nights later MCW has 23 points, 11 boards, and 10 assists to lead us past a good Hawks team. Holloway had 15 points and 7 boards in his best game.

Noel with 4 blocks along with 10 points and 9 boards.


Our horrible chemistry is starting to slowly improve already.

[korme]

Any changes to sliders you have made since your last run?

[Eaglesfan27]

Any changes to sliders you have made since your last run?

I am playing pro Sim out of the box and it plays a great game! My new sliders are all really to my league. I will post them tonight.

[Eaglesfan27]

I had an unexpected few extra minutes to get on this morning. Here are MyLeague sliders for now:

Trave Approval on: (if I see any crazy trades, I will veto them)

All Financial settings to default, but I will raise the cap in the future...

Trade Negotiation Setting: 60
Contract Negotiation Difficulty: 70
CPU Re-signing Aggressiveness: 80
Morale Difficulty: 60
Morale Effects: 70
Chemistry Difficulty: 60
Chemistry Effects: 70
Trade Frequency: 38
Blockbuster Trade Frequency: 55
CPU/Player Injury Frequency: 52
Career Ending Injury Frequency: 50
User/CPU Injury Effects: 50
Draft Class Quality: 25 (will randomly fluctuate between 10-40 depending upon a probability chart I made up.)
Player Progression Rate: 50
In-season Training Effects: 50
Player Non-financial Ambition Factor: 75

[Groundhog]

Draft Class Quality: 25 (will randomly fluctuate between 10-40 depending

That's a great idea.

[Eaglesfan27]

Against Washington, we had a 8 minute stretch in the 4th quarter where we couldn't hit a shot and it cost us a 10 point lead that we couldn't crawl back from. We went down to Washington 92-87 despite a great scoring effort from Dragic who had 32 points to lead all scorers. He also had 4 assists. He shot 12 of 16 including 4 of 5 from the arc.

MCW with 10 points, 7 assists, and 5 turnovers.

Noel with 10 points and 13 boards but he shot 5 of 12.

Embiid with 9 points, 8 boards, and 2 blocks.

Leonard shot 3 of 11 and finished with 8 points, 5 boards, 2 assists, and 2 steals.

Holloway shot 2 of 9 and finished with 4 points, 8 boards, and a block in 30 minutes.

Butler shot 1 of 10 and couldn't shut down Beal.

Beal and Wall both had big games against us with 24 points for Beal and 20 points plus 5 assists for Wall.

[Eaglesfan27]

Nov 4, 2015 -

We travel to play the Bucks who are 1-2. We are 2-2.

Before the game, Noel tweaks his ankle in practice. Nothing too severe but enough for me to limit his minutes for a few games...

Holloway with his best game as a pro! 26 points on 10 of 18 shooting and 5 of 9 FT's. He also hit his first NBA 3. 26 points, 3 boards, and 1 assist as we win 111-106.

MCW with 18 points, 6 boards, 6 assists, and 2 steals.

Leonard with 16 points, 4 boards, 3 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block.

Dragic with 8 points and 8 assists in 24 minutes off the bench.

Turner with 14 points in 24 minutes off the bench.

The Bucks were led by 26 points, 13 boards, and 5 assists from Jabari Parker.


11/6 -

We travel to play the Knicks who are 1-4.

They play us tough but Leonard hits some clutch shots down the stretch to give us a 97-94 win!

Leonard with a season high 26 points. He also had 11 boards, 1 assist, and 1 steal.

MCW with 13 points, 7 board,s and 3 assists.

Dragic with 11 points, 6 boards, and 6 assists.

Embiid with 12 points, 8 boards, and 2 blocks.

Turner with 12 points in 20 minutes.

Holloway with 11 points, 8 boards, and 1 block.

Noel with 6 points and 10 boards.

His ankle feels better and we'll up his minutes again.

K.J. McDaniels played 12 minutes and didn't do much except turn it over 4 times...



Draft News:

The early favorite for the #1 pick is a 19 year old combo guard from USC... drool!

He doesn't have great size like I want at only 6'0 160 but he has excellent passing ability and the best shooting ability in the draft per our scouts. Early in the year, he is averaging 29 ppg and 11 apg for USC...



Nov 7 -

We travel to play the Magic. They are 3-1 with a nice lineup:

Rookie PG Harry Bradshaw (71 overall), SG Oladipo (82), SF Tobias Harris (77), PF Love (90), and C Nikola Vucevic (82)

Aaron Gordon (80) leads their bench along with SF Kyle Singler (76) and SF Maurice Harkless (75).

Before the game, Noel tweaks his knee in practice. He'll be able to play but I will limit his minutes...

[Eaglesfan27]

MCW is abusing their rookie PG, with multiple turnovers created, giving us easy fastbreak baskets. We are up 48-29 at the half.

We are shooting 49% at the half. We've held them to 30% shooting. Love our defense and our transition offense. Our halfcourt offense is a work in progress.

A sloppy 3rd quarter lets them back in it. We are up 67-59 after the end of 3.

I thought we were going to run away with it... but it comes down to a 92-92 tie as MCW shoots a shot at the buzzer.... it is in... but the refs say it was too late. We are going to OT.

Love had a huge 2nd half to bring them back into the game. 22 points in the 2nd half for Love.

Love missing his shots in OT... Embiid with a block that caroms to MCW who takes it coast to coast for a breakaway dunk! 102-96 with 30 seconds left...

MCW hits some FT's down the stretch to seal the deal.

We win 107-100.

Love led them with 31 points and 8 boards.

Oladipo had 22 points and 4 assists.

Bradshaw, the Rookie, played a good 2nd half and finished with 6 points and 6 assists.


Leonard led us with 21 points, 10 boads, 3 assists, 3 steals, and a block. He shot 8 of 17, 1 of 2 from the arc, and 4 of 5 from the line.

Butler with 21 points, 4 boards, 4 assists, and 3 steals. He shot 8 of 14.

MCW with 17 points, 5 boards, 7 assists, and 1 steal.

Dragic with 14 points and 6 assists on 6 of 13 shooting in 28 minutes.

Turner with 10 points in 14 minutes off the bench.

Noel with 9 points, 8 boards, and 1 block.

Holloway with 8 points, 8 boards, and 2 assists in 31 minutes.

Embiid with 6 points, 11 boards, and 2 blocks.

Moutrie played 5 minutes and had 2 boards.

[Eaglesfan27]

11/9 =

We host the Magic. Can we put them away early this time?


Nope. In fact, Love hits a buzzer beater in regulation to beat us 94-93.

Love led them with 27 points, 7 boards, and 4 assists. Oladipo with 17 points and 5 assists.


MCW suffered a minor knee injury in the game that might keep him out for a game or two.

Dragic played major minues as a result and finished with a team high 27 points and 7 assists.

Leonard with 15 points, 8 boards, and 1 assist.

Embiid with 13 points, 7 boards, and 2 blocks.

Butler with 13 points. Holloway with 10 points and 5 boards.

Noel with 8 points, 9 boards, and a block.

MCW only played 12 minutes before getting hurt and he finished with 2 points, 6 assists, and 2 steals in those 12 minutes!


After the game, the Heat offer me Norris Cole (77 PG) and SF (Luol Deng - 76) for Goran Dragic and Varnado. I turn them down.


Nov 11, 2015 -

I told Dragic to focus on feeding the post this game in his first start for us... the result a blowout win over the Heat, 103-67.

Embiid with a career high 25 points, 10 boards, and 2 blocks. He shot 7 of 9 and 11 of 12 from the line.

Butler added 14 points, 6 boards, and 4 assists.

Dragig with 13 points and 7 assists. HE shot 6 of 10.

Turner with 12 points. Holloway with 10 points and 6 boards.

Noel with 10 points, 10 boards, and 1 block.


Our next game is on the 13th hosting the Jazz. They are 2-8 and we are heavily favored to win. Their starting 5:

PG Isaiah Thomas (82), SG Alec Burks (78), SF Gordon Hayward (80), PF Derrick Favors (79), and C Rudy Gobert (74.)

Their bench is led by PG Dante Exum (81) and Combo G Trey Burke (78.) They also have the #1 overall pick PG Yunlong Kim (78 overall.) Kim is averaging 20 mpg and is averaging 11 ppg and 3 apg. He is smaller than we thought at 5'9 155. Interested to see him on the court...

[Eaglesfan27]

Last minute line-up change. The Jazz move Exum into the starting lineup at SG.

MCW has been cleared to play but he isn't 100%. I'll bring him in for limited minutes off the bench.

Kim comes in the game to start the 2nd quarter and drills a fadeaway long 2 to give them a 30-28 lead.

MCW passes over Kim easily to find a cutting Embiid for a dunk. Tied at 30.

Wow. Kim with a sick move to get past Carter and he takes it in for a dunk. The kid can sky...

Kim tries to challenge Embiid in the lane and Embiid swats it away! Starts a fastbreak that leads to a Butler dunk.

Embiid with a big half as we are feeding him in the post and their post players aren't very good. But, they are getting big scoring from their trio of talented guards. We are tied at 51 at the half.

Favors is also having a nice game offensively for them with 9 points and 9 boards at the half.

They build a big lead in the 3rd quarter until Dragic takes over the game and scores 8 straight to get us back in it. At the end of 3, we are down 75-72.

A close back and forth 4 quarter. A key sequence is when Embiid alters a shot inside and that leads to a fast break by Leonard who kicks it out to Dragic for a wide open 3. 99-93. 1:30 to go.

Exum and Kim with some 3's to make it exciting but we hit our FT's and hold on for the win, 104-102.

Dragic is the player of the game with 19 points, 5 assists, 4 boards. He shot 8 of 13, 2 of 4 from the arc, and 1 of 2 from the line.

Butler with 19 points, 4 boards, and 3 assists. He shot 7 of 15 and 4 of 4 from the line.

Embiid with 16 points, 15 boards, 1 assist, and 1 block. He shot 6 of 10 and 4 of 10 from the line.

Holloway with 14 points, 7 boards, 3 assists, and 1 steal. He shot 7 of 11 and 0 of 1 from the arc.

Turner with 12 points and 4 assists in a season high 31 minutes.

Leonard with 9 points, 9 boards, 4 assists, and 2 steals. He shot 3 of 10 and 3 of 6 from the line.

Noel with 8 points, 11 boards, and 2 assists.

MCW with 5 points, 2 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block in 15 minutes. He'll get more minutes as he looks to be almost back..

Moultrie got 7 minutes with 2 points, 1 board, and a block.


Exum led them with 20 points and 6 assists in 33 minutes off the bench.

Favors with 17 points and 12 boards.

Thomas with 14 points and 4 assists.

The #1 pick Kim played 18 minutes and had 11 points and 2 assists. He is a VERY good shooter if he gets any space.

[Eaglesfan27]

11/15 -

We host the Buggets who are 5-3 with a good starting 5. We are favored.

We get outscored 27-19 in the 1st quarter but in the 2nd and 3rd quarter, we catch on fire and blow them out. 117-75 win.

Holloway led us with 21 points, 5 boards, 2 assists, and a block. He shot 9 of 13 including 1 of 2 from the arc.

Leonard with 15 points, 9 boards, and 3 steals.

Embiid with 15 points, 12 boards and 2 blocks.

MCW with 13 points, 8 boards, 6 assists in just 24 minutes off the bench.

Butler with 13 points, 3 boards, and 3 steals.

Dragic with 12 points and 9 assists in 34 minutes.

Noel with 9 points, 7 boards, and 2 blocks.

McDaniels had his best game of the year with 9 points in 8 minutes. He looked very lively out there.

MCW is back to 100% and has been completely cleared. He will start our next game. Dragic will get major minutes at both guard spots off the bench...


11/17 -

We travel to Chicago. They are 7-3 and are very talented. They are favored to win. Their starting 5: PG Rose (88), SG Ginobili (79), SF Doug McDermott (78), PF Gibson (79), and C Noah (84.) Their bench is led by Pau Gasol (77), SF Tony Snell (73) and PG Hinrich (71.)


Leonard with a 3 at the buzzer in regulation to take us to OT. In OT, Leonard has a big quarter and Embiid shuts down the lane and we pull out the upset 108-104 in OT!

Leonard with 25 points, 8 boards, 2 assists, and 1 steal.

Embiid with 21 point,s 10 boards, and 4 blocks.

Dragic with 21 points, 6 assists, 5 boards, and 3 steals. He shot a very efficient 6 of 10, 3 of 5 from the arc, and 6 of 6 from the line.

Holloway with 16 points and 5 boards.

Butler with 8 points, 4 boards, 4 assists, and 5 steals.

oel with 6 points, 11 boards, and a block.

MCW worked his way back. 34 minutes -4 points, 3 boards, 8 assists, 2 steals, and 4 turnovers. He shot 2 of 8.

McDaniels with 3 points and 3 boards in 11 minutes.


We are now 9-3 :)


11/18 -

We travel to play at Portland the next night. They are 3-6 and we are favored. But, they are very talented and we are tired...

Their starting 5:

PG Lillard (89), SG Ellis (83), SF Batum (80), PF Thomas Robinson (78), C Robin Lopez (78.) Their bench is led by SG C.J. McCollum (75) and SF Dorell Wright (73.) I hope to outrun them and tire them out...

[Eaglesfan27]

Leonard draws 2 quick fouls on Batum who will sit...

Our defense smothers them early. Very physical. The team is tiring but we are subbing liberally. 20-15 lead at the end of 1.

Holloway has it going even hitting a 3 as they leave him open daring him to shoot it... We are up 34-27 with 5:20 to go in the half.

Nice balanced scoring from our guys. Holloway and Leonard leading our scorers with Dragic also chipping in at a nice clip. We are up 47-42 and playing very tenacious defense against one of the most explosive offensive teams in the league...

Ellis leads all scorers with 11 points as he is jacking them up...

Dragic with 6 assists at the half as MCW played some SG for us..



Lillard with an insane 3rd quarter. Hitting DEEP 3's. He helps them build a 70-66 lead.

5:09 to go: Leonard with a dunk and the foul. That is the 5th foul on Batum. It gives us a 84-83 lead.

Leonard with another steal and a breakaway dunk! That helps set up a 8-0 run. 92-83 lead.

That gives us the cushion we need to get a hard fought 96-88 win!

Ellis led all scorers with 27 points. Lillard with 22 points and 7 assists.

Dragic with 21 points, 9 assists, 3 boards, and 3 turnovers. He shot 7 of 12, 3 of 6, and 4 of 4. He is becoming our favorite offensive weapon.

Butler with 16 points, 6 boards, and 2 steals.

Leonard with 14 points, 11 boards, 3 assists, and a steal. He had a rough night shooting 6 of 17.

Holloway with 13 points, 6 boards, and 4 assists. He shot 6 of 10 and 1 of 1 from the arc.

Turner with 12 points in 27 minutes.

MCW with 10 points, 4 assists, and 1 steal in 30 minutes.

Noel with 6 points, 8 boards, and 2 blocks.

Embiid with 2 points, 10 boards, 2 assists, and 2 blocks. He shot 1 of 6.

[Eaglesfan27]

11/21 -

We host the Raptors who are 7-4. We are favored to win...

Our defense smothers them early and we jump to a 16-2 lead. We never look back as we cruise to a 111-80 win.

MCW led us with 19 points and 6 assists.

Dragic with 17 points and 3 assists.

Leonard with 16 points, 9 boards, and 2 steals.

Turner with 14 points.

Embiid with 13 points, 9 boards, and 2 blocks.

Butler with 13 points, 5 boards, and 3 assists.

Holloway with 9 points, 13 boards, and 3 assists.

Noel with 5 points, 10 boards, and 2 blocks.



11/23 -

We travel to play the Rockets. They are 8-6 and we are favored...

They have a huge 2nd quarter to build a 15 point lead and we never recovered. We lose 107-86.

Turner suffered a bruised shoulder in the game.

They were led by 25 points and 7 assists from Harden. Ariza with 20 points and 8 boards. Howard with 16 points, 10 boards, and 2 blocks.

MCW led us with 19 points, 5 boards, 5 assists, and 3 steals.

Leonard with 13 points, 6 boards, 2 steals, and 2 blocks.

Dragic shot 3 of 15. He finished with 13 points and 4 assists.

Noel with 10 points, 10 boards, and 2 blocks.

Butler with 8 points, 5 boards, and 5 assists.

Embiid with a rough game. He shot 3 of 12 and finished with 8 points, 11 boards, and a block.

Holloway shot 2 of 10 and finished with 4 points and 4 boards.

Our next game is on the 25th at the Spurs. They are favored.

[Eaglesfan27]

San Antonio jumps to an early 12-6 lead but we battle back and are only down by 2 at the end of the 1st. 21-19.

In the 2nd quarter, Leonard has a nice contribution on both ends to help us build a slight lead at the half, 48-47.

In the 3rd quarter, our defense locks them down.

In the 3rd quarter, we lock down the defense. We end the quarter with a 73-66 lead.

They tire late in the 3rd and early in the 4th and we build a 16 point lead. We are outrunning them and playing tenacious defense. They close the gap late, but not enough to really threaten us.

91-84 win.

MCW shut down Parker at times... He also scored efficeiently and ended up with 16 points, 5 assists, 1 board, 2 steals. He shot 7 of 12.

Leonard with great play at both ends against his former team. He was the star of the game with 21 points, 9 boards, 3 assists, 2 steals, and a block. He shot 9 of 16.

Butler with 16 points, 4 boards, 4 assists, and 2 steals.

Holloway with 9 points, 8 boards, 2 assists, and a block.

Noel with 8 points, 7 boards, 3 assists, and a block.

Turner with 7 points, 3 boards, 3 assists, and a steal.

Embiid with 3 points and 12 boards. We forgot to feed the big guy. We need to get him the ball more. He only shot 1 of 3.


Kidd-Gilchrest led them with 18 points and 6 boards.

Parker was held to 6 of 18 shooting for 14 points and 5 assists.

We held Duncan to 2 of 10 shooting. He finished with 5 points and 9 boards in 30 minutes.

We held Splitter to 7 points and 7 boards.

We held Crabbe to 2 of 9 shooting for 4 points and 2 assists in 30 minutes.

[Eaglesfan27]

We are now 12-4. Next up is a game at Oklahoma on 11/27. They are 11-5 but we are favored as the team is coming together and playing great ball with a 8-2 record in our last 10...

We led Oklahoma for 3 quarters but Durant got fire in the 4th and led them to a blowout, 118-100. We were outscored 38-20 in the 4th quarter and Durant finished with 36 points. He also had 9 boards, 5 assists, and 4 steals.

Ibaka with 17 points and 8 boards. Westbrook was injured and didn't play but JAckson had 11 points and 3 assists.

Westbrook is out for the year with a ruptured Achilles..


Embiid led us with 26 points, 9 boards, and a block.

MCW with 21 points, 10 boards, and 4 assists.

Leonard with 21 points, 7 boards, 3 assists, 3 steals, and 3 blocks.

Noel with 11 points, 9 boards, and 3 steals.

Turner had 5 points.

Dragic had an off night and shot 1 of 9 to finish with 3 points and 4 assists.

Holloway shot 1 of 8.



11/29 -

We are back home and host the Hornets. They are 6-9 and struggling in their last 10. They haven't won on the road. We are favored to win...

We win every quarter by 2-3 points and that gets us a 99-87 win.

Leonard led us with 20 points, 3 boards, and 1 assist.

Dragic shot great and had a very efficient 17 points, 8 assists, 2 steals, and 3 turnovers.

Butler with 10 points and 4 assists along with 2 steals.

McDaniels with 10 points in 11 minutes off the bench.

Turner with 9 points, 7 boards, and 3 assists.

MCW with 9 points, 6 boards, 11 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, and 3 turnovers.

Holloway with 9 points, 7 boards, and a block.

Noel with 8 points, 11 boards, and 3 blocks.

Embiid with 7 points, 12 boards, and 2 blocks.


Lance Stephenson led the Hornets with 25 points, 7 boards, 4 assists, and 2 teals.

Kemba walker with 11 points and 8 assists.

Patrick Mills with 11 points and 3 assists. HE shot 5 of 14.

Al Jefferson held to 9 points and 9 boards.

Tristian Thompson held to 6 points, 3 board, and 2 blocks in 32 minutes.




Our next game is 12/1 hosting the Knicks. We are 13-5. They are 8-7. They are 7-3 in their last 10. We won our last meeting with them 97-94.

Their starting 5:

PG Shane Larkin (74), SG J.R. Smith (79), SF Carmelo (90), PF Bargnani (70), and C Marc Gasol (84).

Their bench is led by Iman Shumpet (78) SG.

[Eaglesfan27]

In the first half, we are very sloppy with the ball and we give them too many easy baskets. They build a 52-40 lead at halftime. Carmelo with 14 points in the first half.

Leonard gets hot in the 3rd and we cut the lead to 4, but a few sloppy plays allow them to get back to 10 points. Dragic and MCW both with some bad passes.

We cut the lead to 4 early in the 4th again, but Carmelo hits pair of 3's to deflate us.

Leonard has 1 last run in him as he is having a great game scoring but we can't quite get close enough and they have a final run in the last 3 minutes to extend the lead back to 10 behind a few more big baskets from Carmelo.

We lose 100-88.

Carmelo was the player of the game with 27 points, 7 boards, 3 assists, and 3 steals. He shot 10 of 22.

Hardway with 19 points on 8 of 10 shooting was very hard to stop in the 3rd.

Larkin added 12 points and 6 assists. J.R. also had 12 points.


Leonard led us with 22 points, 6 boards, 4 assists, 2 steals, and 3 blocks. HE shot 10 of 14.

Dragic with 19 points and 3 assist along with 4 turnovers. He shot 8 of 20...

Butler with 12 points, 5 assists, 3 steals, and a block. HE shot 5 of 8.

MCW with 11 points, 4 boards, 3 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, and 6 turnovers. HE shot 3 of 14 after starting off 3 of 3...

Noel with 11 points and 12 boards. HE shot 5 of 9.

Embiid with 5 points, 11 boards, 2 assists. HE shot 2 of 8.

Turner with 4 points and 3 boards.

Holloway shot 1 of 6 and finished with 2 points, 3 boards, and 1 assist.

[Eaglesfan27]

Jimmy Cowen of USC is the player of the week in the Pac-12. The 6'0 combo guard is averaging 36 ppg this week. Wow. He is the clear consensus #1 right now and we are investing a lot of scouting into him...

Our staff thinks he has the potential to be one of the greatest players of all time and of course, I want him on my team even if he doesn't have ideal size. But, I love MCW and can't see parting with him...

Still, this kid is a dynamic play maker who is a dynamic scorer.. Is there anyway I could play him and MCW together?


12/3 -

We host the Cavs who are 7-8 even with LeBron. We lost to them 130-127 last time...

Before the game, the Wolves offer us Rubio and Thad Young for Dragic and Holloway. I turn them down...

With 6 minutes to go in the game, we are tied with the Cavs 90-90...

We trade baskets back and forth with Leonard hitting a pair for me and Irving hitting a pair for them. With 1:56 to go, LeBron steals it from Leonard and takes it all the way for a dunk. 102-98...

Lebron with a pair of baskets to keep their lead. Down 106-102 with 38 seconds to go and Dragic misses a good look at a 3.

Dragic misses another 3. We are done.

We lose 112-105 as they hit their FT's down the stretch.


LeBron led them with 25 points, 8 boards, 6 assists, 4 steals, and a block. He shot 9 of 20.

Irving with 25 points, 5 boards, and 5 assists. He shot 8 of 21.

Waiters with 18 points and 6 assists on 6 of 8 shooting.

Varejao with 10 points and 10 boards.

Henderson wirth 9 points, 2 boards, and 1 block.

Leonard led us with 28 points, 6 boards, 1 assist, and 2 steals. HE shot 11 of 16.

Holloway with 17 points, 4 boards, and 1 assist. He shot 7 of 12.

Embiid with 15 points, 12 boards, and a block. HE shot 6 of 14.

Noel with 9 points, 11 boards, and a block. He shot 4 of 8.

Butler with 9 points, 7 boards, 9 assists, and 2 steals.

McDaniels with 8 points in 11 minutes.

MCW with 7 points, 7 assists, 2 steals, 2 boards, and 3 turnovers. He shot 3 of 10.

Turner with 7 points, 6 boards, and 2 assists in 20 minutes.

[Eaglesfan27]

12/4/15 -

We travel to play the Hawks and we are tired going into this game. They are 11-8 and we are favored despite being tired...

We play them tough and have a lead going into the 4th but our tired legs show up and they outscore us 30-20 in the 4th to secure a 105-100 win.

Leonard with 19 points, 5 boards, and 2 blocks.

MCW with 18 points, 10 assists, 5 boards, 2 steals, and 3 turnovers.

Turner with 14 points in 20 minutes.

Dragic shot 4 of 15 and finished with 12 points and 5 assists.

MCDaniels with 10 points in 12 minutes off the bench.

Noel with 9 points and 12 boards but he shot 3 of 10.

Embiid with 8 points, 5 boards. He shot 3 of 12.

Butler with 7 points and 4 assists. HE shot 2 of 10.

Holloway shot 1 of 10. He finished with 3 points and 8 boards in 29 minutes off the bench.


12/6/15 -

We host the Wolves we are 6-13 and struggling despite their talented young players. We are 13-8 and favored to win. The starting 5 for the Wolves is impressive:

PG Rubio (82), SG MArtin (77), SF Wiggins (82), PF Thad Young (77), C Gorgui Dieng (76.)

G Zach LEvine (77) and PF Anthony Bennett (77) their bench.


Before the game, the Clippers offer C Jordan (81) and SG Redick (78) for Butler (81) and Embiid (79.) I pass as I think Embiid is going to develop into a special player..

[Eaglesfan27]

Wiggins with 2 quick baskets to give them a 5-0 lead. MCW finds Embiid for a dunk for our first score. Noel down low makes it 5-4.

We mostly score inside while they are bombing from outside. At the end of 1, they are up 27-22.


Dragic and Leonard with a good 2nd quarter to close the gap. Down 51-49 at the half. Wiggins leads all scorers with 14.

Holloway and Leonard with a big 3rd quarter and McDaniels chips in a few good shots to give us a 77-72 lead at the end of 3...

Down the stretch, our starting 5, especially Leonard lock down the defense. Leonard did a great job playing defense in the 4th after not doing so well against Wiggins in the first 3 quarters.

We win 99-88.

Leonard with 26 points, 4 boards, 3 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, and 1 turnover. He shot 11 of 22, 1 of 4, and 3 of 4.

Dragic with 18 points, 7 assists, 2 boards, and 1 turnover. He shot 7 of 21.

Holloway with 11 points, 8 boards, 2 assists, and a block. He shot 5 of 9.

Butler with 10 points, 7 boards, and 5 assists. He shot 4 of 7.

MCW with 10 points, 6 boards, 5 assist, and 1 steal. He shot 5 of 9.

Embiid with 9 points and 12 boards. He shot 3 of 9.

McDaniels with 9 points and a block in 7 minutes. The athletic slashing guard is becoming a great energy player for us.

Wiggins had 16 points but only 1 point in the 4th. He shot 6 of 16.

Martin led them with 21 points on 8 of 14 shooting.

Young had 11 points and LaVine had 10 points.



Noel with 4 points, 8 boards, and 3 blocks.

[Eaglesfan27]

Orlando has won 14 in a row. Love is leading that team and the offensive pieces around him fit perfectly.

Cowen just put up 42 points in a game. Wow. The USC guard is averaging 30 ppg, 11.5 apg, and 2.2 apg.


12/8 -

We travel to play the Mavericks who are playing very well...

They are running and gunning but we run pretty well too. We jump to a big lead in the 3rd with a 40 point quarter and we barely hold on for the 121-117 win.

MCW with 27 points, 12 assists, and 10 boards. He shot 10 of 19.

Leonard with 20 points, 10 boards, and 3 steals. He shot 10 of 18.

Dragic with 16 points, 7 assists, and 3 steals. He shot 5 of 11.

Embiid with 13 points, 10 boards, and a block.

Noel with 10 points, 8 boards, and 2 blocks.

Butler with 12 points, 6 assists, 3 boards, and 2 steals.

Holloway led the bench with 10 points and 3 boards.

Turner with 8 points, 7 boards, and 5 assists.

McDaniels with 5 points and an assist.


Dallas was led by 29 points and 4 assists young guard Ricky Ledo.

Chandler Parsons added 29 points and 9 boards.

Dirk with 11 points, 4 boards, and 1 assist.

Devin Harris with 10 points and 10 assists.



PF Murray Daugherty from U Conn is rising up the board ans is now the consensus #2 pick and starting to be talked about as a potential #1 pcik. The 6'9 250 pound PF is 3 years older than the young guard from USC but he is already more developed. He is a good mid-range shooter who can also score from inside. He is averaging 26 ppg and 11 rpg. along with 3.2 bpg...


12/9 -

We travel to Memphis. We are tired but the Grizzlies are ravaged by injuries and poor chemistry. They are 7-13...


We come out completely flat with no energy. They jump to 12-0 lead. They are up 53-34 at the end of the half.

In the 2nd half, our defense intensity amps way up and our guys start smothering them all over the court! 33-10 3rd quarter in our advantage.

We cruise to a 98-85 win in the 4th!

Leonard led us with 25 points, 3 boards, and 2 steals.

Holloway with 16 points and 11 boards.

Embiid with 14 points, 10 boards, and 2 blocks.

Dragic with 10 points, 5 assists and 4 turnovers.

Butler with 8 points, 7 boards, 5 assists, and 3 steals.

Turner with 8 points. McDaniels with 8 points in 9 minutes.

MCW with 7 points, 3 boards, 10 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, and 4 turnovers. He shot 2 of 10.

Noel with 2 points and 7 boards.


They were led by 16 points from Conley who shot 6 of 18.

Boozer was their 2nd leading scorer with 11 points and 10 boards.



In other news, Love with a season high 48 points to help the Magic to their 16th win in a row...


Jimmy Cowan of USC just put up 40 points, 10 assists, 4 steals in a win for USC... wow.


12/11 -

Our next game is against the Nets at their place. They are 6-14 and 3-7 in their last 10. We are favored.

Their starting 5:

PG Williams (83), SG Fredette (75), SF Bojan Bogdanovic (76), PF Greg Monroe (81), C Brook Lopez (84)

Their bench is led by C Mason Plumlee (80) and PG Jarrett Jack (72.)

This should be a great battle inside the paint.

[Eaglesfan27]

We are outrunning these Nets and getting their starters into foul trouble especially Bogdanovic. We are up 32-22 at the end of 1. Fredette has hit 3 3's and has 11 points in the quarter. Butler will need to do a better job of locking him down.

All parts of our offense working almost perfectly in the 2nd quarter. We are shooting 59% for the half. We are up 61-44. Butler leads our team with 16 points at the half.

Leonard and Dragic with a big 3rd quarter to keep our scoring going. We are up 85-69 at the end of 3. Butler held Fredette to 0 points that quarter.

Our team clamps down more in the 4th and we are able to empty our bench with a 105-82 lead with 4 minutes to go.

We finish with a 111-92 win.

Leonard is the player of the game with 29 points, 7 boards, 3 assists, and 2 steals. He shot 11 of 15, 2 of 4 from the arc, and 5 of 6 from the line.

Butler finished with 22 points, 5 assists, and 3 steals. He shot 6 of 12 from the field and 10 of 11 from the line.

Dragic with 19 points, 8 assists, and 3 steals. He shot 7 of 11 including 3 of 5 from the arc.

Embiid with 14 points, 10 boards, and 1 block. He shot 6 of 11.

MCW with 12 points, 6 boards, 6 assists, 3 steals, and 1 turnover. He shot 5 of 11.

Holloway with 6 points, 9 boards, 3 assists, and 3 turnovers. He shot 3 of 8.

Noel with 4 points, 8 boards, 3 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks. He shot 2 of 7.

McDaniels had 5 points in 4 minutes. He shot 2 of 3 including 1 of 1 from the arc.

Stojic with 2 assists and 2 turnovers in his 4 minutes of garbage time.

Varnado with 2 boards in 4 minutes off garbage time.


Bogdanovic led them in scoring with 18 points on 6 of 20 shooting.

Fredette had 18 points on 7 of 17 shooting.

Lopez with 13 points, 10 boards, and 2 blocks. He shot 5 of 13.

Monroe with 8 points, 9 boards, and 1 block. He shot 4 of 6.

Plumlee with 7 points and 7 boards.

[Eaglesfan27]

Last night, Cowen had another great game. 26 points, 10 assists, and 3 steals.


12/13/15 -

We host the Celtics. They are 8-15. We are heavily favored.

Before the game, Embiid suffers a minor injury in practice. He'll play through the bruised ribs.

Holloway suffers a minor injury midway through the 2nd and we play very sluggish the entire game. The Celtics keep a small lead throughout and we never close the gap. 106-98 loss.

Dragic led us with 20 points, 4 assists, and 4 turnovers.

Embiid with 17 points, 8 boards, and 1 block. He shot 4 of 12 and 9 of 12 from the line.

Leonard with 16 points but he shot 7 of 21.

Holloway with 10 points and 10 boards as he battled through the sore knee.

MCW with 10 points, 6 assists, 3 steals, and 4 turnovers.


Marcus Smart led the Celtics with 20 points and 4 assists. Jeff Green and Avery Bradley each added 18 points.

Rajon Rondo with 13 points, 10 boards, and 9 assists.



12/15/15 -

We host the Spurs who are 17-8. We are 17-9. The Spurs are favored with their talented team... we beat them last time 91-84...

We hold our own well in the 1st half, down 37-36 at the half.

In the 3rd quarter, they light us up 28-17 and we can't fight back.

We lose 81-72.

Dragic led us with 23 points and 2 assists. He shot 9 of 13.

No one else had more than 10 points. Leonard shot 4 of 12.

MCW shot 4 of 12.

Noel had 4 points, 14 boards, and 4 blocks.

Embiid shot 0 of 10.


The Spurs were led by 18 from Parker and 16 from Duncan. Kidd-Gilchrist added 12.



Dec 17th -

We travel to Detroit. We beat them 95-81 last time. They are 12-12. We are 17-10 and are favored against them.


In other news, Daugherty has scored 30 plus and 10 boards or more in his last 3. He is being talked about as a possible #1 pick now.

Our staff thinks that Daugherty and Cowen are the only sure stars in this draft. The rest of it is very questionable...

The latest Mock Draft has Cowen still going #1, they predict to the Nets. I couldn't stand to see him play for our rivals.

[Eaglesfan27]

Both defenses dominating early. 44-44 at the half. Dragic is the leading scorer with 12 points.

Dragic with a big 3rd quarter to get us a 72-68 lead at the end of 3.

In the 4th, Millsaps goes crazy from the arc including a game tying 3 with 2 seconds left from way behind the arc. We are tied 101-101 at the end of regulation.

In OT, our guys are exhausted and are just missing shots. Meanwhile, Detroit is hitting big shots and they cruise to an easy OT win, 115-107.

Millsap is the player of the game with 30 points, 18 boards, 3 assists. He shot 8 of 16, 3 of 3, and 9 of 12 from the line.

Joe Johnson with 25 points on 6 of 14 shooting, 3 of 6 from the arc, and 10 of 14 from the line.

Dragic led all scorers with 32 points, 3 assists, 1 steal, and 2 turnovers. He shot 13 of 27, 4 of 10, and 2 of 2.

Embiid with 16 points, 9 boards, and 3 blocks.

MCW with 13 points, 4 boards, and 4 assists.

Butler with 11 points, 6 boards, and 6 assists.

Leonard with 10 points, 7 boards, 3 assists, 2 steals. He shot 4 of 15.

Holloway with 9 points and 9 boards in 26 minutes. He shot 4 of 7 including 1 of 2 from the arc.

Noel with 3 points, 5 boards, and a block.

[Eaglesfan27]

12/17/15 -

We host the Lakers who are 12-16. We are 17-11 and we are favored to win this..

We are tied at the half, but we have a big 3rd quarter to build a 12 point lead and we hold on for a 103-95 win.

Leonard with 28 points, 7 boards, 2 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks.

Dragic with 17 points, 5 boards, 4 assists, and 3 steals.

MCW with 17 points, 8 boards, 9 assists, and 3 steals.

Holloway with 13 points and 7 boards.

Embiid with 12 points, 5 boards, and 1 block.

Turner with 6 points, 5 boards, and 5 assists.

Butler with 4 points, 4 boards, and 4 assists.

Noel with 4 points, 7 boards, and 1 assist.


The Lakers were led by 25 points from Bryant on 11 of 28 shooting.

Randle with 16 points, 8 boards, and 2 blocks.

Lin with 12 points and 6 assists.



12/20/15 -

We host the Celtics. They are 9-18 and we are favored...

We come out flat from yesterday's game but a big 3rd quarter gets us the lead back and we cruise to a 89-82 win.

Leonard with a 20 points, 10 boards, 2 steals, and 2 blocks to lead the way.

MCW with 17 points, 8 asssists, and 3 steals.

Dragic with 15 points and 5 assists.

Holloway with 13 points and 7 boards.

Embiid with 10 points, 12 boards, and a block.

Noel with a season high 14 boards. He had 0 points, 0 assists, 0 steals, and 1 block. He shot 0 of 11.. He did play great defense at least.


Jimmy Cowen with a big game in conference play, 31 points, 9 assists, 3 steals, and 2 boards. The kid is working hard to be the #1 pick...


12/24 -

Our next game will be hosting the Wizards who are 11-16 and struggling after a good start. We lost to them 92-87 last game but are favored to win this one.

[Eaglesfan27]

Leonard with our early points but the defenses are dominant early. We are up 20-19 at the end of 1.

2nd quarter both defenses are controlling the game. We are up 40-39 at halftime.

7:35 in the 3rd, Holloway goes down after landing awkwardly on a jump shot... he is screaming in pain. This doesn't look good at all. Looks like a leg fracture... We are tied at 47 as Moultrie comes in for him..

We respond with a 9-0 run of pure effort but then our guys tire and they come right back. We are up 61-60 at the end of 3. Time for some guys to step up.

Varnado is going to get his first meaningful minutes as we need another big body out there to start the 4th.

A big 4th quarter from Dragic allows us to empty the bench with 3 minutes to go. We are up 88-69. Defense was excellent in the 4th led by our twin towers inside and MCW on the perimeter.

We win the game 97-77! :)


Dragic is the player of the game with 31 points, 6 assists, 4 boards, and 1 steal. He shot 11 of 18, 4 of 7, and 5 of 5 from the line.

Leonard with 20 points, 4 boards, 3 assists, and 2 blocks. He shot 9 of 17.

Holloway with 9 points, 4 boards in 14 minutes before he got hurt. We have the X-Rays and he has a compound fracture of the Humerus. His season is almost certainly over :(

Embiid with 9 points, 16 boards, and 1 block. He shot 4 of 11.

MCW with 8 points, 7 assists, 6 boards, and 1 steal He shot 4 of 12.

Turner with 7 points and 3 assists.

Butler with 6 points and 3 assists.

Noel with 4 poins, 13 boards, 2 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block.

Varnado with 1 board in 9 minutes.

Moultrie with 5 boards and 1 assist in 17 minutes.

McDaniels with 3 points in 8 minutes.


Wall led them with 21 points and 4 assists. He shot 7 of 20.

Beal with 20 points and 4 assists. He shot 8 of 19.

Kendall Marshall, their backup PG shot 1 of 11.

No one else had more than 6 shots.

[Eaglesfan27]

We lost a lot of scoring with Holloway's injury. In his rookie year, he was averaging 10.4 ppg, 6.4 rpg. I briefly think about just rolling with our young guys, but I decide to go after a big who can score a bit. We sign Drew Gooden III from FA. He is a 34 year old PF who is 6'10 250 and likes to face-up. He averaged 13.7 ppg in his best year and averaged 8.3 ppg last year. He should be able to give us a few points off the bench as his midrange jumper is still good although his defense is a big question.

[Eaglesfan27]

We are now 20-11 and we have off for Christmas before traveling to Phoenix on 12/26...

Phoenix is 9-20 and we are favored to win.

We jump to a 30-17 lead in the 1st quarter. We cost in the 2nd and 3rd and they get close, but in the 4th we turn it on.

109-78 win.

MCW with a career high 15 assists. He also had 15 points, 4 boards, and 3 steals. He shot 5 of 12.

Leoanrd with 24 points.

Noel had easy dunks from MCW and finished with 16 points, 10 boards, 4 stals, and 2 blocks.

Butler with 12 points, 10 boards, 6 assists, and 1 block.

Embiid with 12 points, 10 boards, and 2 blocks.

Turner with 10 points, 5 boards, and 5 assists.

Dragic with a rough night - 9 points, 3 boards, 3 assists, 6 turnovers. He shot 3 of 10.

McDaniels with 6 points and 3 boards in 15 minutes.

Moultrie with 6 points and 4 boards in 12 minutes.

Gooden with 3 boards and 1 assist in 8 minutes. He was 0 of 3.


Rookie KArl Nelson led the Suns with 18 points and 1 assist.

Nic Young with 12 points. No one else in double digits. MCW held Eric Bledsoe to 1-15 shooting.




12/27 -

We are tired as we travel to face the Wolves who are 11-20 but 5-5 in their last 10 as their young guns are developing...

Wiggins in particular looks like he is about to become a superstar...

Wow. So much for tired legs. We put up a 38 point 1st quarter and never look back. 117-98 win.

We pounded it to Embiid early and often who had no one to stop him inside. He finished with a career high 33 points, 12 boards, and 3 blocks. He shot 15 of 21.

Leonard with 24 points, 9 boards, and 2 steals. He shot 9 of 16.

Turner with 20 points, 7 boards, and 2 assists. He shot an efficieint 6 of 9 from the field and 5 of 5 from the line.

MCW with 9 points, 8 boards, 12 assists, and 2 steals.

Butler with 8 points, 8 boards, and 5 asssits.

Noel with 8 points, 8 boards.

Dragic with 7 points and 5 assists.

Moultrie with 2 points and 4 boards in 11 minutes.

Gooden with 2 points and 2 boards in 8 minutes. He shot 1 of 2.


Jimmy Cowen just put up 35 points and 12 assists in another USC win. How much am I willing to trade away to get that #1 pick?

He is now the #1 consensus pick again.

Our staff is absolutely in love with this kid as much as I am. Even though he is small at 6'0 160, they think he has everything to be an all time great. They love his personality. He is a great teammate while being fiercely competitive and a team leader.



12/30 -

We travel to lay the Warriors. They are 22-10 and we are 22-11. They are favored to win at their place with their very talented lineup:

PG Stephen Curry (89), SG Klay Thompson (83), SF Harrison Barnes (79), PF Draymond Green (79), and C Andrew Bogut (77.) Their bench is led by Iggy (79), PF Speights (75), PG Livingston (72), and PF David Lee (79), and C Festus Ezeli (72.)

[Eaglesfan27]

Down 22-20 at the end of 1. Klay Thompson doing damage against us. Embiid is our leading scorer as they have trouble stopping him when Bogut rests.

Thompson and Curry are torching us in the 2nd no matter what we do. Down 51-44 at the half.

Curry with 30 points by the end of the 3rd. Klay Thompson with 24. No surprise we are down 82-68. They are so deadly from outside.

In the 4th, Noel suffers a minor injury and Leonard suffers a significant leg injury that knocks him out of the game. We were closing in as well and were only down by 8 when Leonard was hurt. Down 95-87 with 4:20 to go...

We lose 107-95.

Curry with 36 points and 6 assists as I doubled him some in the 4th and he found open men. He shot 13 of 21, 2 of 3, and 8 of 8.

Thompson with 35 points, 5 boards, 6 assists, and 2 seals. He shot 12 of 21, 2 of 4, and 9 of 9.

Barnes with 19 points, 6 boards, and 3 assists. He shot 7 of 17.

Dragic led us with 26 points, 2 boards, 4 assists, and 3 steals. He shot 9 of 16, 3 of 4, and 5 of 5.

Embiid with 22 points, 15 boards, 3 assists, 2 blocks. He shot 8 of 15 and 6 of 9 from the line.

Leonard with 18 points, 3 boards, and 7 assists. He shot 7 of 13.

MCW with 9 points, 7 assists, 4 boards, 2 steals, and a block. He shot 4 o f9.

Butler with 8 points, 3 boards, and 2 assists. He shot 4 of 13.

Turner with 7 points and 8 boards.

Noel with 5 points and 7 boards.


The news after the game is grim. Leonard with a broken ankle with ligament damage. He will miss 2-4 months.

Noel will be fine. He just has to play through a minor sore foot.

[Eaglesfan27]

Our starting lineup and bench with the current injuries:

PG Dragic (85), SG MCW (82), SF Butler (81), PF Noel (80) , and C Embiid (81)

6th man: Turner (77) - will play some PG, SG, and SF.

McDaniels (72) - will get significant minutes at SG/SF

Moultrie (70) - Will get significant minutes at PF/C

Bazja (69) - Will get some minutes at SG

Stojic (69) - will get some minutes at PG

PF Gooden - might get a few minutes at PF

PF Davies -might get a few minutes at PF/C.

[Eaglesfan27]

1/1/16 -

We host the Bucks. Despite our injuries, we are favored to win as they are terrible and 9-22.

We fight hard for 3 quarters but tired legs get beat big in the 4th and we lose 99-93.

Embiid led us with 22 points, 10 boards, and 2 blocks.

MCW with 18 points, 5 boards, and 6 assists.

Dragic with 12 points, 7 assists, and 2 steals.

McDaniels struggled with the big minutes, going 2 of 9.

Jabari Parker led the Bucks with an efficient 24 points, 9 boards, and 2 assists.



1/3/16 -

We host the Bulls. They are 21-13 and favored against us. We are 22-13 going into the game.

We are ahead most of the game, but we fade in the 4th. 92-87 loss.

Rose led the Bulls with 21 points, 9 assists, and 6 boards.

Ginobili with 18 points. Noah with 17 poings and 10 boards.


Embiid led us with 22 points, 12 boards, and 2 blocks.

Butler with 18 points, 8 boards, and 4 assists.

Dragic with 10 points and 4 assists.

Noel with 9 points, 4 boards, and 2 blocks.

MCW with a rough game - 2 points, 3 boards, 3 assists. He shot 2 of 10 and had 3 turnovers.


Our next game is traveling to play the Pelicans. They are 19-14 with a very talented starting 5 with the exception of a weakness at C:

PG Holiday (84), SG Eric Gordon (82), SF Tyreke Evans (80), PF Anthony Davis (93), and C Kosta Koufos (74.)

Their bench is led by PF Ryan Andersen (79), SG Russ Smith (73), PG Austin Rivers (73), C Omer Asik (73), and C Jeff Withey (72.) They have my former player SF Jerami Grant at the end of their bench. He is now rated 71.

[Eaglesfan27]

With the injury to Leonard and the other injuries, our defensive roster strength rating drops from 2nd to 29th!

Down 26-23 at the end of 1. Dragic with 9 points to keep us in it.

They go on a 10-0 run before Embiid hits a little hook in the post.

We move Dragic to SG and he hits a few baskets from MCW to get us back in it...

Davis hitting some jumpers and some putback dunks and they are on another run.

At halftime, we are down 51-39.

In the 3rd, it turns into a blowout. We don't have the guns and depth to battle with them. Down 82-58.

We lose the game 106-77.

We were #2 in the Eastern Conference before the injuries but I think this team is about to go into free fall :(


Davis led them in the win with 22 points, 13 boards, and 2 blocks.

Holiday with 18 points and 7 assists against us.

Embiid led us with 18 points, 11 boards, and 3 blocks. He shot 7 of 11.

Dragic with 13 points and 2 assists as he shot 5 of 17.

Turner with 9 points. Butler with 8 points. Noel with 8 points, 4 boards, and 2 blocks.

MCW shot 3 of 11. Finished with 6 points, 2 boards, 2 assists, and 2 steals.

[Eaglesfan27]

Time to shift into a big picture mode as we will sim more of this season and see what we can do to improve to a championship caliber team (including getting that young PG from USC hopefully.)

1/6/16 -

We lose to the Wizards 103-99 despite 25 points from Dragic and 14 from Embiid.

Beal led them with 29 points.


1/7/16 -

We shock the Rockets in OT 128-119. MCW went into beast mode with 36 points, 11 boards, and 6 assists. Butler with 21 points, Turner with 24, and Dragic with 20.


1/9/16 -

My team isn't ready to lay over after all. They surprise the Hawks with a running, attacking, 116-104 win led by 27 points from Embiid. He also had 13 boards and 2 blocks.

MCW with 20 points, 7 boards, 7 assists.

Dragic with 19 points and 7 assists.


1/14/16 -

We are now 24-16, 5th in the Eastern Conference. The Bulls are 26-13 and we are playing in their building. The Bulls are 1st in the conference as it is tightly clustered...

The Bulls smack us down hard. 117-75 win. They were up 60-30 at the half.

Dragic led us with 21 points on 8 of 22 shooting.

Rose led them with 25 points and 8 assists. Ginobili added 23 points and Mirotic had 21 points.



1/18/16 -

We handle the Mavericks who are ravished by injuries, 116-100.

MCW with 24 points, 5 boards, and 5 assists. McDaniels with 17 points. Embiid with 15 points, 12 boards, and 2 blocks.


The next night we fall to the Raptors 110-99.

McDaniels is thriving in our fast paced run and gun offense as he led our team with 18 points in 18 minutes including a few big dunks.

There is some talk that Holloway and Leonard are healing quicker than expected and might be back by March...


The Pelicans add some talent getting Shabazz Muhammad and Nikola Pekovic from the Wolves for Koufos and Asik.

The Bulls trade Mirotic and Cameron Bairstow for Nik Stauskas and Jason Thompson.

The Thunder extended Durant for 2 more years.

The Nets fired Lionel Hollins and hired Lucas Lucas.


1/23/16 -

We fall to the Hawks 105-91.

Embiid led us with 25 points, 12 boards, and a block.

Dragic got hurt in the game but still finished with 15 points. He can battle through this sprained back.


1/25 -

Our running transition offense completely overwhelms the struggling Suns. We win 122-90.

Embiid with 29 points and 10 boards as he is the focus of our half court game.

Dragic with 25 points. MCW with 19 points, 10 assists, and 7 boards.


We are now 27-19.


1/27/16 -

We play the Thunder without Westbrook who has a torn ankle ligament and we handle them 109-90.

Embiid with 23 points, 9 boards, and 2 blocks.

McDaniels with 17 points and 10 boards.

Dragic with 15 points and 7 assists.

MCW with 15 points, 5 boards, and 8 assists.

Noel adds 10 points, 10 boards, and 2 blocks.


The Clippers offer me Redick and Hawes for Butler and Turner. Very tempting, but I plan on trading them for the #1 pick if I get a chance (along with a pick.)


1/28/16 -

We barely edge out the Pacers 97-94. Embiid with 17 points and 12 boards.

MCW with 16 points, 6 boards, and 6 assists. Noel wtih 14 points and 3 boards.

Turner with 13 points and 9 boards. Dragic with 10 points and 8 assists.

MCDaniels with 9 points.


The Warriors offer us Speights (PF 74) and Ezeli (C 71) for Noel and Varnado. Easy to turn that down.


1/31 -

We end up the month losing on a last second shot by Cousins as we fall to the hapless Kings 105-104.

Embiid with 16 points, 12 boards, and 2 blocks. Turner with 15 points, 6 boards, and 3 assists. MCW with 13 points, 10 boards, and 6 assists. Dragic with 13 points and 8 assists.

Cousins led the Kings with 26 points, 16 boards, and 2 blocks.

[Eaglesfan27]

At the end of Febuary, we are now 29-20 good for 4th in the Eastern Conference. Leonard is now predicted to be back late March to early April. Holloway is predicted to be back by sometime in March... Could we make a run once we get them back?

Cowen's January was a bit less impressive than his earlier months. He is still averaging 26 ppg, 10 apg, 3.5 rpg, and 1.5 spg for USC. He is #1 pick according to most experts, although one has him dropping to #2.

The only other player in the discussion is PF/C Murray Daugherty from UConn. He is a bit undersized at 6'8 250 but he is a scoring machine inside and is a finished product at 22 years old. He is averaging 25 ppg and 11 rpg.


Feb 2nd -

We are offered 2 1st round picks from the Heat for Noel. I turn them down.


Feb 13th -

Right before the All-Star game and we lose Noel to a broken arm :(

Moultrie moves into the starting lineup and Varnado becomes our 1st big off the bench.


We are 30-24 going into the All-Star break...

Embiid was selected for the Rookie vs Elite Star game.

Embiid had 10 points, 10 boards, and 1 block to help his team win. Parker was the game MVP with 24 points and 10 boards.

Stephen Curry wins the 3 point contest.

Harry Bradshaw of Orlando wins the Dunk Contest.


The All-Stars:

East:

PG Kyle Lowry
SG Lance Stephenson
SF LeBron James
PF Paul Millsap
C Andre Drummond

Bench:

Kevin Love
Derrick Rose
Paul George
John Wall
Kyrie Irving
Chris Bosh
Carmelo Anthony
Jabari Parker

West:

PG Curry
SG Harden
SF Durant
PF Anthony Davis
C DeMarcus Cousins

Bench:

PG Lillard
PG Paul
C Dwight Howard
SG Klay Thompson
Ty Lawson
Eric Bledsoe
Kenneth Faried
Nicolas Batum


The East wins 118-111.

LeBron won MVP with 24 points, 7 assists, and 5 boards.

Rose with 16 points and 3 assists. Lowry with 13 points and 9 assist.

Harden led the West with 20 points. David with 18 points, 8 boards, and 2 blocks.


March 1st -

We are now 32-27. We are tied for 7th in the Eastern Conference. We have at least a few weeks until we get any of our injured guys back.


Dragic is leading us with 18 ppg and 5.6 apg. Leonard was averaging 19 ppg before his injury. Embiid is averaging 13.7 ppg and 9.3 rpg.

MCW averaging 13 ppg and 6.5 apg.


March 26th -

We are 38-34 and in 8th place in the Eastern Conference when we get Holloway cleared to play. He will start for us in our next game against the Nets. The Nets are 35-36 and we are favored to beat them.

Cowen led USC deep into the NCAA tourney and he is now the clear cut consensus #1. He has so many intangibles that has all of the experts talking about his immense potential.

[Eaglesfan27]

Our team isn't playing for the lottery pick. They want to be in the playoffs. Blowing out the Nets in the 1st, 23-11. Embiid having a great game with 11 points in the first quarter.

Embiid is doubled in the 2nd and guys aren't making kickouts but late in the quarter, Butler catches fire and scores 10 quick points to give us back the lead.

At halftime, we are up 49-43.

Embiid leads all scorers with 13 points and 9 boards at the half.


Turner with a very good 3rd quarter. Ditto for Dragic. We lead 76-71 at the end of 3.

Holloway's midrange jumper is really opening things up inside for Embiid. He has a few late dunks to seal our win. 109-93.

Embiid is the player of the game with 24 points, 14 boards, 3 assists, 3 steals, and 3 blocks. He shot 11 of 15 from the field and 2 of 7 from the line.

Dragic with 24 points and 5 assists as he got some easy baskets off Embiid passes as well as from MCW. He shot 8 of 16.

MCW with 17 points, 4 boards, 4 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks. He shot 6 of 14.

Butler with 16 points, 8 boards, and 7 assists. He also had 1 steal and 1 block. He shot 6 of 12.

Holloway with 13 points, 8 boards, 1 assist, 1 steal, and 1 block in his return. He shot 5 of 8 and 3 of 3 from the line.

Turner with 12 points. McDaniels with 4 points, 3 boards, and 2 assists in 12 minutes.

Moultrie with 1 point and 6 boards in 14 minutes.

Gooden continues to show he has nothing left. He missed 3 shots in 6 minutes.

DAvies with 3 boards in 9 minutes.


Deron Williams led the Nets with 17 points and 11 assists but we held him to 5 of 17 shootng. Lopez was held to 12 points and 6 boards by Embiid. He shot 5 of 15.

[Eaglesfan27]

In the game, Bogdanovic tore his MCL and is done for the year. Looks like the Nets are done too.

3/27/16 -

We travel to play the Pistons who are 43-30 and are favored to beat us...


We open up a 38-26 lead in the 1st quarter behind Embiid. The Pistons respond with a big 2nd quarter and they take a 62-60 lead into halftime.

In the 3rd quarter, the Pistons lose their lead again. We are up 88-87.

In the 4th, their depth wears us out. 122-114 win for the Pistons that threatens to drop us from 8th place...

Embiid is our leading scorer with 26 points, 14 boards, and 3 blocks. He shot 11 of 19. He also hit 4 of 4 FT's.

McDaniels with 22 points in 20 minutes.

Dragic with 22 points and 8 assists. He shot 8 of 14.

Holloway with 12 points and 4 boards.

MCW with 9 points, 6 boards, and 6 assists.

Butler with 6 points, 10 boards, 5 assists, and 2 steals. Stojic with 5 points in 7 minutes.

Varnado with 4 boards in 9 minutes.


We get some good news! Leonard has been cleared to return! We'll have 3 days off to work him into shape..

Leonard looks great and will start for us in our next game.

My starting 5 now:

PG MCW
SG Dragic - his offense is too good to keep on the bench.
SF Leonard
PF Holloway
C Embiid

6th man - SG Butler - will play SG/SF off the bench.
Turner - Will play PG/SG/SF
McDaniels - will get some energy minutes to score.
Moultrie - Will be our first big off the bench.
Varnado - next big off the bench.

[Eaglesfan27]

Some news around the league:

The Suns fired Jeff Hornacek and hired Lionel Hollins

A day later, the Celtics fired Brad Stevens and hired Jeff Hornacek.

The Raptors resigned Jonas Valanciunas to a 2 year deal for 26 million.

Some trades that happened at the deadline:

The Mavs traded Tyson Chandler and a 1st round pick to the Pistons for Jodie Meeks and their 1st round pick.

The Bulls traded Pau Gasol and Jason Smith to the Pacers for Khris Middleton and C.J. Miles

The Cavs traded Gerald Henderson and Deon Edwin to the Pacers for Xavier Henry and Solomon Hill.


We are 39-35 and in 8th place by 3 games over the Nets.

A look at the East down the stretch:

1. Raptors 49-26
2. Bulls 44-30
3. Pistons 44-30
4. Cavs 42-33
5. Magic 41-30
6. Pacers 40-34
7. Hornets 39-35
8. Philly 39-35
9. Nets 36-38
10. Heat 31-43
11. Bucks 31-43
12 Wizards 30-44
13. Knicks 28-46
14. Hawks 26-47
15. Celtics 26-48


Western:

1. Oklahoma 55-19
2. Warriors 51-24
3. Spurs 49-25
4. Trail Blazers 46-28
5. Rockets 46-28
6. Clippers 39-35
7. Nuggets 39-35
8. Lakers 38-37

9. Pelicans 35-40
10. Grizzlies 31-43
11. Kings 29-44
12. Wolves 28-46
13. Jazz 28-46
14. Suns 26-47
15. Mavs 25-48

[Eaglesfan27]

6 minutes to go in the 1st: Butler comes in at SG and Dragic slides to PG as MCW is tired. We are down 13-11.

Butler with 2 quick high energy plays to get us a FT and then an easy assist to Dragic who nails the jumper.

Anthony started off very hot but Leonard cooled him off in the 2nd half of the 1st quarter. Dragic was getting wide open looks and nailed them. He has 12 in the 1st quarter.

We are up 27-25.

After a slow 1st quarter, Leonard scores 7 in the 2nd. Holloway adds 10 points in the half. Embiid with 10 points and 10 boards in the 1st half. Dragic with 15 points. We are up 55-45 at halftime as we are playing great team basketball, albeit against a hapless Knicks team.

Leonard has to rest in the 3rd quarter and Carmelo catches on fire... 16 quick points to give them the lead.

It's not just Carmelo. Hardaway Jr and Jose Calderon bombing us from 3 land. Down 79-74 at the end of 3.

In the 4th, Carmelo, J.R. Smith and Calderon keep bombing us from beyond the arc. We can't come up with an answer. At one point, the lead was 18. Dragic cut it to 4 before Anthony hit another 3.

They win the game 106-99.

How much will that loss cost us?

[Eaglesfan27]

We are now in 8th place and 2.5 games ahead of the Nets who are 36-38. We are 39-36. Our next game is against the Wizards...


Our team came out with high intensity from the beginning... smothering defense helped us build a 30 point lead at one point. We cruised to a 92-64 win.

MCW led the way with 20 points, 7 boards, and 7 assists.

Dragic had 17 points and 6 assists (he led the team last game with 29 points and 5 assists.)

Embiid with 15 points and 11 boards. He has been getting double doubles regularly now.

Leonard with 13 points as he continues to work his way back into the groove.


The Nets win their next game and remain 2.5 behind us for the 8th spot with 6 to play for us...


Our next opponent is the 50-26 Raptors who could be our 1st round opponent as well potentially...

[Eaglesfan27]

Their shooting is very good, but our offense is executing in the 1st. Down 27-25 at the end of 1.

In the 2nd quarter, their 3 point shooter really catch fire and we can't quite keep up. Down 55-48. DeRozan with 14 points. Dragic leads us with 12.

Lowry and Gay hitting big shots to start the 3rd.

After a very rough 4 minute stretch, our defense settles down with Moultrie at C. We close the gap to 73-67 with 3 minutes to go.

Dragic is keeping us in it. He had a 14 point 3rd quarter to make it 82-76 at the end of 3.

Early in the 4th, Embiid fouls out. He was limited by foul troubles due to the many drives by Gay and DeRozan.

Once Embiid goes out, they start driving and attacking us inside. They get some easy baskets and extend the lead to 10. We never can close the gap.

We lose 108-95.

Dragic led us with 32 points, 8 assists, 1 steal, and 3 turnovers. He shot 14 of 29, 4 of 11, and 0 of 0.

Leonard with 17 points, 5 boards, 1 steal, and a block. He shot 6 of 14.

Turner with 15 points on 7 of 10 shooting.

Butler with 13 points, 2 boards, 2 steals, and 1 assist. He shot 5 of 13.

Embiid with 8 points, 11 boards, 2 assists, and a block in just 22 minutes (due to foul trouble.)

Varnado with 2 points and 7 boards in 22 minutes.

MCW wih 2 points, 5 boards, 4 assists, and 1 steal. He shot 1 of 9.

Davies with 2 points and 4 boards in 19 minutes.

Moultrie (who has a slight back injury) played 15 minutes and had 2 points and 4 boards.

Holloway with 2 points, 9 boards, 4 assists, and 1 steal in 26 minutes.



We are now 40-37 and in 8th place. The Nets are only 1 game behind us at 39-38. I'm starting to wonder if I should wish for them to overtake us. The Raptors would be our opponent if we can't climb out of the 8 seed and I don't see us having the fire power to beat them...

[Eaglesfan27]

April 7th -

We host the Pacers who are 41-36. A win could vault us as high as 5th place...

The Pacers have a big 2nd quarter to build a 57-45 lead at the half. George with a few 3's.

We win the 3rd behind Dragic's shooting.

In the 4th, we pound it inside to Embiid to take a 94-93 lead with 2 minutes to go.

George with a 12 footer. MCW misses at the other end.

George with a 3. 98-94 lead with 30 seconds left.

MCW finds Dragic for a 3 off a screen!

We have to foul and George makes both FT's. 100-97 lead.

MCW finds Dragic.. he shoots.. misses the 3. Embiid with the board. He fakes... goes up... draws a foul but misses the shot. He makes both FT's. 100-99 with 8 seconds left.


We pressure the inbounds passer and he throws it away!

MCW gets Dragic a good look.. he shoots.. and misses. Embiid with the board.. he kicks it out to Dragic for an open 14 footer... Dragic shoots... and it is long.

We lose 100-99.

Embiid led us with 19 points, 10 boards, and 1 block. He shot 6 of 11 and 7 of 9 from the line.

Dragic with 16 points, 9 assists, 1 steal, and 3 turnovers. He shot 7 of 17.

McDaniels with 15 points in 18 minutes.

Leonard with 15 points and 7 boards. He shot 6 of 11.

MCW with 11 points, 10 assists, 7 boards, 3 steals, and 2 blocks. He shot 4 of 11.

Holloway with 11 points, 7 boards, and 2 assists.

Moultrie gave us nothing off the bench.

George led them with 28 points.


We are now 40-38. The Nets lose and are 39-39. We are holding onto 8th by a thread but the 3 teams ahead of us all win and make it much less likely that we can climb into the 5th-7th seed.

[Eaglesfan27]

4/9/16 -

We host the Bulls who are playing their best basketball of the year right now and they are heavily favored...

Our team comes out very motivated and plays their best smothering defense.

We build a 51-34 lead behind our defense.

The Bulls rally late but we hold on for a 84-78 win.

Holloway led the way with 17 points and 8 boards.

Dragic with 16 points and 8 assists.

Embiid with 9 points and 8 boards.

Butler with 8 points, 12 boards, and 3 steals off the bench.

Moultrie with 8 points and 4 boards off the bench in 18 minutes.

MCW with 8 points, 5 boards, 6 assists, and 2 steals.


Ahhh, Rose hurt his ankle and missed the game.

They also were without Noah.

Their leading scorer was Doug McDermott with 13 points off the bench.


We are now 41-38 and the Nets lose again. We are 2 games ahead of them with 3 to play...

[Eaglesfan27]

April 10th -

We are playing in Miami. They are 33-46 with nothing to play for.


Despite that, they jump on us early and build a 22-16 lead at the end of 1.

By halftime, they are up 46-38.

Dragic gets it going for a big 3rd quarter. At the end of 3, we are only down by 1, 68-67.

The 4th features rugged defense by both sides but Dragic with a jumper to give us a 85-84 lead with 1:38 to go...

Leonard misses a 12 footer and they get a 12 footer from Napier to take the lead.

Wade with a steal and breakawy dunk. Down 88-85.

Leonard misses a 3. We have to foul Wade. He makes his FT's.

Dragic misses a 3. We are done.

We lose the game 92-88.

Wade led them with 16 points. 15 from Nappier and 14 from Chalmers.

MCW led us with 26 points, 10 boards, and 5 assists. H also had 3 steals.

Embiid with 15 points, 9 boards, and 2 blocks.

Dragic with 14 points, 6 assists, and 2 steals. He shot 4 of 15.

Leonard shot 4 of 15 and finished with 11 points.


We drop to 41-39 but the Nets lose and we are now 2 games ahead of them with 2 to go...

Our next game is against the 43-37 Magic. If we can beat them, there is a slim shot we can climb into 6th or 7th...

[Eaglesfan27]

The Magic come running at us early jumping to a 34-28 lead.

In the 2nd quarter, we tire them out and have a 36 points quarter. We are up 64-60 at half time.

In the 3rd quarter, both offenses sputter. We are up 82-79.

In the 4th, Love catches fire. He hits 3 baskets down the stretch including the game winner with 1 second left. We lose 104-103.

Love with 29 points, 10 boards, and 3 assists.

Vucevic with 19 points and 8 boards.

Singler with 12 points.

Leonard led us with 20 points on 9 of 14 shooting.

Holloway with 16 points and 10 boards.

MCW with 14 points, 6 boards, and 5 assists.

Embiid with 13 points, 5 boards, and a block.

McDaniels with 12 points and 2 boards.

Butler struggled and finished with 8 points, 5 boards, and 3 assists.


We are now 41-40 and going into our final game of the seaosn against the Bucks who are 34-47. We should be able to beat them. Are we relegated to 8th place?

The Pacers win and that guarantees that the best we can do is 8th place. :(

The Nets also win and if they win 1 more and we lose, we are both 41-41. I'm not sure of the tie breaker... could they knock us out of the playoffs? Do I want them to for the slim shot of getting a high lottery pick?

[Eaglesfan27]

I think the players sense mine and the fan's ambivalence... they come out flat.

Down 23-15 after the 1st quarter.

However, Holloway catches fire in the 2nd quarter. Tied at 43 at the half.

Dragic and Holloway with a big 3rd quarter to give us a 71-65 lead.

In the final quarter everyone plays great team ball and we win 99-93.

Holloway with 20 points, 17 boards, 1 assist, 1 steal, and 1 block. HE shot 7 of 12.

Embiid with 15 points, 10 boards. He shot 7 of 12.

Leonard with 16 points.

McDaniels with 11 points.

MCW with 11 points, 10 assists, and 7 boards.

Turner with 10 points.

Dragic with 10 points and 7 assists.

We are 42-40 and we are going to the playoffs!

[Eaglesfan27]

Award Time!

Durant wins MVP with a 34.7 ppg average, 9.0 rpg, 4.7 apg, 2.9 spg, and 1.2 bpg. He shot 51.5% on the season and 45% from the arc.

Karl Nelson, the PG of the Suns won Rookie of the Year with a 18.4 ppg and 4.8 apg average.

Marcus Smart of Boston won 6th man of the year with 12.2 ppg and 5.4 apg.

Anthony Davis won Defensive Player of the Year. He averaged 2.4 bpg (along with 19.5 ppg and 10.4 rpg.)

Derrick Rose won Most improved player with 29 ppg and 7.4 apg.

Steve Kerr won Coach of the Year. He led his team to a 55-27 record.

All-NBA Team:

Rose, Harden, LeBron, Durant, and Cousins.

Wow. In the last game of the season, Chris Paul suffered a severe back injury that could end his career. He was NBA all 2nd team...

The rest of the 2nd team:

Lillard, George, Griffin, and Chris Bosh.

Butler made it to All-NBA 1st defensive team.


A look at the Playoff seedings:

West:

#1 Thunder vs #8 Clippers

#4 Spurs vs #5 Trailblazers

#3 Rockets vs #6 Nuggets

#2 Warriors vs #7 Lakers

East:

#1 Raptors vs #8 Sixers

#4 Magic vs #5 Cavs

#3 Pistons vs #6 Hornets

#2 Bulls vs #7 Pacers

[Eaglesfan27]

We come out with a very aggressive defense. They burns us early and they get 6 quick points on moves to the hoop but we get two transition baskets from steals the next few plays. Quickly tied at 8.

We go up 12-8 but Embiid already has 2 fouls.

I take a chance and keep him on the floor but it backfires as he picks up a 3rd with 5 minutes to go. We are up 16-15.

Moultrie into the game for Embiid. Butler in for MCW who has 2 fouls.

Dragic finds Butler on the fast break for a MONSTER dunk!


That fires Butler up who has a nice drive for a layup and the foul on his next possession. Butler with a steal for a breakaway dunk!

We are up 27-25 at the end of 1! :)


I bring Embiid in to start the 2nd and he picks up his 4th with 9:54 to go and I have to sit him. We are tied at 32.

In the 2nd quarter, MCW catches fire and finds Dragic and Leonard open for corner jumpers.

We take a 6 point lead.

We go with 4 smalls as Embiid rests and that works well for us. We open a 9 point lead as a Leonard steal leads to a fastbreak dunk and the foul!

57-47 lead at halftime!

In the 3rd, MCW starts posting up his man and scoring with some nice moves.

Dragic is also finding MCW for open jumpers.

We take a 88-76 lead at the end of 3!

In the 4th, their 3 point shooters catch fire, but Dragic and McDaniels lighting it up from outside!

McDaniels with 3 3's in a row!

We hold on for a surprise 116-109 win!

MCW with 27 points and 10 assists.

Dragic with 23 points and 12 assists.

Leonard with 18 points.

Butler with 12 points. McDaniels with 14 points. Holloway with 10 points and 10 boards.

Embiid was limited to 20 minutes - 3 points, 5 boards, and 1 block.

DeRozan led them with 28 points on 10 of 18 shooting.

Lowry with 24 points and 5 assists. Gay with 18 points.

Vasquez with 14 points and 6 assists.

Patterson with 13 points.


We take the surprising 1-0 lead in the series :)

[Eaglesfan27]

Game 2 -

Leonard scoring early. We jump to a 6-0 lead.

Holloway with a pair of baskets. We are up 10-2!

Embiid with a block that ignites the fastbreak! 12-2.

They hit a few 3's and close the gap before Leonard with a strong drive and the foul.

At the end of 1, we are up 30-24.

In the 2nd, Turner hits a pair of 3's to get the scoring going. Dragic with a pair of jumpers. Then, he finds Turner for another open look. We open up a 12 point lead again!

At halftime, we are up 62-53.

In the 3rd quarter, McDaniels has a nice stretch where he hits a pair of 3's!

Leonard with a bunch of points in the 3rd too. We take a 90-80 lead at the end of 3!

In the 4th, we keep running. Leonard finds Dragic on the break after a Leonard steal. Dragic finds Leonard in the corner for a 3!

They start drilling 3's with DeRozan and Gay and close the gap...

But, we hold on down the stretch with FT's by Turner, Dragic, and MCW!

We get a 117-111 win to take a 2-0 lead! :)

[Eaglesfan27]

In other news:

The Thunder are up 2-0.

The Spurs are tied 1-1 with the Trailblazers.

The Rockets are up 2-0 on the Nuggets.

The Warriors are up 2-0 on the Lakers.


Can we take game 3 at home to give us the commanding lead in the series?

[Eaglesfan27]

Before the game, we get exciting news! Noel has been cleared to play in this game!

He will come in off the bench to spell Embiid.

Toronto is inserting Amir Johnson into the starting C spot!

9:36 to go - MCW has 7 points already as he is coming out very aggressive. He draws a 2nd foul on Gay who leaves the game! We are up 7-2.

8:20 - Lowry with a 3 and then a steak and breakaway layup. Tied at 9.

7:00 - Embiid draws a 2nd foul on Johnson and Hansbrough comes in. He started the first 2 games and didn't do much at all.

5:02 - Leonard with a steal to MCW to Dragic for a breakaway dunk! 17-9 lead. They call time out!

3:22 - DeRozan with a pair of drives for baskets in the lane and the foul. But, Embiid responds down low with a nice baby hook. 21-15.

2:02 - Embiid picks up a 2nd foul. I bring in Noel for him. Moultrie in at PF. Dragic slides to PG and Butler in for defense. We are up 23-17.

Butler loses his dribble leading to an easy fastbreak that is finished by Lowry who now has 12.

We finish the 1st quarter up 25-21! :)


9:12 - Turner gets a 3rd foul on Gay. We are up 31-27.

5:50 - DeRozan with a pair of 3's to give them the lead. 37-35.

Lowry goes off for 8 straight points.

At halftime, we are down 52-48.

Lowry with 21 at the half. MCW with 17 points at the half.


10:09 - Embiid picks up a 4th foul and has to sit. We are tied at 54.

7:31 - MCW with a steal and breakaway dunk. We lead 64-61.

Next play MCW with a steal... finds Holloway on the break... Holloway hits the layup and the foul!

5:24 - Noel with a block... MCW gets the ball.. finds Dragic... back to MCW... to Leonard for a corner long 2. 73-66.

4:30 - MCW finds Dragic for a corner 3! 76-66!

Gay, DeRozan, and Vasquez with baskets before MCW draws a foul in the lane. He makes the FT's. We lead 79-73.

Patterson with a 3 after they get an offensive board and the kickout. We lead 79-78 with 1:20 to go in the quarter.

Noel hits a 10 foot jumper. He has been working on that shot. 81-78 lead.

Terrence Ross gets into the lane, makes a pull up jumper and the foul shot. Tied at 81.

Dragic misses a buzzer beater long 3. We are tied at 81 at the end of 3.

9:45 to go - Embiid fouls out. Noel back into the game. We are up 85-84.

DeRozan with a few big baskets to give them the lead but McDaniels draws a foul and hits a pair of FT's to give us the lead back. We lead 93-92 with 6 minutes to go...

4:20 - Holloway hits a long 2. That gives us a 97-94 lead.

3:38 - Leonard with a steal... MCW gets the ball.. find Butler in the corner... 3!! 100-94 lead.

2:14 - MCW finds Moultrie for an open 10 footer and he swishes it! 102-97.

1:27 - Holloway throws it away and Lowry capitalizes on the other end. 102-101...


Butler with a defensive stop. MCW misses a 12 footer and then gives up a basket to Lowry off the screen at the other end. We are down 103-102 with 30 seconds left...

Leonard with a strong move gets a 5th foul on Gay and gets to the line... he makes the first to tie the game... misses the second and Johnson gets the board for the Raptors. They call time out.

Lowry and Johnson run the pick and roll. Noel gets tangled up and Johnson gets open for the dunk. Down 105-103 with 4 seconds left.

Dragic with a nice move to get into the lane and hit a floater. We are tied at 105 and going to OT!

Dragic with a 12 footer. MCW with a drive. Noel with a block that leads to a MCW basket. We are up 111-105.

With 3 minutes to go, Gay scores with a pair of FT's. 111-107.

Dragic hits a 3! 114-107.

MCW finds Dragic for another 3! 117-109.

MCW with a stop and then a basket at the other end. 119-109 and only 1 minute left! :)

They miss a pair of 3's and MCW gets out with Noel and throws an alley-oop to Noel to punctuate the win! 121-109 OT win :)

MCW is the player of the game with 32 points, 8 boards, 10 assists, 3 steals, and only 2 turnovers. He shot 12 of 19, 2 of 2, and 6 of 9.

Dragic with 30 points, 5 assists, 2 boards, and 2 steals. He shot 13 of 29, 4 of 12, and 0 of 0.

Leonard with 14 points, 5 boards, 5 assists, 3 steals, and 1 block. He shot 5 of 11, 1 of 2, and 3 of 5.

Turner with 11 points in 17 minutes.

Holloway with 10 points, 12 boards, 4 assists, and 1 block. He shot 4 of 5.

Noel with 7 points, 14 boards, and 2 blocks. He shot 3 of 5 and played 30 minutes.

Embiid with 7 points, 10 boards, and 2 blocks in 20 minutes.

Butler with 5 points, 5 boards, 5 assists, 3 steals, and 3 turnovers. He shot 2 of 7 but hit a huge 3 down the stretch.

McDaniels with 4 points in 9 minutes.


We held Gay to 4 of 15 shooting. We held DeRozan to 20 points on 8 of 21 shooting.

Lowry led them with 32 points on 12 of 24 shooting. He also had 6 assists.

We are up 3-0! I'm glad we made the playoffs now :)

[Eaglesfan27]

Game 4 in Philly.. I decide to SimCast it.. Can we sweep?

They come out very fast and take a quick 8-2 lead but we bounce back to tie it on a few shots by Holloway.

At the end of 1, we are down 27-22 but Holloway already has 10 points.

In the 2nd, we get Dragic going but they have great shots by DeRozan. We are down 56-46.

In the 3rd, we outscore them 26-21 to make it 77-72. Holloway with a few baskets.

In the 4th, we run and gun and have a huge quarter with 34 points. It's enough to give us a 107-103 win!!! :)

Holloway led us with 24 points, 8 boards, and 1 block. The Rookie is growing up! He shot 11 of 19 including several nice mid range jumpers.

Dragic with 16 points and 5 assists.

MCW with 14 points, 7 boards, 12 assists, and 3 steals.

Leonard with 14 points, 4 boards, and 3 assists. He also had 3 steals and a block. He shot 5 of 10.

Butler with 10 points, 8 boards, 4 assists, 3 steals, and only 2 turnovers. He shot 4 of 5.

Noel with 8 points, 8 boards, and 1 block in 24 minutes.

Embiid with 7 points, 6 boards, and a block in 28 minutes.

DeRozan led them with 25 points but we held Gay to 6 of 19 shooting in the loss.


Who will our opponent be?

[Eaglesfan27]

In the West:

#1 Thunder sweep the #8 Clippers.

The #5 Trailblazers beat the #4 Spurs in 6.

The #2 Warriors beat the #7 Lakers in 5.

The #3 Rockets sweep the #6 Nuggets.

In the East:

Kevin Love beats up on his old team and LeBron and guides the Magic past the Cavs in 6.

The #3 Pistons beat the #6 Hornets in 7 games.

The #7 seed Pacers beat the #2 Bulls in 5 after Rose gets hurt and misses the last 3 games.


So, we have:

#1 Thunder vs #5 Trailblazers

#2 Warriors vs #3 Rockets

In the East:

#8 76ers vs #4 Magic
#3 Pistons vs #7 Pacers.

I think it would be a first if the #7 and #8 seeds meet in the Eastern Conference Finals.


A look at the Magic's team:

PF Kevin Love is in his prime with a 92 rating at 27 years old.

PF Aaron Gordon is only 20 but he has become their 2nd best option with an 83 rating.

C Niokola Vucevic is a very good center who will give Embiid challenges. He is rated 82 overall.

SG Victor Oladipo can shoot the rock and is rated 82 overall.

SF Tobias Harris has been pushed into playing some PG for them due to injuries. He is rated 78 as a SF but if he has to play PG in this series, I think MCW can make things hard on him.

SF Kyle Singler is one of the best 3 point shooters in the game. He is rated 77 overall.

SF Andew Nicholson is a 26 year old SF who can shoot well. He is rated 76 overall.

PG Harry Bradshaw is young and inexperienced but he will play PG if he is healthy enough to go. He is a game time decision. The 6'1 PG is rated 75 overall.

SG Evan Fournier is a 6'6 SG who is 23 and is a deadeye shooter from the arc. He is rated 76 overall.

C Gene Townsend was the #10 pick in the 2016 draft. He is a 6'10 280 pound C who is a good rebounder. He is rated 73 overall now.

[Eaglesfan27]

Late in the 1st quarter, Dragic who already had 8 points for us jumps and comes down awkwardly. He is holding his ankle and has to be carried off the court. This doesn't look good at all.

Butler into the game for him.

Our defense instantly amps up and gets us a few fastbreak dunks!

Up 24-20 at the end of 1.

Butler with great defense in the 2nd. Leonard with great defense too. We build a 44-37 lead at halftime.


In the 3rd quarter Noel gets into foul trouble and our wings are getting tired. The defense gets lax. We are up 72-68 at the end of 3. Love getting it going.

With 8:55 to go in the 4th, Noel fouls out. Embiid back into the game. We are tied at 78.

Turner having to play PG with MCW tired. Our offense is sputtering.

Love with a basket to give them a 82-81 lead. Their first lead in a long time.

6:10 - Embiid with a basket down low, then a defensive board that leads to a quick fastbreak that is finished by McDaniels with an explosive dunk. We lead 85-84.

Love responds with a 3. 87-85.

McDaniels answers with a quick 3 at the other end!

4:12 - McDaniels with another 3! 91-89 lead :)

Vucevic with a nice move to draw the foul. He hits both FT's to tie it. 4 minutes left.

A rested MCW returns after Turner throws it away.

MCW gets into the lane and draws a shooting foul. He makes both FT's to give us a 93-91 lead.

MCW with a steal that sets up a McDaniels breakaway dunk!

MCW with a nice move into the lane for a floater!

1:44 - Embiid with a putback dunk! 99-92 lead.

We play very good defense and force tough shots and hold on for a 100-92 win in Orlando! :)

Now, for the bad news. Dragic broke his ankle and is done for the year. I hope that doesn't ruin my plan to try to package him with draft picks for the #1 pick...

Dragic with 8 points before he got hurt.

MCW with 31 points, 8 boards, 7 assists, 1 steal, 1 block. He shot 13 of 20 and 5 of 7 from the line.

Butler with 14 points, 5 boards, 6 assists, and 4 turnovers.

Leonard with 11 points, 6 boards, 2 assists, 2 steals, and a block. He shot 4 of 8.

McDaniels with 10 points in 8 minutes.

Embiid with 10 points, 15 boards, and 2 blocks. He shot 4 of 6 and 2 of 3 from the line.

Turner with 2 points, 3 boards, and 4 assists. He also had 4 turnovers.


Love led them with 18 points and 8 boards. He shot 8 of 18.

Bradshaw with 16 points and 6 assists on 6 of 14 shooting.

Oladipo was shut down by Butler.. 5 of 18 shooting for 11 points.

Vucevic with 7 points and 7 boards on 2 of 10 shooting.

Townsend did not play by coaches' decision.

Singler held to 0 of 7 shooting in 20 minutes. Great defense by our wings.

Aaron Gordon held to 6 points and 6 boards in 18 minutes.

[Eaglesfan27]

Game 2 in Orlando will feature Butler moving into the starting lineup for Dragic. We will have to go with our young guards for a few minutes potentially...

This game we start off cold with MCW missing his shots. Down 20-16 at the end of 1.

In the 2nd, Love goes off and they build a 48-34 lead by halftime.

In the 3rd, we get a run going but by the 4th our guys are exhausted.

A 12 point 4th dooms us as we get blown out 95-74.

MCW held to 3 of 14 shooting with 10 points, 8 assists and 3 boards.

Butler led our team with 15 points, 7 boards, and 3 assists. He shot 5 of 8 from the field.

Leonard with 13 points and 4 boards. He shot 5 of 11.

Embiid with 10 points and 5 boards. He shot 3 of 12.

Holloway shot 4 of 13 and had 9 points.


Love led them with 21 points, 14 boards, and 4 assists. He shot 8 of 16.

Vucevic with 17 points and 11 boards.

Bradshaw with 10 points and 3 assists.

Gordon with 10 points, 10 boards, and 1 assist.

Tied up 1-1 going back to Philly...



In other news:

The Thunder are up 2-0 on the Trail Blazers

The Warriors and Rockets are tied at 1-1

The Pistons are up 2-0 on the Pacers...

[Eaglesfan27]

6 minutes to go: Our defense is smothering them. We lead 13-8 with several of our baskets coming on transition points.

4:40 - Embiid and Love collide under the basket and Love goes down hard... his leg is twisted under him. This looks bad for Love. He has to be carried off the court.

1:32 - Without Love they are bringing more 3 point shooters on the floor and spacing it out more. We are up 20-18 as I rest MCW and Embiid.

At the end of 1, we are up 25-20.

McDaniels with several 3's and a dunk in the 2nd quarter. The guy is becoming a significant offensive spark plug!

At halftime, we are up 51-49. Turner with 11 points. Noel with 9 boards. Butler with 4 assists at halftime. MCW with 10 points and 4 assists at the half.

7:45 - Embiid with a block that MCW gets the carom... he passes to Turner.. to Butler for a dunk!

MCW finds Butler in the corner for a 3 at the buzzer!

We are up 77-70 at the end of 3.

Butler with a pair of 3's to start the 4th! He is on fire! We are up 84-72.

Butler with a steal and breakaway dunk.

Butler with a pull-up jumper.

Butler with great defense on their best shooter.

We are 94-76 with 6 minutes to go...

2:57 -

They had a run to make 94-84 before Leonard beat his man off the dribble and gets to the rim for the dunk!

We win the game 99-88 :)

Butler was the player of the game with 28 points, 7 boards, 6 assists, 3 steals, 0 blocks, and 2 turnovers. He shot 10 of 20, 4 of 7 from the arc, and 4 of 4 from the line.

MCW with 16 points, 7 assists, 2 boards, 1 steal, and 1 block. He shot 6 of 14 .

Leonard with 12 points, 4 boards, 4 assists, 3 steals, and a block. He shot 5 of 12.

Holloway with 11 points, 5 boards, and 3 assists.

Embiid with 10 points, 15 boards, and 3 blocks. He shot 4 of 9.

Turner with 8 points.

McDaniels with 8 points. Noel with 8 points, 17 boards, 1 assist, 1 steal, and 2 blocks.


Vucevic led them with 27 points and 12 boards. Gordon with 15 points and 8 boards as he played 32 minutes with Love injured.

Speaking of which, the word is that Love has an MCL tear and is done for the year.

I imagine Gordon will start at PF next game.

We held Oladipo to 4 of 15 shooting.

We held Harris to 4 of 12.

We held Bradshaw to 4 of 11.

We held Fournier to 2 of 8.

[Eaglesfan27]

Game 4:

In the 1st quarter, they take a 21-18 lead with Gordon doing some work inside.

At halftime, we are down 51-47. MCW having a rough start this game.

In the 3rd, MCW gets his shot going and we close the gap. Down 74-72.

The 4th is a back and forth affair with each side taking the lead several times, but Singler hits a buzzer 3 to give them the 97-95 win. Heart breaker in Philly.

Singler led them with 18 points on 4 of 5 shooting from the arc.

Oladipo was held to 5 of 17 by Butler.

Vucevic added 14 point and 10 boards. Gordon with 14 points as well on 7 of 8 shooting.


Embiid led us with 22 points, 11 boards, and 2 blocks.

Leonard with 20 points and 6 boards.

Holloway with 15 points.

Butler with 12 points, 5 boards, 7 assists, 2 steals, and a block.

MCW shot 3 of 12 and finished with 8 points, 7 boards, and 7 assists.

Turner with 5 points, 5 boards, and 5 assists.

McDaniels shot 0 of 9 this game :(



In other news:

The Thunder win their series in 5.

The #3 Rockets are up 3-2 on the #2 Warriors.

The Pistons beat the Pacers in 5.

With Love out, we are favored to win the series in Vegas. Can we win the pivotal game 5 in Orlando?

[Eaglesfan27]

9:40 to go:

MCW and Embiid on the break.. beautiful Alley-oop to Embiid!

5:44 - Leonard is expending a lot of energy on both ends. I rest him and bring in Turner. We are up 13-6 as our wings are smothering their shooters.

MCW and Turner on the fast break... alley oop... and it is too high from MCW. Turnover.

They go on a run as Turner looses his man twice. MCW to Turner in the corner for a long 2 to end the run. We are up 17-13. 2 minutes left in the 1st.

Leonard back into the game with 1 minute to go in the 1st and he hits a buzzer 3 to give us a 23-21 lead the end of 1.

Turner is on fire! He got a few fastbreak dunks to start the 2nd and now he is hitting everything! We are up 43-32 when they call for a time out.

They respond with a 8-0 run with a few shots by their wings that go in.

We get our defensive intensity turned up again and respond with our own 8-0 run.

We end the half up 54-47.

Holloway leads our team in rebounding with 6 and has 10 points.

Turner with 11 points and 7 assists.

Early in the 3rd: Noel sprains his ankle but he will play through it...

Our shooting goes somewhat cold in the 3rd. Only Leonard and Turner making shots. Their wings finally catch fire and we are down 74-70 at the end of 3.


McDaniels in to start the 4th...

McDaniels with a corner 3.

McDaniels with a steal and breakaway dunk!

Turner with a steal.. passes it to McDaniels for a dunk!

McDaniels with another 3.

5 minutes left: We are up 92-82 and I bring back Embiid to help close this out.

McDaniels with a block! The kid is on fire!

McDaniels gets into the lane and draws a foul. He hits both FT's.

Embiid with a putback dunk to put the exclamation on this win!

We win the game 102-92 to take a 3-2 lead as we go back to Philly for game 6 :)

Turner is the player of the game with 26 points, 12 assists, 5 boards, 1 steal, and 1 block. He shot 12 of 20 and 2 of 3 from the arc.

Leonard with 25 points, 6 boards, 6 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks. He shot 9 of 18 and 3 of 8 from the arc.

McDaniels with 15 points, 2 boards, 1 steal, and 1 block in just 12 minutes. He shot 4 of 7, 1 of 2, and 6 of 6.

MCW with 14 points, 9 boards, 7 assists, 3 steals, and 6 turnovers. HE shot 7 of 13.

Butler with 7 points, 5 boards, and 2 assists. He also had 1 steal.

Holloway with 7 points, 11 boards, 2 assists, and 2 blocks.

Noel with 4 points, 6 boards, and 2 blocks.

Embiid with 4 points, 7 boards, and 2 blocks.


Singler led them with 21 points.

[Eaglesfan27]

We come out playing smothering defense and running hard. Several fastbreak baskets by Butler as we build a 12-2 lead.

Their shooters get going but we are scoring inside on the other end.

At the end of 1, we are up 32-22.

The 2nd quarter, Butler returns and our defense amps up again. He is all over the place on his man. We hold them to 11 points in the quarter as we build a 57-33 lead at halftime!

The third, we coast a bit but we still have a 80-56 lead going into the 4th.

We turn it up in the 4th again and we win 101-76!

We are going to the Eastern Conference Finals!

Leonard led the way with 20 points 8 boards, 3 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks.

Butler with 13 point, 5 boards, 5 assists, 3 steals, and a block.

McDaniels with 19 points, 5 boards, and 2 steals off the bench.

Holloway with 14 points, 7 boards, 2 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block.

Embiid with 13 points, 9 boards, and a block.

MCW with 10 points, 10 boards, and 8 assists. He also had 2 steals.

Turner with 8 points, 3 boards, 3 assists, and 2 steals.

Noel with 5 points, 5 boards, and 2 blocks in 20 minutes as his ankle was bothering him.

Moultrie with 6 boards in 13 minutes off the bench.

[Eaglesfan27]

The Rockets win game 6 and take their series. So, we have in the West:

#1 Thunder vs #3 Rockets

In the East:

#3 Pistons vs #8 76ers!

A look at the Pistons as they are now:

Starting C Andre Drummond is only 22 and he is becoming a dominant paint protector and a good scorer. He is rated 86 overall.

Starting PF Paul Millsap is undersized at 6'8 250 but the 31 year old can score from anywhere on the floor. He is rated 86 overall and is averaging 18 ppg and 10 rpg.

Starting SF/SG Joe Johnson is 34 years old and on the decline but is still an effective scorer averaging 12 ppg and 2 rpg. He is rated 79 overall.

Starting PG Brandon Jennings is bothered by a sore knee but he will play through it. He is 26 years old 6'1 160 and rated 81 overall. He is averaging 16 ppg and 7 apg.

Starting SG Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is averaging 8 ppg and can score more in bunches when he reallly gets into the groove. He is rated 77 overall and is only 23.

PG/SG D.J. Augustin leads their bench. The 6'0 guard is a natural scorer especially from the arc. He is 28 years old and is rated 79 overall. He is averaging 10 ppg in 19 mpg.

PF J.J. Stokes is 22 years old and is rated 77 overall with his best atribute being his inside scoring.

PG Jordan Clarkson is a 6'5 185 pound PG who was drafted in the 2nd round in 2014. He has become an effective scorer and decent backup PG. He is averaging 7 ppg and 3 apg in 18 minutes per game. He is rated 76 overall.

C Tyson Chandler is in decline but is still a good paint protector. He is 33 years old and is rated 73 overall. He is averaging 6 ppg and 5 rpg in 20 mpg. He is only averaging 0.8 bpg now.

[Eaglesfan27]

Interesting:

The injury is worse than I knew and Augustin is starting in place of Jennings...

Also, Tony Mitchell is starting in place of Johnson at SF!

Mitchell has some good defensive ability and is rated 73 overall... interesting call.

Embiid has 4 points early but Drummond and their other guys are killing us inside. We call timeout with 7:33 to go. Down 13-7.

We go on a 8-0 run after the T.O with a steal and breakaway fancy dunk by Leonard and a few nice plays by MCW.

Caldwell-Pope gets to the line to end our run. Tied at 15.

Jennings comes in and scores quickly. Embiid doing work down low.

At the end of 1, we are down 27-26. Embiid with 9 points. Leonard with 7.

8:33 - They build a 35-28 lead. We call time and get Embiid back into the game after a very short rest.

We go on a 6-0 run led by a 3 from Leonard. 35-34.

Sheesh. Augustin hits a VERY deep 3.

Caldwell-Pope with a pair of 3's off screens.

They go on a 10-0 run in which none of our shots fall. A 4 minute dry spell ends with a basket inside by Embiid. We are down 47-39.

At halftime, we are down 52-44.

Caldwell-Pope leads all scorers with 16. Drummond with 9 points, 6 boards and tough interior defense.

Jennings with 8 points in 9 minutes.

Embiid leads us with 13 points and 5 boards.

Leonard with 12 points.

MCW with 10 points and 3 assists.


6:18 - We were down by 10, but a pair of quality plays by Leonard cuts the lead to 6. Down 61-55 as our shooters are cold but our defense is good.

3:55 - Leonard with an acrobatic move in the lane to get an amazing lay-up and the foul. We are down 65-62.

Noel with a block.. Leonard to Butler to MCW for the dunk!

Butler misses a 3 that would have given us the lead and Jennings finds Johnson for a corner 3. 68-64.

Holloway with a horrible turnover. Jennings with a 3 at the other end. Holloway has had a VERY bad game tonight.

Down 73-66 after another bad play by Holloway. I decide to pull him and go with 4 wing players.

Leonard with a 3 and then MCW with the old fashioned 3 point play to make it 73-72 but they respond with a 3 from Johnson off a screen.

The quarter ends with a block by Drummond that leads to a Clarkson fastbreak dunk.

Down 78-72 at the end of 3.

7:49 - McDaniels with a few baskets and then MCW into the lane draws a foul and ties the game at 84. Leonard has 25 points but is exhausted. He will get a break. MCW is very tired too. We go with Turner, Butler, McDaniels, Holloway and Embiid (Noel is exhausted and not playing great on his bad ankle.)

Embiid with a block... to Turner who finds McDaniels on the break for a HUGE dunk! 86-84 lead!

Millsaps with a basket and the foul.

Holloway with an offensive board, putback and the foul!

Millsaps rises and shoots over Holloway. Tied at 89.

Turner with a 12 footer.

Butler forces a miss from Caldwell-Pope.

Embiid gets the board.

McDaniels misses a 3 and Millsaps with a basket down low. Tied at 91. 3:44 left.

Turner with a bad pass for the turnover.

Millsaps with a fade away shot in the post. 93-91 lead.

McDaniels hits a 3 to give us the 94-93 lead!

Turner with a steal and breakaway dunk!!!

McDaniels misses a 3. Butler is exhausted.

For the stretch run, we go with MCW, Turner, Leonard, Noel, and Embiid.

WE lead 96-93 with 2 minutes to go...

Millsap with a basket and Leonard misses at the other end.

They go to Millsap again and Noel forces a miss. Embiid with the board.

MCW misses a tough jumper. Millsaps draws a foul in the post on Embiid. He makes the FT's to give them a 97-96 lead. 1 minute left...

MCW beats Jennings off the dribble and gets into the lane drawing over Drummond.. he threads the needle for a dunk to Embiid!

Embiid blocks a shot by Millsaps.. .fast break... MCW to Turner for the dunk!

MCW forces a bad shot by Jennings! Embiid with the board.

We run clock... MCW with a tough buzzer beater as just shoots over Jennings. 102-97 lead with just 6 seconds left :)


Leonard forces a miss by Jennings. We win 102-97 and steal game 1 at the Palace! :)

Leonard is the player of the game with 27 points, 6 boards, 4 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block. He shot 11 of 19, 3 of 6, and 2 of 3.

MCW with 18 points, 6 boards, 6 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block. He shot 6 of 15 and 6 of 7 from the line.

Embiid with 19 points, 9 boards, 4 assists, 1 steal, and 2 blocks. He shot 9 of 10.

Butler with 12 points, 2 assists, and 2 steals.

Turner with 11 points, 3 boards, and 2 assists.

McDaniels with 9 points and 3 assists in 12 minutes.

Holloway shot 2 of 10 and finished with 5 points and 9 boards.

Noel with 3 points and 9 boards in 24 minutes.

Millsap led them with 28 points and 10 boards. He shot 10 of 23 and 8 of 9 from the line.

Johnson with 14 points. Caldwell-Pope with 16 points but we shut him down in the 2nd half.

Drummond finished with 9 points and 14 boards along with 2 blocks.

We held Augustin to 3 of 15 shooting.

[Eaglesfan27]

Game 2 -

Butler playing smothering defense and getting his offense going early. We jump to a 20-16 lead at the end of 1.

Leonard with a 8 points in the 2nd quarter as we take a 48-36 lead into halftime.

Our defense is laxer in the 3rd but our offense is humming. We take a 78-68 lead at the end of 3.

In the 4th, we have a big lead most of the way until they make a furious run in the last 4 minutes. We hold on for a 98-95 win after Leonard hits a big 3 with 1 minute left.

Butler was the player of the game with 20 points, 8 boards, 5 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks. He shot 7 of 11.

Leonard with 20 points, 11 boards, 1 assist, 1 steal, and 1 block. He shot 8 of 18.

MCW with 11 points, 7 boards, 7 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block. He shot 5 of 15.

Turner with 11 points, 10 boards, and 4 assists in 25 minutes off the bench.

Embiid with 10 points, 8 boards, and 2 blocks. He shot 4 of 10.

Holloway with 10 points, 6 boards, and 3 assists. He shot 4 of 11.

Noel with 9 points, 8 boards, and 2 blocks in 22 minutes.

McDaniels shot 2 of 10 and finished with 5 points in 18 minutes.

Moultrie with 2 points and 2 boards in 12 minutes.

Stojic played 5 minutes and finished with 2 points and 1 assist.



Millsap led the Pistons with 24 points and 4 boards. He shot 9 of 15.

Drummond with 15 points and 12 boards along with 2 blocks.

Stokes with 13 points and 4 boards.

Augustin with 10 points as he was held to 2 of 12.

We held Johnson to 1 of 9.

Jennings held to 3 of 15.

[Eaglesfan27]

In the West, the Thunder are up 2-0 on the Rockets.


Now, time for game 3:

Our defense is smothering them early and we are getting some easy transition baskets off our defense. Leonard with a steal and breakaway dunk.

MCW with a steal and passes to Leonard for a flashy dunk.

Leonard with 14 points in the 1st as we build a 25-14 lead.


8:43 - Leonard with a steal and fast break dunk! We lead 33-18.


Our offense goes stagnant in the 2nd but our defense is solid.

Embiid with a block that leads to a MCW breakaway dunk with 1:30 to go in the half. We lead 43-28.


At halftime, we lead 45-31.

Leonard with 24 points at the half!


6:45 - A very cold start to the 3rd until Turner hits a corner jumper. Up 49-38.

They close the gap to 49-41 before a rested Leonard returns. He helps us go on a 8-0 run.

At the end of 3, we are up 66-49.

They start out the 4th with a nice run. I call time and bring Embiid who is well rested back into the game. We lead 68-56.

MCW finds Leonard for a spectacular dunk. We lead 72-60.

MCW with a nice pair of moves into the lane to get FT's. We lead 76-62.

They have played Jennings a lot this game and he is missing a lot of shots..

MCW and Leonard with a spectacular 4th to finish this. We have a 90-70 lead with 3:27 to go...

91-71 lead as I pull my starters with 3 minutes to go.


We win game 3, 94 to 80! :)

Leonard is the clear player of the game with a spectacular effort at both ends of the loor. He finished with 36 points, 6 boards, 4 assists, 3 steals, and 1 block. He shot 14 of 23, 0 of 3, and 8 of 11 from the line.

Turner with 17 points, 5 boards, 2 assist, 2 steals, and 2 blocks. He shot 7 of 11.

MCW with 16 points, 11 assists, 7 boards, 2 steals, 1 block, and 5 turnovers. He shot 4 of 10 from the field and 8 of 10 from the line.

Butler with 8 points, 2 boards, 2 assists, 3 steals, and a block. He was spectacular defensively.

Embiid with 6 points, 8 boards, 1 assist, 3 blocks. He shot 3 of 5.

Noel with 5 points, 12 boards, 3 assists, 2 steals, and a block.

Holloway shot 1 of 10 and finished with 3 points and 9 boards.


We held Jennings to 16 points on 6 of 20 shooting.

Caldwell-Pope led them with 26 points on 10 of 22 shooting, 3 of 8 from the arc, and 3 of 3 from the line.

Millsap held to 9 points on 2 of 12 shooting.

Augustin had 5 turnovers and only 1 assist. He shot 2 of 8.

[Eaglesfan27]

Game 4 in Philly -

We jump to a big lead early as they come out flat. We are up 27-14 at the end of 1.

At halftime, we have 55-40 lead.

MCW controlling the game at both ends of the floor. Leonard and Butler with great perimeter defense and Embiid locking down the paint.

We have a 86-66 lead at the end of 3.

We win the game 110-88!

We sweep the Pistons as Jennings could never get himself going with his bad knee.

Embiid led us in scoring with 22 points, 12 boards, and 4 blocks. He shot 8 of 12 and 6 of 6 from the line.

Butler with 18 points, 10 assists, 9 boards, 5 steals, and a block. He shot 7 of 14.

MCW with 17 points, 10 assists, 6 boards, 3 steals, and only 2 turnovers. He shot 8 of 16.

Leonard with 17 points, 7 boards, 3 assists, 2 steals, and a block. He shot 8 of 12.

Turner with 10 points, 5 boards, 5 assists, and 1 steal. He shot 3 of 6.

McDaniels with 10 points in 17 minutes off the bench.

Noel with 7 points, 7 boards, and a block in 21 minutes.


In the West,

The Thunder win in 6 to advance to the Finals. Let's look at their team:


They are led by Durant who is 27 years old is the best player in the NBA. He is a 99 rating and can be a deadly scorer from anywhere on the court. He is averaging 36 ppg in the playoffs.

Ibaka is a 26 year old 88 rated PF/C who is an elite defender at 6'10 245 with great athleticism. He is averaging 15 ppg, 9 rpg, 1.6 bpg.

Westbrook is 27 and has been slowed by injuries. He is still an elite PG with a 88 rating. He only played a few games this year due to injuries but he is playing great in the playoffs averaging 19 ppg and 7 apg.

Reggie Jackson is a capable backup who can also play SG for them. He is 6'3 210 and is rated 82 overall. He is averaging 13 ppg and 7 apg.

PG Elfrid Payton is a 80 rated PG who can also play some SG for them. He is a very good defender. He is rated 80 overall.

SG Jeremy Lamb is a very good scorer who is rated 79 overall. He is averaging 10 ppg and 4 apg.

They are without C Steven Adams who tore a ligament in his elbow and is done for the year.

PF Mitch McGary is getting PT as a result. He is a 6'10 250 pound defender in the paint who is rated 76 overall.

SG Anthony Morrow is 30 years old and rated 77 as a wing who lays SG and SF. He has elite 3 point shooting ability.

PF Channing Frye is 33 and can still play at a high level. He is rated 75 with his strength being his perimeter shooting.

SF Perry Jones is a 6'11 240 pound SF who can shoot it from 3. He is rated 74 overall. He is only getting 7 mpg and averaging 5 ppg.


C Kendall Perkins is a crafty veteran who is rated 72 overall. He is 31 and was injured most of the year with a knee injury.


This looks like a very tough match-up for us, but we have surpassed my expectations and we could continue to surprise. A look at where we are now:

Leonard is rated 86 overall with his strengths being perimeter defense, mid range jump shooting, and athleticism.

MCW is rated 85 overall with his strengths being his perimeter defense and passing.

Butler is rated 84 overall as a lock down defender.

Embiid is rated 82 overall with his strength being his low post defense but his post moves are developing nicely.

Holloway is up to 80 with his strengths being his post moves and his mid range jumper.

Turner is rated 78 overall as a versatile wing player.

Noel is rated an 80 when healthy but is still hurt and it is effecting his abilities significantly.

McDaniels is 23 and is up to a 74 rating as an all-around SF whose strengths are his athleticism and his shooting.

Moutrie is up to a 72 as a rebounding big man.

Bajel is up to a 70 as a skilled shooter at SG.

Stojic is up to a 70 as a play making PG.


This should be a fun series. We'll get it started later today.

[Eaglesfan27]

Leonard misses his first shot and Westbrook finds Lamb at the other end for a 3.

MCW to Holloway for an open 16 footer for our first score of the game.

Embiid misses a shot. Westbrook finds Durant at the other end for a long corner 2.

MCW misses a shot. We are down 9-2 before MCW gets a floater in the lane. 9-4.

We get within 3 before Durant makes a sick move to the rim to get a dunk and the foul. Down 16-10 with 6:51 to go in the 1st...

5:30 - We get a 2nd foul on Perkins who comes out. McGary into the game at C. We are down 18-15.

Westbrook rests and we make a run. Tied at 22 with 2:37 to go. Butler with several 3's for us!

Jackson with a 3 and then Jackson finds Westbrook for an open 12 footer. Down 27-22.

We go to Embiid down low for a basket.

Leonard with a 3 at the buzzer to tie it at 29 at the end of 1, but we had to play our starters most of the quarter while they rested Westbrook and Ibaka.

Durant with 9 points already. Butler with 11.

Turner steals a pass in the lane.. 2 on 0 breakaway... he passes it to Holloway for a nice dunk. We lead 34-32.

Durant has been resting and Westbrook doing work. He beats MCW off the dribble gets Embiid to come over and finds Ibaka for a dunk. Tied at 45 and my guys are tired. I have to go with Turner, Butler, Leonard, Moultrie, and Noel.

Moultrie with a putback dunk! Tied at 57 with 1:13 to go. Leonard is putting on a show but so is Durant..


Halftime: We are down 59-57. Can we continue to keep up with their offense?

Durant with 16 points. Leonard with 19 points.

Embiid with 10 points, 9 boards, and 2 blocks at the half.

MCW with 10 points and 6 assists.


8:19 - Embiid gets a 4th foul on Perkins. We are down 67-63.

Westbrook with a pair of 3's..

Durant missed 4 shots in a row before hitting a long 2 with 5 minutes to go.

We are down 72-66.

Westbrook beats MCW and hits a tear drop floater over Embiid. 74-66.

Embiid down low with a nice move to get a basket.

4:20 - Embiid gets a 5th foul on Perkins. We are down 77-69.

Westbrook gets a breather and Jackson hits a few jumpers.

MCW with a jumper and then MCW sets up Embiid to draw a foul. Down 81-75.

Durant creates an easy 3 for Jackson. Down 86-75 before MCW pulls up and hits a jumper. 86-77 late in the 3rd.


Our guys are exhausted. I'm going to end the quarter with Turner, Butler, McDaniels, Moultrie and Noel.

Noel with a bucket and the foul. Butler with a steal and breakaway dunk!


At the end of 3, we are down 88-83.

Westbrook with a 3. Westbrook finds Morrow for a 3.

Butler freed off a screen for an easy basket. Down 96-89.

Noel gets a 6th foul on Perkins. Frye comes in for his first significant minutes of the game.

McDaniels gets into the lane and draws a foul but misses both FT's. We are down 99-91. Westbrook is on fire although Durant is cold.

Durant hits an open jumper. Westbrook gets into the lane and gets fouled.

We are down 104-94 with 6 minutes to go..

Westbrook with another 3! If I play him tight, he blows by MCW. If I play him loose he is nailing those 3's. Sheesh.

4:10 left: We are down 112-101. Butler, Leonard, and Embiid working hard to keep us in it...

MCW plays Westbrook tight and he blows by him and gets fouled by Embiid in the lane. Down 118-106 with 2:45 to go...

Westbrook into the lane draws Embiid over... and he threads the pass to McGary for an easy dunk.

Ibaka with a put back dunk to put the final nail in the coffin.

We lose 124-113.


Westbrook is the player of the game with 31 points, 8 assists, 1 boards, 3 steals. He shot 11 of 17, 5 of 5 from the arc, and 4 of 4 from the line.

Jackson with 22 points and 4 assists. He shot 8 of 13.

Durant with 22 points, 12 boards, 5 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block. He shot 9 of 23.

Lamb with 20 points and 5 assists.

Ibaka with 17 points and 14 boards along with 2 blocks.


Butler with 25 points, 6 boards, 3 assists, 3 steals, and a block. He shot 9 of 18.

Embiid with 25 points, 12 boards, and 4 blocks. He shot 9 of 14 and 7 of 10 from the line.

Leonard with 23 points on 9 of 23 shooting.

MCW with 14 points, 11 assists, 3 boards, 1 steal, and 1 block. He shot 4 of 10.

Holloway with 10 points and 6 boards. He shot 5 of 8.

Turner with 6 points, 5 boards, and 6 assists.

McDaniels with 5 points on 2 of 7 shooting.

Noel with 3 points, 5 boards, and 1 steal. He only played 18 minutes tonight.

[Eaglesfan27]

Game 2:

We start out hot, playing great defense and jumping to a 8-0 lead.

At the end of 1, we are up 27-18 led by Leonard's play.

In the 2nd, Durant gets going and their defense shuts us down. We are outscored 31-14 in the 2nd and go in with a 51-41 deficit.

They continue to smother us in the 3rd. We are down 90-66.

We lose the game 116-96.


Westbrook is the player of the game with 32 points, 7 boards, 6 assists, 2 steals. He shot 11 of 14 and 9 of 10 from the line.

Durant with 26 points, 7 boards, and 7 assists.

Jackson with 20 points and 5 assists.

Ibaka with 17 points, 10 boards, and 3 blocks.

Lamb with 12 points.

Embiid led us with 19 points, 9 boards, and 1 block. He shot 8 of 16.

MCW with 17 points, 13 assists, 4 boards and 1 steal. He shot 7 of 15.

Holloway with 16 points and 4 boards.

Leonard was held to 5 of 18 shooting and 10 points.

Butler was held to 2 of 9 shooting for 5 points.

[Eaglesfan27]

Game 3:

MCW starts out hot in the 1st quarter. He has 9 points and 2 assists to lead us to a 23-20 lead.

In the 2nd quarter, MCW gets it Embiid who is dominating them inside. Embiid with 12 points in the quarter as we build a 54-42 lead at halftime.

We start out the 3rd, feeding the ball to Embiid again. We take a 84-73 lead at the end of 3.

They close the gap in the 4th, but Leonard with a few big shots to end their run. Our offense gets flowing again with MCW driving into the lane using his strength against Westbrook. MCW hitting shot after shot from midrange.

We hold on for a 110-104 win! :)

MCW with 30 points, 6 boards, 7 assists, and 5 steals.

Embiid with 26 points, 12 boards, and 2 blocks.

Leonard with 21 points, 6 boards, and 4 assists.

Butler with 10 points, 7 boards, 7 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks.


Durant led them with 42 points, 10 boards, 4 assists, and 2 blocks.

Westbrook shot 6 of 18 and finished with 17 points and 7 assists.

We held Jackson to 4 of 14 shooting.

We held Lamb to 3 of 10.


Game 4:

Durant and Westbrook come out on fire and build a big lead early. By the end of 3, they are up 100 points!

They crush us 132-100. Wow. Their offense was just unstoppable all day long.

Durant with 41 points, 9 boards, 4 assists, and 4 steals.

Ibaka with 22 points and 14 boards along with 3 blocks.

Westbrook with 20 points and 10 assists.

Lamb with 18 points.


MCW with 28 points and 10 assists in the loss.

Butler with 17 points. Leonard with 17 points. Holloway with 12 points but he shot 4 of 13.

Embiid with 11 points and 10 boards. He shot 3 of 12.


Worse than being down 3-1. MCW hurt his wrist in the game and will be hampered in game 5... :(

Game 5:


With MCW being neffective, our offense is very ineffective. Ditto for our defense.

Oklahoma crushes us 122-66!

Durant with 42 points, 12 boards, 4 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks in the win.

Westbrook with 32 points and 10 assists.

Ibaka added 16 pioints, 8 boards, and 2 blocks.


MCW only played 28 minutes and finished with 4 points, 4 boards, and 3 assists.

Leonard with 29 points in the loss.

Embiid shot 3 of 13 and finished with 10 points and 9 boards.


Wow. This team went further than expected and that it makes hard to give up Dragic, but we did it without him. Time to make a play to get the potential superstar guard from USC.

Durant wins MVP of the Finals.

[Eaglesfan27]

For the Finals, Durant averaged 33.4 ppg, 9.4 rpg, 4.4 apg, 2.4 spg, and 1.6 bpg in the MVP win.


Retiring players:

Ginobili at age 38 retires from the Bulls.

Reggie Evans at 36 retires from the Celtics.

Steve Blake at 36 retires from the Trail Blazers

David West at 35 retires from the Pacers.

Udonis Haslem at 36 retires from the Heat.

Luis Scola at 36 retires from the Cipps.

Pablo Prigioni at 39 retires from the Wizards.



The Draft Lottery:

The Celtics have a 25% chance to get the #1 pick. They also have a 15.6% to get it from the Hawks trade. Wow. Imagine if they got the #1 and #2 picks...

The Mavs have a 19.9% chance at the #1 pick.

The Cavs get the 10th and 12th pick in this draft from the moves they made.

The Celtics end up with the #1 and #3 picks!

The Suns get lucky and move up to #2.

The top 14:

1. Celtics
2. Suns
3. Celtics
4. Mavs
5. Wizards
6. Jazz
7. Wolves
8. Knicks
9. Kings
10. Cavs
11. Bucks
12. Cavs
13. Pelicans
14. Hawks

We are picking 17th. Time to try to package that pick and Dragic and another pick for the #1 pick...


A few players opted out of their contract:

Dwight Howard is the biggest fish with a 91 rating at 30 years old.

DeRozan is 26 years old and rated 87 overall. I'd love to get the USC player. I might have the money to do it..

Deron Williams opted out of Brooklyn. He is rated 85 overall at 31 years old.

We exercised options on MCW, Noel, and Embiid as well as Davies.

McDaniels is a RFA...

I give him a qualifying offer.

Cowen, the USC guard, blew the doors off the combine. He had the best score in almost every drill including a 40" vertical and hitting 22 of 25 College 3's. He hit 14 of 25 NBA 3's which led all players.


Crud. Dragic is still injured, so I can't trade him!

I have to figure out another way to get the #1 pick...


The Celtics aren't interested in my picks. They are demanding either Embiid or Leonard be the center piece of any trade for the #1 pick.

I think Embiid is going to be one of the best centers to ever play. Leonard is a very good player and he is only 24, but I think this USC guard is going to be an all time great even though he is smallish at only 6'0.

The Celtics are demanding Leonard and Holloway for the #1 pick and also want me to take Jeff Green's salary. I might regret this but I pull the trigger on it!

[Eaglesfan27]

With the #1 pick, we select consensus #1 pick G Jimmy Cowen out of USC! :)

The young man just turned 20 and should start right away.

The Suns take the other top pick, Murray Daugherty 2nd.

The Celtics get Jason Butler a 20 year old 6'4 SG with the 3rd pick.

The Mavs offer me their 4th pick for MCW. I decline.

The Mavs trade the 4th pick to the Thunder for their own 1st round pick in 2017 and Roberson, a 69 rated SG.

With the 4th pick, the Thunder get Dee Hines a 6'11 259 pound talented C who is only 21 years old.

The Wizards reach for Estrada, a 7'0 C from Puerto Rico.

The Jazz get Guy Stewart a good shooting SF who is 6'8 at 6th pick.

The Wolves take the best PG on the board at #7.

The Knicks offer us their 1st round pick (#8) and Bargnani for MCW. I pass.

The Knicks trade the #8 pick to the Warriors for Iggy.

With the 8th pick, the Warriors get Aaron Wennington, a solid 6'7 SF who has some potential.

With the 9th pick, the Kings get a project at SF.

The Cavs get Rick Haywood, a big body at C with their 10th pick.

The Cavs get another big body at PF with their 12th pick.


Their is no one I want with the 17th pick, so I trade it and a 2019 1st to the Nets for their #1 pick next year.

The Magic approach me with a trade offer that I accept:

We give us our 2018 2nd round pick and Stojic for a 1st next year and a 2nd the year after.


Notable signings:

Tim Duncan signed a 1 year deal with the Spurs for 7 million

Tony Parker signed a 3 year deal with the Spurs for 11 million a year.

The Spurs managed to add Dwight Howard for 4 years and 98 million!

To top it off, the Spurs added Kobe Bryant to a 1 year deal for 7 million and then Paul Pierce for 1 year at 2 million.

They also added Tony Wroten for 3 years at 4 million a year. How did they get all of that cap room?


The Pistons re-signed Drummond for 5 years at 80 million.

The Bulls gave Noah 3 years at 40 million.

The Hawks gave Horford 5 yrars at 72 million.

The Pistons gave Jennings 42 million for 4 years.

The Knicks gave 40 million over 5 years to Shumpert.

The Spurs added Boris Diaw for 1 year at 1.5 million.


We signed Jerami Grant to come back for 3 years and 13 million.

DeRozan went back to LA to play for the Lakers. He signed for 3 years and 42 million.

They also added Eric Gordon for 3 years and 32 million.


The Nets added Ricky Rubio for 4 years and 40 million.

The Mavs got Chandler Parsons to resign 4 years and 44 million.

The Nets signed Kemba Walker to 3 years 30 million.

J.R. Smith signed with the Pelicans for 3 years and 22 million.

The Raptors got Tyson Chandler for 1 year at 3 million.

Ginobili was convinced to come out of retirement? He signed for 1 year at 1.5 million with the Pistons.

Reggie Jackson went to the Mavs for 3 years and 25 million.

The Pelicans got Anthony Davis to re-sign for 1 more year at 10 million.


We have a glut at guard. Time to make a move there.

I shop Dragic around and get a very interesting offer:

Dragic and McDaniels (who I hate giving up) for Jeff Teague and Thabo Sefolosha. Both of the players I would receive have expiring contracts.

I pull the trigger. That will give me flexibility for my next moves in the next offseason to add the 1 piece to make us a young star filled team while all of our young guys develop a bit more.


A look at our rotation now:


PG MCW is 25 years old and rated 84 overall as a playmaking guard.

SG Jimmy Cowen is 6'0 165 and 20 years old. He is incredibly athletic and can shoot better than anyone on my roster at this point.

SF Evan Turner - 27 years old and rated 77 overall. Can do everything reasonably well although he doesn't excel in any area.

PF Noel - 22 years old and rated 80 overall. My best shot blocker.

C Embiid - 22 years old and rated 83. He has really developed his post game this offseason and looks to become a more consistent scorer down low.

6th man: Butler is rated 82 and can defend the 1, 2, 3, or even the 4 against smaller PF. He will play a lot off the bench.

Jeff Green is 6'9 235 and rated 77 overall. He is one of the best at the corner 3 on our team.

Jeff Teague - a Capable backup PG who is a good defender. Rated 77 overall.

Thabo Sefolosha is rated 73 and is a good defender who can shut down wing players. He is 32 years old but I have no plans to keep him past this year anyway.

Jerami Grant is an ethletic SF who can score. He has developed his shot a bit. He is rated 73 overall.

PF Moultrie is rated 71 overall and can give us some minutes at PF or C.

Davies - A big body who can come in during injury or foul trouble.

SG Bazja - still developing. Might be a contributor next year.

[Eaglesfan27]

Our 1st game is against the new look Nets who added some pieces and lost Deron Williams:

PG Ricky Rubio (82)
SG Kemba Walker (83)
SF Bojan Bogdanovic (76)
PF Greg Monroe (82)
C Brook Lopez (80)

SG Jimmer Fredette (74)
C Mason Plumlee (81)
SG Nick Johnson (74)
PG Marquis Teague (72)
SF Josh Smith (70)

Our team is favored but not by much. The talent evaluators think we took a big step back in defensive and offensive talent...


Cowen misses his first shot and then gets beat by his man at the other end.

9:05 - Cowen with his first points as a 76er, a 3 off a great pass from MCW.

Cowen with a rough start but he drills another 3. Then he has 3 assists in a row. He is playing very well now.

3:10 - They call timeout after another Cowen assist. We are up 21-19.

1:44 - Cowen rests for a bit after missing another 3. We are up 23-21.

At the end of 1, we are tied at 23.

7:30 - We are down 36-31. MCW is tired and his defense is getting sloppy. We go with Cowen, Butler, Sefolosha, Green, and Noel.

54 seconds to go: Cowen comes off a great screen by Embiid and rises for a huge dunk. The kid can fly! Down 49-47.

At halftime, we are down 51-47.

Cowen leads our team with 12 points. He also leads us with 7 assists. The kid is electric.

MCW with 11 points and 4 assists.


Cowen is cold in the 3rd. His shot is missing time and time again but he does make a few nice assists.

Butler, MCW, and to a lesser extent Turner pick up the scoring slack but our defense is bad this quarter.

Down 77-70 at the end of 3.

Lopez has been crushing us inside in the 2nd half. Cowen with a beautiful behind the back dribble to get into the lane and hit a tear drop shot.

Down 83-77.

3:37 - We are down 96-91 and then Cowen hits a 3 on an assist from MCW!

2:47 - Cowen breaks down his man... gets into the lane... kicks it out to Green for a 3! That gives us a 97-96 lead.

Cowen forces a miss from Rubio.. Cowen at the other end beats Rubio off the dribble and hits a floater in the lane!

44 seconds left - Cowen beats Rubio... gets all the way to the hoop for a dunk! 101-96 lead.

101-98... MCW forces his man to miss.. long rebound... MCW gets it... he throws it up ahead for Embiid who has the breakaway dunk!

We win 103-98! :)

Cowen is the player of the game in his debut! 26 point, 14 assists, 3 boards, 2 steals, and 7 turnovers. He shot 9 of 22, 3 of 8, and 5 of 6.

MCW with 20 points, 8 assists, 7 boards, 1 steal, and 1 block. He only had 1 turnover. He shot 9 of 17, 2 of 6, and 0 of 0.

Butler with 12 points, 4 boards, 4 assists, and 2 steals in 29 minutes off the bench.

Green with 10 points, 3 boards, and 1 assist in 25 minutes his debut. He shot 4 of 6, 2 of 4 from the arc.

Turner with 8 points, 2 boards, and 1 steal. He shot 3 of 10.

Embiid with 8 points, 13 boards, and 5 blocks! He shot 3 of 6. We have to get him the ball more.

Noel with 8 points, 12 boards, and a block. He shot 3 of 8.

Teague with 6 points and 2 assists in 10 minutes off the bench.

Selfolosha with 5 points and 1 steal in 9 minutes.

Mpultrie with 3 boards and a block in 10 minutes.


Lopez led them with 23 points, 11 boards, and 2 assists.

Monroe with 15 points and 14 boards.

Fredette with 13 points on 5 of 15 shooting.

Bogdanovic with 11 points.

Walker with 10 points, 5 boards, and 5 assists.

[Ironhead]

Two questions:

1) Do you anticipate matchup problems with Cowen's size at the 2?

2) With all of those moves what does the Spurs lineup look like? Do they have a shot to challenge the Thunder or are they just too old?

[Eaglesfan27]

Two questions:

1) Do you anticipate matchup problems with Cowen's size at the 2?

2) With all of those moves what does the Spurs lineup look like? Do they have a shot to challenge the Thunder or are they just too old?

I set my defensive settings to have Cowen guard their PG and MCW takes their SG.

2) I will look later tonight and post it :)

[Eaglesfan27]

Oct 29th -

We travel to the Grizzlies who lost their stars and are rebuilding. We are favored. How can our young rookie do without me helping him out?

We fall into a deficit early but a strong 2nd quarter gets us a 46-43 lead at the half.

Fatigue sets in the 2nd half and we have a rough 4th quarter. We get outscored 28-19 in the 4th and lose 87-82.

Cowen shot 2 of 10 and finished with 4 points, 3 boards, 8 assists, and 5 turnovers.

Noel led us with 16 points, 12 boards, and a block.

Embiid with 13 points, 9 boards, and 3 blocks. He shot 5 of 10.

MCW with 13 points, 3 boards, 5 assists, 1 block. He shot 6 of 10.

Teague with 11 points and 4 assists in 18 minutes.

Green with 9 points and 5 boards. He shot 2 of 8.

Turner with 8 points, 7 boards, and 1 assist in 30 minutes. He shot 3 of 11.

Butler with 4 points, 3 boards, and 3 assists and 2 steals in 26 minutes off the bench.


10/31 -

We travel to the Pelicans to face Davis. They are favored.

It was never a game, we had no answer for Anthony Davis and Jrue Holiday.

We lose 115-88.

Embiid led us with 19 points and 6 boards.

MCW with 17 points, 6 boards, 6 assists, and 2 steals.

Cowen with 10 points, 7 assists, 3 boards, and 1 steal. He shot 4 of 10.

Noel with 9 points and 5 boards.

Turner with 8 points, 7 boards, and 2 assists.

Grant with 6 points in 5 minutes.

Green shot 1 of 5 and finished with 3 points.

Butler with 4 points, 3 boards, and 4 assists.


Davis led the Pelicans with 25 points, 7 boards, and 2 blocks.

Russ Smith with 19 points and 7 assists. Holiday with 15 points and 8 assists.

We are 1-2 and looking to learn to play together better.

Our next game is on November 2nd against the Celtics and our old teammates. They have a talented starting 5 but we are favored.

[Eaglesfan27]

By request, here is a look at the Spur's Roster at this point:

Dwight Howard is 30 years old and at a 90 rating is their best player. His inside scoring and interior defense highlight their team now.

PG Tony Parker is 34 but is still a very respectable 84 overall with his strengths in his midrange shot and play making ability.

PF Tim Duncan is still a 82 rated player at age 40. His stamina is low but he can still score inside well and his midrange shot isn't bad.

SG Kobe Bryant is a 80 rated player at 38. His midrange shot is falling off and his 3 point shooting is lower but he is still a capable scorer.

PF Kyle Andersen was a steal at the 30th pick. He is a 79 rated PF who is 6'9 230 and can shoot the 3 as well as the midrange shot. Great range for a big man.

SG/SF Allen Crabbe is a 24 year old player who specializes in the 3 ball. He is rated 75 overall.

SG/SF Tony Wroten (former 76er) is a 74 rated 23 year old SG whose best attribute is his inside finishing.

PF Boris Diaw is a 72 overall at 34 years old. His best attribute is his 3 point shooting and defense.

SF Paul Pierce is 39 years old and rated 70 overall. His best attribute is his jumper.

C Tiago Splitter is declining at 31 but he is still rated 70 overall and can spell the big men.

PG Aaron Books is 31 years old and rated 69 overall. His best attribute is his 3 point shooting.

SF Scott Byrd is a 21 year old 2nd year player who is a 68 overall. He has no real strengths and was drafted at the end of the 1st round.

PG Marvin Banks is their 2nd round pick from this year. He is rated 59 overall but the staff thinks he has potential to develop into a role player.

[Eaglesfan27]

Now, a look at the Celtics as they revamped after our trade. I think they are going to be a tough match up for us:

SF Kawhi Leonard is a 84 rated SF at 25 years old and leads their team. He is a premier defender and can shoot the 3 fairly well.

PG Marcus Smart is challenging Rondo for the starting role. He is rated 82 overall and is only 22. His best attribute is his defense and midrange jumper.

PG Rajon Rondo is 30 years old and rated 82 overall. His best attribute is his passing and playmaking.

PF Jared Sullinger is 24 and rated 81 overall. His best attribute is his midrange jumper.

SG Avery Bradley is 25 years old and rated 80 overall. His best attribute is his 3 point shooting.

PF Craig Holloway is 24 years old and rated 79 overall. His best attribute is his low post scoring but he can hit the midrange jumper as well.

SF James Young is a 21 year old guard who is rated 76 overall. His best atribute is his 3 point shooting.

C Kelly Olynyk is rated 75 overall. His best attribute is his inside scoring.

C Tyler Zeller is a 26 year old who is rated 73 overall. His best attribute is his interior scoring.

SG Clifford Holland was the #12 pick in the 2015 draft. He is a 22 year old SG who is rated 72 overall. His best attribute is his jumper.

[Eaglesfan27]

Leonard torching us early. A corner 3. A 3 from the top of the key. A 12 footer. We are down 14-4 early as we call time.

Cowen gets his midrange shot going and he helps us close the gap but they start drilling 3's late. Leonard with 11 points in the 1st quarter as they jump to a 25-16 lead at the end of 1.


We were down by 17 at one point but a nice run powered by Embiid and Cowen gets us within 9. Down 51-42 at halftime.

Cowen with 15 points and 5 assists at the half. Embiid with 9 boards at halftime.

Leonard with 17 points at halftime.


9:49 - MCW lands awkwardly after a jump shot and has to be helped off the court. Looks like something with his ankle :(

6:41 - The news is that MCW broke a bone in his ankle :(

Our team is struggling and we are down 69-50.

We are down 75-60 before Cowen hits a 16 foot jumper.

At the end of 3, are down 85-64 and Cowen is exhausted. So is Embiid.

In the 4th, our defense falls completely apart. We lose 116-85.

Leonard was the player of the game with 23 points, 10 boards, 4 assists, 2 steals, and a block. He shot 7 of 12, 3 of 6, and 6 of 7.

Bradley with 17 points. Holloway with 15 points and 9 boards. Olynyk with 15 points. Sullinger with 13 points.

Rondo with 6 points and 9 assists.

Cowen led us with 23 points, 6 assists, and 4 turnovers. He shot 10 of 23, 1 of 2, and 2 of 2.

Embiid with 14 points, 14 boards, and 2 blocks. He shot 7 of 16.

Butler with 13 points, 6 boards, and 2 assists.

Teague with 7 points and 3 assists in 14 minutes.

Turner shot 3 of 11 and finished with 6 points.

Noel with 6 points and 9 boards.

[Eaglesfan27]

With the injury, Cowen starts at PG. Butler starts at SG. Teague gets many more minutes as our 6th man. Jeff Green will also get more minutes as a stretch 4.


11/4/16 -

We host the Bucks who are in transition. They are 3-2 but we are favored to win.. Their starting 5:

PG Jim McDonald (74)
SG Alec Burks (79)
SF Jabari Parker (87)
PF John Henson (76)
C Larry Sanders (78)

PG Shelvin Mack (74)
SF Damien Inglis (74)
PG Patrick Beverly (73)
SG Phil Cohen (70)
C Andray Blatche (69)
PF Juwan Dame (their 1st round pick this year - 66)


The game was close for 3 quarters but Embiid came through big in the 4th for a 97-89 win.

Embiid with 25 points, 13 boards, and 2 blocks. He shot 9 of 11 and 7 of 8 from the line.

Green with 19 points on 5 of 11 shooting.

Cowen with 12 points, 4 boards, 7 assists, and only 1 turnover. He shot 6 of 13.

Turner with 12 points. Butler with 9 points, 7 boards, and 2 steals.

Noel with 8 points, 8 boards, and 1 block.

Teague with a team high 13 assists in 29 minutes off the bench.



Parker led the Bucks with 25 points on 8 of 18 shooting.

Burs with 14 points. We shut down their big men who were scoreless.



We are 2-3 and we travel to play Detroit who is also 2-3 and struggling. We are favored. Their starting 5:

PG Jennings (82)
SG Ginobili - who came out of retirement! (73)
SF Giannis Antetokounmpo (who they signed as a FA this year - 78)
PF Paul Millsap (84)
C Drummond (86)

Their bench:

PF Stokes (77)
PG Jordan Clarkson (75)
PG Isaiah Canaan (75)
SG Marcus Thornton (71)
SF Sergey Karasev (69)

Caldwell-Pope is hurt and will not play this game.



We jump to a 32-19 lead at the end of 1 and hold on for 100-91 win.

Embiid with 20 points, 12 boards, 2 blocks. He shot 9 of 19.

Green with 16 points, 6 boards, 3 assists, and 2 steals.

Turner with 14 points, 4 boards, and 1 assist.

Teague with 12 points and 8 assists in 28 minutes.

Cowen got into foul trouble and only played 25 minutes as a result. He finished with 10 points, 3 assists, 1 steal, and 1 board. He shot 5 of 11.

Bajza with 9 points in 6 minutes.

Noel with 9 points, 9 boards, and 4 blocks.

Butler with 3 points, 11 boards, and 7 assists.


We are now 3-3 and our next game is against the Wolves who are struggling at 2-6.

Their starting 5:

PG Zach Lavine (80)
SG Kevin Martin (73)
SF Wiggins (86)
PF Anthony Bennett (77)
C Gorgui Dieng (77)

PG Deron Williams (81)
PG Ray McCallum (77)
F Thaddeus Young (75)
SG Wayne Ellington (72)
PG Conrad Welch (72)
C Omer Asik (70)
C Kosta Koufos (70)
PG J.J. Barea (69)
SF Chase Budinger (65)

[Eaglesfan27]

Cowen with a big 1st quarter to get 10 points and 3 assists as we take a 26-25 lead at the end of 1.

Turner with a 3 at the buzzer to give us a 49-45 halftime lead. Really nice quarter from Noel and Turner. Cowen was tired and rested for a good 8 minutes of the quarter.

Cowen with 10 points and 4 assists at the half.

Embiid with 12 boards at halftime.


Our defense really clicked in the 3rd anchored by Embiid. We take a 81-64 lead at the end of 3.

Cowen was our leading scorer in the 3rd. He has 20 points.


We continue to build a big lead in the 4th. I pull my starters with 5 minutes left. We lead 97-75.

We win the game 106-82.

Cowen is the player of the game with 22 points, 7 assists, 4 boards, and 4 turnovers. He shot 9 of 16, 1 of 1 from the arc, and 3 of 3 from the line.

Embiid with 13 points, 17 boards, and 1 block.

Butler with 13 points, 5 boards, and 3 assists.

Turner with 11 points, 8 boards, and 3 assists.

Teague with 10 points and 4 assists.

Noel with 10 points, 11 boards, 3 assists, and 3 blocks.

Grant with 9 points and 5 boards in 15 minutes.

Moultrie with 6 points, 4 boards, and 1 block in 20 minutes.

Bazja with 5 points. Sefolosha with 5 points in 14 minutes.

Dieng led the Wolves with 18 points.

Martin with 16 points on 7 of 21 shooting.

Thaddeus Yong with 10 points on 4 of 6 shooting.

We held LaVine to 4 of 16 shooting.

We held Bennett to 3 of 13 shooting.

We held Wiggins to 2 of 15 shooting. He had 4 points, 2 boards, and 2 assists.

[Eaglesfan27]

We've had an open roster spot and I decide to add someone. I coinsder a big man but decide to go with the best 3 point shooter to add some offensive punch. We add Marco Belinili for 1 year at 2 million. He is a pure 3 point shooter.


11/11 -

We host the Pacers who are 2-5 and struggling. We are favored to win.

It is a back and forth game throughout. The Pacers jump to a slight lead at the end of 1, 25-23.

At halftime, we fight back and go in down 45-44.

In the 3rd quarter, we take a slight lead behind Cowen's shooting. We lead 67-66.

The 4th ends with a 90-90 tie as they get a buzzer beater from George. We are going to OT.

It is back and forth through the OT, but George hits another Buzzer beater to give them a 104-102 OT win.

George finished with 30 points, 13 boards, 6 assists, and 2 steals. He shot 9 of 18 and 11 of 12 from the line.

They also got 10 points from Pau Gasol who is still an effective post player at 36. They got 20 points from Jordan Crawford.


Jeff Green led us with 19 points on 5 of 8 shooting and 8 of 8 from the line.

Butler with 18 points, 6 boards, 2 assists, and 2 steals.

Turner with 17 points and 7 boards.

Embiid with 16 points, 11 boards, and 2 blocks. He shot 2 of 10 from the line...

Cowen with 15 points and 5 assists in the loss. HE shot 4 of 13, 1 of 3, and 6 of 6 from the line.

Teague with 9 points and 4 assists. He shot 2 of 10 from the field.

Grant with 4 points in 12 minutes.

Noel with 2 points, 13 boards, and 2 assists.

Belinelli shot 0 of 4 in his debut including 0 of 2 from the arc. He only played 6 minutes.


We are now 4-4 and 9th in the conference.


11/14 -

We host the Suns who are 4-5. We are favored to win.

They are led by PG Eric Bledsoe and former Rookie of the Year, Karl Nelson who are both 84 rated guards...

The Raptors offer us Patrick Patterson and Tyler Hansbrough for Butler and Davies. This would make us stronger in the front court but I like Butler too much for his defense. I pass.


Cowen comes out shooting the lights out in the 1st quarter. We jump to a 37-20 lead.

Cowen continues to lead the offense effectively in the 2nd. We lead 63-48 at the half.

We cruise a bit in the 3rd but continue to lead 84-70.

We pound it inside in the 4th to keep our lead and get the win, 105-94.

Cowen led the team with 21 points, 7 assists, 3 boards, and 1 steal. He shot 7 of 21, 1 of 3, and 4 of 5.

Teague with 15 points and 7 assists in 24 minutes.

Turner with 14 points and 4 boards.

Embiid with 12 points, 7 boards, and a block.

Butler with 10 points, 5 boards, 3 assists, 2 steals, and a block.

Sefolosha with 9 points in 8 minutes.

Noel with 8 points, 13 boards, and 3 blocks.

Belinelli with 3 assists in 6 minutes. 0 points.

Green had a rough night with 1 of 9 shooting for 2 points.



11/16 -

We travel to play the Raptors. They are favored and are off to a great start at 8-2.

Their starting 5:

PG Lowry (86)
SG Terrence Ross (81)
SF Gay (82)
PF Patterson (78)
C Jonas Valancuinas (83)

Their bench is good too:

PF Amir Johnson (78)
PF Mac Dillon (73)
SF Bruno Caboclo (72)
C Tyson Chandler (70)
PF Tyler Hansbrough (70)
C Joel Freeland (70)

[Eaglesfan27]

Cowen is having problems at both ends with Lowry today who is having a big 1st quarter. Embiid keeping us in it with a strong 1st quarter. We are down 26-22 at the end of 1.

Our bigs have Valacunias in foul trouble. Working them inside to keep us in it. Down 38-36 with 5:30 left in the half.


At halftime, we are down 49-46.

Lowry leads them with 11 points and 5 assists.

Embiid leads us with 11 points and 8 boards.


Their 3 point shooters, especially Lowry, help them build a 11 point lead but we cut it late on a few big plays by Cowen and Teague who had a very nice quarter. We are down 75-71 at the end of 3.

Toronto's 3 point shooters making shots in the 4th and our offense goes cold. They build a 12 point lead.

We close the gap a few times but can't put enough points as Embiid misses shot after shot. We lose 101-92.


Lowry was the player of the game with 24 points, 8 assists, and 3 boards. He shot 8 of 24, 2 of 7, and 6 of 7.

Gay with 17 points and 4 assists as he shot 5 of 11, 2 of 3 from the arc, and 5 of 8 from the line.

Ross with 17 points on 7 of 12 shooting including 1 of 3 from the arc.

Caboclo with 11 points as he shot 4 of 8 including 2 of 3 from the arc.

Patterson with 10 points and 10 boards as he hit 2 3's.


Teague led us with 19 points and 2 assists in 24 minutes.

Belinelli with 12 points on 4 of 10 shooting including 2 of 6 from the arc.

Cowen with 11 points (after 0 in the first half), 10 assists, 6 boards, 2 steals, and 5 turnovers. He shot 5 of 14.

Turner with 10 points, 5 assists, and 2 boards. He shot 3 of 8.

Embiid finished with 12 points and 11 boards. He shot 3 of 12.

Butler with 9 points, 5 boards, 3 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks. He shot 4 of 10.

Noel with 5 points, 6 boards, and 2 assists in 26 minutes.

That loss drops us to 5-5.

[Eaglesfan27]

11/18 -

The Spurs are showing their age and struggling early. They are 5-6 as they try to gel. We are favored at their place...

We get out running early adn take a 32-20 lead at the end of 1.

Big lead going into halftime as we are running them up and down the court.

58-44 at the half.

Our offense goes cold in the 2nd half and they close the gap. 76-70 at the end of 3.

We hold on despite several rally attempts. 94-88 win!

Embiid with 22 points, 10 boards, 2 blocks to lead us in the win. He shot 6 of 12 from the floor and 10 of 13 from the line.

Turner with 15 points, 5 boards, and 5 assists.

Cowen with 12 points, 4 assists, 3 boards, and a steal. He shot 5 of 10, 2 of 5 from the arc.

Green with 9 points. Grant with 8 points. Noel with 8 points, 10 boards, and 3 blocks.

Teague with 7 points and 2 assists.


Duncan led the Spurs with 14 points ad 10 boards in 28 minutes.

Kobe with 14 points and 4 assists with 5 of 13 shooting.

Pierce with 12 points but he shot 2 of 10.

Parker with 10 points and 10 assists.

Dwight got into foul trouble and only played 14 minutes. He fouled out with 5 points and 3 boards as Embiid owned him!



11/20 -

We host the Nuggets who have suffered an early injury to Ty LAwson and are struggling this year as a result. Their starting 5 doesn't fit well together:

PG Keith Bailey (68)
SG Arron Afflalo (80)
SF Gallinari (78)
PF Faried (84)
C Jusuf Nurkic (76)


We are heavily favored to win...

We jump to a big lead early, 29-17.

However, our offense only puts up 14 in the 2nd quarter and they close the gap. We are up 44-41 at the half.

In the 3rd, we get outscored 27-22 and they take a 68-66 lead.

The 4th is a back and forth game but Faried hits a game winner at the buzzer to give them the 91-90 victory.

Faried led them with 17 points, 10 boards, and a block.

Gallinari with 16 points.

Afflalo with 9 points and 7 assists.

We held Bailey scoreless and without any assists.


Embiid led us with 18 points, 10 boards, and 2 blocks. He shot 8 of 16.

Cowen had 18 points, 10 boards, 9 assists (so close), 4 steals, and 5 turnovers. He shot 6 of 16 in the loss.

Noel with 16 points, 10 boards, and 3 blocks. He shot 7 of 11.

Green with 14 points and 3 boards.

Teague with 11 points and 5 assists.

Butler with 4 points, 6 boards, 4 assists, 3 steals, and 2 blocks. He shot 2 of 10.

Turner was injured in the game and only played 7 minutes....

He suffered a broken bone in his hand and is out for 2-4 weeks.

[Eaglesfan27]

With the injury, we sign Perry Jones to a FA contract. He is a 6'11 235 pound SF who was a former pick at 28 in the 1st round in 2012. He is a 72 rated SF whose strength is shooting the 3. Oklahoma cut him this year due to lack of productivity but I think he can be an instant scorer for us. He is only 25 years old.

Our rotation now:

PG Cowen (up to 81! :))
SG Butler (81)
SF Green (76)
PF Noel (79)
C Embiid (83)

PG Teague (77)
SF Grant (73)
SF Jones (72)
PF Moultrie (71)
SG/SF Sefolosha (72)
SG Bellinelli (70) - will play when our offense is struggling.
SG Bazja (70)
PF Davies (67)


Time to look at the early prospects:

The early projected #1 is O.J. Gill, a 22 year old PG from North Carolina. He might not have the highest ceiling but he is a very polished player. He is averaging 22 ppg and 9 apg.

SG Nelson Williamson is shooting up the draft boards. He is a 6'6 200 pound SG who is 20 years old and plays for Virginia. He is a weak defender but a strong offensive player who can drive and shoot. He is averaging 22.7 ppg and 4.5 apg.

PF Frederic Perben from France is moving up the board and is currently #3. He si a 6'10 260 pound PF with a nice touch from midrange and great moves around the basket. He is averaging 29 ppg and 12.6 rpg along with 3.4 bpg....

Pf Mack Perkins from Wichita State is projected at #4 but I could see him moving up. He is a 7' 220 pound PF with very good potential. His best attribute is his freakish athleticism for a big man. He is averaigng 25 ppg, 11 rpg, and 4.8 bpg.

Rounding out the top 5 at this point is Jake Robinson from UCLA. The 18 year old SF is 6'9 240 and has good ball handling abilities, the ability to drive and finish. He has a very questionable shooting ability at this point and his defense is weak for his size.

[Eaglesfan27]

11/25 -

We host the Pistons after 4 days off for practice. The Pistons are struggling at 5-10 which is surprising considering they have Jennings back and healthy. Their starting 5 is very talented:

PG Jennings (82)
SG Caldwell-Pope (76)
SF The Greek Freak (79)
PF Millsap (84)
C Drummond (86)

Their bench is good too:

PF Stokes (77)
PF Isaiah Cannan (75)
PG Clarkson (75)
SG Ginobili (73)
SG Marcus Thornton (71)

[Eaglesfan27]

1st quarter:

The Greek freak is lethal on the fast break. Their defense is forcing turnovers and he is getting out there and finishing early. They jump to a 10-0 lead.

We settle down but we are in a hole the whole quarter. Down 35-23 at the end of 1.


Cowen with 13 points and 6 assists at the half but their offense is really clicking and we are down 58-49 at halftime.

Embiid with 11 points and 10 boards at the half.

Jennings is leading them with 15 points and 4 assists.


The Greek Freak is hitting 3's and driving past us when we crowd him. He is taking over the game. Perry Jones is our main scorer in the 3rd...


The Greek Freak and Jennings build a huge lead in the 3rd. Jennings with 25. They are up 90-66 at the end of 3.

We lose the game 109-82. Our offense went ice cold.


Embiid led us with 17 points, 13 boards, and a block. He shot 5 of 11, 7 of 12 from the line.

Cowen finished with 15 points, 9 assists, 7 boards, and 5 turnovers. He shot 7 of 19, 1 of 2, and 0 of 0.

Green with 14 points and 5 boards.

Jones with 12 points and 3 boards. He shot 5 of 8 and 2 of 3 from the arc.

Butler with 9 points, 3 boards, and 3 assists. He shot 3 of 10.

Teague with 6 points and 6 assists. He shot 2 of 10.

Noel with 3 points, 9 boards, and 1 block. He shot 1 of 6.

Belinelli with 1 assist. He shot 0 of 3.

Grant with 2 points and 2 boards. He shot 1 of 4.

Jennings finished with 30 points and 7 assists. Antetokounmpo finished qwith 22 points and 4 boards. He shot 9 of 12.

Drummond added 15 points and 14 boards along with 3 blocks. He shot 6 of 9.

[Eaglesfan27]

11/27 -

We host Dallas. They are 5-10 and suffering with injuries and declining stars. Dirk is now a 6th man with a 77 rating.

We are favored to win the game.

We build a big lead early with our running transition game and never look back.

115-84 win.

Embiid with 23 points, 9 boards, and 3 blocks. He shot 7 of 12 and 9 of 13 from the line.

Cowen with 21 points, 8 assists, 3 steals, and 6 turnovers. He shot 8 of 16.

Teague with 17 points and 5 assists.

Jones with 16 points, 3 boards, and 1 block in 19 minutes.

Green with 14 points and 4 assists.

Butler broke a finger and finished with 10 points, 10 boards, 3 assists, 3 steals, and 1 block.

Noel with 5 points, 9 boards, and 2 blocks.



11/29 -

We travel to play Atlanta who are 12-3 and top of the East. They are heavily favored.

Their starting 5 is led by Dragic at PG and LaMarcus Aldridge at PF (87) and Al Horford at C (82)


It was never a game. Their defense was too strong inside and our shooters couldn't get it on track.

We lose 105-76.

Cowen led us with 19 points and 4 assists. He shot 6 of 17.

Embiid with 13 points and 9 boards. He shot 5 of 12.

Teague with 12 points and 6 assists.

Noel with 4 points and 12 boards.

Green with 7 points.


Dragic led them with 20 points and 5 assists on 7 of 14 shooting.

Aldridge with 14 points, 12 boards, and a block.

We held Horford to 8 points on 4 of 12 shooting.



11/30 -

We will host the Bulls are 6-11 and playing without an injured Rose. Their starting 5 is not that good at this point with Mo Williams playing PG. We are favored.

[Eaglesfan27]

Without Rose, this team has the worst talent rating in the league but we are having trouble pulling away early.

We start out with a 8-2 run but they keep plugging away at the lead.

At the end of 1, we are up 26-22. Cowen and Embiid are our leading scorers.

Our offense went COMPLETELY cold for a long stretch of the 2nd. We need some elite shooters.

At halftime, we are down 42-38. Sheesh.

Cowen with 9 points. Embiid with 13 boards and 8 points.

Nik Stauskas leads the Bulls with 10 points and 3 assists.


Both offenses doing better in the 3rd quarter as Cowen starts taking over the game offensively for us.

We are down 67-62 at the end of 3.

We close the gap to 3 a few times but McDermott is crushing us in the 4th.

He finishes with 30 points in a 100-96 win. He shot 11 of 17, 3 of 5 from the arc, and 5 of 6 from the line.

Noah also did major damage on the boards and inside. He finishes with 16 points on 7 of 9 shooting and 11 boards.

Cowen finished with 23 points, 6 assists, 3 boards, 1 steal, 1 block, and 8 turnovers. He shot 8 of 18, 1 of 1, and 6 of 8.

Butler with 16 points, 4 boards, 5 assists, and 1 steal. He shot 4 of 9, 1 of 4, and 7 of 8 from th eline.

Embiid with 11 points, 18 boards, and a block. He shot 3 of 9 and 5 of 8 from the line.

Noel with 10 points, 8 boards, and a block.

Teague with 8 points, 3 assists, and 1 steal.

Bellinelli with 9 points in 11 minutes. HE shot 3 of 6.

Jones with 9 points, 6 boards, 2 assists, and 1 block. He shot 4 of 8, 1 of 1 from the arc. He played 22 minutes.

Green shot 3 of 10 and finished with 6 points.


Wow. We just lost to the worst team in the league talent wise right now...

[Eaglesfan27]

That loss drops us to 7-9 and 9th place in the Eastern Conference.

On the plus side, we have 4 1st round picks in this upcoming draft.. some help is coming. We have the Pelicans, Hornets, Nets, and our pick. Let's look at how they are doing:

We also have the 1st round of the Magic in 2018...

The Nets are 11-5.

The Horners are 12-8

The Pelicans are 10-9.

Maybe, we can package them for a higher pick?


12/2 -

We host the Lakers who are 7-12 and struggling badlyb ut they have talent and I expect them to come around. Their starting 5 is actually very talented and could compete for big things:

C Caron Schayes who was the #2 pick overall in last year's draft (not the most recent) is now an 88 rated center who has a dominating post game. He is 7'0 260 and has great moves at 23 years old. He is averaging 15 ppg and 9 rpg.

SF Demar DeRozan is on his prime at 27 years old. He is rated 87 and can score from anywhere. He is averaging 21 ppg.

SG Eric Gordon is 27 and is rated 82 overall. He has a very good outside shot. He is averaging 14 ppg and 3 apg.

PG Brandon Knight is 24 and rated 81 overall. He is averging 12 ppg and 6 apg.

PF Julius Randle is 22 and rated 86 overall. He is averaging 13 ppg and 10 rpg.

The bench isn't bad either:

PG Jeremy Lin is 28 and rated 81 overall. He is averaging 11 ppg and 3 apg.

PF Ed Davis is 6'10 225 and is a good defender. He is rated 77 overall.

SG Ricky Ledo is a 2nd round pick from 2013 who has developed a nice outside shot. He is rated 74 overall He is averaging 10 ppg in limited minutes. Last year, he averaged 17 ppg for them.


Despite the talent, the experts have us favored to win for some reason.

It looks like the Experts are going to be right as we jump to a 30-24 lead in the 1st.

We take a 60-54 lead at Halftime.

But, then they put up 39 in the 3rd and take a huge lead. They cruise to a 120-106 win.

Worse yet... Embiid breaks a bone in his leg! :(

He will miss about 2 months.

Embiid had 13 points and 8 boards in 23 minutes before he went down...

Cowen finished with 27 points and 6 assists. He shot 10 of 20, 2 of 4, and 5 of 5.

Green with 16 points, 5 boards, and 2 assists.

Noel with 12 point, 12 boards, and 2 blocks.

Jones with 7 points, 2 boards, and 2 assists.

Butler with 6 points, 4 boards, 6 assists, and 1 steal.


DeRozan led the Lakers with 23 points. Gordon with 21. Knight with 16 points and 13 assists.

Schayes with 15 points, 12 boards, and a block.

Randle with 10 points and 7 boards.


Moultrie moves into the starting lineup at PF and we start Noel at C.

This puts us in full "rebuild" mode this year I suspect.



I'm going to do a faster sim of the next few months until I get everyone back....


We lose 3 games until Cowen puts up a career high 33 points and 10 assists in a win on 10 of 20 shooting, 3 of 7 from the arc against the Knicks to get us a 101-96 win.

Green added 25 points in the win.

Other than that win, we drop 9 of our next 10. We are 8-17 and in 4th place. The good news is that Embiid and MCW are healing a bit quicker than expected and could return within a month...

Turner is finally back now and we move him back into the starting lineup.


The Nuggets get us to try to trade Cowen. They offer McGee who is scoring very well inside and their 1st round pick for him. I decline.


As we enter January, we are 9-22 and facing a tough road to climb back into playoff contention. MCW and Embiid should be back sometime this month...

Cowen is leading all rookies by a mile... with 19 ppg and 6 apg. He is now up to a 83 rating and he just turned 20... our staff thinks this kid will be a super star.

A latest look at the project top 5 picks:

PG O.J. Gill is 6'0 174 from UNC. He is averaging 22 ppg and 9 apg. I haven't scouted him as we are not going PG but our limited reports think he will be a star player...

PF Mack Perkins from Wichita State has moved up to the #2 pick on most boards. The 6'10 221 pound PF is a bit raw but he could develop into a superstar per our staff. They think he has incredible athleticism for a big and can shoot the midrange and 3 point shot well for a big. He is averaging 27 ppg, 12 rpg, and 4.6 bpg.

PF Frederic Perben from France is 21 and 6'9 260. He is the more polished big man who is ready to dominate right away and some boards have him #2. He doesn't have the outside game but he is much more skilled around the basket. He is averaging 27 ppg, 11 rpg, and 3.3 bpg.

SG Alex Long is 4th on all the boards. He is a 6'7 220 pound SG from Washington who is only 19. He is a good shooter with decent athleticism. Our staff thinks he has the potential to be the best player in this draft... He is averaging 29 ppg and 5.5 apg.

SG Nelson Williamson from Virginia is the most polished SG right now. The 20 year old is 6'6 190 and can shoot from behind the arc well. He is averaging 20 ppg and 5.2 apg.

[Eaglesfan27]

1/15/17 -

MCW is the first of my two stars cleared to return. He will start now that he is cleared. Here is our lineup:

PG MCW - rated 82 as he recovers his game.
SG Cowen - rated 83
SF Butler - rated 80
PF Turner - rated 77 and playing a stretch 4.
C Noel - rated 79.

PG Teague - 76
SF/PF Green - 75
PF Moultrie - 71
SF Grant - 73
SF Jones - 73


1/16 -

Before we can get to our game, the staff clears Embiid who healed remarkably quick!

So, we move Turner to the 6th man role, Noel to PF and Embiid back at C.

Unfortunately, the return is against a very tough Warriors' team that is 29-12.

Their shooters help them build a 66-44 lead at halftime and we never get close.

We lose 126-81.

Cowen was held to 5 of 15 shooting for 18 points and 3 assists.

MCW with 10 points, 6 boards, 4 assists, and 5 turnovers in his first game back.

Embiid with 17 points, 12 boards, and 4 blocks as he looks as good as ever.

We are now 10-29 and 15th place in the East.

A look at our other draft teams:

The Nets are 24-17 and solidly in the playoffs.

The Hornets are 1st in the East at 29-15 :(

The Pelicans are 3rd in the West at 28-14.

No high picks except our own maybe...


1/19 -

We travel to play the Nuggets who are struggling at 17-26. I feel good about our chances to get our win since our stars have returned although the Nuggets do have Ty Lawson back and their offense can be potent...

[Eaglesfan27]

Wow. MCW is rusty and throwing it away early. They build a 10-0 lead.

Before I know it, we are down 16-2.

We never get back into the game as they take a 34-16 lead at the end of 1.

At halftime, we are down 65-42.

We lose 115-84.

Brutal.

Lawson with 23 points and 10 assists as Cowen could not stop him.

Afflalo with 23 points and 4 assists as MCW couldn't stop him.

Gallinari added 25 points and Faried added 15.

Cowen led the way for us with 18 points, 6 assists, and 4 boards. He only had 1 turnover.

MCW with 15 points, 4 assists, 3 turnovers, and 3 steals. He shot 7 of 14.

Embiid with 11 points, 8 boards, and 3 blocks.

[Eaglesfan27]

1/20 -

We travel to play the Jazz who are 20-22.

Their starting 5 features Dante Exum, Gordon Hayward, ad Derrick Favors as their best 3 players. Former #1 pick Yunlong Kim is coming along nicely and also starting.


Our offense starts off great. MCW making things easy for Cowens with some great feeds. Cowens with 8 quick points.

We jump to a 30-25 lead at the end of 1.


Back and forth 2nd quarter in which their very good 3 point shooters get hot. They lead the league in 3 point shooting percentage at 41 and it shows this quarter. We are up 55-54 at the end of the half.

Cowen and MCW scoring very efficiently in the 3rd. Embiid with some nice baskets too. But, their 3 point shooters are very accurate. We are tied at 81 at the end of 3.

Their 3 point shooters continue to hit in the 4th. We are down by 1 with 22 seconds left when Embiid fouls out after missing a defensive board.

Their center hits 1 of 2 to give them a 110-108 lead. Our ball.

5.5 seconds left - Cowen finds MCW for a corner 3! 111-110!

0.2 seconds left - After Exum missed a shot (good defense by MCW) Favors gets the offensive tip in.

We lose 112-111.

Hayward led them with 29 points including 5 of 8 from the arc.

Exym with 18 points including 2 of 3 from the arc.

Kanter their center had 20 points and 20 boards as our big men had trouble with him all game.

Favors with 14 points and 11 boards.

Kim, the former #1 pick with 11 points and 5 assists.


Cowen led us with 25 points, 8 assists, and even a block. He shot 9 of 20, 1 of 7 from the arc, and 6 of 6 from the line.

Embiid with 22 points, 12 boards, 2 blocks. He shot 10 of 16 and 2 of 6 from the line.

MCW with 17 points, 12 assists, 7 boards, 1 steal, and 1 block. He shot 7 of 9.

Butler with 15 points, 6 boards, and 2 assists. He shot 6 of 10.

Turner with 9 points. Jones with 7.

Noel with 6 points, 14 boards, and 4 blocks.

[Eaglesfan27]

1/22/17 -

We travel to play the injury plagued Kings who are struggling in their last 10 with a 2-8 record. We are favored.

We jump on them early with a 31-19 1st quarter.

AT the half, we are up 64-44.

We cruise to a 125-96 win.

Embiid with 25 points, 10 boards, and a block.

MCW with 19 points, 6 assists, 5 boards, and 2 steals. He shot 8 of 11.

Green with 18 points and 5 boards.

Cowen with 15 points, 9 assists, 5 boards, and 2 turnovers. He shot 5 of 13.

Noel wtih 12 points, 5 boards, and 2 blocks.

Butler with 12 points, 7 boards, and 7 assists. He shot 5 of 7.

Turner tweaked his knee but can play through it. HE played 20 minutes and had 8 points.

Teague with 4 points and 5 assists in 18 minutes.



1/23 -

We travel to play the Trailblazers who are 27-17 and favored to beat us. They are 7-3 in their last 10 and very talented led by Lillard, Ellis, and Batum.

We use our advantage inside early and build a small lead in the first half, 56-54.

In the 3rd quarter, Lillard goes off and they take a 10 point lead.

We end up losing 107-102.

Lillard led them with 25 points and 7 assists. He shot 10 of 15.

Ellis with 21 points on an efficient 8 of 9 shooting night.

Batum added 12 points.




Cowen led all scorers with 26 points, 6 assists, 5 boards, and 3 turnovers. He shot 11 of 19 and 1 of 3 from the arc.

Embiid with 17 points, 10 boards, and a block.

Butler with 14 points, 7 boards, and 4 assists.

Green with 12 points. Noel with 9 points and 7 boards.



1/25 -

We travel to play the Thunder are who 38-6! They are crushing it with their star 5:

PG Westbrook (87)
SG Jeremy Lamb (79)
SF Durant (98)
PF Ibaka (87)
C Steven Adams (80)

Kendrick Perkins is in decline (68) but they have 3 quality bench players:

PG Elfrid Payton (79)
SG Anthony Morrow (76)
PF Mitch McGary (77)


They have a big 1st quarter to build a lead. By the 3rd, we cut it to 5, but Durnat with a huge 4th quarter to pull away.

120-98 win for the Thunder.

Cowen sprained his knee in the game but still finished with a team high 24 points and 7 assists. HE shot 10 of 24, and 2 of 6 from the arc.

Green with 22 points for us.

MCW with 14 points, 6 assists, and 5 boards.

Teague with 12 points and 8 assists.

Embiid shut down by foul trouble and only played 18 minutes - 6 points, 4 boards, and 2 blocks.

Noel also in foul trouble and only played 26 minutes - 4 points, 9 boards, and a block.


1/27 -

A brutal stretch continues as we host the Grizzlies who are 31-15.

Cowen is going to play despite a slight sprain to his knee.


Our offense outguns the Grizzlies in every quarter for a comfortable 112-98 win.


Cowen wasn't slowed down at all - 22 points, 6 boards, 7 assists, 2 steals, and 3 turnovers. He shot 10 of 20, 0 of 4 from the arc, and 2 of 2 from the line.

Turner with 18 points, 8 boards, and 4 assists in 23 minutes.

Embiid with 15 points, 10 boards, and a block.

Teague with 13 points and 6 assists.

Noel with 10 points and 7 boards.

MCW with 9 points, 5 assists, 3 boards, and 5 turnovers.


We are now 12-33 and 15th in the East still.


1/29 -

We host the Magic who are 28-17 with Love leading the way for them.


Before the game, the Cavs make a trade to add some offense. They get Fredette from the Nets for a young SG Harris.


Back and forth game with the Magic, but Love hits a game winner with 2 seconds left. We lose 108-106.

Cowen led us with 18 points and 7 assists. He shot 8 of 16 and 2 of 5 from the arc.

Green with 16 points. Butler with 15 points. Embiid with 13 points and 7 boards.

MCW with 13 points, 5 assists, and 3 boards.

Noel with 6 points, 5 boards, and 2 blocks.

Love led the Magic with 21 points, 7 boards, and 5 assists.

Harry Bradshaw (their #7 pick in the 2015 draft) had 19 points and 10 assists. He is becoming a very good PG for them.

Oladipo had 16 points.

[Eaglesfan27]

The top 10 players per the experts now:

1) Gill - The young PG continues to shine for UNC. He is averaging 22 ppg and 8 apg.

2) PF/SF Mack Perkins has become the consensus #2 on all boards. The 6'10 220 pound PF is not the most ready but he has the biggest upside. He is now averaging 26 ppg, 11.2 rpg, and 4.6 bpg. His 3 point shooting, dunking, and shot blocking are very intriguing. I'd love to find a way to get this kid...

3) SG/SF Nelson Williamson - The 6'6 194 pound wing player is the most ready at this point per our scouts. Not the highest ceiling but the lowest floor of all players. He is averaging 21.4 ppg and 6.5 rpg, and 4.2 apg.

4) PF Frederic Perben - 6'9 260 pound PF from France is 22 and might have maxed out his talent but he is NBA ready right now. He is averaging 26 ppg, 11.4 rpg, and 3.2 bpg.

5) SG Alex Long is raw but has great potential. He is 6'7 220 and is only 19. Washington is doing well because he is averaging 28 ppg, 8.6 rpg, and 5.6 apg.

SF Jake Robinson is a 6'8 235 pound SF from UCLA who is only 19. He is the most athletic wing in the draft but not a great shooter. He is averaging 24 ppg and 6.4 rpg. This is a deep draft and this could become a star...

7) SG Geroge Love is a 6'6 215 pound player for Wyoming. He is only 19 and has great potential to grow as a player although he isn't ready to play much yet...

8) C Bert Williams is 6'11 240 and is the most ready true post player at this point. He is 20 years old and doing well for DePaul. He is averaging 12 ppg, 11 rpg, and 2.5 bpg.

9) PG Lloyd Blount from Kansas is 20 and is a young PG with growth potential but probably not ready to play much yet. He is averaging 15 ppg and 4.6 apg.

10) SF Sergei KAsparov from Russia is very raw but has potential to become a solid starter. He is 6'9 230 and is his best attribute is his passing. He is averaging 14 ppg, and 3 apg.

[Eaglesfan27]

With us so far out of it, I'm going to sim the rest of this year. I think Cowen will win rookie of the year with or without me helping him in some games. He is doing a great job and has won Rookie of the Month every month. He is averaging 20 ppg, 6 apg, 1.2 spg, and 3.8 rpg.

Daughtery, the next closest rookie, is averaging 15.1 ppg, 6.7 rpg, and 1.3 bpg for the Suns.

No one else is in double digits scoring.

We are 12-34. Will we keep losing or will we blow our draft chances now that everyone is back?

The Thunder try to get us to give up MCW. They offer Payton and a 1st round pick. That is easy to decline.


2/5 -

The Nets and Kings have a big trade with the Nets receiving Darren Collison (82 rated PG) and Landry (69 PF) and the Kings receive Ricky Rubio (82) and SG Hansen (55)


Lots of teams trying to get MCW from me and there is some rumbling that he wants to go into FA, but we sit down and I get him to re-sign for 3 years and 29 million.

Noel is talking about testing FA and is unsure but he is a restricted FA so I will wait it out...


We are 13-38 as we enter the All-Star break.

Wow. Cowen led all scorers and led his team to the victory in the Rookie-Star contest. He had 31 points and 6 assists. He shot 7 of 14, 1 of 3 from the arc, and 6 of 7 from the line.

Kim, the young PG also had a big day with 26 points and 7 assists in a losing effort.



Klay Thompson beat out Durant in the 3 point contest.

Anders Norberg of Toronto won the dunk contest.


LeBron led the East to a victory over the West. LeBron with 18 points, 11 boards, and 10 assists in the win.

Irving with 15 points and 4 assists.

Drummond with 12 points, 10 boards, and a block.

Carmelo with 10 points.

No 76ers made the team.

The East starters were:

Irving, Stephenson, LeBron, Anthony, and Drummond.

Other East All-Stars

Parker, Millsap, Lowry, Ozat, Napier, Jennings, Kawhi Leonard, and Beal.


Blake Griffin led the West with 19 points. Curry with 15 points and 4 assists.

Lillard with 13 points and 4 assists. Harden with 10 points. Thompson with 9 points.

Anthony Davis with 9 points, 9 boards, and a block.

Cousins with 9 points and 10 boards.

Durant with 5 points, 8 boards, and 5 assists. He shot 2 of 10.

Westbrook with 4 points and 3 assists.

Parsons with 5 points.

Bledsoe with 2 points.



After the All-Star game, the Magic offer us Aaron Gordon (PF 82) and C Vucevic (79) for Embiid (83) and Davies. Tempting but we aren't giving up Embiid.

[Eaglesfan27]

We win some games after the all-star break but are still 18-41 and last in the Eastern Conference.

Wow. Embiid told me he is pissed off about being snubbed as an All-Star and he is tearing it up now...


3/23 -

MCW goes down with a minor knee injury but he will miss 2-4 weeks.

Cowen moves into the starting PG position and we go on a 4 game winning streak to end the month!


We are now 27-49 but still 15th in the Conference. That being said, we are only 2 games behind the Heat. We are also only 2 games behind the Mavericks for worst record in the NBA...


Cowen continues to elevate his game according to our staff. They now have him rated an 86 overall. He is averaging 20 ppg and 5.9 apg.


Post March-Madness not much change in the top 10:

1) PG Gill
2. PF/SF Perkins
3. PF Perben
4. SG Williamson
5) SG Long
6. SF Robinson
7. SG Love
8. PG Blount
9. C Williams
10. SF Kasparov

[Eaglesfan27]

Argh. I lost a long post with awards and final standings.

To hit the highlights:

Durant was MVP averaging over 33 ppg.

His coach won coach of the year for guiding them to 69 wins.

Cowen won Rookie of the Year. He averaged 19.9 ppg, 6.1 apg. He shot 42% from the field, 92% from the line, and 32% from the arc. He has improved to a 87 rating. He and Daughterty are the only rookies over an 80. Everyone else is in the low to mid 70's at best.

The Western Standings:

1. Thunder (69-13)
2. Warriors (49-33)
3. Blazers (48-34)
4. Pelicans (48-34)
5. Grizzlies (48-34)
6. Jazz (45-37)
7. Rockets (44-38)
8. Lakers (42-40)

9. Suns (41-41)
10. Spurs (39-43) - What happened to them?
11. Nuggets (37-45)
12. Wolves (36-46)
13. Clippers (35-47) - What happened to them??
14. Kings (33-49)
15. Mavs (30-52)

[Eaglesfan27]

Eastern Standings:

1. Hornets (56-26)
2. Raptors (51-31)
3. Magic (49-33)
4. Cavs (43-39)
5. Nets (43-39)
6. Pistons (42-40)
7. Bucks (38-44)
8. Knicks (37-45)

9. Bulls (35-47)
10. Celtics (34-48)
11. Wizards (33-49)
12. Pacers (33-49)
13. Heat (32-50)
14. Hawks (30-52)
15. 76ers (30-52)

Other notes from the awards:

Butler was 1st team NBA defense.

Anthony Davis won defensive player of the year. He averaged 22 ppg, 11 rpg, and 2.1 bpg.

We re-signed MCW to an extension but Noel is going to become a restricted FA as he wants to look around a bit....

We should have the most ping pong balls... come on ping pong balls!

We finished out the year with injuries to MCW and Butler that both helped us drop our last batch of games...

Playoff Highlights:

The Thunder cruise past the Lakers in 4.

However, Anthony Davis does his best superman impression and guides the Pelicans past the Thunder in 6!

The 7 seed Rockets cruise past the Warriors behind a big effort from Harden.

They get past the Grizzlies who lost a key player to injury.

In the Western Conference Finals - The Pelicans sweep the Rockets!


In the East, the Hornets sweep the Knicks, then sweep the Nets, and then sweep the Pistons to advance to the East.

The Hornets are playing great team basketball and this continues against the Pelicans as they win in 5!

Young 2nd year PG Hakan Ozat was the finals MVP with 22 ppg and 8.3 apg.


What happened to the Spurs and Clippers?

We'll look at that in a minute. First, we get the retirement announcements:

Duncan, Kobe, and Pierce all are hanging them up and the Spurs will have to rebuild.

Ginobili also announces he is done with the Pistons. Will any of them have a last minute change of heart again?

Other retirements of note:

Wade retires from the Heat at the age of 35.

Nene retires from the Wizards.

David West retires from the Pacers at 36 years old.

Nick Collison retires from the Knicks at 36.

Bryant, Duncan, Wade and Pierce are all locks for the HOF.


Looking at the Spurs:

Dwight played all year and played well averaging 16 ppg and 10 rpg. Heshot efficiently and was an anchor for them.

Tony Parker played all year but his scoring was way down and his APG was down. At 35, he really started showing his age.

Kobe shot horribly and jacked up a lot of bad shots...

Duncan was finally inefficient and shot poorly.

Pierce didn't contribute much this year. Their #2 leading scorer was young PF Kyle Anderson who averaged 14 ppg and 6.2 rpg.


Not sure what happened to the Clippers except that DeAndre Jordan was injured for most of the year and Hawes didn't do a great job shooting at C this year. Griffin was dominant and Paul had a very good year.

[Eaglesfan27]

Time for the draft lottery:

Awww, we've been marked as the #2 team and don't have the most balls in the lottery... hoping for some good luck!

All of our other picks from other teams are non-lottery picks...

#1 chance is the Mavs, we are #2, and Lakers (via Hawks) are #3 shot...


Ugh.. we get the #3 pick.

The top 10:

#1 Mavericks
#2 Lakers (via Hawks)
#3 76ers
4. Heat
5. Celtics
6. Kings
7. Wizards
8. Celtics
9. Clippers
10. Bulls


Do we try to package our picks to move up 1 slot? Is this draft deep enough that we keep our picks and try to rebuild with 4 1st rounders? There are some very good players guaranteed to be at the #1 slot including a potential super star.

[Eaglesfan27]

Our 4 picks are: 3rd, 19th (via Nets), 24th via Pelicans, and 30th via Hornets.

Our owner is unhappy with the team's performance despite the injuries. I decide to can Monty Williams and bring in the best available coach... we go with Erik Spoelstra who has been let go from the Heat. We give Spoelstra a 4 year deal.


A few big stars decline options and become FA's:

Harden (93), Blake Griffin (93), Chris Paul (88), Lowry (87)

Do we go after any of them? Depends upon the draft...

Hmmm... the PF Perkins chooses not to do any combine exercises...

He does agree to come in for a private workout. We also bring in several other top players.

[Eaglesfan27]

Wow. Perkins hits 19 of 25 3's in our private workout. He hits 20/25 midrange jumpers. He has a 39" vertical and benches 25 times, most of any guy we bring in... He also has the best sprint and lane times of any non-guard we bring in.

Other players that wow us in the workouts:

SG George Love. His potential is very enticing.

SG Alex Long - Shoots very well right now.

SF Jake Robinson - 2nd best bench of all guys we brought in, best vertical of all guys at 42".

Hmmmm, what to do.... what to do?

[Eaglesfan27]

The Lakers have a good PF and I'm hoping they will go for a SG and not take Perkins.. I'm going to hang tight... unless they are willing to take a small trade to move down 1 spot...

Wow! The Mavs surprise us all and take SG Alex Long #1. He does have tremendous potential and is only 19.

The Lakers approach us about trading out of the #2 spot... but they don't want my #3 pick. They offer me a surprising trade that I don't understand fully but I will take it:

They want my 1st round pick next year and Jeff Green (77 and according to the CPU he has 3 star value not bad a tall) for their #2 pick and they want me to take SF Rod Cowens (60) off their hands. I don't get it, but I have negotiation difficulty way up and I can't pass this gift horse up!

With the #2 pick, we take PF/SF Mack Perkins!!! :)

The Heat offer us a trade for our 3rd pick, but we decline. I'm getting us another potential star...

The Warriors also offer us a nice trade, Harrison Barnes and their 1st but I decline...

The Thunder also try to get it, offering their 1st and McGary. I decline again.

I got about 12 more offers for this pick... everyone wants it!

The best offer is LaMarcus Aldridge and Al Horford for the 3rd pick.. wow... that is tempting. But, they are both getting up there in age and I think one of these guys is a superstar... I just got make the right pick and we could have the nucleus for championships...

It is hard, but I turn down that offer even.

It is really a tough decision but I decide to shoot for the moon and take the boom/bust player whose athleticism adds to our team. I don't like that he is a Bruin, but I love everything else about him, especially his athleticism and length. I take SF Jake Robinson of UCLA - the 6'8 235 pound SF with amazing leaping ability, athleticism and potential.

The two SG's were both hard to pass up but Cowens has us our SG spot locked up on offense.

The Heat get Perben from France who I was very tempted by as well.

Gill drops to the Celtics at 5.


The Bulls trade up to get the #6 pick. They give up Gibson (who is declining) and McDermott (79)

With the 6th pick, the Bulls get SG Nelson Williamson who I came VERY close to selecting. I think he is a sure fire all-star.

7. The Wizards take George Love who I almost took as well - great boom/bust potential.

8. The Celtics get Bert Williams, the best center in the draft.

9. Clippers reach for Vlade Rodic, a SG from Serbia.

10. The Bulls get Dillon Hubbard, a SF from Cal.


The Nuggets trade their 12th pick and Arron Afflalo for Eric Gordon who is gone from the Lakers.


The Celtics trade Rondo to the Lakers for the Lakers 17th pick. Wow. Rondo's stock has fallen.

With the 17th pick, the Celtics get a C with some potential, Bryant Stapleton.

With the 18th pick, Kasparov is still available but I'm not a fan of his.

We take a flier on a SG from Puerto Rico who we like a bit. He has a good stroke at least. Raul Cruz is 6'4, 200, and 21 years old. He averaged 16 ppg.

With the 24th pick, we take PF Marty Cousins from Marquette who has some potential to improve in our opinion. He is 6'9 250 and has some ok post skills right now.


Kasparov goes 25th.

Wow. The Spurs trade away Parker and their 26th pick (from the Magic) to the Clippers for a young SG and a young PF.

The Clippers get a big PF/C who might be an ok backup with the pick. He was someone I was targeting with my next pick.


The Hornets offer us their 1st next year for their 30th pick this year and the 2nd round pick of the Magic we have next year. I'll take that gamble.


Wow... The Hawks are determined to trade Aldridge. They offer him to the Nuggets for their 2nd this year and their 1st next year.

[Eaglesfan27]

Darn... we didn't have a 2nd round pick and the Thunder took a guy with the last pick that I really wanted. Pat Mills is a pure shooter who can't do anything else but shoot the 3. That being said, he does that really well. Nice last pick by the Thunder.


Looking at the draft summary - Neither of the guys we took are the highest rated, neither is the #1 pick, but we got guys with great ceilings...


Time for FA... wow Anthony Davis is an unrestricted FA!

The top FA's:

Anthony Davis (94)
Griffin (91)
Harden (91)
Paul (86 - and in decline at 32)
Lowry (85 and in early decline at 31)
Faried (85)
Collison (83)


I don't have the cap room to make any type of competitive offer for any of the top FA's, but I have enough room to go after the Greek Freak...

He accepts our offer! :)

We also re-sign Noel :)

We are now over the cap and done in FA.


The Bulls make the big splash with a 4 year 80 million dollar deal they get Anthony Davis!!

Blake Griffin is lured away by Mark Cuban's money. He signs for 4 years and 90 million.

Harden is the next domino to fall as he leaves for Miami to replace Wade. He takes 4 years and 83 million.

The Bulls then sign a few minor FA's to go around the big man.

The Knicks sign a few minor free agents.

The Heat get Allen Crabbe to run alongside Harden.

The Clippers sign Perry Jones from us for 3 years and 11 million.

The Spurs get Kenneth Faried to replace Duncan. He signs for 4 years and 48 million.

Chris Paul re-signs with the Clippers for 3 years and 45 million. Him and Parker give them a lot of play making. But, the Clippers traded away Reddick to open up the SG spot...

The Rockets get Tristan Thompson for 3 years and 25 million.

The Grizzlies get Nikola Mirotic for 3 years and 24 million.

The Hornets get Jeremy Lin for 3 years and 29 million.

The Pacers sign Darren Collison for 4 years and 40 million.

[Eaglesfan27]

Off Season Progression Reports from our trainers:

Wow. Cowen has taken his game to another level. Every phase of his shooting and play making has sky rocketed. He is now rated 88 overall.

Embiid has taken his offensive post game to another level and is now an 85 overall and ready to become a dominant inside scorer.

Noel is stagnant for the most part although he has improved his offensive touch a bit.

MCW is suffering from his injuries. He is taking a small hit in multiple areas even though he is only 25.

The Greek Freak has worked on his outside shooting...

Butler at 27 is in some decline. I had chances to trade him this offseason and didn't... I might regret that. Our staff thinks he is declining in every area.

Jerami Grant is improving and is becoming a really nice all around SF...

Rod Cowens, the throw in piece in the trade, had an awesome off season and the 22 year old might be a nice rotation player for us.


2017 Training Camp results and rotation:

PG MCW - rated 82 overall.
SG Cowen (88)
SF Butler (79)
PF Mack Perkins (76 - instant offense with his ability to stretch the defense.)
C Embiid (85)

6th man - Noel (80) - First big man in at either position.
7. Robinson - The rookie SF has tremendous athleticism. Rated 79 overall.
8. Greek Freak - 79 overall - best 3 point shooter on our bench.
9. Turner - 78 overall.
10. Moultrie - 73 with rebounding as speciality.
11. Grant - 75 overall - can get a few minutes or more if we have injuries...
12. Bazja - 71 overall - has a decent outside shot at SG.
13. Cowens - 68 overall - might be a surprise player. Has decent athleticism.

Reserve: SG Raul Cruz - 65 overall and will need to develop better.
Reserve: PF Marty Cousins - 66 overall - can play some if we have injuries.

[Eaglesfan27]

We start off the season with a potential playoff match-up down the road as we host the Magic. Their starting 5:

PG Bradshaw (80)
SG Oladipo (83)
SG Evan Fournier (78)
PF Love (90)
C Vucevic (76)

PF Aaron Gordon (85) - I should have traded for him when I could have.
PF Andrew Nicholson (77)
C Gene Townsend (former high pick - 74)
PG Vladmir Stojic (72)
SG Kasparov (from this draft - 66)

[Eaglesfan27]

Wow. Perkins hits a nice 12 footer early and his spacing is making things SO easy for Embiid down low against their post player. Embiid with 16 points in the 1st quarter.

We are up 25-20.

Embiid needs his first breather. We get Robinson in for the first time too.

7:21 - Robinson gets a pick from Noel and gets to the lane for a monster dunk! Up 34-26.

Cowen finds Perkins for a corner 3. His first 3 as a pro! :)

Perkins has 8 points and 5 boards now.

Perkins will get his first breather of the game. He is very well conditioned for a rookie.

3:00 - The Greek Freak hits a 3 from the corner. We are up 43-33. :)

Embiid with a block... gets the fast break going... Turner to the Greek Freak for a monster dunk!


Halftime: We are up 46-40.

Embiid with 16 points at the half.


At the end of 3, we are up 71-61 after giving away our lead early. Perkins with 11 points as he hit another 3rd in the 3rd.


While Embiid rests, they cut the lead to 0. Once he comes back, we build it back up to 8 points.

With 1:14 to go, Embiid fouls out. We are up 95-90.

95-93 when they foul Perkins who just grabbed a key rebound.

Perkins to the line... swishes the first... and the 2nd. 97-93 lead with 16 seconds left.

Perkins forces a miss by Love from 3. Noel with the board. He finishes it with both FT's.

We win 99-93. This team looks very good. :)

Embiid is the player of the game with 29 points, 12 boards, 3 blocks. He shot 13 of 16 from the floor and 3 of 6 from the line.

Perkins with 15 points, 9 boards, 2 steals, and a block. He shot 4 of 9, 2 of 5 from the arc, and 5 of 5 from the line. The kid is the real deal.

The Greek Freak finished with 15 points on 6 of 8 shooting, 1 of 2 from the arc, and 2 of 2 from the line.

MCW with 12 points, 7 assists, 3 boards, 1 steal, 1 block, and 1 turnover. HE shot 5 of 7.

Noel with 10 points, 7 boards, and 1 block.

Robinson with 9 points and 5 boards in 16 minutes. He shot 4 of 4 including 2 dunks.

Cowen with a horrible shooting night, 1 of 16. He finished with 7 points, 9 assists, 2 boards, and 3 steals.

Turner with 2 points, 2 boards, and 2 assists in 18 minutes.

Butler shot 0 of 6. He finished with 7 boards, 3 assists, and 1 steal.


Vucevic led them with 17 points and 9 boards.

Bradshaw with 15 points and 5 assists.

Love with 15 points and 10 boards. We held him to 6 of 17.

Oladipo with 13 points and 6 assists.

Fournier with 13 points.

Gordon played 20 minutes and we held him to 4 points and 2 boards on 2 of 5 shooting.

[Eaglesfan27]

11/4/17 -

We travel to play the Wizards who are very talented in the backcourt but weak elsewhere:

PG Wall (89)
SG Beal (88)
SF Otto Porter (77)
PF Miguel Estrada(74)
C Kevin Seraphin (75)


We are favored.

We jump to a big lead. 65-40 lead at the half.

The 3rd we give up most of the lead but pull away in the 4th.

We win 114-100.

Cowen with 23 points, 11 assists, 6 steals, and 3 boards. He shot 10 of 20.

MCW with 21 points, 10 assists, 7 boards, 2 steals, and a block. He shot 9 of 15.

Perkins with 18 points, 5 boards, 3 assists, and 2 steals. He shot 7 of 8, 2 of 3 from the arc, and 2 of 2 from the line.

Noel with 12 points and 5 boars.

Embiid with 11 points, 6 boards, and 2 blocks.

Robinson with 11 points, 5 boards, and 3 assists in 20 minutes.

Turner with 10 points and 5 boards.

Antetokounmpo with 6 points, 6 boards, 3 assists.

Butler shot 1 of 9.


Porter was injured in the game and will be less than 100% for a few weeks.

Rookie George Love who I almost took with the 3rd pick had a team high 19 points on 7 of 9 shooting including 2 of 3 from the arc for the Wizards.



Charlotte with a blow - Al Jefferson tore his ACL and is done for the year.


11/5 -

We travel to play the Hawks. They are rebuilding now and we are heavily favored. Their best player is PG Goran Dragovic (80) and Al Horford (79)

Tied at 98 with 3 minutes to go.

They hit a 3 and the Greek Freak responds with a corner 3 on a nice pass by Cowen.

Embiid has fouled out.

Back and forth scoring. Cowen making shots for us.

Horford making plays for them.

Cowen finds Perkins for a 3! 110-107 with 40 seconds left..

Cowen with a steal and a perfect alley oop to the Greek Freak for a huge dunk!

We win the game 114-107! :)


Cowen is the player of the game with 25 points, 12 assists, 6 boards, 2 steals, and a block. He shot 11 of 20, 1 of 3, and 1 of 1.

Perkins with 25 points, 4 boards, 3 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block. He shot 7 of 12, 2 of 2 from the arc, and 9 of 9 from the line.

Noel with 18 points and 10 boards.

Turner with 12 points.

MCW with 10 points, 9 assists, and 1 steal.

Greek Freak with 9 points, 5 boards, and 1 assist.

Embiid with 6 points, 5 boards, and 1 block before he fouled out in 22 minutes.

Robinson fouled out in 16 minutes. HE had 5 points, 2 boards, and 2 assists.

Butler with 5 points, 11 boards, 4 assists, 4 steals, and 2 blocks.


Horford led the Hawks with 26 points. K.J. McDaniels, my former bench player played 20 minutes for them and had 14 points.


We are now 3-0 and looking good :)

[Eaglesfan27]

We give Embiid a 3 year 48 million dollar extension. We are both very happy with this deal.

11/7 -

We host the Jazz. They are 1-2 but have a nice set of talented players including:

PG Kim (85)
SG Exum (85)
SF Hayward (82)
PF Favors (83)
C Rudy Gobert (78)

PG Trey Burke (80)
PG Isaiah Thomas (78)
C Enes Kanter (79)
SF Rodney Hood (76)

[Eaglesfan27]

Adrenaline keeps my starters in the for the entire first quarter as they are rolling! 36-20.

Cowen with 10 points in the 1st, Embiid with 11. Butler and MCW with a few fast break dunks and Perkins with a 3. It's amazing how his jump shooting ability really opens up things down low for Embiid. It's totally different than when Noel was playing PF.


We start the 2nd quarter with Noel at C, Perkins at PF, GF (Greek Freak) at SF, Butler at SG, and Cowen at PG.

48 seconds: Cowen with a steal, breakaway.. he is all alone... he takes it under the leg and does a super flashy dunk! 65-42 lead.

Cowen with 23 points and 6 assists at the half!

Embiid with 13 points and 13 boards at halftime.


10:30 -

Cowen lets Kim by him for an easy layup... he responds by beating Kim off the dribble and dunking over Favors!!

7:37 - Cowen with a sick reverse baseline layup. He has 31 points. We are up 77-57.

5:30 - Butler suffers a minor back injury. GF into the game.


Cowen has the offense operating at a VERY high efficiency rate.

At the end of 3, we are up 94-72.

8:30 - Robinson has only been in for a minute but Cowen and him have a highlight moment as Cowen feeds a perfect pass to lead him along the baseline for a monster reverse dunk.

6:00 - We empty our bench with a 111-77 lead.

Our lineup now: Turner, Bazja, Robinson, Grant, and Moultrie.


We cruise to a 126-86 win! :)

I guess my fears that All-Star was too difficult for me (I only moved up recently) might be unfounded. Now, that I have talent, I can see this team being very hard to beat.


Cowen was the player of the game with 41 points, 14 assists, 4 boards, 2 steals, and only 1 turnover. He shot 17 of 24, 1 of 3 from the arc, and 6 of 8 from the line.

Embiid with 17 points, 14 boards, and 2 blocks. He shot 7 of 13 and 3 of 5 from the line.

MCW with 13 points, 7 assists, 2 boards, 3 steals, and 2 blocks. He shot 6 of 9, 1 of 2 from the arc.

Perkins with 11 points, 9 boards, 1 assist, and 2 blocks. He shot 4 of 5, 3 of 4 from the arc.

Greek Freak with 11 points, 2 boards, 2 assists, and 1 steal. He shot 5 of 10, 1 of 4 from the arc.

Robinson with 10 points, 7 boards, 3 assists, and 1 steal in just 11 minutes. He shot 4 of 8, 0 of 1, and 2 of 2.

Turner with 8 points and 2 assists in 12 minutes.

Butler with 7 points, 6 assists, 3 boards, 1 steal, and 1 block in 31 minutes. He shot 2 of 4.

Noel with 5 points, 7 boards, and a block.

Bazja with 3 points.


Cowen held Kim to 1 of 11 shooting.

MCW helped hold Exum to 5 of 15 shooting.

Hayward led the team with 19 points as he beat Butler and company repeatedly.

Favors with 11 points and 10 boards. Perkins defense is weak when he doesn't block a shot. Love that offense though.


4-0 and feeling good as a team.

[Eaglesfan27]

We are 4-0 and now we face the 3-0 Raptors at their place. Can we win the sim game? I think so. The Raptors lost Lowry and are favored as they start a young rookie PG, Jacob Bosh who is only rated 67. The rest of their team is intact.

With the injury to Butler, he will move into a backup role with less minutes. Tough choice, but the Greek Freak will start.


We started off slow with Cowen missing shots and we never recovered.

They were up by 25 or more most of the game until we closed the gap late.

We lose 106-89. Disappointing.

Cowen had a terrible night shooting 1 of 15. He finished with 11 points, 7 assists, 2 boards, 1 steal, and 1 block.

Embiid with 26 points, 9 boards, 2 steals, and 2 blocks.

MCW with 12 points, 9 boards, 6 assists, and 1 steal. He shot 5 of 14.

Turner with 11 points and 8 boards.

Noel with 10 points, 8 boards, and 3 blocks.

Robinson with 10 points, 11 boards, 3 assists, and 1 steal in 24 minutes. He shot 3 of 13.

Perkins shot 2 of 8, 0 of 3 from the arc as he finished with 4 points, 4 boards, and 3 blocks.

Butler with 4 points, 1 board, 1 assist, and 2 steals in 20 minutes off the bench.

GF had 2 points, 5 boards, 2 assists, and a steal in 29 minutes. He shot 1 of 7.


11/10 -

We travel to Miami to play the rebuilt Heat who are very impressive:

PG Shabazz Napier (84)
SG Harden (91)
SF James Ennis (73)
PF Frederic Perben (82 - came in highest rated player but not much room for growth I think)
C Chris Bosh (75)

PG Jerryd Bayless (78)
SG Allen Crabbe (77)
SF Luol Deng (71)


Holloway, my former player, is up a to 82 rating. The Celtics offer him and Bert Williams (the top C in this draft) for Embiid. I turn them down.


The Miami game is back and forth with neither side taking control, until we put up a 40 point 4th quarter for a 108-88 win!

Cowen caught fire in the 4th and took it over. He finished with 30 points, 9 assists, 5 boards, 2 steals, and 3 turnovers. He shot 10 of 17, 5 of 9 from the arc, and 5 of 6 from the line.

Embiid with 15 points, 15 boards, 1 assist, and 3 blocks.

MCW with 15 points, 10 assists, 5 boards, 5 steals, and 2 turnovers. He shot 5 of 12.

Noel with 15 points, 7 boards, and 3 blocks.

Robinson with 14 points, 4 boards, 3 assists, 2 steals, and a block in 20 minutes. He shot 6 of 9.

Perkins with 10 points, 4 boars, 2 assists, and 2 blocks. He shot 4 of 9, 2 of 4 from the arc.

GF finished with 5 points, 2 boards, and 2 assists. He shot 2 of 4.

Butler with 4 points, 4 boards, and 2 assists in 19 minutes.

Turner did nothing in 22 minutes. Zero stat line.


We are now 5-1 and face the 3-2 Knicks at our place.

We are favored. A look at their lineup:

PG Shane Larkin (78)
SG Tim Hardaway Jr. (81)
SF Carmelo (89)
PF Chase Morgan (73)
C Marc Gasol (78)

SF Corey Brewer (73)
SF Iggy! (70)
PG Albert Keller (66)
C Kendrick Perkins (66)
PF Uros Bilic (56)

SG Iman Shumpert is injured but is a 80 when he is healthy.

[Eaglesfan27]

Not our best 1st quarter as Cowen is missing shots and Embiid got tired early.

We are up 20-19 at the end of 1 as our defense is solid.

At the half, we are up 48-42 but our starters are very tired. I need to work in my bench more in the 2nd.

Embiid leads us with 10 points and 10 boards at the half.

Cowen with 8 points and 5 assists.

Perkins with 8 points at the half.


Our offense suffers as I rest Embiid and Perkins early in the 3rd and they close the gap. Tied at 55 with 7:33 to go.

And then Cowen goes off! Taking over the game with 10 straight points.

His play helps us explode to a 19 point lead.

We lead 83-65 at the end of 3.

Embiid with a block... starts a fastbreak.. MCW to Robinson for a flashy alley-oop.

Robinson with a pair of corner 3's after that. Wow.

That is just the start as our offense clicks all over.

Blowout victory, 116-84.

Cowen is the player of the game with 27 points, 10 assists, 2 boards, 2 steals, and 2 turnovers. He shot 10 of 16, 0 of 0 from the arc, and 7 of 7 from the line. He is a great FT shooter.

Tuern with 18 points on 8 of 11 shooting.

Embiid with 17 points, 13 boards, 2 assists, and a block. He shot 5 of 7 and 7 of 9 from the line.

Robinson with 11 points, 4 boards, 3 assists. He shot 4 of 5 including 2 of 2 from the arc and 1 of 2 from the line.

Butler with 11 points, 2 boards, 2 assists, and a steal. He shot 5 of 7.

GF with 10 points, 5 boards, 2 assists, and a steal. He shot 4 of 11, 2 of 4 from the arc.

Perkins with 8 points, 6 boards, 1 steal, and 1 block. He shot 3 of 7, 1 of 2 from the arc, and 1 of 1 from the line.

Noel with 7 points, 9 boards, and a block. He shot 3 of 8 and 1 of 6 from the line.

MCW with 6 points, 5 boards, 6 assists, and 1 block. He shot 3 of 9. He had 3 turnovers too.

Moultrie with 3 boards in 9 minutes.


Carmelo led them with 32 points, 6 boards, and 2 assists. He shot 12 of 26.

Gasol was the only other player in double digits with 13 points and 8 boards.

Larkin was held to 3 of 10 shooting.

Hardaway was held to 2 of 8.

[Eaglesfan27]

11/14 -

We host the Wizards. They are 2-4 and we already beat them once. We are favored to win again.

We start off the 1st quarter with a 30-18 lead but our offense falls apart a bit after that. The Wizards outscore us 30-17 in the 2nd quarter and 28-22 in the 3rd.

They cruise to a 100-88 win. Surprising loss in which we just didn't hit shots. Perkins and Robinson both had a rough night shooting.

Embiid led us with 20 points, 7 boards. He shot 9 of 18.
MCW with 16 points and 5 assists. He shot 6 of 11.

Cowen shot 4 of 12 and finished with 14 points, 7 assists, and 2 steals.

Noel with 10 points, 11 boards, and 1 block on 5 of 5 shooting.

Perkins with 8 points, 7 boards, and 2 assists. He shot 4 of 12 and 0 of 2 from the arc.

Robinson shot 2 of 12 and finished with 6 points, 3 boards, 3 assists, and 1 steal.

Butler with 6 points, 3 boards, and 3 assists in limited minutes (19)

GF with 6 points, 6 assists, and 3 boards in just 21 minutes.

Turner with 2 points and 6 boards.


11/16 -

We are now 6-2 and we are facing the Bulls who are a surprising 6-2. Even more surprising, the Bulls are favored by the experts to win this game. I like our chances. Here is their starting 5:

PG Rose (87)
SG Stauskas (81)
SF Tony Snell (76)
PF Khris Middleton (77)
C Noah (76)

Rookie SG Nelson Williamson leads their bench (79)
PG Shelvin Mack (73)
SF Dillon Hubbard (72)
SF Henry McLeod (70)


The game is back and forth throughout.

In the 1st, we outscore them 23-21.

We outscore them 20-18 in the 2nd.

In the 3rd, they take the lead with a 33 point 3rd quarter.

In the 4th, their are 7 lead changes but Rose hits a buzzer beater for a 95-94 win.

Embiid led us with 19 points and 7 boards. He shot 7 of 15 and 5 of 6 from the line.

Cowen with 13 points, 10 assists, 3 boards, 2 steals, and 4 turnovers. He shot 5 of 15.

Perkins with 13 points and 5 boards. He shot a perfect 5 of 5 and 1 of 1 from the arc, and 2 of 2 from the line.

MCW with 12 points, 6 assists, 4 boards, and 1 steal. He shot 4 of 7.

Turner with 9 points.

GF with 9 points, 4 boards, 1 assist, and 2 blocks. He shot a perfect 4 of 4.

Butler is feeling better and he finished with 9 points, 6 boards, 4 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks in 24 minutes.

Robinson shot 3 of 13 and finished with 6 points, 5 boards, and 1 assist. He won't start anymore. Not quite ready. Butler is almost 100% and will move back to starting SF.


Rose led the Bulls with 31 points and 5 assists. HE shot 13 of 24 and 4 of 5 from the line.

Snell added 22 points. Stauskas with 19 points.




We are now 6-3 and our next game is at home versus the very talented Thunder. They have the best roster in the league but we are favored... so odd..


PF Westbrook (87)
SG Lamb (81)
SF Durant (98)
PF Ibaka (87)
C Adams (81)

PG Elfrid Payton (80)
PF McGary (77)
SG Morrow (73)
PG Robert Pope (71)
SG Brevin Winston (68)
PG Brandon Hardaway (67)
PF Channing Frye (67)
SF Danny Granger (65)

[Eaglesfan27]

Cowen gets upon from a screen and has a 46 inch vertical on a monster dunk! We are up 14-12. They are dominating the boards early. Embiid is tired. Noel into the game. MCW with some early points and assists but he is expending a lot of energy. Cowen to PG and Butler into the game for his defense...

Durant is torching Robinson. They lead 21-17.

At the end of 1, we are down 27-22.

Durant and Westbrook each have 7.

Cowen with 8. MCW with 4 points and 4 assists.


Early in the 2nd, Cowen lands funny on a jump shot and his ankle is bothering him. I pull him out.

We are going with MCW, Butler, Greek Freak, Perkins, and Embiid now.

They built a 10 point lead before Perkins hit a pair of 3's and Greek Freak got a breakaway dunk that really ignited our crowd!

4:20 in the half - We are down 44-41 as MCW needs a break. So does Embiid and Perkins (who has come alive with 10 points this quarter.) We go with Cowen, Butler, Turner, Robinson, and Noel.

Cowen's ankle is bothering him.. he tries to lay it up instead of dunking and misses an open lay-up. Ouch.

They have a 9-0 run to end the half.

We are down 54-47.

Ibaka with 14 points and 9 boards. Adams with 9 boards. Durant with 13 points.

MCW leads us with 5 assists. Cowen with 12 points is our leader.


6:12 - Cowen gets a 5 foul on Adams. Maybe, we can get back into it by attacking their interior. We are down 74-63 as Durant is tearing it up.

6:04 - We get a 5th foul on Ibaka!

44 seconds left in the 3rd: Noel with a nice move to get a 6th foul on Ibaka! We are down 88-77.

We are down 90-78 at the end of 3. Durant with 28 points. Westbrook with 20.

9:20 - We get Adams to foul out on a strong move by Butler. We are down 94-80 as Durant continues to make shots.

7:30 - We've cut the lead a bit. 96-88 as we go with Cowen, Turner, GF, Perkins, and a slightly tired Embiid...

Embiid going against Channing Frye and he has been doing work early this quarter...

We cut the lead to 6 and then Frye hits a pair of 3's.

Westbrook is torching a slightly gimpy Cowen. We try some zone.

Their shooters are beating the zone. We get MCW in to cover Westbrook.

Cowens missing his shots. Down 107-96 with 4 minutes to go.

2:38 - Westbrook steals it from Cowen and takes it all the way for a monster dunk. 112-102.

That takes the steam out of our final comeback attempt.

They keep pouring it on with the 3's to make sure there is no doubt.

We lose 121-104 at home.

Durant is the player of the game with 38 points, 7 boards, and 4 assists. He shot 15 of 24 including 4 of 5 from the arc.

Westbrook with 30 points, 8 assists, 4 boards, and 2 steals. He shot 8 of 22.

McGary with 17 points and 13 boards.

Ibaka with 16 points, 10 boards, and 2 blocks.



Cowen led us with 24 points, 6 boards, 3 assists, and 1 steal. He shot 8 of 22 and 8 of 8 from the line.

Embiid with 16 points, 11 boards, 3 assists, and a block. He shot 6 of 12 and 4 of 4 from the line.

Butler with 15 points, 4 boards, 2 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block in his biggest minutes of the season (36)

Perkins with 12 points, 8 boards, 2 assists, 2 steals, and a block. He shot 4 of 8 and 3 of 4 from the arc.

GF with 11 points and 2 boards.

Noel with 10 points, 6 boards, and a block.

MCW with 10 points and 12 assists, and 2 steals. He shot 3 of 7.

Robinson with 4 points, 4 boards, 3 assists, and a steal in 27 minutes. He shot 2 of 6.

Moultrie played 10 minutes and had 1 board and 2 turnovers.

[Eaglesfan27]

11/22 -

We had 3 days off and Cowen's ankle is feeling much better.

Now, we host the Spurs who are 1-10 and finally in full rebuilding mode. Their starting 5:

Rookie PG Marvin Banks (66), SG Tony Wroten (74), SF Tobias Harris (78), PF Kenneth Faried (82), and C Dwight Howard (88)

PF Kyle Andersen (79) SF Scott Byrd (70) lead their bench.


No surprise as we jump to a big lead and never look back.

We win the game 108-84.

MCW led the way with 29 points, 5 boards, 5 assists, 4 steals and 3 turnovers. He shot 12 of 20.

Cowen with 27 points, 8 assists, 5 boards, 1 steal, and 1 block. He shot 10 of 16 and 5 of 5 from the line.

Rbinson with 14 points, 5 boards, 5 assists, and a steal.

Embiid with 11 point, 10 boards, and 2 blocks.

Perkins with 7 points, 5 boards, and 2 assists.

Butler with 7 points, 5 boards, 5 assists, and 2 steals in 20 minutes.

GF with 2 points and 5 assists.

Noel with 5 points and 8 boards.

Dwight led them with 15 points and 12 boards.

[Eaglesfan27]

11/24 -

We host the Pacers who are 6-5 with a roster that isn't as highly rated as ours. We are 7-4 and are favored.

Their starting 5 has one of our old players:

PG Darren Collison (80)
SG Gerald Henderson (79)
SF Paul George (89)
PF Lavoy Allen (71)
C Ian Mahinmi (74)

Their bench is led by their former starter:

Roy Hibbert (72)
PG George Hill (70)
SG Jason Butler (70)
SF Dorrell Wright (70)
SG Jordan Crawford (74)
PF Pau Gasol (67)


Wow. Our shooters are off early and build a big hole for us. Our better talent helps us come back to take a late lead, but a jumper by Collison at the buzzer gives them a 108-107 win.


Embiid led us with 25 points, 13 boards, and 2 blocks.

Cowen with 18 points, 9 assists, 4 boards, and 3 steals. He shot 6 of 12.

Perkins with 13 points, 5 boards, 1 assist, and 1 block.

MCW with 12 points, 9 boards, and 9 assists.

Noel with 11 points, 8 boards, and a block.

Robinson had a rough game and is in danger of losing his starting role. He shot 3 of 9.

GF with 4 points, 3 boards, and 1 assist in 22 minutes.

Butler with 9 points, 5 boards, 2 assists in 22 minutes. I'm going to move him back into the starting lineup at SF..



11/25 -

We travel to Detroit. They are 3-7 and are strugglingwhich is a bit of surprise. They have nice talent except at SF:

PG Jennings (82)
SG Caldwell-Pope (78)
SF Jae Crowder (73)
PF Paul Millsap (82)
C Andre Drummond (87)

PF Jarnell Stokes (79)
PG Isaiah Canann (76)
SF Sergey Karasev (70)
SG MArcus Thornton (66)

PG Jordan Clarkson is injured and won't play (77)

[Eaglesfan27]

At the last minute in shoot around, Robinson's shot convinces us to start him 1 more game. But, he will have a short leash...

Robinson with a quick 3 (off a MCW assist) and then a fastbreak dunk and the foul. Quick 8-2 lead.

6:00 - We've been running and guys are tiring. MCW, Perkins and Embiid with a breather. Butler, Motrie, and Noel into the game.

Butler with a pair of 3's. Crowder hitting several 3's to get them back into it.

At the end of 1, we are up 29-26.

I decide to get Grant in for a few and he starts off the 2nd with a steal and breakaway dunk that showed incredible elevation and style. 31-26.

Grant picks up 3 quick fouls but I leave him out there for his energy...

Cowen is just LETHAL in the transition game. He is turning it on now but their 3 point shooters are keeping them with us.

They hit a pair of 3's to end the half and give them the lead, 61-55 at the end of the half.

MCW has 4 assists and 5 points.

Cowen with 17 points and 2 assists to lead all scorers.

Butler, Grant, Embiid, and Robinson with 6 points each.


Crowder leads them with 16 points. He is killing us from 3's and Robinson has to challenge him better or Butler will be in at SF...

MCW shutting down Jennings who is 0 of 6.


Cowen with a steal and breakaway dunk to start the 2nd half!

Cowen with a big 3rd quarter on both ends to help us build the lead, 86-79.


As I hoped, we tire them out in the 4th and go on a big run with our rested athletic wing players making plays. We build a 105-85 lead before I pull my starters with 3 minutes to go.

We win the game 113-97.

Cowen was the player of the game with 30 points, 8 assists, 2 steals, and 4 turnovers. He shot 9 of 13, 2 of 4 from the arc, and 10 of 10 from the line.

Embiid with 14 points, 11 boards, 3 blocks. He shot 6 of 8 and 2 of 2 from the line.

MCW with 13 points, 7 assists, 2 boards, 2 steals, and 2 blocks. He shot 5 of 8.

Butler with 12 points, 2 boards, 2 assists, 1 steal, and 2 blocks. He shot 4 of 8.

Perkins with 11 points, 6 boards, 2 assists, and a block. He shot 3 of 6 and 2 of 2 from the arc.

GF with 10 points, 4 boards, and 1 assist in 17 minutes.

Robinson with 10 points, 7 boards, 7 assists, and 1 steal in 30 minutes.

Noel with 7 points, 7 boards, and a block. He only played 18 minutes tonight.

Grant with 6 points in 6 minutes.

Rod Cowens with 3 points and a board in his 3 minutes of action.

Moultrie with 6 boards and a block in 18 minutes.


Robinson and Butler shut down Crowder in the 2nd half and he only finished with 18 points.

Caldwell-Pope led them with 21.

Drummond was held to 12 points and 9 boards by Embiid.

Jennings was held to 4 of 18 shooting for 12 points and 3 assists.

[Eaglesfan27]

11/27 -

We host the Kings who are 1-12. We are heavily favored. Their starting 5 isn't bad but they have zero depth:

PG Rubio (83)
SG Ben MCLemore (82)
SF Doug McDermott (80)
PF Taj Gibson (72)
C DeMarcus Cousins (89)

Their only bench player over a 70 is PG Ivan Bagaric (76)

SF Lowell Morrison (70)
PF Cameron Bairstow (70)
C Victor Faverani (70)
SG Louis Williams (70)


They hang around for 3 quarters but our depth wears them out and we finish with a 35-15 4th quarter for a 111-90 win.


Cowens led the way with 30 points, 8 assists, 4 boards, and 4 turnovers. He shot 11 of 17 and 8 of 9 from the line. He is shooting over 90% from the line this year.

Embiid with 22 points, 12 boards, and 2 blocks.

MCW with 15 points, 7 boards, 7 assists, and a steal.

Perkins with 12 points, 5 boards, and 3 assists. He shot 2 of 4 from the arc. He is shooting over 50% from the arc this year.

Robinson with 10 points, 3 board, 2 assists, and a block. He hit all of his shots this game.

Butler with 8 points, 4 boards, 4 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block in 23 minutes.

GF with 6 points, 2 boards, and 1 assist in 20 minutes.

Noel with 4 points, 10 boards, and 5 blocks in the win.

Turner with 5 points, 7 boards, and 4 assists in 19 minutes.



11/29 -

We travel to play the Magic who are led by Kevin Love but struggling a bit with minor injuries. They are 6-5 and we are favored.

Their starting 5:

PG Harry Bradshaw (79)
SG Oladipo (83)
SF Evan Fournier (78)
PF Kevin Love (90)
C Nikola Vucevic (77)

PF Aaron Gordon leads their bench with a 85 rating and he is reportedly tired of being a bench player...

The rest of the bench:

PF Andrew Nicholson (77)
C Gene Townsend (74) - was a high pick and isn't panning out...

PG Peja Jeremic (71)
PF Vladmir Stojic (72 - my former 2nd round pick)
SG Pete Little (69)



Cowen had a horrible 1st quarter and we got into a big hole, 30-15.

We never could recover as Cowen was completely ice cold this game. 60-38 deficit at halftime

96-76 loss for the game.

Robinson led us with 15 points and 7 boards.

Cowen with 9 points, 7 assists, 4 boards, and 3 steals. He shot 3 of 15.

Embiid with 14 points, 10 boards, and a block.

Noel with 10 points, 9 boards, and 2 blocks.

Butler with 9 points, 3 boards, 3 steals, and 2 assists.

GF shot 0 of 8 this game.

Turner shot 0 of 6.

Love led the Magic with 21 points, 13 boards, and a block. He shot a very efficient 4 of 8, 3 of 5, and 10 of 11 from the line.

Bradshaw added 20 points and 4 assists. He shot 8 of 13.

Oladipo with 17 points on 7 of 12 shooting.

Vucevic added 12 points and 7 boards.

Gordon with 12 points and 7 boards in 28 minutes off the bench.



After the game, The Lakers offer me 2 1st round picks and Ed Davis (79 rated PF) for Perkins! It is slightly tempting but I think Perkins is going to be a huge offensive weapon for me for years. I decline.

[Eaglesfan27]

Speaking of young exciting players. Here is the first look at the upcoming college players:

There is no conensus #1 so far this year. Here are the top 10 based on the NBA.com big board:

SF Cedric Blackwell is a 6'8 215 pound SF from Iowa State. He is 22 and is a highly polished prospect who has some nice athleticism, shot, and some post moves. He is averaging 26 ppg and 10 rpg this year.

SF Tayfur Mansiz from Turkey is a 6'6 230 pound SF who is 21 years old and is a skilled dunker who can really dribble well. Our staff thinks he has the best potential at this point...

SF Luka Golob is a 6'7 240 pound SF from Slovenia who is the best pure shooter in this draft per our scouts. He is only 19 and has a lot of room to mature.

Lonnie Hart is a 6'5 210 pound SG for Wake Forest who is only 19. HE can play some point guard and is a very good finisher. His shot is a bit raw and his defense is bad. He is averaging 24 ppg and 7 apg.

Mitchell Brooks is 6'1 165 and is 21 years old. He plays for WVU and he is the best pure PG. He is averaging 20 ppg and 10 apg.

Will Osborne is a 6'7 290 pound PF for Connecticut. He has a nice array of post moves and is a good rebounder. His conditioning is a concern and our staff thinks his knee might be an issue. Will that cause him to drop?

Sergio Diaz is a 20 year old SG from Mexico who is a good shooter. He is averaging 25 ppg.

Sasa Cop is a 6'9 240 pound PF from Slovenia who is a pure athlete. His skills are raw but he can jump out of the gym and uses his size well. He is averaging 19 ppg and 9 rpg. He is 21 years old.

SG Jack Lambert from George Washington is 20 years old and 6'6 200 pounds. He gets pushed around on the floor but he has a nice shot.


SG Leslie O'Connor is a 20 year old SG form Mississippi who is 6'5 208 and is a very good athlete. His shot is raw at this point. He is averaging 17 ppg and 3 apg.


The best big man and my main target:

PF/C Shane Wells is projected to go anywhere from 10 to 22nd. He is a 22 year old who plays for Oklahoma. He has some nice post moves and can play defense. He is an ok rebounder. He is averaging 18.5 ppg, 9 rpg, and 2.1 bpg.

The other big man who is projected to go anywhere from 15th to 30th: Walt Chase who plays for a Community College in California. The 20 year old is 7'0 250 and is mostly a rebounder and big body. He is averaging 9 ppg and 9 rpg.




Players of the Month:

LeBron in the East and Durant in the West.

Rookies of the Month:

PF Frederic Perben in the East is averaging almost 20 ppg immediately for the Heat. He is shooting over 50%. While I like his game and was tempted, I'm glad I got Perkins ability to stretch the floor.


SG Alex Long in the West. The 20 year old is hitting big shots for the Mavs and averaging 15 ppg.


We are now 9-6.

Our net game is against the Pelicans who are 1-15 after losing Davis to free agency. Their starting 5:

PG Austin Rivers (77)
SG Russ Smith (77)
SF Tyreke Evans (77)
PF Jack Parker (74)
C Jeff Withey (72)

SG J.R. Smith (75)
SF Shabazz Muhammad (73)
PG Brian Roberts (72)
PG Nate Wolters (71)
PF Ryan Anderson (70)

[Eaglesfan27]

After a slow start, Cowen slips his man and MCW threads a beautiful alley-oop! 20-12 lead for us.

We had a big lead but when Embiid and MCW rested, they closed the gap. Still we are up 26-23 at the end of 1.


We've had a few games in a few nights and our guys are getting tired. I'm rotating more as a result. We are tied at 42 late in the 2nd quarter due to some sloppy plays from our bigs.

I bring in Grant for some energy and MCW steals it and finds Grant for a fantastic alley-oop!




At halftime, we lead 47-46.

Cowen leads the way with 12 points. MCW with 6 assists. Embiid with 6 boards.

Withey is doing well for them with 9 boards.


3rd quarter - Cowen and Perkins running pick and roll perfectly. Perkins showing some monster dunks when he gets the chance...

They call time as we build a 73-63 lead.

Cowen to Grant for a monster 360 dunk!

Grant with a big quarter! Perkins also scoring a bunch as we rested Embiid and Noel for a large stretch of the quarter.

We are up 83-70 at the end of 3.

We start our strong in the 4th and put the game away. 25 point lead with 5 minutes to go. We pull our starters with a 102-82 lead and 3 minutes to go.




We win the game 102-89.





Embiid is the player of the game with 22 points, 14 boards, 1 assist, and 2 blocks. HE shot 9 of 10 and 4 of 5 from the line.

Cowen with 19 points, 10 assists, 3 boards, 1 steal, and 1 turnover. He shot 5 of 18, 0 of 4, and 9 of 10 from the line.

Grant with 13 points, 3 boards, and a steal. He shot 5 of 8.

MCW with 12 points, 11 assists, 3 boards, and 1 steal. He also had 2 turnovers. He shot 6 of 8.

Butler with 11 points, 4 boards, 3 assists, and a steal in 22 minutes.

Perkins with 11 points, 4 boards, 2 assists, and a block. HE shot 5 of 11, 1 of 4 from the arc, and 0 of 2 from the line. Usually, he shoots 90% from the line...

Noel with 6 points, 3 boards, and 2 blocks in 19 minutes.

Turner with 6 points, 7 boards, and 2 assists.

Robinson with 2 points, 6 boards, 3 assists, and 2 turnovers.

GF with 0 points, 3 boards, and 1 assist. He shot 0 of 5.

Moultrie with 7 boards in 15 minutes.





Russ Smith led the Pelicans with 18 points and 4 boards.

Evans with 13 points on 5 of 22 shooting.

Rivers with 13 points and 3 assists.

Withey had 12 boards and 4 points.


We are now 10-6 :)

[Eaglesfan27]

12/3 -

We travel to play Golden State. They are 13-3 despite injuries hurting their stars. Stephen Curry is out with a hand fracture. As a result, we are favored.

Klay Thompson keeps them in it for 3 quarters, but in the 4th, we outscore them 28-10 to seal the win. 98-81 win.

Cowen led the way with 23 points, 5 assists, 3 boards, and 3 steals. HE shot 10 of 13, 3 of 5.

Robinson with 13 points, 6 boards, 1 steal, and 1 block.

Perkins with 11 points, 9 boards, and 1 asssit.

Embiid with 10 points, 9 boards, and 2 blocks.

MCW with 10 points, 8 assists, 4 boards, and 2 steals.

GF with 9 points and 2 boards.

Noel with 6 points, 6 boards, and 2 blocks.

Butler got hurt in the game but he finished with 5 points and 8 boards. He has a sprained toe and will play through it.



12/5 -

We travel to play the Clippers. They have injuries to Chris Paul (severe ankle sprain) and Spencer Hawes (broken leg.) They are struggling as a result, especially since Blake left (although he is out with a broken ankle too.) They are 5-12. We are favored. They are led by Tony Parker (79)


They hang around for 3 quarters but our depth pulls away in the 4th.

113-96 win. Cowen led the way with a triple double - 30 points, 10 boards, 10 assists, 4 steals, and 1 block. He shot 13 of 20, 2 of 3, and 2 of 2.

Perkins added a career high 26 points, 10 boards, 3 assists, 2 steals, and a block. He shot 7 of 13, 2 of 4 from the arc, and 10 of 10 from the line.

MCW with 17 points, 7 boards, 6 assists, and 2 steals. He shot 7 of 14.

Robinson with 11 points, 7 boards, 4 assists. He shot 4 of 8.

Embiid with 10 points, 12 boards, and 3 blocks. He shot 5 of 13.

Turner with 5 points and 5 assists.

Noel with 5 points, 7 boards, and a block in 26 minutes.

GF with 4 points, 2 boards, and 2 assists.

Butler with 3 points, 4 boards, and 4 assists along with 1 steal.



Our next game is at the Thunder who beat us 121-104 earlier. They should be tough as we are a tired team traveling to their arena... They have everyone healthy. They are favored.

[Eaglesfan27]

Robinson going to work early to make Durant work on the defensive end. Robinson with 9 points in the 1st. Durant with 11 in the 1st. Both offenses executing at a high level. We are up 33-31 at the end of 1.

Embiid gets into foul trouble early in the 2nd but we keep him out there. They are breaking down our perimeter players on the dribble, particularly Westbrook who is drawing the fouls when Embiid tries to help on the interior.

Embiid with 4 fouls and he has to sit. We are up 49-46.

At halftime, it is tied at 61.

Westbrook with 20 points. Cowen leads our team with 16 points and 5 assists.

Early in the 3rd, Cowen starts knifing into their defense to draw fouls. He gets to the line and makes FT after FT...

Embiid fouls out with 8 minutes in the 3rd thanks to Westbrook and Ibaka. Embiid only played 15 minutes tonight...

Noel going to need to step up big and we'll also get creative with Perkins playing some C.

Speaking of Perkins, he hits a pair of 3's in the 3rd after a quiet 1st half. He also has a pump fake, sweet move, and a fantastic dunk. He can really throw it down.

We are up 92-90 at the end of 3.

In the 4th, our bigs are tired and Robinson even plays a bit of C for us...

We are shooting well and Cowen is making plays all over the court. Critical as we are getting outrebounded inside..

8 minutes left and Noel is tired but returns to lead us down the stretch...

Moultrie with a few critical minutes and gets us some boards.


1:30 - We are up 120-117... MCW finds Cowen in the corner... he shoots... and misses the 3.

Ibaka with the board and they get it to Westbrook who beats everyone for a breakaway dunk.

52 seconds left: MCW to Cowen in the corner... he finds Perkins for an open look at the 3 point line.. Perkins shoots and swishes!

34 seconds left: Durant finds Westbrook for a straight away 3.. he swishes it. We lead 123-122.

16 seconds: MCW finds Cowen for an open elbow jumper... he shoots it... it is long. Durant with the board and they call time out.

7 seconds left: Cowen steals it from Westbrook! They have to foul Cowen... 92% FT shooter... He bangs home both of them.


Robinson into the game and he bothers Durant's 3 which is long! We win 125-122!


Cowen is the player of the game. He had 33 points, 12 assists, 3 boards, 2 steals, and only 2 turnovers. He shot 8 of 18 and 17 of 17 from the line.

Robinson with 18 points, 7 boards, 5 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block. HE played 35 minutes for us and covered the 3, 4, and 5 positions... huge!

Perkins with 15 points, 8 boards, 2 steals, and 2 blocks. He played 28 minutes at PF and C. He finished with 6 of 10 shooting, 3 of 5 from the arc.

GF with 14 points on 5 of 6 shooting in 22 minutes.

Noel with 9 points, 10 boards, 3 assists, and 2 blocks in 29 minutes.

Butler was hurt but he played 16 minutes and had 8 points and 3 boards.

Grant with 7 points and 3 boards in 12 minutes.

Turner with 7 points in 25 minutes.

Embiid with 6 points, 4 boards, and a block in 15 minutes.

MCW with 4 points, 7 assists, and 2 boards.

Moultrie with 4 points and 7 boards in 16 minutes.



Westbrook led the Thunder with 38 points, 7 boards, and 4 assists. He shot 14 of 21, 5 of 7 from the arc, and 5 of 5 from the line.

Durant with 28 points, 8 boards, and 5 assists. He shot 10 of 28.

McGary with 16 points and 8 boards as he dominated our smaller bigs.

IBaka with 10 points and 6 boards. He went more against Noel and Embiid.

Payton with 8 points and 5 assists in 19 minutes.

Lamb with 7 points on 3 of 12 shooting. Cowen played him the most...

[Eaglesfan27]

12/8 -

WE host the Pistons who are 5-11. We beat them 116-99 earlier in the year...

We win every quarter by a few points to cruie to a 116-100 win.

Unfortunately, Robinson hurts his ankle in the game and he will miss a few weeks.

Cowen led us with 31 points, 10 assists, 6 steals, 5 boards, and 2 turnovers. He shot 13 of 20.

Noel wtih 20 points, 10 boards, and 3 blocks.

Robinson with 18 points, 4 boards, and 3 assists before he got hurt.

MCW with 18 points and 9 assists. He shot an efficient 7 of 12.

Embiid with 14 points, 13 boards, and 3 blocks.

Perkins with an off night in which he shot 2 of 10. HE finished with 7 points, 5 boards, and an assist.

GF with 7 points and 7 boards in 25 minutes.

Turner with 1 points, 11 boards, and 2 assists.


Wow. Robinson is feeling tough and can play through the injury. I'm going to rest him for at least a week to let him recover some of the way. Then, maybe we'll work him back for limited minutes. The Greek Freak will move into the starting lineup.


12/11 -

We host the Nuggets who are 9-11. We are favored to win.

WOW. Both teams come out running and gunning for a very entertaining 1st half. We take 44-38 lead by the end of the 1st!

Our defense clamps down in the 2nd but our offense keeps running at full force! At halftime, we are up 83-60.

Our defense clamps down in the 3rd and we cruise to a 112-78 lead.

We win the game 143-102!

Cowen puts on a show! 35 points, 15 assists, 10 boards, 4 steals, and 3 turnovers. He is only in his 2nd year, but he is being mentioned as one of the top 5 players in the league.

Perkins shows that he is going to be a special player - 25 points, 12 boards, 3 assists, 3 steals, and 2 blocks in 30 minutes. He shot 7 of 14, 2 of 4 from the arc, and 9 of 10 from the line.

Embiid with 21 points, 10 boards, 1 assist, and 4 blocks.

Butler with 15 points, 5 boards, and 4 assists.

MCW with 14 points, 4 boards, 6 assists, and 1 steal.

Turner with 14 points, 7 boards, and 2 assists in 22 minutes off the bench.

Noel with 13 points, 11 boards, and 2 blocks.

GF with 6 points, 5 boards, and 4 assists in 27 minutes.

Grant with 3 boards and 0 of 2 shooting in 8 minutes.


Aldridge led them with 26 points and 20 boards. Ty Lawson added 19 points and 8 assists. Gallinari with 18 points.



12/12 - Back to back games as we travel to play Detroit. They are 5-14 and we are favored to beat them a 3rd straight time...

[Eaglesfan27]

5:50 - Slow start for us but after falling behind 6-0, we are tied at 13. MCW take a breather and Butler comes in at SG with Cowen sliding to PG.

3:30 - Cowen with a sick move and then a dunk over Jennings. We are down 20-18.

That gets Cowen going and he makes his next 3 as well.

Cowen with 13 points on 5 of 5 shooting.


At the end of 1, we are down 25-24. Cowen with 13 points to lead us.

4:39 - Grant with a thunderous dunk over Millsap. We take a 42-33 lead on the 3 point play.

Halftime: We are up 51-40. Cowen with 20 points at the half. He is such a silky smooth scorer. He had one killer dribble, step back, easy floater.

GF with 7 boards to lead us.

Butler with 3 assists to lead us. MCW also with 3 assists.


Sloppy play in the 3rd lets Detroit right back into it. Jennings with a 16 point quarter I rested Cowen and MCW had trouble with his speed. We are up 78-77 at the end of 3 but Cowen is ready to come back into the game and relatively rested.

Cowen goes to work and keeps the lead for us but with 6 minutes he is gassed again. We are up 89-83.

They chip away but our role players and Embiid keeping us in the lead.

3:40 - We lead 95-93 after Crowder hits a nice 3.

MCW loses the ball and they get a breakaway dunk to tie it.

MCW misses a FT and they take a lead. Embiid with a FT to tie it at 97.


1:10 - Cowen with a great dribble into the lane and then a pass behind the back to set up Embiid for a dunk! 100-99 lead.

32 seconds: Embiid with a block at the other end sets up a big possession for us... we pass it around... pass it around... find Cowen for a corner 3... and the buzzer goes off just before he shoots. Change of possession on a shot clock violation.

Embiid forces a miss from Drummond and then gets the rebound. They foul Embiid with 11 seconds left... he misses the first... and misses the 2nd. Drummond with the board and they call time.

Cowen forces an off balance jumper by Jennings that is long! Grant with the board! Grant is fouled. Grant makes the first FT... and swishes the 2nd. 102-99 lead with 3 seconds left.


The desperation 3 misses and we secure the 102-99 win! :)


Cowen is the player of the game with 35 points, 5 assists, 3 boards, 2 steals, and 5 turnovers. He shot 12 of 20, 2 of 3, and 9 of 9 from the line.

MCW with 16 points, 4 assists, and 5 turnovers. He shot 6 of 12.

Butler with 14 points, 6 boards, and 6 assists. He shot 6 of 10.

Embiid with 8 point, 11 boards, and a block. He shot 2 of 6 and 4 of 10 from the line.

Noel with 8 points, 13 boards, 3 assists, and a block. He shot 3 of 8.

Grant with 7 points and 1 board in 8 minutes.

Perkins with a rough night. He shot 2 of 9, 1 of 2 from the arc. He finished with 5 points, 9 boards, and 1 assist.

GF with 5 points, 10 boards, 1 assists, 2 steals, and 3 blocks. He shot 2 of 8.

Turner with 4 points, 5 boards, and 1 assist.


Jennings led them with 28 points and 4 assists. He shot 10 of 25.

Caldwell-Pope shot 6 of 21.

Crowder had 15 points on 5 of 10 shooting.

We held Drummond to 5 points, 8 boards, 3 assists, and 2 blocks.

[Eaglesfan27]

We are now 16-6. Our next game is on the 15th hosting the 8-14 Bucks.

Jabari Parker is a star and one of the best players in the game with a 90 overall rating, but they don't have much around him this year. Their next best player in the starting 5 is young PG Jim McDonald with a 75 overall rating. Of note, they have injuries to 3 of their normal starters right now...


Despite us having them outgunned, they hang in with tenacious defense.

With 2:30 to go, we are down 93-90.

Perkins misses a 3 and they get a quick basket on a great move by Parker on the other end. He has 30 points.

We close the gap to 95-92 but Parker feeds McDonald for a 3. 98-92.

We can't close the gap and we lose 100-94.


Parker is the player of the game with 33 points, 14 boards, and 3 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block. He shot 13 of 23, 2 of 5 from the arc, and 4 of 5 from the line.

McDonald with 19 points and 10 assists.

Cowen led us with a triple double - 26 points, 11 boards, 10 assists, 1 block, and 3 turnovers. He shot 9 of 20, 3 of 8, and 5 of 6.

Embiid with 19 points, 9 boards, and a block. He shot 7 of 14 and 5 of 8 from the line.

Perkins with 14 points, 4 boards, and 2 blocks. He shot 5 of 13, 2 of 7 from the arc, and 2 of 2 from the line.

Turner with 11 points, 3 boards, and 4 assists.

Butler with 10 points, 7 assists, and 3 boards.

Noel with 6 points, 7 boards, and 1 block.

MCW with 4 points, 4 boards, and 5 assists. He shot 2 of 15.

Grant with 4 points and 4 boards.

GF shot 0 of 6. He finished with 0 points, 6 boards, and 2 assists.



12/17 -

We travel to play the Nets. They are 11-13 and we are favored. This is our first meeting against their new starting 5:

PG Kemba Walker (84)
SG Joe Harris (75)
SF Bojan Bogdanovic (77)
PF Greg Monroe (83)
C Mason Plumlee (80)

PG Kyle Lowry (83) leads the bench.

C Brook Lopez is their first big off the bench. He is now rated 78 overall.

SG Nick Johnson adds a nice 3 point scorer with a 76 overall.



We come out fired up and jump to a big lead. We lead 56-46 at the half.

In the 3rd, we get very sloppy and they take the lead. The 4th is a run and gun affair as we fall on a buzzer beater jumper.


We lose 119-118 and the guys are stunned again.

Cowen led the way with 39 points, 6 boards, 5 assists, and 2 steals. He shot 16 of 32, 1 of 4 from the arc, and 6 of 6 from the line.

MCW with 20 points, 11 assists, 5 boards, and 2 steals. He shot 8 of 18.

Turner with 18 points, 5 boards, and 5 assists.

Embiid with 12 points, 6 boards, and 3 blocks.

Perkins with 12 points, 10 boards, 3 assists, 3 steals, and 2 blocks.

Noel with 6 points, 4 boards, and a block.

GF with 5 points, 5 boards, 3 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block.

Grant with 0 of 3 shooting. He finished with 2 boards.

Butler with 0 points on 0 of 7 shooting. He did finish with 5 boards, 5 assists, and 3 steals.


We are 16-8 and Robinson isn't nearly 100% yet, but he is pushing to get back out there. We'll use him in some limited minutes.


Our next game is the next night (12/18) against the Wizards at our place. We lost to them 100-88 earlier in the year and are determined to make up for that loss.

[Young Drachma]

Philly needs to hire you.

[Eaglesfan27]

Philly needs to hire you.

LOL. I'd love that job. :)

[Eaglesfan27]

1st quarter:

We start out very sloppy with the ball and spot them a 6-0 lead on turnovers.

Cowens settles down and hits a quick 12 footer... then he blows by his man and dunks it. Then, he sets up MCW for a 10 foot jumper.

Tied at 6.

Washington hitting their 3's but we are hitting everything. We take a 18-15 lead midway through the quarter.

Defenses toughen up but we come out of the 1st with a 29-25 lead.

Cowen with 13 points in the 1st quarter.

Cowen tires early in the 2nd and has to sit for a while. MCW has a big quarter to keep our guard scoring going.

Beal and Wall are tearing us up on the other end.

We are up 56-55 at halftime.

Word just came that Melo dislocated his knee and will miss most of the rest of the season for the Knicks.

Cowen leads us with 13 points and 7 assists.

Wall has 22 points and 4 assists.


Cowen is having a very sloppy night trying to make too many fancy passes. Washington picking them off and getting easy baskets to build a 8 point lead.

We settle down a bit but their outside shooters are helping them keep their lead.

At the end of 3, we are down 82-77. Cowen has to become more consistent with his passing. We rest him and put back MCW.

6:31 - We've been chipping away at the lead with good ball decisions and touch defense. Turner gets into the lane for a dunk to give us our first lead in a long time, 94-93.

Wall beats Turner (who is playing a big of PG for us) off the dribble and gets an easy basket.

5:20 - Turner with a bad pass. We bring back a rested Cowen to finish this out.

Cowen misses a layup and they get a fastbreak basket the other way. Down 99-96.

Cowen with a behind the back dribble to trip up his man and get to the hoop for a dunk. He has 30 points.

Embiid misses a close post shot and they get a fastbreak in which Beal draws a foul.

Down 103-98 with 4 minutes to go...

Butler draws a foul but misses 2 FT's. We've missed a ton of FT's this game.

Cowen getting to the line and making FT's but Beal is scoring against Cowen too.

1:46 - After we finally get a stop, MCW with a nice move to get to the basket. Down 109-106.

Wall and Estrada with a pick and roll basket to Estrada.

GF misses an open 3 but Noel with the putback dunk.

Wall and Estrada with the pick and roll to perfection again. Down 113-108.

Cowen and Embiid with a pick and roll basket. Down 113-110 with 1 minute left.

We force a turnover! 26 seconds left... Cowen finds GF for an open look... he swishes the 3! Tied at 113.

Wall beats MCW off the dribble and hits a quick pull-up jumper.

We get Cowen open for a midrange 2... he shoots.. it is long. They get the rebound and pass it quickly to Wall up court. We foul but it is called clear path foul! He hits the FT's and they get the ball.

That finishes us off. Tough loss.


We lose 119-113.

Wall is the player of the game with 30 points and 7 assists.

Beal had 28 points in the win.

Estrada with 16 points and 9 boards.


Cowen with 34 points, 10 assists, 4 steals, 3 boards, and 8 turnovers. He shot 12 of 23, 2 of 3, and 8 of 9 from the line.

MCW with 19 points and 4 assists along with 1 steal and only 1 turnover.

Perkins with 18 points, 8 boards, and a block. He shot 6 of 13 and 5 of 6 from the line.

Noel with 8 points, 12 boards, 2 assists, and a block.

Embiid with 8 points, 8 boards, and 2 blocks. He was 0 of 6 from the line today.

Turner with 8 points and 3 assists.

Butler with 7 points, 6 assists, 2 steals. He shot 1 of 7 from the line.

GF with 6 points, 4 boards, and 1 assist in 30 minutes starting.

Grant with 5 points in 6 minutes off the bench.

[Eaglesfan27]

Some big news: An unexpected 4th patch is out that reportedly addresses regression issues but supposedly only in new careers. It also has some gameplay changes but no patch notes out yet...

I thought about it for a few hours, but I'm continuing this career. Even if players do start regressing a bit too early, I want to see what happens to this starting 5 which I think could challenge for 70 wins once Perkins and Robinson develop a bit more.




12/20 -

We host the Celtics who are 7-15. This is our first game against them this year. Their starting 5:

PG Marcus Smart (84)
SG Clifford Holland (77)
SF Kawhi Leonard (83) - regression starting to hit him a bit.
PF Jared Sullinger (82)
C Kelly Olynyk (76)

My former PF Craig Holloway leads their bench with an 81 overall rating.

PG O.J. Gill is also an 81.

SG Avery Bradley (81) complements a strong bench.

SF James Young (78) is a solid shooter.

PF Edward Maxwell is a young prospect (74)


The Celtics jump to an early lead 32-28.

We have a strong 2nd quarter to take a 59-52 lead.

We lead through the 3rd and have a 81-70 lead going into the 4th.

In the 4th, our defense tires and we fail to execute in a 111-101 surprising loss.

Holloway led them in the win with 21 points, 11 boards, and a steal.

Bradley added 20 points. Leonard with 17 points, 10 boards, and 2 steals.

Gill with 12 points and 7 assists. Smart with 11 points and 8 assists.


Cowen led our team with 21 points, 11 assists, 4 boards, 1 steal, and 2 turnovers. He shot 9 of 20, 1 of 5 from the arc, and 2 of 2 from the line.

Embiid with 20 points, 14 boards, and 2 blocks. He shot 7 of 13 and 6 of 8 from the line.

MCW with 13 points, 9 assists, 5 boards, 2 steals, adn 2 blocks. He shot 6 of 20.

Perkins with 12 ponts, 4 boards, and 2 blocks. He shot 5 of 6.

GF with 11 points, 8 boards, and 2 assists. He shot 4 of 7.

Noel with 9 points, 9 boards, and 3 blocks. He shot 4 of 13.

Butler with 5 points, 2 boards, 1 assist, and 1 steal. He shot 1 of 5.

Grant with 1 point in 12 minutes.





12/22 - We travel to play the red hot Cavs who are 22-4 behind LeBron who is still rated the best player in the game at 98 despite getting up there in age. They are very weak at C due to injuries but the rest of their lineup is talented:

PG Irving (91)
SG Dion Waiters (84)
SF LeBron (98)
PF Stephon Watkins (74)
C IVan Bosnjak (64)

SG Archie Goodwin (76)
PG Matthew Dellavedova (76)
SG Glen Rice Jr (75)
PG MArquis Teague (71)
PF Roy Gill (68)


I tell my guys to feed it into the post this game and make Embiid the #1 option...

They jump to a 30-17 lead at the end of 1, but we play better every other quarter.

By the end of 3, we are up 78-75.

We hold on down the stretch on a big jumper by Cowen at the buzzer to get the 103-101 win!

Cowen was the player of the game with 34 points, 9 assists, 4 boards, 2 steals, and 1 block. He shot 13 of 21, 2 of 3 from the arc, and 6 of 6 from the line.

MCW with 15 points, 5 boards, and 5 assists. He shot 5 of 14.

Noel with 13 points, 11 boards, and 3 blocks.

Turner with 11 points, 6 boards, and 3 assists.

Embiid with 10 points, 10 boards, and 1 block. He shot 4 of 8.

Perkins with 8 points, 5 boards, 3 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block. He shot 3 of 12, 0 of 4 from the arc.


Turner with 11 points and 6 boards.

GF with 4 points, 4 boards, and 3 assists.

Butler with 4 points, 10 boards, 4 assists, and 2 steals.


LeBron led them with 19 points, 12 boards, 5 assists, 3 blocks, and 2 turnovers. He shot 8 of 19.

Waiters with 17 points, 4 assists, and 4 boards. He shot 6 of 15.

Irving with 15 points, 9 boards, and 9 assists. We held him to 4 of 12 shooting.



12/24 -

We host the Nets. They are 16-14 and beat us 119-118 last game. But, we are favored. Robinson will finally get back out on the court this game, although he is not 100% yet and we will limit his minutes to just a few tonight.

[Eaglesfan27]

I'm still playing on All-star Sim...

Our offense comes out red hot and we jump to a 13-0 lead.

Cowen hits a pair of 3's to start the game and finds Embiid for a nice dunk.


After a hot start, Cowen goes cold, but Embiid steps up.


At the end of 1, we are up 28-23. Embiid with a really good quarter for 10 points.

GF had also had a nice quarter with 6 points.


9:00 - Robinson into the game and he makes a nice move to beat his man and get fouled. 2 points. We lead 32-29.

3:15 - Robinson had a nice stretch and I'm tempted to leave him out there, but I bring in Grant for a few. We are up 47-41.

Embiid didn't score in the 2nd but everyone else picked up the scoring load.

At halftime, we are up 54-47.


Walker leads them with 12 points. Brook Lopez has 6 boards of the bench.

MCW leads us with 4 assists. Cowen with 12 points. Embiid with 10. GF with 8.

7:20 - Cowen needs a breather. Turner into the game at SG and MCW at PG. We are up 64-60.

In the 3rd, their 3 point shooters, especially Joe Harris come alive and we are down 79-76 at the end of 3.

8:00 - Down 83-79, we bring back a rested Cowen...

Cowen with a 3 and then a pair of FT's. We are tied at 86. 6:30 to go..

2:14 - GF leaves Joe Harris open for a corner 3 and he swishes it. Down 99-94.

Cowen drives and earns the foul. Down 99-96.

Butler gets beat off the dribble and we are down 101-96 with 49 seconds left.

Cowen with an open look... misses the 3. Embiid with the board.. kicks it out to GF... misses the 3.

We lose 105-99.

Walker is the player of the game with 28 points and 5 assists. He shot 9 of 16, 3 of 8 from the arc.

Nick Johnson with 20 points and 4 boards.

Harris with 15 points and 5 boards including 3 of 4 from the arc.

Lowry with 12 points and 3 assists.

Monroe with 10 points and 7 boards.

Cowen finished with 25 points, 6 assists, 2 boards, and 3 turnovers. He shot 7 of 20, 3 of 8 from the arc, and 8 of 8 from the line.

Embiid with 18 points, 10 boards, and 2 blocks. He shot 8 of 12.

GF with 16 points, 5 boards, 3 assists, and 2 blocks.

Robinson with 11 points, 4 boards, and 3 assists in 15 minutes.

Butler with 8 points, 3 boards, and a steal.

Turner with 8 points and 2 steals.

Perkins with a rough night shooting, 1 of 6. He finished with 5 points, 8 boards, 2 assists, 1 steal.

Noel with 4 points, 7 boards, and 2 blocks.

Moultrie with 4 points and 2 boards in 11 minutes.

MCW with 2 points, 5 boards, and 8 assists. He shot 1 of 6.

[Eaglesfan27]

12/25 -

We travel to Chicago for a Christmas Day marquee game. The Bulls have rebounded this year and are 18-8 with a 9-1 streak in their last 10. They are favored to win at home. They beat us 95-94 last game. A look at their starting 5 again:

PG Rose - 87
SG Nik Stauskas - 80
SF Khris Middleton - 77
PF Anthony Davis - 96
C Noah - 76

The bench is led by SG Nelson Williamson (78), SF Tony Snell (76), and PG Shelvin Mack (73)

Cowen starts off shooting cold and we get into 28-15 hole by the end of 1.

Davis scoring from all over the court to give them a 56-40 lead at the half.

They win the game easily, 108-86.

Perkins was our leading scorer with 19 points, 5 boards, and 3 blocks. He shot 5 of 12.

Embiid with 16 points, 7 boards, and a block.

Cowen with 11 points, 5 boards, 6 assists, and 2 steals. He shot 5 of 18.

MCW with 9 points, 7 assists, 3 boards, and 2 steals. HE shot 4 of 13.

Butler with 8 points, 7 boards, 2 assists, and a steal. He shot 4 of 8.

Noel with 8 points, 8 boards, and a block. He shot 4 of 9.

GF witrh 7 points, 5 boards, 3 assists, and 4 turnovers. He shot 3 of 5.

Robinson with 5 points in 10 minutes.


Rose led them with 33 points and 9 assists.

Davis with 29 points, 10 boards, 3 steals, and 2 blocks.

Middleton added 14 points. Stauskas with 8 points.


We are now 17-12.


12/30 -

Our team is much more rested as we travel to Phoenix. They are 16-14 and we are favored with our fresh legs. This is our first meeting against them. A look at their starting 5:

PG Eric Bledsoe (85)
SG Karl Nelson (high draft pick now an 86)
SF T.J, Warren (80)
PF Murray Daughterty (83 - I considered him with the high pick we had)
C Miles Plumlee (79)

Their bench is led by Tyler Ennis (79 at PG), PF Markieff Morris (81), SF Marcus Morris (79) C Alex Len (79) and SG Ricky Ledy (77.) A very balanced team in many ways.


With our fresh legs, we jump on them early. 55-40 lead by the half.

Early in the 3rd, Cowen hurts his back!! Oh no.

We keep cruising behind MCW, Embiid, and company.

We cruise to a 117-88 win, but all we want to know is how bad is Cowen hurt?

Cowen finished with 21 points and 8 assists before he got hurt.

MCW with 19 points, 8 boards, and 7 assists.

Turner with 19 points and 3 boards.

Embiid with 19 points, 13 boards, and 3 blocks.

Perkins with 19 points, 10 boards, and a block. He shot 3 of 3 from the arc.

GF with 11 points, 5 boards, and 3 assists.

Noel with 5 points, 10 boards, and a block.

Butler with 4 points, 8 boards, 6 assists, and a steal.


After the game, we get the early report that Cowen just strained a back muscle and can play through it.


12/31 -

We have a back to back game and the 2nd half is at Denver. We beat them 143-105 earlier in the year but we'll be slowing it down a bit without Cowen at full strength.

[Eaglesfan27]

Cowen is starting but we'll cut his minutes back a bit.

6:19 - Embiid is tired but he already has 7 points. Quick breather for him. MCW also tired. Cowen to PG and Butler into the game.

4:20 - Perkins with a block... carom goes to GF who passes it to Butler.. to Cowen for a dunk. It never touched the floor for more than 1 dribble. Showtime! 19-14 lead.

3:10 - Embiid back into the game and Noel to PF at Perkins gets a breather. We lead 23-16.

At the end of 1, we are up 27-22.

Of note, the Nuggets talked Dirk out of retirement and he played a few minutes towards the end of the 1st.


MCW in for Cowen who will get a long break. Robinson in for GF who will get a breather to start the 2nd.

Our defense is playing great. We are up 48-39 with 3 minutes to go.

Then, our offense goes cold and they hit a 3 quarter of the court shot to close out the half! Sheesh. We are up 49-48 at halftime.

They are 19 of 21 from the kine which is the only reason they are in it still. We are only 5 of 6 from the line as Cowen isn't driving into the lane this game much.

Butler leads our team with 12 points. Embiid with 11 points and 8 boards.

Our defense and offense are now executing at a high level with Cowen hitting some shots. Beautiful pick and roll with him and Perkins that ends with a powerful dunk from Perkins. We are up 80-66 with 3 minutes go to in the 3rd.


At the end of 3, we are up 86-72.

MCW in for Cowen to start the 4th.


We have a 100-85 lead as I rest my starters with 5 minutes to go.

They close the gap to 8 as I bring back a rested Cowen and Noel.

Cowen quickly beats his man off the dribble for a nice floater in the lane.

They close the gap to 102-96 before Cowen finds Robinson for a corner 3.

Noel with a block... ball to Cowen.. to Robinson for a breakaway dunk!

Cowen with a steal and breakaway dunk. Suddenly, the lead is back to 13.



We win the game 111-98. Solid win on the road :)

Embiid is the player of the game with 20 points, 18 boards, 1 assist, and 2 blocks. He shot 9 of 14, and 2 of 3 from the line.

Cowen with 22 points, 9 assists, 3 boards, and 1 turnover. The sore back forced him to slow down and he played much more controlled tonight. He did shoot 8 of 20 and 6 of 6 from the line.

Butler with 14 points, 4 boards, 4 assists, 1 steal, and 2 blocks. He shot 6 of 10.

Noel with 11 points, 5 boards, 2 assists, 1 steal, and 2 blocks.

GF with 11 points, 3 boards, 3 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block.

MCW with 10 points, 3 boards, 4 assists, 1 steal, and 1 turnover.

Turner with 8 points and 3 assists.

Robinson with 7 points, 3 boards, 1 assist, and 1 block in 11 minutes.

Perkins with 7 points, 10 boards, 2 assists, 1 steal, and a block. He shot 3 of 11 and 0 of 4 from the arc. He still leads all PF's at 42% from the arc.


Gordon led the Nuggets with 20 points. LaMarcus Aldridge with 19 points, 12 boards, and 2 blocks in the loss. Lawson with 13 points and 7 assists.

[Eaglesfan27]

December is done. We are 19-13.

A look at the early mock drafts:

SF Cedric Blackwell has become the consensus #1 pick. The 22 year old SF fro Iowa State is 6'8 215 and is a well seasoned veteran college player who can do everything well. His biggest strengths are his athleticism and post up game but he has a nice shot too. He is averaging 25.8 ppg, 9.4 rpg, and 3.6 apg. Right now the Pelicans are projected to get the #1 pick.

The Spurs are projected to get the 2nd pick and take a SF from Turkey, Tayfur Mansiz. Tayfur is 6'6 230 and is the consensus #2 pick from all services at this point. He is an athletic ball handler who can create offense He is averaging 27 ppg, 9.5 rpg, and 3.9 apg.

The Kings are projected to draft Lonnie Hart 3rd. He is a 19 year old 6'5 215 pound SG who I cover a bit. He is a powerful slasher who can shoot pretty well. Our staff thinks he has the highest potential in the draft. He is averaging 23 ppg, 7 rpg, and 4.5 apg.

The Clippers are projected to take SF Luka Golab with the 4th pick. He is a 19 year old SF from Slovenia who is 6'8 240 and he likes to play physical and bang inside.

The Lakers are expected to take a PF 5th? Doesn't make much sense although I like the player - Will Osborne is a 6'8 280 pound mound of rebound. The 22 year old from UConn is a rebounding machine and he has some post moves. His shot is very raw though. Despite that, he is averaging 24 ppg and 11 rpg.

6. The Mavs are expected to take PG Mitchell Brooks from West Virginia. The 21 year old 6'1 166 pound PG is an incredible athlete. Our staff thinks he has the 2nd highest potential in the draft.

7. The Bucks are expected to take SG Sergio Diaz from Mexico. The 6'5 220 pound SG is a very good athlete who has a good midrange jumper.

8. The Pistons are expected to take Sasa Cop, a 21 year old PF from Slovenia who is 6'10 240 and has a good post game. He can't play defense very well at all though. He is averaging 21 ppg and 9 rpg.

9. The Knicks are projected to take tweener SF/PF Gilberto Izzo from Italy. He is only 6'6 250 and is 21 years old. His best attribute is his post offense. He is averaging 22 ppg and 10 rpg in Italy.

10. The Nets are expected to take SG Peter Best from UCLA. I don't like his choice of college, but the 22 year old has nice potential to develop into a starting SG. He doesn't have many strengths but also doesn't have any glaring weaknesses. He is 6'6 210.

We are currently projected 19th and the professionals think we might take SF Dexter West from Indiana. But, I'm hoping to get another contributing big or a guard. At 18, Taylor Morris is a good looking prospect. He is a 7'2 260 pound C from North Caroilina who is 21. He is the top rated C in a weak class for the position. His strength is his size and strength. He is averaging 18 ppg and 9 rpg.



Now, for the award news:

G Jimmy Cowen wins player of the month, beating out LeBron!

In the West, Durant wins it for the 2nd straight month.

The Rookies of the month are the same as last month:

PF Frederic Perben in the East and SG Alex Long in the West.

[Eaglesfan27]

1/2/18 -

We travel to play the Trail Blazers who are 19-13 and playing good basketball. We are still slightly favored to beat them as we are well rested.


Cowen with an offnight and Lillard was on fire. We couldn't even compete.

We lose 118-92.

Lillard led all scorers with 38 points and 8 assists.

Monta Ellis with 21 points.


Perkins led us with 19 points, 10 boards, and a block.

Noel with 16 points, 7 boards, and 3 blocks.

MCW with 13 points, 5 assists, and 3 steals.

Butler with 10 points.

Cowen shot 4 of 18 as his back bothered him. He finished with 9 points, 5 boards, 5 assists.

Embiid with 10 points, 8 boards, and 2 blocks.



We drop to 19-13.


1/5/18 -

We travel to play the rebuild Lakers who are really playing good basketball and coming together as a team. They are 17-13 but 8-2 in the their last 10.

PG Brandon Knight (83)
SG DeMar DeRozan (88)
SF Jeff Green (75)
PF Julius Randle (88)
C Caron Schayes (93)

Their bench is led by SG Arron Afflalo (81), C Roderick Grant (81), PF Ed Davis (80). PG Rajon Rondo (78), and SF Nick Young (77.) They are a championship contender....


We play some of our best basketball of the year, smothering swarming defense, and we shut down their shooters to build a big half time lead.

We win 102-80.

MCW with 22 points, 9 boards, 8 assists, 3 steals, and a block. HE shot 9 of 14.

Embiid with 22 points, 12 boards, and 1 block.

Turenr with 14 points, 4 boards, 1 assist, and 1 steal.

Noel with 14 points, 10 boards, and 2 blocks.

Cowen shot 6 of 18 but had other contributions: 12 points, 10 assists, 2 steals, and 7 turnovers.

Perkins with 8 points, 10 boards, 3 assists, and 2 blocks. He shot 4 of 8.

GF with 4 points, 4 boards, and 4 assists.

Butler with 4 steals along with 2 points and 3 assists.


We held DeRozan to 6 of 22 shooting. We held Schayes to 3 of 10 shooting. We held Randle to 1 of 9 shooting. He finished with 2 points and 4 boards in 30 minutes.




We are now 20-13 and our next game is at the Kings. They are 11-25 and struggling badly but they are 5-5 in the last 10 as they have got some injured players back. We beat them 111-94 in their last game.

[Eaglesfan27]

The Kings don't have the same type of athletes we do and we jump to a 8-0 lead with Cowen and Embiid getting it going early.

Our defense smothers them in the 1st quarter. We lead 34-18 at the end of 1. Everyone getting in on the scoring.

Robinson is really shining as his injury appears almost 100% healed. He has 17 points by midway through the 2nd.

We are up 70-44 with 2 minutes to go in the half as our run and gun game is firing on all cylinders.

At halftime, we are up 76-46.

The only bad thing to happen that half was Embiid got into foul trouble with 4.

Embiid leads the team with 17 points. Robinson with 17 points. Perkins with 15 points. Butler with 12 points. Cowen with 11 assists.


Early in the 3rd, Embiid picks up his 5th and will sit. Noel into the game.

Our defense gets sloppy with Embiid out, but our offense is still humming along. At the end of 3, we are up 99-75. Rod Cowen even got into the game for the first time this year...

We played slow early in the quarter and they closed the gap to 15... then we started pushing on defense, creating turnovers, and running. We got the lead back to 25 before I pulled my starters.

We win the game 124-100 :)

Cousins led all scorers with 32 points on 14 of 18 shooting. He had most of his points after Embiid fouled out.

Rubio had 12 points and 13 assists. McLemore with 11 points and Morrison with 11 points.

Robinson led us with 23 points, 6 boards, 4 assists, 2 steals, and a block to take player of the game. He shot 10 of 16.

Perkins with 19 points, 7 boards, 2 assists, and 1 block. He shot 8 of 11 including 3 of 3 from the arc.

Embiid with 17 points, 6 boards, and a block in just 20 minutes.

Cowen with 16 points, 12 assists, 3 boards, 1 steal, and 2 turnovers.

GF with 13 points.

Noel with 12 points, 6 boards, 2 assists, and a block in 27 minutes.

Butler with 10 points, 3 boards, 3 assists, and 3 steals.

MCW with 8 points, 8 assists, 3 boards, 3 steals, and a block.

Turner with 4 points, 4 boards, and 2 assists.

Rod Cowens with 1 board in 9 minutes.

Moultrie with 3 boards and 1 assist in 12 minutes.

[Eaglesfan27]

1/11/18 -

We host the Hornets who are 22-15. They have a talented young lineup:

PG Hakan Ozat (83)
SG Lance Stephenson (89)
SF Jeff Taylor (74)
PF Noah Vonleh (84)
C Bismack Biyombo (80)

PG Jeremy Lin (83) leads the bench.

PF Cody Zeller (79)
SG P.J. Hairston (78)
PF Jeff Teague (74)

Center Al Jefferson is out with an injury...


This is a back and forth game but Noel and Cowen were running the pick and roll game to perfection and Cowen found Noel for a lot of easy baskets.

We took the lead late and never gave it up. 92-88 win. :)

Noel led the way with 20 points, 14 boards, 2 blocks in 33 minutes.

Perkins with 15 points, 7 boards, 2 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks.

MCW with 14 points, 10 boards, 5 assists, and 2 steals.

Cowen with 13 points, 11 assists, 8 boards, 1 steal. He shot 4 of 16.

Turner with 9 points and 3 boards.

GF with 8 points and 3 boards.

Embiid fouled out in 16 minute but still had 6 points and 6 boards.

Robinson rested a lot this game but his ankle is now 100% and he will move back to starting.

Lin and Ozat each had 16 points. Lin led he team with 8 assists.


We are now 22-13 :)


1/13 -

We host the Raptors who are 11-22 but they surprised us last game. This time, we will attack the post to hit their weakness.

Hmmm. The Raptors have our number surprisingly. They take the early lead and never give it up.

WE lose 105-94.

They were led by 20 points from Terrence Ross. Dillon added 17 points, 10 boards, and 6 assists.


Cowen led us with 23 points, 10 assists, 5 boards, 4 steals, and 6 turnovers. He shot 9 of 16.

Embiid with 22 points, 10 boards, and 2 blocks. He shot 9 of 16.

GF with 11 points, 6 boards, and 7 assists off the bench.

Robinson with 9 points and 6 boards in his first start in a few weeks. He shot 4 of 10.

Noel with 8 points, 8 boards, and 2 blocks.

Perkins shot 1 of 8 for 7 points and 3 boards.

MCW wtih 6 points, 5 boards, 5 assists, 5 steals, and 5 turnovers.

Butler with 6 points and 4 boards.

Turner hurt his ankle and only played 8 minutes.



1/15 -

We have a big show down hosting LeBron and the Cavs. They are 24-12 but only 3-7 in the last 10 as they have injuries at PF and C leading them starting young guys. Their starting 5 for this game:

PG Irving (90)
SG Waiters (84)
SF LeBron (98)
PF Roy Gill (69)
C Ivan Bosnjak (64)


Their bench has no big guys of quality healthy:

SG Archie Goodwin (76)
PG Matthew Dellavedova (76)
SG Glen Rice, Jr (75)
PF Stephon Watkins (hurt but can play - 70)

[Eaglesfan27]

8:00 - MCW exhausted from guarding Irving. Cowen to PG and Butler into the game. Tied at 8.

7:00 - Embiid is tired. Noel into the game. Robinson picks up his 2nd foul trying to guard LeBron. GF into the game.

2:30 - Our interior guys are taking over the game. We are up 28-22 as I bring back MCW and Embiid.

At the end of 1, we are up 30-27. LeBron leads them with 9. Perkins leads us with 10.

Classic back and forth with LeBron making amazing plays to keep them in it, while we pound it inside to create our offense.

LeBron playing at PF and Noel draws a 3rd foul on him. We are down 48-44.

They keep him in and we get a 4th foul on LeBron. They sit him with 2:30 to go in the half. We are down 50-46.

At halftime, we are down 54-50.

Irving leads all scorers with 17 points.

Cowen leads our team with 4 assists. Perkins leads our team with 14 points.

MCW with a drive gets a 5th foul on LeBron!!

1:44 - I thought Noel got a 6th foul on LeBron (who has been dominating the 3rd) but they call it on Watkins instead. We are down 82-79.

25 seconds left - Robinson with a drive gets a 6th foul on LeBron!! :)

At the end of 3, we are down 84-82 but I love our chances now that LeBron is out.

4:30 - We are up 96-94. Both teams are tired. This has been a hard fought game. We bring back a partially rested Embiid to anchor us. Cowen won't leave the floor. He is tired but is going to play on.

2:27 - Cowen has missed his last 2 shots and Irving keeps hitting tough pull up jumpers. GF with a clutch basket to get us back to only 1 down. Down 99-98.

1:20 - After we blew an opportunity with a bad pass from Cowen to GF on the alley-oop attempt... Moultrie gets a defensive stop and then an unexpected offensive basket. We are up 100-99! They call time and Perkins comes back in.

55 seconds: Embiid with a block that starts a fastbreak... this time Cowens makes a safer pass to GF who dunks it home! :)

Waiters with a tough basket that goes in.

Cowen beats his man and gets into the lane for an easy floater!

WE are up 104-101.

Embiid forces a miss, gets the board, and passes it to Cowen quickly who is fouled :)

As usual, he makes both FT's.

They shoot a quick 3 and Embiid gets the board when the shot misses. He is fouled and makes 1 of 2 to ice the game.

We win 107-101 :)

We are now tied with Cleveland for 2nd place in the East :)


Cowen was the player of the game with 24 points, 8 assists, 4 boards, 2 steals, and 3 turnovers. He shot 8 of 16 and 8 of 9 from the line.

Perkins with 16 points, 4 boards, 1 block, and 2 turnovers. He shot 6 of 8, 3 of 4 from the arc, and 1 of 2 from the line.

Robinson with 15 points, 5 boards, 1 assist, 1 steal, and 1 block. He had 4 turnovers. He shot 6 of 8.

Emviid with 12 points, 12 boards, 2 assists, and 2 blocks. He shot 5 of 9 and 2 of 8 from the line.

Turner with 12 points and 4 assists in 18 minutes.

MCW with 10 points, 4 boards, 3 assists, and 2 steals in 22 minutes. He was very fatigued this game.

Butler with 5 points, 4 boards, 1 assist, and 1 steal.

Noel with 5 points, 14 boards, 1 assist, and 1 block.

Moultrie with 4 key points, 3 boards, and 1 block.

GF with 4 points, 3 boards, and 6 assists.


Irving led them with 29 points, 5 assist,s and 2 steals. He shot 13 of 26.

Waiters with 20 points and 3 assists. He shot 9 of 16.

LeBron with 17 points, 5 boards, 4 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks in just 25 minutes. He also had 4 turnovers.


Goodwin with 11 points. Glen Rice Jr with 10 points and 3 boards.

[Eaglesfan27]

Correction: We are .5 games behind the Cavs for 2nd. The Bulls are 1st with a 29-10 record.

The Cavs are 2nd at 24-14.

We are 3rd at 23-14

The Magic are also 23-14

The Heat are 22-15

The Hornets are 23-16

The Nets are 21-19

The Wizards are 21-20.




1/17 -

We host the Knicks are 14-22. We are favored to beat them.


We come out completely flat and exhausted. We never are in the game. Very disappointing.

We lose 103-77.

GF hurts his back in the game on a dunk.

Cowen led the way with 18 points, 5 boards, 5 assists, 4 steals, and 6 turnovers.

Robinson with 17 points.

Embiid with 16 points, 10 boards, and 3 blocks.

MCW with 12 points, 8 boards, and 4 assists.

Noel with 8 points, 9 boards, and 2 blocks.

Perkins with 2 points, 10 boards, and a block. He shot 1 of 7.

GF with 2 points, 4 boards, and 3 assists.



1/19 -

We host the Magic. We are favored to win and I hope the team can bounce back...

We start off pounding it to Embiid and establishing our inside post presence against Love who gets into foul trouble. That makes for an easy lead that we hold the rest of the game.

We win 101-86.

Embiid with 24 points, 10 boards, and 1 block. He shot 7 of 14 and 10 of 14 from the line.

Robinson with 18 points, 5 boards, and 2 steals.

Cowen with 13 points, 8 assists, 4 boards, and 2 steals. He shot 6 of 12.

Turner with 11 points.

GF with 10 points, 4 boards, and 4 assists in just 15 minutes.

Noel with 8 points and 8 boards.

Perkins with 7 points, 7 boards, 2 assists, 1 steal, and 2 blocks.

MCW with 6 points, 10 boards, 8 assists, and 3 steals.

Butler with 4 points, 5 boards, and 3 assists.


Love only played 28 minutes due to foul trouble but he led them with 22 points and 8 boards in the loss.



1/21 -

Our next game is hosting the Mavs who are 14-25. Their starting 5:

PG Reggie Jackson (77)
SG Alex Long (75)
SF Aminu (76)
PF Blake Griffin (91)
C Joran Hill (75)

Their bench:

SF Chandler Parsons (82)
PG Patrick Mills (75)
SG Andre Roberson (69)

Then, it is a few rookies who are in the mid 60's.

[Eaglesfan27]

Correction: Parsons is back from injury and will start. Aminu on the bench.

3:24 - Parsons with a very good 1st quarter to keep them in it, but he goes down with another injury and is done for the day. We are up 18-16.

We are up 24-23 at the end of 1. Embiid is our leading scorer with 8 points.

MCW with a steal that sets up a pass to Perkins for a fancy dunk!

MCW to Perkins for a 12 footer.

MCW to Robinson for a dunk.

We are suddenly up 34-23.

Our defense is starting to take over the game but they have a strong run behind Griffin to close the gap at the half.

We lead 56-46 at halftime.

Cowen leads the team with 16 points and 6 assists. Noel leads the team with 6 boards.


Our guys get a big lead in the 3rd before tiring. Our bench lets them close the gap a bit, but we still lead 84-65 at the end of 3. GF was our leading scorer of the 2nd unit down the stretch.


Our defense clamps down to start the 4th as our rested starters return. We build a 30 point lead so that I'm able to pull my starters with 6 minutes to go.

We win the game 116-86.

Cowen is the player of the game with 25 points, 10 assists, 3 steals, 2 boards, and 3 turnovers. He shot 11 of 19 and 3 of 3 from the line.

Embiid with 20 points, 8 boards, 2 steals, and a block. He shot 9 of 13 and 2 of 5 from the line.

GF with 16 points, 2 assists, and a steal in 20 minutes off the bench. He shot 4 of 5, 1 of 2, and 7 of 8 from the line.

Perkins with 15 points, 8 boards, 3 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block. He shot 6 of 8.

Butler with 9 points, 5 boards, and 2 assists.

Robinson with 8 points, 5 boards, 1 assist, and 1 steal.

MCW with 7 points, 6 assists, 2 boards, 2 steals, and 1 block. He shot 2 of 7.

Noel with 7 points, 10 boards, and a block.

Turner with 7 points and 1 assist.


Griffin led the Mavs with 16 points, 13 boards, and 3 assists. He shot 7 of 15.

[Eaglesfan27]

1/22 -

We are 25-15. We travel to play the Pacers who are 19-21. We are favored to win despite losing to them earlier in the year 108-107.

It is a back and forth game that comes down to a last second possession where Cowen drives... kicks out to Perkins for an open midrange shot... Perkins swishes it! 95-94 win! :)

Perkins was the player of he game with 24 points, 9 boards, 1 assist, 1 steal, and 1 block. He shot 8 of 16, 3 of 3 from the arc, and 5 of 5 from the line.

Embiid with 22 points, 8 boards, 3 steals, and a block. He shot 9 of 16.

Cowen with 18 points and 8 assists.

MCW with 13 points, 6 boards, 7 assists, and 3 steals.

Noel with 7 points, 14 boards, and 1 block.

Turner with 5 points, 3 boards, and 1 assist in limited time of 12 minutes.

Paul George led the Pacers with 30 points, 12 boards, and 5 assists. He shot 10 of 21.




1/24 -

We travel to play the Spurs who are 12-30. We beat them 108-89 in our earlier meeting...

Before the game in warm-ups, the GF sprains his ankle slightly and he will need to fully sit for a week or two.

Turner will get more minutes and ditto for Grant...

We build a big lead 50-34 at the half.

Surprisingly, in the 2nd half, our offense goes ice cold and the Spurs chip away...

Kyle Anderson with a 3 in the last 5 seconds to win the game 81-79. Wow.

Anderson with 20 points. Howard with 15 points, 12 boards, and a block.

Embiid was held to 16 points and 5 boards on 5 of 14 shooting.

Cowen with 13 points, 10 assists, 2 boards, 2 steals, and 6 turnovers. He shot 6 of 14.

Turner with 10 points, 6 boards, and 2 assists in 20 minutes.

Butler with 9 points, 6 boards, and 3 assists.

MCW with 8 points, 3 boards, 3 assists, and 3 turnovers.

Robinson with 8 points, 3 boards, 3 assists, 5 steals, and a block. He shot 4 of 12.

Noel with 8 points, 9 boards, and 2 assists.

Perkins with a poor night shooting, 3 of 11. He finished with 6 points, 8 boards, and 2 assists.

Grant shot 0 of 4 and finished with 1 points and 4 boards.



At 26-16, we are in 3rd place in the East behind the Bulls and Cavs.

Next up is a game at the Knicks on 1/26. They are 16-26 and we are favored to get the win.

Before the game, a trade goes down:

The Heat send Crabbe (SG 77 - young and developing) along with PF Claxton (64)

The Pelicans send PG Austin Rivers (77) and Guard Roberts (72.)

The Knicks are one of the least talented teams in the league with Carmelo out injured. We should build a big lead and be able to rest our stars...

[Eaglesfan27]

5:30 - MCW has had a great start with 9 points but he lands awkwardly on a jump shot and he is holding his knee! :(

We are up 17-10.

Embiid with a breather.

Early word is that MCW has at least a partially torn ACL :(

That deflates our team and our offense slows down. We are tied at 27 at the end of 1.


10:20 - A strong start to the 2nd quarter from Noel who needs to rest now. Embiid back into the game. We lead 34-27.

7:20 - We built a 43-33 lead but Cowens needs a breather. Turner will play some PG for us with MCW out.

Cowen back in with 4 minutes to go. We are up 49-44.

Cowen leads a strong finish to the half including a great behind the back pass on a 2-on-1 fast break that ends with a thunderous slam by Grant.

Embiid leads the team with 14 points and 5 boards.

Cowen with 13 assists at the half!


We rest Cowen a good part of the 3rd, but Perkins and Robinson are carrying us. We are up 80-66 at the end of 3.

3:10 - We lead 104-82 as I pull my starters and empty the end of my bench. Marty Cousins will get his first PT at C....

We win the game 110-90.

Cowen is the player of the game with 16 points, 18 assists, 5 boards, and 4 turnovers. He shot 6 of 7, 1 of 1 from the arc, and 3 of 3 from the line. Brilliant passing.

Embiid with 20 points, 8 boards, 1 assist, and 2 blocks. He shot 9 of 15.

Turner with 15 points, 5 boards, 5 assists, and 1 steal in 31 minutes.

Grant with 12 points, 4 boards, and 1 assist in 21 minutes. Cowen set him up for 3 easy dunks.

Butler with 11 points, 3 boards, and 2 assists.

Robinson with 11 points, 4 boards, 5 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block. He shot 5 of 7.

MCW with 9 points and 2 assists in 7 minutes before he went down..

Perkins with 8 points, 9 boards, and 1 assist. He shot 4 of 10.

Noel with 4 points and 6 boards.

Cousins with 2 points and a board in 4 minutes in his debut.

Moultrie with 2 points, 3 boards, and 2 steals in 17 minutes.

Rod Cowens with a board in 4 minutes.


Hardaway Jr with 20 points on 7 of 20 shooting to lead the Knicks.

Marc Gasol had 18 points and 6 boards.


We are waiting to hear how bad MCW's injury is....

[Eaglesfan27]

MCW has a partially torn ACL and will miss anywhere from 1-3 months.

With that move, we have a tough decision to make. I think this team could be a championship team and it is time to play for the future. None of my young guys are ready to play significant minutes at backup PG/SG with Cowen needing to play the PG more...

There are a few solid options who can play some minutes for us at combo guard, but we need to create room on the roster.

Raul Cruz might be a solid player down the road, but he is at least 1-2 years away. I decide to shop the young guard. I get a few surprising offers including Iggy from the Knicks for him... but the whole point is to get a draft pick. I consider several options and opt for San Antonio's 2nd round pick in 2019 which could be a relatively high 2nd round pick if they keep playing like they have been.

After finishing that trade, I pull the trigger on offer Ian Clark, a 26 year old FA who is tearing up the D-League a contract. Clark is a combo guard who has decent enough ball handling skills to play a bit of PG but the main reason I want him is that he is the best 3 point shooter around in FA...

We have to give him a few million for 1 year but he happily accepts and will add a bona fide additional scoring option for us this year, especially if Cowen and company can get him open looks.

Clark will get 6-10 minutes per night to start out with us. Butler moves into the starting lineup at SG and Cowen moves to PG.


1/28 -

We start right off with a big challenge for the new lineup as we host the Cavs who we upset last game 107-101.

I had a feeling this move could help the team. Butler's defense shut down Irving and Cowen was so smooth at PG. We jumped to a big lead and LeBron couldn't lead them back.

We win 108-91.

Cowen with 28 points, 8 assists, 3 steals, and 1 block in the win. He shot 10 of 17, 3 of 5, and 5 of 5.

Robinson with a big game against LeBron with 17 points, 6 boards, 4 assists, and 2 steals. He shot 7 of 17.

Noel wtih 12 points, 6 boards, and a block.

Turner with 12 points, 8 boards, and 3 assists.

Perkins with 11 points, 6 boards, and 3 assists.

Embiid shot 5 of 17 as we tried to feed him the ball a lot. He finished with 10 points, 15 boards, and 2 blocks.

Butler with 8 points, 6 boards, 3 assists, and 3 steals. He shot 3 of 6.

Moultrie with 4 points and 5 boards in 10 minutes.

Cark with 4 points and 1 assist in his debut. He played 9 minutes and shot 2 of 4.

Grant with 2 points, 4 boards, and 4 assists as he played 14 minutes.

We held LeBron to 6 of 15 shooting for 15 points, 10 boards, and 7 assists.

Waiters had 21 points, mostly against Cowen.

Irving was held to 5 of 18 shooting by Butler. He had 14 points and 5 assists.


1/30 -

We travel to play the Bucks. They are 19-27. They are led by Parker. We were shocked by them in the last game, but I think this team is about to really click...

Wow.. did we ever. We started off with a 12-0 run and never looked back.

114-74 crushing of the Bucks!

Cowen with 23 points, 6 boards, 6 assists, 3 steals, and 5 turnovers tonight. He shot 8 of 13, 3 of 5, and 4 of 4.

Perkins with a great night - 20 points, 12 boards, 2 assists, 1 steal, and 2 blocks. He shot 7 of 14, 6 of 7 from the line.

Embiid with 17 points, 8 boards, and a block. He shot 7 of 12.

Grant with 14 points in 14 minutes.

Robinson with 10 points, 10 boards, 3 assists, and 2 steals in 31 minutes.

Clark with 8 points in 8 minutes as he shot 3 of 4.

Butler with 7 points, 9 boards, 7 assists, and 2 steals.

Noel with 5 points, 8 boards, and 3 blocks.

Turner with 4 points, 7 boards, 7 assists, and a steal.


Parker was hurt in the game but still played 30 minutes and had 16 points, 6 boards, 4 assists, and 2 steals.

He has a finger fracture and should be able to play through it.



1/31 -

We end up the month hosting the Clippers. They are 16-28 and we are heavily favored. A look at their starting 5:

PG Chris Paul is starting to show his age and is in decline with an overall of 84.

SG Reggie Bullock (75)
SF Perry Jones (74)
PF Kenny Rodman (67)
C DeAndre Jordan (80)


The bench is led by Tony Parker (79)
PG Ramon Sessions (77)
SG C.J. Wilcox (76)
C Spencer Hawes (75)
SF Darin Walls (72 - and the highest rated player who I could have gotten for Cruz)

A few low 60's guys.

[Eaglesfan27]

Cowen is owning Paul and Parker early.

We take a 28-17 lead at the end of 1.

Our defense is smothering them at all positions. Embiid doing a great job on Jordan.

At halftime, we lead 50-36.

Cowen with 15 points and 5 assists at the half.

Perkins leads our team with 8 boards.


A sloppy start to the 3rd for Cowen who needs an early break in the quarter. We are up 53-47. Turner will be asked to play some PG for us.

4 minutes of terrific defense in which we hold them scoreless and build a 61-47 lead before they get a shot to fall from Paul.

3:10 - We are winning with defense. Up 65-53 as I rest Robinson and Perkins. Grant and Moultrie into the game.

At the end of 3, we are up 73-55.

Cowen, Butler, Robinson, Perkins, and Noel to start the 4th. They will put the final nail in those hopefully.

Not a huge blow out that I was hoping for but with 3 minutes left and a 18 point lead, I empty my bench.

We win the game 99-84.

Cowen was the player of the game with 25 points, 9 assists, 2 boards, 1 steal, and 2 turnovers. Some rumblings that he should be our full time PG and we should trade MCW...

Butler had a great start at SG (which is part of the rumblings) with 23 points (lots of fast break dunks started by our defense) and 6 assists, 1 steal, 1 board, and 1 block. He shot 10 of 19 and 3 of 6 from the arc.

Robinson with 19 points, 5 boards, 3 assists, 1 steal, and 3 turnovers. He shot 8 of 9.

Embiid with 10 points, 8 boards, 2 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block. He shot 5 of 10.

Clark with 7 points in 10 minutes.

Noel with 5 points, 8 boards, and 2 blocks.

Perkins with a rough night offensively, but he did everything else well: 2 points, a career high 15 boards, 2 assists, 2 steals, and a block. He shot 1 of 10 including 0 of 6 from the arc.

Turner with 4 points, 4 boards, 5 assists, 4 steals, and 3 turnovers in 25 minutes.


Bullock led them with 20 points on 8 of 15 shooting.

Paul shot 5 of 21 and finished with 13 points and 8 assists.

Jordan was held to 4 of 10 shooting for 9 points and 6 boards.

[Eaglesfan27]

No one wants MCW while he is injured. We are going to have to keep him this season, but that is one possibility this offseason...

We are now in February and time to look at the rookies and award winners:

James Harden of the Heat wins Player of the Month in the East barely edging out LeBron and Cowen.

Russell Westbrook edges out his teammate Durant to win it in the West.

Perben continues his stranglehold on rookie of the month in the East.

Kenny Rodman of the Clippers wins it in the West.


A look at the latest mock draft:

1) Kings Cedric Blackwell. The 23 year old 6'8" SF from Iowa State is already very developed and ready to start right away. Not a consensus #1 though because some feel he has reached his ceiling.

2) Tayfur Mansiz from Turkey is stronger, more physical and almost as developed offensively as Cedric. He is only 21 and is projected to become a superstar by some scouts.

There is a lot of debate about those 2 but this is a very deep draft.

3) SG Lonnie Hart is 6'6 215 and only 19. He is lighting it up at Wake Forest where he is averaging 23 ppg. He is not ready to start as much as the other 2 are but some scouts feel his ceiling might be higher than the other 2...

4) Luka Golob is a 19 year old SF who is 6'7 240 lb from Slovenia. He is averaging 29 ppg and 6 rpg. He is projected to become a very good player.

5) Will Osborne is a 6'8 275 lb PF for UConn who is 22 years old. He is averaging 24 ppg and 11 rpg. He is expected to become a dependable starter in the NBA.

6) Sergio Diaz is a 21 year old SG from Mexico who is 6'5 210. He is averaging 22 ppg and has a nice midrange shot. He is projected to become a solid starter.

7) PG Mitchell Brooks from WVU is 6'1 166 and 21 years old. He is more raw than most of the guys in the top 10 but some scouts think he will become a star PG. He is averaging 22 ppg and 7 apg.

8) PF Sasa Cop is 6'9 245 from Slovenia and his stock has been dropping. He is an athletic player who relies on that to score. He should become a solid starter.

9) PF Gilberto Izzo from Italy is a 6'6 250 pound PF who might be too small to be effective in the NBA. He has no midrange shot and isn't very athletic. His best attributes are his bullish strength.

10) SG Jack Lambert is 20 years old from George Washington. He is 6'7 200 lbs and is a very intriguing player. He has great wing span and is fairly athletic. I find him very intriguing. Scouts think he will be a solid starter with time. He is averaging 17 ppg, 5 rpg, and 3 apg in college.

[Eaglesfan27]

2/2/18 -

We travel to play the Celtics who are 18-28. We lost to them 119-101 last time but I like our chances today. That being said they have a solid 5 led by Kawhi Leonard and O.J. Gill. Craig Holloway has become a very good starter for them as well...

Our offense is clicking on all cylinders with Cowen at PG. WE build a 71-44 lead at the half and never look back.

125-95 win.

Cowen with 21 points, 5 boards, 7 assists, 2 steals, and 1 turnover. He shot 10 of 19.

Embiid with 20 points, 10 boards, and 2 blocks. He shot 7 of 10.

Robinson with 17 points, 7 boards, 7 assists, and 3 blocks. He shot 7 of 11.

Noel with 16 points, 9 boards, and 1 block. He shot 8 of 10.

Turner with 13 points, 5 boards, and 5 assists.

Perkins with 12 points, 5 boards, 2 assists, and 1 block. He only played 18 minutes because of foul trouble.

Clark with 12 points in 9 minutes. He shot 4 of 6 including 2 of 3 from the arc.

Butler with 11 points and 8 assists.


Leonard led them with 13 points. Holloway with 8 points and 4 boards against our twin towers.


Of note, Embiid suffered a "mild sprained ankle" that he will play through.


2/3/18 -

We travel to Miami. They are 30-18 and playing great basketball.

Harden, Perben, and Bosh give them 3 very good scorers.


3 games in 4 nights and we come out flat.

Embiid was bothered by his ankle. Cowen hurt his shin. We were off all night.

They beat us 101-91. Close game despite the tough conditions.

Perkins with 22 points, 10 boards, and 2 blocks to lead our team. He shot 9 of 20 and 4 of 9 from the arc.

Embiid with 16 points and 8 boards. He shot 5 of 13.

Noel with 13 points, 6 boards, and 3 blocks. He shot 5 of 12.

Cowen had a very rough night with the shins bothering him. He finished with 12 pints, 4 boards, 4 assists, 2 steals, and 2 turnovers. He shot 4 of 15.

Robinson with 10 points, 5 boards, and 5 assists. He shot 5 of 11.

Clark shot 1 of 5 and finished with 6 points in 9 minutes.



We are now 31-17.

We get to rest 1 day before hosting the Pacers.

2/5/18 -

We host the Pacers who are 20-27. They are struggling with chemistry issues right now. They also have weaknesses at PF and C:

PG Darren Collison (80)
SG Gerald Henderson (79)
SF Paul George (89)
PF Lavoy Allen (71)
C Ian Mahinmi (73)

SG Jordan Crawford (75) leads the bench.
C Roy Hibbert (71)
SG Jason Butler (69)
PG Dimitris Amanatiois (65)

PF Pau Gasol is injured and showing his age. I expect him to retire after this season.

[Eaglesfan27]

A trade of 2 high quality PG's:

The Celtics trade PG Marcus Smart (85)

The Jazz trade PG Dante Exum (84) and a 2nd round pick (from the Warriors) in the next draft.

[Eaglesfan27]

We start off with a spectacular start. 14-2 lead a few minutes into the quarter. Cowen is scoring every time down the court.

They start trying to double him and he finds open men for easy baskets. Embiid in particular gets a few dunks on great dimes.

Up 22-6.

Our defense gets tired later in the quarter but I keep our starters in because their offense is on fire.

At the end of 1, we are up 38-20.

Cowen with a truly epic quarter. 12 points, 10 assists, and only 1 turnover in the quarter.

Butler and Embiid each have 10 points.


Wow. We go ice cold to start the 2nd and I rest my starters and the Pacers claw their way back into it. Hibbert plays major minutes in the 2nd and locks down the paint. Their defense is known as 1 of the best in the league and they look it in the 2nd quarter.

Cowen comes back with 3 minutes to go. We are tied at 46. He is ice cold now. What a tale of 2 quarters.

We lead 50-48 at the half.

Cowen leads us with 16 points, 11 assists.

Robinson leads the team with 9 boards.


The 3rd quarter is a slug fest as Cowen can't get it going again. We are fighting for every point against their tough defense.

Down 76-75 at the end of 3. Clark in for some offense.

6:10 - Clark is a scoring machine but he is getting torched by Gerald Henderson. Still, we are tied at 88 as I bring back a rested Cowen, a rested Butler, and a rested Embiid. Twin tower defense time with Noel at PF.

George has been torching us and Embiid hits him hard with a flagrant foul. That gives them a 94-93 lead and the ball.

Cowen gets a steal and is fouled on the fast break.

Cowen and George trading shots. Cowen setting up guys for baskets and George making some impressive shots...

After Robinson finally forces a George miss, Cowen gets the break... dunks it and is fouled by Allen! 106-102 lead. 1:40 left.

Cowen with a drive and he gets a 6th foul on George who fouls out with 38 points... We lead 108-102 after Cowen makes both FT's.

They keep coming at us as Collison hits a 3.

We are up 110-107 after a Cowen floater and then another basket by them.

They have to foul and we get it to Cowen who makes both FT's to give us a 5 point lead again.


We win 114-107. Not the blowout I was expecting after that incredible 1st quarter by Cowen, but I'll take it.

Cowen is the player of the game with 31 points, 16 assists, 4 boards, 7 turnovers (got very sloppy in the 3rd). He shot 10 of 17, 1 of 2, and 10 of 11 from the line.

Butler with 23 points and 3 steals as he has had a resurgence.

Robinson becoming a very good rookie contributor with 16 points, 9 boards, 4 assists, and 2 steals.

Embiid with 14 points, 14 boards, and 2 blocks. He shot 5 of 13.

Noel with 11 points, 7 boards, and a block.

Perkins with 10 points, 5 boards, 3 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks. He shot 4 of 9 and 2 of 4 from the arc.

Clark with 7 points but he was giving up lots of points. He had a zero plus/minus.

Turner with 5 boards and 3 assists. He had a team worst -6 plus/minus.

Butler had a team best +17 and his defense is a good part of this team. He played 38 minutes tonight and he is earning his time.


George led them with 38 points, 5 boards, 3 assists, and 2 steals. He shot 14 of 25, 4 of 7 from the arc, and 6 of 6 from the line.

Collison added 17 points and 5 assists but he shot 6 of 19.

[Eaglesfan27]

We are now 32-17 and looking good as we head into the final stretch before the all-star game.

2/7 -

We host the Celtics who have their new PG Exum starting.

Before the game, the Celtics make another big trade. They feel they need to re-tool for the future and they trade away 2 good players:

The Celtics trade SG Avery Bradley (82) and PF Craig Holloway (81 - poor craig having to be dealt to Sacramento)

The Kings in trade give up SG Ben McLemore (82) and their 1st round pick this year.

The Kings are likely getting a high lottery pick. I like this trade for the Celtics considering this class has quite a few potential stars.

We face the new look Celtics right away.

They start out tough against us, but we pound it inside and they have no answer. We win 125-100.

Perkins with a career high 28 points, 10 boards, 2 assists, 2 steals, and 3 blocks. He shot 10 of 13.

Embiid with 27 points, 9 boards, 1 assist, 1 steal, and 1 block. He shot 11 of 19.

Cowen with 21 points, 7 assists, 4 boards, 2 steals, and 2 blocks. He shot 10 of 20.

Clark with 12 points in 10 minutes. He only had a plus 1.

Grant with 12 points in 11 minutes. He was plus 7.

Turner with 9 points, 4 boards, and 4 assists.

Robinson with 8 points, 8 assists, 2 boards, 2 steals. He shot 4 of 12.

Noel with 5 points, 10 boards, and a block.

Butler hurt his wrist and was only able to play 20 minutes. He finished with 3 points, 5 boards, and 2 assists.

Butler's injury is minor but he will need a few nights off to recover from the sprain.

Turner will start at SG and Clark will get more minutes off the bench while Butler rests.


The Thunder offer me Steven Adams (81 C) and their 1st for Embiid. I turn them down.



2/9 -

We face the Suns who are 29-21. We beat them 117-88 last time.


It is back and forth until our defense takes over the 4th. A 30-18 quarter ensures the 98-84 win.

Cowen with 20 points, 14 assist, 4 boards, 2 blocks, and 2 turnovers. He shot 7 of 19.

Perkins with 18 points, 10 boards, 4 assists. He shot 8 of 12.

Turner with 14 points, 6 boards, and 5 assists. Nice start for him at SG.

Noel with 13 points, 8 boards, 4 steals, and 2 blocks.

Clark with 9 points and 2 assists in 18 minutes. He was plus 2.

Embiid with 8 points, 14 boards, and 4 blocks.

Robinson with 6 points, 3 boards, and 2 assists.


After the game, we get good news. The GF is 100% cleared to play now! :)

He will get major minutes off the bench for us.

We are 34-17 and tied for 2nd in the conference.


We get a trade offer:

Anthony Bennett (81 PF) and G. Stevens (74 PG) for Perkins and GF. I turn them down.

[Eaglesfan27]

All-stars are announced today!

Mack Perkins got invited to the dunk contest! He does throw down some amazing dunks for a big guy.

He has also been invited to the 3 point contest. Love it! :)

Cowen is in the All-star Game as a reserve!

Embiid is snubbed. :(


2/11 -

We host the Grizzlies who are 26-24 despite limited talent as Randolph is injured. A look at their starting lineup:

PG Mike Conley (81)
SG Jordan Adams (78)
SF - Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (81)
PF Nikola Mirotic (78)
C Gustavo Nunnally (72)

Their bench is led by SF Maurice Harkless (78) and PG D.J. Augustin (73). The remainder are in the 60's.

[Eaglesfan27]

Kidd-Gilchrist and Robinson collide.... Michael is down and it could be serious. We are down 6-5 early in the game.

Cowen with some great plays but also some very sloppy plays to keep the Grizzlies in it. We are tied at 21 at the end of 1. Cowen with 3 turnovers. He needs to clean that up. We rested all of our other starters for the last 4 minutes of the quarter.

8:00 - Cowen is tired and we try a creative lineup with Turner at PG, GF at SG, Robinson at SF, Perkins at PF, and Noel at C. We are tied at 27.

4:15- Noel into foul trouble. Embiid into the game for him. We lead 36-34.

Our offense just isn't clicking today (I slightly altered sliders to decrease FG% a few games ago) and we are down 41-40 at the half. We are actually shooting 48% but our turnovers are killing us.

Cowen leads us with 9 points and 4 assists.

Cowen with a nice 3rd quarter and we build a 60-52 lead before he needs rest.

Noel fouls out midway through the 3rd. That will hurt us down the stretch.

Turner with some bad choices and they get some fast break points. Down 73-71 at the end of 3.

Cowen comes back in the 4th but he is having an off night and the guys around him are missing shots. Too many turnovers too.

Back and forth 4th quarter as our offense finally heats up and we close the gap. We take a 94-93 lead with 2 minutes to go.

Embiid is tired and misses a few easy shots but Cowen and Clark help us get a 97-96 lead with 20 seconds left.

8 seconds left: Conley gets into the lane and hits a floater to give them the lead.

With a second left, Cowen drives into the lane... shoots... it is a bit long.

Surprising loss, 98-97.

Cowen with 19 points, 15 assists, 4 boards, and 8 turnovers. Way too many turnovers. He shot 8 of 18.

Robinson with 20 points, 8 boards, 2 steals, and a block. He shot 9 of 16.

Embiid with 12 points, 12 boards, and a block. He shot 5 of 12.

Clark with 12 points but he was -2 in 17 minutes.

Perkins with 11 points, 3 boards, 1 assist, and 1 block.

Turner with 9 points, 4 boards, 4 assists, and 3 steals.

GF with 4 points, 3 assists, and 2 steals.


Mirotic led the Grizzlies with 24 points and 7 boards.

Conley with 17 points and 4 assists.

Ugh. Hate to give that one way.

[Eaglesfan27]

2/14 -

We host the Heat in our final game before All-Star weekend and we get good news as Butler has been cleared to start.

It is a back and forth game in which Perben hits a buzzer beater to put it into OT.

In OT, our guys are tied and fail to score. We lose 109-103 in OT. :(

Perben led them with 22 points, 13 boards, 2 assists, and 2 steals. He shot 8 of 19.

Bosh added 19 points and 11 boards.

They didn't even have Harden who broke his hand and will miss a month. Tough loss to go into the all-star break.


Cowen led us with 22 points, 10 boards, 6 assists, 3 steals, and a block. He shot 9 of 20.

Perkins with 19 points, 13 boards, and 5 blocks. The kid is becoming a star. He shot 8 of 16.

Robinson with 19 points, 6 boards, and 6 assists.

Embiid with 13 points, 10 boards, and 2 blocks.

Butler with 11 points, 7 boards, 3 assists, and 3 steals.

Turner with 7 points, 5 boards, and 4 assists.

Noel with 6 points, 6 boards, and 2 blocks.

GF with 4 points, 3 boards, 5 assists, and a block.

Clark with 2 points. He had a -9 in 6 minutes...

[Eaglesfan27]

2/16 -

We are 35-18 and 2nd in the East as we enter the All-Star break.

First, we have the rising stars game. Jake Robinson in the game as well as Perkins.

Robinson led his team in scoring but lost 100-97. He had 17 points, 6 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block. He also had 2 boards. He shot 7 of 11.

The other team had Cowen and Perkins.

#8 pick Aaron Wennington led all scorers with 21 points in the win.

Perkins was the 2nd leading scorer on the winning team with 15 points, 11 boards, and 3 blocks. He shot 5 of 9.

Cowen with 11 points, 14 assists, 4 boards, 1 steal, and 1 block.


2/17 -

Time for the 3 point contest:

Perkins is knocked out in the 1st round :(

Damian Lillard wins it.

Perkins with some huge dunks that have flair but a guard from Minnesota, Juan Carlos Alvarez wins it. He is a 23 year old young raw athlete who can really dunk it.

2/18 -

The East All Stars:

Irving, Stephenson, LeBron, Perben (wow for the rookie) and Drummond starting.

The bench is led by Wall, Cowen, Love, Paul George, Jabari Parker, Derrick Rose, and Kemba Walker.


The West wins the game 119-118 on a last minute 3.

LeBron led all scorers with 26 points, 5 boards, and 4 assists.

Wall led us with 7 assists.

Cowen with 9 points, 2 boards, and 3 assists in 19 minutes.



Cousins led the West in the win with 19 points and 9 boards.

Griffin with 15 points, 11 boards, and 4 assists.

Durant with 13 points, 5 boards, and 5 assists.

Curry with 12 points and 5 assists.

Westbrook with 9 points and 9 assists.

Lillard with 9 points and 8 assists.

Wiggins with 8 points and 1 assist in 16 minutes.

[Eaglesfan27]

After the all star break:

The Lakers try to offer me Knight (PG 83) and a 1st round pick for Cowen. I turn them down.


The Rockets and Hornets make a trade:

Hornets send: C Biyombo (79) and PG Jeff Teague (74)

Rockets send: T. Jones (PF 82) and SF M. Gooding (69)


The Jazz and Pistons make a big trade:

Jazz send: PG Y. Kim, a former 1st round pick who is rated 85 overall and C. Felix (SG 70)

Pistons send; 1st round pick from the Mavs, own 1st round pick, and PG Canaan (75)


The Grizzlies and Nets make a trade:

Grizzlies send:

SG J.Adams (78) and SF M. Harkless (78)

Nets send:

C Mason Plumlee (80) and SG J. Harris (75)



We receive several crazy offers for Embiid but turn them all down.

The trade deadline has now passed for this yar.


2/23

We travel to play the Magic. We beat them 101-89 in our last game. They are 34-20 and just a bit behind us.

Oladipo is hitting a lot from deep and we have no way to stop Love who torches our bigs.

They beat us 107-100.

Love led them with 25 points and 6 boards.

Oladipo with 23 points. Aaron Gordon added 19 points.


Embiid led us with 21 points, 8 boards, and 4 blocks in the loss.

Perkins with 15 points, 8 boards, and 2 steals.

Butler with 14 points. Robinson with 12 points, 4 assists, and 3 boards.

Cowen with 11 points, 7 assists, 6 boards, and 2 steals. He shot 3 of 14.


We are now 35-19 and drop to 3rd in the East.


2/24 -

We travel to play a depleted Rockets team that is still managing to play good ball at 29-24. Their starting 5:

PG Greivis Vasquez (79)
SG Wesley Matthews (79)
SF Mel Spencer (69)
PF Tristan Thompson (83)
C Bismack Biyombo (79)

SG Troy Daniels (75) leads their bench.
PG Gerard Mack (70)
PG Jeff Teague (74)
PF Donatas Motiejunas (73) rounds out their bench.

[Eaglesfan27]

1st quarter:

Our shots fall early but then we go ice cold and they build a lead. We are down 25-18 at the end of 1.

6:00 in the 2nd: We are down 43-31 as I bring back a rested Cowen, Perkins, and Embiid.

They held us go on a nice run as we tie it at 47.


At halftime, we are tied at 50.

Vasquez leads all scorers with 17. Biyombo leads all with 9 boards.

Cowen with 5 assists (and 9 points.)


Back and forth 3rd. Cowen getting his offense going. We are up 77-75 at the end of 3. GF giving us a nice lift in the quarter too.

Our 2nd unit completely outplays their 2nd unit early in the 4th. GF is the key to that. He has a nice run on both ends of the floor. We build a 10 point lead before I return our starters with 6 minutes left.

Cowen with a steal... 2 on 0 breakaway... he passes to Robinson for a thunderous dunk. 11 point lead. We never let the lead drop below 8 down the stretch as Cowen plays flawless ball.

We win 106-96.

Cowen is the player of the game with 17 points and 10 assists. He only had 2 turnovers. He shot 8 of 13.

We had tremendous balance with 4 guys with 17: Cowen, Robinson, GF, and Perkins.

Butler with 14 points and 5 assists (2nd most on the team behind Cowen.) He also had 3 steals.

Embiid with 8 points, 10 boards, and 3 blocks. He shot 3 of 10.

Turner with 8 points, 5 boards, 4 assista, and a steal.

Noel with 8 points, 4 boards, and a block.


Vasquez led all scorers with 29 points on 11 of 18 shooting including 4 of 4 from the arc.

Matthews was held to 19 points on 9 of 22 shooting including 1 of 8 from the arc.

[Eaglesfan27]

Contract extension time:

Since I only signed Turner and Butler to 3 year deals, I can't extend them. I will have to let them hit FA and hope we can retain them...


2/26 -

WE travel to play Dallas. They are 16-38. We beat them easily the last time and are favored again.

It is a battle as they take a 10 point lead into the 4th, but we turn it on in the 4th and outscore them 37-22 in the quarter for a 105-100 win. Embiid was huge down the stretch as we went to him time and time again.

We win 105-100.

Embiid led all scorers with 22 points, 9 boards, and 2 blocks.

Cowen with 20 points, 6 assists, 4 boards, 1 steal, and 1 block.

Perkins added 20 points, 5 boards, and 3 assists.

Robinson with 11 points and 5 assists.



2/27 -

Tough back to back as we travel to New Orleans. They are 18-40 and are the least talented team in the league. We are favored to win despite the tired legs...


We come out flat, but I rotate heavily and we have a huge 2nd quarter as our defense bears down for a 22-6 quarter. That helps give us a 10 point lead and we turn up our offensive efficiency to glide to a 108-96 win.

Cowen starred with 25 points, 12 assists, 3 boards, 1 steal, and only 1 turnover. He shot 10 of 17.

Perkins added 21 points, 11 boards, 2 assists, 2 steals, and a block. He shot 6 of 10 and 9 of 9 from the line.

Turner with 21 points, 6 assists, and 3 boards as I gave him more minutes this game.

Embiid added 20 points, 9 boards, and a block. He shot 9 of 17.

Noel was hurt in the game but it is minor - twisted ankle.

Former #13 pick (2016) Jack Parker led the Hornets with 23 points and 8 boards at PF.

[Eaglesfan27]

March 1st -

LeBron won player of the month in the East and Durant won it in the West.

For the first time (due to a minor injury probably) Perben did not win rookie of the month in the East. Nelson Williamson of the Bulls won it. Alex Long won it in the West.

Mock Draft News:

Most experts are now predicting Tayfus Mansiz of Turkey to go 1st overall. SG Lonnie Hart of Wake Forest is playing very well and is moving up the board too...


We are now 38-19, 2nd in the East.

Our next game is hosting the Lakers on 3/2. They are 33-22 and have a very talented roster, one of the best in the game now:

PG: Brandon Knight (83)
SG DeRozan (88)
SF Jeff Green (74)
PF Julius Randle (87)
C Caron Schayes (93)

C Roderick Grant (81)
SG Aaron Afflalo (80)
PF Ed Davis (79)
PG Rajon Rondo (79)
PF Ryan Kelly (74)
SF Nick Young (76)
SF Colin Brewer (69)

That will be a battle.

[Eaglesfan27]

6:10 - We get a 2nd foul on DeRozan who sits. We lead 13-11 in a very well played game so far. Both sides executing well without turnovers.

3:24 - Perkins picks up his 2nd foul. Noel to PF and Embiid back into the game. We lead 19-18.

At the end of 1, we are up 24-22. Very hard fought on both ends.

With 5 minutes to go, Cowen needs a break desperately. Turner and Clark into the game.

Once Cowen leaves, they go on a 10-0 run before Embiid scores to end the run.

At halftime, we are down 54-44.

Knight leads all scorers with 12 points and 6 assists. Randle leads them with 6 boards.

Embiid leads us with 10 points. Butler also with 10.

Every thing possible going wrong to start the 3rd... to illustrate. Knight throws an errant pass that deflects off my guy, off another guy, right into DeRozan's hands for a wide open jumper. We are down 68-50.

We are down 88-70 at the end of 3 and it looks dire. They are dominating inside and out.

We close the gap to 10 with 8:30 to go, but then Schayes hits a pair of post shots and DeRozan with a pair of 3's. Down 22 with 6 to go, I decide to rest my starters.

We lose the game 115-101. Tough loss in what could be a finals match-up.

DeRozan was the player of the game with 39 points, 5 boards, 4 assists, 3 steals. He shot 15 of 27.

Knight had 18 points and 8 assists.

Afflalo with 14 points. Green with 14. Randle with 12 points and 11 boards. Schayes with 12 points, 7 boards, and a block.


Embiid led us with 18 points, 11 boards, and 2 blocks. He shot 6 of 12 and 6 of 14 from the line.

Cowen with 17 points, 7 assists, 1 board, 1 steal, and 8 turnovers. He fell apart in the 3rd. He shot 5 of 15.

Butler with 16 points and 5 assists. He shot 7 of 11.

Robinson with 15 points, 5 boards, and 1 assist. He shot 5 of 10.

Perkins with 10 points, 6 boards, 3 assists, and 2 steals. He was limited to 26 minutes due to foul trouble.

Clark with 8 points in 13 minutes.

GF with 8 points.

Noel with 2 points, 5 boards, and 1 steal.

Turner with 5 points and 6 assists.

[Eaglesfan27]

3/3 -

We play at the Nets. How will we rebound after that tough loss? We are favored as they are 3-7 in their last 10 and struggling...

We come out completely flat and are quickly down 11-5, but after a timeout, the guys come out with fire. 39-20 run builds a lead that we never give up.

We win 110-94.

Embiid led us with 19 points, 12 boards, and 1 block. He shot 8 of 20.

Cowen with 19 points, 11 assists, 5 boards, 3 steals, and 3 turnovers. He shot 6 of 13.

Perkins with 19 points, 12 boards, 1 assist, and 1 block. He shot 6 of 12, 4 of 5 from the arc.

Turner with 15 points, 6 boards, and 6 assists.

Butler with 14 points.

Robinson with 9 points, 9 boards, and 2 assists.

GF with 8 points, 8 boards, and 3 assists.




3/5 -

We travel to play the Knicks. They are 20-38 and 2-8 in their last 10. We are favored and won 110-91 in our last game...

The Knicks play us tough through out the game, but a 33-25 4th gets us the win, 117-110.

Cowen led the way with 37 points, 12 assists, 5 boards, 1 steal, and 1 turnover. He shot 14 of 21, 4 of 8 from the arc, and 5 of 5 from the line.

Embiid with 18 points and 9 boards.

Perkins with 14 points, 13 boards, 4 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks.

Turner with 14 points, 4 boards, and 4 assists.

Robinson with 12 points, 8 boards, and 3 assists.

GF with 8 points, 6 boards, and 2 assists.

Butler with 8 points, 5 boards, 7 assists.


3/7 -

Our next game is hosting the Pistons. They are 28-33 and 7-3 in their last 10. We beat them 102-99 earlier in the year.

Their recently acuqired PG Yunlong Kim is out with a hyper extended knee and will miss 2-4 weeks.

[Eaglesfan27]

Cowen and Perkins with a great 1st quarter. We build a 30-20 lead.

Turner and Embiid anchor the 2nd quarter as we continue to apply pressure at both ends. Cowen comes back rested with 4 minutes to go and plays lights out again to extend our lead to 14.

At halftime, we are up 57-43.

Turner leads the team with 5 assists. Cowen leads us with 16 points. Embiid leads us with 7 boards.

Cowen with a strong 3rd quarter to extend our lead further. We lead 84-65 at the end of 3.

I rest Cowen to start the 4th. Butler also needs rest. Bajza into the game at SG. Grant into the game at SF. Going deep into our bench with the big lead. GF in at PF to lead this group.

Cowen hardly plays in the 4th as we continue to build our big lead and empty our bench in the 4th.

We had a 30 point lead at one point. We win it 114-90.


Perkins is the player of the game with 22 points, 9 boards, 3 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks. He shot 6 of 12, 3 of 6, and 7 of 8 from the line.

Cowen with 22 points, 3 boards, 3 assists, 1 steal. He shot 8 of 16. He only played 27 minutes.

Robinson with 15 points, 8 boards, and 3 assists. He shot 7 of 9 with several of them being dunks on fast breaks.

GF with 15 points, 5 boards, and an assist. He shot 6 of 10.

Butler with 12 points, 3 boards, and 3 assists. He shot 4 of 7.

Turner with 8 points, 7 boards, 13 assists, 2 steals, and a turnover. He played 32 minutes including quite a bit of PG.

Embiid with 8 points, 10 boards, and 2 blocks. He shot 4 of 6.

Clark with 5 points.

Noel with 4 points, 10 boards, and 3 blocks. He shot 2 of 6. He only played 22 minutes.

Bazja with 2 points and 2 assists in 10 minutes.

Moultrie with 3 boards in 10 minutes.

Drummond led the Pistons with 18 points and 11 boards. He shot 8 of 12.

Jennings with 13 points and 8 assists but he shot 5 of 19.

[Eaglesfan27]

That win raises our record to 41-20.

3/9 -

We travel to play Charlotte. They are 38-20 but we beat them 92-90 in our last match. They have a very talented team led by star SG Lance Stephenson.


Our offense comes out ice cold with 0 points in the first 4 minutes. We end up down 28-17 at the end of 1. We are down 55-38 at the end of 2 and that is too large of a margin although we play much better in the 2nd half.

We lose the game 98-92.

Embiid led us with 25 points and 9 boards.

Cowen with 18 points, 5 boards, 4 assists, and a steal.

Perkins shot 0 of 6 and had a rough game with 1 points, 5 boards, and 2 turnovers before he fouled out. He only played 18 minutes.

Robinson also had a rough game as he was schooled. He shot 2 of 10.


Stephenson led them with 19 but all 5 starters were in double digits.



3/11 -

We travel to play the Jazz who are 33-29. They are MUCH less talented than us and are winning thanks to great coaching. We beat them 126-88 the last time we played them...

Their coach keeps them in the game and it is close going into the 4th, but then Perkins and Cowen get it going and we have a 35 point quarter to end the game with the comfortable win.

We win 106-92.

Perkins with 25 points, 10 boards, 1 assist, 1 stal, and 1 block. He shot 11 of 19.

Cowen with 20 points, 16 assists, 3 boards, 1 steal, and 4 turnovers. He shot 8 of 20.

Turner with 18 points, 4 boards, 1 assist, and 3 steals. He shot 7 of 11.

Embiid with 17 points, 11 boards, and 3 blocks. He shot 8 of 16.

Robinson with a very efficient 14 points, 8 boards, 3 assists, and 2 steals. He shot 5 of 6.

GF with 9 points, 3 boards, 3 assists, and a steal. He shot 4 of 5.

Noel with 4 points, 10 boards, and a block.

Butler got hurt but before he did he had 10 boards, 5 assists, and 2 steals. He shot 0 of 10.

Butler will play though a shin injury.


We are now 42-21, 2nd in the East. We are 5 games behind the Bulls who are 48-17.


3/13 -

Our next game, we travel to Memphis. The Grlzzlies are much less talented than us and are 29-33. They are 3-7 in their last 10. If we can tire their starting 5, we should be able to handle them without too much trouble.

[Eaglesfan27]

Our defense controlling the game early. We build a 14-7 lead.

Cowen needs a breather and they close the gap. At the end of 1, we are up 25-22.

In the 2nd half, we are really pounding them inside and it is opening up our jumpers.

At halftime, we are up 50-42.

Cowen leads the team with 5 assists. Embiid leads us with 10 points. Noel with 8 points. Perkins with 8 too.


We start to run away with it in the 3rd but Conley and Mirotic end our run with a pair of 3's.

Cowen with a big quarter. We are up 60-51 (was 60-45 before those 3's.)

Embiid is showing some ability to knock down the open 12 footer. Wow... if he can start doing that consistently...

5 minutes left in the 3rd: Embiid and Cowen rest.

Perkins responds by scoring 7 straight as he is the #1 option on the court.


We take a 77-68 lead at the end of 3. Perkins with 17 points and 10 boards already.


Cowen with a nice stretch to start the 4th to put it away.


We win the game 109-87.

Cowen is the player of the game with 24 points, 10 assists, 5 boards, 1 steal, and 1 block. He shot 9 of 14, 1 of 1, and 5 of 6.

Perkins with 21 points, 10 boards, 2 assists. He shot 9 of 16, 1 of 1 from the arc, and 2 of 3 from the line.

Embiid with 20 points, 16 boards, 2 assists. He shot 9 of 15, 2 of 3 from the line.

Noel with 10 points and 6 boards.

Butler with 8 points. GF with 8 points, 6 boards, 2 assists, and 2 steals.

Robinson with 7 points, 3 boards, 2 assists, and 2 steals.

Clark with 6 points.

Turner with 4 points, 4 boards, and 2 assists.

Moultrie with 2 points and 0 boards in 17 minutes.


Mirotic led them with 29 points. Conley with 26. No one else in double digits.

Kidd-Gilchrist shot 3 of 11. Madison shot 3 of 11. Harris shot 2 of 10.

[Eaglesfan27]

3/16 -

We host the Hawks who are 19-44. They are 1-9 in their last 10.


We struggle early and are down 53-43 at the half.

Cowen gets it going in the 3rd and we come back to close the gap to 2.

4th is a back and forth affair and we go into overtime tied at 93.

We hit our first few shots and we are up 99-93.

K.J. McDaniels hits a 3 to make it 99-96.

Dragic with a pair of baskets including a game winner 100-99 at the buzzer as we missed our last 3 shots down the stretch.

Shocking loss. Very disappointing.


McDaniels led the way for them with 25 points, 4 boards, and 3 steals.

Horford with 15 points and 10 boards. Dragic with 13 points and 6 assists.


Embiid led us with 23 points, 16 boards, and 3 blocks in the loss.

Cowen with 18 points, 6 assists, 5 boards, and 2 steals. He shot 8 of 20.

Noel with 16 points, 9 boards, and 2 blocks.

Perkins with 11 points, 5 boards, 2 assists, 2 steals, and 3 blocks. He shot 4 of 17 including missing 2 down the stretch.

Robinson with foul trouble only played 20 minutes and had 8 points.



3/18 -

We host Portland. They are 41-23. They beat us 118-92 in our last game.


We are down early, 48-42 at the half.

They build a 8 point lead by the end of the 3rd.

Very strong 4th with Robinson and Perkins leading the way, 36-21 in the 4th.

We win 100-92.


Robinson with 27 points, 7 boards, 2 assists, and 1 steal. He shot 10 of 17.

Noel with 14 points, 10 boards, and a block.

Perkins with 12 points, 7 boards, and 2 blocks.

Cowens shot 5 of 15. He had 11 points and 7 assists.

Embiid shot 3 of 12. 9 points and 17 boards along with 2 blocks too.


We are now 44-22 and tied for 2nd in the East, 4.5 games behind Chicago.


3/19 -

Our next game is at the Bucks. They are 31-34. We beat them 114-74 last game...

[Eaglesfan27]

Terrible start and we are down 13-3 with 6 minutes to go in the 1st. Cowens is playing very bad and I rest him.

Turner starts pounding it into Embiid and we start scoring.

13-9 before Embiid picks up his 2nd foul. I leave him in.

We are down 22-19 when Embiid picks up his 3rd foul with 2 minutes to go in the 1st. I rest Embiid.

At the end of 1, we are down 27-23. Perkins with 7 points in the quarter. Embiid led us with 8.

Cowen comes back in to start the 2nd and he is dominant again. Tied at 41 with 6 minutes to go...

Cowen tires late in the quarter but a great quarter overall. The rest of the guys are sloppy on defense today and giving up too many points.

We are down 53-49 at the half.

Robinson and Cowen each with 5 assists. Cowen leads us with 13 points.

Jabari Parker leads them with 15.

6:40 - Embiid picks up his 5th. The defense is getting too sloppy. Embiid, Perkins, and Cowen rest. We are down 66-61.

GF and Butler providing some nice plays at both ends of the court...

Butler with a steal and breakaway dunk.

GF with a block and then a nice 12 footer.

GF with a dunk.

11 seconds left: GF hits a pair of FT's to tie it at 76.

Burks with a buzzer beater to give them the lead, 78-76 at the end of 3. However, Parker needs to rest and my stars will be back soon well rested...

In fact, Embiid will start the 4th and try not to pick up his final foul...

8:20 - We are down 87-81. I call time and bring in a rested Cowen, Robinson, and Perkins to play with Butler and Embiid.

5:20 - Cowen with 3 straight baskets. We are down 91-89.

4:10 - Perkins with a steal gets it to Cowen who has a breakaway dunk! We lead 93-91.

Our defense has kicked it up to intense levels. We lead 96-91 after Cowen hits a pair of FT's.

McDonald beats Cowen off the dribble and gets fouled... 3 point play.

We respond with a great move in the post by Embiid... looked like the old Dream Shake! We lead 98-94.

1:39 - Embiid fouls out. Noel into the game to anchor the defense down the stretch.

1:15 - Cowen with a great step back jumper as the clock is expiring! 4 point lead again.

1:10 - Cowen gives up the quick 3 to McDonald. We lead 100-99.

Perkins misses a 3 and McDonald shoots another 3 right over Cowen. Ouch.

Cowen drives right into the heart of the lane and gets his shot blocked by Sanders.

We have to foul. They make both FT's. Down 104-100 with 22 seconds to go...

Cowen misses an open look at a 3.

GF misses a 3 in the corner, his favorite spot. We are done.


Disappointing loss. 108-100.

McDonald, the 8th pick in the 2015 draft torched Cowen today. He was the player of the game with 26 points, 6 assists, and 2 steals.

He shot 7 of 20 but was clutch down the stretch.

Alec Burks added 21 points and Parker finished with 21 points on 9 of 20 shooting.



Cowen led us with 27 points and 7 assists, 1 steal, and a block. He shot 10 of 21 including 1 of 3 from the arc. He was 6 of 6 from the line.

Butler with 18 points, 4 boards, and 3 assists.

Embiid with 16 points, 9 boards, and a block in a game that limited him to 27 minutes due to foul trouble.

Turner with 11 points and 4 assists.

Perkins with 10 points, 11 boards, 2 assists, and a steal.

GF with 10 points and 2 boards. HE shot 2 of 7.

Noel with 6 points, 10 boards, and 2 blocks in 21 minutes.

Robinson with 4 points and 8 assists. He shot 1 of 7.

[Eaglesfan27]

3/21 -

We host the Wolves. They are 31-34 and we need this game to get us back on the right side of things...

We come out with great offensive intensity, determined to take it to the basket and not settle for jump shots. We build a huge lead by halftime, 55-39.

We cruise to a 93-80 win.

Embiid led us with 19 points, 11 boards, and 3 blocks.

Turner with 12 points, 4 boards, and 2 assists.

Cowen with 12 points, 9 boards, 9 assists, and 4 steals.

Robinson with 12 points, 11 boards, and 3 assists.

GF with 11 points and 4 boards.

Perkins wit 8 points, 8 boards, and 2 blocks. He shot 4 of 13.

Wiggins led them with 11 points and 9 boards. He shot 1 of 12 but was 9 of 10 from the line.



We are now 45-23 and 3rd in the East. Our next game is traveling to play the 1st place Bulls who are 50-19...

Butler exacerbated his shin injury in practice but can play through it...


We try pounding it inside but the Bulls are playing such tough defense. A 15 point 2nd quarter puts us behind 51-39 at the half.

We close the gap with a strong 3rd but ultimately lose 90-83.

Cowen led all scorers with 25 points and 5 assists. He shot 10 of 15 including 3 of 4 from the arc.

Robinson added 14 points and 3 assists.

Perkins with an efficient 13 points, 6 boards. He shot 5 of 9.

Embiid with 13 points, 12 boards, and a block.


The Bulls were led by 23 points from Nelson Williamson. The #6 pick in the 2017 draft has become an excellent sharp shooter in his rookie year. He is averaging 16 ppg and 3.4 apg.

Rose added 17 points and 7 assists.

Middleton with 14 points.

Anthony Davis played hurt this game but still had 14 points, 13 boards, and 2 blocks.

Noah added 10 points and 10 boards.

Wow. They are going to be tough if we face them in the playoffs.



3/25 -

We host the Nets who are 31-37 but 2-8 in their last 10. I'm hoping to rest Butler for most of the game against them...

Sad news as Paul George has suffered a season ending injury to his previously injured leg. This time, he blew out his ACL.

Turner will start at SG. Clarke and Grant will get more time as I try to rest Butler and get him ready for the playoffs...

[Eaglesfan27]

Butler rests the whole 1st quarter. Cowen has a rough start and Embiid misses his first 3 shots. They build a 9-2 lead before we get it going.

At the end of 1, we are down 23-21.

Cowen and Clarke working so well together to score in the 2nd. Clarke is getting some great open looks from Cowen and drilling them.

We build a 54-48 lead by halftime.

Walker leads them with 13 points. Embiid leads us with 10 points and 6 boards.

We build a 10 point lead and go deep into our bench with Bazja.

At the end of 3, we are up 79-73 as we rest our starters the last few minutes of the quarter.

7:20 - We are tied at 83 as I bring back rested starters.

Perkins with 3 straight baskets, 2 midrange shots and a nice post move fadeaway.

Perkins with a block that starts the fastbreak... Cowen to Turner for a dunk!

We are up 99-89.

We cruise to the 103-95 win.


Embiid is the player of the game with 19 points, 11 boards, 3 blocks, and 1 steal. He shot 7 of 12 and even hit a 3.

Cowen with 19 points, 7 assists, 2 boards, and 2 steals. He shot 6 of 16.

Perkins with 16 points, 6 boards, 2 assists, and a steal. He shot 7 of 9.

Clark with 11 points and 1 assist. He shot 4 of 8.

Turner with 10 points and 4 assists.

Grant with 8 points in 15 minutes.

GF with 7 points and 8 boards.

Robinson with 7 points, 3 boards, and 3 assists.

Noel with 4 points, 8 boards, and a block.


Kemba Walker led them with 29 points and 7 assists. He shot 9 of 19.

Greg Monroe with 16 points and 6 boards.

Bogdanovic with 12 points on 5 of 11 shooting.

[Eaglesfan27]

3/27 -

We travel to play the Cavs who are 41-28. We beat them lat time 108-91. Hopefully, we can do it again. We are 46-24 and pushing for the #2 seed...


We have a bad first half and are down 57-43 at the half, but we fight back with a huge 3rd quarter that makes it a 2 point game.

Back and forth in the 4th until LeBron hits a game winning 14 footer.

We lose 111-110.

LeBron with 25 points, 14 boards, 7 assists, and 4 blocks. He shot 5 of 13, 11 of 13 from the line.

2nd year C Stephon Watkins, their former #12 pick, had 25 points and 10 boards in the game as well.


Cowen led us with 35 points, 8 assists, 5 boards, and 5 turnovers. He shot 11 of 22, 5 of 6, and 8 of 8.

Perkins added 26 points, 8 boards, 3 assists, 1 steal, and 1 turnover.

Embiid with 16 points and 9 boards. He shot 6 of 18.

Noel with 12 points and 3 boards.

Turner with 6 points, 5 boards, and 6 assists.

Robinson shot 2 of 10 and had 4 points.




3/28 -

No rest for the weary as we host the Bulls. They are 52-20 and 1st in the East...


Cowen comes out fired up and ready to prove a point. He scores our first 8 points as we build an 8-0 lead.

Then, he starts firing off assists.

We build a 54-40 lead at the half.

We win 106-93 in impressive fashion!

Cowen was the player of the game with 27 points, 11 assists, 7 boards, 1 steal, and 4 turnovers. He shot 10 of 22, 2 of 5, and 5 of 6.

Turner with 15 points and 3 assists.

Perkins with 14 points, 10 boards, 4 assists, 2 steals, and 3 blocks. He shot 5 of 8.

Robinson with 13 points and 5 boards.

Embiid with 13 points, 12 boards, and 2 blocks.

Noel with 11 points and 9 boards along with a block.

GF with 7 points and 4 boards.

Clark with 4 points.


We held Rose to 12 points on 5 of 13 shooting. We held Anthony Davis to 16 points on 5 of 11 shooting.

Williamson led them with 19 points.


We are now 47-25 and pushing hard for 50 wins.

Our next game is another tough matchup as we host the Warriors. They are 43-27 but they are hit by injuries and only 4-6 in the last 10.

Due to injuries to their big men, they are starting less talented guys at PF and C, so we will need to take advantage inside against them.

[Eaglesfan27]

We start off dominant, looking like a Championship team. 13-2 lead.

Then, we go cold as Cowen and Embiid get a bit tired. I rest Embiid and our offense slows down. Thompson and Curry start striking from the arc.

At the end of 1, we are down 24-23.

9:30 - Embiid comes back in. We are down 32-27.

Embiid starts making shots right away. He is even knocking down a nice 12 footer with some regularity when he has it wide open.

At halftime, we are tied at 47.

Embiid is our leading scorer with 18 points. Noel has 11 boards. Cowen has 7 assists.


Every phase of our offense clicks in the 3rd. We are up 80-68. Embiid with 27 points.


We had a 15 point lead, but when I rest our starters it drops to 6. I bring back Cowen and Embiid to finish it out.

Cowen with a quick pull up jumper and then Embiid with a nice post move to stretch the lead to 10.



We win 102-93.




Embiid was the player of the game with 29 points, 13 boards, and 2 blocks. He shot 13 of 22 and 3 of 7 from the line.

Cowen with 23 points, 10 assists, 3 steals, and 1 board. He had 4 turnovers. He shot 9 of 19.

Perkins with 18 points, 14 boards, 1 assist, 1 steal, and 1 block. He shot 6 of 9, 3 of 4, and 3 of 3. Very efficient night for the young rookie.

GF with 12 points, 5 boards, and 2 assists.

Robinson with 8 points, 6 boards, 8 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block. He shot 4 of 8.

Turner with 6 points, 5 boards, and 5 assists.


Cowen helped hold Curry to 6 of 24 shooting for the night for 15 points.

Thompson shot 10 of 18, 4 of 8 from the arc for 26 points.

No else broke 15.

[Eaglesfan27]

The latest mock drafts are interesting:

1) Lonnie Hart has been rising on the boards behind a great tournament for Wake Forest. The 6'5 215 pound SG has shown that he is ready to play big time ball now and he has the highest ceiling. He is now the consensus #1 pick of the draft experts. He finished the season averaging 23.5 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 4.4 apg, and 3 spg. His offense is his clear strength at this point..

2) Tayfur Mansiz from Turkey is stronger, more physical and almost as developed offensively as Cedric. He is now 22 but he has all of the tools and is projected to become a superstar by some scouts. He is averaging 28 ppg in Turkey along with 10.4 rpg.

3) Cedric Blackwell was the #1 pick earlier in the year but some scouts are worried he has hit his ceiling at 23 years old. He is a talented SF whose floor is a solid starter in the league.

4) Luka Golob is a 19 year old SF who is 6'7 240 lb from Slovenia. He is averaging 27 ppg and 5.5 rpg. He is projected to become a very good player.

5) Will Osborne is a 6'8 275 lb PF for UConn who is 22 years old. He is averaging 24 ppg and 11 rpg. He is expected to become a dependable starter in the NBA.

6) Sergio Diaz is a 21 year old SG from Mexico who is 6'5 210. He is averaging 22 ppg and has a nice midrange shot. He is projected to become a solid starter.

7) PG Mitchell Brooks from WVU is 6'1 166 and 21 years old. He is more raw than most of the guys in the top 10 but some scouts think he will become a star PG. He is averaging 22 ppg and 7 apg.

8) PF Sasa Cop is 6'9 245 from Slovenia and his stock has been dropping. He is an athletic player who relies on that to score. He should become a solid starter.

9) PF Gilberto Izzo from Italy is a 6'6 250 pound PF who might be too small to be effective in the NBA. He has no midrange shot and isn't very athletic. His best attributes are his bullish strength.

10) PF Shane Wells has shot up hte board. He is a 22 year old PF from Oklahoma who is 6'10 270. His strength is his post game and he is a bit raw in every other area.

[Eaglesfan27]

4/2 -

We host the Rcokets who are 39-34 and in danger of missing the playoffs. We are favored.

They jump out to an early lead, but by early in the 3rd quarter we tie it up. We pull away late and cruise to a 108-92 win.


Perkins led the way with 26 points, 8 boards, 3 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block. He shot 9 of 12, 4 of 5, and 4 of 6.

Cowen with 12 points and 12 assists. He shot 5 of 17.

Robinson with 11 points, 8 boards, 3 assists, and 3 steals.

Bazja with 11 points in 8 minutes!

Turner with 10 points.

Embiid with 10 points and 10 boards.

NOel with 8 points, 12 boards, and 3 blocks.

Clark with 8 points in 8 minutes.



4/4 -

We travel to play the Wolves who are 35-39, 5-5 in their last 10. They are struggling as Wiggins is injured and will miss the last few weeks of the season...

By halftime, we have a 20 point lead.

We cruise to a 100-70 win.


Cowen led the way with 28 points, 7 assists, 3 boards, and 2 blocks. He shot 11 of 20.

Robinson with 15 points, 10 boards, 3 assists, and 1 steal.

Turner with 14 points, 8 boards, and 8 assists. He shot 6 of 9.

Perkins with 13 points, 14 boards, 6 assists, and 1 steal. He shot 5 of 13.

Grant with 8 points in 13 minutes.

Noel with 8 points, 10 boards, and 2 blocks.

Bazja with 8 points in 8 minutes! :)

Clark with 3 points in 12 minutes.

Embiid with 2 points, 18 boards, and 2 blocks. He shot 1 of 9.


Zach Lavine was their only player in double digits but he shot 7 of 21.



A look at the East Standings as we come down the stretch:

1. Bulls 52-22 (5-5 in their last 10!)
2. Hornets 51-22 (9-1)
3. 76ers 50-25 (6-4)
4. Wizards 45-29 (7-3)
5. Cavs 44-30 (6-4)
6. Heat 43-31 (6-4)
7. Magic 42-33 (4-6)
8. Pistons 37-38 (8-2)


9. Nets 37-38 (7-3)
10. Bucks 34-40
11.Raptors 32-42
12. Pacers 28-46
13. Knicks 27-48
14. Celtics 26-49
15. Hawks 23-51


West Standings:

1. Oklahoma 54-20 (5-5)
2. Lakers 47-27 (8-2)
3. Warriors 45-28 (4-6)
4. Blazers 45-29 (4-6)
5. Rockets 40-35 (5-5)
6. Jazz 39-35 (5-5)
7. Suns 38-37 (2-8)
8. Grizzlies 36-38 (7-3)

9. Wolves 35-40 (5-5)
10. Kings 31-44
11. Clippers 30-44
12. Mavs 27-46
13. Nuggets 27-47
14. Spurs 25-50
15. Pelicans 24-50



4/6 -

Our next game is at Boston. We are heavily favored.

[Eaglesfan27]

Cowen playing amazing basketball down the stretch. He helps us build a 30-20 lead.

3:39 - GF goes down hard after a shot with a lower leg injury.. no contact but this doesn't look good at all..

At halftime, we are up 53-44.

We get some early news. GF with a significant knee injury. He will need an MRI to tell the full extent but he is definitely out for some significant time.

Embiid leads our team with 10 points and 9 boards at the half.

Cowen with 7 assists at the half.


3:10 - We lead 73-60 as I rest my starters except for Embiid who returns from an earlier rest.

At the end of 3, we are up 81-66.

7 minutes to go - They close the gap to 10. Our guards are tired. I ask Butler to give us some minutes. We also bring back a relatively rested Cowen.

Cowen and Butler work hard to re-build the lead to 15. I rest my starters the last 2 minutes.



We win 106-98.



Cowen is the player of the game with 22 points, 11 assists, 2 boards, 2 steals, and 7 turnovers. He shot 7 of 16.

Embiid with 16 points, 15 boards, and 2 blocks.

Turner with 14 points, 4 boards, and 4 assists. He shot 6 of 9.

Clark with 13 points and 2 boards on 5 of 9 shooting including 2 of 5 from the arc.

Noel with 11 points, 12 boards, and a steal.

Perkins with 10 points, 10 boards, 3 assists, 3 steals, and 2 blocks. He shot 4 of 11.

Robinson with 10 points, 5 boards, 4 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks.

GF with 4 points in 9 minutes....


Exum led the Celtics with 23 points and 5 assists.

Sullinger had 19 points and 8 boards.

McLemore with 17 points.


The word on the MRI is that the GF only has an ACL sprain. He will be back in a few weeks, maybe in time for the start of the playoffs! Whew.

[Eaglesfan27]

A look at some of the Award Races down the stretch:

MVP:

1. Durant 33.1 ppg, 9.3 rpg, 5.0 apg. His team is 1st in the West...

2. LeBron - 26.5 ppg, 9.4 rpg, 5 apg, 1.8 spg. His team is doing well in the East...

3. Jimmy Cowen - 22.0 ppg, 8.5 apg, 4.2 rpg, 1.6 spg. Team is 3rd in the Est

4. Westbrook - 20.3 ppg, 7.7 apg, 5 rpg, 1.9 spg. Team is 1st in the West.

5. Derrick Rose -21.7 ppg, 6.6 apg, 4.6 rpg. Team is 1st in the East.


Rookie of the Year:

1. Perben, Miami - Averaging 18.8 ppg, 10.0 rpg, 1.5 bpg.

2. Williamson, Bulls - Averaging 16.5 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 3.3 apg.

3. Mack Perkins - Averaging 13.7 ppg, 7.2 rpg, 1.7 apg, 1.0 bpg.



4/7 -

We host the Raptors who are now 32-43...

We had a huge lead by halftime, 63-49.

In the 3rd quarter, we let them creep back within 6.

In the 4th, they outscored us 37-27.

We lose 113-109.


Jonas Valancunas led them with 22 points, 11 boards, 2 assists.

Dillon added 18 points and 10 boards.


Cowen led us in the loss with 24 points, 11 assists, 9 boards, 3 steals. He shot 9 of 20.

Perkins with 23 points, 7 boards, 2 assists, and 2 blocks. He shot 9 of 16.

Turner with 14 points, 5 boards, and 4 assists.

Embiid with 13 points, 9 boards, and 2 blocks.

Robinson with 10 points, 4 boards, 4 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block.

Clark with 8 points.

Noel with 6 points, 6 boards, and 2 blocks.



Big news after the game... MCW has been cleared from his injury and deemed fully ready to return to action!! :)


4/11 -

We travel to play the Hornets. They are 54-23 and ahead of us in the East... this is a huge game. MCW will play significant minutes off the bench...


Wow, the Hornets blow us out. We never had the lead. Disappointing loss...

We lose 110-88.

Terrence Jones led them with 29 points and 10 boards.

Jeremy Lin added 19 points and 5 assists.

Ozat added 16 points and 11 assists.

2nd year PG Alan O'Connor added 11 points and 4 assists.


Perkins led us with 20 points, 8 boards, 1 assist, 1 steal, and 1 block. He shot 8 of 13.

Cowen shot 4 of 16 and finished with 15 points, 12 assists, and a steal.

Turner with 14 points, 7 boards, 3 assists.

Embiid with 11 points, 9 boards, and 1 block.

MCW with 10 points, 8 boards, 3 assists, and 2 steals in his debut back. He played 24 minutes.


We are now 51-27 and firmly locked in 3rd place with a very slim chance of climbing into 2nd or falling into 4th. Cowen is imploring me to play him major minutes, but I have to think about resting him.... but we need wins to make sure we don't fall into 4th. We'll see.



4/13 -

We travel to play the Wizards who are 48-30 and trying to chase us for 3rd.. If we beat them, we will definitely be 3rd or better in the East.

[Eaglesfan27]

A sloppy first half in which we turned it over 6 times. We are down 25-19.

Cowen had a very rough 1st quarter. After a few minutes of rest, he was brilliant in the 2nd. Finding open guys (particularly Robinson), making dunks over a big man twice, hitting step back jumpers, he was unstoppable.

We are up 58-44 thanks to his strong play igniting our team.

Cowen leads our team with 16 points, 6 assists.

Noel leads the team with 11 boards.



6:00 - They are closing the gap as our guys are tired. Clark in to provide some offense.

Clark makes a 3 but gives one up at the other end.

We are up 75-71 at the end of 3. Our guys are getting fatigued.


Perkins is our #1 option early in the 4th as I'm resting Embiid and Cowen.

Perkins performs with 8 straight points and then a nice assist.

He helps us build a 89-80 lead.

5:30 - The lead is closing but I'm able to bring back rested starters. We lead 90-85 as MCW, Cowen, Robinson, and Embiid all come back into the game.

2:15 - Embiid suffers a minor injury on a dunk but he is staying in the game. We lead 96-91.

Cowen with a steal and breakaway dunk!

They foul down the stretch and Cowen makes the FT's...

That guarantees the win.


We win 106-100.

Cowen is the player of the game with 30 points, 6 assists, 2 boards, 1 steal, and 1 block. He shot 9 of 16 and 12 of 12 from the line.

Perkins with 21 points, 10 boards, and 3 assists. He shot 7 of 17.

Embiid with 17 points, 10 boards, 2 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block. He shot 8 of 10.

Robinson with 15 points and 5 boards.

Turner with 6 points, 4 assists, and 2 boards.

Butler only played 7 minutes (due to injury) but he had 5 points.

Clark with 5 points in 7 minutes.

Noel with 3 points, 16 boards, and 2 blocks.

MCW with 2 points, 3 boards, and 3 assists in 17 minutes back. He also had 1 steal and only 1 turnover. Nice way for him to work his way back.

[Eaglesfan27]

Embiid has a sprained ankle. We'll try to limit his minutes.

Butler has been 100% cleared for full action. Ditto for MCW.


4/14 -

We play at the Hawks. They are 26-53 and I should be able to rest my guys a bit. Embiid will cut back to 25 minutes per game for the last few. Everyone else below 30 except for Cowen who is begging for minutes...


Interesting game... we jumped to a big lead in the 1st, choked it away in the 2nd. Fell behind by 10 in the 3rd but rallied for a 104-100 win.

Cowen led with 22 points, 5 boards, 6 assists, and 2 steals.

Perkins with 19 points, 9 boards, 3 assists, and 2 steals.

Noel wtih 15 points, 9 boards, and a block as he played more minutes.

MCW with 12 points, 4 assists, and 2 steals.

Embiid with 10 points, 6 boards, and 2 blocks in 25 minutes.

Butler with 9 points, 5 boards, and 5 assists in 24 minutes.


We are now 53-27. Can we get to 55 wins? Even if we do, we are locked into 3rd in the East with no room for movement. I cut back my guy's minutes a bit more...


4/17 -

We travel to Toronto. They are 34-46...


We jump to a big lead 64-48 by halftime.

In the 3rd, they go crazy and tie the game. In the 4th, we pull away.

122-114 win.

Perkins led the way with 25 points, 10 boards, 4 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block in 30 minutes. He shot 10 of 18.

Cowen with 22 points, 10 assists, 2 steals, and 5 boards.

Noel with 16 points, 10 boards, and 2 blocks.

MCW with 16 points, 8 boards, and 5 assists in 22 minutes.

Embiid with 15 points, 6 boards, and a block in 25 minutes.

Robinson with 9 points, 5 boards, and 5 assists.

Turner with 9 points, 9 boards, and 4 assists.

Butler with 8 points, 5 boards, and 5 assists.



4/18 -

Our final regular season game is hosting the Hornets who are 56-25 and 2nd in the East...


Wow. We hammer them. Cutting back our starter's minutes, they are playing more effectively when they are on the court...

114-90 win.

Cowen led us with 24 points and 4 assists.

Perkins with 16 points, 8 boards, and a block.

Embiid with 14 points and 10 boards.

Turner with 15 points, 5 boards, and 5 assists.

Robinson with 12 points and 4 boards.

Butler with 10 points, 5 boards, and 5 assists.

MCW with 10 points, 5 boards, and 4 assists.

Noel with 7 points, 7 boards, and a block.


We finish the season 55-27 and 3rd in the East. We'll face LeBron and the Cavs in the 1st round in the East. :(

[Eaglesfan27]

A look at our stats:

Cowen led the team with 22 ppg. He also averaged 8.4 apg, 1.7 spg, and 4.2 rpg. He is only 22 and is sure to get better in future seasons...

Embiid averaged 15.9 ppg, 9.6 rpg, 1.4 bpg. He is only 24 and he is still improving his game.

Perkins averaged 14.4 ppg, 7.2 rpg, 1.7 apg, and 1.1 bpg. He is only 22 and is looking like he will become a superstar.

MCW averaged 12.2 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 6.1 apg, and 1.7 spg. He is 26 and it is an interesting discussion of whether he can be an effective combo guard off the bench or should I try to trade him this offseason?

Robinson, our other star rookie, had a very good season with 11 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 3.0 spg, and 0.9 spg. He is only 20 and should improve considerably....

Noel at 24 is becoming one of the best interior defenders in the game. He is avearging 8.7 ppg, 8.0 rpg, 1.3 bpg.

Turner averaged 8.7 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 3.0 apg, and 0.5 spg. The 29 year old is our veteran presence.

Butler averaged 7.7 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 3.6 apg, and 0.9 spg. His game is starting to fall off slightly at 28 years old but he should be a good contributor next year too..

The GF never quite fit into our offense but I hope to rectify that in the future as he is only 23... He averaged 7.1 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 2.4 apg, and 0.2 spg.

Clark averaged 4.9 ppg in very limited time.

Grant averaged 2.9 ppg and 1.5 rpg in limited time.



Award Time:

Durant wins MVP. He ramped it up the last week and finished at just under 34 ppg, 9.3 rpg, 5.0 apg, and 1.8 spg. He shot 52% from the field, 92% from the line, and 44% from the arc.


Frederic Perben of the Heat won Rookie of the Year. He averaged 18.9 ppg, 10 rpg, 1.5 apg, 1.2 spg, and 1.4 bpg. He shot 53% from the field.

Andre Drummond won Defensive Player of the Year. The Center averaged 19 ppg, 12 rpg, and 2 bpg.

Tom Thibodeau of the Bulls won Coach of the Year with 58 wins...


All NBA 1st team:

PG Jimmy Cowen
SG James Harden
SF Durant
PF LeBron
C Drummond


2nd team:

PG Westbrook
G Lillard
F Blake Griffin
F Frederic Perben
C DeMarcus Cousins


3rd team:

G Derrick Rose
G Stephen Curry
F Kevin Love
F Jabari Parker
C Caron Schayes


All-Rookie Team:

G Alex Long
G Nelson Williamson
G O.J. Gill
F Mack Perkins
F Frederic Perbin


Robinson made the All-Rookie 2nd team.



The Playoff Match-ups:

In the West:

#1 Thunder vs #8 Grizzlies

#4 Rockets vs #5 Portland

#3 Lakers vs #6 Jazz

#2 Warriors vs #7 Suns


East:

#1 Bulls vs #8 Pistons

#2 Hornets vs #7 Magic

#3 76ers vs #6 Cavs

#4 Wizards vs #5 Heat.



Big news: LeBron got hurt in practice. He has a strained back and will play but won't be 100%.


A look at their roster:

PG Irving (92)
SG Waiters (84)
SF LeBron (91 - adjusted due to injury, normally a 98)
PF Watkins (74)
C Roy Gill (72)

They are weak inside and we should be able to have a big series for our big men....

Their bench:

SG Goodwin (79)
PG Dellavedova (77)
SG Glen Rice, Jr (76)
SG Xavier Henry (76)
PG Marquis Teague (72)
PF Will Stockton (71)
C Ivan Bosnjak (68)

[Eaglesfan27]

1st play of the game: Cowen drives into the lane... finds Perkins for a corner 3... Swish!

Irving comes right back with a 3 of his own. Cowen isn't a great defender and he is having trouble with Irving quick as Irving scores 7 quick points...

We close the gap on a few nice baskets inside by Embiid.

9-9 game early.

LeBron starts going to work with a powerful drive and the dunk.

LeBron finds Irving for an easy 3. We can't let him get that open...

Embiid doing big time work inside.

6:00 - We are tied at 14. Embiid is tired. Noel into the game.

They go on a 6-0 run behind LeBron finding open men and making shots.

Perkins with a nice move inside for a little layup to end their run.

LeBron finds Goodwin for an open 3.

At the end of 1, we are down 29-21.

Embiid back into the game and he goes on a tear again to close the gap. Down 31-29.

LeBron comes back from his brief rest and goes to work making plays. Quick baskets to Goodwin and Waiters.

None of my guys are able to effectively guard LeBron. I'm going to try Perkins on him as he has great speed and length...

Perkins alters a LeBron shot.

Cowen with a few nice baskets. We close the gap again. Down 39-37 with 7:45 to go...

Cowen finds Embiid for a great alley-oop.

Irving comes back and goes to work all over the court. Irving having a huge game...

Cowen needs a breather. So does Embiid.

Suddenly, we are back down by 8.

That margin holds through until halftime.


Halftime: We are down 57-49. Cowen can't guard Irving who has 19. I'm going to try MCW on him. MCW is one of my best perimeter defenders.

LeBron has 11 points and 4 assists (which leads their team.)

Goodwin with 10 points.


Embiid leads us with 16 points, 4 boards, and 2 blocks at the half.

Cowen with 9 points and 3 assists.

Robinson with 7 points. Perkins with 5 points and 5 boards at the half.

7:20 - LeBron rests. Our chance to make a comeback... we are down 72-60 right now.

5:15 - LeBron returns and we haven't cut the lead at all. We are down 78-66.

Too many turnovers. Too many bad passes. They build the lead to 87-70 by the end of the 3rd.

We close the gap to 8 a few times, but then LeBron makes an incredible play or two and the lead is back to double digits. We can't get it below 10 again and we lose 112-100.


Irving is the player of the game with 33 points and 8 assists. He shot 12 of 19 including 5 of 7 from the arc.

LeBron also with an incredible game - 28 points, 8 boards, and 6 assists. He shot 9 of 16.

Goodwin added 16 points. Waiters added 12.


Embiid led us with 22 points, 9 boards, and 2 blocks.

Cowen with 20 points and 8 assiss.

Perkins with 14 points, 8 boards, and 2 steals along with 2 blocks.

Robinson wih 11 points.

MCW had a very rough game with 8 points, 5 assists, and 5 turnovers.

Cowen had 5 turnovers too.


We need to take much better care of the ball in game 2.

[Eaglesfan27]

Game 2 -

This is a must win game at home. We must at least split..

We come out with fire and intensity.. executing perfectly. Big lead early, 14-6.

We continue to execute the pick and roll and getting the ball into Embiid.

At the end of 1, we are up 32-18.

2nd quarter is less dominant defensively, but our offense is really clicking.

We lead 60-43 at the half.

Embiid exacerbates his injury in the 3rd :(

He rests and we give up a bit of our lead. Still, we lead 85-70 at the end of 3.

In the 4th, our defense locks down as Embiid returns. We play some triple tower defense with Perkins, Noel, and Embiid.

We hold them to 18 in the quarter and win the game with ease - 105 to 83.


Cowen led the way with 23 points, 7 assists, a career high 8 steals, and 5 boards. He only turned it over 2 times. He shot 7 of 14.

Perkins with 20 points, 12 boards, 5 assists, and a block.

Turner with 16 points, 5 boards, and 5 assists.


MCW with 14 points, 6 boards, 4 assists, 3 steals, and 3 turnovers.

Embiid with 11 points, 7 boards, and a block. He was limited by his ankle injuries...

Noel with 8 points, 8 boards, and 3 blocks.


Irving led them with 26 points and 7 assists.

LeBron with 24 points, 11 boards, and 5 assists. He had a rough night shooting 8 of 22..

No one else in double digits...


Now, for a pivotal game 3 in Cleveland....

[Eaglesfan27]

We come out with absolute intention in every movement. Our most deliberate precise offensive execution of the year and superb defense. We jump to a 12-0 lead.

Embiid with 8 points early.

At the end of 1, we are up 30-16. Great play by our starters early :)

Butler is shutting down Irving.

We start off on a tear in the 2nd quarter. Cowen making plays and Embiid shutting down their offense. We build a 17 point lead before Cowen needs to rest.

They slowly close the gap as MCW gets beat a few times.

Still, at halftime, we are up 53-41. Very good defense from our club.


LeBron leads them with 12 points and 5 assists.

Embiid leads us with 12 points and 8 boards.


Everyone clicking in the 3rd, especially the GF and Cowen.

We build a 24 point lead that shrinks to 20 before the end of the quarter.

We lead 84-64. 3 guys approaching 20 points - Embiid, Cowen, and Perkins.

We dominate the 4th. Cowen putting up points, setting up guys, we pull ahead by 30.

With 25 point lead, we pull starters with 3 minutes to go.

We win 110-88.

Cowen is the player of the game with 31 points, 9 assists, 2 steals, and only 1 turnover. He shot 14 of 20, 3 of 3 from the arc.

Embiid with 23 points, 13 boards, and 2 blocks. He shot 7 of 12 and 9 of 10 from the line.

Perkins with 20 poins, 12 boards, and 2 blocks. He shot 7 of 12, 2 of 3 from the arc, and 4 of 4 from the line.

Robinson added 11 points, 5 assists, 1 board, 1 steal, and 1 block.

Butler with 7 points, 5 boards, 5 assists, 4 steals.

Noel with 7 points, 6 boards, and 2 blocks in 25 minutes.

GF with 6 points and 3 assists in 18 minutes.

MCW with 3 points and 2 assists in 16 minutes.

Turner with 2 points in 15 minutes.

We held LeBron to 5 of 15 shooting. He finished with 16 points, 8 assists, and 5 boards.

Irving was held to 5 of 17 shooting. He had 15 points and 4 assists.

Waiters with 14 points on 6 of 12 shooting.

Goodwin with 9 points on 3 of 7 shooting.


We have home court advantage back. We lead the series 2-1 :)

[Eaglesfan27]

Game 4:

It has been a back and forth affair with constant lead changes. We are tied at 96 with 6 minutes to go...

1:45 - Irving and Cowen have been going at each other and scoring. We had a fast break opportunity but Perkins threw the long pass to far. Turn over.

Goodwin throws the ball away and we get it back. Cowen drives into the lane and is fouled. He makes both FT's. Tied at 106.

LeBron misses a pull-up jumper. Embiid at the other end with a sky hook for the basket!

Irving gets into the lane... misses the floater. Embiid with the board!

22 seconds left, shot clock at 6... Cowen with a cross over, breaks Irving's ankles... into the lane for a nice floater. We are up 110-106.

LeBron misses a 3. Butler with the board. He is fouled. He makes 1 of 2.

Irving misses a quick 3. They foul Butler who got the board again.

He makes them both to seal it.

We win 113-106! :)


Cowen is the player of the game with 34 points, 7 assists, 4 boards, and 3 steals. He shot 11 of 15, 3 of 4, and 9 of 9. He only had 2 turnovers.

Perkins with 18 points, 11 boards, 2 assists, and a block. He shot 7 of 16.

Robinson with 13 points, 4 boards, 4 assists, and a steal.

Embiid with 12 points, 8 boards, and a block.

Noel with 9 points, 10 boards, and 2 blocks.

GF with 8 points, 5 boards, and 4 assists in 24 minutes.

MCW with 6 points, 5 boards, and 4 assists in 20 minutes.

Butler with 5 points, 4 boards, and 2 assists in 25 minutes.



LeBron led them with 20 points, 8 boards, and 7 assists.


Can we take them down in 5?

[Eaglesfan27]

6:00 - Our athleticism and length is bothering them as we are smothering their shots. We lead 12-6. Perkins doing a great job staying in front of LeBron and bothering him with length.

Perkins with a block that starts a fast break.. Butler to Robinson for a dunk!

Embiid overpowering them inside with moves and strength.


We had a 12 point lead but LeBron goes into beast mode and close out the quarter with a 8-0 run.

We are still up 25-21 at the end of 1.

Cowen and Embiid each with 8 points in the 1st.


5:44 - Cowen takes his first break of the game as he is exhausted. We are tied at 37. MCW in at PG.

MCW, Butler, GF, and Robinson with Embiid behind them playing smothering defense. We build the lead back up to 45-37.

LeBron with a few nice moves to end the run and go on their own 6-0 run.

Embiid with a baby hook to end that little mini-run.



Halftime: We lead 51-50.


Our home crowd is fired up and Cowen is well rested to start the 2nd half.

LeBron leads them with 12 points, 10 boards, and 4 assists.

Cowen leads us with 12 points and 3 assists.

Embiid with 10 points and 7 boards.



Cowen comes out playing with incredible intensity... beating Irving off the dribble, getting into the lane and drawing fouls. We are in the bonus with 9:30 left and their big men are in foul trouble. We are up 62-52.

Cowen is also playing AMAZING defense on Irving who misses another shot and is now 1 of 11...

Embiid with a block... Perkins gets it.. throws it ahead to Butler who finds Cowen on the break.. Dunk!!! The crowd goes wild. We lead 66-52.

Butler steals it from Waiters... passes ahead to Cowen... another breakaway dunk!

They call T.O.


Waiters hits a jumper to end our run. LeBron with another jumper.

Embiid draws a 5th foul on their PF/C.

3:30 - LeBron working furiously to bring them back. I rest Embiid and Butler. We are up 70-60.


At the end of 3, we are up 78-66.


To start the 4th, we bring in MCW for a tired Cowen (who has 30 points already.) Turner, Robinson, Noel, and Embiid playing with him.

NO! MCW goes down almost immediately with some type of leg injury. We are going to have to take him back to the locker. Cowen back into the game.


Cowen comes back with a quick step... drive into the lane and kicks it out to Turner for a nice jumper.

6:00 - LeBron has helped pull them back in it again. We are up 88-80 but he is tiring. Cowen is also tiring and passing it more now.

Butler back into the game... Butler with a steal.. passes to Cowen who throws it back to Butler for an alley-oop dunk!

They close the gap to 6... Cowen drives into the lane.. kicks it to GF for a corner 3... swish!

They close the gap to 6 again.. .Cowen kicks out for a midrange jumper by Butler.

LeBron missing jumpers down the stretch..

Noel with a block on LeBron.

Cowen and Noel with a pick and roll that leads to an alley-oop dunk for Noel.

That puts us ahead by 10 and they never get closer.




We win 101-91! We are advancing to the next round!



Cowen is the player of the game with 34 points, 11 assists, 4 boards, 3 steals, 1 block, and 2 turnovers. He shot 13 of 20 and 8 of 9 from the line. He played 42 minutes.

Embiid with 16 points, 11 boards, and 2 blocks.

Butler with 13 points, 5 assists, 3 boards, and 2 steals.

Robinson with 10 points and 2 assists.

GF with 9 points, 5 boards, and 4 assists.

Noel with 8 points, 12 boards, and 3 blocks.

Perkins with 6 points, 9 boards, 2 assists, and 2 blocks.

Turner with 2 points in 16 minutes.


We held Irving to 10 points on 4 of 20 shooting.

We held LeBron to 7 of 19 shooting for 19 points, 14 boards, and 9 assists.

Waiters led them with 21 points on 9 of 15 shooting.

[Eaglesfan27]

MCW hurt his right knee again and while he will need the MRI to say for sure, it looks like his season is over. Will I be able to trade him and get any value?

In other news:

The #1 Thunder sweep the Grizzlies.

The #4 Rockets beat Portland in 7 games.

The #3 Lakers beat the Jazz in 7 games.

The #2 Warriors beat the Suns in 6.


In the East:

The 5 seed Heat surprise the Wizards and win in 5.

The #1 Bulls sweep the Pistons.

The #2 Hornets beat the Magic in 5.



The Matchups now:

#1 Thunder vs #4 Rockets

#2 Warriors vs #3 Lakers

#1 Bulls vs #5 Heat

#2 Hornets vs #3 76ers.


Who are the leading players in the playoffs:

Durant is leading all scorers at 35.6 ppg.

DeRozan is averaging 31 ppg for the Lakers.

Cowen is 3rd with 28.4 ppg.

Schayes for the Lakers leads all rebounders with 13.3 rpg.

Anthony Davis with 12.4 rpg and 24 ppg in the playoffs.

Westbrook is leading all players with 9.2 apg in the playoffs.

Napier of the Heat is 2nd with 8.8.

Cowen leads all with 3 spg.

Noel is the leading shot blocker at 2 bpg.

Festus Ezeli has 1.9 bpg.


Good news: Embiid is 100% healthy per our docs.


A look at the Hornets:

SG Lance Stephenson is their top player with a 90 rating. He is a deadly 3 point shooter. He is averaging 24 ppg in the playoffs.

Noah Vonleh is a 22 year old PF who is rated 86 overall. He has a nice mid range game and is a capable scorer. He is averaging 12 ppg and 9 rpg.

PG Hakan Ozat is a 22 year old PG who was the #5 pick in 2015. He is averaging 20 ppg and 6.6 apg. He is rated 86 overall.

PG Jeremy Lin is 29 and is a very good 3 point shooter. He is rated 84 overall.

He is averaging 13 ppg and 5 apg.

PF/C Terrence Jones is a 6'9 250 pound PF/C who is a board cleaner. He is rated 83 overall. He is averaging 13 ppg and 10 rpg.

PF Cody Zeller is a solid all around PF/C who is rated 82 overall. He is averagin 10 ppg and 7 rpg.

SG P.J. Hairston is 25 and rated 80 overall. He is one of the best 3 point shooters in the league. He is averaging 10 ppg.

C Al Jefferson is 33 and showing his age but he is still a capable low post threat in short bursts. He is rated 80 overall and is averaging 14.4 ppg and 7 rpg.

The rest of their bench is all rated in the 70's. This will be a tough series.

[Eaglesfan27]

We start off with a 6-0 run punctuated by a Perkins block that led to a fast break dunk.

However, they score the next 9 with a pair of 3's by Stephenson and Ozat.

Cowen drives into the lane and is fouled to end that run. He makes both FT's.

Cowen with a spectacular 1st quarter with 10 points and 5 assists.

We lead 27-24.

5:00 - Cowen is exhausted but he has led a brilliant first half in which he has 11 points and 10 assists already. We are up 42-31.


Cowen rests the remainder of the half. Clark with a pair of 3's and Embiid with a pair of baskets as well.



Halftime: We are up 54-44.

Cowen leads us with 11 points and 9 assists.

Stephenson leads them with 11 points and 3 boards.


Throughout the 3rd, Cowen makes plays and put pressure on them to help us build a 16 point lead before he rests with 3 minutes to go.

They close the gap a bit.

At the end of 3, we are up 74-64. Noel having a big game with blocks and put back baskets.

Butler, GF, and Noel making plays to allow me to rest Cowen...

Noel with another block... he is playing like a star!

6:00 - We bring back Cowen and Embiid and Perkins with a 88-76 lead.


Our defense steps it up again and we cruise to the victory.


We win 100-82.

Cowen is the player of the game with 21 points, 14 assists, 3 boards, and 1 turnover. He shot 8 of 16, 1 of 3, and 4 of 4.

Butler with a 19 points, 5 boards, 3 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block night. He shot 8 of 15.

Embiid with 14 points, 10 boards, 2 assists, 2 steals, and 5 blocks! His defense was clutch all night. He shot 7 of 11.

Noel with 13 points, 8 boards, 3 assists, and 3 blocks. He shot 6 of 7, mostly fastbreak dunks, and putbacks.

Clark with 9 points and 1 assist in 10 minutes.

Robinson with 8 points, 8 boards, and 4 assists.

Turner with 7 points and 4 assists.

GF with 5 points and 4 boards in 21 minutes. I thought he scored more...

PErkins with an off night shooting but he did everything else well. 4 points, 10 boards, 5 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block. He shot 2 of 10.

Moultrie with 3 boards in 8 minutes.



Ozat led them wtih 17 points and 7 assists.

Stephenson with 16 points and 4 boards.

Vonleh with 12 points and 11 boards.

Lin was held to 3 of 12 shooting and 6 points with 4 assists.

Hairston we smothered and held to 1 of 8 shooting including 1 of 6 from the arc.

[Eaglesfan27]

In other news:

The Thunder, Warriors, and Bulls all won game 1 of their series.

Game 2:

Our defense smothers them early with as we hold them to 10 points in the 2nd quarter. That helps us take a 54-33 lead into halftime and we never look back.

We cruise to a 98-75 win.

Cowen led the way with 25 points, 12 assists, 8 boards, 2 steals, and 3 turnovers. He shot 8 of 18, 3 of 8 from the arc, and 6 of 6 from the line.

Turner added 22 points , 5 boards, and 4 assists in 25 minutes.

Embiid with 20 points, 10 boards, and 3 blocks.

Perkins with 15 points, 13 boards, 2 steals, and 2 blocks.

Noel added 3 blocks, 0 points, and 8 boards.


Ozat was their only player to score effectively. He had 26 points and 6 assists.

We held Stephenson to 1 of 10 shooting.

We held Lin to 4 of 14.


Wow. We come back to Philly with a 2-0 lead and a chance to win out at home. :)

[Eaglesfan27]

In other news:

The Thunder take a 2-0 lead and they are demolishing the Rockets

The Lakers tie their series up 1-1 with the Warriors. DeRozan with a 40 point night in the win.

The Bulls go up 2-0 behind 30 points and 14 boards from Anthony Davis.

Love has no answer for him.


We've now heard that MCW's knee is definitely going to keep him out for the rest of this season as he will need surgery. He should be back in 4-6 months...

[Eaglesfan27]

They start out smothering us and making us miss all of our shots.

Down 7-0.

Then, Perkins hits a very long 2. Next trip down, Perkins with a move on his man and gets to the basket for a big dunk.

Then, Cowen finds Perkins for a corner 3. Tied at 7.

We are on a 11-0 run as they call time with 6:29 to go. Up 11-7.

After the T.O, they get Stephenson an open look at the 3 that he drills.

Perkins is having an amazing quarter when he lands awkwardly after making a jumper. His back is hurt but he is going to shake it off...

Perkins goes cold after the injury. That doesn't diminish his great 1st quarter... Perkins has 11 points, 4 boards, and 1 block.

We are tied at 25 at the end of 1.

Both sides playing with great defensive intensity. Almost every shot is contested.

Cowen plays most of the half, but he is tired with 2:30 to go. I rest him.


At the half, we are up 44-43.

Perkins leads us with 11 points.

Jones leads them with 8 boards.

Cowen with 10 assists at the half.


The GF and Perkins are our main scorers in the 3rd. The Hornets are playing very good defense.

At the end of 3, we are down 71-67. Perkins with 19 points now.

6:10 - Perkins is exhausted. Noel into the game. Cowen is tired but will play on. We are down 84-81.

Cowens into the lane... hits the floater and gets fouled! Ties it at 84.

Butler with a big 3 to give us a 87-84 lead.

Butler with a steal and then hits a tough fadeaway jumper!

Embiid with a post move for a basket. 7 point lead before Ozat hits a 3 to cut the lead to 4.

Embiid with another post basket!

Embiid misses his next two trips and they tie it at 93. 1:44 to go...

We call time out to rest Cowen... inbound pass by Robinson... is deflected. They get a fast break basket off it!

Cowen drives into the lane and misses a floater.

Butler gets the offensive board and is fouled on the putback... he makes the first... and misses the 2nd. Down 95-94.

Ozat with a good move into the lane and he is fouled...

He makes both and we are down by 3.

I call timeout and bring in our 3 point lineup:

Cowen, Turner, GF, Perkins, and Noel (for defense.)

Cowen beats his man and drives for a dunk! Down 97-96 with 55 seconds left...

Ozat shoots.. and misses. We get Cowen into the lane... he misses a floater.

Jones gets the board... we foul him. He makes both FT's. 99-96 lead with 8 seconds left...

Cowen drives the court... kicks out to Perkins for a decent look at a 3... he shoots.. and it is long.



We lose 99-96. We still lead 2-1.

Stephenson was the player of the game with 26 points, 8 boards, 5 assists, and 3 steals. He shot 9 of 20.

Ozat with 20 points and 7 assists.

Zeller with 14 points and 12 boards.


Perkins led us with 21 points, 10 boards, 3 assists, and a block. He shot 8 of 11, 1 of 3, and 4 of 4.

Embiid with 18 points, 10 boards, and 3 blocks.

Robinson with 14 points, 2 boards, and 2 assists.

Cowen with 13 points, 12 assists, 2 boards, and 2 steals. He had 4 turnovers. He shot 4 of 16.

Butler with 13 points, 2 boards, 2 assists, and 2 steals.

GF with 13 points in 18 minutes. HE also had 4 boards and 1 assist.

Turner with 5 points and 4 assists.

Noel with 3 points, 10 boards, and 4 blocks.

[Eaglesfan27]

Perkins has a pinched nerve in his back and will play through it, but it could bother him the rest of the playoffs...

Game 4 at home...

We start out good with a 25-25 game at the end of 1.

In the 2nd and 3rd quarter, we go ice cold. 13 point quarters back to back put us in a huge hole.

We lose 98-72. Series tied at 2-2.


Cowen shot 7 of 21 and finished with 19 points and 5 assists.

Perkins shot 2 of 10 and finished with 7 points, 9 boards, and 1 steal.

Embiid had a 2 of 12 night for 6 points, 10 boards, and 5 blocks.

Butler with 8 points, 6 boards, and 7 assists.

Turner with 6 points.

Robinson with 13 points.

GF with 4 points.



Ozat led them with 22 points and 6 assists.


We must win the pivotal game 5 at their place...

[Eaglesfan27]

In other news:

The Bulls swept the Heat behind a monster series by Anthony Davis.

The Thunder are up 3-1 on the Rockets.

The Lakers are up 3-2 on the Warriors.

[Eaglesfan27]

:56 seconds left - Cowen has been brilliant but he needs a breather. He sits with 10 points. We lead 21-20.

We are down 23-21 at the end of 1. Perkins had a really rough shooting quarter. Embiid and Cowen carried us on the offensive end. Perkins rested the last 4 minutes of the quarter and will hopefully bounce back in the 2nd.


6:50 - Turner at PG, Butler at SG, GF at SF, Perkins at PF, and Noel at C shut down their offense. We on a nice run and only give up 2 points before they get tired and need to rest.

We lead 31-25.

Cowen comes into the game and a few moves later he has 3 more baskets. 38-29 lead.

Stephenson with a pair of 3's to close the gap.

Perkins with his first basket of the game on a nice feed by Cowen!


Halftime: Hard fought game has us up 44-42.

Cowen leads us with 13 points. Embiid with 7 boards. Butler with 4 assists.

Embiid has 12 points and also has 2 assists as they were doubling him at one point and he kicked it out for jumpers.

Ozat leads them with 11 points. Stephenson with 10.

Perkins gets out and blocks Ozat's shot! Fast break... cowen to Butler for a dunk! We lead 52-49.

4:04 - We rest almost all of our starters except for Butler. Turner, Butler, GF, Moultrie, and Noel into the game. We lead 60-57.

The GF is exploding! A pair of 3's. Then, his man comes up close on him and he blows by him for a spectacular dunk! A 12 foot jumper. He has 10 points in 3 minutes! We lead 70-61.

A sloppy pass by Turner leads to a breakaway dunk for them.

Stephenson with a 3.


End of 3: We lead 70-66.


8:05 - GF has continued to score. He is playing too good to rest him. We go with Cowen, Turner, GF, Perkins, and Noel. We are up 76-74.

6:00 - A very well rested Embiid returns. We lead 82-79.

They have a few big 3's and suddenly we are down 87-84. GF is tired and getting burnt on the defensive end. I call time and get Robinson back in who is very well rested.

Cowen takes it into his own hands... strong drive and a difficult floater is in!

Cowen sets up Embiid for an easy dunk with the pick and roll. We lead 88-87.

Embiid forces a miss from Jefferson.

Cowen gets the screen... drives.. draws the defense... kicks out to Perkins for a wide open corner 3... too long.

Ozat the other end gets a quick look... shoots the 3... it bounces on the rim.. up... and in. Down 90-88.

Cowen with an unforced turnover on a bad pass. Sheesh. 1:32 left...

Ozat beats Cowen on the dribble.. finds Zeller who makes the uncontested 8 footer. Down 92-88.

Cowen with a strong drive... and he is called for a charge!

Embiid blocks a shot by Ozat in the paint... that starts a fast break.. they foul Turner. He makes both FT's. Down 92-90 with 35 seconds left.

We play strong defense and force a missed 3! Perkins with the board. We call time out.

Cowen uses a screen... gets to the basket... and misses a layup! I can't believe he is choking!

Ozat with the board and we have to foul him. Cowen fouls out!

Robinson misses a 3 and we are done.


We lose 94-90.


Can we win game 6 to stay alive?


Ozat is the player of the game with 23 points, 5 assists, 2 boards. He shot a very efficient 9 of 16.

Stephenson added 21 points, 5 boards, and 5 assists. He also had 2 steals. He shot 8 of 23.

Zeller with 11 points and 11 boards.


GF led us with 22 points, 3 boards, 1 assist, and 1 block. He shot 9 of 18.

Cowen with 21 points, 6 assists, 3 boards, 5 turnovers. He shot 8 of 14.

Embiid with 20 points, 12 boards, 2 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks. He shot 9 of 15.

Turner with 7 points and 4 assists. He had 4 turnovers too.

Robinson with 6 points, 2 boards, and 1 assist.

Butler with 5 points, 6 assists, 2 steals, and a block.

Noel with 4 points, 8 boards, and 3 blocks.

[Eaglesfan27]

The Thunder beat the Rockets in 5.

The Lakers beat the Warriors in 6.


I decide Cowen is going 40 plus minutes in game 6...

He comes out on fire! 12 quick points.

By halftime, he has 24 points and we are up 58-38.

By the end of the 3rd, we are up 90-60.

We are able to rest our starters in the 4th as we have the blowout win in front of our home crowd.

118-80.

Cowen with a career high 41 points, 9 boards, 9 assists, and 6 turnovers. He shot 16 of 23, 3 of 6, and 6 of 6.

Embiid with 20 points, 9 boards, 4 blocks. He shot 9 of 15.

Butler with 18 points, 4 boards, 5 assiss, 3 steals, and 2 blocks.

Turner with 14 points, 8 boards, and 3 assists.

Perkins with 11 points, 3 boards, 3 assists, and a steal.

GF with 8 points and 5 boards.

Noel with 6 boards and 2 blocks.

Robinson with 4 points, 9 boards, 6 assists, and 2 turnovers.


Can we win game 7 on the road? Cowen is going to have to be the superstar again...

[Eaglesfan27]

Cowen comes out fired up... and gets called with a charge when he makes a move and tries to get around Zeller.

Cowen and Embiid with a perfect pick and roll. Embiid with a dunk.

Butler for a 3. Up 5-2.

Zeller blocks an Embiid shot. He comes right back the next time and beats Zeller with a nice dream shake type move.

Stephenson with a drive and gets a 2nd early foul on Embiid. We bring in Cowen.

We are down 13-9.

Murray Gooding with a pair of 3's for them. Ouch.

Cowen finds Perkins for a corner 3 and he swishes it.


Cowen steps up his game and scores a pair of baskets... then a sick drive and step back jumper that they have no answer for.


End of 1: We rested Embiid for half of the quarter but we are still tied at 24.


10:37 - Cowen with a really bad pass that leads to an easy breakaway dunk. Cowen is tired. I rest him for Turner at PG. We are down 28-24.

Our shooting is ice cold. Lin and Stephenson making plays at the other end. We are down 34-26.

They are driving inside and drawing fouls. 3 on Embiid and 2 on Noel. They are in the bonus with 8:46 to go in the half..

GF with a few baskets to get our offense going again!

Gooding is having an insane night shooting. Hits 4 3's.

GF is taking it to him at the other end.

We are still down 45-37 as their 3's keep coming.

4:30 - We bring back Cowen and Perkins. Cowens, Butler, GF, Perkins, and Embiid in the game.

Cowen with a quick fadeaway jumper for 2.

Jefferson with a great double move gets a 4th foul on Embiid. Jefferson with 10 points as he looks like the Jefferson of old. We are down 54-45.

They are killing us with 3's.

We are down 63-50 at halftime.


GF is our leading scorer with 15 and will get to start the 2nd half.

Cowen with 5 assists and 13 points.

Embiid with 5 boards and 10 points.


Gooding leads them with 15 points (all on 3's.) He was a deep bench player but he is killing us tonight..


Cowen tries one of his floaters in the lane and Zeller gets there and blocks it, but they fail to convert the fastbreak as GF gets back and blocks the shot!

GF at the other end with an open jumper.


3rd quarter is a totally different story. They are not hitting the contested 3's. Our defense is smothering them. Our offense is executing efficiently with GF, Cowen, Perkins, and Embiid all scoring.

3:49 - Cowen with a 14 footer to give us a 72-71 lead!

Stephenson with a long 2 to end our run.

Perkins with a SPECTACULAR 360 dunk!


They got to the line 21 times and we only got the line 8 in the first half.

Now, we are making them foul us. We've been to the line 10 times this quarter. Perkins with a pair of FT's. He has made 4 this quarter.

Perkins with a block!


At the end of 3, we lead 78-75! 28-12 quarter in favor!

Cowen is tired. We go with Turner, Butler, Robinson, Noel, and Embiid for a few minutes to start the 4th...


I tell my guys to slow down the pace to start the 4th. I want to buy Cowen 4 minutes of rest while maintaining a lead.

9:30 - Embiid picks up his 5th. We need him to remain out there.

We actually get him 5 minutes!

6:58 - They call time as we have a 84-80 lead. Great defense. Embiid is tired and will rest. Cowen, Butler, Robinson, Perkins, and Noel into the game.

Gooding with another 3! He has 20 points for them. 84-83.

Cowen misses an open look but makes up for it with a steal and pass to Robinson for a breakaway dunk!

Stephenson misses another shot. He is shooting very poorly this half.

Cowen drives into the lane and kicks it out to Noel who hits a 12 footer from the baseline!

Gooding with another 3. We lead 88-87. 3:49 to go...

Cowen beats his man... drives into the lane.. kicks it out to Perkins for a wide open 3. Perkins measures... shoots... swishes it!

Zeller with a nice post move on Perkins for a basket. We lead 91-89.

Cowen with a crossover beats Ozat... floater in the lane... good!

Cowen with a steal and breakaway dink! We lead 95-89.

They miss a jumper but Jones with the board and we foul him.. he misses the first FT. Embiid into the game. Butler too. He makes the 2nd. We lead 95-90.

Cowen misses a jumper. Embiid with the offensive board. He kicks it out and we reset. Cowen drives and kicks it out to Perkins for a long 2!

Stephenson with a critical 3 to keep them in it. We lead 97-93 with 56 seconds left...

Cowen finds Embiid in the post. They foul Embiid. He makes 1 of 2.

Gooding misses a quick 3... we get a fast break.. Butler to Cowen who passes it to Embiid trailing.. powerful dunk!

27 seconds left - Embiid fouls out, but we lead 100-93. Zeller misses the first FT. He makes the 2nd. 100-94...

We get it to Cowen who they foul :)

He is automatic. Makes them both.

Stephenson draws a foul but misses the shot. He makes his FT's.

Cowen with another pair of FT's good.

Ozat with another 3. But, then he fouls out grabbing Cowen.

Cowen with another pair of FT's that are good. We lead 106-99.

Wow. Gooding makes a 3 and then they steal the inbounds pass and dunk it. 106-104 with 8 seconds left..

We get it to Cowen who is fouled. He swishes the 1st... 2nd is long... but bounces in. 108-104 with 5 seconds left...


Stephenson misses a 3. It is over!!! We are going to the Eastern Conference Finals!


108-104 win :)


Cowen is the player of the game with 31 points, 13 assists, 3 boards, 3 steals, and 4 turnovers. He shot 8 of 20, 0 of 3 from the arc, and 15 of 16 from the line.

GF with 21 points and 4 boards in 22 minutes. He shot 9 of 13, 1 of 2, and 2 of 3.

Perkins with 19 points, 7 boards, and a block. He shot 5 of 7, 2 of 2, and 7 of 7.

Embiid with 17 points, 13 boards, and 2 blocks. He shot 8 of 14 and 1 of 5 from the line.

Butler with 7 points, 3 boards, 1 steal, and a block.

Turner with 5 points and 2 assists.

Noel with 4 points, 6 boards, and 2 assists.

Robinson with 4 points, 4 boards, and 2 assists.



Stephenson shot 5 of 20 in the loss. HE had 14 points and 3 assists.

Ozat with 17 points and 5 assists.

Gooding was the surprise, leading them with 27 points including 6 of 9 from the arc.

[Eaglesfan27]

Thunder and Lakers in the Western Conference Finals.

Bulls vs us in the East.


Let's take a brief look at each team:

The Bulls have no one injured.

The Lakers' star C has a knee that is bothering him but he will play.


The Tunder are missing starting C Steven Adams with a significant knee injury. Backup PG Elfrid Payton is playing with a foot problem.


The Lakers areguably have the best players from 1-7 in the league:

C Caron Schayes is 25 years old and rated 93 with his strengths in post offense and defense. He is lethal scorer inside. He is averaging 17 ppg and 9.2 rpg.

SG DeMar DeRozan is a 28 year old SG who is at the top of his game with a 91 overall rating with his strengths being his shooting but he can score from anywhere on the floor. He is averaging 24 ppg and 5 apg.

PF Julius Randle is 23 and is a true low post star. He is rated 90 overall with a variety of ways to score inside. He is averaging 14 ppg and 9 rpg.

PG Brandon Knight is a great playmaker who has a very good 3 point shot. He is rated 86 overall. He is averaging 14 ppg and 9.3 apg.

SG/SF Aaron Afflalo is a sharp shooter at SF who is one of the best in the league behind the arc. He is averaging 13 ppg.


Young C Roderick Grant leads their bench. The 6'10 240 pound C from Memphis is a capable scorer and interior defender. He is rated 84 overall. He is averaging 10 ppg and 8 rpg.

PF Ed Davis is a good interior defender who is 6'10 225. He is averaging 4 ppg and 5 rpg. He is rated 80 overall.

Rajon Rondo is rated 77 overall and is unhappy with his role but he is a capable back up PG for them. He is 32 and is averaging 4 ppg and 5 apg in 16 mpg.

They have 3 or 4 more guys who can play too including SF Nick Young who is their best outside shooter on the bench.


The Thunder have their big 3 and a lot of good role players around them:

SF Durant is 29 and is at the top of his game. He is rated 99 overall. He is averaging 35 ppg and 9.3 rpg along with 5 apg.

Westbrook is 29 and is finally losing a bit of his quickness but he still has superior athleticism, shooting, and playmaking ability. He is averaging 20 ppg and 8.2 apg.

PF Serge Ibaka is an elite interior defender who is rated 89 overall. He is also a capable midrange shooter. He is averaging 14 ppg, 10.2 rpg, and 2.1 bpg.

SG Jeremy Lamb is 25 and is rated 80 overall. His strength is his 3 point shooting. He is averaging 10 ppg and 4.4 apg.

Mitch McGary will start at C due to their injuries. He is 25 and is rated 80 overall. He is a good defender who can score a bit. He is averaging 4.4 ppg and 7.6 rpg.



PG Elfrid Payton leads their bench. He is 24 and is rated 80 overall as a playmaker. He is averaging 7 ppg and 5.5 apg.

C Dee Hines is a 23 year old C who is 6'11 260 and he can score inside. He is averaging 7 ppg and 5 rpg.

SG Anthony Morrow rounds out their bench. He is 32 and is an elite outside shooter. He is averaging 6 ppg.

At the end of their bench, they have Channing Frye and Danny Granger who are both rated in the mid 60's now.


The Bulls have 2 superstars and some good role players around them:

PF Anthony Davis is 25 and is in the prime of his career. He excels in every area but 3 point shooting and ball handling. He is rated 95 overall. He is averaging 18 ppg, 10.9 rpg, and 1.9 bpg in his first season in Chicago.

PG Derrick Rose has been slowed by the injuries but he is still a superstar player now that he is healthy. He is rated 88 overall and can do shoot very well. He is averaging 22 ppg and 6.7 apg.

SG Nik Stauskas is a 6'6 206 pound SG who is a deadly 3 point shooter. He has a fast accurate release. He is averaging 16 ppg and 3.4 apg. He is rated 83 overall.

SF Khris Middleton is a versatile wing player who is 6'8 220. He is an elite outside shooter too. He is only 26 and playing with great confidence. He is averaging 14 ppg and 3.9 rpg.

C Joakim Noah is slowing his age but is still a capable player in shorter spurts. He is 33 and is rated 77 overall now. He is averaging 28 mpg, 5.3 ppg, 9.0 rpg, and 1.2 bpg. He is player I have to attack...


21 year old SG Nelson Williamson is a rookie who leads their bench. He is an explosive player who can really shoot much better than expected. He was a steal at #6 in this last draft. He is averaging 16.6 ppg, 5.0 rpg, and 3.2 apg.

SF Tony Snell is a capable player who is 26 and rated 77 overall. His strength is his outside shooting. He is averaging 8 ppg.

PG Shelvin MAck rounds out their core rotation players. He is 28 and is a very good outside shooter. He is rated 77 overall. He is averaging 3.4 ppg and 3.8 apg in just 17 mpg.

SF/PF Dillon Hubbard might also get some PT. He is 6'9 240 and is a good passer for a big man. He is rated 75 overall.

[Eaglesfan27]

Rose and Cowen attacking each other early. Both with 8 early points.

We are tied at 12.

Cowen gets a bunch of points so they start doubling him and now he is picking them apart with passes for easy assists and guys are nailing their jumpers.

We are up 27-23 at the end of 1. Cowen with 13 points and 5 assists in the quarter. He rests to start the 2nd.

6:54 - Embiid and Cowen back into the game with good rest. We lead 39-31 as Perkins had a few nice baskets and Turner did as well to start the 2nd.

Cowen hitting shots from all over the court. Everyone else chipping in too.


At halftime, we lead 53-45.

Cowen with 23 points and 5 assists to lead our team. Embiid with 9 boards.

Williamson is their top scorer with 17 off the bench. He was drilling shots from all over in the 2nd quarter.

Rose with 15 points and 4 assists for them at the half.


In the 3rd, our fastbreak is outgunning them. A few easy baskets for Robinson finishing off the fastbreak which he does so well.

We lead 59-47 as they call T.O.

Perkins hits his 2nd 3 of the day. We are up 62-52.


3:30 - Our offense is executing so well. Cowen and Embiid need a breather. We lead 68-56.

Davis after a slow start gets it going with Embiid out. He has 8 quick points.

At the end of 3, we lead 77-72. Perkins with some big baskets in the end of that quarter.


Perkins with a hot start in the 4th with a pair of 3's.

We take a 89-76 lead as a rested Embiid and Cowen return with 8 minutes to go.


With a 102-80 lead and 3:30 to go, I pull my starters.



We win 104-89.



Cowen is the player of the game with 32 points, 11 assists, 2 boards, 2 steals, and 4 turnovers. He shot 14 of 24, 1 of 2, and 3 of 3.

Perkins with 23 points, 9 boards, 2 assists, and a steal. He shot 8 of 16, 5 of 9 from the arc, and 2 of 2 from the line.

Robinson with 14 points, 5 boards, and 4 assists.

Butler with 10 points, 4 assists, and 2 steals.

Embiid with 10 points, 15 boards, and a block.

Turner with 9 points and 2 assists.

Noel with 4 points, 11 boards, and a block.

GF with 4 points, 6 boards, 3 assists, and 3 blocks!



We held Davis to 5 of 15 shooting for 10 points, 8 boards, and 2 assists.

Rose was 7 of 20 for 24 points and 6 assists.

Williamson was 12 of 23 for 30 points and 2 assists.

Stauskas we held to 2 of 9 shooting.

Noah was 1 of 6 for 2 points and 9 boards.



Mission accomplished. We have home court advantage throughout now.

[Eaglesfan27]

The Lakers with a 120-116 win in Game 1 in Oklahoma!

Durant had 51 points in the loss!

Westbrook added 35 points! Wow. 86 of their 116 points :O

The Lakers were led by 30 from DeRozan and 29 from Schayes, their star C.

Randle added 20 points and 13 boards.

Young had 10 off the bench.





Game 2:

We jump to an early lead but they close out the quarter strong behind Rose and we are only up 26-23.

They have a big shooting quarter in the 2nd. They take a 61-50 halftime lead.

In the 3rd, we close the gap until they go on a 8-0 run to end the quarter.

Down 86-74.


In the 4th, they build a 20 point lead and we just can't close the gap.


We lose 114-98.

Rose led them with 25 points and 8 assists. Williamson with 21 points. Davis with 17 points and 11 boards.


Perkins led us with 23 points and 3 boards.

Cowen with 22 points, 14 assists, and 2 steals. He shot 5 of 16 but 11 of 12 from the line.

Turner with 12 points.

Embiid held to 10 points, 10 boards, and 3 blocks.

Noel with 10 points and 5 boards.

Robinson with 10 points.

GF with 4 points, 4 boards, and 3 assists.


Still, we are satisfied with splitting them at their place. Now, to take care of business at home.

[Eaglesfan27]

The Thunder win game 2 in Oklahoma 115-110.

They were much more balanced. Durant with 29 points. Westbrook with 18 points and 8 assists. Lamb and Ibaka with 14 points each.

[Eaglesfan27]

Perkins with a quick 12 footer to start the game. Perkins with an open baseline jumper for 4.

Our first 10 possessions, Perkins is 5 of 5, everyone else is 0 of 5.

2:26 - Perkins has 12 points. The rest of our team has 6. We lead 18-13 as this is a hard fought grinding defensive game. Embiid and Cowen need a breather. Ditto for Robinson. Turner, GF, and Noel into the game.

Davis gets it going to end the quarter. A few really nice baskets.

Rose lands hard after a dunk. His back looks hurt, but he shakes it off and stays in the game.

GF with 4 points to end the quarter. We lead 25-16 at the end of 1.

Perkins with 14 points and 4 boards already! :)



9:18 - Perkins hits a pair of 3's and they call time! What a game for Perkins! Cowen, Robinson, and Embiid back into the game. Perkins is tiring but he is on fire... he is staying in the game. We lead 35-24.

4:40 - Embiid gets a 4th foul on Noah. We are beating them up inside.

1:39 - Butler lands awkwardly grabbing a rebound. Holding his ankle. He is trying to shake it off but I pull him out of the game. Turner into the game.



Halftime: We lead 52-44.

Perkins with 30 points at the half! He also has 7 boards, 1 assist, and 1 block.

Embiid with 8 points and 7 boards.

Cowen with 6 points and 3 assists. He has shot poorly tonight.



5:00 - Davis and Rose are going off. We are down 60-58. We get a 5th on Noah with a nice move by Noel who came in for for Perkins about a minute ago.

1:35 - Embiid and Cowen rest. Perkins back into the game for his scoring. We lead 71-66.


End of 3: We are up 74-67. Perkins with 33 points.

Rose with a pair of steals for breakaways.

We are tied at 74 with 8:40 to go.

I call time. We go with Cowen, GF, Robinson, Perkins, and Embiid.

Cowen to Embiid for a dunk.

Rose at the other end for a 3. Rose with another 3. He is catching fire now.

5:02 - We are down 86-84 after a pair of Rose FT's.

4:39 Noah fouls out after Embiid makes a nice post move for the basket and the foul!

2:20 - Cowen drives.. kicks out to Perkins.. swish from behind the arc! We lead 91-89.

Perkins blocks a Rose floater and starts the fastbreak... Perkins to Robinson.. to Cowen for a monster dunk! 93-89. They call T.O as the crowd is going crazy.

Davis with a 12 footer that is an easy basket for him.

Cowen off a screen gets an easy pull-up jumper. 95-91.

Rose does the same thing with Davis... pull up jumper is good for Rose.

Cowen finds Embiid in the post.. Embiid with a pretty hook shot for the basket.

Perkins forces a missed shot by Rose in the paint.. Embiid with the board.. throws it ahead to the GF who finds Cowen for a breakaway dunk. 99-93.

Rose misses the quick shot. Perkins with the board and he is fouled. 28 seconds left. Perkins makes both FT's. We lead 101-93.



We win game 3, 101-93.

Perkins is the player of the game with a career high 38 points, 12 boards, 2 assists, 1 steal, and 2 blocks. He had 0 turnovers. He shot 14 of 19, 4 of 5, and 6 of 7. He played 43 minutes tonight. What a night!

Cowen with 25 points, 6 assists, 1 board, 1 steal, and 3 turnovers. He shot 10 of 24.

Embiid with 13 points, 18 boards, and 2 blocks.

Robinson with 8 points, 5 boards, 6 assists, and 1 block. He played 40 minutes and I probably should have used the GF more here..

GF with 7 points, 5 boards, 3 assists, and 1 steal in 15 minutes.

Turner with 6 points, 6 assists, and 3 turnovers.

Noel with 4 points and 3 boards in just 17 minutes tonight.

Butler with 0 points, 6 boards, and 1 turnover in 23 minutes.



Rose with 27 points and 5 assists.

Stauskas with 15 points and 4 assists.

Davis with 15 points, 10 boards, and 2 assists.

Noah with 9 points and 9 boards.

Williamson with 8 points as we held him to 4 of 15. GF played some good defense on him as did Butler before the injury.


Speaking of which, the early news is that it is a severe ankle sprain. He can play through it, but probably not very effectively. I'm resting him for game 4.

[Eaglesfan27]

The Thunder do something that I can't remember if a team has ever done... 3 players with 30 points as they blow out the Lakers in game 3.

Westbrook with 32 points, 10 assists, and 7 boards.

Durant with 30 points, 9 boards, 3 assists, 3 steals, and 2 blocks.

Ibaka with 30 points, 6 boards, and 2 blocks.




Turner will get the start at SG in game 4 as we rest Butler...


The Bulls build an early lead 27-19 at the end of 1.

We tie it at 45 at the half. Perkins with another good game.

In the 3rd, we take a small lead 73-72.

In the 4th, they take a slight lead and we can never get it back.


We lose 107-103.

Davis went beast mode this game with 31 points, 14 boards, 3 assists, and 2 blocks.

Rose with 15 points and 7 assists. Stauskas with 15 points. Williamson with 13 points.



Perkins led us with 24 points, 8 boards, 2 assists, 1 steal, and 4 blocks. He shot 10 of 14, 4 of 5 from the arc.

Cowen with 19 points, 13 assists, 4 steals, and 5 turnovers. He shot 4 of 15 but was 10 of 10 from the line.

Embiid with 17 points, 12 boards, and 3 blocks.

Noel with 10 points, 6 boards, and 2 blocks.

Turner with 10 points, 2 boards, and 2 assists. He also had 5 turnovers.

Robinson with 8 points and 3 boards.

Grant with 8 points and 3 boards.

GF with 7 points, 4 boards, and 3 assists in 30 minutes.

Clark played 5 minutes and missed 3 shots. 0 points.


Series is tied 2-2.

[Eaglesfan27]

The Lakers bounce back in Game 4, 104-98 win. Their series is tied 2-2 now as well.

DeRozan with 30 points. 3rd year PF/C Roderick Grant had 21 points off the bench. Knight with 15 points and 13 assists.


Durant led the Thunder with 32 points but Westbrook shot 4 of 14 and only had 11 points and 6 assists.



Now, we have our key game 5 in Chicago.

[Eaglesfan27]

First possession, Robinson with a beautiful pass to Turner who beat his man with a back door cut for an easy dunk.

Turner on fire early. 6 points quickly.

Rose with their first 7 points.

5:40 - Perkins draws a 2nd foul on Davis! We lead 14-9.

5:01 - Cowen has gotten all of his teammates points and now he gets himself his first points of the game as he draws a foul on Noah and makes both FT's. We lead 18-11.

1:34 - We rest Cowen and Perkins. GF in at SG and Noel in at PF. We lead 23-17 after having a 10 point lead at one point.

Robinson with a steal and that leads to a fastbreak dunk by Noel.

Turner with a bad pass that leads to a steal but Noel with a chasedown block!

At the end of 1, we lead 25-19.

Turner leads us with 8 points.


8:28 - They cut the lead to 2, 30-28. We bring back Cowen and Perkins. Embiid and Robinson get a break.

Cowens with a drive and kick out to Clark for an easy 2.

Rose is on fire and hitting shot after shot.

Perkins with his 2nd block of the game leads to a fast break... Cowen to GF for a spectacular alley-oop! 43-36 lead.

Cowen to Perkins on the wing.. he fakes the jumper... gets the man in the air.. drives for a huge dunk!


Cowen with a buzzer beater floater to end the half.


We lead 51-42 at the half!

Cowen with 8 points and 7 assists.

Turner with 10 points.

Embiid with 8 points and 8 boards.

Perkins with 6 points, 7 boards, and 2 blocks. Great team play.


Rose leads them with 17 points and 3 assists.


Cowen with 3 straight baskets before they score in the 2nd half.

We lead 58-44.

Turner with a steal for a breakaway dunk by Cowen. We lead 64-44.

Rose finally beats Cowen for a layup.

3:29 - We lead 75-55 as I rest Cowen and Perkins. GF and Noel into the game.


At the end of 3, we are up 80-59! Such great play at both ends of the court by our team tonight!

8:23 - Embiid having a great night on Davis and on the boards but he is exhausted. Time for rest. Cowen into the game. Robinson gets rest with GF sliding to SF. We lead 84-68.

Rose going insane trying to bring them back... incredible shots by him.

But, Cowen is stopping every attempt at a run with his own great basket. Cowen hitting everything!

We lead 98-81 after a beautiful Cowen fadeaway jumper from 16.



We win the game 103-88 :)


Cowen with 18 points in the 4th and he is the player of the game with 31 points, 15 assists, 4 boards, 3 steals, and only 2 turnovers. He shot 13 of 22, 1 of 2, and 4 of 4.

Turner with 19 points, 3 boards, and 1 assist. He shot 8 of 15.

Embiid with 13 points, 20 boards, 1 assist, and 2 blocks.

Robinson with 11 points, 4 boards, 5 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block.

GF with 10 points, 4 boards, 5 assists, 2 steals. He shot 4 of 8.

Clark with 9 points in 9 minutes. He shot 4 of 6.

Noel with 6 points, 5 boards, and 2 blocks in 25 minutes.

Perkins shot 2 of 8 and finished with 4 points, 12 boards, 2 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks. Him and Embiid were mostly responsible for shutting down Anthony Davis.



Anthony Davis was held to 2 of 10 shooting for 5 points, 10 boards, 2 assists, and 1 steal.

Rose had 39 points, 3 assists, and 1 board. He shot 16 of 30.

Williamson with 21 points and 3 boards. He shot 9 of 19.

Stauskas with 10 points on 3 of 10 shooting.

Noah with 3 points and 10 boards.


Can we close it out at home in game 6?

[Eaglesfan27]

The Bulls come out with a big run to start the game 11-0.

We end the 1st down 22-17.

By halftime, we've closed the gap 44-44.

3rd is back and forth but they take a slight lead 72-69.

A big 4th quarter from Rose is too much for us as our shots are a bit off tonight. We lose 105-99.


Big news though as Rose and Davis both suffered minor injuries in the 4th.

Rose hurt his wrist and Davis hurt his back.


Williamson led the Bulls with 26 points and 8 boards.

Davis with 20 points, 10 boards, and 3 blocks.

Rose with 18 points, 8 assists, and 3 steals.

Stauskas with 12 points.



Cowen led us with 20 points and 7 assists. He also had 6 turnovers. He shot 7 of 14.

Embiid with 19 points, 12 boards, and 2 blocks.

Robinson with 13 points and 4 boards.

Perkins shot 3 of 10 and finished with 6 points, 6 boards, 3 assists, 2 steals, and 3 blocks.

Grant with 10 points off the bench.



Big 7 in Chicago. Rose and Davis hurt. I like our chances. :)

[Eaglesfan27]

In other series, the Lakers win big in game 5. Game 6 is a close affair, but the Lakers win it at the buzzer on a 12 footer by Schayes, 95-93. The Lakers are going back to the NBA finals!

[Eaglesfan27]

All of the experts are picking us to win game 7 with Davis definitely feeling his injury. He is going to go, but he isn't close to 100%. Ditto for Rose.

Rose to Davis for their 1st basket.

We copy the play with a pick and roll from Cowen to Perkins for a basket.


Perkins blocks a Rose shot in the paint... they get the ball back.. Rose off a screen.. he draws a foul on Perkins and makes the basket.

Cowen and Embiid with a pick and roll executed perfectly for an easy Embiid dunk.

7-7 tie early as we are going back and forth.

9-0 run for us led by a Perkins block and an Embiid alteration of a shot. We are up 16-7 as Cowen is executing nearly perfectly.

Stauskas with a pair of 3's to end our run.

Davis with a big quarter for them, his best against us, offensively. However, his back is slowing him on defense and Perkins is taking advantage.

We lead 30-20 as I rest Embiid and Cowen with 2 minutes to go in the quarter.

At the end of 1, we are up 31-25.

Davis leads them with 8. Cowen leads us with 9. Perkins with 8.

9:45 - Cowen and Embiid back into the game.

9:39 - Oh no, Noel lands badly after jumping for a rebound. He is hurt...

He is going to shake it off and keep playing. Maybe a twisted ankle?

Cowen with a great pass to get GF his first dunk and points. We lead 45-40.

6:00 - Noel has no lift and misses a dunk from Cowen. I rest Noel and bring back Perkins. We are down 49-48.

Back and forth the rest of the quarter. The injuries aren't really slowing Davis or Rose who are playing tough.


At halftime, we are up 62-61.

Cowen with 20 points and 8 assists at the half.

Davis with 14 points and 8 boards at the half.

Stauskas with 14 points.

Rose with 10 points and 5 assists.


Time to go to a work meeting. The 2nd half should be played later this week.

[Eaglesfan27]

Cowen starts out the 2nd half working his magic. 2 quick baskets followed by 2 quick assists. He has gotten us 10 points. We are up 72-65 as they call time.

Embiid with a block of a Davis shot... starts the fastbreak.. Cowen to Robinson for a dunk.

3:54 - After a brilliant start to the quarter in which we built a 14 point lead, Cowen is tired and making mistakes costing us points. We bring in GF to play SG, Turner at PG, Robinson at SF, Noel at PF, and Embiid at C. We are up 77-71.

GF gives us some much needed energy on both ends and we pick it up.

At the end of 3, we lead 87-77.

We rest Embiid and Cowen to start the 4th...

The GF is having a huge game.. coming out party for him as a 76er! He is hitting shots all over the court to build our lead to 14.

7:15 - Cowen back into the game. We lead 100-87.

Williamson with a pair of 3 against GF to close the gap to 7.

Cowen drives into the lane and earns the foul from Davis.

Rose has his shot altered by Noel.

Embiid back into the game and Perkins rests as we go with Noel and Embiid for defense.

Cowen at the other end draws a foul on Davis after beating Rose off the dribble.

Cowen with a step back jumper. We are up 110-94 with 4:25 to go....

Our defense is clamping down on them for the 2nd half of this quarter.

We slow it down and milk the clock...

Cowen making more plays to keep the scoring going.

They never get it closer than 10 until the final shot.



We win 114-105!! We are going to the NBA Finals! Lakers-76ers!



Cowen is the player of the game with 35 points, 12 assists, 3 boards, 3 steals, 3 turnovers. He shot 12 of 22, 1 of 1 from the arc, and 10 of 10 from the line.

Robinson with a huge game with 18 points, 8 boards, 8 assists, and 1 block. He shot 6 of 10 and 6 of 6 from the line.

GF with 14 points, 5 boards, 5 assists, and 2 blocks. He shot 6 of 10, 2 of 2 from the arc.

Embiid with 12 points, 6 boards, 2 assists, and 1 block.

Turner with 11 points, 10 boards, 5 assists, and 1 steal.

Noel with 7 points, 8 boards, and 2 blocks.



Williamson led them with 25 points on 10 of 24 shooting.

Davis was held to 17 points and 10 boards on 7 of 16 shooting.

Stausakas had 16 points on 6 of 15.

Rose was held to 6 of 18 for 16 points and 8 assists.

[Eaglesfan27]

Lakers - 76ers Finals! Time for a comparision at position by positions:

PG: Jimmy Cowen is 6'0 165 rated 91 overall. He is an offensive superstar and one of the most versatile scorers in the league. He has a killer crossover. He is an A+ 3 point shooter, A+ midrange shooter, and A inside scorer. He is becoming a better perimeter defensive player with a B rating. He has A+ athleticism and A+ playmaking ability. He has become an elite passer and he has tremendous vertical jumping with some dunks that are 48" inches off the floor.

Lakers PG Brandon Knight is also an offensive superstar. He is rated 86 overall. He is 6'3 190. He is a very strong 3 point shooter, a B midrange shooter, and a superior playmaker with A+ ratings. Defensively, he is slightly above average. He doesn't have the physical athleticism of the top PG's.

Advantage: us


SG:

Eric Turner is rated 80 overall and is considered a 2nd tier versatile offensive wing. He is a B in inside, midrange, and 3 point shooting. He is an above average defender, above average passer, and has above average physical atttributes. He is 6'7 220.

SG DeMar DeRozan is rated 91 overall and is one of the best offensive players in the game. He is an A shooter from any spot on the floor. He has A- playmaking and A- physical attributes. His defense is solid at a B. He is 6'7 220.

Advantage: Lakers.


SF Jake Robinson is a very promising rookie who has developed very well this year. He is only average from behind the arc, but he is above average with a B rating inside and midrange. He is rated 82 overall as an offensive wing. He is a good passer with a B rating. Defensively, he is a C+. His physical attributes are his biggest strength with A rating for his great leaping ability and quickness combined with very good strength. He is 6'8 235.


SF Arron Afflalo is rated 82 as a sharp shooter. He is one of the best 3 point shooters in the game at 32 years old. His midrange game is also very good with an A rating. Inside, he is a weaker option with a C+ rating. His defense is below average at a C- and his physical ratings are average at a C.

Advantage: Push?


PF MAck Perkins has shown the most growth of any player on our team this year and is now rated 82 overall as an all around PF. He has B shooting from the arc and B- everywhere else. He has above average defense with his strength being his shot blocking which is an A-. His physical attributes are very good for a PF with a A- rating. Not that it helps now, but our coaches also rave about his work ethic and desire to become one of the greatest of all time... we think he has a higher ceiling than we even realized before. He is 6'10 222.


PF Julius Randle is 2 years older and is a more refined interior scorer with an A+ rating in this area. He has no midrange game and can't shoot from the arc. His defense is above average. His rebounding is elite. He is rated 90 as a low post star. He is 6'9 250.

Advantage: Lakers but only slightly I think...


C Joel Embiid is rated 86 overall as an offensive super star. His strength is his very good post game. His midrange game is improving but is still below average. His 3 point game is non-existant. His interior defense has become A rated. He has C physical attributes. He is 7'0 250.


Caron Schayes is 25 and is now the highest rated C in the game with a 95 rating as an All-ARound Superstar. He has A+ inside scoring. He has A+ interior defense. He has A rebounding. He has B physical ratings.

Advantage: Lakers


Bench:

Nerlens Noel leads our bench as a 6'11 230 pound PF/C who is rated 81 as an elite paint protector. He is the best shot blocker on our team and can score a bit as well.

Giannis "GF" Antetokounmpo is a 81 rated SG/SF/stretch PF who is incredibly athletic and has developed a A- 3 point shot. He is demanding more minutes and his play has earned it. Expect big minutes from him this series...

SF Jerami Grant is a 77 rated All-ARound SF who has a nice mid range shot and plays good perimeter defense. He will get some minutes.


The remainder of our bench is all rated in the low 70's.

PF Ed Davis is 6'10 225 and is rated 81 overall as an interior defender. He isn't as good defensively as Noel but he is a better scorer and can do so quite well with an A- interior scoring rating.

C Roderick Grant has a broken Wrist that has his availability in question. Normally, he is rated 81 overall but he isn't close to 100%....


PG Rajon Rondo has seen his best days behind him. He is now rated 76 overall as a crafty playmaker. His best attribute is his passing which is an A. He is not a threat to shoot the ball.

SF Nick Young is a 73 rated shooter. He is 6'8 210 and is a very good 3 point shooter still. The rest of his game is average at best.


The remainder of their bench is in the high 60's to low 70's.

Advantage: 76ers.


A side note: 3 USC Trojans in this game, unfortunately 2 on the Lakers.

[Eaglesfan27]

Caron and Embiid with good defensive plays on each other early.

Randle with 4 of their first 6 points.

We are moving the ball, getting everyone looks.

They take a 9-6 lead early.

Cowen with a 3 and then a steal that leads to a Turner dunk to give us a 13-11 lead.

Schayes responds with a great post move against Embiid.

4:00 - They sub out their starters. We are tied 20-20.

3:36 - GF in for Turner. Noel in for Embiid.

Young with a pair of 3's to keep their bench scoring.


At the end of 1, we are tied at 26.


Turner in at PG for Cowen to start the 2nd. He picks Rondo's pocket and gets a breakaway dunk.

Our offense goes stagnant for a few minutes until Robinson posts up Arron for an easy basket.

Randle going by Noel (on his gimpy ankle) with ease. Randle with 4 more quick points. He has 13 for the game.

Clark into the game for us for some 3 point shooting.

GF with a poster dunk!!

Schayes at the other end with a slick double move in the paint to score easily against Noel. Embiid has gone out for a breather.

Cowen into the game with 8 minutes to go in the half. We are down 36-35.

3:48 - Perkins with a block on DeRozan and then next possession he blocks Randle! That gets him fired up and he comes back on the other end and gets his first basket of the game. We are down 43-41.

Randle with a great post move.

Randle with an up and under.

Randle with a fadeaway from the post.

Cowen finally answers with a great drive into the lane and kick out to Perkins.

Cowen to Perkins again.

DeRozan with a nice pull up jumper.


At halftime, we are down 52-48.


Randle leads all scorers with 17. Cowen with 15.

Embiid leads all with 7 boards.

Cowen leads all with 6 assists.



Cowen starts out the 2nd half cold and misses his first few shots. Knight getting easy assists with passes to Schayes and Julius.

8:10 - We are down 61-52 as we call time. Cowen is tired and rests. Ditto for Turner and Perkins.

Clark into the game and he hits a 3 to break our scoring slump.

Embiid having a tough time scoring against Schayes as he misses yet another shot.

Clark getting burnt at the defensive end. We are suddenly down 69-57. Cowen back into the game. Perkins back in. Embiid rests. Grant in at SG.

Schayes blocks a Cowen floater, but Jimmy steals it and gets a breakaway dunk. Down 71-61.

Wow. Schayes is so strong and quick.. he just backed Noel down and then spun off him for a monster dunk!

Schayes is in beast mode now. Noel is no match for him. Schayes with basket after basket.


At the end of 3, we are down 84-69. Cowen can't keep up with Schayes and DeRozan.

Embiid back into the game to start the 4th. He needs to have a big quarter.

The key stat of the game - Lakers have outrebounded us 40-27 including 13 offensive boards.


Cowen with a pair of baskets to start the quarter, but Randle does a great up and under to fake out Perkins.

Cowen to Perkins for a beautiful step back jumper. We are down 88-77.

5:36 - We close the gap to 93-86 on a great post move by Perkins.

Cowens with a deep 3 to make it a 4 point game! Our home crowd is going wild!

Afflalo with a 3 to quiet the crowd.

GF has it stolen from him and that leads to a fast break that ends with an Afflalo 3!

They force a missed shot by GF. They are doubling Cowen and guys aren't making open shots.

Randle with an interior basket. Suddenly, we are down by 12 again.

Cowen another pair of 3's to cut the lead to 7. Down 103-96 but only 1:20 left...


We lose the game 105-97 although it didn't feel that close for most of the 2nd half. They are really talented.

A tough loss on our home floor. If we lose game 2, we are almost certainly done.

Randle is the player of the game with 30 points, 12 boards, and 2 steals. HE shot 14 of 21.

Schayes with 21 points, 12 boards, 3 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks. He shot a very efficient 9 of 12.

DeRozan with 18 points on 6 of 15 shooting.

Knight with 10 points and 7 assists.

Afflalo with 10 points.



Cowen led us with 33 points, 12 assists, 5 boards, 5 steals, and 3 turnovers. He shot 13 of 24, 3 of 7, and 4 of 4.

Robinson with 17 points, 3 boards, 2 assists, and 2 steals.

Perkins with 12 points, 6 boards, 2 assists, 3 steals, and 3 blocks.

Turner with 11 points, 3 boards, and 4 assists.

Noel with 8 points, 6 boards, and 3 assists.

GF with 5 points, 4 assists, and a block. He shot 2 of 11.

Clark with 5 points in 7 minutes.

Embiid with 3 points and 9 boards in 32 minutes. HE shot 0 of 9.

[Eaglesfan27]

Early in the game, we jump to a 16-6 lead.

We have a 14 point lead midway through the 1st.

By the end of the 1st, they cut the lead in half. We lead 27-20 at the end of 1.

Midway through the 2nd, Robinson goes down with an arm injury :(

They have a big quarter as we lose momentum and take a 62-50 lead into half.

Oh no, Cowen hurts his ankle in the 3rd. He is going to play through it, but we aren't executing at all now. 14 point quarter as he can't use his superior athleticism. They build a 25 point lead.


They cruise to a 121-91 win. Not even a ball game and our team is deflated.


Schayes led them with 28 points, 14 boards, and 2 blocks.

DeRozan with 26 points and 8 assists.

Randle with 24 points and 10 boards.


Cowen led us with 26 points and 7 assists, most of them early. He shot 6 of 18.

Perkins with 16 points, 10 boars, and 3 assists.

Embiid held to 6 points and 6 boards.

Noel with 8 points, 10 boards, and a block.


Robinson has a partially torn rotator cuff. He is wanting to play through it, but I can't do it.

[Eaglesfan27]

Our bench is depleted with the start of GF. With Butler, Robinson, MCW all out, we just don't have enough fire power.

They blow us out in game 3, 135-90.

DeRozan with 40 points, 7 boards, and 3 assists.

Randle with 20 points and 12 boards.

Schayes with 20 points and 10 boards.

Afflalo with 18 points.


Perkins led us with 20 points, 10 boards, 3 assists, and 2 blocks.

Cowen with 15 points and 9 assists on a bum ankle. He shot 5 of 20.

Grant with 12 points as he played 28 minutes.

Turner with 12 points.

GF with 8 points, 4 boards, and 4 assists as he played 32 minutes.

Embiid held to 6 points, 6 boards, and a block.


Down 3-0 and it looks like we could easily be swept....



We come out with a lead in the 1st, but they have too much depth.

We are down 86-70 by the end of 3.

They blow it wide open in the 4th. 120-88 win.


DeRozan with 18 points and 12 assists in the loss.

Perkins with 17 points and 7 boards.


Schayes with 30 points, and 10 boards along with 3 blocks. DeRozan with 28 points.


DeMar DeRozan wins Finals MVP with a 27 ppg average.

[Eaglesfan27]

Notable Retirements:

Dirk hangs it up after 20 years at the age of 40. Will it stick?

Pau Gasol retires after 17 years in the league.

Danny Granger retires at 35 years old.

David Lee retires at age 35.



Dirk is the only one to make the HOF from the group.


Time for the draft lottery:

The Pelicans have the best chance at the #1 pick. The Celtics via the Nets have the worst chance of the lottery picks. The Nets via that same trade have the 4th best chance....


The Lakers get the 13th pick via the Bucks. Wow, the rich get richer.


The Knicks beat the Odds to jump up to the #1 pick!

The Nets get the #2 pick via the CEltics.

Hawks are 3rd.

Pelicans 4th (poor luck)

Spurs are 5th.


We have the 20th pick via a prio trade with the Magic and 27th pick via a trade with the Hornets...


Player options:

We exercise a 2 year option on Jimmy Cowen and a 1 year option on Havel Bajza.


The big FA's are:

Durant at age 29 who is looking ro one last big pay day...

Anthony at age 34 who is definitely looking at his last significant pay day...

C Jonas Valancuiunas.

We have several notable FA's of our own:

Turner, Butler, and Moultrie are all FA's.

Clark and Rod Cowens are also FA's who are determined to test FA...

Turner and Butler both want big deals. I'm going to see how that plays out...

Moultrie wants too much too. We are going to roll the dice and wait...


The draft combine shows some interesting results:

Leroy Dillon is not expected to go high in the draft, but he was the top 3 point shooter at the combine. I'll keep my eye on the 6'6 guard.

SF Corie Huestis isn't expecting to be a lottery pick but he was the #2 shooter in the draft. I want some dead eye shooters. The 6'8 250 pound SF from UNC is very intriguing.


I worked out Dillon and am definitely interested in him with one of our 1st round picks... the kid has liabilities but he is a pure shooter...

Time for the draft....

[Eaglesfan27]

Wow. The Knicks shock the world by passing on both of the SF's who were expected to go 1 or 2 and they go with a PF Will Osborne, 6'9 280 and a tough interior scorer. I guess they plan on re-signing Carmelo.

The Nets offer us the #2 pick for Embiid. That is easy for us to turn down.

The Nets surprise us and pass on the SF's as well. Guess other teams don't like them as much as we do. They take PF Cop from Slovenia.


The Bulls ten pull off a bold move, moving up in the draft and acquiring an aging Al Horford (79 and in decline) from the Hawks in exchange for Nelson Williamson (79 rated SG and climbing) and Hubbard (72 rating at SF)

The Bulls then try to trade that 3rd pick to us for the GF and Bazja. I consider it... I strongly consider it, but I think the GF is going to be a star with more PT for us this year. I decline.

The Bulls then move the 3rd pick to the Nets for SG J. Adams (78) and PG Kyle Lowry (83.) Wow, that is a crowded but talented back court they have now. Great pickup to take some of the load off Rose.

With the 3rd pick, the Nets take Lonnie Hart of Wake Forest. He was the best SG.

With the 4th pick, the Pelicans get Cedric Blackwell, who I thought was going #1 overall.

With the 5th pick, the Spurs get arguably the best player in the draft at this point in time, SF Mansiz from Turkey.

With the 6th pick, the Pacers take SF Luka Golob.

With the 7th pick, the Hawks get PG Mitchell Brooks

With the 8th pick, the Jazz get SG Sergio Diaz

With the 9th pick, the Clippers get PF Gilberto Izzo from Italy.

The Bulls trade away Noah for the 10th pick in the draft. The Celtics gave it up. Then, the Bulls get a talented SF Dexter West.


I'm disapointed to see the Lakers take Corie Huestas with the 13th pick in the draft.

I considering going big man at 20th, but I decide to take SG Leroy Dillon. I took him earlier than projected, but I want his shooting touch on my team.

I change my mind at the last minute and take PF Sherman Bradford from England. He is 6'9 240 and has potential to develop into a very good player according to our scouts.

I think the SG will still be there at 27...


Leroy is there at 27 and I grab him! He is 6'6 240 from North Carolina State and he can shoot the ball, we think.


The draft experts think we may have reached on both of our picks and don't think either are ready to play. We will see.

[Eaglesfan27]

Time for FA:

The big news is that the Thunder get Durant to re-sign for 4 years and 100 million.

The Bucks re-sign Jabari Parker for 5 years and 105 million.

The Wolves re-sign Wiggins to 4 years and 70 million.

The Raptors re-sign Jonas Valanciunas to 5 years and 80 million.

The Lakers resign Ed Davis to 5 years and 40 million.

Greg Monroe resigns with the nets for 5 years and 63 million.


That means the biggest FA's are:

Carmelo who is now 34 and rated 87 overall...

Doug McDermott who is 26 and a 81 rated sharp shooter.

PG Goran Dragic who is 32 and rated 81 overall.

SF Paul George who is injured again and it is unclear if he will bounce back...

SF Evan Turner...


I may kick myself for it, but I offer Carmelo a 1 year, Mid-Level deal to come win a ring with us...


Oh boy. Carmelo accepts. What have I done? :)

We also re-sign Butler and Turner to slightly more reasonable deals as they are both Bird right players.

That has us well over the cap and we are done.


The FA's news:

McDermott to the Kings for 1 year and 5 million.

Goran to the Hawks for 2 years and 12 million.

Hawks take a chance on George and give him 64 million over 4 years.


I still can't believe we just did that. Biggest player of FA and we got him on the come win a title pitch. He is in decline but definitely worth the 1 year gamble, as long as he doesn't destroy our chemistry.


A look at our team now as we end training camp:

PG Jimmy Cowen - 22 years old and rated 91 overall.

SG/SF Greek Freak is 23 years old demanding to start and I'm going to let him. He is rated 82 overall as a versatile offensive wing.

SF Carmelo Anthony is 34 years old and is rated 86 overall. Still a very effective scorer who can get it done from all over the court.

PF Mack Perkins took a huge leap forward and is now rated 85 overall. His 3 point shooting is tremendous for a big and he is an a tough interior defender.

C Joel Embiid has continued to refine his offensive post game. Hopefully, he has more moves to go after Schayes with if they meet again. He is now rated 88 overall as a low post star.


Our bench:

C Nerlens Noel has really focused on his defensive game and he is becoming an elite paint protector as a result. He is rated 85 overall in this role but he is also improving his inside offensive game and has developed a nice mid range shot...

21 year old SF Jake Robinson might be the player I'm most worried about being upset. But, the offensive wing appears to be a team guy and I'm hoping he will see the bigger picture. He will still get big minutes off the bench. He is rated 81 overall.

MCW is now 27 and is a crafty play maker who has improved his outside shot and is a very capable backup PG who can play SG or SF if needed. He is rated 80 overall.

SF Evan Turner is now 30 and will play limited minutes which might make him regret re-signing with us. I'm prepared to deal him if he complains. He will get less minutes this year. He is rated 79 overall.

SG Jimmy Butler is in decline at 29 years old. He's lost a step and isn't the flashy defender or dunker he was. He'll play limited minutes and might be trade bait if he doesn't handle being in a limited role.

SF Jerami Grant was in line to get big minutes this year before I signed Carmelo and got Butler and Turner to both re-sign. He wants to play more and I don't blame him. I'll try to trade him soon.

SF Rod Cowens is 6'9 250 and is becoming a decenet midrange scorer. He won't get many minutes this year, but if he continues to develop, he can be a player for us down the road. He is rated 71 overall.

PF Marty Cousins is a project still but he could play in a pinch. He is rated 70 overall.

PF Sherman Bradford is a raw prospect from England who is just expected to sit on the bench and develop. He is rated 66 overall.

SG Leroy Dillon needs a lot of seasoning before he plays. He can shoot the 3, but doesn't do anything else at the NBA level. We'll let him learn this year.

[Eaglesfan27]

Our team overall rating is now a 92, the highest it has ever been in this career. We open our season at home vs the new look Nets. They made a few big trades and their current lineup is interesting:

PG Kemba Walker (82)
SG Lonnie Hart (77 - The rookie starts right away)
SF Maurice Harkless (74)
PF Greg Monroe (84)
C Brook Lopez (73)

SG Nick Johnson (76)
PF Sasa Cop (75 - who they traded for right after the draft)
SF Bojan Bogdanovic (74)
C Rick Haywood (72)
PG Shelvin Mack (71)

We are heavily favored against them in our building.

[Eaglesfan27]

So odd seeing Carmelo introduced as a 76er. The crowd gives him a big welcome.

First play... Carmelo off a screen, draws the attention of the defense, passes it back to Cowen for an open look and he swishes it.

Carmelo gets passes from Cowen for 2 good looks for the next 2 baskets.

Carmelo with 6 points before he misses a shot.

6:00 - We lead 15-13. Noel in for Perkins.

2:25 - After a hot start, Carmelo is ice cold. We bring in Robinson. We are tied at 21.

1:45 - GF needs a break. Butler into the game. Embiid with a breather. Noel to C and Perkins back in. We are tied at 26.


At the end of 1, we are tied at 30. Now, I'm going to ask our guys to lock down much harder on defense.

Cowen leads us with 8 points and 4 assists.

7:47 - Embiid in for Noel. We are up 40-39.

5:50 - Cowen gets a breather. We go with MCW, GF, Carmelo, Perkins, and Embiid. We are up 45-43.


At halftime, we are up 52-50. Not the big lead we expected, but I'll take it.

We have 11 turnovers to 4 by them. Otherwise, this would be a blow out.

Kemba Walker leads all scorers with 12. Carmelo leads us with 11.

Embiid leads all with 7 boards.

Cowen leads all with 8 assists.


Cowen with a terrible start to the 2nd half as he gets sloppy with the ball and turns it over 3 straight possessions leading to a 10 point lead for the Nets.

Coach calls time out and chews Cowen out.

5:30 - Monroe gets called for a flagrant foul on Embiid... now we are fired up. We are down 71-68.

3:17 - Cowen and GF rest. MCW and Turner into the game. We are down 77-74.

We are down 83-80 at the end of 3.


10:10 - Cowen back into the game. We are down 86-85. Carmelo with 2 baskets to start the 4th.

Our defense is finally locking them down and Anthony is having a great debut! He has 31 points as we take a 101-90 lead.

They call time and Anthony takes a breather. Robinson in for his defense. Perkins in at PF. GF back in at SG.

Robinson immediately has a steal that leads to a fast break by Cowen who they foul before he can dunk it.


We take a 114-90 lead and I pull my starters with 2 minutes left.


We win 118-96. Wow. What a 4th quarter.

Cowen is the player of the game with 27 points, 13 assists, 2 boards, and 2 steals. He had 8 turnovers. He shot 10 of 17, 1 of 2, and 6 of 6.

Anthony with 31 points, 3 boards, 3 assists, 1 steal, and a block in his debut. He shot 11 of 18, 3 of 6, and 6 of 7.

Noel with 12 points, 8 boards, and a block.

Embiid with 12 points, 11 boards, 3 assists, and a block.

GF with 10 points, 3 boards, 1 assist, 1 steal, and a block. He shot 3 of 9.

Robinson with 9 points, 3 boards, 1 assist, and 2 steals in 15 minutes. Need to get him more minutes next game.

Perkins with 8 points, 9 boards, 1 assist, 1 steal. He shot 4 of 4 for the game.

Butler with 7 points and a steal in 9 minutes.

Turner with 4 points, 2 assists, and a steal in 12 minutes.

MCW with 2 assists and a steal in 11 minutes.

Need to get the bench a few more minutes next game.



Walker led them with 27 points and 7 assists. Monroe with 14 points and 7 boards.

[Eaglesfan27]

Nov 3rd -

We travel to play a Pelicans team that is struggling. Their highest rated player is their 1st round pick Cedric Blackwell who I think is going to be a star and probably should have been taken #1. They are 1-1.

We jump to a 16-2 lead early.

WE cruise to a 58-35 halftime lead.

We win easily, 119-80.

Embiid led the way with 25 points, 14 boards, and 4 blocks. He shot 12 of 18.

Anthony with 18 points, 6 boards, and 4 assists. He shot 7 of 10.

Perkins with 15 points, 12 boards, and 2 blocks. He shot 5 of 11.

Cowen with 13 points, 13 assists, 7 boards, 3 steals, and 0 turnovers. He shot 6 of 12.

Robinson with 13 points, 3 boards, 3 assists, and 2 steals in 24 minutes off the bench.

Turner with 11 points and 2 assists in 15 minutes.

MCW with 8 points, 10 assists, 3 boards, and 2 steals in 21 minutes.

GF with 6 points, 5 boards, 7 assists, and 1 steal.

Noel with 6 points, 8 boards, and 2 blocks.

Butler with 4 points and 2 assists in 11 minutes.



11/5 -

We play a Spurs team that is also struggling. Their best player is C Dwight Howard who is on the decline. Their 2nd best player is SF Tayfur Mansiz (their 1st round pick) who is going to be a super star.


Before the game, the Bucks offer me two average guards for Cowen. I turn that down easily.

We jump to a 12-4 lead early.

We cruise to a 26-14 lead at the end of 1.

WE have a 50-40 lead by halftime.

We cruise to a 95-76 win.

Perkins led us with 19 points, 11 boards, 3 assists, and 3 blocks.

Cowen with 17 points, 3 boards, 3 assists, 2 steals, and a block.

Anthony with 14 points, 5 boards, and a steal.

Embiid with 13 points, 10 boards, and 1 block. He shot 3 of 12.

Turner with 12 points in 15 minutes.

Robinson with 6 points, 3 boards, and 2 assists in 23 minutes.

Noel with 6 point, 11 boards, and 3 blocks.

MCW with 9 assists in 21 minutes before he got hurt. He twisted his ankle but will play through it.


We held Mansiz to 5 of 18 shooting in his debut against us. WE held Howard to 1 of 9.


Next up, Carmelo goes against his old team but it is a home game.

The Knicks are led by the #1 pick Will Osborne who is a 78 rated PF at this point.

[Eaglesfan27]

I expect a big blow out here. I want high intensity from the get go...


We jump to a 12-4 lead. Cowen setting up Perkins for easy baskets early.

Anthony with his first 3 and first shot of the game with 7:10 to go. We lead 15-4.

Our offense goes cold and they chip away.

5:30 - We rest Embiid. We lead 15-8.

3:45 - Perkins rests and Embiid back into the game. We lead 18-16.

At the end of 1, we are up 30-25 as our offense explodes in the last 3 minutes. Cowen with 10 points. Perkins with 10.

MCW, Turner, Robinson, Noel, and Embiid to start the 2nd quarter.

8:00 - We lead 36-32 and we try a new experimental lineup: MCW, Turner, GF, Robinson, and Perkins.

That lineup is very successful defensively.

5:23 - Cowens comes in for MCW. We lead 40-32.

2:24 - They are tiring badly and are now giving up points. We bring in Cowen, Butler, Anthony, Noel, and Embiid. We lead 45-39.

Halftime: We lead 53-42. Our defense is starting to wear down their offensive players.

Cowen leads us with 15 points and 3 assists. Noel with 6 boards leads our team.

After a relatively quiet first half in which he only had 7 points, Anthony catches on fire in the 3rd quarter. Putting on a show with 10 points so far. They call time. We lead 69-55 with 5:20 to go in the quarter.

I rest Cowen for the last 4 minutes of the quarter but MCW keeps our offense humming.

We lead 83-61 at the end of 3.

11:30 - We rest tired players. As a result, Grant in at SF. Robinson to PF. MCW at PG, GF at SG. Embiid at C.

We rotate in plenty of guys in the 4th but they all keep rolling and we cruise to a 110-83 win. Our defense is playing very well and the Knicks don't have many guys who can score. We keyed in on them.

Carmelo is the player of the game with 31 points, 9 boards, 1 assist, and 1 block. He shot 13 of 18, 5 of 6, and 0 of 0. Cowen set him up for some easy baskets as did Embiid and others.

Cowen with 24 points, 9 assists, 3 boards, 0 steals, and 2 turnovers. He shot 8 of 13, 2 of 4, and 6 of 6.

Perkins with 16 points, 5 boards, 3 assists, and 1 block. He shot 8 of 18.

Robinson with 9 points, 3 boards, and 3 assists in 22 minutes off the bench.

Turner with 9 points, 3 boards, and 3 assists in 19 minutes.

Embiid with 7 points and 14 boards. He shot an abysmal 2 of 11. He was 3 of 6 from the line.

GF with 4 points and 4 boards.

MCW with 4 points and 3 assists in 19 minutes.

Noel with 2 points, 10 boards, 2 assists, 1 steal and 1 block in 25 minutes.

Butler with 2 points, 2 boards, and 2 assists in 11 minutes.

Grant with 2 points in 8 minutes.



Their rookie Osborne had 14 points, 9 boards, and 3 assists in the loss. He shot 6 of 10, 2 of 5 from the line.

Marc Gasol led them with 18 points and 13 boards.

Hardaway, Jr also had 18 points on 6 of 16 shooting.

[Eaglesfan27]

We are now 4-0 as we face the 4-1 new look Bulls:

Rose (86)
SG Jordan Adams (80)
SF Khris Middleton (76)
PF Anthony Davis (93)
C Al Horford (77)

PG Kyle Lowry (81) leads their bench.

Their other top players are SF Tony Snell and Nik Stauskas who is hurt and will likely move back to starting when he is 100%..



Back and forth game throughout. They take the early lead. We come back with a huge 2nd and have a 59-53 lead at halftime.

Big 3rd quarter gives them a 82-81 lead.

We trade the lead several times in the 4th but a buzzer beater by Rose gets them the win, 108-107.


Carmelo led us with 25 points, 5 boards, and 3 assists in the loss. He shot 10 of 14.

Embiid with 19 points, 9 boards, and 2 blocks.

Cowen with 13 points, 13 assists, 2 boards, 1 steal. He shot 6 of 16.

Noel with 11 points, 8 boards, and 2 blocks.

Perkins with 8 points, 6 boards, 3 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block. He shot 4 of 10.



Anthony Davis led them in the win with 31 points, 10 boards, 2 assists, and 3 blocks. He shot 8 of 16 and was 13 of 15 from the line.

Adams with 17 points. Horford with 16 points and 9 boards.

Rose with 15 points and 8 assists.




11/10 -

We travel the next night to play the Pacers. They are 2-3 which is surprising as they are very weak in the front court, starting an aging Roy Hibbert and rookie PF Brook Grady who isn't ready to play. Their best player is rookie Luka Golob who is rated 77 overall already...


As expected, we blow out the Pacers. Nice to see our team winning when expected to. We cruise to a 119-80 win.

Robinson led the way with 24 points in 25 minutes. He also had 3 boards and 3 assists.

Embiid with 20 points, 7 boards, and 2 blocks.

Perkins with 16 points, 8 boards, and 1 block.

Cowen with 14 points and 9 assists.

Anthony with a quiet 13 points, 10 boards, and 3 assists.

Noel with 11 points, 7 boards and a block.

MCW with 11 points, 6 boards, and 5 assists in 24 minutes.

GF with 4 points, 7 boards, and 7 assists.



11/14 - We will host the Jazz who are 4-4.

Their best player is PG Marcus Smart who is rated 84.

SG Sergio Diaz is rated 75 - not bad for the 1st round pick.

SF Gordon Hayward (81)

PF Derrick Favors (80)

C Enes Kanter (79)

PG Trey Burke (80) leads their bench.

C Rudy Gobert (79)
SG Rodney Hood (77)
PG Isaiah Caanan (76) all round out a good bench.

[Eaglesfan27]

I lost a long write-up (the dangers of playing over several days with the game's save feature) but here is the quick summary.

We jumped to 10-3 lead, but then Sergio Diaz caught fire and helped them close out the quarter down only 24-22.

In the 2nd, we built a 10 point lead 50-40.

By the 3rd, our guys were unusually tired. They closed the gap as our defense got sloppy. Gordon Haywood with a big quarter. We ended the 3rd, up 75-73.

6:35 in the 4th, we are up 83-81 but our guys are tired especially Carmelo who has missed his last 4 shots. We bring in Cowen, Turner, GF, Robinson, and Noel.

Smart and Cowen trade 3's. We are tied at 86.

3:50 - Butler in for Turner who is gassed. We are tied at 88.

Butler misses a jumper but Noel with the offensive putback!

Robinson takes a hard hit and still makes a 6 foot shot. He completes the traditional 3 point play. 93-90 lead.

Cowen with a drive and kick to Butler for a 3.

Cowen with his own 3. We lead 99-92 with 1:30 to go.

They hit a 3 and a quick 2. 101-97 game. They foul Cowen. Wow. He misses the 1st. Swishes the 2nd. 5 point lead. 30 seconds left. Embiid back in for defense.

We win the game 104-97.


Cowen is the player of the game with 32 points, 12 assists, 3 boards, 2 steals, and only 2 turnovers. He shot 11 of 17, 4 of 4, and 6 of 7. This is his season to get his first MVP...

Carmelo only played 23 minutes but he had 16 point,s 3 boards, 2 assists, and a block. He shot 7 of 17.

Butler with 14 points, 4 boards, 2 assists, and 2 steals in 20 minutes. Very impressive night that shows he can still be a big contributor if given the chance.

Noel with 12 points, 10 boards, and a block.

Embiid with 11 points, 12 boards, and a block.

Perkins with 6 points, 9 boards, and a block.

Robinson with 5 points, 3 boards, 2 assists, 3 steals, and a block in 25 minutes.

GF with 4 points, 2 boards, and 1 steal in 25 minutes.

Turner with 4 points, 7 assists, 3 boards, and a block in 28 minutes. He shot 1 of 9.

MCW with 2 boards, 1 assist, 1 steal and 0 points in 9 minutes. I need to remember to give him primary minutes at the backup PG.



Hayward led the Jazz with 20 points. Kanter with 15 points and 12 boards. Smart with 15 points and 6 assists.

Diaz with 13 points on 5 of 10 shooting. Not bad for the rookie.

[Eaglesfan27]

11/16 -

We are 6-1 and now we face the Bucks who are 2-4 at our place. We are expected to win easily...

The Bucks come out on fire and build a big lead early. Sheesh.

Bucks up 58-44 by halftime.

We close the gap in the 3rd. Down 82-77 at the end of 3.

We close the gap to 1 and then take the lead midway through the 4th, but they keep fighting.

Back and forth down the stretch.

Last possession, Jabari Parker hits a bank shot at the buzzer for the win.


We lose 112-111.

Young PG Jeffrey Justice led them with 19 points and 7 assists. Parker with 17 points, 10 boards, and 6 assists.

Cowen led us with 25 points, 13 assists, 3 boards, 3 steals, and only 1 turnover. HE shot 8 of 23.

Perkins with 21 points, 10 boards, 3 assists, 2 steals, and 4 blocks. He shot 9 of 18.

Embiid with 15 points, 7 boards, and 3 blocks. He shot 7 of 13.

Carmelo with 13 points, 13 boards, and 3 assists. He shot 5 of 7.

Robinson with 10 points, 4 boards, and 1 assist in 20 minutes.

Noel with 10 points, 8 boards, and a block in 22 minutes.

GF with 8 points, 4 boards, 3 assists in 26 minutes.

MCW with 7 points, 7 assists, 3 steals in 20 minutes.

Turner with 2 points, 3 boards, 3 assists in 16 minutes.





11/19 -

We host the Warriors who are a surprising 5-5 to start the season. They have lost their bench depth and are really struggling when their starting 5 are out. Their top bench player is our former SG Hazel Bazja who I decided not to renew at the last minute to make room for our signees.


We try to play a high pace game to wear out their starters.

We take a 31-25 lead early. At halftime, it is tied at 59.

In the 3rd, they take a 84-80 lead. Curry is on fire!

In the 4th, we tie it up on a shot by Cowen to send it into overtime.

Overtime, Curry hits big shot after big shot.

We lose 124-120 in OT.

Curry with 39 points, 8 assists, 2 steals.

Thompson with 31 points, 6 boards, and 2 blocks.

Barnes with 24 points and 7 boards.


Cowen led us in the loss with 33 points, 13 assists, 3 boards, 3 steals, and 2 turnovers. He shot 11 of 23, 5 of 9, and 6 of 6.

Robinson with 20 points, 5 boards, 3 assists, and 1 block in 24 minutes off the bench.

Perkins with 16 points, 9 boards, 3 assists, 2 steals, and a block. He shot 6 of 15.

Carmelo with 13 points, 8 boards, and 3 assists in 30 minutes.

Noel with 9 points, 11 boards, and a block in 30 minutes.

Embiid was in foul trouble - only played 19 minutes - 9 points, 5 boards, and a block.

GF with 9 points, 5 boards, 5 assists, and 1 block.

MCW with 4 points, 5 boards, and 3 assists in 22 minutes.



We drop to 6-3. Next up is a game at Boston. They are 5-5. Let's look at their new lineup:

PG Dante Exum (85)
SG Ben McLemore (83)
SF Kawhi Leonard (83)
PF Jared Sullinger (82)
C Bert Williams (77)

PG O.J. Gill (84)
SG Clifford Holland (80)
SF James Young (80 - sharp shooter)
C Kelly Olynyk (77)
SG Tony Wroten (75)
PF Sean Mayo (74)

A nice deep team. This should be a competitive game.

[Eaglesfan27]

We come out playing incredible on offense. Perkins to Embiid for the first basket and we feed the big guy early. Jump to a 10-0 lead.

19-2 lead as our hot start continues! Tremendous defense and offense. Our guys are fired up. Embiid with 10 points early.

31-9 lead. They close out the quarter with a 6-0 run. Embiid and company got tired late.

31-15 lead at the end of 1.

9:18 - Cowen gets his first breather. MCW, Butler, Carmelo, Robinson, and Noel into the game.

3:31 - Cowen back in. We are up 50-37. Great offense from Carmelo and Butler during that stretch with MCW setting them up.

Cowen, Turner, GF, Robinson, and Embiid in now.

They finish the half VERY strong on both ends.


We are up 60-40 at the end of the half.

Embiid with 17 points, 10 boards, 3 blocks.

Cowen has 14 points and 5 assists.

Carmelo with 11 points. GF with 10.

3:00 - Cowen comes out and rests as does Embiid and Perkins. We lead 80-59.

Anthony stays in and finishes the quarter strong with 3 straight baskets.

We lead 86-62 at the end of 3. Our guys are playing to their full potential tonight.


With 5 minutes to go, we are up 104-74. I pull my starters.

Our bench guys give up a part of our lead, but we hold on for a 110-93 win.



Embiid gets player of the game with 26 points, 14 boards, 1 steal, and 3 blocks. He shot 11 of 16 and 4 of 6 from the line.

Carmelo also with 26 points, 4 boards, 4 assists. He shot 10 of 20.

Cowen with 23 points, 9 boards, 10 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block. He had 4 turnovers (2 late when he was tired.) He shot 10 of 18.

Butler with 12 points. GF with 12 points. Turner with 6 points.

Perkins with 4 points, 8 boards, 5 assists, 1 steal, and 2 blocks. He shot 2 of 6.

Noel with 2 points, 12 boards, and 2 blocks.

Robinson played 26 minutes and had 0 points, 7 boards, and 2 assists. He was 0 of 4 from the floor.

MCW played 15 minutes. 0 points, 3 assists. He shot 0 of 4.


Leonard led them with 20 points, 7 boards, 3 assists, and 2 steals.

[Eaglesfan27]

11/23 -

We travel to Dalls. They are 7-4 with their play focusing on their big 3: PF Blake Griffin, SF Chandler Parsons, and young SG Alex Long. Their bench is very young and lacks talent.

We are heavily favored to win.

We start out with a closely contested game, but by the 3rd quarter we are pulling away. We have too much offense for them. Too much defense too, actually.

We win 130-94.

Cowen led the way with 28 points, 8 assists, 3 boards, 2 steals. He shot 12 of 20.

Carmelo with 20 points, 10 boards, and 4 assists.

MCW with 17 points and 4 assists.

Perkins with 16 points and 7 boards.

Embiid with 14 points, 6 boards, and a block.

Noel with 12 points, 9 boards, and a block.

GF with 10 points, 8 assists, and 4 boards.


Griffin led them with 25 points and 10 boards.



11/25 -

We host Portland. They are 7-5 and have a nice nucleus that could contend this year. Their big issue is that they are DEEP in the luxury tax and their is talk they could have to unload talent if they don't look very good around the break...

Their top players are PG Damian Lillard (93), PF Thomas Robinson (82), SG Monta Ellis (82), SG C.J. McCollum (81), and C Meyers Leonard (78.) They have a deep talented bench too.

We are still favored to win.


Cowen has a horrible shooting night and that is too much for us to overcome as Lillard lit him up. We lose 100-95.

Cowen shot 6 of 24 and finished with 15 points, 12 assists, 3 steals, and 5 turnovers.

Perkins with 23 points, 14 boards, 1 assist, and 1 block.

MCW with 13 points and 2 assists.

Embiid with 12 points, 4 boards, and 3 blocks.

Carmelo shot 5 of 12 for 1 points.


Turner hurt his back this game and will be less than 100% for a few weeks.

Lillard with 35 points and 5 assists in the win.



11/30 -

We close out the month with a home game against the Pacers who we beat 119-86 earlier in the year. They are 5-10 and struggling badly. Turner will definitely sit out this game.

[rjolley]

Enjoying the dynasty, EF27. The Bulls in your latest off season sound like I do with my Bulls in my career, making a ton of trades around the draft. How do you see what the draft experts thought of your draft?

What sliders are you using?

[Eaglesfan27]

Enjoying the dynasty, EF27. The Bulls in your latest off season sound like I do with my Bulls in my career, making a ton of trades around the draft. How do you see what the draft experts thought of your draft?

What sliders are you using?

I use creative license with the draft experts post analysis after I've had a look at the "actual ratings." The pre draft analysis is based on my thoughts, my scouts thoughts, and the mock consensus drafts.

I'm using All-Star sim sliders with just some minor adjustments of my own. I knock shooting sliders down a few notches for both sides, interior defense up a lot for both sides, and passing accuracy down a few notches for both sides. I can post the exact numbers later this week if you want.

[rjolley]

Ah, ok. Thought I was missing a report. It would be nice to see how the different services rated everyone's draft.

Did you base the ones you're using off another set online? Right now, the game is a bit too easy. Need a better challenge. I already added the legends from the various teams to the game. Adding some difficulty in playing should make it a lot more fun.

[Eaglesfan27]

Ah, ok. Thought I was missing a report. It would be nice to see how the different services rated everyone's draft.

Did you base the ones you're using off another set online? Right now, the game is a bit too easy. Need a better challenge. I already added the legends from the various teams to the game. Adding some difficulty in playing should make it a lot more fun.

No, I just made them myself based off what I was seeing over time. For me, All-star plays pretty well, but the latest patch upped shooting percentages so much that I knocked down shooting sliders and knocked up contested defense effects.

[rjolley]

Kool. I'll try out All-Star tonight and see what adjustments I need to make.

[Eaglesfan27]

Kool. I'll try out All-Star tonight and see what adjustments I need to make.

Cool. I have passing accuracy down at 46 or 47. Otherwise, too many spectacular passes from guys who should not be able to do so and not enough turnovers.

[rjolley]

Had a good game last night. Ended up losing by 4, but was back and forth all game. I'll make some minor adjustments, but the games definitely plays better. You could tell the CPU kept going to the hot hand on offense. Lou Hudson was killing me from all over. Pippen and Jordan kept me in it, but I couldn't make the plays at the end to pull off the win.

[Eaglesfan27]

6:00 - Cowen is setting up everyone, especially the GF. We lead 16-12.

Our starters are tiring. We rest GF and Embiid.

2:30 - Everyone but Cowen resting now. We lead 21-17.

1:00 - Cowen gets his first breather and Embiid back into the game. Cowen has been the set up man today. We lead 26-20.

At the end of 1, we lead 28-23.

GF leads us with 8 points.



Our defense lets us down in the 2nd quarter but our offense is on fire, led by Embiid.

At halftime, we are up 57-52.

Embiid with 14 points and 7 boards.

Cowen with 5 assists.


Cowen and GF with some big plays early in the 3rd.

Our defense is disappointing. These Pacers are scoring too much against us.

But, our offense is executing very well.

4:00 - Our starters are all tired. We rotate guys in. We lead 76-66.

At the end of 3, we are up 82-76.

4th quarter: 6 minutes left - After a quiet game scoring Cowen is taking it over down the stretch to build our lead to 10. We lead 100-90.

2:30 - They close the gap to 5 on a few 3's by Collison.

Cowen hitting FT's down the stretch as they are fouling to try to extend the game. He is such a great weapon at the line for finishing games.

Collison going insane in the 4th to keep them in it with another pair of 3's.

But, Cowen hits too many FT's down the stretch for them to get closer than 3.



We win 117-112.


Embiid is the player of the game with 23 points, 9 boards, and 1 block. He shot 10 of 14, 3 of 4 from the line.

Cowen with 20 points, 10 assists, 4 boards, and 2 steals. He shot 7 of 15.

Anthony with 19 points and 1 assist.

Perkins with 16 points, 12 boards, 2 assists.

GF with 15 points, 1 steal, and a block.

Butler with 10 points, 4 boards, and a steal.

Noel with 7 points, 9 boards.

Robinson with 2 points, 2 boards, 2 assists, and 1 steal in 25 minutes.

MCW with 2 points and 5 assists in 18 minutes.



Rookie Golob led them with 26 points on 11 of 22 shooting.

Hibbert with 18 points and 10 boards as Embiid did not do a good job defensively on him.

Collison with 18 points and 10 assists.

[Eaglesfan27]

December 1st -

This year, it is big men who are shining in the draft more than any year I can remember in the last few. There are 5 PF's projected in the top 10. We'll look at them closer in a month or two.

Players of the Month:

East PG Yunlong Kim now with Detroit.

West Kevin Durant with the Thunder.

Durant and company have the Thunder out to a 15-1 record!



12/2 -

We host the Grizzlies who are 10-5. They have a good starting 5 with no stand out stars. Their top player is Michael Kidd-Gilchrist with a 82 rating.


We jumped to a huge lead at the half 50-36.

Then in the 3rd, we let up way too much and they closed the gap to 2.

We went cold in the 4th too, but our defense held strong.


We win 88-84.

Cowen led the way with 14 points, 9 assists, 3 boards, and 4 steals.

Embiid with 12 points, 6 boards, and a block.

Noel with 11 points, 8 boards, and 3 blocks.

Carmelo with 11 points, 9 boards, and 3 steals.

Perkins with 11 points, 9 boards, and a block.

GF with 11 points, 5 boards, and 5 assists.



12/4 -

We travel to play the Hawks. They are 11-4 with a strong starting 5:

PG Goran Dragic (79) is on the downside of his career but is still a crafty scorer.

SG Nelson Williamson is becoming a star (83)

SF Paul George still has great ability despite multiple injuries (86)

PF Mike Scott is a young up and coming player (77)

C Ronnie Hollins is very young but talented (76)

PG Dennis Schroder (76) leads their bench.


It is a high flying game between us and the Hawks.

Cowen starts off with a big quarter to get us a 35-27 lead by the end of 1.

They come back with a huge quarter from Williamson to tie it 60-60 at the half.

In the 3rd, they take the lead with a big quarter from Dragic. 90-85 lead.

Cowen scoring in bunches to keep up with their scorers.

2:45 - We are down 117-114.

Embiid has it stolen from him and they get a breakaway dunk.

1:00 - We are down by 6, we have to start fouling.

George and company are hitting their FT's.


We lose 125-121.



George is the player of the game with 23 points, 8 boards, 3 assists, 2 steals.

Williamson added 23 points.

Kent Bazemore with 19 points off the bench.

Hollins had 14 points and 9 boards.



Carmelo led us with 25 points.

Cowen with 23 points, 13 assists, 5 boards, and 2 steals.

Robinson with 21 points and 5 assists.

Perkins with 17 points, 9 boards, 1 assist, 1 steal, and 2 blocks.

Embiid with 16 points, 9 boards, and a block.

GF with 12 points, 4 boards, 4 assists.

Butler with 6 points, 5 assists, 2 steals.

Noel with 6 points, 5 boards, and 1 block.

MCW with 2 points and 4 assists in 19 minutes.



12/5 -

We host the Cavs who are 10-7. Our team is fired up for this game.

The Cavs have their big 3 of Irving (92), Waiters (85), and LeBron (97 as he is starting to decline.)

Their bigs can be exploited, especially C Justin Hamilton. Look for Embiid to have a big day.

[Eaglesfan27]

6:00 - LeBron is overpowering Carmelo early. I switch Perkins on him. WE are tied at 12.

5:32 - LeBron and Perkins get their legs tangled up.. LeBron goes down. It looks serious :( Hate to see a star player leave that way...

Embiid and Perkins get a breather.

3:30 - Early report is LeBron has a broken ankle... We are tied at 16.

A big burst of offense by Cowen to finish the quarter. We lead 28-22.

5:30 - NO!!! Delladova dives into Perkins legs for a loose ball and Perkins is hurt. It looks bad! :(

We lead 42-36.

4:45 - Cowen comes down awkwardly and he is hurt! WTF!!! Cowen had 24 points and 5 assists and was on track for a career night.

WE go with MCW, Butler, Carmelo, Robinson, and Embiid. We lead 46-38.

With the injuries, Embiid becomes our true #1 scoring option. We go to him down the stretch. Carmelo also should become a bigger scoring option.

Halftime: We lead 59-47.

Cowen leads us with 24 points. He is definitely done for the night with an ankle injury. We'll have to get more tests done to know how serious it is....

Our next leading scorer is Embiid and Carmelo with 8.

Noel has 8 boards to lead the team.

The news on Perkins is much worse. We believe he has a torn ligament in his knee. :(

6:39 - Turner is going to have to play with his back injury. We also give Rod Cowens his first PT in a while at PF... We lead 68-58.

45 seconds: GF to Grant for a powerful dunk on the fast break... fun seeing them run together. We lead 78-64.

At the end of 3, we are up 78-66.


8:00 - They have had a strong run to start the quarter. We are up 85-81 as I call time and bring back a rested MCW, Butler, Carmelo, Robinson, and Embiid.

Kyrie going insane in the 4th and he gets a traditional 3 point play to give them a 93-92 lead with 4:20 to go.

Carmelo responds with a 3.

Kyrie ties it back up and Carmelo gets the traditional 3 point play. 98-95 lead.

Embiid with a block... MCW to Butler... to Carmelo for a layup and the foul!

6 point lead now.

We hold that 6 point lead on a basket by Embiid and they have to foul down the stretch. Carmelo and Butler hit FT's and we win the game, 114-107.



Cowen was the player of the game even though he only played 19 minutes before getting injured. 24 points, 5 assists, 2 boards, and 1 steal.

Carmelo with 21 points, 7 boards, 4 assists, and 1 block.

Butler with 15 points, 5 boards, 5 assists, and 2 steals.

Embiid with 15 points, 11 boards, and 3 blocks.

Noel with 9 points, 12 boards, and 2 blocks.

MCW with 8 points, 3 boards, and 2 assists in 23 minutes.

Robinson with 6 points, 5 boards, and 3 assists.

Rod Cowens with 3 points and 3 boards in 12 minutes.

GF with 5 points, 6 boards, and 2 assists. He shot 2 of 10.

Grant with 5 points in 9 minutes.

Turner with 3 boards and 3 assists in 14 minutes. He played some PG and SF for us.



Kyrie led them in the loss with 39 points and 5 assists. he shot 12 of 28, 3 of 9, and 12 of 13.


Now, to see how badly guys are hurt....

[Eaglesfan27]

Mack Perkins has a torn MCL in his right knee and will miss 2-4 months :(

Cowen has an ankle sprain that could take days or weeks to heal...

LeBron will miss 1-2 months with a broken ankle.


Our new starting lineup until Cowen is back: MCW, GF, Carmelo, Robinson, and Embiid.


12/7 -

We host the Suns. They are 10-9 but have a very talented team. SG Karl Nelson has become a star for them (88 rating) and they don't have one starter under 80. Their 5:

PG Eric Bledsoe (84)
SG Karl Nelson (88)
SF T.J. Warren (81)
PF Murray Daugherty (84)
C Alex Len (81)

Their bench is strong too:

PG Tyler Ennis (82)
PF Markieff Morris (80)
SF Marcus Morris (80)
SG Ricky LEdo (77)
C Miles Plumlee (75)


We came out and got a nice lead early, 28-20.

At halftime, we were up 48-42 but their superior depth with our injuries showed up in the 2nd half.

They put up a 35 point 3rd followed by a 35 point 4th to get a 112-103 win.

Backup PG Ennis had 15 assists in 27 minutes off the bench!

Daugherty led them with 28 points and 10 boards. As a reminder, he was the #2 pick in 2016.

Karl Nelson, the #3 pick in 2015, put up 28 points, 7 boards, and 6 assists.

Bledsoe added 20 points and 8 assists.

Carmelo led us with 21 points, 12 boards, 5 assists, and 1 steal.

Embiid with 18 points, 9 boards, and 2 blocks.

Robinson with 13 points, 5 boards, 5 assists, and 4 steals.

MCW had 10 points and 8 assists.

GF with 9 points.

Bradford got his first minutes as a rookie and had 7 points in 5 minutes!

Noel had 6 points, 3 boards, and 3 blocks in 22 minutes.



12/9 -

We host the Heat. They jumped out 11-0 but it was all us after that.

We built a 18 point lead by the half.

We held on for a 113-97 win.

Carmelo with 23 points and 5 boards.

Noel with 22 points, 14 boards, and 2 blocks in 25 minutes.

Robinson with 16 points and 5 boards.

GF with 15 points.

Embiid with 8 points, 18 boards, and 3 blocks.

MCW with 9 points, 9 assists, 4 boards, 4 steals, and a block.

Bradford with 4 points in 4 minutes. He also had 2 boards. The rookie might get a few more minutes.


12/10 -

Our next game is down in Miami. They are 5-14 and we are expected to win on their court too.

They have been hit hard by injuries early. Both Bosh and Harden are out for a month.

[Eaglesfan27]

6:01 - We rest GF and Carmelo. Butler and Grant into the game. We are tied at 10.

2:40 - Carmelo in at PF for Robinson. Turner in at PG for MCW. We lead 18-12.

Embiid with a 12 point 1st quarter. We lead 20-18.

7:10 - Embiid back into the game. We go with MCW, GF, Carmelo, Noel, and Embiid. We lead 28-25.


Halftime: We lead 44-36.

Embiid with 18 points and 8 boards at the half.


3:00 - Carmelo with a big quarter but our defense is faltering.

We lead 59-56 as I rest Embiid and MCW. Turner in at PG and Noel to C. Bradford will get some time at PF...


At the end of 3, we are up 61-60. Our offense is struggling with Embiid resting.

8:00 - A rested MCW and Embiid return. Along with them, rested Butler, Grant, and Robinson into the game. Carmelo is gassed and has provided much of our scoring so far this quarter. We lead 71-64.

Grant is doing a GREAT job of getting out and running on the break. A few easy dunks gets him going and then he hits a pair of jumpers. Big quarter for him.

We lead 88-74 as they call time with 3 minutes to go.


We win the game 95-80.

Embiid is the player of the game with 28 points, 16 boards, 3 blocks. He shot 12 of 17 and 4 of 8 from the line.

Carmelo with 18 points and 4 boards. He shot 7 of 17.

Grant with 14 points, 2 boards, and 2 steals.

Robinson with 13 points, 10 boards, and 3 assists.

GF has 11 points, 4 boards, 2 assists, 2 steals, and a block.

MCW with 5 points, 11 assists, 2 steals, and 3 turnovers.

Butler with 4 points, 4 boards, 2 assists, and 2 steals in 20 minutes.

Turner with 2 points, 2 boards, 2 assists, and 1 steal in 15 minutes. He also had 4 turnovers.

Bradford with 3 boards in 7 minutes.

Noel with 0 points, 5 boards, 1 assist, a steal, and a block. He shot 0 of 3.


Napier led them with 19 points and 3 assists.

Perben with 16 points, 11 boards.

Austin Rivers with 13 points and 2 assists.


We are now 13-6.

[Eaglesfan27]

Great news:

After 3 days of rest, Cowen has been fully cleared to return to play. Apparently, his injury wasn't as serious as first feared..


12/12 -

We travel to play a very good Wizards team that is 14-6. They are weak at C (due to injuries) but strong at every position led by John Wall (91) and SG Bradley Beal (88.) They are favored on their court, but Cowen is ready to have a big return....

This is a back and forth game every second.

Too many lead changes for me to count.

Wall hits a buzzer beater to give them a 99-98 win.

SG George Love (#7 pick in 2017) also had a key role as he led them with 23 points.

Wall with 20 points and 6 assists.

Beal with 12 points and 4 boards.


Cowen led us with 21 points and 4 assists in his comeback.

Robinson with 15 points and 5 boards.

Embiid with 9 points, 12 boards, 2 blocks.

Grant with 13 points and 7 boards in 20 minutes off the bench.

Noel with 10 points, 4 boards, and 1 block.

Carmelo with a poor shooting night shot 3 of 12. He finishes with 10 points and 8 boards.

MCW with 8 points, 8 boards, and 5 assists in 21 minutes off the bench.

GF with 8 points.



We are now 13-7.


12/14 -

We host the Raptors who are 5-18 and are really hurt badly by injuries and loss of talent. Their starting 5:

PG Jacob Bosh (72)
SG Terrence Ross (83)
SF Bruno Caboclo (73)
PF Patrick Patterson (73)
C Valanciunas (84)

Their bench is led by PF Mac Dillon (75) and SG J.J. Redick (73)


Cowen absolutely demolishes their young PG all game long...

He starts off scoring at a rapid rate and then sets everyone up.

Easy 119-98 win.

Cowen with 25 points, 12 assists, 6 boards, and a steal. He shot 8 of 16, 5 of 7, and 4 of 4.

Robinson with 24 points, 4 boards, and 3 assists.

Embiid with 19 points, 8 boards, and 3 blocks.

Carmelo with 15 points and 9 boards.

Noel with 14 points, 9 boards, and 3 blocks.

GF with 10 points, 5 boards, and 5 assists.

MCW with 8 points, 4 boards, and 4 assists.

Grant with 1 point and 5 turnovers in 18 minutes. Sheesh.



12/17 - We travel to play the Celtics who are 13-10. We are favored to win but things will be a bit tougher without Perkins. We did beat them 110-95 in our last meeting.

[Young Drachma]

Bought this the other day. Need to spend more time with it, as I liked the older versions.