Front Office Football Central - View Single Post - Restoring the Glory: A Modern-Day New York Knicks Dynasty (DDS:PB)

Izulde · 10-11-2008, 10:15 PM

Looking back on the trade review of Davis/Odom, I see the writer forgotten to mention Steve Neal. He's been an unexpected offensive surprise this season and he's the first guard off the bench for the Lakers. That said, he's been largely awful in his first several games in Purple and Gold, save for a 10 point outburst against Portland.

Tim Davis, on the other hand, scored 43 points in his Lakers debut against Boston and has broken 20 points or more an additional two games besides. He appears to be fitting seamlessly into the Lakers' lineup, even at SF.

Ours wasn't the only deadline trade, though.

Philadelphia 76ers receive
SF Raymond Badu
Seattle Supersonics 2017 2nd round pick

Seattle Supersonics receive
PG James Wampler
SG Hamilton George
PF Mehmet Okur

What this means for the 76ers
Badu is lazy and not an exciting player in any given area, but his versatility and ability to play every position but C makes him a valuable pickup for the looks Philadelphia can throw. The 2nd round pick should be a high one as well. Badu was taken in the 2nd round, 9th pick, by the Trailblazers in 2012 and shows that 2nd rounders can still make it in this league.

What this means for the Sonics
Okur was released immediately after the trade, so it boils down to Wampler and George for Badu and the 2nd rounder. Wampler, taken in the 2nd round, 15th pick, by the 76ers last year, has a good outside shot and decent ballhandling. He also has respectable defense, something the Sonics sorely lacked. Unfortunately, he has no scoring instincts at all and is buried so far down the depth chart, he's yet to appear in a game. George, the 28th overall pick in this year's draft, has potential to be a defensive playmaker with great FT shooting mechanics and outside shot, but like Wampler, he has no knack for scoring and is just as buried as Wampler.

Advantage: Draw
Seattle did improve their team defense drastically by picking up the youngsters, but if they're not going to be used, what's the point? Conversely, Badu doesn't seem to fit in well with Philly's team makeup.

Cleveland Cavaliers receive
PF James Augustine

Washington Wizards receive
PG Darius Washington

What this means for the Cavaliers
Cleveland needed to pick up some more depth inside and Augustine fits the bill. He's an average all-around backup, but just having another bigger body will help the Cavaliers as the season grinds on.

What this means for the Wizards
With Michael Redd out with a broken leg, Washington needed to recover and the last name Washington is a perfect fit. Great outside shot, good scoring instincts and passable defense mean the Wizards won't miss Redd too much on the bench.

Advantage: Wizards
Good move for both teams, but Washington's a far better player than Augustine.

New York Knicks receive
PG Baron Davis
Los Angeles Clippers 2017 2nd round pick

Los Angeles Clippers receive
SG Johnny Grawer
C Rudy Braun

What this means for the Knicks
What do you do if Carmelo Anthony breaks his wrist? If you're rookie GM Tim Duncan, you pull off a shrewd move in acquiring Davis, who, even at 37, is a shooter to be feared and who still has good enough passing game to be the starting PG. He starts at SG, though, which allows him to concentrate on generating points. Baron's defense and stealing instincts are still at a good level, too. And that's to say nothing of the bonus 2nd rounder or the expiring $7 million contract.

What this means for the Clippers
Braun is cut immediately afterwards, so it comes down to Grawer, a 3rd year pro taken 7th overall by New York in 2014. He's a bust with no reedeming qualities and it's amazing that the Clippers actually dealt for him.

Advantage: New York
There's a big reason why the Knicks are headed back to the playoffs and Tim Duncan's brilliance in his first year of GMing is it. Absolutely sensational steal and it's finally exciting to be a hoops fan in the Big Apple again.

Two days after that deal, the Knicks and Clippers make another exchange.

New York Knicks receive
SG Michael Blunt

Los Angeles Clippers receive
C Patrick O'Bryant
New York Knicks 2017 1st round pick

What this means for the Knicks
Not content, Tim Duncan swoops in to get Blunt, a 5th year drafted 5th overall by the Hornets in 2012. Blunt's got great scoring instincts and some decent shooting moves. Not much of a ballhandler, but has pretty good rebounding for a guard, passable defense and great thievery instincts. He's signed through next season, giving the Knicks a capable replacement for Baron Davis as a 6th man/injury SG starter.

What this means for the Clippers
O'Bryant's an average C with pretty good rebounding and defense skills. His biggest value is in his $5.5 million expiring contract on a team that already has $4.5 million in cap room. Look for the Clippers to be key players in free agency next offseason and with an extra 1st rounder, albeit a likely late 1st rounder, the Red and White could be among the league's most improved teams next year.

Advantage: Draw
Nice trade for both teams.Wolverine Studios The Knicks make themselves better for the next couple seasons an the Clippers clear the way for a renaissance next year.

Cleveland Cavaliers receive
SF Josh Childress
Philadelphia 76ers 2017 2nd round pick

Philadelphia 76ers receive
SF Eric Hicks

What this means for the Cavaliers
Childress isn't very good any more at 33, though he still has a nice outside shot and charity stripe mechanics, in addition to slightly above-average defense. 2nd rounder isn't too exciting, either. This trade was a reaction to Kyle Smith, he of the 26.4 points per game average, breaking his wrist.

What this means for the 76ers
Hicks is a non-descript end of the bench player whose greatest asset is shotblocking. Hard telling why the 76ers traded for him.

Advantage: Cleveland
At least the Cavs were seeking to address a need. The 76ers seemed to be dealing just to deal.

Wow. I think that was the busiest deadline session we've had in years. Of course, a lot of it involved the same teams and were to address injury concerns, but still. I've become a huge fan of Tim Duncan's after seeing those two moves. He's completed the job I started.

Games against the Pacers are always high-energy because of the trade history between our two teams and we come away with a 104-93 win to open the month. Mateen Yeaton scores 29, Ron McPherson is a great second with 26 points and David Jackson chips in 14 points off the bench. Ben Gordon scored 33, Paulinho Buboltz 22, but it just wasn't enough for Indiana.

If you'd have told me Ron McPherson would score 31 points, Mateen Yeaton 25 points and that we'd still lose to the Clippers, I'd have called bullshit, but that's what happens as the Red and White surge back in the fourth to steal the 102-97 victory. Not that I care, really. A win by the Clips is another win that keeps the Lakers in the lottery.

I do, however care when the Trailblazers embarass 110-98 on our own home court to hand us our second straight loss of the year. Once again it's Ron McPherson and Mateen Yeaton doing their parts with 26 and 20 points respectively, but the rest of our team bites it and the Trailblazers abuse us with their big bodies. Suddenly I'm starting to regret trading Tim Davis.

The Spurs blow us out 112-91 in San Antonio on the front end of a back to back and just like that, we're staring down a three-game losing streak and wasting 20 points from Ron McPherson and 10 bench points from David Jackson. We're also getting our tails kicked by big centers. Our depth also takes a hit when Marcus Williams breaks his toe, so we're playing with 11 men. We finally stop the bleeding and rout Phoenix 101-72 the next night behind 21 points from Ron McPherson, 23 points from Mateen Yeaton and 11 bench points from Kirk Hinrich, but it's still looking grim.

Mateen Yeaton bails us out with 28 points and 10 rebounds in a 98-91 win over the Bobcats. Emeka Okafor adds 8 points and 11 rebounds off the bench, as he's battling an ankle injury. We've started Lamar Odom at PF and David Jackson at C the last couple games as a result and the results haven't been pretty to say the least.

We gain a bit of revenge against the Clippers, dropping them 94-83 as Mateen Yeaton scores 23 points. Emeka Okafor is back in the lineup and all five starters reach double-digit scoring.

After watching us waste 32 points from Mateen Yeaton, 12 points and 12 assists from Zelipe Gama and 10 bench points from Kirk Hinrich in a 103-94 home loss to the Bucks, I've had enough. Lamar Odom is getting killed out there and we're already over the $15 million threshold.

So I cut Lamar Odom and sign Bobby Simmons, who I've always liked. Sure his ballhandling skills aren't what they used to be and yeah that means the only guy on the bench who can play C is Lindsey Williamson, but we need David Jackson to be our starting C.

David Jackson has a lackluster outing against the Wizards, but we run free in a 105-85 victory as Ron McPherson scores 31, Mateen Yeaton 20 and we get doubles of 19 points, 12 assists and 10 points, 10 rebounds out of Zelipe Gama and Emeka Okafor respectively.

Unfortunately the Lakers kick our asses by that same 105-85 score in Denver a couple nights later despite 20 points from Mateeen Yeaton and 13 points and 11 assists from Zelipe Gama. Just ugh. Our bench is dreadful.

105-83 victory over Sacramento has me breathing a little easier. Emeka Okafor with 10 points and 15 rebounds, 20 points out of Zelipe Gama, 10 points and 10 rebounds off the bench from Mike Nooner and Thabo Sefolosha's 14 bench points have me thinking maybe we can right the ship yet.

It's a narrow victory, but I'll take the 110-102 win against the Suns. Emeka Okafor garners 14 points and 11 rebounds, Mateen Yeaton scores 27, Zelipe Gama gets 18 points and 15 assists and Lindsey Williamson scores 10 off the bench. Ron McPherson and Zelipe Gama both fouled out and David Jackson nearly did so with 5 fouls himself. Rough game.

99-88 loss in Utah. We're still getting abused by opposing centers and frittering away 30 points from Mateen Yeaton and 15 points and 12 assists by Zelipe Gama. B.B. Dyer's leaving ominious voice messages for us to sort it out.

The problem is, we've got 5 guys who are banged up with injuries - Mateen Yeaton, Emeka Okafor, Marcus Williams, Bobby Simmons and Thabo Sefolosha. It's hard to play well with that many nicked up guys.

We beat the Spurs 92-78 with great defense and highlight performances from Ron McPherson (22 points), Mateen Yeaton (21 points), David Jackson (10 points, 13 rebounds) and Zelipe Gama (13 points, 14 assists). Sadly, we then go out and lose the next night 96-86 to the Trailblazers despite 24 points from Ron McPherson, 16 points and 15 rebounds from Emeka Okafor, 11 points and 18 rebounds from David Jackson and 14 points and 15 assists from Zelipe Gama. Their bench ate us alive. That's all there is to it.

I'm sure feeling like a fool this April Fool's Day. We've got the division and the #1 seed locked up at 57-15, but we've been playing dreadfully as of late. We still only have 3 teams with winning records in the conference. The Hornets have improved to 22-50, making them 3rd worst in the league rather than 2nd and the Lakers have shot up to 30-42 and are in danger of making the playoffs.

Still 10 teams with winning records in the East, the defending champion Raptors now the holders of the league's best record at 58-14. I won't report on the rest as I want to play out the rest of the regular season.

Our morale gets a huge boost in sweeping a doubleheader. We down Memphis 100-92 behind 28 points from Ron McPherson, 21 points from Mateen Yeaton and 20 points and 10 assists out of Zelipe Gama. Mateen Yeaton takes the sting out of the Hornets with 31 points, Ron McPherson scores 25 and David Jackson just misses a triple double with 18 points, 13 rebounds and 9 assists in a 121-94 pasting in New Orleans.

Another back-to-back, another set of crushing wins. 29 points from Mateen Yeaton, Ron McPherson's 23 points and doubles from Emeka Okafor (10 points, 12 rebounds) and David Jackson (13 points, 17 rebounds), conspire with 14 bench points from Thabo Sefolosha to knock off the Timberwolves 108-82. The worst team in the NBA gets treated like it by Mateen Yeaton who rips the Sonics for 37 points, 9 rebounds and 7 assists and Zelipe Gama kicks in 21 points to staunch Seattle's firepower and cruise to a 101-74 victory.

Strange game against Golden State, but we win easy, 107-84, as Ron McPherson scores 22, Emeka Okafor has 11 points and 10 rebounds and the old Kirk Hinrich returns with 24 points to lead all scorers as a reserve. Lindsey Williamson added a bonus of 10 points off the bench himself.

Another victory over the Hornets, keyed by 32 points from Mateen Yeaton. 98-81 was the final and credit goes to Emeka Okafor (17 points, 12 rebounds) and Mike Nooner (10 bench points) as well.

Some dreadful shooting against the Grizzlies, but we hold them to 30% on the floor in the 87-68 win. Ron McPherson carried us on his back with 34 points and I'm more glad than ever I stole him away from the Hornets. Like I said when his name appeared in his draft class, he was the player I really coveted out of his group. Mateen Yeaton scores 22 and Zelipe Gama helps out with 10 points and 11 assists. The next evening hosts a 95-78 win over the Rockets that was all Ron McPherson's 38 points, although 12 points and 18 assists from Zelipe Gama certainly didn't hurt.

Our 8-game win streak ends with a 98-83 loss to the Suns in Phoenix. Mateen Yeaton scored 26 and Zelipe Gama had 14 points and 11 assists, but when your entire bench combines for 6 points, you know it's going to be a long night. We rebound for a 121-80 beatdown of Portland to end the regular season though, a much needed moral victory. Give due credit to Mateen Yeaton (26 points), Emeka Okafor (15 points, 15 rebounds), Zelipe Gama (19 points, 11 assists), Bobby Simmons (13 bench points) and Kirk Hinrich (14 bench points).

I'll take a 66-16 record, though I'm scared. Very scared, because the Lakers are on the verge of qualifying for the playoffs.

They beat Portland the next night and suddenly they and the Traiblazers are tied for the 8th seed in the West.

...FUCK!!!!! The Lakers make it.

Karma police, indeed.

West Conference Seedings
1. Denver Nuggets (66-16)
2. Utah Jazz (53-29)
3. San Antonio Spurs (52-30)
4. Sacramento Kings (42-40)
5. Minnesota Timberwolves (40-42)
6. Dallas Mavericks (40-42)
7. Houston Rockets (39-43)
8. Los Angeles Lakers (37-45)

I'm beyond pissed right now. But I have nobody to blame for it but myself.

East Conference Seedings
1. Toronto Raptors (67-15)
2. Washington Wizards (52-30)
3. Boston Celtics (50-32)
4. Cleveland Cavaliers (47-35)
5. New York Knicks (47-35)
6. Milwaukee Bucks (46-36)
7. Orlando Magic (44-38)
8. Indiana Pacers (43-39)

I'm so angry I don't even want to do the league leaders. The Hornets missed the 2nd worst record in the league by a single flipping game to boot.

Ugh. I not only screwed out of two lottery picks, I face the one team I genuinely fear to play in the playoffs, the one we have a long and heated history with.

If we lose, I fully expect to be fired. That's all there is to it.

10-11-2008, 10:15 PM	#253
Izulde Head Coach Join Date: Sep 2004	Looking back on the trade review of Davis/Odom, I see the writer forgotten to mention Steve Neal. He's been an unexpected offensive surprise this season and he's the first guard off the bench for the Lakers. That said, he's been largely awful in his first several games in Purple and Gold, save for a 10 point outburst against Portland. Tim Davis, on the other hand, scored 43 points in his Lakers debut against Boston and has broken 20 points or more an additional two games besides. He appears to be fitting seamlessly into the Lakers' lineup, even at SF. Ours wasn't the only deadline trade, though. Philadelphia 76ers receive SF Raymond Badu Seattle Supersonics 2017 2nd round pick Seattle Supersonics receive PG James Wampler SG Hamilton George PF Mehmet Okur What this means for the 76ers Badu is lazy and not an exciting player in any given area, but his versatility and ability to play every position but C makes him a valuable pickup for the looks Philadelphia can throw. The 2nd round pick should be a high one as well. Badu was taken in the 2nd round, 9th pick, by the Trailblazers in 2012 and shows that 2nd rounders can still make it in this league. What this means for the Sonics Okur was released immediately after the trade, so it boils down to Wampler and George for Badu and the 2nd rounder. Wampler, taken in the 2nd round, 15th pick, by the 76ers last year, has a good outside shot and decent ballhandling. He also has respectable defense, something the Sonics sorely lacked. Unfortunately, he has no scoring instincts at all and is buried so far down the depth chart, he's yet to appear in a game. George, the 28th overall pick in this year's draft, has potential to be a defensive playmaker with great FT shooting mechanics and outside shot, but like Wampler, he has no knack for scoring and is just as buried as Wampler. Advantage: Draw Seattle did improve their team defense drastically by picking up the youngsters, but if they're not going to be used, what's the point? Conversely, Badu doesn't seem to fit in well with Philly's team makeup. Cleveland Cavaliers receive PF James Augustine Washington Wizards receive PG Darius Washington What this means for the Cavaliers Cleveland needed to pick up some more depth inside and Augustine fits the bill. He's an average all-around backup, but just having another bigger body will help the Cavaliers as the season grinds on. What this means for the Wizards With Michael Redd out with a broken leg, Washington needed to recover and the last name Washington is a perfect fit. Great outside shot, good scoring instincts and passable defense mean the Wizards won't miss Redd too much on the bench. Advantage: Wizards Good move for both teams, but Washington's a far better player than Augustine. New York Knicks receive PG Baron Davis Los Angeles Clippers 2017 2nd round pick Los Angeles Clippers receive SG Johnny Grawer C Rudy Braun What this means for the Knicks What do you do if Carmelo Anthony breaks his wrist? If you're rookie GM Tim Duncan, you pull off a shrewd move in acquiring Davis, who, even at 37, is a shooter to be feared and who still has good enough passing game to be the starting PG. He starts at SG, though, which allows him to concentrate on generating points. Baron's defense and stealing instincts are still at a good level, too. And that's to say nothing of the bonus 2nd rounder or the expiring $7 million contract. What this means for the Clippers Braun is cut immediately afterwards, so it comes down to Grawer, a 3rd year pro taken 7th overall by New York in 2014. He's a bust with no reedeming qualities and it's amazing that the Clippers actually dealt for him. Advantage: New York There's a big reason why the Knicks are headed back to the playoffs and Tim Duncan's brilliance in his first year of GMing is it. Absolutely sensational steal and it's finally exciting to be a hoops fan in the Big Apple again. Two days after that deal, the Knicks and Clippers make another exchange. New York Knicks receive SG Michael Blunt Los Angeles Clippers receive C Patrick O'Bryant New York Knicks 2017 1st round pick What this means for the Knicks Not content, Tim Duncan swoops in to get Blunt, a 5th year drafted 5th overall by the Hornets in 2012. Blunt's got great scoring instincts and some decent shooting moves. Not much of a ballhandler, but has pretty good rebounding for a guard, passable defense and great thievery instincts. He's signed through next season, giving the Knicks a capable replacement for Baron Davis as a 6th man/injury SG starter. What this means for the Clippers O'Bryant's an average C with pretty good rebounding and defense skills. His biggest value is in his $5.5 million expiring contract on a team that already has $4.5 million in cap room. Look for the Clippers to be key players in free agency next offseason and with an extra 1st rounder, albeit a likely late 1st rounder, the Red and White could be among the league's most improved teams next year. Advantage: Draw Nice trade for both teams.Wolverine Studios The Knicks make themselves better for the next couple seasons an the Clippers clear the way for a renaissance next year. Cleveland Cavaliers receive SF Josh Childress Philadelphia 76ers 2017 2nd round pick Philadelphia 76ers receive SF Eric Hicks What this means for the Cavaliers Childress isn't very good any more at 33, though he still has a nice outside shot and charity stripe mechanics, in addition to slightly above-average defense. 2nd rounder isn't too exciting, either. This trade was a reaction to Kyle Smith, he of the 26.4 points per game average, breaking his wrist. What this means for the 76ers Hicks is a non-descript end of the bench player whose greatest asset is shotblocking. Hard telling why the 76ers traded for him. Advantage: Cleveland At least the Cavs were seeking to address a need. The 76ers seemed to be dealing just to deal. Wow. I think that was the busiest deadline session we've had in years. Of course, a lot of it involved the same teams and were to address injury concerns, but still. I've become a huge fan of Tim Duncan's after seeing those two moves. He's completed the job I started. Games against the Pacers are always high-energy because of the trade history between our two teams and we come away with a 104-93 win to open the month. Mateen Yeaton scores 29, Ron McPherson is a great second with 26 points and David Jackson chips in 14 points off the bench. Ben Gordon scored 33, Paulinho Buboltz 22, but it just wasn't enough for Indiana. If you'd have told me Ron McPherson would score 31 points, Mateen Yeaton 25 points and that we'd still lose to the Clippers, I'd have called bullshit, but that's what happens as the Red and White surge back in the fourth to steal the 102-97 victory. Not that I care, really. A win by the Clips is another win that keeps the Lakers in the lottery. I do, however care when the Trailblazers embarass 110-98 on our own home court to hand us our second straight loss of the year. Once again it's Ron McPherson and Mateen Yeaton doing their parts with 26 and 20 points respectively, but the rest of our team bites it and the Trailblazers abuse us with their big bodies. Suddenly I'm starting to regret trading Tim Davis. The Spurs blow us out 112-91 in San Antonio on the front end of a back to back and just like that, we're staring down a three-game losing streak and wasting 20 points from Ron McPherson and 10 bench points from David Jackson. We're also getting our tails kicked by big centers. Our depth also takes a hit when Marcus Williams breaks his toe, so we're playing with 11 men. We finally stop the bleeding and rout Phoenix 101-72 the next night behind 21 points from Ron McPherson, 23 points from Mateen Yeaton and 11 bench points from Kirk Hinrich, but it's still looking grim. Mateen Yeaton bails us out with 28 points and 10 rebounds in a 98-91 win over the Bobcats. Emeka Okafor adds 8 points and 11 rebounds off the bench, as he's battling an ankle injury. We've started Lamar Odom at PF and David Jackson at C the last couple games as a result and the results haven't been pretty to say the least. We gain a bit of revenge against the Clippers, dropping them 94-83 as Mateen Yeaton scores 23 points. Emeka Okafor is back in the lineup and all five starters reach double-digit scoring. After watching us waste 32 points from Mateen Yeaton, 12 points and 12 assists from Zelipe Gama and 10 bench points from Kirk Hinrich in a 103-94 home loss to the Bucks, I've had enough. Lamar Odom is getting killed out there and we're already over the $15 million threshold. So I cut Lamar Odom and sign Bobby Simmons, who I've always liked. Sure his ballhandling skills aren't what they used to be and yeah that means the only guy on the bench who can play C is Lindsey Williamson, but we need David Jackson to be our starting C. David Jackson has a lackluster outing against the Wizards, but we run free in a 105-85 victory as Ron McPherson scores 31, Mateen Yeaton 20 and we get doubles of 19 points, 12 assists and 10 points, 10 rebounds out of Zelipe Gama and Emeka Okafor respectively. Unfortunately the Lakers kick our asses by that same 105-85 score in Denver a couple nights later despite 20 points from Mateeen Yeaton and 13 points and 11 assists from Zelipe Gama. Just ugh. Our bench is dreadful. 105-83 victory over Sacramento has me breathing a little easier. Emeka Okafor with 10 points and 15 rebounds, 20 points out of Zelipe Gama, 10 points and 10 rebounds off the bench from Mike Nooner and Thabo Sefolosha's 14 bench points have me thinking maybe we can right the ship yet. It's a narrow victory, but I'll take the 110-102 win against the Suns. Emeka Okafor garners 14 points and 11 rebounds, Mateen Yeaton scores 27, Zelipe Gama gets 18 points and 15 assists and Lindsey Williamson scores 10 off the bench. Ron McPherson and Zelipe Gama both fouled out and David Jackson nearly did so with 5 fouls himself. Rough game. 99-88 loss in Utah. We're still getting abused by opposing centers and frittering away 30 points from Mateen Yeaton and 15 points and 12 assists by Zelipe Gama. B.B. Dyer's leaving ominious voice messages for us to sort it out. The problem is, we've got 5 guys who are banged up with injuries - Mateen Yeaton, Emeka Okafor, Marcus Williams, Bobby Simmons and Thabo Sefolosha. It's hard to play well with that many nicked up guys. We beat the Spurs 92-78 with great defense and highlight performances from Ron McPherson (22 points), Mateen Yeaton (21 points), David Jackson (10 points, 13 rebounds) and Zelipe Gama (13 points, 14 assists). Sadly, we then go out and lose the next night 96-86 to the Trailblazers despite 24 points from Ron McPherson, 16 points and 15 rebounds from Emeka Okafor, 11 points and 18 rebounds from David Jackson and 14 points and 15 assists from Zelipe Gama. Their bench ate us alive. That's all there is to it. I'm sure feeling like a fool this April Fool's Day. We've got the division and the #1 seed locked up at 57-15, but we've been playing dreadfully as of late. We still only have 3 teams with winning records in the conference. The Hornets have improved to 22-50, making them 3rd worst in the league rather than 2nd and the Lakers have shot up to 30-42 and are in danger of making the playoffs. Still 10 teams with winning records in the East, the defending champion Raptors now the holders of the league's best record at 58-14. I won't report on the rest as I want to play out the rest of the regular season. Our morale gets a huge boost in sweeping a doubleheader. We down Memphis 100-92 behind 28 points from Ron McPherson, 21 points from Mateen Yeaton and 20 points and 10 assists out of Zelipe Gama. Mateen Yeaton takes the sting out of the Hornets with 31 points, Ron McPherson scores 25 and David Jackson just misses a triple double with 18 points, 13 rebounds and 9 assists in a 121-94 pasting in New Orleans. Another back-to-back, another set of crushing wins. 29 points from Mateen Yeaton, Ron McPherson's 23 points and doubles from Emeka Okafor (10 points, 12 rebounds) and David Jackson (13 points, 17 rebounds), conspire with 14 bench points from Thabo Sefolosha to knock off the Timberwolves 108-82. The worst team in the NBA gets treated like it by Mateen Yeaton who rips the Sonics for 37 points, 9 rebounds and 7 assists and Zelipe Gama kicks in 21 points to staunch Seattle's firepower and cruise to a 101-74 victory. Strange game against Golden State, but we win easy, 107-84, as Ron McPherson scores 22, Emeka Okafor has 11 points and 10 rebounds and the old Kirk Hinrich returns with 24 points to lead all scorers as a reserve. Lindsey Williamson added a bonus of 10 points off the bench himself. Another victory over the Hornets, keyed by 32 points from Mateen Yeaton. 98-81 was the final and credit goes to Emeka Okafor (17 points, 12 rebounds) and Mike Nooner (10 bench points) as well. Some dreadful shooting against the Grizzlies, but we hold them to 30% on the floor in the 87-68 win. Ron McPherson carried us on his back with 34 points and I'm more glad than ever I stole him away from the Hornets. Like I said when his name appeared in his draft class, he was the player I really coveted out of his group. Mateen Yeaton scores 22 and Zelipe Gama helps out with 10 points and 11 assists. The next evening hosts a 95-78 win over the Rockets that was all Ron McPherson's 38 points, although 12 points and 18 assists from Zelipe Gama certainly didn't hurt. Our 8-game win streak ends with a 98-83 loss to the Suns in Phoenix. Mateen Yeaton scored 26 and Zelipe Gama had 14 points and 11 assists, but when your entire bench combines for 6 points, you know it's going to be a long night. We rebound for a 121-80 beatdown of Portland to end the regular season though, a much needed moral victory. Give due credit to Mateen Yeaton (26 points), Emeka Okafor (15 points, 15 rebounds), Zelipe Gama (19 points, 11 assists), Bobby Simmons (13 bench points) and Kirk Hinrich (14 bench points). I'll take a 66-16 record, though I'm scared. Very scared, because the Lakers are on the verge of qualifying for the playoffs. They beat Portland the next night and suddenly they and the Traiblazers are tied for the 8th seed in the West. ...FUCK!!!!! The Lakers make it. Karma police, indeed. West Conference Seedings 1. Denver Nuggets (66-16) 2. Utah Jazz (53-29) 3. San Antonio Spurs (52-30) 4. Sacramento Kings (42-40) 5. Minnesota Timberwolves (40-42) 6. Dallas Mavericks (40-42) 7. Houston Rockets (39-43) 8. Los Angeles Lakers (37-45) I'm beyond pissed right now. But I have nobody to blame for it but myself. East Conference Seedings 1. Toronto Raptors (67-15) 2. Washington Wizards (52-30) 3. Boston Celtics (50-32) 4. Cleveland Cavaliers (47-35) 5. New York Knicks (47-35) 6. Milwaukee Bucks (46-36) 7. Orlando Magic (44-38) 8. Indiana Pacers (43-39) I'm so angry I don't even want to do the league leaders. The Hornets missed the 2nd worst record in the league by a single flipping game to boot. Ugh. I not only screwed out of two lottery picks, I face the one team I genuinely fear to play in the playoffs, the one we have a long and heated history with. If we lose, I fully expect to be fired. That's all there is to it. __________________ 2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty)