Invoking Celtic Memory: 1995 On (DDS:PB)

Izulde · 04-23-2009, 03:59 AM

With the end of semester crunch upon me, I haven't had time to make the adjustments to La Tulipe's 1976 roster set. So for now, I'm using Nephrinn's 1995-96 Roster Set which should hopefully prove more stable. I will, however, be doing something of a mish-mash as I'll be using La Tulipe's draft files to introduce new players unless they look too imbalanced with Nephrinn's rosters.

I no longer remember the precise day that I first encountered the Skate Talk chat room in the early days of the Internet. I want to say it was in the fall, because autumn has always been for me the season of parodoxical beginning. All I know is that I was a young man in the Boston Celtics front office and that, still holding fond memories of the summers of my youth, where I would dart all across town on my hot pink skateboard (the aunt who gave it to me had strange tastes), I decided to enter the chat room on a lark.

To make a long story short, I met a young woman there named Mia. Originally a Boston native, she had moved to Virginia with her parents in middle school, but still held a burning love for all Beantown sports teams. We wept together over the impending loss of the Boston Garden and its historic parquet floor and would hold deep, long conversations late into the night that necessitated my drinking copious amounts of coffee the next morning.

After a time, as you might expect, I fell in love. I thought she felt the same until one night, she was suddenly no longer there. She had run off to be with an older man from our chat room circle. The shock of her leaving I needn't belabor. If you've ever had an abrupt loss of a girl you've loved, you know precisely the shocks of pain that echoed and rumbled in my heart.

But still, she had left a permanent impression on me, a deeper and richer appreciation of and love for my employer Celtics and even now... But I am rambling and my entire thoughts to this point have been poorly worded and illogically ordered.

Let me skip ahead some weeks or months.

We did not have a first round pick in the draft and Cliff Gross, our new owner, ordered the GM to get one. Well, we got one, but Mr. Gross wasn't happy with our selection of Eric Williams and so he fired the GM anyway. It didn't help that Junior Burrough, our high 2nd round pick, was roundly criticized in the press, starting with the Boston Globe and radiating out from there.

Gross was an impatient man and he stormed our offices, demanding who to know the youngest employee was.

"Bobby Troilus is", somebody said.

That was me. 29 years old. Maybe not so young to some of you, but the front office was an old boys network, emphasis on the old.

Mr. Gross snapped his eyes to me as someone else pointed me out.

"You're the new general manager. If these old coots can't get the job done, maybe somebody young can!"

I opened my mouth to say something, but I never got the chance.

"Make the playoffs this year!" he snarled, slamming the door on his way out.

And that was how I became a general manager in the NBA. On top a personal misfortune, another's unhappy circumstance led to my elevation. The wheel of Fortuna, as they say.

To be honest, I didn't see much for us of making the playoffs. We had no scorers and no defenders to really speak of and only one legitimate rebounder, 28 year old Croatian power forward Dino Radja, who was also our most tradeable piece.

So my first act as GM was to give us a position of strength, which led me to make a trade.

Boston Celtics receive
C Dikembe Mutombo
Denver Nuggets 1996 1st round pick

Denver Nuggets receive
PF Dino Radja
C Eric Montross

What this means for the Celtics
New, young Boston GM Bobby Troilus makes a splash here in picking up the 29 year old Mutombo, a towering 7'2 defensive and shotblocking menace to frustrate opponents in the post. Where the pick will fall is anybody's guess, but Troilus appears to recognize that nobody's going to stop the Chicago Bulls in the East anytime soon. Mutombo instantly projects as Boston's starting center.

What this means for the Nuggets
Radja is a ready-now balanced all-around forward, a good fit for Denver's playoff aspirations. Unfortunately this means 2nd overall pick Antonio McDyess is going to have to come off the bench rather than start right away. Second year man Montross is a tall center who averaged 10 points and nearly 8 rebounds for the Celtics last year, but apparently the new GM doesn't think he has a future in Beantown. He gives the Nuggets their only true center on the roster.

Winner: Denver
The Nuggets are an improved team by adding these two players and the pick isn't going to be as high as Boston hopes. The Celtics also just dealt away their top rebounder and scorer and have no one else to turn to in those areas.

But I was not done by any means.

Boston Celtics receive
PF Christian Laettner
Minnesota Timberwolves 1997 2nd round pick

Minnesota Timberwolves receive
SF Rick Fox

What this means for the Celtics
Boston went out and got its scorer in Laettner, who GM Bobby Troilus says he greatly admired watching play for Duke in the NCAA Tournament a few years back and the famous clutch free throws. He'll get his chance to be the Celtics' hero on offense for the next several years, as he's still just 26. He also has some monstrous potential as a rebounder, though he's yet to have his technique match his physical gifts.

What this means for the Timberwolves
Fox is also 26, but unlike Laettner, there's no flash to him. He's just solid and workmanlike. Minnesota's not planning on winning any time soon, as they're waiting for extremely raw, but franchise potential 19 year old Kevin Garnett, who they took 5th overall, to grow and develop.

Winner: Boston
The Celtics fill the huge hole left by the Dino Radja trade and open up an opportunity for rookie Eric Williams to start at SF. Boston's also now got a very good offense/defense combination inside in Laettner and Dikembe Mutombo.

I signed 23 year old forward Bryan Montgomery off the street to reach the league minimum of 12 players and contented myself with those moves for the time being.

The season previews were very unkind to us, predicting that we would finish second to last in the East, ahead of only the New Jersey Nets. The Chicago Bulls were of course the odds-on favorites to win the title outright while the Utah Jazz were the favorites in the West. Denver was picked as the 6th seed and Minnesota stood marked for 11th in the conference.

1995-96 Boston Celtics Opening Night Roster
PG Sherman Douglas
SG David Wesley
SF Eric Williams
PF Christian Laettner
C Dikembe Mutombo
6th Pervis Ellison (PF/C)
7th Dee Brown (PG/SG/SF)
8th Greg Minor (SG/SF)
9th Dana Barros (PG)
10th Junior Burrough (PF/C)
11th Bryan Montgomery (SF/PF/C)
12th Doug Smith (PF/C)

Izulde · 04-23-2009, 03:13 PM

Despite the precarious situation I was in, with my job security questionable thanks to our unstable owner, I was happy to be watching our home opener against the Milwaukee Bucks on Halloween night. Having the game to focus on also helped me take my mind off of Mia and I even felt a little thrill of excitement as I watched the team jog out for introductions and lineups.

The game that followed was a thrilling battle, with 30 lead changes and 14 ties, but in the end, Vin Baker's 32nd and 33rd points cut us down 101-99. Baker finished with 33 points and 14 rebounds and just dominated us. On our end, Sherman Douglas scored 20 and Dikembe Mutombo had a nice debut with 18 points, 9 rebounds and 2 blocks. Christian Laettner's first game in Celtic green was disappointing, just 5 of 13 for 10 points in 16 minutes as he was hampered by foul trouble. Rookie Eric Williams did well enough with 16 points while Dee Brown was tops off our bench with 10 points.

Even though the loss was a heartbreaking one, I still felt like we could make some noise on the season. That sense only grew, perhaps somewhat oddly so, after we lost the next night 102-95 in Chicago. Christian Laettner worked the kinks out and took home Player of the Game with 27 points and 7 rebounds and Greg Minor scored 16 off the bench. We held Michael Jordan to 18 points, but couldn't stop Scottie Pippen from dropping 24 on us.

We finally broke through for our first win of the season in our next game, hosting the Suns and beating them 121-108. Sir Charles Barkely's 29 points couldn't counter Christian Laettner's 30 points, Dikembe Mutombo's 20 points or Dee Brown's 12 bench points. We shot 58.2% that night and looked amazing.

The Orlando Magic were regarded as one of the East's top teams that year, but we still beat them 93-82 as Dikembe Mutombo frustrated Shaquille O'Neal, holding him to just 11 points. Balanced offense overcame Nick Anderson's 20 points, signified by Dee Brown and Pervis Ellison scoring 10 a piece as reserves, Ellison just missing the double-double with 9 rebounds.

Our third straight home win was as ugly as it was shocking. We stormed back to tip the heavily favored Utah Jazz 87-86 in a game where both teams shot below 40%. Once again, our offensive balance prevailed over an opposing star. Karl "The Mailman" Malone towered over us all with 29 points and 9 rebounds, but the combined effort of our leading scorers Eric Williams and Sherman Douglas (17 points a piece) and Dana Barros's calvaryesque 11 bench points saved the day.

The Bullets shot our win and home streak down 97-84. We simply had no answer to Juwan Howard's 28 points and Rasheed Wallace's 11 points and 20 rebounds. The closest we came to it was Eric Williams's 18 points and 10 rebounds. Milwaukee poured salt in the wound, pasting us 106-84 the next night on the road. Vin Baker continued to haunt us as he rose up for 25 points, 12 rebounds and 5 blocks and this time he had help from Glenn "Big Dog" Robinson's 23 points, Todd Day's 24 points and Eric Murdock's 13 points and 14 assists.

Home wasn't any happier as Hakeem "The Dream" Olajuwon ripped us for 29 points, 12 rebounds and 4 blocks, his Houston Rockets beating us 98-93. Christian Laettner snapped out of his slump with 22 points, but he just wasn't enough and nor was Dikembe Mutombo's 10 points, 9 rebounds and 5 blocks.

I hoped we would stop our losing streak in Charlotte, but Kendall Gill (25 points, 7 rebounds) and Glen Rice (20 points) made sure that wasn't going to happen as the Hornets stung us 93-85. Dikembe Mutombo played well with 14 points and 11 rebounds and Dee Brown came off the bench for 11 points, but we had no other highlights outside of that.

The truth was, Christian Laettner was simply too inconsistent to be the man night in and night out. He was also unhappy with our losing streak, which I couldn't blame him for. But perhaps the biggest culprit in our struggles was the backcourt. Sherman Douglas was a nice enough person, but he wasn't really suited to run the offense and David Wesley, despite showing significant strides in his fourth season, didn't impress as the starting SG either. Changes had to be made and so they were.

Boston Celtics receive
PG Nick Van Exel
Los Angeles Lakers 1998 1st round pick

Los Angeles Lakers receive
PG David Wesley
PF Bryan Montgomery
Boston Celtics 1997 2nd round pick
Minnesota Timberwolves 1997 2nd round pick
Boston Celtics 1998 2nd round pick

What this means for the Celtics
Van Exel, 24, has fantastic potential as a pass-first floor general and could develop into a pretty nice scorer too someday. The Lakers are struggling this year at 3-8, so they weren't willing to deal their first rounder this season. But with two possible high lottery picks and Cedric Cellabos and Vlade Divac to build around, the Purple and Gold should be back in playoff contention in a couple years, making the selection a likely mid-late 1st. Celtics GM Bobby Troilus wants Van Exel as the starting PG now, but M.L. Carr prefers to stay with Sherman Douglas.

What this means for the Lakers
Wesley, 25, has very good stealing instincts and some scoring pop. He'll fit in nicely over the Lakers' bench. Montgomery may be 23, but he's nothing more than a young body, one on the inactive list no less. The collection of 2nd round picks may be equal to or more in total value than the likely '98 1st, but we won't hold our breaths on it.

Winner: Boston
Troilus continues to stockpile first rounders and improve the Celtics in specific areas. That's how you build the foundation for a winning team.

Coach Carr and I argued bitterly over the question of Douglas and Van Exel. The truth was, he was a terrible tactician and the dispute that grew out of it, along with our record, gave me the justification for firing him. I tried to trade Douglas to alleviate the situation, but no team wanted to pay his contract, so it was Carr who went.

With no suitable candidates on the market, I took the bold step of naming myself head coach, but I informed everyone - the players, the coaching staff and the media, that I was only an interim coach and one that would be largely delegating to his assistants at that. That same day, I signed 26 year old guard Damon Cross to fill the 12 man roster minimum.

My first game as head coach was yet another loss, as we ran into the Golden State buzzsaw, losing 108-96. Tim Hardaway was the man of the night with 24 points and 10 assists, but I'd be remiss if I don't mention Chris Mullin's 21 points and Latrell Sprewell's 25 points. On the positive side, all five of our starters scored at least 14 and Nick Van Exel had a solid debut, leading the team in points and assists with 18 and 7.

The cold spell finally broke with an exciting 93-90 win over the Hornets. Larry Johnson played godly with 25 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists and 3 steals and Glen Rice and Kendall Gill abused us again with 22 and 20 points, but we were able to overcome thanks to Nick Van Exel taking charge with 21 points and 9 assists. Dikembe Mutombo chipped in 16 points and 12 rebounds, Eric Williams just missed 20 points at 19 and Greg Minor provided 10 insurance points from the bench.

When I tell you that Nick Van Exel scored 28 and Sherman Douglas had 17 points off the bench the next game, you might think we won, right? Well, we didn't. The Pistons beat us handily 108-93 behind the three-headed hydra of Allan Houston (21 points), Otis Thorpe (19 points, 11 rebounds) and Grant Hill (19 points, 7 rebounds, 11 assists). Foul trouble hit us up and down the lineup and even when our starters were in, nobody was hitting outside of Van Exel.

We showed why the New Jersey Nets were considered the worst team in the East, routing them 104-80 a couple nights later. Eric Williams blasted off for 26 points and good Christian Laettner showed up with 20 points and 9 rebounds. Even better was our 97-91 win in Washington the next night, the second half all Celtics. Chris Webber (21 points, 12 rebounds), Robert Pack (22 points, 10 assists) and Georghe Muresan (10 points, 15 rebounds, 5 blocks) may have been impressive at the start, but it was Christian Laettner (23 points), Eric Williams (16 points, 10 rebounds) and our reserves that finished strong, as Sherman Douglas and recent signee Damon Cross came up big with 15 and 10 points respectively.

It was a strong end to my first month at the helm of the Celtics and, at 6-8, we were precisely in the middle of the Atlantic division, with 3 teams ahead of us and 3 teams behind us. Shaquille O'Neal and Anfernee Hardaway's Orlando Magic led the Atlantic at 10-6, while Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen's Chicago Bulls ruled the Central at 13-2, already 3 games ahead of Reggie Miller's Indiana Pacers.

Out West, David "The Admiral" Robinson and his powerhouse San Antonio Spurs were the class of the Midwest at 11-2, 3.5 games ahead of Hakeem "The Dream" Olajuwon's 9-7 Rockets. But it was the Pacific that was the biggest dogfight. Charles Barkley had the Phoenix Suns on top at 12-3, but the high-octane Golden State Warriors were just half a game back at 12-4 and the Seattle Supersonics weren't far off the mark at 11-5.

Overall, I was quite pleased with where we stood. Unless I missed my guess, somewhere around .500 would be enough to get us in the playoffs and we weren't far off that mark. If we could achieve it, then I would live to manage another year.

But of course, it was still too early in the season to be sure, especially since we had a threadbare roster.

rjolley · 04-23-2009, 03:43 PM

If you turn Christian Laettner into a star, I'm going to hunt him down and pull a Tonya Harding on him.

Izulde · 04-23-2009, 05:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rjolley

If you turn Christian Laettner into a star, I'm going to hunt him down and pull a Tonya Harding on him.

I loved the Laettner Duke teams so much as a kid, Duke was one of the schools I originally wanted to go to.

Michaelangelo · 04-23-2009, 07:40 PM

Van Exel, 24, has fantastic potential as a pass-first floor general.

That made me chuckle.

Izulde · 04-23-2009, 08:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Michaelangelo

Van Exel, 24, has fantastic potential as a pass-first floor general.

That made me chuckle.

I'm just going by the ratings.

I always liked Van Exel, mostly because he was from Kenosha and was in the league at the same time as Racine-born Jim McIllvaine, at least for a while.

Izulde · 04-23-2009, 08:39 PM

We had a day off before our first December game against the Heat and so I spent it with Cassie, the mother of sorts of the Skate Talk room. She'd flown in from Los Angeles to pick up some boards, pads and money that I procured her through some local businesses in Boston. In her early 50s, Cassie was an unusual character. A secretary by day, by night she ran a skateboarding club for teens and oversaw a few ramps in L.A.

"It's important for these kids to have something to do besides running around in the streets and skating gives them an outlet", she'd told me once in the chat room, "A lot of them are really bright, but don't have the best home lives."

I found her quite engaging in person. Her square face was softened by the way she styled her hair and her gray eyes were warm behind gold-wire oval-shaped glasses. We had supper together at a local pizza joint and chatted about Skate Talk, the club and the Celtics.

"How do you think your team will be this year?" she asked over a bite of cheese pizza.

"We've got a real shot at the playoffs", I answered. "I think that Van Exel kid we picked up recently has a chance to really be something special. Laettner, even though he's a little inconsistent, is our top scorer and I give the guy who was GM before me credit in picking Williams. He's already second on our team in scoring behind Laettner and second in rebounding behind Mutombo. 15 points and 6 rebounds is pretty good for a guy taken 14th overall and only Damon Stoudemire is scoring more among the rookies."

"That's good", she said with a smile. I liked the way she had of looking at you when you talked, like what you had to say was really important and worth listening to.

What I didn't like what was she said next.

"So... how are you holding up?"

I shrugged, letting my face sag a little.

"It comes and goes, you know? I'm just glad I have basketball to distract me."

She smiled a little sadly, reaching out to close her hand over mine.

"I know it's tough and I'm sorry about what happened. I really thought you two were right for each other. But she's young and young girls do silly things sometimes. Just give it time."

I wanted to ask what it was I was supposed to be giving time, but I didn't. I simply changed the subject to asking about some of the kids she worked with. She took the hint and the rest of the evening passed very pleasantly.

Our deal with the Lakers was the only trade in November, the rest of the transaction wire consisting merely of send downs, call ups and free agent signings. Nothing terribly interesting.

December started magnificently as we hosted the Heat and spanked them 102-81. Dikembe Mutombo was a terror down low with 16 points, 23 rebounds and 5 blocks, Nick Van Exel sizzled with 24 points and Eric Williams continued his surprising play with 22 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 steals. The best Miami could manage was Alonzo Mourning's 14 points, 13 rebounds and 6 assists.

The win didn't come without cost though, as Dee Brown broke his nose, Mutombo sprained his wrist and Doug Smith picked up a concussion. Brown's injury was the most serious, as the doctor told us he'd be out over a month, leaving a gaping hole at SG. I moved Sherman Douglas into the starting lineup in Brown's place and signed Jibran Epps from the D-League to allow us to move Dee to the injured reserve list.

The Heat exacted revenge in Miami, humiliating us 105-72. Christian Laettner was the only Celtic in double-digit figures, scoring 17. Alonzo Mourning was unstoppable this game, with 25 points and 12 rebounds and Rex Chapman was sensational off the bench with 17 points.

A couple days rest didn't help as the 76ers battered us 101-87 in Philadelphia on Derrick Coleman's near triple-double of 31 points, 11 rebounds and 9 assists. Although our starters played well enough, Eric Williams scoring 25, Dikembe Mutombo bursting for 11 points, 10 rebounds and 7 blocks and Nick Van Exel popping off for 11 points and 11 assists, our bench combined to go 2 for 13.

Christian Laettner took over the next night, shining his way to 30 points and 12 rebounds to be our Lu Bu while our defense held strong in a 92-69 clipping of the Hawks. Dana Barros and Greg Minor scored 10 a piece off the bench.

Everybody was talking up the Eric Williams/Damon Stoudemire rookie matchup when we went to Toronto, but it was Stoudemire who ruled, shredding us for 33 points and 9 assists. We lost 94-87, as the efforts of Dikembe Mutombo's 13 points and 14 rebounds and Nick Van Exel's 19 points couldn't get it done.

I fully expected we would lose the following night to the 76ers, but basketball's a funny game that way. Derrick Coleman was held to a 1 for 14 night and that made all the difference in our 86-76 win. Sherman Douglas earned some of his overpaid contract with 21 points, supported by benchmen Dana Barros and Greg Minor's 11 and 10 respective points.

We hosted Toronto a couple nights later, hoping to avenge ourselves on the Raptors and we did, winning 100-89. Damon Stoudemire got his 20 points and Oliver Miller double-doubled with 13 points and 14 rebounds, but Eric Williams matched his fellow star rookie's 20 points, Christian Laettner piled 20 points on top of that, Dikembe Mutombo drew with Miller in his own way, netting 11 points, 12 rebounds and 5 blocks and Dana Barros continued to step up off the bench after Dee Brown's injury, scoring 11.

The Bulls ended our mini-run 92-71 as Michael Jordan scored 21, Scottie Pippen scored 24 and Dennis Rodman grabbed every rebound in sight, finishing with 22 boards. Hard to compete with that when we had just two players score 10+ points - Christian Laettner with 19 points and 10 rebounds and Dikembe Mutombo with 13 points and 17 rebounds.

Charlotte flat-out massacred us 124-85 on their court and delighted their fans in doing so. Glen Rice soared for 31 points and 9 rebounds, Larry Johnson put together 20 points, 6 rebounds and 9 assists and Kendall Gill picked up 21 points and 12 rebounds. Christian Laettner was our leading scorer with 18 points and Greg Minor had a minor 10 bench points.

Minnesota came to Boston the next night and staggered out 94-76 losers. Former Celtic Rick Fox was on fire with 20 points against us, but the most unlikely of heroes, Greg Minor, answered every one of Fox's points off the bench. That equalization, along with our tough defense, meant the Timberwolves never had a chance.

Seeing Cassie again was the only highlight of our Los Angeles trip, as the Lakers whipped us 107-88. Magic Johnson shrugged off his 36 year old body to hammer us for 21 points and Cedric Cellabos (16 points, 11 rebounds) and Vlade Divac (18 points, 15 rebounds) did the damage inside. We wasted 24 points a piece from Nick Van Exel and Christian Laettner and that was discouraging.

Then the miracle happened on the back end of the doubleheader. We went up to Portland and despite Rod Strickland's 41 points and 11 assists and Clifford Robinson's 29 points and 12 rebounds, we shocked the Blazers 103-99 in overtime. I was speechless after the game, as Dikembe Mutombo had an otherwordly performance of his own with 26 points, 21 rebounds and 6 blocks. Our second-leading scorer was Sherman Douglas with 18 points, while Nick Van Exel posted a career high 16 assists. It's still one of my favorite games to watch when I'm in a nostalgic mood and it truly was a Christmas Eve miracle.

No miracles in Seattle, as the Supersonics rained down on us 119-85, the thunder, lightning and stormy winds ravaging our defense taking the form of Shawn Kemp (22 points, 15 rebounds, 4 blocks), Detlef Schrempf (22 points) and Gary "The Glove" Payton (20 points). Compared to their paegantry, Dikembe Mutombo's 14 points and 13 rebounds and Greg Minor's 15 bench points were but mere drizzle.

Our four game West Coast swing ended the evening after in Vancouver against the Grizzlies. I'm ashamed to say that we fell 95-85 as we were outscored 27-17 in the second quarter and never recovered from that. Benoit Benjamin had 14 points and 10 rebounds, but it was Byron Scott's 19 points off the bench that did the most damage and negated Dikembe Mutombo's 21 points, 9 rebounds and 4 blocks and Greg Minor's 11 bench points.

We had one last chance to end 1995's calendar year on a good note and failed, falling 82-74 to the Blazers before our fans. Clifford Robinson's 20 points did the trick, as our own leading scorer had just 17 (Christian Laettner and Pervis Ellison's 10 points and 8 rebounds meant nothing when the rest of our reserves' shots were impervious to going in the net.

An ignoble way to close out the old year, on a three-game losing streak. We still clung to 4th in the Atlantic at 12-17, but we were tied with the Bullets rather than possessing it alone. Patrick Ewing's New York Knicks surged ahead of Orlando to take the division lead at 20-9, a game and a half up. The Bulls still held court in the Central at 23-6, but 23-8 Indiana closed the gap to two games.

The Spurs still led the Midwest at 19-9, two games in front of the Rockets, while the Pacific had three teams with 20+ wins: Seattle (22-7), Golden State (22-8) and Phoenix (20-7). If there was anything cheerful to be found in our state of affairs as we prepared to turn the page to January 1996, it was that the Nuggets were significantly underperforming at 13-17.

Boston Celtics Team Leaders - December 31st, 1995

Points
Christian Laettner - 16.0
Eric Williams - 13.6
Dikembe Mutombo - 12.2

Assists
Nick Van Exel - 6.0
Sherman Douglas - 4.0
Dana Barros - 3.1

Rebounds
Dikembe Mutombo - 11.6
Christian Laettner - 5.4
Eric Williams - 5.3

Blocks
Dikembe Mutombo - 3.4 (#2 in NBA behind Shawn Bradley (PHI)
Pervis Ellison - 1.3
Christian Laettner - 0.7

Steals
Dee Brown - 1.3
Eric Williams - 1.2
Christian Laettner - 1.0

Autumn · 04-23-2009, 09:07 PM

This is great, these are the exact years I was really watching basketball a lot, and particularly the hometown Celtics. It's like a flash down memory lane, whereas I don't know a lot of the players in your Denver dynasty.

Thanks for posting another fun one!

Coffee Warlord · 04-24-2009, 09:20 AM

Go Bulls.

Izulde · 04-24-2009, 05:37 PM

Autumn: The 90s were when I most closely followed the NBA as well. I do wish there were an early set, like when La Tulipe made a 1990 set for TPB or that his 1976 set worked without having to make massive changes, but oh well.

Coffee Warlord: I figured you'd say as such.

Izulde · 04-24-2009, 09:57 PM

I didn't go to any New Year's parties after the game. Instead, I went home and went to bed, waking up early next morning to a blanket of snow that clearly was going to leave me housebound. Not that it mattered. I'd given everyone the day off, including myself, anyway.

Instead, I turned on my laptop, heated up some apple cider and sat down to look over Terry Moore's scouting reports on some of the upcoming draft prospects.

"This is a seven player draft. Allen Iverson is easily the best player in the class and you should do whatever you can to land him. Kobe Bryant may be a high schooler, but he has intriguing potential. Ben Wallace looks like a great all-around prospect. Stephon Marbury is a franchise PG, Ray Allen looks like a sharpshooter and Antoine Walker and Shareef Abdur-Rahim are very good-all around true power forward prospects."

A seven player draft. And right then, we looked questionable to land a Top 7 pick. More like two mid 1st round selections in us and Denver, particularly since the Nuggets were better than their record indicated.

There was no question as to the worst team in the league. That was the 3-25 Dallas Mavericks, who had a promising young team built around Jamal Mashburn and Jason Kidd. But they were shooting just 38.3% as a team, the only franchise in the league to be shooting below 40%. Furthermore, there were problems in the locker room as Mashburn and starting SG Jim Jackson were extremely unhappy about being on a losing team.

I called them about making a trade, but they wouldn't budge. Neither would the New Jersey Nets or the Los Angeles Clippers. Even the Toronto Raptors weren't willing to listen.

Then I received a shock. The 11-19 Vancouver Grizzlies were willing to trade their 1st round pick for 13-17 Denver's straight up. It was a deal I couldn't pass up and so I made it. The differential may have only been two games, but I was confident enough in the Nuggets' improved play to make the switch.

December had been a busy month for deals and I reviewed them again as I marveled over Vancouver's foolishness.

Dallas Mavericks receive
PG Elliott Perry

Phoenix Suns receive
SG Lucious Harris

What this means for the Mavericks
Perry's above average at shooting, scoring and passing and the 26 makes an excellent security blanket off the bench for second year man Jason Kidd.

What this means for the Suns
Harris isn't a very good player and why in the world would the Suns trade their only true quality backup PG for somebody who's the very epitome of JAG?

Winner: Dallas
Perry blows Harris out of the water in talent level and makes Dallas that much better.

The move cost the Suns dearly as it turned out, because on December 27th, All-Star calibre PG Kevin Johnson tore his MCL and was lost for the season. His replacement? Lucious Harris rather than Elliott Perry.

Detroit Pistons receive
SF George McCloud
Dallas Mavericks 1996 2nd round pick

Dallas Mavericks receive
C Theo Ratliff

What this means for the Pistons
McCloud is a pretty decent all-around, versatile player, able to slot in at 2-4. Not by any means exceptional, but versatility off the bench is always a good thing to have on a team. The second round pick looks a virtual lock to be #30 at this point.

What this means for the Mavericks
22 year old rookie Ratliff, taken with the 18th pick, is already a dominant shotblocker and could develop into a good defender with a nice inside shot given the playing time to develop. The truth is, he should be starting right now, but Dallas doesn't want to rush a guy they see as their future starter, so he'll be the first big man off the bench instead. He wasn't seeing much time in Detroit, so he should be happy with more minutes.

Winner: Draw
Good trade for both teams as each of them get something to help improve in the future and maybe get a little better immediately.

Nothing blockbuster, which was a little disappointing. In fact, I'd say our deal for Christian Laettner was probably the biggest move to date that season.

Bad start to the New Year as the Cavaliers frustrated us 96-75. Nick Van Exel came off the bench while he recovered from a hip injury to score 13 points, but that was it. Terrell Brandon's 22 points and Tyrone Hill's 12 points and 10 rebounds were more than enough to do us in.

Nick Van Exel had another good game off the bench with 11 points, but it didn't matter because Jason Kidd put on a 40 point, 10 rebound show as Dallas embarrassed us 102-82 on our own home court. I was absolutely aghast at the result and immediately plugged the now-healthy Van Exel back at PG.

The losses just kept coming, Patrick Ewing pounding us for 24 points and 11 rebounds in the Knicks' 96-80 win. We also surrendered 20 points and 16 rebounds to Desmond Mason and 12 points and 10 rebounds to Charles Oakley while Eric Williams scored a team high 19 points. It was at this point that I began seriously considering trading Christian Laettner, who was going cold.

We hosted the Kings and Dikembe Mutombo sparkled with 24 points, 13 rebounds and 7 blocks to lead all five starters in double-digit scoring and boosted by Greg Minor's 11 bench points. It didn't matter, as we fell apart in the fourth quarter and lost 94-92. Mitch Richmond hung 22 points on us, while Olden Polynice challenged Mutombo with 17 points, 15 rebounds and 4 blocks of his own.

The bleeding finally stopped when we beat the Knicks 95-76 on Christian Laettner's 27 points and Greg Minor's 10 bench points. Patrick Ewing got his stats with 16 points and 15 rebounds, but by and large New York looked and played overconfident.

One thing that 1995-96 Celtics team was capable of was being streaky. After all those losses, we won two in a row, stonewalling the Hawks 81-66 in Atlanta. Sherman Douglas scored 20, Nick Van Exel showed flashes of being a true point guard with 11 points and 10 assists, Dikembe Mutombo was a monster on the low blocks with 14 points and 19 rebounds and Christian Laettner put together 18 points and 10 rebounds.

A three game Texas road trip started with our stunning San Antonio 103-94. David "The Admiral" Robinson's 27 points and 4 blocks and Vinny Del Negro's 22 points were countered by Nick Van Exel's 22 points, Eric Williams's 20 points and 10 bench points each from Dana Barros and Damon Cross.

We got Dee Brown back for the Houston game, but that got lost in a hurry as did the game. Clyde Drexler beat us singlehandedly, with a triple-double of 26 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists. The only reason the 98-77 score wasn't even more lopsided was because Dikembe Mutombo picked up 12 points, 21 rebounds and 6 blocks.

It was a barnburner, but we just barely fended off the Mavericks rally the night after, winning 93-90. Christian Laettner teed off for 22 points and 9 rebounds, Dikembe Mutombo posted 17 points and 12 rebounds and Damon Cross played cavalry with 13 bench points. Tough luck for Dallas, who got 18 points, 11 assists and 4 steals from Jason Kidd, 22 points from Jim Jackson and 20 points from Jamal Mashburn.

Our win streak had me checking the standings and I became alarmed when I realized our 16-22 record would be good enough for the 8th seed in the East. Although it would make our owner happy to make the playoffs, that wasn't what I envisioned happening. Not when I was trying to chase one of the top 7 players, especially Allen Iverson, who I loved more the more tape I saw of him.

I gave the Raptors, who we played next and who were 12-26, a call and offered to trade our first for theirs. To my surprise, they agreed. The GM told me, "You guys are one injury to Laettner or Mutombo away from being one of the worst teams in the East. Sure we'll take that deal."

We went to Toronto and beat them 96-90 for that remark. Christian Laettner and Dikembe Mutombo, who'd I made sure to tell about the phone call, were the heroes of the night. Laettner ripped the Raptors for 24 points and 12 rebounds and Dikembe Mutombo put the hurt on them with 12 points, 14 rebounds and 7 blocks. Nick Van Exel double-doubled for 10 points and 15 assists and Dee Brown chipped in 10 points off the bench. It was great fun negating Damon Stoudemire's 20 points and 10 assists and Oliver Miller's 13 points and 15 rebounds. Maybe we could have our cake and eat it too, I thought to myself after the game. I had both expansion teams' first round picks, even though the Grizzlies were only doing one game worse than the Nuggets at the time and if we made the playoffs, Mr. Gross would be happy and I could keep my job.

These happy thoughts only grew more certain when we upended Magic Johnson's Lakers 106-96 in Boston. Johnson scored 24, but Eric Williams neutralized that total, point for point and Elden Campbell's 12 points, 10 rebounds and 5 blocks were more than met by Dikembe Mutombo's 13 points, 15 rebounds and 5 blocks. Nick Van Exel's 11 points and 11 assists and Damon Cross's 15 bench points were mere icing on the cake.

And then came the ugliest game ever. We lost 76-54 to the Pacers, with only 3 players on the entire court reaching double-digit scoring. Unfortunately, 2 of the 3 played for Indiana as Reggie Miller and Derrick McKey each scored 20 and washed away Dikembe Mutombo's 18 points, 17 rebounds and 4 blocks.

We followed up that brutality by shocking the Magic 104-96 in overtime. In Orlando no less. Penny Hardaway nabbed 25 points and 3 steals and Shaquille O'Neal muscled his way to 22 points and 14 rebounds, but Christian Laettner came up with a big 24 points and 13 rebounds and Nick Van Exel had his best game in a Celtics uniform, amassing 23 points and 10 assists. Pervis Ellison was terrific off the bench with 9 points, 10 rebounds and 3 blocks and Greg Minor dropped in 10 bench points to lead the seconds in scoring.

Our biggest game of the season to that point was the next night in Boston, with Vancouver coming to town. The Grizzlies had been on fire lately and were 16-27. We needed to beat them, not only to help our postseason chances, but help our draft position. It wasn't easy, but we go the victory in a 92-86 slugfest. Eric Williams (17 points, 10 rebounds), Christian Laettner (13 points, 13 rebounds) and Dikembe Mutombo (12 points, 10 rebounds, 4 blocks) all got double-doubles and all five starters scored at least 11 points as we outlasted the Grizzlies, who were nearly rescued by reserve Lawrence Moten's 15 points.

Another ugly defensive game and loss in Indiana, 83-68. Reggie Miller blitzed us for 30 points and 9 rebounds and the best we had to offer was Nick Van Exel's 19 points and Pervis Ellison's 10 bench points.

The next night we went to Miami and upset the Heat 85-80 in a game of Balanced Offense beats Star as Alonzo Mourning's 20 points and 11 rebounds failed to overcome Christian Laettner and Eric Williams each scoring 16.

Although freakish, it was a nice way to capstone the start of 1996. We were now 21-24, which, in the top-heavy East of that year, meant we'd go in as the #7 seed if the playoffs were held right then. 30-13 had the Knicks 3 games ahead of Orlando in the Atlantic, while 35-9 Chicago continued to be just a half-game ahead of the pesky Pacers. Toronto at 14-31 had the 4th worst record in the conference, with only Milwaukee, Philadelphia and New Jersey doing worse.

The Raptors were that magical 7th worst overall, as in the West only Dallas and the Clippers were more futile, but the Mavericks won 8 games in January, polevaulting them to 11-32. Houston now commanded the Midwest at 31-16, half a game ahead of the Spurs while the chase in the Pacific was looking pretty close to over. Seattle had a sensational first month of 1996 to stake a 6.5 game edge on Golden State, as Phoenix was reeling with the loss of KJ. Vancouver, by the by, stood just half a game behind Denver in the standings at 17-28.

There was, of course, still a lot of basketball to be played and anything could still happen. But I was pleased with myself. I'd traded my first round pick at just the right time. Had I tried to do it any later, I wouldn't have been able to get near the value I did for it.

I also wasn't turning out too bad a coach. The preseason pundits rated us one of the worst teams in the East and there we were, 3 games away from .500 and in excellent position to make the playoffs if we stayed steady.

Izulde · 04-25-2009, 03:51 AM

January saw no trades at all outside of our two first for first swaps. Given that, I expected a flurry of February deals, especially around the deadline.

February begins with F and so does fantastic as we pulled off yet another overtime thriller, knocking off Cleveland 105-99 on their home court. Terrell Brandon scored 21 points, but after he fouled out, not even Chris Mills's 15 bench points could save the Cavs. All five of our starters scored 14 or more, led by the double-double tandem of Dikembe Mutombo (16 points, 15 rebounds) and Nick Van Exel (15 points, 14 assists. I was really pleased with how Van Exel was improving as the season wore on and the best part was, he was locked up pretty cheaply at $1.9 million a year for the next several seasons.

I was even more delighted when our defense strangled the Spurs the following night, holding San Antonio to 27.8% shooting. In addition to doing a masterful job on David "The Admiral" Robinson, Dikembe Mutombo poured in 10 points and 17 rebounds. But the real star of the game was Christian Laettner, who abused the Spurs to the tune of 30 points, 11 rebounds and 4 blocks. Eric Williams was right behind him with 28 points and 11 rebounds. When 34 year old Doc Rivers was the best Spur on the night with 13 bench points, the 89-65 win didn't look surprising at all.

Cassie was on hand for our game in Los Angeles against the Clippers as we prepared to take our shot at .500 for the first time since early in the season. And .500 we got, fighting off a furious Clippers rally to edge them 107-103. I gave props to Lamond Murray for scoring 21 points and Rodney Rodgers coming out of nowhere off the bench for 19 points. But that inspired duo had no hope against Dikembe Mutombo's 22 points, 15 rebounds and 7 blocks, Christian Laettner's 27 points and 11 rebounds and our own reserves Greg Minor and Damon Cross, who combined for 13 and 10 points respectively.

At the bar afterwards, Cassie couldn't stop gushing about how well I'd done to get Laettner and Mutombo. It was a little embarassing, but kind of nice too. I hadn't been on Skate Talk in a long while, so I asked her how things were. She said fine and, after a moment's hesitation, admitted she'd gotten a letter from Mia. Evidently she was in Arizona with the bastard and doing okay. Cassie said Mia wrote that she was very sorry for what she did to me and hoped that I could forgive her. Hard news to get four days before Valentine's Day, but I simply shrugged and ordered another drink.

"You can't get upset about it, Bobby", Cassie said, laying a hand on my arm, "Like I told you before, she's young and young girls do silly things sometimes. Just keep your heart open and focus on the wonderful things you're doing with your team."

I grinned wryly at her over my glass, "Sounds to me like you're hitting on me, Cassie."

"Oh, you!" she swatted my arm playfully, "I'm old enough to be your mother!"

It helped, though, hearing it from her and in person and not while I was alone in some hotel room on the Internet. That didn't stop me from being numb the next day in Oakland, where we kissed .500 goodbye as the Warriors blew us out 117-98. Chris Mullin scored 24, Tim Hardaway cut loose for 21 points and 9 rebounds, Latrell Sprewell went on a 16 point, 10 assist spree and all five Golden State starters hit 14 points or better. Not much we could do against that kind of onslaught, not when the only Celtics to show up were Christian Laettner with 23 points and 11 rebounds and Nick Van Exel with 20 points and 11 assists.

We stayed West and startled the Kings 91-76 in Sacramento. Mitch Richmond's lone gunman stand of 24 points was easily overcome by Dikembe Mutombo's 24 points, 12 rebounds and 6 blocks, to say nothing of Christian Laettner's 14 points and 11 rebounds and Greg Minor's 12 bench points as we overcame an 0 for 7 night from Nick Van Exel.

So back we were at .500 as we made our last stop out west in Denver just before the All-Star break. We traveled on Valentine's Day, which was nice. Meant I didn't have to think as much about Mia and could just concentrate on the scenery of the Mile High City, even as I secretly felt mile low.

My mood lifted on the day after as we got above .500 for what felt like the first time all season and thrashed the Nuggets 96-65. It was a beautiful thing to see Christian Laettner go off for 30 points and 9 rebounds and Dikembe Mutombo do his usual thing with 12 points, 13 rebounds and 7 blocks. Greg Minor put the cherry on top with 16 bench points. We whipped Denver so badly, their high scorer was former Celtic Dino Radja with 15 points.

It was a splendid way to go into the All-Star break, even though the victory put the Nuggets a half-game behind the Grizzlies in that draft positioning.

We didn't send anybody to the skills contests, but Greg Minor played a minute for the Sophomores and Eric Williams did dreadfully for the Rookies as a 6th man. Then again, they were tired because they had to fly from our afternoon game to the Rookies/Sophs game, which the second years won in a blowout 91-79. The game MVP went to Washington's Juwan Howard with 26 points and 9 rebounds.

Yes, an afternoon game. We had to play Utah and the Jazz manhandled us 100-86 in Salt Lake City. Karl Malone was in top form with 28 points and 11 rebounds, Jeff Hornacek buzzed us for 26 points and Felton Spencer came off the bench for 14 points, 11 rebounds and 2 blocks. I -hated- playing during the All-Star weekend and so did the team, as we played listlessly. Dikembe Mutombo got 16 points and 12 rebounds and Greg Minor and Pervis Ellison contributed 15 and 10 bench points, but it was just nasty all around.

Preposterously enough, we had to continue our West trip in Phoenix the next day for an afternoon game against the Suns. While we emerged 100-85 winners thanks to Christian Laettner's 24 points and 4 steals, Dikembe Mutombo's 12 points and 16 rebounds and Sherman Douglas's 11 bench points, it was still the height of absurdity. The Suns looked really out of it, their best showing that of reserve Hot Rod Williams's 11 points and 8 rebounds.

The All-Star game was as anti-climactic as the youngsters game, the West jumping out to an early lead and never looking back in a 120-107 win. Shaquille O'Neal picked up All-Star MVP for his 21 point, 13 rebound, 4 block showing.

All-Star Rosters

East
PG Penny Hardaway - Orlando Magic
SG Michael Jordan - Chicago Bulls
SF Grant Hill - Detroit Pistons
PF Patrick Ewing - New York Knicks
C Shaquille O'Neal - Orlando Magic
Larry Johnson - Charlotte Hornets
Reggie Miller - Indiana Pacers
Alonzo Mourning - Miami Heat
Terrell Brandon - Cleveland Cavaliers
Vin Baker - Milwaukee Bucks
Anthony Mason - New York Knicks
Armon Gilliam - New Jersey Nets

West
PG Gary Payton - Seattle Supersonics
SG Mitch Richmond - Sacramento Kings
SF Tom Gugliotta - Minnesota Timberwolves
PF Charles Barkley - Phoenix Suns
C Hakeem Olajuwon - Houston Rockets
Karl Malone - Utah Jazz
Cedric Cellabos - Los Angeles Lakers
Tim Hardaway - Golden State Warriors
David Robinson - San Antonio Spurs
Latrell Sprewell - Golden State Warriors
Shawn Kemp - Seattle Supersonics
Rod Strickland - Portland Trailblazers

I didn't expect us to send anyone to the All-Star game and so I wasn't disappointed to see none of the Celtics go.

It was now decision time after the All-Star break, as the trade deadline was upon us. Did I want to stay pat with this roster, who'd gelled together enough to be 26-25 or did I want to make a move?

The smart money of course was on staying put, but then I saw a move I simply couldn't resist pulling the trigger on.

Boston Celtics receive
PF Grant Long
Seattle Supersonics 1996 1st round pick
Atlanta Hawks 1997 2nd round pick

Atlanta Hawks receive
SF Eric Williams
SG Jibran Epps

What this means for the Celtics
A bold trade by Bobby Troilus, who picks up the veteran Long to add some more inside scoring, rebounding and defensive punch while allowing Boston to move Christian Laettner to SF, where he might be even more effective than he is now. The first round pick has a good shot at being 29th, but it gives the Celtics three first rounders in the upcoming draft, which should allow them to build their depth in a hurry. One thing's for certain: between Long and Dikembe Mutombo, the C's now pack a scary defensive interior.

What this means for the Hawks
Atlanta wants to make rookie Alan Henderson a full-time starter and by dealing Long, they can do precisely that. Williams has been one of the season's biggest rookie surprises and he'll step into the SF spot, giving the Hawks Williams and Henderson as a forward tandem to build the trade around. They also made the move without giving up their own first rounder.

Winner: Draw
A trade that does what each team wants it to do. Boston's trying to get in better playoff position, while the Hawks are hoping to go fully into rebuilding mode.

Despite our shiny three first round picks, nobody was interested in letting us move up. Not the Bucks, not the Clippers and not the Mavericks. So it looked like we had to rely on good old-fashioned lottery luck if we wanted a shot at Allen Iverson.

I expected a transition period after the trade. What I didn't expect was the 75-66 scrubfest in New Jersey and us losing on top of it. Dikembe Mutombo did okay with 14 points, 16 rebounds and 5 blocks and Christian Laettner switched to SF fine with 15 points, 11 rebounds and 5 blocks, but Grant Long was somewhat underwhelming in his Boston debut with 8 points and 10 rebounds and Greg Minor's 12 bench points couldn't bail us out in the face of P.J. Brown's 16 points and 15 rebounds and a good outing by the Nets' bench, spearheaded by Kevin Edwards's 13 points.

Rik Smits singlehandedly shattered us with 20 points and 17 rebounds in our 78-59 loss in Indiana the next night, utterly ruining Dikembe Mutombo's triple-double of 10 points, 16 rebounds and 10 blocks. I switched up Grant Long and Christian Laettner, moving Laettner back to PF because he said he didn't really like playing the 3.

The switch paid off well as we got better production out of both forwards in our 111-96 home romp over the Hornets to get back to .500. It wasn't they who were the best players on the night for us, though. That distinction belonged to Dikembe Mutombo with 10 points, 10 rebounds and 7 blocks, Nick Van Exel with 19 points and 11 assists and Pervis Ellison and Greg Minor adding 14 and 13 points off the bench. It was a nice team effort to overcome Larry Johnson and Glen Rice tag-teaming us for 22 and 20 points.

A close 88-80 home loss to Seattle had me feeling like we were on the right track, even if Nick Van Exel was our leading scorer with 18 points, not near enough to best Detlef Schrempf's 24 points or Shawn Kemp's 16 points and 11 rebounds. It'd just take time was all.

Our hopes of .500 at the end of February lay on a perilious road, in Chicago against the fearsome Bulls. We very nearly pulled off the upset, but our fourth quarter charge stopped just short at 100-96. Christian Laettner was magnificent with 30 points, but he was overwhelmed by 26 points from Michael Jordan, 12 points and 12 rebounds from Luc Longley and deadline acquistion Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf's 20 points.

Still, I was happy enough. 28-30 was still good enough for the #8 seed, even if the Bullets were breathing hard on us at 27-30 and the Hornets were two games ahead in 7th at 28-28. Orlando and New York were deadlocked atop the Atlantic, while 48-10 Chicago held a 4.5 game lead on 43-14 Indiana, the Bulls' largest lead of the season. Toronto was still 4th worst, but in danger of catching the Atlanta Hawks.

Much to my chagrin, the Raptors had dropped to 8th worst in the league and Vancouver now lay 3 games up on the Nuggets, who, after trading Abdul-Rauf, had plummeted to 19-37 and 3rd worst in the West. I wanted to call the league office on those tanking bastards, but I was already leading a scheduling change crusade and couldn't afford the political capital it would cost me. Houston led the Spurs by 2 games at 37-21 in the Midwest, while the Sonics looked guaranteed to hand us the #28 or 29 pick by virtue of their 47-10 mark and 12 game Pacific lead. Bad news for our Allen Iverson dreams all around.

Boston Celtics Leaders

Points
Christian Laettner - 16.8
Grant Long - 13.1
Dikembe Mutombo - 12.4

Assists
Nick Van Exel - 6.5
Sherman Douglas - 3.9
Dana Barros - 2.6

Rebounds
Dikembe Mutombo - 11.8
Grant Long - 9.6
Christian Laettner - 6.7

Blocks
Dikembe Mutombo - 3.9
Pervis Ellison - 1.3
Christian Laettner - 0.8

Steals
Grant Long - 1.5
Dee Brown - 1.1
Christian Laettner - 0.9
Greg Minor - 0.9

NBA Leaders

Points
1. Michael Jordan (CHI) - 28.9
2. Shaquille O'Neal (ORL) - 26.0
3. Hakeem Olajuwon (HOU) - 25.1

Assists
1. John Stockton (UTA) - 10.5
2. Jason Kidd (DAL) - 9.8
3. Kevin Johnson (PHO) - 9.4 (Which showed just how much the Suns missed KJ after he was lost for the year with an MCL tear)

Rebounds
1. Dennis Rodman (CHI) - 15.0
2. Shawn Kemp (SEA) - 12.4
3. Charles Barkley (PHO) - 12.1

Blocks
1. Dikembe Mutombo (BOS) - 3.9
2. Shawn Bradley (PHI) - 3.3
3. David Robinson (SA) - 2.9

Steals
1. Mookie Blaylock (ATL) - 3.1
2. Gary Payton (SEA) - 2.9
3. Clyde Drexler (HOU) - 2.7

Rookies Leaders

Points
1. Damon Stoudemire (TOR) - 19.1
2. Joe Smith (GS) - 13.1
3. Eric Williams (ATL) - 13.0

Assists
1. Damon Stoudemire (TOR) - 7.5
2. Tyrus Edney (SAC) - 5.5
3. Sasha Danilovic (MIA) - 3.4

Rebounds
1. Joe Smith (GS) - 9.1
2. Antonio McDyess (DEN) - 8.7
3. Arvydas Sabonis (POR) - 8.5

Blocks
1. Antonio McDyess (DEN) - 1.9
T2. Joe Smith (GS) - 1.5
T2. Kevin Garnett (MIN) - 1.5

Steals
T1. Jerry Stackhouse (PHI) - 1.4
T1. Eric Williams (ATL) - 1.4
3. Joe Smith (GS) - 1.2

Izulde · 04-25-2009, 12:29 PM

About a week before the trade deadline is when things finally started heating up and new teams began making deals.

New York Knicks receive
PF Otis Thorpe
Detroit Pistons 1996 2nd round pick

Detroit Pistons receive
SF Monty Williams
SG Gary Grant
PF Richie Brown

What this means for the Knicks
Thorpe may be 33, but he's a top-notch rebounder and a great scoring option off the bench. He's the perfect 6th man for a New York team that's fighting with the Orlando Magic for the Atlantic division crown.

What this means for the Pistons
The 30 year old Grant is the best piece of this deal for Detroit. Able to shoot fairly well and with respectable scoring instincts, his primary attributes are that he doesn't turn the ball over and he's a very effective thief. Brown's 35 and roster filler. Williams, 24, could be a decent bench player and 3 point specialist someday, but he's not close to there yet.

Winner: New York
Basically, Detroit got back a package of scrubs for a decent player and a 2nd. Bad move to make unless Williams turns into something usable.

Seattle Supersonics receive
SG Steve Smith

Atlanta Hawks receive
PF Frank Brickowski
Seattle Supersonics 1996 1st round pick

What this means for the Supersonics
Seattle's hell-bent on winning the West and the 26 year old Smith is a good all-around player who does everything, but excels at nothing. Still an improvement at the starting SG spot, even though he's one of the most inconsistent players in the league.

What this means for the Hawks
Smith expires at the end of the year, so it may just be a half-season rental for Seattle. Brickowski's 36 and just creaking out the last $3.25 million he'll probably ever make in the NBA. First rounder is really a second rounder in disguise but at least it's more cap room for the already $3 million under Hawks.

Winner: Draw
Atlanta wasn't certain to retain Smith, so to get cap space and a first, no matter how low for him, is a pretty good deal and if the Sonics win the West, getting Smith is worth the half-season rental.

Chicago Bulls receive
PG Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf

Denver Nuggets receive
SF Dickey Simpkins
PF Jack Haley
C James Edwards

What this means for the Bulls
Abdul-Rauf is pure, sugary scoring goodness and piling him on top of Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen means Chicago's now got three players who can burn you night in and night out. Will the Bulls even lose a game the rest of the year? Here's the kicker: he's only 26 and signed on for another two years at a good price.

What this means for the Nuggets
Haley and Edwards were cut immediately, so this becomes Abdul-Rauf for Simpkins. Dickey may be 23, but he's a bad bench player now and his upside only creeps up to mediocre. Oh and he can only play the 3.

Winner: Chicago
The biggest ripoff of the year yet. This is making Dikembo Mutombo and a 1st for Dino Radja look equal. Is it any surprise Denver's on the receiving end of both those hosings?

Seattle Supersonics receive
SF Malik Sealy
Los Angeles Clippers 1996 2nd round pick

Los Angeles Clippers receive
PG Eric Snow
SG Tommy Magnum

What this means for the Supersonics
The 26 year old Sealy can score points and steal the ball, but he's a terrible shooter and doesn't have much else to recommend him. His becoming Seattle's 6th man might actually hurt the team's title hopes.

What this means for the Clippers
Snow, taken with the 14th pick in the 2nd round, is a project. He could become a fifth starter some day with lockdown defense, but that day is a long way off. Magnum's a 32 year old 12th man.

Winner: Draw
Were it not for the concern about Sealy's effect on Seattle's chemistry, this would be a knockout punch for the Sonics. As is, we can only wait and see.

San Antonio Spurs receive
PF Armon Gilliam

New Jersey Nets receive
PF J.R. Reid
San Antonio Spurs 1996 1st round pick

What this means for the Spurs
Say hello to San Antonio's new All-Star frontcourt. Gilliam is an excellent scorer and rebounder, disciplined and smart. Even if he only plays half a season, pairing him with David "The Admiral" Robinson in the post enters the Spurs into West conference title discussions. In fact, with this one move, the Spurs netted themselves the best frontcourt in the league. Period.

What this for the Nets
The first round pick doesn't razzle-dazzle and the best thing about Reid is his expiring contract, which is equal to that of Gilliam's.

Winner: San Antonio
A half season of All-Star play from a 31 year old for a title contender vs. a late first round pick and a scrub. Yeah, we'd call it for the half-season too. Excellent pickup by the Spurs.

Well, I finally got my blockbuster wish, but it made the bad teams even worse, which meant ill tidings for our draft dreams.

We poured fuel on the fire by kicking off March with a 91-78 stroll over the Bucks. Vin Baker's 32 points and 14 rebounds were a sensational one-man show, but in the face of our balanced offense headlined by Dikembe Mutombo's 10 points, 15 rebounds and 5 blocks and Nick Van Exel's 11 points and 11 assists, Milwaukee simply folded.

The Clippers came to town next and we routed them 111-89 on Grant Long's 19 points and 11 rebounds, Nick Van Exel's 15 points and 10 assists and Greg Minor's 19 bench points. Rodney Rodgers sparkled with 23 points for the Clippers and Eric Piatowski surprised with 16 bench points, but the Red and White were more surrendering white than anything else as we shot another cannon in our flagging Iverson dreams.

But if we weren't going to get AI, at least we could extend our March record to 3-0 by beating Cleveland, which we did, 95-86. Danny Ferry and Bobby Phills had the sexy scoring of 21 and 23 points respectively and Tyrone Hill mustered up 12 points and 13 rebounds, but we again rode our balanced game to victory, Grant Long the main signatory with 18 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists.

Johnny Newman's 22 points evaporated as we vaporized the Bucks 87-69 in Milwaukee. Dikembe Mutombo gobbled up every board in sight, finishing with 13 points and 21 rebounds while Nick Van Exel handed out 10 points and 12 assists and Sherman Douglas and Pervis Ellison paced the bench with 13 and 10 points.

We lost for the first time in March, 97-85 to the 76ers in our next game. Dikembe Mutombo's 12 points and 13 rebounds and Greg Minor's 10 bench points paled in comparison to Vernon Maxwell's 25 points, Derrick Coleman's 20 points and 11 rebounds, Clarence Weatherspoon's 12 points and 10 rebounds and Shawn Bradley's triple-double of 14 points, 10 rebounds and 10 blocks. It was an embarrassment.

I loved playing Cleveland because they were one of the few good teams we matched up well against and sure enough, we nipped the Cavs 87-83 on the road. Tyrone Hill did well with 12 points and 11 rebounds, but we sang yet another verse of the Balanced Offense song, Nick Van Exel our lead soloist with 16 points and 8 assists.

The ides of March proved kind to us as we cut down the Nets 106-75, bombarding them with Nick Van Exel's 22 points, Christian Laettner's 20 points, Dikembe Mutombo's 18 points and 17 rebounds and Greg Minor's free-spirited 18 bench points. At this point, I'd long since given up hopes of getting Allen Iverson, so I resolved to simply enjoy our winning ride.

Orlando got 15 points and 13 rebounds out of Shaquille O'Neal, but our bench made sure we manhandled the Magic 105-90. It was the greatest showing of the year by our second team, as Greg Minor scored 18, second round afterthought Junior Burrough surprised with 11 points and Pervis Ellison hauled down 10 rebounds. A beautiful upset win, to be sure.

Christian Laettner and Nick Van Exel put the hurting on Denver with 30 points and 9 rebounds and 23 points respectively as we put the Nuggets to flight 102-73. LaPhonso Ellis was their leading scorer with 19 points. Should've kept their first I thought to myself afterwards, but that's the danger of doing pick for pick swaps too early in the season.

Our streak ended with a dull 87-75 loss to the Heat. Alonzo Mourning's 17 points and 13 rebounds keyed a balanced Miami attack that swept past Nick Van Exel's 21 points, Christian Laettner's 11 points and 13 rebounds and Greg Minor's 10 bench points.

And then came the beautiful 102-89 upset of the Pacers in Indiana. Christian Laettner was the evening's gem with 28 points and 9 rebounds, but Nick Van Exel was noteworthy with 18 points and 12 assists and Greg Minor did his thing with 10 bench points. Yet, the most surprising thing wasn't even that we won. It was Junior Burrough coming off the bench for 9 points, 8 rebounds and 2 blocks. His late-season form was simply stunning. I just couldn't feel sorry for Rik Smits and Reggie Miller as their 27 and 20 points failed to produce a Pacers win.

We went to Minneapolis the next night and brushed off the Timberwolves 95-82. Nick Van Exel took home Player of the Game with 23 points and 10 assists and Dikembe Mutombo dominated the paint with 12 points, 17 rebounds and 5 blocks. Minnesota had finally thrown in the towel on their season and started Kevin Garnett, who garnered 10 points and 12 rebounds against us, the inverse of All-Star starter Tom Gugliotta's 10 points and 12 rebounds.

I likened a trip to Philadelphia to that of going to the dentist, but my smile was surprisingly sweet after we shocked the Sixers 100-87. Christian Laettner scored 26 and Grant Long had 10 points and 11 rebounds to countermand Derrick Coleman's 18 points and 10 rebounds and Shawn Bradley's 13 points and 14 rebounds.

We had a double-date with Atlanta to end March and we started it by hosting a 93-60 laugher. The Hawks' leading scorer was benchman Craig Ehlo with 13, which goes to show you how things went. In contrast, Christian Laettner stayed white-hot with 30 points, Dikembe Mutombo corralled 19 points, 10 rebounds and 4 blocks and Greg Minor chipped in 12 bench points.

The rematch in Atlanta was equally hot for us, the 87-53 rollup featuring yet again the leading Hawk off the bench (Ken Norman with 12 points), while Christian Laettner ate them for 23 points and 9 rebounds and Dikembe Mutombo was a force in the middle good for 14 points and 19 rebounds.

Celtics March Record: 13-2

Yes, that's right. We were 13-2 in March that year. Call it the luck of the Irish or whatever you want. The fact is, as of April Fool's Day, we were 41-32, in third place in the Atlantic and proud holders of the #6 seed. Even more impressive, we were only 4 games out of the division-leading Knicks, 44-27, who were a half-game ahead of the Magic. Toronto stayed 4th worst in conference at 27-45. The Bulls didn't lose a game in March and were 61-10 as of April 1st. They held an 8 game edge on the Pacers and were close to clinching the East's #1 seed.

On the flip side, the Raptors were back to 7th worst overall and 27-44 Vancouver was just a game and a half worse than the Nuggets. San Antonio's acquistion of Armon Gilliam launched them to 47-25 and a 5 game lead on the Houston Rockets in the Midwest, while Seattle already had the West's top seed locked up at 59-13.

Boston Celtics Leaders

Points
Christian Laettner - 16.9
Grant Long - 12.8
Nick Van Exel - 12.4

Assists
Nick Van Exel - 6.9
Sherman Douglas - 3.9
Grant Long - 2.9

Rebounds
Dikembe Mutombo - 11.6
Grant Long - 9.0
Christian Laettner - 6.7

Blocks
Dikembe Mutombo - 3.7
Pervis Ellison - 1.3
Christian Laettner - 0.8

Steals
Grant Long - 1.5
Dee Brown - 1.3
Christian Laettner - 1.0

Izulde · 04-26-2009, 02:00 PM

With nine games left in the year, we still had a shot, however slim, at winning the Atlantic, a notion unthinkable at the start of the season.

But we would have to be very good and not lose critical games, like we did in bowing to the Magic 100-83 in Orlando, ending our hot streak. Christan Laettner brought it with 27 points and 10 rebounds and so did Nick Van Exel (20 points), but Grant Long had a goose egg, making Sherman Douglas's 11 bench points irrelevant. Long also did terribly on defense, allowing Dennis Scott to light him up for 21 points, the same total Shaquille O'Neal slammed us for and Horace Grant did the filthy work inside with 12 points and 11 rebounds.

We rebounded to punch the Pistons 91-73. Dikembe Mutombo looked great in compiling 26 points and 16 rebounds and Christian Laettner scored 20. Between them, they took care of Grant Hill's 17 points and 23 rebounds and Allan Houston's 21 points. Nick Van Exel just missed the double-double with 15 points and 9 assists.

Our most important matchup of those final games was up next in New York. Unfortunately we once again suffered a meltdown at an inopportune time, getting blasted 98-66. Christian Laettner was the only Celtic to show up, scoring 27 and the Knicks did us in with a balanced offense, led by 3 bench players with 10 or 11 points and Anthony Mason's double-double of 14 points and 11 rebounds.

Exhaustion overtook us the following night in Boston and we blew it in the fourth quarter to get upset 95-93 by the Bullets. It was a heartbreaking loss, especially on top of Dikembe Mutombo's triple double of 15 points, 16 rebounds and 10 blocks. Funny how we never seemed to win we he got the triple double. 27 points from Robert Pack and Chris Webber's 21 points and 13 rebounds put Washington in great shape to beat us.

Naturally the one loss I could've tolerated in those final games we didn't get, narrowly beating the Raptors 93-90. Damon Stoudemire had a magnificent game with 21 points, 8 assists and 7 rebounds and Tracy Murray chipped in 20 points, but they couldn't bail out the Raptors. Nick Van Exel led the charge with 20 points, aided by double-doubles of 18 points and 10 rebounds and 12 points and 10 rebounds from Dikembe Mutombo and Christian Laettner respectively.

We finally put together two wins in a row, smacking the Pistons 105-80 in Detroit. Dikembe Mutombo ruled the post with 20 points and 13 rebounds, Nick Van Exel netted 10 points and 13 assists and Greg Minor added 10 bench points. Allan Houston scored 20, but he was it for the Pistons.

I wanted revenge in Washington but didn't get as we fell 91-82. Juwan Howard gunned us down with 21 points and 17 rebounds and Gheorge Muresan was beastly off the bench for 18 points. Paltry compared to our own leading scorers of [b]Christian Laettner (18 points) and Greg Minor (10 points, reserves).

That loss to the Bullets meant we needed to win out to have a winning record for our final set of nine games. We got it done in New Jersey, denying the Nets all night long and winning 87-67 on the back of Dikembe Mutombo's 16 points, 14 rebounds and 5 blocks and Christian Laettner's 14 points and 10 rebounds.

We hosted New York for our last game of the regular season. Win and we had an outside shot at the #6 seed. Lose and we were locked into the #7 seed. We won a 93-91 thriller, surmounting Charles Oakley's 23 points and 12 rebounds and Derek Harper's 25 points with shared point wealth keyed by Grant Long's first 20 point game in kelly green and Dikembe Mutombo's 14 points, 11 rebounds and 8 blocks.

Unfortunately, our heroics turned out for naught, as Miami won their final game and took the 6th seed. Still, I was very happy with how the season had gone. Written off before the year started, we'd gone from 33-49 the year before to 46-36 this season and the 7th seed. Clifton Gross was beside himself with glee as playoff ticket orders came pouring in.

The Knicks won the Atlantic by a game over the Magic at 51-31, but all that earned them was the #4 seed, the only guarantee to the lesser of the two division winners. Chicago finished an impressive 68-14, just missing the hallowed 70 win barrier, but 62-20 Indiana deserved a lot of credit.

San Antonio ran away with the Midwest at 55-27, 8 games over the Rockets, while Seattle cruised their way to giving us the #28 pick at 66-16.

1995-96 East Conference Seedings
1. Chicago Bulls (68-14)
2. Indiana Pacers (62-20)
3. Cleveland Cavaliers (54-28)
4. New York Knicks (51-31)
5. Orlando Magic (50-32)
6. Miami Heat (47-35)
7. Boston Celtics (46-36)
8. Charlotte Hornets (39-43)

1995-96 West Conference Seedings
1. Seattle Supersonics (66-16)
2. San Antonio Spurs (57-25)
3. Golden State Warriors (52-30)
4. Houston Rockets (47-35)
5. Utah Jazz (45-37)
6. Los Angeles Lakers (44-38)
7. Portland Trailblazers (44-38)
8. Sacramento Kings (39-43)

I wasn't happy in the least about drawing the Pacers, who were the one team in the East we matched up the worst against. But who knows? Maybe miracles could happen.

NBA Leaders

Points
1. Michael Jordan (CHI) - 28.6
2. Shaquille O'Neal (ORL) - 26.3
3. David Robinson (SA) - 24.7

Assists
1. John Stockton (UTA) - 10.7
2. Jason Kidd (DAL) - 9.7
3. Kevin Johnson (PHO) - 9.4 (Which showed just how much the Suns missed KJ after he was lost for the year with an MCL tear. In fact, the Suns missed the playoffs without him!)

Rebounds
1. Dennis Rodman (CHI) - 15.1
2. David Robinson (SA) - 12.3
3. Shawn Kemp (SEA) - 12.2

Blocks
1. Dikembe Mutombo (BOS) - 3.8
2. Shawn Bradley (PHI) - 3.5
3. Alonzo Mourning (MIA) - 3.1

Steals
T1. Mookie Blaylock (ATL) - 3.0
T1. Gary Payton (SEA) - 3.0
3. Clyde Drexler (HOU) - 2.6

Rookies Leaders

Points
1. Damon Stoudemire (TOR) - 18.5
2. Joe Smith (GS) - 13.5
3. Eric Williams (ATL) - 12.5

Assists
1. Damon Stoudemire (TOR) - 8.0
2. Tyrus Edney (SAC) - 5.7
3. Michael Finley (PHO) - 3.7

Rebounds
1. Joe Smith (GS) - 9.2
2. Antonio McDyess (DEN) - 8.9
3. Rasheed Wallace (WAS) - 8.5

Blocks
1. Antonio McDyess (DEN) - 2.0
T2. Joe Smith (GS) - 1.5
T2. Kevin Garnett (MIN) - 1.5

Steals
T1. Alan Henderson (ATL) - 1.3
T1. Eric Williams (ATL) - 1.3
T3. Joe Smith (GS) - 1.2
T3. Jerry Stackhouse (PHI) - 1.2

One thing that did make me smile was this:

Denver Nuggets - 30-52
Vancouver Grizzlies - 29-53

We would have the 7th (Grizzlies) and 9th (Raptors) picks going into the lottery. Although they were lower top 10 picks, two tickets to the the Top 10 lottery are always a good thing. If the balls bounced right, we'd get our shot at Allen Iverson after all.

But first, there was playoff fever to contend with.

rjolley · 04-26-2009, 08:49 PM

You don't think you'd be able to swing 2 Top 10 picks for the overall #1 pick? Even with AI as the #1 pick, that's still a great deal.

How did "his mama named him Chris, Imma call him" Chris Jackson do with the Bulls? What kind of individual numbers did they put up as a team?

Izulde · 04-27-2009, 12:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rjolley

You don't think you'd be able to swing 2 Top 10 picks for the overall #1 pick? Even with AI as the #1 pick, that's still a great deal.

How did "his mama named him Chris, Imma call him" Chris Jackson do with the Bulls? What kind of individual numbers did they put up as a team?

I don't have the precise #s for how he did on the Bulls because the season hasn't rolled over yet. They went up over his Nuggets numbers though, save for his 3-pt %, which still clocked in at 34.8% on the year.

I apologize for the hard to read red numbers. The injuries are all minor, by the way, so no need for heart attacks.

Izulde · 04-27-2009, 02:20 AM

A newspaper clipping from that year.

Celtics Charge Back To Playoffs

Christian Laettner and Dikembe Mutombo were the main forces behind Boston's surprising run this season

No one was surprised to see a change in general managers after the Boston Celtics went 33-49 last year. What no one expected was little-known, 29 year old Bobby Troilus to win the job. But Troilus proved just what the C's needed, trading for Denver Nuggets center Dikembe Mutombo and Minnesota Timberwolves forward Christian Laettner.

Laettner, best remembered for his heroic free throws against UNLV in the NCAA tournament a few years ago, blossomed in Boston, becoming the Celtics' leading scorer with 16.9 points per game and winning hearts all across Celtic nation.

Mutombo not only was the team's leading rebounder at 11.3 boards per game, but he lead the NBA in blocked shots at 3.8 per contest and averaged 12.3 points besides in the regular season. Although there's concern if he'll come back to Boston, given that he's headed to free agency, he's been a key force in the middle for the team.

Nick Van Exel, the second year point guard filched from the Los Angeles Lakers, was inconsistent, but improved as the season wore on, finishing with a team high 7 assists per game and showing the kind of flashes of potential that should make him an upper-echelon floor general sooner rather than later.

It all added up to an astonishing 46-36 record, including a 43-30 mark under Troilus after he fired M.L. Carr and took over as head coach on an interim basis. While Troilus has said he doesn't intend to be back on the bench next season, fans in Beantown and elsewhere across the country are clamoring for him to stay in the dual role.

The 7th seed the Celtics earned in the playoffs drew them a tough matchup against the 2nd seed Indiana Pacers, who finished second only to the mighty Bulls in the Central. Boston looks a longshot to pull off the upset, but let's see how they match up.

Point Guard
Nick Van Exel vs. Mark Jackson
Van Exel really took off after the All-Star break that wasn't and had just two games where he didn't reach double-digit points on way to concluding with a 12.7 point per game average to go with his 7 assists. He's average defensively, but there's no more talented a young passer in the league and his offensive game is growing by leaps and bounds.

Jackson brings veteran experience and savvy at 30 years old and he averaged 9.5 points, 6.1 assists and 1.0 steals per game in the regular season. Don't look for him to fill up the score sheet, but he's got the size to outmuscle Van Exel and plays much better defense. Not a fantastic passer, but almost never turns it over.

Advantage: Draw

Shooting Guard
Dee Brown vs. Reggie Miller
Brown, 27, is the weak link in the Celtics' starting five. Has some knack for steals evidenced by his 1.2 steals per game, but on a team that emphasizes balance among its scorers, his 9.9 points per game as a starter is disappointing. As a reserve, he's a nice safety net. As a starter, he's a hole waiting to be exploited out.

And there's no worse exploiter for Boston than Miller, who at 30 can do everything but block shots: 21.6 points, 5.5 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 1.3 steals in the regular season. He's every inch an All-Star and the franchise face and he's going to absolutely crush Brown on his way to a monster series.

Advantage: Pacers

Small Forward
Grant Long vs. Derrick McKey
The 29 year old Long, a deadline acquisition from Atlanta, didn't do much in Boston, making his 12.7 points, 8.9 rebounds and 1.3 steals in the regular season look misleading. On the other hand, he's a very good defender, the best Boston has besides a certain big man.

McKey, also 29, is one of the best defenders in the game. Like Long, he doesn't add much to the scoreline, but did well enough with 11.8 points and 1.4 steals. Basically, he's a better version of Long and one who has a deadly inside shot, which his Celtic counterpart doesn't have.

Advantage: Pacers

Power Forward
Christian Laettner vs. Dale Davis
If the Celtics are going to have a prayer in this series, they need Laettner to show the clutch form he did at Duke and improve on his season averages of 16.9 points, 6.9 rebounds and steal per game. There's reason to believe he will; like Van Exel, he got even better as the season went along. But he's not the greatest defender, which could cause problems.

Davis, 26, is a premiere rebounder and a pretty good defender, but not much in the way of offense. 9.2 points, 9.2 rebounds and 1.2 blocks in the regular season. He won't be able to stop Laettner completely, but his job will be to limit Boston's leading scorer as much as possible, so Miller can gun away without pressure.

Advantage: Celtics

Center
Dikembe Mutombo vs. Rik Smits
At 7'2, 245 lbs, Mutombo is one of the most beastly and intimidating centers in the game. He's a Defensive Player of the Year candidate who scores more points than his instincts suggest he would. His regular season averages of 12.3 points, 11.3 rebounds and 3.8 blocks attest to just how valuable he is to this Celtics team and without him, Boston is probably one of the worst teams in the league. Exceptional passer as well.

Smits is one of the few centers in the league who matches up with Mutombo at a staggering 7'4, 265 lbs. A phenomenal scorer and one of the most intelligent players in the game, he also plays solid defense. Doesn't get nearly as many rebounds or blocks as a player of his size should though: 18.9 points, 8.1 rebounds and, perhaps most amazingly, 3.9 assists in the regular season.

[b]Advantage: Draw

Bench
The Celtics have a very thin bench. Pervis Ellison is a good reserve big man, with 4.8 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.3 blocks during the regular season and Greg Minor was a pleasant surprise with 8.3 points as Boston's top sniper, but Sherman Douglas's 7.7 points per game are inflated by his starts and there just isn't much depth here at all.

Indiana, on the other hand, features two 7.5 point per game scorers in 36 year old Ricky Pierce and overachiever Anthony Davis. Davis also tacked on 5.5 rebounds per game and plays some very good defense. Haywoode Workman provides excellent floor generalship.

Advantage: Pacers

Final Thoughts
Indiana is just too talented and too deep for Boston to overcome. At best, the Celtics win a game, maybe two. But the Pacers are worth every bit of their 2 seed and they'll prove it by sweeping the Celtics in this series.
Prediction: Pacers in 4

***End Article***

And that was the most sympathetic clipping I could find. Nobody gave us a chance and it was reasonable for them not to. Sure we'd won a game in Indiana during the regular season, but every other time, the Pacers blew the doors off us. Even I thought it would take a miracle on the order of an immaculate conception to win.

Game One
It was every bit as lopsided a contest as you could imagine. We shot 32.9% and that wasn't going to cut it when Rik Smits was hammering us for 24 points and 11 rebounds, Reggie Miller was slicing us for 22 points and 10 rebounds and Dale Davis was putting the finishing touches on our slaughter with 11 points and 11 rebounds. Dikembe Mutombo manufactured 10 points, 12 rebounds and 6 blocks, but it took Nick Van Exel 24 shots to produce 19 points to be our leading scorer.
Final - Boston 72 Indiana 94

Game Two
I told the guys before the game to just stay loose, that nobody expected us to do anything, so we had nothing to lose. They took my advice to heart and every single starter scored at least 11 points, captained by Nick Van Exel's 21 points and 9 assists. Dikembe Mutombo continued his effective series with 12 points and 11 rebounds and Pervis Ellison spelled him off the bench for 10 points. The usual Pacers stars did their usual with Rik Smits hauling in 19 points and 12 rebounds and Reggie Miller scoring 21, but it wasn't enough as we pulled off the upset shocker in Indiana to even the series.
Final - Boston 101 Indiana 94

Our celebration was short-lived when the team doctor told me that Dikembe Mutombo injured his foot and would be at limited effectiveness for the rest of the series. I feared for our chances even more after hearing that, but Dikembe vowed to soldier on.

Game Three
An impassioned crowd greeted us in Boston, determined to will us on to another upset and a 2-1 series lead. Christian Laettner fed off their energy for his first true breakout of the series with 25 points and Pervis Ellison charged for 12 bench points, but the Pacers responded with Derrick McKey's 20 points, 10 bench boards from Antonio Davis and 10 points or more from all but one of their starters. They jumped out to a 10 point first quarter lead and though we chipped away at it the rest of the game, in the end, we came up just short, taking the heartbreaking 3 point loss to go down 2-1.
Final - Indiana 83 Boston 80

Game Four
Our last real hope for an upset series lay in this game and everybody in the pounding, shaking building knew it as they screamed and followed every shot. Reggie Miller knew it too and came alive for 29 points while Rik Smits added 12 points and 10 rebounds. Christian Laettner had the most incredible game I've seen in response - 41 points and 16 rebounds as he played like a man possessed. But in the end, it just wasn't enough. Nobody else came prepared to play and we fell by another agonizing 3 point margin as the Pacers' depth overran us in the fourth quarter, trampling us to a 3-1 series hole.
Final - Indiana 97 Boston 94

Game Five
After the close-but-not agonies in Boston, we just simply ran out of heart and ran out of gas. Pervis Ellison's 10 bench points were a sad footnote to Rik Smits's 25 points and 13 rebounds and Reggie Miller's 24 points. They cruised to the kind of win everybody thought all four games would be like and it was difficult to tell my men that they could stand tall for giving Indiana the hell of a fight they did.
Final - Boston 64 Indiana 101

As you know from the recaps I just gave you, the series was much, much closer than anyone figured it would be. I found myself wondering what would've happened if Dikembe Mutombo hadn't bruised his foot so badly. He disappeared after that injury and had he been able to be in top form, I think we just may have won the series.

Still, it reinforced to me just how valuable he was to our team and I quietly decided to make it a priority to re-sign him in the offseason, no matter who we took or what we did in the draft. I was also more determined than ever to do whatever it took to land my favorite of the rookie class in Allen Iverson. Insert a gamechanger like him instead of Dee Brown at shooting guard and that series is ours for the taking.

Virtually every single playoff series was decided in five games. The only two that weren't was Seattle's sweep of Sacramento and the Houston/Utah series. The Knicks eliminated the Magic, Miami upset Cleveland, San Antonio knocked off Cleveland, Golden State kicked out the Lakers, and in what was perhaps the biggest upset in NBA playoff history, the 39-43 Charlotte Hornets beat the 68-12 Chicago Bulls.

How did they do it? Through the combination of Glen Rice (20.6 points, 1.8 steals), Larry Johnson (19.6 points, 8.6 rebounds) and Matt Geiger (12.6 points, 10.8 rebounds, 1.0 blocks). That and a fortunate wrist injury to Scottie Pippen, who shot just 34.3% and averaged and only 10.8 points a game. It didn't help that Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf was exposed as an All-Star fraud, shooting just 37.3% for 13.2 points and no injury excuses. Not even Michael Jordan's 27.4 points, 7.2 rebounds, 5 assists and 1.4 steals could save the Bulls.

Utah dispatched Houston in six games, ensuring that no one went the distance in the first round.

Indiana now looked clear to win the East and they quickly closed out the Heat in a sweep. Patrick Ewing and the Knicks stopped Charlotte's Cinderella story in six games, the same time it took the Spurs to oust the fearsome offense of Golden State. We got our first seven-game series of the postseason in Seattle/Utah and home court advantage rescued the top-seeded Sonics against the Jazz.

Two classic series followed, as both conference championships went the full seven games. Both of the two seeds won, with Indiana triumphing over New York and San Antonio shocking Seattle.

You might expect from our matchup that the Pacers were a two-headed force the rest of the playoffs, but that wasn't the case. Instead, it was a balanced attack spearheaded by Reggie Miller averaging 24.6 points, 5.3 rebounds, 5 assists and 1.1 steals in a performance eerily reminiscent of Air Jordan himself.

The Spurs countered with all five starters averaging double-digit figures and of course David "The Admiral" Robinson was on top with 21.8 points, 11.9 rebounds, 1.1 steals and 3 blocks, but Armon Gilliam had done exactly what the Spurs traded him for, posting 16.9 points, 9.5 rebounds and 1.7 steals. It was a shrewd move by San Antonio to bring him in at the deadline, because it was his presence alongside The Admiral that earned the Spurs the West Conference crown.

But that was as far as they went, as Reggie Miller singlehandedly carried the Pacers to a 4-1 Finals victory, averaging 25.8 points per game en route to his Finals MVP award.

It gives me chills to this day to think that we might have upset the eventual NBA champions of that year, but that's how this business goes sometimes.

The joy and excitement in hoops-crazy Indiana was still at fever pitch a few days later when the event came that sent everyone in Boston into a tizzy. The NBA Lottery.

I sat with a select few members of the front office at a table, drinking copious amounts of water while I watched the balls bounce against the walls much like I wanted to at that moment.

As I said, we held picks 7 and 9, which gave us percent chances 3.4 and 6. The odds were against it, but still much better than if we held, say, 12 and 14.

I swallowed more water and watched the balls roll in.

"Pick 13 goes to... the Washington Bullets!"

No change there.

"Pick 12 goes to... the Phoenix Suns!"

Again no change.

"Pick 11 goes to... the Atlanta Hawks!"

Still good, I thought.

"Pick 10 goes to... the Detroit Pistons!"

I breathed a sigh of relief. So far the picks had held serve. Next up was our first of two selections.

"Pick 9 goes to... the Vancouver Grizzlies!"

I don't remember what happened first, whether my assistant GM screamed or I fell out of my chair in shock. All I know is, I was seeing starbursts and feeling dizzy with delirious glee.

We'd beaten the odds! We had a top 3 pick!!!!! Allen Iverson was that much closer to being ours!!!

"Pick 8 goes to... the Boston Celtics!"

So we dropped a spot on the 7th pick. I didn't care. All I cared about was that we were in the top 3 and we had our chance at Iverson.

I was so giddy I barely paid attention to what was going on the next few draws. They broke down like this:

7. Minnesota Timberwolves (-1)
6. Los Angeles Clippers (-1)
5. Philadelphia 76ers (-1)
4. Dallas Mavericks (-1)

Then I started paying attention again, though the tablecloth in front of me was littered from sweat-soaked linen napkins, which hadn't done much to staunch the perspiration on my forehead. I was going to need to go to the bathroom and get a lot more water afterwards, I knew that much.

"Pick 3 goes to... the New Jersey Nets!"

Blood roared my ears, the room started throbbing and shaking with stars and I started tottering in my chair as the words "Top 2 guaranteed!" flashed through my brain.

"Pick 2 goes to... the Boston Celtics!

I didn't even hear Milwaukee's name called off for the top pick. I was already gripping everyone's hand at our table, smiling like a lovestruck fool and reveling in the beauty of all.

7 spots we leapt up! 9th to 2nd!

I swore Allen Iverson would wear kelly green next season, no matter what I had to throw at the Bucks to get him.

Izulde · 04-28-2009, 10:01 AM

I anticipated that we perhaps had a chance at Defensive Player of the Year in Dikembe Mutombo, but did not think we had any opportunities elsewhere for season accolades.

1995-96 NBA Season Awards
Player of the Year
Alonzo Mourning - Miami Heat - 24.5 PPG 11.7 RPG 3.2 APG 3.1 BPG 1.3 SPG
Defensive Player of the Year
Gary Payton - Seattle Supersonics - 22.7 PPG 6.2 APG 5.2 RPG 0.8 BPG 3.0 SPG
Rookie of the Year
Damon Stoudamire - Toronto Raptors - 18.5 PPG 8.0 APG 4.0 RPG 0.1 BPG 1.1 SPG
6th Man of the Year
Gheorghe Muresan - Washington Bullets - 9.4 PPG 6.8 RPG 1.0 APG 1.6 BPG 0.1 SPG
Coach of the Year
Mike Fratello - Cleveland Cavaliers

I received a few votes for Coach of the Year, which was nice, but Fratello really deserved it. He did a lot with a team that didn't have all that much talent.

All-NBA 1st Team
PG Gary Payton - Seattle Supersonics
SG Michael Jordan - Chicago Bulls
SF Glen Rice - Charlotte Hornets
PF Karl Malone - Utah Jazz
C Alonzo Mourning - Miami Heat

All-NBA 2nd Team
PG Terrell Brandon - Cleveland Cavaliers
SG Reggie Miller - Indiana Pacers
SF Grant Hill - Detroit Pistons
PF Larry Johnson - Charlotte Hornets
C David Robinson - San Antonio Spurs

All-NBA 3rd Team
PG Rod Strickland - Portland Trailblazers
SG Mitch Richmond - Sacramento Kings
SF Tom Gugliotta - Minnesota Timberwolves
PF Shawn Kemp - Seattle Supersonics
C Hakeem Olajuwon - Houston Rockets

All-Defense 1st Team
PG Gary Payton - Seattle Supersonics
SG Michael Jordan - Chicago Bulls
SF Scottie Pippen - Chicago Bulls
PF Shawn Kemp - Seattle Supersonics
C Alonzo Mourning - Miami Heat

All-Defense 2nd Team
PG Mookie Blaylock - Atlanta Hawks
SG Mitch Richmond - Sacramento Kings
SF Tom Gugliotta - Minnesota Timberwolves
PF Chris Webber - Washington Bullets
C Dikembe Mutombo - Boston Celtics

All-Rookie 1st Team
PG Damon Stoudamire - Toronto Raptors
SG Jerry Stackhouse - Philadelphia 76ers
SF Michael Finley - Phoenix Suns
PF Antonio McDyess - Denver Nuggets
C Arvydas Sabonis - Portland Trailblazers

All-Rookie 2nd Team
PG Tyus Edney - Sacramento Kings
SG Sasha Danilovic - Miami Heat
SF Eric Williams - Atlanta Hawks
PF Joe Smith - Golden State Warriors
C Bryant Reeves - Vancouver Grizzlies

One piece of hardware was good and I felt very proud that a player I brought in was the one to get it.

Cliff Gross said he was extremely pleased with how our season went and had nothing but praise for me in our year-end dinner. "I said we needed to get some young blood in here and you proved me right. Good work! Now build on it for next year!" he told me.

And that was exactly what I planned to do. The very first thing I did was call the Bucks to move up to that #1 spot, but they refused to consider trading down a single spot, even for the Lakers 1998 1st round pick.

Things went from bad to worse when Mr. Gross told me that we could make the playoffs next year, but that we'd better do more than that the following season. He also rejected my request to allow an overrun of $10 million and insisted that we stay within a few million over the cap.

I took a look at the head coaching pool when the offseason hit and though it sounds narcissistic to say it even now, I didn't see anybody available I trusted more than myself to run the team.

Mock Draft

Allen Iverson was the consensus pick to go #1, much as I feared. With pick #2, a lot of mocks had us taking forward Jermaine O'Neal because they knew we had no interest in Kobe Bryant. At #8, we were tabbed to select big man Ben Wallace, who I didn't think would last that long and #28 had us picking Argentinian swingman Doug Rhodes.

Projected Mock 1st Round
1. Allen Iverson - Milwaukee Bucks
2. Jermaine O'Neal - Boston Celtics
3. Kobe Bryant - New Jersey Nets
4. Antoine Walker - Dallas Mavericks
5. Stephon Marbury - Philadelphia 76ers
6. Pries Lauderdale - Los Angeles Clippers
7. Darvin Ham - Minnesota Timberwolves
8. Ben Wallace - Boston Celtics
9. Shareef Abdur-Rahim - Vancouver Grizzlies
10. Marcus Camby - Detroit Pistons
11. Ray Allen - Atlanta Hawks
12. Malik Rose - Phoenix Suns
13. Steve Nash - Washington Bullets
14. Martin Muursepp - Charlotte Hornets
15. John Wallace - Sacramento Kings
16. Shawnelle Scott - Portland Trailblazers
17. Erick Dampier - Los Angeles Lakers
18. Lorenzen Wright - Utah Jazz
19. Ben Davis - Toronto Raptors
20. Michael Hawkins - Miami Heat
21. Samaki Walker - Houston Rockets
22. Bruce Bowen - Orlando Magic
23. Tony Delk - New York Knicks
24. Todd Fuller - Golden State Warriors
25. Travis Knight - Cleveland Cavaliers
26. Othella Harrington - New Jersey Nets
27. Jerome Williams - Indiana Pacers
[b]28. Doug Rhodes - Boston Celtics
29. Jamie Feick - Chicago Bulls

I could already, even before the draft, tell you there were problems wrong with the mock draft. While we were going to take one big man as insurance in case we couldn't re-sign Dikembe Mutombo, two was overkill given that we still had Pervis Ellison as a reserve and I wasn't about to move Christian Laettner out of his happy power forward spot. I also thought Ray Allen at 11 was preposterous. Given the tape I'd seen on him earlier in the year, in my mind, he was a lock for a Top 7 selection.

I tried again and again to get Milwaukee to trade spots with us, but they refused outright, even when I offered them Nick Van Exel to solve their PG hole. The Bucks GM at the time, Jamison Greenleaf, was a real ballbuster. He saw in Iverson the chance to instantly resurrect his moribund squad and he was right. To be honest, I think he enjoyed putting the screws to me like that.

My dreams of Allen Iverson wearing Celtics green were fast going up in smoke.

Grimly, I prepared for our plans to go all to naught.

Neuqua · 04-28-2009, 11:15 AM

Why isn't Kerry Kittles in the draft?!

Izulde · 04-28-2009, 11:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Neuqua

Why isn't Kerry Kittles in the draft?!

He is. And I'm about to break my keyboard because an error came up towards the end of the first round (I suspect it's mod-related)

Edit: I'd post how things had gone to that point, but it'll just piss me off all over again.

Izulde · 04-28-2009, 12:07 PM

Okay, here's an ethics question I have for you guys.

In the draft I was just running before the error hit, the Bucks actually passed on AI.

When I re-do the draft, do I just accept it as fate if the Bucks take Iverson or do I keep re-doing the draft until they pass on Iverson again if they take him when I start it up again?

(I was also thrilled with who I got with my second first round pick and -that- probably won't happen again either. UGH!)

DaddyTorgo · 04-28-2009, 12:22 PM

keep re-doing it until they pass on him. i consider that fair-play, as it's not your fault the game fouled up. as long as you didn't save+reload right before the draft WITH THE INTENTION OF DOING THAT i consider it alright.

DaddyTorgo · 04-28-2009, 12:23 PM

idk though - C's fan here obviously, so this pains me, but what about *throws up in mouth a lil* Kobe?

Coffee Warlord · 04-28-2009, 03:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaddyTorgo

idk though - C's fan here obviously, so this pains me, but what about *throws up in mouth a lil* Kobe?

Without seeing his numbers/stats in the database, I'm surprised he's not on our hero's radar more.

Autumn · 04-28-2009, 03:27 PM

I agree, that if you didn't do it on purpose you could keep going until they pass on him, though I'd probably be inclined to just take my chances. I, however, am not as obsessed with Iverson ;-)

rjolley · 04-28-2009, 04:37 PM

Yeah, usually, when I have an error during a game, I let whatever happens when I replay the game happen. On CH2K9, I usually let the CPU replay the games I'd played since the last save. For text sims, I let the whatever happened in the redo, happen.

And I agree, I'm not as infatuated with AI as you are. I'd rather have Bryant (based on what he turned out to be) and Abdur-Rahim (very good scoring big man coming out of college).

law90026 · 04-28-2009, 08:55 PM

I would not see an issue with rerunning the draft until the Bucks pass again. It's not cheesing the game since that's what really happened before the crash.

Re the pick of AI: I'm assuming Izulde is trying to go for realism in the dynasty? I don't think people were lining up to draft Kobe at the time (though he's turned out phenomenal) and AI would have been the consensus No. 1 pick (well except for the Bucks apparently lol).

Izulde · 04-28-2009, 11:55 PM

My gut instinct is to just accept whatever the re-do brings me, so that's probably what I'll go with, even though it'll probably cost me AI as well as the other player I landed that I was really happy to get.

And I absolutely -refuse- to have Kobe on the team.

rjolley · 04-29-2009, 07:29 AM

Who was the other player?

DaddyTorgo · 04-29-2009, 09:36 AM

i'd refuse to have both Kobe and AI if it were up to me as far as personal preference

Izulde · 04-29-2009, 08:02 PM

rjolley: You'll see later.

DaddyTorgo: Eh, AI and Artest are my two favorite current players, which is why I'm so eager to get him.

I'll give the draft another crack later tonight, once I eat supper and get this mountain of papers graded.

rjolley · 04-29-2009, 08:47 PM

And switch back to FireFox.

Izulde · 04-30-2009, 01:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rjolley

And switch back to FireFox.

That might happen when I get back to WI. But while I'm on this current ISP, it's Opera.

law90026 · 04-30-2009, 02:36 AM

Amg enough teasing already, I've been waiting for the draft for a long time now!

Izulde · 04-30-2009, 08:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by law90026

Amg enough teasing already, I've been waiting for the draft for a long time now!

Ran it again and the same damned error popped up.

RTE 3075: Syntax error (missing operator) in query expression 'College = 'Saint John's' ORDER BY Season ID Desc

Like I said, I think it's mod/roster related.

This is getting irritating, especially since the Bucks passed on AI -again-.

law90026 · 04-30-2009, 10:58 PM

Ouchie sucks to hear, hope you can get it fixed.

Izulde · 04-30-2009, 11:44 PM

We brought in some players for workouts and were impressed with a lot of the guys we looked at. But in my mind, there was no doubt who the best player in the class was. You all know who that is.

[b]1996 NBA Draft First Round[b]

I made one more last-ditch effort to try and secure the top pick from the Bucks, but they dug in.

And so, it was with a certain depression that I sat at the table and watched the commissioner walk up to the podium, card in hand.

"With the first pick in the 1996 NBA draft, the Milwaukee Bucks select.... Kobe Bryant, shooting guard, from Lower Merion High School . The Boston Celtics are now on the clock."

The whole room gasped in shock, followed by some boos. I didn't think it was that bad a pick. Sure Kobe was young at 18, but Glenn Robinson and Vin Baker were 24 and 25 respectively, still young enough for the Bucks to be able to make a run if Kobe matured into the type of superstar everyone pegged him to be someday.

But there was no time to waste. I grabbed the card, dashed in a name with shaking hand and personally ran it up, smiling so widely the guy laughed when he took it.

"I bet I know who this is!" he said with a knowing grin.

"Damn right!" I answered.

A few moments later...

"With the second overall pick, the Boston Celtics select... Allen Iverson, point guard, out of Georgetown. The New Jersey Nets are on the clock."

The commissioner's last words were lost in the roars and cheers from the crowd. Our future savior beamed as he went up to don a Celtics hat and pose for the cameras. So he was just 6 feet tall? Who cared? I knew, looking at him, that he wouldn't soon forget being passed over for the top pick and that he'd make Milwaukee pay.

No matter what else happened the rest of the draft, I had the player I wanted most. And that was worth everything.

I called Allen and talked to him about how happy we were to have him in Boston while I kept an eye on the picks coming in. If there was still a player we liked after the next few selections, I was tempted to move up and get him.

3. C Priest Lauderdale - New Jersey Nets

The Nets were furious about Bryant going off the board first. They'd set their hearts on him and instead had to settle for the giant Greek, all 7'4, 325 lbs of Lauderdale.

4. C Marcus Camby - Dallas Mavericks

It was my turn to be angry, because Camby was one of the guys I was hoping to fall to us at the 8th pick and now he was gone.

5. SF Darvin Ham - Philadelphia 76ers
6. PF Antoine Walker - Los Angeles Clippers

At this point we had a decision to make. There was one center left on the board who I thought was worthy of a Top 10 selection, high school senior Jermaine O'Neal. The problem was, Minnesota looked poised to take him. On the other hand, there were two excellent guards still available, one of whom was guaranteed to drop to us, if not both. But I also had Nick Van Exel and the just drafted Iverson.

The solution, of course, was to see if I could swap Van Exel for a center. Although I loved Nick's game, he'd struggled in the playoffs, shooting just 35.8% and we couldn't have that if we wanted to be championship contenders. So I hit the phones.

I quickly found out that there were no real center prospects available and the bad contracts we had in Sherman Douglas, Dee Brown and Dana Barros from the previous administration made them untradeable.

But the more I thought about it, the more I wanted a pure point guard to pair up with Allen and there was only one guy left in the draft who I really wanted to team with him, so I offered the 48th pick to the Timberwolves to move up and they agreed.

7. PG Stephon Marbury - Boston Celtics

A roar of confusion rang out and the experts were absolutely flabbergasted that we hadn't taken a big man.

They recovered quickly however, with J.P. Gorski remarking, "Well, the Celtics backcourt was their Achilles heel last season. Nick Van Exel showed flashes at the point but was inconsistent and Dee Brown had no business starting. I thought Starbury was going to go number five to the 76ers, so this is a great, great value pick. My guess is that we'll see Boston line up Starbury at the point and Allen Iverson at shooting guard to give the Celtics the best young backcourt in the league."

Another expert commented, "I agree and I wouldn't be surprised to see Nick Van Exel traded at some point in the offseason now. They've got a glut of guards with bad contracts that can't be moved. I say they ship out Van Exel for a big man or maybe some more help at small forward."

While the discussion was going on, more picks were quietly being made.

8. PF Ben Wallace - Minnesota Timberwolves*

Finally the mocks got a pick right, even if the team was wrong.

9. PF Shareef Abdur-Rahim - Vancouver Grizzlies
10. C Jermaine O'Neal - Detroit Pistons

The cheers that greeted the Pistons selection of O'Neal were almost as loud as those of ours for Iverson. Truth was, Jermaine looked a little stiff and very raw when we brought him in and while we had the ability to give him minutes and develop him, I just couldn't see him being an improvement over a ready-now player like Starbury or Allen.

11. C Todd Fuller - Atlanta Hawks

From cheers to boos. Fuller wasn't expected to go until at least the mid-20s, so for the Hawks to take him at 11 was simply stunning.

12. C Shawnelle Scott - Phoenix Suns

I was absolutely floored by the Suns pick. It meant that our deal we had in place for them to get a player we really liked off of them was on hold until further notice. If we didn't need the player we were hoping to get off Phoenix, I would've vowed then and there not to trade with them, but I just kept quiet and bided my time.

13. SG Randy Livingston - Washington Bullets

The Bullets' pick was probably the most confusing of the entire first round, even more than the Fuller selection. Livingston was tabbed as a late first/early 2nd at the very best, so for him to go lottery made no sense.

14. SG Ray Allen - Charlotte Hornets

Wild enthusiasm greeted this selection and rightly so. Ray was a guy I strongly considered sitting and waiting on drafting at the 8 spot, but I was just too enamored with Starbury. Great, great value and the perfect pairing with Glen Rice, maybe Larry Johnson too, if the Hornets could retain their young power forward star, I thought to myself.

15. PG Michael Hawkins - Sacramento Kings

Taking Hawkins here was like in the most recent NFL draft, when a certain star WR was passed over for a certain all-speed player. Only Hawkins wasn't all speed. He was all nothing compared to the pure passer still on the board and it was yet another headshaking pick in an already insane draft.

16. PG Steve Nash - Portland Trailblazers

The Blazers were major beneficiaries of teams passing on Nash. If I hadn't had Starbury in my sights, I might've made a play to move back and pick him up. Just a great player who went later than he should've.

17. PF John Wallace - Los Angeles Lakers

Nice smokescreen by the Lakers, who had everyone convinced they wanted Erick Dampier. But evidently they'd had eyes for Wallace instead.

18. PF Martin Muursepp - Utah Jazz
19. SG Kerry Kittles - Toronto Raptors

I thought Kittles was a steal for the Raptors at the 19th pick. Really good scoring and defensive instincts. Smart player too and the perfect tag-team partner for Damon Stoudamire in the backcourt. Even though the experts were surprised that Kittles went so high.

20. SF Malik Rose - Miami Heat
21. C Erick Dampier - Houston Rockets

I tried to trade up when it got to 20, but neither the Heat, who took the falling Rose, nor the Rockets, wanted to deal. Oh well, I thought to myself. That just makes it all the more imperative that we retain Dikembe Mutombo.

22. PF Jerome Williams - Orlando Magic
23. C Lorenzen Wright - New York Knicks

While I was happy to get Iverson and Starbury, the near-misses of our backup center prospects in Dampier and Wright drove me near to insanity. We were really having to gamble on keeping Mutombo in Boston without blowing up our bank account.

24. C Travis Knight - Golden State Warriors
25. C Brett Szabo - Cleveland Cavaliers

Who?! That was the universal reaction to Cleveland's pick. Szabo, an Iowa State Cyclone, hadn't been on anybody's radar and yet there he was, a first round pick.

26. PF Samaki Walker - New Jersey Nets
27. SF Bruce Bowen - Indiana Pacers

With our draft board blown up, I had no choice but to reach and so reach I did.

28. PF Roy Rogers - Boston Celtics

"What are the Celtics thinking here?!" J.P. shouted. And in fact, that was the general reaction. Rogers wasn't high on anyone's draft board, but I liked the Crimson Tide senior. Pretty dumb, but he was already a good shotblocker with some very good defensive and rebounding potential.

29. PF Jamie Feick - Chicago Bulls*

With no second round pick, we stopped paying attention.

Quote:

I have to point out this was actually the third time I ran the draft. I hit an error my first two tries and, what's interesting to note, the Bucks passed on Iverson both times.

Quick First Draft Synopsis
Milwaukee took Priest Lauderdale #1 overall, which allowed us to grab AI 2nd. Starbury fell to us with the 8th pick after the Timberwolves took Darvin Ham, which obviously didn't happen the third go-round. Jermaine O'Neal went 10 to the Pistons and Ray Allen went 9th to the Grizzlies. It was also the most successful one for the mock draft, as they successfully chose Kobe #3 to the Nets, Walker #4 to the Mavericks.

Quick Second Draft Synopsis
In this one, the Bucks drafted Starbury first overall, which shocked me almost as much as Lauderdale the first time did. AI was second naturally, but the Nets passed on Kobe to take Walker, which ticked the Mavericks off, who then snagged Marcus Camby. We traded down from 8 to 11, picking up Atlanta's 1998 1st along the way. Kobe Bryant fell hard this draft, not going until Vancouver at 9. We took Ray Allen at 11, then shipped him, Nick Van Exel, the 28 pick and a bunch of other pieces to the Charlotte Hornets for the 14 pick, Glen Rice and the Hornets 1998 1st rounder. With the 14th pick, we then took Erick Dampier, so the Lakers wouldn't get him as they did in the first draft.

All in all though, I was very pleased to end up with Starbury and AI. On an OOC note, AI's my favorite player this current gen along with Ron Artest and I have this weird fascination with Starbury that I've never been able to explain

Our first look after the draft had me very excited about our rookies. Stephon Marbury and Allen Iverson looked like Day One starters, while Roy Rogers looked good enough to be an improvement off the bench over what we had last year.

I sent Nick Van Exel to the Miami Heat for their first round pick of the upcoming year. Although it broke my heart to trade him, the fact of the matter was, with Sherman Douglas, Dee Brown and Dana Barros all eating up our cap space and our having drafted Starbury and Iverson, we had far too many guards.

Summer League
PG Allen Iverson
PG Stephon Marbury
PF Roy Rogers

Expectations were high heading into the summer league, so our opening 88-80 loss to the Orlando Magic was a little discouraging. Encouraging, however, were Stephon Marbury and Allen Iverson scoring 21 points a piece and Roy Rogers doubling for 11 points and 10 rebounds.

We fell 76-73 to the Nets next game, spoiling Allen Iverson's jaw-dropping 34 point performance and reserve Brian Bibby's 10 bench points.

And then came the flood. 118-109 win in Philadelphia in which Allen Iverson scored 36 with 13 assists and Stephon Marbury added 25 points. They were countered by 76er rookies Darvin Ham with an incredible 38 points and Tony Delk with 20 points. Ruben Nembhard made up the difference for us with 10 bench points.

It was the first of four straight games and we beat the Knicks the next night 106-81. All five starters scored 10 or more, led by Stephon Marbury and Allen Iverson with 32 and 24 respectively.

99-89 the next night, us the winners over Malik Rose and the Heat. Great game Rose put on with 22 points and 11 rebounds, but Allen Iverson overshadowed him with 38 points and Eric Mobley chipped in 18 bench points.

And finally to Washington, where we beat the Bullets in a 99-94 thriller. Stephon Marbury dominated with 37 points, while Allen Iverson netted 20 points and 10 assists and frustrated Randy Livingston all night long.

Free Agency

On the eve of free agency, the commissioner's office issued a press release saying the salary cap was raised to $24.3 million. While helpful in that it brought us under $5 million over the cap, it also created chaos in terms of what player agents were going to demand.

It was a star-studded crop that included the following names.

Michael Jordan
Karl Malone
Shaquille O'Neal
Hakeem Olajuwon
David Robinson
Rik Smits
Juwan Howard
Charles Barkley
Patrick Ewing
Tim Hardaway
Scottie Pippen
Alonzo Mourning
Clyde Drexler
Armon Gilliam
Gary Payton
Reggie Miller
John Stockton
Magic Johnson (albeit ancient)
Kevin Johnson
Larry Johnson
Dikembe Mutombo

And a ton more others. Those were just some of the names that generated the most talk.

With all those summer headliners, I privately hoped we could return Dikembe cheap.

Things were glacial for most of the summer, until Shaquille O'Neal finally broke the ice by signing a 6 year, $25.4 mill. contract to re-up in Orlando. $3.25 million in the first year was absurdly cheap, but Shaq didn't care about money. He just wanted a title.

Still, it helped establish the market and a bunch of contracts were signed over the next two days.

Including Dikembe Mutombo's signing with the Bucks on a 2 year, $1.74 million deal. I felt stabbed in the back by his treachery, but he didn't care. He just said he'd enjoyed Boston, but it was time to help him build the Bucks up like he'd done the Celtics. That same day, Juwan Howard jumped from the Bullets to the Raptors for 4 years, $8.61 million.

We were completely blindsided and made an attempt to recover by signing Ervin Johnson to a one year minimum, young, promising guard Lindsey Hunter to a two year minimum and Kevin Willis to a low exception. Johnson and Hunter signed, but Willis was offered more money by Miami and so signed with them.

Brian Shaw and A.C. Green became my final signings as we were just under $5 million for being over the cap and had 13 players.

Training Camp

I knew even during camp that you could mark Allen Iverson down for Rookie of the Year. He looked fantastic and Stephon Marbury showed surprising improvement on defense. Roy Rogers did well too, enough to beat out Pervis Ellison and Ervin Johnson for the starting C spot. While our bench still wasn't the greatest, the fact that Sherman Douglas and Dana Barros were 12th and inactive respectively said a lot.

Preason Preview

Unlike last year, where we were picked second to last, this season we were marked for a repeat of our 7th seed. As one scribe put it, "The loss of Dikembe Mutombo is more than made up for by the sudden firepower in rookies Allen Iverson and Stephon "Starbury" Marbury. When [b]Christian Laettner goes from the team's #1 option to the Celtics' likely third option, you know it's better basketball in Boston."

Philadelphia was the trendy pick to win the East, because the Bulls looked old after getting upset by the Hornets in the first round last year. Chicago still held to the 2 seed projection however, with Detroit and Orlando 3rd and 4th and Milwaukee a surprising 5th, as the press was predicting and reasonably so, that the scoring options of Glenn "Big Dog" Robinson, Vin Baker and Kobe Bryant would make Milwaukee even more successful with Dikembe Mutombo in the middle than he'd been with us last year.

The Jazz were favored in the West, followed by Houston, but the rising young stars of Dallas and Minnesota were 3rd and 4th which I agreed with, given how weak the West was and how potent a talent the two had in Jason Kidd/Jamal Mashburn/Marcus Camby and Kevin Garnett/Tom Gugliotta/Ben Wallace respectively.

1996-97 Boston Celtics Opening Night Lineup
PG Stephon Marbury
SG Allen Iverson
SF Grant Long
PF Christian Laettner
C Roy Rogers
6th Pervis Ellison (PF/C)
7th Brian Shaw (PG)
8th Lindsey Hunter (PG/SG)
9th Dee Brown (SG)
10th A.C. Green (SF/PF)
11th Ervin Johnson (C)
12th Sherman Douglas (SG)
Inactive
Dana Barros (PG)

law90026 · 05-01-2009, 01:36 AM

LOL! AI and Marbury sharing a backcourt. If this was real life ....

BYU 14 · 05-01-2009, 08:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by law90026

LOL! AI and Marbury sharing a backcourt. If this was real life ....

Maybe the League is going to a 2 ball rule

This should be interesting....

DaddyTorgo · 05-01-2009, 08:55 AM

LOL - AI and Marbury - NUTS!!!

idk why you're so down on Jesus Shuttleworth that you didn't want him over Starbury. Especially after his 50+ points last night!

Autumn · 05-01-2009, 09:43 AM

Fun draft. If Rogers comes through for you at the center it will be quite a coup.

Radii · 05-01-2009, 10:44 AM

I was a freshman at Georgia Tech the same year Marbury was. He was such a joy to watch that one college season... hopefully things can work out differently for him in the pros this time around!

Izulde · 05-01-2009, 01:33 PM

Glad to hear you guys enjoyed the draft once it finally went through.

The results will certainly be interesting that's for sure.

Izulde · 05-01-2009, 03:12 PM

We started the year with high hopes and a marquee matchup hosting Milwaukee on Halloween night. And, I'm sorry to say that we lost 97-85, getting absolutely crushed in the second half. Vin Baker and Glenn "Big Dog" Robinson shredded us for 29 points and 11 rebounds and 25 points and 11 rebounds respectively, Bimbo Coles adding fuel to the fire with 14 bench points. All five Celtics starters scored 10+ points, highlighted by Allen Iverson's debut 19 points and Christian Laettner's 10 points and 12 rebounds, but it didn't cut the mustard. Stephon Marbury had 13 points and 7 assists before fouling out and Roy Rogers was an ugly 4 for 15 as Dikembe Mutombo schooled him in the paint.

Chicago the next night was equally unpleasant, as Allen Iverson's 22 points and Brian Shaw's 11 bench points failed to countermand the Bulls and Michael Jordan's 31 points in our 99-81 loss.

0-3 after a 124-113 loss to the Suns. Sir Charles Barkley reamed us for 31 points, Danny Manning had 25 points and 13 rebounds and Wayman Tisdale scored 16 off the bench. It was frustrating to throw away Christian Laettner's 31 points, Allen Iverson's 29 points and Stephon Marbury's 18 points and 11 assists like that.

Finally we broke through for our first win of the season, ambushing the Orlando Magic 113-88. Shaquille O'Neal was fantastic for 31 points, 15 rebounds and 4 blocks, but he couldn't do it alone against Allen Iverson's 30 points, Stephon Marbury's 18 points and 17 assists and several Celtic double-doubles: Christian Laettner (17 points, 11 rebounds), Roy Rogers (13 points, 10 rebounds and 6 blocks) and Grant Long (13 points, 12 rebounds).

But then we dropped a 103-95 decision to the Utah Jazz, unable to overcome Karl Malone's 29 points and 22 points a piece from Jeff Hornacek and John Stockton, with Stockton adding 11 assists besides. Allen Iverson did well with 24 points and Pervis Ellison powered off the bench for 14 points and 10 rebounds, but when Stephon Marbury had a 1 for 8 night, I knew we were in trouble.

Defense kicked in on the front of a doubleheader and we overpowered the Bullets 83-69. Chris Webber got his stats with 27 points and 13 rebounds, but our balanced offense keyed by Stephon Marbury's 16 points and 10 assists, Lindsey Hunter's 17 bench points and Pervis Ellison's 13 bench boards carried us.

Allen Iverson dominated with 48 points in our 113-97 revenge thrashing of the Bucks in Milwaukee the next night. Stephon Marbury added 20 points and 14 assists and those two carried us, sweeping past Vin Baker's 29 points and Johnny Newman's 23 points. Kobe Bryant was really struggling to life in the NBA. In the first 8 games, he was averaging just 8.6 points and 5.5 assists out of the point guard spot, shooting a mere 35.9%.

Our quest for .500 was firmly squashed by Hakeem Olajuwon's 36 points and 12 rebounds as the Rockets thumped us 105-91. Good show by Christian Laettner with 35 points and Roy Rogers cobbled together 10 points and 12 rebounds, but Allen Iverson was a forgettable 2 for 10.

Despite 29 points from Allen Iverson, 12 points and 13 assists from Stephon Marbury and at least 12 points from every starter, the Hornets pulled away in the second half to beat us 112-100. Glen Rice was monstrous with 40 points, Larry Johnson added 20 points and we were double-stung by Kevin Salvadori's 13 points and 12 rebounds and Muggsy Bogues's 14 points and 16 assists.

This couldn't go on. We needed a shakeup and so I executed one, a blockbuster that set the league abuzz.

Boston Celtics receive
SF Glen Rice
PF Larry Johnson

Charlotte Hornets receive
PF Christian Laettner
PF Grant Long
PF Roy Rogers
C Ervin Johnson
Atlanta Hawks 1997 2nd round pick

What this means for the Celtics
In one fell swoop, Bobby Troilus has landed two of the Hornets' best players, who are two of a kind. Rice and Johnson are both excellent shooters with terrific passing and handling skills, but only average on the defensive end. They'll slot in at SF and PF respectively. Boston also purges itself of Laettner's long, expensive contract.

What this means for the Hornets
Laettner immediately takes over as Charlotte's top scorer. Rogers, who surprisingly won the starting center spot with the Celtics, fills the same capacity for the Hornets. Long bolsters the bench and will be the first forward off it, with solid defense. Johnson's just filler.

Winner: Draw
It's a calculated gamble for both teams. Charlotte's 6-5 right now and are risking blowing up their team chemistry with the trade. While Boston's struggling, they have a major void at center and have substantially weakened their defense.

I tried to shore up the defensive hole by signing Dontonio Wingfield from the D-League and although it was costly I found a replacement center.

Boston Celtics receive
C Dean Garrett

Los Angeles Lakers receive
PF A.C. Green
PG Lindsey Hunter
Boston Celtics 1999 2nd round pick

What this means for the Celtics
Garrett may be a 30 year old rookie, but he's precisely the rebounding, defensive, shotblocking big man Boston needs in the middle after they traded Roy Rogers. While he won't make anyone forget Dikembe Mutombo, this 2nd round pick (17th in 2nd round), is just what the Celtics need.

What this means for the Lakers
The 33 year old Green returns back to the team of his glory days and while the Lakers at 3-8 are as faded as their former star, he can still boost their bench with solid all-around game. Hunter is a respectable all-around reserve guard, but will be buried on Los Angeles's bench.

Winner: Boston
Stiff price or not, Garrett's the remedy the ailing Celtics need.

To fill the gaps and keep Dana Barros on the inactive list, I signed 25 year old guard Sarath Minor and 28 year old forward Sean Higgins from the D-Leagues, meaning that we had 3 minor league players on our roster and we were looking very much like the starting five strong, bench weak team of 95-96.

But when we beat Golden State 98-89 in our next game, I knew we were on the right track. Glen Rice scored 26 in his Celtics debut, Larry Johnson smoothly gathered up 15 points and 10 rebounds and Pervis Ellison matched Johnson's boards total off the bench. Tim Haradaway and Latrell Sprewell combined for 31 and 21 points and Travis Knight posted the poor man's double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds, but our balance won out.

It didn't take long at all to meet the Hornets again, as we rematched them a couple days later. This time, it was we who owned the second half and pulled away for the 117-110 victory. Allen Iverson scored 33 points, but it was Glen Rice (26 points) and Larry Johnson (20 points) eating alive their old team that got all the press. Rookie Ray Allen had an impressive 31 points for Charlotte as their lone standout.

Glen Rice beat the Pistons all by himself almost with 32 points as we crushed Detroit 103-61. Sherman Douglas and Brian Shaw led the bench with 14 and 10 points respectively as rookie Jermaine O'Neal was the only Piston in double-digit scoring with 18 points and 11 rebounds.

The former Hornet duo continued to carry us, our 94-74 victory over the Nets engineered by Glen Rice's 27 points and Larry Johnson's 22 points and 19 rebounds, as Allen Iverson was hampered by a strained abdomen. Jayson Williams recorded 20 points and 12 rebounds for New Jersey and Chris Childs had an impressive 15 points to lead all reserves.

We suffered our first loss since the trade the next night in D.C., outscored 28-13 to fall 97-89 to the Bullets. Chris Webber ran wild over us for 36 points and 20 rebounds and Gheorghe Muresan provided the support with 18 points and 14 rebounds. Glen Rice was our lone standout with 24 points.

Still, I was fine with how we were doing. We'd battled back from a poor start to finish at 7-7 for the first month after I made the moves. That was good for tied for third in the Atlantic, a game and a half back of 8-5 Miami. It also put us right in the 7/8 playoff spot range. The Central was an absolute beast, as the defending champion Pacers were 11-2, followed by 11-5 Atlanta and Chicago and Cleveland both at 10-5.

Houston was 12-5, the Jazz 11-5 in the Midwest, while 10-5 Phoenix and 10-6 Seattle patrolled the Pacific. But of course, the Suns were only as good as Kevin Johnson's health.

Autumn · 05-01-2009, 03:19 PM

I knew you wouldn't last long before pulling a big trade. Poor Rogers, never had a chance.

DaddyTorgo · 05-01-2009, 03:21 PM

big trades are half the fun!

Coffee Warlord · 05-01-2009, 03:22 PM

Starbury, Iverson, Glen Rice, and Larry Johnson in the starting lineup? Lordy lordy.

cubboyroy1826 · 05-01-2009, 03:47 PM

Izulde can you post a link to the draft files?

Izulde · 05-01-2009, 11:06 PM

Autumn: The thing is, I like Rogers. But the chance to get Rice, whose player card with the Heat I really liked as a kid (yes I know, strange reason to like a player) and Johnson, who I loved watching in the UNLV/Duke game was too much to resist. Especially since Rice and Johnson had kicked our butts so many times when we've played Charlotte.

DaddyTorgo: Indeed.

Coffee Warlord: Yeah, it's pretty much a pick your poison scenario.

cubboyroy1826: Check La Tulipe's 1976-1977 roster thread in the Mods forum at Wolverine Studios. You'll have to post your email and have him send them to you. Since I'm the DDSPB mod and hence affiliated with WS, I can't legally provide a link or send the files.

But yeah, it's his draft files I use.

Izulde · 05-02-2009, 01:02 AM

Our daring moves were the only trade of that November and I'd come to expect slow first months when it came to the trade market.

My romantic life had been slow since Mia. Nonexistant, in fact. I liked to tell myself that it was because I was too busy with general manager duties, but that couldn't explain away the intense loneliness I felt on my 30th birthday that November 17th. The party the team threw me was a wonderful one, all the more because it was a surprise, but I still felt sad, both from our difficulties as a team and from my own sense of isolation. It was two days later that, feeling the just-turned-30 angst, I made the stunning moves for Rice, Johnson, and Garrett.

We made an incredible fourth quarter rally on the backs of Larry Johnson (25 points) and Glen Rice (23 points), but came up short in a 99-95 loss to start December. Sherman Douglas had a nice 12 points off the bench as well, but even nicer was Alonzo Mourning's 19 points and 11 rebounds, Malik Rose's 16 points and 11 rebounds and the dagger in the heart, Nick Van Exel's revenge 26 points.

The rematch in Miami went our way, as we clamped down and won 95-81, led by Dean Garrett's 12 points, 23 rebounds and 5 blocks and Sherman Douglas's 14 bench points. Alonzo Mourning didn't get any help to go with his 16 points and 11 rebounds outside of Malik Rose's 13 points and 13 rebounds and that wasn't going to cut it.

We played next in Philadelphia and a thrilling overtime barnburner ensued that saw us prevail 118-112. Derrick Coleman posted 23 points and 11 rebounds, Darvin Ham scored 24 and 6'6 starting center Clarence Weatherspoon nabbed 19 points and 11 boards. Tony Delk looked great with 25 points and 13 assists before fouling out. But we were able to win as Glen Rice exploded for 44 points and four bench players broke double-digit points: Sherman Douglas (18 points), Brian Shaw (10 points, 10 assists), Pervis Ellison (10 points) and Dee Brown, also with 10 points.

The downside of that tremendous game was that we were exhausted the next night at home and the Hawks clawed us 112-77. Glen Rice scored 24, but Stacey Augmon bettered that with 28 points and Atlanta had 3 bench players score 11 or more points, led by Matt Bullard with 13.

A day off gave us the rest we needed and a fully healed Allen Iverson came back in full force, slaying the Raptors for 36 points and 4 steals in our 125-104 road win. Larry Johnson tacked on 24 points and Brian Shaw and Pervis Ellison highlighted the bench with 12 and 11 rebounds respectively. Damon Stoudamire fired off 31 points, but he was the only Raptor to really do much.

This time we were well rested for our following night home game and destroyed the 76ers 107-88. Stephon Marbury stepped up with 23 points and 10 assists, Glen Rice adding 24 points. Sherman Douglas continued his surprising value as a reserve with 14 points. Darvin Ham made a continuance of his own, defying my impressions of his not being a very good player with 21 points and Clarence Weatherspoon outplayed his 6'6 height again with 13 points and 18 rebounds in the middle.

Toronto came to town and went out 121-96 losers, roughed up by Allen Iverson's 33 points, Glen Rice's 27 points, Dean Garrett's 15 points and 11 rebounds and Stephon Marbury's 18 points and 14 assists. Damon Stoudamire did well with 22 points and Juwan Howard came alive with 23 points and 10 rebounds, but it wasn't even close, not even with Willie Anderson's 13 bench points. Although Juwan was putting up glitzy numbers since the Raptors stole him in free agency, it hadn't made a difference in Toronto's record, as they were still one of the bottom teams in the East.

Our new look team faced its biggest test yet in the Bulls next and we passed with flying colors, routing them 118-86. Stephon Marbury and Allen Iverson were an unstoppable backcourt with 34 and 27 points respectively, leaving Chicago dazed and unable to respond outside of Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf's 21 points. Of course, our victory was somewhat tempered by the fact that Michael Jordan was battling a strained knee and only scored 19. Still, it was encouraging.

Round II of Celtics/Hornets since the blockbuster went our way, 113-91. Allen Iverson poured it on for 33 points and 4 steals while Stephon Marbury doubled for 26 points and 15 assists and Glen Rice iced it with 20 ponts. Christian Laettner scored 21 points, but more and more it was looking as though that trade was a big time win for us. From 6-5 to 10-16, making them 4-11 since the deal, with 3 of their wins coming in December.

I was a little nervous hosting Minnesota the next night, but we rode out Isiah Rider's 29 points and came out on top 97-86. Allen Iverson led us in scoring with 20 points, Stephon Marbury doubled again with 15 points and 11 assists and Dean Garrett got a double as well, 15 points and 10 rebounds.

Carrie was treated to a thrilling game when we headed to Los Angeles and she was excited to see us edge out the Lakers 105-102. Cedric Cellabos was first of a balanced Lakers attack with 28 points and 9 rebound and we only won because of the only 3 Celtics to reach double-digit figures: Allen Iverson (26 points), Glen Rice (25 points) and Stephon Marbury (22 points, 10 assists). I didn't have time to meet with her afterwards because we had to board the plane for Portland the next night. She told me in an e-mail afterwards how excited she was for me and the team and she encouraged me to start dating again.

"It's been over a year", she wrote, "I know you loved Mia. We all did. But she isn't coming back and the best way to get over that is to put yourself out there again."

They were words I considered even as we skunked the Blazers 105-87 on Christmas Eve. Allen Iverson had been on fire since coming back from his abdominal injury and scored 22 in that game, although he was bettered by Glen Rice's 23 points. Larry Johnson pulled down 13 points and 10 rebounds and Sherman Douglas and Pervis Ellison combined for 11 points and 10 rebounds, 4 blocks respectively off the bench.

I spent Christmas Day in a thoughtful mood, but didn't reach any real conclusions as we trekked to Seattle the day after for the next leg of our West Coast road trip. And much to everyone's amazement, we kept our win streak alive, executing a fourth-quarter rally to squeak by the truly super Supersonics 103-100. Stephon Marbury passed his way to 19 points and 12 assists, one of three Celtics starters with 18 or 19 points and Larry Johnson came up big with 21 points and 9 rebounds while Sherman Douglas posted 12 bench points. All together, we were able to surmount the deadly duo of Gary Payton's 26 points and Shawn Kemp's 22 points.

Our white-hot streak had little trouble continuing the next night in Vancouver, where Glen Rice's 30 points, Larry Johnson's repeat 21 points and 9 rebounds and Stephon Marbury's 16 points and 12 assists helped us roll up the Grizzlies 103-87. Vancouver had just two players in double-digit figures and when the high was Greg Anthony's 18 points, you knew they weren't going to win. I had to give the Grizzlies credit though. Bryant Reeves tore his Achilles in late March of 1996 and he was gone for most of the year. Despite that, Vancouver still hung tough at 12-18 after losing to us that night.

Home we finally went, where we closed out the old year with a handy 101-87 win over Portland on New Year's Eve. Allen Iverson scored 26 to neutralize Clifford Robinson's 27 points, Dean Garrett chipped in 12 points and 14 rebounds and Pervis Ellison added 12 bench points.

From 7-7 to 20-9. Our 13-2 December valuted us into first place in the Atlantic, three games ahead of 17-12 Washington. Of course, we were still no match for the 23-6 Central-leading Pacers or the 22-6 Cavaliers, but we were a game ahead of 19-10 Chicago.

Seattle still owned the West overall at 21-8, three games in front of 17-10 Phoenix, which hadn't lost Kevin Johnson to injury. San Antonio and Houston were deadlocked atop the Midwest at 19-9/21-11, with 20-11 Utah a mere half-game off.

I was ecstatic with our performance and felt that I'd put together a team capable of challenging for the East crown that very season. The numbers supported this, I think.

Celtics Leaders

Points
Glen Rice - 25.3
Allen Iverson - 20.8
Larry Johnson - 16.8

Rebounds
Larry Johnson - 8.4
Dean Garrett - 7.9
Glen Rice - 6.0

Assists
Stephon Marbury - 8.9
Larry Johnson - 4.5
Allen Iverson - 4.3

Blocks
Dean Garrett - 1.5
Pervis Ellison - 1.2
Larry Johnson - 0.6

Steals
Allen Iverson - 1.5
Glen Rice - 1.2
Dean Garrett - 1.0

Christian Laettner would've been third or fourth in scoring on this version of the team and although we lacked a double-digit rebounder, we were stronger in all other areas and deeper.

04-24-2009, 05:37 PM	#10
Izulde Head Coach Join Date: Sep 2004	Autumn: The 90s were when I most closely followed the NBA as well. I do wish there were an early set, like when La Tulipe made a 1990 set for TPB or that his 1976 set worked without having to make massive changes, but oh well. Coffee Warlord: I figured you'd say as such. __________________ 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)

04-24-2009, 09:57 PM	#11
Izulde Head Coach Join Date: Sep 2004	I didn't go to any New Year's parties after the game. Instead, I went home and went to bed, waking up early next morning to a blanket of snow that clearly was going to leave me housebound. Not that it mattered. I'd given everyone the day off, including myself, anyway. Instead, I turned on my laptop, heated up some apple cider and sat down to look over Terry Moore's scouting reports on some of the upcoming draft prospects. "This is a seven player draft. Allen Iverson is easily the best player in the class and you should do whatever you can to land him. Kobe Bryant may be a high schooler, but he has intriguing potential. Ben Wallace looks like a great all-around prospect. Stephon Marbury is a franchise PG, Ray Allen looks like a sharpshooter and Antoine Walker and Shareef Abdur-Rahim are very good-all around true power forward prospects." A seven player draft. And right then, we looked questionable to land a Top 7 pick. More like two mid 1st round selections in us and Denver, particularly since the Nuggets were better than their record indicated. There was no question as to the worst team in the league. That was the 3-25 Dallas Mavericks, who had a promising young team built around Jamal Mashburn and Jason Kidd. But they were shooting just 38.3% as a team, the only franchise in the league to be shooting below 40%. Furthermore, there were problems in the locker room as Mashburn and starting SG Jim Jackson were extremely unhappy about being on a losing team. I called them about making a trade, but they wouldn't budge. Neither would the New Jersey Nets or the Los Angeles Clippers. Even the Toronto Raptors weren't willing to listen. Then I received a shock. The 11-19 Vancouver Grizzlies were willing to trade their 1st round pick for 13-17 Denver's straight up. It was a deal I couldn't pass up and so I made it. The differential may have only been two games, but I was confident enough in the Nuggets' improved play to make the switch. December had been a busy month for deals and I reviewed them again as I marveled over Vancouver's foolishness. Dallas Mavericks receive PG Elliott Perry Phoenix Suns receive SG Lucious Harris What this means for the Mavericks Perry's above average at shooting, scoring and passing and the 26 makes an excellent security blanket off the bench for second year man Jason Kidd. What this means for the Suns Harris isn't a very good player and why in the world would the Suns trade their only true quality backup PG for somebody who's the very epitome of JAG? Winner: Dallas Perry blows Harris out of the water in talent level and makes Dallas that much better. The move cost the Suns dearly as it turned out, because on December 27th, All-Star calibre PG Kevin Johnson tore his MCL and was lost for the season. His replacement? Lucious Harris rather than Elliott Perry. Detroit Pistons receive SF George McCloud Dallas Mavericks 1996 2nd round pick Dallas Mavericks receive C Theo Ratliff What this means for the Pistons McCloud is a pretty decent all-around, versatile player, able to slot in at 2-4. Not by any means exceptional, but versatility off the bench is always a good thing to have on a team. The second round pick looks a virtual lock to be #30 at this point. What this means for the Mavericks 22 year old rookie Ratliff, taken with the 18th pick, is already a dominant shotblocker and could develop into a good defender with a nice inside shot given the playing time to develop. The truth is, he should be starting right now, but Dallas doesn't want to rush a guy they see as their future starter, so he'll be the first big man off the bench instead. He wasn't seeing much time in Detroit, so he should be happy with more minutes. Winner: Draw Good trade for both teams as each of them get something to help improve in the future and maybe get a little better immediately. Nothing blockbuster, which was a little disappointing. In fact, I'd say our deal for Christian Laettner was probably the biggest move to date that season. Bad start to the New Year as the Cavaliers frustrated us 96-75. Nick Van Exel came off the bench while he recovered from a hip injury to score 13 points, but that was it. Terrell Brandon's 22 points and Tyrone Hill's 12 points and 10 rebounds were more than enough to do us in. Nick Van Exel had another good game off the bench with 11 points, but it didn't matter because Jason Kidd put on a 40 point, 10 rebound show as Dallas embarrassed us 102-82 on our own home court. I was absolutely aghast at the result and immediately plugged the now-healthy Van Exel back at PG. The losses just kept coming, Patrick Ewing pounding us for 24 points and 11 rebounds in the Knicks' 96-80 win. We also surrendered 20 points and 16 rebounds to Desmond Mason and 12 points and 10 rebounds to Charles Oakley while Eric Williams scored a team high 19 points. It was at this point that I began seriously considering trading Christian Laettner, who was going cold. We hosted the Kings and Dikembe Mutombo sparkled with 24 points, 13 rebounds and 7 blocks to lead all five starters in double-digit scoring and boosted by Greg Minor's 11 bench points. It didn't matter, as we fell apart in the fourth quarter and lost 94-92. Mitch Richmond hung 22 points on us, while Olden Polynice challenged Mutombo with 17 points, 15 rebounds and 4 blocks of his own. The bleeding finally stopped when we beat the Knicks 95-76 on Christian Laettner's 27 points and Greg Minor's 10 bench points. Patrick Ewing got his stats with 16 points and 15 rebounds, but by and large New York looked and played overconfident. One thing that 1995-96 Celtics team was capable of was being streaky. After all those losses, we won two in a row, stonewalling the Hawks 81-66 in Atlanta. Sherman Douglas scored 20, Nick Van Exel showed flashes of being a true point guard with 11 points and 10 assists, Dikembe Mutombo was a monster on the low blocks with 14 points and 19 rebounds and Christian Laettner put together 18 points and 10 rebounds. A three game Texas road trip started with our stunning San Antonio 103-94. David "The Admiral" Robinson's 27 points and 4 blocks and Vinny Del Negro's 22 points were countered by Nick Van Exel's 22 points, Eric Williams's 20 points and 10 bench points each from Dana Barros and Damon Cross. We got Dee Brown back for the Houston game, but that got lost in a hurry as did the game. Clyde Drexler beat us singlehandedly, with a triple-double of 26 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists. The only reason the 98-77 score wasn't even more lopsided was because Dikembe Mutombo picked up 12 points, 21 rebounds and 6 blocks. It was a barnburner, but we just barely fended off the Mavericks rally the night after, winning 93-90. Christian Laettner teed off for 22 points and 9 rebounds, Dikembe Mutombo posted 17 points and 12 rebounds and Damon Cross played cavalry with 13 bench points. Tough luck for Dallas, who got 18 points, 11 assists and 4 steals from Jason Kidd, 22 points from Jim Jackson and 20 points from Jamal Mashburn. Our win streak had me checking the standings and I became alarmed when I realized our 16-22 record would be good enough for the 8th seed in the East. Although it would make our owner happy to make the playoffs, that wasn't what I envisioned happening. Not when I was trying to chase one of the top 7 players, especially Allen Iverson, who I loved more the more tape I saw of him. I gave the Raptors, who we played next and who were 12-26, a call and offered to trade our first for theirs. To my surprise, they agreed. The GM told me, "You guys are one injury to Laettner or Mutombo away from being one of the worst teams in the East. Sure we'll take that deal." We went to Toronto and beat them 96-90 for that remark. Christian Laettner and Dikembe Mutombo, who'd I made sure to tell about the phone call, were the heroes of the night. Laettner ripped the Raptors for 24 points and 12 rebounds and Dikembe Mutombo put the hurt on them with 12 points, 14 rebounds and 7 blocks. Nick Van Exel double-doubled for 10 points and 15 assists and Dee Brown chipped in 10 points off the bench. It was great fun negating Damon Stoudemire's 20 points and 10 assists and Oliver Miller's 13 points and 15 rebounds. Maybe we could have our cake and eat it too, I thought to myself after the game. I had both expansion teams' first round picks, even though the Grizzlies were only doing one game worse than the Nuggets at the time and if we made the playoffs, Mr. Gross would be happy and I could keep my job. These happy thoughts only grew more certain when we upended Magic Johnson's Lakers 106-96 in Boston. Johnson scored 24, but Eric Williams neutralized that total, point for point and Elden Campbell's 12 points, 10 rebounds and 5 blocks were more than met by Dikembe Mutombo's 13 points, 15 rebounds and 5 blocks. Nick Van Exel's 11 points and 11 assists and Damon Cross's 15 bench points were mere icing on the cake. And then came the ugliest game ever. We lost 76-54 to the Pacers, with only 3 players on the entire court reaching double-digit scoring. Unfortunately, 2 of the 3 played for Indiana as Reggie Miller and Derrick McKey each scored 20 and washed away Dikembe Mutombo's 18 points, 17 rebounds and 4 blocks. We followed up that brutality by shocking the Magic 104-96 in overtime. In Orlando no less. Penny Hardaway nabbed 25 points and 3 steals and Shaquille O'Neal muscled his way to 22 points and 14 rebounds, but Christian Laettner came up with a big 24 points and 13 rebounds and Nick Van Exel had his best game in a Celtics uniform, amassing 23 points and 10 assists. Pervis Ellison was terrific off the bench with 9 points, 10 rebounds and 3 blocks and Greg Minor dropped in 10 bench points to lead the seconds in scoring. Our biggest game of the season to that point was the next night in Boston, with Vancouver coming to town. The Grizzlies had been on fire lately and were 16-27. We needed to beat them, not only to help our postseason chances, but help our draft position. It wasn't easy, but we go the victory in a 92-86 slugfest. Eric Williams (17 points, 10 rebounds), Christian Laettner (13 points, 13 rebounds) and Dikembe Mutombo (12 points, 10 rebounds, 4 blocks) all got double-doubles and all five starters scored at least 11 points as we outlasted the Grizzlies, who were nearly rescued by reserve Lawrence Moten's 15 points. Another ugly defensive game and loss in Indiana, 83-68. Reggie Miller blitzed us for 30 points and 9 rebounds and the best we had to offer was Nick Van Exel's 19 points and Pervis Ellison's 10 bench points. The next night we went to Miami and upset the Heat 85-80 in a game of Balanced Offense beats Star as Alonzo Mourning's 20 points and 11 rebounds failed to overcome Christian Laettner and Eric Williams each scoring 16. Although freakish, it was a nice way to capstone the start of 1996. We were now 21-24, which, in the top-heavy East of that year, meant we'd go in as the #7 seed if the playoffs were held right then. 30-13 had the Knicks 3 games ahead of Orlando in the Atlantic, while 35-9 Chicago continued to be just a half-game ahead of the pesky Pacers. Toronto at 14-31 had the 4th worst record in the conference, with only Milwaukee, Philadelphia and New Jersey doing worse. The Raptors were that magical 7th worst overall, as in the West only Dallas and the Clippers were more futile, but the Mavericks won 8 games in January, polevaulting them to 11-32. Houston now commanded the Midwest at 31-16, half a game ahead of the Spurs while the chase in the Pacific was looking pretty close to over. Seattle had a sensational first month of 1996 to stake a 6.5 game edge on Golden State, as Phoenix was reeling with the loss of KJ. Vancouver, by the by, stood just half a game behind Denver in the standings at 17-28. There was, of course, still a lot of basketball to be played and anything could still happen. But I was pleased with myself. I'd traded my first round pick at just the right time. Had I tried to do it any later, I wouldn't have been able to get near the value I did for it. I also wasn't turning out too bad a coach. The preseason pundits rated us one of the worst teams in the East and there we were, 3 games away from .500 and in excellent position to make the playoffs if we stayed steady. __________________ 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)

04-25-2009, 03:51 AM	#12
Izulde Head Coach Join Date: Sep 2004	January saw no trades at all outside of our two first for first swaps. Given that, I expected a flurry of February deals, especially around the deadline. February begins with F and so does fantastic as we pulled off yet another overtime thriller, knocking off Cleveland 105-99 on their home court. Terrell Brandon scored 21 points, but after he fouled out, not even Chris Mills's 15 bench points could save the Cavs. All five of our starters scored 14 or more, led by the double-double tandem of Dikembe Mutombo (16 points, 15 rebounds) and Nick Van Exel (15 points, 14 assists. I was really pleased with how Van Exel was improving as the season wore on and the best part was, he was locked up pretty cheaply at $1.9 million a year for the next several seasons. I was even more delighted when our defense strangled the Spurs the following night, holding San Antonio to 27.8% shooting. In addition to doing a masterful job on David "The Admiral" Robinson, Dikembe Mutombo poured in 10 points and 17 rebounds. But the real star of the game was Christian Laettner, who abused the Spurs to the tune of 30 points, 11 rebounds and 4 blocks. Eric Williams was right behind him with 28 points and 11 rebounds. When 34 year old Doc Rivers was the best Spur on the night with 13 bench points, the 89-65 win didn't look surprising at all. Cassie was on hand for our game in Los Angeles against the Clippers as we prepared to take our shot at .500 for the first time since early in the season. And .500 we got, fighting off a furious Clippers rally to edge them 107-103. I gave props to Lamond Murray for scoring 21 points and Rodney Rodgers coming out of nowhere off the bench for 19 points. But that inspired duo had no hope against Dikembe Mutombo's 22 points, 15 rebounds and 7 blocks, Christian Laettner's 27 points and 11 rebounds and our own reserves Greg Minor and Damon Cross, who combined for 13 and 10 points respectively. At the bar afterwards, Cassie couldn't stop gushing about how well I'd done to get Laettner and Mutombo. It was a little embarassing, but kind of nice too. I hadn't been on Skate Talk in a long while, so I asked her how things were. She said fine and, after a moment's hesitation, admitted she'd gotten a letter from Mia. Evidently she was in Arizona with the bastard and doing okay. Cassie said Mia wrote that she was very sorry for what she did to me and hoped that I could forgive her. Hard news to get four days before Valentine's Day, but I simply shrugged and ordered another drink. "You can't get upset about it, Bobby", Cassie said, laying a hand on my arm, "Like I told you before, she's young and young girls do silly things sometimes. Just keep your heart open and focus on the wonderful things you're doing with your team." I grinned wryly at her over my glass, "Sounds to me like you're hitting on me, Cassie." "Oh, you!" she swatted my arm playfully, "I'm old enough to be your mother!" It helped, though, hearing it from her and in person and not while I was alone in some hotel room on the Internet. That didn't stop me from being numb the next day in Oakland, where we kissed .500 goodbye as the Warriors blew us out 117-98. Chris Mullin scored 24, Tim Hardaway cut loose for 21 points and 9 rebounds, Latrell Sprewell went on a 16 point, 10 assist spree and all five Golden State starters hit 14 points or better. Not much we could do against that kind of onslaught, not when the only Celtics to show up were Christian Laettner with 23 points and 11 rebounds and Nick Van Exel with 20 points and 11 assists. We stayed West and startled the Kings 91-76 in Sacramento. Mitch Richmond's lone gunman stand of 24 points was easily overcome by Dikembe Mutombo's 24 points, 12 rebounds and 6 blocks, to say nothing of Christian Laettner's 14 points and 11 rebounds and Greg Minor's 12 bench points as we overcame an 0 for 7 night from Nick Van Exel. So back we were at .500 as we made our last stop out west in Denver just before the All-Star break. We traveled on Valentine's Day, which was nice. Meant I didn't have to think as much about Mia and could just concentrate on the scenery of the Mile High City, even as I secretly felt mile low. My mood lifted on the day after as we got above .500 for what felt like the first time all season and thrashed the Nuggets 96-65. It was a beautiful thing to see Christian Laettner go off for 30 points and 9 rebounds and Dikembe Mutombo do his usual thing with 12 points, 13 rebounds and 7 blocks. Greg Minor put the cherry on top with 16 bench points. We whipped Denver so badly, their high scorer was former Celtic Dino Radja with 15 points. It was a splendid way to go into the All-Star break, even though the victory put the Nuggets a half-game behind the Grizzlies in that draft positioning. We didn't send anybody to the skills contests, but Greg Minor played a minute for the Sophomores and Eric Williams did dreadfully for the Rookies as a 6th man. Then again, they were tired because they had to fly from our afternoon game to the Rookies/Sophs game, which the second years won in a blowout 91-79. The game MVP went to Washington's Juwan Howard with 26 points and 9 rebounds. Yes, an afternoon game. We had to play Utah and the Jazz manhandled us 100-86 in Salt Lake City. Karl Malone was in top form with 28 points and 11 rebounds, Jeff Hornacek buzzed us for 26 points and Felton Spencer came off the bench for 14 points, 11 rebounds and 2 blocks. I -hated- playing during the All-Star weekend and so did the team, as we played listlessly. Dikembe Mutombo got 16 points and 12 rebounds and Greg Minor and Pervis Ellison contributed 15 and 10 bench points, but it was just nasty all around. Preposterously enough, we had to continue our West trip in Phoenix the next day for an afternoon game against the Suns. While we emerged 100-85 winners thanks to Christian Laettner's 24 points and 4 steals, Dikembe Mutombo's 12 points and 16 rebounds and Sherman Douglas's 11 bench points, it was still the height of absurdity. The Suns looked really out of it, their best showing that of reserve Hot Rod Williams's 11 points and 8 rebounds. The All-Star game was as anti-climactic as the youngsters game, the West jumping out to an early lead and never looking back in a 120-107 win. Shaquille O'Neal picked up All-Star MVP for his 21 point, 13 rebound, 4 block showing. All-Star Rosters East PG Penny Hardaway - Orlando Magic SG Michael Jordan - Chicago Bulls SF Grant Hill - Detroit Pistons PF Patrick Ewing - New York Knicks C Shaquille O'Neal - Orlando Magic Larry Johnson - Charlotte Hornets Reggie Miller - Indiana Pacers Alonzo Mourning - Miami Heat Terrell Brandon - Cleveland Cavaliers Vin Baker - Milwaukee Bucks Anthony Mason - New York Knicks Armon Gilliam - New Jersey Nets West PG Gary Payton - Seattle Supersonics SG Mitch Richmond - Sacramento Kings SF Tom Gugliotta - Minnesota Timberwolves PF Charles Barkley - Phoenix Suns C Hakeem Olajuwon - Houston Rockets Karl Malone - Utah Jazz Cedric Cellabos - Los Angeles Lakers Tim Hardaway - Golden State Warriors David Robinson - San Antonio Spurs Latrell Sprewell - Golden State Warriors Shawn Kemp - Seattle Supersonics Rod Strickland - Portland Trailblazers I didn't expect us to send anyone to the All-Star game and so I wasn't disappointed to see none of the Celtics go. It was now decision time after the All-Star break, as the trade deadline was upon us. Did I want to stay pat with this roster, who'd gelled together enough to be 26-25 or did I want to make a move? The smart money of course was on staying put, but then I saw a move I simply couldn't resist pulling the trigger on. Boston Celtics receive PF Grant Long Seattle Supersonics 1996 1st round pick Atlanta Hawks 1997 2nd round pick Atlanta Hawks receive SF Eric Williams SG Jibran Epps What this means for the Celtics A bold trade by Bobby Troilus, who picks up the veteran Long to add some more inside scoring, rebounding and defensive punch while allowing Boston to move Christian Laettner to SF, where he might be even more effective than he is now. The first round pick has a good shot at being 29th, but it gives the Celtics three first rounders in the upcoming draft, which should allow them to build their depth in a hurry. One thing's for certain: between Long and Dikembe Mutombo, the C's now pack a scary defensive interior. What this means for the Hawks Atlanta wants to make rookie Alan Henderson a full-time starter and by dealing Long, they can do precisely that. Williams has been one of the season's biggest rookie surprises and he'll step into the SF spot, giving the Hawks Williams and Henderson as a forward tandem to build the trade around. They also made the move without giving up their own first rounder. Winner: Draw A trade that does what each team wants it to do. Boston's trying to get in better playoff position, while the Hawks are hoping to go fully into rebuilding mode. Despite our shiny three first round picks, nobody was interested in letting us move up. Not the Bucks, not the Clippers and not the Mavericks. So it looked like we had to rely on good old-fashioned lottery luck if we wanted a shot at Allen Iverson. I expected a transition period after the trade. What I didn't expect was the 75-66 scrubfest in New Jersey and us losing on top of it. Dikembe Mutombo did okay with 14 points, 16 rebounds and 5 blocks and Christian Laettner switched to SF fine with 15 points, 11 rebounds and 5 blocks, but Grant Long was somewhat underwhelming in his Boston debut with 8 points and 10 rebounds and Greg Minor's 12 bench points couldn't bail us out in the face of P.J. Brown's 16 points and 15 rebounds and a good outing by the Nets' bench, spearheaded by Kevin Edwards's 13 points. Rik Smits singlehandedly shattered us with 20 points and 17 rebounds in our 78-59 loss in Indiana the next night, utterly ruining Dikembe Mutombo's triple-double of 10 points, 16 rebounds and 10 blocks. I switched up Grant Long and Christian Laettner, moving Laettner back to PF because he said he didn't really like playing the 3. The switch paid off well as we got better production out of both forwards in our 111-96 home romp over the Hornets to get back to .500. It wasn't they who were the best players on the night for us, though. That distinction belonged to Dikembe Mutombo with 10 points, 10 rebounds and 7 blocks, Nick Van Exel with 19 points and 11 assists and Pervis Ellison and Greg Minor adding 14 and 13 points off the bench. It was a nice team effort to overcome Larry Johnson and Glen Rice tag-teaming us for 22 and 20 points. A close 88-80 home loss to Seattle had me feeling like we were on the right track, even if Nick Van Exel was our leading scorer with 18 points, not near enough to best Detlef Schrempf's 24 points or Shawn Kemp's 16 points and 11 rebounds. It'd just take time was all. Our hopes of .500 at the end of February lay on a perilious road, in Chicago against the fearsome Bulls. We very nearly pulled off the upset, but our fourth quarter charge stopped just short at 100-96. Christian Laettner was magnificent with 30 points, but he was overwhelmed by 26 points from Michael Jordan, 12 points and 12 rebounds from Luc Longley and deadline acquistion Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf's 20 points. Still, I was happy enough. 28-30 was still good enough for the #8 seed, even if the Bullets were breathing hard on us at 27-30 and the Hornets were two games ahead in 7th at 28-28. Orlando and New York were deadlocked atop the Atlantic, while 48-10 Chicago held a 4.5 game lead on 43-14 Indiana, the Bulls' largest lead of the season. Toronto was still 4th worst, but in danger of catching the Atlanta Hawks. Much to my chagrin, the Raptors had dropped to 8th worst in the league and Vancouver now lay 3 games up on the Nuggets, who, after trading Abdul-Rauf, had plummeted to 19-37 and 3rd worst in the West. I wanted to call the league office on those tanking bastards, but I was already leading a scheduling change crusade and couldn't afford the political capital it would cost me. Houston led the Spurs by 2 games at 37-21 in the Midwest, while the Sonics looked guaranteed to hand us the #28 or 29 pick by virtue of their 47-10 mark and 12 game Pacific lead. Bad news for our Allen Iverson dreams all around. Boston Celtics Leaders Points Christian Laettner - 16.8 Grant Long - 13.1 Dikembe Mutombo - 12.4 Assists Nick Van Exel - 6.5 Sherman Douglas - 3.9 Dana Barros - 2.6 Rebounds Dikembe Mutombo - 11.8 Grant Long - 9.6 Christian Laettner - 6.7 Blocks Dikembe Mutombo - 3.9 Pervis Ellison - 1.3 Christian Laettner - 0.8 Steals Grant Long - 1.5 Dee Brown - 1.1 Christian Laettner - 0.9 Greg Minor - 0.9 NBA Leaders Points 1. Michael Jordan (CHI) - 28.9 2. Shaquille O'Neal (ORL) - 26.0 3. Hakeem Olajuwon (HOU) - 25.1 Assists 1. John Stockton (UTA) - 10.5 2. Jason Kidd (DAL) - 9.8 3. Kevin Johnson (PHO) - 9.4 (Which showed just how much the Suns missed KJ after he was lost for the year with an MCL tear) Rebounds 1. Dennis Rodman (CHI) - 15.0 2. Shawn Kemp (SEA) - 12.4 3. Charles Barkley (PHO) - 12.1 Blocks 1. Dikembe Mutombo (BOS) - 3.9 2. Shawn Bradley (PHI) - 3.3 3. David Robinson (SA) - 2.9 Steals 1. Mookie Blaylock (ATL) - 3.1 2. Gary Payton (SEA) - 2.9 3. Clyde Drexler (HOU) - 2.7 Rookies Leaders Points 1. Damon Stoudemire (TOR) - 19.1 2. Joe Smith (GS) - 13.1 3. Eric Williams (ATL) - 13.0 Assists 1. Damon Stoudemire (TOR) - 7.5 2. Tyrus Edney (SAC) - 5.5 3. Sasha Danilovic (MIA) - 3.4 Rebounds 1. Joe Smith (GS) - 9.1 2. Antonio McDyess (DEN) - 8.7 3. Arvydas Sabonis (POR) - 8.5 Blocks 1. Antonio McDyess (DEN) - 1.9 T2. Joe Smith (GS) - 1.5 T2. Kevin Garnett (MIN) - 1.5 Steals T1. Jerry Stackhouse (PHI) - 1.4 T1. Eric Williams (ATL) - 1.4 3. Joe Smith (GS) - 1.2 __________________ 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)

04-25-2009, 12:29 PM	#13
Izulde Head Coach Join Date: Sep 2004	About a week before the trade deadline is when things finally started heating up and new teams began making deals. New York Knicks receive PF Otis Thorpe Detroit Pistons 1996 2nd round pick Detroit Pistons receive SF Monty Williams SG Gary Grant PF Richie Brown What this means for the Knicks Thorpe may be 33, but he's a top-notch rebounder and a great scoring option off the bench. He's the perfect 6th man for a New York team that's fighting with the Orlando Magic for the Atlantic division crown. What this means for the Pistons The 30 year old Grant is the best piece of this deal for Detroit. Able to shoot fairly well and with respectable scoring instincts, his primary attributes are that he doesn't turn the ball over and he's a very effective thief. Brown's 35 and roster filler. Williams, 24, could be a decent bench player and 3 point specialist someday, but he's not close to there yet. Winner: New York Basically, Detroit got back a package of scrubs for a decent player and a 2nd. Bad move to make unless Williams turns into something usable. Seattle Supersonics receive SG Steve Smith Atlanta Hawks receive PF Frank Brickowski Seattle Supersonics 1996 1st round pick What this means for the Supersonics Seattle's hell-bent on winning the West and the 26 year old Smith is a good all-around player who does everything, but excels at nothing. Still an improvement at the starting SG spot, even though he's one of the most inconsistent players in the league. What this means for the Hawks Smith expires at the end of the year, so it may just be a half-season rental for Seattle. Brickowski's 36 and just creaking out the last $3.25 million he'll probably ever make in the NBA. First rounder is really a second rounder in disguise but at least it's more cap room for the already $3 million under Hawks. Winner: Draw Atlanta wasn't certain to retain Smith, so to get cap space and a first, no matter how low for him, is a pretty good deal and if the Sonics win the West, getting Smith is worth the half-season rental. Chicago Bulls receive PG Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf Denver Nuggets receive SF Dickey Simpkins PF Jack Haley C James Edwards What this means for the Bulls Abdul-Rauf is pure, sugary scoring goodness and piling him on top of Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen means Chicago's now got three players who can burn you night in and night out. Will the Bulls even lose a game the rest of the year? Here's the kicker: he's only 26 and signed on for another two years at a good price. What this means for the Nuggets Haley and Edwards were cut immediately, so this becomes Abdul-Rauf for Simpkins. Dickey may be 23, but he's a bad bench player now and his upside only creeps up to mediocre. Oh and he can only play the 3. Winner: Chicago The biggest ripoff of the year yet. This is making Dikembo Mutombo and a 1st for Dino Radja look equal. Is it any surprise Denver's on the receiving end of both those hosings? Seattle Supersonics receive SF Malik Sealy Los Angeles Clippers 1996 2nd round pick Los Angeles Clippers receive PG Eric Snow SG Tommy Magnum What this means for the Supersonics The 26 year old Sealy can score points and steal the ball, but he's a terrible shooter and doesn't have much else to recommend him. His becoming Seattle's 6th man might actually hurt the team's title hopes. What this means for the Clippers Snow, taken with the 14th pick in the 2nd round, is a project. He could become a fifth starter some day with lockdown defense, but that day is a long way off. Magnum's a 32 year old 12th man. Winner: Draw Were it not for the concern about Sealy's effect on Seattle's chemistry, this would be a knockout punch for the Sonics. As is, we can only wait and see. San Antonio Spurs receive PF Armon Gilliam New Jersey Nets receive PF J.R. Reid San Antonio Spurs 1996 1st round pick What this means for the Spurs Say hello to San Antonio's new All-Star frontcourt. Gilliam is an excellent scorer and rebounder, disciplined and smart. Even if he only plays half a season, pairing him with David "The Admiral" Robinson in the post enters the Spurs into West conference title discussions. In fact, with this one move, the Spurs netted themselves the best frontcourt in the league. Period. What this for the Nets The first round pick doesn't razzle-dazzle and the best thing about Reid is his expiring contract, which is equal to that of Gilliam's. Winner: San Antonio A half season of All-Star play from a 31 year old for a title contender vs. a late first round pick and a scrub. Yeah, we'd call it for the half-season too. Excellent pickup by the Spurs. Well, I finally got my blockbuster wish, but it made the bad teams even worse, which meant ill tidings for our draft dreams. We poured fuel on the fire by kicking off March with a 91-78 stroll over the Bucks. Vin Baker's 32 points and 14 rebounds were a sensational one-man show, but in the face of our balanced offense headlined by Dikembe Mutombo's 10 points, 15 rebounds and 5 blocks and Nick Van Exel's 11 points and 11 assists, Milwaukee simply folded. The Clippers came to town next and we routed them 111-89 on Grant Long's 19 points and 11 rebounds, Nick Van Exel's 15 points and 10 assists and Greg Minor's 19 bench points. Rodney Rodgers sparkled with 23 points for the Clippers and Eric Piatowski surprised with 16 bench points, but the Red and White were more surrendering white than anything else as we shot another cannon in our flagging Iverson dreams. But if we weren't going to get AI, at least we could extend our March record to 3-0 by beating Cleveland, which we did, 95-86. Danny Ferry and Bobby Phills had the sexy scoring of 21 and 23 points respectively and Tyrone Hill mustered up 12 points and 13 rebounds, but we again rode our balanced game to victory, Grant Long the main signatory with 18 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists. Johnny Newman's 22 points evaporated as we vaporized the Bucks 87-69 in Milwaukee. Dikembe Mutombo gobbled up every board in sight, finishing with 13 points and 21 rebounds while Nick Van Exel handed out 10 points and 12 assists and Sherman Douglas and Pervis Ellison paced the bench with 13 and 10 points. We lost for the first time in March, 97-85 to the 76ers in our next game. Dikembe Mutombo's 12 points and 13 rebounds and Greg Minor's 10 bench points paled in comparison to Vernon Maxwell's 25 points, Derrick Coleman's 20 points and 11 rebounds, Clarence Weatherspoon's 12 points and 10 rebounds and Shawn Bradley's triple-double of 14 points, 10 rebounds and 10 blocks. It was an embarrassment. I loved playing Cleveland because they were one of the few good teams we matched up well against and sure enough, we nipped the Cavs 87-83 on the road. Tyrone Hill did well with 12 points and 11 rebounds, but we sang yet another verse of the Balanced Offense song, Nick Van Exel our lead soloist with 16 points and 8 assists. The ides of March proved kind to us as we cut down the Nets 106-75, bombarding them with Nick Van Exel's 22 points, Christian Laettner's 20 points, Dikembe Mutombo's 18 points and 17 rebounds and Greg Minor's free-spirited 18 bench points. At this point, I'd long since given up hopes of getting Allen Iverson, so I resolved to simply enjoy our winning ride. Orlando got 15 points and 13 rebounds out of Shaquille O'Neal, but our bench made sure we manhandled the Magic 105-90. It was the greatest showing of the year by our second team, as Greg Minor scored 18, second round afterthought Junior Burrough surprised with 11 points and Pervis Ellison hauled down 10 rebounds. A beautiful upset win, to be sure. Christian Laettner and Nick Van Exel put the hurting on Denver with 30 points and 9 rebounds and 23 points respectively as we put the Nuggets to flight 102-73. LaPhonso Ellis was their leading scorer with 19 points. Should've kept their first I thought to myself afterwards, but that's the danger of doing pick for pick swaps too early in the season. Our streak ended with a dull 87-75 loss to the Heat. Alonzo Mourning's 17 points and 13 rebounds keyed a balanced Miami attack that swept past Nick Van Exel's 21 points, Christian Laettner's 11 points and 13 rebounds and Greg Minor's 10 bench points. And then came the beautiful 102-89 upset of the Pacers in Indiana. Christian Laettner was the evening's gem with 28 points and 9 rebounds, but Nick Van Exel was noteworthy with 18 points and 12 assists and Greg Minor did his thing with 10 bench points. Yet, the most surprising thing wasn't even that we won. It was Junior Burrough coming off the bench for 9 points, 8 rebounds and 2 blocks. His late-season form was simply stunning. I just couldn't feel sorry for Rik Smits and Reggie Miller as their 27 and 20 points failed to produce a Pacers win. We went to Minneapolis the next night and brushed off the Timberwolves 95-82. Nick Van Exel took home Player of the Game with 23 points and 10 assists and Dikembe Mutombo dominated the paint with 12 points, 17 rebounds and 5 blocks. Minnesota had finally thrown in the towel on their season and started Kevin Garnett, who garnered 10 points and 12 rebounds against us, the inverse of All-Star starter Tom Gugliotta's 10 points and 12 rebounds. I likened a trip to Philadelphia to that of going to the dentist, but my smile was surprisingly sweet after we shocked the Sixers 100-87. Christian Laettner scored 26 and Grant Long had 10 points and 11 rebounds to countermand Derrick Coleman's 18 points and 10 rebounds and Shawn Bradley's 13 points and 14 rebounds. We had a double-date with Atlanta to end March and we started it by hosting a 93-60 laugher. The Hawks' leading scorer was benchman Craig Ehlo with 13, which goes to show you how things went. In contrast, Christian Laettner stayed white-hot with 30 points, Dikembe Mutombo corralled 19 points, 10 rebounds and 4 blocks and Greg Minor chipped in 12 bench points. The rematch in Atlanta was equally hot for us, the 87-53 rollup featuring yet again the leading Hawk off the bench (Ken Norman with 12 points), while Christian Laettner ate them for 23 points and 9 rebounds and Dikembe Mutombo was a force in the middle good for 14 points and 19 rebounds. Celtics March Record: 13-2 Yes, that's right. We were 13-2 in March that year. Call it the luck of the Irish or whatever you want. The fact is, as of April Fool's Day, we were 41-32, in third place in the Atlantic and proud holders of the #6 seed. Even more impressive, we were only 4 games out of the division-leading Knicks, 44-27, who were a half-game ahead of the Magic. Toronto stayed 4th worst in conference at 27-45. The Bulls didn't lose a game in March and were 61-10 as of April 1st. They held an 8 game edge on the Pacers and were close to clinching the East's #1 seed. On the flip side, the Raptors were back to 7th worst overall and 27-44 Vancouver was just a game and a half worse than the Nuggets. San Antonio's acquistion of Armon Gilliam launched them to 47-25 and a 5 game lead on the Houston Rockets in the Midwest, while Seattle already had the West's top seed locked up at 59-13. Boston Celtics Leaders Points Christian Laettner - 16.9 Grant Long - 12.8 Nick Van Exel - 12.4 Assists Nick Van Exel - 6.9 Sherman Douglas - 3.9 Grant Long - 2.9 Rebounds Dikembe Mutombo - 11.6 Grant Long - 9.0 Christian Laettner - 6.7 Blocks Dikembe Mutombo - 3.7 Pervis Ellison - 1.3 Christian Laettner - 0.8 Steals Grant Long - 1.5 Dee Brown - 1.3 Christian Laettner - 1.0 __________________ 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)

04-26-2009, 02:00 PM	#14
Izulde Head Coach Join Date: Sep 2004	With nine games left in the year, we still had a shot, however slim, at winning the Atlantic, a notion unthinkable at the start of the season. But we would have to be very good and not lose critical games, like we did in bowing to the Magic 100-83 in Orlando, ending our hot streak. Christan Laettner brought it with 27 points and 10 rebounds and so did Nick Van Exel (20 points), but Grant Long had a goose egg, making Sherman Douglas's 11 bench points irrelevant. Long also did terribly on defense, allowing Dennis Scott to light him up for 21 points, the same total Shaquille O'Neal slammed us for and Horace Grant did the filthy work inside with 12 points and 11 rebounds. We rebounded to punch the Pistons 91-73. Dikembe Mutombo looked great in compiling 26 points and 16 rebounds and Christian Laettner scored 20. Between them, they took care of Grant Hill's 17 points and 23 rebounds and Allan Houston's 21 points. Nick Van Exel just missed the double-double with 15 points and 9 assists. Our most important matchup of those final games was up next in New York. Unfortunately we once again suffered a meltdown at an inopportune time, getting blasted 98-66. Christian Laettner was the only Celtic to show up, scoring 27 and the Knicks did us in with a balanced offense, led by 3 bench players with 10 or 11 points and Anthony Mason's double-double of 14 points and 11 rebounds. Exhaustion overtook us the following night in Boston and we blew it in the fourth quarter to get upset 95-93 by the Bullets. It was a heartbreaking loss, especially on top of Dikembe Mutombo's triple double of 15 points, 16 rebounds and 10 blocks. Funny how we never seemed to win we he got the triple double. 27 points from Robert Pack and Chris Webber's 21 points and 13 rebounds put Washington in great shape to beat us. Naturally the one loss I could've tolerated in those final games we didn't get, narrowly beating the Raptors 93-90. Damon Stoudemire had a magnificent game with 21 points, 8 assists and 7 rebounds and Tracy Murray chipped in 20 points, but they couldn't bail out the Raptors. Nick Van Exel led the charge with 20 points, aided by double-doubles of 18 points and 10 rebounds and 12 points and 10 rebounds from Dikembe Mutombo and Christian Laettner respectively. We finally put together two wins in a row, smacking the Pistons 105-80 in Detroit. Dikembe Mutombo ruled the post with 20 points and 13 rebounds, Nick Van Exel netted 10 points and 13 assists and Greg Minor added 10 bench points. Allan Houston scored 20, but he was it for the Pistons. I wanted revenge in Washington but didn't get as we fell 91-82. Juwan Howard gunned us down with 21 points and 17 rebounds and Gheorge Muresan was beastly off the bench for 18 points. Paltry compared to our own leading scorers of [b]Christian Laettner (18 points) and Greg Minor (10 points, reserves). That loss to the Bullets meant we needed to win out to have a winning record for our final set of nine games. We got it done in New Jersey, denying the Nets all night long and winning 87-67 on the back of Dikembe Mutombo's 16 points, 14 rebounds and 5 blocks and Christian Laettner's 14 points and 10 rebounds. We hosted New York for our last game of the regular season. Win and we had an outside shot at the #6 seed. Lose and we were locked into the #7 seed. We won a 93-91 thriller, surmounting Charles Oakley's 23 points and 12 rebounds and Derek Harper's 25 points with shared point wealth keyed by Grant Long's first 20 point game in kelly green and Dikembe Mutombo's 14 points, 11 rebounds and 8 blocks. Unfortunately, our heroics turned out for naught, as Miami won their final game and took the 6th seed. Still, I was very happy with how the season had gone. Written off before the year started, we'd gone from 33-49 the year before to 46-36 this season and the 7th seed. Clifton Gross was beside himself with glee as playoff ticket orders came pouring in. The Knicks won the Atlantic by a game over the Magic at 51-31, but all that earned them was the #4 seed, the only guarantee to the lesser of the two division winners. Chicago finished an impressive 68-14, just missing the hallowed 70 win barrier, but 62-20 Indiana deserved a lot of credit. San Antonio ran away with the Midwest at 55-27, 8 games over the Rockets, while Seattle cruised their way to giving us the #28 pick at 66-16. 1995-96 East Conference Seedings 1. Chicago Bulls (68-14) 2. Indiana Pacers (62-20) 3. Cleveland Cavaliers (54-28) 4. New York Knicks (51-31) 5. Orlando Magic (50-32) 6. Miami Heat (47-35) 7. Boston Celtics (46-36) 8. Charlotte Hornets (39-43) 1995-96 West Conference Seedings 1. Seattle Supersonics (66-16) 2. San Antonio Spurs (57-25) 3. Golden State Warriors (52-30) 4. Houston Rockets (47-35) 5. Utah Jazz (45-37) 6. Los Angeles Lakers (44-38) 7. Portland Trailblazers (44-38) 8. Sacramento Kings (39-43) I wasn't happy in the least about drawing the Pacers, who were the one team in the East we matched up the worst against. But who knows? Maybe miracles could happen. NBA Leaders Points 1. Michael Jordan (CHI) - 28.6 2. Shaquille O'Neal (ORL) - 26.3 3. David Robinson (SA) - 24.7 Assists 1. John Stockton (UTA) - 10.7 2. Jason Kidd (DAL) - 9.7 3. Kevin Johnson (PHO) - 9.4 (Which showed just how much the Suns missed KJ after he was lost for the year with an MCL tear. In fact, the Suns missed the playoffs without him!) Rebounds 1. Dennis Rodman (CHI) - 15.1 2. David Robinson (SA) - 12.3 3. Shawn Kemp (SEA) - 12.2 Blocks 1. Dikembe Mutombo (BOS) - 3.8 2. Shawn Bradley (PHI) - 3.5 3. Alonzo Mourning (MIA) - 3.1 Steals T1. Mookie Blaylock (ATL) - 3.0 T1. Gary Payton (SEA) - 3.0 3. Clyde Drexler (HOU) - 2.6 Rookies Leaders Points 1. Damon Stoudemire (TOR) - 18.5 2. Joe Smith (GS) - 13.5 3. Eric Williams (ATL) - 12.5 Assists 1. Damon Stoudemire (TOR) - 8.0 2. Tyrus Edney (SAC) - 5.7 3. Michael Finley (PHO) - 3.7 Rebounds 1. Joe Smith (GS) - 9.2 2. Antonio McDyess (DEN) - 8.9 3. Rasheed Wallace (WAS) - 8.5 Blocks 1. Antonio McDyess (DEN) - 2.0 T2. Joe Smith (GS) - 1.5 T2. Kevin Garnett (MIN) - 1.5 Steals T1. Alan Henderson (ATL) - 1.3 T1. Eric Williams (ATL) - 1.3 T3. Joe Smith (GS) - 1.2 T3. Jerry Stackhouse (PHI) - 1.2 One thing that did make me smile was this: Denver Nuggets - 30-52 Vancouver Grizzlies - 29-53 We would have the 7th (Grizzlies) and 9th (Raptors) picks going into the lottery. Although they were lower top 10 picks, two tickets to the the Top 10 lottery are always a good thing. If the balls bounced right, we'd get our shot at Allen Iverson after all. But first, there was playoff fever to contend with. __________________ 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)

04-23-2009, 03:13 PM	#2
Izulde Head Coach Join Date: Sep 2004	Despite the precarious situation I was in, with my job security questionable thanks to our unstable owner, I was happy to be watching our home opener against the Milwaukee Bucks on Halloween night. Having the game to focus on also helped me take my mind off of Mia and I even felt a little thrill of excitement as I watched the team jog out for introductions and lineups. The game that followed was a thrilling battle, with 30 lead changes and 14 ties, but in the end, Vin Baker's 32nd and 33rd points cut us down 101-99. Baker finished with 33 points and 14 rebounds and just dominated us. On our end, Sherman Douglas scored 20 and Dikembe Mutombo had a nice debut with 18 points, 9 rebounds and 2 blocks. Christian Laettner's first game in Celtic green was disappointing, just 5 of 13 for 10 points in 16 minutes as he was hampered by foul trouble. Rookie Eric Williams did well enough with 16 points while Dee Brown was tops off our bench with 10 points. Even though the loss was a heartbreaking one, I still felt like we could make some noise on the season. That sense only grew, perhaps somewhat oddly so, after we lost the next night 102-95 in Chicago. Christian Laettner worked the kinks out and took home Player of the Game with 27 points and 7 rebounds and Greg Minor scored 16 off the bench. We held Michael Jordan to 18 points, but couldn't stop Scottie Pippen from dropping 24 on us. We finally broke through for our first win of the season in our next game, hosting the Suns and beating them 121-108. Sir Charles Barkely's 29 points couldn't counter Christian Laettner's 30 points, Dikembe Mutombo's 20 points or Dee Brown's 12 bench points. We shot 58.2% that night and looked amazing. The Orlando Magic were regarded as one of the East's top teams that year, but we still beat them 93-82 as Dikembe Mutombo frustrated Shaquille O'Neal, holding him to just 11 points. Balanced offense overcame Nick Anderson's 20 points, signified by Dee Brown and Pervis Ellison scoring 10 a piece as reserves, Ellison just missing the double-double with 9 rebounds. Our third straight home win was as ugly as it was shocking. We stormed back to tip the heavily favored Utah Jazz 87-86 in a game where both teams shot below 40%. Once again, our offensive balance prevailed over an opposing star. Karl "The Mailman" Malone towered over us all with 29 points and 9 rebounds, but the combined effort of our leading scorers Eric Williams and Sherman Douglas (17 points a piece) and Dana Barros's calvaryesque 11 bench points saved the day. The Bullets shot our win and home streak down 97-84. We simply had no answer to Juwan Howard's 28 points and Rasheed Wallace's 11 points and 20 rebounds. The closest we came to it was Eric Williams's 18 points and 10 rebounds. Milwaukee poured salt in the wound, pasting us 106-84 the next night on the road. Vin Baker continued to haunt us as he rose up for 25 points, 12 rebounds and 5 blocks and this time he had help from Glenn "Big Dog" Robinson's 23 points, Todd Day's 24 points and Eric Murdock's 13 points and 14 assists. Home wasn't any happier as Hakeem "The Dream" Olajuwon ripped us for 29 points, 12 rebounds and 4 blocks, his Houston Rockets beating us 98-93. Christian Laettner snapped out of his slump with 22 points, but he just wasn't enough and nor was Dikembe Mutombo's 10 points, 9 rebounds and 5 blocks. I hoped we would stop our losing streak in Charlotte, but Kendall Gill (25 points, 7 rebounds) and Glen Rice (20 points) made sure that wasn't going to happen as the Hornets stung us 93-85. Dikembe Mutombo played well with 14 points and 11 rebounds and Dee Brown came off the bench for 11 points, but we had no other highlights outside of that. The truth was, Christian Laettner was simply too inconsistent to be the man night in and night out. He was also unhappy with our losing streak, which I couldn't blame him for. But perhaps the biggest culprit in our struggles was the backcourt. Sherman Douglas was a nice enough person, but he wasn't really suited to run the offense and David Wesley, despite showing significant strides in his fourth season, didn't impress as the starting SG either. Changes had to be made and so they were. Boston Celtics receive PG Nick Van Exel Los Angeles Lakers 1998 1st round pick Los Angeles Lakers receive PG David Wesley PF Bryan Montgomery Boston Celtics 1997 2nd round pick Minnesota Timberwolves 1997 2nd round pick Boston Celtics 1998 2nd round pick What this means for the Celtics Van Exel, 24, has fantastic potential as a pass-first floor general and could develop into a pretty nice scorer too someday. The Lakers are struggling this year at 3-8, so they weren't willing to deal their first rounder this season. But with two possible high lottery picks and Cedric Cellabos and Vlade Divac to build around, the Purple and Gold should be back in playoff contention in a couple years, making the selection a likely mid-late 1st. Celtics GM Bobby Troilus wants Van Exel as the starting PG now, but M.L. Carr prefers to stay with Sherman Douglas. What this means for the Lakers Wesley, 25, has very good stealing instincts and some scoring pop. He'll fit in nicely over the Lakers' bench. Montgomery may be 23, but he's nothing more than a young body, one on the inactive list no less. The collection of 2nd round picks may be equal to or more in total value than the likely '98 1st, but we won't hold our breaths on it. Winner: Boston Troilus continues to stockpile first rounders and improve the Celtics in specific areas. That's how you build the foundation for a winning team. Coach Carr and I argued bitterly over the question of Douglas and Van Exel. The truth was, he was a terrible tactician and the dispute that grew out of it, along with our record, gave me the justification for firing him. I tried to trade Douglas to alleviate the situation, but no team wanted to pay his contract, so it was Carr who went. With no suitable candidates on the market, I took the bold step of naming myself head coach, but I informed everyone - the players, the coaching staff and the media, that I was only an interim coach and one that would be largely delegating to his assistants at that. That same day, I signed 26 year old guard Damon Cross to fill the 12 man roster minimum. My first game as head coach was yet another loss, as we ran into the Golden State buzzsaw, losing 108-96. Tim Hardaway was the man of the night with 24 points and 10 assists, but I'd be remiss if I don't mention Chris Mullin's 21 points and Latrell Sprewell's 25 points. On the positive side, all five of our starters scored at least 14 and Nick Van Exel had a solid debut, leading the team in points and assists with 18 and 7. The cold spell finally broke with an exciting 93-90 win over the Hornets. Larry Johnson played godly with 25 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists and 3 steals and Glen Rice and Kendall Gill abused us again with 22 and 20 points, but we were able to overcome thanks to Nick Van Exel taking charge with 21 points and 9 assists. Dikembe Mutombo chipped in 16 points and 12 rebounds, Eric Williams just missed 20 points at 19 and Greg Minor provided 10 insurance points from the bench. When I tell you that Nick Van Exel scored 28 and Sherman Douglas had 17 points off the bench the next game, you might think we won, right? Well, we didn't. The Pistons beat us handily 108-93 behind the three-headed hydra of Allan Houston (21 points), Otis Thorpe (19 points, 11 rebounds) and Grant Hill (19 points, 7 rebounds, 11 assists). Foul trouble hit us up and down the lineup and even when our starters were in, nobody was hitting outside of Van Exel. We showed why the New Jersey Nets were considered the worst team in the East, routing them 104-80 a couple nights later. Eric Williams blasted off for 26 points and good Christian Laettner showed up with 20 points and 9 rebounds. Even better was our 97-91 win in Washington the next night, the second half all Celtics. Chris Webber (21 points, 12 rebounds), Robert Pack (22 points, 10 assists) and Georghe Muresan (10 points, 15 rebounds, 5 blocks) may have been impressive at the start, but it was Christian Laettner (23 points), Eric Williams (16 points, 10 rebounds) and our reserves that finished strong, as Sherman Douglas and recent signee Damon Cross came up big with 15 and 10 points respectively. It was a strong end to my first month at the helm of the Celtics and, at 6-8, we were precisely in the middle of the Atlantic division, with 3 teams ahead of us and 3 teams behind us. Shaquille O'Neal and Anfernee Hardaway's Orlando Magic led the Atlantic at 10-6, while Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen's Chicago Bulls ruled the Central at 13-2, already 3 games ahead of Reggie Miller's Indiana Pacers. Out West, David "The Admiral" Robinson and his powerhouse San Antonio Spurs were the class of the Midwest at 11-2, 3.5 games ahead of Hakeem "The Dream" Olajuwon's 9-7 Rockets. But it was the Pacific that was the biggest dogfight. Charles Barkley had the Phoenix Suns on top at 12-3, but the high-octane Golden State Warriors were just half a game back at 12-4 and the Seattle Supersonics weren't far off the mark at 11-5. Overall, I was quite pleased with where we stood. Unless I missed my guess, somewhere around .500 would be enough to get us in the playoffs and we weren't far off that mark. If we could achieve it, then I would live to manage another year. But of course, it was still too early in the season to be sure, especially since we had a threadbare roster. __________________ 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)

04-23-2009, 03:43 PM	#3
rjolley College Starter Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Roseville, CA	If you turn Christian Laettner into a star, I'm going to hunt him down and pull a Tonya Harding on him.

04-23-2009, 07:40 PM	#5
Michaelangelo n00b Join Date: Feb 2009	Van Exel, 24, has fantastic potential as a pass-first floor general. That made me chuckle.

04-23-2009, 08:39 PM	#7
Izulde Head Coach Join Date: Sep 2004	We had a day off before our first December game against the Heat and so I spent it with Cassie, the mother of sorts of the Skate Talk room. She'd flown in from Los Angeles to pick up some boards, pads and money that I procured her through some local businesses in Boston. In her early 50s, Cassie was an unusual character. A secretary by day, by night she ran a skateboarding club for teens and oversaw a few ramps in L.A. "It's important for these kids to have something to do besides running around in the streets and skating gives them an outlet", she'd told me once in the chat room, "A lot of them are really bright, but don't have the best home lives." I found her quite engaging in person. Her square face was softened by the way she styled her hair and her gray eyes were warm behind gold-wire oval-shaped glasses. We had supper together at a local pizza joint and chatted about Skate Talk, the club and the Celtics. "How do you think your team will be this year?" she asked over a bite of cheese pizza. "We've got a real shot at the playoffs", I answered. "I think that Van Exel kid we picked up recently has a chance to really be something special. Laettner, even though he's a little inconsistent, is our top scorer and I give the guy who was GM before me credit in picking Williams. He's already second on our team in scoring behind Laettner and second in rebounding behind Mutombo. 15 points and 6 rebounds is pretty good for a guy taken 14th overall and only Damon Stoudemire is scoring more among the rookies." "That's good", she said with a smile. I liked the way she had of looking at you when you talked, like what you had to say was really important and worth listening to. What I didn't like what was she said next. "So... how are you holding up?" I shrugged, letting my face sag a little. "It comes and goes, you know? I'm just glad I have basketball to distract me." She smiled a little sadly, reaching out to close her hand over mine. "I know it's tough and I'm sorry about what happened. I really thought you two were right for each other. But she's young and young girls do silly things sometimes. Just give it time." I wanted to ask what it was I was supposed to be giving time, but I didn't. I simply changed the subject to asking about some of the kids she worked with. She took the hint and the rest of the evening passed very pleasantly. Our deal with the Lakers was the only trade in November, the rest of the transaction wire consisting merely of send downs, call ups and free agent signings. Nothing terribly interesting. December started magnificently as we hosted the Heat and spanked them 102-81. Dikembe Mutombo was a terror down low with 16 points, 23 rebounds and 5 blocks, Nick Van Exel sizzled with 24 points and Eric Williams continued his surprising play with 22 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 steals. The best Miami could manage was Alonzo Mourning's 14 points, 13 rebounds and 6 assists. The win didn't come without cost though, as Dee Brown broke his nose, Mutombo sprained his wrist and Doug Smith picked up a concussion. Brown's injury was the most serious, as the doctor told us he'd be out over a month, leaving a gaping hole at SG. I moved Sherman Douglas into the starting lineup in Brown's place and signed Jibran Epps from the D-League to allow us to move Dee to the injured reserve list. The Heat exacted revenge in Miami, humiliating us 105-72. Christian Laettner was the only Celtic in double-digit figures, scoring 17. Alonzo Mourning was unstoppable this game, with 25 points and 12 rebounds and Rex Chapman was sensational off the bench with 17 points. A couple days rest didn't help as the 76ers battered us 101-87 in Philadelphia on Derrick Coleman's near triple-double of 31 points, 11 rebounds and 9 assists. Although our starters played well enough, Eric Williams scoring 25, Dikembe Mutombo bursting for 11 points, 10 rebounds and 7 blocks and Nick Van Exel popping off for 11 points and 11 assists, our bench combined to go 2 for 13. Christian Laettner took over the next night, shining his way to 30 points and 12 rebounds to be our Lu Bu while our defense held strong in a 92-69 clipping of the Hawks. Dana Barros and Greg Minor scored 10 a piece off the bench. Everybody was talking up the Eric Williams/Damon Stoudemire rookie matchup when we went to Toronto, but it was Stoudemire who ruled, shredding us for 33 points and 9 assists. We lost 94-87, as the efforts of Dikembe Mutombo's 13 points and 14 rebounds and Nick Van Exel's 19 points couldn't get it done. I fully expected we would lose the following night to the 76ers, but basketball's a funny game that way. Derrick Coleman was held to a 1 for 14 night and that made all the difference in our 86-76 win. Sherman Douglas earned some of his overpaid contract with 21 points, supported by benchmen Dana Barros and Greg Minor's 11 and 10 respective points. We hosted Toronto a couple nights later, hoping to avenge ourselves on the Raptors and we did, winning 100-89. Damon Stoudemire got his 20 points and Oliver Miller double-doubled with 13 points and 14 rebounds, but Eric Williams matched his fellow star rookie's 20 points, Christian Laettner piled 20 points on top of that, Dikembe Mutombo drew with Miller in his own way, netting 11 points, 12 rebounds and 5 blocks and Dana Barros continued to step up off the bench after Dee Brown's injury, scoring 11. The Bulls ended our mini-run 92-71 as Michael Jordan scored 21, Scottie Pippen scored 24 and Dennis Rodman grabbed every rebound in sight, finishing with 22 boards. Hard to compete with that when we had just two players score 10+ points - Christian Laettner with 19 points and 10 rebounds and Dikembe Mutombo with 13 points and 17 rebounds. Charlotte flat-out massacred us 124-85 on their court and delighted their fans in doing so. Glen Rice soared for 31 points and 9 rebounds, Larry Johnson put together 20 points, 6 rebounds and 9 assists and Kendall Gill picked up 21 points and 12 rebounds. Christian Laettner was our leading scorer with 18 points and Greg Minor had a minor 10 bench points. Minnesota came to Boston the next night and staggered out 94-76 losers. Former Celtic Rick Fox was on fire with 20 points against us, but the most unlikely of heroes, Greg Minor, answered every one of Fox's points off the bench. That equalization, along with our tough defense, meant the Timberwolves never had a chance. Seeing Cassie again was the only highlight of our Los Angeles trip, as the Lakers whipped us 107-88. Magic Johnson shrugged off his 36 year old body to hammer us for 21 points and Cedric Cellabos (16 points, 11 rebounds) and Vlade Divac (18 points, 15 rebounds) did the damage inside. We wasted 24 points a piece from Nick Van Exel and Christian Laettner and that was discouraging. Then the miracle happened on the back end of the doubleheader. We went up to Portland and despite Rod Strickland's 41 points and 11 assists and Clifford Robinson's 29 points and 12 rebounds, we shocked the Blazers 103-99 in overtime. I was speechless after the game, as Dikembe Mutombo had an otherwordly performance of his own with 26 points, 21 rebounds and 6 blocks. Our second-leading scorer was Sherman Douglas with 18 points, while Nick Van Exel posted a career high 16 assists. It's still one of my favorite games to watch when I'm in a nostalgic mood and it truly was a Christmas Eve miracle. No miracles in Seattle, as the Supersonics rained down on us 119-85, the thunder, lightning and stormy winds ravaging our defense taking the form of Shawn Kemp (22 points, 15 rebounds, 4 blocks), Detlef Schrempf (22 points) and Gary "The Glove" Payton (20 points). Compared to their paegantry, Dikembe Mutombo's 14 points and 13 rebounds and Greg Minor's 15 bench points were but mere drizzle. Our four game West Coast swing ended the evening after in Vancouver against the Grizzlies. I'm ashamed to say that we fell 95-85 as we were outscored 27-17 in the second quarter and never recovered from that. Benoit Benjamin had 14 points and 10 rebounds, but it was Byron Scott's 19 points off the bench that did the most damage and negated Dikembe Mutombo's 21 points, 9 rebounds and 4 blocks and Greg Minor's 11 bench points. We had one last chance to end 1995's calendar year on a good note and failed, falling 82-74 to the Blazers before our fans. Clifford Robinson's 20 points did the trick, as our own leading scorer had just 17 (Christian Laettner and Pervis Ellison's 10 points and 8 rebounds meant nothing when the rest of our reserves' shots were impervious to going in the net. An ignoble way to close out the old year, on a three-game losing streak. We still clung to 4th in the Atlantic at 12-17, but we were tied with the Bullets rather than possessing it alone. Patrick Ewing's New York Knicks surged ahead of Orlando to take the division lead at 20-9, a game and a half up. The Bulls still held court in the Central at 23-6, but 23-8 Indiana closed the gap to two games. The Spurs still led the Midwest at 19-9, two games in front of the Rockets, while the Pacific had three teams with 20+ wins: Seattle (22-7), Golden State (22-8) and Phoenix (20-7). If there was anything cheerful to be found in our state of affairs as we prepared to turn the page to January 1996, it was that the Nuggets were significantly underperforming at 13-17. Boston Celtics Team Leaders - December 31st, 1995 Points Christian Laettner - 16.0 Eric Williams - 13.6 Dikembe Mutombo - 12.2 Assists Nick Van Exel - 6.0 Sherman Douglas - 4.0 Dana Barros - 3.1 Rebounds Dikembe Mutombo - 11.6 Christian Laettner - 5.4 Eric Williams - 5.3 Blocks Dikembe Mutombo - 3.4 (#2 in NBA behind Shawn Bradley (PHI) Pervis Ellison - 1.3 Christian Laettner - 0.7 Steals Dee Brown - 1.3 Eric Williams - 1.2 Christian Laettner - 1.0 __________________ 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)

04-23-2009, 09:07 PM	#8
Autumn Head Coach Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Bath, ME	This is great, these are the exact years I was really watching basketball a lot, and particularly the hometown Celtics. It's like a flash down memory lane, whereas I don't know a lot of the players in your Denver dynasty. Thanks for posting another fun one!

04-24-2009, 09:20 AM	#9
Coffee Warlord Head Coach Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Colorado Springs	Go Bulls.

04-26-2009, 08:49 PM	#15
rjolley College Starter Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Roseville, CA	You don't think you'd be able to swing 2 Top 10 picks for the overall #1 pick? Even with AI as the #1 pick, that's still a great deal. How did "his mama named him Chris, Imma call him" Chris Jackson do with the Bulls? What kind of individual numbers did they put up as a team?

04-27-2009, 02:20 AM	#17
Izulde Head Coach Join Date: Sep 2004	A newspaper clipping from that year. Celtics Charge Back To Playoffs *Christian Laettner* and Dikembe Mutombo* were the main forces behind Boston's surprising run this season* No one was surprised to see a change in general managers after the Boston Celtics went 33-49 last year. What no one expected was little-known, 29 year old Bobby Troilus to win the job. But Troilus proved just what the C's needed, trading for Denver Nuggets center Dikembe Mutombo and Minnesota Timberwolves forward Christian Laettner. Laettner, best remembered for his heroic free throws against UNLV in the NCAA tournament a few years ago, blossomed in Boston, becoming the Celtics' leading scorer with 16.9 points per game and winning hearts all across Celtic nation. Mutombo not only was the team's leading rebounder at 11.3 boards per game, but he lead the NBA in blocked shots at 3.8 per contest and averaged 12.3 points besides in the regular season. Although there's concern if he'll come back to Boston, given that he's headed to free agency, he's been a key force in the middle for the team. Nick Van Exel, the second year point guard filched from the Los Angeles Lakers, was inconsistent, but improved as the season wore on, finishing with a team high 7 assists per game and showing the kind of flashes of potential that should make him an upper-echelon floor general sooner rather than later. It all added up to an astonishing 46-36 record, including a 43-30 mark under Troilus after he fired M.L. Carr and took over as head coach on an interim basis. While Troilus has said he doesn't intend to be back on the bench next season, fans in Beantown and elsewhere across the country are clamoring for him to stay in the dual role. The 7th seed the Celtics earned in the playoffs drew them a tough matchup against the 2nd seed Indiana Pacers, who finished second only to the mighty Bulls in the Central. Boston looks a longshot to pull off the upset, but let's see how they match up. Point Guard Nick Van Exel vs. Mark Jackson Van Exel really took off after the All-Star break that wasn't and had just two games where he didn't reach double-digit points on way to concluding with a 12.7 point per game average to go with his 7 assists. He's average defensively, but there's no more talented a young passer in the league and his offensive game is growing by leaps and bounds. Jackson brings veteran experience and savvy at 30 years old and he averaged 9.5 points, 6.1 assists and 1.0 steals per game in the regular season. Don't look for him to fill up the score sheet, but he's got the size to outmuscle Van Exel and plays much better defense. Not a fantastic passer, but almost never turns it over. Advantage: Draw Shooting Guard Dee Brown vs. Reggie Miller Brown, 27, is the weak link in the Celtics' starting five. Has some knack for steals evidenced by his 1.2 steals per game, but on a team that emphasizes balance among its scorers, his 9.9 points per game as a starter is disappointing. As a reserve, he's a nice safety net. As a starter, he's a hole waiting to be exploited out. And there's no worse exploiter for Boston than Miller, who at 30 can do everything but block shots: 21.6 points, 5.5 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 1.3 steals in the regular season. He's every inch an All-Star and the franchise face and he's going to absolutely crush Brown on his way to a monster series. Advantage: Pacers Small Forward Grant Long vs. Derrick McKey The 29 year old Long, a deadline acquisition from Atlanta, didn't do much in Boston, making his 12.7 points, 8.9 rebounds and 1.3 steals in the regular season look misleading. On the other hand, he's a very good defender, the best Boston has besides a certain big man. McKey, also 29, is one of the best defenders in the game. Like Long, he doesn't add much to the scoreline, but did well enough with 11.8 points and 1.4 steals. Basically, he's a better version of Long and one who has a deadly inside shot, which his Celtic counterpart doesn't have. Advantage: Pacers Power Forward Christian Laettner vs. Dale Davis If the Celtics are going to have a prayer in this series, they need Laettner to show the clutch form he did at Duke and improve on his season averages of 16.9 points, 6.9 rebounds and steal per game. There's reason to believe he will; like Van Exel, he got even better as the season went along. But he's not the greatest defender, which could cause problems. Davis, 26, is a premiere rebounder and a pretty good defender, but not much in the way of offense. 9.2 points, 9.2 rebounds and 1.2 blocks in the regular season. He won't be able to stop Laettner completely, but his job will be to limit Boston's leading scorer as much as possible, so Miller can gun away without pressure. Advantage: Celtics Center Dikembe Mutombo vs. Rik Smits At 7'2, 245 lbs, Mutombo is one of the most beastly and intimidating centers in the game. He's a Defensive Player of the Year candidate who scores more points than his instincts suggest he would. His regular season averages of 12.3 points, 11.3 rebounds and 3.8 blocks attest to just how valuable he is to this Celtics team and without him, Boston is probably one of the worst teams in the league. Exceptional passer as well. Smits is one of the few centers in the league who matches up with Mutombo at a staggering 7'4, 265 lbs. A phenomenal scorer and one of the most intelligent players in the game, he also plays solid defense. Doesn't get nearly as many rebounds or blocks as a player of his size should though: 18.9 points, 8.1 rebounds and, perhaps most amazingly, 3.9 assists in the regular season. [b]Advantage: Draw Bench The Celtics have a very thin bench. Pervis Ellison is a good reserve big man, with 4.8 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.3 blocks during the regular season and Greg Minor was a pleasant surprise with 8.3 points as Boston's top sniper, but Sherman Douglas's 7.7 points per game are inflated by his starts and there just isn't much depth here at all. Indiana, on the other hand, features two 7.5 point per game scorers in 36 year old Ricky Pierce and overachiever Anthony Davis. Davis also tacked on 5.5 rebounds per game and plays some very good defense. Haywoode Workman provides excellent floor generalship. Advantage: Pacers Final Thoughts Indiana is just too talented and too deep for Boston to overcome. At best, the Celtics win a game, maybe two. But the Pacers are worth every bit of their 2 seed and they'll prove it by sweeping the Celtics in this series. Prediction: Pacers in 4 *End Article* And that was the most sympathetic clipping I could find. Nobody gave us a chance and it was reasonable for them not to. Sure we'd won a game in Indiana during the regular season, but every other time, the Pacers blew the doors off us. Even I thought it would take a miracle on the order of an immaculate conception to win. Game One It was every bit as lopsided a contest as you could imagine. We shot 32.9% and that wasn't going to cut it when Rik Smits was hammering us for 24 points and 11 rebounds, Reggie Miller was slicing us for 22 points and 10 rebounds and Dale Davis was putting the finishing touches on our slaughter with 11 points and 11 rebounds. Dikembe Mutombo manufactured 10 points, 12 rebounds and 6 blocks, but it took Nick Van Exel 24 shots to produce 19 points to be our leading scorer. Final - Boston 72 Indiana 94 Game Two I told the guys before the game to just stay loose, that nobody expected us to do anything, so we had nothing to lose. They took my advice to heart and every single starter scored at least 11 points, captained by Nick Van Exel's 21 points and 9 assists. Dikembe Mutombo continued his effective series with 12 points and 11 rebounds and Pervis Ellison spelled him off the bench for 10 points. The usual Pacers stars did their usual with Rik Smits hauling in 19 points and 12 rebounds and Reggie Miller scoring 21, but it wasn't enough as we pulled off the upset shocker in Indiana to even the series. Final - Boston 101 Indiana 94 Our celebration was short-lived when the team doctor told me that Dikembe Mutombo injured his foot and would be at limited effectiveness for the rest of the series. I feared for our chances even more after hearing that, but Dikembe vowed to soldier on. Game Three An impassioned crowd greeted us in Boston, determined to will us on to another upset and a 2-1 series lead. Christian Laettner fed off their energy for his first true breakout of the series with 25 points and Pervis Ellison charged for 12 bench points, but the Pacers responded with Derrick McKey's 20 points, 10 bench boards from Antonio Davis and 10 points or more from all but one of their starters. They jumped out to a 10 point first quarter lead and though we chipped away at it the rest of the game, in the end, we came up just short, taking the heartbreaking 3 point loss to go down 2-1. Final - Indiana 83 Boston 80 Game Four Our last real hope for an upset series lay in this game and everybody in the pounding, shaking building knew it as they screamed and followed every shot. Reggie Miller knew it too and came alive for 29 points while Rik Smits added 12 points and 10 rebounds. Christian Laettner had the most incredible game I've seen in response - 41 points and 16 rebounds as he played like a man possessed. But in the end, it just wasn't enough. Nobody else came prepared to play and we fell by another agonizing 3 point margin as the Pacers' depth overran us in the fourth quarter, trampling us to a 3-1 series hole. Final - Indiana 97 Boston 94 Game Five After the close-but-not agonies in Boston, we just simply ran out of heart and ran out of gas. Pervis Ellison's 10 bench points were a sad footnote to Rik Smits's 25 points and 13 rebounds and Reggie Miller's 24 points. They cruised to the kind of win everybody thought all four games would be like and it was difficult to tell my men that they could stand tall for giving Indiana the hell of a fight they did. Final - Boston 64 Indiana 101 As you know from the recaps I just gave you, the series was much, much closer than anyone figured it would be. I found myself wondering what would've happened if Dikembe Mutombo hadn't bruised his foot so badly. He disappeared after that injury and had he been able to be in top form, I think we just may have won the series. Still, it reinforced to me just how valuable he was to our team and I quietly decided to make it a priority to re-sign him in the offseason, no matter who we took or what we did in the draft. I was also more determined than ever to do whatever it took to land my favorite of the rookie class in Allen Iverson. Insert a gamechanger like him instead of Dee Brown at shooting guard and that series is ours for the taking. Virtually every single playoff series was decided in five games. The only two that weren't was Seattle's sweep of Sacramento and the Houston/Utah series. The Knicks eliminated the Magic, Miami upset Cleveland, San Antonio knocked off Cleveland, Golden State kicked out the Lakers, and in what was perhaps the biggest upset in NBA playoff history, the 39-43 Charlotte Hornets beat the 68-12 Chicago Bulls. How did they do it? Through the combination of Glen Rice (20.6 points, 1.8 steals), Larry Johnson (19.6 points, 8.6 rebounds) and Matt Geiger (12.6 points, 10.8 rebounds, 1.0 blocks). That and a fortunate wrist injury to Scottie Pippen, who shot just 34.3% and averaged and only 10.8 points a game. It didn't help that Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf was exposed as an All-Star fraud, shooting just 37.3% for 13.2 points and no injury excuses. Not even Michael Jordan's 27.4 points, 7.2 rebounds, 5 assists and 1.4 steals could save the Bulls. Utah dispatched Houston in six games, ensuring that no one went the distance in the first round. Indiana now looked clear to win the East and they quickly closed out the Heat in a sweep. Patrick Ewing and the Knicks stopped Charlotte's Cinderella story in six games, the same time it took the Spurs to oust the fearsome offense of Golden State. We got our first seven-game series of the postseason in Seattle/Utah and home court advantage rescued the top-seeded Sonics against the Jazz. Two classic series followed, as both conference championships went the full seven games. Both of the two seeds won, with Indiana triumphing over New York and San Antonio shocking Seattle. You might expect from our matchup that the Pacers were a two-headed force the rest of the playoffs, but that wasn't the case. Instead, it was a balanced attack spearheaded by Reggie Miller averaging 24.6 points, 5.3 rebounds, 5 assists and 1.1 steals in a performance eerily reminiscent of Air Jordan himself. The Spurs countered with all five starters averaging double-digit figures and of course David "The Admiral" Robinson was on top with 21.8 points, 11.9 rebounds, 1.1 steals and 3 blocks, but Armon Gilliam had done exactly what the Spurs traded him for, posting 16.9 points, 9.5 rebounds and 1.7 steals. It was a shrewd move by San Antonio to bring him in at the deadline, because it was his presence alongside The Admiral that earned the Spurs the West Conference crown. But that was as far as they went, as Reggie Miller singlehandedly carried the Pacers to a 4-1 Finals victory, averaging 25.8 points per game en route to his Finals MVP award. It gives me chills to this day to think that we might have upset the eventual NBA champions of that year, but that's how this business goes sometimes. The joy and excitement in hoops-crazy Indiana was still at fever pitch a few days later when the event came that sent everyone in Boston into a tizzy. The NBA Lottery. I sat with a select few members of the front office at a table, drinking copious amounts of water while I watched the balls bounce against the walls much like I wanted to at that moment. As I said, we held picks 7 and 9, which gave us percent chances 3.4 and 6. The odds were against it, but still much better than if we held, say, 12 and 14. I swallowed more water and watched the balls roll in. "Pick 13 goes to... the Washington Bullets!" No change there. "Pick 12 goes to... the Phoenix Suns!" Again no change. "Pick 11 goes to... the Atlanta Hawks!" Still good, I thought. "Pick 10 goes to... the Detroit Pistons!" I breathed a sigh of relief. So far the picks had held serve. Next up was our first of two selections. "Pick 9 goes to... the Vancouver Grizzlies!" I don't remember what happened first, whether my assistant GM screamed or I fell out of my chair in shock. All I know is, I was seeing starbursts and feeling dizzy with delirious glee. We'd beaten the odds! We had a top 3 pick!!!!! Allen Iverson was that much closer to being ours!!! "Pick 8 goes to... the Boston Celtics!" So we dropped a spot on the 7th pick. I didn't care. All I cared about was that we were in the top 3 and we had our chance at Iverson. I was so giddy I barely paid attention to what was going on the next few draws. They broke down like this: 7. Minnesota Timberwolves (-1) 6. Los Angeles Clippers (-1) 5. Philadelphia 76ers (-1) 4. Dallas Mavericks (-1) Then I started paying attention again, though the tablecloth in front of me was littered from sweat-soaked linen napkins, which hadn't done much to staunch the perspiration on my forehead. I was going to need to go to the bathroom and get a lot more water afterwards, I knew that much. "Pick 3 goes to... the New Jersey Nets!" Blood roared my ears, the room started throbbing and shaking with stars and I started tottering in my chair as the words "Top 2 guaranteed!" flashed through my brain. "Pick 2 goes to... the Boston Celtics! I didn't even hear Milwaukee's name called off for the top pick. I was already gripping everyone's hand at our table, smiling like a lovestruck fool and reveling in the beauty of all. 7 spots we leapt up! 9th to 2nd! I swore Allen Iverson would wear kelly green next season, no matter what I had to throw at the Bucks to get him. __________________ 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)

04-28-2009, 10:01 AM	#18
Izulde Head Coach Join Date: Sep 2004	I anticipated that we perhaps had a chance at Defensive Player of the Year in Dikembe Mutombo, but did not think we had any opportunities elsewhere for season accolades. 1995-96 NBA Season Awards Player of the Year Alonzo Mourning - Miami Heat - 24.5 PPG 11.7 RPG 3.2 APG 3.1 BPG 1.3 SPG Defensive Player of the Year Gary Payton - Seattle Supersonics - 22.7 PPG 6.2 APG 5.2 RPG 0.8 BPG 3.0 SPG Rookie of the Year Damon Stoudamire - Toronto Raptors - 18.5 PPG 8.0 APG 4.0 RPG 0.1 BPG 1.1 SPG 6th Man of the Year Gheorghe Muresan - Washington Bullets - 9.4 PPG 6.8 RPG 1.0 APG 1.6 BPG 0.1 SPG Coach of the Year Mike Fratello - Cleveland Cavaliers I received a few votes for Coach of the Year, which was nice, but Fratello really deserved it. He did a lot with a team that didn't have all that much talent. All-NBA 1st Team PG Gary Payton - Seattle Supersonics SG Michael Jordan - Chicago Bulls SF Glen Rice - Charlotte Hornets PF Karl Malone - Utah Jazz C Alonzo Mourning - Miami Heat All-NBA 2nd Team PG Terrell Brandon - Cleveland Cavaliers SG Reggie Miller - Indiana Pacers SF Grant Hill - Detroit Pistons PF Larry Johnson - Charlotte Hornets C David Robinson - San Antonio Spurs All-NBA 3rd Team PG Rod Strickland - Portland Trailblazers SG Mitch Richmond - Sacramento Kings SF Tom Gugliotta - Minnesota Timberwolves PF Shawn Kemp - Seattle Supersonics C Hakeem Olajuwon - Houston Rockets All-Defense 1st Team PG Gary Payton - Seattle Supersonics SG Michael Jordan - Chicago Bulls SF Scottie Pippen - Chicago Bulls PF Shawn Kemp - Seattle Supersonics C Alonzo Mourning - Miami Heat All-Defense 2nd Team PG Mookie Blaylock - Atlanta Hawks SG Mitch Richmond - Sacramento Kings SF Tom Gugliotta - Minnesota Timberwolves PF Chris Webber - Washington Bullets C Dikembe Mutombo - Boston Celtics All-Rookie 1st Team PG Damon Stoudamire - Toronto Raptors SG Jerry Stackhouse - Philadelphia 76ers SF Michael Finley - Phoenix Suns PF Antonio McDyess - Denver Nuggets C Arvydas Sabonis - Portland Trailblazers All-Rookie 2nd Team PG Tyus Edney - Sacramento Kings SG Sasha Danilovic - Miami Heat SF Eric Williams - Atlanta Hawks PF Joe Smith - Golden State Warriors C Bryant Reeves - Vancouver Grizzlies One piece of hardware was good and I felt very proud that a player I brought in was the one to get it. Cliff Gross said he was extremely pleased with how our season went and had nothing but praise for me in our year-end dinner. "I said we needed to get some young blood in here and you proved me right. Good work! Now build on it for next year!" he told me. And that was exactly what I planned to do. The very first thing I did was call the Bucks to move up to that #1 spot, but they refused to consider trading down a single spot, even for the Lakers 1998 1st round pick. Things went from bad to worse when Mr. Gross told me that we could make the playoffs next year, but that we'd better do more than that the following season. He also rejected my request to allow an overrun of $10 million and insisted that we stay within a few million over the cap. I took a look at the head coaching pool when the offseason hit and though it sounds narcissistic to say it even now, I didn't see anybody available I trusted more than myself to run the team. Mock Draft Allen Iverson was the consensus pick to go #1, much as I feared. With pick #2, a lot of mocks had us taking forward Jermaine O'Neal because they knew we had no interest in Kobe Bryant. At #8, we were tabbed to select big man Ben Wallace, who I didn't think would last that long and #28 had us picking Argentinian swingman Doug Rhodes. Projected Mock 1st Round 1. Allen Iverson - Milwaukee Bucks 2. Jermaine O'Neal - Boston Celtics 3. Kobe Bryant - New Jersey Nets 4. Antoine Walker - Dallas Mavericks 5. Stephon Marbury - Philadelphia 76ers 6. Pries Lauderdale - Los Angeles Clippers 7. Darvin Ham - Minnesota Timberwolves 8. Ben Wallace - Boston Celtics 9. Shareef Abdur-Rahim - Vancouver Grizzlies 10. Marcus Camby - Detroit Pistons 11. Ray Allen - Atlanta Hawks 12. Malik Rose - Phoenix Suns 13. Steve Nash - Washington Bullets 14. Martin Muursepp - Charlotte Hornets 15. John Wallace - Sacramento Kings 16. Shawnelle Scott - Portland Trailblazers 17. Erick Dampier - Los Angeles Lakers 18. Lorenzen Wright - Utah Jazz 19. Ben Davis - Toronto Raptors 20. Michael Hawkins - Miami Heat 21. Samaki Walker - Houston Rockets 22. Bruce Bowen - Orlando Magic 23. Tony Delk - New York Knicks 24. Todd Fuller - Golden State Warriors 25. Travis Knight - Cleveland Cavaliers 26. Othella Harrington - New Jersey Nets 27. Jerome Williams - Indiana Pacers [b]28. Doug Rhodes - Boston Celtics 29. Jamie Feick - Chicago Bulls I could already, even before the draft, tell you there were problems wrong with the mock draft. While we were going to take one big man as insurance in case we couldn't re-sign Dikembe Mutombo, two was overkill given that we still had Pervis Ellison as a reserve and I wasn't about to move Christian Laettner out of his happy power forward spot. I also thought Ray Allen at 11 was preposterous. Given the tape I'd seen on him earlier in the year, in my mind, he was a lock for a Top 7 selection. I tried again and again to get Milwaukee to trade spots with us, but they refused outright, even when I offered them Nick Van Exel to solve their PG hole. The Bucks GM at the time, Jamison Greenleaf, was a real ballbuster. He saw in Iverson the chance to instantly resurrect his moribund squad and he was right. To be honest, I think he enjoyed putting the screws to me like that. My dreams of Allen Iverson wearing Celtics green were fast going up in smoke. Grimly, I prepared for our plans to go all to naught. __________________ 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)

04-28-2009, 11:15 AM	#19
Neuqua Pro Rookie Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Chicago, Ill	Why isn't Kerry Kittles in the draft?! __________________ Our Deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?' Actually, who are you not to be?

04-28-2009, 12:07 PM	#21
Izulde Head Coach Join Date: Sep 2004	Okay, here's an ethics question I have for you guys. In the draft I was just running before the error hit, the Bucks actually passed on AI. When I re-do the draft, do I just accept it as fate if the Bucks take Iverson or do I keep re-doing the draft until they pass on Iverson again if they take him when I start it up again? (I was also thrilled with who I got with my second first round pick and -that- probably won't happen again either. UGH!) __________________ 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)

04-28-2009, 12:22 PM	#22
DaddyTorgo Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Massachusetts	keep re-doing it until they pass on him. i consider that fair-play, as it's not your fault the game fouled up. as long as you didn't save+reload right before the draft WITH THE INTENTION OF DOING THAT i consider it alright. __________________ If I've ever helped you and you'd like to buy me a coffee, or just to say thanks, I have my Bitcoin and Ethereum addressed listed below :) BTC: bc1qykhsfyn9vw4ntqfgr0svj4n9tjdgufryh2pxn5 ETH: 0x2AcdC5cd88EA537063553F5b240073bE067BaCa9

04-28-2009, 12:23 PM	#23
DaddyTorgo Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Massachusetts	idk though - C's fan here obviously, so this pains me, but what about throws up in mouth a lil Kobe? __________________ If I've ever helped you and you'd like to buy me a coffee, or just to say thanks, I have my Bitcoin and Ethereum addressed listed below :) BTC: bc1qykhsfyn9vw4ntqfgr0svj4n9tjdgufryh2pxn5 ETH: 0x2AcdC5cd88EA537063553F5b240073bE067BaCa9 Last edited by DaddyTorgo : 04-28-2009 at 12:23 PM.

04-28-2009, 03:27 PM	#25
Autumn Head Coach Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Bath, ME	I agree, that if you didn't do it on purpose you could keep going until they pass on him, though I'd probably be inclined to just take my chances. I, however, am not as obsessed with Iverson ;-)

04-28-2009, 04:37 PM	#26
rjolley College Starter Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Roseville, CA	Yeah, usually, when I have an error during a game, I let whatever happens when I replay the game happen. On CH2K9, I usually let the CPU replay the games I'd played since the last save. For text sims, I let the whatever happened in the redo, happen. And I agree, I'm not as infatuated with AI as you are. I'd rather have Bryant (based on what he turned out to be) and Abdur-Rahim (very good scoring big man coming out of college).

04-28-2009, 08:55 PM	#27
law90026 College Benchwarmer Join Date: Jan 2006	I would not see an issue with rerunning the draft until the Bucks pass again. It's not cheesing the game since that's what really happened before the crash. Re the pick of AI: I'm assuming Izulde is trying to go for realism in the dynasty? I don't think people were lining up to draft Kobe at the time (though he's turned out phenomenal) and AI would have been the consensus No. 1 pick (well except for the Bucks apparently lol).

04-28-2009, 11:55 PM	#28
Izulde Head Coach Join Date: Sep 2004	My gut instinct is to just accept whatever the re-do brings me, so that's probably what I'll go with, even though it'll probably cost me AI as well as the other player I landed that I was really happy to get. And I absolutely -refuse- to have Kobe on the team. __________________ 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)

04-29-2009, 07:29 AM	#29
rjolley College Starter Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Roseville, CA	Who was the other player?

04-29-2009, 09:36 AM	#30
DaddyTorgo Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Massachusetts	i'd refuse to have both Kobe and AI if it were up to me as far as personal preference __________________ If I've ever helped you and you'd like to buy me a coffee, or just to say thanks, I have my Bitcoin and Ethereum addressed listed below :) BTC: bc1qykhsfyn9vw4ntqfgr0svj4n9tjdgufryh2pxn5 ETH: 0x2AcdC5cd88EA537063553F5b240073bE067BaCa9

04-29-2009, 08:02 PM	#31
Izulde Head Coach Join Date: Sep 2004	rjolley: You'll see later. DaddyTorgo: Eh, AI and Artest are my two favorite current players, which is why I'm so eager to get him. I'll give the draft another crack later tonight, once I eat supper and get this mountain of papers graded. __________________ 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)

04-29-2009, 08:47 PM	#32
rjolley College Starter Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Roseville, CA	And switch back to FireFox.

04-30-2009, 02:36 AM	#34
law90026 College Benchwarmer Join Date: Jan 2006	Amg enough teasing already, I've been waiting for the draft for a long time now!

04-30-2009, 10:58 PM	#36
law90026 College Benchwarmer Join Date: Jan 2006	Ouchie sucks to hear, hope you can get it fixed.

05-01-2009, 01:36 AM	#38
law90026 College Benchwarmer Join Date: Jan 2006	LOL! AI and Marbury sharing a backcourt. If this was real life ....

05-01-2009, 08:55 AM	#40
DaddyTorgo Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Massachusetts	LOL - AI and Marbury - NUTS!!! idk why you're so down on Jesus Shuttleworth that you didn't want him over Starbury. Especially after his 50+ points last night!

05-01-2009, 09:43 AM	#41
Autumn Head Coach Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Bath, ME	Fun draft. If Rogers comes through for you at the center it will be quite a coup.

05-01-2009, 10:44 AM	#42
Radii Head Coach Join Date: Jul 2001	I was a freshman at Georgia Tech the same year Marbury was. He was such a joy to watch that one college season... hopefully things can work out differently for him in the pros this time around!

05-01-2009, 01:33 PM	#43
Izulde Head Coach Join Date: Sep 2004	Glad to hear you guys enjoyed the draft once it finally went through. The results will certainly be interesting that's for sure. __________________ 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)

05-01-2009, 03:12 PM	#44
Izulde Head Coach Join Date: Sep 2004	We started the year with high hopes and a marquee matchup hosting Milwaukee on Halloween night. And, I'm sorry to say that we lost 97-85, getting absolutely crushed in the second half. Vin Baker and Glenn "Big Dog" Robinson shredded us for 29 points and 11 rebounds and 25 points and 11 rebounds respectively, Bimbo Coles adding fuel to the fire with 14 bench points. All five Celtics starters scored 10+ points, highlighted by Allen Iverson's debut 19 points and Christian Laettner's 10 points and 12 rebounds, but it didn't cut the mustard. Stephon Marbury had 13 points and 7 assists before fouling out and Roy Rogers was an ugly 4 for 15 as Dikembe Mutombo schooled him in the paint. Chicago the next night was equally unpleasant, as Allen Iverson's 22 points and Brian Shaw's 11 bench points failed to countermand the Bulls and Michael Jordan's 31 points in our 99-81 loss. 0-3 after a 124-113 loss to the Suns. Sir Charles Barkley reamed us for 31 points, Danny Manning had 25 points and 13 rebounds and Wayman Tisdale scored 16 off the bench. It was frustrating to throw away Christian Laettner's 31 points, Allen Iverson's 29 points and Stephon Marbury's 18 points and 11 assists like that. Finally we broke through for our first win of the season, ambushing the Orlando Magic 113-88. Shaquille O'Neal was fantastic for 31 points, 15 rebounds and 4 blocks, but he couldn't do it alone against Allen Iverson's 30 points, Stephon Marbury's 18 points and 17 assists and several Celtic double-doubles: Christian Laettner (17 points, 11 rebounds), Roy Rogers (13 points, 10 rebounds and 6 blocks) and Grant Long (13 points, 12 rebounds). But then we dropped a 103-95 decision to the Utah Jazz, unable to overcome Karl Malone's 29 points and 22 points a piece from Jeff Hornacek and John Stockton, with Stockton adding 11 assists besides. Allen Iverson did well with 24 points and Pervis Ellison powered off the bench for 14 points and 10 rebounds, but when Stephon Marbury had a 1 for 8 night, I knew we were in trouble. Defense kicked in on the front of a doubleheader and we overpowered the Bullets 83-69. Chris Webber got his stats with 27 points and 13 rebounds, but our balanced offense keyed by Stephon Marbury's 16 points and 10 assists, Lindsey Hunter's 17 bench points and Pervis Ellison's 13 bench boards carried us. Allen Iverson dominated with 48 points in our 113-97 revenge thrashing of the Bucks in Milwaukee the next night. Stephon Marbury added 20 points and 14 assists and those two carried us, sweeping past Vin Baker's 29 points and Johnny Newman's 23 points. Kobe Bryant was really struggling to life in the NBA. In the first 8 games, he was averaging just 8.6 points and 5.5 assists out of the point guard spot, shooting a mere 35.9%. Our quest for .500 was firmly squashed by Hakeem Olajuwon's 36 points and 12 rebounds as the Rockets thumped us 105-91. Good show by Christian Laettner with 35 points and Roy Rogers cobbled together 10 points and 12 rebounds, but Allen Iverson was a forgettable 2 for 10. Despite 29 points from Allen Iverson, 12 points and 13 assists from Stephon Marbury and at least 12 points from every starter, the Hornets pulled away in the second half to beat us 112-100. Glen Rice was monstrous with 40 points, Larry Johnson added 20 points and we were double-stung by Kevin Salvadori's 13 points and 12 rebounds and Muggsy Bogues's 14 points and 16 assists. This couldn't go on. We needed a shakeup and so I executed one, a blockbuster that set the league abuzz. Boston Celtics receive SF Glen Rice PF Larry Johnson Charlotte Hornets receive PF Christian Laettner PF Grant Long PF Roy Rogers C Ervin Johnson Atlanta Hawks 1997 2nd round pick What this means for the Celtics In one fell swoop, Bobby Troilus has landed two of the Hornets' best players, who are two of a kind. Rice and Johnson are both excellent shooters with terrific passing and handling skills, but only average on the defensive end. They'll slot in at SF and PF respectively. Boston also purges itself of Laettner's long, expensive contract. What this means for the Hornets Laettner immediately takes over as Charlotte's top scorer. Rogers, who surprisingly won the starting center spot with the Celtics, fills the same capacity for the Hornets. Long bolsters the bench and will be the first forward off it, with solid defense. Johnson's just filler. Winner: Draw It's a calculated gamble for both teams. Charlotte's 6-5 right now and are risking blowing up their team chemistry with the trade. While Boston's struggling, they have a major void at center and have substantially weakened their defense. I tried to shore up the defensive hole by signing Dontonio Wingfield from the D-League and although it was costly I found a replacement center. Boston Celtics receive C Dean Garrett Los Angeles Lakers receive PF A.C. Green PG Lindsey Hunter Boston Celtics 1999 2nd round pick What this means for the Celtics Garrett may be a 30 year old rookie, but he's precisely the rebounding, defensive, shotblocking big man Boston needs in the middle after they traded Roy Rogers. While he won't make anyone forget Dikembe Mutombo, this 2nd round pick (17th in 2nd round), is just what the Celtics need. What this means for the Lakers The 33 year old Green returns back to the team of his glory days and while the Lakers at 3-8 are as faded as their former star, he can still boost their bench with solid all-around game. Hunter is a respectable all-around reserve guard, but will be buried on Los Angeles's bench. Winner: Boston Stiff price or not, Garrett's the remedy the ailing Celtics need. To fill the gaps and keep Dana Barros on the inactive list, I signed 25 year old guard Sarath Minor and 28 year old forward Sean Higgins from the D-Leagues, meaning that we had 3 minor league players on our roster and we were looking very much like the starting five strong, bench weak team of 95-96. But when we beat Golden State 98-89 in our next game, I knew we were on the right track. Glen Rice scored 26 in his Celtics debut, Larry Johnson smoothly gathered up 15 points and 10 rebounds and Pervis Ellison matched Johnson's boards total off the bench. Tim Haradaway and Latrell Sprewell combined for 31 and 21 points and Travis Knight posted the poor man's double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds, but our balance won out. It didn't take long at all to meet the Hornets again, as we rematched them a couple days later. This time, it was we who owned the second half and pulled away for the 117-110 victory. Allen Iverson scored 33 points, but it was Glen Rice (26 points) and Larry Johnson (20 points) eating alive their old team that got all the press. Rookie Ray Allen had an impressive 31 points for Charlotte as their lone standout. Glen Rice beat the Pistons all by himself almost with 32 points as we crushed Detroit 103-61. Sherman Douglas and Brian Shaw led the bench with 14 and 10 points respectively as rookie Jermaine O'Neal was the only Piston in double-digit scoring with 18 points and 11 rebounds. The former Hornet duo continued to carry us, our 94-74 victory over the Nets engineered by Glen Rice's 27 points and Larry Johnson's 22 points and 19 rebounds, as Allen Iverson was hampered by a strained abdomen. Jayson Williams recorded 20 points and 12 rebounds for New Jersey and Chris Childs had an impressive 15 points to lead all reserves. We suffered our first loss since the trade the next night in D.C., outscored 28-13 to fall 97-89 to the Bullets. Chris Webber ran wild over us for 36 points and 20 rebounds and Gheorghe Muresan provided the support with 18 points and 14 rebounds. Glen Rice was our lone standout with 24 points. Still, I was fine with how we were doing. We'd battled back from a poor start to finish at 7-7 for the first month after I made the moves. That was good for tied for third in the Atlantic, a game and a half back of 8-5 Miami. It also put us right in the 7/8 playoff spot range. The Central was an absolute beast, as the defending champion Pacers were 11-2, followed by 11-5 Atlanta and Chicago and Cleveland both at 10-5. Houston was 12-5, the Jazz 11-5 in the Midwest, while 10-5 Phoenix and 10-6 Seattle patrolled the Pacific. But of course, the Suns were only as good as Kevin Johnson's health. __________________ 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)

05-01-2009, 03:19 PM	#45
Autumn Head Coach Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Bath, ME	I knew you wouldn't last long before pulling a big trade. Poor Rogers, never had a chance.