Dallas Dreams: A DDPB Dynasty

[Cap Ologist]

The Mavericks had always been an afterthought in the competitive Western conference. They could put together a winning season or two, but then something would always happen to break up the momentum, whether it was injury, coaching change or ownership change.

Their prospects looked promising for the 1995-1996 season until their owner sold the franchise to billionaire Mike English. He was by all accounts a breath of fresh air to the city of Dallas, and his first move he made was to hire his old college roommate, me, to be the general manager. I'd had several successful coaching stops in the college ranks and had been an assistant on several championship teams in the NBA as well. Mike gave me total control over the coaching staff and roster.

The roster had several promising young players in Jason Kidd, Jamal Mashburn and Jim Jackson. There was no questioning of their talent as individual players, but they didn't exactly fit with what I had in mind. I knew that I could get pretty good value for them, and although Mike had given me total control, I still felt compelled to give him a call and explain what I was thinking.

I told him that I was pretty confident I could move those three guys and get comparable talent in return as well as more depth on our bench. His only comment was, "If this doesn't work, these fans might go Oswald on you." I nodded. I knew that the safe move was to keep our big three intact and hope to add pieces through the draft and free agency to go with them. But we were perilously thin across the board, and one major injury to any of the 3 J's would end our season.

And so, the day after the press conference announcing my hiring, we held another one to announce the moves we had made. Our first trade involved us sending SG Jim Jackson and C Lorenzo Williams to Utah for their backup PG Howard Eisley, PF Antoine Carr and their 1996 2nd round pick. The press were stunned momentarily, although if they had known what else was coming, this would have seemed like a mosquito bite to them. Jackson still had 3 years and 11.7 million due him, and that was more than I really thought he was worth. Eisley had shown flashes of brilliance in limited duty behind Stockton and was the tough, gritty player that I wanted.

Local beat writer Randy Callobay asked, "Why did you trade a starter for a backup to Kidd?" The shock the press felt just a few minutes ago was about to be trumped.

"Well, that's a good question," I replied. "We've also reached a deal with the Denver Nuggets to trade Jason Kidd for SG Jalen Rose, PF Don Maclean and their 1996, 1997 and 1998 first round draft picks."

Their was silence in the room. So I continued quickly, "We've also trade Jamal Mashburn, PF Popeye Jones, and PF Cherokee Parks to the Bullets for PF Juwan Howard and PF Rasheed Wallace. Then, we packaged SG Lucious Harris, C Donald Hodge, PF Antoine Carr, PG Scott Brooks and Utah's 2nd round pick for Elden Campbell

"Any questions?" I asked.

"So, do you need a prescription for whatever you're on?" Randy asked.

I chuckled. "Nope."

"Haven't you pretty much cut Dick Motta's legs out beneath him with these moves. Hell, he's been planning on having these guys and now here it is barely a month before the season starts and before you even get your nameplate on your office, you've wrecked the team?" Randy countered.

"If you talk to Coach Motta, I think he'll understand the reasoning of each move we've made and how we think it's going to make us better going forward. I'm sure he's confident in his ability to coach this team."

The press conference broke up after a few followup questions concerning the details of the trades. I left the room, knowing this day's work would either make me or break me.

We need three players to fill out our 12 man roster, so we resign Scott Brooks, C Emmanuel Daniels and SF Thomas Streuvels, none of who will probably be back with us next year.

[Izulde]

*does some quick tabulation*

Eisley
Rose
Sheed
Howard
Campbell

is your starting five I'm guessing. I've never been in love with Campbell, but the Mavericks starting position in this roster set has them crying out for a center anyway (and usually drafting Camby in the 96 draft).

Howard's horrible passing/handling make me hate him in this set, but he'll definitely score the points for you until Rose and Rasheed develop some more.

Nice to see you grab Eisley, who frankly deserves a starting spot but rarely seems to get it.

This going to be a very interesting team to watch. My guess is you're a lotto team this year and so are the Nuggets, who will probably trade Mutombo at some point and have already killed their scoring by dealing Rose. Should set you up nicely for some great scores in the 96 draft.

[Cap Ologist]

Our lineup:

PG: Jalen Rose
SG: George McCloud
SF: Rasheed Wallace
PF: Juwan Howard
C: Elden Campbell

6th: PF/C Don MacLean
7th: PG Howard Eisley
8th: SG/SF Tony Dumas
9th: PG Scott Brooks
10th: C Loren Meyer
11th: SG/SF Thomas Streuvals
12th: C Emmanuel Daniels

Game 1: @ San Antonio

It would be nice to start the season off with a win, especially against our instate rivals. Tony Dumas scores 17 for us off the bench, and none of our key acquisitions light it up. We get 10 points from Rasheed Wallace and 14 points, 11 rebounds from Juwan Howard, and Don MacLean scores 11. San Antonio is led by 24 from David Robinson, and they roll to a 110-80 victory.

Game 2: Golden State

We return to Dallas for our home opener and tons of talk radio hatred. Our frontline has a great game with Rasheed Wallace getting 20 points, Juwan Howard scoring 27, and Elden Campbell getting 21 points to go with 14 rebounds. Golden State gets double digits from all 5 starters led by 27 from Tim Hardaway and 20 from Latrell Sprewell, and they take a 115-98 victory.

Game 3: Vancouver

A complete demolition of the team plus two uninspiring performances and the chances of me being Oswalded seem to be growing with each caller on the local sports station. We get another stellar performance from our frontline, with Rasheed Wallace getting 25 points, Juwan Howard scoring 24, and Elden Campbell getting 24 points. Vancouver has 6 players in double digits with Byron Scott and Bryant Reeves leading the team with 13 points each. We get a much needed 111-94 victory.

Game 4: Milwaukee

Juwan Howard scores 35, Elden Campbell scores 26, George McCloud goes for 17 and Tony Dumas adds 15 off the bench. Glenn Robinson scores 29, Todd Day chips in 21 and Eric Murdock adds 17 for the Bucks. We break the game open in the 2nd and 3rd periods and reach .500 with a 113-98 win.

Game 5: Atlanta

Juwan Howard scores 23 points and grabs 11 rebounds and George McCloud adds 24. Jalen Rose has a double double with 13 points and 10 assists. The Hawks counter with 18 points apiece from Grant Long and Steve Smith and Mookie Blaylock adds 17 points. We make a late surge in the 3rd and 4th quarters and take a 97-89 victory.

Game 6: @ Vancouver

We travel north of the border to face the team that gave us our first victory this season. Juwan Howard leads us with 31 points, Rasheed Wallace scores 25, George McCloud scores 23, Elden Campbell scores 10 points and Jalen Rose adds 10 and dishes 17 assists. Vancouver gets 20 points from Lawrence Moten, 18 points and 14 rebounds from Bryant Reeves. We take a 22 point lead into the fourth quarter and hang on for a 112-97 victory.

Game 7: @ L.A. Lakers

Howard and Campbell each score 20 points, Don MacLean scores 19 off the bench and Rasheed Wallace adds 13. I'm very happy with our front court play so far this season. Cedric Ceballos scores 30 to lead the way and Magic Johnson scores 21. We have a 10 point lead heading into the 4th quarter, but the Lakers outscores us 31-12 to give us a 113-104 loss.

Game 8: @ L.A. Clippers

Once again, we get a great effort from our bigs with 21 from Howard, 20 from Campbell and 19 from Wallace. George McCloud scores 24 and Jalen Rose scores 9 but has an incredible 19 assists. The Clippers get 30 points from Loy Vaught and we hold everyone else to 15 points or less en route to a 118-99 victory.

Game 9: @ Golden State Warriors

Our third and final game of our California road trip sees Don MacLean lead us with 20 points off the bench, supported by 17 from Howard, but Golden State has 7 players that reach double figures in scoring and it's just too much for us, as we lose 107-88.

Game 10: Chicago

Juwan Howard is once again our leading scorer with 20 points to go with 10 rebounds, Campbell scores 18 and we have all five starters reach double figures in scoring. We hold a 15 point lead at halftime, but Chicago led by Michael Jordan with 28 points holds us to just 36 points in the second half and they come back to hand us a 101-95 loss.

Game 11: Denver

Jason Kidd returns to face us with his new team, and of course has a triple double with 16 points, 10 assists and an incredible 19 rebounds. Juwan Howard counters with 34 points and 16 rebounds, Elden Campbell scores 10 points and grabs 16 rebounds and Kidd's replacement Jalen Rose posts a double double with 10 points and 10 assists. In the end, our overall depth beats the individual greatness of Jason Kidd, 91-81. It was a very satisfying victory, and one that went along way to buying some goodwill with our fans.

Game 12: @ Miami

Want to know how to limit our frontcourt? Get them in foul trouble. Howard and Campbell struggle with fouls as they face Alonzo Mourning inside. He scores 34 points on us, and we're never really in this one, and take a 127-88 thrashing.

Game 13: @ Orlando

Another Florida team, another great center in Shaquille O'Neal to face. Elden Campbell struggles with foul problems again, but Howard scores 34 to pick up the slack, Rasheed Wallace adds 21, George McCloud adds 22 and Jalen Rose posts another double double with 10 points and 10 assists. O'Neal scores 28 and Dennis Scott adds 25, while Penny Hardaway posts his own double double with 24 points and 11 rebounds. In the end, we lose 112-108.

Game 14: @ Atlanta

Juwan Howard again leads us with 23 points and 16 rebounds and George McCloud adds 21, Wallace and Campbell each score 13, and nobody on the Hawks scores more than 18, and we beat them again 95-84.

Game 15: @ Cleveland

Howard continues to be a bright spot for us as he leads the way with 22 points, Don MacLean scores 17 off the bench, but Rasheed Wallace is held scoreless. We trail early, and never threaten and Cleveland runs away with a 114-91 victory behind 7 players in double digits.

We finish the month of November in 9th place in the West with a 7-8 record. I've been really impressed with the overall performance of Wallace, Howard and Campbell. Our backcourt play has been pretty inconsistent.

Team Leaders:

Scoring:

Juwan Howard 23.7
George McCloud 15.3
Rasheed Wallace 14.6
Elden Campbell 13.3
Jalen Rose 9.1
Tony Dumas 8.7
Don MacLean 7.7

Rebounding:

Elden Campbell 10.3
Juwan Howard 10.0
George McCloud 4.7
Don MacLean 4.0
Rasheed Wallace 3.9

Assists:

Jalen Rose 10.5
Howard Eisley 3.7

[Cap Ologist]

Originally Posted by Izulde

*does some quick tabulation*

Eisley
Rose
Sheed
Howard
Campbell

is your starting five I'm guessing. I've never been in love with Campbell, but the Mavericks starting position in this roster set has them crying out for a center anyway (and usually drafting Camby in the 96 draft).

Howard's horrible passing/handling make me hate him in this set, but he'll definitely score the points for you until Rose and Rasheed develop some more.

Nice to see you grab Eisley, who frankly deserves a starting spot but rarely seems to get it.

This going to be a very interesting team to watch. My guess is you're a lotto team this year and so are the Nuggets, who will probably trade Mutombo at some point and have already killed their scoring by dealing Rose. Should set you up nicely for some great scores in the 96 draft.

I typically like to bring Rose and Howard off the bench in this roster set because they can provide enough offensive punch when I'm resting starters. Since right now, I'm only GMing and we really don't have any better options, they've performed very well. Don MacLean is becoming one of my favorite players in this roster universe. He is usually my 4th big, and is a very solid player. He's gotten more playing time than usual this year for me, and I'm very happy with how he is performing. Campbell has performed better than I expected also.

I've got a feeling we'll end up being a borderline lottery team unless we lose a starter for a significant amount of time. Denver is currently 2-12 and still has Mutombo. The crazy thing is that our payroll is currently 12.8 million and will probably be around 15 million when we resign Howard, Campbell and MacLean in the offseason. I suppose I could make a run at Shaq, but I'm rarely active in free agency outside of looking for reserves.

[Cap Ologist]

Game 16: @ New York

Juwan Howard shines in the Big Apple with 26 points and 10 boards, George McCloud goes for 19 and Rasheed Wallace hits for 14. However, Patrick Ewing keeps Campbell in foul trouble the entire night, and we lose 103-85.

Game 17: @ Philadelphia

We're led by Juwan Howard with 21 points and George McCloud with 22, Elden Campbell gets 12 points and 19 rebounds, and Jalen Rose gets another double double with 10 points and 13 assists. But Derrick Coleman scores 24, Clarence Weatherspoon gets 20 and four others hit double digits as Philly pulls away late, 103-93.

Game 18: Washington

Jamal Mashburn returns to Big D and promptly lights us up for 30 points, Chris Webber scores 19, while diminutive Popeye Jones also returns at center and has 8 points but pulls down 28 rebounds. Juwan Howard lights up his former mates with 33 points and 11 rebounds, Tony Dumas scores 24 off the bench, George McCloud scores 21. Once again, we score a victory over a departed star, 114-101.

Game 19: Seattle

Unfortunately, we don't have any former stars playing for Seattle. Gary Payton scores 25, Detlef Schrempf gets 20 and Shawn Kemp goes for 19. Juwan Howard and George McCloud lead us with 18, which means we don't generate enough offense and lose 99-84.

Game 20: San Antonio

David Robinson makes himself at home at our place with 35 points and 21 rebounds, and Juwan Howard answers with 33 points and 14 rebounds. George McCloud is our only other player to hit double digits, while San Antonio has 4 others. We lose 108-81.

Game 21: Phoenix

George McCloud leads with 23 points, Rasheed Wallace hits for 22, and Juwan Howard goes for 21. A.C. Green scores 21 for the Suns, with Danny Manning and Kevin Johnson each contributing 20. We lose again, 102-86. Unfortunately for us, Elden Campbell hasn't been much of a factor for us in the month of December.

Game 22: @ Chicago

Juwan Howard scores 27 and grabs 12 boards in the House That Michael Built. Rasheed Wallace hits for 21, but Elden Campbell and George McCloud score 12 and 11 respectively. Michael Jordan scores 31 and four Jordanaires hit double digits. We lose 107-86.

Game 23: @ Indianapolis

All you really need to know about this game is that Thomas Streuvals is our second leading scorer with 14 points. He doubles as roster filler and stadium janitor. The Pacers kill us, 119-80 behind 29 points from Reggie Miller.

Game 24: @ Minnesota

We're really struggling, we've got a solid team, we just can't score enough. Our struggles continue despite 23 points from George McCloud and anther double double from Jalen Rose. Minnesota beats us 108-85 and we've lost 10 out of our last 12.

Game 25: @ Denver

George McCloud goes for 22, and Jalen Rose scores 20 to go with 15 assists. Our frontcourt is disappointing once again, and we lose to Denver, 119-99. It's also our first loss to a former superstar, but Kidd has an average game of 12 points and 13 assists.

Game 26: Vancouver

Juwan Howard finally has a breakout performance of 44 points and 13 boards, but the real news is that Coach Motta has moved George McCloud to SF, Rasheed Wallace to 6th man, Jalen Rose to SG and Howard Eisley to PG. The team responds with a 103-90 victory.

Game 27: Houston

Will a new lineup be what gets us out of our rut? We have four players who get double doubles led by Juwan Howard with 28 points and 12 boards, Elden Campbell gets 10 points and 14 rebounds, Jalen Rose scores 13 and dishes 10 assists, Howard Eisley scores 10 and has 10 assists, while George McCloud scores 20 from his new position. Rasheed Wallace has a disappointing game with only 4 points. And despite having four double doubles, we still lose 100-87.

Game 28: Utah

Juwan Howard scores 27 and grabs 14 rebounds, Jalen Rose scores 24. John Stockton gets 26 points and 11 assists, Karl Malone gets 18 and Jeff Hornacek scores 17, and we can't beat Jim Jackson in his return to Dallas, 101-93.

Team Leaders:

Scoring:

Juwan Howard 24.4
George McCloud 16.3
Rasheed Wallace 13.1
Elden Campbell 11.0
Jalen Rose 10.1
Tony Dumas 7.9
Don MacLean 6.0
Howard Eisley 4.4

Rebounding

Juwan Howard 10.4
Elden Campbell 10.4
George McCloud 5.0
Rasheed Wallace 3.9
Don MacLean 3.7

Assists

Jalen Rose 9.6
Howard Eisley 4.7

December was very disappointing for the most part as we went 2-11. Although, I think we've improved our team with the moves we made, we're just way too thin across the board. If we can turn things around with the new lineup, there are several possibilities we could pursue via trade, but the odds of us contending for a playoff spot seem pretty remote right now. Denver, whose pick we own, has improved to 9-21 while we currently sit at 9-19.

[Cap Ologist]

Game 29: @ Washington

Chris Webber welcomes us to D.C. with a blistering 44 points and 14 points. Popeye Jones scores 12 and grabs 25 rebounds. In two games against us this year, he has grabbed 53 boards. I'm kicking myself for trading him. Our frontline scores 18, 10, and 8 by Elden Campbell, George McCloud and Juwan Howard meaning that Webber outscored them by himself. All of which means that we lose another game, 112-80.

Game 30: @ New Jersey

It's getting ugly for us. Juwan Howard actually shows up for this game after being dominated by his former teammate, Chris Webber. He scores 29 points, grabs 13 rebounds, blocks 5 shots and gets 4 steals. Elden Campbell gets 16 points to go with 14 rebounds. Even Rasheed Wallace has a decent game off the bench with 14 points and 12 rebounds. The game goes into overtime and we lose 117-115.

Game 31: @ Boston

Juwan Howard scores 20, George McCloud and Jalen Rose each score 13. The Celtics are led by Dino Radja with 33 points and get another 19 from Rick Fox. We suffer another tough loss, falling 88-86.

Game 32: Indianapolis

George McCloud scores 21 points on 9 for 14 shooting, Juwan Howard takes 21 shots, making only five to score 13 points. The Pacers have 6 players in double digits, and their balance is too much for us to overcome when Howard isn't on, and we lose 88-77.

I fire all of Motta's assistants after that game, and he's on a very short leash from here on out. There are two guys that I have my eye on as potential replacements, or I might just take it over myself. We're 3-16 since November and haven't had any major injuries.

Game 33: @ Phoenix

Motta responds to the firing of his staff by tinkering with the lineup once again. Rasheed Wallace is reinserted as SF, with George McCloud going to the bench. Juwan Howard scores 40 and grabs 14 rebounds, while Rasheed Wallace gets 21 points and Jalen Rose goes for 19. Phoenix would match with 30 points from Danny Manning, 25 from Kevin Johnson and 19 from Michael Finley. In the end, Phoenix gives us a 117-104 loss.

Game 34: Charlotte

Rasheed Wallace continues to enjoy being back in the starting lineup with 24 points, and we get 15 from Elden Campbell, 14 from Juwan Howard, 18 from Howard Eisley, 16 from Jalen Rose, and 11 from Don Maclean who returns to first big man off the bench. This was one of our best all around team performances in sometime, unfortunately it was still not enough as Larry Johnson's 36 points help the Hornets edge us 113-109.

Game 35: Orlando

Jalen Rose leads us with 19 points, and Juwan Howard has a disappointing 13 point performance. The Magic pull away in the second half for a 102-83 victory.

Game 36: Boston

Juwan Howard makes up for last game's performance with 33 points and 5 more players reach double digits including Don MacLean with 12 points in 17 minutes. Rick Fox leads the Cs with 28 points and Dino Radja and Dee Brown each chip in 12, but we keep the clamps on everyone else and get a much needed 102-88 victory.

Game 37: @ Seattle

Juwan Howard scores 27 and Rasheed Wallace gets 23, and th good news is that we're only outscored by 2 in the fourth quarter. The bad news is that we were outscored by 9, 9 and 10 points in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd quarters, and get a 120-90 buttkicking from the Sonics.

Game 38: @ Sacramento

Juwan Howard continues his hotstreak with 36 points and 22 rebounds and Rasheed Wallace gets us 22 points. We get another victory, 111-103.

Game 39: Detroit

Jalen Rose and Juwan Howard score 24 and 23 points to lead us. The Pistons get great production from Grant Hill with 37 points, 8 assists and 12 rebounds plus 26 points from Terry Mills and 24 points from Allan Houston. What does all that add up to? Another disappointing loss, 113-104.

Game 40: Portland

Juwan Howard gives us another great performance with 29 points, Rasheed Wallace chips in for 18 points and Elden Campbell makes a rare appearance for us with 21 points. We handle the Trailblazers easily 107-89.
Game 41: Los Angeles Clippers

Jalen Rose scores 25 and Juwan Howard scores 20, and those are the only two bright spots. We never really threaten and the Clippers hand us a 101-85 loss.

Game 42: Seattle

The last time we played, they beat us by 30. Juwan Howard gets 22 points and Rasheed Wallace hits for 17, Elden Campbell is apparently back in hibernation. Seattle is leading 31-12 after the first period, and 53-27 at halftime. We end up losing 112-90.

Game 43: Minnesota

Motta makes another change to the lineup, this time shifting Rasheed Wallace to PF and moving Juwan Howard to SF where he struggles and only manages 7 points. I almost fire him because of that, but in the end we pull out a 106-88 win behind our other four starters picking up the slack with each of them scoring at least 18 points.

We sit at 13 and 30, second worst record in the West, and 6th worst overall. I really didn't think we'd be this awful, I really thought we'd be within a game or two of .500.

Team Leaders:

Scoring:

Juwan Howard 23.7
Rasheed Wallace 14.0
George McCloud 13.8
Jalen Rose 11.6
Elden Campbell 10.9
Howard Eisley 6.8
Tony Dumas 6.3
Don MacLean 5.9

Rebounding:

Elden Campbell 10.3
Juwan Howard 10.2
George McCloud 4.9
Rasheed Wallace 4.3

Assists:

Jalen Rose 8.3
Howard Eisley 6.2

So far, I've learned that Juwan Howard is probably best suited for a #2 option. He can score, but he just seems to disappear too often. Hopefully, his 7 point performance was a fluke and he'll do reasonably well at SF if Motta keeps him there. Rasheed Wallace sucks at rebounding. There just really isn't any excuse for a 6'11" player to be that bad. I'm seriously thinking he could get moved in the next few weeks.

[Cap Ologist]

I've also realized I need to move at a faster pace, or my sanity won't last through this losing season.

Game 44: @ Minnesota

We lose a close game as Juwan Howard is suffering from back spasms and only managed 4 points, 97-90.

Game 45: @ Milwaukee

JuwanHoward's back spasms aren't bothering him as much, and he gets 16 points as we edge them 89-86.

Game 46: Utah

Jim Jackson scores 21 and helps lead the Jazz to a 101-82 victory.

Game 47: @ Houston

Juwan Howard returns to his starting PF position as the spasms are finally gone, but Houston handles us easily 111-98.

Game 48: @ Utah

Karl Malone scores 32 and pulls down 11 boards to lead his team to a 127-84 drubbing of us.

Game 49: @ L.A. Lakers

Juwan Howard gets 30 points and 14 rebounds and looks to be back on top of his game, but the Lakers squeak by late for a 104-96 victory.

Game 50: Golden State

A triple double from Elden Campbell of all people still wasn't enough to propel us to a victory as we lose 107-102. Campbell scored 16 points, grabbed 21 rebounds and blocked 12 shots in the loss.

Game 51: Sacramento

Elden Campbell has another strong performance of 21 points and Howard Eisley scored 27 as we get a 97-81 win over Sacramento.

We sit at 15-36 at the All-Star break, and it's time for a change. I relieve Dick Motta of his duties, and take over the coaching duties.

I make the following changes to our lineup:
PG Howard Eisley
SG Tony Dumas
SF George McCloud
PF Juwan Howard
C Elden Campbell
6th PG/SG/SF Jalen Rose
7th SF/PF/C Rasheed Wallace
8th PF/C Don MacLean
9th PG Scott Brooks
10th C Loren Myers
11th SF Thomas Streuvals
12th PF/C Emmanuel Daniels

At this point, we've really got nothing to lose.

[Cap Ologist]

Game 52: L.A. Lakers

Cedric Ceballos puts up 39 points for the Lakers, and Juwan Howard scores 36 to keep us close, but we lose 111-100.

Game 53: Toronto

Juwan Howard continues his hot play with 32 points to lead us to a 96-92 victory.

Game 54: Philadelphia

Philly has 6 scorers in double digits, we have three, plus Don MacLean breaks his leg, we get run out of our own building, 108-70. We sign Robert Parish after the game.

Game 55: @ Denver

Juwan Howard and George McCloud each score 23 and power us to a 111-102 win. Jason Kidd has 16 points and 13 assists, and Dikembe Mutombo, who didn't get traded, had 22 points and 13 rebounds.

Game 56: Vancouver

Elden Campbell has 19 points and 15 rebounds and Juwan Howard has 19 and 10 as we beat another lottery team 99-82.

We finish February 18-38, and have gone 3-2 since the coaching change.

Team Leaders:

Scoring:

Juwan Howard 23.0
Rasheed Wallace 13.5
George McCloud 13.2
Jalen Rose 11.8
Elden Campbell 11.6
Howard Eisley 7.6
Tony Dumas 6.4
Don MacClean 5.4

Rebounding:

Elden Campbell 11.1
Juwan Howard 9.4
George McCloud 4.9
Rasheed Wallace 4.3

Assists:

Jalen Rose 7.4
Howard Eisley 6.9

[Cap Ologist]

Game 57: Phoenix

Juwan Howard scored 27 to lead all scorers, but it's not enough and we lose 118-111.

b]Game 58: New Jersey[/b]

Jalen Rose scored 30 points off the bench and Juwan Howard scored 20 and we get a 97-89 victory.

Game 59: @ Charlotte

Elden Campbell scored 26 and pulled down 16 rebounds, but 7 Hornets in double digits leads to a tough 108-100 loss.

Game 60: @ Detroit

Tony Dumas scored 20 and Jalen Rose adds 20 off the bench, but once again our opponents balance of 6 players in double digits leads to another loss, 105-99.

Game 61: @ Toronto

Jalen Rose scores 20 off the bench and Juwan Howard adds 19, but we lose again 99-82.

Game 62: Miami

This time we are the balanced team as 6 players top 10 points and it's more than enough to offset Alonzo Mourning's 29 points and 19 boards, 107-100.

Game 63: @ L.A. Clippers

Juwan Howard leads all scorers with 30 points, but the Clippers have 7 scorers in double digits, and they narrowly edge us 110-108.

Game 64: @ Seattle.

All you need to know is 112-75. Ouch.

Game 65: @ Portland

Jalen Rose leads us with 21 points off the bench, and Juwan Howard adds 20, but we're handled easily by the Trailblazers, 105-88.

Game 66: Cleveland

Juwan Howard scores 19 and George McCloud adds 16, but Cleveland has more balance and they handle us easily 107-79.

Game 67: Minnesota

Juwan Howard scored 32 and George McCloud adds 26, Rasheed Wallace and Jalen Rose score 18 and 17 off the bench for us, and we win 116-113.

Game 68: New York

Rasheed Wallace sparks us off the bench with 22 points and it's enough for us get a 108-95 win.

Game 69: @ Jazz

Jeff Hornacek scores 25, and Rasheed Wallace leads us with 18 points off the bench, and they beat us 92-72.

Game 70: Houston

Hakeem Olajuwon scores 34 and snags 15 rebounds and they run away for an easy 121-94 win.

Game 71: San Antonio

David Robinson scores 31 points for the Spurs, and Rasheed Wallace tries to keep us in the game with 21 points in 21 minutes, but San Antonio is too much for us, and we lose again, 127-107.

Game 72: Portland

Elden Campbell scores 18 and snags 15 rebounds, and George McCloud scores 21 and we roll 87-68.

Game 73: Sacramento

Jalen Rose scored 26 off the bench to lead us, but Sacramento holds the rest of the team in check and takes a 115-99 victory. Rasheed Wallace breaks his nose.

Game 74: @ L.A. Clippers

Juwan Howard scored 20, Elden Campbell adds 19, and we drop a tough game, 103-99.

Game 75: @ Golden State

George McCloud scores 24 and Juwan Howard adds 19, but we lose 118-91.

Game 76: @ Sacramento

Jalen Rose scores 20 off the bench to pace us, but Sacramento holds us off 101-94.

Game 77: @ Portland

Tony Dumas scores 22 but gets no help from the rest of the team, and we lose 113-81.

Game 78: @ Houston

Hakeem Olajuwon scores 28, Clyde Drexler gets 21 and Sam Cassell scores 20 and nobody from our team breaks the 20 point mark, and we lose 103-82.

Game 79: L.A. Lakers

Cedric Ceballos scores 25 and Magic Johnson scores 28 for the Lakers. We get 23 from George McCloud and 20 from Tony Dumas, but the Lakers get the W, 123-117.

Game 80: Denver

Juwan Howard scores 28 to almost singlehandedly lead us to an 86-81 win.

Game 81: @ Phoenix

Juwan Howard scores 26, Tony Dumas scores 25 and Jalen Rose adds 24 off the bench, but we still lose 111-103.

Game 82: @ San Antonio

David Robinson scores 42 to hold us off, 115-106 in our last game of the season.

We finish a disappointing season, 24-58, and we should have two lottery picks in a pretty deep draft plus plenty of cap room if we want to be players in free agency. Chicago sweeps Seattle to take the title.

[Cap Ologist]

Mike English isn't happy about our performance, but at least we were cheap while we sucked. I told him that if we add the right players in the draft and free agency, we could possibly make the playoffs, but that we'd creep closer to the salary cap. He was fine, but warned me that he expected us to be more than just a playoff qualifier.

We have the 3rd and 9th draft picks in the upcoming draft. We invite in for workouts:

PG Allen Iverson
PG Steve Nash
PG Stephon Marbury
SG Ray Allen
SG Kobe Bryant
SG Kerry Kittles
SF Darvin Ham
SF Malik Rose
PF Roy Rogers
PF Othella Harrington
C Todd Fuller
C Pries Lauderdale
C Dikembe Mutombo
C Jermaine O'Neal
C Vitaly Potapenko
C Travis Knight

[Izulde]

You invited Mutombo to work out? Did he clone himself?

[Autumn]

I was wondering the same thing.

[Cap Ologist]

Heh, guess I meant to type Marcus Camby.

[Cap Ologist]

Forgot to save the actual order of picks. Ben Wallace shockingly went 1st overall, followed by AI. We took Darvin Ham at 3, and then Ray Allen at 9. The talking heads lambasted me for not addressing our need at center, but we shut them up when we found Todd Fuller at the top of the 2nd round. All in all, I'm pleased with the scoring we added in Ham and Allen. Fuller might have a chance to start, but we'll have to see how free agency goes. In other news, the Clippers selected Kobe Bryant, so at least he ends up back in L.A.

We resign Juwan Howard to a 5-year, $11.5 million deal, and Elden Campbell to a 3 year, $5.25 million deal. Don MacLean resigns to a 2 year, minimum salary deal. We also sign PGs Brian Shaw to a 2 year, $3 million deal and Elliot Perry to a 1 year minimum salary deal. We add SF Tracy Murray for 3 years, $3 million. We also ink veteran C Kevin Willis to a 1 year minimum salary deal. Nothing splashy, just a bunch of role players to help give us better depth across the board.

The realy key to our offseason will be how Fuller develops. We could have had our choice of any center at #3, and seriously considered taking Pries Lauderdale. We'll see how their careers play out and see whether it was the right choice or not.

It looks like we could be starting our three rookies. I send Rasheed Wallace to the developmental league. He played really well at times last year, but with Fuller starting, I think it's the only way to maximize his playing time. He'll get over 30-35 minutes a game in the d-league, compared to maybe 15 minutes spelling Howard. We'll see how it goes, and if needed, he's just a plane ride away.

I settle on:
PG Jalen Rose
SG Ray Allen
SF Darvin Ham
PF Juwan Howard
C Todd Fuller
6th PF/C Elden Campbell
7th SG/SF Tracy Murray
8th PG Howard Eisley
9th SG/SF George McCloud
10th PF Don MacLean
11th PG/SG/SF Brian Shaw
12th C Kevin Willis

Inactive
13 PF/C Rasheed Wallace (D-League)
14 SG/SF Tony Dumas
15 PG Elliot Perry

[Autumn]

That's a pretty intense roster, you've got a ton of depth. I worry about your defense though. That seemed your downfall last season and I'm not sure how much help you've gotten there.

[Izulde]

Terrific PG depth and solid swingman depth, but your big man situation scares me with Sheed in D-league.

[Cap Ologist]

Game 1: @ San Antonio 92-87 W

Darvin Ham breaks his hand two minutes into the game and is out for almost 2 months, but Tracy Murray and George McCloud pick up the slack in his absence combining for 29 points.

Game 2: Golden State: 97-76 W

Juwan Howard scores 23 and Todd Fuller scores 17 points and grabs 20 rebounds.

Game 3: Vancouver: 112-88 W

Todd Fuller gets another double double with 19 points and 13 rebounds, this time against Pries Lauderdale who we considered taking at #3. Lauderdale scored 11 and pulled down 14 boards for the Grizzlies.

Game 4: Milwaukee 99-86 L

It's our other rookie, Ray Allen's time to shine, as he scores 25 but 24 points each from Vin Baker and Glenn Robinson are too much for us to overcome.

Game 5: Atlanta 106-99 W

Tracy Murray says "Darvin who?" with 29 points and Juwan Howard chips in 22 to get us back in the win column. Todd Fuller gets another double double with 16 points and 11 rebounds.

Game 6: @ Vancouver 96-82 W

Juwan Howard scores 28, Todd Fuller gives us 11 points and 12 rebounds, and Ray Allen adds 19. Pries Lauderdale can only manage 5 points and 9 rebounds for the Grizzlies.

Game 7: @ L.A. Lakers 127-98 W

Juwan Howard scores 34 and Jalen Rose adds 25. Cedric Ceballos is the lone bright spot for the Lakers with 21 points.

Game 8: @ L.A. Clippers 113-108 L

Juwan Howard scores 22 and Jalen Rose scores 21, but rookie Kobe Bryant leads all scorers with 23 points and helps his team get the victory.

Game 9: @ Golden State 127-117 L

Juwan Howard leads us with 30 points, but Tim Hardaway scores 33 for the Warriors as they hand us another road loss.

Game 10: Chicago 100-86 W

We welcome the defending champs to town with 19 points from Juwan Howard and 16 points from Fuller. George McCloud and Elden Campbell chip in 10 and 11 points from the bench.

Game 11: Denver 107-90 W

Tracy Murray scores 28, Juwan Howard adds 21 and Ray Allen gives us 23 as we hopefully send Denver on their way to giving us another lottery pick.

Game 12: @ Miami 99-83 L

Ray Allen scored 24 points and Jalen Rose added 16, but Miami led by rookie Gustaw Abratkiewicz with 36 handles us easily.

Game 13: @ Orlando 113-91 L

Tracy Murray scored 31, Ray Allen added 16 and Jalen Rose put in 15, but Shaquille O'Neal scored 36 points to power them to a win.

Game 14: @ Atlanta 99-81 L

Juwan Howard scored 21 points, and Ray Allen added 17, but Atlanta had too many scorers in double digits.

Game 15: @ Cleveland 92-75 W

Juwan Howard scored 22 and Ray Allen scored 20, George McCloud added 15 from the bench as we pull away in then 2nd half.

We're 9-6 after the first month of the season. Darvin Ham should be back in about 2 weeks, although Tracy Murray has played well at times, he's not been consistent enough to make a serious case for starting.

Team Leaders:
Scoring:
Juwan Howard 20.7
Ray Allen 15.7
Tracy Murray 12.9
Jalen Rose 11.9
Todd Fuller 8.9
George McCloud 8.1
Elden Campbell 6.3
Don MacLean 5.8

Rebounding:
Todd Fuller 9.9
Juwan Howard 6.8
Elden Campbell 6.1
Ray Allen 4.5

Assists:
Jalen Rose 7.4
Howard Eisley 4.2
Ray Allen 3.8

[Cap Ologist]

Game 16: @ New York 115-88 L

Juwan Howard scores 23, but Todd Fuller is held scoreless and eventually fouls out thanks to Patrick Ewing, who scores 22 to lead his team.

After the game, we make the call to bring Rasheed back up from the D-League, where he's been averaging almost 25 points a game. Elden Campbell and Don MacLean have done a decent job, combining to equal Wallace's production last season.

Game 17: @ Philadelphia 103-91 W

Juwan Howard scores 24, Ray Allen adds 18 and Rasheed Wallace scores 13 in 22 minutes in his first appearance with us this season. Shawn Bradley scored 21 to lead the 76ers.

Game 18: Washington 121-99 W

Ray Allen scores 25, Juwan Howard gets 24, Tracy Murray scores 20 and Elden Campbell scores 12 points off the bench as we beat former Maverick, Jamal Mashburn.

Game 19: Seattle 113-98 L

Seattle still has our number this year it seems. Juwan Howard scores 20 and Ray Allen adds 22, but Gary Payton's 28 points power his team to the win.

Game 20: San Antonio 114-106 W

Ray Allen scores 28, Jalen Rose adds 27 and Rasheed Wallace scores 15 off the bench as Juwan Howard struggled with a minor hand injury. David Robinson almost singlehandedly powers his team to a win with a 28 point, 15 rebound performance.

Game 21: Phoenix 124-87 L

Darvin's Ham return to the lineup isn't enough as the Suns have three players with at least 20 points.

Game 22: @ Chicago 117-95 L

Rasheed Wallace leads us with 19 points off the bench, but Michael Jordan scores 28 to lead the Bulls.

Game 23: @ Indiana 108-86 L

Ray Allen scores 19, Rasheed Wallace gets 15 off the bench, but Indiana behind 25 points from Reggie Miller is too much for us.

Game 24: @ Minnesota 112-100 W

Darvin Ham finally has a breakout game with 30 points, Juwan Howard scores 21, Ray Allen adds 19 and Rasheed Wallace gives us 18 off the bench. Isaiah Rider scored 28 to lead Minnesota.

Game 25: @ Denver 97-81 W

Darvin Ham leads us with 17, Rasheed Wallace and Tracy Murray score 16 and 14 bench points respectively, as we beat former Maverick Jason Kidd.

Game 26: Vancouver 104-73 W

Juwan Howard scores 26 to lead all scorers, Rose and Allen each score 14, Rasheed Wallace adds 13, and we hold Vancouver below 20 points in 3 quarters.

Game 27: Houston 112-102 W

Hakeem Olajuwon scores 31 to lead all scorers, but 27 points each from Juwan Howard and Darvin Ham plus holding the Rockets to 18 points in the third quarter gives us the win.

Game 28: Utah 95-91 L

Darvin Ham leads us with 18 points, but John Stockton scores 24 points and collects 15 assists as we have a miserable 13 point 4th quarter which costs us the game.

We finish the second month of the season 16-12, a nice improvement from 9-19 this time last season.

Team Leaders:
Juwan Howard 19.9
Ray Allen 15.9
Darvin Ham 14.2
Rasheed Wallace 13.0
Tracy Murray 11.8
Jalen Rose 11.4
Todd Fuller 7.7
George McCloud 6.8

Rebounds:
Todd Fuller 8.9
Juwan Howard 6.8
Rasheed Wallace 5.3
Darvin Ham 4.9
Elden Campbell 4.4

Assists:
Jalen Rose 7.8
Howard Eisley 4.0
Ray Allen 3.8

[Cap Ologist]

Game 29: @ Washington 130-101 L

Four Bullets score at least 20 points, 0 Mavs score 20 points. Any questions?

Game 30: @ New Jersey 104-85 W

Darvin Ham scores 30 points and Jalen Rose scores 16. Allen Iverson scores 17 to lead the Nets.

Game 31: @ Boston 115-89 L

Juwan Howard scores 23, Ray Allen adds 18, but Boston gets 28 from Marcus Camby, another center we passed on at #3.

Game 32: Indiana 97-82 W

We have 7 players that score between 11 and 15 points, and that balance is more than enough to hold off the Pacers.

Game 33: @ Phoenix 116-94 L

Darvin Ham scores 21, Juwan Howard adds 20 but Charles Barkley scores 28 to lead the Suns. Darvin Ham sprained his wrist in the game.

Game 34: Charlotte 106-90 W

Juwan Howard scores 26 and Rasheed Wallace scores 26 off the bench as we pound them in the paint. Tracy Murray scores 14 as he returns to the starting lineup while Ham is injured.

Game 35: Orlando 118-102

Shaquille O'Neal scores 35 and Penny Hardaway scores 32, and we lose despite 25 points from Juwan Howard and 20 points from Tracy Murray.

Game 36: Boston 119-112 L

Juwan Howard scores 26, and we get 20 points from George McCloud and 15 points from Rasheed Wallace, but Boston has 8 players in double digits.

Game 37: @ Seattle 111-104 L

Juwan Howard scores 20 and all of our starters hit double digits, but Gary Payton once again abuses us with 41 points to lead his team to another win.

Game 38: @ Sacramento 99-93 W

Juwan Howard scores 22, Ray Allen adds 18 and Rose puts in 17. We get 13 and 10 points off the bench from Rasheed Wallace and George McCloud.

Game 39: Detroit 107-83 W

Todd Fuller shows up again with a strong game of 20 points and 10 rebounds. He's gonna need to become more consistent for us. Juwan Howard scores 17, and George McCloud adds 17 off the bench.

Game 40: Portland 111-99 L

Ray Allen scores 27 and Darvin Ham adds 21, hopefully providing us a glimpse of what the future holds. Rod Strickland scores 20 and has 13 assists to lead the Trailblazers.

Game 41: L.A. Clippers 104-85 W

Juwan Howard and Darvin Ham each score 24 and Ray Allen adds 18 as we withstand being held to only 16 points in the 2nd quarter.

Game 42: Seattle 117-97 L

Ray Allen scores 22, but Juwan Howard and Darvin Ham are held to a combined total of 10 points. Gary Payton continues to haunt us, this time with 22 points and 9 assists.

Game 43: Minnesota 108-86 L

Darvin Ham scores 20, Howard, Rose and Allen each add 12, but 27 points from Isiah Rider and 21 points from Christian Laettner spell our doom.

We end the third month of the season 22-21. All in all, it was a pretty disappointing month.

[Cap Ologist]

We've got about two weeks or so til the trading deadline, and we'll definitely be keeping an eye on other team's trading blocks. We make one minor move:

Dallas sends:
PG Howard Eisley
PG Elliot Perry

to Miami for:
PG Moochie Norris.

Norris is a better handler, passer and defender, and if nothing else, will hopefully help us slow down Gary Payton if we have to face them in the playoffs. For now, he'll come off the bench, but if I shorten our bench for the playoffs, he could step in and start, and allow me to bring Rose off the bench to spell him, Allen and Ham.

Game 44: @ Minnesota 105-97 L

Juwan Howard scores 22 and Darvin Ham adds 18, but we don't get much help from anyone else. Stephon Marbury goes for 24 points and 12 assists to lead Minnesota to the win.

Game 45: @ Milwaukee 109-97 W

Juwan Howard scores 31 and Todd Fuller responds to trade rumors involving him to score 15 points and 10 rebounds. Vin Baker scores 28 to lead the Bucks.

Game 46: Utah 115-99 W

Juwan Howard scores 25, Ray Allen hits for 22, Darvin Ham adds 16 and Jalen Rose chips in for 16 points. Jeff Hornacek was the lone bright spot for the Jazz with 26 points.

Game 47: @ Houston 119-109 L

Juwan Howard scores 28, Ray Allen adds 23 and Jalen Rose chips in 21 points, but Hakeem Olajuwon leads all scorers with 32 and the Rockets get 27 and 20 from Sam Cassell and Clyde Drexler respectively.

Game 48: @ Utah 106-97 L

Darvin Ham and Ray Allen each score 20, Juwan Howard adds 18 and Rasheed Wallace adds 13 points off the bench. Utah counters with 25 points from Anthony Mason and 22 points from Karl Malone.

After the game, I tinker with the starting lineup once again:

PG Jalen Rose
SG Ray Allen
SF Darvin Ham
PF Juwan Howard
C Rasheed Wallace

6th C Todd Fuller
7th PG Moochie Norris
8th SG/SF Tracy Murray
9th SG/SF George McCloud
10th PF/C Elden Campbell
11th PG/SG/SF Brian Shaw
12th PF/C Don MacLean

Inactive:
SG/SF Tony Dumas
C Kevin Willis

Game 49: @ L.A. Lakers 102-65 W

Juwan Howard scores 30, Darvin Ham scores 23 and Jalen Rose posts 17 points and 15 assists to counter Steve Nash's 20 points and 14 assists for the Lakers.

Game 50: Golden State 114-100 W

Ray Allen and Rasheed Wallace each score 26, and Darvin Ham adds 20 points to hold off Tim Hardaway's 22 points.

Game 51: Sacramento 110-90 W

Juwan Howard scores 23 and Rasheed Wallace chips in 15 points and 13 rebounds. Sacramento gets 18 points from SG Mitch Richmond.

Game 52: L.A. Lakers 96-76 W

Juwan Howard scores 21, and all starters break double digits, and it's enough to beat a really bad Lakers team despite Nick Van Exel's 23 points.

The trade deadline comes, and there are few players we're interested in, but not for the price that was being asked. We only have George McCloud and Kevin Willis not under contract for next year, and if the price is right, we'll bring back McCloud. Willis has an outside chance of returning, though he is definitely in the tail end of his career.

Game 53: Toronto 123-97 W

Juwan Howard scores 25, Ray Allen and Darvin Ham each score 18, Rasheed Wallace adds 16 and Elden Campbell chips in 14 from the bench.

Game 54: Philadelphia 119-108 W

Jalen Rose scores 26, Juwan Howards adds 25 and we get 17 from Darvin Ham. Jerry Stackhouse manages 22 for the 76ers.

Game 55: @ Denver 108-89 L

Darvin Ham scores 27, Ray Allen adds 14 and Jalen Rose chips in 12, but Denver gets 34 from LaPhonso Ellis and 20 each from Antonio McDyess and Jason Kidd.

Game 56: @ Vancouver 111-74 W

Juwan Howard scores 19, George McCloud adds 15 off the bench, and we get double digit contributions from 5 other players and we hold Vancouver to fewer than 20 points in each of the first three quarters.

We end the month in a much more positive frame of mind, improving our record to 31-25, good enough to tie Denver for the 5th spot in the West.

Leaders:
Scoring:
Juwan Howard 18.4
Darvin Ham 17.5
Ray Allen 15.6
Rasheed Wallace 13.1
Jalen Rose 11.5
Tracy Murray 10.1

Rebounds:
Todd Fuller 8.3
Rasheed Wallace 6.8
Juwan Howard 6.4
Darvin Ham 5.7

Assists:
Jalen Rose 7.7
Ray Allen 3.5
Darvin Ham 2.6

[Cap Ologist]

Game 57: Phoenix 116-110 W

Ray Allen scores 29, Darvin Ham adds 22 and Rasheed Wallace scores 18 as we hold off a Suns team led by Magic Johnson with 27 points.

Game 58: New Jersey 105-92 W

Ray Allen and Juwan Howard each score 24 to lead us, and we get 18 from Rasheed Wallace and 17 from Darvin Ham as we hold off rookies Allen Iverson and Marcus Brown who each score 25 for the Nets.

Game 59: @ Charlotte 108-83 W

Ray Allen scores 24, Juwan Howard adds 20, Rasheed Wallace gives us 19 points to go with 16 rebounds, Darvin Ham scores 16 and Jalen Rose chips in 12. Charlotte is led by Dino Radja, a player we made inquiries about at the deadline, with 18 points.

Game 60: @ Detroit 116-100 L

Juwan Howard scores 24, Ray Allen goes for 19 and George McCloud adds 17 off the bench, but Grant Hill scores 28 and gets 23 points from Allan Houston to get the win.

Game 61: @ Toronto 109-91 W

Juwan Howard scores 27 and Ray Allen and Darvin Ham each score 18 to hold off Damon Stoudamire's 22 points.

Game 62: Miami 107-98 W

Ray Allen scores 19, Jalen Rose gets 18, Rasheed Wallace scores 17 and grabs 10 rebounds, and three other players get in double digits. Miami is paced by Alonzo Mourning with 38 points, but gets very little help from anyone else.

Game 63: @ L.A. Clippers 127-111 L

Ray Allen hits for 33 and Darvin Ham adds 19, but once again the Clippers get solid performances with 7 players in double digits, including 3 for over 20 points.

Game 64: @ Seattle 101-87 L

Juwan Howard scores 20 and Ray Allen adds 17, but Seattle still has our number, led by Gary Payton with 23 points.

Game 65: @ Portland 111-87 W

Juwan Howard scores 27 and Rasheed Wallace scores 24 to go with 18 from Darvin Ham. Rod Strickland scores 22 to pace the Blazers.

Game 66: Cleveland 100-89 L

Juwan Howard scores 26, Ray Allen scores 18, but Darvin Ham struggles with fouls and can only manage 4 points, and when the bench doesn't pick up the slack, this is what happens.

Game 67: Minnesota 108-99 W

Juwan Howard and Darvin Ham pace us with 23 points apiece, and Minnesota gets 27 points from Tom Gugliotta to keep them in the game.

Game 68: New York 114-101 W

Ray Allen scores 23, Juwan Howard puts in 22, Darvin Ham adds 17 and Todd Fuller scores 15 off the bench, as we hold off the Knicks led by Malik Sealy with 20.

Game 69: @ Utah 107-81 L

Just an ugly all around game, Juwan Howards leads us with 14 points, and that's just not gonna get it done when Jeff Hornacek breaks free for 33 points.

Game 70: Houston 102-100 W

Ray Allen and Jalen Rose lead the way with 22 and 21 points respectively. Rasheed Wallace chips in 17 points and 14 rebounds, and holds Hakeem Olajuwon to just 16 points as we edge the Rockets.

Game 71: San Antonio 96-93 L

Darvin Ham scores 27, Juwan Howard and Rasheed Wallace each get double doubles with 19 points and 10 rebounds from Howard and 15 points and 11 rebounds from Wallace, but it's not enough to offset David Robinson's 28 points and 10 rebounds.

Game 72: Portland 105-93 W

Juwan Howard scores 27 and pulls down 10 rebounds, Ray Allen collects a double double with 18 points and 10 rebounds and Todd Fuller scores 10 points off the bench as we continue to gear up for the playoffs.

Game 73: Sacramento 114-99 W

Ray Allen scores 27, Jalen Rose goes for 22 and has 10 assists, and Juwan Howard scores 22 as we hold off Sacramento led by Mitch Richmond with 26 points.

Game 74: L.A. Clippers 132-112 W

Rasheed Wallace scores 27 and Jalen Rose scores 25 and gets 14 assists and we continue our winning streak despite 22 points from Kobe Bryant.

Game 75: @ Golden State 126-123 W

Darvin Ham scores 31 and grabs 10 rebounds, Ray Allen scores 29, Juwan Howard scores 21 and Rasheed Wallace gets a double double with 18 points and 13 rebounds. We come from behind and force overtime, and finally edge the Warriors led by Tim Hardaway with 27.

Game 76: @ Sacramento 102-100 W

Darvin Ham scores 27 and Howard and Wallace each get double doubles and we survive a late surge led by Mitch Richmond with 28 points.

Game 77: @ Portland 112-98 W

Ray Allen scores 29, Rasheed Wallace scores 25 and grabs 10 rebounds and Darvin Ham chips in 15 points and 12 rebounds as we pull away late despite giving up 27 points to Clifford Robinson.

Game 78: @ Houston 117-102 W

Juwan Howard scores 26, Rasheed Wallace scores 18 and collects 20 rebounds, Darvin Ham scores 18 and grabs 11 rebounds and Elden Campbell scores 10 points in 3 minutes off the bench as we hold off Hakeem Olajuwon's charge with 31 points.

Game 79: L.A. Lakers 117-104 W

Juwan Howard scores 27 and grabs 11 boards, Rasheed Wallace scores 19 and collects 13 rebounds, and Moochie Norris scores 12 points off the bench and our overall team effort is better than Steve Nash's 31 point effort.

Game 80: Denver 95-90 W

Juwan Howard scores 21, Rasheed Wallace scores 18 and grabs 10 rebounds, Ray Allen chips in 19 and Jalen Rose adds 17 as we hold off a team fighting for the playoffs, led by former Maverick Jason Kidd with 23 points and 15 assists.

Game 81: @ Phoenix 109-81 L

Juwan Howard scores 18, Rasheed Wallace adds 15 points and 18 rebounds, Darvin Ham and Ray Allen score 16 and 15 respectively, but the Suns get 19 from Michael Finley and 20 points from Wayman Tisdale off the bench.

Game 82: @ San Antonio 104-98

Winner of this game is the 4th seed and hosts the other team in the first round of the playoffs. We get 25 from Jalen Rose and 24 from Ray Allen. Darvin Ham scores 18, and Juwan Howard has a rather pedestrian 12 points. San Antonio gets 23 from Sean Elliot and 18 from Chuck Person. The game has 19 lead changes and 6 ties, but in the end, we wind up on top with a 104-98 victory, and homecourt in the first round.

We end the season on a 19-7 run to finish at 50-32. Shifting Wallace to the starting lineup really provided a spark for us, and it was quite the season for him, starting out in the D-Leagues, then first big man off the bench, to starter.

Our season leaders:
Scoring:
Juwan Howard 19.0
Darvin Ham 16.9
Ray Allen 16.7
Rasheed Wallace 14.1
Jalen Rose 11.8
Tracy Murray 9.5
Todd Fuller 7.1
George McCloud 6.5

Rebounds:
Rasheed Wallace 8.2
Todd Fuller 7.8
Juwan Howard 6.6
Darvin Ham 6.0
Ray Allen 4.0

Assists:
Jalen Rose 7.9
Moochie Norris 4.5

[Cap Ologist]

Round 1 #4 Dallas vs # 5 San Antonio

Game 1: 110-77 W

David Robinson apparently broke his hand in our season finale and will be replaced by Will Perdue. We get 27 from Ray Allen and 27 from Jalen Rose and cruise to an easy victory.

Game 2: 135-127 L

We get 25 from Darvin Ham, 23 from Juwan Howard, 20 from Rasheed Wallace, 19 from Jalen Rose and 15 from Ray Allen and still lose? Vinny Del Negro leads the way for San Antonio with 28 points and Kenny Anderson adds 23

Game 3: 106-84 L

Um, so what happens when a team without its best player holds you to 18 points in the first quarter and 17 points in the third quarter? That team takes a surprising 2-1 lead in a series I really thought we'd win easily. Ray Allen leads us 20 points.

Game 4: 119-105 L

Ray Allen is our lone player to break the 20 point barrier again, as San Antonio gets 27 points from Sean Elliot and 25 points from Vinny Del Negro to put us on the brink of elimination.

Game 5: 121-87 W

Juwan Howard snaps out of his mini-drought with 34 points, Ray Allen adds 23, and Rasheed Wallace chips in 19. We hold Elliot to 12 and Del Negro to 14 and get a much needed win to stay alive.

Game 6: 107-101 W

Ray Allen scores 30 points, Juwan Howard scores 28 and Rasheed Wallace chips in 14. Sean Elliot gets loose for 29 points, Kenny Anderson gets 21 and Vinny Del Negro adds 17.

Game 7: 112-101

Sean Elliot scores 33 to lead the Spurs who also get 16 from Kenny Anderson, 14 from Othella Harrington and 10 from Vinny Del Negro. We get 29 from Jalen Rose, 28 from Juwan Howard and 22 from Ray Allen. We jump out early and have a 34-17 lead after the first quarter, only to see San Antonio cut it to 61-51 at halftime. We outscore Dallas 51-50 the rest of the game, and somehow manage to come back and win a series that shouldn't have been this tight to begin with.

In other news from the playoffs, #8 Houston upsets #1 Utah to set up another instate matchup for us. #6 Denver upsets #3 Seattle, and #7 Minnesota upsets #2 Phoenix. I guess we were lucky to get out of the first round after all.

In the east, #1 Chicago advances past #8 Cleveland. #5 Miami upsets #4 Charlotte, #3 Orlando beats #6 Boston, and #2 Indiana beats New York.

Round 2 #4 Dallas vs #8 Houston

Game 1: 109-102 W

Juwan Howard scores 37, Darvin Ham scores 18, Ray Allen comes back to earth after his outstanding first round and only manages 14. Hakeem Olajuwon scores 31, and gets 14 from Sam Cassell. Our supporting cast was just slightly better.

Game 2: 122-105 L

Juwan Howard and Jalen Rose each score 23, Darvin Ham scores 19, but Ray Allen only manages 9 points. For Houston, Hakeem Olajuwon scored 25, Sam Cassel 23 and Clyde Drexler gets 16.

Game 3: 124-98 L

Hakeem scores 34, Sam Cassell adds 28 and Eldridge Recasner adds 22 off the bench for the Rockets. Juwan Howard scored 20, Ray Allen gets 17 and Darvin Ham scores 14.

Game 4: 112-87 L

Jalen Rose scored 19 and Juwan Howard gets 18, and we typically don't win if we don't have at least one guy in the 20s. Houston gets 24 from Olajuwon and 24 from Clyde Drexler.

Game 5: 92-80 L

Once again, we find ourselves facing elimination. This time, we can't escape the hole we've put ourselves in. Juwan Howard scored 20 and Darvin Ham gets 17, but nobody else gets over 10 points for us. Hakeem Olajuwon scored 30 to put us away and send us fishing.

#7 Minnesota beats #6 Denver in 6 games, to set up an unlikely #7 vs #8 in the Western conference finals. In the east, #5 Miami upsets #1 Chicago in 5, and #2 Indiana needs 7 games to put away #3 Orlando.

Indiana goes on to win their series in 5, and Minnesota sweeps Houston. Indiana defeats Minnesota in 6 games to win the NBA championship.

All in all, we had a good season. We definitely have room to improve, especially on the defensive end, but I feel like we have a pretty good group to build around in the coming years.

[Cap Ologist]

A few days after the season is over, Mike English and I get together for our end of the year review. He was very pleased about how well our team performed down the stretch, and was slightly disappointed by how the season ended. Our conversation soon turned to the upcoming season. He expects us to make it to the finals, and if we make the right move or two, I don't see that being very difficult.

Looking back over the season, we seem to have two glaring holes. One, we need better defense against scoring point guards. Jalen Rose provides us with a unique offensive matchup, but he also has just as much difficulty guarding the smaller guards as they do him. The other area of concern is at the center position. Rasheed Wallace filled in admirably, but he's more of a power forward than a center, and Todd Fuller showed signs of being able to hold down the position, but needs to become more consistent. He doesn't have to be the leading scorer on our team, but he does need to give us 10-12 points and 10-12 rebounds each night.

We will have about 5 million in cap room, and we really only have one free agent, George McCloud, that we're interested in bringing back, but only if the price is right. He was solid, but he is replaceable with what we have in Tracy Murray and Tony Dumas. Rasheed Wallace looks like he could be primed for a breakout season at power forward, but with Juwan Howard competing for playing time at that position, it might be tough for him to reach his full potential. Darvin Ham and Ray Allen look like legit players, and Ray Allen was selected to the All-Rookie 1st Team, and Darvin Ham was probably hindered due to the amount of time he lost at the beginning of the season. We also have picks #17 and #23 in the first round, and could try to package them to move up in the draft if we see something we really like.

[Cap Ologist]

Forgot to keep track of who we invited for workouts, and where people went in the draft. Tim Duncan went to Vancouver, which will have a scary frontcourt for years with him and Pries Lauderdale.

We have selections 17, 23, 47 and 52. We trade 47 and 52 for #30, the first selection in the 2nd round. At 17, we're happy to see Chauncey Billups still there. At 23, there are lots of good players still available, and I finally settle on C Kelvin Cato. At 30, I select SG/SF Ron Mercer.

I've got a glut of players under contract for this upcoming season, so I move Elden Campbell and Tony Dumas for Dale Davis and Indiana's 2nd round selections in 1999 and 2000. I tried to get them to take Don MacLean, but they were insistent on Campbell. Davis is a better rebounder and defender than Campbell, and since we were the 25th ranked defense last season, I really wanted to make some moves to improve that. We did have the #1 ranked offense.

We renounce the rights to Kevin Willis, and we'll have 4.5 million available for free agency, but more than likely won't be very active. However, we do make an interesting trade, a trade that will hopefully propel us to the next level:

Dallas sends:
PF Juwan Howard

to Miami for:

C Alonzo Mourning
1998 2nd Round
1999 2nd Round
2000 2nd Round

For us, we're gambling that Rasheed Wallace will be able to fill Howard's shoes. On paper, he should be able to, but we'll see how it translates to the court. Mourning provides us with a better defensive presence, and his scoring should offset what we lose in Howard.

[Cap Ologist]

Well, I seem to have screwed something up. It crashed when I was importing a draft file for the next season, and now I'm getting an error 53 file not found message.

[Izulde]

Does it give a file that's trying to find? And did you get an error message when it first crashed?

[Cap Ologist]

Just the generic windows msg of that something had caused a problem, and it needed to shut down. The error 53 message doesn't specify a missing file. Guess I'll try a reinstall and see if that helps.