Hot Miami Nights: 1976 On (DDS:PB)

[Izulde]

Note: This is using La Tulipe's 1976 Rosters, but not all teams have players, so I just let the computer auto-sign FAs by manually signing one free agent to each CPU team in the Comissioner Mode and then signed Miami's free agents from what was left, so this isn't a complete re-creation of 1976 on, but it's close enough for now, given that we're working with 30 teams here, so it's going to be alt-history even in backstory.

1976. The year the NBA decided to expand from 23 teams to 30. A flurry of free agents on the market suddenly found new homes. The big winners of the new teams: The Golden State Warriors, whose charismatic owner sweet-talked Bob McAdoo, Rick Barry, Pete Maravich, Robert Parish, Jim O'Brien and Moses Malone all into coming to sunny California. In fact, they were so good a team that their worst player could start for some of the bad teams in the league. Oakland looked like it was going to be a rocking basketball town for the 1976 season and a championship contender in its first season of existence.

In fact, the Warriors were primed to be a top team for some time. Most of the players signed were on multi-year deals, never mind that Golden State would be paying out a combined $35 million a year starting in 1977 just for Moses Malone, Bob McAdoo and Ron Behagen. The salary cap was $20 million in 1976, with a luxury tax of $30 million. But the owner didn't care. He just wanted a ring as soon as possible.

The Miami Heat was an entirely different story and precisely the sort of hard luck case you'd expect from an expansion franchise. Our best player was 30 year old George Thompson, the only guy on the squad who anything remotely approaching understanding the game of basketball. Problem was, he was a complete failure on the defensive end and never lived up to his potential.

For posterity's sake, our original roster:

PG Dennis Duval
SG Daniel Anderson
SF Talvin Skinner
PF Jared Sura
C Dion Glover
6th George Thompson (PG/SG)
7th Frank Kendrick (SF/PF/C)
8th Duane Dilliard (SG/SF/PF)
9th Steve Patterson (PF/C)
10th John Tschogl (PG/SG/SF/PF)
11th Greg Lee (PG/SG)
12th Rickey Joyce (SF/PF/C)

Worst thing of it was, Walt Carson, our owner, expected us to go to the playoffs with this ragtag bunch.

Hell, far as I was concerned, we were lucky if we'd win 20 games with this crew, let alone think about playoffs.

[Autumn]

This looks fun, frankly I was a bit tired of seeing the same startup league in all the DDS games. This will be fun to get a handle on a new player set.

[Izulde]

Originally Posted by Autumn

This looks fun, frankly I was a bit tired of seeing the same startup league in all the DDS games. This will be fun to get a handle on a new player set.

Yeah, I was looking for a change myself. The 1976 rosters are unfortunately incomplete because of the 30 team setup as opposed to the 23 in 1976, so a lot of weirdness happens like this whole Golden State thing, but on the other hand it makes for some fun story within the league.

Financial numbers are off too, but that'll sort itself out in a season or two and by then we should be full steam ahead.

[Izulde]

October 31st, 1976. Halloween and the night before the Miami Heat's first ever game.

Rip Tarley, our inaugural head coach and I skipped the party scene and hung out in the offices, smoking and catching the opening night games on a fuzzy color TV.

"Walt's a fool if he thinks we're going to make the playoffs", I said, watching Nuggets SG David Thompson hit a jump shot for 2 of his 32 points in a 110-99 rout of the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar led Lakers, "We're picked for last in the East and I can't say I blame them."

"Yeah, that's about the size of it. Especially with Philadelphia looking so good after they got Julius Erving", Rip remarked, blowing out smoke rings, "Course, it may not matter. Not with Kris Lohawn splashing the cash in Oakland. Those Warriors look damned scary and everybody says they're the team to beat in the West. Course, the way Denver's looking tonight, they could maybe challenge them."

Thompson and Dan Issel did look like a deadly outside/inside combo, but that was a juggernaut Golden State had miraculously built up in free agency, so who knew if they could pull it off.

The next day we headed to New Jersey to take on the Nets at night and we played even worse than I feared. 97-49 final, with our high scorer Jared Sura with 8 points. Things were off to an ugly start indeed. Our home opener the next night against the Cavaliers went better, but it was all relatively speaking. We lost 95-70, though we did have 3 players in double-digit scoring: Talvin Skinner with 13 points and Jared Sura and Frank Kendrick scoring 12 a piece.

Well, this obviously wasn't going to work, so I hit the phones and proceeded to execute a brilliant swindle, if I do say so myself.

Miami Heat receive
PG John Lucas

Houston Rockets receive
PG Dennis Duval
PG George Thompson
C Steve Patterson

What this means for the Heat
Lucas, the #1 overall pick in the draft, is still a little raw, but he has the potential to develop into the best floor general in the entire league some day. Disciplined and extremely intelligent, he brings a disruptive force on defense that the woeful Heat lacked and with him, perhaps Miami will actually win a game or two this year, especially since he's averaged 12.5 points and 7.5 assists in his first two games off the bench.

What this means for the Rockets
Thompson's a failed 30 year old prospect, Duval's on the inactive list and Patterson is a scrub through and through. The best player of this lot is Thompson and even that's not saying much. Hard to see any upside at all to this deal for Houston.

Winner: Miami
A genius opening move by Heat GM Yogi Mentum and we have to wonder why the Rockets made this deal. Perhaps they think Thompson will magically show some of his explosive scoring potential now that he's established in a bench role? It simply doesn't make any sense for Houston.

Charles Jones, the Rockets GM, took a lot of heat for the trade, but you couldn't wholly blame him, I suppose. He'd been rushed in to the GM spot just before the season started after the previous one, who drafted Lucas, resigned because of health reasons. He tried defending himself by saying it made the team deeper and that Thompson was going to flourish in a new environment, but the press didn't buy it.

As one sports columnist wrote, "Saying the Houston Rockets are deeper after this trade is like saying a rain puddle is ocean deep. And speaking of water, the only way that George Thompson suddenly turns into a scoring machine is if he managed to find the Fountain of Youth and filch some water from it while he was in Florida."

We had two holes on the roster then and given that we needed more defense, we signed 26 year old forward Dennis Bell and 31 year old C Otto Moore off the street to a four year and two year deal respectively. They had the most balanced games of the players available while still being defensive upgrades. But I have to say, even though Bell was a legitimately good defender, Moore was mediocre and that he represented an improvement in our bench bigs showed our situation to be a sad state of affairs.

Our next game was in Washington and we lost again, but at least we were making it somewhat more respectable, falling 110-91. Jared Sura scored 17, the same amount as new benchman Frank Kendrick. John Lucas's Miami debut was less than auspicious with 6 points and 10 assists on 30% shooting, but at least we were within striking distance of only losing by 20 points.

A few nights later, we completed the away and home by hosting the Bullets and actually led by 6 in the second half, but then we fell apart in the fourth quarter, dropping the game 108-100. Six Heat players reached double-digit scoring, with Daniel Anderson's 15 the high. Frank Kendrick and John Tschogl chipped in 13 and 10 points a piece off the bench.

It took the five games, but we finally got our first franchise win, edging out Dallas 87-81 in Miami on the front end of a doubleheader. John Lucas became the first player in Heat history to score 20 points, Jared Sura extended his double-digit scoring streak to four games with 15 points and Frank Kendrick continued to be our offensive sparkplug off the bench, scoring 15. Then came the real shocker: stunning George "Iceman" Gervin's San Antonio Spurs 106-105 on their own home court. Of course, Gervin played just 4 minutes after bruising his biceps, but it was still a huge victory on so many levels for our young team. John Lucas took more franchise firsts, netting the first 30 point game and double-double with 32 points and 12 assists. Jared Sura's double-digit scoring streak ended, as he had 8 points, but Frank Kendrick was there to plug along on the bench with 11 points.

Our win streak hit an improbable 3 games after we knocked off the Bucks 108-96. Daniel Anderson exploded for 25 points and Dennis Bell and John Tschogl paced the reserves with 12 and 10 points respectively.

But that third straight victory came at a significant price. 40 year old Duane Dilliard, our best rebounder and defender (4.6 boards off the bench, 2nd on the team behind starter Talvin Skinner), breaks his hand and is out 2 months.

We're forced to sign defensive rebounding specialist Steve Downing to a ridiculous two-year deal to compensate. Hopefully I can ship Downing out for something when Dilliard comes back.

No Dilliard means no more wins as we drop two games in a row on the road. The Timberwolves beat us 99-89 despite Dion Glover's astonishing 22 points and the Bucks exact revenge in Milwaukee the next night, pistolwhipping us 99-75. Frank Kendrick scores 11 points off the bench, but 7 of those come from free throws.

101-83 loss to the Jazz and it's absurd how poorly we're suddenly playing now that we've lost Duane Dillard. The man's 40 years old! Dion Glover did get the second ever double-double in team history with 15 points and 10 rebounds for our best showing.

Philadelphia humiliates us 117-72, John Lucas the closest to being good with 18 points. It's like we didn't get those three wins at all and now we're playing worse than we did at the start of the year.

The bleeding continues with back to back losses against Portland and Atlanta. The Trailblazers crush us 96-64 and the Hawks claw us 103-86. We need help and in a hurry, but no one's willing to talk to us unless it involves our 1st round pick and that's just not going to happen.

But after we lose 110-63 to the Pistons, I'm starting to have second thoughts. And finally I cave and make a gambling deal.

Miami Heat receive
SF Alex English
Milwaukee Bucks 1977 1st round pick

Milwaukee Bucks receive
PF Rickey Joyce
Miami Heat 1977 1st round pick

What this means for the Miami Heat
English, 24, is very, very, very raw. He also has the potential and work ethic to become one of the league's top players and is signed for the next 4 years at a monstrously low $450,000 a year. If he fills out like he has the potential to, this thing's an absolute steal. He'll certainly get his chance in Miami as the starter, where he was buried on the bench in Milwaukee.

What this means for the Bucks
Forget the scrubby Joyce, this is all about Milwaukee gunning for a potential top 3 pick next season to pair with their fantastic young nucleus of Quinn Buckner, Brian Winters and Junior Bridgeman. And maybe Winters, who's the only expiring contract of the three, will be tempted to re-sign with Milwaukee with that huge bargaining chip.

Winner: Milwaukee
Miami suddenly won't turn into a playoff contender, given how raw English is, and Milwaukee, already doing fairly well at 6-4, will only get better as the season wears on.

Jumping the gun it may be, but Alex English has 18 points and 7 rebounds his first game in Miami and Dennis Bell scores 10 points off the bench as we lose a respectable 83-73 to the Boston Celtics. And it's not like we're the worst team in the league by any means.

One of those teams is the Toronto Raptors, who infuriatingly manages to beat us 107-102 in our last game of the month despite 21 points from John Lucas and Daniel Anderson's 14 bench points.

Here's the East at month's end.

Atlantic

Philadelphia 76ers	9-4
New Jersey Nets		7-7	2.5
Boston Celtics		6-7	3
New York Knicks		2-11	7
Toronto Raptors		2-14	8.5

Central

Detroit Pistons		11-3
Milwaukee Bucks		 8-4	2
Indiana Pacers		 9-5	2
Cleveland Cavaliers	 6-8	5
Chicago Bulls		 4-7	5.5

Southeast

Washington Bullets	12-0
Atlanta Hawks		 9-5	4
Orlando Magic		 3-10	9.5
Miami Heat		 3-13	11
Charlotte Bobcats	 0-13	12.5

Why are the Bullets undefeated you ask? Because of Phil Chenier, #5 in the league in points per game (21.4) and #1 in assists (7.1). They also have 6 players averaging double-digit figures in scoring, which has them scoring 106.6 points a game, 3rd in the league behind the Trailblazers (107.7) and the Spurs (107.4).

I'm not happy about the Bucks winning their first two games after our trade, but not much I can do about it now. Knowing my luck, they'll win the division.

And now for the West.

Southwest

San Antonio Spurs	11-4
New Orleans Hornets	7-6	3
Houston Rockets		7-9	4.5
Memphis Grizzlies	3-12	8
Dallas Mavericks	3-13	8.5

Northwest

Denver Nuggets		13-1
Portland Trailblazers	12-2	1
Seattle Supersonics	11-5	3
Utah Jazz	 	 7-8	6.5
Minnesota Timberwolves	 2-11	10.5

Pacific

Golden State Warriors	11-2
Phoenix Suns		10-4	1.5
Sacramento Kings	10-4	1.5
Los Angeles Clippers	 6-9	6
Los Angeles Lakers	 6-9	6

Much higher quality basketball overall in the West thus far. A lot of scary teams here, first and foremost the Nuggets who have the #1 -and- the #3 scorers in the league. David Thompson is first with 25 points a game, Dan Issel third at 22.8 points a game. Paul Westphal of Phoenix is the Suns' answer to Phil Chenier as he's #2 in both points and assists (24.1, 7.0). I'd be remiss if I skipped out Bill Walton of Portland in talking about early superstars. He's #6 in scoring (21.3) and #1 in rebounds and blocks (11.9, 2.8 - Tied with Joe Pace of the Bullets for lead in blocks). He's an early MVP candidate to be sure.

Hopefully we'll see more improvement out of our players next month. I feel like we've got a good foundation for the future with John Lucas and Alex English; now it's just a matter of building on to that in the draft and free agency.

[rjolley]

Glad to see a new dynasty with a different dynamic.

Will the scores start to go up, or is this the 70's NBA players with today's defense and shooting woes?

[Izulde]

Originally Posted by rjolley

Glad to see a new dynasty with a different dynamic.

Will the scores start to go up, or is this the 70's NBA players with today's defense and shooting woes?

Good question. It does seem like team scoring is up a few points per game compared to the modern-day dynasties and assists are mind-bogglingly low.

But along with that team points per game going up, it seems like there's fewer 20+ PPG scorers right now (9) than there should be.

We'll see how the seasons play out though. Still too early in the year to say anything for sure.

[Izulde]

Rough ride to start the first month, but I'm quietly hopeful with John Lucas and Alex English to build around. Alex already has 18 and 17 points in his first two starts with us and I expect he'll be our leading scorer by season's end.

One trade besides our two in the first 30 days.

Charlotte Bobcats receive
SG Donnie Freeman

Toronto Raptors receive
Charlotte Bobcats 1977 2nd round pick

What this means for the Bobcats
Freeman will take a lot of shots and score a lot, but he struggled in Toronto, shooting just 39.1% off the bench. On the other hand, he's the most balanced player on the winless Bobcats, but that's like saying the champion of a bearded lady beauty pageant is a beautiful woman. He's also 33, which makes his acquisition all the more puzzling.

What this means for the Raptors
Toronto's going to improve in a hurry next year. With a high 1st and high 2nd round pick already likely in hand, they dump off a mediocre vet to pick up another probable high 2nd round pick.

Winner: Toronto
North Carolina is not going to be the place to go to see good basketball any time soon, while the league's lone Canadian representative could be better sooner than expected with moves like these.

Solid game by John Lucas with 17 points and 8 assists on 5 of 6 shooting against the Bulls and Frank Kendrick chips in 12 bench points, but we're ravaged 118-93 in Chicago. Nuggets next night and we manage not to look completely inept in losing 109-75 on Denver's turf, especially after Alex English lights up the scoreboard with 21 points. He's definitely the future.

This is a league of have and have-not and we're definitely a not, dropping one 97-76 to the Jazz. Daniel Anderson and Frank Kendrick score 10 each off the bench and Otto Moore tries to make up for an 0 of 8 night with 11 bench rebounds, but it doesn't work.

And then our sweetest win of the year yet. 92-90 comeback victory over the Bucks, as we outscore Milwaukee 57-37 in the second half on their own turf. We get a glimpse of what this team could be as Alex English thunders for 23 points and John Lucas plays extremely well, netting 13 points and 10 assists while holding Quinn Buckner to just 2 points and forcing him to foul out.

Frustration and heartbreak follow two nights later, an agonizing 88-86 loss to Memphis. Frank Kendrick and Otto Moore played great with 17 and 11 points to lead the reserves and Alex English just missed 20 points, shooting 7 of 14 for 19, but the rest of our starters played terribly. We need to pick up a big man in next year's draft with the Bucks pick.

Rip Tarley switches things up for the upcoming doubleheader, putting Jared Sura at C and giving Dennis Bell a crack at starting PF. It plays beautifully against the Raptors as we win 104-93 in Canada. Alex English's the man of the night with 27 points, while a staggering 4 Heat reserves finish in double-digit figures: Frank Kendrick (13 points), Daniel Anderson (12 points), Dion Glover (11 points) and Jon Tschogl (10 points). Our injury list grows though, as Jared Sura pulls his groin, effectively taking him out for the next evening's game against the Bullets. Washington's been in a slump so far this month, going 1-4. We drop them to 1-5 for December, beating them 93-78 on Alex English's 24 points and John Lucas's neutralization of Phil Chenier. Inconsistent Lucas may be on offense, but he's been the bulwark of our defense and it's for that reason alone that he'll be untouchable, as I normally prefer consistency.

But he can't stop Phil Chenier in D.C. in our next game as Chenier rips us for 25 points and we fall 105-83, Dennis Bell's 10 bench points our best performance.

Dominating Denver does just that, destroying us 98-70. Only two Miami players in double-digit figures: reserve Daniel Anderson with 17, John Lucas with 14. Worst night ever in a Heat uniform for Alex English, as he banged up his ankle and played just 17 minutes, taking only 2 shots and converting just 1.

A 31-20 third quarter and a continued Alex English slump is the difference in a 116-108 home loss to the Magic. Very winnable game, especially after Daniel Anderson and Dennis Bell shot off the bench for 19 and 10 points, but we just couldn't seal the deal with English in a funk.

Still, at least we're being competitive as Boston beats us 101-91, with John Tschogl and Dennis Bell our highlights at 16 and 10 points a piece off the bench. And that's with Jared Sura and Duane Dilliard still out with injuries.

No closeness against the Kings though, as Sacramento dismantles us 106-75. At least Dennis Bell and Daniel Anderson contribute 11 points a piece off the bench. I'm really starting to like Bell and Anderson as reserves. They do well in that role and Anderson's cpable of a 20 point game now and then. Bell's more balanced though and a key defensive presence.

Jared Sura returns against the Lakers, but he makes not a whit of difference as the Purple and Gold gore us 99-66. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar shredded Sura for 27 points and 13 rebounds and we once again had two players in double-digit figures: Alex English and John Lucas with 17 a piece. It's hard to be patient when your team's that bad.

In my impatience, I make another trade.

Miami Heat receive
PF E.C. Coleman

Utah Jazz receive
PG Daniel Anderson

What this means for the Heat
Miami's terribly weak in the post and while no one would accuse the 27 year old Coleman of being a star or even good, he's much more balanced and better all-around an option than anyone else on the Heat's roster right now. So he goes from being a little-used end of bench reserve in Utah to a starter in Miami. He's thrilled with the move as he wanted out of Salt Lake City to a place where he could play more.

What this means for the Jazz
Anderson's dumb. Very dumb. In fact, he's one of the dumber players in the league. Despite that though, he was averaging 10.3 points a game and shooting 50% with the Heat and showing respectable all-around game. Unfortunately for him, he'll be as buried on the Jazz bench as Coleman was.

Winner: Miami
The talent level and age of these two players is roughly the same. but the Heat get a new starter out of it while the Jazz simply exchange a big man fodder for a guard one. Nice small move by Yogi Mentum here.

That doesn't stop a 104-91 loss to the Hawks on Christmas Day in front of the few home fans. But on the other hand, Alex English just missed both 20 points and a double-double with 19 points and 9 rebound and E.C. Coleman stamped his debut with an exclamation point of 11 points and 11 rebounds. Unfortunately, in his enthusiasm, Coleman strained his calf and is day to day. Injuries, they have been a killer this season.

Frank Kendrick's 17 points and Jared Sura's 11 points off the bench are nice and all, but when Detroit's gangraping us 103-69, it doesn't matter really.

But at least we close out the year with a 100-81 win over the Bobcats, led by Alex English's 18 points and Jared Sura's 17 points. It may not be pretty, but a win is a win is a win when you're this bad.

Then again, as the standings show, it's not something to take all that much pride in.

Atlantic

Philadelphia 76ers	19-9
New Jersey Nets		16-13	3.5
Boston Celtics		14-15	5.5
New York Knicks		11-19	9
Toronto Raptors		 7-24	13.5

Central

Detroit Pistons		21-7
Indiana Pacers		18-10	3
Milwaukee Bucks		16-10	4
Cleveland Cavaliers	13-16	8.5
Chicago Bulls		12-15	8.5

Southeast

Atlanta Hawks		18-10
Washington Bullets	17-11	1
Orlando Magic		 9-19	9
Miami Heat		 7-25	13
Charlotte Bobcats	 0-27	17.5

Major stumble by the Bullets, who go from 13-0 to 17-11. 4-11's not a good way to go through a month by any means. Yeah, we're still one of the East's worst teams, but at least we're not the Bobcats and could possibly catch the Raptors and Magic by season's end. We need people to stay healthy, though.

And then there's the West.

Southwest

San Antonio Spurs	21-10
Houston Rockets		16-14	4.5
New Orleans Hornets	12-16	7.5
Memphis Grizzlies	 8-24	13.5
Dallas Mavericks	 6-23	14

Northwest

Denver Nuggets		22-7
Portland Trailblazers	20-8	1.5
Seattle Supersonics	20-8	1.5
Utah Jazz	 	13-17	9.5
Minnesota Timberwolves	 5-23	16.5

Pacific

Golden State Warriors	23-7
Phoenix Suns		22-7	0.5
Sacramento Kings	19-8	2.5
Los Angeles Lakers	14-13	7.5
Los Angeles Clippers	12-16	10

Nice improvement by the Rockets and Lakers, especially the Purple and Gold as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar finally appears to be paying off. But it's Paul Westphal who's the big story here. The new league scoring and assist leader at 27.1 points and 7.1 assists respectively, he's singlehandedly keeping his Suns in the thick of the West and Pacific races.

11 more days until Duane Dillard comes back, 6 until E.C. Coleman's ready to go back in the starting lineup.

We won 3 games the first month, 4 the second month. Who knows? Maybe we can actually win 5 more games in January. Be a nice way to start the New Year.

[thakfu]

nice!!! Ill be watching! No offense, but I wanna see that lotto pick turn out to be something special for my Bucks.... lol!

[Autumn]

This is fun, it's reminding me of my football dynasty, with the strange dynamics set up by inequal rosters. Makes for a new challenge.

[Izulde]

thakfu: Thanks. And yeah, that Bucks pick should be pretty good. Not sure who they'll get, but it'll be interesting to see.

Autumn: That it does. It'll be interesting seeing how quickly things shift around too.

[Izulde]

Los Angeles Clippers receive
SF Jamaal Wilkes

Golden State Warriors receive
Los Angeles Clippers 1977 1st round pick

What this means for the Clippers
Wilkes, 24, is a very good all-around player with the potential to become a true star in this league. He hasn't yet shown his full scoring ability, but the Clippers are hoping he can get comfortable in their system as the starting SF.

What this means for the Warriors
Golden State's so deep that they could afford to move Wilkes. On the other hand, even if the Clippers fail to make the playoffs, the player they'll get back likely won't match up to Wilkes' talent level and furthermore, dealing one of their young pieces limits their chances of a true dynasty.

Winner: Clippers
Strange as it seems in a trade involving a lottery pick, but the lotto-dealing team is the winner here. Wilkes, if he can grow into his talent, will be a force in this league and could lead the Clips to the playoffs as soon as this season.

Phoenix Suns receive
SG Mike Dunleavy

Philadelphia 76ers receive
Phoenix Suns 1977 1st round pick

What this means for the Suns
Phoenix adds yet another young player in the 23 year old Dunleavy who has the potential to develop into a premiere PG, but with the Suns' roster already stacked with youth at the guard spots (Paul Westphal is only 27 after all), it's questionable just how much PT he'll actually see.

What this means for the 76ers
Dunleavy wasn't getting much in the way of minutes with Philadelphia and World Free, all of 24, wasn't going to relinquish the starting PG spot any time soon. But on the other hand, the Suns pick is a probable late 1st, so it's not all that valuable.

Winner: Draw
Dunleavy's a waste if he doesn't get the playing time he needs to develop, but the late 1st isn't all that great either relative to what Dunleavy can be.

Minnesota Timberwolves receive
C Don Smith

Orlando Magic receive
Minnesota Timberwolves 1977 2nd round pick

What this means for the Timberwolves
Smith may be a new starter, but he's 31 and shooting 30% on the year. He has no real skills and on top of it, he's an old man on a terrible team.

What this means for the Magic
We've seen this before with the Toronto Raptors. Bad team trading scrap for another high 2nd round pick.

Winner: Orlando
A steal through and through.

Washington Bullets receive
SG Jason Williams
Dallas Mavericks 1977 2nd round pick

Dallas Mavericks receive
PG Dave Bing

What this means for the Bullets
Williams is fairly scrubby, but he's one that shoots 57.1% and is an expiring $1 million contract. The real value here is of course the high 2nd round pick.

What this means for the Mavericks
Bing's 34 and a decent backup PG, but he's buried on the depth chart of an awful expansion squad. This is starting to look like a familiar tune, isn't it?

Winner: Washington
Another clueless new GM gets ripped off and this time it's an established team conducting the highway robbery.

Atlanta Hawks receive
SG Gary Brokaw

Milwaukee Bucks receive
Atlanta Hawks 1977 1st round pick

What this means for the Hawks
Brokaw may be 24 and have good physical talent, but he'll never be a star in this league and he's clueless on the basketball court on top of it. On the other hand, he's good enough to start and maybe that boost in talent will be enough for Atlanta to win the Southeast crown over the Bullets.

What this means for the Bucks
Although a later 1st round pick, Milwaukee now holds 3 first round picks in next year's draft, including the woeful Miami Heat's. Can you say dynasty in the making?

Winner: Milwaukee
The Bucks are going to be a very, very scary team, both now and in the future. They're already young and talented and this just gives the ammunition for more quality youth.

Not good news to see in the paper, but at least it should hopefully make the Bucks worse this year. Then again, Brokaw was a reserve in Milwaukee, so it's not as cheering as it looks.

What -is- cheering beyond a doubt is knocking off Seattle 100-95 to start the New Year. Alex English drops 23 on the Sonics and John Tschogl chips in 13 bench points for the victory.

We go to a perfect 2-0 in 1977 by beating the Knicks 92-88 as we escape massive foul trouble from our starters thanks to Dion Glover's heroic 23 points off the bench and absolutely nasty 4th quarter defense, outscoring the Knicks 25-12 in the final 12 minutes.

On the road we go to Portland, where Bill Walton blasts us for 24 points and 16 rebounds and we get blitzed 113-74 to ruin our winning streak. Best Heat of the night: John Tschogl with 10 bench points on 4/6 shooting.

That kicks off a 5 game road trip out west, mostly on the Pacific Coast and Seattle is snowy, cold and miserable as the Sonics rain blow after blow on us in a 96-74 storming. Our hearts just weren't in it.

Warmer weather greets us in Phoenix and Oakland, but wins don't against the monolith Suns and Warriors. Dion Glover and Greg Lee scoring 19 and 12 off the bench are pittances indeed compared to Paul Westphal's 40 points and Mike Dunleavy's 21 bench points in the 116-81 laugher and the next night sees us bow down 109-69 to the Warriors. Alex English fell just short of 20 points with 18.

Jared Sura pops off for 21 points and Dennis Bell hits 11 bench points in the concluding away game against the Clippers, but all it does is keep things respectable in a 87-75 loss. We're a far cry from our dreamy 2-0 start, but I keep telling myself that the future will be brighter.

A long break rests us and we come back in full force with Duane Dillard getting a surprise start at SG against the Hawks. Four of our five starters break double-digit points, led by John Lucas's 19 points, but our bench forgets how to play and it's a wall-punching 85-81 loss in the end. We're outscored 23-13 in the fourth quarter. It's these kinds of defeats I hate most.

Indiana smacks us around 94-74 with an all-too familiar just two Heat in double-digit figures, led by Dion Glover's 15 points. Rip Tarley's been monkeying with the lineup quite a bit this season, but nothing's working and it's getting exhausting.

Alex English scores 20 and Dion Glover and Frank Kendrick add 16 and 10 points off the bench, but the rest of the team is awful in a 113-79 stomping at the hands of the 76ers on the front end of a doubleheader. We host the Hornets the next night and make a game of it thanks to Jared Sura's 25 points and Dion Glover's 15 bench points, but it's not enough and we lose yet again, 94-86.

A nailbiter finally goes our way and we get our 10th win of the year, holding off a late Raptors charge to win 89-87 in Toronto. John Lucas dazzled with 31 points, leading four of five starters in double-digit scoring. Both he and Alex English have made noticeable strides in their game since coming to Miami, but they haven't yet developed the consistency to really blossom and of course, there isn't much talent around them.

98-70 loss in Atlanta a couple nights later derails hope of a late January run to put us in good frame for February. 10 bench points from Frank Kendrick but considering 8 of them came on free throws, it's nothing to get excited about.

Our faint hopes of reaching the 5 January wins I was aiming for are dashed when Houston pulverizes us 102-79 despite Alex English's 29 points, a near-double double of 8 points and 10 assists from John Lucas and Dion Glover's 10 bench points.

But we can still match last month's win total if we beat the Mavericks in Dallas. We don't, pissing away Jared Sura's 24 points and Alex English's 19 points and blowing a fourth quarter lead to lose 99-93. Most frustrating basketball experience I've ever had, this season's been.

Atlantic

Philadelphia 76ers	28-16
New Jersey Nets		27-18	1.5
Boston Celtics		19-26	9.5
New York Knicks		14-31	14.5
Toronto Raptors		12-33	16.5

Central

Detroit Pistons		33-12
Indiana Pacers		26-17	6
Milwaukee Bucks		25-18	7
Cleveland Cavaliers	22-22	10.5
Chicago Bulls		20-23	12

Southeast

Atlanta Hawks		27-16
Washington Bullets	18-26	9.5
Orlando Magic		14-31	14
Miami Heat		10-37	19
Charlotte Bobcats	 2-40	24.5

Amazing how badly the Bullets have fallen off. I mean, sure Mitch Kupchak is out with a broken ankle, but losing him shouldn't have caused the major slide they've had. Since opening the year 13-0, they've gone just 5-26. Charlotte's two victories: a surprisingly solid 117-90 rout of Dallas at home on the 19th, followed up by a sliver 111-109 win over the Raptors, also in Charlotte on the 26th. Wonder if they'll win a road game this season. I'm not happy at all with being 2nd worst in the East.

Southwest

San Antonio Spurs	30-17
Houston Rockets		27-19	2.5
New Orleans Hornets	22-22	6.5
Memphis Grizzlies	11-36	19
Dallas Mavericks	 9-34	19

Northwest

Denver Nuggets		35-10
Seattle Supersonics	30-14	4.5
Portland Trailblazers	28-15	6
Utah Jazz	 	25-21	10.5
Minnesota Timberwolves	 9-36	26

Pacific

Phoenix Suns		37-10
Golden State Warriors	33-11	2.5
Sacramento Kings	31-13	4.5
Los Angeles Lakers	25-18	10
Los Angeles Clippers	19-26	17

Denver's expanding their lead in the Northwest while the Suns have surged to the top of the Pacific, once again on the back of Paul Westphal, still hanging on to #1 in scoring and assists (27.6 and 7.1). From the looks of things, the scoring title is his, as the nearest competitor is Houston's Rudy Tomjanovich (22.2), but you never know what can happen over the second half of the season.

[Izulde]

The Longest Season. Good name for this expansion year. It's only the start of February and already I feel like I've aged five years in three months. But nobody said this was going to be easy.

New Orleans Hornets receive
PF John Shumate

Golden State Warriors receive
New Orleans Hornets 1977 1st round pick

What this means for the Hornets
Shumate, 25, becomes one of New Orleans's best all-around players. Not a standout in any one area and he's the team's 6th man, but the depth value he gives the Hornets is considerable.

What this means for the Warriors
Golden State now has 3 first round draft picks, but unlike Milwaukee, who holds two first rounders, the Warriors have their own 1st round pick and the highest value selection Golden State's likely to get is a late lottery pick as opposed to the Bucks' probable top 5 selection by virtue of owning the Heat selection.

Winner: Draw
Given what Shumate brings to the Hornets, it's possible he could carry them to the playoffs. If he does, then this is a true draw. If he doesn't, then the Warriors arguably win this one.

I'm tired. Tired of losing and tired of having the constant reminder thrown in my face that we dealt away our own pick to the Bucks and haven't had much to show for it.

I call around to make some inquiries, but everyone knows we're gunning for a high lottery pick back and they all want Alex English for it. I'll think about it. In the meantime, we stun Cleveland 91-81 on Good John Lucas's 21 points and Dion Glover and Dennis Bell's respective 18 and 11 bench points.

Just like January, we start off February 2-0, upending the Bulls 80-75 on the combined efforts of Alex English and Jared Sura putting up 17 points and Dion Glover coming off the bench for 11 points.

And also just like January, we lose the next game. But the surprising thing is, we actually manage to hang with juggernaut Golden State, falling by a respectable score of 108-92. Alex English comes alive for 22 points and Talvin Skinner doubles for 17 points and 10 rebounds. Frank Kendrick supports the reserves with 11 points.

We drop a 94-69 stinker in New York, a game I thought was fairly winnable. Problem is, we don't have anyone on this squad who can generate consistent offense outside of Alex English. Even John Lucas is extremely erratic and given his somewhat hefty salary, I wouldn't mind re-flipping the rookie.

I'll take 3 wins in 5 games, even if it's just a gritty 93-88 road win over the Charlotte Bobcats. The bench carried in this one: Frank Kendrick with 13 points and Greg Lee and E.C. Coleman each hitting 10 points. I'm not sure why Coleman isn't starting over the 40 year old Duane Dillard, but that's how Rip Tarley wants it, so I guess that's how it goes.

The Spurs spear us 111-74 in front of the home fans, our first true blowout loss of February. Jared Sura just misses 20 points with 19 and Dennis Bell is good for 15 bench points, but that's all she wrote.

Yes!! We go to 4-3 on the month by holding off a furious Clippers fourth quarter rally to win 88-84. This is the latest in a month we've posted a winning record so far this year and it already matches our monthly high win total set in December and January. Alex English scores 19, John Lucas doubles for 17 points and 10 assists and Dion Glover highlights the bench with 14 points. Nice game by Dennis Bell starting at SG too, especially on the defensive end.

It's a great way to head into the All-Star break and it's with pleasure that I watch a thrilling Rookies/Sophomores game. The second years win 106-102 in OT and sophomore Nuggets superstar David Thompson builds on his growing legacy as he takes home the MVP award with 25 points. John Lucas played a forgettable 18 minutes off the bench for the first years as our lone representative.

The All-Star game itself was a 103-80 snoozer as the West demonstrated their superiority in teams and players over the East. Bill Walton won MVP with his 16 points, 11 rebounds and 5 blocks and the Trailblazer will probably win MVP at the end of the year too.

On the road we go for a doubleheader, trying to get that elusive 5th win a month. No such luck on the front end as the Bulls beat us 90-78, Dion Glover's 15 points and 10 rebounds off the bench not enough to bail out a starting five that can't score consistently.

Decision time comes as I'm sitting in a downtown Chicago hotel. Do I keep John Lucas and Alex English as the young core of our future or do I deal one of them for something else?

It's then that I notice I missed an earlier trade from November 30.

November 30, 1976

Indiana Pacers receive
SG Pete Maravich

Golden State Warriors receive
Indiana Pacers 1977 1st round pick

Maravich is 30, but he's a sharpshooter and a half and as of right now, the trade deadline, he's been averaging somewhere around 20 PPG since becoming a starter for the Pacers. He's also a big reason why Indiana is doing so well this year.

This would mean the Warriors have 4 first round picks in next year's draft, but there's been 8 trades so far this month, one of which resulted in Golden State shipping out one of their 1st rounders to go back down to 3.

But back to our quandary. Alex English has given us every indication of being able to fulfill his massive potential, but John Lucas has been maddeningly inconsistent and I don't know that he'll ever make something of himself, so off he goes.

Miami Heat receive
Boston Celtics 1977 1st round pick

Boston Celtics receive
PG John Lucas
Miami Heat 1979 2nd round pick

What this means for the Heat
The Celtics are presently 22-32 and appear to have little shot at making the playoffs, even in the watered down East, so this is a lottery selection, albeit a likely late lotto pick. Yogi Mentum was frustrated with the #1 overall pick's inconsistency and it appears that the Heat will instead build around Alex English.

What this means for the Celtics
Lucas hasn't even played a full season of NBA basketball yet and already he's on his third team.. and he was a #1 overall pick to boot. He won't turn the Celtics into a contender, but what he does do is allow Boston to fill their biggest hole, that of PG, with a quality young starter, inconsistencies aside. He also lets Charlie Scott shift to SG, where he's much more comfortable and will really be able to light it up against opposing teams.

Winner: Boston
Lucas will bring greater value to the Celtics, now and in the future, than the pick will return to the Heat, especially with that added bonus of the '79 2nd rounder. Furthermore, the Milwaukee Bucks make out, as the Heat's stunning run this month will now come to a screeching halt.

I think the trade will work out better for us than most people think. 27 year old Jim Owens is signed to take Lucas's place.

We play our worst of the game of the year the next night in Indiana. 101-59 loss to the Pacers and only Dion Glover's 12 bench points look good.

A back-to-back home and away against the Orlando Magic gives us a shot to break our franchise record for wins in a month and we do it, sweeping both games. Alex English unloads for 21 points out of the SG spot in our 88-85 home win, Frank Kendrick the top reserve with 11 points and our stunning 116-98 triumph in Orlando is arguably our most complete game of the year. Talvin Skinner erupts for 22 points and 13 rebounds. Jared Sura scores 18, as does Jim Owens, who despite being a native SF, plays PG and operates beautifully out of the 1, with 7 assists to just one turnover in addition to his 18 points. Solid bench play by Dion Glover and Frank Kendrick with 16 and 10 points respectively.

It's a strong and exciting way to finish the short month, even though I suspect it'll be all downhill from this high point.

Atlantic

Philadelphia 76ers	38-18
New Jersey Nets		36-21	2.5
Boston Celtics		22-35	16.5
New York Knicks		18-39	20.5
Toronto Raptors		14-42	24

Central

Indiana Pacers		38-18
Detroit Pistons		37-18	0.5
Milwaukee Bucks		37-18	0.5
Chicago Bulls		28-26	9
Cleveland Cavaliers	28-27	9.5


Southeast

Atlanta Hawks		31-25
Washington Bullets	22-33	8.5
Orlando Magic		16-39	14.5
Miami Heat		16-42	16
Charlotte Bobcats	 3-51	27

Fantastic Februaries by the Pacers and Bucks, including an undefeated month by Milwaukee, have made a real scramble of the Central. Not happy about it at all, what with our holding the Bucks pick. On the other hand, the Celtics are 0-3 since acquiring Lucas. We've actually got a realistic shot at finishing ahead of the Raptors. Great to see. The Bobcats still don't have a road win, but they stunned the Sacramento Kings 100-95 for their third victory of the year.

Southwest

San Antonio Spurs	38-18
Houston Rockets		31-26	7.5
New Orleans Hornets	26-30	12
Memphis Grizzlies	14-43	24.5
Dallas Mavericks	10-45	27.5

Northwest

Denver Nuggets		45-12
Seattle Supersonics	37-18	7
Portland Trailblazers	37-18	7
Utah Jazz	 	31-25	13.5
Minnesota Timberwolves	11-46	34

Pacific

Phoenix Suns		45-12
Golden State Warriors	43-13	1.5
Sacramento Kings	35-23	10.5
Los Angeles Lakers	32-23	12
Los Angeles Clippers	21-36	24

Already 3 40 win teams in the West and we've got all of March to go. My guess is at least two +.500 teams have to sit home come postseason time. It isn't fair, but that's how the cookie crumbles.

NBA Leaders

Points
1. Paul Westphal (PHO) - 27.7
2. George Gervin (SA) - 22.6
3. Rudy Tomanjovich (HOU) - 22.4

Assists
1. Paul Westphal (PHO) - 7.4
T2. Jim Owens (MIA) - 7.0
T2. Foots Walker (CLE) - 7.0

Rebounds
1. Bill Walton (POR) - 12.0
2. Tom Burleson (SEA) - 10.0
3. Billy Paultz (SA) - 9.6

Blocks
1. Bill Walton (POR) - 3.1
2. Artis Gilmore (CHI) - 2.6
T3. Mike Greene (SEA) - 2.2
T3. Joe Pace (WAS) - 2.2

Steals
T1. Robert Hawkins (NJ) - 2.2
T1. George McGinnis (PHI) - 2.2
T3. John Drew (ATL) - 2.1
T3. Bobby Jones (DEN) - 2.1

Rookie Leaders

Scoring
1. Mitch Kupchak (WAS) - 15.4
2. Scott May (CHI) - 15.2
3. Adrian Dantley (NO) - 14.6
10 rookies averaging 10+ points.

Assists
1. John Lucas (BOS) - 5.7
2. Armond Hill (ATL) - 5.1
3. Quinn Buckner (MIL) - 5.0

Rebounds
1. Robert Parish (GS) - 7.5
2. Mitch Kupchak (WAS) - 7.1
3. Leon Douglas (DET) - 6.7

Blocks
1. Robert Parish (GS) - 1.9
2. Richard Washington (SAC) - 0.9
3. Leon Douglas (DET) - 0.8

East All-Stars
PG Robert Hawkins
SG Julius Erving
SF John Drew
PF Bill Lanier
C Artis Gilmore
Mickey Johnson
Brian Winters
Campy Russell
Nate Archibald
Earl Monroe
Spencer Haywood
Phil Chenier

West All-Stars
PG Rick Barry
SG George Gervin
SF Larry Kenon
PF Alvan Adams
C Bill Walton
David Thompson
Dan Issel
Billy Keller
Rudy Tomjanovich
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Maurice Lucas
Cazzie Russell

[Izulde]

A deluge of trades, maybe the most we'll see in one month at any time in my NBA career. It's amazing to me how little teams seem to value 1st round picks or high 2nd rounders. But let's see how these breakdowns go.

Trade #1

Portland Trailblazers receive
SG Pat McFarland

Los Angeles Clippers receive
SG Larry Steele
Portland Trailblazers 1977 1st round pick

What this means for the Trailblazers
McFarland, 26 has all the right tools on offense and is averaging double-digit points off the bench as a 6th man, but he's got a long way to go on fulfilling on his defensive and passing potential. He's also something of a dim bulb, prone to making stupid players at inopportune times. He'll revive his 6th man role in Portland. On the other hand, he's signed to a $450k per year deal for the next 4 years, making him cheap.

What this means for the Clippers
The Clippers have no guards under the age of 30 until picking up the 28 year old Steele, excepting McFarland. Great defender, though no more than a bench man in terms of his offensive ability. Still getting him is a good thing, especially since it means a first rounder back.

Winner: Draw
While we're not sold on McFarland, he's locked up at a cheap rate and Steele's expiring. That's enough for us to call this a draw.

Trade #2

Los Angeles Lakers receive
SF Fred Saunders

Boston Celtics receive
Los Angeles Lakers 1977 1st round pick

What this means for the Lakers
Saunders is yet another four year, $450k a year 26 year old. Unlike McFarland though, Saunders has pretty decent all around game, though he's not flashy or even genuinely good in any one area. Still, he bolsters the Lakers' bench significantly as the Purple and Gold try to make a run for the playoffs.

What this means for the Celtics
Boston gets another 1st round pick and while it'll be a mid-late one at best, paired with their own pick, they'll be able to go out and get a true starting PG now. Good move for a team that wasn't going anywhere this season anyway.

Winner: Draw
Nice value for both teams relative to what they gave up.

Note: This trade obviously occurred before I sent John Lucas to the C's, hence the commentary being what it is.

Trade #3

Seattle Supersonics receive
SF Derreck Dickey

Toronto Raptors receive
SG Bob Wilkerson

What this means for the Supersonics
The 26 year old Dickey is a great rebounder for a swingman, but that's all he's really noteworthy for. Otherwise falls into the Decent But Not Good Or Great camp. Slots in as the starting SG, so there's that to be said for him.

What this means for the Raptors
He may be 23, but Wilkerson shows a shocking lack of upside. Pretty good defender, but mediocre outside of that. Will never be anything more than a rmid-level bench player.

Winner: Seattle
Dickey's more talented overall, even if his contract's expiring. The Supersonics get a player that can push them towards a higher playoff seeding and success in the postseason whereas the Raptors don't really better their situation much at all.

Trade #4

Detroit Pistons receive
PG Charles Dudley
Toronto Raptors 1977 2nd round pick

Toronto Raptors receive
SF M.L. Carr
SF George Trapp

What this means for the Pistons
Look up pass-first PG in the dictionary and you'll see Dudley's picture next to it. Fairly quality defender with an excellent knack for drawing fouls. But on the other hand, the Pistons are already stacked at PG with Kevin Porter and Eric Money, who are 27 and 23 respectively to Dudley's 28. What's more, none of the 3 are starting. Then again, Porter's contract's expiring and he's said to be extremely unhappy with his lack of playing time.

What this means for the Raptors
The 27 year old Carr's a smart player and an extremely disruptive force on the defensive end who's shooting an excellent 58% on the season. Trapp, 29, is cheap, $450k for this season and the next two and a pure, defense-ignoring, sugary jolt of scoring and not much else.

Winner: Toronto
It feels like the Raptors can get good more quickly if they find a star player in the draft to pair up with complementary role players like Carr and Trapp, both of whom are still young enough to reap the benefits of a high first round draft pick.

Trade #5

Portland Trailblazers receive
PG Phil Chenier
Washington Bullets 1977 2nd round pick

Washington Bullets receive
SF Wally Walker
SG Herb Gilliam

What this means for the Trailblazers
What an absolute coup for the Blazers to land the 27 year old Chenier, an All-Star who needs no introduction as a terrific shooter and scorer, excellent passer and a high intelligence PG who plays better defense than most scouts rate. That pick will be higher than it looks as well, as the Bullets just keep declining.

What this means for the Bullets
Washington just officially threw in the towel on the season and stupidly so. Walker's 23, but he has no upside to speak of and is a bland player to begin with and the 31 year old Gilliam is a classic underachiever. Why did the Bullets even make this deal?

Winner: Portland
The Trailblazers gave up almost nothing to get an All-Star PG, one who propels them into the title conversation along with Denver, Phoenix and Golden State. Even if Chenier does go elsewhere in free agency, a half-season's rental of him is still worth more than the combination of Walker and Gilliam. Easily the biggest steal of the season. Did we mention how scary a pairing Chenier will be with Bill Walton?

[b]Trade #6

San Antonio Spurs receive
PF Elvin Hayes

Washington Bullets receive
C Coby Dietrick

What this means for the Spurs
Hayes, at 32, is no longer the awe-inspiring player he once was. But he's still a very good all-around player, one that takes a starting spot on the Spurs and makes them that much stronger.

What this means for the Bullets
Dietrick's a veteran player who can do three things: defend, block shots and steal the ball. Don't count on him to do anything else.

Winner: San Antonio
Although Hayes's sudden drop off the face of the earth relative to his earlier seasons plays a big role in why the Bullets have gone 9-33 since their 13-0 start, he'll still give the Spurs another option other than George Gervin, while the Bullets continue their tank job.

Trade #7

Golden State Warriors receive
SF Truck Robinson

Washington Bullets receive
Los Angeles Clippers 1977 1st round pick

What this means for the Warriors
The 26 year old Robinson may be butterfingers with the ball, he's got quality all-around game outside of that as a scorer, rebounder and defender. Better still, he's locked up at the $450,000 minimum rate this season and next and he'll likely start at SF both years too.

What this means for the Bullets
Washington will aid their forthcoming rebuilding effort with this first round pick, one that seems almost certain to be a lottery selection after the Lakers pulled away in the battle of the Los Angeles franchises.

Winner: Golden State
The Warriors are chasing the Phoenix Suns for the Pacific title and with a lot of the other West conference teams making Win Now moves, Golden State needed to do the same. They did and while they surrendered their best first round pick to do it, they've still got three more in reserve.

Trade #8

Sacramento Kings receive
SG Walt Frazier

New York Knicks receive
SF Ollie Johnson

What this means for the Kings
Frazier's age (32), may have been what cost him a starting spot with the Knicks, but he's still a very good passer with excellent scoring ability. It'll probably take him a while to adjust to Sacramento and starting at the point, but it's a smart move by the Kings to try and keep up with everyone else in the stacked West.

What this means for the Knicks
Johnson's a pretty good all-around player, the type of guy who's a solid 4th or 5th starter. He's also significantly younger than Frazier at 28. He'll start at one of the forward spots, but overall, just not an exciting player.

Winner: Draw
Both teams benefit from this deal, but it's hard to say Frazier will be the acquisition that can make the Kings challenge the conference titans in Denver, Phoenix, Golden State, etc.

[b]Trade #9

Detroit Pistons receive
SG Earl Monroe

New York Knicks receive
C Roger Brown
Detroit Pistons 1977 2nd round pick

What this means for the Pistons
Detroit needed more offensive firepower besides Bob Lanier if they hope to make a run for the East crown and Monroe, a 33 year old All-Star averaging 20 PPG, fits the bill perfectly. A complete sieve on the defensive end, but it's points the Pistons need.

What this means for the Knicks
The 28 year old's a titanic defensive and shotblocking presence and able to grab rebounds as well, but he's dumb and provides absolutely no help on offense. The 2nd round pick is going to be a late one as well.

Winner: Detroit
Monroe's a half-season rental, but if he gets the Pistons to the Finals, it'll be all worth it. At the very least, it's another cheap acquisition of an All-Star by a contending team.

Trade #10

Portland Trailblazers receive
PF Spencer Haywood
New York Knicks 1977 2nd round pick

New York Knicks receive
PG Johnny Davis

What this means for the Trailblazers
Portland continues its deadline overhaul by picking up Haywood, a 28 year old scorer with a SF's body and a PF's mentality. It's questionable how effective he'll be at SF, where he'll start, but he's worth watching.

What this means for the Knicks
The 22 year old Davis became expendable after the Blazers acquired Phil Chenier. He's still developing his game and is right now best suited to off guard, right where the Knicks are putting him in the lineup. If he can reach his considerable potential, he'll be a very good to great starting PG.

Winner: New York
Haywood's too much of a gamble for a team seeking to challenge for the title, whereas the Knicks get a nice piece to work on improving their team with.

Trade #11

Sacramento Kings receive
SF Travis Grant

Los Angeles Clippers receive
Sacramento Kings 1977 1st round pick

What this means for the Kings
Grant, 28, can score from anywhere on the court and with a pleasant level of accuracy. He'll be an instant source of offense for Sacramento and likely their top scorer down the stretch. But on the other hand, he can't play defense worth anything.

What this means for the Clippers
It's another first round pick for the Clippers after dealing their own away, which means we'll have multiple teams with 2 or more first rounders in this upcoming draft.

Winner: Draw
Good value for both teams.

When you count our own trade, that means we had 12 trades in this February 1977, a record that will likely never be broken.

Our 6 win February will be broken some day, but not this year. I figure we can top 20 wins by the end of the season, but not much more than that.

16 and 10 bench points from Dion Glover and Frank Kendrick are the sad highlights in a 122-78 whipping by the Nets on the front end of a doubleheader, but at least we make it semi-respectable the next night, losing 102-86 to the Kings. Alex English leads all scorers with 26 points and I can't wait till the day he sees his name on an All-Star roster.

A day off and another back-to-back. Cleveland stomps us 99-78 as only Alex English came to play with 22 points, but then we pull off the 97-90 stunner over Julius Erving's 76ers and that's with Alex English playing just 8 minutes before fouling out. Jim Owens stepped up with 22 points, Talvin Skinner pumped in 14 points and 10 rebounds and Dion Glover scored 10 off the bench. But the real hero was John Tschogl, the guy who became the starting SF after the John Lucas trade. He used his tenacious defensive skills to hold Dr. J to 2 of 10 shooting.

We get a second straight win, 101-79 versus the Timberwolves, on the backs of Alex English and Jared Sura each scoring 19 and Dion Glover scoring 13. By the way, despite Glover's bench production, he won't be coming back next year. He's 33 and even though his 9.4 points per game looks good, he's shooting 39.7%.

The Nets get a stiffer challenge on our home court, but it's a relative stiffer as they still beat us 97-81 to prevent the three-game win streak. Jared Sura put up 21 points and Dion Glover added 11 bench points, but all in all, it wasn't even close.

Doubleheaders aren't fun when you lose both games and that's exactly what we do in losing to the Bucks and Knicks. Milwaukee knocks us off 97-75, Dion Glover's 11 bench points the only noteworthy performance, while the Knicks top us 103-93 and once again Dion Glover is our only shine with 15 bench points.

Seven Heat in double-digit figures aren't enough to beat the Clippers, as Mack Calvin's 36 points power them to a 99-90 downing of us. Jim Owens just misses a double with 12 points and 9 rebounds, Dion Glover and Dennis Bell the top bench players with 10 and 11 points respectively.

The Knicks trip us 93-80 and I'm getting a little sick of seeing two bench players with 10+ points, Dennis Bell (10) and Greg Lee (11) the pair this time. It's irritating, especially when none of our starting five can step up on a consistent basis. One thing I have to say though, Johnny Davis has been a fantastic pickup for the Knicks. They've gone 5-5 since acquiring him and it's just a shame he hasn't been with the team since the beginning of the year.

We surprise the Rockets in Houston 95-84 as Talvin Skinner plays brilliantly with 19 points, 9 rebounds and 5 steals, but credit's also due Alex English, who breaks through with 23 points. Every win's beautiful when you're as bad as this team is.

It's not the 104-74 loss to the Suns I mind ([b]Dion Glover and Dennis Bell scoring 13 and 10 off the bench). It's the 94-71 shellacking by the Bobcats the night after that pisses me off. I very nearly hand in my resignation right then and there and I won't bother mentioning the highlights. Losing to that sorry team, even in Charlotte, by that big a margin is inexcusable. Rip Tarley's head is going on the chopping block.

I communicate my fury to Rip in my office the next day. He takes it out on the players and the players take it out on the Raptors, smashing them 118-96, with 9 Heat in double-digit scoring. They're led by Alex English's 29 points and the four prime benchmen are Greg Lee with 13, Dion Glover with 11 and Frank Kendrick and Dennis Bell with 10 a piece. That triumph is also our 20th win of the year.

We play tough in Indiana, but the 83-77 loss comes down to 17 points for Talvin Skinner as our higher scorer versus Billy Knight's 25 points for the Pacers.

Atlantic

Philadelphia 76ers	51-20
New Jersey Nets		45-27	6.5
Boston Celtics		29-42	22
New York Knicks		23-47	27.5
Toronto Raptors		19-52	32

Central

Indiana Pacers		48-23
Milwaukee Bucks		48-23	
Detroit Pistons		44-27	4
Cleveland Cavaliers	36-34	11.5
Chicago Bulls		33-38	15

Southeast

Atlanta Hawks		39-32
Washington Bullets	28-42	10.5
Orlando Magic		24-47	15
Miami Heat		20-53	20
Charlotte Bobcats	 4-66	34.5

Fucking asshole tanking Bullets. This month went about as bad as it could for us. Boston has a winning March and the Bucks look like they're going to win the damned Central. Between the East and the West, the Celtics pick is looking like #11 and the Bucks pick will be mid-high 20s.

Southwest

San Antonio Spurs	50-21
New Orleans Hornets	37-33	12.5
Houston Rockets		37-35	13.5
Memphis Grizzlies	17-53	32.5
Dallas Mavericks	12-59	38

Northwest

Denver Nuggets		55-15
Seattle Supersonics	49-22	6.5
Portland Trailblazers	48-22	7
Utah Jazz	 	35-36	20.5
Minnesota Timberwolves	15-57	41

Pacific

Phoenix Suns		57-14
Golden State Warriors	53-18	4
Sacramento Kings	45-28	13
Los Angeles Lakers	41-30	16
Los Angeles Clippers	23-49	34.5

Some close races here too, though I can't say I'm all that interested right now, as I'm still fuming over the way things have turned. Oh well, at least we're not the Hawks, who have punched their ticket to the #4 seed and a first round playoff loss by virtue of winning our sad-sack division.

[Izulde]

9 games left and nothing really to play for but pride.

Well, 10 actually. I forgot March has 31 days and so we lose on the 31st 97-82 to the Hornets. Greg Lee doubles for 12 points and 10 assists off the bench and if he could just develop some more scoring ability, maybe he could be our starting PG.

Chicago may be in a tailspin, but the Bulls still gore us 101-84, making mockery of Alex English's 27 points and 10 bench points a piece from Dennis Bell and Greg Lee.

Good: Alex English's 25 points, 12 reserve points from Greg Lee, his third straight game of it and Dion Glover's 11 bench points. Bad: A 101-87 loss to lowly Memphis. We really need to find some stars to pair up with Alex.

Just when I think we're going to be stuck on 20 wins the rest of the year, Alex English erupts for 33 points and Dion Glover chips in 11 points to the lead second team as we stun Detroit 93-92 on a startling fourth quarter comeback.

That thriller is followed later in the week by a weak away doubleheader. 90-60 loss to the 76ers as only Alex English hit double-digit points with 14 preluded a 117-97 blowout by Boston. Alex English shifted to SF for 24 points and Dion Glover led the second team with 12 points, but defense was nonexistant.

How bad were we against the Pacers? So bad we scored just 4 points in the final quarter and fell 80-57. Screw Dion Glover's 10 bench points. I mean, seriously.

But we thankfully close out the year against Charlotte and Orlando. We win at home against the Bobcats, 96-89, on Alex English's 26 points and Talvin Skinner's 15 points and 12 rebounds and our regular season ends happily with a 100-90 road win against the Magic keyed by balanced offense led by Jared Sura's 19 points and Dion Glover and Frank Kendrick's respective 16 and 10 bench points.

23-59 isn't a pretty way to end the year, especially since it gives us the 5th worst record in the NBA, 2nd worst only to the Bobcats in the East. Charlotte, by the way, presented me with a great piece of evidence for the Bullets tanking as the Bobcats' only road win of the year came 93-88 in Washington D.C. That loss makes the Bullets pick a Top 10, a one game differential between them and the Celtics, who now look locked in at #11, which is where we'll be.

1977 East Seeding
1. Indiana Pacers (58-24)
2. Philadelphia 76ers (58-24)
3. Milwaukee Bucks (54-28)
4. Atlanta Hawks (49-33)
5. New Jersey Nets (54-28)
6. Detroit Pistons (53-29)
7. Cleveland Cavaliers (43-39)
8. Chicago Bulls (38-44)

1977 West Seeding
1. Phoenix Suns (66-16)
2. Denver Nuggets (64-18)
3. Golden State Warriors (59-23)
4. San Antonio Spurs (57-25)
5. Portland Trailblazers (55-27)
6. Seattle Supersonics (55-27)
7. Sacramento Kings (52-30)
8. Los Angeles Lakers (49-33)

Left Out: New Orleans Hornets (44-38)

NBA Leaders

Points
1. Paul Westphal (PHO) - 27.3
2. George Gervin (SA) - 22.5
3. John Drew (ATL) - 21.9

Assists
1. Paul Westphal (PHO) - 7.4
2. Foots Walker (CLE) - 6.9
3. Mack Calvin (LAL) 6.5

Rebounds
1. Bill Walton (POR) - 11.3
2. Jim Chones (CLE) - 9.5
3. Billy Paultz (SA) - 9.3

Blocks
1. Bill Walton (POR) - 3.1
T2. Artis Gilmore (CHI) - 2.3
T2. Joe Pace (WAS) - 2.3

Steals
T1. Robert Hawkins (NJ) - 2.2
T1. George McGinnis (PHI) - 2.2
T1. John Drew (ATL) - 2.2

Rookie Leaders

Scoring
1. Adrian Dantley (NO) - 15.5
2. Mitch Kupchak (WAS) - 15.4
3. Scott May (CHI) - 14.8
10 rookies averaging 10+ points.

Assists
1. John Lucas (BOS) - 5.4
T2. Armond Hill (ATL) - 4.8
T2. Quinn Buckner (MIL) - 4.8

Rebounds
1. Robert Parish (GS) - 7.4
T2. Richard Washington (SAC) - 6.6
T2. Leon Douglas (DET) - 6.6

Blocks
1. Robert Parish (GS) - 1.8
2. Richard Washington (SAC) - 1.0
T3. Ira Terrell (PHO) - 0.8
T3. Leon Douglas (DET) - 0.8

Steals
1. Scott May (CHI) - 1.8
2. Ron Lee (PHO) - 1.6
T3. Quinn Buckner (MIL) - 1.5
T3. Sonny Parker (TOR) - 1.5

My money's on the 76ers in the East. The West is a lot more difficult to call. Any one of the Suns, Nuggets or Warriors could make the Finals and I wouldn't be the least bit surprised.

Just two sweeps in the opening round, as the Suns kick out the Lakers and the Warriors oust the Supersonics in four games. 5 games decides the entire East: Philly over Chicago, Jersey over the Hawks, Bucks bounce Pistons and 76ers shoo Cavaliers. Denver's shockingly pushed to a full 7 games, as are the Trailblazers against the Spurs. Nuggets barely avoid the huge upset, while the favored-if-lower-seeded Blazers are kicked out by San Antonio. So much for Bill Walton's MVP hopes.

The Suns have no problems in sweeping the Spurs, but the biggest shocker is the Milwaukee Bucks destroy Dr. J's Philadelphia 76ers in a sweep. Denver's improbable magic continues as they win yet another Game 7, this time over the Warriors, to advance to the West Conference finals, while Indiana's upset by 5 seed New Jersey, as the Nets take it in 7 games on the Pacers' home court.

Milwaukee continues its shocking run in taking the East crown from the Nets in 5. So much for New Jersey's two All-Stars in Nate Archibald and Robert Hawkins. It'll be the Cinderella Bucks against the Masterful Suns, who finally took away all Denver's magic in dispatching the Nuggets in a matching 5 games.

You have to think this is all Phoenix's. Paul Westphal's averaged 30.2 points per game in the playoffs going into the Finals. For the first 2 games, the Bucks do a great job of stopping Westphal, holding him to 9 and 14 points. But it's 30, 27, 26 the rest of the way and the Suns take the 1976 title 4 games to 1!

Congratulations to Paul Westphal and the Phoenix Suns!

1977 NBA Lottery
14. Golden State Warriors
13. Houston Rockets
12. Utah Jazz
11. Miami Heat
10. Washington Bullets
9. Orlando Magic
8. New York Knicks
7. Toronto Raptors (-1)
6. Memphis Grizzlies (-2)
5. Minnesota Timberwolves (-2)
4. Dallas Mavericks (-1)
3. Milwaukee Bucks (+2)
2. Washington Bullets (+5)
1. Charlotte Bobcats

There's another kick in the stomach. We gave up a Top 3 pick for Alex English and the bastard tanking Bullets have two Top 10 picks, including the #2 overall pick in the draft. I fucking hate DC!

1977 NBA Awards
Most Valuable Player
Paul Westphal - Phoenix Suns - 27.3 PPG 7.4 APG 3.8 RPG 0.3 BPG 1.6 SPG
Defensive Player of the Year
Bill Walton - Portland Trailblazers - 18.6 PPG 11.3 RPG 3.3 APG 3.1 BPG 1.2 SPG
Rookie of the Year
Robert Parish - Golden State Warriors - 12.1 PPG 7.4 RPG 1.5 APG 1.8 BPG 1.1 SPG
6th Man of the Year
Doug Collins - Philadelphia 76ers - 14.9 PPG 3.0 APG 2.5 RPG 0.2 BPG 1.0 SPG
Coach of the Year
Bricker Fastbeerfein - Denver Nuggets

All-NBA 1st Team
PG Paul Westphal - Phoenix Suns
SG David Thompson - Denver Nuggets
SF Julius Erving - Phoenix Suns
PF Larry Kenon - San Antonio Spurs
C Bill Walton - Portland Trailblazers

All-NBA 2nd Team
PG Nate Archibald - New Jersey Nets
SG George Gervin - San Antonio Spurs
SF John Drew - Atlanta Hawks
PF Bobby Jones - Denver Nuggets
C Bob Lanier - Detroit Pistons

All-NBA 3rd Team
PG Phil Chenier - Portland Trailblazers
SG Earl Monroe - Detroit Pistons
SF Billy Knight - Indiana Pacers
PF Mickey Johnson - Chicago Bulls
C Kareem Abdul-Jabbar - Los Angeles Lakers

Interesting that both Chenier and Monroe made the 3rd Team after being traded at the deadline. Didn't help their respective teams much though.

All-Defense 1st Team
PG Mike Gale - San Antonio Spurs
SG Robert Hawkins - New Jersey Nets
SF George McGinnis - Philadelphia 76ers
PF Bobby Jones - Denver Nuggets
C Bill Walton - Portland Trailblazers

All-Defense 2nd Team
PG Paul Westphal - Phoenix Suns
SG Ron Lee - Phoenix Suns
SF Julius Erving - Philadelphia 76ers
PF Darnell Hillman - Indiana Pacers
C Kim Hughes - New Jersey Nets

All-Rookie 1st Team
PG John Lucas - Boston Celtics
SG Earl Tatum - Los Angeles Lakers
SF Scott May - Chicago Bulls
PF Richard Washington - Sacramento Kings
C Robert Parish - Golden State Warriors

All-Rookie 2nd Team
PG Johnny Davis - New York Knicks
SG Quinn Buckner - Milwaukee Bucks
SF Adrian Dantley - New Orleans Hornets
PF Mitch Kupchak - Washington Bullets
C Leon Douglas - Detroit Pistons

Walter Coleman agrees to keep me on as the GM, largely because of my shrewdness with the financial situation. He's not happy when I tell him it'll be another rebuilding year, but he accepts it when I tell him I'll keep us well under the cap again.

Speaking of the cap, it's been raised 50% to $30 million. Most teams are still under the cap, but it's not like last year where only one or two teams were over. Now there's a handful or so over and a few very close to the line.

Rip Tarley does his part to help the rebuilding effort by firing his entire coaching staff and together he and I bring in assistants who believe in a moderate to slow pace and who have a knack for developing players.

Mock Draft
It looks like a star-studded draft class coming in and we should be able to pick up a good player even at #11. All the hot buzz is around Walter Davis, Jack Sikma and Bernard King as the top 3 prospects. We're slated to pick C Tree Rollins, a big 7'1 guy out of Clemson.

Only thing was, Rollins didn't do much for the Tigers in his senior year, so he may be a case of all talent, no delivery.

There's also a surprising number of young internationals who have declared for the draft, who will get a lot of scrutiny because of their youth compared to the American college seniors. It'll be tempting to scoop one of them up, because word from the league brass is that they won't be allowed to enter the drafts after this unless the league office approves and approval will be hard to get it.

But that's for the future. For now, it's workout time.

[Izulde]

Going to have shut this one down due to a problem with the database that can only be fixed before the game.

After I fix some things, I'll start up another 1976 dynasty.

[Autumn]

Oh man, you can't catch a break. I'm glad you're going back to '76 though, it's interesting.