The Association (2K10)

[RayAllen20]

Quote: Originally Posted by K_rob11

lol ok, you have my attention. But one small request.....please make the font alittle bigger...my eyes aren't as good as they once were....

sure will. thanks for following

[RayAllen20]

Rookie Class Looks to Shake Things Up

When the Pacers won the lottery, there was no question who they were taking. Freshman phenom John Wall from Kentucky was suiting up in Yellow and Blue.

Wall was the #1 recruit coming out of high school, and lived up to the hype, captivating the college basketball world for months in a Kentucky uniform. With amazing speed, athleticism, and court awareness he hopes to take the Pacers from a cellar dweller to an instant contender.

Another freshman stud from last year, Derrick Favors was drafted #2 overall by the Milwaukee Bucks. Favors was the top ranked big man in the draft, and paired up with Bogut they could be a big threat in the Eastern Conference.

Favors was followed by Evan Turner for the Chicago Bulls, making a mean backcourt with Rose. Willie Warren, the quick guard of Oklahoma, was drafted by the Miami Heat who are looking for a fast replacement of Dywane Wade. A plethera of big men quickly followed with Ed Davis, Donatas Motiejunas, and Cole Aldrich all being drafted by the Rockets, Kings, and Mavericks.

The suprise pick of the draft had to be when the Knicks selected New York-native point guard Kemba Walker from UConn. Walker will be handed the keys to a really talented Knick squad, and he will need to show up his critics.

[RayAllen20]

Western Conference Preview

It was a heated discussion three years ago in the NBA draft. Oden or Durant? The big man who dominated at Ohio State, or the weak, lanky forward who has a knack for scoring? The Blazers selected Greg Oden first, and Durant followed to the Thunder (then the Sonics).

Right now, the Blazers wish they could go back and time and change that decision. While Oden has been a decent player, Durant dominated in the league last year coming in 4th for MVP voting. Durant has the potential to become an all-time great, making the Blazers remember Sam Bowie a little too much.

Flashforward to this season, and Durant is hungry to lead his Thunder squad to the playoffs. With LeBron and D-Wade teaming up and most likely decreasing each other's stats, and Kobe slightly declining, it is Durant's time to win MVP. With him, Russell Westbrook, James Harden, and Jeff Green this team will turn heads in the West.

Meanwhile, you can't forget the Spurs. The defending champs return basically everybody. The Duncan, Parker, Ginobli, and Jefferson nucleus has gotten one year older now, but age didn't stop them last year on guide to their 4th NBA title. Dejaun Blair was a nice draft pick last year, as he seemed to be a steal, producing for the champs on the court. Now they pick up another big man in the late round, Luke Harangody.

The biggest challenge to the Spurs is still the team in L.A., which they rolled over in the Western Conference Finals. Everyone claims Kobe is getting older, but he is still a premier player in the league, and a legitimate MVP candidate. Gasol and Bynum return to dominate the paint, and wingmen Ron Artest and Lamar Odom cap off a team ready to return to greatness.

A team forgotten a lot amidst the top teams in the West is the Denver Nuggets. Carmelo Anthony had his best season as a pro last year, but the Nuggets fell to the eventual champs. Mr. Big Shot, Chauncey Billups, leads the team in the front court with sharpshooter J.R. Smith. Nene, Kenyon Martin, and wildman Chris Andersen make up a defensive front court that is underrated, yet can win games.

The top tier teams in the West barely made any noise in the off-season giving hope to some of the bottom teams that they can finally crack the top of the West.

One of those teams, the Memphis Grizzlies. They re-signed Rudy Gay, giving them a great scoring duo of Gay and O.J. Mayo. Michael Conley finally produced at the level expected last year, and the suprising efficient front court of Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph allowed Memphis it's first playoff appearance in a while. After being bounced out in the first round, the Grizzlies expect more this year, which means knocking out some of the top teams.

Some of the other teams out West did improve also with the Warriors adding Stoudemire, the Jazz acquiring Kevin Martin (although losing Carlos Boozer), and the Mavs adding big man Shaquille O'Neal. The middle of the pack looks to make some noise this year in the West. Meanwhile, many teams are losing ground. The Blazers look to be in good position with their roster, but this team does not get along as seen last year. Andre Miller and Greg Oden have had frequent outbursts over management and coaching. This team is talented to be at the top, but the distractions are many.

The Kings look to crack the playoffs with Tyreke Evans leading the show. They added Donatas Motiejunas who is 7'0 and can shoot the lights out. If Evans can have an all-star season, you can bet the Kings will be in the race. Without Stouemire, the Suns have no premier big man and will be reliant on the run and gun style a little too much. There is just too much work for Steve Nash to make this team a contender again. The Clippers are developing but this year may be too early. Blake Griffin is finally back, and looks healthy with his knee. They have scorers in Chris Kaman, Baron Davis, and Eric Gordon. The question is if their terrible defense has improved from last year.

This off-season the Hornets and T'Wolves refused to add any pieces and therefore should suffer in the Western Conference. Chris Paul will have to do it all again, with not much help in the line-up other than mediocre big men Emeka Okafor and David West. The Timberwolves still have the same team, with Johnny Flynn as the floor general, and Kevin Love and Al Jefferson taking care of the paint. Not enough pieces to the puzzle for the Wolves, so it may have to be another year in cold Minnesota.

[RayAllen20]

Eastern Conference Preview

All around the league superstars were changing teams. Signing max-deals in huge markets such as New York. In Atlanta, it was decision time for Joe Johnson. While not the biggest name in the NBA, he is the Hawks' leading scorer and could make any team in the NBA a contender if to leave. Unlike LeBron James, Dywane Wade, and Chris Bosh he decided to stay put to try and help lead Atlanta to a title.

Looking at New Jersey's new team of MVP candidates, the Knicks, Magic, and Celtics, some may laugh at the thought of the Hawks winning a championship. But with the Hawk's very good showing last year (4rd seed in the East, and losing to the Celtics in the ECF), the Hawks may be the team to take the Nets down. A line-up of veteran Mike Bibby, Marvin Williams, the athletic Josh Smith, and Al Horford with a scoring threat off the bench with Jamal Crawford, the Hawks can take down anybody in the NBA.

For the rest of the East, the clear favorite is New Jersey. With young all-stars in Brook Lopez and Devin Harris teaming up with young MVPs in Dywane Wade and LeBron James, their expected to not only win the NBA championship but lose less than 10 games all season. One team the Nets may possibly struggle with is the Orlando Magic. Dwight Horward will be hard for Lopez to stop in the middle, Lewis spreads the floor with his beautiful jumpshot, Vince Carter can score at will, Mikael Peitrus is a shutdown defender, and Jameer Nelson is one of the top point guards in the Eastern Conference. It is clear that the Magic do have a shot with the Nets in a 7 game series, provided if everyone plays their best.

No LeBron or D-Wade, but Times Square is still buzzing. Chris Bosh and David Lee make a mean front court, with new-comer Tracy McGrady hoping to revitalize his career. The rest of the line-up consists of rookie point guard Kemba Walker. The Knicks management got slammed by the media for reaching for the City native, so to prove them wrong Walker will need to lead the Knicks to the playoffs, a feat which hasn't been accomplished in almost a decade.

The hype around the Celtics this year isn't as great as it was the last couple years. Injuries have slowed down this team, even though they went to the NBA Finals last year. Garnett and Pierce are constantly on the IR, and old vet Rasheed Wallace hasn't produced much for Boston. However, even with a tough regular season, the 3 seed Celtics had an amazing post-season run although falling short in the end. The only future the Celtics have is with Rajon Rondo, the tricky point guard who flourished in the playoffs last year. As the Boston Globe has printed, 'The Celtics may have sold their sole to the Devil for just one NBA championship.'

One of the most over-looked offseasons has to be the Chicago Bulls. Although they had a terrible year missing the post-season last year, they are back, and better than ever. Rose gets a new partner in the backcourt with Evan Turner, the great scorer out of Ohio State. Then in the frontcourt, there is new free agent Carlos Boozer who is very underrated and just as efficient as an all-star like Chris Bosh. Add Luol Deng, John Salmons, and Joakim Noah to the picture and the Bulls could be making some noise.



The rest of the Eastern conference is far off from the top. The Cavaliers and Heat look awful with their stars bolting. The Cavs need Mo Williams to somehow carry this team, while the Heat are relying on rookie Willie Warren to lead them. The Raptors lost Bosh, and now need Turkoglu and Calderon to somehow manage to win some games.

Some teams are hoping to make a jump to the contender list. One of those teams is the Charlotte Bobcats who finally made the playoffs last year, and shocked LeBron James and the Cavs, by knocking them out in the first round as the #8 seed. With Gerald Wallace and Stephen Jackson, their offense is explosive. When this team gets hot, they are not a team you want to face at all.

The Pacers with rookie sensation John Wall and leading scorer Danny Granger could suprise some people this year. With those two dynamic scorers, this team can face anybody. The Milwaukee Bucks could be put in the same category with the combination of Brandon Jennings and Andrew Bogut. The inside-out game is in full effect when facing the Bucks which makes them one of the more dangerous darkhorses in the East.

The Detroit Pistons are still trying to find their own identity as a team. They have a talented team with Rodney Stuckey, Richard Hamilton, Ben Gordon, Tayshaun Prince, and Charlie Villanueva but they are all perimeter players. The Pistons front office didn't do a good job of getting inside players, and just getting the same type of players. Hopefully new draft pick Greg Monroe can provide a spark inside.

The 76ers are coming off a decent year with them grabbing the #5 seed and getting bounced out in the 1st round by the Hawks. Allen Iverson and Andre Igoudala are an electrifying duo that can put up points. But other than them is where the 76ers weakness lies. Elton Brand and Samuel Dalembert struggle inside, and they have no true point guard unless Lou Williams steps up. They better hope Marcus Camby can help them out inside, or else this team isn't near the top.

With Gilbert Arenas, Antawn Jamison, and Caron Butler the Wizards look like a decent team that could compete. The problem is, is that Wizards management doesn't like the future of this squad and will likely blow it up. They want to trade most of their players for young prospects, draft picks, or expiring contracts so they can hopefully get something next year in free agency.

[RayAllen20]

I had already simmed/played through the first two weeks, so I will try and tell you all the big storylines that occurred before I start doing actual game up-dates and more in-depth around the league news.

[RayAllen20]

Nets spoil Spurs' ring ceremony with beatdown, send message to rest of the league



Tyreke Evans breaks his wrist. Out 4-6 weeks



Wall takes the NBA by storm, dropping 50 in a win against foe Brandon Jennings and the Bucks



Rockets are the first team to knock off the Nets, with a 101-98 OT victory.



Knicks are off to hot start, 1st in Eastern Conference at 6-1.



Taking care of bussiness down in OKC, 2nd in the Western Conference at 5-2



Kobe is still on top of his game, leading the Lakers to 6-1.



Without Tyreke Evans, the Kings have shocked the NBA world with a great 5-2 start



Hornets fire Scott, hire Jeff Bower. Bower decides to take the 2-3 zone to the NBA

[RayAllen20]

Game of the Week

@
(6-2) (4-4)
90-87

Thunderstorm settles in Detroit

The 'Durantula' strikes again, as Kevin Durant dropped 35 points on the Pistons, and elite defender Tayshaun Prince, as the Thunder escape with a 3 point victory at the Palace of Auburn Hills.

From the opening tip, Kevin Durant was scoring at will with a 17 point 1st quarter performance. In the second quarter, he was slowed down with double teams and only managed 3. With Durant slowed down, the Pistons managed to stay in the game, and at half time they only trailed 3, after a Durant 3 point buzzer beater.

The third quarter was back and forth, with Durant turning it on once again, and Ben Gordon coming off the bench on fire. Gordon ended up scoring 21 in the game, 13 in the 3rd quarter. The Thunder held a 5 point lead at the end, and came storming out for the 4th quarter. Nate Robinson had struggled all day, yet found his stroke in the 4th quarter. He scored 7 consecutive points for the Thunder to extend the lead to 9. Two straight fast breaks led to back to back alley-oops, one to Durant and one to Jeff Green. Yet once again, the Pistons managed to stay within distance as Hamilton and Gordon each hit back to back treys.

With 3 and a half minutes left, Westbrook and Robinson seemed to take the game out of reach as they hit back to back to back threes (2 Robinson, 1 Westbrook) and put the lead at 86-75, with only 2 minutes remaining. Although the game seemed to be headed in the Thunder's favor, this Piston squad did not give up. It started with their full-court pressure creating a turnover and an easy dunk. Then an easy Rodney Stuckey lay-up, and the lead was quickly cut to 7. After a stop, Ben Gordon drove to the rim, got hacked, and managed to do a circus reverse lay-up. He hit the free throw too, and once again with a minute left the Pistons found themselves back in it.

The Thunder responded by handing the ball to Durant who hit a tough, contested fade-away. Still Detroit quickly came back, and Stuckey found Greg Monroe open underneath for two. Their press created an 8 second violation, and Gordon hit a deep 3 with only 12 seconds left. Rookie James Anderson, from Oklahoma State, was subbed into the game, after not seeing a minute on the floor was fouled and calmly hit two free throws to make the lead at 3. With 8 seconds left, the Pistons called a timeout and received the ball at half-court. The inbound went to Rodney Stuckey, and ran a pick and pop play with Richard Hamilton. Stuckey got a decent look at an open 3, but it clanked out and the Thunder beat the Detroit Pistons, 80-77.

[RayAllen20]

After a rough 0-6 start, the Bulls have won 4 straight, for a reasonable 4-6 record


Pau Gasol tears labrum; out indefinitely


Magic quietly in 2nd place in the Eastern Conference behind Nets



Roy Hibbert growing tired of Indiana management; demands trade



Poor start has Suns in dead last; fans call for change



The Wolves have shocked the NBA and it's fans with a 8-2 start, good enough for 2nd place in the Western Conference



Greg Oden, Andre Miller, Martell Webster, and Patty Mills all benched by Blazers coaching staff for recent outbursts. Trades are expected soon.



Nets look forward to match-up against Lakers consisting of the #1 teams in the Eastern and Western Conference.



Since Scott firing, and change to 2-3 zone, the Hornets have gone from 0-6, to 3-6 with 3 consecutive victories



The Jazz stomp the defending champs, and roll over the Thunder sitting at 8-3