Fate and Fortune: The Andy McCutcheon Story (NBA 2K13)

[trekfan]

12-2-2012

The cold air blew at him as he stood outside on the balcony of his hotel, the sounds of the busy city all around him. It was true what they said about this place … it really didn’t sleep.


He looked back at his TV as Sportcenter was again running the highlights of the game. Andy smiled. He stepped back inside and focused on the TV, his mind replaying the moments live while the TV provided commentary.


“ … Suns at Knicks, the Garden rocking as the Knicks take the floor. The Knicks haven’t been particularly good this year, going 6-9 up to this point, but the Knicks have been good at defending their home court. The Suns Eric Gordon would change all that, his first game in the Garden in nearly two years and he didn’t disappoint.

Gordon shot the lights out of the Garden, going 12-24 and 2-5 from beyond the arc, his play a huge reason for the Suns win. The Knicks struggled all game especially Carmelo who missed a three not once … not twice … not three times … but four times on the same possession! Melo finished with an abysmal 18 points on 8-24 shooting, not hitting a single three in the entire game.

Amar’e showed up though, exploding in the fourth quarter for ten points and bringing the Knicks back to within two with four minutes to go.

But his former team refused to lose another close game and the Suns Eric Gordon took over the offense again, scoring his last six points in that time span, one clutch three pointer and a nice dunk, plus one at the foul line.

The Knicks frontline could not stop Gordon from getting inside, where he flourished all night despite the presence of Marcus Camby, Tyson Chandler, and Kurt Thomas.

The Knicks fall to 6-10 while the Suns record stands at 13-4. Now to our guy, Jalen Rose, for the game analysis … “


Andy rolled his eyes and muted the TV. Rose had already said what everyone else had said before … that the Suns won because Melo didn’t show.


It was a bit insulting to Andy, especially since Eric Gordon stepped up his game so dramatically. It looked like he finally found his groove but the next stretch of games would prove whether or not he really had.


There was a knock at the door and Andy opened it, expecting Gil with a bottle of booze and cigars.


Instead, he found Veronica. Her blonde hair was draped around her shoulders as she wore a stunning red dress, her eyes looking … hungry.


Andy felt his throat go dry.


She smirked at him. “This isn’t for you.”


Feeling profoundly embarrassed, Andy’s face turned beet red … in fact it may have matched the red on her dress. “I … I know that,” he weakly offered.


“Uh huh …” She rolled her eyes and sighed. “Mr. Sarver wanted me to tell you to get ready to meet with him on Thursday.”


Andy’s mind was still stuck in neutral as his eyes soaked in every detail of her. “Uh … sure … Thursday.”


“The Dallas game is that day, remember?” She said with growing annoyance.


He nodded.


She snapped her fingers and his eyes were drawn to her face. “Stop staring and listen … Sarver is quite pleased with how things are going but don’t think this is a meeting that’ll land you the job forever. He’s calling this meeting to gauge you … he thinks you’re assistant GM is doing all the work.”


Andy blinked, the accusation snapping him out of his daze. “Gil and I work together. I oversaw the Gordon trade, he oversaw the Morrow one.”


“Maybe that’s so, but Sarver is going to go fishing and see how much you really know. If you manage to convince him you have a clue what you’re doing, he’ll let you be.”


“And if not?”


Veronica scoffed. “Then expect your buddy Gil to have your title unofficially while you sit and gather dust.” She brushed some lint off her red dress and glared at him. “Shut the door. Now.”


He frowned. “I wasn’t going to stare.”


“Door. Now.”


He sighed. “Why are you telling me this?”


“I have my reasons. Good night,” she said briskly.



She stood there, waiting for the door to shut. Reluctantly he did it.


It looked like he had a meeting to get ready for on Thursday.

[trekfan]

Phoenix Suns at Memphis Grizzlies
Dec 4, 2012	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Phoenix (15-4)	23	19	28	24	94
Memphis (10-6)	17	23	21	25	86

Suns 94, Grizzlies 86

MEMPHIS -- The Memphis Grizzlies might be singing the blues after this game as the Phoenix Suns came into their home arena and didn't let the Grizzlies get into any sort of offensive rhythm at all.

The Suns came into the game after an impressive win against the Knicks, lead by Eric Gordon, and carried the momentum from that game to this one. Gordon lead all scorers with 29 points, five rebounds, and four assists, going an efficient 12-16 from the field and 2-4 from beyond the arc.

"I was set up thanks to my teammates," said Gordon. "Goran was injured and he couldn't really get to the basket, so he just dished it to me over and over ... it was contagious really."

Goran Dragic suffered a bruised thigh in the first quarter but stayed in. His ability to drive to the basket was hampered however, as he only scored two points the entire game. Dragic did come away with 10 assists his focus turned to setting up his teammates.

"I was feeling it and I knew my shot was off ... so I just found everyone else," said Dragic. "I'm not gonna let a thigh bruise keep me out of the game ... it's gonna take a lot more than that to keep me on the bench."

Dragic stayed in the game but the Grizzlies took advantage of his injury, giving Jared Bayless the go ahead to take it to Dragic as often as he wanted. Bayless was starting in place of the injured Mike Conley. Bayless finished with 19 points but went 7-20 from the field.

"I had my shots and they didn't fall. That's all," said Bayless.

The Suns frontline dominated again, Gortat and Scola both pulling in 18 points and seven rebounds each. The Suns also got help off the bench from Greg Oden, who scored 10 points and pulled down six boards, and Markeiff Morris, who had seven points.

The Suns offense was high flying all night, an impressive five alley-oops involving seven different players being converted.

"It was like watching a game from a few years back," said Suns coach Alvin Gentry. "We were just running it up and down the court, taking to the air ... tonight was a good win and one I hope we can build upon."

Coach Lionel Hollins of the Grizzlies was not so upbeat.

"We shot very poorly tonight and that's something that can be corrected in practice. We're going to be doing a lot of that in the next few days," said Hollins.

[trekfan]

12-6-2012



“How do you take your coffee?”


Andy flashed a small grin at owner Robert Sarver, trying his best not to appear as nervous as he was. He’d lost sleep thinking about this meeting, wondering if Sarver was going to try and force him out … the Suns were the surprise team of the NBA and Andy wanted to see things through.


“I don’t drink coffee,” he said with a dry mouth.


Sarver looked at him curiously. “What do you drink?”


“Green tea, actually.”


Sarver shrugged and ordered himself one coffee. The two were meeting in some swanky club in downtown Phoenix that Andy had no idea existed before today. The place was decked out in silver and gold tones, the tables made of a very expensive and dark looking wood.


Andy felt like he needed a few more zeroes on the end of his paycheck just to get into this place.


“Andy, I want to pick your brain,” Sarver said as his coffee arrived. He picked it up and took a sip out of it, his face lighting up. “Best coffee in the state.”


Andy cleared his throat. “Feel free to ask anything,” he said as his hands gripped the bottom of the table.


Sarver set his cup down. “The Gordon trade … your idea, right?”


“Yes, sir.”


Sarver nodded. “Say we don’t want to keep Gordon … that we want to move in a different direction. Where would you send him and what would you get?”


Andy stared at him. “Why would we want to send Gordon away?”


“Just entertain the notion,” Sarver said dismissively.


Andy put aside his growing sense of panic and focused on the question. “Well … what are we looking for?”


“Someone in the frontcourt.”


Andy thought for a moment, his mind working on the problem. Gordon was young, talented, and was performing well. His stock was high at the moment but his position, shooting guard, was not one in high demand across the league.


“I could trade him to the Jazz for Favors and Burks I think.”


Sarver narrowed his eyes. “And what if they don’t want to part with Favors?”


“Then I could send him to the Hawks for Josh Smith. We’d have to bring another team in to help them unload Louis Williams and get back a power forward, but it could be done. Smith isn’t guaranteed to stay with the Hawks and they would love to have a young gun like Gordon locked in for a few years as they let him and Horford run a good pick and roll.” Andy leaned back in his chair. “Are you concerned about the money?”


Sarver frowned. “I’m always concerned about the money.”


“We’re under the cap and we’re nowhere near the luxury tax. We’ll be fine,” Andy assured him.


Sarver took a sip of his coffee and set it down. “Let me ask you something else … not business related.” He set the cup down and whispered, “Do you ever think about that day?”


Andy took a moment to judge the question. Was it genuine? Was it some sort of test?


He decided to treat it like it was genuine. “Often,” he admitted.


Sarver seemed to want to say something else but his phone vibrated. He looked at it and grumbled. “I have to go … but this was a nice

conversation.”


Andy blinked at him. “What the hell was this about?”


Sarver smirked. “A good businessman does research … that’s what this was.

Research and coffee, Andy.” He waved the waiter over and told him to put it on his tab. With that he stood. “You can go ahead and order whatever else you’d like for the road … I recommend the French toast. They’ll put it on my tab.”


Andy stood as well, his mind not grasping what was going on. “This was research?”


Sarver wagged a finger at him and kept walking. “We’ll talk again,” he said over his shoulder.


Andy was now alone.


He sat down and waved the waiter over.


“French toast and your best glass of chocolate milk,” he ordered.


The waiter looked at him questioningly. “Chocolate milk, sir?”


“Actually … just make it a chocolate milkshake.”


The waiter offered a small grin. “Very good, sir.” He left.


If Sarver was going to pay for his breakfast, he might as well make it a damned good one.


Sarver at least owned him that much if he wasn’t going to explain anything else.

[trekfan]

The quarterly breakdown: Suns lead west


Tim Hardy

December 7, 2012

PHOENIX – The Phoenix Suns are the surprise team of the NBA. That is a fact. But whether the Suns can carry this momentum into the next part of the season remains a mystery. The Suns have made adjustments and their offense is now starting with Eric Gordon and his playmaking abilities are opening up lanes for his teammates.


This was on display Thursday night as the Dallas Mavericks visited the Suns and got scorched by Eric Gordon for 25 points. Gordon went 9-16 from the field and dished out four assists. The Suns won the game easily 90-76 as the Mavericks first quarter lead evaporated from the second quarter onward.


The absence of Dirk Nowitzki understandably made Dallas less potent offensively but defensively the team struggled to contain the driving Eric Gordon and his ability to dish to the open man under the rim, usually Luis Scola. Scola finished the game with 24 points and 10 boards, showing that even with the bothersome Elton Brand covering him he could still score at will.


The scary thing? The Suns aren’t at full power as Goran Dragic continues to battle through a bruised thigh while Anthony Morrow, a key contributor off the bench, also battles through a minor injury of his own. Despite those injuries the Suns are leading the Western Conference standings by two games by three games.


With their record sitting at 16-4, the Suns are now a quarter of the way through their season. But they are certainly not a lock to make the playoffs, even at this point. Here are the Suns biggest threats as it stands now:



LA Clippers (12-6)


The Clippers dynamic duo of Blake Griffin and CP3 are continuing to fly high as the rest of the league looks on in wonder. They also make the Suns nervous. CP3 is clearly a superior point guard to Goran Dragic and Griffin will toy with Scola all day at the four. The Clippers also possess their secret weapon, Grant Hill, who was with the Suns last year. Hill knows this personnel and this coaching staff: his insights will give the Clippers a valuable tool in determining how to slow down this Suns offense.


They meet next on November 8^th.



LA Lakers (12-7)


The Lakers have not forgotten their early season loss to the Suns and look to avenge it. The return of Steve Nash to their lineup has bolstered their ranks and has made all the difference in the world, making Dwight Howard lethal offensively. Howard is averaging 24 points per game, the highest of his career, as Nash and he perform the pick and roll that Phoenix used to run better than anyone.


The Suns should be worried about these Lakers. Nash is directing the offense beautifully and though his own scoring average is down, he’s making everyone around him better. You can be sure Kobe Bryant is ready to avenge that early season loss.


The next meet on January 30^th.


OKC Thunder (10-9)


It’s been a slow start to the season for the Thunder but they’ve won their last three games, finally emerging from under .500 thanks to the efforts of Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. The Thunder is a team that

possesses an embarrassing amount of talent and the best pure scorer in the game in Durant.


But they’re also a team suffering from distraction. The James Harden situation continues to drag on as both sides continue to negotiate. The Suns no longer need Harden after their acquisition of Gordon, but don’t think the Thunder aren’t worried that Phoenix will offer him anyway to force them to pay the max, which sources inside the organization say is something the Thunder may not do.


The game on the court should prove to be just as interesting as the game off it, as the Harden vs. Gordon matchup could be a very entertaining one and a preview of things to come in the future.


They next meet December 31^st.



Memphis Grizzlies (10-6)


This team is one that is similarly constructed to the Suns, with only one key difference: instead of a scoring shooting guard, the Grizzlies have a scoring small forward. Both teams battled it out before in a game that featured many fouls and many highlight worthy plays. The Grizzlies did not shoot well the last time against the Suns and look to correct that in their next game.


The Suns, for their part, must feel comfortable at being able to deal with the Grizzlies before, especially with Dragic’s injury. Once Dragic returns to full strength expect the Suns to run the floor even faster than they did in that game. This could be a playoff preview between two up and coming teams.


They next meet December 12^th.

[theycallmeryan]

This is really good, I like the focus on the off-court issues, but I think on the court it's a little unrealistic with how well the Suns are doing, maybe bump up the sliders/difficulty and try to finish in the middle of the pack/barely in the playoffs for your first season.

[trekfan]

Quote: Originally Posted by theycallmeryan

This is really good, I like the focus on the off-court issues, but I think on the court it's a little unrealistic with how well the Suns are doing, maybe bump up the sliders/difficulty and try to finish in the middle of the pack/barely in the playoffs for your first season.

As much as I would like to say that the on the court stuff is pure cheese, each game is tough to play. I've only played half and simmed the other half, getting me this record. I anticipate there to be a drop off as the season goes along and the Suns face tougher competition. Every team we've faced up to this point has had someone important missing from the lineup ... Dallas was missing Dirk, the Lakers were missing Steve Nash, the Heat were missing Lebron and Mario for a while, and the early season is like that for all the teams.

I did lose to the Bulls and then suffered a heartbreaker against the Blazers, both teams I *should* have won against but I lost both times playing those games (my pride has yet to recover, lol) so I'm gonna keep the sliders as they are for now.

I'm using MKharshes sliders, his first set, so I may switch to the harder set if I don't lose another game (while I play) anytime soon. But, just for reference, the Hawks are 13-2 in the East so my record isn't *that* inflated compared to them.

Happy that you're liking things so far though.

[trekfan]

Phoenix Suns at Los Angeles Clippers
Dec 8, 2012	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Phoenix (17-4)	26	23	29	30	108
Los Angeles (12-7)	28	21	19	27	95

Suns 108, Clippers 95

PHOENIX -- The Suns continued their hot streak Saturday night in Staples Center as the LA Clippers tried and failed to contain their devastating offensive attack. Eric Gordon again led the way for the Suns, finishing with 34 points and eight assists. For Gordon, this game was personal, as the Clippers traded him last season to the Hornets for Chris Paul.

"Yeah, this one meant something," said Gordon, who was unusually emotional during the game, getting chatty with some of his former teammates. "I wanted to go out there and show my new team how good I am ... I wanted to show my old team what they were missing out on."

Chris Paul did not have a spectacular night, finishing with only 15 points and seven assists, but that didn't stop others on the Clippers from making this a game. The team played well in the first half, storming back from a six point second quarter deficit to tie the game at 49 during halftime.

The outstanding play of Jamal Crawford in the first half was the main reason for the tie but halftime cooled Crawford off. He scored only eight of his 24 points in the second half, which was one the reasons why the Clippers fell behind in the third quarter.

"I got cold and I just couldn't get warmed back up," said Crawford.

Blake Griffin tried his best to bring the team back, closing the lead to eight points with 7:54 to go in the fourth, but he was unable to get many more points after that. Griffin finished with 20 points and 10 boards, on a very efficient 9-14 from the field.

"As a team we didn't step it up when we needed to ... this is a teaching moment," said Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro.

Griffin lost the matchup at power forward to the veteran Luis Scola, who continues to score despite his age and relative lack of athleticism. Scola finished with 26 points and 10 boards, not missing a shot until the fourth quarter.

"Luis played great tonight," said Suns coach Alvin Gentry. "This is what we like to see as a team ... a night like this where no one is afraid of the big moments."

[letsgocavs99]

Really enjoying this, keep up the good work!