Who Needs LeBron? ~ A Miami Heat MyLeague Series (NBA2k15/PS4)

[Number999]

Heat vs Cavs I

It's December 24th, the eve of Christmas as well as yes... the first legit rematch between LeBron James and the Miami Heat. Taking place in the Heat's arena, you can sure as hell bet this ones gonna be as intense as they come. A revived Dwyane Wade will be trying to take down the King, while you can bet that the stretch forwards who provide 3 point capabilities in Kevin Love and Chris Bosh will be battling down low. The one edge the Cavaliers do have is the fact that point guard Kyrie Irving will be going up against Norris Cole, Cole better have his A game going.

For things favoring Miami, you of course got the fact Wade will be going up against Dion Waiters which Wade should be the favorite in. Another factor is Kevin Love has been dealing with a pinched nerve in his back which has had him shaky for the last 2-4 weeks. The battle between Josh McRoberts and Tristan Thompson should also be a fun one.

But, of course an underrated factor that takes place is the fact that LeBron not only brought himself back to Cleveland, he toke things away from Miami. Yes, you can say that Mike Miller was amnestied from Miami so he shouldn't count but he was taken by LeBron to go be there in Cleveland. As well, you got James Jones.. a Miami native, he as well decided to go and head to Cleveland with LeBron. Ray Allen was tempted by a pitches made by him but opted to stay in Miami instead and just settle down in South Florida.

It's gonna be a damn good matchup, but let's see how it goes. (note: I will be playing the full game).

[Number999]

DANNY GRANGER!!!!!!

Cleveland Cavaliers at Miami Heat
Dec 25, 2014	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Cleveland (19-8)	29	34	25	29	117
Miami (20-9)	26	33	33	26	118

Cleveland Cavaliers
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Kyrie Irving	39	8-23	1-6	1-2	7	9	1	0	0	18
Dion Waiters	36	2-9	0-0	3-4	4	3	0	0	0	7
LeBron James	39	17-28	1-3	0-0	6	6	1	1	2	35
Kevin Love	33	6-13	0-1	2-2	10	1	4	0	3	14
Anderson Varejao	32	10-15	0-0	2-3	16	4	1	0	0	22
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Tristan Thompson	21	1-4	0-0	0-0	4	1	0	0	0	2
Shawn Marion	16	2-4	0-0	1-2	3	1	0	0	0	5
Mike Miller	13	2-4	0-1	0-0	2	1	0	0	0	4
Matthew Dellavedova	10	2-3	0-0	1-2	1	1	0	0	1	5
James Jones	6	2-2	1-1	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	5
AJ Price	DNP	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Louis Amundson	DNP	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Joe Harris	DNP	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0
TEAM TOTALS		52/105	3/12	10/15	54	27	7	1	6	117

Miami Heat
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Norris Cole	18	4-10	2-6	0-0	2	1	1	0	0	10
Dwyane Wade	36	12-19	1-2	3-6	4	5	0	1	1	28
Luol Deng	41	7-15	2-5	2-2	7	4	0	1	2	18
Josh McRoberts	24	1-2	0-0	4-7	10	1	1	2	1	6
Chris Bosh	35	10-15	0-1	2-4	8	2	0	1	2	22
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Ray Allen	21	3-8	3-5	0-0	1	2	0	0	3	9
Emeka Okafor	15	2-5	0-2	0-0	6	1	1	3	0	4
James Ennis	14	3-5	1-1	0-0	2	4	0	1	0	7
Shabazz Napier	12	2-4	1-3	0-0	1	2	0	0	0	5
Danny Granger	10	2-5	1-2	0-0	2	1	0	0	0	5
Chris Andersen	10	1-2	0-0	0-0	3	1	0	0	0	2
Mario Chalmers	7	1-2	0-1	0-0	0	2	0	0	0	2
Reggie Evans	4	0-0	0-0	0-2	1	0	0	0	1	0
TEAM TOTALS		48/92	11/28	11/21	47	26	3	9	11	118

Game Recap: What a legendary game! Holy crap... let's see why I'm going freaking Danny Granger!!!!!

With 6:35 to go in the 4th quarter, the Heat are up 108-96... the game should be over, but LeBron just takes over. A jumpshot, a 3pt shot, two free throws by Waiters, a LeBron dunk, and a LeBron layup make it 108-107 Heat with just 3:09 remaining in the game. Cole is able to hit a layup that makes it 110-107 but the Cavs weren't just gonna go down easily.

Irving gets an easy layup and Waiters gets fouled, he misses a free throw though to tie up the game at 110-110. With a Heat miss, LeBron James makes a layup and gives the Cavaliers the lead by 2 with just 1:45 to go in the game! McRoberts gets fouled and goes to the line, misses the firs but maxes the second to make it a 1pt game.

After a massive Cavs stop, Bosh makes a layup with 45 seconds to go to give the Heat a 1pt lead. Sadly, LeBron returns the favor with a jumpshot of his own to give them the lead. The Heat try and take a quick shot but miss! Kyrie is fouled! 24 seconds remaining... Kyrie MISSES THE FIRST! He makes the second though to give the Cavs a 115-113 lead with just 24 seconds to go.

Wade has the ball... he's looking gets a pick from Bosh and shoots, BANG!!! HEAT TIE UP THE GAME AT 115 ALL WITH 10 SECONDS TO GO!

The Cavs take a timeout, LeBron drives to the lane but kicks it out to Love, SPLASH! LOVE SINKS IT! THE CAVS TAKE A 2 POINT LEAD WITH 7 SECONDS REMAINING! WHAT A PASS BY LEBRON!

After a Heat timeout, you can see the tiredness but determined Dwyane Wade.. he wasn't gonna go down. Bosh in-bounds it to Wade, he does a little shimmy to get past Waiters but Love comes to help he kicks it out to DANNY GRANGER AND KABOOM! WHAT A SHOT BY GRANGER FOR BUZZER BEATER! HEAT WIN! HEAT WIN! 118-117 LADIES AND GENTLEMAN!

The funny thing is, Spoelstra knew he would have to kick it out for a 3... he put in Ray at the point, Deng at the 3, and Bosh at the 5... McRoberts wasn't doing all so hot so he said Granger has the size, put him out there. What'dya know? Even though he didn't play very much, what a ****ing shot by him! This gives the Heat/Cavs series a 1-0 lead to the Heat, what a fantastic game!

It wasn't all peaches though. In the 2nd quarter, Anderson Varejao flagrant fouled Reggie Evans to give him 2 free throws. He missed both but you saw Bosh give a word to Varejao about his crap. The skirmish was very quickly dissipated by the refs.

LeBron James and Dwyane Wade hugged after the game in the locker rooms.

[Number999]

Kobe Bryant breaks foot, out 8-10 weeks

It's some sad news today for the NBA family. On December 25th, 2014 against the Chicago Bulls on Christmas day, Kobe Bryant broke his foot in the 2nd quarter with 11 minutes remaining. It was a very tough site to see as you could clearly see the distortion in his injury, he was on the ground in agony until the medical staff came by and helped him off the floor. Major props to the Bulls crowd who gave a very large applause to Kobe as he gave a thumbs up to the crowd and headed for the locker-room.

What many feared, he had suffered a broken foot. He'll be out for around the next 2 months, and that's being generous with the time frame. Kobe has been having a fairly decent season. Through 29 games, he was putting up 20.2 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 4.6 APG, 0.7 SPG, along with .472 FG%, .377 3PT%, and a .861 FT%.

It wasn't all too shabby of a start from a player coming off a catastrophic injury in the 2013-2014 season. The Lakers of course ended up doing fairly terrible and drafted Julius Randle with their high selection. This season, the Lakers weren't doing much better. They're 9-20 and currently sit at 3rd from the bottom in the Western Conference. The worst part possibly is the fact that they don't own their selection... the Phoenix Suns do, and they also have the 76ers selection. What are the chances the Suns can snag two Top 5 draft picks? Damn.

Kobe released this tweet after the announcement had been made.

Kobe: "Keep your heads up, Lakers fan. Doc says I'll be out 8-10 weeks due to my broken foot. #GetToWork #LakersNation."

It's a very sad thing to happen after such a great day of basketball when you factor in the Cavaliers vs Heat game, the sad thing is... could this be the end of Kobe? This is gonna be his 3rd major injury he's going to have to return from.. it's always rough seeing one of the greats go through this at the tail end of his career.

[Number999]

Let the fire-sales commence?

According to many reports from various sources, quite a few teams that are now out of contention are going to be looking to move some assets in order to start building towards the future. It's also the perfect time for fringe contenders or already contenders to look to add those final one or two pieces they need in order to be 100% legit. Let's take a look at these teams.

Utah Jazz

Haralabob Voulgaris: Let the Jazz firesale begin. Who will they trade first?

As Voulgaris reported, the Jazz currently sit at 8-21 and are 2nd to last in the Western Conference. It's not looking pretty for them, and it really comes as no surprise. They drafted Dante Exum who's a player that may be quite good in the future. But the 19-year old currently isn't going to make the Jazz better. They also re-signed the likes of Gordon Hayward, a restricted free agent last season and have pieces... but who will they move?

In all honesty, I don't see what. From the oldest Top 5 players, Dahantay Jones is 33, Steve Novak is 31, Jeremy Evans is 27, Trevor Booker is 27, and Toure Murray is 25. Those are literally the Jazz 5 oldest players. Their entire roster is freakishly young. Hayward is 24, Burks is 23, Favors is 23, Kanter is 22, Gobert is 22, Burke is 22, Exum is 19... this is straight down young roster. I imagine they'll be looking to move the likes of Novak and Booker, but in all honesty this isn't a fire sale situation.. it's just a young team that needs a leader at the moment. Now, who's the next team?

Los Angeles Lakers

Peter Edmiston: The Lakers are on the market. Look for some cost-cutting moves VERY soon. #TradableAssets

Welp.. you guessed it. The Lakers are 9-20 and currently sit at 3rd from the bottom in the Western Conference. It's a sad state of events, but with the way the Western Conference is with how stacked it is, Kobe's injury which means he's out for the next 2 months, and the fact they don't even have their own first round pick mean that Mitch is gonna have to pull off some magic in order to get some value for this roster. Let's look at some of the pieces they can move.

First off, Steve Nash... 40-years old. The former Suns' superstar contract is expiring this year, it's doubtful with his massive expiring that he can get moved but... for a contender if he can come off the bench and make something happen? Maybe... it'd be fun to see Nash get one last shot at a title. After him, you got the 2nd oldest player on the team being Kobe... now of course the Lakers would never ever ever move him... but it helps with his massive deal, the fact he's injured, and the fact that he's the face of this crappy Lakers franchise at the moment helps.

After those two, you got the likes of Carlos Boozer 33, Nick Young 29, Jordan Hill 27, Wesley Johnson 27, and Wayne Ellington 27. All those guys could be possibly contributors to a team that's in need of a bench guy. Swaggy P to provide some off the bench scoring? Perhaps Boozer just to give you that extra big man you need. The Lakers also could possibly move Jeremy Lin, but he's only 26-years old and has been having a very meh season.. it's doubtful you could get value for him right now.

Denver Nuggets

Matt Moore: The Nuggets are up for sale. Look for roster moves to make the bottom line look more appealing.

The Nuggets, unlike both the Jazz and Lakers aren't totally out of it.... yet. They sit at 12-17 which puts them at 10th in the conference. The Warriors currently are the #8 seed in the West and are 14-14, perhaps a little run could get the Nuggets in? But considering they've already fired Brian Shaw from the team and hired interim Logan Schmidt, it's looking quite doubtful at the moment that the Nuggets are all of a sudden gonna turn it around. So, let's take a look at the possible pieces that could be moved.

The oldest players on the roster are Randy Foye 31, Nate Robinson 30, Arron Afflalo 29, Timofey Mozgov 28, and a tie between Alonzo Gee and Ty Lawson at 27. Well, personally I find it very doubtful the Nuggets would move Ty Lawson who's currently the face of the team. He's signed for the next 3 seasons and is playing well... but eh? The Nuggets probably have the best pieces to move of the 3 teams mentioned. Robinson could be a fantastic off the bench PG scoring outlet, like his Bulls days. Afflalo could be a fantastic starter for a team that has a gaping hole at SG, and Mozgov could also be a very solid bench big. I expect the Nuggets to get some phone calls by teams.

Well those are the 3 teams that are currently rumored to be blowing it up.... surely more are to come.

Around the League:
Emeka Okafor has shin splints, but will play vs Orlando.
Amar'e Stoudemire wants to open up negotiations with NY.

[Number999]

Griz can't handle the Heat

Memphis Grizzlies at Miami Heat
Dec 27, 2014	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Memphis (7-22)	20	19	19	23	81
Miami (21-9)	22	19	35	21	97

Memphis Grizzlies
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Michael Beasley	18	3-9	0-0	9-9	5	0	1	0	2	15
Tayshaun Prince	34	7-13	1-1	0-2	8	0	0	0	4	15
Jarnell Stokes	34	6-10	0-0	2-2	6	1	4	1	6	14
TEAM TOTALS		31/74	3/14	16/19	44	20	13	3	23	81

Miami Heat
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Dwyane Wade	31	7-12	2-2	1-3	5	6	3	1	3	17
Danny Granger	11	4-6	2-4	4-5	3	0	0	0	0	14
Chris Bosh	28	4-11	0-2	3-4	10	2	1	1	1	11
TEAM TOTALS		37/77	9/23	14/22	42	26	10	4	18	97

Game Recap: Woooooo baby! Danny Granger ladies and gentleman. He's really turned it up these last 2 games. That massive clutch game-winner vs the Cavaliers and now today he's he 2nd leading scorer against the Memphis Grizzlies. While the Grizzlies have been a terrible team, as seen by the Jazz game you still need to come to play. The likes of Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph played terrible though, as seen by their record. When Michael Beasley is your leading scorer, a huge mistake has been made.

Around the League:
Magic have won 5 straight.
Rudy Gay drops 32 points posting a season high in victory.
Barganni re-signs with Knicks for 3-years/11.45M.
Stoudemire re-signs with Knicks for 2-years/9.82M. (lol)
Nuggets are on 5 game winning streak.
Marcus Morris is on the Suns trading block.
Lin re-signs with Lakers for 3-years/18.61M.

Not even Magic for Orlando

Orlando Magic at Miami Heat
Dec 29, 2014	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Orlando (14-19)	30	20	18	20	88
Miami (22-9)	30	20	16	27	93

Orlando Magic
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Channing Frye	27	6-9	0-1	2-2	7	0	0	0	0	14
Luke Ridnour	39	5-15	2-7	1-2	4	8	1	0	2	13
Evan Fournier	33	4-12	2-4	1-2	3	5	2	1	4	11
TEAM TOTALS		36/77	6/21	10/13	40	17	8	4	20	88

Miami Heat
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Luol Deng	33	7-14	2-7	0-0	10	1	1	0	3	16
Dwyane Wade	31	6-12	1-1	3-4	3	4	3	1	3	16
Ray Allen	19	2-6	1-3	4-4	2	1	1	0	2	9
TEAM TOTALS		36/80	7/23	14/19	43	19	11	5	17	93

Game Recap: It was a much tighter game than could have been predicted, but the Heat came away on top. Funny enough, the Magic had a 88-85 lead late in the 4th but Luol Deng made a MASSIVE 3 point shot and the Magic couldn't score another bucket after that. Fantastic win for the Heat and before you know it they're on another 4 game winning streak. Things are looking quite up for them at the moment.

Around the League:
Clippers on 5 game winning streak.
Cavs re-sign Anderson Varejao for 2-years/9.02M, he dominated the Heat.
Nuggets are on a 6-game winning streak!
Grizzlies are on a 7-game losing streak.

JESUS SHUTTLESWORTH!

Miami Heat at Indiana Pacers
Dec 31, 2014	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Miami (23-9)	26	27	16	26	95
Indiana (20-12)	19	24	23	27	93

Miami Heat
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Dwyane Wade	30	8-14	1-1	4-6	9	5	2	0	3	21
Ray Allen	22	5-8	1-3	2-2	3	4	2	1	0	13
Luol Deng	30	4-8	0-2	2-2	8	3	0	1	2	10
TEAM TOTALS		35/76	7/17	18/24	44	18	8	8	12	95

Indiana Pacers
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Paul George	43	7-15	2-3	2-2	8	6	1	1	5	18
CJ MIles	38	5-14	2-3	4-5	9	2	3	0	2	16
David West	31	7-14	0-0	2-2	4	0	1	0	3	16
TEAM TOTALS		32/77	7/13	22/29	49	19	5	6	13	93

Game Recap: WHAT A GAME! To set up the last shot, Wade had just made 2 free throws with 20 seconds left to tie up the game at 93-93 all. When the Pacers got the ball, the clock was ticking... West in the post against Danny Granger, he takes a shot and bricks it! Wade rushes down the floor, he tosses it to Ray Allen who's directly at the free throw line, 1 SECOND AND BANG!!!!! GAME-WINNER! DID HE GET IT IN TIME THOUGH? The refs review and he did! You could drop a pin in the Pacers arena and hear it, what a frigging shot and what a win for Miami!

Around the League:
Kevin Durant (West) and Carmelo Anthony (East) named players of the month.
DeAndre Jordan re-signs with Clippers for 3-years/34.44M.
Dirk Nowitzki gets season high 16 rebounds in win.
Thunder have won 5 straight.
Lakers lose 5th straight game.

[Number999]

14-15 Power Rankings Update #2

Time for edition #2... we're into the year 2015, let's see where everyone stands!

NBA.Com

#1. Dallas Mavericks: 25-9
#2. Miami Heat: 24-9
#3. Cleveland Cavaliers: 23-10
#4. Oklahoma City Thunder: 23-11
#5. Chicago Bulls: 24-9
-------------------------------
#26. New Orleans Pelicans: 12-21
#27. Minnesota Timberwolves: 10-21
#28. Detroit Pistons: 8-24
#29. Los Angeles Lakers: 9-24
#30. Philadelphia 76ers: 7-24

2k-Sports:

#1. Miami Heat: 24-9
#2. San Antonio Spurs: 24-10
#3. Oklahoma City Thunder: 23-11
#4. Dallas Mavericks: 25-9
#5. Los Angeles Clippers: 22-11
-------------------------------
#26. Milwaukee Bucks: 13-21
#27. Minnesota Timberwolves: 10-21
#28. Detroit Pistons: 8-24
#29. Los Angeles Lakers: 9-24
#30. Philadelphia 76ers: 7-24

Marc J. Spears:

#1. Dallas Mavericks: 25-9
#2. Chicago Bulls: 24-9
#3. Miami Heat: 24-9
#4. Portland Trailblazers: 21-12
#5. San Antonio Spurs: 24-10
-------------------------------
#26. Utah Jazz: 10-23
#27. Los Angeles Lakers: 9-24
#28. Detroit Pistons: 8-24
#29. Memphis Grizzlies: 8-24
#30. Philadelphia 76ers: 7-24

Indeed... it appears the Mavericks sure are quite the hot topic right now. Look at them Heat though! Towards the bottom, poor 76ers.. and with Marc Gasol looking to leave Memphis, you gotta feel for fans of the Grizz.

[Number999]

Napier is the next big thing, Granger suffers brutal injury

Miami Heat at Houston Rockets
Jan 3, 2015	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Miami (24-9)	25	16	32	32	105
Houston (16-16)	36	18	32	25	111

Miami Heat
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Shabazz Napier	17	8-13	5-10	0-0	0	7	1	0	0	21
Dwyane Wade	23	3-6	1-2	6-7	2	3	0	0	2	13
Ray Allen	20	4-9	3-7	2-2	2	3	0	1	2	13
TEAM TOTALS		37/81	12/32	19/27	52	23	5	7	22	105

Houston Rockets
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
James Harden	30	11-18	3-6	5-5	6	3	1	0	1	30
Dwight Howard	27	8-15	0-0	6-10	4	2	1	2	1	22
Terrence Jones	42	6-13	2-2	4-8	5	1	0	1	1	18
TEAM TOTALS		42/93	9/19	18/27	42	24	8	5	10	111

Game Recap: The Heat... they lost? Why is Napier legit? Well let me set this up for you... that 6 point loss wasn't 6 points. The Heat were down by 22 in the middle of the 4th quarter... then Danny Granger suffered a gruesome injury and Spoelstra decided to remove all the starters from the game and send out a lineup of Napier/Allen/Ennis/Andersen/Evans... guess what happened? He took the game by the ****ing horns and ran with it. He scored 21 points in the entire game, 19 of those came in the 4th quarter. All 5 of those massive 3's, he just couldn't be stopped by the Rockets. It got close to a 5 point game but there was too little time, and the Rockets prevailed, but if that doesn't tell you this Shabazz kid is legit, I don't know what will.

Now... the Danny Granger injury....

[Number999]

Danny Granger's season is finished

In some depressing news to report, Danny Granger's season is finished. In the 4th quarter with around 7 minutes remaining Granger went up for a 3pt shot while the Heat were down by 23, he came up lame and was down on the ground in agony. It was a very rough injury to watch for the crowd at the Rockets arena, the medical staff came out and he was carried off to the locker-rooms afterwards.

As many had feared, the injury was a broken kneecap, it had simply shattered. This will sideline Granger for the next 4-6 months which will end his 2014-2015 season. It's a true shame and bitter end to Granger's season after he was hoping to get back on track in a new city with a new team. Many had doubts he could ever return to his dominant Pacers days, he wasn't excelling with the Heat as he was putting up a mere 3.5PPG in 9 minutes, but Granger provided size at the 4 with 3-point ability.

That's now taken away. His 3pointer vs the Cavaliers to beat them won't be forgotten, but considering he has a player option for next season to stay with the Heat he'll likely accept it. The 31-year old is gonna have to start questioning just how long he wants to continue playing in the NBA. With this amount of injuries, it's beginning to get to the point where you wonder where he can head to next with all the baggage he currently has. He's a tremendous locker-room presence though, and you can bet the Heat roster will be playing for him the rest of the year.