Clutch City - Houston Rockets

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So I have considered doing a Dynasty for a while and have even tried a couple in the past but I feel like I can truly stick to this one. For a few reasons. I will be playing a shortened season so I can control all the stats and truly control the outcome of my season. I figure doing these writeups will help fuel both staying interested in the franchise and into continuing to do the writeups.

The Rockets have made a lot of improvements this past offseason and the improvements are reflected into their good start this season. I look forward to getting to enjoy these upgrades in 2k and work towards getting back to Clutch City.

I would like to thank vtcha, jeremym480, and others for inspiring me to make this.

Settings
Roster: Official 2k Roster (12/8/16)
Sliders: Aaerios Gaming Sliders
Draft Class: 2017 Draft Class by EmbraceThePace
Season Length: 14 Games
Quarter Length: 12 Minutes
Conference Quarterfinals: 3 Games
Conference Semifinals: 5 Games
Conference Finals: 7 Games
NBA Finals: 7 Games

Team Control
I will only be controlling the Rockets but may take control of other teams to keep the realism (No KD to the Nuggets, Boogie to Nets, etc). As well as making interesting trades that the CPU would never do.

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Re: Clutch City - Houston Rockets

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Re: Clutch City - Houston Rockets

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Rockets Complete Successful Offseason - Headlined by Harden Extension
The Rockets following an extremely disappointing season have had a fairly successful but potentially risky offseason. Following the completion of the season and the Rockets 5 game playoff series against the Warriors the Rockets started their off season drafting Chinanu Onuaku and Zhou Qi in the 2nd Round of the NBA Draft.

The team lost their first round pick to the Nuggets as part of the failed Ty Lawson trade who was bought out during the season. The pick was lottery protected and many were disappointed the Rockets did not tank to keep the pick, others agree it was good for the Rockets to remain competitive and they managed to steal one against the 73-9 Warriors in the playoffs.

Following this Rocket's Center Dwight Howard opted out of his contract this was no surprise following all the drama surrounding last season. Then it was time for Daryl Morey, one of the best in the business, to get to work on retooling the Rockets.

In a shocking move the team signed Mike D'Antoni, instead of addressing their clear weakness in defense the Rockets doubled down on offense with D'Antoni who led the Suns to many good seasons then had some failed stints with the Knicks and Lakers. The team also signed Jeff Bzdelik as the Associate Head Coach a defensive specialist from Memphis.

Then Daryl Morey and the Rockets went to building a team around their Superstar in James Harden. The Rockets met with a few different players but ended up signing Stretch 4 Ryan Anderson to a 4yr/80M contract. They then signed Eric Gordon to a 4yr/52M contract. The Rockets capped off their spending spree with signing Nene to a 1yr/2.9M contract.

The Rockets however were not quite done spending. They signed James Harden to a 2 year extension that also re-negotiated Harden's future salaries. Harden will earn 85 million in the next 3 years and has a player option for the 4th year worth 32.7M.

This move surprised many after the Rockets disappointing season many though Harden may be skeptical with the future of the Rockets but he doubled down and has committed to being a leader for this franchise.

All thats left now is to see how the season goes. With Opening Night only a few nights away we wont have to wait long to see.

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Re: Clutch City - Houston Rockets


Harden Vol. 1 Unveiled
James Hardens long awaited signature shoes have finally been unveiled. Harden signed a contract before last season with Adidas and his signature shoes have arrived.

The shoes will retail for $160 and will come in 5 different colorways. The official release date for the Pioneer shoes is December 3rd. However the "Imma be a Star" limited edition colorway will arrive November 23rd.

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Re: Clutch City - Houston Rockets


Rockets Steal One From Portland in Season Opener on the Road



The new era for the Rockets got off to an amazing start as James Harden had a career high 20 Assists along with 38 points and 9 Rebounds. Harden only had 2 turnovers in the game. The Rockets second leading scorer was Patrick Beverley 1 point shy of his career high.

Also in the game C.J. McCollum had a career high 44 points. Beverley shut down Damian Lillard for the first half but he would end the game with 25 points and 11 assists. The Trailblazers shot a staggering 53% from 3 but it wasnt enough to overcome the Rockets who came into the 4th Quarter down 3 but ended up winning by 5.

Box Score

Spoiler

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Re: Clutch City - Houston Rockets


Harden With 19 Assists Leads Rockets to Victory Against Spurs in Home Opener
James Harden has another amazing game going for 30 points, 7 rebounds, and 19 assists. Harden also had 7 turnovers but it wouldn't matter as a 45 point 3rd Quarter led the Rocekts to a 128-110 Victory.

The point differential outside of the 3rd Quarter was 2.

Ryan Anderson also had 27 points on 9-15 shooting and 7-9 from deep. Clint Capela also had 15 Points and a career high 20 Rebounds.

The Spurs did get blown out but they did have 6 players in double digits which is no shock. We knew the Rockets would struggle greatly on defense but it hasn't mattered too much as they move to 2-0 on the season against 2 playoff contenders.

In other news James Harden has been named player of the week for the Western Conference!

Box Score

Spoiler

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Re: Clutch City - Houston Rockets


James Harden Continues Hot Start with Triple Double in Blowout Against Kings
The Rockets keep rolling winning their 3rd game in a row, this one was over before it even started against the Kings. The Rockets were the heavy favorites coming into this game and they showed why. Harden continued his hot start with a 34 points, 10 rebounds, and 13 assist outing. Harden recorded 7 turnovers again but Harden also has the highest Usage Rate of anyone in the league.

The Rockets had 6 players in double digits. Ryan Anderson continues his hot start to the season recording 17 points on 7-11 shooting and 3-5 from three. Eric Gordon however continues to struggle, he did record 15 points and 5 assists but his shooting has been sub par to start the season. The Rockets do have a couple of young players taking major steps forward in Clint Capela and Sam Dekker.

Capela recorded double digit rebounds for the 3rd time this season. The Rockets, I'm sure hope he will develop into a better rim protector but for now he is grabbing boards and catching lobs.

The other player is Sam Dekker who recorded a total of 6 minutes last season nursing an injured back. This season he has shown that he is back and is more than capable of contributing to an NBA team. Dekker in 3 games has averaged 9.6 points, 4 rebounds, and 2.3 assists. This has helped the Rockets greatly as Ariza has really struggled on the offensive side of the ball but has been great on defense.

It wasn't all Rockets though, the Kings managed to get 5 players in double digits but noone above 20 points. Rudy Gay despite shooting poorly kept the game interesting as the Kings pulled within 12 at one point behind Gay's efforts in the second half but the Rockets were too much to handle.

Box Score

Spoiler

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Re: Clutch City - Houston Rockets


Rockets Drop First Game of the Season to the Jazz 122-108
The recipe for beating the deadly from range Rockets has been discovered! Pray they have a terrible shooting game. The rockets only shot 27% from 3 going 12-44 on the game. James Harden did manage to have another great game with 39 points, 9 rebounds, and 13 assists. Harden had 6 turnovers which certainly did not help the Rockets but he was the only one keeping the Rockets in it down the stretch.

The Rockets managed to have 6 players in double digits in the losing effort, Capela recording a double-double. Ryan Anderson was on point as usual going 8-14 from the field and 3-7 from 3 for 19 points as the Rockets second leading scorer.

The Rockets though could simply not stop the Jazz. Derrick Favors just bullied the Rockets around in the paint going for 27 points on 13-19 shooting. He wasn't alone in the domination though as Gordon Hayward also recorded 27 points, 3 other Jazz players were in double digits.

This doesnt tell the whole story though, at the end of the day the Rockets lost on the boards and they lost the game. Rudy Gobert simply dominated grabbing 22 boards including 8 offensive rebounds. The Rockets were out rebounded 51 to 41.

Box Score

Spoiler

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December Wrap-Up

Rockets Roundup
The Rockets have gotten off to a great start after coming into this season with a lot of uncertainty with the teams composition. But it appears the Rockets just plan to outscore their opponent. Who knows how this will play out in the playoffs but it is clear it works in the regular season.

NBA.com Power Rankings
1. Charlotte Hornets (4-1)
2. Cleveland Cavaliers (3-1)
3. Los Angeles Clippers (3-1)
4. Houston Rockets (3-1)
5. Chicago Bulls (3-1)
6. Indiana Pacers (3-1)
7. Oklahoma City Thunder (3-1)
8. Utah Jazz (3-1)
9. Minnesota Timberwolves (2-1)
10. New Orleans Pelicans (2-1)

Western Conference Standings
1. Utah Jazz (3-1)
2. Oklahoma City Thunder (3-1) - 0 GB
3. Los Angeles Clippers (3-1) - 0 GB
4. Houston Rockets (3-1) - 0 GB
5. Los Angeles Lakers (2-1) - 0.5 GB
6. Memphis Grizzlies (2-1) - 0.5 GB
7. Minnesota Timberwolves (2-1) - 0.5 GB
8. New Orleans Pelicans (2-1) - 0.5 GB
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9. Golden State Warriors (2-2) - 1.0 GB
12. San Antonio Spurs (1-3) - 2.0 GB

Eastern Conference Standings
1. Charlotte Hornets (4-1)
2. Cleveland Cavaliers (3-1) - 0.5 GB
3. Indiana Pacers (3-1) - 0.5 GB
4. Chicago Bulls (3-1) - 0.5 GB
5. Toronto Raptors (3-2) - 1.0 GB
6. Miami Heat (2-2) - 1.5 GB
7. Detroit Pistons (2-2) - 1.5 GB
8(t). New York Knicks (2-3) - 2.0 GB
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9(t). Orlando Magic (2-3) - 2.0 GB
10(t). Boston Celtics (2-3) - 2.0 GB
11(t). Philadelphia 76ers (2-3) - 2.0 GB
12(t). Atlanta Hawks (2-3) - 2.0 GB
13(t). Washington Wizards (2-3) - 2.0 GB
14(t). Milwuakee Bucks (2-3) - 2.0 GB

League Leaders

Points
1. J. Harden - 35.2 PPG
2. A. Davis - 33.3 PPG
3. K.Durant - 31.5 PPG
4. R. Westbrook - 30.5 PPG
5. S. Curry - 27.5 PPG

Rebounds
1. H. Whiteside - 15.7 RPG
2. A. Drummond - 15.2 RPG
3. D. Howard - 15.2 RPG
4. C. Capela - 13.8 RPG
5. R. Gobert - 13.5 RPG

Assists
1. J. Harden - 16.3 APG
2. R. Westbrook - 12.0 APG
3. D. Lillard - 11.8 APG
4. L. James - 11.5 APG
5. M. Conley - 11.0 APG

Award Races
Most Valuable Player
1. James Harden 35-8-16
2. Russell Westbrook 30-10-12
3. LeBron James 20-13-11
4. Kemba Walker 26-5-8
5. Nicholas Batum 17-4-7

Rookie of the Year
1. Ben Simmons 16-10-4
2. Joel Embiid 14-8-1
3. Tomas Satoransky 6-2-5
4. Caris LeVert 6-5-1
5. Kris Dunn 13-4-4

Sixth Man of the Year
1. Brandon Jennings 13-4-4
2. Brandon Knight 19-2-7
3. Jared Sullinger 5-7-4
4. Aaron Gordon 14-5-1
5. Jahlil Okafor 11-5-1

Defensive Player of the Year
1. LeBron James - 3.5 SPG - 2.3 BPG
2. DeAndre Jordan - 4 BPG
3. Andre Drummond - 2.3 SPG - 1.5 BPG
4. Clint Capela - 1.5 SPG - 2.0 BPG
5. Karl-Anthony Towns - 1.3 SPG - 2.0 BPG

Most Improved Player
1. Mason Plumlee 12-9-3
2. Clint Capela 9-13-1
3. Kemba Walker 26-5-8
4. D'Angelo Russell 21-4-5
5. Larry Nance 13-8-2

News Around the League

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Re: Clutch City - Houston Rockets


Rockets Bounce Back to Beat Mavericks 124-106
The Rockets bounce back from their loss to blow out the Mavericks behind Eric Gordons break out game as a Rocket scoring 27 points in only 25 minutes. Gordon shot 9-17 and 6-12 from range. James Harden was the Rockets second leading scorer with 24 points to go along with 11 assists.

Speaking of breakout games Ariza also finally got on track scoring 17 points going 6-11 and 4-9 from deep. A matter of fact all Rockets starters were in double digit points in a game that was close in the 1st quarter then all Rockets for the reck.

Dirk Nowitzki at 38 years old continues to carry the Mavericks it seems. Although he is not the leading scorer he showed up big for this game dropping 26 points. Wesley Matthews also dropped a season high 24 points.

The Mavericks actually had a solid game offensively shooting 59/33/56. A really solid game even. But they couldnt play defense which is what you need to do if you have any chance at beating these deadly Rockets.

Box Score

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Rockets Blow Out the Russell Westbrook's 109-89
The Rockets have won 2 in a row taking down Russell Westbrook's Thunder 109-89. In an all around team effort for the Rockets they had 6 players in double digits and both Harden and Gordon at 20+ points.

Motiejunas also had a breakout game scoring 15 points and 10 rebounds. DMO is really starting to look like his old self pre-injuries.

Russell Westbrook really just wasn't himself in this game despite scoring 32 points he only had 4 rebounds and 6 assists. Westbrook on the season is averaging 28-10-10. Leading the Thunder to a 5-3 record currently tied for the 2 Seed in the West.

Steven Adams also managed to score a career high 25 points but beyond Westbrook and Adams really no one for the Thunder showed up.

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