Making A Mark: NBA 2k17 MyLeague

[JazzMan]

Making A Mark
NBA 2k17 MyLeague

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[JazzMan]

MAKING A MARK

12/1/2016

Big Mark Eaton is a legend to the Utah Jazz. The giant 7'4" big man played his entire career with the Jazz, which spanned from 1982 to 1993. He is an NBA All-Star, a two-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year, a three-time NBA All-Defensive First Team player, a two-team NBA All-Defensive Second Team Player, and he is ranked second all-time in league history in total blocked shots, just behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Eaton is one of the greatest defensive big men of all-time, and he's kept in touch with his long-time team, the Utah Jazz. However, he didn't necessarily expect a phone call like this from Jazz General Manager Dennis Lindsey.

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"Hello?" Mark Eaton answered his phone. It was 10 o'clock at night.

"Hey Mark, it's Dennis Lindsey." "Dennis Lindsey?" Mark thought to himself. He was wondering why the GM of the Utah Jazz, his former team, was calling him this late."How is it going, Dennis?"

"Not too bad, Mark, not too bad at all. I'm sorry to bother you this late, I'm sure you're fairly busy tonight," said Dennis, who hasn't gotten the opportunity to talk to Mark, aside from maybe once or twice. "No! Not at all. I've got time to talk, what's up?"

"Well Mark, as you know, we're about 20 games into the season. I was talking this over with Quin and some of the boys, and we just would like to invite you to practice tomorrow morning. Would you care to come?"
Mark wasn't expecting to be invited to a team practice so suddenly, let alone at all. "Well, I mean, I've got kind of a busy schedule tomorrow... What time would we be talking here?"

"Well, we'd like to get things underway by 11. We totally understand if you can't make it, it's no big deal at all. We'd just love to have you."

"I can probably do 11! But I have to ask, Dennis... what exactly is it that you want me to come in for?"

"Well, I've just got a proposal for you. Something that I think you would enjoy, and it's something that might get you out of the house a bit." The two of them shared a light laugh over the phone."Dennis, Teri's been asking me to get out of the house everyday for 20 years now. I'll be there by 10:30 tomorrow morning, for sure."
"Awesome, Mark. I'll see you in the morning, have a good night!""You too."

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12/2/2016: Before Practice

The Jazz just dropped a game last night to the struggling Miami Heat. George Hill, Rodney Hood, Derrick Favors, and Alec Burks were all out with injuries. Gordon Hayward gave his best effort, finishing with 32 points, 7 assists, and 3 rebounds, but the Jazz fell just short, losing a tight one 111 to 110. Goran Dragic led the Heat with 27 points, 6 dimes, and 4 boards. The loss ended a four-game winning streak that the Jazz had been enjoying, and it drops their record to 11-9 on the year.

Quin Snyder was already in the gym working with Hayward, Joe Ingles, and Dante Exum by the time Mark had gotten to the practice facility in downtown Salt Lake City. Even though Snyder was busy with his players, he immediately recognized Mark entering the room; it was kind of hard to miss the 7'4" giant as he walked into the gym. Snyder and Hayward made their way to Eaton to meet him at halfcourt while the two Australians Ingles and Exum quickly acknowledged him before getting back into their ball-handling drill.

Snyder and Hayward greeted Eaton, each with a handshake. Gordon was already breaking a sweat, as was Snyder, as the two had been working out already for an hour.

"Hey fellas, working hard?" asked Mark. He towered over the both of them, and neither were small guys. Gordon is 6'8", Snyder 6'3". "Always," replied Hayward, as he shook his hand, smiling, "you made it just in time for a little bit of conditioning before practice." Snyder, Hayward, and Eaton all chuckled. "How are you doing Mark? It's always good to see you," Snyder chimed."I'm pretty good Q, just wondering what the hell Dennis brought me in for," the giant said as he grinned. "I haven't been in here for a year or two." "Isn't it obvious?" rang a familiar voice as Dennis Lindsey walked towards the group.

"I want you to take over Quin's coaching gig, I'm about to cut him loose after that loss last night," Lindsey said as he smiled towards Snyder. "But really Mark, I want to talk to you about a position here that I think you would absolutely love."

Snyder and Hayward walked back towards Ingles and Exum as the rest of the team began filing into the gym, ready to start practice. Rudy Gobert, Joe Johnson, Boris Diaw, Shelvin Mack, George Hill, Trey Lyles, Jeff Withey, Raul Neto, Alec Burks, and Derrick Favors all came to shake Mark's hand. It's not often that they get one of the storied legends in their franchise to come to a Friday morning practice.

As all of the guys began lining up for practice, Lindsey led Mark toward the bleachers. They found an isolated spot away from everybody else while practice was underway. Mark could hardly hear over Coach Quin's barking just a few feet away.

"Listen, Mark. I brought you in today because I wanted to offer you a spot in my front office. I need a guy like you who knows all about the game and knows the little things. I need a guy like you that can work with our guys and give them a voice that they haven't had the chance to experience yet. They need someone that they can go to that knows all of the intricacies of being an All-Star talent. I think you'd be perfect here this season.

"Jeez, Dennis... I mean that's an awesome offer. I just don't know how I'd be able to find the time. I've got my foundation and my speeches... It's just hard to find time for the wife and kids anymore."

"You won't even have to travel, Mark. You can stay here in SLC, you can still do your tours and your work with your foundation. All that we would ask is for some advisement in the front office and a little bit of work with our guys. Nothing crazy."

"I mean.. I'll have to think about it. Talk it over with the wife, make sure it's something that I can afford to do. I really do want to do it, it seems like an amazing offer and I'd love to get to work with Rudy and Derrick. They seem like really good kids."

"Of course, Mark. Go ahead and think about it, take your time, it's no rush at all. We'd just love to have you here."

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The 7'4" Eaton thought about it and talked it over with his wife that night. She was perfectly fine with it; she had actually been hoping that Mark got more affiliated with the Jazz. He had done some analyst work in the booth for them, but nothing in this nature. But he was still unsure. But then he thought about how much he missed the game. He missed being one of the guys. He missed being a part of a team and contributing to a winning basketball club.

"Hello?" answered Lindsey, who sounded as if he had just woken up. It was already 11. Mark didn't realize how quickly the night went by.

"Hey Dennis, it's Mark," he replied, "I was thinking about the offer, and I'm in. 100%." "Really? That's awesome Mark! When do you want to start?" "Next week?" Mark offered, anxious to get started already. He wanted to work with the young, talented bigs that Utah had to offer. Gobert reminded so much of himself, not just size-wise, but as a defensive talent as well.

"Next week sounds awesome, Mark. We'll see you then, thanks again."

[JazzMan]

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Gordon Hayward finished with a team-high 28 points, as well as 10 boards and 7 assists.

Jazz Hold Off Nuggets Thanks To Hayward's Big Game

The Denver Nuggets gave the Utah Jazz a tough fight, but Gordon Hayward and the Jazz would not falter tonight, as they got a 111 to 101 win over Denver. Hayward had an absolutely stellar game, as he was just 3 assists away from his first career triple-double. He finished with an excellent 28 points, 10 rebounds, and 7 assists off of 11-23 shooting from the floor, and 4-10 shooting from three.

This is Hayward's 7th straight game scoring 22 points or more, and his 12th game scoring at least 20 points or more this season in just 15 appearances. He has looked like a legitimate all-star this season, and whether he makes the game or not, he's playing at a very, very high level at the moment and should be able to carry this young Jazz team to a playoff appearance, their first since 2012.

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George Hill was a game-time decision, but still showed up with 20 points and 9 assists.

George Hill was a game-time decision tonight, as he's fighting a sprained toe, but he ended up playing with a bit of a minutes restriction. He only played 27 minutes total, but he made the most of those minutes, putting up 20 points and 9 assists, as well as 3 rebounds and 3 steals. He shot 8-19 from the floor and 2-7 from three, and although he had 7 turnovers, he's been taking care of the ball all season, so you can't fault him too much there. This is Hill's 8th 20-point performance this season, where he has looked like potentially a top 10 guard in the league. He's playing very efficient basketball, and he's doing it at a ripe age of 30-years-old.

Rudy Gobert absolutely dominated tonight. He had 16 points, 18 rebounds, and 3 blocks on the night while shooting 6-10 from the floor and 4-4 from the free throw line. He was a monster all game on both ends, and he's seriously making a strong case towards being the defensive player of the year.

Rodney Hood struggled tonight with 5-14 shooting, but he still managed to put up 13 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists with 0 turnovers. Trey Lyles added a nice 12 points and 4 rebounds off of the bench with 6-10 shooting from the floor. Boris Diaw did a little bit of everything tonight with 8 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, and 3 steals in the starting lineup.

Utah improves to 12-9 on the year with the win, while Denver slips to 7-13. The Jazz get Sunday off, then travel to L.A. for a date with the Lakers in Staples Center.

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[JazzMan]

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WEEK 6 RECAP: 12-9 (7th in West)

Utah Jazz Stats - 16-17
Player	GP	MIN	PPG	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	FG%	3PT%
Gordon Hayward	15	35.8	22.5	6.9	4.3	0.8	0.2	44.0%	31.2%
George Hill	12	32.3	20.0	3.5	4.6	1.3	0.2	52.1%	43.8%
Rodney Hood	19	31.4	15.9	4.4	2.2	0.8	0.3	43.8%	38.0%
Rudy Gobert	21	31.4	11.0	11.4	1.0	0.6	2.6	63.5%	0.0%
Derrick Favors	11	24.0	10.5	6.5	0.6	1.0	1.0	46.9%	50.0%
Trey Lyles	21	23.1	9.6	4.5	1.3	0.5	0.4	43.4%	30.3%
Joe Johnson	21	24.6	8.9	3.4	2.1	0.5	0.1	46.1%	43.3%
Shelvin Mack	21	19.6	6.8	2.0	2.7	1.0	0.0	43.8%	33.3%
Dante Exum	20	20.0	6.1	2.3	1.5	0.2	0.3	38.5%	25.5%
Joe Ingles	21	15.8	5.0	1.8	1.6	0.7	0.1	48.1%	42.9%
Boris Diaw	12	19.4	3.8	2.3	1.5	0.5	0.0	38.3%	26.3%
Jeff Withey	17	10.2	2.9	2.6	0.1	0.4	0.9	60.0%	0.0%
Raul Neto	9	3.1	1.4	0.2	0.3	0.0	0.0	50.0%	66.7%
Joel Bolomboy	8	2.0	0.6	1.0	0.1	0.1	0.3	66.7%	0.0%
Alec Burks	0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0%	0.0%

The Jazz had a very productive week, as they continued their winning streak from last week into the first two games, resulting in wins against the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Houston Rockets on a back-to-back. However, they halted to a stop against the Miami Heat, with Derrick Favors, George Hill, Rodney Hood, and Alec Burks all out with injuries. Even with all of the injuries, Gordon Hayward nearly led the Jazz to a victory at the buzzer, but Hayward's fadeaway jumper fell just short as the clock expired.

Even then, the Jazz enjoyed a good week of basketball, as they rebounded with a 111-101 win over the Denver Nuggets last night at home. Hayward was without a doubt the best player for the Jazz this week, and he was rewarded by being named the Western Conference Player of the Week.

The Jazz have a tough stretch of games this week. They play the tough Lakers tomorrow on the road, then return home the next night for a game with the Suns. Then afterwards, they play the Warriors and the Kings in SLC. Should be a fun week of basketball.

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NBA Standings - Updated: Dec 4, 2016
EAST PLAYOFF RACE	W	L	GB	DIV	CONF
Toronto Raptors	14	6	--	2-0	8-2
Cleveland Cavaliers	13	5	--	1-3	10-4
Chicago Bulls	11	8	2.5	2-1	8-4
Boston Celtics	11	9	3.0	3-1	8-5
Charlotte Hornets	11	9	3.0	2-0	7-5
Atlanta Hawks	11	10	3.5	2-2	9-4
New York Knicks	10	9	3.5	1-2	5-6
Milwaukee Bucks	9	9	4.0	2-1	6-6
Detroit Pistons	10	11	4.5	1-1	6-6
Indiana Pacers	9	10	4.5	2-2	5-7
Miami Heat	7	13	7.0	2-2	3-7
Orlando Magic	7	13	7.0	1-2	2-9
Washington Wizards	6	12	7.0	2-3	4-7
Brooklyn Nets	6	13	7.5	0-3	3-8
Philadelphia 76ers	6	1	8.0	1-1	5-9
WEST PLAYOFF RACE	W	L	GB	DIV	CONF
Golden State Warriors	17	3	--	5-1	12-3
San Antonio Spurs	16	4	1.0	4-1	9-3
Los Angeles Clippers	16	5	1.5	2-0	11-2
Houston Rockets	13	7	4.0	3-1	9-4
Memphis Grizzlies	13	8	4.5	2-0	8-3
Oklahoma City Thunder	12	8	5.0	2-0	6-4
Utah Jazz	12	9	5.5	3-2	7-6
Portland Trail Blazers	11	10	6.5	3-0	8-7
Los Angeles Lakers	10	12	8.0	3-2	6-9
Sacramento Kings	7	12	9.5	1-2	4-6
Denver Nuggets	7	13	10.0	2-5	5-8
New Orleans Pelicans	7	13	10.0	0-3	3-11
Minnesota Timberwolves	6	14	11.0	0-3	3-9
Phoenix Suns	6	14	11.0	0-6	2-11
Dallas Mavericks	4	15	12.5	1-5	2-9

NBA League Leaders - Updated: Dec 4, 2016
Points Per Game		PPG	Rebounds Per Game		RPG
	1. Anthony Davis, NOP	31.3		1. Hassan Whiteside, MIA	15.1
	2. Russell Westbrook, OKC	31.1		2. Andre Drummond, DET	13.2
	3. James Harden, HOU	29.3		3. Dwight Howard, ATL	12.7
	4. DeMar DeRozan, TOR	28.7		4. DeAndre Jordan, LAC	12.7
	5. Damian Lillard, POR	28.2		5. Marcin Gortat, WAS	11.7
Assists Per Game		APG	Steals Per Game		SPG
	1. James Harden, HOU	11.7		1. Chris Paul, LAC	2.7
	2. Russell Westbrook, OKC	11.3		2. Draymond Green, GSW	2.2
	3. John Wall, WAS	9.4		3. Giannis Antetokounmpo, MIL	2.2
	4. LeBron James, CLE	8.9		4. Trevor Booker, UTA	2.1
	5. Chris Paul, LAC	8.8		5. Kawhi Leonard, SAS	2.1
Blocks Per Game		BPG	Field Goal Percentage		FG%
	1. Anthony Davis, NOP	2.8		1. Rudy Gobert, UTA	63.5%
	2. Rudy Gobert, UTA	2.6		2. DeAndre Jordan, LAC	63.3%
	3. Hassan Whiteside, MIA	2.5		3. Clint Capela, HOU	62.6%
	4. Myles Turner, IND	2.3		4. Dwight Howard, ATL	61.3%
	5. Giannis Antetokounmpo, MIL	2.1		5. Marcin Gortat, WAS	58.8%
Three-Point Percentage		3PT%	Free Throw Percentage		FT%
	1. C.J. Miles, IND	48.4%		1. Arron Afflalo, SAC	94.3%
	2. Nik Stauskas, PHI	47.5%		2. Patrick Mills, SAS	93.9%
	3. Danny Green, SAS	47.1%		3. Paul George, IND	93.0%
	4. Mike Conley, MEM	46.7%		4. Nick Young, LAL	92.7%
	5. Patrick Mills, SAS	46.1%		5. Stephen Curry, GSW	92.5%

[JazzMan]

MAKING A MARK

12/4/2016

Mark entered the Jazz practice facility right around lunchtime. Rudy Gobert texted him last night after the Denver game asking if he could come in and do a couple workouts with him. Mark eagerly accepted the Frenchman's invitation, as he hadn't gotten to work with the talented big man before. However, upon entering the gym, he didn't expect to see other Jazz big men Boris Diaw, Derrick Favors, Jeff Withey, Trey Lyles, and Joel Bolomboy shooting around as well.

Coach Snyder wasn't there. He hadn't called for a practice, at least that's what Mark thought. Today was supposed to be a rest day. But here was half of the team, all shooting around in the gym on a Sunday afternoon. "These kids, man..." Mark mumbled to himself as he walked towards the group. In the distance he could see Alec Burks working with the trainers. He was doing doing sprints a few other cardio exercises to get back into shape after his leg injury last season, which required multiple surgeries, including one during training camp.

"What's this all about?" Mark asked the group of bigs, who were for the most part horsing around. Gobert was shadowing Diaw's every move, watching his fellow countryman shoot before running to the rim and grabbing the ball out of mid-air. Derrick Favors and Jeff Withey were alternating free throws, while Joel Bolomboy and Trey Lyles were tying up their shoes while simultaneously running through social media on their phones.

"Well, we were all around," Favors responded, "and Rudy mentioned that you were coming in today, so we wanted to stop by and see if you could run a few drills with us." "Well, heh, it's been awhile... but alright, sure," reluctantly Mark replied, "what do you guys want to start with?"

"Let's do the drill where I sit over there and watch these guys run around flailing like headless chickens!" said Diaw, who had already been working up a sweat. He really is in good shape for a 34-year-old who was never really regarded as an elite athlete. Gobert chimed in, "That's all you do, sit around and drink your coffee!" The group laughed collectively. Rudy's English has gotten so much better ever since he arrived in Salt Lake City; he still possesses a very thick accent, however.

"T'es un salaud, Rudy!" Diaw fired back at Rudy, with the both of them chuckling afterwards. It really was great for Rudy to have another Frenchman on the Jazz; they've been friends for years, and have played on the French National Team together many, many times. It's no doubt one of the many reasons why Gobert signed a large 4-year extension with the Jazz just a few weeks ago.

Mark had the group do a few defensive slide drills to start with. Coach Jerry Sloan had him do the very same drills to start every practice. "Now, in today's game, you're going to find yourselves guarding perimeter players every game. It's just how it is. So, what I've arranged, and I've already discussed this and cleared it with the trainers, we're going to get Alec over here and you guys are going to go out there and guard him.

"Now, don't hurt the kid. He's still far from 100%. But stick with him, make him work, and play disciplined defense. No fouls." Alec Burks was already making his way into the gym. He was covered in sweat; he had been working out and rehabbing for well over 2 hours already. Mark bounced him the ball, and the first challenger was Trey Lyles. Lyles is an exceptional athlete for his 6'10" 235 pound frame. Alec started to size him up, left-right, through the legs, behind the back, and then he made his move.

Just like that, Alec got to the rim and finished a layup with Lyles trailing. Eaton barked out, "That was good, Trey, real good. You just need to make sure you are moving your feet and not putting too much weight on one side. A good attacker like Alec can almost sense when you're leaning too much on one side."

Alec smiled as he and Trey chatted briefly before he made his way back to the top of the key. Next up was Rudy. Alec once again began sizing him up, before suddenly switching directions on a spin. Rudy stuck with him the entire way before Alec dribbled the ball off of his own foot, as the ball rolled out of bounds towards the trainers at the baseline. "Good Rudy! That's what I'm talking about, way to move."

Alec was still very rusty. He hasn't played a whole lot of basketball the past year and a half, due to his injuries. Before the next man stepped up, Alec launched a three from the top of the key and it clanked off the front of the rim. Derrick Favors was up next, as the two Jazz veterans began their one-on-one matchup. Derrick was injured himself, as he has been marred by a nagging knee injury all season that has kept him out of 10 games this season and limited him to just 24 minutes per game in the 11 he's played in.

This time, Alec made his move quickly, blowing past Derrick before heading in for a layup. Derrick sent the ball packing against the backboard. The group all howled with excitement upon seeing the recovery block; Derrick looked really good despite his injury. Then again, he was going up against a guy who just got out of surgery a month ago.

Next was Joel Bolomboy, the rookie out of Weber State. Bolomboy is just 6'9", but he's very quick and has great leaping ability. Still, he was no match Alec's quickness, which is still surprisingly fast despite his rehabbing leg and ankle. Alec blew past him for another layup; this time getting it to go. Next was Jeff Withey, and then Boris Diaw, and the results were the same; the Jazz big men were no match for Alec on the perimeter. After each man ran the drill three times, Alec was dog tired. He got props from all of his Jazz teammates, who all commented how fast and skilled his ball-handling was despite the injury.

Mark hadn't seen anything like it. Some of these Jazz bigs are incredible athletes and possess a lot of quickness despite their size, and Alec made them all look like high schoolers. He could see why the Jazz haven't yet given up on the young guard, who has been injury riddled the past three seasons. He played just 27 games in the 2014-2015 season, and just 31 in the 2015-2016 season. "Man, that kid can play."

[studbucket]

Amazing gif, and I like the writing, it keeps me engaged. I am very interested to see where the Eaton builds to.

[JazzMan]

Quote: Originally Posted by studbucket

Amazing gif, and I like the writing, it keeps me engaged. I am very interested to see where the Eaton builds to.

Thank you, sir. This is the first time I've ever really done a narrative-type dynasty. Usually all I do are just write-ups and reports around the league as I play MyLeague. I wanted to do something different this year.

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

[JazzMan]

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Reigning two-time MVP Steph Curry was up to his usual bag of tricks Thursday night.

Jazz Comeback Against Warriors Not Enough

The Jazz nearly did it. They nearly came back from a 26-point deficit in the first half, but they fell just short - four points short, to be exact - in their attempt to knock off the league-best Warriors in Salt Lake City. The Jazz did themselves no favors with a very poor start. Golden State had a 20-2 lead to start off the game, as Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant were draining every three they could look at. Utah, meanwhile, couldn't hit anything from behind the arc in the first half, as they shot just 10% from three at halftime.

Then, suddenly, Gordon Hayward and the Jazz began going to work. They outscored Golden State 29 to 25 in the third quarter, but they were still down by 16 heading into the fourth. Out of nowhere, Utah absolutely exploded. The Jazz had 47 points in the fourth quarter, where they hit 6 straight three-pointers. This led to Hayward scoring a career-high 38 points while also snatching 8 rebounds. However, both George Hill and Rodney Hood were injured in the second half, which crippled the Jazz just ever so slightly.

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Rodney Hood and George Hill (not pictured) both went down with injuries in the second half.

Hill went down with a sprained left foot, which will likely keep him out of action for 1 to 2 weeks. Hood, meanwhile, suffered a sever right ankle sprain, which will unfortunately keep him out for likely a full month. These are some big blows to a Jazz team that quite frankly hasn't been healthy for two seasons now. The good news?

Derrick Favors is expected to make his return to the floor Saturday against the Sacramento Kings. The Jazz were playing excellent ball, having won 7 of their last 8 heading into tonight, but the Warriors were just too much. Hopefully they get it back on track against Sacramento. They fall to 14-10 on the year, while Golden State improves to 20-3.

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