Roll The Dice - A Las Vegas Dynasty

[georgiafan]

I don't think I have replied yet just wanted to say keep up the good work. I enjoyed the offseason stuff

[trekfan]

Man, 55 from John Wall?! Lordy.

The Wizards are quickly becoming the team I hate playing in this year's 2K. In past years, it was the D-Rose Bulls, the Thunder, the Warriors, but the Wizards just make me tense -- even if I'm winning, I feel like they can hit that extra gear with John Wall.

[Jogo]

Quote: Originally Posted by georgiafan

I don't think I have replied yet just wanted to say keep up the good work. I enjoyed the offseason stuff

Thanks man! 2K off-season is what it’s all about innit?
That’s where everyone’s fantasy really comes to life ...

I actually enjoy doing the trades and contract stuff etc. more than playing the game itself

Stay tuned! There’s lots more developments and drama on the way.
(Coming up right away actually ...)

[Jogo]

November 30th, 2018

After the Wizards loss, things rapidly spiraled out of control for us.

We kept piling up loss after loss after loss and to make matters worse, we lost Noel and T.J. to injury.

We stood at a disgraceful 5-13 record going into the next game. Officially owning the worst record in the league.

Frustrations were brewing inside the locker room.
Coach Grgurich juggled with all kinds of different rotations and rewarded Sexton and Zizic' good play with a starters spot, much to the disgruntlement of Mudiay and others.

Our chemistry got messed up. We just couldn’t figure things out.
Our team was broken at this point.

Coach really sat in the hot seat.

Obviously it takes some time to integrate all these rookies, so we gave him some extra credit.

But something had to change. Soon.






The game against the Bulls was one we should have won.

Should have.

We got off to an atrocious start, made stupid fouls, committed bad turnovers. That caused us to trail from the beginning.

We tried our hardest to close the gap. But these Bulls were relentless. Dunn and LaVine combined for 45 and simply destroyed us from downtown.

We looked helpless out there. Losing by 24 to the Bulls?!

This was as embarrassing as they come ...






Despite a 22 point performance from Booker, we lost again by 23 to a handicapped Pelicans squad. They were without both Otto Porter and Markief Morris (whom they acquired in the Wizards trade last year) and Solomon Hill. All sidelined with injuries.

Yet, Jerami Grant (signed in free agency) and Anthony Davis were enough to single handedly crush us.

Next up? The Golden State Warriors.

Long story short: they mopped the floor with us, extending our losing streak to 9 straight games.





After the game, Dice owner Belinsky called coach Tim Grgurich into his office "for a talk” …

"I'm sorry, Tim, you're out of credit", Belinsky spoke. "I'm going to give you one more game to prove yourself. One game. I cannot defend you any longer. Our fans are outrageous, the front office wants results. In times like these, people need a scapegoat to blame. You know how this business works. Coach is always going to be the first one to go. As much as I believe in you, Tim, I'm afraid this isn't working out. If you can't turn this around then ... *sigh*"

He paused for a second so his next words wouldn't miss their effect.

"One game, Tim. Make it happen."







December 7th, 2018

We’ve had some hardfought games against the Lakers before, but it wasn't an impossible task. We were doing well in the beginning, everyone was contributing nicely. But in the second quarter, the game just sort of slipped away from us ...

Who could have known the Lakers' late first round draft sensation, Kyle Kuzma, would have himself a career night?! He caught fire and lead his team to victory with 23 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists. Young center Thomas Bryant had a remarkable game as well. He was an incredible force in the post down low.
We just couldn't get past those two.

No matter what we tried, we were never able to overcome the deficit.





“Lakers Win!”, the jumbotron read.

And just like that, Tim Grgurich' short-lived coaching career in Vegas was already over ...

[trekfan]

Wow, that was a quick hook -- I didn't expect the head coach to get canned before the all-star break!

It seems that even away from Phoenix, the Suns organizational dysfunction continues to haunt the Dice. The next coaching hire has to be the right one ... the team, as bad as it is, might need to look at moving Mudiay and other disgruntled players. Hell, even Booker might be tired of all the drama now -- you've got to evaluate everything, top to bottom.

No one should be safe.

[georgiafan]

They don’t fool around In sin city win or go home

[Jogo]

It's Vegas, indeed. This is a different tenure.

You can't expect to barely win 5 out of your first 20+ games and have nothing happen.

I actually miss Bledsoe and some veteraned players right now. The team is oozing with talent, but we're young and inconsistent and lack a clearcut leader that leads the pack.

Changes are in order. Let's start with a new coach, then see what happens ...

[Jogo]

December 7th, 2018

You could feel the tension in the air before the start of this game.
Everyone was looking at one man: William Goodrich.

After the sudden firing of coach Grgurich, front office elected to appoint the head coaching position to William Goodrich, in hopes of turning our losing slump around.

After a short stint in college, Goodrich spent most of his career overseas coaching various elite teams in the Euroleague. He was known for taking a more fast paced run & gun, 7 seconds type of play approach to the game. Something front office believed to be most suitable for the way our roster was currently constructed.







Since Chriss’ skill set was a better fit for this system, coach Goodrich decided to move T.J. Warren to the bench. Warren had no problem with coach's decision and could actually thrive in a sixth man role, as some sort of an Iguodala type of player.

The system would become even more efficient once Nerlens Noel returns to the starting line-up, but unfortunately him and T.J. Warren were still recovering from injury. Zizic would take his spot at center, with Bender coming off the bench.







We started the game a bit messy and took a beating. We were looking at a steep 20 point deficit early on. But we fought back. Goodrich's tactics payed off and we eventually got ourselves back in the game late in the 3rd.

In the final seconds of the game, rookie Collin Sexton's clutch lay-up got us within reach. He remained cool and composed, nailed the and one free throw and made it a 1 point game.

Miami held on to the ball, but despite the hand in his face, Dion Waiters put the game out of reach and nailed the dagger from beyond the arch with 4 seconds left on the clock.







Very tough loss to swallow. But at least we looked like we were playing ball again out there on the floor.

A promising debut for Goodrich's NBA coaching career in Vegas.