The Bulgarian Brothers – A College Hoops 2K8 & NBA 2K20 Dynasty

[studbucket]

We’re a little over the halfway point of the 2019-2020 NBA season and nearing the trade deadline. So far the story of the season is probably the continued, and frankly increased, excellence of LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo. The Greek Freak has taken his play to the next level and LeBron is experiencing a renaissance that is beyond what even his biggest fans expected as both players are averaging over 45 combined points, rebounds, and assists per game.

Playoff picture

• Only 2 games separate the Bucks, Celtics, 76ers, and Raptors atop the East as the 4 teams jockey for poll position to get home court and the chance to play a team with a losing record in round 1.
• Spots 5 and 6 in the East belong to two huge surprises: The Cleveland Cavaliers are a remarkable 29-17. Colin Sexton has stepped up and is leading them with 22.3 points a game, and Kevin Love, Darius Garland, Andre Drummond, and Larry Nance Jr., and Admiral Schofield have all stepped up to score over 10 ppg. Schofield is especially surprising given that he was buried on the bench in Washington, but the Cavs have turned him into a solid bench option when needed. The Orlando Magic have fallen off a bit, but are still a very respectable 27-20 and are looking to take advantage of Nikola Vucevic’s great season and their trade for Carmelo Anthony.
• The Indiana Pacers and Brooklyn Nets are fighting for the 8^th spot, though it’s not exactly where you want to end up as you’ll just get steamrolled in the first round.
• The Chicago Bulls are “winning” the race to the bottom pretty easily, and will probably have their pick of the top prospects in this year’s NBA draft.

• The Clippers are starting to pull away out West, leaving the Dallas Mavericks and Los Angeles Lakers in a close fight for the 2^nd spot. Both teams are led by extremely talented duos, and we’ll see which pair brings the most success to their teams.
• The Phoenix Suns are a shock out West, currently sitting in 5^th place behind Devin Booker’s career best 28.7 points. However, their 0.7 point differential shows that they may not be for real and are closer to the Timberwolves than the Nuggets.
• The Memphis Grizzlies on the other hand are not a mirage. The rookie duo of Ja Morant and Brandon Clarke have been a revelation for the Grizz.
• It’s been a disappointing season for the Houston Rockets, San Antonio Spurs, Golden State Warriors, Utah Jazz, and Oklahoma City Thunder who all find themselves outside of the playoffs and most with losing records.

League Leaders
Points: Kyrie Irving (31.9 ppg), Damian Lillard (31.8 ppg), LeBron James (31.5 ppg)
Rebounds: Andre Drummond (15.0), Karl-Anthony Towns (15.0), Rudy Gobert (13.7)
Assists: Lonzo Ball (10.3 apg), LeBron James (9.1 apg), Luka Doncic (8.4 apg)
3 point %: Luka Doncic (.477), JJ Redick (.459), Devonte Graham (.448)
+/-: Giannis Antetokounmpo (13.3), Eric Bledsoe (10.2), Anthony Davis (10.1)
Double-doubles: Karl-Anthony Towns (46), Andre Drummond (43), Giannis Antetokounmpo (40)
Triple-doubles: Luka Doncic (10), LeBron James (5), Nikola Jokic (3)
PER: Giannis Antetokounmpo (38.3), James Harden (35.0), LeBron James (32.0)
Efficiency: Giannis Antetokounmpo (40.2), LeBron James (36.6), Anthony Davis (35.4)
GameScore: Giannis Antetokounmpo (29.5), LeBron James (28.7), James Harden (27.2)
Usage Rate: Giannis Antetokounmpo (33.8), Dennis Schroder (32.9), Kyrie Irving (32.4)
Estimated Wins Added: Giannis Antetokounmpo (21.7), LeBron James (19.1), James Harden (18.3)

As you can see from the list above, Giannis is just dominating, and even in categories that he didn’t make the top three, he was 4^th (points) or 5^th (rebounds).

Award Races

• It’s neck and neck in the MVP race between LeBron and Giannis, while Anthony Davis, Kristaps Porzingis, and Joel Embiid fight for a consolation prize.
• Rookie of the Year is a tight race as well as Ja Morant and Zion Williamson are both having outstanding rookie seasons.
• Brandon Clarke may not be able to win Rookie of the Year over his teammate Ja Morant, but he is leading 6^th Man of the Year, which is an amazing feat for any rookie. Behind him are Delon Wright (Dallas) and Bobby Portis (New York).
• It’s a three-way race for DPoY between Kawhi, Giannis, and LeBron.
• Most-improved player is likely going to Bam Adebayo, but Delon Wright, Terry Rozier, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander are also in the running.

NBA All-Star Teams
For the second straight year, Giannis and LeBron were captains of the All-Star Team, and this year Giannis seems to have branched out a bit more than last year, grabbing a few players from the West and not simply picking long players (though he did choose a lot of those).

[RMJH4]

Tough loss v Montana!! I love the College Hoops weekly show, so good. Wish they could bring something like this back in NBA2K!!

[studbucket]

The Red Flash were coming off of a satisfying win over Quinnipiac, putting them at 5-5 in conference play, the same record as Oggy’s Northern Colorado team. Getting a win here would put them ahead of Robert Morris and 1 step closer to Mount St. Mary’s and Sacred heart near the top of the conference.

But first they’d need to beat a struggling Long Island team that is 2-9 in the conference, putting them in the cellar. The Red Flash should control this game, especially at home.

St. Francis controlled much of the first half, starting the game out 7-1 and, despite early foul trouble from senior PG Noah Almond. At half, the Red Flash were up 24-21, and should have been up more given they were shooting 55% from the field.

At halftime, Dinko told his players to get back to their identity: discipline, post play, and inside-out.

That didn’t happen.

The Red Flash went from up 3 to down 6 quickly. At one point, they clawed back to within 2, and that’s as close as they would get. Undisciplined play killed them and they were down 53-42 after two straight fouls with 2 minutes left. A small run brought them back to 53-50, but it was too late as time ran out before they could get a desperation three off.

This was a very disappointing game for Coach Kostadin. Long Island had struggled all season, St. Francis was at home, and they had a lead. Despite that, they only managed to get Keita 9 shots, and the Junior may have been feeling the pressure as he also turned the ball over 3 times.

Around the NBA: BIG TRADE ALERT!

The Miami Heat were looking to make a run into the top 4 in the East and found a willing partner with Detroit. They sent Kelly Olynyk, Andre Iguodala, and 2022 second rounder to Detroit for Blake Griffin and Khyri Thomas (SG). Detroit will save nearly $17 million in salary next year in this move. This will be a huge upgrade at the PF spot for Miami, who had been starting Jae Crowder there. It also frees up the starting SF spot for Duncan Robinson, who has been outplaying Iguodala anyway. With a starting 5 of Dragic, Butler, Robinson, Griffin, and Adebayo, Miami has to be considered a strong contender out East. Rumor has it that Andre Iguodala is very unhappy with this trade, and it will be interesting to see what happens the rest of the season in Detroit.

[trekfan]

Ouch, Dinko had a tough loss there too -- they didn't get many foul calls at all (only 4 attempts to their opponents 16?) and dropped a game to a definite loser.



In the NBA, that's a fascinating trade for the Heat -- Griffin has a WAYYY higher cap hit than what they traded, he's very likely not declining that player option, so they're stuck with him. Maybe Miami can help breathe some life into the second half of his career, but Griffin looks like damaged goods.

[studbucket]

Quote: Originally Posted by trekfan

Ouch, Dinko had a tough loss there too -- they didn't get many foul calls at all (only 4 attempts to their opponents 16?) and dropped a game to a definite loser.

It was an unusual performance for the Red Flash. Aggressive when they should have been prudent and tentative when they should have been aggressive. He'll be bringing back this entire team next season, plus a new recruit, so perhaps he can work to iron these things out.

Quote: Originally Posted by trekfan

In the NBA, that's a fascinating trade for the Heat -- Griffin has a WAYYY higher cap hit than what they traded, he's very likely not declining that player option, so they're stuck with him. Maybe Miami can help breathe some life into the second half of his career, but Griffin looks like damaged goods.

Yeah, it was very fascinating. FWIW, the salary difference is only like $5m this year, but then Iggy's deal expires. I'll be sure to check back in and see how the Heat have performed since this deal, as it's a big gamble by them to try to leapfrog the Raptors and 76ers to get the three seed.

[studbucket]

Right as the final whistle blew in Loretto, PA on Dinko and the Red Flash’s disappointing loss, Oggy and team were headed out of the tunnel to warm up for their game Pocatello, ID. Oggy took one last look at his phone, seeing his brother lost and dropped below .500 in conference play. Oggy frowned, as he was hoping that his brother could get the win, as his team was in the same spot: stuck in the middle of the conference and hoping to move up into the top group.

He put his phone away and focused on his team and looked around the orange and black themed Holt Arena and then turned his focus to the court. The Bengals were doing OK lately, they are 6-4 in the conference, which represents all 6 of their victories as they were 0-8 out of conference play. Oggy’s first impression of this team: they weren’t exceptionally skilled. Not that the Bears were ready to be on an AND-1 mixtape anytime soon, but he felt good about his team’s talent. The Bengals did have 6’11” Aleksandar Dizdarevic, but he felt good about Donovin Mascoll’s chances against the Belarusian.

His team had come off of a stressful week, with a 1 point loss to Northern Arizona, followed by a 1 point win against Sacramento State (sweeping the season series against them). Ognyan was hoping for a nice, relaxing, dominant win today. His boys looked loose, and he was hopeful.

Oggy’s hopes turned out to be reality. Before the half was even at the midway point, his team was up 21-6 and the Bengals had burned multiple timeouts. The Bears were just coasting and Oggy was all smiles.

At half they were up 47-26 and had shot 4-4 from three, all of them from Jahnke. Oggy went into the locker room and told his boys to pour it on, and show no mercy.

That backfired.

In the first two minutes of the half the Bears committed 5 fouls and saw their lead nearly get cut to single digits. Fortunately they rebounded and held on to win 79-57. It was going to be a good, albeit short, flight back to Greeley.

Donovin Mascoll had 24 points and the low post trio of Mascoll, Swanson, and Alvarez had 47 of the team’s points as UNC controlled the paint. The Bengals’ bench was also woeful, adding only 4 points the entire game.

Around the NCAA

• California won a nail biter vs Washington State, giving the Cougars their 2^nd loss of season.
• Louisville experienced their first loss of season, 87-86 to UConn. A few days later, the Big East struck again as Louisville then lost to Marquette (80-64), falling to 21-2 on the season.
• After that big win over Louisville, Marquette may be looking to move from #2 to #1 in the polls.
• Three players are averaging more than 25 points per game, and all 3 are projected to be lottery picks this summer. Jarek Kickert (PF, UNC), Dana Bright (PF, UNC-Greensboro), and Zakee Roberson (PF, Rider). It’s interesting, as all 3 players are quite different. Kickert is the well-rounded traditional forward, Bright is the undersized scrappy and tough player, and Roberson projects to be a 5 at the next level.
• 8^th in the country in scoring is the NEC’s own Armond See, who is lighting it up for Central Connecticut.

[studbucket]

It was a thrilling start to NBA All-Star Weekend as the Rising Stars game was high-scoring, high-flying, and went to overtime after a double-digit comeback from team USA. However, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Luka Doncic were able to outlast the Americans. Trae Young and Zion Williamson did lead all scorers with 28 points apiece.

[studbucket]

In a relatively sloppy three point contest, Devin Booker came way as champion after going an extra round. The young Sun was less enthusiastic than you may have expected after the victory.