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

[studbucket]

Since we last saw Oggy and the UNC Bears, they’ve played 1 game: a showdown vs Kostadin’s alma mater Duquesne. The Dukes are a much better team than UNC, but that wasn’t apparent in this game as the Bears jumped out to a 15 point halftime lead, then hung on for dear life to get a 69-67 victory. For a team everyone thought would be in the cellar of the Big Sky Conference, this was a huge moment. Brandon North had 25 points and Andre Swanson had 11 rebounds. After the victory, Oggy saw a text from his brother on the phone: “Great victory over the Dukes. Happy for you. But even happier that you can’t seem to beat Red Flash.” Oggy groaned. If things go according to plan, he’ll be at a new program soon, with way more talent than his brother and no more concerns about losing to the Red Flash.

Today, the Bears welcomed a familiar foe to Butler-Hancock Hall: the Grizzlies of Montana. They were less formidable than usual though. Losers of 5 straight, the Grizz were 3-7 overall and have struggled defensively. Their star player Dereke Marshall is out with a broken toe, which puts the burden of leading the offense on 6’10” SF Lodrick Giles (13 ppg).

Early on it was a close matchup, as one may expect a matchup between Grizzlies and Bears to be. Every time UNC would score, Montana would match with their own bucket. However, the game was broke open by none other than local hero Brandon North. After hitting 2 straight threes to put the Bears up by 4, he managed to extend that to threes on 4 straight possessions. After a Taron Guy basket, a block on the other end, and a huge dunk from Andre Swanson, Northern Colorado was up 35-26 and had all the momentum. The Grizzlies called time to regain their composure, but they would never regain it.

Andre Swanson buries the Grizz with an authoritative dunk

The game was 44-31 at half, with Brandon North 5-6 from deep. UNC managed to extend the lead to 20 points (53-33) in the 2^nd half, and ended up winning comfortably.

Oggy continues to get little-to-no output from his bench, but can win games when at least two of Guy, Swanson, and North show up in a big way. If he’s around next year, he hopes that his 4 new recruits can help round out the team’s bench.

Around the NCAA

• Dinko bounced back from the loss with 79-76 win over “fake Francis” (St. Francis of New York).

Around the NBA

• Steph Curry scored 48 in a losing effort vs the Pacers. Golden State drops to 12-17, way outside of the playoff picture.
• Trae Young had his first triple-double of the season (32-11-10) in a 129-116 win over the Jazz.
• The Philadelphia 76ers are only 17-13, and find themselves as the 5^th seed in the East.
• The Trail Blazers are having an awful season as Damian Lillard is still out because of last season’s ACL tear. However, this puts them in the driver’s seat for #1 prospect Jerry Sparks. Sparks would play PF and SF and would complement Lillard, McCollum, and Nurkic very well.
• The Denver Nuggets are 12-20 and have no excuses. They are flat out struggling to stop teams from scoring.
• The Memphis Grizzlies are the surprise of the season. At 26-8, they have the best record in league.
• Your December Players of the Month are Trae Young and Kawhi Leonard
• Ernesto Parkinson (SG, Nets) and Dana Bright (PF, OKC) win Rookie of the Month honors. It’s Bright’s 2^nd straight award.

[kibaxx7]

Amazing win, man. Every update I see here makes me want to get the game, but it has been impossible! I saw a CH 2K7 available, is it (essentially) the same? Any different features?

[studbucket]

Quote: Originally Posted by spiderxx7

Amazing win, man. Every update I see here makes me want to get the game, but it has been impossible! I saw a CH 2K7 available, is it (essentially) the same? Any different features?

I never played 2k7, but I think I did play 2k4 or 2k5 and those games were great. I think 2k8 is the best, but 2k7 should have a lot of similarities. Check out these videos to see what you think: https://www.youtube.com/results?sear...lege+hoops+2k7


Thanks so much for the encouragement, I really appreciate it!

[studbucket]

A local photographer captured a beautiful angle on Swanson’s hammer of a dunk in their win over Montana.

[RolePlayer]

That is just a brutal dunk especially for ch2k8 where I feel like there aren't too many posterizing dunks compared to newer basketball games

[studbucket]

Quote: Originally Posted by RolePlayer

That is just a brutal dunk especially for ch2k8 where I feel like there aren't too many posterizing dunks compared to newer basketball games

100%. Dunks are tough in this game, especially with lower end colleges. In my previous long-running closed legacy I ended up at Wisconsin and once I got great athletes I could do 2-3 alley oops a game, but the posters are tough. Swanson legitimately got a hand to the face on this dunk.

[studbucket]

New Year’s Day represented a new beginning for several teams and players across the league as Pat Riley orchestrated what was effectively a 5-team trade. Riley believes in his coach Erik Spoelstra, but had seen that his moves to bring in Jimmy Butler and Blake Griffin were failing miserably as the Heat were sitting at 13-20 and had disappointed last season. With awful team chemistry, several aging players, and Bam Adebayo in a contract year, Riley chose to blow it all up.

First, Riley called up the hopeless 9-21 Wizards and the severely underperforming Nuggets (11-19). He helped the Wizards by taking on Wall’s contract and got the Nuggets a true star to play alongside Jokic in Bradley Beal.

Then, he got the Suns and the Warriors on the line. Phoenix was ready to compete with Devin Booker, but couldn’t do it with their current supporting cast. They needed more veteran leadership and different talent alongside him. They should have bene much better, but were just 14-16 on the season. The Warriors were struggling at 12-19 and needed different players that could better complement and take pressure off of the Splash Brothers.

The Suns felt they upgraded by turning Oubre and Ayton into Green and Adebayo and the Warriors were thrilled with adding Butler and Ayton. Riley got young players and a load of draft picks with an eye toward being contenders in the 2023-2024 season (when they can get off Wall’s contract).

Here’s a team-by-team look at the trades.




Miami Heat
The Heat blew it all up, looking to become contenders in a few seasons as they realized they had no path to success in the near future. In addition to some old players and bad contracts, the Heat got 1^st round rookie Iker Glover, who may turn into a solid starter due to “Heat culture”.

Miami Heat
Give	Receive
Blake Griffin, PF	John Wall, PG
Goran Dragic, PG	Paul Millsap, PF
Jimmy Butler, SF	Andrew Wiggins, SF
Bam Adebayo, C	Iker Glover, PG
Khyri Thomas, SG	2021 1st round top 5 protected (PHX)
	2021 1st round top 3 protected (MIN)
	2022 1st round top 3 protected (GS)
	2022 1st round top 5 protected (WAS)
	2023 2nd round (CHI)
	2024 2nd round (DEN)

They gave up almost their entire starting lineup, but have all these picks the next few years:

Here is their current starting 5:

Things have gone according to plan since the trade, with the Heat going 0-2 with losses vs Nuggets and Pelicans.


Denver Nuggets
The Nuggets had talent on their roster, but it wasn’t performing. Denver’s leadership believed in their core, but needed a more consistent scorer as they could not regularly rely on Jamal Murray and Michael Porter, Jr. In a stroke of luck, they were able to add Bradley Beal without giving up any of their 3 best players. Denver has no excuses. If they don’t make an impact in the playoffs, Mike Malone is in trouble.

Denver Nuggets
Give	Receive
Spencer Dinwiddie, SG	Bradley Beal, SG
Paul Millsap, PF
2021 1st round (DEN)
2023 1st round top 3 protected (DEN)
2024 2nd round (DEN)

Here is their new starting 5:

The Nuggets have gone 1-1 since the trade, with a victory vs Miami and a close loss to Brooklyn. Bradley Beal led the team with 26 points in his first game for the team.


Golden State Warriors
Steph Curry and Klay Thompson are precious assets for a franchise and are in the last few seasons of their prime. Golden State did not want to waste those years and had seen that Wiggins didn’t fit in well and Draymond was a huge offensive liability and slowing on defense. With Butler and Ayton, the Warriors are dangerous and should become contenders in the West.

Golden State Warriors
Give	Receive
Andrew Wiggins, SF	Jimmy Butler, SF
Draymond Green, PF	DeAndre Ayton, C
2021 1st round top 3 protected (MIN)	Kelly Oubre Jr, SF
2022 1st round top 3 protected (GS)
2022 2nd round (TOR)

Here is their new starting 5:

The Warriors have won 2 straight since the trade (wins vs Thunder, Rockets). DeAndre Ayton had 29 points, 21 rebounds vs Houston.




Washington Wizards
When you mismanage your team as bad as Washington has, you can’t afford to be picky about how you blow it up. The clear loser in all these trades, Washington finally gets out from under John Wall’s contract and hopes to be able to pick up the pieces and start over in the next few seasons.

Washington Wizards
Give	Receive
Bradley Beal, SG	Blake Griffin, PF
John Wall, PG	Goran Dragic, PG
2022 1st round top 5 protected (WAS)	Spencer Dinwiddie, SG
2023 2nd round (CHI)	2021 1st round (DEN)
	2023 1st round top 3 protected (DEN)

Here are the Wizards draft picks for the next few years:

Here is their current starting 5:

The Wizards seem to be experiencing a bit of a “dead cat bounce” as they are 2-1 since the trade. They have wins over the Pacers and Raptors and have lost to the Hornets.


Phoenix Suns
While the Suns’ moves could be viewed as lateral, there is general agreement that Bam Adebayo complements Devin Booker far better than Ayton, and Draymond Green gives the team a maturity that Oubre Jr and others just weren’t providing.

Phoenix Suns
Give	Receive
DeAndre Ayton, C	Bam Adebayo, C
Kelly Oubre Jr, SF	Draymond Green, PF
Iker Glover, PG	Khyri Thomas, SG
2021 1st round top 5 protected (PHX)	2022 2nd round (TOR)

Here is Phoenix’s current starting 5:

Thus far, these changes have resulted in the Suns going 3-0. They got wins over the Lakers, Kings, and Thunder. Draymond Green had 6 steals against Los Angeles and Bam has double-doubles in all 3 games.

[kibaxx7]

Wow, monumental blockbuster. I really like that Suns lineup.