November 14th, 2015
-
Re: SimWorld Presents: The Race to Greatness (A SimWorld NBA2K Dynasty)
Love following this. This is as close as I can get to the Sim World rosters since I play on PS4. If it wern't for MLB The Show I would have traded my PS4 in just for these rosters. 2k Needs to make rosters cross platform."Don't ever underestimate the heart of a champion!"
-Rudy TomjanovichComment
-
Comment
-
November 16th, 2016
OKC Sends Ibaka To Phoenix For Brandon Knight
Insiders have been reporting for the past week that the Thunder were going to make an early season move but this morning's move caught many off guard. Oklahoma City pulled the trigger on a struggling Serge Ibaka who was suppose to be a major piece this year. They sent Serge Ibaka & Cameron Payne to Phoenix in return for Brandon Knight, Alex Len, Phoenix's 2nd round pick & a future 1st round pick. Sam Presti was caught saying "We have to do what we have to do in this business."Comment
-
November 17th, 2016
Grading The Trade
by Chris Broussard
Phoenix:
I think this was a solid move for the Suns for multiple reasons. First being that the Suns will finally get to deviate from the "small starting backcourt" of Bledsoe & Knight together & probably even more importantly the opportunity to start Devin Booker. The jury will be out on if this will improve their perimeter defense but it definitely gives them more options & potential in their backcourt.
This trade also reunites Serge Ibaka & Enes Kanter. The two played well together in OKC. Kanter who had not gotten as many looks as intended early this season will not get to play primarily in the post as Ibaka is more of a pick & pop type player. Ibaka will bring some athleticism hopefully some rim protection to a team who has been at the bottom of the barrel in the category for the past few years. The true question is if Ibaka will get back to being offensively effecient.
Final Grade: C+
Oklahoma City:
The Thunder's early season struggles this year have been well documented. Russell Westbrook's departure has left OKC's point guard situation looking abysmal. Newly acquired Oladipo & center Steven Adams injured & Pau Gasol not looking any where near comfortable.
Bringing in Brandon Knight automatically helps their PG situation and adds some extra firepower to aid Kevin Durant. Knight not so much known for his defense but more than capable of creating his own shot & that has been an issue for the Thunder thus far this season. The addition of Knight will prevent defenses from loading up on Durant & provide another perimeter scoring option.
Moving Ibaka will give Gasol a defined role at the high-post and the ability to showcase what he was brought to Oklahoma City to do. With Ibaka gone we can expect to see Gasol essentially "fill the need" starting at PF & then sliding over to center when Adams is out. Until everyone returns from injury my theory can't be confirmed but I believe OKC was ahead of the curve on this one.
Final Grade: B+Last edited by ronyell; 06-14-2016, 11:23 AM.Comment
-
November 17th, 2016
Ursus Superbus: The Grizzlies Are Livin' The Dream
You know the highest point total for one player in the 11-1 Memphis Grizzlies' 12 games? 25, by Mike Conley, way back on October 29th. You know, the Grizzlies, the defense-first team that's playing without their all-world center, Marc Gasol. The Grizzlies, who are starting Taj Gibson, who last started in 2009-2010 for the Chicago Bulls. The Grizzlies, who are starting Eric Gordon, who was last healthy when he came out of the womb. The Grizzlies, who lost in the worst game of the season to the season's worst team, the 2-11 Oklahoma City Thunder, in a 75-68 snooze-fest. Yes, Memphis is having the most remarkable, absolutely unremarkable 11-1 start to the season in NBA history.
The Grizzlies' offense has been, for lack of a better word, lacking. No single player has stepped in with a great offensive game. The Grizzlies have scored over 100 points in only 5 out of their 12 games. In their past four games, only two players have scored over 20 points—Zach Randolph put up 20 in the Grizz's last game, and Taj Gibson scored 21 in a 112-105 win over the Suns. The overall shooting has been mediocre; even setting aside the messy loss to the Thunder, where Memphis was only one made shot better than 33% from the field, the Grizzlies consistently fail to shoot above 50% from the field and are inconsistent from beyond the arc, going as high as 50% and as low as 22% from three. The Grizzlies have had one spectacular offensive quarter all year—43 points in an early-season win over the Suns—and have no scoring option who performs every night. The offense has been a ramshackle, who's-hot-tonight collection of performances—and it's 11-1. Who needs the Splash Brothers when you can have three or four players scoring around 16 points a night?
It's often said that the best offense is a great defense, and, by that maxim, the Grizzlies are a formidable unit. The Grizzlies held their opponents to 95 points per game last season, 6th-best in the league, en route to a 48-34 finish in the uber-competitive Southwest. This year, the Grizz are allowing all of 91 points per game; they've allowed opponents triple digits only 3 times. And they haven't just shut down poor offenses: the Denver Nuggets, another surprise team, scored the second most against Memphis with 104; Cleveland was held to 95 in the season opener; the high-flying Timberwolves were held to 89 in the teams' only meeting of the year so far. Memphis has held opponents below 90 points a league-high 7 times, including a six-game run when 5/6 opponents were held below that mark. If the loss of Gasol has hurt anything, it's been the rebounding, as Memphis is only slightly above league average in those categories. But the Grizzlies will definitely trade that for a 4-point drop in points allowed. This is most certainly a great defense, and the reason the Grizzlies deserve more credit than they've received.
"We're just riding it right now, trying to keep the flow going. Everyone's doing what they can, it's a real team effort" says Eric Gordon, in his first season in Memphis after four disappointing, injury-plagued campaigns in New Orleans. Zach Randolph agrees: "It's been fun, we just gotta keep it going." Marc Gasol is proud of his boys from the bench, too: "Obviously I'd like to be out there helping, but they haven't needed much help this year." Samuel Dalembert, recently picked up from the free agent heap with promise of providing some staunch post help for Randolph, is slightly more candid: "The Grizzlies are kicking ***, it's time to take notice." But, JaMychal Green adds with a laugh, "We'll toil away in silence if that's what it takes to get wins." Memphis is proving an answer to the age-old philosophical dilemma: if a team goes 11-1 to open the season, and no one is around to care about it, are they still an 11-1 caliber team? The answer, clearly, is yes.
In Memphis' most recent triumph, a 109-104 win at home to the surprising Denver Nuggets, Mike Conley marshalled his troops with his usual calm efficiency. Pass here, pass there, nice drive to the hoop for an and-one. He looked up late in the fourth quarter. Nuggets down by 2, three minutes to go. And as Mike Conley has done so many times, he drove the lane and slipped the ball to Zach Randolph for a powerful throw-down to give the big man 20 points on the game. The Grizz hustled back on D. The Nuggets' Will Barton, en route to a career-high 28 points, slid around a Kenneth Faried screen and grabbed a pass from Emmanuel Mudiay. He rose up for a shot that would bring Denver within 1 for the first time since the early second quarter... only to have Taj Gibson get a finger on it and bat the ball to Conley, Gibson's second and final block of the game. Memphis pushed the ball upcourt. On the other end, Conley didn't miss. The Grizz held on for the win.
Perhaps we delude ourselves into thinking that winning requires a star or a star performance. Perhaps it is the other way around. For in Memphis, each player is the star, and each star grows brighter and brighter as the team combines for win after win. Perhaps we trick ourselves into thinking that winning requires a larger-than-life player, a saviour on the hardwood. Perhaps we're wrong.
Perhaps we require a trip down to Memphis to see the Grizzlies take the "me" out of "team."Comment
-
November 19th, 2016
Laker coach Byron Scott says in post-game that he would like to see Russell Westbrook be more aggressive. "At times it looks like he is being tentative to see how to lead this young team. I just want him to go. Go go go." said Scott.
Coming into this season league officials said that they would officiate more carefully calling fouls on drive flops. They are calling this the "Harden-rule" & we have seen his FTA drastically decrease from a year ago already.
"The Thunder must be jumping with joy to get Oladipo & Adams back in the lineup soon." said Greg Anthony. "Durant will wear down quick if he has to continue to carry them the way he has lately." he added.
Steph Curry is currently on pace to break his own record of three pointers made in a season yet again. Curry is currently averaging 6.8 made threes per game & shooting 47% from three as well.
"Ryan Anderson is looking like a genius Stan Van Gundy offseason acquisition" says NBA analyst Doug Colllins. Ryan Anderson is currently leading the team in scoring as Drummond has missed all but 4 games of the young season.
"I think once the team starts to mesh & Isaiah can find his spots on the court with Love now on the team; we can really be a major factor in the East" says Celtic Jae Crowder. Thomas is currently shooting 33% form the field and averaging just 13.2 PPG.
The Spurs just continue to find ways to win. San Antonio sits at 9-3 having Aldridge who is out with an injury play in only two of those wins. "Everybody on this team has to step it & they just no what to do" says Tony Parker.Last edited by ronyell; 06-18-2016, 10:44 AM.Comment
Comment