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

[trekfan]

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

Love that FG%, that's some highly efficient play. Bodes well for the future.

[studbucket]

January 19, 2020 St Francis vs Robert Morris [NEC]

The Red Flash are coming off an easy win over Mount St. Mary’s, 89-66, and invite Robert Morris to their gym, hopefully for St. Francis to get revenge against their rough loss against the Colonials the previous month. Dinko’s team is sitting at 3-3 in the conference, smack dab in the middle of the standings.

Robert Morris is only 8-11 overall, but is sitting at 3-2 in the conference. Talented shooting guard Galen Attaway is only averaging 9 points per game, but senior Will Frandsen is averaging 14 a game for the Colonials.

The realities of the college season were setting in for both Kostadin and Ognyan, and Dinko called his brother to get any tips or suggestions on playing Robert Morris. Oggy wouldn’t give his brother any tips for the first game, but after the rough loss, he softened up a bit and provided some small tips for exploiting weaknesses in Robert Morris’s gameplan, including his #1 tip – attack the basket and feed the post.

The Red Flash came out playing much more crisply than the last time these two teams played. However, the Colonials kept it close through PG Adam Norman, who scored 7 of their first 9 points.

However, even hot Norman couldn’t keep St. Francis from pulling away as team basketball got Dinko’s boys out to a 21-14 lead. Robert Morris brought it back to within 2 points before Dinko put his starters back in the game and Zygis Keita took over the game. The Junior big man was an absolute monster on the offensive glass, grabbing rebound after rebound and leading his team to a 10 point halftime lead. Keita had 15 points and 6 rebounds, nearly all of which were on the offensive end.

Keita was a beast and the Red Flash had fun all night.

In the second half, the great teamwork continued as the Red Flash controlled the game and pulled away, coasting to a 74-53 victory, including a remarkable 48 points in the paint.

Zygis Keita had his best game of the season with 25 and 11, while Roberson and Tyler went 6-10 from three and combined for 27 points.

Around the NCAA

[studbucket]

January 26, 2020 Northern Colorado vs Montana [Big Sky]

Since their victory over Eastern Washington, the Bears lost to Big Sky powerhouse Portland State on the road, but then rebounded with a 25 point victory over Montana State. Brandon Stiles had 11 points and 13 assists, and Donovin Mascoll added 24 points. The victory brought them to 4-3 in the conference (good for 3^rd place) and 10-11 overall. A win tonight against the Montana Grizzlies would keep them in 3^rd place and get them to .500 overall.

The Grizzlies are doing better than their in-state rivals, sitting at 3-3 in the conference and in 5^th place. They are a talented offensive team, led by two seniors: PG Andrae Bailey and PF Jason Clemmons. They also have a good 6’9” Junior PF in Dereke Marshall, giving them one of the best frontcourts that the Bears will see all season. Can Mascoll assert his authority? Can the undersized Swanson hold up against the bigger guys the Grizzlies have?

Get ready for the first iteration of this season’s “battle of the bears.”

Both team showed up to play tonight, and it was evident early in the game as they went back and forth. The only difference in score was that UNC was getting their shots to fall, but both teams were getting good looks. The game broke open a bit about halfway through as Branden Stiles stole the ball, got a basket and the foul, and then Randy Alvarez got some offensive rebounds and putbacks. Montana called a timeout down 21-10.

The Grizzlies settled down a bit after that, but couldn’t catch back up and found themselves down 44-32 at halftime. Donovin Mascoll had 14 points and Delvon Jahnke closed out the half with three straight 3 pointers for the Bears.

Montana came out in the second half on a mission and quickly cut the lead to 7. From there, the Grizzlies slowly whittled down the lead until they took a 2-point lead with 4 minutes left in the game. After a timeout, Oggy got his boys focused and they quickly reclaimed the lead thanks to a couple trips to the free throw line. After that it went back and forth until UNC started to take control. After a Jahnke three, Montana threw it out of bounds and then Brandon North nailed a corner three and Northern Colorado were up 6 with 2:30 left.

Unfortunately, that 6 minute lead would be the last time UNC played well. Montana clawed their way back and took an 80-78 lead after Donovin Mascoll missed a bunny and they scored on the other end.

With 30 seconds left, Northern Colorado had the last shot, but Jahnke took a deep three that clanged off the back of the rim and Mascoll couldn’t get the shot off in time after the offensive rebound.

It was a heartbreaking loss for the home team. They were in control during the first half, and certainly should have won when they were up 6 with just a few minutes left.

The Bears even got Dereke Marshall to foul out, but allowing 48 points in a half was unacceptable and Coach Dragomirov certainly has a lot to think about and focus on for next game. Energy, effort, focus, and hustle was never a problem for him, so it killed him to see the lapses in concentration and defensive effort from his team.

Around the NCAA

• Coach Kostadin and St. Francis have played 2 games since their win over Robert Morris, but both were losses: 74-59 to the (fake) St. Francis team in New York and 65-58 to NEC powerhouse Central Connecticut.
• Dana Bright scored 82 points in 2 games this week for the Spartans as the projected lottery pick led UNC Greensboro to two victories. The undersized PF may be a steal for a team if he can live up to the Draymond Green comparisons.
• Louisville is #1 in the country at 20-0. Rounding out top 5 is North Carolina, Oregon, Washington State, and Marquette.

Around the NBA

• The Orlando Magic have decided to take a flier and grab disgruntled Carmelo Anthony from the Trail Blazers. Melo is on a 1 year cheap deal and the Magic wanted an upgrade over Al-Fariq Aminu at the starting PF spot. Currently fighting for a top three spot in the East, Orlando wanted to make an impactful move. They gave up Michael Carter-Williams and a 2022 second round pick to get him.
• The Denver Nuggets beat Houston twice in a week, relatively easily both times. The Nuggets are solidly in 4^th place out West while the Rockets find themselves outside of the playoff picture, along with San Antonio and Golden State.
• However, the Nuggets ran into a buzzsaw when they traveled to Milwaukee. Despite being up 20 points in the second quarter, they couldn’t hold on as Giannis Antetokounmpo scored a career high 61 points and added 20 rebounds. (note, I played as Milwaukee in this game. It was so much fun to be up 10, then down 20, then up 16. Very up and down)

I play parts of games in NBA 2K20 to stay connected to the NBA season, and I loved this Jokic alley oop pass.

[trekfan]

Re: January 26, 2020 Northern Colorado vs Montana [Big Sky]

Ouch, close loss to the Grizzlies -- UNC almost had that one and by many measures shouldn't have been in that game at all (at least going by the ratings on paper). Oggy's got some tweaking to do, but overall his team played a hell of a game and lost just barely.



The oop animations are so much fun in this year's 2K, I find myself throwing more lobs than ever just to see what gets pulled out. Giannis and the Bucks are a TERROR, good god the man is just a position-less monster -- I fear the deer, they put a hurting on me recently and it was both a disappointing, acceptable, and a fun loss all rolled into one.

[studbucket]

Re: January 26, 2020 Northern Colorado vs Montana [Big Sky]

Ouch, close loss to the Grizzlies -- UNC almost had that one and by many measures shouldn't have been in that game at all (at least going by the ratings on paper). Oggy's got some tweaking to do, but overall his team played a hell of a game and lost just barely.

The oop animations are so much fun in this year's 2K, I find myself throwing more lobs than ever just to see what gets pulled out. Giannis and the Bucks are a TERROR, good god the man is just a position-less monster -- I fear the deer, they put a hurting on me recently and it was both a disappointing, acceptable, and a fun loss all rolled into one.

Yeah, it was a tough one. They played better than their opponents for much of the game, but couldn't get a stop when needed. It's too bad, because a win would have given them a pretty decent spot of finishing in the top 3-4 in the conference, and now they have an uphill battle to get i the top half of the conference tourney.

Yeah, I felt like I had entered cheat codes when playing as the Bucks. Wow!

[studbucket]

2019-2020 NBA Season - All-Star Break Update

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]

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

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

[studbucket]

February 7, 2020 St. Francis vs Long Island [NEC]

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]

Re: February 7, 2020 St. Francis vs Long Island [NEC]

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]

Re: February 7, 2020 St. Francis vs Long Island [NEC]

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.

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]

February 7, 2020 Northern Colorado at Idaho State [Big Sky]

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]

2019-2020 NBA All-Star Weekend – Rising Stars Game

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]

2019-2020 NBA All-Star Weekend – Three Point Contest

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.

[RolePlayer]

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

Woah, the final in that three-point shootout was brutal.

[studbucket]

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

Woah, the final in that three-point shootout was brutal.

They only had 30 seconds instead of 60...but still awful. It's still a 16-10 final if they went 60 seconds.