Houston, We Had A Dynasty - Officially Retired

[Andrew]

Come now, that's the kinda thing that's worth going into debt for.

Well, maybe not, but that'd be a great experience.

[Axel The Great]

Well I'm back, I'll be playing games rapidly for the next 2 months, as school's out here in the US. I had a good time in Orlando, I learned how car stunts are done in movies and how they do explosions in movies too (that's just the surface of what I experienced). Anyways, with the World Cup in progress, my daily schedule will start earlier this summer (have to get up at 6am to watch the first games), therefore giving me more time every day to continue playing this dynasty. Thanks to all my readers' patience, and updates will be coming like crazy these next two months.

[Axel The Great]

2-game Recap

[30-5] Houston Rockets 97-84 Phoenix Suns [23-12]


Donte Greene improved his defense while I was at Orlando, and had 2 blocks and 1 steal.

The Rockets had a more exciting game in Phoenix. It was a close game through 2 quarters, but in the 3rd, the Suns' lack of defense showed, getting outscored by 10. Amar'e Stoudemire and Channing Frye beat up on the boards, having 12 and 13 respectively, but Yao black-eyed the boards and had 15 and 16 points to go with that. Steve Nash was a wonder with 31 points and 12 assists. Note: Scola made his return and had 6 points off the bench.

SPOTG-

Steve Nash
31 points | 12 ast

Top Scorers-
Rockets: Kevin Martin- 24
Suns: Steve Nash- 31

Board Crashers-
Rockets: Yao Ming- 15
Suns: Channing Frye- 13

Assists-
Rockets: Kyle Lowry- 6
Suns: Steve Nash- 12

Box Scores-
24 26 31 16 97
18 26 21 19 84

[31-5] Houston Rockets 101-97 New York Knicks [21-14]


Key match-up here, but what's better? K-Mart's 35 or T-Mac's 9 points?

In a thrilling game, the Rockets found themselves down throughout the whole game. They didn't regain the lead until late in the 3rd. From there, the game was suspenseful and exciting. The Rockets found themselves down again in the fourth quarter. But a very unexpected player stepped up. Trevor Ariza exploded for 18 points in the 4th, finishing with 22. However, he did miss two clutch FT's, but finished 6/8 from the line. David Lee showed that he's a rising star and had a near triple-double. In the end, the Rockets pulled out all the stops and continue to dominate the NBA. Note: Luis Scola was put as a starter again.

SPOTG-

David Lee
17 points | 14 rebounds | 7 ast

Top Scorers-
Rockets: Kevin Martin- 35
Knicks: Danilo Gallinari- 24

Board Crashers-
Rockets: Yao Ming- 12
Knicks: David Lee- 14

Assists-
Rockets: Aaron Brooks- 6
Knicks: David Lee- 7


For a guy who's had knee injuries and is in his 30's, McGrady has some mad hops.

Box Scores-
25 20 27 29 101
27 22 24 24 97


Ariza has found his role on the Rockets, set a high screen, and get to the basket.
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Next 3 games:
@Charlotte
T-Wolves
Heat

[Clutch]

TMAC with 9 pts makes me a bit sad; how the mighty have fallen

still, nice pair o' wins K-Mart is the man!

[Axel The Great]

Well actually, he may have had an off night, or a softspot for his former team because he averages around 20 ppg. K-Mart is the man, he had 20+ points at half time, but was benched a little in the 4th because of Ariza's production.

[Andrew]

Picking up where you left off. Nice job, not much of a game from McGrady though. Did you hold him to a poor shooting night or was he just quiet in this one?

[Axel The Great]

McGrady was just quiet, although he did miss some easy lay-ups, but I don't think he attempted a jumpshot.

[Axel The Great]

3-game Recap

[32-5] Houston Rockets 114-111 Charlotte Bobcats [15-20]


G-Dub had everything in his favor, including the referees.

This looked like another Hawks game, the Bobcats having a comfortable 15-point lead. Everything was going for the Bobcats, having more than 10 FT attempts. Leading the way was Gerald Wallace, who scored 35. 2 minutes left in the 4th, the Rockets gained their first lead, but it was short-lived. The Bobcats went on a 13-0 run and were up by 10. K-Mart wasn't going to have any of that. He himself got the Rockets an 11-4 run, and with 10 seconds left, K-Mart was put in the clutch, down by three, and the need to fire up a three to force OT. K-Mart succeeded, and the Rockets held on in OT and stole a win from the Bobcats at Charlotte. Worthy of mention: 6 players had double-doubles, 3 from each team, Yao Ming 14 points and 20 rebounds, Stephen Jackson (played PF?) 21 points and 15 rebounds, Aaron Brooks 19 points and 10 assists, Tyson Chandler 14 points and 15 rebounds, Gerald Wallace 35 points and 10 rebounds, and Luis Scola with 10 points and 12 rebounds.

SPOTG-

Gerald Wallace
35 points | 10 rebounds | 7 ast

Top Scorers-
Rockets: Kevin Martin- 37
Bobcats: Gerald Wallace- 35

Board Crashers-
Rockets: Yao Ming- 20
Bobcats: Tyson Chandler and Stephen Jackson- 15

Assists-
Rockets: Aaron Brooks- 10
Bobcats Raymond Felton- 9


This is the cold-blooded three that forced the OT. Sorry about the messed up arrow.

Box Scores-
19 30 24 27 14 114
27 31 19 23 11 111

Rockets defeat the T-Wolves 153-116 (simulated).

[34-5] Houston Rockets 97-89 Miami Heat [20-17]


This is why you should never step into the Chuckwagon's paint.

The Rockets had a close game again, but this one wasn't a thriller. Yao and O'Neal battled on the boards and had 10 apiece. Dwyane Wade did his business and was the performer of the game. The Rockets' defense was a bucket of water for the Heat, as on two occasions they had a chance to tie in the 4th, but David Andersen rejected both occasions.

SPOTG-

Dwyane Wade
25 points | 3 ast | 2 blk | 2 stl

Top Scorers-
Rockets: Kevin Martin- 26
Heat: Dwyane Wade- 25

Board Crashers-
Rockets: Yao Ming- 10
Heat: Jermaine O'Neal- 10

Assists-
Rockets: Aaron Brooks- 7
Heat: Mario Chalmers- 7


Scola has improved his game since returning from injury.

Box Scores-
21 28 22 26 97
28 17 21 23 89
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The Rockets are now on a 9-game winning streak, but have had to work for it, not like the 12-0 start.
Next 5 games-
Bucks
@Spurs
Bulls
Hawks
Nuggets

[Axel The Great]

2-game Recap

[35-5] Houston Rockets 89-80 Milwaukee Bucks [15-24]

The Rockets have extended their home winning streak to 7. The Bucks had some good offense running early on, with Brandon Jennings leading the way, but the Rockets defense slowed them down. Michael Redd had an off night with only 12 points, and John Salmons led the Bucks and the game with 24. In the end, the Bucks just couldn't handle the Rockets, and the Rockets have won 7 straight at home, and 10 games in a row.

SPOTG-

Yao Ming
14 points | 11 reb

Top Scorers-
Rockets: Kevin Martin- 23
Bucks: John Salmons- 24

Board Crashers-
Rockets: Yao Ming- 11
Bucks: Andrew Bogut- 14

Assists-
Rockets: Aaron Brooks- 5
Bucks: Brandon Jennings- 6

Box Scores-
24 22 16 27 89
21 20 18 21 80

[36-5] Houston Rockets 96-101 San Antonio Spurs [31-10]


Thought I'd take a page out of badreligionau's book and go throw back.

In a game that the Rockets dominated, the Spurs regained the lead in the fourth. An epic fail of the Rockets' lack of boxing out on a missed free throw cost them the game, ending their ten-game winning streak. Tim Duncan fouled out, due to K-Mart going to the line every 5 mnutes, and Yao had his best game of the season, scoring 29, and grabbing 16 boards. The next time the Rockets face the Spurs, they know to stop Tony Parker, who scored 29 and had 14 assists.

SPOTG-

Tony Parker
29 points | 14 ast | 4 reb

Top Scorers-
Rockets: Yao Ming- 29
Spurs: Tony Parker- 29

Board Crashers-
Rockets: Yao Ming- 16
Spurs: Richard Jefferson- 13

Assists-
Rockets: Aaron Brooks- 5
Spurs: Tony Parker- 14


Yao had some good help on the frontcourt, with Scola and Andersen scoring 10 and 8 respectively.

Box Scores-
25 25 23 23 96
19 25 27 30 101

[Andrew]

Shame the streak came to an end but you had a great run there. That OT game sounded like fun.

[kibaxx7]

Some great games by Kevin Martin

[Axel The Great]

Shame the streak came to an end but you had a great run there. That OT game sounded like fun.

Well, all good things come to an end. The OT game was fun, but what wasn't fun was Stephen Jackson getting offensive boards at PF. Your Chicago Bulls are next.

Some great games by Kevin Martin

I'm gonna try to get him a scoring title this season, and hopefully an MVP award.

[Clutch]

Yao's tearin' it up - love it man!

[Axel The Great]

He plays like that in the playoffs, then you are well on your way of seeing what you want to see (a ring for Yao).

[Axel The Great]

Red Nation News Article

Nate to Nets

The Eastern Conference saw its first trade (among teams from the East), involving the Boston Celtics and the New Jersey Nets. Back-up PG Nate Robinson goes to NJ for starting PF Yi Jianlian. Rockets GM Daryl Morey was interviewed on the topic, and he said, "This trade is of no importance to the Rockets, as both teams are in the East. However, I don't think it benefits Boston, as now they don't have any back-up for Rajon Rondo, and they just add unecessary back up for Kevin Garnett." Yao, who's from the same home country as Jianlian, said, "All I can say is the attention of China will go from Houston and New Jersey, to Houston and Boston." All joking aside, the Nets must've wanted back-up for PG Devin Harris, and Nate Robinson is a great option.



Yi Jianlian



Nate Robinson

[Dee.]

Plain stupid trade for Celtics.

[Andrew]

The weird trade logic strikes again.

[Houndy]

Wow....

[rise]

Still better trade than what I've seen in Live 2003.

I look at the NBA news and I see Paul Pierce was traded for Rafer Alston. THAT is a bad CPU trade. (Overall 91 vs 80)

[Axel The Great]

Plain stupid trade for Celtics.

Yes, I thought so too, especially since the Celtics already have Big Baby and Sheed as forwards off the bench.

The weird trade logic strikes again.

Yes, not the weirdest trade though. I had to fix a trade earlier in the season which was Joe Johnson for LeBron James (I'm allowed to cheat right? )

Wow....

Still better trade than what I've seen in Live 2003.

I look at the NBA news and I see Paul Pierce was traded for Rafer Alston. THAT is a bad CPU trade. (Overall 91 vs 80)

Well, this trade is not so bad compared to that. I don't know their overalls (Nate and Yi), but both are around high 70's/low 80's.

[Andrew]

Yes, not the weirdest trade though. I had to fix a trade earlier in the season which was Joe Johnson for LeBron James (I'm allowed to cheat right? )

Definitely a good idea. Hardly cheating when it's saving the CPU from itself.

[Axel The Great]

5-game recap

WARNING: Andrew, please don't read the first game recap if you're not in the mood of being upset.

[36-6] Houston Rockets 98-89 Chicago Bulls [25-16]


That's how intense this game was.

The Rockets had themselves another thriller after the loss against the Spurs. The Rockets dominated the 1st quarter. But the Bulls came out in the 2nd with organized offense, outscoring the Rockets. In the 3rd quarter was where the Bulls were their strongest, they shutdown the Rockets defensively, and were playing so great that Andrew would've been proud to call himself a Bulls fan . However, the Rockets were able to penetrate through their defense and shut them down defensively in the 4th. K-Mart scored 34, and Joakim Noah had a breakout game, with 23 points and 14 boards.

SPOTG-

Derrick Rose
25 points | 10 ast | 1 stl

Top Scorers-
Rockets: Kevin Martin- 34
Bulls: Derrick Rose- 25

Board Crashers-
Rockets: Yao Ming- 13
Bulls: Joakim Noah- 14

Assists-
Rockets: Kyle Lowry- 5
Bulls: Derrick Rose- 10

Box Scores-
26 27 17 28 98
18 30 24 17 89


K-Mart stampeded through the Bulls' defense throughout the whole game.

[37-6] Houston Rockets 90-78 Atlanta Hawks [25-17]

The Rockets avenged themselves from the Atlanta Hawks from earlier this season. Nothing big happened this game, but the main reason the Hawks killed themselves was dumb shots and 3's taken by Joe Johnson and Mike Bibby.

Top Scorers-
Rockets: Kevin Martin- 30
Hawks: Joe Johnson- 32

Board Crashers-
Rockets: Yao Ming- 14
Hawks: Marvin Williams- 10

Assists-
Rockets: Aaron Brooks- 5
Hawks: Mike Bibby- 7

Box Scores-
23 21 24 22 90
16 26 21 15 78

[38-6] Houston Rockets 86-85 Denver Nuggets [23-21]


Yao really struggled this game, and couldn't get a double-double.

This game is comparable enough to the game the Rockets had against the Bulls, except that it was a defensive game. The first three quarters saw both teams struggling to make FG's, but in the 4th, the scoring exploded. The Rockets were intetionally fouled at one end, converted both FT's, but the Nuggets always made 3's. With 7 seconds remaining, the Nuggets were in possession of the ball, when Chauncey Billups passed to Carmelo Anthony who scored a two, but he needed a three to force OT! Melo's foot was on the line and that sealed the game as the Rockets stole a W from the Nuggets. Shane Battier was able to hold Melo to a quiet night up until the 4th, where he finished with 24 and had a near triple-double. Yao couldn't make a basket to save his life, and finished with 12 points and 9 rebounds.


K-Mart was able to convert a crucial 4-point play.

SPOTG-

Carmelo Anthony
24 points | 10 reb | 5 ast | 1 stl

Top Scorers-
Rockets: Kevin Martin- 33
Nuggets: Carmelo Anthony- 24

Board Crashers-
Rockets: Yao Ming- 9
Nuggets: Chris Andersen- 12

Assists-
Rockets: Kyle Lowry- 8
Nuggets: Chauncey Billups- 7

Box Scores-
23 16 20 27 86
19 21 13 32 85


There was no stopping Melo.

I also simulated 2 games-
Rockets 122-104 TrailBlazers
Rockets 87-130 Suns

Next 3 games:
Warriors
@Grizzlies
76ers

[Andrew]

Nice game from Rose, good to see they at least gave you a challenge. The sim engine certainly wasn't kind to you in the Suns game, otherwise that was a pretty good stretch.

[Axel The Great]

Isn't that the worst point difference in the Rockets' franchise history? Tried googling it, couldn't find anything.

[Andrew]

Probably. It ranks up there with one of the largest deficits in league history.