RISE UP! A Cleveland Cavaliers Dynasty (RETIRED)

[homicide1550]

Monthly Recap: January
Injury Bug Hits the Cavaliers!


LeBron James pulled a calf muscle which caused him to miss 5 games.

CLEVELAND, OH -- There is only one word to describe what took place in January - INJURIES! Four Cavaliers suffered an injury of some sort during the past month which included three starters. LeBron James missed a total of five games, Delonte West missed one, Dikembe Mutombo missed two and Michael Redd, who is still nursing an injury as of this time has missed a game due to a sprained wrist.

But despite all the injuries, Cleveland was still able to have a respectable 8-6 record for January. The Cavs have been having problems winning against below .500 teams, which was evident with losses to the Hawks (17-26), Raptors (20-25), Sonics (17-29), Heat (18-27) and the Blazers (17-28). The only winning team that beat them was the defending champions, San Antonio Spurs (30-15).

The new year also started with the acquisition of two experienced veterans. Cleveland acquired center Dikembe Mutombo in exchange for Devin Brown and signed Penny Hardaway from the free agents list. The 41-year old Mutombo is averaging 2.5 points and 2.4 rebounds while Hardaway contributes 4.3 points and 1.3 rebounds per game.

Note: Next month will be the Annual All-Star weekend which will be held at New Orleans. Hopefully, some players from the Cavaliers will get to participate in the events.

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Player Stats (clickable)

Team Stats:

PPG 101.0
RPG 38.7
APG 22.7
BPG 6.64
SPG 11.42
T/O 14.4
FG% .479
3P% .288
FT% .745
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[joeygraham]

I really am impressed by your dynasty though the signing of Penny seems a little questionable. Was it for nostalgic purposes?

Keep up the great work.

[homicide1550]

Pistons are on Full Throttle!


With Detroit’s core intact, they are still the toughest contender from the East.

The Pistons have been title contenders ever since 2004 where they won the championship and they are not ready to give up that status just yet. After three months, the Detroit Pistons (33-13) are now on top of the league standings surpassing the San Antonio Spurs (30-15).

All five Pistons starters were part of the 2004 Championship team. Chauncey Billups leads the team in scoring with 24.8 a game, followed by MVP candidate Rasheed Wallace with 23.6 points and 12 rebounds a game. Rip Hamilton averages 21.1 points and a career-best 8.1 assists while Tayshaun Prince and Antonio McDyess are solidly contributing 12.5 and 8.8 points, respectively.

The Pistons have been more offensive this season as they lead the NBA in scoring with 105.3 points per game but they sure haven’t forgotten their job at the defensive end. They are averaging 42.4 rebounds, 8.35 blocks and 9.87 steals as a team.

“Everyone on our team has a role, if we continue to do our thing, wins will keep coming our way,” Billups said.

For Detroit to go all the way this season, they need to play with the intensity and team chemistry they showed in 2004. And they have to hope that their young talents the likes of Rodney Stuckey and Jason Maxiell, develops quickly to help them reach their ultimate goal, an NBA Championship.

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January 2008 Transactions

1/2 - The Cavaliers sign Anfernee Hardaway for 11.14M for 2 years.

The Cavs might have brought him in primarily because of his knowledge of the game. Penny is counted upon to help teach the young guys a thing or two about the game.

1/2 - The Wizards sign Courtney Sims for 427K for 1 year.

I am not sure about this signing. Maybe the Wizards just wanted to have some insurance just in case some of their big guys get hurt or maybe they just want to have a full roster of 15 players. Sims has yet to play a single game for them.

1/2 - The Cavaliers trade Devin Brown to the Rockets for Dikembe Mutombo.

The Cavaliers sure got old with the acquisition of Mutombo but they would rather play someone with experience than a raw talent in Dwyane Jones. Despite his age Deke can still get you some rebounds and block some shots. Meanwhile, Devin Brown has yet to make an impact in Houston but we all know that he can contribute given the chance.

Trade Grade:
Cavaliers -- C+
Rockets -- C

1/24 - The Heat trade Jason Williams to the Pacers for Troy Murphy.

The Pacers traded for J-Will to address their backup point guard problem. But the issue with Williams is that he is only averaging 0.9 apg this season, which is unheard of coming from a guy who started 41 games for the Heat. Meanwhile, Troy Murphy will have to fight for playing time against Shawn Marion and Udonis Haslem or he could even get some time backing-up Alonzo Mourning.

Trade Grade:
Heat -- C
Pacers -- C

1/25 - The Pistons trade Lindsey Hunter to the Bobcats for 1st Round Draft Pick (MEM).

First I thought the Bobcats were brilliant when they traded Jermareo Davidson to get Memphis’ first round pick. But now they just gave a potential lottery pick for an aging Lindsey Hunter. Now how crazy was that? I congratulate Joe Dumars for getting this deal done. With Memphis sitting near the bottom of the standings, the Pistons will be smiling come draft day.

Trade Grade:
Pistons -- A
Bobcats -- F

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Injuries
unplayable / playable


PF - Sean May - strained calf muscle - 1/25 - 10 days


SG - Michael Redd - sore wrist - 1/31 - 3 days


SG - Ricky Davis - sore finger - 1/30 - 4 days


PF - Yi Jianlian - broken toe - 1/16 - 3 weeks


PF - Nick Collison - broken bone in his foot - 1/19 - 9 weeks
SF - Jeff Green - bone spur in his foot - 1/29 - 9 days

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Season Standings











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Players of the Month
(clickable)

East Rookie - Al Horford
West Rookie - Kevin Durant

East - Ben Gordon
West - Kobe Bryant

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League Leaders
(clickable)

Points - Rebounds - Assists - Steals - Blocks

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ESPN Top 5 Plays of the Month

phpBB [video]

[Bryan_C.]

awesome presentation!!!!

[homicide1550]

joeygraham, yeah... I guess I just wanted Penny to get a ring, at least in a videogame, injuries ruined what couldve been a wonderful career...

bryan055, thanks bro...

Game Recaps coming up...

[homicide1550]

3rd Quarter Intervention
(click the logos for the boxscores)
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February 2, 2008

-----(23-21)-----------------(28-18)-----
@
---------87-----------------------97--------

James, Green Leads Cavs Over Clippers

LeBron James had 27 points and Gerald Green scored 22 points off-the-bench
to help Cleveland avenge their loss against Clippers last November. With this
victory, the Cavs and Clippers end their season series tied at 1-1.

Zydrunas Ilgauskas also helped their cause as he finished with a double-double
with 17 points and 13 rebounds.

Cleveland pretty much controlled the game and led by as much as 16 points in
the third period. The Cavs were great at the defensive end as they had 17
steals and 9 blocks.

“It was a great defensive effort, the guys showed great anticipation and were
helping each other out,” said Cavs coach Mike Brown.

Elton Brand and Cuttino Mobley both had 22 points for Los Angeles who dropped
to 23-21 after this loss. Corey Maggette chipped in 16 points and added 6 assists.

Notes:
- Chris Kaman was held scoreless but grabbed 10 boards and blocked 3 shots.
- Michael Redd missed his second straight game due to a sore wrist. He is
expected to return on Tuesday against the Celtics.

<Game Photos>

Player of the Game
LeBron James - 27 pts | 7 ast | 3 blk

________________________________________

February 5, 2008

-----(24-21)-----------------(29-18)-----
@
-------118------ (OT2) -------129-------

James Fuels Cavs’ Double OT Win Over Celtics

In their third meeting of the season, Cleveland and Boston played in another
classic. LeBron James and his Cavs outlasted the Celtics in a grueling game
that needed 2 extra periods to settle the victor.

Cleveland had an opportunity to win the game in regulation with the game
tied at 92. James drew all the defense and kicked out to an open Zydrunas
Ilgauskas at the right elbow but Z missed the jumper.

In the first overtime, Boston had a 2-point lead with 15 seconds left.
Cleveland had the possession and isolated James at the top of the key. He
drove hard to the basket and made a difficult lay-up over Paul Pierce to tie it
at 109 with only 0.5 left on the clock.

In the final overtime, Cleveland took the early 6-point lead and Boston was
just not able to recover from it. Ben Wallace made it difficult for the Celtics
to score as he had 3 blocks in the final 2 minutes of play.

James stuffed the stat sheets with a remarkable performance. LeBron finished
with a triple-double with 46 points, 10 boards and 10 dimes. Michael Redd, who
was returning from a 2-game absence added 23 points.

Meanwhile, Kevin Garnett had a monster of a game with 26 points and 24 big
rebounds. Ray Allen led the Celtics with 28 points and team captain Paul Pierce
added 24.

Boston and Cleveland will meet for the last time this season on February 27 at
the TD Banknorth Garden. The Cavs lead the season-series with Boston, 2-1.

Notes:
- LeBron James has recorded 4 triple-doubles this season.
- Both teams’ starting point guard fouled out in the second overtime.

<Game Photos>

Player of the Game
LeBron James - 46 pts | 10 reb | 10 ast | 6 stl | 3 blk

________________________________________

Next Game of the Week Recap: Feb. 7 at Houston Rockets

[jonthefon]

Man, LeBron really boomed on the Celtics just like he did in Game 7 of the playoff series...46 points?! A big win he got you there.

[Mandich]

damn, Lebron is really killing out there, glad to see Big Ben blocking again, and Garnett...whoa man, those are some good numbers. Great recap

[homicide1550]

jonthefon, yeah, Bron is beasting out there... It was a well deserved win for us...

mandich, it was a great defensive effort for everyone... we had 19 blocks as a team and that is really big... glad to see you are back making dynasties again... good luck with that..

[homicide1550]

[Bryan_C.]

that's the best template ive seen so far keep it up and good job
btw..I feel really weird that kobe averaged 11.0 assists per game ....well that's the nba(and your dyansty)"Where Amazing Happens"

[Valor]

really nice R2MVP, i was thinking about doing a similar thing, copying the nba.com template and stuff.
haha Lewis is averaging similar stats as he does in my dynasty...close to triple double and in the top 5 of the MVP listing

hey! where is Lebron? lol

[jonthefon]

Probably the best template I've seen so far from this, except for maybe the ESPN Magazine .

[Mandich]

Love the race to the MVP template, keep your great work man

[XpLosibo]

that's clean and detailed, i like it.. but u cud've put more stats on that big space.. kobe4mvp

[Jackie Kong]

Homicide, you need to help me to improve the quality of my youtube videos.

[homicide1550]

bryan055, thanks bro... yeah, it feels weird seeing KB24 averaging 11 assists...

Valor, Bron was booted out of the top 5 after missing some games due to injury, but it wont be too long before he gets back on the top 5..

jonthefon, i will be releasing another magazine be sure to check it out...

XplosivE22, I was thinking of putting some ads in there, maybe i will do it on next month’s R2MVP!

Marco20, ill be glad to help if you need it... anyways, I just use Windows Movie Maker to do those videos...


Thanks for the comments guys, Recap against the Rockets will be uploaded shortly... And watch out for the All-Star Weekend...

[Jackie Kong]

Marco20, ill be glad to help if you need it... anyways, I just use Windows Movie Maker to do those videos...


Thanks for the comments guys, Recap against the Rockets will be uploaded shortly... And watch out for the All-Star Weekend...

what format are you using?

[homicide1550]

[homicide1550]

All-Star Weekend Participants Announced

February 8, 2008 -- The NBA announced today the players who will participate in Friday and Saturday’s events which includes the Rookie Challenge, Three-Point Shootout and the Slam Dunk Contest.


This event pits selected rookies (first year players) against selected sophomores (second year players) of the league. Unlike the regular NBA game, four 10 minute quarters will be played. Individual fouls will be kept, but a player will not foul out. An MVP award will be given out at the conclusion of the game.

ROOKIES

C Joakim Noah - 8.8 ppg | 9.8 rpg (9th pick)
PF Sean Williams - 7.3 ppg | 8.0 rpg (17th pick)
SF Jeff Green - 12.8 ppg | 4.6 rpg (5th pick)
SG Kevin Durant - 21.3 ppg | 7.3 apg (2nd pick)
PG Mike Conley - 14.1 ppg | 7.2 apg (4th pick)
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C Greg Oden - 10.1 ppg | 10.4 rpg (1st pick)
F/C Al Horford - 11.2 ppg | 11.0 rpg (3rd pick)
F Jamario Moon - 6.4 ppg | 4.2 rpg (undrafted)
G Rudy Fernandez - 11.7 ppg | 2.4 rpg (24th pick)

SOPHOMORES

C Josh Boone - 2.7 ppg | 3.3 rpg (23rd pick)
PF LaMarcus Aldridge - 10.5 ppg | 9.3 rpg (2nd pick)
SF Rudy Gay - 18.6 ppg | 4.3 rpg (8th pick)
SG Brandon Roy - 13.4 ppg | 4.7 apg (6th pick)
PG Daniel Gibson - 10.7 ppg | 3.4 apg (42nd pick)
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F Craig Smith - 7.3 ppg | 7.0 rpg (36th pick)
F/C Andrea Bargnani - 11.0 ppg | 7.6 rpg (1st pick)
G Rajon Rondo - 9.2 ppg | 3.1 rpg (21st pick)
GF Kelenna Azubuike - 8.2 ppg | 2.5 rpg (undrafted)

Six of the league's best shooters are chosen to participate in this event where they try to score as many points from five different spots around the three-point line.

The players will compete in the two-round competition with the top two finishers from the first round advancing to the finals. Five shooting stations will be set up around the three-point line, with four game balls worth one point each and one colored “money ball” worth two points at each location. Each player will have one minute to shoot as many balls as he can.

PARTICIPANTS

G Michael Redd - 94/224 | .420 3p%
G Joe Johnson - 98/266 | .368 3p%
F Dirk Nowitzki - 135/283 | .477 3p% (2006 Shootout Champion)
F Rashard Lewis - 130/264 | .492 3p%
F Andre Iguodala - 87/241 | .361 3p%
F Caron Butler - 69/173 | .399 3p%

The slam dunk contest will feature four of the NBA’s most athletic players as they showcase their dunking skills and try to "out-dunk" each other.

Players will compete in a two round competition with the top two finishers from the first round advancing to the finals. There will be two dunks per round and players will be given 24 seconds to complete an attempt. If a player happens to miss a dunk in any round, they will be given a chance to replace it.

PARTICIPANTS

F LeBron James - 6-8 | 240 lbs | 4th year
F Josh Smith - 6-9 | 235 lbs | 3rd year (2005 Slam Dunk Champion)
G DeShawn Stevenson - 6-5 | 218 lbs | 7th year
C Greg Oden - 7-0 | 260 lbs | Rookie

[homicide1550]

Marco20, ill be glad to help if you need it... anyways, I just use Windows Movie Maker to do those videos...


Thanks for the comments guys, Recap against the Rockets will be uploaded shortly... And watch out for the All-Star Weekend...

what format are you using?

save your movie file with 1 Mbps setting, that way it will have a high quality option once you upload it on youtube...

[Skills]

I'm not commenting as much as I should, but I'm still following! Haha, LeBron and DeShawn in the dunk contest. There'll be some serious beef going on at ASW. Write some funny story to go along with that! Keep this up! You're pwning all the other active dynasties with flying colors. K

[C-77]

wow,LeBron and DeShawn!,go lebron

[Rondo]

stunning presentation.
will come back and read through it later, low on time atm

[homicide1550]

Skillmatic, thanks buddy! And great idea, I was also thinking of creating some kind of story with Bron and DeShawn, hopefully I can make up something good and not get lazy...

C-77, I will definitely try to win the SlamDunk competition.. I need some more time in the Slam Dun School though...

agentnumerouno, wow, a new reader... thanks for the compliment buddy.. I see you are doing your own dynasty too... Best of luck with that...