-|[ BALTIMORE CLAWS ]| -

I thought he might be a bit too good for what I wanted to do. I didn't really want to be competitive straight away, and I think with a decent PG I would've won 4-5 more games than I did.

New update in like 30 minutes

February 3rd
Baltimore Claws 99 (2-16) vs Detroit Pistons 106 (9-8)


Pistons overcome sluggish start, beat Baltimore on the road
The Detroit Pistons have survived a scare from the lowly Baltimore Claws to claim their 9th win of the season as they held out the home team 106-99. Baltimore started the better of the two teams, dominating the rebounds and penetrating at will through the impressive Mickael Gelabale (26 points, 8 rebounds) who had the entire Pistons frontcourt in foul trouble early. Rashad McCants had the Claws up by 5 at half time, scoring 10 points in the 2nd quarter alone while Gelabale already had 19 by the half. Coming out of halftime however, the Pistons looked like an entirely different team. Through Rodney Stuckey (4 blocks) and Tayshaun Prince (6 steals) they completely locked down the Baltimore interior attack, limiting them to long range jumpers that didn't find their mark while Rip Hamilton hit his stride on his way to a game high 30 points. Going into the fourth with a slender one point lead, the Claws were their own worst enemies missing a miriad of easy shots while Detroit continued to execute and put the game out of reach. Hamilton and his 30 points drew most of the plaudits, but Stuckey's 16 point, 12 assist effort was crucial to the victory. For Baltimore Gelabale and McCants lead the way, however McCants missed on four consecutive trips down the floor and essentially gave the game away. Dwayne Jones returned to form with 13 rebounds and 2 blocked shots.



February 5th
Baltimore Claws 114 (3-16) vs Philadelphia 76ers 80 (5-13)


76ers shut down and blown out in Baltimore
Coming off a heartbreaking loss to Detroit at home, Baltimore backed up against a Philadelphia side who had only managed to win 3 more games than the Claws all season. Rashad McCants scored 9 of the Claws first 15 points as they opened up a 15-4 lead early in the first, the 76ers shooting 16% from the field. As has often been the case this season the Baltimore bench did some damage of their own to end the first quarter, keeping the scoreboards ticking over on the way to a 32-18 first quarter lead. It was much the same story in the second, with Philadelphia struggling to get anything against a completely unbreakable Baltimore defense with Rashad McCants continuing his scoring run and blowing the lead out to 23. Mickael Gelabale made himself known in the third, exploding for 15 points for the quarter on his way to a game high 21 as the lead managed to blow out to 31, the 6ers unable to rebound or do anything inside with only Thaddeus Young (17 points, 5 rebounds) showing any form of resistance. Mercifully the Claws finished the game off through Darius miles (15 points, 7 rebounds) and Gabe Pruitt (17 points) leaving Philadelphia reeling as they run out winners 114-80. The story of the game was the Claws 65% field goal shooting, as well as outrebounding the 76ers by 14 who's big guns struggled all game, Allen Iverson and Andre Iguodala combining to shoot 8/41 from the field.



February 8th
Baltimore Claws 84 (3-17) vs Denver Nuggets 95 (12-10)


Anthony, Lawson dull Claws at Baltimore
After blowing out the 76ers at home just days before, Baltimore welcomed Denver to the arena with a renewed sense of confidence but it was short lived as Carmelo Anthony lead the Nuggets to a 95-84 win. Denver started out well, scoring seven straight points despite the offensive struggles of Chauncey Billups. While Anthony was carrying the load, he had help from Ty Lawson who came off the bench and helped blow the Nuggets 2nd quarter lead out to 19. Lawson finished with 14 points and 6 assists for the game, while Anthony (21 points, 7 rebounds) continued the scoring run into the third, Denver leading by 17 and coasting through the game thanks mostly to the inability of the Baltimore players to cover the fast break. While Mickael Gelabale quietly had the game of his life, finishing with 31 points and 5 rebounds, the rest of the Claws finally woke up in the fourth lead by Gelabale and McCants (21 points) as they managed to pad some stats late in the game to make the score look more respectable, but there was no doubt to anyone watching who was the dominant team, Denver winning the first two quarters of the game by a combined 17 points. JR Smith chipped in with 15 points for the visitors who only finished with two players in double figures for scoring.



February 9th
Baltimore Claws 101 (4-17) @ Minnesota Timberwolves 92 (6-13)


Claws solid form continues away against Minnesota
Heading out onto the road to face Minnesota, Darius Miles clearly showed up to play scoring 6 points in the first 2 minutes of the game to take Baltimore out to an early first quarter lead. The inconsistant yet potentially damaging Claws defensive effort showed up for the game, keeping the Timberwolves at bay in the second while the bench unit continued their strong recent form, taking the score out to 55-48 at the half. With Rashad McCants (17 points, 9 assists) and Mickael Gelabale (17 points) sitting to start the second half, Minnesota went on a run and managed to cut the lead to one point. Baltimore were missing a tonne of shots and despite a decent rebounding effort from Dwayne Jones, Al Jefferson (18 points, 13 rebounds) and Corey Brewer (14 points) found some shooting touch of their own to end the third quarter down only one point, 72-71. Kevin Love came to life for the first time to begin the fourth, but with the reintroduction of Gelabale and McCants along with Darius Miles finding his game offensively the Claws got the lead out to 10 midway through the fourth quarter, and held on to the game by 9 through some impressive play from Gabe Pruitt and some absolutely abysmal efforts from the Timberwolves Kevin Love. Love finished with 8 points on 3/9 shooting, while for the Claws Darius Miles had a season high 19 points and Maurice Ager chipped in with 1 points in 11 minutes off the bench.



February 12th
Baltimore Claws 78 (4-18) vs Sacramento Kings 88 (11-11)


Despite Claws comeback, Kings triumph on the road
The offensive fluidity that Baltimore had found for February abandoned them entirely for the first half against Sacramento on Monday as they went down in a gallant effort 88-78. Sacramento began the game well, Kevin Martin and Tyreke Evans combined for 22 points in the first quarter as Baltimore struggled, shooting 3/28 from the field and finishing down 26-10. The trend continued in the second, Przybilla shutting down every Baltimore raid on the interior and leaving them with no option but to endlessly bomb from long range while Sacramento continued to be efficient and impressive from the field, Kevin Martin finishing the half with 23 points while the Claws continued to shoot poorly, just 19% from the field as the Kings lead 51-29. Baltimore came out energized in the second half, Mickael Gelabale able to get his inside game working along with Rashad Mccants who had been shut down by Jason Thompson (11 rebounds, 4 blocks) and Joel Przybilla (11 rebounds, 5 blocks) for the first three quarters. The interior defensive effort of Stromile Swift and Rich Payton off the bench let the Claws bring the game back to within 8 points, but it was all too little too late. Rashad McCants scored 23 for the home side, while Mickael Gelabale finished with 16 points on just 8/21 shooting. Kevin Martin was the star for Sacramento, scoring 34 points.




February 13th
Sophmore All-Stars 87 vs Rookie All-Stars 68
Westbrook leads Sophmores to blow out victory
Russell Westbrook scored 23 points and Eric Gordon added 17 as they managed to overrun a clearly weaker Rookie All-Star team 87-68. OJ Mayo was the other player in double figures for the Sophs with 12, while for the Rookies, Shannon Brown and Tyreke Evans finished with 11 points a piece and James Harden poured in 16.

February 14th
West All-Stars 76 vs East All-Stars72
West All-Stars defeat East in strangely low scoring game
In one of the lowest scoring All-Star games of all time, the Western Conference All-Stars have defeated the Eastern Conference 76-72. Rudy Gay was the hero for the West team, scoring 18 points in just 17 minutes on the court. Tim Duncan finished with 11 points while no other West player managed to crack double figures. Gilbert Arenas was the star for the East, continuing his stellar season with 19 points. Nate Robinson came off the end of the bench and scored 13 in quick time, while Kevin Garnett and Dwyane Wade both contributed 11 and 10 points respectively. Possibly the biggest story to come out of the game was the sub-par showings from its two biggest superstars, LeBron James and Kobe Bryant scoring only 4 points between them in 38 minutes on the court combined.

February 23rd
Baltimore Claws 107 (5-18) vs Toronto Raptors 86 (8-12)


Bosh-less Raptors on the brink of extinction against Claws
Rashad McCants scored 20 points in a dominant first quarter on his way to a career high 55 as the Baltimore Claws ran rampant over a weakened Toronto outfit at home. Heading into the game without their leading scorer and rebounder, the Raptors looked lost as Rashad McCants repeatedly shreded his way through some abysmal defending, finishing with 30 by half time. The Raptors kept the game reasonably close, Hedo Turkoglu and Demar DeRozan scoring 19 and 21 points respectively but the night belonged to McCants. His offensive onslaught carried over into every quarter, scoring 25 points in the second half and finishing with 55 and 6 rebounds on 22/39 shooting from the field. The Raptors made a run early in the fourth quarter with the overly efficient Claws offense finally falling apart, but Mickael Gelabale righted the ship scoring 7 of his 9 points in the last five minutes of the game, the score blowing out to 107-86. For Baltimore only McCants scored in double figures, James White added 8 off the bench and in a game where rebounding opportunities were few and far between Dwayne Jones grabbed a season low 4. Bosh's replacement Reggie Evans finished with 12 rebounds but was a step too slow to stop any of the Claws offensive raids inside.



TRANSACTIONS
DALLAS MAVERICKS trade TJ Ford to the OKC THUNDER for Eric Maynor
NEW YORK KNICKS trade Eddy CUrry to the OKC THUNDER for Nick Collison and Nenad Krstic
PORTLAND TRAILBLAZERS trade Joel Przybilla to the SACRAMENTO KINGS for Darko Milicic
PHOENIX SUNS trade Grant Hill to the MILWAUKEE BUCKS for Hakim Warrick
HOUSTON ROCKETS trade Kyle Lowry to the MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES for a future 1st round pick

NOTES
RASHAD MCCANTS of the Baltimore Claws was named the Eastern Conference player of the week for the week of February 21-27 after his 55 point game against Toronto.

McCants was awesome with 55 points but Gelabale has really been solid for ya.

Most of the captions crack me up What happened in the All-Star Game?

In yo face Charlie V!

I can't believe you've won 5 games.....

He's getting to know his team better, I guess. In six more games, I bet he gets two more wins.

You're as on fire as a team with that roster can be. Another great recap. Shame Nate Robinson beat out McCants for an all-star spot.

You are finally starting to get some wins. McCants and Gelkable have been great for you

He's getting to know his team better, I guess. In six more games, I bet he gets two more wins.

I think I'm getting better at the game too, I'd only played it a handful of times before I started this. As you can see the games are closer now, plus having Gelabale scoring helps a lot because it was just McCants for a long time.

Shame Nate Robinson beat out McCants for an all-star spot.

I can't believe McCants 20 on 40% shooting was overlooked .. I think Robinson's got a TS% of like 58 or something, doubt I'll be able to pick him up as a FA though.

McCants and Gelkable have been great for you

Gelabale is awesome. Averaged 20 points per game for the month.

We have finally broken the Gelabale/Swift tie. Swift will get the start, new poll soon.

Shame Nate Robinson beat out McCants for an all-star spot.

I can't believe McCants 20 on 40% shooting was overlooked .. I think Robinson's got a TS% of like 58 or something, doubt I'll be able to pick him up as a FA though.

You don't need him. You're gonna have Patty Mills.

McCants and Gelabale are on fire. Always liked them and usually had at least one of them on my Live 06 dynasties. Sucks no All-Star nod for McCants, but I think your record might have hurt his chances. Just look at Brook Lopez.

Here's the top 5 players at each position who will be free agents this coming off-season. Since the rule is the Claws can't sign anyone until after the free agency period, there's a good chance none of them will be available.


Nate Robinson | NY
21.7 PPG | 3.3 RPG | 5.1 APG | 1.9 SPG | 0.1 BPG | 3.2 TOPG | .439 FG% | .434 3P%
Aaron Brooks | HOU
17.4 PPG | 1.0 RPG | 6.6 APG | 0.4 SPG | 0.0 BPG | 2.1 TOPG | .480 FG% | .446 3P%
Mario Chalmers | MIA
8.6 PPG | 1.7 RPG | 5.9 APG | 1.6 SPG | 0.0 BPG | 1.6 TOPG | .431 FG% | .322 3P%
Rodney Stuckey | DET
14.0 PPG | 3.1 RPG | 7.4 APG | 1.5 SPG | 0.2 BPG | 1.9 TOPG | .445 FG% | .193 3P%
Will Bynum | DET
10.1 PPG | 1.4 RPG | 1.6 APG | 0.7 SPG | 0.0 BPG | 1.3 TOPG | .469 FG% | .388 3P%


Dwyane Wade | MIA
33.4 PPG | 5.5 RPG | 6.4 APG | 2.9 SPG | 2.2 BPG | 2.3 TOPG | .508 FG% | .356 3P%
Joe Johnson | ATL
18.6 PPG | 4.7 RPG | 5.6 APG | 2.2 SPG | 0.3 BPG | 2.5 TOPG | .419 FG% | .362 3P%
Manu Ginobli | SAS
17.9 PPG | 4.4 RPG | 3.1 APG | 2.5 SPG | 0.6 BPG | 2.1 TOPG | .450 FG% | .358 3P%
Ray Allen | BOS
15.0 PPG | 1.6 RPG | 1.7 APG | 0.4 SPG | 0.0 BPG | 2.2 TOPG | .471 FG% | .500 3P%
OJ Mayo | MEM
15.5 PPG | 2.5 RPG | 1.1 APG | 0.7 SPG | 0.0 BPG | 2.2 TOPG | .453 FG% | .345 3P%


LeBron James | CLE
25.1 PPG | 11.0 RPG | 6.8 APG | 2.2 SPG | 1.9 BPG | 2.9 TOPG | .428 FG% | .346 3P%
Paul Pierce | BOS
20.5 PPG | 5.3 RPG | 1.2 APG | 0.5 SPG | 0.1 BPG | 2.1 TOPG | .494 FG% | .402 3P%
Rudy Gay | MEM
18.9 PPG | 8.3 RPG | 0.9 APG | 1.5 SPG | 2.7 BPG | 2.6 TOPG | .453 FG% | .397 3P%
Josh Howard | DAL
17.5 PPG | 3.2 RPG | 0.4 APG | 0.3 SPG | 0.4 BPG | 1.7 TOPG | .470 FG% | .438 3P%
Grant Hill | MIL
11.5 PPG | 7.6 RPG | 0.9 APG | 1.0 SPG | 1.2 BPG | 1.6 TOPG | .427 FG% | .307 3P%


Chris Bosh | TOR
23.6 PPG | 13.9 RPG | 1.0 APG | 0.5 SPG | 1.4 BPG | 2.0 TOPG | .501 FG% | .383 3P%
Dirk Nowitzki | DAL
27.7 PPG | 11.1 RPG | 1.0 APG | 1.3 SPG | 3.0 BPG | 2.1 TOPG | .478 FG% | .266 3P%
Carlos Boozer | UTA
16.8 PPG | 13.2 RPG | 1.1 APG | 1.0 SPG | 0.3 BPG | 2.0 TOPG | .471 FG% | .266 3P%
Amare Stoudemire | PHO
31.2 PPG | 9.6 RPG | 1.3 APG | 0.6 SPG | 1.7 BPG | 1.7 TOPG | .498 FG% | .258 3P%
Kevin Love | MIN
10.2 PPG | 10.2 RPG | 0.9 APG | 0.4 SPG | 0.6 BPG | 1.7 TOPG | .440 FG% | .500 3P%


Al Jefferson | MIN
22.8 PPG | 10.8 RPG | 1.2 APG | 0.2 SPG | 0.3 BPG | 2.5 TOPG | .495 FG% | .166 3P%
Al Horford | ATL
8.3 PPG | 9.3 RPG | 0.9 APG | 0.3 SPG | 1.5 BPG | 1.4 TOPG | .464 FG% | .250 3P%
Shaquille O'Neal | CLE
14.6 PPG | 6.1 RPG | 0.8 APG | 0.3 SPG | 1.3 BPG | 1.1 TOPG | .516 FG% | .133 3P%
David Lee | NYK
11.7 PPG | 14.1 RPG | 1.5 APG | 0.7 SPG | 1.3 BPG | 1.2 TOPG | .469 FG% | .142 3P%
Marcus Camby | POR
7.1 PPG | 11.4 RPG | 1.2 APG | 0.4 SPG | 2.1 BPG | 0.8 TOPG | .432 FG% | .312 3P%

Coming tomorrow; realistic Baltimore FA targets

You might be able to get Bynum

Doesn't Love still have a 2 year team option?

Not sure, it seems a bit dodgy to me. I just went to "upcoming FA's" and those guys came up.

Wow, LeBron is playing even better than last year

Wow, LeBron is playing even better than last year

Id say Wade is

Here's 3 random players at each position who I would possibly target in the off-season. Keep in mind I can't sign anyone until the FA period is over.


Speedy Claxton | ATL
0.5 PPG | 0.0 RPG | 0.5 APG | 0.0 SPG | 0.0 BPG | 1.0 TOPG | .000 FG% | .000 3P%
George Hill | SAS
3.5 PPG | 0.6 RPG | 0.7 APG | 0.6 SPG | 0.0 BPG | 0.7 TOPG | .435 FG% | .529 3P%
Sergio Rodriguez | SAC
2.8 PPG | 0.8 RPG | 1.2 APG | 0.5 SPG | 0.0 BPG | 0.5 TOPG | .455 FG% | .360 3P%


JJ Redick | ORL
2.5 PPG | 0.5 RPG | 0.5 APG | 0.5 SPG | 0.0 BPG | 0.0 TOPG | .166 FG% | .100 3P%
JR Giddens | BOS
6.9 PPG | 1.0 RPG | 1.0 APG | 0.0 SPG | 1.0 BPG | 2.0 TOPG | .600 FG% | .000 3P% (1 Game)
Wesley Matthews | UTA
1.8 PPG | 0.6 RPG | 0.2 APG | 0.0 SPG | 0.0 BPG | 0.4 TOPG | .416 FG% | .307 3P%


Adam Morrison | CHA
1.4 PPG | 0.7 RPG | 0.2 APG | 0.0 SPG | 0.0 BPG | 0.4 TOPG | .255 FG% | .285 3P%
Tim Thomas | DAL
2.3 PPG | 1.3 RPG | 0.2 APG | 0.0 SPG | 0.1 BPG | 0.3 TOPG | .418 FG% | .428 3P%
Donte Greene | SAC
3.0 PPG | 0.9 RPG | 0.2 APG | 0.0 SPG | 0.3 BPG | 0.6 TOPG | .508 FG% | .625 3P%


Nathan Jawai | MIN
1.9 PPG | 1.4 RPG | 0.2 APG | 0.0 SPG | 0.1 BPG | 0.3 TOPG | .415 FG% | .000 3P%
Oleksiy Pecherov | MIN
1.0 PPG | 1.5 RPG | 0.0 APG | 0.0 SPG | 0.0 BPG | 1.0 TOPG | .500 FG% | .000 3P%
Brian Cook | TOR
2.5 PPG | 1.1 RPG | 0.2 APG | 0.1 SPG | 0.1 BPG | 0.4 TOPG | .368 FG% | .433 3P%


Patrick O'Bryant | TOR
0.0 PPG | 1.0 RPG | 0.0 APG | 0.0 SPG | 0.0 BPG | 0.0 TOPG | .000 FG% | .000 3P% (1 Game)
Ian Mahinmi | SAS
No Games Played
Joel Anthony | MIA
1.0 PPG | 1.7 RPG | 0.3 APG | 0.0 SPG | 0.7 BPG | 0.3 TOPG | .526 FG% | .000 3P%

George Hill maybe? there isn't anyone in that list that'll give you the desired impact though...

Beside Hill nobody else really stands out

Yep, they all suck I'm hoping I'll get lucky and pick up a superstar in the draft but by the looks of things it's a fairly weak class.

Well George Hill and Joel Anthony are fairly good players to me

could you put up some divisional/conference standings? or are you still dead last?

I'm gonna do a full around the league wrap up after the next bunch of recaps. Problem with this season is that I played 2 and a half months into it before I even started the thread so I'd always be ahead and recaps wouldn't take too long to post, but it also means while in my updates I'm only just past February, in the game I've actually finished the season and I'm waiting to get into the off-season.

I'll do it differently next season so I can focus more on stuff happening in the league.

Still dead last though, a few teams have 2-3 more wins than us but they are also like 6-7 games behind in terms of amount played.