A LEGEND IS BORN III

[Fresh8]

Tipping Competition Rewards
Now Your Virtual Player Reaps The Benefits Of Your Participation!

Thank you for participating in the tipping competition. As a result of your readership, you will now be able to use the points you earned on improving your virtual player!

Final Leaderboard

Leaderboard: Current Position. (Previous Position) Name | Points | Tiebreaker*

1. Kaiser_kobe | 115 | 10
2. Valor | 110 | 9
3. Lamrock | 105 | 8
4. Martti | 100 | 8
5. Dare | 85 | 7
6. Hova | 80 | 7
6. De8 | 80 | 7
7. The X | 75 | 7
8. ChrisO0 | 70 | 8
8. Clutch | 70 | 7
8. Cartar | 70 | 7
9. Thierry | 65 | 6
9. Mark. | 55 | 6
10. megarover | 50 | 6
11. Oskar | 50 | 3
12. puttincomputers | 30 | 4
13. Skills | 0 | 0

* Tiebreaker – If two or more people have the same amount of points, the tiebreaker is decided by how many series you correctly picked.

What Do You Do Now?

It’s very simple. Every participant now has a certain number of points that they will be able to use on improving attributes of their virtual player. You only have one chance to use all these points so don’t waste your points (i.e. any leftover points are not able to be brought forward to the next tipping competition).

For every Skill-based attribute, it costs you 4 points in order to improve that certain attribute by 1. For every Physical-based attribute, it costs you 8 points in order to improve that certain attribute.

Skill-based attributes are skills like shooting, dribbling, passing, rebounding, etc. Physical-based attributes includes attributes like strength, speed, endurance, as well as mental attributes such as awareness. If you are unsure whether the attribute you want to include is a skill-based or physical-based one, you are able to post and pose your question.

A quick example of how to let me know how you want to improve your player:

Player: 75 points
Three point shooting + 5 (20 points)
Mid range shooting + 4 (16 points)
Layup + 3 (12 points)
Stamina + 3 (24 points)
3 Points left over that cannot be spent

Please send me your edit player requests (Don’t forget to include your player’s name!) via PM and in the format that is in italics.

You have 5 days to send in your requests!

[Lamrock]

What would offensive awareness go under? I want all of my points going to that (and if I get to 99, the rest into defensive awareness)

[kibaxx7]

I should be 10th, not 11th I think Dare shouldn't be higher too? Didn't understand that.

[dare]

why am I in 7th place if I have 85 points? and what if I didn't use up all my points?

[Fresh8]

What would offensive awareness go under? I want all of my points going to that (and if I get to 99, the rest into defensive awareness)

awareness = skill

I should be 10th, not 11th I think Dare shouldn't be higher too? Didn't understand that.

why am I in 7th place if I have 85 points? and what if I didn't use up all my points?

my bad. and u guys cant use ur points yet.

[dare]

Why not man? my name is on bold in the standings

[Fresh8]

Why not man? my name is on bold in the standings

Fixed.

[Fresh8]

May 10, 2012
2011-12 Player Awards
By Willard Smith

A Recap of who won what for the 2011-12 NBA Regular Season.


Most Valuable Player: SF LeBron James (Cleveland Cavaliers)
Key Statistics: 24.2 ppg, 8.8 rpg, 6.4 apg, 1.6 spg, 1.0 bpg, .511 FG%, .404 3PT%

The MVP award came down to two players. LeBron James the winner. Moses Chara the runner-up by a handful of votes. The nation were split 50-50 on these two players and it showed when the voting committee couldn’t decide between the two. It seems like it came down to the fact that the Cavs won 54 games and the Kings only won 48. Statistically, both players weren’t far off from each other. Chara averaged 23 ppg, 10 rpg, and 8.3 apg while James had 24.2, 8.8, and 6.4.

This year’s race came down to two great players who should share the league’s most prestigious individual honor in many years to come. Unfortunately for Chara this season, he missed out by a few hairs. His time will come but for now, we must congratulate James on his second MVP award in a row.

There were a few other names floating around, thought to be worthy of the award. They were Atlanta’s Manu Ginobili, Miami’s Dwyane Wade, Portland’s Brandon Roy, and Seattle’s three time NBA scoring champion Kevin Durant. However, none of these guys came close to taking the award off of either James or Chara.

Rookie of the Year: PG Ricky Rubio (Indiana Pacers)
Key Statistics: 8.9 ppg, 9.6 apg, 4.4 rpg, 1.4 spg, .850 FT%

Everything ended up just about right for the Pacers and their second overall draft pick, Ricky Rubio. The Spanish PG has always been a highly touted NBA prospect since his early teens and after years of contractual issues, Rubio finally made it across the Atlantic to the shores of the United States of America. Scouts haves always praised his exceptional court vision and playmaking skills while raised concerns of his strength, athleticism, and scoring of not being at the standard the NBA requires. All of these observations were proven correct over the course of his maiden season.

Court vision and playmaking ability? Check – he averaged nearly 10 assists and only 2 turnovers a game. Poor strength and athleticism? Check – he struggled defensively and will need to work on getting stronger to be able to hold his own against NBA point guards. Poor scoring ability? He’s great at drawing fouls and is a brilliant free throw shooter (.850 from the stripe) but can’t knock down that jumper (9 ppg on .374 from the field and .264 from behind the arc). What Rubio lacks though is made up for by his feisty and tenacious defence (1.4 spg) and he also has a knack for being in a great position to grab stray rebounds (4.4 rpg).

Rubio wasn’t a runaway winner with the award as fellow top three picks Travis Ward and Larry Williams both had solid seasons. The Knicks’ Ward averaged close to a double double (16 ppg, 8 rpg) while undersized shooting guard Williams was great on both ends of the floor for the Raptors (averaged double digit points and got All-Defensive Second team honors; see below).

Defensive Player of the Year: C Dwight Howard (Orlando Magic)
Key Statistics: 17.5 ppg, 11.5 rpg, 3.0 bpg, 1.2 spg

Defensive Player of the Year came down to either Dwight Howard or Jay Gray. Howard won in the end because of his team’s better defensive record. Both big men were among the leading rebounders in the league as well as shot blockers. I would have gone either way with this one and howard came out on top to win his second consecutive DPOY award!

Sixth Man of the Year: PG Louis Nixon (Golden State Warriors)
Key Statistics: 13.7 ppg, 6.0 apg, .526 FG%, .447 3PT%, .883 FT%

The Warriors were rumored to have been thinking of starting Nixon alongside fellow combo guard Monta Ellis in what would have been a very explosive, albeit short, frontcourt. Instead, the Warriors brought Nixon off the bench for another full season. He’s come away with another sixth man award but one thing remains clear: he is too good to be playing off the bench.

Nixon is a steal and looks certain to one day be an All-Star, whether it is with the Warriors or not. Nixon has always given off the impression that he doesn’t mind playing off the bench but some people think that he is starting to get restless. I guess we all know talent, fame, money, and minutes get to a ballplayer’s head eventually.

So after carving up NBA defenses in limited minutes, shooting with outrageous accuracy, and scoring at will for two seasons as the Warriors’ sixth man, it may only be a matter of time before he becomes a starter or demands a deal. Exciting times ahead for the Warriors who never get things quite right!

Most Improved Player: PF Junior Cardinal (Phoenix Suns)
Key Statistics: 4.9 rpg, 1.6 bpg

The Suns sucked and Cardinal’s marginal improvements (1.4 rpg and 0.3 bpg becoming 4.9 rpg and 1.6 bpg) were only a result in him starting (somehow, I have no idea how) 61 games and playing 69 for the Suns. I guess everyone forgot about the emergence of Reshawn Tyson who looks like a future All-Star. Perhaps they thought he was too good or big of a name to win this award.

However, people forget that Tracy McGrady won it back in the early 2000’s.

Coach of the Year: Mike Woodson (Atlanta Hawks)

The Hawks have never looked stronger – Mike Woodson’s hard work with the team has paid off with a second seed, their best chance at winning a championship, and now a Coach of the Year Award. Atlanta, since losing Joe Johnson, never looked like a strong squad. That’s why they took a gamble by trading away a few younger players to the San Antonio Spurs for aging and ‘washed up’ super sub Manu Ginobili.

Woodson has transformed the team and put the focus on Ginobili. Ginobili has never looked any better as he seems to be rejuvenated and somehow younger. His 23 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 4.3 apg have been tops and the biggest positive out of this is that Josh Smith has been able to focus and play his game too. Woodson looks like a genius as the Hawks have gelled both on and off the court.

A well deserved honor for Woodson because everyone wrote off Atlanta before the season started. Everyone thought they were going to have a hard time making the postseason but they look stronger than ever to contend for a ring.

All-NBA Teams:
First Team: Dwight Howard, Jay Gray, LeBron James, Gilbert Arenas, Chris Paul
Second Team: Yao Ming, Chris Bosh, Rudy Gay, Joe Johnson, Ray Lliach
Third Team: Andrew Bogut, Dirk Nowitzki, Kevin Durant, Andre Iguodala, Tony Parker

All-Defensive Teams:
First Team: Dwight Howard, Jay Gray, Kenneth Dela Cruz, Andre Iguodala, Rajon Rondo
Second Team: Yao Ming, Chris Bosh, Rudy Gay, Larry Williams, Ray Lliach

All-Rookie Teams: My apologies for forgetting the names of the rookies
First Team: Travis Ward, L Givens, Sidney Hooper, Larry Williams, Ricky Rubio
Second Team: Corey Andrews, A Flores, C Blake, Cody Rynolds, A Semenko

[Valor]

Chara should've gotten that MVP and Jay Gray should've gotten the DPOY

[Lamrock]

Chara didn't even make any of the All-NBA teams! :O

[|)e8*]

Jay Gray is awesome.And Beasley 10 RpG?!

[dare]

Who are the ones responsible for voting in the "Most Improve Player" it should have been Ty, I never heard of Cardinal in your dynasty

[Mark.]

Hey mate ill pm you my player ratings update thing once I get back from aussie on monday

[Fresh8]

Picture added. Looks a lot better.

What do you guys think?

[C-77]

Why Isn't Moses Chara on any of the All-NBA teams? he was second on the MVP race

[The X]

Great to see Jay Gray performing well, the next legend has definitely been born

[Fresh8]

Why Isn't Moses Chara on any of the All-NBA teams? he was second on the MVP race

I think someone is mad...

Great to see Jay Gray performing well, the next legend has definitely been born

I thought you was a legend???

[The X]

Great to see Jay Gray performing well, the next legend has definitely been born

I thought you was a legend???

Nope, I never said I was a legend. Moses possibly, Jay Gray potentially, but not me

[Fresh8]

Great to see Jay Gray performing well, the next legend has definitely been born

I thought you was a legend???

Nope, I never said I was a legend. Moses possibly, Jay Gray potentially, but not me

I guess you're a Team Jay Gray guy.

[kibaxx7]

Chara not on a All-NBA Team? Man this is crazy. Ty not winning MIP? Come on!

[Martti.]

Who cares about Chara, where am I? Sucks that Lebron was MVP, he always wins.

[Fresh8]

Chara not on a All-NBA Team? Man this is crazy. Ty not winning MIP? Come on!

NBA: Where Snubs Happen.

Who cares about Chara, where am I? Sucks that Lebron was MVP, he always wins.

Marrti, just shut the fuck up.

And reminding you all about your virtual player points! Get them in ASAP

[Fresh8]

Chapter 1

Sit watched on as Durant slammed the ball through the hoop. The Seattle fans were screaming as the Stealth took their first lead of the night. Durant backpedaled back down the court. The rest of his teammates had set up in a zone. He high fived Reshawn Tyson as he jogged past him. Sit smiled. He then looked up at the scoreboard to check the score again.
“Good start to the season,” George Karl leaned over and said to Sit.
Sit nodded, “Great start.”
He looked down his bench on his right and called out, “Trevor! Get in for Ty. Luis! In for Lee.”
Trevor Ariza and Luis Scola both jumped up in unison and walked towards mid court. Jason Kidd had the ball and was pushing it up the court. Reshawn Tyson and Durant both sprinted ahead. Sit was happy; this was the way he wanted his team to play. ‘Fast-paced, up-tempo basketball and stifling defense on the other end; force turnovers and score as many points as you can,’ he would tell his players after every practice, before every game, and during every time out.

* * *

Sit and Karl were in the middle of a discussion about upcoming draft picks.
“Ricky Rubio?” Sit asked Karl.
Karl nodded in approval, “He’s really improved since 2009. I think he should be a lock if he became available.”
“We can trade up for him; we have two first round picks. We could get that number one pick and get Ricky.”
“No one else really stands out in this next draft,” Karl said.
“It’s a very weak pool of talent, that’s for sure,” Sit affirmed.
Sit’s phone then rang, “Excuse me George while I take this call.”
Karl smiled and got out of his seat, “I should be on my way out anyway.”
Sit nodded, using his right hand to shake Karl’s and his left to pick up the phone.
“Hello?” Sit answered.
“Will, it’s me,” it was the Stealth’s most senior board member.
“Hey!”
“Remember how I told you there was something important we had to discuss at our board meeting?”
“Oh yeah? I remember you telling me about it but you never said what it was about exactly.”
The voice on the other end did not reply straight away. The silence lasted only a few seconds.
“We had a meeting this morning Will. And it was about you.”
Sit grinned, “Sure. And?”
When Sit was told what had happened, it wiped the grin off of his face.
“I am very sorry to inform you. That the Seattle Stealth board has decided that we do not require your services anymore. Your contract will be terminated as of this phone call.”
“No, this must be a mistake…” Sit was shaking; he was being fired from his job.
“It would be good if you can come up to the boardroom this afternoon. We will need to have a de-briefing with you.”
Sit was confused, why were they firing him?
“Sure,” he said, “Just tell me what time I should be there.”

Sit fixed up his tie in the mirror then rinsed his hands under the lightly running tap. He splashed the cool water onto his face then wiped it dry with a paper towel from the dispenser on the wall. He grabbed his jacket and swung it over his shoulder and walked out of the restroom. He walked down the hall towards the boardroom. Vince Thompson was waiting for him at the door.
“You ready,” Vince asked.
“Ready as I will ever be,” Sit replied then patting him on the back, “Thanks for coming man.”
“No problem Sit, let’s hear what they’ve got to say.”
Sit walked into the room and looked at the board of directors in front of him. The Seattle Stealth Board were collectively old, Sit wondered if they even had any idea what basketball was. The room was silent as Sit took a seat in front of the board. Vince had stayed outside to wait for him.
The main director spoke up, “Will, I regret to tell you that we have come to a decision where we do not need your leadership anymore in the capacity of general manager of this ball club.”
Sit was about to say something before he added, “But… we are unhappy with how things are going within the team. We want this team to be a fine example of sportsmanship and success. We have been briefed that there have been internal struggles in the organization.”
“Internal struggles?” Sit was puzzled.
“Between your players.”
“Oh… that…” Sit was quiet.
The director continued, “You built this roster. We want you to fix it.”
Sit looked up, “You mean?”
The older man smiled and nodded, “The Board has voted that you should be the new Head Coach.”
Sit thought about Karl, “But George is the Head Coach, he’s in the middle of his contract.”
“Don’t worry, we are confident that we can come to an amicable decision between all parties. George Karl isn’t young anymore; this is the direction that we want to go with. You built this roster and you should be able to get results of it. You have had experience before with the Atlanta Hawks and Minnesota Timberwolves.”
“Very brief stints,” Sit admitted.
“But you still have done it before,” he said, “We have made the decision. Once the new manager starts, they will negotiate terms of your contract with you.”
Sit nodded, “Thank you.”
One of the other board members returned the gesture, “No, thank you. We expect a winning season from you Mr Sit.”
Sit was smiling again, “I will try my best.”

The transition from the front office to the sideline was a smooth one. George Karl was not happy with the demotion but slowly he accepted his new role as his health problems continued to persist over time. Kevin Durant was unhappy to see Sit as his coach but looked on the brighter side; he now had a coach who let him run. With Sit at the helm, he felt that it would equal more shots. Sit worked the team hard during the pre-season and Jason Kidd appreciated this. Kidd was nearly at an end and he wanted as best of a chance to finish with a championship as he could get. One of the players who had embraced the hiring of Sit was veteran shooting guard Raja Bell. Sit talked to him about his role on the team and Bell agreed that he was best to serve as young Reshawn Tyson’s backup.
Sit remembered the first time one of his players was traded by the front office without his approval when he answered a call in early December, “Hello?”
His old secretary said, “Hey Will. Bad news… Raja is leaving.”
“What?”
“For Luis Scola and a draft pick.”
“They can’t do that!” Sit was lost for words – Bell was one of his finer bench players and a player he had worked hard to sign to a deal a little more than a year ago.
“Sorry,” she then hung up.
Sit turned to Karl who tried to comfort him, “You don’t call the shots anymore son. This is the business. Do you want me to break it to him?”
Sit’s eyes wandered towards the court where Bell, Andrew Bogut, and Durant were shooting around, “No, I will do it myself.”
Sit took a deep breath and called out to Bell. The veteran ran over and Sit broke the news to him. It was awkward. Sit was surprised at how well Bell had taken it. The season continued with Durant and Bogut being named as NBA All-Stars in February. The team came out of the All-Star break and powered towards the postseason and locked up a playoff berth near the end of March. The season ended with Durant as the NBA leading scorer for a third straight season and Ty lending a helping hand to the team captain. Sit had tried hard to harness the talents of both of his best players and was happy with the result. It was before the start of the season when he called a meeting with the two of them.
“Remember when I asked you guys to work with each other this season?” Sit asked them.
Both players didn’t say anything and just nodded.
“I am not going to tolerate any bullshit around here,” Sit explained, “I’m expecting both of you to come and be professionals. Understood?”
Both of them nodded. The result was a season in which both players rarely spoke a word to each other but the no-nonsense off the court was carried onto it. The duo fed off each other at times and was tough to stop for any team. However, the times where the two cooperated were indeed rare and most of the time; each player just did his own thing. But Sit was content with that, As long as they aren’t fighting he would always think to himself. He was certain that the two would grow to appreciate each other as teammates even if they would never see eye to eye as individuals. Sit led his team to the playoffs after a 45 win season.

Moses Chara took a third step and flipped the ball through the hoop. The ref saw the travel but seemed to have swallowed up his whistle. It was Game Seven of the Western Conference Finals in Sacramento and the home team was barely ahead. Durant was furious and cussed at the ref.
“What’s that?” Durant ran past him.
This time, the ref blew his whistle, “Technical!”
Durant raised his arms in the air, “You kidding me!”
He walked right up to the ref and Jason Kidd immediately ran over to pull him away. Chara had the basketball and dribbled past Durant and Kidd as the ref was trying to indicate to the scorers’ table the call he was making. Chara laughed at Durant.
“You should shut up,” Chara taunted, “This is my house.”
Durant snorted, “Fuck off.”
Chara rolled the ball towards the ref calling for it and turned around to face Durant.
He pointed his index finger at Durant, “Watch your mouth. You don’t want to piss me off.”
Durant took a step forward and used the back of his right hand to push Chara’s arm out of the way, “Oh yeah? What you going to do?”
Kidd was pulling Durant away from Chara and the second game official was blowing his whistle to break Durant and Chara up. Kevin Martin and Michael Redd had come over to stand in between the pair.
“You going to keep crying about losing that MVP award? You going to keep crying about that you pussy?” Durant was yelling.
Chara stayed composed and turned around to go to the charity stripe to take his technical free throws. He sunk the freebie and the Kings got the ball back at midcourt. Chara passed the ball in to Russell Westbrook, a former Seattle player, and Westbrook passed the rock to Martin. Martin waited for Chara to get good position in the post. Chara called for the ball and Martin lobed in to him. Durant was trying to guard him in the paint. Chara smiled and faked to his left by twisting his torso and then violently and quickly twisted back the other way. He made sure his right elbow was lifted high and hit Durant in the jaw as hard as he could. Durant fell back and hit the court hard. Kidd and Bogut quickly ran over to Durant as the refs were blowing their whistles in frenzy. Chara dropped the ball and smiled; he had done his job. Durant was rubbing his jaw where he was hit. Chara laughed as the flagrant foul was called on him.
“You don’t do that shit to my teammates!” someone shouted.
It was Reshawn Tyson, who started running full pelt at Chara and tried to wrestle him to the ground. Chara was able to overpower Ty and punched him in the gut. Ty was left winded on the ground as Chara quickly got up with his teammates pulling him away.
“Dumbass!” Chara was shouting.
Sit was looking on from the bench and shouted at his reserves, “Stay off the court! I don’t want any suspensions!”
Sheed wanted to help his teammates, “Let me get that cocky son of a bitch!”
Sit warned him, “Don’t you dare.”
Sheed turned to Ariza, “I could take them. Ben Wallace taught me a thing or two.”
Chara had wriggled free from his teammates’ hold and ran back to stand over the fallen Ty, “You were no good in College and you’re no good here!”
Suddenly Durant was back on his feet and pushed Chara to the side. The Kings pulled Chara back to their bench. Durant looked down at Ty and offered him his hand. Ty looked up and grabbed a hold of it so that Durant could help him up. Durant nodded and turned to join the Stealth on the bench. Ty was stopped by the ref who ejected him for attacking Chara. Ty was escorted off the court and towards the locker room as Sit sent Ariza onto the court as his replacement. The Kings went on to win the game and were headed to the NBA Finals. After the game, Chara waited outside the visiting team locker room for Ty. Ty spotted him and Chara began to taunt him. The Kings’ security made sure that the two players wouldn’t get to each other; they knew that the pair had a heated rivalry during their UNC-Duke days. But they didn’t tell Chara to back off; they enjoyed the spectacle.
“Why don’t you come in here and show me what you got?” Ty was being pulled back by David Lee and Sheed.
Chara loved it, “Don’t be mad! Don’t be mad that we’re in the Finals!”
Lee and Sheed led Ty away before Chara got bored and left to prepare for his podium interview.

* * *

Sit watched as Ariza and Scola subbed on. Durant scored on the next Stealth possession off a short jumper. The Stealth came up with a steal at midcourt and Ariza finished with a massive slam on the fast break. A minute later, Bogut would dunk the ball. The Hawks called a timeout. Josh Smith and Tayshaun Prince quickly made their way to their bench. Al Horford walked slowly with his hands on his hips and eyes looking towards the scoreboard. His face had disappointment spelt all over it. The Stealth faithful were cheering louder than ever. Sit got through his pep talk quickly.
“On three… one, two three!” Sit yelled.
The players shouted in unison, “Stealth!”
The players went back onto the court and Sit took a seat.
Sit high fived Karl, “It’s a great start!”

[Lamrock]

An enemy of an enemy is a friend. I love the camaraderie between KD and Ty!

[kibaxx7]

Great start to this 3rd part of ALIB. Loving the KD-Ty duo!