[Live 05]07-08 Blazers- D-Miles Trade Rumours

[Clutch]

Dude! Miles and Smith are reformed men? Carlos Delfino lit your up like vintage MJ? and Mike Bumleavy spoke these words? - "I just stayed agressive all game long" Bumleavy!? Aggressive!?!? What's really goin' on!? lol

Well, I'll be pulling for JR (as he did just school my Rockets) but it still feels pretty empty over there on that bench of yours w/o Martell; i hope Roy and JR get on the same page soon to help turn things around

[Its_asdf]

Five Blazers To Enter All-Star Festivities
Blazers' Youth Gets a Chance to Shine During Weekend



Click Here for Rookie-Sophomore Rookies Lineup
Click Here for Rookie-Sophomore Sophomore Lineup

Click Here for three point shootout contestants
Click Here for slam dunk contestants

Click Here for the Eastern Conference Starting Lineups
Click Here for the Western Conference Starting Lineups


The Portland Trail Blazers don't have to be too down on themselves about not having an all-star calibre player entering the all-star game this weekend. This year, five players from Portland will be representing the Blazers this weekend at the all-star festivities; three of which never played for Portland until this year.

First year big man Al Horford will side with the likes of Greg Oden and Kevin Durant on the rookie team as they look to tackle the sophomore team in the All-Star Rookie Challenge. Blazer guard Brandon Roy and back up centre LaMarcus Aldridge have been named the starters of the second year team. "Oh, Horfy isn't getting it easy, that's for sure," gloated Aldridge. "When we're on the court, I'm going to go at him, no questions asked."

Horford echoed Aldridge's playfully agressive sentiments. "LaMarcus knows how it feels like to get dunked on during practice," laughed the young rookie. "This time I'll be doing it on the big stage though."

An interesting note on this year's sophomore team is that former rookie of the year, Rudy Gay, is absent from the starting lineup. Instead, Toronto's Jorge Garbajosa will start at small foward alongside Italian sensation and teammate Andrea Bargnani in the front court. The rookie starting lineup also features a fairly unique twist; Boston's starting power foward Leon Powe and Detriot point guard Will Blalock are technically second year players, but did not play in any games last year and as a result will be starting for the rookie team.

The Blazers' leading scorer and three point shooter Quentin Richardson will be one of eight participants in the three point shoot-out. Richardson leads the team in three pointers made and three point field goal percentage. Q-Rich has also won the competition back in 2005, where he hit 9 consecutive threes to beat out Kyle Korver by one point, who coincidentally is also entering in this year's shootout. Joe Johnson, Jamal Crawford, two-time champ Peja Stojakovic, Mike Miller, Kirk Hinrich and Chris Paul are the other competitors in the competition.

A human highlight reel and the newest Portland Trail Blazer J.R. Smith was also invited to participate in the slam dunk contest, an invitation he happily accepted. "I feel like I'm a very exciting player to watch athletically," said Smith, who at a ripe young age of 22 has produced plenty of dazzling dunks and already entered in the slam dunk contest during his rookie season where he performed the infamous "behind the back" dunk. However, Smith told us that he has a whole new bag of tricks this year. "I have a lot of new stuff to bring to the table," Smith grinned.

Smith joins former slam dunk champ Jason Richardson and Seattle's Rashard Lewis for one of the most hyped up events of the all-star weekend. Blazer high flyer Darius Miles was also invited to participate, but declined the offer in order to rest up his new surgically repaired knee. Instead, Ben Wallace of the Chicago Bulls will be participating in place of Miles.

[Its_asdf]

I apologize for the lack of updates, I just haven't really been feeling up to it lately. But with the all-star weekend/trade deadline approaching I kind of realized how exciting this game can be.

SOlid Debut for Smith, I quite like the trade, seems pretty balanced. Pity you had to lose the following two games though

Yeah I was kind of pissed when MIKE DUNLEAVY of all people torched me. God I hate that guy.

Dude! Miles and Smith are reformed men? Carlos Delfino lit your up like vintage MJ? and Mike Bumleavy spoke these words? - "I just stayed agressive all game long" Bumleavy!? Aggressive!?!? What's really goin' on!? lol

Well, I'll be pulling for JR (as he did just school my Rockets) but it still feels pretty empty over there on that bench of yours w/o Martell; i hope Roy and JR get on the same page soon to help turn things around

Welcome to the whack world of Its_asdf's dynasty.

[Clutch]

damn man - congrats just on getting that many guys into ASWknd! i've never had that kind of team representation, maybe 3-4 guys tops; good to see Aldridge get in there as well - and as a starter! wooot

only thing that's messed up is Rip Hamilton getting punked from the Eastern All-Start team since all his teammates made it booooo

the JR Smith v J-Rich dunk duel outta be classic; i guess Ben Wallace is in there for comedy relief? actually, i'm hoping he beats you both - now THAT would be classic!

[TheMC5]

i guess Ben Wallace is in there for comedy relief? actually, i'm hoping he beats you both - now THAT would be classic!

In the "whack world of asdf's dynasty" anything can happen, even the most magical things imaginable. It is a place where chocolate falls as rain, where George Bush knows the difference between the words "is" and "are" as they apply to "our children", where I'm not staying up all night before an 8 am lab due to the fact that the most I could've gotten is 3 hours sleep. Yes, it is a crazy place, one where seeing anyone BUT Ben Wallace win would be basically a crime against humanity, or some shit.

[Its_asdf]

All-Star Rookie Challenge: Sophomores Survive the Kevin Durant Show



BOXSCORES

The Sophomore team let out a major sigh of relief when rookie Kevin Durant failed to make history after his three point attempt rimmed out at the buzzer.

The much-hyped Durant completely obliterated the Sophomore defence, netting 35 points on 15 of 27 shooting for the rookie squad, who were just one Kevin Durant three pointer away from sending the game into over-time. Durant's magnificient performance was one point shy of Amare Stoudemire's 36 point record of most points scored in the Rookie-Sophomore game. "He was absolutely amazing," smiled Rookie team centre Greg Oden. The Lakers first overall pick in the 2007 draft was a far second in rookie team scoring with 19 points, but showed a preview of the domination in the paint that fans would witness in a few years with 15 rebounds and 2 blocks. "I know it's just an All-Star game, but anytime you are that close to setting a new record you have got to give the guy props."

Portland Trail Blazer sophomore LaMarcus Aldridge was the MVP for the game with an impressive 18 point-6 rebound-2 block stat line to lead the Sophomore team to victory, but proclaimed Durant as the real winner of the MVP award. "He should've won it," Aldridge said. "I feel honoured for winning this award, but I honestly thought Durant was going to win it."

Both teams struggled out of the gate to start the game, but it was Durant (who else?) that provided an early sparkplug for the Rookies, netting 12 points and giving them a 31-20 advantage over the Sophomores.

The entertainment began to pick up in the second when Blazer rookie Al Horford engaged in a back-and-forth scoring duel with Nets' point guard Marcus Williams. Each player scored 7 points each to get their respective team warmed up offensively. Unfortunately for the Sophomores, the rookies once again stretched out the lead, with D.J. White scoring all 6 of his points in a 10-0 run for the rookies to give them a 59-39 lead; their biggest of the game. The Sophomores would trail 59-44 by half-time.

"We got bullied in the paint," said Williams. Williams and Rookie guard Will Blalock both dominated the ball and had impressive games passing, leading each of their teams in assists. "It was kind of interesting that the rookie team had no guards off the bench and we had no big men off the bench."

With the game and their pride on the line, the Sophomores would use their experience to whither away at the Rookie team lead in the third quarter. What was a double-digit advantage eventually turned into a 7 point 79-66 lead by the end of the third quarter. It seemed as if the rookies were cracking under the pressure, shooting only 38% from the field that quarter.

It got worse in the fourth quarter, when Marcus Williams reeled off 5 straight points and fed Jorge Garbajosa a sweet no look pass to spark yet another Sophomore run at the half-way mark of the fourth quarter. MVP LaMarcus Aldridge fueled the fire with a long range jumper and Randy Foye went up for a fast break dunk to bring the Sophomores to within 2. The sophomores would take a 92-88 lead, their first of the game at the 2 minute mark. Despite the Sophomores impressive second half, most of their points were answered eye-to-eye by Durant, who kept the Rookies in the game for the rest of the quarter by scoring nearly half of his points (17) in the fourth. Excluding Durant, the rookie team scored 5 points in the final period.


Aldridge hoists up the hardware after dominating the paint for the Sophomores

Nick Young made the first highlight of the night with this jam
Brandon Roy taking in the moment of being introduced as the Sophomore's starting guard
Aldridge's best play of the day included Greg Oden as the victim
Al Horford putting a body on teammate LaMarcus Aldridge
Gay showing why he was last year's rookie of the year with this dunk on Durant
Durant clearly had the dunk of the night when he drove baseline and made a reverse windmill
The rim was as wide as the Atlantic ocean for Durant in the fourth. Everything went in
Randy Foye left Blalock in the dust
Being the only point guard on the team, Blalock paced the Rookie offence with many dazzling assists
Aldridge being introduced as the starting centre for the Sophomore team

[Its_asdf]

damn man - congrats just on getting that many guys into ASWknd! i've never had that kind of team representation, maybe 3-4 guys tops; good to see Aldridge get in there as well - and as a starter! wooot

only thing that's messed up is Rip Hamilton getting punked from the Eastern All-Start team since all his teammates made it booooo

the JR Smith v J-Rich dunk duel outta be classic; i guess Ben Wallace is in there for comedy relief? actually, i'm hoping he beats you both - now THAT would be classic!

Oh... You'd be suprised to see what Ben Wallace is capable of, especially in Superstar mode.

In the "whack world of asdf's dynasty" anything can happen, even the most magical things imaginable. It is a place where chocolate falls as rain, where George Bush knows the difference between the words "is" and "are" as they apply to "our children", where I'm not staying up all night before an 8 am lab due to the fact that the most I could've gotten is 3 hours sleep. Yes, it is a crazy place, one where seeing anyone BUT Ben Wallace win would be basically a crime against humanity, or some shit.

My thoughts exactly.

[jonthefon]

Wow, the Durant show. Some performance he came up with there.

Looking forward to All-Star Saturday and the Dunk Contest featuring the 'fro man.

[Mark.]

Man Durant was dominant, good to see Aldridge played well, who did you play as?

[dragonkillerg]

wow Aldridge what a beast, double double , and durant exploding for 35 points

[Clutch]

BAH!! why is Aldridge deferring to KD? he didn't nab 16 BOARDS to go along with his ballhoggin' shooting exhibition; that's right LaMarcus, you hoist that trophy high son!

great to have his name permanently etched in your 'Blazers trophy case!

[Its_asdf]

Oops. Nearly spoiled the entire Three Point Shootout with that mis-post.

[Its_asdf]

Three Point Shootout Preview

Contestants Stats

Q. Rich - 3pt Field Goals: 36 (10th) /3pt Percentage: 40%
Dethroned a few years ago from his three point crown, Q-Rich has enjoyed a resurgent season after being plagued by injuries for the past few years. In addition to his new found success on the Blazers, Richardson's shooting percentages have skyrocketed to career highs and is looking to put his stroke to the test once again.

J. Johnson - 3pt Field Goals: 47 (5th) /3pt Percentage: 41%
Recent chatter amongst basketball fans has Joe Johnson's name mentioned as one of the leading candidates in the race for the regular season. Johnson has emerged as an offensive juggernaut this season, and his offensive game gets a big boost from his three point shooting.

K. Korver - 3pt Field Goals: 55(2nd) /3pt Percentage: 39%
The young Korver participated in the three point shoot out in his sophomore year of '05, but was beat out by Quentin Richardson in the finals. Year after year, Korver has improved his offence and his three point stroke, making him one of the most potent three point marksmen in the league this year. Trailing behind only Peja Stojakovic for the total three pointers made, Korver is looking to continue his upward rise of the ranks of the best shooters in the NBA.

J. Crawford - 3pt Field Goals: 46 (6th) /3pt Percentage: 29%
Speak what you must about Crawford's piss-poor percentage, but there's no denying that Crawford is nearly unstoppable when he starts to cook from outside. Crawford's 29% from three can be attributed from his recent shooting slump. A little earlier on in the season, Crawford was one of the top gunners of the league, and he's hoping to show that he still is.

P. Stojakovic - 3pt Field Goals: 61 (1st) /3pt Percentage: 36%
Originally a two time champ of this contest, Peja looks like he's still in perfect form from beyond the arc. The current three point king of the 07-08 season, Stojakovic is ahead of Korver by 6 three pointers made. A safe bet for the winner of the contest would definitely be Stojakovic.

M. Miller - 3pt Field Goals: 40 (8th) /3pt Percentage: 41%
Ever since he first stepped into the NBA, the 05-06 Sixth Man of the Year has lit up the NBA from three point territory, although without much recognition. An underrated shooter in the league, Miller can finally prove his worth by stepping it up in the big stage. M and M's is definitely one fo the sleeper picks this year to put the contest in the bag.

K. Hinrich - 3pt Field Goals: 41 (7th) /3pt Percentage: 34%
34% is a career worst for Hinrich from three point land, but that doesn't stop him from being one of the premier point guards of the league and being one of the biggest assets for Chicago. Captain Kirk is a part of the much heralded draft year of '03, and winning this contest can help get his name one step closer to the bigger names of that class.

C. Paul - 3pt Field Goals: 32 (15th) /3pt Percentage: 36%
Although Paul isn't known to be a remarkable shooter by any means, there is no denying that CP3's stroke is one of the most improved this year now that he's hitting a respectable 36% clip from downtown. Perhaps he was a last minute invite, but Paul proved that he was the best of his draft class in 2005 after he won the Rookie of the Year award, so there's no denying that the man is a competitor.

[Its_asdf]

Sorry for the crappy update guys, but I'm getting a few things organized and I'm planning on redoing the dunk contest. Ben Wallace won the contest and to be honest, the realism in both his victory and the dunks that he completely were a little too much for my taste. I've already played the 3pt shootout and I'm planning on toning down the difficult of the dunk contest to get a few more realistic dunk attempts.

Wow, the Durant show. Some performance he came up with there.

Looking forward to All-Star Saturday and the Dunk Contest featuring the 'fro man.

A person actually excited Big Ben is in the contest, that's a first.

Man Durant was dominant, good to see Aldridge played well, who did you play as?

I played as the Sophomores in the first quarter, Rooks in the second, Sophomores in the third and I played a third of the quarter as the Sophomore team because I forgot to switch so I played the final 2/3's of the fourth quarter as the Rooks.

wow Aldridge what a beast, double double , and durant exploding for 35 points

Yeah, well with Durant currently saddled on the bench I figured I might as well give the guy's much-hyped career a little boost.

BAH!! why is Aldridge deferring to KD? he didn't nab 16 BOARDS to go along with his ballhoggin' shooting exhibition; that's right LaMarcus, you hoist that trophy high son!

great to have his name permanently etched in your 'Blazers trophy case!

Haha, I'm glad you're more of an Aldridge fan than Durant, but you should have seen the guy play (or seen me use him to pummel the other team). It was such a blast to use the guy because of his 6'9 frame and his high shooting ratings. I couldn't resist helping Durant freeze up his teammates while chucking up swish after swish from mid range.

[Clutch]

for the 3pt Shooting contest i'm pulling for one of TMac's old mates back on Orlando; that's right - IT'S MILLER TIME!

[dragonkillerg]

i hope kyle korver comes out of no where and steals the 3 point shooting contest

[McDwyane]

I hope Miller will win it.

[Its_asdf]

Crawford Crowned Three Point Champ

*****Round 1*****


Quentin Richardson
Richardson's score recap
The representative of the Trail Blazers organization kicked off the contest netting only 14 points. Simply put, Richardson was ice cold for every single rack except for the third rack when he buried every single ball there. After hitting 7 straight and looking as if he had hit his stride, Richardson went cold again from the corners. The swingman clanked all of his shots off the rim except for the fourth ball in the 4th and 5th rack.



Joe Johnson
Johnson's score recap
Johnson is considered one of the most versatile offensive weapons this year and his first round showing got the three point shootout back on track as he totaled 23 points. Unlike his former teammate Q-Rich, JJ looked warmed up and in rhythm to start, burying all of the balls in the first and fourth racks. He was also only one money ball short of having a perfect third and fifth rack.



Kyle Korver
Korver's score recap
With Johnson now as the measuring stick, Korver managed to step up to the plate and tie up with Johnson. Having only 11 points while missing all three money balls in the first three racks, Korver heated up when it mattered, hitting an impressive 10 straight for two perfect final racks and finishing his first round with 23 points.



Jamal Crawford
Crawford's score recap
Although a lot of people questioned the selection of Jamal Crawford into the shootout, many of the naysayers were left stunned when Crawford went perfect from his first two racks and started off his turn with 14 straight three point baskets. Crawford cooled off only slightly, missing all 3 of the other money balls but he didn't need it as he was now the one in charge with a total of 24.


Peja Stojakovic
Stojakovic's score recap
The European sniper never really could find his rhythm, going through minor cold spells throughout the entire round. Stojakovic would nail two or three consecutive balls, but for the most part there was a lid on the basket as Stojakovic, one of the favourites to win the contest, finished with a disappointing 17. Perhaps the critics were right about Peja's "choking" habits after he was forced to go after three impressive rounds by Johnson, Korver and Crawford.


Mike Miller
Miller's score recap
Miller also seemed to have the same nerves that Peja had, scoring only a total of 16 on the night. Miller missed every single money ball and that would hurt his groove and his point total.


Kirk Hinrich
Hinrich's score recap
Hinrich looked as if he would follow in Stojakovic and Miller's footsteps, going only 2 for 5 to start. He spent the rest of the round with an erratic shooting stroke, going perfect on his second rack but totaled only 7 points in the next two racks. Hinrich then shot himself back into it when he swished 7 in a row, which included a perfect final rack. This would help him get a decent 20 point score, but it certainly wouldn't be enough to lift him past the previous competitors.


Chris Paul
Paul's score recap
Although Crawford's great shooting night raised some eyebrows, CP3 was clearly the suprise of the night, scoring the most points in the round with 26. Paul went 4/5 for his first two racks, missing only the money balls. Paul went perfect from then on out, hitting an insane 15 straight balls. Paul got an especially big ovation after he nailed his final money ball to beat Craig Hodges record of 25 points in a single round and suprisingly send him to the final round.

*****Round 2 (Crawford vs Paul)*****


Jamal Crawford
Crawford's score recap
Crawford's streaky shooting cooled off once again, but maintained a decent 19 point score. Like Miller earlier in the first round, Crawford missed all his money balls, but went nearly perfect from the last four racks as he nailed 4 regular balls in each rack.


Chris Paul
Paul's score recap
Whatever magic Paul had, left him. Paul disappointed in the finals, but looked alright to start as he hit 3 shots in his first rack. Too bad Paul hit a dry spell in his fourth rack when he only buried one shot out of five which cost him the chance to beat Crawford. Chris finished off his second round with only 14 points.

Winner: Jamal Crawford

Crawford has the lowest season three point percentage to ever win the contest, but that didn't stop him from missing only 3 balls in his first round.

[Its_asdf]

for the 3pt Shooting contest i'm pulling for one of TMac's old mates back on Orlando; that's right - IT'S MILLER TIME!

I hope Miller will win it.

Heh, it's a shame that he did pretty badly in the first round...I was kind of rooting for the guy too. Too bad I did not control any of the contestants and let the AI use all of the players in the contest since I always dominate the competition if I actually play in the contest.

hope kyle korver comes out of no where and steals the 3 point shooting contest

Korver actually is doing pretty well in my dynasty. He's second in total three pointers made at the moment and shoots a pretty good percentage. I personally thought he'd be one of the winners after he tied with JJ, but Crawford and Paul kind of ruined the thought of those two going at it in the finals.

[dragonkillerg]

man Crawford winning , i would of never guess that from someone who is doing horrible behind the arc. but overall nice recapp

[Mark.]

Nice recapping of the 3pt contest They dont really give you much to work with, to be honest im looking forward to you getting back to the regular season.

[McDwyane]

Very nice update on the shootout Ouch,reggie lost!

[Clutch]

hah! Crawford won. Talk about a, "long shot!" (what a bad pun )

and what's this i glazed over from earlier?

I'm planning on redoing the dunk contest. Ben Wallace won the contest

taking away Big Ben's crown that he secretly trained for all season, everyday, long after all others players and coaches left the gym - that's sooo NOT right!

YOU, my friend, should be under immediate investigation by Stern and the Association for these alleged Dunk Contest tamperings and ties to Tim Donaghy

[Martti.]

Damn.. Korver should of won..

But a good presentation..

Big Ben is awesome..

[Jing]

Damn I am impressed that you are still going with this, one of the "consistant" dynasties left. Crawford does seem like the odd winner in all this.