Fire & Ice: Speed Y4 1-1

[Oznogrd]

OK poll says all-star...this could be ugly lol. I sorta turned off autosave and took my Speed up against the Knicks on pro...still lost.... replaying it later for real to see what happens.

[Oznogrd]

Speed Start Year off Well in MSG
St. Louis 89 - New York 78

The St. Louis Speed started their year off at the bottom of the power rankings. Going into an unfriendly, division rival game at MSG was even more daunting. But the Speed hung tough and dominated despite all that. The Knicks couldn't keep up in any quarter but the 2nd as the Speed eventually cruised to victory in the fourth. This was due in large part to the Speed's new look frontcourt rotation. With the addition of Carlos Boozer in the offseason, the already formidable post game had that much more firepower. Add in to that an intense defensive effort by the backcourt led by Ricky Rubio, the Speed never had doubt.

Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni won coach of the year last year despite a 5-24 record. All he could say after the game was "They're tough man. Teams better watch out. They have alot of weapons and if they play defense like tonight? they're gonna be a tough team to stop"

"It was a great win" said Speed Coach Raoul Duke "If we play like this the rest of the season that'd be fantastic. The only thing I didnt like is we missed a few easy opportunities. Alot of teams will destroy us with that many missed chances."

"This is what I came here for" said Carlos Boozer after his 1st game with the team. "I knew I could help and I knew this team just needed a little spark to be who they wanted to be. Hopefully, we can keep that fire we had tonight."

Stromile 'surge' Swift and Chris Mihm's relationship despite a coaches decision to relegate Mihm to a sixth man role in order to put Swift at Center, seems better than it ever got last year as the two exchanged high fives and laughs coming in and out for each other.

"Its no big deal" said Mihm "As long as i get to help, I'm happy"

"I know he got a little ticked last year alot of people didnt acknowledge his contribution. This year, he's kinda up for anything as long as we're winning. He's a good guy when the cameras aren't around. I swear. He's been nothing but helpful in teaching me how to play at the 5 spot" said Swift.


Player of the Game
Carlos Boozer
37 Pts 10 Reb 1 ast 1 stl 1 blk
Despite former team leaders having off nights, Boozer led the charge justifying his paycheck in the Speed's first game of the season

Notable Speed Performances
Stromile Swift 20 pts 3 reb 2 blk
Chris Mihm 17 pts 1 reb 1 ast 3 blk
Ricky Rubio 2 pts 1 reb 21 ast 3 stl

Notable Knicks Performances
Wilson Chandler 15 pts 2 reb 5 ast 1 stl
Chris Duhon 15 pts 1 reb 6 ast 2 stl
Luis Scola 12 pts 4 reb 3 ast 1 blk
Nate Robinson 12 pts 1 reb 2 ast

Screenshots or Didn't Happen Images of the Game


Carlos Boozer earns his paycheck with his eyes closed


Chris Mihm starts his candidacy for best 6th man


Stromile 'Surge' Swift adapts to life as a Center

Up Next: Indiana Pacers

[hova-]

Wow, great acquisition in Boozer, 37 and 10 is sick. You seem to be pretty good down low or is it just 2k9's easy inside game?

[kibaxx7]

Yeah, sick games by Boozer and Rubio... he will break the assists record in any moment.

[Oznogrd]

Wow, great acquisition in Boozer, 37 and 10 is sick. You seem to be pretty good down low or is it just 2k9's easy inside game?

Little of both. My real life team runs through our big men. I am constantly the Rubio without the awesome stats on my team. My sole job in life is to put the ball in the big guys hand and get him down court. But yeah 2k9's inside game is a bit weak too. Even on rookie my jumpers blow even when i have a team designed for it. I dont think anyones touching my big men though between mihm swift, boozer, and Diop...one of them has to be scoring. The only downside to this is my rookie is a PF and Luke Walton is losing some minutes. I may look into fixing that.

Yeah, sick games by Boozer and Rubio... he will break the assists record in any moment.

I gun for it every game. Stromile Swift let a few passes bounce off the back of his head so maybe one of those shoot 80% games it'll happen.

Updates may be sporadic this week: busy school week (should be doing h/w right now, test wednesday night, and a fieldwork/clinical friday all day)

[Oznogrd]

St. Louis Outlasts Pacers
St. Louis 92 - Indiana 79

In their home opener the 2nd year St. Louis Speed managed to fend off the Indiana Pacers 92-79. Despite very similar stats in all other respects the game down to one thing and one thing only: Free throw shooting. The Pacers only shot 3 the entire game while the Speed shot 16 (Carlos Boozer missed 3). Behind their strong front court and the crisp passing of Spainiard Sophomore Ricky Rubio, the Speed jumped out to an early lead and just kept attacking. Each time the Pacers started to rally, the Speed had an answer. Sometimes in the form of Trevor Ariza on the fast break, Sometimes a dunk by a big man. The Pacers had no answer to the Speed's killer pick and roll game.

"It wasnt perfect but a win's a win" said Speed Coach Raoul Duke "Everybody on our side played great on both sides of the ball. Last year we were allowing 100+ points to teams like this. This is a welcome change and i appreciate the hustle out of everybody. Now, one for the doctor of journalism man!" The Speed coach then popped an amyl in front of the press snorting it and appearing to pass out at the podium.

"Having Carlos, Surge, and Chris is just great. They do all the work and we sit back and get the wins" said Ricky Rubio. "I love this style of play and its what I came to America to do."

"Its great to be able to take a sit and not worry if the game is going to get out of hand. I never had that in Utah or Cleveland" said Carlos Boozer "I trust Chris and Surge, they trust me. We all trust tyronn when he comes in for Ricky. This team just has one love and is aimed to do one thing: win"

Player of the Game
Carlos Boozer
36 pts 9 reb 1 ast 2 stl 1 blk
With almost identical stats from his first game with the Speed, Carlos Boozer again established himself as a steady scoring option for this team.

Speed Notable Performances
Chris Mihm 15 pts 4 reb 2 blk
Trevor Ariza 13 pts 2 reb 2 ast 2 stl
Ricky Rubio 4 pts 24 ast 1 stl

Pacers Notable Performances
Danny Granger-18 pts 2 reb 4 ast 2 blk
Roy Hibbert-14 pts 7 reb 1 stl 4 blk
Troy Murphy 13 pts 6 reb
Steve Blake 12 pts 1 reb 11 ast 1 stl

Screenshots or it Didn't Happen Images of the Game


Ricky Rubio gives the ref a pat on the back for calling an imbalanced game


Boozer stretches for the layup


Stromile swift listened to the cha-cha slide right before this play...it told him to reverse.


Up Next: The Miami Heat come to town, can the Speed keep their hot start on the backs of their frontcourt and Ricky Rubio going strong?

[kibaxx7]

Good win over my team Boozer seems unstoppable.

[hova-]

Oh man, Boozer again dropping 35+. Good to see you winning, which difficulty are you playing right now? Already All-Star? That would mean your team has definitely improved.

[Oznogrd]

Oh man, Boozer again dropping 35+. Good to see you winning, which difficulty are you playing right now? Already All-Star? That would mean your team has definitely improved.

Yeah i checked after winning that second game: still all star. Rubio got better, mccants/ariza got better, my bench is certainly better (rasual butler instead of desmond mason), and as much love as i have for mihm and swift, booze is definitely an upgrade over them. We'll see if i can keep the wins up against strong teams. The knicks are the worst team in my association and the pacers are like 17th. I'm currently at 7 (started at 30).

[Martti.]

Boozer is off to a great start. He's your best player and so far he has delivered. He sure likes to play with Rubio.

[Oznogrd]

Speed overcome Heat's several runs and hold on for 3rd win
St. Louis 96 - Miami 91

The St. Louis Speed took on the Heat at home tonight and despite 15-4, 10-2, and 12-4 runs in the second half, the Speed held on for their 3rd win of the season. A team that had been expected to be towards the bottom of the league seems to be coming into its own with the further development of their PG/PF tandem of sophomore Ricky Rubio and FA acquisition Carlos Boozer. Despite a better statistical game in every category but 3 pt percentage and assists, the Heat just didnt have enough to hold off the Speed for 4 quarters.

"It was back and forth the whole game man. One second it looked like we were gonna cruise for the win. The next thing we knew, Strom and Chris had drawn 4 fouls on us. It was crazy man. I gotta give it 'em, they played hard and they stayed with it, and they won. Thats how it goes in this league" said 8 year veteran Dwyane Wade. "People are gonna start takin them real seriously soon."

The Speed have opened their season with a winning streak, much like last season. While some media attention is being garnered Coach Raoul Duke isnt excited just yet.

"Last year we started 7-2 and managed to win a grand total of 2 more games. We can't get complacent. We gotta come out and play like we did tonight every single night, and even tonight wasnt perfect. We lucked out they shot bad from 3, and we also lucked out that we got alot of times they blocked us but we held onto the ball. That can't happen against everybody. We're better than last year sure, but lets not get carried away."

Winning his first player of the game honor of the year Sophomore Ricky Rubio had this to say "I'm just happy we held on. They gave us quite a few scares there. That shot from half court was pure luck and without it, we may not have won"

Player of the Game
Ricky Rubio
11 pts 1 reb 18 Ast 3 blk
With feisty man defense, a clutch half courter at the end of the third, and clutch free throws at the end, Ricky Rubio not only kept his team in the game but achieved a double double in the process. What more do you want?

Notable Speed Performances
Carlos Boozer 37 pts 6 reb 1 ast
Stromile Swift 18 pts 3 reb 2 ast 3 blk
Chris MIhm 16 pts 6 reb 1 ast 1 stl 1 blk

Notable Heat Performances
Josh Howard 16 pts 2 reb 2 ast 1 stl
Dwyane Wade 15 pts 4 ast 1 stl
Michael Beasley 14 pts 4 reb 1stl 1 blk
Mario Chalmers 14 pts 2 reb 5 ast
Mike Dunleavy 10 pts 3 ast
Jermaine O neal 6 pts 1 stl...8 blks

Screenshots or It Didn't Happen Images of the Game


You do the hokey pokey and you turn tyronn around.


From WAY DOWNTOWN.......ITS GOOD!!!!!

[buzzy]

Great win, Boozer is dominating. Good job shutting down Wade.
That halfcourt shot must've felt great as well. Keep this streak alive!

[kibaxx7]

3 blocks by Rubio? Nice win.

Now that I think about it, how does the Pacers rotation looks like? Just to get some ideas for mine.

[megarover]

Rubio with....... 3 blocks. I hope this season doesnt start and end like last season

[Oznogrd]

8 min quarters
Granger-28 minutes
Roy Hibbert 24 Minutes
Troy Murphy 25 minutes
Steve Blake 26 minutes
Kyle Weaver 21 Minutes
Tayshaun Prince 15 minutes
Dahntay Jones 7 minutes
Jeff Foster 8 minutes
Tyler Hansborough 3 minutes
AJ Price 2 minutes
Solomon Jones-DNP coach
Josh Mcroberts DNP Coach

That what you need thierry? everything pretty much ran through Granger Murphy and Blake on offense.

Rubio's blocks came from three d-wade plays in a row. He tried to drive on me. When rubio was in the way, he went for the fadeaway...so...i smacked him the fuck up. 2 probly should've been fouls but it gave me the block.

Realized i forgot up next in the last update...i think its the Hawks.

[kibaxx7]

Yep, thanks a lot man. Liking the idea of Blake and Prince on a Pacers jersey.

[hova-]

Another win. Big time game from Rubio, but Boozer is the one who amazes me more. It seems like when he has his "own" team he is just dominating. Great buzzer beater.

[Oznogrd]

Boozer is great in the scoring aspect, which is what i was sorely lacking from last year. When it comes to the D factor...hes not nearly as serviceable as mihm swift. but that's arlight thats not what i picked him up for.

When rubio made that, i almost screamed like i was watching a real game...i need a life

[hova-]

Given your text-based Dynasty and the signature below, I think you are one of those who has a life in this section Just joking.

Boozer is really a nice scorer, but just like in real life he tends to play bad defense in order to not pick up too many fouls early in the game. It's shocking how bad of a shot blocker he is in real life.

[puttincomputers]

hey man great looking association the whole coach and gm thing is keeping me in stitches.
im known for my odd way of looking at thing but here goes. (even though you are on a roll)
I suggest a starting lineup of the following
PG Rubio
SG Ariza
SF Boozer
PF Mihm
C Swift

bench
sixth man SG McCants
SF/SG Butler
C Diop
SF/pf Walton
PF/c Drobnjak
PG Lue
sg/sf Stackhouse

just an idea really but i think you could mop up the floor with the opposing teams sweat with this.

[Martti.]

Boozer would be useless at SF, especially on the defensive end.

[Oznogrd]

Boozer isnt nearly agile enough or fast enough to keep up with even the worst SF's in the league. And on offense: if he's not in the post or paint: he's useless. barely makes his FTs

[Mark.]

Yeah if someone was going to be SF of those three you could possibly put Swfit there simply due to his athleticsm.

Man Rubio is dominating! Averaging 21 assists! Its great to see but hoping it returns to something a bit more realistic at some stage

Good to see Boozer is working out well for you. He is a machine in the low post. Should also have a reasonable mid range jumper.

[Oznogrd]

Dont worry, ive only been playing lottery teams so far this season, my first real test will be the hawks. I still got alot of work to get done this weekend but sometime next week my school/obligation schedule should die down and ill be back to updating this with a little consistency lol.

[puttincomputers]

i will take your word for it!