air's Cavs dynasty

Cheers, Devin112! I do put time into it because that's all I have (for now).

Pistons series preview coming up now.

Cavs vs. Pistons matchup preview
by Chuck Collins, cleveland.com sports writer

Center: Zydrunas Ilgauskas vs. Ben Wallace
Wallace is the league's leading rebounder and shot-blocker. Ilgauskas' only advantage over Big Ben is his height: Z stands at 7'3 while Ben is a shorter center at 6'9. It's well known that you must not underestimate Wallace's ability because of his height, but what Ilgauskas can do is draw Wallace out a little and shoot a quick jumper.

Power forward: Drew Gooden vs. Rasheed Wallace
This is a very interesting matchup because it could really go either way. Sure, Rasheed Wallace is regarded as the better player, but Gooden has had a very good season and Cavs' fans are expecting a lot from him in the playoffs. Just like Wallace, Gooden can score and rebound and it remains to be seen who comes out on top.

Small forward: LeBron James vs. Tayshaun Prince
It's tough luck for the Cavs that their best scorer is facing one of the top defenders in the league. If Prince can limit James' shooting to under .500, the series will most likely be over very soon. James cannot lose his stroke and is expected to come up big in the series, we're talking 35-40 points here if the Cavs are to have any chance.

Shooting guard: Ira Newble vs. Rip Hamilton
These two match up well in height, so there's probably not much Newble can do besides try to stop Hamilton from scoring. Newble will most likely try to take it inside a couple of times a game and try to draw a foul from the Pistons' shooter, but the main task remains limiting Hamilton's scoring, the more, the better.

Point guard: Jeff McInnis vs. Chauncey Billups
Billups scored big when the teams met in regular season, and if McInnis is not going to improve on his displays he better make sure Billups doesn't win the series for the Pistons. A couple of baskets and decent D from McInnis could do wonders for the Cleveland team.

Bench
Robert Traylor will again be Cleveland's important sixth man, and he needs to score. Antonio McDyess will be no pushover, but Traylor needs to use his strength and muscle him out of the way for points. Little is expected of other Cavs substitutes, although Anderson Varejao needs to keep rebounding and Anthony Peeler can be deadly if he finds his stroke. Lindsay Hunter is perhaps the most effective player on the Pistons bench alongside McDyess, but Eric Snow is a good defender and will hopefully limit the point guard's scoring.

mercer at center...that's so stupid. congrats on making the playoffs...should be a war with detroit...

Cheers, ColickyBoy! Wasn't quite a war here yet, but definitely one of the hardest games I've played.
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PISTONS SHUT DOWN JAMES AND WIN GAME ONE

Cleveland 77
Detroit 88
Detroit leads series 1-0

Cleveland Cavs began their first-round playoff series against first-seeded Detroit Pistons with a loss. The Cavs put in all their effort but they were missing several shots due to the Pistons' intense defence. Cleveland cut the lead down at times with some impressive plays, but in the end Detroit pulled away to a comfortable win, having led the game from start to finish. The most important aspect of Detroit's defence was limiting LeBron James to a low shooting percentage, and Tayshaun Prince did a great job, making James shoot just 6 of 22 from the field. James scored 23 points, most of them from free throws. Drew Gooden had a decent game with 16 points, and Anthony Peeler got 12 after trying to give the Cavs some hope in the final minutes. Rasheed Wallace scored 17 for the Pistons and added 10 rebounds, while Ben Wallace, Tayshaun Prince, Chauncey Billups and Lindsay Hunter all scored over ten points.

"He's a great defender", commented James on Prince. "If he makes it hard for me to shoot, I've got to try driving or dishing out. But I'll still be scoring and helping my team win. You can count on that."

Teams (points/rebounds unless otherwise indicated):

Cleveland
C Ilgauskas 2/7/4 blk
F Gooden 16/4
F James 23/5
G Newble 1/2
G McInnis 7/4

Peeler 12
Traylor 11/4
Jackson 5/2
Varejao 0/3

Detroit
C B. Wallace 13/7/3 blk
F R. Wallace 17/10
F Prince 15/5
G Hamilton 8/3/3 ast
G Billups 12

Hunter 13
Arroyo 4
McDyess 4/3/4 blk
Ham 0/3
Milicic 2/3

Player of the game:
R. Wallace DET 17/10/2 blk

Pictures:


Billups dunks on the fast break.


Rasheed led the Pistons to victory.


James gets fouled by Ben and makes the free throw for a five-point game.

Last edited by air on Sat Sep 17, 2005 12:40 pm, edited 2 times in total.

Nice pics man! This is gonna be tough!

Thanks, Kobe101! I don't know how I did what I did in game two, but I did it!! Yay!
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CAVS SHOCK PISTONS WITH INCREDIBLE WIN

Cleveland 88
Detroit 78
Series tied 1-1

Cleveland Cavs shocked everybody with an incredible win over Detroit Pistons in game two of the Eastern first-round playoff series. After a difficult game one, few were expecting the Cavs to rise up to the challenge in game two. It turned out to be a different story, with Cavs holding a close lead due to their exceptional shot selection and rebounding. They held a two-point lead at the half, and extended it to four after the third quarter. A ten-point lead during the final minutes had everyone convinced the Cavs would cause a major upset.

LeBron James had an incredible game, scoring 32 points, grabbing eight rebounds as well as making three steals and three assists. He did a good job of avoiding Tayshaun Prince, but also scored points with jumpers against the Pistons small forward. James was 11 for 23 from the field. Zydrunas Ilgauskas took some great shots and went 7 for 8 from the field for 14 points and ten rebounds. Jeff McInnis, Ira Newble, Drew Gooden and Tractor Traylor all had a solid game as well. All Pistons starters reached double figures but had to put up lots of shots in order to do that because of some intense defence by the Cavs.

"Remember what I told you after game one?" LeBron James replied to the interviewer. "I'm happy I was able to score but I'm also pleased about the rebounds, assists and steals. But the rest of the team had a great game, too."

Teams (points/rebounds unless otherwise indicated):

Cleveland
C Ilgauskas 14/10/4 blk
F Gooden 15/8
F James 32/8/3 ast/3 stl
G Newble 6/3
G McInnis 6

Traylor 10/6
Peeler 3
Snow 2

Detroit
C B. Wallace 10/6/6 blk
F R. Wallace 12/7
F Prince 13/5
G Hamilton 16/5/3 ast
G Billups 17/3 ast

McDyess 4
Hunter 2
Maxiell 2/3
Ham 2

Player of the game:
James CLE 32/8/3 ast/3 stl

Pictures:


For me, this was the best game James has played.


Newble held Rip and scored some points himself.


When Big Ben was not on court, Big Z took control of the paint.

Last edited by air on Sat Sep 17, 2005 12:40 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Very exciting matchup. Good win to even the series, keep it up.

Tracy McGrady is this year's MVP
by Chuck Collins, cleveland.com sports writer

Houston Rockets' Tracy McGrady was voted this season's Most Valuable Player in the NBA. Despite not being voted by the fans to represent the Western Conference All-Stars in February, the small forward constantly improved his play during the spring and averaged 18.9 points, 8.9 rebounds and 5.1 assists during the season.

The Most Improved Player award went to Orlando Magic's Grant Hill, who averaged 17.4 points, 6.3 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game.

Detroit Pistons' center Ben Wallace was expected to win the Defensive Player award, and he did just that with 8.6 points, 10.8 rebounds, 2.24 blocks and 1.66 steals per game.

Milwaukee Bucks' dominant center Andrew Bogut was named Rookie Of The Year, averaging 14.3 points and 8.1 rebounds. His team missed out on the playoffs at the expense of Cleveland Cavaliers.

Philadelphia's Andre Iguodala won the Sixth Man award with 8.8 points, 2.9 rebounds and 2.5 assists.

good job making the playoffs and you go up against the pistons!!!

this is where the real season begins... good luck and try not to be intimidated by the Wallaces inside...

hope you go far with this one.

Good job on tying up the series..so far the winning average is 10.5...don't make it like San Antonios and Detroits first four games in the finals....the winning average was like 23.5

Good win and nice pics! Lets hope you can keep this up!

Man the Pistons bench sucks.

Hey nice dynaty with the Cavs! Nice tying the series 1-1. Good luck next game

gl

Thanks for your support, Sensation, Isaiah214, Sac-1, Kobe101, ToXiC, nbalova!

Not sure if I'm intimidated by Ben. Maybe I'm just being smart not taking shots with Z when Ben is on... Here's game three!
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CAVS ARE LIVING THEIR PLAYOFF DREAM

Detroit 77
Cleveland 86
Cleveland lead series 2-1

It was off to Cleveland for game three of the Eastern Conference first-round playoff series between Detroit and Cleveland. Having taken a surprise win in game two, the Cavs continued where they had left off in Detroit. Another excellent shooting and defensive performance saw Cleveland hold a close lead for most of the game and eventually take a 2-1 series lead. LeBron James was worthy of his nickname King, and played a game that will be talked about for years among Cavs supporters. He scored 18 points in the first half but followed up with just four in the third quarter. When the Cavs led by just two in the fourth quarter, James stepped up once again and scored an incredible 18 in the quarter to finish with 40 points. He went 19 for 28 from the field and if Tayshaun Prince was a tough opponent, he made twice the use of his first step against Darvin Ham. No other Cavs player reached double figures, but Eric Snow made two huge three-point plays, Anthony Peeler drained three outside shots and Drew Gooden held Detroit's Rasheed Wallace to just six points in the game. This was a deciding factor in the game. Tayshaun Prince led the Pistons with just 15 points.

"A lot of our bench players stepped up and played their best game of the series", said James, trying to divert the attention to his team-mates, who helped him get another win. But, as so often, it was all about James.

Teams (points/rebounds unless otherwise indicated):

Cleveland
C Ilgauskas 7/7
F Gooden 9/8/3 blk
F James 40/3
G Newble 2
G McInnis 2

Snow 6/3 ast
Traylor 9/5
Peeler 9
Diop 2
Jackson 0/4

Detroit
C B. Wallace 10/7
F R. Wallace 6/5/4 blk
F Prince 15/4
G Hamilton 13/3
G Billups 8

McDyess 12
Ham 2
Hunter 5
Arroyo 2
Milicic 4

Player of the game:
James CLE 40/3

Pictures:


Big Z rejects Big Ben!


He's a little off-balance but scores anyway against the mighty Darvin Ham.


McDyess covered for Rasheed with 12 points.

All-NBA teams announced
by Chuck Collins, cleveland.com sports writer

All-NBA Team One
C S. O'Neal
F T. Duncan
F T. McGrady
G K. Bryant
G J. Kidd

All-NBA Team Two
C Y. Ming
F K. Garnett
F C. Anthony
G R. Allen
G S. Marbury

All-Defensive Team
C B. Wallace
F E. Brand
F A. Kirilenko
G D. Wade
G J. Kidd

Coach Of The Year:
Gregg Popovich, San Antonio Spurs, winning percentage .862

NBA PLAYOFFS

EAST
1 Detroit 1
8 Cleveland 2

4 Boston 1
5 Philadelphia 2

3 Miami 0
6 Indiana 3

2 New Jersey 2
7 Chicago 1

In the East, Indiana are a win away from advancing against Miami.

WEST
1 San Antonio 3
8 Sacramento 1

4 Dallas 1
5 Denver 3

3 Phoenix 1
6 Houston 3

2 Minnesota 3
7 LA Clippers 1

In the West, Amare Stoudemire's torn achilles tendon has weakened the Phoenix Suns and they are a defeat away from a first-round exit.

NICE WIN! keep this up!

Great job on taking another one...why do Kings have to always face the toughest team....i guess they are going to get eliminated ...good luck in game 3

Both Philly and Cleveland lead their series. Hopefully you'll meet in Eastern Semis.

Keep it up air, Lebron is putting monster numbers I'm surprised @ the Indiana and Miami series. 3-0 for Indi..

Good win! Your bench is helping out!

Isaiah214 Posted:

NICE WIN! keep this up!

Cheers. I hope I can do it.

{SAC-1} Posted:

Great job on taking another one...why do Kings have to always face the toughest team....i guess they are going to get eliminated ...good luck in game 3

Cheers. Your Kings haven't been that good in this dynasty. All they face is tough teams because they're in the tougher conference.

Sensation Posted:

Both Philly and Cleveland lead their series. Hopefully you'll meet in Eastern Semis.

As the color commentator would say, I have a long ways to go.

[C][B]#4 Posted:

Keep it up air, Lebron is putting monster numbers I'm surprised @ the Indiana and Miami series. 3-0 for Indi..

Cheers. I simulated Indiana and Miami after game four and Indiana swept the series.

Kobe101 Posted:

Good win! Your bench is helping out!

May my bench help out in the future as well!!

Thanks everyone for your feedback, here comes game four.

I actually played until half time and the screen started going nuts. I was down by six but LeBron had 24 points at the half!! Anyway, that's computer games for you and had to start again.

PISTONS HOLD JAMES TO TIE SERIES

Detroit 81
Cleveland 69
Series tied 2-2

Detroit Pistons did what was expected of them in game four of the Eastern Conference quarter finals - a win and a good defensive performance against LeBron James. The first quarter saw the Pistons begin with a 10-0 run inspired by Rip Hamilton, but the Cavs made it a six-point game by the end of the quarter. By half time, the Pistons had extended the lead to nine points. Despite LeBron James' mediocre shooting, the Cavs had the game tied going into the final stretch, but some bad shooting choices lost them the game in the final minutes. Detroit won the game by twelve points. The away team had solid games from Ben Wallace, Rasheed Wallace and Chauncey Billups, who had a game-high 28 points. Cleveland got 26 from LeBron James, with only 11 for 34 shooting. James also went a disappointing 4 for 8 from the free throw line. Tayshaun Prince did a good job of defending him, and the Pistons inside helped fill the lane and make it hard for James to score.

"It's not going to be easy in Detroit but we've won two game against them and we know we can win another two", said Cavs point guard Eric Snow. "We hope LeBron can score as much as he did in earlier games, but the rest of us need to score more also."

Teams (points/rebounds unless otherwise indicated):

Detroit
C B. Wallace 6/11/4 blk/3 stl/2 ast
F R. Wallace 17/9
F Prince 4/9/3 ast
G Hamilton 18/3 ast
G Billups 28

McDyess 2/7
Ham 2
Hunter 4

Cleveland
C Ilgauskas 11/7/5 blk
F Gooden 15/7
F James 26/5 ast/3 stl
G Newble 2/4
G McInnis 0/5/2 ast/2 stl

Varejao 2/3
Peeler 7
Traylor 4
Snow 2/3 stl

Player of the game:
B. Wallace DET 6/11/4 blk/3 stl/2 ast

Pictures:


Gooden dunks, he had a hard time guarding Rasheed Wallace.


Nothing comes easy in the playoffs.


Pistons celebrate their win.

Elsewhere, Indiana swept their series against Miami to be the first team to advance in the East. In the West, Houston won their series against Phoenix 4-1, leaving Amare Stoudemire to recover from his injury. Minnesota also won 4-1 against LA Clippers.

I have not check this dynasty for a while, wow, you made it to the playoffs. Congratulations. Your first round opponent is tough, against the Pistons. Well, is 2-2 now so I still think the Cavs can make a big upset against the Pistons. Hopefully, the Cavs can move on to the next round.

Well, welcome back Kemp40 , I think this is one of the fastest-moving dynasties (I play a lot) so a short while can be many games. After game five which is coming up it looks grim but maybe I can pull off a surprise....
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JAMES UNABLE TO BEAT DETROIT BY HIMSELF IN GAME FIVE

Cleveland 83
Detroit 92
Detroit leads series 3-2

LeBron James did all he could to try and beat the Detroit Pistons, but in game five of the Eastern quarter finals a team overcame a star player. James scored 46 points, an incredible figure to say the least, but the Cavs are depending more and more on James, who takes almost all shots there is to take.

Much like in game four, Detroit held a double-digit lead at times only to be cut by James' scoring. Some bad decisions during the final minutes of the game again cost the Cavs the chance to win, but had there been another scoring option besides James, it could have been a different ending. Detroit extended their lead to five with less than a minute go and the Cavs had to foul, and it was all over. Ben Wallace was the main player for Detroit with 18 points and 10 rebounds, several of them in the offensive end. Rip Hamilton had 19 and Chauncey Billups scored 17. Cleveland's Tractor Traylor was the only player on his team apart from James to reach double figures. Traylor had everything going for him and scored most of his 17 points against Pistons' big man Darko Milicic.

"One player alone can't win a playoff series", said Cavs' shooter Anthony Peeler, who went just 2 for 10 from the field. "Apart from LeBron, Tractor [Traylor] was the only guy who was any use tonight."

Teams (points/rebounds unless otherwise indicated):

Cleveland
C Ilgauskas 4/5/3 blk
F Gooden 4/9
F James 46/3/3 ast/4 stl
G Newble 0/3
G McInnis 2

Traylor 17/6
Snow 4/3 ast
Peeler 6

Detroit
C B. Wallace 18/10/3 blk
F R. Wallace 10/7
F Prince 5/6
G Hamilton 19/4
G Billups 17/4 ast

McDyess 9/4
Hunter 6
Ham 6
Maxiell 2
Milicic 0/4

Player of the game:
James CLE 46/3/3 ast/4 stl

Pictures:


Big Ben makes sure James doesn't score this time.


Turnaround-spin... finger roll... two points...


Wallace slam.

air's note:
James is my only offensive weapon. Z can't score on Ben, Gooden can't really score on Sheed, Newble CAN'T score, McInnis I can't score with. Only Traylor can come off the bench and score against a weaker player, or a tired player. It's like Philly when they were in the Finals with Iverson, only one starter who can put up points. That's why he's scoring so much: he's taking all the shots.

dude...your on the brink of elimination!

you should try to condition your players better so that when the opponent subs, you can be able to take it inside.