TheBigEasy's Hornets Dynasty - 2nd Season - 2004/2005

[TheBigEasy]

Well finally I made it ... the Hornets are the 2004 NBA Champions!

NBA Finals 2004 - New Orleans Hornets vs. Los Angeles Lakers

Game 5 - Hornets 143 - Lakers 110

This game I was determined to not let them win it. I wanted this title on my homecourt. The Hornets started with strong D and very good play by Baron Davis. But unfortunately the Lakers did an equally well job, so it remained close at the beginning. Halfway through the quarter BD got his second foul, so I had to sub him. After that O'Neal shot a freakin 3 pointer ... and after a fastbreak by LA they opened up a 20-10 lead. I changed my lineup, which helped a little, as Stacey Augmon made 4 quick points. But the Lakers didnt crumble, played pretty good and I missed some shots. They led 33-23 after the first quarter.

At the beginning of the second I gave David Wesley another chance. He repsonded with a near block of a Derek Fisher shot, a rebound and a 3 over Kobe Bryant ... but the second 3 was rushed and missed. But with continuing pressure defense and exceptional play from both, David Wesley and Lamar Odom the Hornets evened the score at 40 halfway through the second quarter. I subbed BD back in and together with DW and good D I turned the 10 pt deficit into a 59-49 lead with just a minute to go in the half. LA continued to rely on their insane 3 pt attempts and were able to decrease my lead to the 57-62 halftime score.

But it didnt do them much good, as I was able to put the lead back to 10 points at the beginning of the third. At that the Hornets started to miss easy baskets again, but not for long. BD had to go to the bench after comitting his fourth foul. While he sat the Hornets went on a little run to extend the lead again. They capped the quarter with an 8-0 run for the 99-88 score.

At the beginning of the fourth both teams only traded baskets. Neither team could slow the other down. This only lasted for some minutes though, as the Hornets put together another run. Baron Davis' 10th assist gave Lamar Odom the possibility for another 3. This marked the last points in the game which the Hornets won 143-110 for the NBA CHAMPIONSHIP!

Baron Davis was named Finals MVP with 30.2 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 2.0 spg and 8.7 apg.

Top Performers:

Hornets:
Baron Davis (POG and Finals MVP) - 35 pts, 4 reb, 5 stl, 10 ass
Jamaal Magloire - 29 pts, 15 reb, 2 blk, 5 ass
Lamar Odom - 25 pts, 4 reb, 1 stl, 5 ass
David Wesley - 13 pts, 4 reb, 4 ass

Lakers:
Kobe Bryant - 37 pts, 4 reb, 1 stl, 1 ass
Shaquille O'Neal - 22 pts, 9 reb, 7 blk , 1 ass
Devean George - 20 pts, 5 reb, 5 ass
Karl Malone - 14 pts, 9 reb, 2 ass
Gary Payton - 11 pts, 6 reb, 1 stl, 9 ass

Thoughts ...

Well ... finally I have beaten the Lakers a fourth time and won the NBA Championship. I never would have thought I make it this far, that I stay on this dynasty long enough to finish a season.

My core group of Baron Davis, Lamar Odom and Jamaal Magloire played exceptional during the Finals. BD got Finals MVP, but JMags and Odom couldnt have been far behind him. JMags was the rebound monster I wanted him to be and Odom proved to be very effective at the PF spot.

Now the offseason begins. I'd like to switch places with Memphis, but my experiments so far havent worked. I wanted to play in the West for a change, as playing in the weak East isnt that much appealing any more. If it indeed doesnt work out, I think I'll start another dynasty. Also with the Hornets, but with major roster changes (keeping probably only JMags, BD, West and Alexander) and starting in the West. And I'll definitly change the sliders to make it more difficult.

I'll will continue to post the updates here, although it might be another dynasty. This season was very much fun and I found it especially good to give players like James Lang a chance and see them succeed. Which is why I will not give my new team a lot of superstars, but role players, which have impressed me during some exhibition games. One of them is Ndudi Ebi, the Timberwolves first round choice of '03. Marquis Daniels in his old 46 overall rating is also good, as is Maciej Lampe. I'll move Odom to PF permanently. This should make the game more competitive and I'll hopefully win another championship before Live '05 comes out.

Well ... thats it for now, but stay tuned for more updates.

TBE

[HonorGlow]

Kudos goes to your for giving the role players a chance…I totally agree in giving the 'underdog' player a chance. Due to an injury on my roster, Karl Malone went down with an injury and so I had to give rookie Brian Cook a chance during his rookie season. This late first rounder surprised the heck out of me and now 4+ seasons later and a lot of training, he went from 45 rating to 69 and a deadly low post turn around jump shot! So I'm all for your upcoming Underdog dynasty. Keep up the good work.

[TheBigEasy]

I changed my mind. I found a way around my problem with the conferences. First I wanted to switch places with Memphis in the new season, as I was tired of playing in the (L)Eastern Conference. But everything I tried didnt work. Now I have found a way around it. I proceeded to the next season, just like normal. Than I just changed the schedule for Memphis and New Orleans, switched the Team ID's, so I have now Memphis' schedule. Which means I get what I want in some way, as I play now all the WC teams 4 times, instead of two. Should make it more challenging. So I will continue this dynasty and dont start a new one. Which means also, there wont be as much underdogs as there would have been in a new dynasty. But the two I wanted most (Ndudi Ebi and Marquis Daniels) will be with the Hornets.

New Orleans Hornets - 2004 Offseason

Projected Draft Depth: Weak

1. Retired Players

SF Micheal Curry
C Horace Grant
PG Avery Johnson
SF Grant Long
PF Karl Malone
SG Reggie Miller
PF Charles Oakley
SG Anthony Peeler
C Olden Polynice
SF Glen Rice
C Kevin Willis

The most surprising name on that list is certainly Reggie Miller. I thought he would stick around a while longer. Karl Malone is another bigtime player who retires. Without a ring or the all time scoring title. Glen Rice, a former Hornets great also retires at age 37.

2. Draft Lottery

Golden State wins the draft lottery. Miami with the worst record and the best shot at winning it got No. 3.

3. Resigning Players

I resigned Courtney Alexander for 99.000 pts and 5 years (his overall rating has improved from 52 to 56).

I resigned Jamaal Magloire for 137.100 pts and 7 years (his overall rating has improved from 63 to 64).

I led SF Stacey Augmon, SG Steve Smith, C James Lang, C Sean Rooks and PF Robert Traylor (who refused to resign anyway) walk to clear cap room. Well ... with the resignings of CA and JMags I was again over the cap anyways, but still ...

4. Draft

As I had traded my first rounder to Miami in the Mashburn / Odom deal, and as I finished third in the league I had only a second round pick, 56th overall. I used it on a Point Guard.

Godfrey Witt, 6'2'', 196 lbs, 30 overall, Junior out of Utah.

I just wanted another Point Guard to backup Armstrong and Davis, in case one of these two got hurt. The best who was left was Witt. We'll see how he turns out.

5. Free Agent Signings

As I had absolutely no cap room to spend, I wasnt able to pick up any free agent, let alone a significant one.

6. Trades

I wanted to wait with trading till the season opens, so I didnt do any trades.

New Orleans Hornets - 2004 / 2005 Season

Now I was ready to begin the new Season. I had simmed the Training Camp and as already mentioned changed the schedule to play the WC more. The Magazin said it should be the year of the Mavericks and guess who I have to play first ... right, the Mavericks.

Right before the games began, I signed James Lang for the minimum for 1 year again as a backup C. There were better center in the FA pool, like Loren Woods for example, but Lang made the all rookie second team in his first season, so I wanted him back. His overall rating has dropped one point from 48 to 47, but he should be able to do what he is there for. Backup Magloire.

Dallas hadnt retained Marquis Daniels, so I could pick him up also for the minimum for 1 year. His rating has improved from 46 to 48 (I use Andrews roster from early december 2003, thats why Daniels is still this low). He was one of the above mentioned "underdogs" I wanted for my new season.

Than I changed Lamar Odoms positioning, making PF his first position and SF his second.

Than I tried to get my next player ... SF Ndudi Ebi (51 overall) from the Minnesota Timberwolves. I tried to trade several FA SF for him, but the Wolves didnt want them. It took 56 overall C Loren Woods in a sign and trade to get Ebi from the Wolves.

I am currently thinking about trading for Dallas' PF Maciej Lampe (he got traded from NY to Dallas in exchange for Josh Howard early in the season), as he impressed me in some exhibition games. But I dont want to give up PJ Brown (who is still 63 overall) for him. PJ is definitly on the trading block, and I may trade him for a 1st round pick in next years draft.

I than skimmed through the FA list for some big names and there actually were some. The most prominent were:

SF Rasheed Wallace
PF Stromile Swift
SG Emmanuel Ginobili
SG Penny Hardaway
SG Quentin Richardson
and my own PF Robert Traylor (whos rating had increased from 60 to 64)

But they were not available for the minimum, so I couldnt sign them and trade them to their teams, like Andrew did in his dynasty. I hope they find a team this season, would be a shame to let them be FA's. Especially as I could use both Ginobili or Richardson.

New Orleans Hornets - 2004 / 2005 opening roster

Starting lineup:

PG - Baron Davis
SG - Courtney Alexander
SF - Ruben Patterson
PF - Lamar Odom
C - Jamaal Magloire

Bench:
PF - PJ Brown
SG - David Wesley
PG - Darrell Armstrong
SG - Marquis Daniels
SF - Ndudi Ebi
PF - David West
C - James Lang

Injured List:
PG - Godfrey Witt

Right now I am pretty much set. Not as much underdogs as I wanted, but it should still be a challenge. I will change my sliders also, to make it more competitive and than we will just see ... For the first 10 games I will try to play on 12 minutes a quarter, if the scores are too high, I'll decrease it to 10 minutes again.

My goals this season are to continue Jamaal Magloires transformation into a serious low post presence and the rebounding machine he was in the Finals. I'll try to reduce Baron Davis' scoring load. Part of that is Odoms move to PF, where he should be able to be more productive than on SF (at least in my system). I want to use Ndudi Ebis shotblocker qualities and I want to see what David West can do in his second year and my Rookie in his first. 30 overall is pretty low, but he's gotta be usefull someway ...

So stay tuned for more ...

TBE

[Mark.]

Great to see you back and into your dynasty Big Easy, ive always enjoyed your ones. I hope you can develop Daniels into astarter one day soon.

[TheBigEasy]

Thanks match and I'm glad you enjoy it.

New Orleans Hornets 118 @ Dallas Mavericks 139

Well ... the first game is in the books and it was a devastating blowout. Dallas was labeled the Team to beat by the magazine, and after this game I have to agree. Nothing I did seemed to help.

The game started slow, but the Mavericks then went on an early run, which I was never able to overcome. I had changed the sliders to those Andrew uses in his dynasty, except I lowered the game speed to 42. And those sliders really proved to be a challenge. Dallas seemed to hit nearly every shot, while I missed even easy ones. And especially the fatigue rating gives me trouble and forces me to sub people earlier.

Baron Davis 13 pts didnt help me much, as Dallas was up 37-26 after the first quarter. The 2nd started with trading baskets and some weird subs by Dallas. They announced Dirk to be subbed in, but he was nowhere to be seen. Than another player I thought of aquiring before the season entered the game - Maciej Lampe. He got 20 minutes overall and scored 9 points. Baron Davis kept NO in the game all by himself, with recording 23 pts, 6 reb and 6 ass in the first half. But it still wasnt enough, as I trailed 55-68 at the break.

The second half was pretty much like the first, nothing I did helped much and Dallas scored nearly at will. David Wesley proved to be a commodity off the bench with scoring 18 points in the game, 12 of them on 3pointers. Well ... I got a little too excited with his 3pt shooting ... 17 of his 21 shots were 3pt attempts At the end of the third Dallas was up 108-87.

And the Hornets never got closer than this 21 points. There was a highlight tho ... David Wesley blocked Michael Finleys shotattempt, than rebounded his miss off the second shot, sprinted down the court and made 3pointer. But that was it ... Hornets lost 139-118. Michael Finley got Player of the Game.

Top Performers:

Hornets:
Baron Davis - 39 pts, 9 reb (6 offensive), 3 stl, 9 ass
Jamaal Magloire - 11 pts, 12 reb, 1 blk, 3 ass
Lamar Odom - 16 pts, 6 reb
David Wesley - 18 pts, 2 reb, 1 blk, 5 ass

Dallas:
Michael Finley (POG) - 30 pts, 4 reb, 5 blk, 2 stl, 2 ass
Steve Nash - 22 pts, 4 reb, 1 stl, 11 ass
Shawn Bradley - 4 pts, 11 reb, 4 blk, 3 ass
Antwan Jamison - 27 pts, 4 reb, 1 ass
Dirk Nowitzki - 18 pts, 6 reb, 2 stl, 1 ass

Newbie Watch:

Marquis Daniels - 5 pts, 1 reb, 1 ass in 14 min
Ndudi Ebi - 2 pts, 1 reb, 2 ass in 19 min
Godfrey Witt - DNP-CD

Thoughts ...

Well ... not quite the season opener I dreamed of. I am not sure at this point if it was only the new slider settings, the Mavericks 99 overall rating or my inability to do anything. Baron Davis got a really good start, although I wasnt able to share the scoring load enough to spare him. Jamaal Magloire sure lived up to my expectations with his 12 boards, but other than that my team dissappointed. PJ Brown was my main backup at PF, and he did a nice job with 8 pts and 6 reb. David Wesley was a little surprise with his 18 pts. I thought of trading both prior to the season. Now I am glad they are still here. I think I wont make any changes for a while, maybe only give Witt some playing time. First I have to find a way to win with this team ... seems to be hard enough.

Next game is vs. the Spurs.

TBE

[Andrew]

Congrats on winning the NBA title! Glad to hear that you found a way to switch to the Western Conference, though the method you've described will probably interfere with the team's audio.

[TheBigEasy]

Congrats on winning the NBA title! Glad to hear that you found a way to switch to the Western Conference, though the method you've described will probably interfere with the team's audio.

Thanks ... and until now, the audio wasnt effected, although I didnt pay that much attention to it. But one strange thing I heard was cowbells at the Dallas game ... ?? Arent they supposed to only be heard at Arco Arena?

TBE

[Andrew]

Really? I would have though that Marv and Mike would refer to your team as the Grizzlies after switching TEAMIDs.

About the cowbells; I believe they're always heard when you play in Dallas, so I don't think that's happened due to your editing.

[Alcoholic]

They have the cowbells in the game? When do you hear them?

I'm pretty sure Dallas is the one w/ the cowbells. Some years ago I remember they were ringing them so loud (especially the ones by the Lakers bench) during timeouts, and nobody could hear Phil, and they started complaining about it or something.

[Andrew]

They ring out randomly throughout the game.

[TheBigEasy]

Really? I would have though that Marv and Mike would refer to your team as the Grizzlies after switching TEAMIDs.

I dont think this would be mixed up. I have only changed Team ID's in the schedule, not the team.dbf. And as it is a randomly generated schedule I think Marv and Mike refer to the team ID, not necessarily to the team. So they refer to whichever team plays, because of the team ID. If that makes any sense .

TBE

[TheBigEasy]

I have played two more games, @ San Antonio and @ Orlando ... here are the recaps.

Hornets 119 - Spurs 109

First win of the season. After the embarrasing loss against the Mavericks I came back with a vengeance, determind not to let this one slip away. But all game long, the Spurs seemed to be in control, especially with Tim Duncans damned hook shots, which I couldnt defend at all. They stayed in front til the fourth quarter. I dont know if the comeback code kicked in, but I was able to turn the game around in the fourth with a full court press and win it. Baron Davis was named POG with posting another near triple double, this time with 8 Steals and 9 assists. Noteworthy on the Spurs side was Devin Brown, who lit me up for 15 pts in the first quarter. He more than filled the void left by Ginobili, who is still a FA.

Top Performers:

Hornets:
Baron Davis (POG) - 38 pts, 5 reb, 1 blk, 8 stl, 9 ass
Lamar Odom - 23 pts, 6 reb, 6 ass
David Wesley - 15 pts, 3 reb, 1 blk, 1 ass
Jamaal Magloire - 12 pts, 15 reb, 2 ass
Courtney Alexander - 13 pts, 7 reb, 1 blk, 4 ass
PJ Brown - 8 pts, 13 reb, 2 blk, 1 stl, 2 ass

Spurs:
Tim Duncan - 30 pts, 6 reb, 4 blk, 1 stl, 2 ass
Tony Parker - 17 pts, 4 reb, 2 stl, 8 ass
Rasho Nesterovic - 12 pts, 8 reb, 3 blk, 1 stl, 3 ass
Bruce Bowen - 10 pts, 4 reb, 4 stl, 5 ass
Devin Brown - 23 pts, 4 reb, 2 ass

Newbie Watch
Marquis Daniels - DNP-CD
Godfrey Witt - DNP-CD
Ndudi Ebi - 4 pts, 3 reb, 1 ass

Hornets 122 - Orlando 117 .. OT

In my third game I achieved my second straight win. The Magic gave me quite a run for my money, as Tracy McGrady couldnt be stopped. Jamaal Magloire got injured in the first quarter and Lamar Odom got in early foultrouble, forcing me to sit him in the third.

But with a stellar performance, Baron Davis made up for it. I was in control nearly all game long, until they got close again in the fourth and eventually tied it at 109 at the end of regulation. In the OT I was able to hold them off and win it 122-117.

Ndudi Ebi had a career game, posting career highs in nearly all categories. Baron Davis chipped in 51 points, and Odom had 4 blocks despite his foul trouble.

Top Performers:

Hornets:
Baron Davis (POG) - 51 pts, 5 reb, 2 stl, 7 ass
Lamar Odom - 18 pts, 6 reb, 4 blk
PJ Brown - 17 pts, 9 reb, 1 blk, 1 stl, 1 ass
Jamaal Magloire - 4 pts, 8 reb, 1 blk, 3 ass
Ndudi Ebi - 9 pts, 8 reb, 4 blk, 4 ass in 31 minutes

Magic:
Tracy McGrady - 44 pts, 8 reb, 2 stl, 3 ass
Steven Hunter - 11 pts, 14 reb, 2 blk, 3 ass
Grant Hill - 15 pts, 6 reb, 2 stl, 4 ass
Shammond Williams - 6 pts, 3 reb, 1 stl, 12 ass
Juwan Howard - 14 pts, 5 reb, 2 stl, 1 ass

Newbie Watch
Marquis Daniels - 4 pts, 1 reb, 1 ass in 8 minutes (got an injury in the third, benched him thereafter)
Godfrey Witt - DNP-CD

Thoughts ...

Well ... two hard fought wins. Now Chicago is next. I hope I can beat them too.

I am thinking of reducing the minutes to 10 per quarter again, as the scores are a bit high for my taste. I have still not found a satisfying solution for sparing Baron Davis some scoring load. He still has too much to do. Ndudi Ebi is a great aquisition and will get constant minutes in future games. I dont like Odom at PF very much right now. PJ Brown is not as washed up as his age implies, so maybe I'll change Odom back to SF. I am thinking of bringing in another bigman, but only as an FA. Two which come to mind are Adonal Foyle (47 overall) and Malick Badiane (48 overall), both because of their blocking abilities (98 and 94 blkrating respectively). David West isnt getting enough playing time behind Odom and Brown, I'll have to find another solution for that as well. And if I am changing Odom back to SF, what do I do with Ruben Patterson, as I like the play of Ebi and dont want to reduce his minutes that much? Trade Patterson? Release him? Find another solution?

Anyways ... the Bulls are up next.

TBE

[Alcoholic]

They ring out randomly throughout the game.

Interesting.. I never heard them before in the game, considering Dallas is probably my most played against team in this game. (When I first got the game I always used Lakers, and everyone else would use Dallas against me... hehe).

[TheBigEasy]

And another game ...

Hornets 133 - Bulls 123 ... OT

Oh boy ... what a thriller. It began slow and I even got the chance to get away in the first quarter. When I saw the starting lineup I thought it would be easy. Their best player was a rookie point guard with 69 overall. But it wasnt easy ... well, it was at first. They didnt had a chance and I was up 13 points at halftime, mostly scoring at will. But in the third it changed. They put up a real fight and came within one point at the end of the third.

In the fourth, it was a careful dancing around and most of the time trading baskets. Than I made some mistakes and they got up by 4. I started fouling them late in the fourth, but with half a minute to go, they were still up by 4. I had the ball with about 24 seconds to go. BD brought it up the court and tried a 3 pointer ... he missed. They inbounded the ball with about 19 seconds to go, I fouled them immediately. Luckily it was their rookie point guard who got fouled. He missed the first and made the second. I inbounded again, and DW made a three, so I was within 2. Their turn again, with 5 seconds left. I fouled them, their point guard again. He made the first and missed the second, I got the rebound and immediately called a timeout. I inbounded from midcourt to Baron Davis who waited at the threepoint line. He rose and calmly sank the 3 pointer to tie it at 116 at the end of regulation.

In Overtime they didnt stand a chance and I got away with the win.

Top Performers

Hornets:
Baron Davis - 45 pts, 5 reb, 2 stl, 12 ass
Lamar Odom - 22 pts, 16 reb, 2 blk, 2 ass
Jamaal Magloire - 17 pts, 14 reb, 5 ass
David Wesley - 15 pts, 2 reb, 1 stl, 2 ass
PJ Brown - 12 pts, 4 reb, 2 ass

Bulls:
Tyson Chandler - 26 pts, 13 reb, 8 blk , 1 stl, 2 ass
Antonio Davis - 32 pts, 13 reb, 2 ass
N. Lambert (the rookie) - 9 pts, 5 reb, 1 stl, 12 ass
Eddie Robinson - 16 pts, 6 reb, 2 ass

Newbie Watch ...
Marquis Daniels - 1 reb, 1 ass in 10 minutes
Godfrey Witt - DNP-CD
Ndudi Ebi - 4 pts, 2 reb, 2 blk, 5 ass in 20 minutes

Thoughts ...

Looking back, it wasnt good for them to let their rookie play in crunchtime, as he fell victim to two steals by Baron Davis in the last minutes. He missed key freethrows also ... but hey, if he is your best rated player .

I played PJ Brown more at the end, just because he and DW were veterans. Odom fatigued pretty fast in some cases, but all in all, he made a very good game, grabbing 16 boards. Ebi had another good game. I am still tinkering with lineups, and dont know exactly what to do. Baron Davis is still doing too much, but he is the one I can rely on when it comes to scoring ... I have the Sporting News Fantasy League scoring system in place in a excel sheet. BD has scored 65.5, 68, 66.5 and 72 points in that system ... thats pretty freakin awesome. He averages 43.3 points per game, over 9 ass and nearly 4 steals. I hope I can find some other players who can share the scoring load, cause otherwise he will be worn out midway through the season. On the other side, he should be front runner for the MVP, if he continues this performances.

After the fifth and final game of the road trip in Utah, I think I'll reduce the minutes to 10 per quarter. The scores are still too high, and BD is leading the league in minutes played at 41,4 minutes. So I'll reduce it ... than the scores might get a bit more realistic.

TBE

[TheBigEasy]

I played two more games ... here are the results.

Hornets 110 - Jazz 101

This was a good game. I set the offense for the Jazz to "Utah" before the game, turned "Blocking out" off and "Crash boards" on. In the first half it was the usual run and gun game from both teams. I couldnt slow them down, they ran away and were up 12 points minutes before the end of the half. I came within 6 to close the half. Baron Davis was injured with about 3 minutes left in the first quarter, so I benched him for the remainder of the half.

In the second half I used the clock and tried to slow them down. It worked. They scored only 21 pts in the third quarter, where I build a 9 pt lead. They didnt come close again as I intensified the D in quarter 4, trying to hold them to under 100 pts. I came close, allowing them only 23 pts in the 4th and won it 110 - 101. Baron Davis got POG and is now the leading candidate for the League MVP with 40 ppg, 8.6 apg, 5.6 rpg and 3.8 spg.

Baron Davis slams it home:



Top Performers:

Hornets:
Baron Davis (POG) - 27 pts, 4 reb, 3 stl, 6 ass
Lamar Odom - 23 pts, 8 reb, 4 ass
Jamaal Magloire - 12 pts, 9 reb, 1 blk, 1 stl, 5 ass

Jazz:
Andrei Kirilenko - 15 pts, 12 reb, 3 blk, 2 ass
Matt Harpring - 26 pts, 5 reb, 3 ass
Jelani McCoy - 14 pts, 9 reb, 3 blk, 1 ass

Newbie Watch ...

Marquis Daniels - 11 pts, 3 reb, 1 stl, 2 ass in 21 minutes
Ndudi Ebi - 2 pts, 3 reb, 2 blk, 2 ass in 17 minutes (he is teamleader in blocks with 1.6 per game)
Godfrey Witt - DNP-CD

Hornets 90 - Timberwolves 92 ... OT

Puh ... what a game. I reduced the minutes per quarter to 10, cause the scores were a bit too high in the first 5 games. I averaged 120 ppg coming into that game, my opponents 117 ppg. This was my first home game.

It started pretty slow, I held them scoreless til the 6:34 mark in the first quarter. Only seconds earlier Sam Cassell went out with an injury, he sat out the remainder of the game. I stayed in control most of the first half, but at the end of the half they led 43-39.

At the beginning of the third I came within 45-43 before they went on a 9-0 run to make it 54-43 with about 7 minutes left in the quarter. They nearly didnt score again in the quarter as I went on a 17-0 run and held them scoreless until only 25 seconds were left in the quarter. The 3rd ended 63-56 in my favour and I began to hope I could maybe hold them under 80 pts in the game.

In the fourth I tried to hold them down, but they refused to give up. 20 seconds were left in the game, I led 76-73 (after Ebi missed a FT the possession before). Wally World tried a 3 and made it. The score was tied at 76, I had the ball with about 14 seconds left if I remember correctly, BD scores easily inside. I lead now 78-76 with just under 5 seconds left. They inbound, bring the ball upcourt and Latrell Sprewell shoots a trey ... he misses, but than they make a putback (I dont remember who) to tie the game at 78 with 0.4 seconds left. I didnt even try something and the game went to overtime. This was the lowest point total in regulation I had ever achieved in my dynasty, missing the previous one (a playoff game vs. the Knicks) by only 2 points.

I started the overtime with a 6-0 run, but they closed the gap and with only 1.1 seconds left they score for the 92-90 end score. But I still had a timeout left and tried to inbound the ball from midcourt to Baron Davis, who stood just outside the arc. I moved him inside the 3 pt circle to at least tie the game and send it into a second overtime, but the moment I pressed the passbutton, the horn sounded and the Hornets were whistled for a 5 second violation ... and so the Timberwolves won 92-90 in one of the most thrilling games I have experienced so far in my Dynasty. Kevin Garnett got POG.

Here you can see three Wolves players coming too late while Jamaal Magloire scored:



Top Performers:

Hornets:
Lamar Odom - 24 pts, 18 reb , 1 blk, 2 stl, 5 ass
Baron Davis - 23 pts, 7 reb, 2 stl, 8 ass
Jamaal Magloire - 14 pts, 6 reb, 2 ass

Timberwolves:
Kevin Garnett (POG) - 17 pts, 10 reb, 5 blk, 1 ass
Troy Hudson - 6 pts, 4 reb, 2 stl, 10 ass
Michael Olowokandi - 8 pts, 10 reb, 3 blk, 1 ass
Wally Szczerbiak - 26 pts, 7 reb, 1 blk, 1 ass

Newbie Watch ...

Ndudi Ebi - 9 pts, 5 reb, 4 blk , 1 ass in 24 minutes
Marquis Daniels - 4 pts, 1 reb in 10 minutes
Godfrey Witt - 2 pts in 4 minutes

Thoughts ...

Well ... two pretty good games, especially the latter one despite the outcome. Godfrey Witt got his first taste of NBA action in the Wolves game, I send Darrell Armstrong to the injury list for this game. But he will be back next game.

Daniels had a pretty good game vs. the Jazz, but couldnt quite continue it against Minny. Ebi had an average game against Utah, but was very much better against the Wolves, again with 4 blocks. He now averages 2 blks per game. I am pretty impressed with Lamar Odoms rebounding abilities.

I will keep the minutes at 10 per quarter, like I already mentioned, the scores are too high with 12 minute quarters. I hope those challenging close games continue as they are way more fun, than those run and gun blowout victories. I still have to find a consistent rotation, but I think I'll figure something out.

TBE

[Jay-Peso]

Nice update

That's an awesome picture of Baron Davis with his sweet dunk

[TheBigEasy]

And another two games ...

Hornets 105 - Wizards 110

Well ... that was kind of strange. The whole game the graphics were somewhat flurry and I couldnt pinpoint exactly why. I tuned the resolution down to 1024x768, but that didnt help much. Anyways ... back to B-Ball.

The Wizards jumped out to a quick lead, which I never really could catch up to. They stayed always in front. Late in the game I managed to cut the lead to 2, but they went away again. And after Baron Davis missed two 3s in crunchtime, this game was pretty much over and the Wizards handed me the 3rd loss of the season. Jerry Stackhouse was POG.

Top Performers:

Hornets:
Baron Davis - 28 pts, 4 reb, 5 stl, 11 ass
Lamar Odom - 19 pts, 15 reb, 2 ass
Jamaal Magloire - 20 pts, 3 reb, 2 ass

Wizards:
Jerry Stackhouse (POG) - 24 pts, 5 reb, 2 stl, 4 ass
Gilbert Arenas - 14 pts, 4 reb, 14 ass
Kwame Brown - 24 pts, 6 reb, 3 blk, 1 stl
Larry Hughes - 20 pts, 5 reb, 1 stl, 2 ass
Brendan Haywood - 10 pts, 5 reb, 4 blk, 1 ass

Newbie Watch ...

Ndudi Ebi - 6 pts, 2 reb, 3 blk, 2 ass in 20 minutes
Marquis Daniels - did absolutely nothing in 5 minutes
Godfrey Witt - went back to the injury list prior to the game

Hornets 80 - Pacers 86

Oh boy ... what a game. As the final score indicates, this was a pretty lowscoring game. And hadnt the Pacers not finally discovered how to score in the fourth, the score would have been even lower.

In the beginning neither team could get away. We stayed close throughout the quarter and it ended 23-19 in the Pacers favour. At the beginning of the second Lamar Odom got injured and went to the bench until the fourth. I managed to hold the Pacers to 9 pts in the quarter and led 36-32 at halftime. I was already dreaming about a new alltime low ... but was disappointed. In the third I could hold on to the lead and after both teams scored 21 pts, we headed into the fourth. And there the Pacers found a way to score. I tried to hold them back, but couldnt. Ron Artest drained 3 after 3 and they build their lead. In the end Baron Davis failed to sink some necessary treys and the Hornets lost ... 80-86. Jermaine O'Neal got Player of the Game. It was the third straight loss and the Hornets are now 4-4.

Top Performers:

Hornets:
Jamaal Magloire - 25 pts, 13 reb, 2 ass
Baron Davis - 17 pts, 5 reb, 2 stl, 9 ass
PJ Brown - 10 pts, 9 reb, 1 blk, 3 ass

Pacers:
Jermaine O'Neal (POG) - 26 pts, 7 reb, 5 blk, 1 stl, 2 ass
Ron Artest - 28 pts, 3 reb, 1 stl
Scot Pollard - 10 pts, 5 reb, 2 blk, 1 stl, 1 ass

Newbie Watch ...

Ndudi Ebi - 2 pts, 1 reb, 4 blk in 16 minutes
Marquis Daniels - 1 reb, 1 ass in 5 minutes
Godfrey Witt - still on the injured list

Thoughts ...

Well ... that were two completely different games. The Wizards game was pretty highscoring, as I only play 10 minute quarters now. Lamar Odom seems more and more to become my primary rebounding machine, while Ndudi Ebi becomes on of the premier shotblockers in the League. His signing really paid off so far. Baron Davis obscenely high scoring average of 43.3 ppg in the first four games is now tuned down to a still league high 33.5 ppg.

The second game was more to my liking, except the fourth quarter, where both teams scored too much. But still way under 100 points. I hope I can continue this low scores to decrease the scoring average of me and my opponent to under 100 ppg.

After the first 5 games I thought this would be more or less as easy as the first season, only that I am now able to win most close games. Well, the next 3 games proved otherwise. This will be a challenging season ... but the playoffs are still 74 games away, so there is plenty of time to get the necessary wins.

TBE

[TheBigEasy]

And another two games

Hornets 96 - Sixers 99

That game started as a shootout. It was run and gun in the first quarter, which ended 32-30 in the Sixers favour. Baron Davis had already 7 assists and 11 pts. I was able to slow the game down considerably in the final 3 quarters. David West had a breakout game, as I gave him major minutes behind Lamar Odom. Most of the second half I led, but in the end Philly got close again and tied it at 90. From there on it was trading baskets, but a 3 pointer with 3 seconds left by Baron Davis for the tie fell short and I lost the fourth close game in a row ... Glenn Robinson got POG.

Top Performers

Hornets:
Jamaal Magloire - 32 pts, 6 reb, 1 blk, 1 ass
Baron Davis - 21 pts, 4 reb, 13 ass
David West - 15 pts, 8 reb, 1 ass
Lamar Odom - 13 pts, 6 reb, 6 ass

Sixers:
Glenn Robinson (POG) - 28 pts, 7 reb, 5 ass
Allan Iverson - 32 pts, 2 reb, 1 stl, 1 ass
Kenny Thomas - 19 pts, 11 reb, 1 stl, 2 ass
Todd MacCulloch - 10 pts, 7 reb, 3 ass

Newbie Watch ...

Marquis Daniels - 2 reb in 5 minutes
Ndudi Ebi - 1 reb and 1 ass in 16 minutes
Godfrey Witt is still on injured list

Hornets 105 - Spurs 92

The Spurs went into that game with a 0-7 record. This game started really slow. After 5 minutes the score was 6-4 for the Hornets. After that it heated up a little, but we mostly traded only baskets. This continued mostly throughout the game. I wasnt able to get away, neither did San Antonio. Tim Duncan kept hitting these damned hookshots. I couldnt do anything against it. But in the end I was able to get away a bit and won it 105-92. Jamaal Magloire got POG.

Top Performers

Hornets:
Jamaal Magloire (POG) - 27 pts, 11 reb, 3 ass
Baron Davis - 23 pts, 5 reb, 3 stl, 8 ass
Lamar Odom - 14 pts, 3 reb, 2 blk, 2 ass
PJ Brown - 4 pts, 3 reb, 3 blk, 3 ass in only 10 minutes

Spurs:
Tim Duncan - 34 pts, 8 reb, 4 blk, 4 stl
Rasho Nesterovic - 18 pts, 10 reb, 2 blk, 2 stl, 1 ass
Tony Parker - 6 pts, 3 reb, 9 ass

Newbie Watch ...

Marquis Daniels - 1 ass in 4 minutes
Ndudi Ebi - 7 pts, 1 reb, 2 blk, 1 ass in 21 minutes
Godfrey Witt ... make a guess

Thoughts ...

Well ... I am quite satisfied with the 5-5 record til now. I have lost some close games and won some close games. Three games have already gone into overtime. I am now constantly trying to hold my opponents under 100 pts, and so far I am on a good way.

My players are playing mostly as expected. Ndudi Ebi is great averaging 2.1 blocks per game. I am even thinking about starting him over Ruben Patterson. Jamaal Magloire was top scorer in each of the past three games and is hopefully on his way to become a consisten double-double machine. I have managed to spare Baron Davis some of the scoring load. In the first four games he had around 30 shots a game, the last six around 20 a game. Others stepped it up.

Next on is the second game against Utah ...

TBE

[TheBigEasy]

And I have played another 2 games. Here are the results.

Hornets 106 - Jazz 93

I dont remember much about this game, as I have played that two days ago. But their rookie shooting guard was pretty good, chipping in 24 points. But they still were not able to do anything of significance and so I won 106-93. Jamaal Magloire got Player of the Game.

Top Performers

Hornets:
Jamaal Magloire (POG) - 19 pts, 13 reb, 4 blk, 1 stl, 2 ass
Baron Davis - 20 pts, 2 reb, 6 ass
Courtney Alexander - 16 pts, 1 reb, 3 ass

Jazz:
S. Moss (their rookie SG) - 24 pts, 5 reb, 2 stl, 5 ass
Andrei Kirilenko - 13 pts, 6 reb, 5 blk
Keon Clark - 20 pts, 4 reb, 1 blk, 1 stl
Matt Harpring - 15 pts, 3 reb, 1 stl, 4 ass

Newbie Watch ...

Marquis Daniels - 4 pts, 1 reb in 9 minutes
Ndudi Ebi - 7 pts, 2 reb, 2 blk, 3 ass in 19 minutes
Godfrey Witt still enjoys time on the Injury list

Hornets 111 - Nets 108

This one was a pretty close game. The Nets jumped out to an early 10 pt lead, but I crawled back in. Behind the exceptional play of Ruben Patterson, who scored 10 pts in the first quarter (but only 7 thereafter). The game was close throughout. David West was pretty good on defense, but got injured. Jamaal Magloire had foul trouble, so he couldnt contribute very much. And Baron Davis had a near triple double.

In the end I prevailed with a slim 3 pt lead and won this game. On the Nets only 3 players had played doublefigure minutes besides the starters. Baron Davis got POG.

Top Performers

Hornets:
Baron Davis (POG) - 21 pts, 7 reb, 1 stl, 10 ass
Lamar Odom - 17 pts, 8 reb, 2 ass
Ruben Patterson - 17 pts, 4 reb, 2 ass

Nets:
Jason Kidd - 22 pts, 2 reb, 1 stl, 13 ass
Richard Jefferson - 26 pts, 3 reb, 1 stl, 2 ass
Alonzo Mourning - 18 pts, 6 reb, 2 blk, 2 ass
Kenyon Martin - 18 pts, 9 reb, 1 stl, 2 ass
Kerry Kittles - 17 pts, 3 reb, 2 stl, 1 ass

Newbie Watch ...

Marquis Daniels - 2 pts, 1 reb, 3 ass in 7 minutes
Ndudi Ebi - 2 pts, 3 reb, 3 blk, 2 ass in 12 minutes
Godfrey Witt - IR


TBE

[Alcoholic]

'Chipping in' 24 points? More like pouring in, or dumping in, or maybe even unleashing, hmm..

[TheBigEasy]

Well ... I have played another game, vs. the SuperSonics.

Hornets 106 - Sonics 84

In short - they didnt stand a chance. I started with a 6-0 run and never looked back. Throughout the whole game they didnt have even the slightest chance. I ran away 38-19 at the end of the first quarter and extended the lead to 71-40 at halftime. After that Courtney was my only starter to play again in the game. My second squad was able to extend the lead to 40 at the end of the third. I was able to rotate all my bench players and so my Newbies Ndudi Ebi and Marquis Daniels got major minutes.

In the fourth the comeback code kicked in and I missed nearly everything, even easy layups. But the comeback was too little too late and so I won with 22 pts difference. Despite playing only the first half, Baron Davis got POG ... but with absolute perfection. He hit 11/11 FG, 2/2 3pt and 1/1 FT

Top Performers

Hornets:
Baron Davis (POG) - 25 pts, 1 reb, 9 ass in only 15 perfect minutes
David West - 9 pts, 8 reb, 1 blk, 6 ass
Courtney Alexander - 14 pts, 3 reb, 3 ass

Sonics:
Antonio Daniels - 8 pts, 9 reb, 1 stl, 11 ass
Rashard Lewis - 31 pts, 6 reb, 1 stl, 1 ass
Ray Allen - 21 pts, 3 reb, 2 ass

Newbie Watch ...

Marquis Daniels - 10 pts, 5 reb (3 off), 1 stl, 1 ass in 25 minutes
Ndudi Ebi - 10 pts, 5 reb, 3 blk, 1 ass in 24 minutes
Godfrey Witt - IR

Thoughts ...

This was one easy game. Like stated before Seattle didnt stand a chance and I cruised to victory with my second crew. For a couple of games now I refuse to take many 3pt shots and it pays off. My FG% before I tuned the 3pt attempts down was 52%, the games after were 61%. The 3pt% before was 26% (35/135), after it is 50% (10/20). I now average 55% on FG and 29% 3pt overall.

David West got bigger minutes the last two games and responded very well, the Seattle game was his best output so far in the season. I will continue to give him bigger minutes behind Lamar Odom to improve him.

Ndudi Ebi and Marquis Daniels are doing quite well. Ebi is No. 4 in the League in blocks per Game with a 2.2 average , although he hasnt got a good scoring touch ... sometimes he even misses easy layups. But I got him mainly for blocking, so thats ok.

Next up are the Lakers ... the first of four rematches of last years finals. Shaquille O'Neal is injured, so it should be easier.

TBE

[TheBigEasy]

Progress in this dynasty will slow down a bit, as I play also the Tournament with the new 95/96 Roster patch ... see this Thread for details.

But in this dynasty big changes are coming. I am currently thinking about really overhaul my roster. I want a) capspace and b) draft picks. I have already explored some possibilities and the most intriguing is dealing with Atlanta.

As I use rosters from December 2003, Sharif Abdur-Rahim is still with Atlanta and as I am in the 04/05 season, his contract will expire at the end of the season. I would like to try to get him and the newly resigned Stephen Jackson and another of their expiring contracts (my tries so far unfortunately didnt get me Terrell Brandons huge contract) for Ruben Patterson, PJ Brown and David Wesley. I guess I'll make this deal soon. Than I'll play with the new roster til the All Star break. Between the All Star Break and the trading deadline I'll shop Rahim, Lamar Odom and maybe Stephen Jackson around for first round draft choices. Than I'll sign some scrub FA's to fill the void and continue the season. If everything pans out like planned, I'll have 2-4 firstrounders in the upcoming draft and lots of capspace to build a really good team around Baron Davis, Jamaal Magloire and David West.

The trading of PJ Brown, Rahim and Odom will also give David West the starting 4 spot after the trading deadline. With Stephen Jackson (whom I might keep) I have a very good swingman. And Marquis Daniels and Ndudib Ebi should get major minutes with this moves and should be able to develop.

Any thoughts about this? Should I do it or not?

TBE

[TheBigEasy]

Well ... as apparently noone had any interest in it , I had to make the decision myself. The big trade went down.

New Orleans traded

PF PJ Brown 63 overall
SG David Wesley 65 overall
SF Ruben Patterson 60 overall

Atlanta traded

PF Sharif Abdur-Rahim 79 overall
SF Stephen Jackson 65 overall
C Horatio Quinton 35 overall

I made this move primarily for the expiring contract of Abdur-Rahim, to gain a) cap space come summer and b) get trade bait for draft picks. But he will also get the starting spot at PF for the time being and should help me win alot of games before he gets traded again.

Stephen Jackson gives me a very good young swingman, who just signed a new 6 year contract. For now I have moved him to SG and in the starting spot there.

Horatio Quinton was the Hawks 2nd round pick in the draft. He has also an expiring contract and gives me another big body to throw in there up front. I wanted Terrell Brandons contract, but the Hawks were not interested. I tried every other player lower rated than Brandon ... they were not interested. So I settled for Quinton. He wont get much playing time, maybe I'll even waive him.

I got rid of the aging PJ Brown and David Wesley. I moved also Ruben Patterson who wasnt quite what I wanted at SF. I now moved Lamar Odom back to the starting SF spot, but like stated before, he might get traded for a draft pick before the deadline. Than I'd move Jackson to SF and Alexander gets the starting SG spot back.

Anyways ... the Hornets have now a new starting lineup:

C - Jamaal Magloire
PF - Sharif Abdur-Rahim
SF - Lamar Odom
SG - Stephen Jackson
PG - Baron Davis

With this lineup I played the first game ...

Hornets 88 - LA Lakers 69

This was a strange and awesome game at the same time. It marked the lowest point total I've achieved so far in my dynasty, one point lower than the previous one (a playoff game vs. New York).

Like most of my games this one started pretty slow. LA missed Karl Malone (who retired at the end of last season) and Shaquille O'Neal (who was on the injured list). That meant they had no true Center on their roster and Luke Walton and Brian Cook started in the 4 and 5 spots.

The Hornets were able to build a small lead in the first which they never gave up. In the first quarter both teams werent able to hit much of their shots. My very tight Defense gave LA lots of troubles and they only scored 13 points in the first quarter.

In the second the slow pace continued, although I hit more shots and led 45-30 at halftime. In the third they tried a comeback, but I wouldnt let them. I was able to run a pretty good rotation and held them to 20 pts in the quarter. So at the beginning of the fourth they only had 50 points, a feat I've seldomly achieved in the past. I wasnt sure if I could hold them under 70, as Kobe Bryant hit some 3s in the fourth, but in the end I did it and for the first time in my dynasty I held an opponent under 70 points.

Top Performers

Hornets:
Baron Davis (POG) - 20 pts, 3 reb, 2 stl, 7 ass
Lamar Odom - 13 pts, 4 reb, 1 blk, 10 ass
Jamaal Magloire - 14 pts, 13 reb, 3 blk
David West - 12 pts, 2 reb

LA Lakers:
Gary Payton - 20 pts, 6 reb, 2 ass
Luke Walton - 6 pts, 6 reb, 1 stl, 5 ass
Slava Medvedenko - 2 pts, 5 reb, 1 stl, 2 ass
Brian Cook - 8 pts, 5 reb, 2 ass
Kobe Bryant - 11 pts, 6 reb

Newbie Watch ...

Stephen Jackson - 5 pts, 6 reb, 3 blk, 7 ass in 30 minutes
Sharif Abdur-Rahim - 18 pts, 11 reb, 2 blk, 1 ass in 26 minutes
Ndudi Ebi - 0 pts, 1 reb, 1 ass in 11 minutes (his lowest minutes this season)
Horatio Quinton - 1 reb in 1 minute
Marquis Daniels - DNP-CD
Godfrey Witt - injury list

Thoughts ...

Well ... the new players did quite well. Sharif Abdur-Rahim was the offensive punch I expected and was also very good defensively. David West got some productive minutes behind him. Odom did a nice job moving back to the SF spot, while Stephen Jackson did a very nice job defending Kobe Bryant. All three of his blocks were 3pt attempts of Kobe. Because Odom moved back to SF, Ebi got less minutes and wasnt nearly as productive as in previous games. He will have to wait til Odom is maybe traded to get more minutes again.

LA took all in all 86 shots ... 46 of them were 3 pt attempts . I am pretty proud of myself in holding them to under 70 points, something I havent achieved before. I doubt I'll manage this very often.

On a funny side note ... because of the installed 95/96 roster patch, the NBA@NBC logo is still there as well as the court arts .

Next up is Phoenix at home in the NOrena.

TBE

[Mark.]

Dont worry Big Easy, i'm still reading, always am. Anyway i like your trade, it seems pretty realistic and how you talked about it made it seem like real life. Its good to see yous till getting realistic scores, are you still on 12min quarters.

Anyway good luck for the rest of the season, hope you can get some good trades going at the deadline.

[TheBigEasy]

Dont worry Big Easy, i'm still reading, always am. Anyway i like your trade, it seems pretty realistic and how you talked about it made it seem like real life. Its good to see yous till getting realistic scores, are you still on 12min quarters.

Anyway good luck for the rest of the season, hope you can get some good trades going at the deadline.

Thanks ... and no, I am not still on 12 minute quarters. I have the minutes reduced back to 10 after the fifth game, as the scores were too high with 12 minutes. I dont know how Andrew gets such results on 12 minute quarters, but I am pretty satisfied with 10 minutes.

The tournament (link is in my sig) is played in 12 minute quarters.

TBE