From Downtown to Dwight-town :: 12-1 :: Week 3 Recap

[Arcane]

great start to the season Mark your teams rolling along nicely.

[dare]

wow 6-0 nice start man, I should have predicted a 6-0 start instead of 5-1

[Martti.]

Man, you sure send a statement with your first week. Dwight was a monster. Rashard was a bit inconsistent though.

[kibaxx7]

I predicted 5-1, well, almost... Incredible start bro!

[Valor]

Very nice start man, undefeated!
lets see how long you can keep the win streak alive for

[Mark.]

Welcome to the second weekly preview. These will be kept short, their main purpose is to let you know which games will be played and simmed.
They will also help readers who are invloved in the "From the NLSC to the League" feature to get a look at who I am playing to aide in their predicitions.


Week Two Games:

Note: Games highlighted in blue will be played games.

The Magic started their season with an easy first week of games in which they went an impressive 6-0, including some outstanding performances, although mainly against weaker opponents.
Week 2 brings the Magic much of the same, a two game road swing to start the week against the Durant led Thunder and the Bobcats could provide a small challenge however it is the third game of the week that all eyes will be upon.
The Cavs-Magic matchup is turning into somewhat of a spectacle these days especially after Cleveland were embarassed by Orlando in last years Eastern Conference Finals.
Expect to see a hard fought game as LeBron and the Cavs try to get revenge. This game could go either way and it will be interesting to see how the Shaq vs Dwight matchup goes.
The last game of the week sees the Magic play host to a young Nets team and the return of Courtney Lee to Orlando. This will also be the first time Vince Carter will face the team he led for the last 4 and a bit seasons.


Example of Making Predicitions:

There are 6 games in Week 1 so "Player A" decides to predict a 5-1 record for the week. "Player A" also decides that they are confident that I will beat the Nets but I will lose to the Suns.
"Player A" will there for make a guess of "5-1, Wins over: Nets, Loses to: Suns."
This will give "Player A" a maximum possible points total of 35 (20 for correct record, 5 for participating, 5 for each result guess correctly)
or a minimum possible of -1 (5 for participation, -3 for each result guessed incorrectly)
Of course there are also different points total possibilities in between these two limits that "Player A" could receive.

[Lamrock]

Good to see you finally start this. First recap looks great. Good luck keeping your streak going in week 2

[Martti.]

3-1, lose to the Cavaliers.

[kibaxx7]

4-0 again. Don't disappoint me, bro.

[Mark.]

Sit, Cheers dude

Azzdogs, 3PK, Cheers guys, and yeah the Suns win was massive, although it was a simmed game which gave the result. I think I would struggle myself to hold them below 80.

hova-, Yeah im supprised how good the graphics were. I just upgraded my computer massively so that helps, but its obvious it aint no shitty PS2 port or something The boxscores still suck compared to Live's I mean would it be that hard to make it all fit on one screen rather than having to scroll. So time consuming having to cut and paste the various parts.

The X, Cheers dude Yeah like the Bosh one. Its pretty cool how they fade the rest of the stuff with blur effects etc.

dragon@4Q, Thanks mate, good to see you following.

dare, Haha yeah I think it would have been a little bit of a gamble to predict 6-0, that being said it was an easy week apart from Phoenix.

Martti., Yeah I think Shard will be like that for most of the season, being primarily a shooter he is going to have off games. I deffinately forced too many shots with him vs Toronto.

Thierry., Thats probably the best bet to have made that week (apart from 6-0 of course). All those 4-2 predictions are being punished now for lack of faith

Valor, I think this could be the week I will drop my first game. The Cavs are always hard to play in this version. In a trial association I got smashed by them in this matchup when I played it.

Lamrock, Cheers mate, im just glad to get the first week recapped, from now on its a lot easier since I can just use the first weeks template.

Sweet guys week 2 recap should be up tomorrow (still gotta play the game and sim the week.) Does anyone have any comments on the roster. I personally can't see anything I want to change currently.

EDIT: There is one player out there who has sparked hy interest. Chris Douglas-Roberts is on the trading block. Im pretty high on him IRL but not too sure if I have any pieces that I would give up for him. Thoughts?

[Arcane]

I'm expecting you to go 3-1 this week though Bobcats might make it a tough one.

[dare]

3-1 lose to Cavs

[Azzdogs]

4-0 Come on destroy the Cavs

[TomCat]

Very nice first week, 6-0 Love the recaps as well.

If I counted correctly I got 19 points in week one

I predict 3-1, win vs Thunder, Bobcats & Nets .. Loss to Cavs

Yes I'm going for the big points again this week

[Fresh8]

4-0

[hova-]

3-1 loss to the Cats.

Yeah, the copy and pasting is just annoying, I also hate it.

[Mark.]

Weekly Recap will be up tomorrow. Get your predictions in

[Mark.]

Welcome to the second weekly recap of the season.
The Magic came into week 2 of the season hoping to carry on the momentum from their 6-0 first week.
An away trip to Oklahoma and Charlotte would bring the first challenge however the third game at home against Cleveland would be the biggest test.


Week Two Games:


Box Scores: [Magic][Thunder]
Despite a strong 27 point 15 rebound game from Dwight Howard the Magic were unable to keep their run going, ending their winning streak at 6 games.
The loss can mainly be put down to the poor shooting from Orlando's perimeter players (pretty much everyone other than Dwight.
Rashard Lewis struggled shooting 2-14 and 1-7 from downtown. Jason Williams played well from the bench recording 10 points on 3-3 shooting.
Russel Westbrook was the main tormentor of the Magic being too much for Jameer Nelson with 21 points and 10 assists. Kevin Durant managed 19 points and 13 rebounds.



Box Scores: [Magic][Bobcats]
Orlando managed to bounce back strong from their first loss of the season. Despite Dwight Howard being in foul trouble most of the game the Magic used a balance attack to dispose of the Bobcats.
Vince Carter paced the Magic with 17 points and 5 assists while Rashard Lewis managed to bounce back from a poor perfromance with 15 points and 7 rebounds. Brandon Bass was good value with 14 point on 9 shots in 14 minutes.
Raymond Felton paced the home team with 19 points but took as many shots to get there. Gerald Wallace had a double double with 13 and 12 but likewise took as many shots to get there.



Box Scores: [Cavs][Magic][Starters][Quarter Breakdown]

No revenge for LeBron.
Magic dispose of Cavs in first ECF rematch of the season.



There was no walking off the court without congratulating the Magic this time round but you could still see the frustration painted clearly on Lebron's Face. Once again his team came up short vs the well drilled Orlando side even with the help of Shaq. It was defense and execution that was the theme of this game, Orlando shot a blistering 42-17 from the field while holding the Cavs to 37 of 86. The much anticipated matchup between Shaquille O'Neal and Dwight Howard never really eventuated, Shaq was welcomed to the court to a chorus of boos from the home fans as he squared up against Howard for the tip but that about the most action there was for the matchup as former Magic pivot was held to 8 points and 9 rebounds and fouled out early in the fourth. On the other team Howard shined with 23 points and 15 rebounds in 38 minutes.

Supprisingly this game saw the Magic restrict themselves from beyond the arc (in their standards anyway) taking only 20 shots from downtown but making 10 of them, add this to their great shooting performance overall and its supprising the game was even this close. The Cavs managed to keep in the game with a pesky full court press that forced the Magic into turnovers (17 for the game) before they had even had a chance to set up in their halfcourt sets. The Cavs also made better use of their free throw attempts (23 makes to Orlando's 15) to keep themselves in the game. Rashard Lewis continued to come back into form with a 28 points and 7 rebounds on an efficient 10-17 from the field in a much needed performance due to the absence of Vince Carter with shin splints. Ryan Anderson also helped fill the void when needed with 14 points on 7 shots in only 16 minutes.
Lebron James was his usual dominant self with 27 points on 19 shots, 6 rebounds 10 assists and 6 steals however Mikael Pietrus managed to limit his shots attempts especially down the stretch in the fourth quarter. After being on fire from the field in the first half Mo Willaims ended the game with 23 points on 7-18 shoorting, making 3 of his 9 3 point attempts.

The Magic used a strong first quarter to establish a buffer for the rest of the game outscoring the Cavs 35-26 in the first. Cleveland continued to chip away at this through out the game and managed to take the lead early in the fourth however a timely 3 from Lewis with 2 minutes to go put the Magic back up by two. Two clutch layups by Matt Barnes (8 points 3 rebounds) in the last 1:30 put the Cavs down by 7 109-102 with 20 seconds to play. The game was over from there with Daniel Gibson making a 3 at the buzzer to bring the Cavs loss to only 4.
The decision on whether to play Vince Carter was a game time call but coach Van Gundy was insistant that he had the cover in the rest of the squad to be able to beat the Cavaliers. Carter is expected to return when the Magic host the Nets.

Image Gallery




Box Scores: [Nets][Magic]
Dwight Howard had 25 points and Rashard Lewis had 17 as the Magic outplayed the Nets for the second time this season. 12 turnover by the Magic compared to 21 by the Nets was the main difference.
Vince Carter retuned from a one game layoff due to shin splints to score 13 points in 32 minutes of play. Devin Harris got the better of Jameer Nelson in this one, limiting the latter to only 21 minutes by tempting him into silly fouls.
Harris paced the Nets with 21 points and 7 assists however his shooting was inefficient (9-20) and he made 10 turnovers. Chris Douglas-Roberts continued to impress the Magic scoring 17 points on 4-6 shooting despite rumours that he would soon be on his way out of New Jersey.



Weekly Summary
This week saw the Magic suffer their first set back on the season however it did little to break their momentum as they went on to defeat conference rivals Cleveland in a showdown in Orlando.
Strong overall performances from Dwight Howard and Rashard Lews as well as some great team defence throughout the week were the major factors the 3-1 record and over all record of 9-1.
The Magic are already setting themselves up as favourties for the Eastern crown and it remains to be see how they cope with being the top dog rather the under dog as they were treated last season.

[cavs4872]

Tough loss to Oklahoma City, but you had a very good week otherwise. The presentation is topnotch. Keep it up.



This has to be one of the greatest pictures I have ever seen taken from a NBA video game. It's simply amazing.

[Azzdogs]

Tough loss to OKC but you bounced back strong and great win over the Cavs. The presentation is awesome.

[kibaxx7]

OMG, Vince injured Is it serious?

Superb pictures

[TomCat]

Good start to the season. 9-1

Pictures are unbelievable

[Mark.]

TomCat, Yeah mate that is correct. I will be updating all the scores at the end of the month .

Thanks guys for the comments on the photo's, ill add a few more in next weeks recap then since they seem to be so popular

[hova-]

Dope graphics, sweet presentation and win after win. This seems to be the most fluid Dynasty

Tough that my Bobcats were slaughtered like that. At least they did not get destroyed by superman.

[dare]

Damn nice pics especially the Dwight over Shaq