Webberless-Sacramento Dynasty

[darknezx]

I have decided to go with Sacramento, since they're my fav team and I really want to avenge their Pacific crown loss! I'm on a 56 game season, 5-5-5-5, and simulated 12 min quarters, played on 9 min quarters. I've tweaked Andrew's sliders so the CPU gets the advantage. I'm using this roster:

Starters


PG Mike Bibby

SG Doug Christie

SF Peja Stojakovic

FC Brad Miller

C Vlade Divac





Reserves


Bobby Jackson
Anthony Peeler
Darius Songaila
Gerald Wallace
Jabari Smith
Rodney Buford

IR


Chris Webber

I will bring Webber back to the team similar to the date that he returned in real life for realism. No trades whatsoever, maybe a couple of FA signings, but no trades to make it tough. I've found that Sactown is pretty weak in Andrew's latest rosters, but there's the challenge! I'll start with the first game against Cavaliers in the next post

[Andrew]

Sounds like a nice challenge. Are you using the opening night rosters? I haven't updated the ratings in that version of the roster for quite some time.

[darknezx]

Can the Kings Deliver?

By Martin MacNil -- Bee Staff Writer

Rewind to last season and you can tell our fans were shattered. The loss to Dallas was cruel, agonising and painful for us to watch. Yet we were constantly reminded of what this team can do, the 2001 Western Conference Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers showed us how. Can the Sacramento Kings finally return the NBA championship back to the faithful Arco Arena? At the pre-game training, the atmosphere was understandably tensed.

Said veteran guard Doug Christie, 'We're really looking forward to starting the season, playing with the guys we have and trying to reach the heights we had 2 years back." Let us see if the Kings can finally play good defence, and rally behind the back of new signing Brad Miller.

87 - 80
By Mart MacNil -- Bee Staff Writer

The Kings played tough D in crunch time, and squeezed out a win at their homecourt in front of the energetic Cavaliers. All eyes were on LeBron James, who have grabbed thousands of headlines for his jump from High school to become the No. 1 overall pick of Draft class 2003. But behind a 26 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists effort from Stojakovic, the Kings looked every bit of a championship contender.

The Cavaliers got to a 19-6 lead behind the back of consecutive 3 point plays by Carlos Boozer and LeBron James. The Kings made just 2-10 field goals in the opening 5 minutes, and were punished duly as Miller picked up 2 quick fouls. He was forced to sit out the quarter as Christie ignited a 7-0 run to close the quarter 26-21.

The second quarter was no difference to a half dominated by the relentless Eric Williams and James, who both chipped in with 14 points apiece. After just 2 minutes, Brad Miller picked up his fourth personal, reminding everyone that he is prone to the self destruction that hallmarks a King though and through. As the Cavaliers found their stroke, Stojakovic, the NBA all-star hit rim in all of his shots. Though Divac made some beautiful tip-ins and offensive rebounds, Stojakovic was seen grimacing off a rim-out from way downtown as he could only help defensively. Cavaliers were up 46-35 by halftime.

Whatever words entered their heads, it was obvious the danger wasn't sensed yet, the Kings played soft D and let the Cavaliers get away with everything. The only thing that went right for the players was that they were practically ignoring Rick Adelman, their coach. Team spirit? Not quite. At the end of 3 they were seiously outplayed, and as Bibby drank his Gatorade, he could already sense a dressing room scolding.

They came out on fire in the fourth, with Miller reinserted for better defence. Led by Stojakovic,



They made 7-10 shots and showed glimpses of the old Sac that all the fans were familiar with. And in the end, they shut down Big Z offensively and came up with a huge win. If they play all season long like in the fourth quarter, I don't recall a player named Chris Webber. I think he was the hotdog guy.

Player of the Game


On his performance, "I guess I was too eager to make a difference early on. With Chris (Webber) out, I rushed some shots and got into a bad rhythm. But my teammates supported me and I looked good from then on. When I got into the tempo I wanted the shots started to fall." - Finished with 26 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists


"I thought we were alright to start with, but we just had some off season blues. Hopefully we can get together and make an impact with our shooting in our next game." - Finished with 21 points, 3 rebounds, 6 assists and 3 steals


"The pro game's a lot tougher, but I'm made of challenges and I'll continue to work hard, hopefully I can help my team get wins. Peja's got a great night, he's one player I wouldn't want to face often in the future." - Finished with 18 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals

And I started with the latest roster, updated on the trade deadline.

[James_1]

nice job. bron had a nice debut. peja played great for you. i like your format.

[darknezx]

Triple Thriller, as Kings falter




128 - 135
By Mart MacNil -- Bee Staff Writer

Poor Kings. After the previous day where bad shooting marred a win which marked champions, Sacramento endured a devasting blow with a loss to Philadelphia 76ers. It was a night or the magnificent, the good, the bad and the ugly. Allen Iverson, 76ers' talisman, came up big for the franchise in a signal of the things to come in the season. After hitting for 42 points in his opening game, he burnt the Kings with 49 in a triple overtime which had the 76ers trailing in regulation and the 2 overtimes.

The first half was surprisingly quiet, as Philly quietly took off to a 23-16 lead to close the first quarter, with Kenny Thomas putting the stats on the board. The Kings drew first blood, when they started with a 13-0 run, but scored only 2 points thereafter. With Stojakovic shaking off his bad shooting form in the first game, things looked good. In the second quarter Iverson continued to shoot the ball well, with Samuel Dalembert outstanding.

The next half featured a dominant King's offence and brilliance by Iverson to keep the game going. The Kings had many missed shots, and they would rue the chance to take the game when it was their's for the taking. In the last minute of regulation, Kings had a 3 point lead, and it seemed headed for a victory until Iverson sank a deep three. With 4 seconds remaining Mike Bibby came off a Divac screen and took a shot, falling right into the hands of Iverson who blocked it.

It was the same old story in the next 2 regulations, the Kings would be up by 3, but Iverson was always on hand to tie the game. As the game wore on, so did Rick Adelman's patience. Perhaps he was too anxious for their next game, but when a bad call against Christie for the charge was called, he argued with the officials, and was ejected after prolonged argument. Without their leader off court, the Kings were duly beaten. A bright spot for the loss was Stojakovic, who made 22-42 shots, including 8-15 3 pointers, and ended with 55 points for the night.

Player of the Game


"I wanted to prove my doubters wrong man, they were all over me last year. We play like this every night, the fan are happy, we're happy." - Finished with 49 points, 2 rebounds and 7 assists


"We haven't got to our best yet, I'm still getting my rhythm. We're trying to work on the turnovers, and consistency." - Finished with 11 points, 16 rebounds


"It doesn't matter how much I've got, be it 55 or 5, I'll just continue to play hard and work my way to win games. After this loss we'll need to play doubly hard to catch the Lakers (Los Angeles)." - Finished with 55 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists

[darknezx]

No-nonsense shooting Duo




97 - 95
By Mart MacNil -- Bee Staff Writer

Superb. If you were at one of the Kings fan present, you would wonder if we can really beat the Lakers. They started the brighter of the 2 teams, as always hitting down shots and organising fast breaks. They shot a blistering 58 percent, but one worrying concern is the ability to defend the lead. They couldn't defend any lead 2 years back, and they still can't. Up by 15, they let Denver slip back into the game with some poor shooting and bad turnovers. Averaging 14 turnovers per game, they put up sloppy play as they let the Nuggets use a 15-1 run to close the gap to 1 at halftime, 45-44 King's lead.

After halftime things looked similar as the first quarter, Bibby sparking a 20-4 rampage which had all the Kings fan jumping and Nuggets fan in agony. Miller and Divac were dominating the boards, and finished with 11 and 13 boards respectively. But they couldn't stop another Nuggets charge, led by Lenard, who had 14 in this quarter alone. It made the Kings look ordinary as they closed the quarter with a trey, to tie the game at 72. The tempo pushed towards Nuggets and they seized the opportunity, with all starters out except for Divac, they were outplayed by a hungry Denver team. Rick Adelman, this time in trouble again, was arguing an obvious no-foul on Stojakovic, and was ejected yet again. The technical free throw pulled Nuggets within 2.

But the difference showed immediately Stojakovic, Miller and Bibby came in. Stojakovic had to throw up a deep 2 as the shot clock was winding down, and missed. But Miller grabbed the offensive, passed to Bibby, who in turn gave it to Stojakovic to knock down the triple. It was just one of the 28 dimes in the game for Sactown.

With 22 seconds left, Bibby ran a pick-and-roll with Divac and slashed down the lane, finding a double teamed Miller, who then threw it out for Bibby to tickle the twine of the net from the right corner. With 11 seconds
left Miller drove past Bibby and went for a layup which was rejected by Miller, Nene was first to react and grabbed a loose ball before stepping back for a three. Why he did that was beyond me, Nene was never a money guy. But it hit the back of the rim, and the Kings win it on the road.

Player of the Game


"This win was good for us, I didn't like their physical play. But I guess we deserved it, after a turbulent first half we were able to come out strong in the second." - Finished with 30 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists


About letting Denver back into the game - "I think we need Chris (Webber) back, I can't emphasize how important he is to us. But Brad and Vlade are helping us with the boards, we'll see how it goes in the next game." - Finished with 29 points, 6 assists


"We just couldn't finish down the stretch, enough said. I was disappointed not the get this win, it was there for the taking." - Finished with 20 points, 3 rebounds

[TheBigEasy]

Nice Dynasty. But one question ... the score to the Philly game doesnt seem right with 135 - 80. So what is the final score?

TBE

[darknezx]

I've changed it, thanks for the reply!

Stojakovic shines, Garnett overshadowed




94 - 80
By Mart MacNil -- Bee Staff Writer

Kevin Garnett, the front runner of the MVP race this season, looked vulnerable again like last season. Though he scored 23 points on 10-14 shooting, his teammates didn't step up when needed. Indeed, this was the best chance to win one on their homecourt after starting badly early on in the season at 1-3. They got off early, and held a 26-10 advantage as the Kings showed signs of fatigue. Stojakovic was brought to the bench early as he met a shooting slump, missing open shots and being a foot slow on defence. Bibby wasn't good either, he either turned the ball over or missed open shots. Nothing seemed to be falling.

Back to Garnett. I like him as a player, tough, winner's mentality, but his teammates, apart from Sprewell, need to step up. Sam Cassell, would rather forget this game. He was a non factor, though statistics lie, he scored 18 points but his mistakes go beyond stats. He didn't recognise the mismatches, and made bad passes. So in the 2nd and 3rd quarter, the Kings were heartened by the overly generous Timberwolve defence that they decided to pull to just 1 on a two-handed dunk by Stojakovic. Who better than him to lead the Kings, what a season he's had!

It was a low scoring first half, high scoring second. But the Wolves could never find any rhythm, and the Kings led the way thereafter. Kudos to the Kings, in the darkest hour, leaderless, they found their way. Flip Saunders, on the other hand, has plenty to do to bond his team together. Failure to get into playoffs would be suicidal, but who bets against it?

Player of the Game


"I was surprised by the 9 rebounds! Wow my teammates were even talking about a triple-double, but I told Divac hey, if I get one dinner will be on me." - Finished with 11 points, 9 rebounds and 9 assists


About letting Denver back into the game - "I think we need Chris (Webber) back, I can't emphasize how important he is to us. But Brad and Vlade are helping us with the boards, we'll see how it goes in the next game." - Finished with 29 points, 6 assists


"Enough about me already! Miller wants some share!" - Finished with points, 4 rebounds

[darknezx]

OMG! Moderator please delete this, I had multiple errors so I pressed back to edit them, but I didn't know it was the Post Reply screen. Please delete those replies which concerned the Minnesota game except for the latest one.

[Andrew]

No problem, I'll take care of that in a sec. Nice read though.