(C)RAPTORS - Should I finish it?

[Lamrock]

Game: NBA 2K9
Team: Toronto Raptors
Season Length: 29 games
Playoff Length: 5-5-5-5
Rosters: Current, uninjured with rating adjustments
CPU Trades: Off for first season, on for second season and onward
Quarter Length: 8 Minutes/12 Minutes Simmed
Sliders: Default
Edit Draft Prospects: Real-life First Round Prospects/Mix of in-game and real second rounders

Toronto is a blast to use, has a likable team and location, and I am absolutely stoked about this one. I intend to go at least two seasons with this, so I am going with a 29 game season, and will be simming roughly two thirds of the games, and doing a full game recap for every one that I do feel like playing. Look for real-life draftees and a dynasty as realistic as a 29 game season would allow.

[Lamrock]

Archives

Game Recaps:

11/7/08 - Bosh, Calderon Struggle As Blazers Defeat Raptors
11/9/08 - Raptors Pull Away In Third Quarter En Route To First Victory
12/10/08 - Raptors Above .500 Again With Win Over Nuggets
12/29/08 - Raptors Stun 6-1 Warriors At The Oracle
1/14/09 - Raptors Overcome Iguodala's Triple Double To Win In OT
1/30/09 - Raptors Use Dominant Fourth Quarter To Eclipse Suns
2/22/09 - LeBron Wins Second Straight All-Star MVP As East Defeats West
2/24/09 - Raptors Defeat Nets Behind Bosh's Monster Game
3/16/09 - Raptors Overcome Rondo's Career High 30 to Upset Champs
3/30/09 - Raptors Make Playoffs with stunning Blowout Win Over Magic
4/11/09 - Raptors Oust Pacers In Season Finale To Clinch Atlantic Division

Monthly Recaps:

November 2008
December 2008 - Player Evaluations
January 2009
February 2009 - Player Evaluations
March 2009
April 2009 - Player Evaluations

Transactions:

1/4/09 - Raptors Acquire Jack, Foster, Miles from Pacers and Grizzlies for Graham, Humphries, Ukic, Banks
1/6/09 - Raptors Fill Out Roster With Vets Francis, Griffin

NBA Articles:

10/24/08 - Raptors 2008-09 Schedule Announced
12/30/08 - Are Joey Graham's Days As A Raptor Numbered?
2/10/09 - Chris Bosh Named An All-Star Reserve
4/15/09 - Raptors To Face Orlando In First Round Of Playoffs As Playoff Seeding Is Finalized
4/17/09 - (2) Raptors Vs. (7) Magic Series Preview

[Lamrock]

Roster:

Starters:



Point Guard: Jose Calderon
Shooting Guard: Anthony Parker
Small Forward: Shawn Marion
Power Forward: Andrea Bargnani
Center: Chris Bosh

Reserves:



Guard/Forward: Jason Kapono
Guard: Jarrett Jack
Center/Forward: Jeff Foster
Forward: Darius Miles
Guard: Steve Francis
Guard/Forward: Adrian Griffin
Forward/Center: Nathan Jawai

Injury Reserves



Center: Jake Voskuhl
Center: Patrick O'Bryant

[Alejandrov011]

Recommendation, use Bargnani has SF, he can score 25 points a game

[Lamrock]

Raptors 2008-09 Schedule Announced

October 24, 2008 | Sports | NBA | Toronto Raptors

Toronto, ON - The schedule for the 2008-09 NBA season has been announced. This year, the NBA season will consist of just 29 games as opposed to 82. David Stern initiated this due to the current economic climate. Each team will face each other just once during the regular season. Additionally, the playoffs have been shortened to best of 5 series. "I believe that this will also positively impact the quality of play. Players will be much fresher during the games, and the season will be much less grueling. Additionally, with more on the line, there will be a generally higher level of play," Stern commented.

There are many detractors to this. Former NBA player and current TNT analyst Charles Barkley called it "the dumbest *expletive* thing he has ever heard. it makes no sense.". Mavericks owner Mark Cuban stated similar sentiments and was fined a million dollars. Others complained that some teams had 15 home and 14 road games, while others had the opposite, leading to some franchises receiving special treatment.

The Toronto Raptors will play 14 home games and 15 road games this year. They will receive breaks longer than 2 weeks in some parts of the season, but will also play three back-to-backs. They will open the season at home against Brandon Roy and the Portland Trailblazers.

November 2008:

11-7-08: Vs. Blazers
11-9-08: @ Kings
11-19-08: Vs. Thunder
11-23-09: @ Wizards

December 2008:

12-10-08: Vs. Nuggets
12-12-08: Vs. Heat
12-20-08: @ Rockets
12-22-08: Vs. Jazz
12-28-08: @ Lakers
12-29-08: @ Warriors

January 2009:

1-14-09: @ Sixers
1-16-09: Vs. Hornets
1-17-09: @ Timberwolves
1-19-09: Vs. Knicks
1-23-09: Vs. Bobcats
1-30-09: Vs. Suns

February 2009:

2-8-09: @ Cavaliers
2-9-09: Vs. Bucks
2-13-09: Vs. Clippers
2-20-09: Rookie Challenge
2-21-09: All-Star Saturday
2-22-09: NBA All-Star Game
2-24-09: @ Nets

March 2009

3-2-09: @ Spurs
3-4-09: @ Grizzlies
3-7-09: @ Mavericks
3-16-09: @ Celtics
3-23-09: Vs. Bulls
3-26-09: @ Hawks
3-30-09: @ Magic

April 2009

4-3-09: Vs. Pistons
4-11-09: Vs. Pacers

Playoffs begin Saturday, April 18, 2009.

[nba_baller]

Lol "million dollar fine" for Mark Cuban. Take that

[Alejandrov011]

The 1 million tongue

[Fresh8]

It's good because the sim engine doesn't like the Raptors much

Should keep you going, especially with your short seasons!

Good luck man! I will be following.

[Lamrock]

Bosh, Calderon Struggle As Blazers Defeat Raptors

November 7, 2008 | Blazers (0-0) @ Raptors (0-0)

Toronto, ON - At home facing the young Portland Trailblazers, there were high expectations for the Toronto Raptors. For the first half of the game, Canada's team did anything but meet them. Though they started to turn it around in the second half, they fell short, losing their season opener to the Portland Trailblazers 86-80.

Portland jumped to the lead early on. A 10-0 run put the Blazers up 18-8. The Raptors answers with ten straight of their own, but Portland outscored them 10-2 to finish the quarter up 8. Toronto's offense fell apart in the second quarter. Nobody could buy a shot, and Chris Bosh's presence was not felt. Toronto would score just 11 points in the second quarter, to Portland's 23. At the half, Portland led 51-31, with Travis Outlaw and Anthony Parker leading their teams in scoring with 12 and 9 respectively.

The Blazers came out of the second half expecting to easily put this one away. Shawn Marion had other plans. Scoring 14 of his 23 points in the third quarter, Marion helped carry the Raptors back into the game. Marion had got the lead down to 8, until Steve Blake hit a buzzer-beater 3 to end the quarter.



Portland continued to claw their way back into the game. Thanks to Brandon Roy's off game, and shots finally starting to go down, they almost pulled it off. With a minute to go, they were down by just three points: 80-77. Jason Kapono missed an unfortunate three pointer, and rookie Jerryd Bayless sunk one of his own on the other end to seal the deal, as the Raptors fouled their way out of the game. Jose Calderon would hit a meaningless three pointer to finish.

Superstars Chris Bosh and Brandon Roy had somewhat quiet games. Bosh had just 10 points on 5-15 shooting, while Roy had 16 points and 5 assists on 6-17 shooting. Jose Calderon had a relative clunker despite dishing 9 assists, scoring 7 points on 3-11 shooting. Portland will open the season with a victory, while Toronto begins with a loss.

POR 28 23 17 18 86
TOR 20 11 26 23 80

Player of the game: Jerryd Bayless (POR): 20 Points, 7 Assists, 3 Rebounds, 2 Steals, 7-13 FG

Noteworthy Performances:

Blazers:

LaMarcus Aldridge 14 Points. 10 Rebounds, 7-12 FG
Brandon Roy: 16 Points, 5 Assists, 3 Rebounds
Travis Outlaw: 17 Points, 4 Rebounds
Joel Pryzbilla: 8 Points, 13 Rebounds

Raptors:

Shawn Marion: 23 Points, 4 Rebounds, 3 Blocks, 10-16 FG
Chris Bosh: 10 Points, 11 Rebounds, 6 Assists
Anthony Parker: 16 Points, 2 Assists
Jose Calderon: 7 Points, 9 Assists
Jason Kapono: 14 Points

[Jing]

Meow. Go Lam nice start to association.

[magician]

bad first half,anyway nice to see a Raptors assoc.,good luck with this one

[Valor]

ouch, tough loss but good start (finally a start!), keep it up

[kibaxx7]

Question: Do you play in PS3/360, man? Because if you do, the pics look really good

[Lamrock]

Jing, Woot!

magician, Yeah, Portland destroyed me in that half. Thanks for following.

Valor, This one is for real! Hopefully I can recover against the Kings.

thierryhenry50, I play on 360. I'm using an HDTV now so the pics come out better.

Recap of the Kings game coming up next. Stay tuned!

[C-77]

wow Bosh sucked in tha game,I think you don't need a good luck against the kings

[IM2FLASHY_330]

ouch. tough loss. good luck against the Kings despite what c-77 says lol. ANYTHING can happen 2k9 lol... i got the kings in my home opener next...

[deihatein]

Hope this one last longer than any of those dynasties you attempted to make. Good luck with this. I will be following.

Lol at the Mark Cuban fine . Though lost hope you bounce back

[Abctest123]

Yay, a Raptors association. Too bad there's no Pops Mensah Bonsu on the roster. Are you struggling with Bosh and Calderon's release (ended up changing his release to "Snow")? I brick a lot of my jumpshots with those two, horrible form to be shooting with in 2K9 IMHO. Nice, will follow .

[Lamrock]

Raptors Pull Away In Third Quarter En Route To First Victory

November 9, 2008 | Raptors (0-1) @ Kings (1-1)

Sacramento, CA - Coming off a disappointing season opener, the Raptors didn't know what to expect coming into Sacramento. Fortunately, the Raptors played more like they did in the second half of their opener than they did in the first, as they defeated the Sacramento Kings 97-87 for their first win of the season.

Toronto got off to a quick start in the first quarter, but a pair of threes by Kevin Martin and Bobby Jackson, gave them a one point lead coming into the second period. The second period was more of the same, trading baskets. A fierce block by Chris Bosh kicked off a four minute scoring drought by both teams, before Beno Udrih, hit a last second jumper to finish the half up by 2.

The third quarter was Toronto's time to shine. Francisco Garcia hit a three on the first possession to put the Kings up by 5, but after that, they were shut down. With strong defensive pressure, the Raptors went on a 22-4 run to take a 13 point lead, which they would more or less hold on to for the rest of the game.



While Toronto put their bench on halfway through the fourth (as they had a 17 point lead), the Kings kept their starters on. Unfortunately, their comeback attempts were futile as the Raptors raced to a 97-87 victory. "One thing you gotta give the Kings credit for - they never gave up. They had Kevin [Martin] out there [until] the end. They just couldn't hit their shats," Raptors coach Sam Mitchell commented on the win.

Kevin Martin led all scorers with 24, while Andrea Bargnani led the winning team in scoring with 17. Perennial all-star and franchise player Chris Bosh had a modest line of 13 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists, but it was his defense that won the game for his team. The Raptors will improve to 1-1 with the victory, while the Kings fall to 1-2. Toronto will face the Thunder at home, before finishing out the month on the road in Washington.

TOR 23 20 26 28 97
SAC 24 21 11 31 87

Player of the game: Chris Bosh (TOR): 13 Points, 9 Rebounds, 4 Assists, 2 Blocks

Noteworthy Performances:

Raptors:

Andrea Bargnani: 17 Points, 3 Rebounds
Anthony Parker: 14 Points, 5 Rebounds, 5 Assists
Jose Calderon: 13 Points, 7 Assists, 3 Rebounds
Shawn Marion: 14 Points, 7 Rebounds

Kings:

Kevin Martin: 24 Points, 7 Rebounds
Francisco Garcia: 18 Points
Beno Udrih: 10 Points, 8 Assists
Andres Nocioni: 12 Points, 3 Rebounds
Spencer Hawes: 8 Points, 8 Rebounds

[Valor]

nice win, but wow...Bosh only had 13 and 9 and was the Player of the Game??

[Lamrock]

Raptors Monthly Check-In: November 2008

Toronto, ON - November was an up and down month for our Raptors. In the season opener, they almost came back from a 20 point halftime deficit, but fell to the Blazers 86-80. They then traveled to Sacramento, where they defeated the Kings 97-87, to bring them back up to the .500 mark. The Raptors then improved to a winning record, when they hosted the Oklahoma City Thunder, and served up a little home cooking in a 93-83 victory. The month concluded with a visit to Washington to face the Wizards. Despite a career night by sub Jason Kapono, the Raptors lost 116-105, giving them a 2-2 record to finish the NBA's first month. They are currently in a three way tie with the Knicks and Raptors for the eighth playoff seed.

Perennial all-star and franchise player Chris Bosh has struggled so far, averaging just 14 points and 7.8 rebounds. However, the other starters Shawn Marion, Jose Calderon, Andrea Bargnani and Anthony Parker have stepped it up. Additionally, Jason Kapono came off the bench to put up a career high 32 points on 11-15 shooting (8-10 from three point range) in a loss to the Wizards. Joey Graham has underperformed off the bench, averaging just five points a night, and is likely to be traded.

Blazers 86, Raptors 80 | Bayless: 20/3/7; Marion: 23/4/3
Raptors 97, Kings 87 | Bosh: 13/9/4; Martin: 24/7/3
Thunder 83, Raptors 93 | Marion: 20/9/0; Durant: 24/5/6
Raptors 105, Wizards 116 | Arenas: 27/1/15; Kapono: 32/3/3

Eastern Conference Standings:

Atlantic----------------------Central-------------------Southeast
BOS 3-2----------------------CLE 2-0--------------------MIA 4-1
PHI 3-2-----------------------IND 4-1--------------------ORL 4-3
NYK 2-2-----------------------MIL 5-2--------------------ATL 3-4
TOR 2-2-----------------------CHI 1-1--------------------CHA 3-5
NJN 1-3-----------------------DET 1-6-------------------WAS 2-6

Western Conference Standings:

Pacific---------------------Northwest-----------------Southwest
GSW 2-0-------------------OKC 3-2---------------------HOU 6-0
LAL 4-2---------------------DEN 3-3---------------------DAL 4-2
SAC 3-5---------------------POR 3-3---------------------SAS 1-1
PHX 1-2---------------------UTA 3-3---------------------NOK 2-3
LAC 1-3---------------------MIN 1-4----------------------MEM 2-4

Points Per Game:
1. James (CLE): 30.3
2. NowitZki (DAL): 30.1
3. Wade (MIA): 27.5
4. Durant (OKC): 25.2
5. Bryant (LAL): 25.0
41. Marion (TOR) 17.5

Rebounds Per Game:
1. Stoudemire (PHX): 11.3
2. Chandler (NOH): 11.2
3. Howard (ORL): 10.4
4. Kaman (LAC): 10.2
5. Jefferson (MIN): 10.1
17. Bosh (TOR): 7.8

Assists Per Game:
1. Williams (UTA): 11.4
2. Nash (PHX): 10.8
3. Paul (NOH): 9.6
4. Kidd (DAL): 9.2
5. Calderon (TOR): 8.3

Steals Per Game:
1. Calderon (TOR): 2.5
2. James (CLE): 2.5
3. Ginobili (SAS): 2.2
4. Brewer (UTA): 2.1
5. Rose (CHI): 2.0

Blocks Per Game:
1. Duncan (SAS): 3.4
2. Howard (ORL): 3.2
3. Chandler (NOH): 3.2
4. Yao (HOU): 2.8
5. Turiaf (GSW): 2.6
22. Marion (TOR): 1.8

Yes, its the November 2008 recap already. I'm going to do a few seasons with this, so I''ll try to do about a game month every week. Monthly recaps like this one will be kept rather simple, but trimesterly updates (December, February, April) will be more in-depth.

[kibaxx7]

Good man Rockets 6-0 wow.

[Lamrock]

Valor, My team lacks a dominant scorer. Until Bosh steps it up, you'll probably be seeing a lot pf pedestrian player of the game lines.

thierryhenry50, Thanks! The Rockets shouldn't let their guard down on that record of theirs. December 20th, the Raptors are coming to town.

[C-77]

I'm Guessing Marion will be an All-Star in your Association,good luck in the next game!

[Lamrock]

Maybe. I had forgotten he was on the team, and I has planned on trading him going into this, but he has been a pleasant surprise and my best player so far. 17.5 points and 6 rebounds aren't exactly all-star numbers though.