Denver Nuggets - The Next Level [Game 3 + 4]

[Axel The Great]

The player's profile I got Mr No Photo from was Andrew Gaze

I get the No Photos from Dwayne Collins, the 60th pick of the 2010 draft. I watched that draft and I remember Stuart Scott asking the others if there was any chance he'd be rookie of the year.

I hope this is a close series, it'd be good consolation for witnessing you beat the Rockets. It's good to know the Rockets have remained a competitive team all throughout the story though.

[Andrew]

Nice job cruising to victory and moving on to the WCF. I'll say 4-1 for this series, unless Rudy T happens to be around to inspire the Rockets in some way.

[kibaxx7]

You realise out of the 30 players in this series, only 4 of them actually have a photo on ESPN? That's 26 times I have to hit paste on that "no photo" photo

Yeah I know -- it was an unique touch.

[Houndy]

Missed a little, but Nuggets look to be crusing into playoffs... didn't the Rockets beat/scare you in a playoff series before?

[cavs4872]

Been following this without logging into my account and you're doing great. Love Perko, seems kinda like Boris Diaw but much more consistent and better... hope to do the current nuggets justice in my new association. Have you given thought to doing a myplayer with one of your generated players like perko once you finish this one up

[Warlock95]

I would like to make T-Mac and Perko myself, but in 2K11, have you got their stats and appearance guides?

[Kenny]

The player's profile I got Mr No Photo from was Andrew Gaze

I get the No Photos from Dwayne Collins, the 60th pick of the 2010 draft. I watched that draft and I remember Stuart Scott asking the others if there was any chance he'd be rookie of the year.

I hope this is a close series, it'd be good consolation for witnessing you beat the Rockets. It's good to know the Rockets have remained a competitive team all throughout the story though.

Dwayne Collins... I've never heard of him. Although, I probably wouldn't have heard of Andrew Gaze if I wasn't Australian

The Rockets are definitely a pain in the ass to play against. Armando Ferrer is one of the strongest players I've come up against in this dynasty.

Nice job cruising to victory and moving on to the WCF. I'll say 4-1 for this series, unless Rudy T happens to be around to inspire the Rockets in some way.

I think history would say that's a very brave prediction, but you've been on the money so far.

You realise out of the 30 players in this series, only 4 of them actually have a photo on ESPN? That's 26 times I have to hit paste on that "no photo" photo

Yeah I know -- it was an unique touch.

It's funny because I used to have to write down whether a player was generated... now I have to write if they're real

Missed a little, but Nuggets look to be crusing into playoffs... didn't the Rockets beat/scare you in a playoff series before?

I believe in the three times I've met them, they've forced me to 7 twice and once to 6. They had a 3-0 lead in the 10th season (I'm pretty sure it was the 10th).

Been following this without logging into my account and you're doing great. Love Perko, seems kinda like Boris Diaw but much more consistent and better... hope to do the current nuggets justice in my new association. Have you given thought to doing a myplayer with one of your generated players like perko once you finish this one up

That's cool, I was wondering what happened to you. It's nice to have you back.

If I had to choose a comparison for Perko, I think personally I'd say Andrei Kirilenko. AK47 is a versatile guy who does just about everything pretty well and Perko kind of takes that to another level. But hey, maybe Perko is also a skinny Boris Diaw

I find the My Player mode rather unrewarding and repetitive. On NBA 2k11, the jump from Pro to All-Star is massive too. I don't do too badly on All-Star, but I play on Pro because on All-Star the AI on your team is absolutely boneheaded. All the trades as well makes me feel uninspired about doing anything else in that mode. But I might explore the possibility of doing a Taylor MacKenzie real time My Player (that is, the 2k game that comes out the draft year he did). I was flirting with the possibility of a Ty Maximilian spinoff, but with university pending, I don't think I'll have time for that.

Anyway, good luck with you story

I would like to make T-Mac and Perko myself, but in 2K11, have you got their stats and appearance guides?

The NBA Live ratings don't particularly do them justice, but I could probably give you a ball park figure of their playing style. NBA Live 10 isn't very good at keeping stats from beyond the previous season.

T-Mac and Perko would be fun to do, if for nothing else, their looks are constantly changing

[Kenny]

NBA Playoffs 2022: Denver Nuggets Vs Houston Rockets

The First Four Games

Game 1: Rockets Stun Nuggets



The Houston Rockets erased an 8 point deficit at three quarter time to win 96-94 against the Nuggets. With the Nuggets leading for most of the game, the Rockets drew level with them with a minute left to go. Quentin Moller ended up hitting the game winning shot, as the last position for Denver ended up with a LeBron James turnover. Moller had 18 on the night.

Once again the Rockets were led by Armando Ferrer. He won the battle against Borislav Perko with 24 points and 13 assists to pick up the Performer of the Game. Betrand Hofmann almost had a 20-10 game himself with 21 points and 9 rebounds, while Carlos Ellis scored 10 points and had 5 dimes.

For the Nuggets, it was Cody Campbell who had the most points with 24. Even though Borislav Perko had an outstanding game himself (20 points, 10 rebounds, 12 assists), but couldn't restrict the impact of Armando Ferrer. LeBron James had another solid outing with 14 points and 7 assists, while Taylor MacKenzie (11) and Liam Leopold (10) both had minor contributions.

If this game is anything to go by, it'll be another extremely competitive series played by these two. Out of the previous three, two have gone to seven games with the other going to six.

-----------------------

HOU@DEN

HOU: 96 (Ferrer 24, Hofmann 21, Moller 18)
DEN: 94 (Campbell 24, Perko 20, James 14)

Sprite Performer of the Game: Armando Ferrer 24 points 13 rebounds 3 assists 1 block

Rebounds

HOU: Ferrer 13
DEN: Perko 10

Assists

HOU: Ellis, Watters 5
DEN: Perko 12

-----------------------

Game 2: Rockets Extend Series Lead



The Rockets continued their game one momentum and took the second in Denver by 90-79. Quentin Moller was the high point man of this one, with 23 points to go with 9 assists. Armando Ferrer had another outstanding performance, as he was the Rockets best with 18 points, 15 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 blocks. Betrand Hofmann (17) and Walt Watters (15) both contributed to their convincing victory as well.

Taylor MacKenzie was one of the defiant Nuggets in this loss, with 21, while Cody Campbell also picked up some offensive slack with 19. Dwight Howard was the sole double-double for Denver with 16 points and 10 rebounds, while LeBron scored 10.

The biggest story to come out of this game was Perko's stat-line... unfortunately for all the wrong reasons. Even though he had a team high 11 rebounds and 7 assists, he had only 2 points as he was dominated by Armando Ferrer.

Although the Rockets are up 2-0, they will have to be cautiously optimistic, as they've once squandered a 3-0 series lead against Denver.

-----------------------

HOU@DEN

HOU: 90 (Moller 23, Ferrer 18. Hofmann 17)
DEN: 79 (MacKenzie 21, Campbell 19, Howard 16)

Sprite Performer of the Game: Armando Ferrer 18 points 15 rebounds 3 assists 3 blocks

Rebounds

HOU: Ferrer 15
DEN: Perko 11

Assists

HOU: Moller 9
DEN: Perko 7

-----------------------

Game 3: Nuggets Hit Back In OT



After surrendering a 2-0 series lead, the Denver Nuggets posted a 105-97 win against the Rockets in overtime. Taylor MacKenzie finally broke out and had a great performance against the Rockets, as he put up 30 points. Cody Campbell continued his run of consistency with 21, while Borislav Perko got back into some form of his own. After he was troubled by Armando Ferrer in the previous game, he had 16 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists in this one. LeBron James scored 15 to be the last of the Nuggets double-digit scorers.

Quentin Moller proved to be the driving force behind the Rockets' offense, as he scored a game high 32. Walt Watters back him up well with 22, while Armando Ferrer (18 points, 13 rebounds) and Betrand Hofmann (12 points, 11 rebounds) both had double-doubles.

In overtime, the Nuggets continued on the momentum they had in the fourth. They were on the verge of being down 3-0, but thanks to a run late in the fourth sparked by Taylor MacKenzie and Cody Campbell, they were able to force this one past regulation.

-----------------------

DEN@HOU
(OT)
DEN: 105 (MacKenzie 30, Campbell 23, Perko 16)
HOU: 97 (Moller 32, Watters 22, Ferrer 18)

Sprite Performer of the Game: Borislav Perko 16 points 13 rebounds 11 assists 5 blocks 1 steal

Rebounds

DEN: Perko 13
HOU: Ferrer 13

Assists

DEN: Perko 11
HOU: Ellis, Ferrer 5

-----------------------

Game 4: Nuggets Smash Rockets In Second Half



The Denver Nuggets evened up the series with a 110-86 win in game 4. Taylor MacKenzie's radar was on once again, as he top scored with 29 points. Cody Campbell provided the main support once again with 19. Dwight Howard was 1 rebound away from a double-double with 18 points and 9 rebounds, while LeBron James won the Performer of the Game thanks to his double-double (12 points, 15 assists). Duncan Werner (12 points) and Borislav Perko (10 points, 14 rebounds) also both made meaningful contributions in the Nuggets blowout win.

Quentin Moller continued to spark the Rockets offense with 25 points. Betrand Hofmann (14 points) and Walt Watters (12 points) were the only real support for him, while Austin Nolan in his first game back from injury scored 10.

In game 2, Borislav Perko was shut down by Armando Ferrer and this time, the MVP returned the favour. Ferrer led his team in rebounding with 13, but had next-to-no impact on the offensive end, as he scored only 3 points. The Rockets were also comprehensively beaten in the second half to a score of 59-36.

With the series now even at 2-2, game 5 will go back to Denver.

-----------------------

DEN@HOU

DEN: 110 (MacKenzie 29, Campbell 19, Howard 18)
HOU: 86 (Moller 25, Hofmann 14, Watters 12)

Sprite Performer of the Game: LeBron James 12 points 15 assists 3 blocks 2 steals

Rebounds

DEN: Perko 14
HOU: Ferrer 12

Assists

DEN: James 15
HOU: Nolan 7

-----------------------

Looks like another Houston series that'll go to at least 6. The conclusion will be up sometime tomorrow.

[Lamrock]

I could see this one going to seven. Is the game noticeably easier, harder or the same on the road? In 2K, I know I lose way more road games than usual, but I think there might be some kind of effect.

If you lose, you have nobody to blame but LeBron.

[Warlock95]

The NBA Live ratings don't particularly do them justice, but I could probably give you a ball park figure of their playing style. NBA Live 10 isn't very good at keeping stats from beyond the previous season.

T-Mac and Perko would be fun to do, if for nothing else, their looks are constantly changing

To make things simpler, I'll just ask for their rookie season stats. If you don't have them, the current season stats would do.

[Andrew]

Shaky start to the series but looks like you've found your momentum. Hope you can finish them off in six.

[Axel The Great]

Exciting series so far, all I wanted to see from the Rockets. Odd series too kind of like that one that Houston and Dallas had a few years ago in which the road team took the first four games.

[Kenny]

I could see this one going to seven. Is the game noticeably easier, harder or the same on the road? In 2K, I know I lose way more road games than usual, but I think there might be some kind of effect.

If you lose, you have nobody to blame but LeBron.

To be honest, I find home and road games relatively arbitrary. I don't think there's a difference either way unless you actually set the away games at a higher difficulty (something which I was tempted to do). As for 2k, I just suck at it and tend to lose every game

It's a reason I signed him. I knew if I lost again, everyone will put it down to him choking

To make things simpler, I'll just ask for their rookie season stats. If you don't have them, the current season stats would do.

I could do that, but if you're talking about raw stats, they're unbelievably skewed in this game/dynasty. In a My Player setting, you only have a choice of player styles anyway. If I had to choose for Perko, it'd be either all-round or point forward... and for T-Mac, either 3 point specialist or whatever Manu Ginobili is

Shaky start to the series but looks like you've found your momentum. Hope you can finish them off in six.

I would agree with that logic, but it's been such a strange series at this point.

Exciting series so far, all I wanted to see from the Rockets. Odd series too kind of like that one that Houston and Dallas had a few years ago in which the road team took the first four games.

I wonder whether the Hornets would be such a pain in the ass or if it's just the Rockets who would give me trouble at this stage. Guess it'll be a what if.

And it's been very strange so far. It may turn out to be a home disadvantage

[Kenny]

NBA Playoffs 2022: Denver Nuggets Vs Houston Rockets

The Conclusion

Game 5: Rockets One Away From Finals



Despite being blown out in the previous game, the Houston Rockets continued the trend of road winners with an 87-77 win over the Nuggets. Armando Ferrer proved why he's such an important player in the Rockets lineup. After being silenced by Borislav Perko in the previous game, he came back with an 18 point, 15 rebound performance in Game 5. Carl Ellis had his best game of the series so far with 15 points and 7 assists, while Quentin Moller (13), Austin Nolan (12) and Betrand Hofmann (10) all played important roles in the victory.

Taylor MacKenzie provided the foundation to the Nuggets offense again with 25 points, but he didn't have the help he was previously getting by Cody Campbell. Instead, the Nuggets relied on LeBron James (13), Liam Leopold (12) and Dwight Howard (10 points, 9 rebounds) to provide the scoring support.

The Nuggets cruised to a 20-14 lead at the end of the first, but it ended up being the only quarter they won, as the Rockets took over in the second and third to put the game out of reach.

The Rockets will have a chance to win the series in Houston.

-------------------------

HOU@DEN

HOU: 87 (Ferrer 18, Ellis 15, Moller 13)
DEN: 77 (MacKenzie 25, James 13, Leopold 12)

Sprite Performer of the Game: Armando Ferrer 18 points 15 rebounds 2 assists 1 block

Rebounds

HOU: Ferrer 15
DEN: Howard 9

Assists

HOU: Ellis 7
DEN: Perko 9

-------------------------

Game 6: Sixth Game Blowout Forces Decider



The Rockets woes at home continued as the Nuggets won convincingly by 107-88 in game 6. With 32 points, Taylor MacKenzie had his highest point total of the series, but the real game changer was Dwight Howard. He scored 18 points, but provided the most impact by rebounding (14) and shot blocking (3) to win the Performer of the Game. Duncan Werner scored 16 in a great cameo off the bench, while LeBron James (12 points, 11 assists), Cody Campbell (11) and Borislav Perko (10) all had double-digit nights.

Quentin Moller kept things interesting early and ended up with 28 points and 8 assists to be the best of the Rockets. Austin Nolan was the second highest scorer with 13. Armando Ferrer's impact was limited, but still managed 12 points and 13 rebounds, while Betrand Hofmann was close to his own double-double with 10 points and 9 rebounds.

Much like Denver did in game 5, the Rockets shot out to an early lead, but the second half was disasterous for them. The Nuggets hit the lead midway through the third period and ran away with a 62-40 second half.

The decider will head to Denver, where the Nuggets will be hoping to break the cycle of road winners.

-------------------------

DEN@HOU

DEN: 107 (MacKenzie 32, Howard 18, Werner 16)
HOU: 88 (Moller 28, Nolan 13, Ferrer 12)

Sprite Performer of the Game: Dwight Howard 18 points 14 rebounds 4 assists 3 blocks

Rebounds

DEN: Howard 14
HOU: Ferrer 13

Assists

DEN: James 11
HOU: Moller 8

-------------------------

Game 7: LeBron, Nuggets Fail In Overtime



In possibly the most incredible game 7 you'd ever see, the Houston Rockets overcame the first seeded Denver Nuggets to make their way to their second consecutive NBA Finals. At the end of overtime, the two teams were only seperated by a point, with a score of 92-91.

LeBron James was named the Performer of the Game with 26 points, 9 rebounds, 11 assists, 3 blocks and 4 steals... but what read as an incredibly game statistically ended up summing up LeBron's playoff legacy. With the Nuggets ahead 91-90, LeBron was intentionally fouled. With the opportunity to put the Nuggets 3 ahead, he missed both his free throws. In the following play, the Rockets made their way down the court and before the Nuggets could set defensively, Carl Ellis hit the shot from midrange to put them up by 1. He had 17 on the night. With 9 seconds left, LeBron gave the ball to Dwight Howard, whose contested layup missed.

For the Rockets, Quentin Moller led the scoring once again with 24 points, to go with 7 assists. Armando Ferrer was impressive again, scoring 15 points and grabbing 11 rebounds, while Patrick Barnes made his most meaningful contribution of the series, scoring 12 off the bench.

As mentioned before, the Nuggets were led by LeBron James, but Taylor MacKenzie also had a good night with 23. Cody Campbell was relatively unimpressive, but still contributed 12. Dwight Howard (11 rebounds) and Duncan Werner both scored 10 each.


The Rockets will go onto the NBA Finals, where they will play the winner of the Sixers-Raptors series, currently locked at 3-all.

-------------------------

HOU@DEN
(OT)
HOU: 93 (Moller 24, Ellis 17, Ferrer 15)
DEN: 92 (James 26, MacKenzie 23, Campbell 12)

Sprite Performer of the Game: LeBron James 26 points 9 rebounds 11 assists 3 blocks 4 steals

Rebounds

HOU: Hofmann 12
DEN: Howard 11

Assists

HOU: Moller 7
DEN: James 11

-------------------------



Seems to sum up the situation pretty well

I think I'm definitely going to use this opportunity to sim most (if not all) of next season. I'm going to give Perko's and T-Mac's ratings a little boost so they don't completely disappear during the sim games. It's a good time to progress the story along a little faster I think and get some more younger talent on the team.

[Warlock95]

Ouch. Better luck next season, man.

[Axel The Great]

It's exciting to see the Rockets move on to the Finals again but a shame to see you lose. LeBron choked completely with those two free throws, but I think either him or T-Mac should have taken the final shot instead of Dwight. I'm gonna label this as the most atrocious WCF in history, due to the road team blowing out the home team on more than a couple of occasions and due to the fact that homecourt advantage played nothing in the outcome.

Hoping for a championship by the Rockets now.

[Lamrock]

Crazy series with all 7 games going to the road team. Shame the season ended like that. Hopefully the sim goes well and you don't go 38-44 or something.

[Martti.]

LeBron with huge numbers, but no result - reminds me his last game as a Cavalier. LeBron choked, but I see Perko disappeared in the final 3 games.

Sim is a good idea, also to increase the ratings a bit. I remember I had 30+ games with ease using Warrick back in Live 06, and in simmed games he had 2-4 points.

[qfrmcpt310]

WoW. I did not see that coming at all. Now we now, why he's forever known as LeBron Zero

[Mavs4Life]

Man I'm behind.... and I catch up to a sad ending. Sorry man, tough blow, better luck next year.

[kibaxx7]

I don't know if the sim will help you a lot, but I'm sure that you'll bounce back much stronger, man

[Kenny]

Ouch. Better luck next season, man.

Thanks, it was a hard way to go out, but in the same sense, it makes for an interesting story.

It's exciting to see the Rockets move on to the Finals again but a shame to see you lose. LeBron choked completely with those two free throws, but I think either him or T-Mac should have taken the final shot instead of Dwight. I'm gonna label this as the most atrocious WCF in history, due to the road team blowing out the home team on more than a couple of occasions and due to the fact that homecourt advantage played nothing in the outcome.

Hoping for a championship by the Rockets now.

With the series truly on the line, I thought I'd play the percentages instead of getting T-Mac a ridiculous shot. 9 times out of 10 it probably would have went in, but yeah... it came off a LeBron pass

It was one of the most bizarre series' ever.

Crazy series with all 7 games going to the road team. Shame the season ended like that. Hopefully the sim goes well and you don't go 38-44 or something.

At least I can say I went down with a fight. As for the simulated season, I'm not too worried about it at this point. If my team sucks, I'll get a good pick, if they make the playoffs, then that's cool as well. I kinda wouldn't mind having a period where the team doesn't win just to add a little more realism... although, I could probably achieve that with playing all my games as the previous two seasons have shown

LeBron with huge numbers, but no result - reminds me his last game as a Cavalier. LeBron choked, but I see Perko disappeared in the final 3 games.

Sim is a good idea, also to increase the ratings a bit. I remember I had 30+ games with ease using Warrick back in Live 06, and in simmed games he had 2-4 points.

You're right, Perko did disappear the last few games and I guess in the midst of LeBron's massive choke, I didn't really say much about that. LeBron had some great games in the season, but ultimately he'll be remembered for that one moment.

NBA Live 10 lets you easily edit the ratings of players... something I wish I had of known earlier when I had Ty. After playing the Suns, I gave George Power a bit of ratings boost as well, so hopefully he can breakout in 2022-2023.

WoW. I did not see that coming at all. Now we now, why he's forever known as LeBron Zero

That's his name and number... unless he decides to play on next season. Even still, it's hard to see a contender pick him up at this point.

Man I'm behind.... and I catch up to a sad ending. Sorry man, tough blow, better luck next year.

Thanks, season 14 is probably going to be simmed, so I'll need all the luck I can get

I don't know if the sim will help you a lot, but I'm sure that you'll bounce back much stronger, man

I've achieved most of the milestones I've wanted to, so one bad season won't hurt me at this point. Apart from those individual game milestones, the MIP award proves illusive as well.

[Kenny]

NBA Finals 2022: Philadelphia 76ers Vs Houston Rockets

Philadelphia: 4
Houston: 3

Finals MVP: Chuck O'Farrell 16.2ppg 3.5apg 1.4spg

-------------------

As much as I was hoping the Rockets would get there, I was glad to see a top seed win one again. That means the last two championships have gone to the Eastern Conference.

[Kenny]

Off-Season News

Who's Staying?

-Taylor MacKenzie signed on for another 4 years.
-Cody Campbell decided to re-sign for another 4 years.
-Dwight Howard will return for another season.

Who's Leaving?

-Duncan Werner will test his worth in free agency.
-LeBron James won't be back with the Nuggets, but he's looking to play on with a contender.
-JaVale McGee announced his retirement from the NBA.
-Ed Reed has apparently gotten a lot of interest from China.
-Jakov Branco's team option wasn't picked up and he's been waived.
-Jesus Carlos will enter free agency.

Draft Picks

-The Nuggets will get pick 24, 30, 43 and 45.
-Rumour has it they're looking to do a draft day deal involving their second rounders and Dennis Da Conceicao.

[Kenny]

With pick number 24, the Denver Nuggets choose:

Ollie Stearn
(North Korea)
Shooting Guard
Age: 27
6'8
218lbs

NBA Comparison: Brent Barry

Inside: D-
Outside: A-
Defense: C-
Teamwork: C-
Athleticism: B-

With pick number 30, the Denver Nuggets choose:

Kitt Graham
(Kansas)
Point Guard
Age: 23
6'1
191lbs

NBA Comparison: Stephon Marbury

Inside: D-
Outside: B
Defense: B
Teamwork: B
Athleticism: B

The Denver Nuggets send Dennis Da Conceicao, along with their two second round picks to Boston for Brook Lopez.

-----------------------

I made the trade for the "genius" idea of getting both the Lopez brothers on the same team, but after I did the trade, I tried to find Robin and he disappeared from the free agency. So now I'm stuck with the final year of Brook's contract, which is worth 15 million

Another good reason to sim the season