-|[ BALTIMORE CLAWS ]| -

[shadowgrin]

The greatness that is Joel Anthony, Redick, and AmMo might be worth taking a look.

Jones and Fazekas debate Faust

[J@3]

20.0 PPG | 5.8 RPG | 1.3 APG | 0.5 SPG | 1.1 BPG
GOOD: Gelabale's scoring has gone from patchy to prolific in a matter of months. In February it reached its peak, with him breaking his career high with 26 against Detroit then breaking it again against Denver with 31. He scores efficiently and uses his superior quickness and ball handling skills to blow past defenders and finish well at the hoop. This month in particular he finished off a significant number of three point plays, and has been much more of a presence shot blocking than ever before.

BAD: His rebounding is still an issue, grabbing 2 against Minnesota and only 5 against Denver. If he could consistantly pull down 8-10 rebounds he'd be a force in the division.


24.8 PPG | 4.5 RPG | 2.3 APG | 0.7 SPG | 0.3 BPG
GOOD: Despite the rise of Mickael Gelabale as a legit scoring threat, McCants has continued to keep his production up, seeing only a few slight dips, scoring under 20 in three games for the month. He exploded against Toronto with 55, tearing the perimeter defense to pieces and also pulled down 6 rebounds. His rebounding has been fantastic, averaging 4.5 for the month he came 1 board short of a double-double against Minnesota with 9 to go with his 17 points and 4 assists.

BAD: With the amount of penetration he gets, he should look to find open teammates more for baskets. Also his shooting percentages need to increase.


7.0 PPG | 3.2 RPG | 0.3 APG | 0.3 SPG | 0.2 BPG

GOOD: Only getting 12.5 minutes per game off the bench, White makes the most of his time with scoring and rebounding numbers that put some of his teammates to shame. His 7 points and 3.2 rebounds per game, when adjusted to per36 numbers are 20 PPG and 9.2 RPG, better rebounding numbers than anyone on the team outside of Stromile Swift and Dwayne Jones. He scores efficiently and in bunches, scoring less than 7 points only twice in the month despite never playing more than 13 minutes.

BAD: His defensive effort is somewhat lacking; with his athletisism he could be a real impact player on the weakside. This is keeping him on the bench.




9.0 PPG | 5.0 RPG | 2.2 APG | 1.0 SPG | 0.7 BPG

BAD: Gabe Pruitt is the starting point guard, keep this in mind. He couldn't manage more than 4 assists in a single game throughout the month, and topped it off against Philadelphia by finishing with 0 assists. He had 1 against Toronto despite his backcourt teammate scoring 55 points. His scoring has also been sporadic, mixing in 17 and 12 point games with a 2 point effort against Denver and 7 against Minnesota.

GOOD: His rebounding is exceptional for a point guard. He pulled down 8 rebounds against both Toronto and Denver.


5.0 PPG | 9.3 RPG | 1.0 APG | 0.8 SPG | 2.2 BPG

BAD: Both his rebounding and block numbers dropped in February, mostly due to the fact that he grabbed single digits in rebounds in half of the months games including a 4 rebound effort against Toronto. To compare, Gabe Pruitt grabbed 8 in the same game. His shot blocking, while still effective, has also dipped, he was at one point averaging close to four blocks per game. Whether this is a sign that he is lacking intensity and getting tired, or he just isn't as good as his early season form indicated remains to be seen.

GOOD: He's scoring more and finished with 12 points against Philadelphia and 8 against Detroit. He also grabbed 14 rebounds against Minnesota and another 13 against the Pistons.


2.7 PPG | 3.3 RPG | 0.7 APG | 0.2 SPG | 1.0 BPG

BAD: Not so much here for lack of production, but mostly for inconsistancy. Possibly the most frustrating player on the team, Swift can come out and have a 4 point, 3 rebound and 2 block effort in just 11 minutes against Denver, then follow it up with 2 points and 2 rebounds against Philadelphia or 2 points and 1 board against Minnesota. He struggles to score and his rebounding is sporadic at best.

GOOD: Despite being as consistant as the rest of his game, Swift's shot blocking has been impressive given his minutes. He blocked 2 shots in 3 of his 6 games for February.

Note: Stats are for the month of February, not the whole season.

[Martti.]

I think Gelabale's ~6 rpg is good. He is only 6'7 and used to playing the SF. But as he is a PF in your rotation, then yeah, 2 and 5 are bad.

[hova-]

McCants is going crazy out there. And Marttis right, Gelabale has never been a PF, at least I cant remember him being one. He's not very tall and definitely too skinny to play down low.
For the FAs, I really like Sergio Rodriguez, a flashy playmaker. Other than that guys I like are George Hill, Wesley Matthews and Joel Anthony. Mahinmi is gifted, don't know him too much though.

[dare]

Who would have thought that Gelabale can score 20 PPG

[megarover]

McCants and Gelkable are putting in work! I think picking up Hill maybe Redick might be good.

[Rip32]

It's good to see you sometimes compete with that D-League team

Is James White still terrible at ball handling? I remember I tried using him in a fantasy draft once and he was just turrible at dribbling.

[J@3]

You guys are all Gelabale sympathizers, he needs to rebound more!!

I think picking up Hill maybe Redick might be good.

Yeah I could really use Redick's shooting. He's only rated like 56 in the game for some reason.

Is James White still terrible at ball handling? I remember I tried using him in a fantasy draft once and he was just turrible at dribbling.

Nah he's not too bad really. He's a bit slow but for some reason guys always bite on his pump fakes (despite not being able to shoot) and he gets past people pretty well.

[Fresh8]

Hope you bring in Jawai next season.

[kibaxx7]

20 and 6 for Gelabale, that's huge.

[Mark.]

Yeah great numbers for Gelable, I like the whole SF playing the PF spot. Go for Redick, its a no-brainer

[J@3]

March 3rd
Baltimore Claws 103 (5-19) vs Miami Heat 104 (11-12)


Wade, Chalmers give Heat vital overtime win in Baltimore
Rashad McCants missed a mid-range jumper with two seconds left in the game as Miami held out the Baltimore Claws 104-103 in an overtime win. The Heat started the game off well, leading by 11 mid-way through the 2nd quarter thanks to some strong play from Mario Chalmers (16 points, 8 assist) but the Claws fought their way back through Rashad McCants (23 points) and Mickael Gelabale (16 points, 10 rebounds) to lead by 4 at the half. Dwyane Wade (34 points, 7 rebounds, 8 assists) lead Miami back into the game in the third but some poor coaching from the Heat saw their defecit blow out to 7 as they ran a small-ball line-up which subsequentially saw them being dominated on the boards. A Mario Chalmers three point play with 10 seconds in the game gave Miami a 95-93 lead, but Maurice Ager took advantage of some weak defense to score a buzzer beating lay-up and send the game into overtime. Miami got out to a quick start and McCants did his best to shoot Baltimore out of the game, but Wade and Chalmers came up big when it mattered, giving their team a 4 point lead. Salim Stoudamire hit a three to bring it back to one, Mickael Gelabale stole the subsequent inbound pass but McCants was unable to convert and continued his poor shooting night, finishing 11/28 from the field.



March 8th
Baltimore Claws 78 (5-20) vs San Antonio Spurs 114 (14-9)


Spurs school Claws on the road
The Spurs put on a basketballing clinic away against a completely outmatched Baltimore side. Richard Jefferson started the game shooting 8/8 from the field on his way to 25 points in just 20 minutes as the Spurs got out to an easy 28 point lead. Even the Spurs bench got in on the action, Roger Mason lighting the Claws up from outside with 19 points and Michael Finley scoring 13 in just 15 minutes. With such an early lead the San Antonio reserves saw big minutes but the starters laid the early platform. Manu Ginobili matched Richard Jefferson shot for shot early, going 6/6 on his way to 19 points until he finally missed and Tim Duncan pulled down 13 rebounds in only 19 minutes. Baltimore struggled from top to bottom, Mickael Gelabale leading the team in scoring with 14 points, Salim Stoudamire chipping in 13 in 14 minutes and Rashad McCants having a horrific shooting night, 5/17 from the field as he scored 10 below his average with 11. The Spurs bench finished off the route in the fourth, their team winning 114-78.



March 12th
Baltimore Claws 93 (6-20) @ New Orleans Hornets 87 (13-11)


Claws bounce back against sub-standard Hornets
Rashad McCants 11 points in the last two minutes of play against New Orleans have propelled the Claws to their 6th win of the season. McCants finished with 16 but came up huge in the fourt, with Baltimore down by 1 point he reeled off six straight points, matched Delonte Wests three and finished the game with a dunk to give the Claws a 93-87 win. The game had been close throughout, neither team able to really break away from the other. Chris Paul struggled early with his shot but Darren Collison stepped in and made up for it, finishing with 16 points and 7 assists. Gabe Pruitt had his best game as a Claw; not only scoring 17 points on 7/9 shooting but holding Paul to 13 on 5/17 from the floor. Salim Stoudamire scored 11 points off the bench and James White chipped in with 12 but the real story was the defensive effort from Stromile Swift and Rich Payton, combining for 13 rebounds and 4 blocks in just 15 16 minutes off the bench.



March 16th
Baltimore Claws 76 (6-21) vs Chicago Bulls 83 (8-14)


Bulls, Rose, leave it late to break away from Claws
The Chicago Bulls have turned a 3 point deficet with three minutes left in the fourth quarter into a 83-76 win against Baltimore on the road. Baltimore got out to a fast start thanks to Rashad McCants scoring all of their first 7 points, but it was a disaster from then on, finishing the quarter shooting 3/22 from the field. McCants and Gelabale helped bring the team back into the game, tying the score at 34 at half time with Gelabale scoring 11 in the second quarter. Derrick Rose and John Salmons were the biggest thorns in the Claws side throughout the third, Rose in particular taking over on his way to 18 points but it wasn't enough heading into the fourth as they still trailed by 2. Salmons cut the lead to one late in the quarter, and a Luol Deng basket took it out to three. From then on it was the Rose show as he scored 8 points in the last two minutes to round off the win. Mickael Gelabale was a standout for Baltimore, despite their late game choke-show he finished with 29 points and 8 rebounds. Rashad McCants finished with 20 for the home team while Salim Stoudamire went an incredible 1-15 from the floor off the bench.



March 30th
Baltimore Claws 90 (7-21) vs Los Angeles Clippers 57 (14-12)


Ruthless Claws obliterate Clippers at home
Coming off a nailbiting loss against Chicago, Baltimore felt they had a point to prove against the surprisingly improved Clippers and they did it, shooting them down defensively and running rampant on their way to a 37 point win. Mickael Gelabale was the key destroyer for Baltimore, scoring 37 points and grabbing 11 rebounds, 15 of his points in the first 8 minutes of the game. The Claws ran out to a 30-13 lead at half time and it got no better from there for the Clippers, never able to eat into the lead at all despite Chris Kaman's solid 14 points and 11 rebounds. Baron Davis shot them out of the game going 8/26 from the floor as they shot 27% from the field as a team, including 0/11 from three. Dwayne Jones came out of his slump to grab 13 rebounds and block 5 shots, while Rashad McCants happily played second fiddle to Gelabale with 18 points.



FINAL GAME OF THE SEASON: NLSC STARTING 5

April 20th
Baltimore Claws 79 (7-22) @ Boston Celtics 101 (20-9)


Celtics overrun NLSC selected Claws
After a massive win against the Clippers and a new-look starting five, Baltimore ran out to a great start against Boston, going up 12-0 in the first quarter thanks to some inspired play from Rashad McCants. The Celtics clicked into gear however and ran the score down, finishing the quarter even at 24 a piece. Kevin Garnett was dominating all over the court, his 18 points, 10 rebounds and 4 blocks mostly coming in the 2nd and 3rd quarter where they started taking a lead. Baltimore couldn't buy a shot and with Ray Allen's offensive effort (23 points) and defensive work (7 steals) the game was already out of reach heading into the fourth. Boston went on a 15-2 scoring run to start the quarter with Rajon Rondo putting up 14 points and 12 assists while Rasheed Wallace lead all players with 12 boards. For the Claws Rashad McCants finished with a quiet 19 points, Salim Stoudamire chipped in with 12 and NLSC love-child James White in his first start had 12 points.



With the regular season coming to a close, the Claws clearly did not make the play-offs. The positives however do outweigh the negatives, as the team went from getting blown out by 30 in every game to suddenly being competitive and finishing with 7 wins, above what most people had predicted.

Coming Up...

Hot/Cold monthly recap
Around the League wrap-up
End of season NBA awards
End of season Baltimore Claws awards
Play-off coverage
Draft strategy
Off-Season coverage

[JaoSming]

way to pull a decent season out

Can't wait to see what you do with the upcoming draft

[Mark.]

Sweet season dude. GELABALE 4 MVP!!!

Hot cold thing looks good by the way What an idea!

[Fresh8]

James White has gotta start from now on.

[Lamrock]

You outperformed my expectations. Nice work. More excellent captions, and a 20-62 record pro-rata. Much better than the Nets.

[The X]

Good to see my preseason prediction of 5-9 games (or whatever it was) came to fruition

Shame most NLSC-ers were nuggets & voted for a boring starting lineup. Would've been better to see Rich Payton starting alongside Ager, Fazekas, Voskuhl & Singletary

[J@3]

Can't wait to see what you do with the upcoming draft

Me too. I came home on Saturday 3/4 wasted and wrote most of the recaps just because I want to get on with the off-season already

What an idea!

I'd never even thought of it before you mentioned it, I am liking it.

James White has gotta start from now on.

He was a bit shaky, need some more games with him in the line-up to work him into it properly

Much better than the Nets.

That's frightening isn't it.

vShame most NLSC-ers were nuggets & voted for a boring starting lineup. Would've been better to see Rich Payton starting alongside Ager, Fazekas, Voskuhl & Singletary

I was kinda hoping for something like that too I think I voted Payton/Swift/White/Ager/Stoudamire... but there'll be some interesting line-ups in the pre-season.

[|)e8*]

Nice end to the season,you overachieved :p

[J@3]

GELABALE 4 MVP!!

That reminds me, against the Clippers he was at the FT line in the 4th and the crowd was chanting "MVP"

[JaoSming]

god....

[Martti.]

Wow, Gelabale the league MVP for a 7-22 team. That would be awesome. White's a beast.

[kibaxx7]

Great end to the season. Can't wait for the offseason news!

[The X]

GELABALE 4 MVP!!

That reminds me, against the Clippers he was at the FT line in the 4th and the crowd was chanting "MVP"

McCants wouldn't have been happy

[Rip32]

You've successfully infected the 2k forum with Gelabale fever!

hahah great end of the season though, you totally shit on the Clippers.