Fire & Ice: Speed Y4 1-1

[Oznogrd]

Speed Outlast Rockets on their Home Turf in OT
St. Louis 102 - Houston 93

With 3.9 seconds left the Toyota Center of Houston was shaking from the noise the crowd was making. Despite a horrid first quarter in which they only scored 17 pts and allowed the Speed to score 30, they had clawed their way back to a 2 point lead. 88-86 after a sunk Marcus Camby layup and Speed's coach Raoul Duke quickly called timeout. Yelling over the crowd Coach Duke explained to his players that they were better than this and that they knew what they had to do. There was no clipboard, no discussion. Just a look to all his players. As Carlos Boozer went to inbound the ball, a slight head nod from Ricky Rubio apparently signaled the play to be run. The Rockets had blocked 15 shots this game and the Speed weren't about to risk the game ending that way. Quickly before the 5 second call, Rubio shook off Derek Fisher behind a screen from Kevin Love and went to low corner around the three point line. Boozer quickly fed him the ball and Rubio quickly shot before any Rockets players could adjust. Swish. The Speed All Star point guard raised his hands, thinking he had sunk the game winner from the corner when the referee held up only 2 fingers on the shot.

The game was going to overtime.

This eventually proved to be the Rockets undoing while the Speed's relatively young corps had plenty of energy left for the extra minutes while McGrady, Fisher, and Yao all looked gassed during the overtime period. A few turnovers and a few buckets later the Speed came out on top outscoring the Rockets 14-5 in the extra minutes.

Rubio simply smirked in the post game conference when asked about his shot to send the game to extra minutes that the Speed sorely needed. "Well, I wanted to make sure i didnt step on the line out of bounds. We've had problems with that before. So I may have been a little too far in. But I sunk it and we came through in OT. Thats really all that matters."

Another notable event of this game was after being called out last game: the Speed's starting guards and small forward who have had offensive struggles recently all made double digits.

"They were giving us the break and our shots were falling. Its easy when you're that open" said Trevor Ariza who shot 6-8 with a 1 3 thrown in for good measure.

Player of the Game
Ricky Rubio
24 pts 2 reb 22 ast 1 stl 1 blk
Ricky made the shot to send the game to OT, a couple of key threes, 8 FTs, and dished 22 buckets. If thats not a PotG performance...nothing is

Notable Speed Performances
Carlos Boozer 25 pts 5 reb 1 ast 3 stl
Kevin Love 17 pts 4 reb 1 ast 2 stl
Trevor Ariza 13 pts 3 reb 1 ast 3 stl 1 blk
Rashad McCants 13 pts 2 reb 4 ast 2 stl 1 blk

Notable Rockets Performances
Tracy McGrady 20 pts 1 reb 7 ast 2 stl
Shane Battier 18 pts 2 ast 2 blk
Andrei Kirilenko 15 pts 2 reb 1 ast 1 stl 4 blk
Yao Ming 14 pts 7 reb 2 stl 3 blk
Derek Fisher 12 pts 10 ast 3 stl


Screenshots or it didn't happen Images of the Game

Surge makes his one shot of the game that doesnt get blocked. And Yao gives him a purple nurple.

Up Next: The Speed have clinched their playoff berth but will they have to continue their bid for #1 and homecourt in the playoffs against the Pacers? Stay Tuned.

[Oznogrd]

Speed Clinch League's Best Record/Division/Homecourt Advantage

No one can catch the Speeds record as the Bulls fell to the Celtics Wednesday night. Even if they manage to lose their remaining 4 games, the Speed will still be tied for the record in the NBA. This gives them homecourt advantage in the playoffs and an ego boost as they head into this week's game against the Pacers, next week against the Spurs and Hawks, and their final game against the lowly Knicks.

Having been 3rd worst in the league only 2 seasons ago the Speed have surged to the forefront of the NBA with the developing of All Star Ricky Rubio and the continued stellar play of Carlos Boozer and Kevin Love. Rubio who won rookie of the year during that terrible season has become the frontrunner for mvp behind his stellar assists numbers and his discovery of scoring this year: averaging double digits for the first time in his career.

[shadowgrin]

Nice screenshot of that dunk, it's one of my favorite animations in 2K9.

[megarover]

Nice Job clinching home court. Wouldn't be a ***** if you lost in OT

[Oznogrd]

Speed come back in Fourth and win behind Ariza's 3
St. Louis 100 - Indiana 97

The Speed needed late game heroics again. The St. Louis crowd immideately started cheering MVP for their stars Ricky Rubio, Carlos Boozer, and Kevin Love each time they touched the ball as the comeback in the fourth started. As Indiana tied the game at 97 with 4 seconds left the St. Louis crowd was silent. Was the comeback not going to be enough? As Carlos Boozer inbounded to the only open man the St. Louis crowd emulated L.A screaming NO! as the ball went to Trevor Ariza.

With the clock ticking Ariza took the open jumper from slightly outside the 3 point line. As the buzzer sounded, the shot rattled home and through the net giving the Speed another win in their best season to date. The crowd quickly retracted their statement

"I took it quick, i wasnt sure if it was going in. But it did. Sometimes its better lucky than good" said Ariza after the game "It was hard fought and im just glad we came out on top"

Player of the Game
Carlos Boozer
41 pts 9 reb 3 ast 2 stl 1 blk
Another strong game out of Boozer. Nothing else can be said that hasnt been said already

Notable Speed Performances
Kevin Love 15 pts 9 reb
Trevor Ariza 11 pts 6 reb 4 ast GW 3pt
Stromile Swift 10 pts 1 stl
Rashad McCants 10 pts 3 reb 8 ast 1 stl
Ricky Rubio 8 pts 1 reb 14 ast

Notable Pacers Performances
Danny Granger 29 pts 1 reb 2 ast 2 blk
Kyle Weaver 16 pts 7 ast 1 stl
Spencer Hope 15 pts 1 reb 16 ast
Troy Murphy 13 pts 7 reb 2 ast 1 stl 1 blk
Roy Hibbert 12 pts 8 reb 3 blk

Screenshots or It Didn't Happen Images of the Game
Oops...forgot guys...sorry


Up Next: Can the Speed keep up momentum against the Spurs?

[dare]

Boozer always had a good game, nice close win man.

[Justine.]

Another 40+ game with Boozer.

[megarover]

The Cluthest team in the NBA. The St. Louis Speeds

[Oznogrd]

And i get ahead of myself once again so here comes quick recaps. Doing full recap for final game of the season against the Knicks then player evals/season wrap up then playoffs

Speed comeback in 4th for another Win
St. Louis 89 - San Antonio 83

Player of the Game
Carlos Boozer 27 pts 9 reb 2 ast 1 blk

Notable Speed Performances
Kevin Love 23 pts 5 reb 1 ast 1 stl
Rashad McCants 15 pts 3 reb 3 ast 2 stl
Ricky Rubio 10 pts 1 reb 15 ast 2 stl

Notable Spurs Performances
Tim Duncan 20 pts 9 reb 4 ast 2 stl 2 blk
Tony Parker 15 pts 4 reb 6 ast 2 stl
Jamario Moon 14 pts 1 reb 1 ast 1 blk
Manu Ginobili 11 ptts 2 reb 5 ast


Speed complete lack of offense leads to Defeat
St. Louis 68 - Atlanta 84

Player of the Game
Josh Smith
20 pts 7 reb 2ast 1 stl 7 blk

Notable Speed Performances
Kevin Love 19 pts 3 reb 4 blk
Carlos Boozer 15 pts 6 reb 3 ast 2 stl 1 blk
Stromile Swift 13 pts 3 reb 1 ast 2 blk
Ricky Rubio 4 pts 2 reb 16 ast 1 stl 1 blk

Notable Hawks Performances
Jeff Teague 21 pts 7 ast 1 stl
Al Horfor 15 pts 11 reb 2 ast 8 blks
Joe Johnson 10 pts 4 reb 7 ast 2 stl

Edit: was there a pool or something to see how long it took me to see i had Speed y3 twice in the subject line?

[Oznogrd]

Speed Win Final Game of Season against Lowly New York Knicks
St. Louis 92 - New York 78

The St. Louis Arena was rocking for the final home game of the season. Why you may ask? The Speed fans finally have something to cheer about. Despite the outcome of the game, they have 3 possible MVP candidates and a number 1 seed to take into the playoffs. The team decided to use the positive energy from the crowd to whomp on the Knicks handily pulling out another win in the team's most successful season to date.

There really wasnt a huge difference on the stat sheet other than overall shooting percentage. The game simply came down to the Speed hitting more shots and turning it over 2 less times. Not a ton to say about this game and the team declined interviews in order to hop a plane to an undisclosed location that was either the hometowns of Carlos Boozer, Ricky Rubio, or Kevin Love who knew they were all nominated for MVP.

Player of the Game
Carlos Boozer
34 Pts 9 reb 3 ast 2 stl
Once again Boozer flat out scores and adds some boards to boot. Will it be enough to get an MVP Nod?

Notable Speed Performances
Chris Mihm 14 pts
Ricky Rubio 13 pts 2 reb 22 ast 1 stl 2 blk
Stromile Swift 11 pts 2 reb 1 ast
Kevin Love 10 pts 5 ast 1 stl 4 blk
Rashad Mccants 8 pts 5 ast 1 stl 1 blk

Notable Knicks Performances
David West19 pts 5 reb 1 ast 1 blk
Danilo Gallinari 17 pts 2 reb 1 stl
Tudor Eminescu 12 pts 4 reb 1 ast 1 stl 2 blk
Ricky Rubio (clone cuz im dumb and forgot to delete the FAs when i started) 9 pts 2 reb 10 ast 1 stl 1 blk

Screenshots or It Didn't Happen Images of the Game

Boozer Sez- NOM NOM NOM



The ref sets a pick for Gallinari: who knew East coast bias applied in St. Louis?


Up Next: Season Awards and playoff time. Will Ricky or Carlos get MVP? Will the Speed be able to escape the first round against division rivals Philadelphia 76ers? Will they hold true to their number 1 seed and win it all? Stay tuned!

[Oznogrd]

Season Standings

Eastern Conference
1. St. Louis Speed 23-6
2. Chicago Bulls 19-10
3. Miami Heat 18-11
4. Toronto Raptors 18-11
5. Orlando Magic 15-14
6. Boston Celtics 15-14
7. Indiana Pacers 14-15
8. Philadelphia 76ers 14-15
9. Atlanta hawks 13-16
10. Cleveland Cavaliers 13-16
11. Washington Wizards 12-17
12. Charlotte Bobcats 12-17
13. Milwaukee Bucks 11-18
14. Detroit Pistons 10-19
15. New York Knicks 10- 19

Western Conference
1. Oklahoma City Thunder 19-10
2. Los Angeles Lakers 18-11
3. Houston Rockets 17-12
4. Phoenix Suns 16-13
5. San Antonio Spurs 16-13
6.Portland Trailblazers 15-14
7. Memphis Grizzlies 15-14
8. Minnesota Timberwolves 15-14
9. Golden State Warriors 14-15
10. Denver Nuggets 14-15
11. Dallas Mavericks 13-16
12. Utah Jazz 13-16
13. Sacramento Kings 12-17
14. Los Angeles Clippers 11-18
15. New Orleans Hornets 10-19

[Oznogrd]

Ricky Rubio wins MVP highlight of Awards Season for the Speed

As the season awards were given out before the playoffs started, in only his third year in the league the St. Louis Speed's spanish PG was handed the MVP award. Despite splitting votes with teammates Carlos Boozer and Kevin Love, Rubio cemented his stance as the most important player on his team in the final game of the season posting 22 assists and 13 points in a win over the Knicks.

Rubio paid to fly his entire team, Coach Duke and Dr. Gonzo to his hometown in El Masnou, Spain where he made a speech in full Spanish and then made the same speech in English.

"I've said it before and I'll say it again: I'm only as good as the guys around me. Carlos and Kevin put the majority of the buckets in. Surge and Chris have their nights. Rashad, Russ, Mo, Arron, and Trevor make it so if I get tired i dont HAVE to handle everything. Luke plays his role. And Dennis, your Granny shot FTS will never fail to crack me up. Get your asses up here and touch this thing."

After Rubio was given his MVP trophy Coach Raoul Duke and Executive Dr. Gonzo were given their season awards as Coach of the Year and Executive of the Year respectively.

Full listing of the Season Awards can be found below with stats for individual honorees

Season Awards

MVP
Ricky Rubio
12.9 PPG 1.4 RPG 18.1 APG 1.4 spg .6 BPG 2.6 TOPG

Rookie of the Year
Al Mullin
8 PPg 5.2 RPG 2.8 APG .9 SPG

Sixth Man
TJ Ford
8.1 PPG 2.6 rpg 3.3 apg 1.3 spg

Defensive Player of the Year
Dwight Howard
18.7 PPG 8.9 RPG 1.7 APG 1.7 SPG 2.2 BPG

Most Improved Player
Danilo Gallinari
11.7 PPG 3.0 RPG 1.9 APG .8 SPG

All NBA First Team
PG Ricky Rubio
SG Dwyane Wade
SF Lebron James
PF Carlos Boozer
C Dwight Howard

All NBA Second Team
PG Chris Paul
SG Brandon Roy
SF Danny Granger
PF Amare Stoudemire
C Al Jefferson

All NBA Third Team
PG Derrick Rose
SG Andre Iguodala
SF Carmelo Anthony
PF Chris Bosh
C Yao Ming

All Defensive First Team
PG Derrick Rose
SG Dwyane Wade
SF Kevin Durant
PF Amare Stoudemire
C Dwight Howard

All Defense Second Team
PG Russel Westbrook
SG Andre Iguodala
SF Danny Granger
PF Tim Duncan
C Andrew Bogut

All Rookie First team
Casey Shaw
Deon Cross
Al Mullin
Al Wilkins
Tudor Eminescu

All Rookie Second Team
Spencer Hope
Otis Flory
Stuart Schultz
Kelvin Burks
Chester Cassell

Coach of the Year
Raoul Duke
St. Louis Speed
23-6

Executive of the Year
Dr. Gonzo
St. Louis Speed
23-6

[dare]

Most Overrated MVP- Rubio

[shadowgrin]

Derrick Rose Defensive First team? Ridiculous.

[Justine.]

Weird the ROTY isn't averaging double digits in points.

[Oznogrd]

Weird the ROTY isn't averaging double digits in points.

Ive got sim length to only be 10 minutes so that could have something to do with it.

and dare, how is Rubio overrated in this league?

Game 1 of the playoffs is done: will post a recap a little later tonight.

[kibaxx7]

Can't wait for the playoffs. As shadow said, weird to see Rose in the Defense Team..

[Martti.]

Amar'e, Rose and Durant - all guys with great potential to be good defenders, but none of them are.

[dare]

Weird the ROTY isn't averaging double digits in points.

Ive got sim length to only be 10 minutes so that could have something to do with it.

and dare, how is Rubio overrated in this league?

Game 1 of the playoffs is done: will post a recap a little later tonight.

There should co MVP, your team is only Boozer-Rubio

[Oznogrd]

Haywood Unlikely Hero for Speed in Game 1
St. Louis 96 - Philadelphia 95

Recently crowned MVP Ricky Rubio could be heard swearing in Spanish all the way to the upper deck of the arena as he got his 2nd foul in the first quarter. More swears flew in the second as he picked up his third. The pattern continued in the third quarter as he picked up his fourth foul and angrily went back to riding the pine. When 2 touch fouls were called on him in the fourth at the 4 minutes left in the game mark (fouling out the Speed's main outside threat), a feeling of dread swept over the stadium. Who was going to step up big enough to fill the league MVPs running of the vaunted Speed offense?

Through a rotation of Rashad McCants, Russ Haywood, Morris Peterson, and Arron Afflalo, the Speed kept their man playing PG fresh as Rubio sat on the bench with fouls. Despite a lack of a stellar performance out of any one player, the Speed managed to stay in the game after several runs by the 76ers in the 2nd half. Going into the final minute of the fourth the game was tied. A few missed shots later Russ Haywood had less than 24 seconds on the clock and a fastbreak. As the rookie scorched towards the basket, he was fouled hard by Louis Williams. A collective groan came from the St. Louis Crowd as the untested rookie went to the line.

"He very rarely shoots in game, much less high pressure FTs" said team scoring leader Carlos Boozer "We told him before he got to the line to treat it like it was practice and not listen to the crowd or the other guys."

Boozer's advice seemed not to hit home as Haywood absolutely bricked the 1st layup.

"That was horrible man, I wasnt going to be the guy to lose this game for us. That was the scariest moment of my career" said Haywood about the time between the brick and his 2nd FT.

However, he took a visible deep breath, looked up to the rim and let the 2nd FT fly, having adjusted enough for a swish and 1 point lead for the Speed.

The 76ers immediately called a timeout and even managed to inbound the ball to their PG the Speed had struggled against all game Louis Williams. For some reason, even with all his teammates and coaches yelling to shoot and Haywood going for a steal and missing leaving him wide open, Williams held on to the ball for 6 seconds as the clock ticked to 0 and the Speed won.

"I read the scoreboard wrong, I thought we were up 1. I was expecting Haywood to foul" said an embarassed Williams after the game. "Hopefully I can redeem myself back home when we win game 2"

Player of the Game
Carlos Boozer
33 pts 5 reb 1 ast 1 stl 1 blk
Boozer once again led the offense for the Speed, especially need with Rubio in foul trouble for most of the game.

Notable Speed Performances
Kevin Love 20 pts 2 reb 1 ast 2 stl 4 blk
Stromile Swift 14 pts 2 blk
Rashad McCants 14 pts 2 reb 8 ast 2 stl
Ricky Rubio 4 pts 2 reb 14 ast 1 stl Fouled Out with 4 minutes left in the 4th
Russ Haywood 3 pts 5 ast hit GW FT


Notable 76ers Performances
Louis Williams 24 pts 1 reb 7 ast
Andre Iguodala 20 pts 1 reb 5 ast
Thaddeus Young 15 pts 2 reb 1 ast 2 stl 1 blk
Elton Brand 14 pts 4 reb 2 ast 4 blk
Mareese Speights 13 pts 4 reb 1 ast 3 stl 1 blk

Screenshots or It Didn't Happen Images of the Game

For some reason Lou doesnt take the shot, no one's really sure why since they were only down 1. Shades of Vince Carter in giving up there.

Up Next: Game 2 in Philly, Can the Speed stay with 76ers this time on the road?

[Oznogrd]

Weird the ROTY isn't averaging double digits in points.

Ive got sim length to only be 10 minutes so that could have something to do with it.

and dare, how is Rubio overrated in this league?

Game 1 of the playoffs is done: will post a recap a little later tonight.

There should co MVP, your team is only Boozer-Rubio

Lol yeah but Rubio's assist numbers on the season are insane. Also you're forgetting Kevin Love who averages double digits scoring

[Oznogrd]

Payback's a Bitch
St. Louis 87 - Philadelphia 88

The Wachovia Center filled with the Philly faithful before the game. Despite being division rivals and not quite playing up to snuff there, the 76ers managed to slip into the playoffs as the 8 seed with the chance to take on division rivals and number 1 Speed the St. Louis Speed. After the Speed only won by 1 point in game 1 and mainly because Lou Williams forgot how to shoot, Wachovia Center reported record playoff ticket sales for this game.

"It was nuts" said one employee at the box office "We went from being 75% sold to 107% over the course of like 8 hours after game 1. Standing room only for sure" This advantage was enough as the 76ers and Speed traded leads the entire game with the 76ers eventually coming out on top by 1 point.

The headline in the Philadelphia newspapers this morning? "Payback's a bitch"

Despite great games out of Carlos Boozer and Kevin Love, the Speed got little offensive production out of their frontcourt and also had trouble stopping the shooting attack of the 76ers. Thaddeus Young made every shot he took (also shooting the most on his team with 13) and other Philly stars had high percentages.

After the game Coach Raoul Duke had this to say "Well we gotta play better defense obviously. You cant let anybody shoot 100% in this league. Thats fucking ridiculous. No more open shots. Even if it means punching them, no free looks" Duke was fined by David Stern following the game for implying punching is acceptable for his team.

St. Louis Team Captain Ricky Rubio couldn't quite rebound after a game 1 during which he was mostly on the bench due to foul trouble "I hate to play like this man. I hope to come out in game 3 and show I deserved that MVP award. Just wait and see. Game 3 and the rest of the playoffs: I'm going to show up. We had the best record, three guys up for mvp, and coach and exec of the year. Anything less than a championship this season isn't acceptable"

Quite a promise from the young Spaniard and the press will be ready to hound him should he disappear like he has the past 2 games.

Player of the Game
Thaddeus Young
26 pts 1 reb 7 ast
Leading his team scoring and shot 100% on his 13 shots. Holy Fuck.

Notable Speed Performances
Kevin Love 31 pts 7 reb 1 stl
Carlos Boozer 30 pts 7 reb 1 ast 1 stl 1 blk
Stromile Swift 11 pts 3 reb
Ricky Rubio 2 pts 1 reb 23 ast 1 stl

Notable Sixers Performances
Elton Brand 16 pts 7 reb 3 ast 1 stl
Mareese Speights 14 pts 12 reb 2 ast 2 blk
Louis Williams 6 pts 15 ast 2 stl

Screenshots or It Didn't Happen Images of the Game
Forgot again guys: sorry...will get some pics for the climax in game 3

Up Next: Its win or go home for both teams as the series heads back to STL. Can the Speed come out and show why they're number 1 seed? Or will we have 3 games decided by 1 point? Come see in the climactic game 3!

[dare]

WTF 100% Thaddeus Young

[shadowgrin]

What rosters are you using Oz? Speights 22 assists?

[Oznogrd]

What rosters are you using Oz? Speights 22 assists?

Typo supposed to be 2 lol my bad.