Hov's Kings - Retired

[Mandich]

Griffin is a beast !

[Valor]

Loving the recaps. 'Reke went off at MSG and you're starting to play well, but playoffs look out of reach this year. Meredith will lead you there next season though.

Summed up my thoughts exactly.

[hova-]

Sit, thx bro. A feeling tells me that I will be able to pull the 2nd straigt win @LA. I will definitely play the game by myself Ahh and I wanted to post an article bout Black Mamba, just did not have the time recently ...

Thierry •, I beat them once, let's make it twice. Casspi did not play very well in his two games after injury. I really noticed that he is not that good of a ball handler and slasher, more a shooter.

Lamrock, thx man. Yeah, it's getting better, maybe because of the patch ... dunno. The Knicks really played no D. I had some nice fastbreaks were I felt like ... where is the D?
I doubt I get the number one pick in the draft though, which would leave me with Big Lance. I'll be looking for a PG I think, there's a trio in this year's draft class I will post about soon: Eric Arthur, Luis Chase and Leroy Graham.

mandich, he's getting better lately, still not as locked for ROTY as IRL.

Valor, thanks, good to have some constant followers

It's fun right now, glad you seem to enjoy it as much as I do.

[john26]

Great to see these Sonics winning 4 straight to counter the bad start early in the season.

[hova-]

███ Williams, Warriors roll past Sonics
OAKLAND (AP)

The Golden State Warriors were able to pull away with the home win in a division rival matchup as they cruised past the Seattle Supersonics behind Reggie Williams' 35 points.

Despite comitting a lot of fouls (20) and the fact that Stephen Curry fouled out in the mid of the fourth quarter, the Warriors were able to grab the win.

Surprising rookie Jeremy Lin had 22 points and Curry added 20 and 9 assists before leaving the court after comitting his 6th foul.

The Sonics were once again led by Tyreke Evans who scored 30 points and added 7 rebounds and 3 assists in 45 minutes of playing time. Omri Casspi only scored 5 points on 2-14 shooting in his third game after coming back from a shoulder injury.

The Warriors improve to 24-19 after this win despite playing without Monta Ellis for almost four weeks now, whilst the Sonics drop to 14-27 for the season.

███ How big is Kevin Durant?
OKLAHOMA CITY - NEW YORK (AP)

At the age of 22, Kevin Durant has still grown some inches lately as the league's topscorer and early MVP candidate has stated recently.

"I did not participate in the league's measurements this year as we (members of the US basketball team) arrived later from our holidays", Durant confessed in an ESPN.com interview two days ago.

Rumours had been spreading around the league that Durant is almost 7 feet tall, but the All-Star forward was still listed at 6-9 (2.06m) on NBA.com.

"It's not completely right, I'm not a seven footer, but we just checked it yesterday and I appear to be at 6-11 right now", the 3-year pro out of Texas admitted.

Doctors say that Durant has now reached his maximal height and won't grow any longer.

███ Roy's knees scare Blazers
PORTLAND (AP)

All-Star shooting guard Brandon Roy suffers from pertinacious arthritic knees, the Portland Trailblazers organization announced yesterday.

"His meniscus is already pretty nagged and thus the bones' attrition is causing a lot of pain", Portland's team doctor Tom Reis explained.

Roy has been playing stellar this season averaging a career-high 23.6 points along with 5.4 assists per game. Then again, he is committing a career-high 2.7 turnovers per game and shoots only .45% from the field and .314% from down town.

"We all have to understand that Brandon has the knees of a 30-year old already and that it won't get better if we keep playing him that much", Coach Nate McMillan said.

Roy, who is averaging almost 38 minutes per game this season, will see limited playing time for an indefinite distance and will undergo therapy. A surgery is scheduled for next offseason.

███ Lowry is Houston's "Mr. Effective"
HOUSTON (AP)

Houston Rocket's backup point guard Kyle Lowry is getting a lot of praise for his play lately as experts and fans are really astonished by the 5-year veteran's effective season so far.

"Right now, if you'd ask me who I would like to have as a starting point guard on my team, I'd have to say Chris Paul. But if you ask me who I would not like to have on my opponent's team, I'd go with Kyle Lowry", ESPN guru John Hollinger wrote in his latest blog.

Lowry, who signed a four-year contract extension over 22M $ this offseason, has been averaging 6.8 points, 2.1 rebounds along with 5.1 assists and 1.1 steals per game in 49 games of action (20 mpg).

The 24-year old point guard only shoots .415% from the field, but he also only takes 4.7 shots per game. Lowry ranks third in the league in assist ratio (.405% - behind Rajon Rondo and Jason Kidd), 4th among all PGs in turnover ratio (.094%) and third in the league in pure point rating (10.6).

"We knew why we offered him an extension last season", statistic freak Darryl Morey summed up recently.

███ Georgetown upsets UConn
WASHINGTON (AP)

The Georgetown Hoyas are the first team this season to beat UConn and their go-to big man Lance Meredith as they put on a defensive show to outhustle the Huskies 59-64 at home.

Meredith scored 20 points and grabbed 8 rebounds, but it wasn't enough to shake off the keen Hoyas.

Senior shooting guard Wayne Woods had a team-high 15 points and dished out 4 assists. The Hoyas had 11 steals and only allowed UConn to hit .41% from the floor.

"They deserved the win, we did not play very well tonight and I think this came just at the right time for us, we have to remember, we are not unbeatable", Meredith warned his fellow students.

UConn still stands on top of the division with 14 wins and one loss. The Hoyas are tied at four (with Syracuse) at 11-3.

[Mandich]

Durant 6-11 ? Did you edit that or ?

[Fresh8]

Roy's knee always scares the Blazers... and Lamrock.

[dare]

Damn if Durant did grow to 6'11" he will be a very tough match up to anyone.

[Lamrock]

More like 50 year old knees. Durant would be fucking r'diklous if he were 6'11".

[hova-]

mandich, ye I edited it. Just for fun and to create an even more powerful player. I don't think it will affect his game that much though (it would do so more IRL)

Sit, yeah, it's tough to see him with those knee problems.

dare, as I said before, I thought it was fun and special, but I doubt it will change much.

Lamrock, Maybe he can come back after surgery in offseason and be the old Roy. About Durant ... you know this shit is - fucking r'diklous

[Valor]

Roy's knee always scares the Blazers... and Lamrock.

Yes indeed, unfortunately for Portland

[kibaxx7]

In my game, Lowry isn't even in the Pure Point Guard screen. I think Battier had more rating than him

[hova-]

The ending of a decade
www.nba.com/thablog
Posted on January 25zh 2011 8:50PM

It's just a month away that another decade, the first decade of a new century and even a new millenium has gone over. We are in 2011 now and not only we and our family and friends are a decade older, our favorite sport and thus the NBA have also made another 10 years. "tha blog" wants to bring back memories of the past decade with a photoseries of some (we know, this is not even close to covering up every NBA star) NBA players who formed the past 10 years of NBA basketball. Enjoy and don't forget to post comments and memories of your 2000-2010 NBA decade.



Allen Iverson was the second MVP of the decade and led an underrated Sixers team to the NBA finals. He's still pursuing a ring.


Shaq was the most dominant player of the decade. He won the first MVP and three titles with LA, adding one with Miami later.


KG and the T-wolves became the team to beat in 03/04 and saw their run ending in the Western Conference Finals. KG won the 04 MVP.


Speaking of team to beat. J-Kidd and the Nets went to the NBA finals in 02 and 03, but Jason is still hunting for that title, now with Dallas.



TD and the Spurs were the most successful franchise in the first half of the decade. TD won two MVP awards (02/03) and three Championships (03/05/07).



A case of "what could have been?" The "MacHill" never came to play out properly, as the latter dealt with injuries for the whole first half of the decade.


VC wasn't as successful as the others, but he was maybe the most amazing player to watch and don't forget about the 2000 dunk contest.


The most successful player on this list: Kobe won five rings and and the MVP in 2008 and is still in top shape.


One of the best and definitely the most hyped player of the decade: LeBron won two MVP awards (09/10) but is still looking for that ring.


Dwyane Wade has something many guys on this list dream of: A ring and a finals MVP he won with his Heat in 06.


It took him Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett to get that ring, but Paul Pierce always kept trusting in his Cs and got rewarded for it.

[Fresh8]

Brilliant update gangster Love it!

[dare]

Great update man, love the AI pic. Also the Kidd Nets is one of my favorite team in the past.

[Mark.]

Ok that would have to be one of the best posts ive seen in a dynasty, brought back sooooo many memories and superbly done as well. I think this year we should have a dynasty/association update/article of the year, and this is getting my vote so far

Oh and don't would think "HillMac" sounds better than "MacHill"? Man how I wish that had worked out, and somehow Timmy D had decided to sign with Orlando rather than stay with the Spurs, it was so close man.... so close.

[Fresh8]

To answer your article... my memories of the decade...

- Lakers take on Sixers in the 2001 NBA Finals. Tyronn Lue comes out to play some meaningful minutes against League MVP Allen Iverson. Lue became my first ever favorite player in the NBA (I don't think I called Kobe my favourite until late 2002...)

- Following Michael Jordan and the Wizards. I remember when he played against Kobe and Kobe had about 42 points. It was in LA. MJ held his own as well.

- Lakers-Sacramento 2002... I remember following Games 5, 6, 7 whilst at school via live updates. Things haven't changed much these days... I still follow on my phone or laptop. Sucks to live here in Aussieland. I followed Rob Horry's crazy shot at the buzzer, Mike Bibby winning the game for the Kings with 7 seconds left in the next game... then the Lakers having 5 starters in double figures and forcing OT to win the series in 7.

- Lakers losing to the Spurs the next year... Kobe and Fish were crying... I was devastated. It happened during my school break, the first day of school a dude in my class (who doesnt follow ball) said to me, "Oh, the Lakers lost." And I said, "Yeah.. I know." I'd hit the basketball court to practise on my game and pretend I was Kobe and playing in the NBA Finals.

- Malone and Pippen joined the Lakers. I was so stoked... one of my mates was in Europe at the time. I emailed him in caps locks WE GOT TWO HALL OF FAMERS ON THE LAKERSSS... he was a baller but not an nba follower but I think he at least understood how big this was...

- Fisher's 0.4... awesome stuff... then Kareem Rush hits 7 threes to help LA advance against Wolves... NBA Finals against Detroit was depressing... Kobe shot us out of the championship

- Kobe's 81 points... I came home on a rainy afternoon... log onto MSN and Mark. comes and says 'dude... did you see what happened?' It was rainy and shitty day but that made my day. My eyes lit up and I was jumping up and down... it was insane. 81 points... man... the Interwebs were going off!

- Kwame Brown was starting to play great and proving to be a dependable presence on defence. He was starting to be accepted and I thought he was finally going to find his place on the team... The series against Phoenix was awesome... But we just couldn't get it done in the end. We had to win Game 6 to advance... it was a shame because Kwame didn't step up in the end... same with all the others - Odom, Smush, Walton, etc. We lost Game 6... Kobe quit in Game 7. In that second half, you'd want to see Kobe try and pull off something magical. He instead decided not to shoot... seriously...

- The whole Kobe saga had me disappointed. As a Kobe fan, I did not want him out of LA. I would always support LA, I just didn't know if I could support his new team if he were to join one. I breathed a sigh of relief when he didn't get traded.

- Pau Gasol's trade to LA made me so happy. I still remember the morning I woke up and read the news. I was telling everyone how good this move would be. People were skeptical but I knew he was perfect for us. People now say he's a true star... I've said it all along. Love how the cookie crumbles!

- The X saw me during that 2008 playoff campaign. The highs and the lows. One of the games against the Jazz was on my birthday... that night I was jumping up on a table at a pub and shouting my heart out at the TV even though it was a replay. I think that's passion! Later on though, he also saw the low as the Lakers lost by 40 in Game 6 of the Finals.

- The following year, we won it all. I will always remember but it was not as exciting as the following year...

- This year, I followed every single game of the playoff campaign... including Game 7 at an Irish pub. I was the only Lakers fan there... loved their faces when at the end of the game

[maksie]

great update,amazing pic of VC

[Martti.]

Awesome stuff hova. If you were to pick 'play of the decade', what would it be? Nothing beats last decade's though :

phpBB [video]

[kibaxx7]

Loving the retro update Hova I would say AI's Sixers and Kidd's Nets were my favs.

[hova-]

Sit, thanks you, boy. I love your summary of the best moments. Made me thinking of the 05 Lakers, which were a cool team to play with in vid games (Kobe and four role players).
Faithful fans like you deserve the current success of your franchise.

I don't have that much memories of the early decade. A game I certainly remember was Dirk dropping 50 on the Suns in the Western Conference finals. It was my birthday. I woke up in the morning, saw all my presents on the table but wanted to check how the Mavs played first. And well, that was maybe the coolest present. Mavs winning it and Dirk with 50 points -> 3-2 lead.

dare, thanks man. J-Kidd's Nets were really a one man team without the one man being a good scorer. Actually that is phenomenal if you ask me.

Mark., thx, glad you like it that much! I think it's a matter of taste, what do you like more: McChicken or FishMac?

maksie, thx for dropping by

Martti., I knew that Rider shot and it's awesome. It's tough to find one play that I like. I could show you 50 plays and it would not be enough. I just saw this one, it's not the biggest highlight but I love how the crowd goes nuts

phpBB [video]

Thierry •, thank you. I'd go with the Shaq Lakers and the Dirk Mavs. You might have noticed that I did not even mention Dirk, it still hurts to think about 06

[suirad]

Hov im loving this my dude. im glad my thread contributed a lil bit. this is awesome man well done. I should be updating more tonight and im trying to put some retro rosters together for college hoops 2k8 to go along in conjunction with my retro dynasty. good ish homey

[Fresh8]

I did like the form that Dirk was in during middle of the decade. People will call me crazy but I do think Dirk is the best European player of the decade - over Kobe Bryant. Would he fit on the Lakers? I don't think he brings what Pau brings but I still think he has been a better player. Those Mavs teams - Nowitzki, Nash, Finley were fun to follow (in the days when I followed the whole league as I learnt about the NBA from 2001-05)...

You also reminded me of one of my all-time favourite games! 2005, last game of the regular season. Kobe had taken like 3 shots in the whole Sacramento game and got blamed for trying to make a point. He came back strong in the three games after that. Then you had the Portland Blazers hosting the Lakers in the last game of the regular season. On the line - Pacific Division and home court advantage. The rest is history.

[dare]

I remember that 81 points game by Kobe, I skipped class that time

[Fresh8]

- I remember Rick Fox fighting Doug Christie in the tunnel in a preseason game.

- I remember having hopes that Devean George would turn out to be good.

- I remember everyone talking about Mark Madsen when I had absolutely no idea why they would because he was rated 59 overall in NBA Live 2001.

- The dunk on Steve Nash in the 2006 playoffs

thanks hov helping me relive the good Lakers memories

I don't really have a favorite play of the decade. There are just so many. But if I really had to have one... Vince Carter over Frederick Weis at the Olympics. I watched all the Boomers games at the 2000 Olympics on TV... my parents watched that USA-France game since it was past my bedtime. I wasn't a baller back then yet... just a lil skinny asian kid who wanted to fit in with his ball playing friends.