Chicago Bulls 2004/2005 (Road to the 2005 Playoffs)

[Andrew]

Well, realism has taken a beating in this dynasty but it's a good read.

Here's to Chicago's first title in ages...

Hey, it's no more unrealistic than the NBA deciding to redraft everyone in the league. I am doing way better than the real Bulls have done this season, but I generally try to keep the stats and transactions within the realms of possibility. Thanks for the comments.

[Andrew]

Well, I think it's the same in the All-Star Game too. Players are subbed in and out, but sometime the 11th or 12th player may not play at all in the game so you may have to watch out for that.

Yeah, that's been a problem since NBA Live 95 but I'm usually on the lookout for it. I'm sure I'll have to make a couple of subs for the CPU if I get to play the All-Star game, but hopefully not as many (no Francisco Elson to worry about. ).

All-Star Saturday recap coming soon, as soon as I play it.

[AlwaysWhat,NeverWhy]

am doing way better than the real Bulls have done this season, but I generally try to keep the stats and transactions within the realms of possibility.

I see your point. Now if I took my Warriors to a 50 win season, THAT would be unrealistic. Sad but True...

Keep up the good work, glad you can update more often now.

[Andrew]

I think that's what Dynasty Mode's all about. Certainly you want some sense of realism, but how often do we sports fans mutter "If only I were running the team..."? True, we do a little better in NBA Live than we would in real life because we've got so much control over everything right down to the action if we choose to, but it satisfies a fantasy nonetheless.

That said, I'm not interested in trading for KG as I did last year! Jalen Rose, Marcus Fizer and Roger Mason Jr for KG...now Tthat was unrealistic.

[Andrew]

Hinrich crowned new Three Point Champ
Sets new contest records



The Chicago Bulls' Kirk Hinrich may be shooting below 40% from downtown on the regular season, but he's proven he can knock down threes when he needs to, proving it once again Saturday night with an awesome shooting display at the 2005 Three Point Shootout.

Hinrich set a new high with 26 points in the first round then shattered the mark scoring a perfect 30 points in the Finals, more than doubling the score of fellow finalist Cuttino Mobley of the Orlando Magic. The previous high of 25 was held by a former Bull, Craig Hodges, who won three consecutive titles in 1990, 1991 and 1992.

Surprise eliminations in the first round included former champions Ray Allen and Peja Stojakovic, who scored 14 and 10 points respectively. Reggie Miller, the all-time leader in three pointers made and attempted and a former competitor in the event scored 17 points. Mobley advanced to the Finals against Hinrich having scored 20 first round points.

Round 1 Standings
Kirk Hinrich is introduced
Reggie Miller is introduced
Kirk Hinrich Round 1 Recap
James Posey Round 1 Recap
Cuttino Mobley Round 1 Recap
Peja Stojakovic Round 1 Recap
Rashard Lewis Round 1 Recap
Charlie Ward Round 1 Recap
Ray Allen Round 1 Recap
Reggie Miller Round 1 Recap

Round 2 Standings
Kirk Hinrich Round 2 Recap
Cuttino Mobley Round 2 Recap

Final Standings

1. Kirk Hinrich (26/30)
2. Cuttino Mobley (20/15)
3. Reggie Miller (17)
4. Ray Allen (14)
-. Charlie Ward (14)
6. James Posey (11)
7. Peja Stojakoic (10)
-. Rashard Lewis (10)



Ricky Davis soars to Slam Dunk Crown
Gordon wows crowd



Ben Gordon was just one dunk away from sending the contest into a dunk off. Unfortunately, time ran out and Ricky Davis prevailed with an perfect score in the Finals, winning his first slam dunk crown.

Gordon unveiled some unique jams - he put the ball between his legs twice before slamming it home, a jam that scored an enthusiastic 50 from the panel of judges, which comprised of Dominique Wilkins, Julius Erving, Larry Nance, Dee Brown and George Gervin. He also lobbed the ball off the backboard before slamming it home and hanging from the rim...by his elbow.

He also showed incredible timing by catching a lob before it hit the floor and throwing down a reverse dunk, giving him a perfect score through his first three dunks. But needing one more 50 to send the contest into a "dunk off", Gordon ran out of time with bad lobs, forcing him to throw down an anticlimactic one handed dunk for a score of 27, giving the crown to Davis. This year, contestants were required to complete a dunk within 24 seconds else be penalised with a score of 0.

Gordon could have missed his second dunk and replaced it, but explained "I forgot I had the replacement to spare, otherwise I would have missed." He shrugged it off though, saying "It doesn't matter. It's been a fun weekend and I think the fans got what they wanted."

Davis 360'd his way to the dunk title. His first dunk of the night was a 360 along the baseline off the bounce. After missing on the first attempt for his second dunk, he went between the legs as he spun 360 for a perfect score. In the finals, he caught an unlikely pass off the jumbotron and completed a windmill reverse dunk that scored 50. He clinched the crown with a gravity defying 360 against the grain from behind the dotted line.

Steve Francis and Jamal Crawford also excited the crowd but scored just 88 and 84 points respectively in the first round. Francis threw the ball off the backboard and caught it to complete a 360 but scored only 46. Crawford soared for a 360 along the baseline but garnered only a 45.

Round 1 Standings
Ben Gordon is introduced
Ben Gordon with the elbow in the rim
Steve Francis flies in with the reverse
Ricky Davis skies for a 360 off the bounce
Gordon goes between the legs...twice!

Round 2 Standings
After catching the impossible pass, Davis throws down a windmill reverse
Gordon sends down a reverse off a lob that doesn't touch the floor
Davis goes against the grain for a tough 360 from way out

Final Standings

1. Ricky Davis (196 - 96/100 - 46/50/50/50)
2. Ben Gordon (177 - 100-77 - 50/50/50/27)
3. Steve Francis (88 - 42/46)
4. Jamal Crawford (84 - 39/45)

All in all, a fun couple of contests. I should have practised more before I entered the dunk contest though, I was totally unprepared for an opponent gettinga perfect score in the final round. It's been a while since I played the dunk contest and I was rusty doing the 540 which ate up too much time. Ah well, maybe next year.

I'll also be playing the All-Star Game - I'd forgotten that you could play the All-Star game itself whether you had a representative or not. Please ignore the update I posted before about the starters - I'm going to assign my own now that I've seen who the game has picked.

All-Star Game Rosters

East
C: Shaquille O'Neal
F: Jermaine O'Neal
F: Vince Carter
G: Paul Pierce
G: Allen Iverson

Bench:
Zydrunas Ilgauskas
Antoine Walker
Stephon Marbury
Jamal Crawford
Ron Artest
Richard Hamilton
Al Harrington

West
C: Yao Ming
F: Tim Duncan
F: Kevin Garnett
G: Tracy McGrady
G: Kobe Bryant

Bench:
Andrei Kirilenko
Ray Allen
Steve Nash
Brad Miller
Rashard Lewis
Tony Parker
Shawn Marion

Update coming as soon as I play the game.

[Fresh8]

Kobe for All-star MVP!

[AlwaysWhat,NeverWhy]

26 and 30 3s for Hinrich? Maybe you should have switched to SuperStar just for the ASW...

[Andrew]

It is time to switch up. I usually do it much earlier, but I haven't been able to play my Dynasty as regularly I have in past years so I haven't really adjusted to the challenge (ie CPU's unfair advantage) of Superstar difficulty in NBA Live 2005. But I did want to have a bit of fun with All-Star Weekend; I don't usually shoot that well, even on All-Star.

Anyway, as always thanks for reading and posting.

[Seraph]

excellent all star weekend so far, did u edit the line up for the ASG? cause looks real (Except for MANU missing it)
Mine was so Stupid.....

[Andrew]

No edit in the DBF files, but I'll change the starting five before the game begins. The game didn't do too bad a job picking the benches - they added some guys who should be in the starting lineup as well as some of the reserves from the real game this year.

[Andrew]

In this game, I controlled the Eastern All-Stars. I made subs for the West once, to make sure Rashard Lewis got into the game before the half.


February 20th, 2005
Fourth quarter run wins East game, Iverson MVP
Sixers guard shines in 115-110 victory
[ Boxscore ]



In game reminiscent of the 2001 contest, it was only fitting that Allen Iverson and Stephon Marbury were on the floor in the fourth quarter of the 2005 NBA All-Star Game in Denver, Colorado. This time they had a little more help in the form of the Miami Heat's dominating centre, 7'1" Shaquille O'Neal.

The East fell behind through the first three quarters, as the game comprised mostly of flashy dunks, risky passes and giving everyone an opportunity to play. But in the fourth quarter, Iverson and Marbury teamed up to lead the Eastern All-Stars in a come from behind charge that resulted in a 115-110 victory.

O'Neal scored a team high 24 points and tallied a game high 10 rebounds, but AI scored 14 of his 19 in the fourth quarter while finding his teammates for 8 assists in the contest. Marbury also scored 8 of his 13 in the final period as the East outscored the West 40-22.

With the score 113-110, Kobe Bryant had a chance to tie the game with a three pointer over his former teammate Shaquille O'Neal. But the shot was off target and Vince Carter snared the rebound, quickly calling for timeout. Carter inbounded the ball to Iverson, who was quickly fouled by Kobe and sealed the game from the free throw line.

Tracy McGrady led all scorers with 30, shooting 13/22 from the field. Kevin Garnett, who scored 17 points in a losing effort for the Western Conference All-Stars, did most of his damage in a third quarter run that most thought would finish off the struggling East All-Stars.

Photos

Kobe's potential game-tying attempt over Shaq
Carter goes "Vinsane" in the open court
Shaq sends back Duncan's shot
AI elevates to throw down the one handed slam
Kobe breaks free for the layup
KG rocks the rim in the third quarter
Shaq shows the hoop no mercy
Two former teammates face off; Starbury & KG
Vince has to duck under the rim as he slams this one home
Shaq suited up for the East for the first time since 1996
A steal led to this spectacular T-Mac attack

[Fresh8]

Damn... Kobe could have tied the game... Good stuff Andrew!

[The X]

nice All-Star game....I am now curious as to who the computer picked to star in the All-Star game ....it can't be any worse than the likes of Mike Dunleavy Jr, Ricky Davis, Kirk Hinrich & Al Harrington who all got into All-Star teams in my dynasty at the expense of the likes of LBJ, Nowitzki & co....

[Andrew]

Yeah, the All-Star game was fun, fortunately I didn't have to keep subbing for the CPU.

The original starters for the East were Shaq, Walker, Carter, Pierce and Iverson. Out West, it was Yao, Duncan, Kirilenko, Allen and Nash. I was originally going to go with those lineups, but when I saw the bench I decided I could fashion more realistic lineups (if LeBron and Grant Hill had made the ASG, I would have had accurate starting lineups at least). The selections were actually quite good I thought, except for the absence of LeBron and Ben Wallace.

[AlwaysWhat,NeverWhy]

Did you make it so that AI got the MVP in the ASG? I know you're a realism junkie... except ehre the Bulls are concerned...

[John WB]

Then why's he starting Ben Gordon?

[Mark.]

nice update andrew, was just wondering what slider you increased to increase the FT's.

I thought the stats were pretty realistic in the ASG did you change any sliders for that??

[Andrew]

Did you make it so that AI got the MVP in the ASG? I know you're a realism junkie... except ehre the Bulls are concerned...

Not exactly, the way Shaq was playing in the first half I thought he might get it, and I expected T-Mac to get it if the West won. But Iverson and Marbury were the most effective in the fourth quarter and AI had all those assists from the first three quarters, so it ended up working out quite nicely. It wasn't planned from the start though.

[Andrew]

nice update andrew, was just wondering what slider you increased to increase the FT's.

I thought the stats were pretty realistic in the ASG did you change any sliders for that??

I've got my free throw slider set at 70. For the ASG, I upped the Fatigue Effect to 65 and CPU Sub Frequency to 90.

[Mark.]

I've got my free throw slider set at 70

No I mean how do you increase the amount of FT's that are taken??

[Andrew]

Oh, of course. Basically a combination of the foul sliders. Turn up the reach-in fouls a bit to increase the chances of getting into the penalty. Increasing the mid-air collision fouls and shooting fouls sliders will also achieve better results.

[Mark.]

Wicked Cheer

Good Luck for the rest of the season

[AlwaysWhat,NeverWhy]

Turn up the reach-in fouls a bit to increase the chances of getting into the penalty. Increasing the mid-air collision fouls and shooting fouls sliders will also achieve better results.

I have been contemplating upon doing that myself, but I'm worried that the scorelines would go unreallistically upwards...

[Andrew]

I haven't turned them up too high, enough to increase the fouls while leaving the scores at a realistic level. I've had a few higher scoring games recently because my defense has been a bit off, forcing me into some shootouts.

[-BHZMAFIA-]

I meant to post something yesterday at school, but the bell rang

I loved your all-star game coverage with AI winning MVP and with most of the players from the real all-star game being there. I'm a big fan of realism too and I just like the fact that your all-star game was very realistic. Hope to see you have a great 2nd half of the season.