I'm in Heat!!!

The 2009 Off-season has started and i have mentioned before that this is one of the best part of the game for me. I have more than 11M under the cap and i'm looking to sign big names in the free agency. I have 3 players with expiring contracts but i only resigned Freije for 10M for 5yrs, and Hardaway for 3M for a year. I let go of Grant Hill who was asking for 7.5M for 2yrs. I actually had the money to sign Nowitzi who was asking for 55M for 5yrs but I woul have to give up Freije and Penny. The big name i signed is Atlanta's Josh Smith, the 6'10 SF with hops like Vince. I got him for 24M for 6yrs and this could be a very big mistake because Wolf and Abraham are going to be a free agent next season and i'm afraid that i wouldn't have enough money to resign them both! Anyway, i'm going to use Smith as my starting SG.

Some of the players that were on the free agency list was Finley, Stackhouse, Ratliff, Chandler, Curry, Nick van Exel, Telfair, and Tinsley.

Some of the retiring players were Eddie Jones, Alonzo Mourning, Sam Cassell, and Sprewell. Then the trade period starts and im not really looking to trade for anybody but i'm used to going thru the other teams and see which os my players is the most in demand. Aside from Shaq and Wade, it seems like Nicodemus Abraham, my 6'8 PG is getting a lot of attention. He has a rating of 75 and is still getting better.

I entered the Rookie draft looking for another PF and i did get the one i like, Jean Favreau, a 7'1 PF from France. I also took a 6'7 SG with a weird first name but his last name is Gage, O. Gage. I think Gage was a bad pick coz his dribbling skills is low, and as we all know, if a player is a dunker, he needs to be able to get to the basket with spins and cross overs and having low dribbling rating just makes the player useless.

Then i proceeded to the season and looked at the available free agents. I found a 6'7 PG rookie that i liked but i don't have roster space available anymore, oh well.

Nice win in the finals ...the only problem is you beat the Kings

My Team looks like this

C Shaq - 7'1
PF Favreau - 7'1
SF Wolf - 7'1
SG Smith - 6'10
PG Wade - 6'4

C Long - 7'5
PF Parker - 7'2
SF Freije - 6'10
SG Gage - 6'7
PG Abraham - 6'8

SG Constantine - 7'1
SG Hardaway - 6'7
C Dixon - 7'5
PF Haslem - 6'8
PG Best - 6'8

So far i have already played 5 games this season. I actaully played the first 3 games with Parker on the starting line up but Favreau was playing well as a back up. I put favreau on the starting line up to give him a chance to win rookie of the year. In his first game on the starting line up, he led the Heat in scoring with 24pts and grabbed 9rebs against the Sonics. He is a little weak in blocking shots but he is very quick and a high jumper. All of my players in the starting 5 have dunker's symbol. Josh Smith has proven to be much more productive and entertaining than Constantine was as he averaged 7pts in the first 5 games, including some nasty dunks.

This could really be Wolf's season as he is averaging 19pts so far, he started last season on a strong note too but faded towards the middle of the season. I'm hoping that he'll sustain this pace throughout the year. Wade has been bitten by the injury bug as he suffered 2 different injuries in the first 3 games. The weird thing was, when he suffered his second injury that's when he came back 100%! Shaq's career is said to be on the downside after he left the Lakers, but he has since averaged more than 29pts for the Heat in the last 4 seasons and has been a defensive presence like he never was with the Lakers. In the first 5 games this season, Shaq is averaging 33pts, 15rebs, and 6blks! MVP? Not unless i get robbed again.

O.Gage is not playing well at all. I'm thinking of putting him on the injured list and bring back Constantine, at least he's tall.

Nice win in the finals ...the only problem is you beat the Kings

Hahaha! I'm sure you're beating the hell out of the Heat in your games too.

I've been wanting to say this since the NBA Finals ended but i keep on forgetting. Anyway, here goes. It's sad to know that Karl Malone could have won his first NBA Championship if he only joined the Spurs in mid-season. If i were him i would have played a couple more years just to overtake Jabbar in the all-time scoring list. Oh well, I would have been happy to see Karl raise that trophy.

I have to make a correction about the total games i played in my last post, i mentioned 5 games but i've only played 4. I've played 4 more games since so i'm now at 8-0. I played against the Knicks, 76ers, Boston, and Spurs in past 3 days.

The Knick game is not worth mentioning. The 76ers game was great all-throughout as i won by 50pts. During the start of the season i was thinking that maybe i made a wrong choice of signing Josh Smith for 6 years because that left me with not enough money to maybe sign Wolf next season. I signed Josh mainly for his dunking ability and that is exactly what i got. Josh made one of the sickest dunk that i've seen on NBA-Live. Josh was ahead on a fast break with only Ratliff waiting for him on the free-throw line, Josh made a spin move to get through Ratliff but Ratliff was able to recover to contest Josh who was on the right side going for the dunk, to my amazement, Josh jumped from the right side of the rim then ending up on the left side of the rim for the dunk, leaving Ratliff jumping to swat air on the right side. I think think i descibed it well but it was truly awesome. That dunk was worth the 24M i paid him for 5yrs. He has since made a lot more amazing dunks but this one was the best. I've only seen Garnett do that before but without anybody trying to block him.

The sad thing about that game was Shaq getting injured with 2 minutes left in the game after getting 25pts, 22rebs, 6asts and 7blks. He is going to be out for 2 weeks and that is going to affect his MVP status again. Long is again starting for Shaq. Jean Favreau has played absolutely well in the past 4 games, he has led the team in scoring 3 times and has been averaging 20pts and 8rebs since starting for the Heat. He has great dunking and shooting skills but not much of a defensive player. He is quick, runs fast and is a good passer. Not bad for a projected undraftee. He actually played better than Duncan when the Heat played against the Spurs.

Another player playing well in the past 2 games is Josh Smith, scoring 16pts against the Celtics and Spurs. He scored 6 points in OT against the Celtics to help the Heat win the game. He actually scored 16pts in the first 3 quarters against the Spurs but wasn't able to score again in the 4th. Delonte West scored 41pts for the Celtics!!! And Parker scored 30pts for the Spurs! That's PG domination right there.

Wolf and Wade has been performing consistently for the Heat. Wolf is averaging 20pts this season and Wade is at 15.5.

The Heat continues their rampage of the league as they win their 10th straight game. The battled the Wizards and Orlando on consecutive days and won both. The Heat seems to be doing well with their new players as both Josh Smith and Jean Favreau lead them to win after win.

The Wizards game wasn't that interesting at all, Arenas scored 29pts for the Wizards and Wade scored 20. Wolf got into foul trouble early on and only managed to score 3pts. Favreau scored 13pts and 8rebs and Long who was the player of the game had 17pts, 12rebs, 3blks, 2stls, and 1ast.

The game against Orlando was more interesting because they are rated 99 and the Heat without Shaq is only rated 95. All starting 5 players scored in double figures and Constantine who has replaced Gage as the back up SG scored 10pts. It was a well balanced game for the Heat who i thought would lose the game because the Magic sticked to me like epoxy until mid 3rd quarter. The Heat got hot on offense and defense and finished the 3rd quarter with a 14pt lead. They extended the lead to 21 in the 4th and never looked back. Mobley and Francis led the Magic with 28 and 24pts respectively while the Heat was led by Josh's 17pts, 6asts, 3stls, and 2blks, 17pts is his season high.

Josh made a really nasty dunk in the last 10 seconds of the game, it was pretty much the same as his dunk on Ratliff but this time he did the over and under dunk, reminicent of the Jordan 86 All-Star Slam dunk, he did it with Dwight Howard and Mobley contesting it. It was again a thing of beauty. I Replayed it multiple times =).

Favreau was the player of the game with 16pts, 13rebs, 3blks, 2stls, and 1ast. Long helped out with 12pts, 12rebs, and 7blks. Wolf and Wade scored 15pts each with Wade getting 7stls. Parker came off the bench to grab 7rebs this includes getting 4 offensive rebs in one play.

Good job bro

Good job bro

Thanks!

The Heat are now 16-0 even with an injured Wade and Shaq. The team is playing so well that they are predicted to win their 5th straight championship this season. Favreau earned rookie of the month for the East as he averaged 16.8pts, 8rebs, 2.8asts, 0.81blks, and 1.21stls for November. He started December by getting 30pts, 11rebs, 5asts, 1blks, and 1stl against the Cavaliers. 30pts is his career high. At this stage, he is playing better than Parker when he was a rookie.

For all those who have followed my Dynasty; Im wondering if you could help me make a very important decision that could change the face of the Heat. I mentioned that Abraham and Wolf are going to free agents this season, my problem is that i'm not going to have enough money to resign both of them. I'm currently paying $2M for Abraham and $3.3M for Wolf. I have Hardaway who is going to be a free agent this season and i'll have $3.3M more to use. That gives me around $9M to resign both of these players but the problem is, i just found out that Long is also going to be a free agent along with Curt Dixon. So I have 4 very integral players for the Heat that are going to be free agents and I don't have money to resign them. Wolf rating is now 81 and i think he will ask for at least $6M a yr. Abraham and Long are rated 75 and that could easily be a $4M asking price. I would be surprised to see Dixon ask for $2M so i'm thinking that he'll ask for at least $3M. All in all i would need $17M at least to sign these 4 players.

The only way for me to resign these 4 is if i were to trade or release Shaq or Wade to free up cap space at the end of the season. Shaq is making $13M a yr and Wade is making $10M. Now if you were in my position, would you let go of Wade or Shaq? Shaq is already 36yrs old but is still very dominant. Wade is 26yrs old, very athletic but not as dominant as Shaq. You've seen their average year per year, and you know how a good center is essential to winning championship, would you let go of your best young star to keep Shaq?

I'm actually leaning more on letting Wade go because I have Abraham who has become a good player and I have Best who is also a 6'8 PG. Long will be a good starting center if i let go of Shaq but his back up would be a little weak in Dixon. Should i just keep both players and wait on who i will be able to resign with the money i have? I don't think i'd want to take that risk. It's going to take me some time to pull the trigger on this but with your help, i will be making the right decision.

You don't have to release anyone, you can resign your players even if you're over the salary cap. The only thing that you can't do is sign free agents.

You don't have to release anyone, you can resign your players even if you're over the salary cap. The only thing that you can't do is sign free agents.

I haven't really try this before. If this is how it would work then my problem is solved. Thanks =). I never knew that and i've played 5 seasons already!!!

Wait! I'm playing on PS2 here, is it the same?

Yup.

Great! Problem solved! I would really hate to give up one of my players. Thanks.

The Heat played against the Clippers last night in Miami and it was another lopsided game for the Heat. The Heat was led again by Favreau with 29pts, 9rebs, 2blks, 3asts followed by Shaq with 28pts, 12rebs, 4blks, 5asts, and Wade's 27pts, 6asts and 6stls. Wolf was the only other player in double figures with 12pts and Smith had 9.

Brand was the only one playing well for the Clippers as they fell behind by 20 in the first quarter. They had a very strong 3rd quarter as they lowered the lead to just 7pts with 5 minutes to go but the Heat went to Shaq almost every time down the floor and he scored 12 straight points. Favreau score 10pts in the 1st quarter, Wade scored 12pts in the 2nd, and Shaq scored 14pts in the 3rd, so somebody was leading the Heat all throughtout the game.

damn you got one long team SG of 6'10 you only still need a 7'5 PG

damn you got one long team SG of 6'10 you only still need a 7'5 PG

Hahaha! Bashini Long actually runs fast as a PG, but he handles the ball like Manute Bol, now that is not exactly a good thing

For some strange reason i seem to have a hard time winning against weaker teams. I played against the Warriors and Atlanta, both are ranked 88 and i had a difficult time pulling away from them. The Warriors was led by Fisher, Dunleavy, and Richardson, it is always the back court people that are giving me a hard time. Fisher was making lay ups in front of Shaq and i don't even get why Shaq bounce off of him. Shaq was the player of the game with 31pts, 9rebs, 4asts, and 3blks. This also marks the first game that Josh Smith had 0pts.

Atlanta played well in the first half of the 1st quarter, well it's either that or the Heat just sucked! The Heat just scored 4pts in the first 4 minutes of the game against Atlanta's 13. Everybody couldn't make a basket so i decided to bench the whole starting line up and get my bench mob in there. The result? Atlanta scored just 2 more points the rest of the first quarter and the Heat bench scored 17. They were led by Long's 8pts and 4rebs. The starting line up started the second quarter and played better. The Hawks never got closer than 4 after that.

The Heat was again led by Favreau's 19pts, 9rebs, 2asts, 2blks, and 2stls. Shaq only scored 15 pts and Wade had 12. The bench scored 28pts led by Parker's 10pts. This is why it's tough to beat the Heat (hey that ryhmes) my bench can beat most of the league's weaker teams. Long is a starting center on any team in this league.

The Heat's 22 game winning streak to start the season was halted by the Kings the other night. The Kings was led by Bibby and Stojakovic, both of whom scored 26pts each. The Heat wasn't that bad with 6 players scoring in double figures but the timely 3-pointers of the Kings held the Heat back. The score ended at 102-85 as this became one of the worst lost for the Heat. The Heat was led by Shaq's 19pts, and 9rebs. Shaq did have an awesome defensive performance against the Sonics the previous night with an 11-block performance.

The next game came against Indiana and we all know that the Heat has never lost 2 in a row for the last 3 years. Indiana got to a strong start but Jermaine O'neal got into foul trouble and it was all downhill from there for the Pacers. The sad thing about this game was Favreau got injured early in the 4th quarter after scoring 18pts and grabbing 7rebs. Wolf was the Player of the game with 23pts, 6asts, 6rebs, and 3stls. Parker and Freije scored 9pts each from the beach. Freije has one of the best shooting that i've seen of every player that i had since i started playing Live 2005. Rasual Butler was also good and was available during the start of the season but he was asking too much. Favreau will still be able to play but in a limited capacity. He suffered an ankle injury that could have cost him the Rookie of the year award, but good thing that he is still able to play.

The Heat are now 30-1 thanks primarily to the steady play of Favreau. He is looking forward to winning the rookie of the month award despite playing injured for 5 games. He has led the Heat in rebounds in last 5 games and has been consistently scoring more than 20pts per game. He has stolen the spotlight from Wolf and Smith as he becomes the 3rd scorer for the team. He is currently averaging 17.3pts, 8.4rebs, 2.9asts, 1.21stls, and .52blks. His career high in pts is 29, he had a 6asts, and a 15reb game.

Wolf is actually playing with a sprained ankle now but he is close to completely recovering from it. His scoring has dipped down to 15.5ppg while Wade has become more aggressive in offence.

Now i've played this game for more than 7 months now and yesterday I saw Josh Smith made a dunk that I have never seen before. He made this dunk coming from the left side of the rim and with one opponent, he jumps beyond the box and glided for a one hand dunk, this is not the normal dunk other players do, this one is with Jordan flare during the slam dunk contest. So far, only Smith's dunk has actuall made me stop the game to replay the scene. He is the best dunker i've had even better than Wade who has won the Slam dunk contest.

Live 2005 has the best off-season yet. I scouted 5 players but the 3 that caught my attention was a

7'5 center, Bashini Long, projected to be an early second round pick.
7'2 PF, Stephon Parker, projected to be undrafted.
7'0 SF, Rodrick Wolf, projected to be the 2nd pick.

i also scounted a 6'8 PG but he got chosen early. Wolf was gone at number 2 but i was able to draft Parker and Long.

Before the draft i played with my scouted players and i think that was a cool feature this year. The reason why i was so interested with Wolf was, he was able to spin and cross-over without losing the ball. It was great to see a player that tall handle the ball so well.

I looked around for possible trades and i found Grant Hill with Golden State. I tried to trade Wesley Person, Doleac and Damon Jones for Hill and some trash players but Golden State didn't agree to my proposal. I was going to let go of the trade with GS but i saw that they were the ones who picked Wolf! I then offerd Doleac and a rookie PG for Wolf and they accepted the trade . They had high interest for a center, so its either i give up Wang or Doleac.

So for season 2, my starting 5 consists of

7'1 Shaq
7'2 Parker
7'0 Wolf
6'5 Sarault (Undrafted RC)
6'4 Wade

Key Subs

7'5 Long
6'8 Haslem
6'7 Rasual Butler
6'6 Person
6'4 Dooling

Wolf I have a Wolf in my dynasty a Rodrick Wolf

That's my player too. Rodrick Wolf, 7'1, SF. =)

The Heat has won 4 more games during the past week as they are now 36-1, with the one lost coming from the hands of Sacramento. I've been looking forward to the rematch but that is not going to happen anytime soon. Josh Smith suffered a thumb injury but he has recovered now.

Wolf was playing well for the past 3 games where he averaged 22ppg, but he only scored 12pts against the Bucks last night. Redd exploded for 37pts but was held to just 4pts in the 4th. Shaq finished the game with 38pts, 12rebs, 5blks, and 4asts. Wade had 23pts, 9asts, and 5stls. Favreau had 16pts and 6rebs. Abraham is also playing well in the last 3 games as he averaged 10ppg and 3.3stls.

I've always been a calm gamer but whenever i play the Celtics i can't help it but to curse in frustration! That team really annoys me, they have been the pebble in my shoe for 5 seasons now. Delonte West has become so good that he is able to dominate me, shooting contested threes and even making lay ups in front of Shaq. Then you add Pierce who just makes whatever shot he throws in the air no matter how many defenders is on him. Lafrentz and Jefferson has become very good shot blockers and it frustrates me when they can block Shaq's hook shot! Anyway, I beat them again for the 3rd time this season, but i would always struggle in the 1st 3 quarters before i get rid of them in the 4th.

At the start of this season i thought Shaq had already played his best seasons in the NBA and this year would be the start of grandpa time for him. Having spent a 3rd of last season on the injured list, he mustered enough strenght to give Miami it's 4th straight championship. Shaq missed 5 games early on in this season and i thought that this could be another injury filled season and the MVP will be out of his reach again. But Shaq came back strong after that injury, he was chosen East Player of the game for December and he's up to number 3 in the MVP race. His December average was 26.7pts, 10.5rebs, 4.5blks, 2.8asts, and .52stls. Shaq has also become better in free-throw shooting as he is currently making 66% of his free-throws.

Favreau earned another East Rookie of the month award. Averaging 17.6pts, 8.8rebs, 2.5asts, 1.02stls, and .86blks. He has already tied Parker for the most Rookie of the Month award at 2. He is looking at playing better in the coming months to win Rookie of the Year honors. Although the last time i was close to winning it, the 76ers rookie stole the award from me!

The Heat have 2 games left before the 2008 All-Star weekend and so far they have lost only 1 game, against the Kings. They are looking to avenge that lost before the All-Stars as they face the Kings this week. During the last 2 games, it was Wolf who was carrying the Heat on his back with stellar performance on both sides of the floor. He scored 29 and 24 pts in his last 2 games and this helped the Heat a lot. Favreau had a career high of 18rebs against the hornets along with 12pts and 2asts.

It's sad to say that Favreau's task of being the unanimous choice of Rookie of the Month has been spoiled. he didn't win the award for January eventhough he had superior average than the player who won, i think this is because of the number of games the Heat played for january. Shaq didn't win Player of the Month too.

It's frustrating to know that i should save the settings everytime i win an award. i missed saving it althrough this season so my Hall of Fame trophies lacks the awards i already gotten this season. Namely, 2 Rookie of the month awards for Favreau and 2 Player of the month awards by Shaq.

Shaq has been averaging 24pts, 10rebs, and 8blks in the last 4 games. He has increased his average blocks to 5.05.
Wade is also buring up the league in the steals dept as he is not averaging 6.16spg. He had 9, 12, and 10 steals in the last 3 games.