Celtics Revolution - (7-3) Fantasy Draft Dynasty

[Revolver]

Hey, I'm starting up a dynasty with a fantasy draft for the Celts but I can't decide who to take with my first pick (second overall). What do you guys think?

I am pretty new to this game so I'll start on All-Star 8 minite quarters and move up to superstar if it is too easy. I will play 29 games, with 5-5-5-5 playoff setup on my ps2. I'll try to get some pics and stuff if I can but I don't play on my computer so it could be hard.

So once I get results from the poll. I'll start.

[Donatello]

Tracy McGrady. He dominates like no other.

[JaoSming]

Tmac thats what I did

[double_g]

Yeah go for T-Mac

[KIG1]

Get Mutumbo.

[Lakers08]

T-MAC... I like him more than Kobe....

[Revolver]

NBA Fantasy Draft Announced!

The league owners voted 22-8 today to, in essence, restart the league by having a fantasy draft. "I feel that this is whats best for the league at this time," stated one owner who asked not to be named. The draft will commence shortly. In addition, the season wil be shortened to 29 games with a 5-5-5-5 playoff format, also voted on.

[Revolver]

NBA Draft Filled With Surprises

A mere week before the much anticipated NBA Fantasy Draft, the celtics fired GM Danny Ainge, and hired Nick Sennott to make the future roster decisions with Doc Rivers. But without any further events, the draft commenced, with a shocker.

"With the first pick in the NBA Fantasy draft," commisioner David Stern announced.

"The Miami Heat select...Steve Francis, shooting guard." The selection was met with boos throughout the crowd, along with shouts of, "LOL" and "ROFL." The Celtics followed that up with small forward Tracy McGrady. The Celtics announced earlier this week that they would make that selection with the second pick, and a smattering of applause followed Mr. Sennott's first major move. However, those wearing Kobe and LeBron James jerseys, expecting to see those stars gone early would have to wait. Power forward Kevin Garnett was scooped with the third pick by the Bulls who hope to return to champion form that has been lacking since MJ's departure.

The draft went smoothly all in all, with a few risers and fallers, but every team felt that they did well in it. Here's the results from rounds 1 and 2.

1. Miami - Steve Francis, Steve Nash

2. Boston - Tracy McGrady, Dwight Howard

3. Chicago - Kevin Garnett, Tayshaun Prince

4. Atlanta - Tim Duncan, Andre Iguodala

5. Charlotte - Amare Stoudemire, Cory Maggette

6. Cleveland - Ben Wallace, Jermaine O'Neal

7. Denver - LeBron James, Ray Allen

8. Detroit - Rasheed Wallace, Lamar Odom

9. Golden State - Shaquille O'Neal, Chris Bosh

10. Houston - Vince Carter, Gilbert Arenas

11. Indiana - Dirk Nowitzki, Rashard Lewis

12. LA Clippers - Allen Iverson, Eddy Curry

13. LA Lakers - Elton Brand, Peja Stojakovich

14. Memphis - Shawn Marion, Jason Richardson

15. Dallas - Kobe Bryant, Jason Kidd

16. Milwaukee - Baron Davis, Nene

17. Minnesota - Andre Kirilenko, Larry Hughes

18. New Jersey - Kenyon Martin, G. Wallace

19. New Orleans - Paul Pierce, Jamal Crawford

20. New York - Zydrunas Ilgauskus, Pau Gasol

21. Orlando - Yao Ming, Antawn Jamison

22. Philadelphia - Stephon Marbury, Samuel Dalembert

23. Phoenix - Carmelo Anthony, Michael Finley

24. Portland - Richard Jefferson, Cuttino Mobley

25. Sacramento - Brad Miller, Antoine Walker

26. San Antonio - Dwyane Wade, Chauncey Billups

27. Seattle - Manu Ginobli, Jason Terry

28. Toronto - Ron Artest, Ben Gordon

29. Utah - Joe Johnson, Kirk Hinrich

30. Washington - Marcus Camby, Tyson Chandler

The Boston Globe

NBA Draft Recap

If you told Kobe Bryant he would be the 15th player taken, he would have laughed.

But he's not laughing now. As the second-highest rated player in the draft, he expected to ge gone in the first 5 picks. However, he dropped to a Dallas team with an albeit aging, but still excellent point guard in Jason Kidd. Is this the best for Kobe?

"I don't think so," he responded. "I don't feel like we can win championships without a big man."

Dallas may try and work a trade for a dominant inside player to support the magnificent backcourt.

Meanwhile, Miami is in turmoil over their draft. Selecting Steve Francis with the first pick was bad, but the overall underwhelming draft has led to the firing of their GM, in addition to other spots in the front office. The team is by no means bad, but it could have played with Kevin Garnett, Kobe, or LeBron, plus Gilbert Arenas, Bosh, Howard or another solid secondary player. They hope that good coaching from Pat Riley can get them out of this jam.

On the other hand, the Celtics had an excellent draft, getting both of the players they wanted. Tracy McGrady was scooped with the second pick and Dwight Howard was picked up in the second round. "We're really happy with what transpired in this draft,' said GM Nick Sennott. "We have dominant starters, and fantastic role players off the bench."

Some of those role players include Tim Thomas, Kyle Korver, Leandro Barbosa, Rashad McCants, and Marvin Williams could even be coming off the bench. The Celts also were able to get aging big man Sean Bradley to provide an inside presence. They may also need to trade a few palyers away in order to increase cap space.

The Celtics came to agreement with the best Assistant coach in the league afterwards, in addtion to a trainer and scout.

But who else did well? Denver and San Antonio immediately leap to mind, (more on that later), but Utah did too. Getting young, solid players in the backcourt, they should be able to be a formidable opponent, despite picking very late in the draft. Both Kirk Hinrich and Joe Johnson are great shooters who'll light teams up from the outside.

Back to Denver. They have LeBron who is potentially the best player of them all. Already at a 95 rating, he could easily move up to 98 or even 99 in the next 3 years. However, his weakness is outside shooting, and Denver picked up Ray Allen, the well-known sharpshooter to fill that hole.

On to San Antonio, they not only pciked up Chauncey Billups in the second round, but they were able to grab Dwyane Wade very late in the first round. Along wih Dallas and Utah over the next few years, they have the best backcourt in the game right now. It will be about the frontcourt to win championships. They also did it all with the 26th pick in each round. Wade said afterwards, "I feel like we did the best of any team based on our situation."

We'll see how that pans out.

[CouchPotato94]

Good start, nice writing.

[Cornerthree]

Kobe's better...

[Revolver]

Kobe is better, but T-Mac's my favorite player so I went with him. Anyways, here's some articles on the team after their first two games.

The Boston Globe

Celtics Preapre for Opener

The Boston Celtics will play their first game tonight in Miam agains the Heat. Despite controversy surrounding the Heat's draft, they have opened with a 2-1 record, hoping to improve by beating a team that hasn't played a single game yet. The Heat will look to score with Nash and Steve Francis in the backcourt while Andrew Bogut holds down the fort on the inside. Celtics GM Nick Sennott has worked with Doc Rivers to get the starting lineup going.

-The game starts at 7 in Miami

Ok, here's the lineup I came up with. I've decided to play small (in a way) by playing Howard at center with Marvin at PF to take advantage of his better shooting skills.

PG - Sebastian Telfair

SG - Tracy McGrady

SF - James Posey

PF - Marvin Williams

C - Dwight Howard

Hakim Warrick, Sean Bradley, Kyle Korver, Tim Thomas, Leandro Barbosa, Rashad McCants, and L. Harrington all come off the bench.

Tim Thomas always comes in for PF, SF, and SG while Bradley comes in for just C, and Harrington enters for just PG. Everyone else comes in for all positions but C.

Here's the recap from the newspaper.

The Boston Globe

Celtics Can't Take The Heat in 106-90 Loss

The Celtics opened their season with a loss in Miami, but it didn't look like it would turn that way in the beginning. Harsh criticism has been directed at the Heat, particularly by Celtics' GM Nick Sennott. Their first selection, Steve Francis, was seen by many as an absurd choice. And when the teams stepped onto the court, both in throwback away jerseys, nothing was forgotten. Miami started the game with Steve Nash at the point, accompanied by Francis in the backcourt. Zach Randolph started the PF position with Grant Hill at SF and Andrew Bogut at center. The key matchup was seen by many to be between Dwight Howard and Andrew Bogut, both young, strong inside players.

The Celtics controlled the tip, getting the ball to Tracy McGrady for a contested 3 as the shot clock wound down. The shot clanged off the rim, but Dwight Howard lept up and snared the ball, stuffing it through the rim and silencing the hyped Miami crowd. The Celtics were able to control Nash's outside game, but from the very beginning they struggled with Francis driving to the hoop and jamming it. The Celtics went to their bench in the first due to fatigue, and their 7 point lead dwindled to a 1 point deficit.

Boston was forced to return their starters to the floor, but much to their horror, they could do nothing. The game slipped until the Celtics were 8 points back. Sebastian Telfair called a timeout, and Doc Rivers called for the ball to go inside to Howard. It was the right move, and the Celtics were down 6. A steal for an easy bucket, followed by a 1-2 showing at the line from Tracy McGrady made it a 3 point game. A missed 3 by Nash gave the ball to the Celtics. Kyle Korver was open in the corner and he drained the set 3 point shot to tie it up. But alas, Miami returned and made ti a 5 point game again.

The Celtics went to the line, but struggled over and over again while Steve Nash hit shots left and right. At the half, he had 25 points, 1 rebound, and 2 assists. Howard had 10 points, 7 rebounds, and 1 of each block, assist, and steal.

The second half was awash in terrible shot attempts. 3 pointers rained from the Celtics hands, but almost all bricked and the lead crept out to 21 before the ball was put back in Howard's hands. He rattled off a huge slam and then and And-1 play to make it a 16 point game. However, the Celts forget their inside success against Bogut and started chucking up shots again. They could never get closer than 12. But they never gave up, even fouling with less than a minute less, down 14.

The game could not be won, and they fell 106-90. Steve Nash did not score in the 4th quarter, but still finished with 33 points, a rebound, and 3 assists as the player of the game. Francis avenged his critics by leading the Heat with 34 points. Celtics' GM Nick Sennott was impressed afterwards: "He did a great job of fighting his way inside and getting the ball in the net once he did. He certainly is on the road to justify his high selection now."

The Celtics will look to rebound against the Raptors. If they want to do so, they will have to improve upon their free throw percentage - a measly 31.8%. The bench played well, despite the loss, and will ahev to continue that. For the Celtics, the bench just needs to be able o hold games in check for a few minuted near the ends of quarters.

[Jing]

wow yao is playing for orlando, he must be happy, disneyworld

[Revolver]

Yeah. I'm not sure when I'm playing them, but we'll prolly ride space Mountain when we're there.

NESN Sports Talk

Celtics Look To Win First Game In Toronto

"And now over to Steve Nomes for the scoop on tonight's Celtics game."

"Thanks Janice. The Celtics will play tonight in Toronto against the 1-1 Raptors. The Celts were blown out in their first game by the Heat, a much superior team to the Raptors. The Celtics will start the same 5, and the Raptors will play with Brandon Haywood at center, P.J. Brown at PF, Ron Artest at SF, and Ben Gordon with Gary Payton in the backcourt.

Artest will most likely be matched up with Tracy McGrady - a key matchup for both teams. And now, back to you Janice for a Bruins report."

NESN Sports Talk

Celts Send The Raptors Back In Time

"Alright Steve, now back to you for a recap of the Celtics second game of the season."

"Thanks Mike. The Celtics once again opened up with a lead, but this time the results were different. They were up 3 at the end of the first, but a series of steals and layups by Sebastian Telfair and Tracy McGrady led to an 11 point lead. The bench players then stepped in, and solidified the lead that had been passed back and forth in the first quarter. At the half, it was a 12 point lead for the Celtics. Tracy McGrady had 17 points, 2 rebounds, and 3 steals while Desmond Mason, playing off the bench, had 8 points, 2 rebounds, an assist, and a steal.

The third quarter was then more of the same, with the Celtics increasing the Raptor's deficit to 17, after they had worked it to just 8. The bench players were the cause of the comeback, but they also corrected it. They played the entire second half of the third quarter and got it to a 17 point lead. Harington hit 3 3's in the quarter, going 3-4 for the game, and Marvin Williams scored 10 of his 16 points in the quarter as well. He also had 10 rebounds.

In the fourth quarter, the Celtics took off. They were able to squelch a few runs, and Tracy McGrady and Dwight Howard scored down the stretch. McGrady finished with 30 points, putting his season average at 32.5 ppg. He also had 2 rebounds and 4 steals. The player of the game, Dwight Howard, had 26 points, just 2 rebounds, 5 blocks, and 2 steals. He shot 10/15 from the line, to improve his percentage to above 50%. The final score was 124-101, and though Howard was the player of the game, Marvin Williams was the MVP. He has played the most minutes of the team this year, and shot well in the win, even when playing with the bench players."

"Thanks Steve."

"Thanks Mike."

The Boston Globe

Celtics Make Announcement Regarding Several Players, Prepare for Bulls

Celtics' GM Nick Sennott today announced that the reason Rashad McCants had not played a minute was because of a rift between him and the management. McCants demanded before the season to start, and when he was denied, he left the team. The Celtics are looking to trade him away. Another player the Celtics are having a hard time with is Kyle Korver. Coach Doc Rivers announced the only reason he played him was because GM Nick Sennott told him to just try him out. After the loss to Miami, Korver reportedly yelled that he was not passed the ball enough. He played minimally in the Celts' win, going 0-4 from the field. He has taken 12 shots this year, all 3's, and made 3 of them. He has not hit a shot since the second quarter of the Heat game. Nick Sennott said the team was also looking to trade Korver for a more versatile player. "Soemone who can penetrate would be perfect," said Sennott.

Meanwhile, the Celtics are preparing for the game against the Chicago Bulls today, who picked after the Cletics in the draft. Korver and McCants will not play in the game, and several offers for trades are expected to be made today reharding them. The Bulls are 1-2, and plan to start B. Knight and Michael Redd at guard, Tayshaun Prince and Kevin Garnett at forwards, and M. Okur at C. Garnett has been a slight disappointment, averaging about 19 points a game so far. The Bulls look to dominate the game at the forwards position, also using solid forwards off the bench. If they can't get both offensive and defencsive production out of at least Garnett and Prince, the Celtics will win the game without many problems.

[Revolver]

I'll just describe what happened in the games because I've played eight games since I last posted.

Bulls:123-107 win, T-Mac had 40 points, Howard had 33 and 11 rebounds plus 4 blocks

Cavaliers: 114-104 loss, Ben Wallace dominated, T-Mac had 39

Hornets: Down 17 at halftime but I tied it at 96 with a little over a minute left. I stole the ball when it was tied at 98 with 7 seconds left and McGrady hit a 3 as time expired to win it 101-98. Tracy had 57 points. Came back using 1-2-2 full court press.

Grizzlies: Worst game of the year, tons of 3 point plays for them and just awful 127-96 loss. Korver had 21 points though, playing for the first time in a while. It did lead to good things, as I moved Howard to PF and Marvin to C. It worked well. It also caused me to make some changesm such as always doing Full Court press and a different substitution system.

T-Wolves: Good game for us, we played well with the 6-2 wolves, but fell behind at the end, just to see Tracy McGrady hit 6 3's in the last 2 minutes, having 45 points. Howard also played well with 28 points and good defense in the 111-110 win. Chris Kaman missed a game winning shot as time expired from the foul line. We really needed this win.

Orlando: A solid win with Howard leading the way with 39 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 blocks and steal. T-Mac also had 38. We were back 19 at the half ay battled back to tie it at 101 with 2:42 to go. We then took the lead and just held on.

Jazz: A good time with an 0-5 (now 0-6) record. T-Mac had 22 points in the first quarter and 30 in the half as we led 58-53. With the subs in at the end of the third and up 3, Harrington hit an open 3 to make it a 12 point game, then a steal and fastbreak 3 by Tim thomas made it a 15 point game. They never came back. T-Mac had 44 and 3 steals and Howard had 26 points and 7 rebounds. Win 110-96

Kings: We fell back by 7 in the first but a Posey thre followed by him stealing the inbound and dunking it it was a 2 point game. Tracy McGrady had 40 and 3 steals and Howard had 24 and 9 rebounds despite not shooting well in the 117-98 win.

[Lakers08]

can't believe that steve francis got 1st draft pick

[CouchPotato94]

Telfair is the poor man's Steve Nash. Just look at my last game recap on my dynasty. He's a friggin beast.

[z50bo]

You got Telfair
Hes one of the best young PG in the game

[nets4life]

not bad draft, Tmac is better than Kobe no doubt! i personally would have gone with Bosh as my 2nd pick. Marv Williams will become a beast!

[Lakers08]

anyway nice picks....many good in 3 pointers from the bench like Korver and Thomas...

[.Dee.]

6-2 not bad mayne, nice recap and all, really long lol. keep it up.
.
.
.
Payce:::....