"I hate to lose."

[Matthew]

May 12th, 2006.



Lakers @ twolves
KG was injured and I was lucky he was. This game was late at night so I wasn't really into this one. I was used to the scoring fest in the Hawks game, and Minnesota is actually decent without KG. Maybe twolve fans should get used to that . Kobe and Odom kept things close, but Minnesota held a 10 point lead just after half time. I was able to cut that down to 5 before the start of the fourth, and Kobe won the game for me down the strecth. Final Score 104-94 Lakers.


May 20th, 2006.



Twolves @ Lakers
Once again, my overconfidence got the worst of me in this game. I wasn't worried after the Jazz loss, but i started this game 1-10 from the feild! The twolves with KG in the lineup are hard to score on, and I'm beginning to notice a different strategy on Kobe. Teams seem to have one guy playing phsyical on him, and not collapsing on him, but playing close to him. This makes it harder to pass to a cutter for an easy layup. After one the Timberwolves were up 29-14, with kobe only scoring 2 first quarter points. I benched kobe and started to make a run in the second quarter, and when kobe returned i actually tied it at 44 before the twolves closed the half out on a 5-0, but I brought it back to a two point deficit, 48-46 at halftime.
2nd Half
Despite that surge, I was still completely confident that I would win this game. Ricky Davis and KG put any hopes to bed in an anhiliation in the third. Minnesota outscored me by 16 points to lead 84 -66 going into the fourth. I played my started for the first few minutes, but once it was clear I couldnt cacth minnesota, i rested the main guys to prevent injury and took a 111-88 loss.


June 10th, 2006.



Lakers @ Twolves
Uh oh, this is the team that embarrased the lakers on their homefloor. The twolves won the tip, but kobe blocked ricky davis and dished it to Odom for a breakaway dunk to begin the game, but odom pulled his back out on that play. He would later return, but it would only add to the drama. Despite Odom's absence, Kobe would step back into his role of instigating the offense and kobe would resume his scoring role. Byron Russell (remember they signed him?) hit 2 3's in the first period, but even without Odom L.A. was up 32-30 after one. Kobe had 16 points in that first period. In the second quarter, Marko Jaric and KG started to find their rythym, but with Odom returning and contributing the lakers would take a 57-50 lead into halftime. It was amazing to see how differently odom played with the injury. His footspeed wasnt slowed, but he lost alot of elevation and was laying the ball up instead of dunking it in a lot of situatiuons where he would throw it down.

2nd half
The timberwolves began to press alot of more and put pressure on smush, but with that smush was able to break the pressure and get easy baskets for odom/warrick/ mihm/caffey. The tinberwolves were hitting their strides though and answered each laker run to keep it close, down by 8, 89-81. If Minnesota was hot in the 3rd, they were uneblievable in the fourth. Russell continued his suprising play. KG was domiant. Ricky Davis and Jaric were spectacular. They wiped a 8 point deficit away and managed to build a 6 point lead. Kobe was fantastic in the fourt however and kept it close, but I could stop the twolves. With 1:30 or so remaining, the timberwolves were up up by 7. Kobe drilled a three to cut it to four. Timberwolves would score to give themseves a 6 point lead back. Kobe hit another 3, and the lead was cut to three. Mark Blount was fouled and he made one of two free throws, and the lead was just 4. Kobe hit another 3, lead down to one. Jaric Hit a floater and was fouled, he made the foul shot. Lead back to 4. Kobe another 3, lead back to one. Russell was fouled on a drive, he made one ft, elad down to two. Kobe was instantly swarmed and dished it to mihm who missed an open layup. KG would make 2 free throws. Next play odom was fouled, and made one of two, 3 point game. KG hit a turnaround, minnesota up by 5. Kobe hit another 3, lead down to two. Jaric was fouled and made on of two, and kobe hit a three to tie it up with no time remaining! He hit 6 threes in such a small amount of time, and i was so stunned/ happy i forgot to save the replay!

In the second overtime on this road trip, Kobe continued to dominate, but no more 3's. The game was tied with 1 minute 30 remaining when kobe would hit an 18 footer, and KG would miss a turnaround defended by warrick and in tranistion odom drew kgs 6th foul and made a 3 point play. The game was effectivly over at that point, and I walked out of there with a 145 to 139 win. The twolves scored 47 (thats right, 47) points in the 4th quarter. When I look back at this season series, the way I beat minnesota convincingly without kg, the way they domianted me on my homefloor, and then this game, Ive never had a better season series in any game, and it ranks right up there with one of my classic videogame memories ever.

[Matthew]

As many of you guys know, I did a Lakers assosiciation with NBA 2k6 last year. As one of the highlights, I had an amazing season series with the Timberwolves. It was so good in fact, that when it came time to choose a team for a nba 2k7 season, I decided to go with Minnesota.

With obvious holes and flaws in the Timberwolves roster, I have decided to go one full month without any trades. I want to see which players are good enough to keep, and which ones have to go. Garnett will be the only one left standing, but I will be getting him some help one way or another.

With all that being said, I firmly believe I can win the division with Denver being the only threat to me. To start the season off, I will be playing 10 minute quarters. For the first week, it will be on All Star and then regardless of how I'm doing bumped up to the next difficulty level.

I hope you guys enjoy it

[Matthew]

Roster

K.Garnett (96) PF, 3 years/22 mil
M. James (84) PG, 4 yrs/ 4.21 mil
R. Davis (81), SG, 2 years/7 mil
R. Foye (80), SG,4 years/2.4 mil
E. Griffin(79), PF, 2 years/ 2.97 mil
R. McCants(75), SG, 3 years/ 1.82 mil
M. Jaric (74), PG, 5 years/6.07 mil
T. Hudson(73), PG, 4 years/6.16 mil
M. Blount (70), C, 4 years/ 7.4 Mil
T. Hassell (69), SF, 4 years/ 4.79 mil
J. Reed (65), SF, 1 year/ 730k

[Matthew]

Transactions:

Timberwolves sign Anfernee Hardaway to a on year deal worth 400 k.
Wizards sign D. Christie
Spurs sign V. Lenard
Sonics sign E. Campbell
Pacers sign T. Best
Nuggets sign R. Rogerrs
Nuggets sign A. Davis
Knicks sign J. Jackson
Kings sign T. Gugliotta
Grizzlies sign K. Kittles
Blazers sign L. Sprewell
76ers sign G. Robinson

[Matthew]

[Lamrock]

WOOT! This will be great... How long a season? I recommend 29 personally... Be sure to trade James.

[Drex]

! I'll be following this one. Good to see Penny again

[Matthew]

As noted in the transactions section, I signed Penny to a one year deal. It's pretty harmless and if all goes to plan, Hardaway will be running point but defending the SF, with McCants and Foye starting.

Kings @ Timberwolves

In the first quarter the Kings jumped out to a 6 point lead, but good team defense limited Sacramento to only 18 first quarter points and I was able to enjoy a 5 point lead after 1. Kg had 10 first quarter points but would only have 2 in the second quarter. Foye played well and the score was 48-40 at halftime. Minnesota outrebounded Sacramento 29-17 in the first half.

The third waurter was much of the same, with Garnett dominating against the inferior Kings big men and the lead after 3 was 7. The fourth however saw a late surge by the Kings to bring the lead to 2, but McCants scored 7 straight and the T'wolves held on for a 4 point win.

Player of the Game



Kevin Garnett
37 points (17-30 fg)
15 rebounds
5 Assists
3 steals
1 block

Other stats
Foye 13 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, 1 block
Mark Blount 10 (5-5 fg), 10 rebounds
McCants had 12 points.


Movies
Hassell with the fastbreak block

Garnett with the steal and outlet pass to Foye

Foye with the big block in transition

[BigKaboom2]

NLSC file hosting + Quicktime movies =

Otherwise very nice.

[Matthew]

The movies aren't working for you?

[Patr1ck]

They work for me, just takes a few seconds to load it. Also, your Garnett steal/outlet pass movie has the wrong link.

I'll be following this.

at that screenshot's resolution

[Matthew]

Garnett with the steal and outlet pass to Foye
Thats the correct link, sorry. I'll have another update tonight.

[Lamrock]

Great first update. Really liked the videos. One thing: You should have a better, more informative first post with Game settings and Roster.

[Ty-Land]

Happy Days!!!

Great to see a new 2k association from you Matthew. Looks good so far. Will be keeping my eye on this.

[Srbija]

Glad to see you starting another one, hopefully it will be as good as your last one.

[Matthew]

Yeah the first post was rushed. The game is on 10 minute quarters on All star diffuiculty. Thats getting bumped up after the first week of play, which is after the next game. The sliders are set to default for the time being.

Minnesota @ Denver

After winning my first game at home against a pretty solid kings team, I felt fairly confident against Denver. I shouldn't have. The nuggest exploded in the first quarter, going up 30-8. The insertion of Penny provided a small spark for the Twolves, and I finished the quarter on a 13-3 run to cut the lead to 12 after the 1st quarter. The second quarter saw an improved defensive effort, but I could quite cut into the Nuggets lead. But with the way I finished the first quarter still fresh in my mind, I was confident of making a run in the second half. The Nuggets led at halftime 61-46.

The 2nd half saw KG completely dominate. I started the quarter on a 11-2 run to cut the lead to 6, but thats when the nuggets shifted gears and blew me away. They would outscore me 23-7 the rest of the quarter, then drop 36 points on me in the fourth quarter as Denver won convincingly: 122-87.

Player of the Game

Allen Iverson
29 points (12-23 fga)
11 assists,
3 steals

(pretty realistic stats for A.I.)

J.R Smith 28 points, Melo had 15.
KG 36 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals
Griffen 11 points, 10 rebounds
Foye 10 points, 5 rebounds

Next game @ Portland.

Before the game, I decided to make a lineup switch:

PG. McCants
SG. Foye
SF. Hassell
PF. Garnett
C. Blount

2nd unit

PG. James
SG. Penny
SF. Ricky Davis
PF. Madsen
C. Griffen

I figured that Ricky Davis should play better in a role off the bench, where he can just come on and score. McCants and Foye are both combo guards, so neither really play pg/sg, they just play aggressive. They're horrible defensively though. But Griffen has been good off the bench too and it should boost my second unit without hurting my starting lineup.

Twolves @ Portland

I didnt really know what to expect with the new lineup, but McCants brought alot of energy to the lineup and is quick enough to get out in the open court, somthing Mike James can't do in this game. Portland however kept getting to the line continuely. I wouldn't put it past this game to have incorporated home court advantage for foul calls. Despite that though I was up 24-23 after the first quater. But that lead would last as Portlands balanced attack hit its stride and they scored 30 points in the second quarter to lead 53-50 at halftime.

In the second half though the Timberwolves responded behind McCants. He was benefiting from the attention Garnett recieves and was able to use that space to get quality shots. Portland was still driving me crazy with unbelievable foul calls, but I retook the lead 70-69 after 3. But in the fourth quarter, McCants fell off and I only scored 16 4th quarter points as Portland ran away to an embarrasing defeat, 108-96.

Player of the Game:
Brandon Roy
29 points (15-20 fta! wtf)
6 assists
5 rebounds

KG 21 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists, 2steals
McCants 21 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists
Foye 13 points, 9 assists, 3 rebounds, 2 steals
Ricky Davis 20 points on 8-9 shooting

Despite that 4th quarter meltdown I decided to keep the same lineup and gameplan for the next game against Sacramento

Twolves @ Kings

I dont remember starting too many franchises with a 1-2 record, so I was definately motivated to win the next game. Sacramento however got an early jump, up 6-2 after the first minute. But thats when I put the foot down. I decided all of their scoring is coming from their backcourt, so if I double Bibby and off the ball guard Martin, I should be able to slow them down. The strategy worked and I lead 58-43.

The second half was more of a stroll then an epic battle as the Twolves coasted to a 115-96 win.

Player of the game

Kevin Garnett
32 points
17 rebounds
3 assists
3 steals

Foye had 25 points on 12-15 shooting, 6 assists and 2 rebounds.
McCants had 18 points on 8-12 shooting, 8 assists, 5 rebounds, 2 steals
Griffin had 6 points and 11 rebounds
Davis had 20 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assist and 1 steal.

So KG, Foye, McCants and Davis combined for 95 of the 115 points. Thats a bit of a concern, and I'm considering an early trade but I still want to wait at least one NBA 2k7 calender month before making any deals.

Videos
KG steal ignites the break

KG faces up and makes a great finish at the basket

KG block leads to another fastbreak dunk


Next game is against the Lakers, and its the first game of the main reason why I selected the Timberwolves for this franchise. It's also the last game before I bump up the difficulty.

[Andrew]

I'm interested to see if you'll end up making that deal you were thinking of before you started...and if you can wait the full calendar month, of course. Is KG leading the league in scoring?

[Matthew]

Minnesota @ Lakers

The game began quite slow for both teams. Both Foye and McCants weren't in the same groove they had been the last two games, but Garnett was playing well and I jumped out to an 11-5 lead. Smush scored their first 5 points. But then Kobe would go on a rampage, scoring 19 straight points for the Lakers. Thier momentum helped them to a 9 point lead but a late Mike James 3 cut it to 6 after the first period. Kobe had 21 in that quarter, and Smush had 8. They combined for 29 of the Lakers 32.

Ricky Davis had entered that quarter and scored 6 late points, but in the second quarter he simply exploded! He would have 18 points in the quarter, and despite 14 from Kobe the Lakers lead would be cut to one at half time: 57-56.

The second half I made a switch and put Hassell on Kobe, and decided to guard him myself off the ball. It worked as Bryant only had 4 3rd quarter points, but Smush and Odom were effective enough for the Lakers to not lose any ground, and would still lead by one after 3 quarters: 81-80.

In the fourth however, I had to go back to guarding whoever had the ball. Kobe would only have 8 points this quarter, but Odom and Smush were playing great and simply couldnt finish it off. Ricky Davis played brilliantly though and finished with 50 points off the bench, but it wasnt enough as L.A. won 115-110.

Player of the Game

Kobe Bryant
47 points (19-35 shooting)
4 assists
2 rebounds

Smush Parker 26 points (9-11 shooting), 9 assists, 2 rebounds
Odom 19 points, 13 rebounds, 4 assists

Ricky Davis 50 points (22-29 shooting), 3 rebounds, 2 assists
KG 21 points, 9 rebound, 4 assists, 2 steals
Foye 11 points, 8 assists, 2 rebounds

Despite the loss, the game had the exact same feel of last years games between the Lakers and Twolves where there wasnt anything between the two teams. Thats exactly what I was looking for and it's good to have it again.

Penny tips the offensive rebound to himself, then puts it in just before the end of the 3rd quarter

Andrew, KG here are the scoring leaders:

Kobe 36.8 ppg
Ray Allen 30.3 ppg
KG 29.4 ppg
Wade 27.0 ppg
Iverson 27.0 ppg
Bosh 26.3 ppg
Pierce 25.3 ppg
Lebron 25.3 ppg

[Mark.]

Good to see you back with another Dynasty Matthew, I enjoyed reading your lakers one

Its awesome that you have maintained this rivalry between LA and Minny into this year.

I look forward to seeing what roster movements you are going to make.

[Matthew]

Thanks Mark. The rivalry from 2k6 was a main reason, but I've always wanted to do a Minnesota franchise. In live 2002 I started one and played 15 or so games before I ruined it by trading for Vince Carter and Elton Brand, just exploiting the crappy trade AI. I wont be doing that again.

And in other news, I traded Mark Blount and Ricky Davis for Kobe and a 1st round pick. Just kidding.

Magic @ Timberwolves

This was the first game of the new difficulty, so I was a bit unsure of what I could do. How I could defend, what impact my on the ball defense would have on rebounding. Is there any real differences the cpu defends etc.

Orlando scored the first basket of the game, but I countered with a 7-0 run. Orlando brought it back to a 2 point game (11-9) before I went on a 14-2 run sparked by the man of the hour, Ricky Davis. Davis had 10 points in the first quarter as I jumpoed out to a 32-18 lead after the first period.

The second quarter showed little defense as both teams put up 35 points. I shot 61 % and Orlando's defense was very shaky on the perimeter. JJ Reddick is a starter for them and was often burnt by McCants or Foye, whoever he guarded.

In the second half though, Orlando tightened its defense up and really made a strong charge. JJ Reddick hit alot of open three's (I was guarding on the ball alot, but once a guard I was defending threw and entry pass to Howard, I would double team him, and he dished and bam, Reddick three). The Magic cut the lead down to one, 81-80 before I closed the quarter out a little bit better: up 90-83.

I started the fourth quarter on an amazing scoring binge. At one point I was on a 30-4 run which obviously put the game of reach for the Magic. Mike James hit 4 three's in that period, and McCants was playing great too. Orlando looked very tired. I'm not sure if they had a few games before this one (there is progressive fatigue in NBA 2k7) or they just put so much energy into the 3rd quarter run. Either way I outscored them 43-11 to cruise to a 133-94 victory and moved to 3-3 on the season.

Player of the Game

Kevin Garnett
26 points
15 rebounds
4 assists
2 steals
1 block

Other stats:
Davis 28 points, 6 rebounds, 3 steals
Foye 24 points, 10 assists, 6 rebounds, 2 steals
McCants 23 points (10-13 fg), 6 assists, 4 rebounds, 1 steal
Mike James 13 points (4-6 3pt) 2 assists 1 rebound

Dwight Howard had 11 points and 18 rebounds. Reddick had 19 points.

Davis, Garnett, McCants and Foye combined for 101 points, and not one of them went over 30. Thats pretty balanced.



Garnett with a huge block on Nelson

Reddick misses a 3 and the Timberwolves fastbreak

A closer video, this time a nice finish by Ricky Davis on the break

And finally a crazy layup by Ricky Davis.

Before the Laker game I put Jaric on the trading block and I've recieved the following offers:

Brian Skinner
Tim Thomas
Stromile Swift
E. Najera
J. Foster
E. Watson

Right now I dont want to take McCants or Foye out of the starting lineup. Tim Thomas looks like a perfect fit right now. If I accept the trade, this is how my lineup would be:

PG. McCants/ James/ Hudson or Penny
SG. Foye/ Davis/ Penny
SF. Tim Thomas/ Hassell/ Penny
PF. Garnett/ Madsen/ Tim Thomas
C. Blount/ Griffen

Plus he would certainly add to the vs Laker theme after last years playoffs. But Stromile Swift looks like a good deal too. I don't really need another sf (although another scorer would be good) the way I could use another versatile big man. Plus Swift is still relatively young, and devloping him into what alot of people saw as potential when he was drafted looks fun too.

I could go either way with this decision.

[Ty-Land]

I would seriously consider, out of those options, Swift, Foster and Thomas (in that order)

Swift mainly for the reasons you stated. Very versatile, young and can play the 4 + 5. Good on the boards, good shot blocker and with McCants, Foye and Garnett spreading the floor he will probably get a few easy lay ins and dunks on the inside.

Foster for similar reasons to above. Can play both power positions, good rebounder, decent defender and can chip in a few points here and there. He would bring hustle to the team, and further energy.

I naturally hate Thomas being a Bucks fan IRL, but I could see it working out. Can play the 3 and 4, fill up the scoreboard, and grab a few rebounds. Would be a liability on defence though, and would more than likely be streaky.

I think it makes sense for Memphis to make the trade for Jaric as well for a couple of reasons. Firstly, they are in need for a point guard, especially one that is healthy. Secondly, I can't imagine the wolves trading Jaric to the Clippers (or the Clippers wanting him back after his poor run there) who they exchanged him for Cassell in the first place. Thirdly, the Pacer have a lot of PG's would they realisticallly want another. So for all of the above reasons I would go for Swift.

[Pistol]

def get foster, he is a beast on the boards...