SSBA

Dude, there are just some teams you generally feel bad for.  There are times I've generally felt bad for the Hawks, they seem to have rotten luck.  The Hornets are one of them.

They absolutely had one of the 3 best teams in the league this year.  To lose in the first round, to the wizards, is a travesty.  I mean, the wizards have done a nice little job this year, but they're not in the Hornets class.

Anyway, round 1 is up.

wow.... j rich was just HUGE!!!! he's on fire... haywood was so good defensively he's top 7 in steals per game...the only center in the list....and shultz was productive also... i cant wait for round 2... :lol: i guess the trade made late in the trade deadline works out really well...

nice series pacers

So another quick exit from the Celtics, not surprising this time it came at the hands of the world-class Nets.

A bit disappointed i couldn't make it a real series after having some success against them during the regular season, but first i overvalued Manu's defense at SF and them Chauncey put up a bad bad outing which cost me at least one, if not two games.

Celtics lost game 2 and 3 in the 4th were I had a 3pt and 10pt lead respectively. The other games were blowout losses. Congratulations to the Nets and good luck against the surprise Magic (as if they need luck)
 :wink:

Well, back to the drawing board for my Celtics and lets work on the team for 2013 now ...
 8)

btw, when will the contract extension be given? :D

You're not kidding. You're on fire. Congrats. There is really nothing more to say. Not only did JRich torch Melo on Offense, he shut him down on defense.

4 - 1 vs the Wolves. Started with 3 - 0 lead.

Gatling - KG are scary combo but the series was more easier then i expected.

Duncan was a relatively quiet, understandable considering what a great defender KG is. But Tmac was once again pretty much unstopable.

Game #1
106 - 100. Tracy with great all round effort (26pts, 7as, 7rebs) as well as Mike Bibby (9pts, 12as, 6rebs). Duncan with modest 20/4/9 and Camby with 11pts and 15rebs. Great game for him.

Game #2
105 - 92. Nice ballanced scoring with 6 players in double figures. Enough to overcome KG's monstrous 38pts & 21rebs performance.

Game #3
103 - 89. Mcgrady with solid 32pts, 11rebs, Duncan 16pts, 14rebs, 4blocks, 4 steals, Mike Bibby 15pts, 14as and Danny The Man Forston with 14pts and 9rebs.

Game #4
85 - 93. Only loss. Led by 8 at the half and then got completely shut down in the second half. Camby was injured and wasn't playin this game. It seems he really makes a diference.

Game #5
112 - 90. Tmac and Duncan with their best games of the sim (Tmac with 37pts, 3st, 6as, 6rebs and Duncan with 23pts, 20rebs, 5as, 3bl, 2ste). Bibby had his usual 17pts & 11as and team went 55% from the 3. Led the entire game, Wolves never had a chance.

Wolves, congrats on a nice round and good luck with your team next year.

UP NEXT! WARRIORS VS KINGS!

This one is going to be classic! 8)

 :shock:
Wow, this has to hurt the Wiz as much as it overvalues the Hornets. I haven't understood the hype around them from day 1 (if you remember my quotes then). Just why is this a proclaimed title favourite team?

They got Yao, nice, who's perennial MVP and can't lead a team or carry it to the next level (like Dirk can), which he has proven over and over on other teams too.
The rest of their frontcourt is old. Good defenders but clearly not as valueable as they were earlier in their career (i see that myself with Ginobili). I have no clue why Pavel didn't play more or even start, he would have been exactly what Ben was 3 seasons ago. A top defender holding the opponent PF down and relieving Yao.

Radman is fine. He shouldn't start on a championship team but being a former Celtic I really like him. Good 6th man. Their SG and PG is ground solid, good %, no exorbitant high TO numbers and good defensively against most opponents.

Finally the bench. Surely one of the worst among contenders with Jaric, Wolkovski, Piatkowski and Priddy. Not one potential starter among them.

So, that said what are the Hornets? Good team, no doubt, among the better and their regular season success proved just that. But title contender? Hardly. Too many flaws. And give the "not in their class" Wiz a break, they just proved on day 109 and with earlier close sessions that they can play with the Hornets, so this "upset" doesn't come as complete surprise ...

Solid?  Solid?

Out of that entire post, that's all you had to say about their PG?

Livingston, in my mind, might be the best PG in the league.  Take the best overall PG in the league, with the best player in the league, and put good roleplayers around them, and I think that makes them a great team.

This is a team that went +10 ppg on the season.  +5 rpg.  They shot 46.5% on offense (first in the league), and held their opponents to 40.6% (first in the league).  They could beat you both inside and out (3rd in the league in 3pt%.  They dominated on both sides of the ball.

Sorry, I disagree.

I appreciate the sympathy Nets.
I felt a little sorry for myself, but really, what can I do. I had some doubts about this team because it was so streaky. I'd have a 7-0 sim followed by a 2-3 sim. It was strange.
Honestly though, I thought I'd make it to the conference finals...

Hm...Warriors barely made out of the first rn after being down 1-3. Could be a good sign...

Celts, I don't see how you would dispute with such vigor that I'm a top 3 team.
I'm not going to address all of your points, but I will address your grossest mischaracterization: my bench.
Here was the 2nd level of my DC during the regular season:

Podkolzine (12 mpg)
Gadzuric (23 mpg)
Piatowski (27 mpg)
Piatowski (27 mpg)
Jaric (9 mpg)

Priddy played in only 23 games and was never listed on my DC. Wolkowyski played only 9 mpg (shooting 49% from the field and 49% from three). Jaric, certainly my weakest bench player, also played only 9 mpg, but has A- defense.
Two of those guys have "A" defense. Podkolzine is one of the top shotblockers in the league.

I had a nice gameplan, I was pretty confident coming in despite being the 8th seed. Hughes was out the first two games but I was still able to steal one of those, but I wonder if Hughes could have gotten me that other game had he been in, he was going against their weakest defensive starter.

Not to mention the Warriors are currently MIA

I think he's on vacation

Won all fours games against Grizzlies, three of the POG goes to Griz and we still won.  Our whole team really played well.  Up next is the world champ from last year.

Wtf?! I just saw that Pacers lost to Magic as well! Oh my....Hornets and Pacers both out.

Well, I'm sorry this sounded like i want to rip you. Nothing could be further from the truth, I don't intend this to be personal. I really think you did a great job with this team this season, but I feel the team itself was overrated by some of the other GMs. Very good, no doubt, but hardly the favourite to win it all.

But hey, thats just my opinion, being a not very successful GM myself I might be completely off target here ...
 8)

Just on vacation...  I will be back online tommorrow...

might be too late the way the Dirkaneers nearly laid a big 0 in round 1

I didn't take it personally, I just thought it was a bad argument  :tup:

Hopefully they got through their first series jitters this past sim.

Nowitzki faced the toughest defender he is likely to see in the playoffs, and the team was able to squeak out a win.

Thhis battle with the Kings should be really good   :D

Round two is up.

After losing the first two at home, i thought I was done for.  Came back very strong.  9 of 10 games in the playoffs I've scored 100+ ppg.

Congrats to the Wizards (the continued cinderella team of the playoffs), Kings and Clippers.

Kings have to have the hardest road to a championship ever.  To win a championship they're going to have to go through the Wolves, Warriors, Clippers and (possibly) Nets.  Those teams, on average, went 57-25 in the regular season.

Props to the Kings for making this a series even with Bibby going down for games 2-5 (where they went 2-2 anyway). And does it get any better than a 1pt road win i game 7 ?

The rest of the series was a yawner though as 4 games were blowouts and a 4pt Kings win the closest otherwise. (probably the most important victory in Kings history btw., as going down 3-0 without Bibby would have ended the series effectively).

Next up the Clippers who didn't break a sweat again disposing the Mavs (who are THE surprise for me this year as they finally found a winning formula for their rating wise superb team)

The Magic had the Nets on the rope taking both in Jersey ... only to start choking losing all three at home themselves. But I give them credit, they are young and will only get better.

Wiz and Heat was decided by the only home win in the series. GOOD JOB Wiz, I love what you do (not only because it could be me doing it). For two seasons now we are engaged in the battle for a playoff spot, so i monitor them closely. And after getting SO CLOSE last year, leading the Pacers 3-1 in round1 only to lose they finally made it now. Just a great storyline and I hope it doesn't end here. They had similar success with the Nets as did I (going 2-2 winning all home dates) so the foundation seems there. And they are road warriors too going 20-21 in the reg season and 4-2 since.
YOU CAN DO IT, GO WIZ (sorry bods ...)
 8)

nice series bods. :D

sadly we were not able to stop the Nets when Profit held Petit into one of his worst (if not the worst) output in a playoff game.

http://ssba.phillyarena.net/boxes/139-3.html

11 pts and 6 turnovers. :D

I don't hear no one smiling anymore about my championship talks. 8)

Yep baby, back to back WCF.

 :cheers:

p.s. Celtics, repeat after me: Yes Ivan, you were right, you're always right. I deeply apologize for questioning any move and post you made. :)

oh how do i remember these shit from earlier seasons. The talk before the walk. How do we say in Austria "dogs that bark don't bite". You have accomplished NOTHING more than in earlier seasons so far. Not a bit.

Prove something before you beg for credit ...
 8)

Ok, on a serious side. What a series, as i said, true classic! Congrats to the Warrirors on a fantastic battle.

Jamal Tinsley stepped up BIG, just BIG and Igoudala was just wonderfull as well. Recap:

Game #1
102 - 115 L. Had a decent game by TD, Mcgrady, Tinsley and Forston but Warriors had 2 30+ scorers in Hinrich and Dirk + more blocks and steals. Clean loss.

Game #2
97 - 104 L. Going down 0-2 in the series. Tmac with 25pts but the rest of the team just laid a egg while Deng had a great game with 25pts, 12rebs, Dirk 36pts and Hinrich was a great floor general with 17pts and 13asits. Got outrebounded & outblocked as well.

Game #3
90 - 86 W. Back to the Arco Arena for a though 4pts W. Nowitzki was stopped by Iggy (24pts, only 4rebs ona  9/26 shooting) while TD & TMac combined for 53pts, 24rebs, 10as, 4st and 6blocks. Tinsley was great as he almost went for tripl double; 13pts, 12as, 8rebs and held Hinrich to 13pts on a 5/16 from the floor. Held the entire team to 36% from the field . Just a great defensive effort. Probably the best in the whole series.

Game #4
120 - 98 blowout. Dirk was once again harrased by Iggy (11/29 from the field) and Duncan had a monstrous 45pts, 21rebs output. Tmac followed nicely with 30pts of hiw own and Tinsley stepped up again with 19pts, 3st, 7as and 4boards. Iggy was exausted from hustling with Dirk all night long but still manage to score 10pts on a 4/7 shooting in addition to 3as and 5 rebs. He's my X factor. :)

Game #5
105 - 120 L. Warriors returned me a favor as he showned no mercy in their own backyard. Iggy had a great game with 20pts, 4as, 11 rebs but the rest of the team, including Duncan and Tracy just went completely cold and uninspaired.

Game #6
102 - 85 W. Being at the brink of the elimination Kings responded in a strong fashin. Another great defensive game as we held the Warriors to a 38% from the field and went for series - high 71 rebounds. Off course, Duncan led the way with 26pts, 18rebs and 5blocks. My other pair of frontcourt Camby & Forston combined for 25rebs of their own. Duncan - Camby - Forston outerbunded the ENTIRE Warrirors team.

Next up....Game #7 on the road!
107 - 106! 1 pt W! Once again, the battle is won on the boards as my team outrebunded the Warrirors by 27 (!!). Trac Mcgrady torched Loul Deng with 33pts on a 13/19 shooting. Igoudala with nice 17pts & 7rebs prformance, Bibby 14pts, 7rebs, 7as and DANNY THE MAN FORSTON with awesome clutch performance as he went for 14pts and 18rebs output! Duncan was pretty quiet (13pts, 10rebs) but still, Kings managed a though, crucial road W to advance to the WCF!

Next Up! The World Champions LA Clippers!

Don't miss, Monday live! Kings at Clippers on ESPN!!
 :)

Won the first game and the rest is history.  F*** you Chandler and Big Z should retire cuz he blows.

Elton Brand was out the entire round?

I told him that I would give him Evan Lo if he don't play Elton Brand, so I guess he accpeted the deal. :D

HAHAHA. Unbeatable comedy.
  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:
No WHO looks scared here finding out the Clippers ran through the playoffs without their star so far.

And whats even more amazing the clippers didnt miss a beat without Elton. During the 10 playoff games they averaged 104.4ppg and allowed 97.0ppg. During the regular season they scored 104.6ppg and allowed 97.7ppg. Call that consistency ...

Celtics you're one hellava joyfull person.

After all this season/playoff debacle you still find reason to laugh. :lol:

Scared? No. I want him to have complete lineup for our matchup, i don't want free - pass.

But beating the Mavs 4 - 1 without their main player is certanly not pleasent to hear.

So, is he playin or not?

That little suspense is why we send in DCs through PM during the playoffs. I know you don't believe something like "tactics" even exist in real life and that brute strength wins all the time, but even tiny David once beat Goliath ...

Count 1+1. He was injured in game 2 of the first playoff round and didn't play since. He is not listed injured now. So ...
{ivan, i should really get credit for every achievement the Kings had since about the 2007 season. I know there weren't many but I was vital part in these few}

Hey Celtics why don't you and Kings just coach one team so that it would open a spot up for those on the waiting list.

imagine these two discussing the next startegy...  :lol:

They would be  :bash:  and :sw: real quick.

That's what happens when losing and winning philosophies meet. :lol:

No, Celtics only THINKS he has anything to do with my team. So far he has bashed EVERY single trade of mine (Tinsley/Marbury, Hoffa/Max, Duncan/Hoffa, claimed that Forston is bad, Iggy is not even a starter material etc etc etc). And after every trade i was getting better and better.

I think he's just sick of 1st rn exits or no playoffs at all while Kings are in deep playoff run every year. 8)

He would be fired from the coaching staff pretty fast. :D

First of all, I'm sorry, I guess our verbal teasing isn't not fun to everyone.


I am sick of it ... and I wonder if a superstar in the mold of TMac, Dirk, JO or Yao (and some more) would have changed anything. I couldn't get near any of those, so looking back I'm a sorry story of failure. I was successful in getting the 2nd tier "stars" like Ginobili, Redd, Swift and Thomas, mostly past their prime, and neither capable of taking this team on his back and carrying it to success. Chauncey was the only one that panned out from the get go but he had little help.

My only high draft pick looked like the sure thing but was a giant bust (Bailey Snow at #6), the other high picks I dealt prematurely. And the young guns I found take so long to develop that the old vets are on their last legs already.

Do I feel sorry for myself? Not a second, I controlled my own destiny, and I live with it. Every season there are 28 losers and I happen to be among them. Sure there are 18 teams more successful in the post seasons than my Celtics, but only 6 ever won a title, so I'm in nice company. And it's still great fun playing the game and dying for those next sim results ...
 8)

Believe me, when I found out between the first and second round that Brand got injured, I did not have a great feeling. He was out 8 more days with a broken jaw. I did put him on the dc because I was not sure how long a series can run when it goes to 7 games. I figured he'd be back for the last 2 games.
On the other hand I had great confidence in Prince. He has been great for me and he did more than expected in this series.

Actually, because of ideas and strategies I don't like to talk too much during the playoffs. But I can tell you that, as expected, Brand will be suiting up again!

Maybe the guy just doesn't want to play against Tim Duncan! :P

I don't think you read my post very well...

I did Clips, i did. Relax, it was just a joke. Little bit of trash talk before conference finals won't hurt nobody. I was just joking.  :tup:

I definitely don't mind trash talk! So that is cool. It's just that I expected different trash talk. Saying that Brand would not want to play Duncan one post after I wrote that Elton would dress up was a bit too easy for me. :)

So now bring on the real trash talk! :D

Conference Finals sim'd.

rematch in the making :)

ah f****!

I had them on their ***** ropes!

3-1 lead! This is intorable!

In last seasons conf finals, Araujo scored 29ppg/14rpg on very poor shooting. In this seasons conf finals, Duncan scored 19ppg/14rpg on very poor 35% shooting. More defense? Last year, Clipps score 105ppg, this year 104ppg. Last year Kings scored 99ppg, this year 98ppg. Six of the seven games this season were blowouts (19pt diff was the closest anyone got), a big difference to the much tighter series last season.

Looks like I finally get credit for what i told you. You replaced great offense and good defense with slightly better defense (and here i was wrong, thought TD was finished in that regard too) and way worse offense, and you got A LOT older (but again i was wrong, TD did NOT break down early).

Hey, you probably replaced the wrong star ...


Congratulations to the Clippers who prove one thing: patience is as important as good scouting and a perfect strategy. Looks like you're on your way to a title defense here, as I believe the Nets showed a lot more vunerability this season.

And finally, props to the Wiz for doing what i couldn't. Take a close one from the Nets. The future looks bright for you ...
 8)

Dammit man! How many games 7 can i lose??

The series was lost on pg field. Ben Gordon just manhandled Mike Bibby. Hm...Maybe should have went with Tinsley. :?

We'll see if Lincoln Lord has more stones in him than Earl Boykins did.

My finals collapses, so far, have been predicated on PG play.  Earl got owned last year in the finals.  My first year in the finals, Chauncey Billups had one of the worst games of his career in game 7.

Hopefully Lord has more success on Gorgon (or Perry) than Earl did last year.

G'luck, Clippers!

(BTW, first sim of the finals will either be around 1 am EST or 9 am EST (depending on how tired I am when I get back from work).

Wow, an interesting playoff that ends the same way as last year, so far...
Congrats to the Kings, for defeating my Warriors.  The rebounding of your squad was just way too much for my guys to handle.

Great series Kings. After that 3-1, I was in deep shit. However getting back into the series after being down 3-1 gave me confidence.

I forgot from last season ... in a series against the Nets... who do I send my dc to?

Hornets

OK, my DC for the first part of the finals has been sent to HornetsGM.

You don't have to send it to me, because I don't actually run the sim. Send it to Bods and he'll do his before he looks at yours...

sent clips my dc.

games 1-3 sim'd.  Nothing all that exciting, home team won every time.

Wwll, I wouldn't call it "nothing happened" unless you go by the old saying "a series doesn't start before the first road win".

Elton getting owned by Dunleavy of all people (only for a game, i know) does at least come unexpected. And even in the other games Brand is way below his usual output. He better get his act together soon as I don't give the Clipps the slightest chance for an upset if they lose any of the next two ...

Upset?

As far as i remember, Clips are the champions. What are you talking about out?

I bet they-ll take the title again.

Another questionable post from the "BETTER THEN EVER!" GM of "The Most Powerfull Duo In History Of The SSBA" (time to rethink that sig)  :wink:

The Nets have home court. The Nets had 5 home losses this season and 36 home wins. The Nets beat the Clippers by 27 and 36 this year. Forget who's defending champ, last seasons accolades count ZERO this year. A Clippers win would be one of the bigger upsets in SSBA history ...
 8)

OT: Argentina - Croatia 2:3 baaabby!!! What a game! :cheers:

who cares. Bods plse kill this off-topic posts here
these belong THERE: http://phillyarena.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=29838

LOL.

killer game, ****** argentina  :bounce:


now its time for :bods:

Clippers still have full confidence. I realize that we need to change the gameplan. But we will come out stronger!

Clippers' DC has been sent to NetsGM.

Good luck. GO CLIPPERS !!!

I love underdogs winning ...
 :P

me too, GO CLIPPS  8)

Thanks for the support guys! :)

I think I came up with a great plan. We will now wait and see if it works.


Go Clippers!  (Yeah, GM's/Owners can cheer like crazy for their own team! ... Croce, Cuban)

For the first time in my playoff history (I believe) I didn't change my DC all playoffs.

My starting 5 and options, IMO, are set in stone moreso this year than any other year.  In prior years I had switch dalembert/okafor for defensive purposes, but this year all the opponents top scorers were at PF (Swift as the offensive player, allowed Dalembert to roam while guarding Etan.  Howard the offensive player allowed Dalembert to roam on jefferson/woods.  Barner the offensive player allowed Dalembert to roam on Maggette.  And Brand/Brown the offensive player allowed Dalembert to roam on Chandler).

The other things I had changed would be options/gameplay settings.  But because my options can all create for other players well (especially Dunleavy at the 3), even if they face good opponents, they're creating for others.  I didn't run into one defender all series that changed my options.

Gameplay is generally just something I tweak.  For example, if I have an inside scoring team, but the other team is great interior defense, I might change.  But I've found my team to be best with an outside focus, but everyone I ran into had defensive question marks on the perimeter.

So....I just went with what my team did best.

After going 1-3 in my prior championships (with my 1 win and 2 of the 3 losses going 7 game), it was nice to not only win, but to not have it go the distance.

Congrats to the clips on the great season.  You ran into me on the wrong year.  IMO this is the best team I've assembled.  The additions of Dunleavy and Lord have been tremendous fits surrounding my core.  Especially Dunleavy.  To think I thought about not doing the deal over Antonio Turkoglu (!) because I wasn't sure Dunleavy would beat out Battier makes me laugh.

Congrats on the title Nets and reminding me that my team is so far away from competing for a title.

For the playoffs Emeka held opposing PF's to 39% shooting :)

That was going against Stro Swift, Dwight Howard, Edgar Barner and Elton Brand  :shock:

That (combined with 23 ppg, 13.4 rpg, 4.65 bpg) made him playoffs MVP.  Congrats.

Clips made the change to put Brand on Emeka, but Emeka showed his prowess.  Brand shot 34.5 % the last two games.

For the series:
Pettit: 36.2 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 1.6 spg, 57.6% shooting, 51.2% 3pt.
Okafor: 20.2 ppg, 12.2 rpg, 4.4 bpg, 47% shooting, 74% 3pt, held pf's to 34.9% shooting.
Dunleavy: 11.4 ppg, 9.8 rpg, 4.2 apg, 1.6 spg, 44% shooting, 39% 3pt.
Lord: 14.2 ppg, 10 rpg, 1.2 spg, 1.6 topg, 50% 3pt
Dalembert: 9.2 ppg, 10.6 rpg, 2.8 bpg, held C's to 38.8% shooting.

Me: 115.8 ppg, 49% shooting, 52.7% 3pt.

For the clips:
Gordon: 18 ppg, 11 apg, 42% shooting, 58.3% shooting.
Maggette: 23.8 ppg, 46.2% shooting, 62% 3pt
Brand: 19.4 ppg, 11.2 rpg, 3.6 apg, 1.6 bpg, 34.5% shooting.
Brown: 9.2 ppg, 4 rpg, 42.8% shooting
Chandler: 14.2 ppg, 13.2 rpg, 1.2 bpg, 38.8% shooting.

Clips: 103 ppg, 41.7% shooting, 54% 3pt.

Rebounding edge went to me (+2.2 per game).  Turnovers wen tto clips (+1).  Blocks went to me (+5.4 per game).

Incredible 3 pt output by both teams.  

Difference between this year and last year is last year outside of Pettit NOBODY showed up.  This year I had Okafor really step up, and Lord and Dunleavy, while scoring less than their regular season, shot efficiently and really moved the ball well.

For the playoffs I scored 115 ppg on 48% shooting (47% from 3 pt)

not bad Bods  :lol:

i just saw PO is done, congratulations to both teams for making it and congrats to Nets for another ring.

Congratulations, Bods on your 2nd championship...

congrats. Now, give me the 1st pick bods.. :D

congratz...this wasnt a surprise  :lol: emeka was just a monster defensively... :lol:

well there is the reason between a close series and a blowout.
last series Tyson was at Pf and played emeka almost even. brand at SF had a way better overall game against mike maybe because bods had a slower pace. What i have learned is you can´t stop a player who is shooting over 50% like petit so stop the rest (the old jordan rule  :lol: ):But clips didn´t even tried to stop emeka they also destroyed all their hopes by putting their best player on emeka  :shock:
Please Bods tell me that it is a typo next to emka shooting 74% on 3 pointers... he can´t even shoot FTs at that pace  :?

congrats to bods i learned my lesson already in preseason where i tried too many different lineups instead concentrating on my team strength.

It IS a typo as Emeka hasn't shot a single trey all playoffs and only 3 all career (made 2 of those though !!!).

 :D
Congratulations to the Nets for completely dominating the league this season. I don't think the average margin of victory they got this year, especially in the playoffs, has ever been accomplished so far.

(btw, did you recognize that the Nets lost EVERY SINGLE PLAYOFF GAME where they were held below 100pts - and 10 of 15 during the regular season? Now maybe we are onto something here ...  :wink: )


Again I tip my hat to them and can't wait for the new season to start ...
 :P

Hey, i didn't know we had a PRESEASON here ...
 :shock:

yea that is the different between us..

you always think the season is the most important part...
for me it is just having fun and waiting till the real season starts the POs  :lol:

wow, you had some EXTRAORDINARY SHORT SEASONS recently ...
 :lol:

courtesy of the magic ;)


btw, congratz to bods.

better than to worry all season long if my team is 1 injury away from lottery  :wink:

True, i was keeping my fingers crossed for the KINGS all season ...
 :roll:

Erm....yeah, I meant ft for emeka.

Congratulations Bods! Great season!!! Dunleavy and Lord were great acquisitions and made a big difference!


I dont write much during the playoffs. So I still need to thank the Nuggets, Mavs and Kings for some great playoff games.

Clippers could not get that back-2-back Championship. But I am very satisfied with how this team played through the post season. We did not have our best regular season. And in the first two rounds we were without Elton Brand! Tayshaun Prince came up strong with some great performances as a replacement of Brand.

The above is the reason why I put Prince in as a starter in the last two games against the Nets. And as it showed... it was a mistake.
Thing is, I believe that I could have gone to 7 games against the Nets if I kept my dc the same. But I would still lose. So I had to try at least something! I have had the same idea as PacersGM about one superscorer on the other team. Guard him, but don't focus on him. Focus on the other 4 guys. That also is my strategy when playing the Kings with McGrady. So I kept Maggette on Pettit. As expected Corey could not stop Garret, but as long as the opposite is the same, I can live with that, and neither could Pettit stop Maggette (except for that strange game 2).

Brand did not play well against Dunleavy in the first 3. So I needed someone else there. Maggette had to stay at sg (if not I had Gordon at sg and Perry at pg... not the best matchups for me). So this, combined with Prince's great performances earlier in the playoffs, made me go to that lineup:
Gordon
Maggette
Prince
Brand
Chandler

PacersGM, I know that Chandler would have been better on Okafor. But in this case it would have left me with Brand at C or on the bench. I think you know what I mean now. It all comes down to matchup problems. That is what I had with the Nets this year and not last year. I am usually good at creating matchup problems for the other teams... but this time it was me having that problem.

Could I have gone to 7 games without a gamble... sure! Could I have won that series without a gamble... I dont think so!

As much as I would have wanted to get back-2-back rings, this loss does not hurt so much. That of course is because I already have a ring. Else it would have been a lot worse.

Now onto next season!

i know what you mean but what you forget was that brand vs mike was your biggest mismatch against the nets and if you play tyson at pf and kwame at C you would have had a better chance than with prince at SF and brand at PF.

Exactly what I thought... but did you see what Dunleavy did to Elton in the first 3 games?

nowhere near to what emeka would do with brand. it is a different story if someone isn´t scoring as well as expected or getting crushed on both ends.

lets put the draft order up !  :lol:

Impossible before anyone has got his resign offers in.

And I haven't done mine, the deadline is only today (as if i would care for the draft having no pick) ...
 :wink:

Belated Congrats :hotbounce: