LightningStrike5 wrote:Excellent dynasty. Love the team you've built. Thanks for using my draft file! I really should update it.
Thanks, much appreciated! We should be thanking you for the draft file really. It's the kind of thing that makes the game that much more enjoyable, for me at least, so it's awesome that someone took the time to make such a solid version. It doesn't look like it needs much work if you did choose to update it, this save got 9 of the actual draft night top 10 correct and not many people fell or rose a huge amount from where they were actually drafted. In a lot of cases you actually made a better stab at it than some of the mock draft from the so called experts.
zike_42 wrote:I'm loving this dynasty and I think this team could make some noise.
Also, the Knicks and Lakers are massive! Joe Johnson can run the point as well so they will be very dangerous. Good Luck!
Thanks zike, as a big fan of your Raps that's nice to hear.
They really are both ridiculously long everywhere on the court. The Knicks players make for a better fit but LA has Kaman, Mike Miller and Tayshaun Prince as their first 3 guys off the bench so they don't give up any height even then. Crazy.
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We choose to send nobody down to the D-League. I almost pulled the trigger on giving Nolan Smith some games down there but Coach Van Gundy has him slated to pick up some meaningful court time so I’ll hold back for now and see how it plays out. So after what seemed like a long summer it’s time for all the talk, speculation and predictions to take a back seat to some actual, tangible basketball action. The schedule hasn’t been kind to us and we kick things off with a short road trip to the losing NBA finalists the Orlando Magic, a local rivalry that has been kicked up a notch by the respective coaches being brothers, not that you'd know it given that one looks like Gonzo from the Muppets and the other is the stone cold double of *ahem* 'adult' actor Ron Jeremy. The Magic’s Stan has made just one change to his starting 5 this season, with summer signing Thaddeus Young given the nod at small forward and forcing Rashard Lewis to the bench as 6th man. In truth we never quite get close enough to make it a contest, Dwight Howard having a monster night with 39 points and 14 rebounds on the way to a 113-98 Magic win. Tiago Splitter has 17 and Marc Gasol a 12 point, 10 rebound double double but Howard is in a class of his own as far as big men go.
We start our home season with a visit from the Celtics and Gasol rebounds from his schooling by Dwight by putting up a 20 point, 10 rebound player of the game performance in our 112-99 win. Grant Hill gets the bench firing with 15 and Kyrie Irving scores a 10 point, 12 assist double double. The theme of the night was blocks though, Gasol and Splitter rejected 3 shots apiece while the wings also got in on the act, Battier and Leonard collecting 2 each.
Apparently Memphis have heard that I’ve been badmouthing their roster, because the Grizzlies came out with intensity when we rolled into town, building up a 12 point lead by half time. It turned into a shootout down the stretch with both teams managing 50% or better from the floor. Michael Redd exposed some of Kyrie Irving’s defensive naiveties by helping himself to 21 points as a makeshift point guard, but it’s our front court that leads to us a last gasp 112-111 road win. Tiago Splitter’s 31 nicely complimented by Marc Gasol’s 25 points and 15 rebounds.
New Jersey provided a real barometer of this group by visiting the American Airlines center next. Dwayne Wade and Lebron James did what they do best, combining for an effortless 52 points, but our solid defense restricted their supporting cast reasonably effectively. In response Tiago Splitter netted 21 and Marc Gasol 20 which when allied with some balanced scoring from the rest of the starters and Chris Duhon’s 13 bench points was enough to push us to a 112-98 win. A cathartic win for just about everyone in Miami after Wade’s defection and Lebron’s rejection of our advances a little over 12 months ago. And whats more a win that really announces our ambitions to the NBA community, the Heat aren’t here to make up the numbers this season.
A trip to Minnesota brings with it a 2nd slender 1 point victory in the opening 5 games, Tiago Splitter carrying us over the line with 37 points, with help from Marc Gasol and Kyrie Irving who notched modest double doubles. We followed up with a tough looking back-to-back, winning the first game 112-100 in Cleveland thanks primarily to Grant Hill’s 22 bench points and another Marc Gasol double double. We drop the 2nd game though, New York proving too bog, too strong and above all too good to overcome as Danny Granger pours in 35 points. Nolan Smith announces himself to the NBA with a 20 point night from the bench in the Big Apple, after a quiet start to his rookie season.
This road stint looks like it’s just about worn us down as it comes to a close in Toronto. the Raptors grinding out a 105-99 victory over us with former Heat star Michael Beasley prominent with 21 points. Marc Gasol had a poor night, fouling out early as Hedo Turkoglu proved an awkward match up at the centre spot and helped himself to 23 points. Shane Battier and Tiago Splitter did their best to rally the troops with 21 and 31 points respectively but the Raptors held firm at the end for the W.
A shot at revenge comes swiftly, with the Raptors making the journey down to Miami the very next night and finding a Heat squad with home court advantage a much tougher task, losing out 105-91. Kyrie Irving went on the counter attack with 23 points, while Kawhi Leonard’s varied stat line of 17 points, 9 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 assists was only tarnished by his carelessness with the ball, giving up 6 turnovers.
A shootout becomes to order of the day in Milwaukee, as we outlast the Bucks 128-121 in overtime. Tiago Splitter is the driving force behind the win with 35 points, Shane Battier and Marc Gasol backing him up with 17 points apiece, the latter also adding 17 rebounds to his stat sheet. Enes Kanter also manages his first notable night at NBA level, a 14 point showing giving him a timely boost. Our first truly dominant win of the year follows in Miami, the Bobcats on the wrong end of a 50 points thrashing, 72-122. It’s a refreshingly balanced effort too, with nobody reaching twenty points but 7 players all managing double digits.
Having gotten a taste of home blowouts we help ourselves to another when Atlanta visit Miami, romping to a 68-115 win. Again balance is the key word, Marc Gasol’s twenty points is a game high, but 5 other Heat players join him on double digits on a night where Tiago Splitter can only manage 3 points.
Our last road game of November is a tough one, and Derrick Rose schools Kyrie Irving in the art of being an elite NBA point guard, his 24 point, 11 assist game containing just 1 turnover as the Bulls hand us our first defeat in 5 games. The schedule mercifully hands us a chance to get back to winning ways to close the month though, the beleaguered Indiana Pacers our opponents, arriving in Miami with just one win to their name, and 15 defeats. They display a surprising amount of tenacity to stay in touch but never really impose themselves on the game, losing out 103-89 in the end, Marc Gasol’s 20 the game high score and comes with 11 rebounds by the Spaniard.
So as December dawns we remarkably top the Southeast with a 10-4 record, 1.5 games ahead of Charlotte and Washington, who lead the Magic by just half a game. Atlanta are the black sheep of the division having gone an awful 2-12 without Jamal Crawford and Al Horford. In the East as a whole New York lead the way, 2 games ahead of New Jersey who have a game on us, but third in the conference is still well beyond what I felt us capable at this early stage in the teams development and learning. The Champions have made an impressive start to their title defence, New Orleans leading the West with a 12-2 record from Portland and the Lakers just a game back.