New York, New York! Bringing a championship home

[Myles Nelson]

You would have done Paul and Amare for LaMarcus?

I think he was making the point that the Blazers were so hard headed that IF he had offered that, they wouldn't have taken it.

[zike_42]

You would have done Paul and Amare for LaMarcus?

I was just seeing what the Blazers would have traded for. I wouldn't have traded both and if they did accept it I would have just reloaded the save because as you said

[zike_42]

LaMarcus and Paul would have made you a contender for the finals over the next few years

Maaaan, LaMarcus and Paul

[zike_42]

February Player of the Month – Lebron James, Miami Heat – 32.3 points, 7.2 rebounds, 5.1 assists, 2.3 steals and 0.5 blocks per game.

February Rookie of the Month – Anthony Davis, New Orleans Hornets – 15.1 points, 8.7 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.7 steals and 2.8 blocks per game.

You want to hear something funny? As the Miami Heat had six days off later in the month due to the All Star weekend Lebron James shocked the basketball world by suiting up with Cleveland’s D-League side the Dakota Great Apes. They beat the Erie Ospreys pretty easily and James had 27 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists but the big question is whether Lebron James wants to go back to Cleveland? Is he getting homesick or just sick or the Heat?

Iman Shumpert has moved into the starting line-up, replacing JR Smith which has a twofold effect – we get more defence in the starters (Shumpert is a fantastic perimeter defender) and more offence off the bench. I like this move as it will give Shump more room to grow.

Vs Philadelphia – 113-105 W (42-16) Knicks best – Chris Paul – 21 points, 16 rebounds
@ Miami – 123-119 W (43-16) Knicks best – Chris Paul – 30 points, 13 assists (Lebron James had 50 points in a losing effort)
Vs Atlanta – 102-106 L (43-17) Knicks best – Gerald Wallace – 26 points

After the game we had two bouts of bad news. The first one is that Gerald Wallace has broken his foot and will be out for two months with Ronnie Brewer replacing him in the starting line-up. The news is that Furkan Aldemir, our wonder from obscurity has started to take in his own hype and is complaining about playing time so I sit him down and tell him to pay his dues before running his mouth again. Or else.

Vs Charlotte – 102-74 W (44-17) Knicks best – Amare Stoudemire – 41 points, 12 rebounds
@ Brooklyn – 112-108 W (45-17) Knicks best – Amare Stoudemire – 23 points, 10 rebounds
@ Milwaukee – 101-98 W (46-17) Knicks best – Chris Paul – 34 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds, 4 steals
@ Detroit – 92-100 L (46-18) Knicks best – Amare Stoudemire – 27 points, 10 rebounds

There is a new starting line-up – Paul, Smith, Shumpert, Stoudemire, Chandler.

@ Minnesota – 90-101 L (46-19) Knicks best – Tyson Chandler – 19 points, 12 rebounds
@ Cleveland – 113-82 W (47-19) Knicks best – Chris Paul – 35 points, 9 rebounds, 8 assists, 5 steals
Vs Brooklyn – 131-109 W (48-19) Knicks best – Chris Paul – 37 points, 7 assists
Vs Sacramento – 111-87 W (49-19) Knicks best – Chris Paul – 22 points, 16 assists, 8 rebounds
@ Orlando – 103-84 W (50-19) Knicks best – Chris Paul – 20 points, 11 assists
Vs Orlando – 110-109 W (51-19) Knicks best – Tyson Chandler – 21 points, 12 rebounds
Vs LA Clippers – 128-79 W (52-19) Knicks best – Chris Paul – 33 points, 10 assists
Vs New Orleans – 125-94 W (53-19) Knicks best – Chris Paul – 32 points, 16 assists, 5 rebounds
@ Charlotte – 91-106 L (53-20) Knicks best – Amare Stoudemire – 30 points, 9 rebounds

Seriously? Losing to the 10 win Bobcats?

With that unbelievable loss to Charlotte we end March at 53-20, six games behind the streaking Heat who are on 59-14. Milwaukee are third and 4.5 games behind us so when we sew up the second seed I will talk to Mike Woodson about resting guys. Charlotte is right down the bottom at 11-62.

In the West Denver are leading the way on 55-19 with San Antonio their only challenger, two games behind. Houston are holding everyone up with a 17-57 record.

New York Top Points
Amare Stoudemire – 22.8
Chris Paul – 20.4
Tyson Chandler – 15.0

New York Top Assists
Chris Paul – 10.2
Iman Shumpert – 2.5
JR Smith – 2.1

New York Top Rebounds
Tyson Chandler – 8.6
Amare Stoudemire – 7.8
Marcus Camby – 6.2

New York Top Efficiency
Chris Paul – 27.7
Amare Stoudemire – 20.7
Tyson Chandler – 20.2

League Top Points
Kevin Durant (OKC) – 33.8
Lebron James (MIA) – 32.6
Kevin Love (MIN) – 27.3

League Top Assists
Chris Paul (NYK) – 10.2
Ricky Rubio (MIN) – 9.0
Russell Westbrook (OKC) – 8.9

League Top Rebounds
Kevin Love (MIN) – 11.8
Kris Humphries (BKL) – 11.8
Anderson Varejao (CLE) – 11.1

League Top Efficiency
Lebron James (MIA) – 31.6
Kevin Durant (OKC) – 29.0
Chris Paul (NYK) – 27.7

Rookie Top Efficiency
Anthony Davis (NOH) – 20.1 (12.6 points, 1.6 assists, 8.4 rebounds, 1.5 steals, 3.2 blocks) **Has torn his Achilles and out for a year**
Damian Lillard (POR) – 16.3 (12.0 points, 8.2 assists, 3.3 rebounds, 0.7 steals, 0.0 blocks)
Thomas Robinson (SAC) – 13.9 (10.5 points, 1.2 assists, 6.4 rebounds, 1.1 steals, 0.6 blocks)

Fourth round of Future Prospects
1. SF Mike Bailey (Ohio State) – 6’7” 219lbs Junior
2. SF Gabe White (USC) – 6’10” 212lbs Sophomore
3. PF Dennis Freymond (Creighton) – 6’9” 241lbs Senior
4. PF Chris Drexler (Louisville) – 6’8” 224lbs Freshman
5. PF Lynn McMillian (Pittsburgh) – 6’11” 219lbs Freshman

[zike_42]

March Player of the Month – Lebron James, Miami Heat – 36.9 points, 6.4 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 2.6 steals and 0.6 blocks per game.

March Rookie of the Month – Thomas Robinson, Sacramento Kings – 13.8 points, 6.4 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 1.7 steals and 0.8 blocks per game.

With Anthony Davis going down with a torn Achilles it has opened the door for other rookies to get a look in for RotM.

@ Utah – 101-79 W (54-20) Knicks best – Chris Paul – 26 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists
@ Denver – 99-109 L (54-21) Knicks best – Amare Stoudemire – 18 points, 8 rebounds
Vs Toronto – 113-68 W (55-21) Knicks best – Amare Stoudemire – 31 points, 8 rebounds
@ Toronto – 121-108 W (56-21) Knicks best – JR Smith – 23 points

We can’t catch Miami with five games remaining and we are six and a half games in front of third place Milwaukee so we decide to rest some of our starters. With Gerald Wallace still injured we have two more spots so Chris Paul and Amare Stoudemire are given some expensive suits to look good on the end of the bench. Our new starting line-up is:

PG – Jason Kidd
SG – JR Smith
SF – Iman Shumpert
PF – Furkan Aldemir
C – Marcus Camby

@ Chicago – 104-91 W (57-21) Knicks best – JR Smith – 34 points, 5 rebounds
Vs Detroit – 105-108 L (57-22) Knicks best – Marcus Camby – 25 points, 12 rebounds
@ Orlando – 87-74 W (58-22) Knicks best – JR Smith – 17 points, 5 rebounds
@ Miami – 111-83 W (59-22) Knicks best – Marcus Camby – 16 points, 15 rebounds, 7 blocks

That’s right, we beat the defending champs by nearly 20 points in Miami. Sure Lebron only played 10 minutes but the rest of the team went hard and flopped. Good signs for the playoffs.

Vs Brooklyn – 84-88 L (59-23) Knicks best – Iman Shumpert – 22 points

We went 3-2 with our starters out which is amazing with some good teams in there. Our final record is 59-23 and seven games behind the 66-16 Heat. Milwaukee didn’t make any inroads on us with a 53-29 record.

Final Standings

Eastern Conference
1. Miami Heat – 66-16 (.805)
2. New York Knicks – 59-23 (.720)
3. Milwaukee Bucks – 53-29 (.646)
4. Brooklyn Nets – 52-30 (.634)
5. Philadelphia 76ers – 52-30 (.634)
6. Boston Celtics – 51-31 (.622)
7. Chicago Bulls – 44-38 (.537)
8. Atlanta Hawks – 42-40 (.512)
Last – Charlotte Bobcats – 13-69 (.159)

Western Conference
1. San Antonio Spurs – 60-22 (.732)
2. Denver Nuggets – 59-23 (.720)
3. Minnesota Timberwolves – 55-27 (.671)
4. Los Angeles Lakers – 53-29 (.646)
5. Oklahoma City Thunder – 52-30 (.634)
6. Los Angeles Clippers – 50-32 (.610)
7. Dallas Mavericks – 45-37 (.549)
8. Memphis Grizzlies – 43-49 (.524)
Last – Houston Rockets – 19-63 (.232)

Six teams in both conferences with 50 wins or more shows that this league has a very large rich/poor divide with the other teams having very average seasons.

New York Top Points
Amare Stoudemire – 22.6
Chris Paul – 20.4
Tyson Chandler – 14.8

New York Top Assists
Chris Paul – 10.1
Iman Shumpert – 2.7
Jason Kidd – 2.3

New York Top Rebounds
Tyson Chandler – 8.5
Amare Stoudemire – 7.8
Marcus Camby – 6.6

League Top Points
Kevin Durant (OKC) – 34.0
Lebron James (MIA) – 32.1
Kevin Love (MIN) – 27.0

League Top Assists
Chris Paul (NYK) – 10.1
Ricky Rubio (MIN) – 9.0
Russell Westbrook (OKC) – 8.9

League Top Rebounds
Kris Humphries (BKL) – 11.6
Kevin Love (MIN) – 11.5
Anderson Varejao (CLE) – 11.2

League Top Efficiency
Lebron James (MIA) – 31.3
Kevin Durant (OKC) – 29.1
Chris Paul (NYK) – 27.5

Rookie Top Points
Bradley Beal (WAS) – 13.9
Anthony Davis (NOH) – 12.6
Damian Lillard (POR) – 11.9

Rookie Top Assists
Damian Lillard (POR) – 8.0
Kendall Marshall (PHO) – 4.8
Dion Waiters (CLE) – 4.0

Rookie Top Rebounds
Anthony Davis (NOH) – 8.4
Jonas Valanciunas (TOR) – 7.3
Andre Drummond (DET) – 6.7

[zike_42]

I'm going to go back to my old way of posting, writing up a recap for each game (as seen here - http://wolverinestudios.com/forum/showthread.php?t=12642).

I'm not getting as emotionally involved with this team as I did in the other dynasty and I think it's because I'm glossing over the games and it's hard to give this team an identity when 80% of the write up is just stats. So look forward to better write ups!

[zike_42]

2013 NBA Playoffs

Eastern Conference
#1 Miami vs. #8 Atlanta
#2 New York vs. #7 Chicago
#3 Milwaukee vs. #6 Boston
#4 Brooklyn vs. #5 Philadelphia

Western Conference
#1 San Antonio vs. #8 Memphis
#2 Denver vs. #7 Dallas
#3 Minnesota vs. #6 Los Angeles Clippers
#4 Los Angeles Lakers vs. #5 Oklahoma City

We won the series 2-1 against the Bulls and I have a good feeling about this series.

Eastern Conference First Round – Chicago vs. New York

Point Guard
Derrick Rose vs. Chris Paul
22.1 points, 6.7 assists, 3.9 rebounds vs. 20.4 points, 10.1 assists, 3.9 rebounds

The key match up here with former MVP Rose going up against perennial ‘best PG in the league’ in Paul. With the way CP3 has led this Knicks team he gets the edge because he has the knowledge to shut down Rose

Winner – New York

Shooting Guard
Marshon Brooks vs. JR Smith
3.8 points, 0.3 assists, 1.2 rebounds vs. 11.7 points, 2.1 assists, 4.3 rebounds

For some reason usual starter Richard Hamilton is coming off the bench, exposing Brooks to Smith’s deadly, but streaky shooting. Can the sophomore keep up with Smith or with the Knick torch the young’un? I’m going with the latter.

Winner – New York

Small Forward
Luol Deng vs. Iman Shumpert
12.2 points, 1.8 assists, 4.7 rebounds vs. 7.6 points, 2.7 assists, 2.4 rebounds

Gerald Wallace is still injured but he should be back for this series if it goes far enough. For now Deng is the better player and it will be exciting to see these two elite defenders match up against each other.

Winner - Chicago

Power Forward
Carlos Boozer vs. Amare Stoudemire
17.9 points, 1.4 assists, 9.7 rebounds vs. 22.6 points, 1.5 assists, 7.8 rebounds

With the departure of Carmelo Anthony Stoudemire has really stepped up again. His teamwork with Paul has been magnificent. It’s good to see Boozer regain his game as last year he was a liability. Another match up to swing the series.

Winner - Draw

Centre
Joakim Noah vs. Tyson Chandler
14.6 points, 1.4 assists, 10.0 rebounds vs. 14.8 points, 0.6 assists, 8.5 rebounds

Two players that are very similar in game style. Both great defender, get their points at a high clip and are great locker room guys. I think this match up with cancel each other out.

Winner - Draw

Bench
Gary Forbes, Richard Hamilton, DJ White vs. Marcus Camby, Ronnie Brewer, Jason Kidd

The only bright spot for Chicago is Hamilton while New York has excellent backups and more importantly they are all dynamite defenders.

Winner – New York

Prediction – New York in five.

It good to see the city of New York get behind the team in the first game and the team responded, going up by 16 at the half. After that it was an easy stroll to a 109-91 win with Chris Paul leading the way with 29 points and 8 assists while Amare Stoudemire undid his 21 points with a whopping 8 turnovers. Derrick Rose was the best for Chicago with 29 points and 8 assists.

New York leads 1-0

50 points in the paint and 22 points and 8 rebounds from Marcus Camby equates to a 103-82 win to us, giving us a 2-0 lead in the series. Iman Shumpert broke out with 21 points and 4 steals while keeping Luol Deng to 7 points. The Bulls had an amazing 31 turnovers! Not a good way to win a game.

New York leads 2-0

It’s off to Chicago and the Bulls are ready to go. It looked like Chicago was going to get one back, getting out to a 21 point lead but the combination of Amare and CP3 we finished the fourth quarter 42-21 to win 108-92 to take a commanding lead. Paul had 23 points, 9 assists and 7 steals with Amare playing backup with 26 points but again too many turnovers, giving the ball up 7 times. Carlos Boozer picked up the slack when Derrick Rose dropped the ball with 26 points and 13 rebounds to Rose’s 15 points and 5 turnovers.

New York leads 3-0

The Bulls just didn’t stand a chance against a team looking to the future as we sweep the series with a 114-105 win. Amare had 28 points, Tyson Chandler racked up 18 points before fouling out, CP3 was the giving one with 14 assists while Marcus Camby had 12 points, 6 rebounds and 6 blocks. Joakim Noah finally woke up with 25 points and 10 rebounds but again Derrick Rose failed with 14 points and 10 assists but shot a woeful 5/17 from the field. On to the next round!

New York wins series 4-0

There was another sweep with the Spurs taking out the Grizzlies trash. Minnesota and Boston win the next night to move onto the next round. A couple of nights later Miami, Brooklyn, and #7 Dallas punched their ticket into the second round with the Thunder/Lakers series going the distance.

Kevin Durant tries his best with 36 points but it isn’t enough as the Lakers move on with a 107-100 win to just scrape through.

Up next – our arch rivals, Boston.

[Myles Nelson]

Congrats on the first round sweep! Though the Bulls never seem to be as good in DDS as they have been in real life, they are still a talented squad to watch out for.

[zike_42]

Congrats on the first round sweep! Though the Bulls never seem to be as good in DDS as they have been in real life, they are still a talented squad to watch out for.

I'm not really sure why Chicago aren't as good in this game as they are in real life, I guess they have a better chemistry than their virtual selves.

[zike_42]

2013 NBA Playoffs

Eastern Conference
#1 Miami vs. #4 Brooklyn
#2 New York vs. #6 Boston

Western Conference
#1 San Antonio vs. #4 Los Angeles Lakers
#3 Minnesota vs. #7 Dallas

We lost the regular season series 1-3 and most of the games have been pretty comfortable wins to the Celts so I’m a little worried. They may be the sixth seed but this team has experience coming out of its ears.

Eastern Conference Second Round: Boston vs. New York

Point Guard
Rajon Rondo vs. Chris Paul
15.2 points, 8.6 assists, 6.4 rebounds vs. 19.3 points, 9.0 assists, 2.8 rebounds

Taking care of Derrick Rose was easy but Rondo is a different beast. He is quick, smart and a great defender and distributor. Look for this matchup to excite.

Winner – New York

Shooting Guard
Jason Terry vs. JR Smith
19.4 points, 3.8 assists, 4.2 rebounds vs. 9.3 points, 3.0 assists, 4.5 rebounds

This matchup is so similar its scary. Let’s go to the tape – both volume scorers, both average defenders and both very streaky. If Terry doesn’t fire it might be lights out for the Celtics.

Winner – Boston

Small Forward
Paul Pierce vs. Gerald Wallace
20.4 points, 4.2 assists, 9.0 rebounds vs. No games played in playoffs

Wallace is just coming off a broken leg so Iman Shumpert was starting at the SF but he is fully healed now. Pierce turned back the clock 10 years with his spectacular performance against Milwaukee. This is the exact reason why New York brought Wallace in, to slow down elite opposing SFs.

Winner - Boston

Power Forward
Brandon Bass vs. Amare Stoudemire
17.2 points, 2.2 assists, 5.0 rebounds vs. 24.5 points, 1.5 assists, 5.8 rebounds

This is an interesting battle with Bass being low key but solid while Amare is all about the flash. He will need to tone down his turnovers as he averaged a staggering 6.3 turnovers a game in the Chicago series.

Winner – New York

Centre
Kevin Garnett vs. Tyson Chandler
16.8 points, 2.0 assists, 8.2 rebounds vs. 14.3 points, 1.0 assists, 6.5 rebounds

Garnett is getting old but he can still bring it every night. Chandler was a disappointment last series but luckily for the Knicks Marcus Camby stepped up (12.0 points, 7.8 rebounds, 3.0 blocks a game).

Winner - Draw

Bench
Jared Sullinger, Courtney Lee, Chris Wilcox vs. Marcus Camby, Iman Shumpert, Ronnie Brewer

The Boston bench is great and has some wonderful defenders but now Shump has moved to a reserve role the Knicks will not lose anything when they go to their bench.

Winner – New York

Prediction – New York in six.

There is always a rivalry between Boston and New York and honestly I don’t really know why. The reason why I don’t like the Celtics is because I can’t stand Garnett’s and Pierce’s fake thugness but I do have a soft spot for the city with my cousin living there. But in this moment the whole entity of Boston is my mortal enemy so it’s wonderful to see us wallop them 103-79 as Gerald Wallace doesn’t need any warm up as he pours in 20 points while keeping Paul Pierce to 2/11 shooting and 6 turnovers. We have six players in double figures as Marcus Camby steps up again with 10 points and 10 rebounds off the bench.

New York leads 1-0

This time we get out to an eleven point lead and keep it pretty safe as we go up 2-0 with a 105-98 win as Chris Paul leads the way with 23 points, matched by Amare’s 23 points and 9 rebounds. Tyson Chandler finally wakes up with 18 points, 11 rebounds and 4 blocks but hurts his shoulder and will be less than 100% for our next game. The Celtics have six players in double figures but Paul Pierce still can’t get away from Gerald Wallace.

New York leads 2-0

Jason Terry goes nuts for 34 points while it’s Gerald Wallace’s turn to be contained with a 2/12 night as the Celtics get out to a 20 points lead going into the fourth quarter. Luckily for us we have Iman Shumpert as he scorches the Celtics in the final term with 4/5 shooting for 10 points and 3 steals as we unbelievably beat the Celtics 110-92. That’s right we had a 39-10 final quarter! All I can say is WOW.

New York leads 3-0

That last game took all the wind out of the Celtics’ sails as we demolish Boston’s playoff dreams with a 124-106 series clinching win. We shot a staggering 58% from the field with Gerald Wallace pouring in 31 points, with Amare (23 points, 11 rebounds) and Tyson Chandler (21 points) also scoring over 20. A great game by Iman Shumpert as he had 0 points but dished out 11 assists off the bench. On the Boston side Jason Terry tried his best with 25 points but when Paul Pierce goes 4/13 this team will always struggle.

New York wins series 4-0

Woo! Onto the Eastern Conference finals! But we have to wait to see who we will play.

The Lakers take care of the Spurs 4-2 but interestingly enough Miami and Brooklyn and Minnesota and Dallas are both locked at 3-3.

Minnesota wins really easily 125-91 behind Kevin Love’s 33 points and 15 rebounds but the biggest news is Miami beating Brooklyn 127-109. No Miami winning is not the news, the big story is Lebron James exploding for 56 points! 22/33 from the field as he looked in ominous form going into our series.

In fact, Lebron James is averaging a staggering 39.6 points a game in these playoffs, already having three 50+ point games. To make this stat even gaudier, he is shooting 56% from the field! Oh dear. Good luck Gerald Wallace, you’re going to need it.

Up next – Can we stop The King?