A LEGEND IS BORN II

[StupidBoy]

Meh, Durant is only good because he gets all the shots. If his shot isn't falling, Stealth is doomed.
But he's still pretty damn good Why don't you consider him as a serious MVP candidate? He's leading the surging Stealth to the playoffs

[hova-]

Again huge performances by Durant and the Stealth. Just in case you reach the Playoffs, do you think youll need to shake things up? I mean it should be enough to pick up 1-2 decent FAs to make a CF run. Would be nice

[Fresh8]

WOw...Durant is really doing good man, don't trade him. 3 times over 25 points is great

Durant is awesome but pity we don't have a solid second option...

Meh, Durant is only good because he gets all the shots. If his shot isn't falling, Stealth is doomed.
But he's still pretty damn good Why don't you consider him as a serious MVP candidate? He's leading the surging Stealth to the playoffs

Check out the next R2MVP and you will see. Right now though, Vince Carter's Nets have a better record and Carter was number 10 on the list. But yes, you can see how when Durant is not playing well, the Stealth lose. Definitely the best player on our team.

Again huge performances by Durant and the Stealth. Just in case you reach the Playoffs, do you think youll need to shake things up? I mean it should be enough to pick up 1-2 decent FAs to make a CF run. Would be nice

If you are meaning for this season, I don't think I will shake things up too much. Right now though, Westbrook is not happy in the game: he wants more minutes. But Earl Watson is fairly good and not getting enough minutes either. I need a real SG... Morrison is a tad on the slow side and not as great of a shooter as I would like. I got Jeff Green who is awesome but I like him coming off the bench as a sixth man and I want Durant shifting back to the SF spot. So I think I might have a deal, either Watson or Westbrook could be gone by Feb.

As for FA's, I don't have much cap space to use to sign anyone and I don't think I want to. We will just go into the playoffs (Hope I don't jynx it) with the team I have now. As for off-season, Lamar Odom and Shawn Marion should both be available targets so I might go for them. One player I really am keen on is Carlos Boozer and I think he will be a FA too.

Also everyone, the recaps are taking too long for me to complete... seeing I have 82 of them to do. I might need to sacrifice quality in the game recaps by just putting down scores and one top player on each team from each team... Sorry I need to do this but I want to get through seasons as fast as I can and the recapping and stuff is taking a lot of time out of keeping up with my current association.

[Valor]

Try using Westbrook more often as your second option, i find that i can score 18-25 points with him even with Durant being my main offensive focus...and i am new to 2K9

[Fresh8]

Westbrook is good but I don't want to hog with him

[Valor]

Westbrook is good but I don't want to hog with him

lol alright, Well, Durant can always be the Kobe Bryant with no teammates around (Hint: Score 81 with him lol)

side note: mind giving me a few things that i would find useful/need to keep an eye on in the 2K9 Association mode? I got 2k9 for PC, want to start an Association and write it up here, but i am kinda new to the game...thanks

[Fresh8]

Not really man. Just explore for yourself! There are a couple of interesting screens like Awards Watch, Metric Stats (Which has like efficiency ratings) and stuff like that... what are you looking for to use?

[Valor]

Not really man. Just explore for yourself! There are a couple of interesting screens like Awards Watch, Metric Stats (Which has like efficiency ratings) and stuff like that... what are you looking for to use?

well, i am not sure really, just things that'll be useful in a recap..etc i get kinda lost in the association mode since i am used to the Live Dynasty Mode....

[Fresh8]

they have boxscores... u can look at standings, statistics. Usual stuff. It's basically same as Live really.

[Fresh8]

Four Game Recap
Seattle Endure Poor Finish To January

Current Starting Lineup: C Brad Miller, PF Chris Wilcox, SF Jeff Green, F/G Kevin Durant, PG Russell Westbrook

Record Over 4 Games: 1-3
Team Record: 24-23
Division Rank: 2nd
Conference Rank: 8th
Team Chemistry: 36% --> 34%

- - -

Game Recaps On-The-Fly

Clippers Take Advantage Of Durant Scoring In Single Digits
LA Narrowly Wins Against Seattle As Durant Has Uncharacteristic Performance

Date: Jan 23, 2009

Seattle Stealth at LA Clippers: 79-84

Key Performers

Seattle

J Green 14 pt, 3 reb, 3-8 FG, 1-1 3PT, 7-8 FT
R Westbrook 12 pt, 6-10 FG
B Miller 11 pt, 8 reb, 3-7 FG, 5-5 FT

Los Angeles

J Williams 18 pt, 3 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 6-11 FG, 2-5 3PT, 4-4 FT
A Thornton 16 pt, 4 reb, 7-13 FG, 2-2 FT
B Davis 9 pt, 4 reb, 8 ast, 3 stl, 3-16 FG, 1-8 3PT, 2-2 FT

Seattle Bounces Back With Drubbing Of Nets
Stealth Avenges Loss, Earlier In Month, To New Jersey

Date: Jan 26, 2009

New Jersey Nets at Seattle Stealth: 86-112

Key Performers

New Jersey

J Hayes 17 pt, 6 reb, 2 ast, 6-11 FG, 3-5 3PT, 2-2 FT
J Yi 16 pt, 2 reb, 7-10 FG
R Anderson 12 pt, 8 reb, 5-7 FG, 1-2 3PT, 1-1 FT

Seattle

K Durant 34 pt, 11-19 FG, 1-2 3PT, 11-12 FT
C Wilcox 19 pt, 6 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl, 8-13 FG
B Miller 13 pt, 9 reb, 5 ast, 4 stl, 2 blk, 5-7 FG, 1-1 3PT, 2-2 FT

OJ Mayo Hits Big Triples To Help Memphis Win Close Contest
Seattle Rue Missed Chances Which Could Have Won Match

Date: Jan 28, 2009

Memphis Grizzlies at Seattle Stealth: 126-119

Key Performers

Memphis

M Conley 26 pt, 3 reb, 9 ast, 3 stl, 8-16 FG, 3-8 3PT, 7-11 FT
R Gay 21 pt, 8 reb, 2 stl, 2 blk, 7-14 FG, 3-6 3PT, 4-4 FT
OJ Mayo 17 pt, 5 reb, 7 ast, 6 TO, 6-11 FG, 2-4 3PT, 3-3 FT

Seattle

K Durant 33 pt, 4 reb, 5 ast, 1 stl, 1 blk, 12-18 FG, 2-2 3PT, 7-7 FT
C Wilcox 20 pt, 9 reb, 9-13 FG
J Green 17 pt, 6-10 FG, 2-3 3PT, 3-5 FT

Sour End To January As Seattle Slaughtered By Jazz Again
Utah 3-0 So Far Against Seattle This Season

Date: Jan 30, 2009

Seattle Stealth at Utah Jazz: 70-121

Key Performers

Seattle

K Durant 15 pt, 6-18 FG, 1-5 3PT, 2-2 FT
DJ White 11 pt, 6 reb, 5-6 FG, 1-2 FT
D Miles 10 pt, 5-10 FG

Utah

C Boozer 28 pt, 13 reb, 3 ast, 10-15 FG, 8-9 FT
D Williams 21 pt, 5 reb, 13 ast, 9-17 FG, 2-4 3PT, 1-2 FT
M Almond 17 pt, 6-14 FG, 3-6 3PT, 2-3 FT

[Valor]

they have boxscores... u can look at standings, statistics. Usual stuff. It's basically same as Live really.

lol alright, cheers bro i'll spend some time with it then maybe when i get comfortable start an association

[Iggy]

Still you're 8th seed in pretty tough western conference, so don't worry. also, I think you should trade Earl, you just can't trade Westbrook

[Mandich]

hmm...Durant has been inconsistent the last few games, hope you can get him back on tracks

[hova-]

Still 8th, but the its getting closer.

As for shaking up, I was talking bout the offseason. Just wanted to know wether or not you will do big trades or just pick up 1-2 FAs whcih could be enough to compete for the CFs.

Good job on your endurance. I know it is tough to write about such a long season

[Fresh8]

lol alright, cheers bro i'll spend some time with it then maybe when i get comfortable start an association

Looking forward to that la!

Still you're 8th seed in pretty tough western conference, so don't worry. also, I think you should trade Earl, you just can't trade Westbrook

I don't know what I will do but right now, Earl and Russell are both expendable. No one is untoucahble on my roster but I won't try anything as if it ain't broke - don't try to fix it. The team is doing great as you have stated already!

hmm...Durant has been inconsistent the last few games, hope you can get him back on tracks

Durant has struggled but he will hit his peak again soon.

Still 8th, but the its getting closer.

As for shaking up, I was talking bout the offseason. Just wanted to know wether or not you will do big trades or just pick up 1-2 FAs whcih could be enough to compete for the CFs.

Good job on your endurance. I know it is tough to write about such a long season

During offseason, it depends on the Draft and who is available. If there is someone I like, I will try to sign him. But yes, it's too long ahead to actually tell... what would you reccomend?

Brad Miller has turned out to be quite good, he is the reason we are winning IMO. I still think I need a SG.

[The X]

Just make it to All-Star break, enjoy the festivities (with minimum coverage of course, it's just a time zapper), & sim 75% of your game....play, sim, sim, sim, play, sim, sim, sim, play, etc....that's what I do to get through long seasons....you're only playing 20 games....I wouldn't even waste your time posting scores for most simmed games, nobody cares....maybe only if somebody breaks a franchise record or something....just work on what is important....your storyline is usually number 1 so stick with that....maybe show one showpiece game summary per month in your month summary, & give a rundown of record, other pertinent info....

cut the race to mvp & rookie rankings down to top 5 instead of top 10....nobody cares about 6 through 10 unless Sean Marks is at number 10

Around the League can probably be trimmed slightly....only thing you should definitely keep is the monthly standings....

you could always do trimester summaries instead of monthly....so you could do monthly standings, game of month, pic of month (sounds like The X formula ), chapter etc....then in trimester summary, do your top 5 mvp's, rookies, knob slobbers & what not....

[Fresh8]

Monthly Recap: January
Part One: League Standings

Monthly Recaps are divided into several parts in order to give readers a quick and organized overview. Part One of the Monthly Recap provides the league standings; divided into the two conferences. Part Two will feature the League Statistic Leaders.

In the West, the Lakers, Hornets, Spurs continue to prove that they are the class of their Conference as they finished January a considerable amount of games ahead of their next closest rivals. The LA Clippers continued on their spiral down the standings with an 8-8 record and look lost in the middle of the pack. Many expect the Clippers to not even hold on for the postseason with the form they have experienced over the past two months; wasting a superb 15-1 start to the NBA season. The Dallas Mavericks were impressive, going 13-7, and playing themselves back into playoff contention.

The landscape of the Eastern Conference remains unchanged with the same eight teams leading in the standings. The Indiana Pacers, Toronto Raptors, and Philadelphia 76ers should give the Atlanta Hawks and New Jersey Nets some competition for the 7th and 8th spots in the East over the rest of the season.

Western Conference Standings

1. New Orleans Hornets (32-12)*
2. Los Angeles Lakers (31-15)*
3. San Antonio Spurs (31-15)
4. Los Angeles Clippers (30-17)
5. Portland Trailblazers (25-21)*
6. Houston Rockets (26-22)
7. Golden State Warriors (26-22)
8. Seattle Stealth (24-23)

- - -

9. Dallas Mavericks (27-24)
10. Minnesota Timberwolves (21-24)
11. Phoenix Suns (21-24)
12. Utah Jazz (21-27)
13. Memphis Grizzlies (17-29)
14. Sacramento Kings (17-31)
15. Denver Nuggets (15-32)

Eastern Conference Standings

1. Miami Heat (30-16)*
2. Detroit Pistons (26-16)*
3. Cleveland Cavaliers (28-17)
4. Boston Celtics (28-20)*
5. Orlando Magic (26-19)
6. Washington Wizards (26-21)
7. New Jersey Nets (25-23)
8. Atlanta Hawks (23-24)

- - -

9. Indiana Pacers (23-25)
10. Toronto Raptors (22-26)
11. Philadelphia 76ers (20-26)
12. Charlotte Bobcats (17-30)
13. New York Knicks (15-31)
14. Milwaukee Bucks (17-34)
15. Chicago Bulls (13-35)

Key

* Denotes Division Leader
** Denotes Clinched Title
# Denotes Clinched Seed
## Denotes Eliminated From Postseason

[Fresh8]

Monthly Recap: January
Part Two: League Leaders

Monthly Recaps are divided into several parts in order to give readers a quick and organized overview. Part Two of the Monthly Recap provides the League Leaders. Part Three will feature the ‘Race to the MVP.’

Points Per Game

1. L James (29.5)
2. K Martin (28.3)
3. K Bryant (27.6)
4. M Ginobili (27.6)
5. J Johnson (26.8)

Rebounds Per Game

1. D Howard (11.7)
2. Z Randolph (10.8)
3. C Boozer (10.2)
4. D Lee (10.0)
5. K Garnett (9.9)

Assists Per Game

1. J Kidd (10.7)
2. S Nash (10.2)
3. J Calderon (9.9)
4. C Paul (9.8)
5. R Felton (9.6)

Steals Per Game

1. C Paul (2.4)
2. M Ginobili (2.3)
3. R Artest (2.2)
4. J Kidd (2.2)
5. B Davis (2.2)

Blocks Per Game

1. E Thomas (2.9)
2. D Howard (2.8)
3. M Yao (2.8)
4. K Garnett (2.6)
5. J O’Neal (2.4)

PER – Efficiency Rating

1. L James (33.4)
2. M Ginobili (27.3)
3. K Garnett (27.0)
4. K Bryant (26.3)
5. C Paul (25.8)

[Mandich]

Ethan Thomas the block machine....
Damn man Ginobili is a beast, keep up the good work

[hova-]

Quite realistic standings except the Suns and Nuggets. Mavs maybe a bit underachieving so far, but still a tough competitor for you. Will be tough to make it to the Playoffs and as an eight or 7th seed you will face some pretty hard opponents.

[Fresh8]

Monthly Recap: January
Part Three: Race To The MVP

Monthly Recaps are divided into several parts in order to give readers a quick and organized overview. Part Three of the Monthly Recap is the ‘Race To The MVP’. Part Four will feature Rumors and trade news from around the league.

1. Chris Paul, PG, New Orleans | Team Record: 32-12

Key Stats: 22.2 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 9.8 apg, 2.4 spg, .453 FG%, .866 FT%
Last Months Rank: 2

The Hornets have the best record in the league and the best PG on the planet right now. Paul racked up 11 double doubles in 16 games during the month of January, boosting his assists numbers whilst keeping all of his other numbers consistent for the whole season. His shooting percentages are rising as he has found his groove and many teams are finding it tough to stop him; if they did then the Hornets would stand a chance of losing right now.

2. Kobe Bryant, SG, Los Angeles Lakers | Team Record: 31-15

Key Stats: 27.6 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 4.9 apg, 2.1 spg, .513 FG%, .404 3PT%, .822 FT%
Last Months Rank: 4

Kobe said he was waiting to go up another gear and he did just that this month. With the Lakers struggling due to a string of injuries, Bryant has always been there to lift his team up. Able to score 30 or more on any given night, the reigning MVP just keeps doing what is best for his team; scoring is only second rate to winning for KB24. And the scary thing is that he is on cruise control and when he is allowed loose, he racks up 40 points pretty quickly – just ask the number of teams he’s quietly killed off in the past few weeks.

3. LeBron James, SF, Cleveland Cavaliers | Team Record: 28-17

Key Stats: 29.5 ppg, 8.0 rpg, 7.9 apg, 2.1 spg, .511 FG%, .454 3PT%
Last Months Rank: 1

LeBron has slipped down to third but that doesn’t mean his is playing any worse than he has all season; it’s just that it seems that we will be having a repeat of last season’s three way race to the MVP between LeBron and the two guys above him on this list. The Cavs struggled last month but LeBron was still the East’s Player of the Month.

4. Manu Ginobili, SG, San Antonio Spurs | Team Record: 31-15

Key Stats: 27.6 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 4.6 apg, 2.3 spg, .511 FG%, .481 3PT%, .825 FT%
Last Months Rank: 5

The Spurs are only right behind the Hornets and the Lakers. Manu continues to do it all for San Antonio. Put those two together and you get Manu at number four.

5. Allen Iverson, SG, Detroit Pistons | Team Record: 29-16

Key Stats: 24.5 ppg, 8.0 apg, 1.7 spg, .491 FG%, .401 3PT%, .822 FT%
Last Months Rank: 3

It’s funny to see Iverson shooting so efficiently this season as he’s .426 from the field and .313 from behind the arc for his career. This season, he is on mark to set career highs in Field Goal, Three Point, and Free Throw percentage. If he can stay above 8 assists a game; that will be another career high!

6. Dwyane Wade, SG, Miami Heat | Team Record: 30-16

Key Stats: 22.9 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 7.8 apg, 1.7 spg, .497 FG%
Last Months Rank: 6

The Heat continues to surprise many with high position in the standings right now. With most of Miami’s players stoked to be at that high mark, no one could be happier than Wade who has gone through the highs of winning a championship and the lows of bowing out in the first round the year after and then last season’s mess of a season. He recently told NBA.com, “It’s been a true blessing to have Ben (Gordon) and Michael (Beasley) here. I thought we would be finding it tough to win 30 games but we’re already nearly there!”

7. Kevin Durant, SF, Seattle Stealth | Team Record: 24-23

Key Stats: 24.9 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 2.0 apg, 1.4 spg, 1.0 bpg, .499 FG%, .409 3PT%, .860 FT%
Last Months Rank: Unranked

Talk about a one man team. It’s been a growing, and worrying, trend for the Stealth to win whenever Durant is playing good. They lose whenever he is average or, for want of a better word, terrible. Durant averages 25 points a game while the next best scorer is Jeff Green and Adam Morrison who each average a little over 10. Durant single handily has Seattle looking at a post-season appearance. Kudos to the sophomore superstar.

8. Gilbert Arenas, PG, Washington Wizards | Team Record: 26-21

Key Stats: 26.2 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 6.0 apg, 1.6 spg, .500 FG%, .458 3PT%
Last Months Rank: 8

Washington is still hanging around the middle of the Eastern Conference Standings. Right now, they would be matched up against nemesis Cleveland in the first round of the playoffs. Everyone knows that Arenas and the Wizards would love that. What everyone doesn’t know is that the Cavs are secretly hoping this matchup won’t happen because they know that Washington can beat them. Most of the East’s elite are in fact crossing their fingers they don’t need to see Arenas in the first round.

9. Kevin Garnett, PF, Boston | Team Record: 28-20

Key Stats: 20.9 ppg, 9.9 rpg, 3.9 apg, 1.9 spg, 2.6 bpg
Last Months Rank: 9

KG remains dormant on number 9. Everyone is starting to wonder whether Boston really has what it takes to contend this season. The Celtics just having finished another mediocre month don’t look like the champs of yesteryear.

10. Baron Davis, PG, Los Angeles Clippers | Team Record: 30-17

Key Stats: 21.5 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 5.5 apg, 2.2 spg, .471 FG%, .416 3PT%
Last Months Rank: 7

And the slide continues. The record still looks great but over two months, the Clippers have been 15-16. No one has written them off yet but after a brilliant 15-1 start, I still can’t get over how the team could not keep it up. Props are due where they are due and Davis did help the Clippers stay afloat this past month. That’s why he is clinging on to tenth spot on this list.

[Valor]

hurray!! CP3 is the top MVP candidate

[NovU]

Go Stealth! Make the playoffs! or not.

[hova-]

Nice Race to the MVP. Oh and Mr. Durant up there. Right choice to place CP3 at number 1.
Waiting for transactions and stuff

[Fresh8]

Just make it to All-Star break, enjoy the festivities (with minimum coverage of course, it's just a time zapper), & sim 75% of your game....play, sim, sim, sim, play, sim, sim, sim, play, etc....that's what I do to get through long seasons....you're only playing 20 games....I wouldn't even waste your time posting scores for most simmed games, nobody cares....maybe only if somebody breaks a franchise record or something....just work on what is important....your storyline is usually number 1 so stick with that....maybe show one showpiece game summary per month in your month summary, & give a rundown of record, other pertinent info....

cut the race to mvp & rookie rankings down to top 5 instead of top 10....nobody cares about 6 through 10 unless Sean Marks is at number 10

Around the League can probably be trimmed slightly....only thing you should definitely keep is the monthly standings....

you could always do trimester summaries instead of monthly....so you could do monthly standings, game of month, pic of month (sounds like The X formula ), chapter etc....then in trimester summary, do your top 5 mvp's, rookies, knob slobbers & what not....

I'm already simming a ton of games but I guess that's the route I will take (ie. Posting just the score and top player from each team). I have recaps for games I've played and will keep doing the monthly recaps, any extra articles I wish to write, and a chapter every once in a while (Which will increase as the story progresses). Soon we will get to the NBA Draft! Reminds me I need to continue with my scouting reports!

Ethan Thomas the block machine....
Damn man Ginobili is a beast, keep up the good work

Thanks man. Same to you with your dynasty. I've been reading.

Quite realistic standings except the Suns and Nuggets. Mavs maybe a bit underachieving so far, but still a tough competitor for you. Will be tough to make it to the Playoffs and as an eight or 7th seed you will face some pretty hard opponents.

2K9 doesnt give Billups enough love unfortunately... or Denver just having shitty season... Mavs/Suns should challenge me for that 8 seed...

hurray!! CP3 is the top MVP candidate

I think I should have put Bron up at 1...

Go Stealth! Make the playoffs! or not.

I hope we do... although screws me over when I was expecting to be in a rebuilding phase.

Nice Race to the MVP. Oh and Mr. Durant up there. Right choice to place CP3 at number 1.
Waiting for transactions and stuff

You loving KD in there! I'm happy to hear!

Anyways guys, I've decided that I won't be writing the Rookie Rankings anymore... just giving you the top 10 and will write summaries for each rookie in the rankings for April. Mainly because rookies are boring and I've run out of things to write about them. Expect the rest of the monthly recaps tonight/tomorrow and we will continue into February with a nice number of played games with PICTURES included!

I hope you are enjoying the read!