A LEGEND IS BORN II

[Valor]

Great story man, you have a knack for writing wish i had that kind of creativity
Durant is still a prick, go Ty!!

[Martti.]

There a lot of people who write behind the scenes stories, but yours are the only one I read thoroughly.

Nice writing once again. Also nice to see me boosting my average scoring a bit in Memphis.

[Fresh8]

I'm a bit surprised too, especially considering you said I had the (rightfully) lowest potential rating....maybe I just landed in the right system for my style of play

Well, at least you know you are around the level of a JR Smith since you beat him for a starting spot.

I wonder what Ty's dad did for him to deny ever knowing him.. His dad probably walked out on them when he was a child or maybe in jail.. And Durant is still hard on Ty, KD is badass..

You will meet his dad one day

And Durant is a dickhead right? Where's zanshadow???

Great chapter Sit. Good to see Ty in the spotlight.

Thanks man.

Yep Tyson is in the centre of the story, I really like it

Ty is the man

Durant is still a prick, go Ty!!

For sure

There a lot of people who write behind the scenes stories, but yours are the only one I read thoroughly.

Nice writing once again. Also nice to see me boosting my average scoring a bit in Memphis.

Thanks man. That comment is very much appreciated!

[Fresh8]

West Runs Away From East With Easy Win

Preview | Box Score | Recap


Yao Ming scored inside, outside, and dominated

15 February, 2010

SEATTLE (AP) – The All-Star game is usually a game for guards to show off their skills, sending big men into the backdrop. However, Houston’s Yao Ming and San Antonio’s Tim Duncan proved otherwise. The two giants of the game racked up big numbers and big plays during the 2010 All-Star spectacle and forced the players around them to adjust to their preferred pace of the game. The result was a 121-109 win for the West; a stark contrast to the high scoring 168-161 affair of last year.

“No team has won a championship without quality big men,” West coach Byron Scott stated, “The big guys dominate inside and I don’t see why they can’t get their share of touches in an All-Star game like this. I told my guards that they had to feed Yao, Tim and Dirk with the ball and they delivered.” Lakers star Kobe Bryant added, “Everyone wanted to get each other involved and even though the East were getting into putting on a show with their dunks and all that, I guess we really showed people how to play the game. And that’s through the guys who open the floor up.”

Yao wound up winning All-Star Game MVP with his 26 point, 10 rebound performance. Duncan was instrumental in frustrating the East with his ability to hit open jumpers from 18 feet out, off of Yao passes, and his ability to hit the open player for an assist of his own. Duncan finished the game with 18 points and a game high 9 assists. Bryant added 20 points; 14 of them coming in the first quarter.

Orlando’s Dwight Howard had 27 points and 8 rebounds but his performance wasn’t a surprise seeing that he is accustomed to a fast paced game, wowing the crowd with an array of acrobatic moves and dunks. Washington’s Gilbert Arenas followed up last year’s 42 point All-Star MVP performance with just 19 points. The West set out from the start to limit Cleveland’s LeBron James’ touches and succeeded as they held ‘The King’ to 18 points. James was only effective in the second quarter, scoring 12 points, and was quiet throughout the match due to constant double teams.

The Western All-Stars had a quick start to the game and led 16-4, courtesy of a 12-0 run, just 4 minutes into the game. Bryant keyed that opening run by hitting back to back three pointers. Chris Paul’s hustle led to multiple errors by the Easts’ ball handlers and resulting in easy fast break opportunities for the West.

The game wasn’t over for the East though as LeBron led a charge back against their opponents. James’ 12 points included two massive dunks and if it had not been for Duncan’s 8 second quarter points in the dying minutes of the first half; the East would have made it a close contest entering the break. The Eastern All-Stars continued chipping away at the Western All-Star lead and by third quarter time, the game was tied at 92 apiece.

The final quarter was tight up until there was 5 minutes left in the match. With the two teams separated by only single digits, Scott reentered his starting five sans debutant Moses Chara, who was replaced by NBA leading scorer Kevin Durant. Durant, along with Duncan, Yao, Bryant, and Paul sealed the deal for the West with a series of big plays.

Durant scored on a drive to the hoop. That was followed by a Yao block on the other end and back to back buckets for Duncan. The second of those buckets helped the West to a 100-105 advantage with 3:47 left. A Duncan block led to a Durant bucket, putting the West up by 7. After the East tried to chip back at the West’s advantage; Paul had 2 steals. One of the steals led to a fast break layup and the other one to a wide open Bryant jumper. The Hornets’ reigning MVP then sealed the deal for the West with a jumper with 52.8 seconds left in the game.

“The West had so many quality players,” LeBron James stated after the game, “Yao, Tim, Kobe all really hurt us and then Chris Paul just took over in the end. They were a tough team to beat but we came back from about 15, 16 points down to get close so kudos to the East. I guess we won last year so we will just need to come back next year to win it.”

When questioned about his MVP award, Yao Ming was happier about his team’s win. “When I was on the bench, I was a bit worried that we wouldn’t be able to pull this off. The East looked very hard to stop when they came back. We didn’t have the momentum we needed when the game was tied in the fourth quarter,” The Rockets’ star said.

Sacramento Kings rookie Moses Chara had a successful debut despite missing his first two shots of the game, he finished with 15 points. He was particularly happy about rubbing shoulders with the NBA elite, “I got to meet Kobe, LeBron, and Chris. All of these guys are legends of the game and I am glad to be a part of that group. I told all of you that I belong here.”

Notes: Indiana’s Danny Granger did not listen to team advice and participated in his first ever All-Star game; finishing with 10 points… Milwaukee’s Andrew Bogut was visibly upset that he did not play much in his second straight All-Star appearance… Seattle’s Jason Kidd had 6 assists in a short lived 11th All-Star game. He lamented his lack of court time to “I’m old and it’s time to hand over the torch”…

Quarter-by-Quarter Team Score

West 35 – 31 – 26 – 29 – 121
East 21 – 39 – 32 – 17 – 109

Jordan Player of the Game

Ming Yao
26 Points
13-16 FG
10 Rebounds
5 Assists
1 Block

Key Performers

Western Conference All-Stars

K Bryant 20 pt, 3 reb, 6 ast, 2 stl, 9-12 FG, 2-2 3PT
T Duncan 18 pt, 4 reb, 9 ast, 2 blk, 9-10 FG, 0-2 FT
M Chara 15 pt, 7 ast, 7-10 FG, 0-2 3PT, 1-1 FT
K Durant 14 pt, 5 ast, 6-11 FG, 1-3 3PT, 1-1 FT
C Paul 10 pt, 4 ast, 2 stl, 5-8 FG
C Billups 7 pt
T McGrady 5 pt
C Kaman 4 pt
D Williams 2 pt
J Kidd 6 ast
D Nowitzki 3 reb

Eastern Conference All-Stars

D Howard 27 pt, 8 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl, 2 blk, 13-16 FG
G Arenas 19 pt, 6 ast, 8-14 FG, 2-4 3PT, 1-2 FT
L James 18 pt, 6 reb, 4 ast, 1 stl, 6-9 FG, 1-4 3PT, 5-5 FT
D Granger 10 pt, 4 reb, 4 ast, 5-9 FG
D Wade 10 pt, 5-7 FG
A Iguodala 8 pt, 3 ast, 3-5 FG
R Allen 7 pt
K Garnett 4 pt, 2 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl, 3 blk
C Bosh 4 pt, 4 reb
J Calderon 2 pt
TJ Ford 1 ast
A Bogut

[Valor]

YAO!!! he dominated in my all star game too! too bad he isn't like this in the real life all star game...

[Fresh8]

YAO!!! he dominated in my all star game too! too bad he isn't like this in the real life all star game...

Yao was pretty damn good. He and Duncan formed a greta combo

[Lamrock]

Duncan 9 assists? Nice recap of the ASG. Sounds like a fun game; which is unusual for the all-star weekend.

[kibaxx7]

Ah man, I hate when Yao dominates like that

[Fresh8]

Duncan 9 assists? Nice recap of the ASG. Sounds like a fun game; which is unusual for the all-star weekend.

Duncan to Yao opened up the game the second time. Kobe was the reason we were up early, then it was Yao and Timmy and then CP3 sealed the deal!

And it was lots of fun thanks to Moses Chara... it took a while to figure out how to shoot with him but then he was just gun. The Western All-Stars were great to play with!

Ah man, I hate when Yao dominates like that

Get used to it cause he's going to own the Blazers!

[Fresh8]

Monthly Recap: February
Part One: Team Report, Results, 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. It also features the Seattle Stealth’s’ team report and schedule of games played in the last month (links are included to game recaps where applicable). Part Two will feature Player Statistics.

Team Report

With a 35-24 record entering the final month and a half of the regular season campaign, the Seattle Stealth could not feel any more confident. However, with the close of the season comes many questions and questions that are not only related to this season but of the off-season.

Word has spread that many of the Stealth’s players are disgruntled including rookie SG Reshawn Tyson unhappy about his lack of playing time. C Brad Miller is also unhappy about sharing minutes with fellow veteran big man Jamaal Magloire while SG Adam Morrison has been asking to be traded for months. With players like Miller and Morrison coming off contract at the end of the season, it is crucial that the team tries to keep them. However, with a strong free agency pool being predicted to surface for the Summer, it is uncertain of where Seattle will go.

GM Sit has been quoted as stating that he intends to resign players such as Miller, Morrison, and recent acquisition Sebastian Telfair but he has also hinted at trying to keep enough salary cap room to pick up a star SG. “I don’t think Tyson is ready to contribute as a full time starter so if we can sign someone like Joe Johnson or Tracy McGrady next Summer, we will be able to have a mentor for him,” Sit said in a recent interview.

Putting off-season issues aside, the Stealh are making a strong bid for home court advantage for the first round of the playoffs. The team has performed strongly despite a lower back strain sidelining David Lee for the past two weeks. The team is currently 5.5 games off the pace of the Denver Nuggets but their record is good for them to be tied for 5th in the Western Conference.

February Schedule

Feb 1 – Sea @ LAL: 106-133 L
Feb 4 – Uth @ Sea: 114-95 L
Feb 6 – Por @ Sea: 106-112 W
Feb 8 – Sea @ LAL: 112-102 W
Feb 10 – LAC @ Sea: 103-133 W
Feb 11 – Sea @ Por: 111-116 L
Feb 17 – SA @ Sea: 92-100 W
Feb 20 – Sea @ GSW: 123-131 L
Feb 21 – Sea @ Pho: 117-115 W
Feb 24 – LAC @ Sea: 109-117 W
Feb 27 – Sea @ Hou: 123-122 W
Feb 28 – Sea @ Dal: 120-139 L

Western Conference Standings

1. New Orleans Hornets (43-17)*
2. Denver Nuggets (41-19)*
3. Houston Rockets (36-23)
4. Seattle Stealth (35-24)
5. Minnesota Timberwolves (35-24)
6. Utah Jazz (34-26)
7. Los Angeles Lakers (34-27)*
8. Portland Trailblazers (31-28)

- - -

9. Dallas Mavericks (29-29)
10. Phoenix Suns (28-31)
11. Memphis Grizzlies (28-30)
12. Golden State Warriors (27-32)
13. San Antonio Spurs (25-33)
14. Sacramento Kings (25-35)
15. Los Angeles Clippers (23-37)

Eastern Conference Standings

1. Detroit Pistons (39-19)*
2. Atlanta Hawks (37-23)*
3. Miami Heat (35-24)
4. Boston Celtics (36-25)*
5. Orlando Magic (33-25)
6. Cleveland Cavaliers (34-28)
7. Indiana Pacers (32-30)
8. Washington Wizards (28-31)

- - -

9. Philadelphia 76ers (26-32)
10. Chicago Bulls (26-32)
11. New Jersey Nets (21-38)
12. Milwaukee Bucks (19-41)
13. New York Knicks (18-41)
14. Charlotte Bobcats (17-42)
15. Toronto Raptors (16-45)

* Denotes Division Leader

[Mark.]

Woop! Bobcats aint last I like the idea of a SG to mentor Tyson, would love to see T-Mac there.

[Martti.]

Wow, already 4th in the West. Getting T-Mac would be great.

[kibaxx7]

As Sit and Mark said, getting T-Mac would be awesome, but I also like the idea of Joe Johnson

[Lamrock]

11 games above .500! Playoffs will be returning to Seattle! I really like your team now, and though it isn't title-caliber yet, I don't like the idea of getting a franchise player like Knee-Mac or even Johnson with Tyson on the roster. A Mike Miller type player would be nice though. good luck in March. Try to pull away from Minny for the division title!

[Fresh8]

Woop! Bobcats aint last I like the idea of a SG to mentor Tyson, would love to see T-Mac there.

Yep, I think our team really needs a veteran 2 guard... but I have a feeling that Brad Miller won't re-sign with us so the C spot is also a concern...

Wow, already 4th in the West. Getting T-Mac would be great.

If we lose a few games, we can easy slip out of the top 8 though...

As Sit and Mark said, getting T-Mac would be awesome, but I also like the idea of Joe Johnson

Joe Johnson is a guy I think I would sign but he would be more money than T-Mac...

11 games above .500! Playoffs will be returning to Seattle! I really like your team now, and though it isn't title-caliber yet, I don't like the idea of getting a franchise player like Knee-Mac or even Johnson with Tyson on the roster. A Mike Miller type player would be nice though. good luck in March. Try to pull away from Minny for the division title!

Minnesota and Seattle are trailing the Nuggets for the Division title...

[Fresh8]

Monthly Recap: February
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 Statistical Leaders. Part Three will feature news from Around the League.

Points Per Game

1. K Durant (30.5)
2. L James (28.4)
3. K Bryant (26.6)
4. D Wade (25.4)
5. K Martin (24.9)

Rebounds Per Game

1. D Howard (11.0)
2. T Duncan (10.9)
3. Z Randolph (10.5)
4. K Garnett (10.3)
5. L James (10.2)

Assists Per Game

1. J Kidd (11.0)
2. C Paul (10.6)
3. J Calderon (10.0)
4. C Billups (9.3)
5. M Ellis (9.2)

Steals Per Game

1. C Paul (2.6)
2. A Iverson (2.2)
3. R Artest (2.2)
4. K Bryant (2.1)
5. D Wade (1.9)

Blocks Per Game

1. T Duncan (2.8)
2. M Yao (2.8)
3. D Howard (2.5)
4. K Garnett (2.5)
5. A Stoudamire (2.3)

PER – Efficiency Rating

1. L James (34.1)
2. M Chara (29.0)
3. K Garnett (28.0)
4. D Nowitzki (27.9)
5. K Durant (27.3)

[Fresh8]

Monthly Recap: February
Part Three: Around The League

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 ‘Around the League’ recap, which features transactions and other League news. Part Four will feature the All-NEW NLSC Rookie Focus!

Transactions

The Memphis Grizzlies signed both Shawn Marion and Lamar Odom to five year contracts and it took them half a season to realize that having both of them on the same roster produced diminishing returns. With Marion as a solid sixth man, the Grizzlies had no use for Odom and that led to their deal with the New York Knicks.

Odom, a Queens native, was able to be traded home to New York. The versatile forward was traded with Marko Jaric in exchange for Knicks Quentin Richardson and Kurt Thomas. Richardson and Thomas are both off-contract at the end of the season, giving the Grizzlies another stab at free agency at the end of the season.

New York chose to take on Odom for his ability to play nearly every position on the basketball court. It is expected that he will close out the season as the team’s first player off the bench but the Knicks have promised to take a look at Odom’s role for next season during the upcoming Summer.

January Trades:

8 Feb – Grizzlies F L Odom, G M Jaric traded for Knicks F Q Richardson, F K Thomas
11 Feb – Bulls F A Nocioni traded for Timberwolves G E Watson and F A Foyle

Player Awards

James, Chara are Players of the Month

LeBron James was no surprise winner of another Player of the Month award. Sacramento Kings rookie Moses Chara capped off his most successful month in the NBA with his second Player of the Month award in his maiden season.

Read More…

Chara and Steele: Rookies of the Months Again

Despite the fact that the Nets are on a five game losing streak and a dip in his statistics, PG Barney Steele took home Rookie of the Month honors again. Meanwhile, Moses Chara was just too good to be denied another Rookie of the Month award.

Read More…

News

Bryant: Moses Chara Is Scary

Kobe Bryant knows what it takes to be the best and he has predicted that in five years time; the best player in the League will be Moses Chara. “He is just so good,” Bryant, who played with Chara in the All-Star Game, said, “He is about 24 but he still has plenty of time before he hits his peak. He is so good already and it’s just scary to think how good he will be.”

Chara, playing for the Sacramento Kings, led his team to a 10-4 record over the past month while upping his scoring average. The rookie forms one of the highest scoring duo in the league with Kevin Martin.

Read More…

New Jersey Nets Have Coaching Change

The Nets recently fired Head Coach Lawrence Frank and replaced him with Marc Ivanori.

Read More…

Chris Bosh Staying Put For Now

After a flurry of trade rumors had Chris Bosh feeling nervous; the trade deadline passed with no sign of a Bosh trade. The New York Knicks, Denver Nuggets, and Sacramento Kings were known to have been major contenders to land Bosh. Denver was considered the most intriguing team in the hunt as they offered the expiring contract of Kenyon Martin, sixth man JR Smith, and other pieces to make a deal.

One Western Conference scout stated, “It would be scary to think of what the Nuggets could have had if they added Bosh to the team. They would have lost a lot of firepower from their bench but Bosh would have made up for that.”

Read More…

Chandler Out For Season

The New Orleans Hornets’ chances of a repeat were dealt a major blow as C Tyson Chandler was deactivated for the rest of the season with a broken patella. Chris Paul was understandably upset over Chandler’s injury, “This is terrible news. Losing a player like Tyson is a big bump in the road for us in terms of trying to win back to back championships.”

Read More…

[Valor]

boo...Lamar Odom for Q.Richarson? disrespectful to Lamar
Great recaps once again, the Seattle Stealth are doing great! keep it up!

[homicide1550]

Poor Earl Watson just got traded again.. And KD seems to have a strong grip on the scoring title..

[kibaxx7]

boo...Lamar Odom for Q.Richarson? disrespectful to Lamar

Yeah, what happened over there Sit?

[puttincomputers]

wow minnesota got the better end of their deal by a long shot!

[C-77]

your team is great right now ,hope you keep the wins going ,btw how do you like ma new sig? ,sorry for the off topic question

[Lamrock]

Loving the big, realistic trades! Can't wait to see how March turns out for the Stealth.

[Fresh8]

Great recaps once again, the Seattle Stealth are doing great! keep it up!

Thanks man. We're aiming for the number 4 seed

Poor Earl Watson just got traded again.. And KD seems to have a strong grip on the scoring title..

Earl was good for me so it's sad to see him traded again...

Yeah, what happened over there Sit?

Lamar isn't really playing that good this season...

wow minnesota got the better end of their deal by a long shot!

Yeah, they made themselves a bit stronger

your team is great right now ,hope you keep the wins going ,btw how do you like ma new sig? ,sorry for the off topic question

I am loving your sig

Loving the big, realistic trades! Can't wait to see how March turns out for the Stealth.

I'm predicting a winning March

[Fresh8]

Monthly Recap: February
Part Four: NLSC Rookie Focus

Monthly Recaps are divided into several parts in order to give readers a quick and organized overview. Part Four of the Monthly Recap is the NLSC Rookie Focus where one NLSC rookie is chosen to be presented to you, the reader, in order for you to get to know them better. Part Five will feature the All- Team Focus.

Player Focus: Andrew Watson


Andrew “The X” Watson has punished NBA defenses all season long for leaving him wide open

# 6 | SG | Denver Nuggets (41-19) |
6’3” | 228 lbs | Age: 28 | West Virginia |
2009 Draft | Round: 1 |Pick: 10 |

Position Rank: 10th
Overall Rank: 43rd
Role: Starter
Agent: "Please continue what you’re doing. He’s overachieving recently due to how great his situation is."
09-10 Statistics: 19.6 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 4.1 apg, .497 FG%, .400 3PT%, .880 FT%, 60 GP, 60 GS

In order to get an indication of how old Andrew Watson is, one should just look at his history with another rookie of this season’s Draft; Moses Chara. “I remember Moses,” Watson said in a recent interview, “He was this skinny freshman playing for Duke when I was in my senior year at West Virginia. I remember we played Duke during the season and you could tell that he was going to be a star one day.”

A look back at the record books shows that West Virginia beat the Blue Devils in that encounter 67-62. Watson finished the game with a team leading 27 points while Chara had a quiet 12 point night; Chara wasn’t a star from day one after all. Watson’s days at college are well known amongst West Virginia faithful and many wonder aloud why it took so long for him to make the leap to join the NBA.

“I lost my passion to play basketball,” Watson states, “After we were knocked out of the tournament in my last year, I thought it was time to hang up the jersey. I guess it took a while for me to get back into it.”

After months of grueling and physical workouts designed to help him shed some extra pounds and make him fit enough to play a full game of basketball again; Watson believes all the hard work was worth it. “It certainly has paid off, I am playing so well and I love it.”

Watson’s impact on the Denver Nuggets should not be overlooked. The team is threatening to make some noise in this year’s postseason and look poised to threaten to make the NBA Finals. Chauncey Billups is averaging 19 ppg and 8 apg while Carmelo Anthony doesn’t need to try hard to keep his scoring clip at 23 ppg. All of this is thanks to Watson, affectionately known as ‘The X’. X is averaging close to 20 ppg himself and the trio form one of, if not, the best offensive combos in the league.

“X can take you outside, Melo takes you inside, and Chauncey does a bit of both,” an Eastern Conference scout says, “The Nuggets are a dangerous team to play. You don’t want to get in a foot race with them.”

NLSC Rookie Statistics

Byron Brock 8.2 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 0.2 apg
Mark Moore 13.9 ppg, 1.1 rpg, 4.3 apg
Martti Must 12.7 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 3.4 apg
Klemen Pirc 6.1 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 3.7 apg
Zoilo Resurreccion 11.0 ppg, 0.6 rpg, 8.3 apg
Andrew Watson 19.6 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 4.1 apg