Hov's Mavs (21-27): All-Star starters / Around the league

[Valor]

Another tough loss man, Mayo with just 10 shot attempts is very un-OJ Mayo like get him the ball more!

[hova-]

Dallas Mavericks, Dwyane Wade, Antoine Miller, DeAndre Jordan,

███ Dallas Mavericks keep on struggling, start January 1-4
DALLAS (AP)

The Dallas Mavericks don't seem to get things going in 2013 as the team has started the new year losing three out of four games. After losses to Washington and Miami, Dallas also lost it's home game against the New Orleans Hornets 109-106. Dirk Nowitzki has his best scoring performance since being back from a knee surgery as he put up 26 points on 11/20 shooting, but Hornets topscorer Eric Gordon (26.2ppg) errupted for a season-high 40 points to lift the Hornets over the Mavericks.

Injury bug bites Dallas

Dallas sat out 6th man Vince Carter who is dealing harder than expected with a broken finger on his shooting hand. Furthermore, the Mavericks had to play without power forward Brandan Wright (bruised hip) and rookie Jae Crowder (severe ankle sprain). Both players might miss more several games.

W @Utah, L @Los Angeles

The Mavericks were able to beat the Jazz in Utah nevertheless as the team blew out the 14-23 Jazz 85-108. OJ Mayo scored 24 points and Dirk Nowitzki added 18 for the short-handed Mavericks. Rookie Jared Cunningham, unsettled with his position in Dallas (only three appearances so far) also scored 10 as the Mavericks were still missing services of several players.

Just two days later the Mavericks travelled on to Los Angeles to meet the Clippers, but Dallas fell short as they lost 100-113. Chris Paul scored 25 points and dished out 8 assists and DeAndre Jordan added 23 points and 11 rebounds on 10/11 shooting. For Dallas, Dirk Nowitzki (25p) and OJ Mayo (22) were once again the topscorers of the team.

███ Dwyane Wade has successfull surgery, aims to be back in March
MIAMI(AP)

Dwyane Wade of the Miami Heat had a successfull surgery on his right knee, the Miami Heat report. Wade injured his knee in the Heat's match against Dallas as the injury turned out to be a torn meniscus and a strained MCL.

"I think I will be back by March and I hope to be back as good as ever. Surgery would have been required on my knee after the season anyway", Wade revealed. Without Wade (20.4ppg/4.7apg), the Heat lost their first game against Chicago but LeBron James has since then taken over scoring 37 points in a win over Washington and having a 46 points-11rebounds outburst against the Pacers.

Miami still sits atop the Easter Conference (27-6), six games in front of second place Boston Celtics (22-13)

███ Highschool wonderkid Antoine Miller shot in night club
NEW YORK (AP)

Number one highschool prospect and All-American guard Antoine Miller out of Martin Luther King Highschool in New York has reportedly been shot in a night club accident after the team's win last night.
"We are totally shocked", Coach Ross Brown said after confirming the incident. Miller is said to be in stable condition as two bullets hit him in his chest.

"The doctors say he will make it", Brown added. Antoine Miller is said to be the best high school player in the States right now as he put up 20.1ppg, 8.9rpg, 3.0apg and 4.1spg this season so far.
"Actually he did not want to go out with us because he never goes out", a teammate of Miller said to the NY times newspaper. "We convince him to celebrate our win with us this night", the anonymous player added.

Police investigations on the case are still ongoing but details have not been confirmed yet. Miller was set to leave highschool after this season and already declared to play for North Carolina next season.

███ DeAndre Jordan lands dunk of the year against Dallas
DALLAS(AP)

23 points, 11 rebounds, 2 blocks and 10/11 shooting. DeAndre Jordan's numbers in the Clippers' win over Dallas (100-113) last night were fantastic but the young center may also have landed the dunk of the year as his head was above rim-level when Jordan dunked the ball on Mavericks guard Darren Collison after running the pick&roll with Chris Paul.

"That's what I do, I get the ball and I throw it down", Jordan said after the game. Blake Griffin, a feared dunker himself, said that was the "ultimate posterization" and "dunk of the year". Chris Paul confirmed later as he tweeted @Deandre Jordan Dunk of the year my man. An honor dishing ...

███ Spurs take revenge, beat Lakers
SAN ANTONIO(AP)

After losing in their first meeting of the season, the San Antonio Spurs have taken revenge as they beat the Lakers 93-104 in front of their San Antonio home crowd. Tim Duncan had 23 points and 8 rebounds and Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker scored 20 and 19 apiece as the Spurs used a third quarter run to win the game.

Lakers star and second best scorer of the league (28.1ppg) Kobe Bryant only hit 7/21 from the field and scored 15 points. The Spurs (20-18) have now won three in a row but are still 4.5 games behind the Lakers (23-12) atop of the Western Conference.

[hova-]

Keeron Waters out of Georgetown seems to be a sure-fire lottery pick in the upcoming draft as NBA scouts love his solid defensive game and athleticism as well as his good spirit he can bring to a team.

For the Hoyas, Waters is the best perimetre defender and also second offensive option, although experts doubt that he will easily translate his offensive game to the pros. Waters, currently averaging 14.1 points per game, lives from cuts to the basket as well as hustle points after steals and offensive rebounds, something he won't get as easily in the NBA.

Waters' shooting form is far away from being described as "smooth" and the 21-year old sophomore has a very shaky stroke from outside 15 feet. Waters is clever enough to not take these shots too frequently though, as he does not have a hard time to go past or over his defender thanks to his superb athleticisim.

With 2.1 steals per game, Waters is amongst the top thieves in the NCAA right now and he loves to intercept passes. Often it looks like his instinct is simply telling him where the ball will go to, be it on those steals or on offensive rebounds or loose balls.

The Washington native still has to put on some weight if he wants to assert himself among the pros, but has shown great work ethic in trying to improve his game. NBA scouts value that Waters is not as gifted as other players but seems to work hard in order to achieve things nobody had thought he could.

With Waters and center Ryon Ownes in their lineup, the Hoyas have established one of the best defenses in the NCAA right now. Waters is able to defend almost every other go-to-guy in his conference as he has proven often enough.

Waters, nicknamed "Drop" by his team mates, could be the perfect choice for a team that has already amassed much talent like the Kings or Cavs as he could help right away but does not have as much potential as other possible lottery picks.

Strenghts: very athletic ... long arms ... very good anticipating rebounds ... good lateral quickness ... decent help defender ... good at playing passing lanes ... a solid finisher around the rim ... knows how to get to his spots on the court ... winner's mentality ... very unselfish player ... hustles hard ... goes over defenders with his dunks ...

Weaknesses: needs to add weight ... has to improve his upper body strenght ... his hustles is sometimes self-destructive ... needs to improve his shot ... his shooting form does not look very good ... might never dominate offensively ... has no three point shot ... needs to work on his court vision ...

[dare]

loving the updates man

[Mark.]

Nice rookie profile Man still struggling, at least you got the win over Utah!

[SuperHueyNewton]

cool five liners. Would have loved to see "Show me your dunk face" Next to Jordan's dunk

[hova-]

dare, hey nice to see you following, havent seen you around for quite some time. I used many of your rookie faces for the draft classes in this asso, although I think I have most of them for year 2. Great work

Mark., thanks, yeah it's tough but the West is quite bad in this D so we are still only two wins away from the eight spot.

SuperHueyNewton, thanks man. Added the face

[Axel The Great]

Man, still struggling. At least you have Dirk Nowitzki back so hopefully you'll be able to pile on some more wins soon.

I've always liked hustle players in the NBA; Waters looks like a very intriguing prospect. Any chance you'd go after him in the draft?

[hova-]

Axel., well, he is no high potential scorer or anything like that, so I doubt he will go top 5, but you never know in 2k. He would be useful for sure, although I rather need a three point shooter because Marion is pretty similar.

[SuperHueyNewton]

Ahh that picture is so awesome lol.

What about a backup for Mayo? Roddy is better at the one isn't he?

[Lamrock]

Caught up with this - great job! Fantastic articles and love the draft coverage as always - hopefully you can sneak into the playoffs.

[hova-]

Hope to be back by Saturday, guys. Already writing some stuff here at my parents' house as I stayed here because the city where I am studying is currently flooded!



Glad I have an apartment near a hill so the water did not hit me (at least that's what I think and hope - haven't been there since the floodening began) . As I don't have my PC with me I cannot play, but I am writing some prospect reports. By saturday everything should be okay and I will return as Uni will start on monday again (last week was cancelled).

Cheers guys

[Mark.]

Oh man, that is tough. Hope your place is ok. That being said, do you know how to swim? Just swim and get it

[Valor]

Wow...bad luck man, reminds me of the QLD floods (Sit and X will remember that), hope everything is back in order soon!

[Durant35]

That sucks man. Flood happens occasionally here too. Hope it all works out for you!

[Vespasian92]

Hmm, sorry to see that. Hope your appartment's flood-free.

[mp3]

GOD DAMM !!

Glad your ok tho dude!

[hova-]

Lakers host Heat - a preview of the NBA finals?


LeBron James scored 41 of his team 78 in a loss vs the Warriors.

The Los Angeles Lakers (25-16) will host the Miami Heat (28-9) for the first time this season, but right now it does not look like it could be a preview of a potential finals matchup.

It has been a while since the Heat have met the Lakers, and things have changed since last year. Los Angeles has added Steve Nash and Dwight Howard helping them to form a "big three" or "big four" of their own, something Miami has done two years ago and is still profiting from.

Right now though, the Heat only have a tandem instead of a trio with Dwyane Wade being out after tearing his meniscus in early January. Since then, the Heat have gone 3-4 and could not compensate the loss of their perennial superstar at the two guard spot like they did in December, when the team was also missing Wade during their 20 game winning-streak.

At 28-9, the Heat are still the top team in the East but two losses in a row make it tough to forecast how they will deal with the LA Lakers. LeBron James scored 41 points in the Heat's 78-103 blowout at Golden State two days ago, but did not see much help from his teammates.

But the Lakers are struggling as well, having lost four in a row. After two tough losses against Oklahoma City (89-93) and the San Antonio Spurs (104-93), the Lakers completely lost their rhythm and also lost against Cleveland and Milwaukee, two teams who are far away from being powerhouses. Kobe Bryant only scored 22.2 points on an iffy 39% from the field during the Lakers' tough streak and questions have been raised if he is also missing some help from his teammates.

The Lakers have fallen to the second spot in the West now with the Thunder taking over in the West due to their six-game winning streak.

Right now, it's too early to count the Lakers out, but their recent struggles did not make them look like a championship calibre team. The Heat will have problems to bully their way through a tough East without their second option on offense and their best defensive guard. So in a way, the upcoming game does not look like a finals preview. But the battle of the two maybe biggest superstars in the league will still make it an intriguing and overinterpretated matchup. So what do you think, who's gonna win? LA or Miami?

Top Performers
Kobe Bryant 27.8 points per game
Dwight Howard 8.2 rebounds per game
Steve Nash 10.0 assists per game

Top Performers
LeBron James 26.1 points per game
Chris Bosh 8.4 rebounds per game
LeBron James 4.3 assists per game




Heat looking to sign Chris Andersen read more
Raptors, Grizzlies nearing on Rudy-trade read more
Howard still unsure about his future plans read more





Okay, guys. Looking at the astonishing success of interaction games (like Sit's) and as I try to gain some more attention for my D - although my lack of activity did not deserve any attention - I want to bring back my own interactive game.

Oh Hov, what is this ish?

So just like in my last Ds, you will have the chance to get points for answering questions, forecasting events or sometimes for helping me making this D better.

Points for a pointless virtual dynasty? Can I earn money with this nerdy ish?

Actually not. You will be able to use your points for different things. I am still not sure about everything I will offer. The idea is to give you a chance to have influence on my multiverse. You will definitely be able to edit ratings of players and I have the idea of the following things: trade proposals, FA signings for teams you like, injure players you want, faster rehab for injured players, change tendencies, positions, for young players even height.

It would be cool to add some story to your changes if you like to.

So here are the first questions of this edition of Hov's Interaction Game:

Who will win the anticipated matchup of between the Lakers and Miami?
Who will score more points? Mamba or LBJ? (consider Dwyane Wade is out after knee surgery)
Will one player record a triple-double?
If yes, who will record it?

Thanks for participating, guys! Here are your current scores:

Sit 10
SuperHueyNewton 10
Mark. 10
Valor 10
Rosque 15
mpac 15

[kibaxx7]

Who will win the anticipated matchup of between the Lakers and Miami? Miami
Who will score more points? Mamba or LBJ? (consider Dwyane Wade is out after knee surgery) LeBron
Will one player record a triple-double? Damn right!
If yes, who will record it? Bron.

Nice to see you back Hov

[hova-]

#thierry, thanks man. Looking forward to your new story.

Little bumper here, because I want to get things going more quickly as I like how Sit's and Lamrock's D are already in season II and are very intriguing.

So vote quickly guys!

[Lamrock]

Heat win
LeBron outscores Kobe
No triple-double

[hova-]

Okay guys, I will post the recap today and then I will try to get through the season quicker. Last call to jump on the interaction train! (Mark, Valor, Sit etc?).

Your points will affect this story pretty much as I will give you the chance to edit players/teams in several ways come offseason

[hova-]

Miami Heat (28-10) at Los Angeles Lakers (25-16) 91-102

Preview | Boxscore | Recap | Highlights

LeBron's 38 not enough as Kobe's clutch play leads Lakers to victory


LeBron led all scorers with 38 points - two of which came on this amazing dunk.



LOS ANGELES, JANUARY 17th (AP) - Despite LeBron James scoring 38 points the Miami Heat lose their third straight as the Lakers take the home victory behind Kobe's 30 points.

Already before the hyped matchup between the Lakers and the Heat it was obvious that one team would continue it's losing streak as the Lakers headed into the game losing four straight and Miami was the loser of their last to matches.

In the end, it were the Lakers who withstood James' 38 points and held the Heat to 14 points in the last quarter to seal the deal in a game that was tight at halftime.

"It's tough right now. Without Flash ... it feels like I have to do a lot of things out there on the court alone", LeBron James said after the game. The three time MVP scored 38 points, dished out 6 assists and grabbed a season-low tying 2 boards, shot 16/22 from the field and 5/7 from the freethrow line. "I don't know what else I should do out there", a resigning James moaned after the game. The MVP of last year's finals had also lost the ball six times.

In a way, James was right though, as the only Heat in double-figures next to him was Chris Bosh, who had 13 points and added 6 boards. "He's right, I have to do more. I am trying but it is just not working for me right now. And with Howard and Gasol it was tough out there", Bosh accepted the criticism from James.

The Heat were still in the game at the half, leading by one as they outscored the Lakers 30-21 in the second quarter.

"I know we would win this one, I knew it after the first half", Kobe Bryant commented after the game. Bryant had 30 points, 6 rebound and 4 assists shooting 13/20 from the field. But whilst James only scored six points in the final twelve minutes of the game, Bryant took over and scored 12 to lift his team to a win.

"I ain't gonna comment on opponent's players performances, I don't care. I did my job, we won, that's it", Bryant said after being questioned about the difference between him and LeBron in the clutch.

But Kobe also got some great help by his team mates, led by Ron Artest's shooting outburst in the second quarter, where he hit four of his five three pointers. Artest had 19 points in the ball game. Dwight Howard added 15 points and Steve Nash 14 points and 12 assists. Pau Gasol had maybe the play of the game and recorded five steals in the first quarter alone.

It was the lack of aggression by the Heat, who only had 9 free throw attempts (7 of them came by LeBron) and shot 46% from the field despite grabbing 10 offensive boards.

"We are missing the drives by D-Wade for sure", Coach Erik Spoelstra said after the game adding that his team "also lacked a reliable scoring option other than LeBron in the fourth."

phpBB [video]

Player Stats -- Team Stats
(22|30|25|14|91)

LeBron James: 38 points - 2 rebounds - 6 assists - 17/22 FG
Chris Bosh: 13 points - 6 rebounds - 2 assists - 6/12 FG
Mario Chalmers: 8 points - 3 rebounds - 4 assists - 4/8 FG
Ray Allen: 6 points - 5 rebounds - 2/6 FG

(30|21|30|21|102)
Kobe Bryant: 30 points - 6 rebounds - 4 assists - 2 steals - 13/20 FG
Steve Nash: 14 points - 12 assosts - 5/11 FG - 2/4 3PT
Dwight Howard: 15 points - 3 rebounds - 1 blocks
Ron Artest: 19 points - 7 rebounds - 5/7 3PT

Quotable: "That's why he has one ring and Kobe has five" (Los Angeles Lakers center Dwight Howard on LeBron James' fourth quarter performance)
Game Notes: The Heat recorded 0 blocks for the first time this season ... Miami had 18 turnovers ... the Lakers had 23 assists ...Los Angeles shot 53% from the field ...
Looking forward: TOR @ MIA (01/22) - LAL @ TOR (01/20)


After zero bocks vs Lakers: Heat sign Andersen read more
After Frye and O'Neal: Suns also lose Scola for the season with torn ACL read more
Hawks' Hordford out with broken spinal cord read more
Irving, Durant named Players of the week read more

[hova-]

Okay, guys. Looking at the astonishing success of interaction games (like Sit's) and as I try to gain some more attention for my D - although my lack of activity did not deserve any attention - I want to bring back my own interactive game.

Oh Hov, what is this ish?

So just like in my last Ds, you will have the chance to get points for answering questions, forecasting events or sometimes for helping me making this D better.

Points for a pointless virtual dynasty? Can I earn money with this nerdy ish?

Actually not. You will be able to use your points for different things. I am still not sure about everything I will offer. The idea is to give you a chance to have influence on my multiverse. You will definitely be able to edit ratings of players and I have the idea of the following things: trade proposals, FA signings for teams you like, injure players you want, faster rehab for injured players, change tendencies, positions, for young players even height.

It would be cool to add some story to your changes if you like to.

So here are the first questions of this edition of Hov's Interaction Game:

Who will win the anticipated matchup of between the Lakers and Miami?
Who will score more points? Mamba or LBJ? (consider Dwyane Wade is out after knee surgery)
Will one player record a triple-double?
If yes, who will record it?

Thanks for participating, guys! Here are your current scores:

Thierry 5
Lamrock 10
Sit 10
SuperHueyNewton 10
Mark. 10
Valor 10
Rosque 15
mpac 15

[Valor]

Ah, too busy IRL with exams and missed it Great game