(63-19) First Round Wraps Up [4-0]

[Stress Fracture]

He doesn't need Goran at this time. And probably never will.

[Axel The Great]

Sigh, I've only said it about 1500 times, one more time wouldn't hurt I guess, but it is in the article after all. I don't need Dragic as Fracture said. The way AB's been playing all season playing second or third fiddle in scoring is fine by me, and I like Lowry off the bench. The way the team's playing right now (4-game win streak currently), I don't want anything to get screwed up during the latter half of the season. Sometimes, the best trades are the ones you don't make, as it's been quoted many times before.

Nice job with the updated trades, i noticed that K=Mart is playing like 8-10 minutes less than the rest of that class no ?

Yeah, pretty much. His rebounding and assists numbers would be much higher if I allowed him more playing time, but you must admit that that is efficiency to put up 27 points in 30 minutes. I'll increase his PT from now on though; the injury he had earlier on in the season has me a bit reluctant to play him 35+ minutes consistently.

[karlsanada10]

Is K-Mart fragile on your season?

[hova-]

Good to see all the RL trades done. Just makes it more enjoyable imho. About Dragic. The move was clearly a fail for the Suns, but for your team it's really not necessary. Steve Nash will like that you didn't pull this one.

[Lamrock]

Wish you would have done the trade, but I just like Lowry's game a lot.

[Axel The Great]

karlsanada10, not really. With rebounding drills I've been able to get his durability rating from 70 to about 78-80. Still, the fact that he and AB were both injured at one point this season and not Yao (durability: 35) is pretty intriguing. Basically a dice roll. With the last 25 games of the season, I'll play him more in order to try to retake the number one seed, and to make a stronger case for him in the MVP race.

hova-, yeah, I like doing RL trades, adds the realism flavor to it, and is a nice experiment to see how those trades work out in the virtual world. And yeah, the trade was a steal for the Rockets due to Lowry's improvement and the fact that Dragic is a reliable PG off the bench (recently put up a double-double in rebounds IRL). I imagine AB as more of a starter rather than someone who comes off the bench, and as a second or third option on offense. And the Suns are 11th place in this D, so they'll definitely need Dragic.

Lamrock, I love playing a lineup of Lowry-Brooks-Martin-Scola-Yao. True, the wings are totally vulnerable as AB is way to small to guard two-guards and Martin is still learning Battier's defensive tricks, but it emphasizes running on the fastbreak for open looks. Lowry is a solid point guard, which is why I made him my sixth man on the team. If I can't resign AB in the offseason, Lowry can step up as a starter, and we have Ish Smith in the D-League ready to reach his potential. But as I said above, I really don't think I needed to pull the trigger on that trade.

ASW preview is next.

[karlsanada10]

You probably can't get an MVP award in your first season cuz' of LeBron.

[Justine.]

Nice you did the real trades except the Brooks one! Especially Brooks is having a superb season in your story Martin All-Star?

[Axel The Great]

karlsanada10, LeBron's numbers aren't that good compared to RL, and imo, KD has much better numbers. But we'll see.

Justine., yeah, AB's having a great season passing the ball and helping K-Mart out in scoring, though he could use a better field goal percentage. So as I said, ASW preview later today, I'm hoping you guys will like it!

[Axel The Great]

It's that time of year again! This year's edition of the All-Star Break will be held in the Staples Center of Los Angeles, CA. The Skills Challenge, Three-point contest, Slam Dunk contest, Rookie Challenge, and All-Star Game are the main attractions of this season. The Haier Shooting Stars and the HORSE contest have been taken out of the All-Star break, as the league thought they drew too little interest from the fans.

For the first time, the Three-point contest, Slam Dunk contest, and the Skills Challenge will be held outside Staples Center, in a newly-built concrete basketball court, with enough seats to accomodate the ticket holders.

Well then, let's get this preview started!







The NBA thought that since there is no Shooting Stars or HORSE contest, they'd compensate some of that by adding two extra participants to the Taco Bell Skills Challenge. All six of these contestants are some of the NBA's elite point guards, and they will be tested on their speed, dribbling, passing skills, and shooting skills. The top three contestants to complete the obstacle course with the fastest time will advance to the next round. The one with the fastest time then will take home the Skills Challenge trophy.





Kevin Martin, the league leader in three-point percentage, will look to remain hot in this contest to try and bring some hardware home to Houston. He will have tough competition however, as Danny Granger, Jamal Crawford and Chauncey Billups have knocked down a bunch of three-pointers this season. Paul Pierce, last year's champion, will look to retain his title here, despite the fact that he has not shot as many three-pointers this season. Not to be left out of the conversation is Manu Ginobili, who is having a stellar season from beyond the arc as well.





Everybody knew that Blake Griffin was an automatic entry for the dunk contest, but after he was posterized by Chase Budinger, Rockets fans began a major campaign to get him a spot in the contest as well. J.R. Smith and Gerald Henderson accepted their invitations to the contest.

For this contest, fan voting has been eliminated, as the five judges, Dominique Wilkins, Michael Jordan, Clyde Drexler, Julius Erving, and Spud Webb, will have all the say in this. Two dunks will be performed in each round, and the judges will judge every dunk on a scale of 0 to 10. Scores will be combined, and the two players with the highest score in the first round advance. The same process will take place in the second round, and the player with the highest score will be crowned the winner. With fan voting eliminated, the dunks in the final round will be much more enjoyable as the two finalists are likely going to give it their all.

[Axel The Great]

There was some huge surprises and snubs in the choosing of the Rookies and Sophomores, and in the voting of the All-Stars. Here are the selections:



Rookies:


Sophomores:


And here are your 2011 NBA All-Stars:






With new additions to the numerous All-Star contests, this is bound to be just another action-packed All-Star break, jam-packed with highlights, zero defense, and most importantly, entertainment for the fans and the players.

[karlsanada10]

Gerald Henderson? Dunk contest?o.O

[Stress Fracture]

K-Mart not an All-Star?

[kibaxx7]

K-Mart not an All-Star?

That!

[Axel The Great]

karlsanada10, why does that strike you as a surprise? Have you ever seen Henderson dunk?

phpBB [video]

Stress Fracture, Thierry •, yeah, I was pretty pissed about the snub too. Apparently 2K thinks Monta Ellis is more deserving of being an All-Star than Kevin Martin when K-Mart's the one shooting lights out.

Sorry for the update drought, don't have much time these days. I've played the Rookie-Sophomore game, that'll likely be recapped tomorrow. Then the skills challenge, three-point contest, and slam dunk contest, and afterwards, the ASG.

[karlsanada10]

Nah, I just don't watch Bobcats game.haha. So I don't know he's a high-flyer.

[Stress Fracture]

How are you going to show the previews of the side events? Would you play on the NBA Blacktop mode?

[hova-]

K-Mart got snuuuuubbbed !!

[Axel The Great]

karlsanada10, fair enough. You should watch a different variety of NBA games so you get to know other players' playstyle.

Stress Fracture, for the dunk contest and three-point contest, yes, in Blacktop Mode. For the Skills Challenge, I'm gonna just make it up, but I included it because it's my favorite All-Star event.

hova-, there's always next year. I'm a little confused, because K-Mart is in MVP talks in this association, while Kobe, Ginobili, and Ellis aren't. Yes, K-Mart did miss about four games earlier this season, but CP3 missed more, and yet, he's the starter in the West. That's how 2K is I guess.

[Nutellar]

Sry k-Mart isnt on the All Star team. I hope he will do it next year !

Maybe he wins the 3 point shoot out?

[Axel The Great]

osaki, hopefully he does!





Sophomores 103-111 Rookies


John Wall's 5 steals helped him to steal the MVP honors. | Blake Griffin was the high-point man for the game, with this nifty dunk being two of his points.

Marcus Thornton had the hot hand with five triples. | Serge Ibaka - the second player to conquer Blake Griffin with a poster.

Posted by Axel Gomez, February 19, 2011 at 5:45 AM
Box Score

The Rookies got off to the quick start thanks to two easy buckets from Landry Fields and Blake Griffin. They hit on their first eight of nine field goal attempts for the game, looking to gain the upper hand. Marcus Thornton answered back with a three-pointer, to make the score 4-3. From then on, it was bucket-trading, neither team giving the other a firm grip on the lead. At the 10-minute mark, the Sophomores overpowered the Rookies for a 32-26 lead.

From then on, the Sophomores' experience seemed to be the factor, as they pushed the lead to 11, leading by nine at halftime. They were shooting 76% from the field going into halftime, but the Rookies weren't far behind with 61%, which shows the lack of defense in this type of game. At the half, Brandon Jennings and Blake Griffin were the high scorers for their teams, and coming out of the half, the story remained the same for the Sophomores.

The Sophomores pushed out to a 14-point lead early in the second half, but that's when John Wall began to take over. He had 26 points, 9 assists, and 5 steals, and those steals were key in the second half, as they led to a 12-4 run to dumb the margin down to single digits. At the 10-minute mark of the second half, the score was 79-78 in favor of the Rookies. "Defense isn't normally played in this game, but we had to play defense to surge a comeback. My steals were key, but everyone else was getting stops, and that proved to be the difference in this game," said the Wizards star John Wall himself.

The Rookies stretched their lead to 89-84, but that was when Marcus Thornton answered with a three. After some more bucket-trading, the Rookies were able to pull away, thanks to some more defensive stops and great offensive execution. "I am responsible for the stops we made out there. I played defense, and secured the rebounds. John (Wall) and I deserve the credit for this W," said an arrogant DeMarcus Cousins. But indeed, it was Cousins who made the consistent defensive stops, shutting down Serge Ibaka and DeJuan Blair in the paint.

This marks the second year in a row that the Rookies defeated the Sophomores. "We're ready for the 2011 Draft Class of next year. It'll be interesting to see who's the better point guard, Kyrie Irving or John Wall," rookie Derrick Favors said, already looking ahead to next season.

"It was awesome out there. The intensity in the second half ramped up, and that's when both teams began to play defense. In the end, defense was the X-Factor in the Rookies' win; I don't think they're rookies anymore. What matters is that these guys had fun out there, and now everyone is looking forward toward the All-Star Game," assistant coach of the Rookies Kevin Martin said. That's high praise coming from a budding superstar in the league, and though he's not in the All-Star game, he will participate in the Foot Locker Three-Point Shootout tonight.

Rookie Challenge MVP

John Wall
26 points | 9 assists | 5 steals | 2 blocks | 11/15 FG

Axel's Play of the Game

phpBB [video]

Serge Ibaka runs the break, and throws an alley-oop to Brandon Jennings who finishes it with authority.

[karlsanada10]

Did you play this? No?

[hova-]

Haha, cool to see Ibaka throwing it to Jennings and not the other way around. This rookie class is just better then the Sophs.

About K-Mart, actually it's realistic to have a player like him getting snubbed. He's pretty much one of the most underrated guys to put up over 20 ppg IRL. You will always have guys like Kobe and CP3 making the cut, because the fans love them and so the NBA has to include them, also when they don't make it via fan voting. That's how it goes.

It's tough to say that, but K-Mart will not be MVP in your D

[Justine.]

That Play of the Game is really nice

[Houndy]

Ibaka can pass too? Awesome