Andrew's 06 Bulls, Part 2 :: 07/08 (October 2007)

[Andrew]

Well, the scoring was a bit more evenly distributed early on in the season. I did raise his average about seven points over the course of the year. Was hoping I could get it to 30 ppg by the end of the season though, had to settle for 29.8.

[rise]

Fair enough, he was the scoring champ anyway.

[Andrew]

Indeed. Hopefully MVP too, the announcements come through the PDA after the first few games of the first round in NBA Live 06.

[kibaxx7]

I sense a 2000-01 Lakers title run: winning your first 13 or 14 games, then lose a meaningless game, and win the Finals 4-1.

[Andrew]

Could be. I'll be doing my best to keep the win streak going, though as I've mentioned a couple of times I want to adjust my sliders for next season for more of a challenge.

[Martti.]

Gordon for MVP is the worst kept secret since D-Rose's MVP, if Live gives it to him, not Baron Davis, who didn't make the Playoffs.

[Andrew]

True...stranger things have happened with Live's sim engine, though.

[rise]

...Like Monta Ellis getting on the All-Defensive Team, solely because of his 3.1 spg and Andrea Bargnani appearing on the All-NBA First Team over Howard.

Happened to me- no lie.

[Andrew]

Yeah, something along those lines.

[The X]

Fo, fo, fo, fo

[Andrew]

It might be cathartic considering they just got eliminated in real life.

[The X]

Sadly I don't think Miami will be there waiting for you come the Conference Finals

[Andrew]

Yeah, a bit of virtual revenge would've been nice. I might get LeBron in the second round, though.

[The X]

That would be nice if you can sweep Lebron then the Heat

[Andrew]

Fingers crossed.

[Andrew]

Yes, it's back. I'd like to at least finish out the Playoffs before NBA 2K12 comes out, even so I'm sure I'll have something to do with this in the future even if it's a mixture of simming and playing some games, since I have a potentially interesting offseason coming up. In any event, the 2007 Playoffs are now underway!

Eastern Conference Quarter Finals, Game 1
Indiana (98) at Chicago (114)
Bulls take Game 1 behind third quarter run


Nick Collison denies Jermaine O'Neal

At times it was a tougher challenge than some may have expected, but the Chicago Bulls drew first blood in their opening round series with the Indiana Pacers with a 114-98 victory. MVP candidate Ben Gordon led the way for the defending champions with 33 points and 13 assists, scoring 25 of his points in the second half.

Despite leading 24-21 at the end of the first quarter, the Bulls got off to a sluggish start as Gordon was forced to the bench after picking up his second foul five minutes into the game. The Pacers also appeared shaky offensively early in the game but came charging out of the gate in the second quarter and held the lead for most of the period, until a late push by the Bulls gave them a 51-47 edge at the half.

Indiana once again captured the lead early in the third quarter but a determined Bulls team kicked their offense into gear as Gordon scored 17 points and team shot a blistering 19/22 from the field to take a nineteen point lead into the final quarter. Although the Pacers would attempt several rallies, they would only come within fourteen points the rest of the way as the Bulls wrapped up their first win of the 2007 Playoffs.

Carlos Boozer added 32 points for the Bulls, scoring 20 of them in the first half while Gordon struggled to get going. Luol Deng had 19 points to go along with four rebounds, Tyson chandler had eight points, six rebounds and three blocks and Kirk Hinrich contributed six points, eight assists and four steals.

Stephen Jackson led the way for the Pacers with 19 points, also tallying five rebounds, six assists and four steals. Jamaal Tinsley had 17 points, three assists and three steals, Jermaine O'Neal had 16 points and seven rebounds, Ron Artest contributed 14 points, four rebounds, four assists and three steals and Jonathan Bender fell just short of a double-double with 12 points and nine rebounds.

Notes: The Bulls were just 2/12 from three point range while the Pacers connected on seven of their nineteen attempts from downtown...Chicago won the battle of the boards 34-33.

Chicago leads the series 1-0

Eastern Conference Quarter Finals, Game 2
Indiana (83) at Chicago (111)
Bulls suffer scare with Gordon but cruise to Game 2 victory


Ben Gordon finishes a third quarter fast break with a dunk

The United Center was deathly quiet as Ben Gordon left the court holding his left arm following a hard collision with Jamaal Tinsley early in the fourth quarter. Gordon was cleared to return but with the game well in truly in hand he watched from the bench as his Bulls wrapped up a 111-83 victory to go up 2-0 over the Indiana Pacers in their first round series.

Gordon scored 21 points and handed out nine assists before leaving the game with 10:02 remaining. X-rays were negative and a team spokesperson confirmed that there is no soft tissue damage, meaning Chicago's star guard and MVP candidate should be ready for action come Game 3 in Indiana.

After a couple of sloppy turnovers by both teams, Chicago hit their groove early in the game and never looked back, quickly building a ten point lead which they extended to thirteen by the end of the first quarter. The lead would balloon to as many as 20 during the second quarter and stood at eighteen at halftime.

Fuelled by 12 points from Gordon, the Bulls broke open the game during the third quarter much as they did during Game 1, leading by as many as 30 before giving their starters a short rest towards the end of the period. They returned at the beginning of the fourth but following Gordon's injury, the remaining starters were pulled to allow the bench to finish out the game.

Jermaine O'Neal led all scorers with 30 points in a losing effort for the Pacers, also grabbing seven rebounds. Carlos Boozer was solid for the Bulls once again with 17 points and seven rebounds, Tyson Chandler tallied a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds and Nick Collison had a fine game off the bench with 12 points, six rebounds and seven assists.

Stephen Jackson, who led the Pacers in scoring in Game 1, struggled in Game 2 with just 10 points. Tinsley added 12 points and a team high seven assists while Jonathan Bender had a game high 12 rebounds as well as seven points.

The series now shifts to Indiana for Games 3 and 4.

Notes: Ben Gordon has yet to miss a game this season. He missed twenty game last season with a broken bone in his wrist.

Chicago leads the series 2-0

Gordon "good to go" in Game 3

CHICAGO, IL -- Bulls guard Ben Gordon will be in action against the Indiana Pacers in Game 3 of their first round series after leaving the game with an arm injury during the fourth quarter of Game 2. Gordon did not sustain any serious damage after taking a hard fall upon colliding with Pacers' guard Jamaal Tinsley and assured reporters during today's shootaround that he was not in any pain and "good to go".

Gordon tallied 21 points and nine assists before the incident occurred. Although he was cleared to return during the game, he remained on the bench for the rest of the game with the Bulls up by double digits and on route to a 111-83 victory. He appeared in all 82 games for the Bulls during the regular season, after missing twenty games last season with a broken wrist.

[Andrew]

Bulls' Gordon wins Most Valuable Player and Most Improved Player Awards

NEW YORK, NY -- In a stunning turn of events, Chicago Bulls guard Ben Gordon has been awarded the NBA's Most Valuable Player award and Most Improved Player award, not only becoming the first player to achieve both honours during his career but the first to do so in the same season. Gordon is also the reigning NBA Finals MVP and won the Sixth Man of the Year award in his rookie season.

"I'm very humbled by the honour," Gordon said. "I'm proud of the things I've been able to do this season, but I'm prouder still of what we've been able to accomplish as a team. I'm not alone out there." Gordon has been considered one of the frontrunners for the award for most of the season. Among his accomplishments this year are multiple 50-point games, a 92 point game, several triple-doubles and three quadruple doubles. He also led the league in scoring, assists and steals, finishing with averages of 29.8 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 9.5 apg and 2.95 spg.

Despite his stellar season, Gordon was a puzzling omission from the Eastern Conference All-Stars during the 2007 All-Star Weekend. Although Gordon took the snub in stride, several of his teammates spoke out on his behalf along with scores of Bulls fans. An All-Star appearance seems to be the only thing missing from Gordon's growing resume, as he also collected three consecutive Eastern Conference Player of the Month awards this season.

Ben Wallace is league's top defender

NEW YORK, NY -- The Charlotte Bobcats' Ben Wallace has added another Defensive Player of the Year trophy to his collection. The former Detroit Piston who signed with the Bobcats this past offseason was named the league's best defender after a season in which he averaged 12.1 rpg, 2.2 bpg and 1.8 spg, continuing to shut down some of the league's best scorers. Wallace also averaged 12.7 ppg this season.

Hornets' Cotton named Rookie of the Year

NEW YORK, NY -- Despite some stiff competition, first overall pick Liu Cotton was named the NBA's Rookie of the Year. Cotton averaged 15.9 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 5.7 apg and 1.6 spg in his freshman campaign, collecting four Western Conference Rookie of the Month awards along the way.

Other players receiving votes included Ayeshi Tam of the Charlotte Bobcats, Liu Kuffour of the Toronto Raptors, Keenan Pack of the Utah Jazz and Ignatius Tallas of the New Jersey Nets.

Kurt Thomas tabbed as NBA's top reserve

NEW YORK, NY -- The Phoenix Suns' veteran big man Kurt Thomas has been named the league's Sixth Man of the Year after a solid season in which he averaged 7.6 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 1.1 bpg, 0.7 spg and 1.7 apg. Now in his twelfth NBA season, Thomas - affectionally dubbed "Crazy Eyes" - appeared in 78 games for the Suns while helping them capture the second seed in the Western Conference.

[Lamrock]

Congratulations on getting Ben Gordon the MVP! Certainly well-deserved. It's a shame the media picked 'Meka over Ben Gordon for 2004-05 RotY for whatever reason, because with that and sixth man, MIP and MVP, you could have gone for all the NBA awards in his career!

[Andrew]

Thanks. Yeah, that would've been pretty cool for the story. I'm glad I was able to get the MVP, when it came down to it I gave him a pretty good shot at it when it's all said and done, but the MIP caught me completely off-guard. Hopefully he'll be on the All-NBA First team as well.

[Axel The Great]

Seems as if the Pacers won't be any problem. Nice to see Gordon win both MVP and MIP; it's definitely been a historic season for him. The next Michael Jordan, maybe?

[Andrew]

It could be a special career for him.

I would like to continue this Dynasty beyond this season, though I'm thinking I'll have shorter recaps or featured games, similar to what badreligionau has done with The Next Level. If I go with the latter I'll still recap games in much the same way I do now, I just won't do it for each and every game, just noteworthy ones.

[The X]

Looks like Ben Gordon is scooping up the awards again. Feels like an eternity since he played for Bulls. Would've preferred if he was 6th man for current Bulls.

[Andrew]

It would've helped at times in the Playoffs when their offense got stagnant, particularly from long range.

[Martti.]

Live didn't mess up the MVP, thank god. Glad this is back on track.

[Andrew]

I was certainly afraid it might, though as I said I gave Gordon a pretty good shot at it.

Eastern Conference Quarter Finals, Game 3
Chicago (126) at Indiana (98)
Bulls outscore Pacers 74-43 in second half, go up 3-0


Carlos Boozer finishes the alley-oop from Ben Gordon

The final score does not indicate how competitive this game was before a collapse late in the third quarter saw the Indiana Pacers lose complete control of the game and allow the Chicago Bulls to gain a 3-0 lead in their first round series. The Bulls overcame shaky free throw shooting and hot shooting from Indiana to win the game, once again led by MVP Ben Gordon who finished with 39 points and 10 assists.

Although the Bulls appeared poised to dominate the game when Gordon opened the game with a dunk, proving he felt no ill-effects after a hard fall forced him to the bench in the fourth quarter of Game 2, it was Indiana who would take control early with a 7-2 lead. Although the Bulls would tie the game at 14, they were unable to shut down the Pacers who matched them basket for basket and pulled ahead 27-23 at the end of the first quarter.

Chicago were unable to close the gap in the second quarter as Indiana continued to frustrate them with tough defense and made them pay for every missed shot at the other end, shooting over 60% from the field in the second quarter. The Bulls would find themselves down by as many as nine but behind Gordon's 17 second quarter points they managed to cut the deficit to three to trail 55-52 at halftime.

The back and forth battle continued in the early minutes of the third quarter, with Tyson Chandler's dunk at the 10:18 mark of the quarter giving the Bulls their first lead since the opening minute, 58-57. Indiana would quickly strike back with a layup from Jermaine O'Neal, who finished the night with 20 points and 10 rebounds. The two Central Division rivals would trade the lead back and forth until the Bulls finally edged ahead as Luol Deng's three broke a tie at 67.

Deng's trey proved to be the sparkplug for the Bulls, who outscored the Pacers 24-12 the rest of the quarter, shooting an incredible 18/19 from the field in the third. A stunned crowd in the Conseco Fieldhouse sat almost in silence at the beginning of the fourth, as their Pacers found themselves behind by 25 after holding their own with the top seeded Bulls for most of the first three quarters. Unable to make a dent in the lead, a dejected Pacers team seemingly went through the motions as the Bulls wrapped up a 126-98 victory and now look to finish the series in Game 4.

Gordon added three rebounds and four steals to go along with his team high 39 points and 10 assists. He was also 3/5 from downtown after shooting just 1/9 from beyond the arc in the first two games. An 89% free throw shooter during the regular season, he uncharacteristically made only 2/6 free throws after missing his first four attempts. Carlos Boozer added 17 points and six rebounds for the Bulls, Tyson Chandler had 11 points and nine rebounds, Deng was solid with 15 points, 3 rebounds and five assists and Kirk Hinrich contributed five points and eight assists. Nick Collison and Kyle Korver each had 12 points off the bench.

For the Pacers, Stephen Jackson scored 14 points to go along with five assists and two steals. Ron Artest had a quiet night with just 10 points while Jamaal Tinsley had 18 points, four assists and three steals. Jonathan Bender had 11 points and five rebounds before fouling out midway through the fourth quarter.

Chicago leads the series 3-0