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

[Axel The Great]

Houston Rockets 110-103 Los Angeles Clippers


Like in the playoffs, Kevin Martin tore the Clippers apart. | Kyle Lowry filling in his new (starting) role well.

Eric Gordon came into this game with something to prove. | Thanks in large part to Blake Griffin, the Clippers heavily outmatched the Rockets in rebounding.

From the get-go, it appeared that Houston was the better offensive team, taking smarter shots, and taking better care of the ball than the Clippers. However, the Clippers were getting to the free throw line, and making their shots from there. They went 21/27 for the game, and that ultimately helped them in keeping the game close in the first quarter.

Chris Kaman had a superb game, scoring 19 points, grabbing 16 rebounds, and shooting 9/11 from the field. He was the biggest scoring punch for Los Angeles in the second and third quarters. Houston went on a tremendous 18-6 run to start the second quarter, as they were led by Kevin Martin's game high 31 points. He had 19 points by halftime, as the Rockets had a commanding 21-point lead. He was plagued by foul trouble, and was limited to just 29 minutes. He picked up his sixth foul with two minutes left in the fourth, a crucial moment of the game.

The Clippers fought hard in the second half to try and tone the deficit down. Blake Griffin, after not scoring a single field goal in the first half, finished with 18 points, 20 rebounds, and shot 6/12 from the field. Griffin, and LA's top scorer, Eric Gordon, led a huge fourth quarter surge to eventually bring the deficit to single digits. How was Los Angeles able to erase the large deficit? They had 15 offensive rebounds, and brutally outmatched the Rockets on the boards 62-39. After trailing 96-77, they led a 10-0 run to make the score 96-87, but things did not stop there.

A layup by Al-Farouq Aminu in the final couple of minutes cut the margin to six, as close as the Clippers came to matching Houston's score. At 105-99, the Rockets were able to pull away nicely thanks to Yao Ming. The big guy scored 15 points and grabbed nine rebounds, securing the win for Houston despite missing their go-to clutch scorer Martin. "That's the luxury of having two guys who can score in the final moments of the game. I will be the first to disagree with most of the calls made by the officials today, but it doesn't matter much. We still picked up the win regardless, I'm just glad to see my teammates are capable of winning games without me," said the supreme offensive player, Martin.

"Rebounding is a huge part of winning basketball games, and one would think we won looking at the battle on the boards. The Rockets are such a good offensive team that it's hard to outmatch them on that end of the floor. We may have had as many second chance opportunities as we desired, but we weren't able to convert on most of them," Kaman said. Houston shot 48% from the field compared to 41% by Los Angeles.

Key Performers:
Rockets:
Kevin Martin - 31 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals, 1 block, 10/18 FG, 8/10 FT
Yao Ming - 15 points, 9 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 block, 7/12 FG
Luis Scola - 14 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks, 6/11 FG
Kyle Lowry - 13 points, 9 assists, 1 rebound, 6/9 FG
Shane Battier - 9 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 3/7 FG

Clippers:
Eric Gordon - 25 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, 8/25 FG, 8/9 FT
Chris Kaman - 19 points, 16 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block, 9/11 FG
Blake Griffin - 18 points, 20 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals, 1 block, 6/12 FG, 6/11 FT
Al-Farouq Aminu - 10 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 4/11 FG
Kemba Walker - 9 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, 3/8 FG
Mo Williams - 8 points, 10 assists, 3 steals, 4/13 FG

28 33 23 26 110
25 15 28 35 103

[1-0] Houston Rockets 95-81 Los Angeles Lakers


Kevin Martin posting up on Kobe, with something to prove. | Yao Ming continuing to survive injury-free.

Despite the foul trouble, Kobe managed 19 points. | Rookie Xavier Nelson impressive in his debut.

Houston began the game on a hot streak, hitting their first four out of five shot attempts, to take an early lead. Fresh off a hard-fought win against the other LA team, the Rockets did not appear to have much fatigue; there was a period in the third quarter when the bench wasn't playing up to par, but that was more a case of offensive disorganization. Speaking of disorganization, that would describe the Lakers' offense. Kobe Bryant picked up two quick fouls within six minutes and that would plague him and the Lakers from a real chance at the lead as Kobe would not score a single point in the first half. Rookie Xavier Nelson ran Phil Jackson's offense pretty well, scoring 20 points but on 7/20 shooting. Los Angeles' shot selection screwed them out of a win in their opener.

With Bryant back in action for the third quarter, he scored 13 of his 19 points in that period alone, and what was once a 14-point lead for Houston dissolved to a five-point lead. Houston's counter? Kevin Martin checked in with a few minutes left to go in the period to battle back against Kobe's onslaught of points, as Houston still held a 71-62 lead going into the fourth quarter.

"That was just bad offense by everyone out there. Against a young and up-and-down team like the Rockets, you can't afford to make bad plays on offense or you will lose. We kept them at bay on defense but the offense just wasn't up to par," Lakers head coach Phil Jackson commented. Houston shot 45% from the field compared to the Lakers' 41%. Houston shot 5/12 from downtown while the Lakers went a sub-par 2/12.

Houston ultimately pulled away in the fourth quarter, as Kevin Martin top scored once again with 29 points, to go along with four assists, and three rebounds. He shot an extremely efficient 10/15 from the field. Kyle Lowry had a great game of 17 points, eight assists, shooting 8/14 from the field. Yao Ming and Luis Scola had double-doubles of 15 points, 12 boards with three rejections and 11 points and 11 boards respectively.

Key Performers:
Rockets:
Kevin Martin - 29 points, 4 assists, 2 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 block, 10/15 FG, 3/4 3P, 6/7 FT
Kyle Lowry - 17 points, 8 assists, 2 rebounds, 8/14 FG
Yao Ming - 15 points, 12 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals, 3 blocks, 7/12 FG
Luis Scola - 11 points, 11 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals, 4/10 FG
Shane Battier - 8 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 4/7 FG

Lakers:
Xavier Nelson - 20 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 7/20 FG
Kobe Bryant - 19 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 9/15 FG
Andrew Bynum - 18 points, 11 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 steals, 1 block, 9/20 FG
Pau Gasol - 10 points, 7 rebounds, 1 steal, 3 blocks, 5/8 FG
Lamar Odom - 6 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 2/6 FG

30 33 19 24 95
24 16 22 19 81

[kibaxx7]

Nice to see Yao still contributing

[Mavs4Life]

Blake with a great game on the boards, K-mart still great.

[KidJustin]

nice games

u can tell the clippers are going up while the lakers are going down

....also the clippers went to the FT line a lot because Lowry's thuggery rubbed off on the rest of the team thus overly aggressive plays leading to fouls

[karlsanada10]

Who's Xavier Nelson again?

[Axel The Great]

Nice to see Yao still contributing

Yep, he's been beast so far.

Blake with a great game on the boards, K-mart still great.

Blake hogged up all the rebounds, but we got the last laugh with a win and Kevin Martin still dominating offensively.

nice games

u can tell the clippers are going up while the lakers are going down

....also the clippers went to the FT line a lot because Lowry's thuggery rubbed off on the rest of the team thus overly aggressive plays leading to fouls

As a Laker hater, I'm quite pleased to see them slide while the Clippers rise. Actually, Kyle Lowry had a couple of unnecessary reach-in calls, which I guess you could say rubbed off on Kevin Martin, which is why he fouled out.

Who's Xavier Nelson again?

See for yourself.

Week Two recap next! Making the effort to speed this up as much as I can.

[Axel The Great]

[2-0] Houston Rockets 110-86 Utah Jazz [0-2]


Brooks with an excellent 5/6 shooting performance. | Devin Harris scores the first points of the game.

Utah started out shooting poorly, and it remained that way the entire game. They shot 38% for the game, and they no longer have the hard-nosed defensive urgency that they had under coach Jerry Sloan. As they struggled to find the basket, Houston stretched their lead further and further as every quarter passed, with their biggest lead of the game coming near the end of the fourth quarter at 29. "The referees must not have known what a foul looks like because both teams were in single-digits in free throw attempts. There was way too much contact inside and that is a contributing factor to our low shooting percentage," Al Jefferson, who scored 13 points, grabbed 13 rebounds but shot just 5/16 from the field said.

Houston's bench got the job done during garbage time, exploding for 36 points. Aaron Brooks led the bench scoring with 13 points and five assists, shooting an amazing 5/6 from the field. After shooting 2/8 and 0/8 in the first two games, it's safe to say that Brooks has recovered from that slump. Kevin Martin top scored as usual with 25 points to go along with six rebounds, three assists and two steals while Yao Ming followed him closely with 22 points, eight boards, three blocks and shot 10/12 from the field.

For the Utah Jazz, Devin Harris and Andrei Kirilenko were the ones to have good games offensively. Harris had team highs of 23 points and seven assists, while Kirilenko scored 17 and shot 8/13. Utah is yet to taste victory this season, as they move down to 0-3, and with such a crushing loss like this, it will be difficult for them to recover.

Key Performers:
Rockets:
Kevin Martin - 25 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 9/20 FG, 6/8 FT
Yao Ming - 22 points, 8 rebounds, 3 blocks, 10/12 FG
Shane Battier - 14 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals, 7/13 FG
Aaron Brooks - 13 points, 5 assists, 1 rebound, 5/6 FG
Luis Scola - 11 points, 13 rebounds, 8 assists, 1 steal, 4/8 FG
Courtney Lee - 9 points, 2 assists, 1 steal, 3/6 FG, 3/3 3P

Jazz:
Devin Harris - 23 points, 7 assists, 2 rebounds, 10/21 FG, 3/6 3P
Andrei Kirilenko - 17 points, 3 assists, 2 rebounds, 1 steal, 8/13 FG
Al Jefferson - 13 points, 13 rebounds, 1 steal, 5/16 FG
Raja Bell - 7 points, 3/5 FG
Paul Millsap - 6 points, 19 rebounds, 1 assist, 2/7 FG
JJ Barea - 6 points, 6 assists, 2 rebounds, 1 steal, 3/14 FG

28 24 31 27 110
17 22 23 24 86

[3-0] Houston Rockets 106-108 New Orleans Hornets [3-0]


Scola hits the sweet hook shot. | After a 35-point performance, Kevin Martin now leads the league in scoring at 30 points per game.

David West hits the turnaround jumpshot to win the game in OT. | Jarrett Jack hit big shots to keep the Hornets alive.

The games in which you lose your grip on the lead in a heartbeat are all too familiar for the Rockets. They had complete control of the game from the second quarter and on, led by Kevin Martin's game high 35 points. With about six minutes left to go in the fourth quarter, Houston's 11-point lead vanished after New Orleans put together a 16-6 run and retake the lead thanks to a three-pointer by Trevor Ariza.

It took a team effort for New Orleans to take down the Rockets, as they forced crucial turnovers to be able to mount the comeback. They had six double-digit scorers, but it wasn't their usual star, Chris Paul, who led them. Paul went relatively quiet with 15 points and 10 assists, coming off a 41-point game against the Memphis Grizzlies. It was Jarrett Jack who contributed the most to the fourth quarter comeback, scoring a team high 24 points shooting 7/11 from the field and 10/10 from the charity stripe. It was thanks to Jack that the Hornets came back into it, acquiring a 95-94 lead.

Trailing by one and being double-teamed by New Orleans, Martin kicked it out to the open Kyle Lowry who hit a three-pointer to put the Rockets up 97-95. Paul would convert on a layup next trip to even the score. Martin would put the Rockets up again hitting a turnaround jumpshot over the bigger Tyler Honeycutt to give the Rockets a 99-97 lead. Off a timeout, David West hit a turnaround free throw line jumper over Luis Scola to tie the game, with 14 seconds left in this one.

A quick pick and roll by Martin got him a clear path to the basket, and what would appear to be the game-winner. However, on his drive, Emeka Okafor bumped him, clearly fouling him, as Martin had to put up a difficult floater to try and sell the foul. The foul never came however, as New Orleans would call a timeout but would miss their game-winning opportunity. The game was tied at 99.

"It's bullshit to lose like that. Anyone would have called that a foul, but then again, the refs weren't calling fouls willingly in the second half," said Martin, who went on to score five more points in the overtime period. The score was 106-103 when Lowry hit a 13-foot jumpshot to come within one. After failing to convert, West was called for a defensive three second violation, and Martin hit the free throw to tie the game. Yao Ming missed an easy 14-foot turnaround jumpshot, as New Orleans called timeout. Off the timeout, Paul held the ball for a bit, then dished off to West on the left baseline. West would hit a 17-foot jumpshot that was the eventual game-winner with 0.8 seconds remaining.

Houston called a timeout, but their inbounds pass was tipped by Honeycutt, as they lost a very close overtime game. New Orleans shot 48% from the field, and Houston shot 46%. This game was filled with turnovers, as New Orleans had 13 steals and Houston had 10. One of these teams had to lose their first game of the season, and now New Orleans and the Denver Nuggets remain the only undefeated teams in the league.

Key Performers:
Rockets:
Kevin Martin - 35 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds, 1 steal, 12/23 FG, 10/10 FT
Yao Ming - 15 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 blocks, 7/13 FG
Kyle Lowry - 11 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 5/14 FG
Luis Scola - 10 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 5/12 FG
Aaron Brooks - 9 points, 5 assists, 2 steals, 3/5 FG
Patrick Patterson - 7 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 3/4 FG

Hornets:
Jarrett Jack - 24 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 7/11 FG, 10/10 FT
Trevor Ariza - 19 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 9/14 FG
David West - 18 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, 9/16 FG
Chris Paul - 15 points, 10 assists, 5 rebounds, 3 steals, 7/14 FG
Emeka Okafor - 13 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals, 5/10 FG
Tyler Honeycutt - 13 points, 7 rebounds, 2 steals, 5/19 FG

25 31 24 19 7 106
28 21 23 27 9 108

[Mavs4Life]

Yao's only had 1 10 + rebound game, though it has not affected you wins.

[karlsanada10]

Wow. Hornets? Heartbreaking.loljoke. Holy canoly! all of them had like 10+ points.

[KidJustin]

u know ur screwed when jarrett jack scores 24 on u...

[Lamrock]

Tough loss to blow your perfect record. Those OT games are thrilling, but I know all too well how much losing them can suck.

[Axel The Great]

Oh, hi guys. Anyways, I got week 3 done finally, hopefully I can get the recap posted later tonight or tomorrow. Stacked with a bunch of homework unfortunately.

Yao's only had 1 10 + rebound game, though it has not affected you wins.

I don't think it matters much. Scola has been the one picking up the rebounds. So long as someone's crashing the boards, everything's cool.

Wow. Hornets? Heartbreaking.loljoke. Holy canoly! all of them had like 10+ points.

Hornets are gonna be good this season. A team effort is what it takes to bring my team down.

u know ur screwed when jarrett jack scores 24 on u...

I'm gonna make it Kyle Lowry's mission to hunt him down and put him out of action next time we play New Orleans.

Tough loss to blow your perfect record. Those OT games are thrilling, but I know all too well how much losing them can suck.

Yep, and especially when you were just minutes away from winning the game as well. As I always say, that game is probably just a slight bump on an otherwise smooth road.

[shadowgrin]

I came back to this thread for the cheesy but well used and appropriate title for the update.

The cheesy titles are back bitches!

[kibaxx7]

Where's Halstead?

[karlsanada10]

Hey Axel, When 2k12 comes. What will happen to this?

[Axel The Great]

I came back to this thread for the cheesy but well used and appropriate title for the update.

The cheesy titles are back bitches!

Glad you're still liking the titles, shadow.

Where's Halstead?

He'll pop into the story sooner or later.

Hey Axel, When 2k12 comes. What will happen to this?

It will continue. The amount of work that's been piling up on me hasn't stopped me from resuming this, neither will 2K12.

[Axel The Great]

[3-1] Houston Rockets 108-85 Memphis Grizzlies [1-3]


Rookie Thierry Tirieux had his hands full guarding Kevin Martin. | One of Rudy Gay's countless windmill dunks.

Rudy Gay and OJ Mayo were the only double figure scorers for Memphis on this night. Gay had a game high 34 points accompanied by 16/26 shooting. The Rockets had a tough time trying to contain him, but had everyone else covered. Mayo scored 21 on 9/23 shooting.

Things appeared to be close at the start of the game, with Houston acquiring a six-point lead to end the first quarter. They continued the excellent shooting in the second quarter, going for 29 points. However, a nightmare of a second quarter for the Grizzlies had them looking at a 22-point deficit at halftime, as Houston would just cruise to an easy victory in the second half.

Kevin Martin led the Rockets with 32 points shooting 13/23 from the field. Luis Scola followed him with 18 points and nine boards on a superb 7/9 showing. Marc Gasol spent some time in foul trouble as he was only able to pick up eight points and eight boards, but shot 4/5 from the field.

The Rockets shot 50% from the field while Memphis shot 45%. Houston's bench outscored Memphis's 23-10.

Key Performers:
Rockets:
Kevin Martin - 32 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds, 2 steals, 13/23 FG, 5/7 FT
Luis Scola - 18 points, 9 rebounds, 1 steal, 7/9 FG
Kyle Lowry - 14 points, 8 assists, 2 rebounds, 6/10 FG
Yao Ming - 12 points, 6 rebounds, 2 steals, 6/10 FG
Shane Battier - 9 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks, 3/9 FG, 2/5 3P

Grizzlies:
Rudy Gay - 34 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 16/26 FG
OJ Mayo - 21 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds, 1 steal, 9/23 FG
Marc Gasol - 8 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist, 4/5 FG
Thierry Tirieux - 8 points, 5 assists, 3 rebounds, 4/12 FG
Jordan Williams - 6 points, 12 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals, 2/6 FG
Michael Conley - 6 points, 9 assists, 3 rebounds, 3/7 FG

28 29 21 30 108
22 13 24 26 85

[4-1] Houston Rockets 110-74 Minnesota Timberwolves [2-4]
Simmed

Key Performers:
Rockets:
Kevin Martin - 21 points, 8 rebounds, 8 assists, 8/15 FG, 5/6 FT
Aaron Brooks - 18 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 5/12 FG, 2/6 3P, 6/7 FT
Yao Ming - 18 points, 9 rebounds, 5 blocks, 7/13 FG, 4/4 FT
Shane Battier - 16 points, 9 rebounds, 1 assist, 3/8 FG, 8/9 FT
Kyle Lowry - 11 points, 8 assists, 4 rebounds, 3 steals, 4/12 FG

T-Wolves:
Wesley Johnson - 17 points, 7 rebounds, 6/12 FG, 5/6 FT
Jonny Flynn - 15 points, 4 assists, 2 rebounds, 6/10 FG
Kevin Love - 10 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 block, 2/11 FG, 6/7 FT
Luke Ridnour - 8 points, 2 assists, 3/4 FG

27 34 20 29 110
23 12 20 19 74

[5-1] Houston Rockets 108-100 Charlotte Bobcats [3-2]


Aaron Brooks knocks down the tough layup. | Scola runs out of control but softly lays in the floater.

Stephen Jackson was a key contributor to Charlotte's late run. | Rookie Justine Jones was clicking on all cylinders.

Both teams shot an excellent 52% from the field, with Charlotte's percentage at one point peaking 57%. Despite that, the Bobcats still trailed by double-digits for a good chunk of the game. Leading Charlotte was Justine Jones. The eleventh overall pick of the 2011 Draft dropped a career high 34 points on 15/29 shooting. He kept Charlotte in the game in the first half, scoring 20 of his points there. Stephen Jackson led a second half charge as he scored 10 of his 28 in the final period, putting on a 10/20 shooting performance.

It was a high scoring game in a rough way for Kevin Martin. He started in a sub-par way shooting just 3/8 in the first period after an 0/4 start. Martin ultimately scored 27 points and shot 9/21 from the field. Martin had help throughout the game from Yao Ming, Luis Scola, and Kyle Lowry. They scored 14, 13, and 12 respectively, with Yao picking up the double-double, 11 rebounds to go with his points. Martin helped to keep Charlotte at bay in the fourth, as the Bobcats came pouncing with a 16-6 run.

The deficit became too much to overcome however, as the Rockets continue to maintain themselves in good form. They have yet to lose a game on the road this season, and with a bunch of road games coming up in their schedule, it's a good bragging right to have.

Key Performers:
Rockets:
Kevin Martin - 27 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals, 9/21 FG, 9/9 FT
Yao Ming - 14 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 block, 7/11 FG
Luis Scola - 13 points, 9 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 blocks, 6/10 FG
Kyle Lowry - 12 points, 8 assists, 2 rebounds, 2 steals, 4/9 FG, 3/4 3P
Courtney Lee - 9 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 4/5 FG

Bobcats:
Justine Jones - 34 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds, 15/29 FG
Stephen Jackson - 28 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, 10/20 FG, 2/5 3P
DJ Augustin - 11 points, 13 assists, 3 rebounds, 1 steal, 5/12 FG
Bismack Biyombo - 6 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 3/6 FG
Tyrus Thomas - 6 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks, 3/5 FG

29 30 28 21 108
23 24 27 26 100

[6-1] Houston Rockets 122-93 Cleveland Cavaliers [2-4]
Simmed

Notes: Houston went 15/26 from downtown, and shot 57% from the field. Cleveland shot 1/16 from three-point land and just 43% from the field.

Key Performers:
Rockets:
Kevin Martin - 23 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds, 4 steals, 6/12 FG, 3/5 3P, 8/9 FT
Yao Ming - 19 points, 9 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block, 8/13 FG, 3/4 FT
Aaron Brooks - 18 points, 7 assists, 1 steal, 6/9 FG, 4/6 3P
Luis Scola - 11 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 5/12 FG
Kyle Lowry - 11 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 block, 3/11 FG, 2/6 3P

Cavaliers:
Baron Davis - 20 points, 7 assists, 1 rebound, 2 steals, 7/17 FG, 6/6 FT, 0/7 3P
JJ Hickson - 18 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 8/18 FG
Antawn Jamison - 16 points, 10 rebounds, 3 steals, 8/14 FG
Ramon Sessions - 15 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal, 5/7 FG, 5/6 FT

31 29 35 27 122
22 25 24 22 93

[Mavs4Life]

K-Maret playing like an all-star, & so is that Jones kid

[karlsanada10]

LOL at Justine Jones.xD

And when you're in the month of January, can you post the Rookie stats? (NLSC Only) If you have time.

And yey! lol.

[Houndy]

K-Mart's too raw

[Stress Fracture]

The Bobcats' court is yellow?

[rise]

S-Jax and J-Jones making up the next "great" Bobcats duo.

[Axel The Great]

Chapter 21 - Scrub Vigilance

"Come on! Push the tempo! Push the tempo!" Coach Adelman was breathing down our necks during practice. It was the night after our loss to the Boston Celtics at TD Garden, inside the Rockets practice facility. We were getting ready to face the high-powered offensive team that is the Detroit Pistons.

Aaron Brooks sprinted upcourt with the ball, with me right at his heels. He lobbed the ball up at the glass, and unexpectedly, I sprang up, caught it, and threw it down with force. I was greeted with "Oh!"'s when I came back down. Brooks high fived me, and Yao, whom was on the opposite team of our scrimmage, gave me a curt nod. We had been practicing alley-oops off the glass for months, it felt really good to have mastered it during practice.

"That should be illegal," I heard an unfamiliar voice say, but as Courtney Lee was coming upcourt with the ball and I was assigned to guard him, I didn't look around to see who had said that.

Lee drove right on me, and I sealed his driving lane. He backed off some, and tried to dish to Shane Battier in the corner. In a split second, I took a gamble swipe at the ball and found it racing past the halfcourt line. I raced after it. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Lee right at my side, and as I picked up the ball, I felt him grab my arm just as I was attempting a difficult left-handed layup. I changed hands just in time, and as I heard coach's whistle for a foul, the ball kissed off the glass and crisply went in, hitting nothing but net.

I couldn't help but smile, after all, I had scored my squad's last 14 points. As those on my squad gave me high fives, I saw a wide, tall figure clapping very loudly on the sidelines on the other side of the gym. "Whoo! Bravo! Man, we've got anotha Michael Jordan up in here!" he said.

The guy was clutching a McDonald's bag, clearly about to begin eating. He went to go sit down on the bleachers, and as he opened his bag, I asked him, "who the hell are you?"

"Well that's not a nice way to introduce yourself, is it?" he said. "The name's Brad Halstead. Despite the fact that I'm a rookie, it's taken a while for me to be known amongst my teammates. I feel like now is a good time."

"You'll definitely be well-known, especially with that diet you're on," I replied as the entire team burst out laughing. "What's that you got in there, a Big Mac?" I asked.

"No, I got three Quarter Pounders, super-sized french fries, and a Coca-Cola. This is gon' be my lunch," he replied. "Wow, I wonder how you made the NBA with that kind of diet," I told him, and went to go take my and-one free throw. After sinking it, I called a timeout to go investigate what this guy was playing at.

As my teammates were taking a breather, stretching, and getting a quick drink, I sat down next to this Halstead guy. "So where did you come from?" I asked him.

"I came from Freshnoschtate," he said in a mouthful of his burger. There was a strong scent of alcohol in his breath. "Did you eat fast food while you played at Fresno State?" I asked him. "Of course, I've always eaten fast food," he replied after swallowing the large bite.

"And how are you not obese? How are you able to play basketball everyday? Fast food is a pollutant to your body!" I told him. "It's none of your concern, man. I am a better player than you are, I'm a better player than erryone here. I'm just that good, eating McDonald's and still kicking ass at basketball," he said arrogantly.

I started laughing, and left him by himself as coach was calling us to resume play. As the scrimmage progressed, I saw him go through his three Quarter Pounders, his fries, and his coke. He then sat the rest of practice on the bleachers, continuing to make unnecessary comments like, "I could do that too!" and "My granny coulda made that one."

After the scrimmage was over, I went to ask coach why Halstead wasn't participating in practice. "It's because he's on the inactive list," he replied to me, but his tone of voice didn't convince me. "Thabo's out there workin' his ass off and he's on the inactive list, too" I said.

"Yeah, well, Thabo's a hard worker. This guy on the other hand is lazy. If it wasn't for basketball, he'd probably be sitting bummed out at home using Lone Star food stamps to buy his needs," coach Adelman said in a bitter tone.

"I don't understand, the scouting reports on this guy said he's a hard worker, and now you're telling me he's lazy?" I asked, puzzled. "That was in college. He has arrived here thinking that he's the best player on the team and that I'm pulling a Larry Brown by not playing him. I told him he's gotta earn his minutes, and that's why he's stopped working. He's bitter about what I told him. Don't get me wrong, he does have talent, but he could end up going the way of Edy Curry if he doesn't get himself to work," Adelman said.

As I was walking away, drinking Gatorade out of my cup, coach called me back. "That reminds me! Daryl Morey told me to give you the responsibility of mentoring him. He wants you to set an example that he can follow so he can get to contributing, and keep an eye on him while you're at it."

I spilled some Gatorade down my front, and had to cough to be able to talk again. "What, are you kidding me?" I wheezed out. "No, I'm not." coach told me, a regretful look on his face.

"But I've never mentored anyone! Why not have Shane do that? After all, they both have similar playing styles, and play the same positions. I don't understand why I have to be the one to mentor that... that.. that scrub," I told coach.

"Hey, I'm just passing on the message, but don't wrap your head around that thought. I'll get Shane and Yao to help you. They are after all, the biggest presence in our locker room," coach Adelman said. He winked at me, and went back into the dressing rooms.

I couldn't understand, why me? Why someone who's got enough responsibility carrying the team and pushing it through tough situations to win basketball games? Why can't Axel have stuck up for me and said that I've got enough on my plate? He is the only one who can convince Morey to do what he wants. I've got kids to look after, a wife to satisfy, training to do, a championship to win, and now I have to babysit this irresponsible asshole? This is bullshit.

As I came out of the dressing rooms, Halstead had grabbed a basketball and had begun to shoot hoops. It had only been five minutes, but he was already sweating. There was no doubt, he did have game. At 6'9" and a wide frame, he had good handles, a decent shot, and pretty good hops for someone who constantly eats McDonald's.

I sat on the bleachers watching him play as the rest of the team filed out of the training facility. After about a half hour, Halstead put the ball back on the ball rack, grabbed his stuff, and went out the door. I waited for a few seconds to pass by so he wouldn't think I was following him.

As I got into my car, I saw him leaning against the brick wall. He pulled out a pack of Pyramid cigarettes, took out a cigarette, lit it, and began to work. The first thought that came into my mind was, Oh god, what the fuck was Axel thinking forcing this thug on the franchise? He got me and the team into this mess, I'm going to his office to make him get us out of it.

[Axel The Great]

K-Maret playing like an all-star, & so is that Jones kid

K-Mart's too raw

K-Mart's developing an all-around game.

LOL at Justine Jones.xD

And when you're in the month of January, can you post the Rookie stats? (NLSC Only) If you have time.

And yey! lol.

Yeah, I'll post NLSC stats every month during the monthly summaries.

The Bobcats' court is yellow?

Of all the things that happened in those four games, you're worried about the Bobcats court being yellow?

S-Jax and J-Jones making up the next "great" Bobcats duo.

They are the ones maintaining Charlotte at or above .500 so far.

[KidJustin]

if u want Halstead to listen...

have Kyle Thuglife Lowry threaten him and his momma