Minnesota Timberwolves - LIVE06

[yeahnah]

(Hey fellas, basically the 2k games these days just aren't doing enough for me so I thought I'd rewind the clock and get out my copy of Live 06 on PS2. As such I'm unsure what I'll do for images etc. but we'll see how we go with a 29 game season. This is my first dynasty in a long old time so bare with me, cheers )


Game: NBA Live 06
Console: PS2
Difficulty: All-Star (adjusting for 2k11, will bump up)
Quarter Length: 7 minutes, but likely to change
Sim Quarter Length: 12 minutes
Season Length: 29 games


MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES OPENING NIGHT ROSTER 2005/06

Centre: Michael Olowokandi (67) | Ervin Johnson (58)
Power Forward: Kevin Garnett (96) | Eddie Griffin (75) | Mark Madsen (60) | John Thomas (58) - IR
Small Forward: Wally Sczcerbiak (71) | Ndudi Ebi (62) | Trenton Hassell (60)
Shooting Guard: Latrell Sprewell (73) | Rashad McCants (66) | Fred Hoiberg (66) - IR
Point Guard: Sam Cassell (71) | Troy Hudson (65) | Anthony Carter (64)

[yeahnah]

WOLVES' WRAP
Bombshell dropped by Garnett leading up to opener
- 28th of October, 2005



- Star forward Kevin Garnett wants to win - and he wants to win now. The T'Wolves front office have been put on notice that the Big Ticket wants results or he wants to leave. The 2004 MVP is at the peak of his game and at times feels as if he is carrying this average Wolves squad. Prior to Minnesota's season opener at San Antonio, Garnett said the following, "I love Minnesota. I love everything about it. But there is so much I feel I can achieve as a player and I just don't know if I can achieve these things with the Wolves, you know what I mean?

- Training camp has come and gone, with assistant coach Phil Burton focusing his efforts on primarily on defense and athleticism. Large improvements were seen in bench players Mark Madsen, Trenton Hassell and Ndudi Ebi. Sam Cassell also worked very hard in what is being considered as one of his last seasons in the NBA. Over in Milwaukee, number one draft pick Andrew Bogut has been improving his rebounding and blocking abilities, and is sure to be a major threat in the post for years to come.

- Sam Cassell and Latrell Sprewell are considered to be in their final year of playing pro ball. Rumours in Minny are saying that GM Kevin McHale is considering moving these players in order to not be left empty handed. Word on the street is an upgrade at the center postion or a replacement for Cassell at the point are the priorities, however the Wolves can build through the draft next year and continue transitioning as a squad

[Vespasian92]

Man I used to love Live05 on my PS2 (my first and only BBall game until 2k11 on my PC), and hated playing Minny and having Garnett dominate C-Webb

Retro associations are always fun, so let's see what you do.

[mp3]

Yeah I used to love nba live too but it died in 2007 imo.

[Kieran]

Yeah I used to love nba live too but it died in 2007 imo.

Werd.

Having said that though, I'll be following this dynasty. I had one with this team back in the day, and it's one of my favourite Wolves teams.

[yeahnah]

WOLVES' WRAP
TOUGH LOSS IN SEASON OPENER FOR WOLVES
Minnesota Timberwolves (0-0) @ SAN ANTONIO SPURS (0-0)
- 29th of October, 2005

It's never an easy task getting a win in Texas, especially in San Antonio.

The Timberwolves made the trip to kick off their season and were desperate to get off to a good start. However the combined might of Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker was far too much, and it didn't help the Wolves when Tim Duncan, Robert Horry and Bruce Bowen all contributed in major ways. The two key stats however were turnovers and the field goal percentage of each team. Minnesota amassed a total of 22 turnovers, compared to the Spurs 8, and the away team shot just .368 from the field whilst San Antonio went at a .597 clip.

The Spurs were taken aback in the first quarter, trailing 25-19 at the first break, however they set the tone for the game early on. Wolves rookie Rashad McCants' first touch was a sweet dime leading to an Eddie Griffin dunk, however his second touch as an attempted layup that was swatted into the stands by Duncan with one of his four blocks. After the first term the Spurs clicked into gear and reduced the gap to five points at half-time, before kicking off the third quarter with a 12-1 run that left Minny reeling. Greg Popovich also switch his defense into a 3-2 zone which turned the game in their favour, as the Wolves struggled to penetrate the defense and were average from beyond the arc.

The only thing keeping Minnesota in the game at this stage was their ability to get to the free throw line. They ended up with a total of 27-29 shots from the charity stripe, led by Kevin Garnett who shot 10 from 11 from the line on his way to 26 points. However this was not enough and another run from the Spurs early in the 4th denied Minnesota any chance of a come back as they ran out winners by a margin of 15 points.

MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES - 25 | 24 | 15 | 19 | 83
SAN ANTONIO SPURS - 19 | 25 | 27 | 27 | 98

Player of the Game:
Tony Parker: 32 points, 4 assists, 3 steals, 3 rebounds

Key Contributors:
Manu Ginobili: 32 points, 3 assists, 2 steals
Tim Duncan: 13 points, 8 rebounds, 4 blocks
Nazr Mohammed: 8 rebounds
Michael Olowokandi: 10 rebounds
Kevin Garnett: 26 points, 5 rebounds, 6 turnovers
Rashad McCants: 11 points, 3-3 3PT shooting

[yeahnah]

mp3, oath mate.
Kieran, nice to see another Wolves fan floating around! It's a fun team to play with but so far I've had more fun playing as the second unit rather than the starters for probably the first team in the history of my Wolves dynasties. I'm definitely considering getting rid of Cassell and Sprewell and maybe a KG trade down the line could be considered, but its a bit of a bitch trading in this game.

Cheers fellas

[yeahnah]

AROUND THE LEAGUE
The thrills and spills of the NBA are back for another season!
- 5th of November, 2005



- Lakers' guard Kobe Bryant hit the most singular points for a player so far this season in LA's 105-94 win over the Atlanta Hawks, notching up a nifty 37 points. This number is only going grow as the season continues, however so far Kobe has established himself as a lead runner for the scoring title, averaging 33 ppg after three games this season

- The injury bug is making its way around the league already, with star forward LeBron James breaking a bone in his foot and guard Jason Kidd breaking a bone in his wrist. Both of these highly touted potential all-stars are looking at three weeks on the sidelines which will certainly affect their teams. James' Cleveland Cavaliers have lost both of their games to start the season while the New Jersey Nets are yet to play without Kidd.

- Word on the street is that the Chicago Bulls and the Minnesota Timberwolves are in talks of trading veteran guards Sam Cassell and Latrell Sprewell for Eddy Curry and pieces. The Wolves are coming off the back of their first win of the season at home against the Boston Celtics, getting up 115-101. Sprewell hit 22 points and Cassell dished out 8 assists in Michael Olowokandi's breakout game, where he hit 18 points and notched up 12 rebounds for his first double-double of the season.

- A European flair is set to hit the NBA Draft next year, with current consensus number one pick Paul Pilson hailing from Denmark. The weak class so far is full of big men dominating the projected top ten, however Florida teammates guard Kenneth Benzer and forward Glen Tshibaka both have unlimited potential and good enough skills to be projected to head early in this years draft.

[2K Kobe]

Good luck man, nice to see another LIVE 06 dynasty around.

[Kieran]

I like the old Live draft classes. They had dozens and dozens of pre-made cyberfaces for random use in the draft classes. Looks much better than CAP faces.