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

[hova-]

Good job beating all those cellar dwellers. Yao has 10k now ... poor boy, he could have at least 15k right now.

[kibaxx7]

Great undefeated week GO SCOLA!

[Bucket]

Nice blow-out week. Did K-Mart got a player of the week award?
Cavs looks good.

[Houndy]

Easy week.

[Axel The Great]

Good job beating all those cellar dwellers. Yao has 10k now ... poor boy, he could have at least 15k right now.

Yeah, took a while with all the injuries, but it's finally been done. Too bad the RL Yao will never reach 10K.

Great undefeated week GO SCOLA!

Scola's just been solid all season. His 15-18 foot jumpshot is automatic, and let's not forget his post moves.

Nice blow-out week. Did K-Mart got a player of the week award?
Cavs looks good.

Unfortunately, K-Mart didn't get player of the week award. And yeah, these Cavs are much better than the RL Cavs.

Easy week.

Pretty much.

Next up: Round Four of the NLSC Tournament. Afterwards, Week 19, and then Round Five of the Tournament. School year is almost done here in Houston, four more weeks! Updates will start to be much faster within the next couple weeks.

[Axel The Great]

Since PSN is still down and I didn't want to take screens manually, there are no pics for this recap. Hope you still enjoy!

(1-2) Liam Washburn vs. Zee Otoo (2-1)
Score: 21-18
Length: 18 minutes

After being trapped in a corner, the duo of Kevin Martin and Zee Otoo attempted to mount a comeback, making the score 20-18 with momentum on their side. Bone-headed offensive plays killed their chances of stealing the win from the two guard combo of Liam Washburn and John Wall. Wall notched a double-double of 11 points and 10 boards, while Washburn picked some pockets with four steals. Despite lacking the size, the Wall-burn connection used speed to their advantage, to pick up the W.

Stats:
John Wall - 11 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, 11/23 FG
Liam Washburn - 10 points, 8 rebounds, 4 steals, 10/20 FG
Kevin Martin - 12 points, 12 rebounds, 1 assist, 12/22 FG
Zee Otoo - 6 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocks, 6/14 FG

(2-1) Thierry Tirieux vs. Valdis Iesalnieks (1-2)
Score: 8-21
Length: 11 minutes

Probably the most dominant game in the tournament to date, Valdis Iesalnieks, with feeds from Chauncey Billups, completely manhandled Thierry Tirieux and Andre Iguodala. There was no response for him. Every field goal was either a dunk or a shot from the low post. Iesalnieks logged in a double-double, only missing three shots the whole game. Tirieux and Iguodala were able to avoid a complete beatdown, as they went on a 5-0 run to make the score 20-8 before Billups knocked down the final shot. Both duos are now at .500.

Stats:
Valdis Iesalnieks - 14 points, 11 rebounds, 1 assist, 14/17 FG
Chauncey Billups - 7 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, 7/17 FG
Andre Iguodala - 4 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 steals, 4/12 FG
Thierry Tirieux - 4 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 4/5 FG

(1-2) Willie Lewis vs. George Koukoulis (0-3)
Score: 21-15
Length: 17 minutes

So close yet so far for the duo of George Koukoulis and Carlos Boozer; they played very well this game, but unfortunately, that first win continues to elude them. Willie Lewis and Josh Smith were able to force turnovers from them, as they both had five steals apiece. It was Boozer who coughed up the ball six times, apparently unable to find Koukoulis for passes. Boozer and Koukoulis' lacklustre defense also shattered their hopes of a first win; they gave J-Smoove way too many clean looks and dunks. They played with heart, but the B-K combo just could not get the job done.

Stats:
Josh Smith - 14 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist, 5 steals, 2 blocks, 14/20 FG
Willie Lewis - 7 points, 2 rebounds, 6 assists, 5 steals, 7/17 FG
Carlos Boozer - 8 points, 13 rebounds, 2 steals, 2 blocks, 6 TO, 8/16 FG
George Koukoulis - 7 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals, 7/13 FG

(2-1) Xavier Nelson vs. Justine Jones (3-0)
Score: 21-15
Length: 18 minutes

What is likely the biggest upset of the tournament so far, Xavier Nelson's 7/23 shooting would've had you assume that the duo of Michael Beasley and Justine Jones had the victory, but it was Gerald Wallace who came to Nelson's rescue. Wallace notched a double-double, and had great defensive stats of four steals and a trio of blocks to bail out Nelson. Despite having the game in control at 15-12, Beasley collapsed with some costly turnovers, and Nelson, struggling all game, hit the decisive buckets to pick up the win. Jones' 3/13 struggle is the most obvious contributing factor to his and Beasley's first loss of the tournament, as Wallace played gritty defense on him.

Stats:
Gerald Wallace - 13 points, 13 rebounds, 2 assists, 4 steals, 3 blocks, 13/20 FG
Xavier Nelson - 8 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, 7/23 FG
Michael Beasley - 12 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 blocks, 4 TO, 11/19 FG
Justine Jones - 3 points, 12 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals, 3/13 FG

Tournament Standings

Player	W/L Record
Justine Jones	3-1
Xavier Nelson	3-1
Liam Washburn	2-2
Thierry Tirieux	2-2
Willie Lewis	2-2
Valdis Iesalnieks	2-2
Zee Otoo	2-2
George Koukoulis	0-4

[|)e8*]

I thought I was 2-1 before the match?

[Lamrock]

Yes! Despite my turrible (unless you're Don Nelson) choice of a teammate, I finished at .500

[George7]

damn,I should have chosen another teammate..

[Justine.]

Oh my, 3/13

[kibaxx7]

Iggy, pass the ball a little more.

[Bucket]

Sorry Thierry.

[Axel The Great]

I thought I was 2-1 before the match?

Yep, you were. Sorry. Thanks for pointing that out, also fixed z02's record.

Yes! Despite my turrible (unless you're Don Nelson) choice of a teammate, I finished at .500

Well, there's still three games remaining for everyone to play, we'll see how you'll finish.

damn,I should have chosen another teammate..

It's not that you and Boozer suck as a team, it's just that the teams you face have the hot hand, especially since Boozer had no chance against J-Smoove.

Oh my, 3/13

Pretty embarrassing shooting numbers, but Beasley's lack of playmaking skills was a contributing factor to that.

Iggy, pass the ball a little more.

Yeah, you pretty much had the hot hand and yet Iggy was just worsening his FG%.

Sorry Thierry.

Sorry Iggy?

So next up, monthly recap, Week 19, and Round Five of the NLSC Tournament.

[Axel The Great]

February Recap

The month of February was a good one for the Houston Rockets, going 9-3. They passed the Oklahoma City Thunder for the first seed in the West. Oklahoma City seems to be taking time to gel with their new players as they are currently on a three-game losing streak.

The playoff spots seem to already be decided for both conferences, as all teams in the playoff picture have passed 30 wins, while those on the outside looking in are below .500.

Notable is Dirk Nowitzki's sudden outburst of scoring; at one point he was fourth place in scoring, but he has recently taken second place in the scoring title hunt, looking to catch up on Kevin Durant.

A great finish to the season seems to be in store, but I'll let you analyze how the season has gone down so far.

Players of the Week, February

Week	East Player	West Player
January 30-February 5	Rajon Rondo	Dirk Nowitzki
February 6-12	Dwight Howard	Kevin Durant
February 13-19	Derrick Rose	Dirk Nowitzki
February 20-26	Dwight Howard	Chris Paul

Players of the Month, February

Conference	Player	Stats
East Player	Derrick Rose	28 ppg, 7.6 apg, 2.6 rpg, 1.3 spg, 48.4% FG
West Player	Kevin Durant	32.6 ppg, 9.0 rpg, 1.3 apg, 1.7 spg, 1.3 bpg, 51.8% FG
East Rookie	John Wall	17.9 ppg, 7.8 apg, 3.7 rpg, 2.4 spg, 44.9% FG
West Rookie	Blake Griffin	16.4 ppg, 11.2 rpg, 1.0 spg, 52.7% FG

Note: The Lakers are higher up than San Antonio, Dallas, and New Orleans because they are division leaders.





Player Stats

[kibaxx7]

Yeah, Dirk is putting some huge numbers out there

[Bucket]

Very nice season for Dirk....
Clippers finally have a chance for playoffs?

[Houndy]

Nice season for Dirk, as usual.

Kevin Martin has been on fire from 3, almost 50%

[Cruzerr]

I love Kevin Martins FT%, another thing I like is that Bobcats can make the playoffs and dominate the Heat :D

[Nutellar]

So you are still battleing for the no 1 see nice one

Surprising to see the Jazz on 3, Blazers and Grizzlies far far away.

In the East the 76ers really suck. they have the opposite record then they have in my association (37:21)

[Axel The Great]

Yeah, Dirk is putting some huge numbers out there

Yep. He's the main reason the Mavs recovered from their 5-12 start.

Very nice season for Dirk....
Clippers finally have a chance for playoffs?

Lol, yeah. The B-Diddy trade didn't affect them at all, Eric Gordon and Blake Griffin have had great seasons so far.

Nice season for Dirk, as usual.

Kevin Martin has been on fire from 3, almost 50%

I'm sure you're happy to see your man Dirk with those numbers. And yeah, K-Mart's automatic when it comes to threes; him and AB are the deadliest three-point duo in the league.

I love Kevin Martins FT%, another thing I like is that Bobcats can make the playoffs and dominate the Heat :D

His FT release is so easy, pretty much just a quick flick down on the shooting stick and "perfect release". The Bobcats are still looking for their first playoff win, maybe it will come at the expense of the Heat.

So you are still battleing for the no 1 see nice one

Surprising to see the Jazz on 3, Blazers and Grizzlies far far away.

In the East the 76ers really suck. they have the opposite record then they have in my association (37:21)

OKC's offense has fallen a bit without Jeff Green, but that's better for me. And yeah, despite downgrading at the PG, the Jazz are scoring at will, they're top five in scoring.

I'm pretty surprised the Sixers are terrible here, but it's largely due to injuries; Iggy and Brand went down earlier in the season, but since then, they've moved two spots up from the last month. I've been reading your association, and yeah, almost an opposite record. These Sixers need your Evan Turner.

[Axel The Great]

February Prediction Game Results

Announcement: I am discontinuing the monthly prediction games from now on and doing away with "Dream Points" as well. Kind of a hassle tallying up points, and also nobody even bothers spending their dream points. Whatever Dream Points you have you'll still get to spend them, but there will be no more earning them. I will ultimately have a playoff prediction game that will determine the draft order of all NLSC Draftees in the 2011 Draft. So without further ado, let's see how you fared in the last edition of the prediction game:

Thierry - 35 pts
George7 - 35 pts
Stress Fracture - 34 pts
Justine. - 32 pts
Houndy - 31 pts
z02 - 24 pts
puttincomputers - 21 pts
karlsanada10 - 21 pts

I will ultimately add up all of the points earned by everyone in all of the prediction games, and whoever earned the most, their NLSC Draftee will be a lottery pick for the 2011 Draft.

Here is your Dream Points balance. I'd recommend spending them all before your draft year. There will be no more chances to earn Dream Points, just remember that.

Houndy - 127 + 31 = 158 pts
Justine. - 75 + 32 = 107 pts
z02 - 0 + 24 = 24 pts
Valdis - 71 points
Stress Fracture - 80 + 34 = 114 pts
osaki - 23 pts
Thierry - 72 + 35 - 107 pts
George7 - 81 + 35 = 116 pts
Lamrock - 40 pts
Mark. - 23 pts
|)e8* - 50 pts
King Dee - 29 pts
Psychedelic™ - 15 pts
Badger - 15 pts
puttincomputers - 21 pts
karlsanada10 - 21 pts

Some of you have got a bunch of points to spend. Yikes.

Remember, point values are as follows: Physical attributes (speed, stamina, vertical, quickness, etc.) cost 4 points, offense attributes (mid-range, 3-pt, ball handle, pass, etc.) cost 3 points, defense attributes (on-ball defense, defense awareness, block, steal, etc.) cost 2 points, and the wildcard attributes (emotion, hustle, offense/defense clutch, etc.) cost 1 point. Before spending your Dream Points, if you have a doubt on which category an attribute belongs to, just ask me.

List of all attributes here. Remember to disregard the point values shown.

So here are the REAL results of the prediction game:

Points leader for February: Kevin Martin
Rebounds leader for February: Luis Scola
Assists leader for February: Aaron Brooks

@ Lakers: W
@ Jazz: W
vs. Grizzlies: L
@ Nuggets L
vs. T-Wolves: W
vs. Mavericks: W
vs. Nuggets: W
vs. 76ers: W
@ Pistons: W
@ Cavaliers: W
vs. Nets: W
@ Hornets: L
All-Star Game winner: West
Rookie Challenge winner: Rookies

Overall Record for February: 9-3

If you'd like, please refer back to your predictions to see if I've made a mistake in tallying up your points. Let me know if I've made an error.

[Axel The Great]

Note: I don't exactly know how negotiating contracts and contract extensions work in the NBA, so this may not be accurate.

Chapter 11 - A Tall Gamble

The phone rang. Axel Gomez picked it up. "Houston Rockets headquarters," Axel said, getting rid of the habit of saying the usual "Hello?"

"Is this Daryl Morey?" a voice asked. "No, he's not here. Is there anything I should tell him?" Axel replied. "So is this his assistant?" the voice asked. "Yes, I'm the assistant GM of the Rockets."

"Excellent. I will be in the office within 10 minutes to try negotiate a contract extension for my client, Yao Ming," the voice said excitedly. "I'm not sure about contract extensions. That's not really my job here," Axel reluctantly said. "You are assistant GM, aren't you? Of course you can negotiate player contracts. Morey's not there, so you should be able to do it yourself. So again, I'll be there with Yao in 10 minutes, g'day," he replied and hung up.

"Uh-oh," Axel said, but continued looking at previews of March Madness which was right around the corner. True to his word, the man who had talked to him on the phone knocked on the office door 10 minutes later, "Come in," was Axel's answer. In came a man, with Yao Ming right behind him. Yao had to duck his head to be able to walk through the doorway. "Hi, I'm Bill Duffy, Yao's agent, and we're here to negotiate a new contract," he shook Axel's hand.

"Axel Gomez, nice to meet you," Axel replied. "So how exactly does this process work? I haven't been taught how to negotiate contracts yet," Axel asked. Duffy had a huge smile on his face, knowing that Axel was inexperienced, he could cheat him here to get a nice, healthy contract for his client. "I was thinking maybe five more years?" Duffy said, hoping that Axel would fall for it.

"Okay, I know Yao has been with the franchise his whole career, and that he's been able to elude injuries all season. But five years is just too much, especially if there's a possibility that he may have some more seasons like the 2009-10 season. Three years at the most in my opinion," Axel said.

"How does three years sound?" Duffy asked Yao Ming. "That sounds just fine. I belong here in Houston, so whatever amount of years the franchise is willing to keep me for I'm okay with," Yao replied, nodding at Axel. "Very well, three years. What's your offer in terms of money?" Duffy asked.

"Since the franchise is looking to get over the top, I would think Yao should take less money than what he's being paid this year. I'm not talking MLE here, but if this team wants to succeed, we'll need to have some players take less money so we can leave room for a prized acquisition, hopefully this offseason," Axel said.

"I'd be willing to take less, as long as I'm getting paid a decent amount," Yao said. "Excellent. How about $31 million for three years?" Axel made the offer. "That seems way too low. That's about $10 million a year, and compared to the $17 million for this year" Duffy started... "That's good enough!" Yao interrupted.

"Alright then," Axel said, pulling out Yao's contract out of Morey's desk drawer, and writing down the terms. "Sign here, and we've got a deal," said Axel, proud of making his first contract negotiation. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, not so fast! Can't I have a say in this?" Duffy interrupted. "How about a player option after those three years?" he asked.

Axel, thinking that that was asking for too much, said, "Team option for $12 million. Final offer, or we don't have ourselves any deal," he said. Yao Ming just went over to sign the contract. "Alrght then, pleasure doing business with both of you, and I hope for three to four more strong years of the Yao Ming era," Axel said, shaking hands with both men.

"That was one of the quickest negotiations I've ever been a part of, but you won't be disappointed, sir," Yao said, and exited the office. Duffy followed, turned around, and said, "You know for a rookie, you make a great GM. Morey's got a great successor for if he ever gets fired," he praised Axel. "Thank you, sir," Axel said.

He knew Morey would disagree with his decision of this contract extension, but Axel did not want to see his favorite childhood Rocket leave the team, especially with him as an assistant GM. "It's a gamble I'm willing to take," Axel told himself.

[Houndy]

Nice chapter, I hope you don't get fired

[Axel The Great]

Houndy, thanks. We'll see how Morey reacts in the next chapter.

Part I

[43-17] Houston Rockets 94-107 New Orleans Hornets [34-26]


A continuation of more offensively efficient dominance. | A rejuvenated second half effort from AB just wasn't enough.

David West had his way down low, scoring a game high 36 points. | Wasted opportunity: Chris Paul was nonexistant in this game.

The final score of this game fools you; it was a tightly contested game up until the dying minutes. The Rockets led through most of the first quarter, until a layup by Emeka Okafor gave New Orleans their first lead of the game at 20-19. The Rockets would eventually get outscored for the first period, 26-23.

The Rockets mounted a 15-2 run to regain the lead in the second quarter, completely sealing the Hornets' paths to the basket. Kevin Martin led the way with his team high 27 points; he was having his way against New Orleans' smaller guards on the low post. New Orleans would regain the lead as they went on a 10-2 run, but the Rockets, thanks to the struggling Aaron Brooks, tied the game at 49 just before the halftime buzzer.

The Hornets caught fire in the second half, as David West scored 10 of his 36 points in that period, going 5/7 from the field. While West was shining, Hornets star Chris Paul was faltering. CP3 only had six points on 2/12 shooting, with seven turnovers forced by the Rockets' backcourt defense. He did have 15 assists, however, as he was able to always find the open man. Assists were a key stat for the Hornets, as they had 32 assists as a team.

For the Rockets, Luis Scola scored eight of his 17 points in the third, also scoring the Rockets' first six points of the half. He flirted with a triple-double, scoring 17 points, grabbing 13 boards and dishing out six assists. The Hornets were leading by 3 heading into the final period.

In the fourth quarter, the Rockets' offense was stagnant; yes, there was some ball movement, but it all eventually led to a difficult, challenged shot at the end of the shotclock. The Hornets would seize control of the game in the final three minutes. The cruised to a double-digit lead as they shut down the Rockets defensively, and exposed their non-existent defense. "That was a showcasing of bad defense down the stretch. When we collapsed on a shooter, they always found the open man for a clean look. We played terrible defense, and they had the hot hand. That's not a good combination to be up against," said Aaron Brooks.

The Hornets were led by David West's game high 36 points, and he shot 14/24 from the field. "We had a great game offensively, and defensively, we were able to shut 'em down at crunch time. This win goes well considering that Chris (Paul) was not at his best tonight, and moving forward, we're just trying to get ourselves in a good position for the playoffs," the heroic Hornet, David West said.

Player of the Game-

Emeka Okafor
20 points | 8 rebounds | 1 assist | 2 steals | 9/11 FG

Key Performers:
Rockets:
Kevin Martin - 27 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals, 1 block, 12/24 FG
Aaron Brooks - 18 points, 6 assists, 2 rebounds, 1 steal, 7/14 FG
Luis Scola - 17 points, 13 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 8/15 FG
Yao Ming - 13 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block, 5/9 FG

Hornets:
David West - 36 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist, 14/24 FG
Trevor Ariza - 18 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, 6/16 FG
Willie Green - 9 points, 12 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals, 3/10 FG
Carl Landry - 6 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 2/2 FG
Chris Paul - 6 points, 5 rebounds, 15 assists, 7 TO, 2/12 FG

23 26 23 22 94
26 23 26 32 107

[43-18] Houston Rockets 103-92 Portland TrailBlazers [29-30]


Dunk contest is over, but Bud just wants to show everyone who should've been the winner. | With Roy down, it's up to Wallace to bring some scoring from the perimeter.

The Portland TrailBlazers were lacking Brandon Roy this game, as he is done for the season with a Torn MCL. The Rockets didn't have much of a problem putting down Portland in this game, and Roy's absence is a strong reason for that.

Defending the perimeter was what the Rockets were pulling for here; they did not allow easy outside jumpshots, and made sure that every shot that went up was contested. However, with Yao Ming in foul trouble, the interior was left vulnerable, and LaMarcus Aldridge took advantage. The big man had 28 points on 12/15 shooting, completely exposing Houston's lack of size in the paint.

The Rockets had their largest lead of the game at 16 in the fourth quarter, but a 14-6 run from Portland gave the Rockets a scare. Kevin Martin silenced the Rose Garden by dishing to Yao Ming for a three-point play, and then an end to the Portland rally with a turnaround jumpshot from the high post. Martin finished with a game high 31 points, to help the Rockets claim the season series 2-1 against the Roy-less Blazers.

Player of the Game-

Kevin Martin
31 points | 3 assists | 3 rebounds | 2 blocks | 1 steal | 10/16 FG | 2/4 3P | 9/11 FT

Key Performers:
Rockets:
Luis Scola - 14 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 4/11 FG
Aaron Brooks - 13 points, 7 assists, 1 rebound, 1 block, 4/11 FG
Yao Ming - 11 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals, 4/7 FG
Kyle Lowry - 8 points, 2 assists, 1 rebound, 1 steal, 2/4 FG

TrailBlazers:
LaMarcus Aldridge - 28 points, 5 rebounds, 1 block, 12/15 FG
Greg Oden - 14 points, 1 rebound, 2 blocks, 6/8 FG
Wesley Matthews - 13 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 6/12 FG
Andre Miller - 9 points, 7 assists, 4 rebounds, 1 steal, 3/15 FG

27 27 26 23 103
18 26 27 21 92

[|)e8*]

Dayum your team is "WINNING"