A LEGEND IS BORN II

ah, so close to that NCAA title! Oh well. 21 points isn't too bad. Looks like this draft class will be one for the ages.
And Miami so close to a 50-win season. Anyways good luck against the Lakers!

How do you play the Lakers if the are 8th seeded, and you 4th seeded?

Uhm, the Blazers are 48-35?

His playing the Lakers cause they are division leaders.

just watch me land on the warriors again with this dynasty! lol

Estonians rule the NCAA - love it

Anyway, hope the Stealth first playoffs are successful! Nice articles as always.

ah, so close to that NCAA title! Oh well. 21 points isn't too bad. Looks like this draft class will be one for the ages.
And Miami so close to a 50-win season. Anyways good luck against the Lakers!

Thanks dude, the Lakers are going to be tough.

How do you play the Lakers if the are 8th seeded, and you 4th seeded?

What the guy below said.

His playing the Lakers cause they are division leaders.

Absolutedly correct.

just watch me land on the warriors again with this dynasty! lol

I have a feeling that that won't happen... but we will see how fate works itself out!

Estonians rule the NCAA - love it

Anyway, hope the Stealth first playoffs are successful! Nice articles as always.

Well, ratrac has bragging rights because he led his team to the NCAA title. You were carried to the title by Reshawn Tyson. But I guess you both got one NCAA title apiece.

Monthly Recap: April
Part Four: NLSC Rookie Focus

Monthly Recaps are divided into several parts in order to give readers a quick and organized overview. Part Four of the Monthly Recap is the NLSC Rookie Focus where one NLSC rookie is chosen to be presented to you, the reader, in order for you to get to know them better. Part Five will feature the All- Team Focus.

Player Focus: Klemen Pirc


This has been a regular sight at many Wizards games

# 9 | PG | Washington Wizards (38-44) |
6’3” | 194 lbs | Age: 23 | Slovenia |
2009 Draft | Round: 1 |Pick: 19 |

Position Rank: 33rd
Overall Rank: 128th
Role: Sixth Man
Agent: "My client is extremely happy with his role”
09-10 Statistics: 6.5 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 3.7 apg, 0.8 spg, 18.5 mpg, 81 GP, 0 GS

Klemen Pirc started the season off, wondering if he would ever get any court time in his rookie year. As the months passed by, he slowly got more and more minutes. By the end of the season, he is one of only a few of his rookie class who will get a taste of the playoffs. And he has worked hard enough to be able to become a staple of the Washington Wizards’ playing rotation.

The Slovenian PG is now the sixth man, the first player off the Washington bench. “It was a hard time for me but I got to learn from one of the best point guards in the NBA and now I have earned my position with this team,” he says, “I knew it was going to be a challenge coming to the NBA.” Pirc’s career highs of 29 points, 8 rebounds, and 9 assists in separate games indicate that if given the opportunity, he does have what it takes to be a solid contributor. The most he’s ever played in a game is just 28 minutes. For now he just does what he is told because he realizes he is lucky to even be here.

“One year ago, many doubted that I could make the NBA because I did not do so well in Europe. Even after Euroleague, people did not believe in my ability,” Pirc said. Washington, with the 19th pick, took a gamble on him and Pirc has proven to be one, if not the steal of the 2009 Draft. “I could not be happier with how it worked out,” Washington’s director of personnel stated recently, “The young fella really has stepped up and improved all season.”

The Wizards just made the playoffs and as the eighth seed in the East, it looks unlikely that they will get past the Detroit Pistons. However, Pirc vows that he will try his best to help his new friends Gilbert Arenas, Antawn Jamison, and Caron Butler. “I want to get to the second round,” Pirc says, “(Fellow countryman) Sasha (Vujacic) plays for Detroit so if my team can beat them, I can laugh at him next Summer when we go to the (FIBA) World Championships.”

NLSC Rookie Statistics

Byron Brock 7.8 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 0.3 apg
Mark Moore 15.3 ppg, 1.4 rpg, 4.6 apg
Martti Must 12.3 ppg, 7.1 rpg, 3.5 apg
Klemen Pirc 6.5 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 3.7 apg
Zoilo Resurreccion 10.5 ppg, 0.6 rpg, 8.5 apg
Andrew Watson 18.3 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 4.2 apg

NCAA Championship Both of my virtual me's are doing stellar job, one was the first pick(in Martti's dynasty) and the other one already has won a championship, even if it's not the NBA Championship. Hopefully I will land in NY or Dallas. I think you will have a tough time with the Lakers, but I think I see you taking it in 6 games. Good luck with the Lakers

Monthly Recap: April
Part Five: Team Focus

Monthly Recaps are divided into several parts in order to give readers a quick and organized overview. Part Five of the Monthly Recap is the Team Focus. This gives readers an opportunity to see how certain teams are going and to give them an idea of what their rosters look like now. A new team is presented each month and it is up to you to nominate one!



TEAM RECORD 26-56 (4th Division, 14th Conference)
TEAM CHEMISTRY 74%

TEAM ROSTER

Player | Statistics (PPG, RPG, APG)

PG Barney Steele | 10.0, 5.1, 7.4
SG Jamal Crawford | 18.3, 1.9, 3.9
SF Jarvis Hayes | 14.9, 4.4, 1.6
PF Yi Jianlian | 11.4, 6.4, 0.3
C Brook Lopez | 7.9, 4.6, 0.4

- - -

PG Raymond Felton | 12.1, 2.5, 4.1
SG Jerry Stackhouse | 11.9, 2.5, 2.5
SG Bobby Simmons | 6.1, 2.7, 0.4
SG Ryan Anderson | 6.2, 2.8, 0.2

TEAM REPORT

When Vince Carter was traded to New York, the franchise was effectively handed over to rookie point guard Barney Steele. Steele finished his rookie season by averaging a well rounded 10 ppg, 5 pg, and 7 apg. The future looks bright for the young playmaker, heralded by many coaches as the second coming of Jason Kidd for the Nets. Steele sure has a lot to work up to seeing that Kidd led the Nets to two NBA Finals in the early 2000s.

“I would love to be as good as Jason Kidd,” the modest Steele commented, “To be in his league would be a great honor. I have a long way to go.” Many purists of the game have also been excited about Steele entering the league because they believe he is the next great pass-first point guard to enter the league. “We’ve had years of seeing guys like Iverson, Billups, Parker, and more recently we’ve had Chris Paul and Deron Williams. It’s refreshing to have a pass first point guard with star quality,” Charlotte’s Larry Brown stated. The Spurs’ Greg Popovich agreed, “Barney Steele is one heck of a player and the best part is that he is a team player and he already has a fairly complete game. Give him some more experience and a jumpshot – he’s going to be a top player one day.”

With the team finishing close to the bottom of the league standings, the outlook for this franchise couldn’t be any better. A result of the Vince Carter trade is that the team holds two lottery picks; their own and the Knicks’. Furthermore, Jamal Crawford, Jared Jeffries, and Wilson Chandler are all off-contract this Summer, lending the Nets cap room to try and fill out their roster.

It’s all exciting times for the Nets as they build a team around Steele. Yi Jianlian, the Chinese forward acquired two seasons ago, still has the backing of the front office and coaching staff; they believe that he could turn into something special in a few years time. All the team needs now is an identity and the way to do that is by rebuilding their roster.

Top stuff bro, im getting excited for these playoffs Stoked to see I got ROTM as well.

I'm liking the Nets roster. Stackhouse, Felton, Crawford

Wow. Great article 'bout me. I'm thrilled that I'm getting more minutes and I'm acctualy a 6th man Any other of NLSC rookie's in the playoffs?
Anyway, thanks for noticing me Sit And don't worry, I'm reading this all the time, I'm just not posting anything. What can I say, I'm speechless all the time, your writing is just so good
I hope you go far in the playoffs and I hope you put the S for Sucks in the LakerS (sorry, Sit )

Monthly Recap: April
NBA Playoffs: Previews At-A-Glance

Join ESPN.com’s Woody Hannes in this quick series-by-series preview to get up to speed with the NBA playoffs before they begin. Click on the links to read more about the series you are interested in.

Western Conference

1. New Orleans Hornets (58-24) vs 8. Minnesota Timberwolves (47-35)

The reigning NBA champions made up for the setback of having Tyson Chandler sidelined by playing even harder and finished the season on a tear. However, the absence of the big man will probably keep the team from winning a back-to-back title. Although the Hornets are still an elite team, Chandler is such a huge piece of their puzzle that it is going to affect them. When New Orleans faces the Nuggets or Rockets, they won’t have anyone to put a body on guys like Kenyon Martin, Nene, Yao Ming, or Luis Scola.

However, the result of this first round series looks fairly certain regardless of the availability of Chandler. The Wolves face an alarmingly steep uphill battle to win a game, let alone win the series. Minnesota has improved from last season and were just unfortunate that they drew the short stick and have the Hornets as their first round match up.

Read More…

2. Denver Nuggets (55-27) vs 7. Utah Jazz (47-35)

Denver is the hottest team in the Western Conference at the moment and many have placed their support behind the team from the Rocky Mountains to win the title. After missing out on the playoffs last season in Chauncey Billups’ first season back with the team, the team has exceeded all expectations thanks to the play of all of their players.

The Jazz should provide stiff competition for a game and a half before their experience and lack of toughness undoes them. The absence of Carlos Boozer has really hurt the Jazz and rookie Donnell Lawrence has enjoyed a respectable rookie season but does not seem ready to lift this team.

Read More…

3. Houston Rockets (51-31) vs 6. Portland Trailblazers (48-34)

The Rockets and Trailblazers have plenty of big names on their rosters. Houston has Yao, McGrady, and Artest. Portland has Oden, Boozer, Nash, and Roy. This series is going to prove to be a tough grind-it-out session between the two teams and if there were to be one series to go to seven games, it seems that this one is a certainty. Although Houston finished the season with an ugly loss to the Hornets, the side is still confident of reaching the second round for the first time in many years. This team has the potential to steamroll their opponents especially after the Blazers’ seemingly endless up-and-down season.

The Blazers have been constantly hit by injuries and just have not gelled over the course of the NBA season. The signings of Nash and Boozer were meant to make Rip City contenders but that has not panned out as planned. However, the Blazers see the postseason as a new season and a chance to show that we have not seen all that they can offer, which by the way has been fairly lackluster.

Read More…

4. Los Angeles Lakers (45-37) vs 5. Seattle Stealth (50-32)

Complicated rules about playoff seeding and giving preference to Division Champions helped the Lakers bit the bullet. LA, who hold the worst record of all eight Western Conference playoff teams, avoided what could have been an early exit against the Hornets. Instead, the Lakers are now lucky enough to face one of the youngest teams in the league and definitely one of the least experienced.

NBA-leading scorer Kevin Durant will make his playoff debut with legend Jason Kidd but that’s about all that Seattle has. The rest of their roster are inconsistent and it has been a surprise that this team even made it this far. Some could even call this a fluke. The Lakers are weaker this season due to Lamar Odom leaving over the Summer – for all of his inconsistency issues, the versatile forward made a difference; 10 wins. However, LA still have Kobe, Pau, and Bynum, which makes them better than the Stealth.

Read More…

Eastern Conference

1. Detroit Pistons (54-28) vs 8. Washington Wizards (38-44)

The Washington Wizards slipped in to just make it into the postseason but expect their experience to be short-lived as they come up against a more hungry and experienced Detroit Pistons side. The Pistons have transformed themselves back into the Pistons of the Larry Brown-era that won the 2004 NBA title.

Detroit has waited all season to get back to the playoffs and try to reach the NBA Finals again. Many people have forgotten that they contested the Finals against the New Orleans Hornets and came up short. “That Finals loss really hurt,” a motivated but edgy Allen Iverson recently said, “We are aiming to win it all this time round.”

Read More…

2. Atlanta Hawks (50-32) vs 7. Indiana Pacers (40-42)

The Indiana Pacers had a hot start to the season but have come back down to Earth as of late. They had to fight to keep their playoff aspirations alive and that has rewarded them with what seems to a be a one-way ticket back to the outer. Pacers F Danny Granger is hoping that his team will step up in their first round series but there seems to be little chance of that happening.

As for Atlanta, most of them will know how Indiana feels right now because they were the seventh seed in last year’s playoffs. The Hawks were bundled out by the Pistons who coincidentally had Marvin Williams (The ex-Hawk turned Piston decided to bail on Motown and return to Atlanta). The Hawks are in hot form and look like surprise contenders for the main prize at the end of the road.

Read More…

3. Miami Heat (49-33) vs 6. Orlando Magic (41-41)

The favorites to win the NBA title from last season don’t look strong enough to make it all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals this season; in fact, they could be beaten by the sixth seeded Orlando Magic. Although they don’t play at the same position, the Wade and Howard matchup will have huge implications on the result of this series.

Howard, frontrunner for Defensive Player of the Year, will need to rally his troops against the free-flowing and high-scoring style of the Heat and hope that his squad can put in a collective effort in holding Miami down on defense. Wade is often relied upon to score plenty of points and is deadly in the clutch. If Ben Gordon fires as well, then the Heat becomes tough to stop. Unfortunately, Gordon has not had the same effect as he did last season and that is why Orlando could prevail in this series.

Read More…

4. Boston Celtics (47-35) vs 5. Cleveland Cavaliers (47-35)

The Celtics seem to be on their last legs and face a tough preposition matching up against the Cavs. LeBron James has just come off another amazing season and looks motivated to get his Cavs back to the NBA Finals. Cleveland started the season slowly but worked really hard to make their way back up the standings.

Boston still has their big three of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen; each averaging close or over 20 ppg. If Boston is to win, they will need their role players to step up. Rajon Rondo has played fairly strong and remains the Celtics’ X-factor. Meanwhile for the Cavs, the story has been the same all season long: get the ball to LeBron. This series should last seven games.

Read More…

Last edited by Fresh8 on Sat May 09, 2009 6:36 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Garnett, Pierce and Allen all averaging almost 20 per game and the Celtics below 50 wins. Strange

Excellent series-by-series preview. I'm really looking forward to the playoffs now. Go Stealth!

I see a typo in your playoff preview. You said "NBA-leading scorer Kevin Durant will make his playoff debut AGAINST legend Jason Kidd.." But aren't they teammates? Just my two cents.

good luck against the Odom-less Lakers

Damn! 76ers missed the playoffs.. Better luck in my sophomore year...

NBA Playoff Predictions
Get Your Tips In, Earn Points, Your Virtual Player Reaps The Benefits

Get your tips in guys for each playoff series and earn points that you will be able to use on your virtual player in this Association! Please participate even if your player has not appeared in this Association because it will be worthwhile. All rewards will be announced at the completion of the Postseason.

How This Works?

The playoff matchups will be posted in a series-by-series playoff preview. You will then be given some time to post your predicted outcome of each series. Don’t forget to choose the winner and amount of games won by each team.

Scores will be accumulated and posted prior to the commencement of the next round.

What Implications Does It Have For You?

All the points accumulated, no matter if you finish first or last, will be able to be used on your virtual player. How that will happen will be explained at the completion of the postseason.

And if you do not have a virtual player part of this association, don’t forget that there are still spots available for additional rookies in future Draft Classes!

Scoring System

General Scoring

If you pick the winner of the series - +10 Point
If the winner has a worse record than their opponent - +5 Points
If you correctly pick the amount of games won by each team - +5 Points

Bonus Predictions

Before the first round begins, pick:

The teams contesting the NBA Finals
The eventual champion
Pick the Finals MVP

If this happens, you will receive 10 points for each correct guess but you lose 5 points for every incorrect guess. Therefore, you can potentially earn 40 points but can also lose 20.

Other

If you come first in the competition - +50 Points
If you come second in the competition - +25 Points
If you come third in the competition - +10 Points

Now that you are aware of this competition, please start positing your predictions!

An example of how to vote will be posted below this post.

How To Make Your Predictions
An Example Of How To Submit Your Predictions For the First Round

Note that this is for the First Round only. Please follow this template! Thank you.

First Round Predictions

Hornets beat Timberwolves 4-1
Nuggets beat Jazz 4-2
Rockets beat Trailblazers 4-3
Lakers beat Stealth 4-2

Pistons beat Wizards 4-0
Hawks beat Pacers 4-1
Heat beat Magic 4-2
Cavs beat Celtics 4-3

Bonus Predictions

(Only can be submitted before the first round – Do note that if you are entering in this ‘bonus’ round, you are risking losing points)

Western Conference Champion: New Orleans Hornets
Eastern Conference Champion: Detroit Pistons
NBA Champion: Detroit Pistons
Finals MVP: Allen Iverson

Great idea

First round Predictions
West
Hornets beat Timberwolves 4-0
Nuggets beat Jazz 4-2
Rockets beat Blazers 4-2
Stealth beat Lakers 4-3

East
Pistons beat Wizards 4-0
Hawks beat Pacers 4-1
Heat beat Magic 4-3
Cavaliers beat Celtics 4-3

Bonus Prediction
Western Conference Champions: Denver Nuggets
Eastern Conference Champions: Detroit Pistons
NBA Champions: Detroit Pistons
Finals MVP: Allen Iverson (about time! )

First Round Predictions

Hornets beat Timberwolves 4-0
Nuggets beat Jazz 4-1
Rockets beat Trailblazers 4-3
Stealth beat Lakers 4-3

Pistons beat Wizards 4-0
Hawks beat Pacers 4-2
Heat beat Magic 4-3
Celtics beat Cavs 4-2

Bonus Predictions

Western Conference Champion: New Orleans Hornets
Eastern Conference Champion: Detroit Pistons
NBA Champion: New Orleans Hornets
Finals MVP: Chris Paul

So, couldn't resists doing a competition, could you?

Anyway, good luck, I see you winning the first round series. It'll be tough from there...

I wasn't going to do the bonus questions just because I never like to give away points, but it's in the name of fun, so have included them

First Round Predictions

Hornets beat Timberwolves 4-0
Nuggets beat Jazz 4-1
Blazers beat Rockets 4-2
Stealth beat Lakers 4-3

Pistons beat Wizards 4-2
Hawks beat Pacers 4-3
Heat beat Magic 4-1
Celtics beat Cavs 4-3

Bonus Predictions

Western Conference Champion: Denver Nuggets
Eastern Conference Champion: Miami Heat
NBA Champion: Denver Nuggets
Finals MVP: Andrew "The X" Watson (actually I think it will be Billups, but I can't bet against myself, & I really want to see how much Dwayne Wade can burn me for )

First Round Predictions

Hornets beat Timberwolves 4-1
Nuggets beat Jazz 4-0
Rockets beat Trailblazers 4-2
Stealth beat Lakers 4-2

Pistons beat Wizards 4-0
Hawks beat Pacers 4-1
Heat beat Magic 4-3
Cavs beat Celtics 4-3

Bonus Predictions
Western Conference Champion: New Orleans Hornets
Eastern Conference Champion: Cleveland Cavaliers
NBA Champion: New Orleans Hornets
Finals MVP: Chris Paul

First Round Predictions

Hornets beat Timberwolves 4-0
Nuggets beat Jazz 4-2
Trailblazers beat Rockets 4-2
Stealth beat Lakers 4-3

Pistons beat Wizards 4-0
Hawks beat Pacers 4-0
Magic beat Heat 4-1
Cavs beat Celtics 4-1