Blue & White: Ignite (7-2) :: Corrupted :(

[Christian.]

Stuckey
Same
None
Pachulia
Blake
Orlando

goodluck

[hulkamaniac9876]

Stuckey
Dixon
Both
Morris Peterson
Carl Landry
Philadelphia

[XpLosibo]

thats the good thing in 2k9, u can adjust the playing time of ur team & opponent.. ughh, so enviable

stuckey
bell
both
zaza
landry
philly

[kibaxx7]

Air France Arrives



At his introductory press conference, it was the question of the day. Forget, for a moment, the fact that he will serve as the Orlando Magic’s master lock defender, shadowing the likes of the Wades and James of the world. Forget the fact he has the proverbial motor which constantly runs Nascar-like high every time he steps on the court. Forget the fact Magic General Manager Otis Smith, then with the Golden State Warriors, selected him with the 11th overall pick in the 2003 NBA Draft and has coveted him ever since. Forget the fact he felt blessed to be wearing No. 20 for the Orlando Magic and embraced the photo-op jersey all through his press conference. Forget the fact he loves to work with kids in the community. Forget the fact he will fast become a locker room leader. Forget the fact he can light up a room with his mega-watt smile. No, forget all that.

The question of the day was how exactly do you pronounce the name of Orlando’s newest addition, six-foot, six-inch, 215-pound, five-year veteran Mickael Pietrus? Is it My-kel Pee-trus? Mee-Cal Pee-A-Truss? MP? Going right to the source, the former French National Team member, said Michael Pee-Truss. So, just Michael? Yes. Not Pee-A-Trus? No. Michael, like Mike? Yes. Pee-Truss? Yes.

“It wasn’t long after I first got the job,” says Magic Head Coach Stan Van Gundy, “when we, Otis and I, talked about players down the road and Mickael was a guy Otis was already talking about. When I got around to watching film, the No. 1 thing that stood out was that he is at full speed all the time. His energy and his effort is just incredible. I watched probably 15 or 16 of his games and he just goes hard all the time. He can go to Cleveland and guard LeBron James and go and guard Dwyane Wade,” added Van Gundy. “He’s an outstanding rebounder, he shoots the three very well which is obviously big for us, and Otis and I talked and he’s only 26 years old and still has a great deal of upside.”

Most fans probably hadn't heard of Pietrus when the Magic signed him to a free-agent deal. He was a mystery. What was he going to give Orlando beyond a French accent? The early results for the Magic: So far, so surprising. Pietrus has averaged 14.2 points, well above his previous NBA career high (11.1). He started the season with a 21-point night against Atlanta shooting 10-of-15 from the field, followed by 15 points in the triumph over Memphis, 11 against Sacramento and 10 against Chicago. But that's not a big concern for Smith and Van Gundy: Pietrus mainly was signed for his defensive talent.

Pietrus takes great pride in his defense. “On defense, trust me, I’m having fun. Because you want to get a steal and your teammates scores and he’s happy. I’m happy too because he gets more confident and the team gets more confident and everybody kind of links together. We’ve got one goal – to win a basketball game. For me to get a steal, to take a charge, that’s my main focus.”

In this 4 official games with the Magic, Pietrus battled foul trouble early, which strained Van Gundy's patience and rotation. After picking up two quick personals against Memphis, he had no fouls against the Kings and finished with two fouls against the Bulls. "Somebody very important on the team [Smith] told me when I stay out of foul trouble, we are a better team," he said. "Some nights I get stupid fouls. I have to get my mind in the game. It's me... being too aggressive." Dwight Howard loves the way Pietrus attacks. Pietrus has souvenirs to show for it. Twice he has received stitches on his forehead to close wounds after collisions. "I lead the league in stitches," he said, laughing. Just another category the Magic are probably monitoring.

One more question, what should the radio and television broadcasters call you? Simple, he said with that magnetic smile, “Air France.” Air France is ready for takeoff.

[Fresh8]

Stuckey
Bell
Duncan
Peterson
Blake
76ers

[Valor]

1. Stuckey
2. Same
3. Tim Duncan
4. Same
5. Blake
6. 76ers

[Shabron]

stuckey
same
both
peterson
landry
76ers

[Devin112]

hey man, u gotta keep this up i'm really loving it. i'm picking up 2k9 on 360 soon, gonna set up the clippers for 2010 w/ blake griffin. i'm pretty excited about lotto, now i'll have a lot of pieces to play w/. gonna ship out zach randolph and kaveman asap.

[XpLosibo]

i believe its pronounced as "My-Cal" .. but air france is much better

[kibaxx7]

hey man, u gotta keep this up i'm really loving it. i'm picking up 2k9 on 360 soon, gonna set up the clippers for 2010 w/ blake griffin. i'm pretty excited about lotto, now i'll have a lot of pieces to play w/. gonna ship out zach randolph and kaveman asap.

Yeah this one won't stop (I know I've said this at least 20 times)... will post the game against Philly tonight, sorry for the delay! Thanks XpLosibo for the comment too

[kibaxx7]

Rookie Courtney Lee's career-high upstaged Philadelphia's rally in the second quarter as Lee scored 22 points and the Orlando Magic squeezed out a 113-103 victory over the struggling 76ers, who wasted a 15-point lead. "I don't want to score another career-high if we lose," Lee said. "I don't look at it as me playing well and us getting a loss. Luckily we got the win today." The rookie from Western Kentucky made 9-of-13 shots, including 1-of-1 3-pointers. He also sank 3-of-4 free throws. Orlando opened a 102-94 lead when Rafer Alston found Lee in the lane for a big two-handed dunk with 2:40 left. "Courtney sure made a difference tonight," Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said. "He was scoring, getting second-chance points. A lot of things he gets accomplished at the offensive end, because he's working hard and seeing the plays."

Andre Iguodala cut the deficit to 105-102 on a quick dunk off a feed from Louis Williams with 1:30 second left. Thaddeus Young missed a wide-open 3-pointer, and the Magic rallied to an 8-0 run to win the game. "The big goal was to take those guys off the boards," said Bogut, who added six rebounds. "They're one of the best rebounding teams in the league and I think Drew (Gooden) and Zydrunas (Ilgauskas) were held to just four rebounds the whole game." Iguodala led Philadelphia with 20 points and 8 assists and Young added 12.

Two other Magic players scored over 20 points. Dwight Howard had his first 20-20 game of the season with many to come, with 28 points and 21 rebounds, 13-of-17 from the field; Rashard Lewis added 20. "I'm proud of our team, they got down by 15 and got back into it by the third and played a hell of a game," Van Gundy said. Mickael Pietrus and Hedo Turkoglu added 10 points apiece for Orlando, who had five players in double figures and improved to 5-0. "Everybody knows what I basically did this summer and what I worked on," Pietrus said. "When I was open, I would take my shots and I would pass other shots to try and create. I worked hard on them and tonight I shot the ball."

Samuel Dalembert racked up 15 points and 10 rebounds for the 76ers, who also had five players in double digits. "We lost the game because we missed a lot of open shots," Philadelphia coach Maurice Cheeks said. "We missed 23 of 30 treys. When that happens, you aren't going to win a lot of games."

Game Notes
• Tony Battie, who missed all of last season with a shoulder injury and much of the preseason with a broken finger, had 5 points and 3 rebounds when Howard was in foul trouble. "Otis (Smith, Magic GM) kind of pulled my coattail and gave me some words of confidence and told me to keep working and I think I got my time in today." Battie had 8 points and 12 rebounds against Sacramento. Tony later joked: "Selfishly speaking, sometimes you look up there and say, 'I hope he's in foul trouble more often.''';
• Orlando has won six of its last seven against the 76ers;
• 76ers point guard Andre Miller only played 5 minutes in the first quarter after he suffered a strained achilles tendon in a collision with Howard. He didn't return to the game;
• The Magic didn't have any blocked shots. Philadelphia had 7;
• Stan Van Gundy's squad next 2 games are at home, against Washington (November 8) and Portland (November 10);
• The crowd enjoyed a Bloc Party 20-minute concert before the game.

[XpLosibo]

i tried to press the play in ur screen, damn fooled solid game from d12, but no blocks.. nice win!

[Martti.]

I'm happy for the win and the fact you're still undefeated, but disappointed, because i predicted a Sixer win

[kibaxx7]

:: Results for November 5th, 2008 ::

• Who will have have less field goal attempts?

Detroit 103 (Rodney Stuckey 22 pts., 6 rebs., 7 ast., 8-15 FGs; Allen Iverson 22 pts., 7 rebs., 7 ast.; Richard Hamilton 18 pts., 5 ast.)
Toronto 110 (Chris Bosh 24 pts., 12 rebs., 7-15 FGs; Shawn Marion 24 pts., 12 rebs.; Jason Kapono 19 pts., 3-4 3s


Correct option: Same attempts

• Who will have a better free throw percentage?

Washington 120 (Gilbert Arenas 24 pts., 5 rebs., 7 ast.; Antawn Jamison 19 pts., 6 rebs.; Juan Dixon 15 pts., 5 ast., 3-4 FTs -.750%-)
Milwaukee 97 (Michael Redd 21 pts., 6 rebs., 7-17 FGs; Charlie Villanueva 16 pts., 11 rebs.; Charlie Bell 12 pts., 4-5 FGs, 3-4 FTs -.750%-)


Correct option: Same percentage

• Who will post a double-double?

San Antonio 113 (Tim Duncan 31 pts., 9 rebs., 6 ast.; Manu Ginobili 24 pts., 5 rebs., 6 ast.; Roger Mason Jr. 14 pts., 5-8 FGs)
Minnesota 115 (Al Jefferson 30 pts., 9 rebs., 13-21 FGs; Kevin Love 24 pts., 14 rebs.; Ryan Gomes 13 pts., 5-9 FGs)


Correct option: Kevin Love

• Who will play more minutes?

Atlanta 80 (Josh Smith 13 pts., 8 rebs.; Mike Bibby 12 pts., 5 ast.; Zaza Pachulia 24 mins., 11 pts., 10 rebs., 3-6 FGs.)
New Orleans 108 (Chris Paul 20 pts., 7 rebs., 12 ast.; Peja Stojakovic 17 pts., 8 rebs.; Morris Peterson 23 mins., 16 pts., 7-13 FGs)


Correct option: Zaza Pachulia

:: Results for November 6th, 2008 ::

• Who will score less points?

Houston 122 (Yao Ming 29 pts., 11 rebs., 11-18 FGs; Ron Artest 23 pts., 6 rebs.; Carl Landry 9 pts., 7 rebs.)
Portland 107 (Brandon Roy 30 pts., 6 rebs.; LaMarcus Aldridge 20 pts., 8 rebs.; Steve Blake 8 pts., 3 ast.)


Correct option: Steve Blake

• Who will lose this game?

Philadelphia 103 (Andre Iguodala 20 pts., 8 ast., 7-16 FGs; Samuel Dalembert 15 pts., 10 rebs., 7-8 FGs; Elton Brand 14 pts., 6 rebs.)
Orlando 113 (Dwight Howard 28 pts., 21 rebs., 13-17 FGs; Courtney Lee 22 pts., 9-13 FGs; Rashard Lewis 20 pts., 8 rebs., 8-12 FGs)


Correct option: Philadelphia

:: Scores for November 5th & 6th, 2008 ::

1. ratrac :: 8 points (3 guesses + 50% guesses right)
   christian cage :: 8 points (3 guesses + 50% guesses right)
   Valor :: 8 points (3 guesses + 50% guesses right)
2. DonDavido :: 2 points
   Martti. :: 2 points
   XpLosibo :: 2 points
   Sit :: 2 points
   Shabron :: 2 points
3. hulkamaniac9876 :: 1 point

:: Leaderboard after November 6th, 2008 ::

Current points (points before + points today)

1. Valor :: 46 points (38 + 8)
2. Sit :: 31 points (29 + 2)
3. ratrac :: 30 points (22 + 8)
4. Martti. :: 26 points (24 + 2)
5. DonDavido :: 21 points (19 + 2)
6. XpLosibo :: 16 points (14 + 2)
7. Shabron :: 15 points (13 + 2)
8. magician :: 11 points (11 + 0)
9. christian cage :: 10 points (2 + 8)
   mol :: 10 points (10 + 0)
10. buzzy :: 8 points (8 + 0)
11. IM2FLASHY_330 :: 6 points (6 + 0)
12. Asder :: 1 point (1 + 0)

[kibaxx7]

i tried to press the play in ur screen, damn fooled solid game from d12, but no blocks.. nice win!

Hehe Yeah Dwight was a monster but I couldn't have any blocks, must work on that.

I'm happy for the win and the fact you're still undefeated, but disappointed, because i predicted a Sixer win

Never underestimate Stan Van Gundy.

[Martti.]

4. Martti. :: 24 points (24 + 2)

I'm no Einstein, but you've got a mistake there.

[kibaxx7]

I'm no Einstein, but you've got a mistake there.

My mistake

[kibaxx7]

Building sizable leads and winning home games haven't been the problem for the Orlando Magic. Three days after defeating the Chicago Bulls by 23 points, Orlando (5-0) found themselves in a different situation on Thursday as Philadelphia raced to a 6-point lead at halftime but an outstanding second half by the Magic gave them the win by 10 points. Orlando is averaging 105.8 points per game (10th in the league) but allowing the opponents to score only 89.0 (tied for 1st) this season and is still undefeated as Dwight Howard and Courtney Lee had killer games.

"Courtney was in attack mode all night," coach Stan Van Gundy said of Nelson, who had a career-high 22 points. "He made good plays on pick-and-rolls and that was key. That was the best game he's played this far." Howard had a 20-20 game with 28 points and 21 rebounds and Rashard Lewis added 20. Hedo Turkoglu, singled out by Van Gundy after the Bulls game for having sub-par conditioning, and Mickael Pietrus had 10 apiece. Marcin Gortat posted a season-best eight points in 4-of-4 shooting. "Marcin gave us a huge lift tonight," Van Gundy said. In a tactical move, Rafer Alston will start in place of Jameer Nelson.

Washington (4-0) has won its 4 games by a 13.2-point average, but no Wizard is averaging over 20 points. Eddie Jordan's team defeated New York 108-107 on Friday, thanks to Juan Dixon's season-high 25-point night, including the last second winner. Gilbert Arenas also had 25 points to go with 11 assists and Caron Butler added 13. With the hope of sparking his squad, Washington coach Eddie Jordan said, "Let's see if we can relax a little bit and go down to Florida, we can't sleep in the laurels." He later added that "There's a consideration of maybe you build from your youth group, we'll see where that goes."

Howard averaged just 11.5 points against Washington in 2007-08, although he sat the final three quarters in the season finale on April 16. Turkoglu hit seven 3-pointers and scored a career-high 39 points against Washington last season in an 87-86 loss on March 19. He averaged only 16.0 points in the other three meetings - all wins for Orlando. The Wizards haven't experienced much of a Florida vacation recently, losing 10 of their last 13 games in Florida.

:: Starting Lineups ::

[cavs4872]

Great presentation style. Good luck against Washington.

[kibaxx7]

Rules
Correct guess: 1 point.
If you guess at least 50% of the events: 5 extra points.
If you guess all the scenarios: 10 extra points.

:: November 7th, 2008 ::

• Who will have a worst field goal percentage?

Nate Robinson (This season FG%: .279%)
Nick Young (This season FG%: .513%)
Same percentage

• Who will have pull down more rebounds?

Michael Beasley (This season RPG: 6.0)
Drew Gooden (This season RPG: 4.8)
Same rebounds

• Who will post a double-double?

Shawn Marion (This season PPG: 18.0 / This season RPG: 9.4)
Josh Smith (This season PPG: 19.0 / This season RPG: 7.8)
Both
None

:: November 8th, 2008 ::

• Who will score more points?

Bobby Simmons (This season PPG: 13.0)
T.J. Ford (This season PPG: 11.3)
Same points

• Who will dish less assists?

Juan Dixon (This season APG: 2.3)
Rafer Alston (This season APG: 4.8)
Same assists

• Who will win this game?

Minnesota (This season record: 4-1)
Portland (This season record: 0-5)

[kibaxx7]

Orlando close to acquire Maggette from the Warriors



Orlando and Golden State have reached agreement on a trade, pending to league approval. The Magic are close to acquire a swingman -- Golden State's Corey Maggette -- to replace Hedo Turkoglu, who would join the Oakland team. After acquiring Tyronn Lue from Milwaukee and Rafer Alston from Houston as Jameer Nelson fill-ins, Orlando has managed to land Maggette and the Warriors' 09 second round pick by agreeing to surrender the Turkish forward. Maggette averaged 16.0 points and 6.2 rebounds for Golden State (3-3).

"Corey is a starting veteran forward who shoots the ball well," Magic general manager Otis Smith said in a statement. "He gives us added depth and athleticism in the frontcourt. We thank Hedo for all of their contributions and wish him the best."

"We felt like Hedo's a player who would fit well here, could really contribute," Warriors GM Larry Riley said. "He's going to do exactly what coach Don Nelson tells him to do. We feel like it's a great player who can help us now and who we can build around for the future." The forward averaged 11.8 points and 3.2 rebounds in 5 games for the Magic this season.

[Christian.]

1. Nate
2. Gooden
3. None
4. Simmons
5. Alston
6. Portland

goodluck!

[DonDavido]

Worst FG: Robinson.
More rebounds: Beasley.
DD: Both.
More points: Ford.
Less assists: Dixon.
Win: Minesota.

And don't give up Turkoglu for Corey! :>

[Valor]

1. Nate Robinson
2. Same Rebounds
3. Shawn Marion
4. Same Points
5. Juan Dixon
6. Minnesota Timberwolves

wow....Corey Maggette for Turk? don't like it at all

[C-77]

yeah i don't like that trade i actually like Hedo "The Turkish Gunner" Turkoglu more