[Hov's Cats]

[Lamrock]

Ouch. Very bad week. San Antonio and Denver demolished you. Good to see you catching up to the real-life NBA in this association. I'm loving it.

[Its_asdf]

For a Larry Brown coached team you sure are stinking it up on defence I think you should try to add some more offensive firepower because Gerald Henderson is playing like poo-poo on a stick.

[hova-]

Lamrock, Ye, I also like that I'm getting along, you might have noticed that I updated more frequently and also simmed many games lately (or played them like half). I just want to make it more seasons instead of getting along slowly and end it without getting into playoffs.

Its_asdf, that's why C. Hov is the coach. I let them run more than Brown I guess, but the problem on defense in these games was that Felton and Wallace were out. I think the real life Bobcats would also miss them. Henderson is a good defender, but his shot is not very good. He's a project, it's better to develop a player on offense than on defence. So I will just try to add a shot to his repertoire and he could be like Mickael Pietrus.

I'm really thinking about getting a PF though. Melvin Ely's 2nd 10 day contract ran out but I dont want him. I need someone on the four who is athletic.

Just signed Jaque Vaughn for a 10 day contract ^^ I love these 10 day contracts!! Looks like Felton could also be out for my next game so maybe Vaughn gets some minutes to rest Augustin.

What do you guys think about Augustin? He is just not strong enough imo. His shot is also tough to hit despite his good rating. Still I think he could be the future ...

[Lamrock]

I'm a fan of Augustin. He was very good last year, but he seems to be underrated in 2K10. If you can't use him effectively, you might need to deal him while he still has value. I think Felton can still be your PG of the future if you run a bunch of shooting drills with him. He is a great defender and serviceable playmaker.

I like the decision to speed the season up. The X and Sit's dynasties are the best in part because they are so eventful and both exhibit full rebuilding processes. As far as athletic PF's go, I'd recommend Darius Miles.

[kibaxx7]

Wow, the Spurs killed you in the first. Also saw that you didn't even take a single shot with Chandler

[TomCat]

Wow a good week, and then a BAD week. Oh well 6-16 is pretty bad but it's nothing you can't make a comeback from! And those injuries would've really hurt your team..

[hova-]

Gerald Wallace is still listed day-to-day and could miss the game @NY

Week 7 (6th of December-11th of December)


The Charlotte Bobcats will look to snap a three game loosing skid as they host the New York Knicks on Tuesday. After that they will move on to Indiana to face the Pacers on Wednesday. The last game will be against the contending Utah Jazz @Charlotte on Saturday. Gerald Wallace and Raymond Felton are both still listed injured by the NBA and it is not sure when they will be back for the Bobcats.

The New York Knicks (9-14) will visit Charlotte on Tuesday. After a good start to the season, the Knicks have fallen short on 7 straight games scoring under 90 points three times during this streak. If the offense does not work for New York the have appeared to be lost. The Knicks have 5 guys in double figures in point with Al Harrington leading the way with 14.6 ppg. David Lee is the team's MVP so far averaging 12.4 points and 13.3 rebounds per game. A big surprise has been Eddy Curry. After loosing about 35 pounds he is putting up 9.3 points and 4.0 rebounds in 21 minutes of play. The last time these teams met, the Cats came up short at home.

The Indiana Pacers (9-13) will host the Bobcats on Wednesday. Indiana has not been able to win games on a consistent basis, dropping 5 of the last 10 games. Currently they are on a 2 games loosing streak after losses to the streaking Magic and the Washington Wizards. Danny Granger, still among the best scorers in the league with 25.9 ppg, only scored 15.5 points in these two losses and shot 13-34 from the field. The Pacers won the first game against the Bobcats in Charlotte.

The Utah Jazz (17-7) will visit Charlotte on Saturday. After a 9 game winning streak Utah has cooled down a bit dropping 3 of their last 6 games. This also has something to do with Deron Williams having problems with his right wrist. The team's leading scorer (19.0 ppg) and disher (11.0 apg) only averaged 12.6 points in these last 6 games. Still Williams is the man in Utah leading them to the best start since the Malone/Stockton era. Deron only had a single-digit assist number in three of his last nine games.
Another key contributor has been Paul Millsap who averages 8.3 points and 7.5 rebounds in only 21 minutes per game as a sixth man.
The Jazz come off a major upset though, as the T-Wolves stole a win from the Salt Lake, 99-86. Jonny Flynn was all over injured Deron Williams scoring 33 points and limiting him to 2-12 shooting and 9 points.


dont bother the wrong Knicks logo, it's from my Knicks Dynasty. I hope that we will be complete vs the Jazz. Wanna get some upset done!

[hova-]

Already played Week 8 and right now I have to say I feel restless about this team. It's really tough at the moment and I just don't know what to do.

Blow things up? Which means turn things around and plan a rebuild ... I don't know, I feel like we got a little bit too much talent for that.

Try to get a trade done which really helps this team contending for the Playoffs? Problem is, there is almost nobody I could trade who gives back any value apart from my main guys, who I'd like to keep.

Do nothing and hope for better times? That's not Chris Hov for sure.

Give up, say fuck you MJ and go to another team? That's not C. Hov either.

Suggestions?

[mp3]

Cant believe the Celtics were 10-10

I like Wallace but thats thing he is always injured !

Keep up the hard work Hova !

[Drausus]

Maybe trade a play and a draft pick to bring on a player that is in the last year of his contract? I think an overhaul is due after the season, but parting with some key players now could cost you in the run towards the playoffs. My suggest is to bring in a 1 an done guy. You'll lose a draft pick, but it also may be the only way to grab a playoff spot.

[hova-]

ONLY THREE QUARTERS PLAYED

Still shorthanded Cats fall to Knicks

Charlotte, December 15th

Still without their two key starters, the Bobcats were not able to snatch their three game loosing streak against the struggling New York Knicks. Trailing from the very first second, the Bobcats never fought back to lead the game and totally deserved their fourth loss in a row. Wilson Chandler had 16 points in the first quarter, as he likes to score on the Bobcats (he had a career-high in their first meeting). He had 23 points in the game. Nate Robinson had the hot hand in the second quarter scoring 12 of his game-high 24 points. For the Charlotte Bobcats, DJ Augustin was once again the team's best scorer with 32 points, a career high for the guard out of Texas. Another remarkable number were the 20 rebounds grabbed by David Lee. Adding 12 points he had a double double. Tyson Chandler had 5 points, 12 rebounds and a season-high 5 blocks. Stephen Jackson only scored 13 points and Nazr Mohammed added 12 as the Cats fall to 6-17.

Knicks Boxscore
Bobcats Boxscore







ONLY ONE HALF PLAYED

Despite Wallace's big comeback, Pacers drop Bobcats

Indianapolis, December 16th
With Gerald Wallace back in the lineup, the Bobcats wanted to be aggressive and in attack mode. Wallace showed everything of it, scoring 14 of his 32 points in the first quarter and also adding 10 rebounds for the game. Still, his teammates could not step up and the Bobcats lost their 5th in a row. Especially on defence the Bobcats did not show a good effort despite only allowing 98 points to Indiana's fastbreak offense.
Danny Granger had 13 in the first and added 10 in the second to bring the game already out of the Cats' hands at halftime. He had 28 points, 12 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals for a MVP like performance. His biggest supporter was TJ Ford once again adding 21 points. Troy Murphy scored 15 and grabbed 11 boards. Wallace only saw Stephen Jackson and DJ Augustin scoring in double digits on his side with 18 and 14 respectively. Charlotte still missed Raymond Felton with back spasms and fell to 6-18 after this one.
s.
Pacers Boxscore
Bobcats Boxscore








ONLY FIRST HALF PLAYED

Loss against Jazz means 6th straight for Bobcats

Dallas, December 19th
Just when Ray Felton and Gerald Wallace were both back into the lineup, the Charlotte Bobcats had to host the Utah Jazz on Saturday night. In a slow paced game, where both teams only combined for 5 points after 4 minutes of action, the Jazz were the clearly better team. They played great defence and made it hard to score for Charlotte, who only had 12 points in the first. Deron Williams showed that he can carry the team and already had 21 points at halftime. He had 28 points and 8 assists in the game. Ronnie Brewer, Andrei Kirilenko and Paul Millsap added 15 apiece with the latter also adding 10 boards to the stat sheet. For the Cats, Raymond Felton had 15 points in his comeback and Stephen Jackson added 14 points on only 6-20 shooting. He has only averaged 15 points over the last three games. Gerald Wallace added 13 and 10 in a never dangered win for Utah. Whilst the Jazz were able to solidify their first seed in the West, the Bobcats drop to the 2nd last spot just above the 76ers at 6-19. Coach Hov was very angry after the loss to the Jazz and announced "great changes". The GM disappeared and did not attend press conference. Hov got fined $5000 by the NBA for not talking to the media.

Jazz Boxscore
Bobcats Boxscore






Corey Maggette breaks wrist in Warriors win to 76ers
Forward Corey Maggette of the Golden State Warriors broke his wrist in the team's last win against the Philadelphia 76ers. Maggette came down bad on his wrist after taking a layup in traffic and getting knocked down in a crowd of players. According to team doctors surgery will not be necessary but the player will be out until mid or late January. Maggette was so far averaging 18.5 points and 4.6 rebounds per game for the 12-14 Warriors who have lost 6 of their last 10.

Jason Thompson out with broken hand
Kings C/F [u]Jason Thompson will be out for at least four weeks with a broken hand. The Center out of Rider who is almost averaging a double-double (11.4/9.5) suffered the injury in a shootaround before the Kings last home game. According to the Kings' management Thompson tried to throw down an alley-oop and hit the rim with his forearm causing a fracture.

Mamba, King named Players of the week
Kobe Bryant of the LA Lakers and LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers were named players of the week. The Cavs went 4-0 this week with wins against the Thunder and the Nets.
The Lakers also went unbeat 3-0 defeating the Nets, Bulls and Bucks.
(no stats since they do not show up in the game ... bug!)

[kibaxx7]

Tough week bro. I wonder if 2k site blog is also available for PC users, it really comes in handy.

[Its_asdf]

It tooks like your defense is really struggling, and I'm not sure how much of it is factored into Wallace just re-entering the lineup.

I'm honestly just as lost as you are, because quite frankly your defense is just as bad as your offense It's pretty difficult to swing one trade that can help you in both areas right away, so you might need to make a couple of deals/signings to help you out in that area.

Try to swing a deal involving Henderson, Diaw or Murray that nets you a young player on the verge of breaking out, that is probably your best bet.

[mp3]

Glad to see the knicks win one

Lee 20 boards but when i play with him in my season he looks more like Tim Thomas !!

[Lamrock]

Losses to the Knicks and Pacers? C'mon son. I think its time to make a deal. Maybe not a blow-up, but you should look at the trading block for a discount star. Felton, G-Force and Jax seem like your only keepers.

[The X]

The Boobcats are a tough one. They are actually not much better than they were when I used them as an expansion team. The way I look at it is you've got both Augustin & Felton. I'd probably trade one of those guys before deadline. If it were me I'd deal Felton as I've never rated him. I'm thinking clear some cap space for the off-season & hopefully you will be able to pick up a 2nd tier free agent (i.e. Joe Johnson, Amar'e Stoudemire etc), whom by default will become your star player. If you can deal Felton in a deal that will get you a lottery pick then might be worthwhile, unless you have plans to re-sign him.

I don't mind Wacko Jacko, he'll help you win games & you can trade/dump him later if you get a decent starting SG. As for Diaw, I'm not sure about him & he probably doesn't help you as much as you need from a starting PF.

So yeah, my strategy for the Boobcats is hedging. Don't throw your all your eggs in one basket. Don't blow up the team, don't rely solely on draft, don't rely solely on free agency. Just put yourself in a position to bring in some players that Chris Hov's system will prefer.

[Fresh8]

I think it's fun watching you lose.

And I think you should mould your team to fit you, as X said. The Bobcats don't have any certain style and they also do not have a star player. You need that one lead player. You may have a leader in Stephen Jackson but he is no All-Star.

[The X]

To add to what Sit said, what identity would Coach Hov want from his team?

Defensive? If so, would you want balanced scoring (e.g. this decade Pistons) or one star (e.g. old Iverson 76ers).

Fast break? All offense? Look at getting a good passing PG who can shoot & put shooters around them, with athletic, multi-faceted big men.

Young team built on athleticism but with some D present (e.g. current Hawks).

It looks like you need an identity or you risk becoming like, well, the current Charlotte Bobcats

Would be nice if you had at least one good building block to base a style but every player you have got is a placeholder until something better comes along, which is sad.

Good luck, you will need it.

[Fresh8]

Yep, you're lucky you have the Bobcats cause you can shape them however you wish and no one will get mad.

[hova-]

Thierry., ye bad week. Dunno about the blog site for PC users.

Its_asdf, I really hate the fact that this game is not really representing team defense imo. Because the Bobcats are one of the best defensive teams in real life, but that does not translate in my Dynasty so far ...

mp3, I hate to play against Lee, hes grabbing tons of boards even against bigger guys (like Chandler).

Lamrock, You're definitely right. Been playing around with the ESPN trading machine lately. Watch out for the next update.

The X, well, I prefer a slow offensive system as I usually only run with Felton and Wallace at times. I love to score inside. And I don't want to take a lot of threes. The real life Bobcats have a defensive identity. They are the best defensive team in the league at the moment. (statistically). I won't risk anything, but I have a deal in the making which could help nevertheless.

Sit, ye, not one will be mad. But still it's tough to get any superstar to Charlotte without doing unrealistic things. I am also not sure how I could get any cap space without dumping guys I like on this team. I will try everything to get back on the track THIS season, which means I still want to make the playoffs.

[The X]

The only way to get a superstar in Charlotte is by drafting one (e.g. John Wall) or by signing/trading for a 2nd tier star like Joe Johnson, Monta Ellis & having them take their game to the next level. The main superstars wouldn't sign for Bobcats regardless of circumstances.

[Lamrock]

If there was a top-tier Tarheel alumni, then there may be an exception to the rule, but I agree for the most part. I'm not a fan of Joe Johnson, but he should be your offseason target. Not sure who you are willing to part with, but a package of Augustin, an expiring and a second-rounder could get you a pretty solid player if you look in the right place (i.e. any East team outside of the big 4)

[Mark.]

Yeah tough run of games mate. I really want to get these 2k box scores working but it looks like they wont be go for PC until the patch comes out. Im hoping the patch doesnt mean I have to restart my current save :S

[The X]

Im hoping the patch doesnt mean I have to restart my current save :S

I don't think it will. Pretty sure console Association users didn't have to re-start after the first patch.

[hova-]

Bobcats land Curry in three team deal


December, 20th

The 6-19 Charlotte Bobcats have acquired Knicks C/F Eddy Curry in a deal which sends F Boris Diaw to the Washington Wizards and the Wizards' Mike James and DeShawn Stevenson to the New York Knicks. The Bobcats will also receive two second rounders for the '10 draft, one from the Knicks and one from the Wizards.
Eddy Curry, who has already played under coach Chris Hov in 2005-2006 will have his debut tonight as the Bobcats head to New York. The 6-11, 290 pounds C/F is averaging 9.2 points and 4.1 rebounds per game in 21 minutes as a starter this season. He is shooting .535% from the field. After personal problems and weight issues, Curry is injury free and did not miss any games this season so far. Eddy Curry will earn 10.5M$ this season and has a player option to add another year to his contract worth 11.25M$.

Boris Diaw will also be able to participate in the next Wizards game. The 6-9 F out of France will play for the fourth team in his career after the Hawks, Suns and Bobcats. He is averaging 10.4 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.8 assists this season and shooting .451% from the field and .441% from downtown in 25 minutes of action. Diaw has two years left on his contract worth 18M$ and possesses a player option for a third year with 9M$. He can play both forward positions.

Mike James and DeShawn Stevenson both have expiring contracts worth 6.47M$ and 3.89M$ respectively. James has only played 6.1 minutes per game this season and is averaging 2.6 points per game on .360% shooting and .440% from downtown. Stevenson holds averages of 4.1 points and 1.6 assists in 14.7 minutes per game. He shoots .433% from the field and .425% from downtown. The guard already outed himself very disappointed by the Wizards as he hoped to sign a contract extension after the season and be a part of a playoff run. "I know that's the business but we had already have talks about me staying here for life. I mean Washington and DeShawn Stevenson is for life, you understand me. You better not be disloyal to Mr. DeShawn Stevenson. Watch out Wizards, Ima shoot you out of the MSG one-handed, aigh??!". Both players are expected to arrive at New York just before the game against the Bobcats.

"Tha two cents" - Trade analysis

With the first bigger deal done in this season I just thought it would be cool to have a closer look and grade the deal for each participating team.

The Bobcats: From the Bobcats point of view, you definitely cannot dislike this trade, but still have to grade it as a risky move.
Coach Hov likes Eddy Curry. Both were coming along very very well in their only season working together, seeing Eddy Curry as the PER leader of a Knicks team which also had Stephon Marbury and Steve Francis on it.
Coach Hov does not like Boris Diaw. It's an open secret, that Hov is not a fan of an undersized, stretch power forward. When he arrived, he thought he could put Boris back on Small Forward. But he had to accept that his athletic days were already over, despite his young age", a Bobcats insider told NBA.com. Hov wanted Diaw to work on his body and get back his quickness of Suns days in order to play small forward. Diaw did respond with developing into a spot up shooter, who stretches the floor and shot a very good .44% from downtown. He did not bother grabbing any boards and thus the Bobcats had problems at rebounding. This ended in more playing time for Nazr Mohammed and a disappointed Diaw. The only way out of it was a trade.
Eddy Curry seems to have shaken off big personal trouble, weight issues and injury problems and had a decent comeback to the league. Many will say, how could Hov do that? Getting back a fat, overpaid teamcancer? But you seem to forget that this guy was the Knicks' best player three years ago. In 06-07 he averaged 19.5 points and 7.0 rebounds shooting .57% from the field. The "fat, injury prone" Curry appeared in 81 games that season. Bobcats C Tyson Chandler, who knows Curry from their days at Chicago is already looking forward to build a twin tower frontcourt. "If you ask me, this is exactly what we needed. A big guy who can score inside. I will watch his back on D and I'm sure we will improve on offense".
It might be a risky move, also because Curry has two years on his big contract, but it was the right one by Chris Hov. Curry will feel comfortable with guys like Hov, Chandler and Jackson around him. It also was the right time as the Bobcats are still looking to get into playoff contention.
Coach Hov is said to use one of his now three second rounders for german talented big man Tim Ohlbrecht.

Grade: B

The Knicks: New York might be the team with the biggest output from a trade that brought them nothing but more cap space on their hunt for King James.
Getting rid of Eddy Curry can be seen as the biggest achievement in this trade. Donnie Walsh must be patting himself on his back as he cleared about 10M$ of cap space and sent away the troublesome Curry without loosing more than a 2nd rounder for the 2010 draft.
Despite playing well this season Curry never fitted into D'Antoni's system as he simply cannot run up and down the floor. DeShawn Stevenson and Mike James could also help the team in the short run but won't have any chance for a contract extension after the season. Donnie Walsh once again did everything right. We will see what it brings when offseason comes.

Grade: A

The Wizards: So far not among the playoffs teams, the Washington Wizards were looking to strenghten themselves and especially their bench. Giving up "Souljah Boy" SG Stevenson and shoot-first PG James does not hurt this team in any way. Even without getting something in return they would be better without these guys. Receiving Boris Diaw is thus a really nice encore. As the Wizards lack of any real backup for Caron Butler (except you consider Dominic McGuire a backup), Diaw could see more minutes on the three than the four. But with Andray Blatche and Fabricio Oberto also receiving minutes at center, Diaw could also be used to back up Antawn Jamison. The frenchman is still one of the better passers at his position and will definitely help to set up shooters like Mike Miller, Randy Foye or Agent Zero himself. The Wizards want to make the Playoffs this year and as they are not planning for the future this was the right move for them. Still they have to hope for a more motivated Diaw as he sees his chance to play postseason basketball.

Grade: B


Thunder acquire Maynor


Oklahoma City Thunder Executive Vice President and General Manager Sam Presti announced today that the team has acquired guard Eric Maynor from the Utah Jazz in exchange for the draft rights to Peter Fehse. To consummate the transaction the Thunder also assumes the contract of forward Matt Harpring.