Ballout: New Vegas (6-5 Knicks/Raptors)

[Oznogrd]

So here I am with yet another gimmick association story. I havent begun it yet but my idea is to copy a team to a created team (still halfway deciding but im certainly leaning towards a team in particular). I'm going to move them to Vegas and of course bring back those lovable scamps from my speed story: Gonzo and Duke. So here's the scoop: I spent about 2-3 hours yesterday going through and with the help of nba.com and basketball-reference updating my rosters that i managed to download right before 2k took down the servers for 2k9. There are a few inaccuracies but for the most part, the players are on the right teams. The only player I edited was Blake Griffin but i probably made him too good as he's rated a 95 currently.

Game: NBA2k9 on Xbox 360
Rosters: Explained Above
Quarters: 8 minute played, 12 minute simmed
Difficulty: All Star
Logo: "Vipers"
AutoSave: Off
Season Length: 29 games
Chemistry: On
Roles: On
Progressive Fatigue: On
Trade Deadline: On
Trade Override: Off
Allow CPU Trades: On
Preseason Games: Off
Injuries: On
Edit Prospects: Off
Fantasy Draft: Off

Playoffs: 3-5-5-5

In an attempt to cause hype (for the few of that actually enjoyed my speed story), I may delay the start of this a few days and let speculation occur.

No promises of how long this lasts, i may thierry/hiatus it dependent on my amount of schoolwork, but as of now: this will happen.

[Oznogrd]

Mysterious Superbowl Spot Announced as GM/Coach Cause Ruckus

During the sure to be brutal Packers-Steelers game Sunday night, a commercial slot will be causing a stir. The spot has been bought by a completely anonymous group who simply said the only thing they wanted told in advance of the commercial was "It'll be big news for any basketball fans."

Commissioner David Stern swore loudly when a reporter delivered the rumor during a press conference. The Keep-it-Clean Commish quickly apologized and immediately beads of sweat began to form on his head (highly visible on HD, gotta love that technology). There was only one GM/Coach tandem that would be this mysterious and not clear things with him first. The other team ownerships also loved them. Sure they brought alot of money in with their antics, but they were a PR nightmare. Visibly shaken, Stern sputtered through the rest of his press conference. As the last question loomed a reporter wearing a poker visor, aviator sunglasses and an acapulco shirt smirked. Stern had made the mistake of even letting him in the room. Taking a sip of his Singapore Sling he had snuck in from the bar across the street, Raoul Duke stood and said "Commissioner Stern, Good to see you again. Sorry that thing in St. Louis didn't work out. But hey...we're back." With that a large samoan man burst through the back of the room wearing a Sarah Palin Mask.

"We're right at the central nerve man! We've found the American Dream!! It's in Vegas! Hey I can see Russia from here"

Stern rolled his eyes as the pair left the room (with middle fingers raised and screaming obscenities for good measure) wondering just what in the hell they had come up with this time.

[Oznogrd]

Mystery Ad leaks to the web as Gonzo and Duke announce their plans

We reported yesterday that there was a mystery tv spot coming on during the Super Bowl in which former St. Louis Speed coach and GM Raoul Duke and Dr Gonzo had funded and were announcing their plans to return to the NBA. They had mild success in St. Louis where they took a team that began as free agents to the playoffs twice, even turning no names into stars (Stromile Swift in particular). After their carousing at an official NBA press conference with Commissioner Stern, the rumors have been swirling. "They're creating a new league to take down the NBA," "They're doing another team like the Speed," "This is all a conspiracy from Stern to take attention off of the referees." etc. Well the Spot leaked to the net today and we now know what the plans are.

The ad begins with a black screen and Duke's unmistakable voice comes through the speakers

"We have two bags of grass, seventy-five pellets of mescaline, five sheets of high-powered blotter acid, a saltshaker half-full of cocaine, and a whole galaxy of multi-colored uppers, downers, screamers, laughers... Also, a quart of tequila, a quart of rum, a case of beer, a pint of raw ether, and two dozen amyls. Not that we need all that for this trip, but once you start a serious drug collection, the tendency is to push it as far as you can."

The black screen then cuts to the Las Vegas skyline. The camera zooms to an abandoned "Wet N Wild" waterpark. Timelapse photography shows the park being torn down piece by piece and a coliseum being built from the ground up in its stead. Text appears beside "The brand new SILVER STATE ARENA"

"We told you we had a contract, and its time to announce who our contract was with."

No words are said as a saxophone and trumpet begin to play. A slideshow of old school Jazz musicians are shown. Miles Davis, Cole Porter, Louis Armstrong.

Finally, the Utah Jazz logo appears, morphing into a new team logo, surround by the words "Las Vegas Show"

The ad simply ends with Duke and Gonzo laughing over text "Is your body ready for this trip?"

[Oznogrd]

Breaking Down the Ja- Show Roster

It's that time of year again folks. Before the season starts Coach Duke (Gonzo is out of town) is going to look at the team position by position and see where they stand and what hopes they have.

Overall
Duke: Gonzo and I decided to strike a deal with the Jazz as legend Jerry Sloan eyed retirement. He built a solid team with room for improvement. It's young in spots but has enough veteran leaderships so we don't get in fights over Boo-Ray..Is that what it's called? I'd like our cap situation to be a bit better, but what can ya do? We've got some great talent here. I think we can sneak into playoffs and maybe even surprise some people.

Point Guards

Deron Williams
Duke: I've loved this guy ever since he went to Illinois. Dee Brown was flashier, but Deron was the real talent on that team. With a few years under his belt in the NBA, he just appears to get better every year. He pretty much does everything and is an odd hybrid of strength, speed, and passing at PG. Love this guy. However, Our success is going to directly correlate to how well Deron can do with building his chemistry with Al Jefferson instead of Carlos who left for Chicago.

Ronnie Price
Duke: This guy has been in the league for a few years and hasnt really amounted to much despite his athleticism. He's a good defender and has a nice little jumper so we're basically just going to use him for depth. May not get alot of minutes

Earl Watson
Duke: He played college ball with B-Diddy at UCLA but we don't hold that against him. Alot like Ronnie, he's got some great athleticism and his outside game and perimeter D are decent. His handles are slightly better than Ronnies though so we're going to give him the backup slot to Deron

Shooting Guards

Raja Bell
Duke: One of the few guys to be labeled a "kobe stopper" in the league, we like Raja. We're glad to have him back after some time in phoenix and we like his ability to defend and occasionally score. Our plan isn't to run through the offense through him so it's alright if his game is lacking a little there.

CJ Miles
Duke: What were we all smoking when we drafted all those high schoolers? Only a few of em really "made" it. Ah well. CJ's got an ok midrange game but thats about all i can really say about him. He'll spell Raja in a pinch but odds are he wont get a ton of time

Small Forwards

Andrei Kirilenko
Duke: Well, he's been here from Russia forever and we love his defense. How many guys can you think of in the league who can do the post and perimeter? Not many. He was a top 10 guy in the league for a bit there but now he's sorta overlooked in the star talks. HIs scoring is way down, but thats alright, he's still got the IQ and D to be our starting SF.

Gordon Hayward
Duke: Come on, who wasn't pulling for them last year to take down Coach K and Duke? I lost a bundle of money on that game and this kid is raw. But he's definitely got some upside to him. His shot is godly. If he develops right, He could be our Steve Kerr figure. Can't wait to see how this kid does. He's slightly a liability on D but we'll work on that to try to get him up to speed.

Jeremy Evans
Duke: This kid doesnt have alot going for him, we'll probably put him in at garbage time and he can score alot quick if left alone. But that's it. You won't see him much.

Power Forwards

Al Jefferson
Duke: I loved this guy in Boston (the one part of the KG trade who didnt deserve to move), I loved this guy and felt for him in Minny. And now he's here. So stoked. He plays D, He scores, and he rebounds. Ye gods man!

Paul Millsap
Duke: Ok so sure he's a little small for a PF but he's a beast! He rebounds, he plays D, and is capable of scoring like mad on occasion. We love this guy. Best part is? He's young.

Centers

Mehmet Okur
Duke: Probably the best shooting big man behind Dirk, Okur's a quality guy. Any 6'11 guy who can decide to score whenever he feels like it is an asset. His defense leaves ALOT to be desired though. Hopefully we can get his scoring back up as its been going down lately

Francisco Elson
Duke: He's pretty much here in case of foul trouble Not that many years pro for how old he is. Ah well, thats how it goes. Probably won't see a ton out of him with MIllsap, Okur, Jefferson splitting the big man minutes

Kyrylo Fesenko
Duke: Another "insurance" guy. He's tall...but thats about it. I mean good god man, being that big you should at least be able to lay it in. He's young though so he may improve.

There it is folks: the roster breakdown. Who's ready for the season?

[Houndy]

Sounds good, I'm expecting the team to be drunk

[Bucket]

Good luck, and Blake 95?

[Oznogrd]

Good luck, and Blake 95?

Yeah i jacked up his strength, rebounding, dunking etc. By the time i was done: 95...its alright, he'd be there in a year or two anyway

[Mandich]

I think 95 is a little bit too high. Somewhere in the high 80's is where he should be, lol at the 2-3 hours you spend updating , I could never do that

[rise]

Good luck Oz. Griffin at 95? What are LeBron's and Kobe's ratings?

[Mandich]

99 in NBA 2k9

[shadowgrin]

It's 2K9. Blake's overall should be around 90-95 with the numbers he's producing.

[rise]

Are the ratings similar to Live 2003? (50-99 scale?) because I've got him at 88 in my rosters and he's putting up 18/13.

[Oznogrd]

Yeah the guy i downloaded from must not have liked blake much. HIs ratings were barely above 80 in any category and was like a 77 overall with 50 potential. I called bullshit. Any guesses on what team I picked?

And as far as i know its a 50-99 scale but i could be wrong.

The updating was easier than spending money i dont have for 2k11...

[Lamrock]

You should rename this "Ballout: New Vegas"

[dare]

Good luck with this, love your Speed association hope this will just as good.

[Oznogrd]

You should rename this "Ballout: New Vegas"

Lol perhaps I will.

I'll do my best to make it match the Speed's quality. Not that that's saying much

At least this time i didnt steal the idea from Jae

[kibaxx7]

Loved the title by buzzy

Good luck man, hope you don't Thierry it, I enjoyed the Speed thread.

[Axel The Great]

Looking forward to this. Never really imagined Oz as an association writer, though.

[Oznogrd]

Thierry, by buzzy you mean lamrock?

Axel: I've done one and only one, the St. Louis Speed. But with outdated rosters and a lack of time I got bored with my gimmick and gave up after three seasons and a brutal playoff loss. The thread's still up here somewhere and its only an 8 pager. Its nothing near as epic as what most people in this section do. I just try to have fun with it, make it amusing for you guys to read etc.

Roster Writeup and "announcement"/preseason stuff probably coming late tomorrow afternoon
I've already played my first game but the write up probably wont come till after the Superbowl this weekend: gonna be busy with friends/girlfriend

[kibaxx7]

Thierry, by buzzy you mean lamrock?

My bad, saw buzzy's Blake sig and thought it was him

[Pistol]

Lamrock is a fucking genius.

[hova-]

Good luck, I enjoyed your Speed story with Rubio putting up 20 apg

[CHUCK]

Good luck. I will be following.

[Oznogrd]

Gonzo and duke return in the article above..There's going to be one more article that announces the team/what occurs during the commercial spot and then a token roster/breakdown of the season.

Also the talons unis are fucking hideous, may be changing that part.

[Oznogrd]

Bumpage for the announcement of my team.