OKC - Five-peat! Final summary

[Phil89]

Thanks. I guess it helps that I don't have half of the Blazers team this time around too.

Trade is done. Carter remains at the Magic but he's not even rated as one of their best anyway so it shouldn't matter.

[Phil89]

23/1/11

Another big week of transactions



Just six weeks after we saw one of the biggest trade flurries in NBA history, Orlando have decided to shake things up.
In two separate deals involving Phoenix and Washington, they've brought in 4 new players to help with their championship push.

Washington receive

Rashard Lewis

Orlando receive

Gilbert Arenas

-----
Orlando traded forward Rashard Lewis to Washington for controversial former All-Star point guard Gilbert Arenas.
The Magic have been lacking a player that can create shots for himself or set up team mates this season.
Arena's close relationship with Magic GM Otis Smith is thought to have been a factor in the deal.

---------------

Orlando receive

Jason Richardson + Hedo Turkoglu + Earl Clark

Phoenix receive

Mickael Pietrus + Marcin Gortat
+
Magic's 2011 1st Round Draft Pick
-----
Orlando also brought in Jason Richardson and former player Hedo Turkoglu from Phoenix. Earl Clark also arrives as part of the deal.
In return the Suns get a solid big man in Gortat, the out of favour Pietrus and a first round draft pick.
The Suns needed more size with Robin Lopez as the only center currently on their playing roster.

---------------

New Jersey receive

Brandan Wright + Dan Gadzuric

Golden State receive

Troy Murphy
+
Nets' 2011 2nd Round Draft Pick
-----
The Nets have bolstered their roster with two backup big men in Gadzuric and Wright.
However, Golden State are expected to buyout Murphy's contract in the coming days.

---------------

Murphy and Warriors agree buyout, Signs with Celtics


-----
Just days after acquiring him from the Nets, Golden State has agreed a buyout with Troy Murphy.
The veteran forward announced the next day that he was signing with Boston.

---------------

Bibby signs with Heat after buyout with Wizards


-----
In a move that leaves them with only John Wall to play point guard, the Wizards agreed a buyout with Mike Bibby.
Bibby then signed a deal to join the superstars of the Miami Heat.

---------------

Bulls sign Butler after his buyout from Clippers


-----
Elsewhere this week, the Clippers agreed a buyout of Rasual Butler's contract.
Butler went on to sign with the struggling Chicago Bulls.

[Andrew]

Good stuff, if Carter recovers in time perhaps you could send him to Phoenix anyway but if not, no big deal.

[Phil89]

True. I can't really be too concerned with 100% accuracy given that this is the second season and not everyone is where they are in real life.

Also, I'm really happy that both Lopez and Horford grabbed over 10 rebounds in the second game in Houston.

[Phil89]

24/1/11

Oklahoma City Thunder [34-8] vs New Orleans Hornets [24-17]

Horford grabs triple-double as Thunder ease past Hornets



OKC - 30 36 31 26 123
NOH - 26 31 27 18 102

Player of the Game: Al Horford


OKC _______ NOH
51-89 - FGM/A - 46-96
3-10 - 3PTM/A - 8-24
18-22 - FTM/A - 2-2
37 - Rebounds - 32
37 - Assists - 32
9 - Blocks - 10
11 - Steals - 3
20 - Turnovers - 23
4 - Fouls - 11


Top Scorers
Kevin Durant - 38
Marcus Thornton - 32
Al Horford - 28
Brook Lopez - 24
Shannon Brown - 20
Chris Paul - 20
David West - 15
Trevor Ariza - 11
Emeka Okafor - 10

Assists
Russell Westbrook - 19
Chris Paul - 13
Al Horford - 10
Emeka Okafor - 5
Trevor Ariza - 5

Rebounds
Emeka Okafor - 13
Al Horford - 12
Brook Lopez - 11
Kevin Durant - 8
Jason Smith - 5
Marcus Thornton - 5

Video Highlights
Horford steals the ball off West and lays it in.

[Phil89]

25/1/11

Clippers and Jazz complete trade



Utah have continued their rebuild after losing Deron Williams to the Nets by bringing in Randy Foye from the Clippers.
In a relatively simple deal compared to recent events, the Clippers will receive guard CJ Miles in return.
The Jazz feel Foye will add experience to their roster. Both players have expiring contracts.

Los Angeles receive

CJ Miles - 23 years old - SG - 3.70m - 1 year (77)
16.4 PPG - 3.4 RPG - 2.6 APG

Utah receive

Randy Foye - 27 years old - SG - 4.25m - 1 year (83)
21.1 PPG - 4.6 RPG - 4.9 APG

[Phil89]

26/1/11

Oklahoma City Thunder [35-8] vs Memphis Grizzlies [18-24]

Durant and Lopez have massive games as Thunder win 10th straight



OKC - 26 26 34 34 120
MEM - 28 27 22 22 99

Player of the Game: Brook Lopez


OKC _______ MEM
50-87 - FGM/A - 42-102
5-18 - 3PTM/A - 6-18
15-18 - FTM/A - 9-15
44 - Rebounds - 33
31 - Assists - 26
12 - Blocks - 9
12 - Steals - 7
24 - Turnovers - 17
12 - Fouls - 11


Top Scorers
Kevin Durant - 39
OJ Mayo - 28
Brook Lopez - 24
James Harden - 21
Daequan Cook - 20
Rudy Gay - 15
Al Horford - 15
Andrei Kirilenko - 13
Russell Westbrook - 11
Shannon Brown - 10
Marc Gasol - 10

Assists
Russell Westbrook - 16
OJ Mayo - 10
Rudy Gay - 6
Al Horford - 6

Rebounds
Brook Lopez - 18
Al Horford - 15
Marc Gasol - 12
Darrell Arthur - 7
Rudy Gay - 5

Video Highlights
Lopez grabs the rebound then dunks over Gasol.

[Andrew]

You're really rolling right now. Bit of an odd deal there between the Jazz and Clippers, but comparable to the "let's swap expendable players and see how that works out" kind of deals that we do see happen in real life.

[Phil89]

I'm especially happy with how well Lopez and Horford have played in the last 3 games.

Lopez - 21.3 PPG - 13.6 RPG, Horford - 21.0 PPG - 12.6 RPG

[Phil89]

28/1/11

Oklahoma City Thunder [36-8] vs Detroit Pistons [19-18]

Brewer has his best game in a Thunder uniform against Pistons



OKC - 39 26 32 35 132
DET - 27 21 31 24 103

Player of the Game: Kevin Durant


OKC _______ DET
53-90 - FGM/A - 45-98
3-15 - 3PTM/A - 6-15
23-27 - FTM/A - 7-11
43 - Rebounds - 21
26 - Assists - 27
10 - Blocks - 5
13 - Steals - 3
14 - Turnovers - 21
8 - Fouls - 16


Top Scorers
Kevin Durant - 34
Charlie Villanueva - 23
Brook Lopez - 22
Corey Brewer - 20
Will Bynum - 20
Tracy McGrady - 14
Al Horford - 14
James Harden - 14
Russell Westbrook - 13
Shannon Brown - 11
Rodney Stuckey - 11

Assists
Russell Westbrook - 13
Will Bynum - 12
Tracy McGrady - 6
Al Horford - 5

Rebounds
Brook Lopez - 10
Al Horford - 10
Corey Brewer - 9
Jason Maxiell - 9
Russell Westbrook - 8
Charlie Villanueva - 5
Tracy McGrady - 5

Video Highlights
Durant blocks Hamilton, Harden keeps the ball in play and Westbrook does the rest.

-----
Durant's fifth straight 30+ game.

[Phil89]

31/1/11

Oklahoma City Thunder [37-8] vs New Jersey Nets [25-21]

Thunder grab thrilling overtime win in New Jersey to keep streak alive



OKC - 24 34 31 22 18 129
NJN - 30 31 20 30 16 127

Player of the Game: Deron Williams


OKC _______ NJN
51-99 - FGM/A - 52-115
4-13 - 3PTM/A - 7-18
23-26 - FTM/A - 16-23
47 - Rebounds - 40
26 - Assists - 30
8 - Blocks - 16
9 - Steals - 9
26 - Turnovers - 15
14 - Fouls - 15


Top Scorers
Kevin Durant - 45
Deron Williams - 37
Terrence Williams - 31
Jeff Green - 24
Al Horford - 20
James Harden - 17
Brook Lopez - 15
Russell Westbrook - 14
Shannon Brown - 14
Anthony Morrow - 12

Assists
Deron Williams - 19
Russell Westbrook - 10
Terrence Williams - 5
Al Horford - 4

Rebounds
Al Horford - 18
Brook Lopez - 15
Brandan Wright - 11
Jeff Green - 10
Terrence Williams - 6
Deron Williams - 5
Kevin Durant - 5

Video Highlights
Green suffers temporary memory loss and gives Durant an assist.

-----
Deron Williams had the chance to make a 3-point play and tie it at 126-126 with 17 seconds left in overtime. But he missed and Horford got the rebound.

[Phil89]

1/2/11

Conference Standings

Eastern Conference
1. MIA* | 37-11 | N/A | .771
2. ORL | 26-20 | 10.0 | .565
3. NYK* | 25-21 | 11.0 | .543
4. NJN | 26-22 | 11.0 | .542
5. TOR | 24-23 | 12.5 | .511
6. BOS | 22-21 | 12.5 | .512
7. CHA | 23-22 | 12.5 | .511
8. DET* | 21-19 | 12.0 | .525
----------------------------------------------
9. WAS | 22-23 | 13.5 | .489
10. CLE | 21-22 | 13.5 | .488
11. PHI | 22-24 | 14.0 | .478
12. ATL | 21-24 | 14.5 | .467
13. MIL | 20-25 | 15.5 | .444
14. IND | 18-24 | 16.0 | .429
15. CHI | 15-31 | 21.0 | .326


Western Conference
1. OKC* | 38-8 | N/A | .826
2. LAL* | 31-15 | 7.0 | .674
3. POR | 28-18 | 10.0 | .609
4. PHX | 27-19 | 11.0 | .587
5. SAC | 25-21 | 13.0 | .543
6. NOH* | 24-22 | 14.0 | .522
7. UTA | 24-23 | 14.5 | .511
8. DEN | 23-22| 14.5 | .511
----------------------------------------------
9. GSW | 19-24 | 17.5 | .442
10. MEM | 19-26 | 18.5 | .422
11. LAC | 20-27 | 18.5 | .426
12. DAL | 18-26 | 19.0 | .409
13. MIN | 16-28 | 21.0 | .364
14. SAS | 12-33 | 25.5 | .267
15. HOU | 12-35 | 26.5 | .255

* = Division Leader

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------


League Leaders

Points Per Game
1. Amare Stoudemire - NYK - 31.2
2. Kevin Durant - OKC - 28.4
3. Ben Gordon - DET - 27.4
4. Kobe Bryant - LAL - 27.2
5. Deron Williams - NJN - 26.7

Rebounds Per Game
1. Chris Bosh - MIA - 12.8
1. Joakim Noah - CHI - 12.8
3. Carl Landry - CHA - 12.6
4. Dwight Howard - ORL - 12.1
5. Andrew Bynum - LAL - 11.8

19. Brook Lopez - OKC - 10.7

Assists Per Game
1. Russell Westbrook - OKC - 13.2
2. Steve Nash - PHX - 9.9
3. DJ Augustin - CHA - 9.8
4. Jose Calderon - TOR - 9.6
5. Deron Williams - NJN - 9.5
5. Derrick Rose - CHI - 9.5

Steals Per Game
1. Kevin Durant - OKC - 2.7
2. Chris Paul - NOH - 2.1
2. Rajon Rondo - BOS - 2.1
4. Russell Westbrook - OKC - 2.0
4. Kobe Bryant - LAL - 2.0
4. Leandro Barbosa - CHA - 2.0
4. Michael Redd - MIL - 2.0

Blocks Per Game
1. Andrew Bynum - LAL - 3.0
1. Wayne Reid - DET - 3.0
3. Dwight Howard - ORL - 2.9
4. Al Horford - OKC - 2.8
5. Nene - DEN - 2.7


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Awards

Players of the Month
East
LeBron James - MIA
27.4 PPG - 7.5 RPG - 7.9 APG - 2.0 BPG - 2.0 SPG

West
Kevin Durant - OKC
34.7 PPG - 4.9 RPG - 1.5 APG - 1.3 BPG - 2.3 SPG

Rookies of the Month
East
Fredrik Price - IND
1.4 PPG - 3.8 RPG - 1.0 APG - 0.9 BPG - 0.5 SPG

West
Declan Giles - LAC
7.3* PPG - 3.5 RPG - 3.8 APG - 0.3 BPG - 0.9 SPG


MVP Candidates
Chris Bosh - 24.2 PPG - 12.8 RPG - 1.5 APG - 1.9 BPG - 1.5 SPG
Amare Stoudemire - 31.2 PPG - 11.6 RPG - 4.4 APG - 1.7 BPG - 0.9 SPG
LeBron James - 26.5 PPG - 6.8 RPG - 7.7 APG - 1.9 BPG - 1.8 SPG
Kevin Durant - 28.4 PPG - 4.4 RPG - 1.4 APG - 1.2 BPG - 2.7 SPG
Channing Frye - 26.5 PPG - 10.5 RPG - 2.7 APG - 1.7 BPG - 1.0 SPG


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Transactions

22/01/11 - ORL trades R.Lewis to WAS for G.Arenas
22/01/11 - ORL trades M.Gortat, M.Pietrus and 2011 1st Round Draft Pick to PHX for J.Richardson, H.Turkoglu and E.Clark.
22/01/11 - WAS releases M.Bibby.
22/01/11 - NJN trades T.Murphy and 2011 2nd Round Draft Pick to GSW for D.Gadzuric and B.Wright.
22/01/11 - LAC releases R.Butler.
22/01/11 - GSW releases T.Murphy.
23/01/11 - BOS sign T.Murphy.
23/01/11 - MIA sign M.Bibby.
23/01/11 - CHI sign R.Butler.
25/01/11 - LAC trades R.Foye to UTA for C.Miles.

[Phil89]

1/2/11

Thunder vs Heat preview



For so many reasons, this is the most anticipated game of the season so far.
It's the first time these two teams have faced each other since game 6 of the the NBA Finals last season.
Despite boasting 3 mega-stars in James, Wade and Bosh, Miami do not enter this game as clear favourites.
It's the young Thunder team, lead by Regular season and Finals MVP Kevin Durant, that has the bragging rights.
They took the step from being promising youngsters to NBA Champions during the playoffs last season.
Despite Miami levelling the series at 2-2 after two home wins, the Thunder took it to another level and won it in six.

Oklahoma City come into this game on a 12 game winning streak, whilst Miami have won their last 4.
Neither team has any injuries concerns and both have their full roster available for this game.


Records
Oklahoma City - 38-8
Miami - 37 11


Seasons Series
This is the first of two meetings between last year's NBA finalists.

-----

Key Player Stats

Oklahoma City
Brook Lopez - 15.4 PPG, 10.7 RPG, 1.8 APG
Al Horford - 16.9 PPG, 9.0 RPG, 3.9 APG
Kevin Durant - 28.4 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 1.4 APG
James Harden - 16.6 PPG, 2.7 RPG, 1.4 APG
Russell Westbrook - 8.5 PPG, 2.7 RPG, 13.2 APG

Miami
Udonis Haslem - 7.1 PPG, 9.2 RPG, 0.4 APG
Chris Bosh - 24.2 PPG, 12.8 RPG, 1.5 APG
LeBron James - 26.5 PPG, 6.8 RPG, 7.7 APG
Mike Miller - 13.8 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 1.9 APG
Dwyane Wade - 22.7 PPG, 2.9 RPG, 4.4 APG


-----

Squads

Oklahoma City
Brook Lopez - Al Horford - Kevin Durant - James Harden - Russell Westbrook


Shannon Brown - Corey Brewer - Wesley Matthews - Serge Ibaka - Hasheem Thabeet - Sonny Weems - Ronald Murray


Rocco Roe - Byron Mullens



-----


Miami
Udonis Haslem - Chris Bosh - LeBron James - Mike Miller - Dwyane Wade



Mario Chalmers - Mike Bibby - Roger Mason - Travis Outlaw - Marquis Daniels - Zydrunas Ilgauskas - DeShawn Stevenson



Acie Law - Stephen Henry - Shavlik Randolph

[Andrew]

Momentum is definitely on your side. Amar'e still got a comfortable lead in the scoring race but with the numbers you're putting up with Durant, you might catch him yet. He might need to go off for a few 50 point games in the near future.

[Phil89]

2/2/11

Oklahoma City Thunder [38-8] vs Miami Heat [37-11]

Durant has monster night as Thunder win second straight overtime game



OKC - 33 21 30 35 19 138
MIA - 28 30 31 30 14 133

Player of the Game: Dwyane Wade


OKC _______ MIA
52-92 - FGM/A - 57-112
2-7 - 3PTM/A - 6-16
32-38 - FTM/A - 13-16
29 - Rebounds - 33
23 - Assists - 32
14 - Blocks - 13
15 - Steals - 10
29 - Turnovers - 29
10 - Fouls - 22


Top Scorers
Kevin Durant - 49
LeBron James - 31
Dwyane Wade - 31
Brook Lopez - 24
Chris Bosh - 22
Mike Miller - 21
Russell Westbrook - 18
Al Horford - 16
Travis Outlaw - 16
Shannon Brown - 15
James Harden - 12

Assists
Dwyane Wade - 15
Russell Westbrook - 9
Mike Miller - 7
LeBron James - 5

Rebounds
Chris Bosh - 15
Brook Lopez - 10
Al Horford - 8
Udonis Haslem - 6
Kevin Durant - 5

Video Highlights
Harden spins through several Heat defenders and finishes nicely.

-----
Bosh picked up his fifth foul midway through the third quarter.
He probably would have had a 30-20 game if it wasn't for the foul trouble.

[Phil89]

3/2/11

Grizzlies and Cavs agree deal



Memphis have today taken another step to open up cap room for next off-season by trading Cole Aldrich to Cleveland.
Cleveland are happy to add another young player with potential in Aldrich and Memphis get Ryan Hollins' expiring contract.
The Grizzlies hope to re-sign OJ Mayo. They could have as much as $20m to spend on support for Mayo, Rudy Gay and Marc Gasol.

Memphis receive

Ryan Hollins - 26 years old - C - 2.48m - 1 year (67)
1.7 PPG - 4.3 RPG - 0.2 APG

Cleveland receive

Cole Aldrich - 22 years old - C - 9.62m - 4 year (66)
0.0 PPG - 0.0 RPG - 0.0 APG

[Andrew]

A minor but pretty realistic cost cutting deal there.

Great win in a game that would seem to have lived up to the hype. Durant's on a tear, I reckon you might just get the scoring title with him yet. Solid games from your bigs, too.

[Phil89]

By implementing those real life trades, I've seemingly stimulating the AI's appetite for making their own deals.
Hoping for some more in the week or two before the deadline. Always adds to the 'story' of my dynasty.

I've had to cut down on some bench rotations to give Durant a shot at the scoring title. Certainly wasn't aiming for 49 points though.

Edit: I've added more to the first post.

[Phil89]

5/2/11

Oklahoma City Thunder [39-8] vs Dallas Mavericks [19-27]

Under-strength Mavs no match for streaking Thunder



OKC - 32 21 31 34 118
DAL - 21 27 20 26 94

Player of the Game: Kevin Durant

OKC _______ DAL
48-91 - FGM/A - 38-85
4-11 - 3PTM/A - 3-15
18-21 - FTM/A - 15-19
35 - Rebounds - 34
28 - Assists - 19
11 - Blocks - 11
19 - Steals - 3
14 - Turnovers - 24
15 - Fouls - 11


Top Scorers
Kevin Durant - 39
Dirk Nowitzki - 32
Brook Lopez - 24
James Harden - 15
Russell Westbrook - 15
Rodrigue Beaubois - 14
Craig Smith - 11
Jason Terry - 11
Shannon Brown - 11

Assists
Russell Westbrook - 15
Al Horford - 7
Rodrigue Beaubois - 5

Rebounds
Al Horford - 12
Dirk Nowitzki - 10
Brendan Haywood - 8
Brook Lopez - 8
Kevin Durant - 8
Tyson Chandler - 7

Video Highlights
Brewer dunks on Haywood.

[Andrew]

Par for the course at this point.

[Phil89]

6/2/11

All-Star selections announced



The rosters for the all-star game have been announced today and both conference leaders lead the way with 3 selections each.
The Lakers, Magic and Knicks are the only other teams with multiple selections.
Bosh, Johnson, Nelson, Howard, Durant, Bryant, Williams and Roy are all making their second successive all-star appearances.
Interestingly, both Horford and Williams are in the unique situation of having been selected as starters for both conferences in the last two seasons.

There were several unlucky players for both sides that narrowly missed out on selection.
For the east: Derrick Rose, Danny Granger, Joakim Noah, Carlos Boozer, Paul Pierce, Rajon Rondo and Andre Iguodala.
And the west: Monta Ellis, Blake Griffin, Steve Nash, Tony Parker, Tim Duncan, Yao Ming, Dirk Nowitzki and Kevin Martin.

[Phil89]

7/2/11

Oklahoma City Thunder [40-8] vs New Orleans Hornets [25-22]

Thunder equal winning streak record with 15th in a row



OKC - 36 24 34 30 124
NOH - 21 30 24 31 106

Player of the Game: Russell Westbrook


OKC _______ NOH
54-96 - FGM/A - 46-98
4-14 - 3PTM/A - 5-18
12-13 - FTM/A - 9-13
36 - Rebounds - 35
37 - Assists - 27
14 - Blocks - 9
11 - Steals - 6
14 - Turnovers - 19
9 - Fouls - 8


Top Scorers
Kevin Durant - 31
Chris Paul - 26
Marcus Thornton - 24
Brook Lopez - 24
Trevor Ariza - 20
Emeka Okafor - 19
Shannon Brown - 18
Al Horford - 17
James Harden - 17
David West - 14
Russell Westbrook - 11

Assists
Russell Westbrook - 20
Chris Paul - 14
Trevor Ariza - 9
Al Horford - 5

Rebounds
Al Horford - 11
Emeka Okafor - 10
Brook Lopez - 9
David West - 8

Video Highlights
Durant finishes with a nice lay-up.


Ibaka denies Okafor at the rim.

[Andrew]

Nice to see you well-represented at the All-Star Game. A shame Westbrook didn't get the nod though.

[Phil89]

Yeah, I was a little disappointed that he didn't get selected. 3 players is more than enough though.

Even though he's about 5 APG above Paul, Evans and Felton, his scoring is down by like 10-15 PPG. Probably why he was overlooked.

[Phil89]

9/2/11

Oklahoma City Thunder [41-8] vs San Antonio Spurs [15-34]

Westbrook shines as Thunder set new unbeaten record



OKC - 38 25 40 29 132
SAS - 18 42 26 28 114

Player of the Game: Russell Westbrook


OKC _______ SAS
56-98 - FGM/A - 48-102
5-14 - 3PTM/A - 5-16
15-16 - FTM/A - 13-18
40 - Rebounds - 34
25 - Assists - 23
15 - Blocks - 10
17 - Steals - 10
19 - Turnovers - 20
12 - Fouls - 10


Top Scorers
Kevin Durant - 45
Richard Jefferson - 28
Tony Parker - 28
Russell Westbrook - 22
Al Horford - 18
Brook Lopez - 15
Manu Ginobili - 14
Tim Duncan - 13
DeJuan Blair - 10
James Harden - 10
Shannon Brown - 10

Assists
Russell Westbrook - 12
Tony Parker - 12
Al Horford - 5

Rebounds
Brook Lopez - 10
Al Horford - 9
Tim Duncan - 9
DeJuan Blair - 7
Richard Jefferson - 6
Kevin Durant - 5
Russell Westbrook - 5
Hasheem Thabeet - 5

Video Highlights
Westbrook dunks over Jefferson.


Horford shows his agility with a nice spin move in the paint.


Thabeet denies Singleton.

-----
Westbrook had his best game of the season with 22 points, 12 assists, 5 rebounds, 3 steals, 3 blocks and only 1 turnover.