[46-36]History in the Making ※ Playoffs Preview!

[Justine.]

Glad LA won. And oh, it's a sweeeeeeppppppppp

[kibaxx7]

I knew the Heat wouldn't win here.

[hova-]

Wow, Lakers make it once again, just like in my D. Actually I think the recap was a bit lopsided as you bashed LBJ in the first paragraph like hell

[Martti.]

Simulated until it was a sweep?`

[Valor]

CP3 takes down the Big D. Lakers sweep Heat . They blasted them out in Game 1 & that just left em' dazed & confused.

Yup, that Game 1 wipeout pretty much sealed the deal

HAHAHAHA! Well, guess LeBron still has no Jordan in his DNA
Well, its just 2K, you never know in real life, but yeah... Great Win for LA, 6 Rings

LeBron choked IRL and here!

Glad LA won. And oh, it's a sweeeeeeppppppppp

They got them brooms out!!

I knew the Heat wouldn't win here.

Simulated until it was a sweep?`

Should've guessed these were coming; and nope. It was one, straight sim If I was gonna rig it I would make it LA in 7 and make it less obvious

Wow, Lakers make it once again, just like in my D. Actually I think the recap was a bit lopsided as you bashed LBJ in the first paragraph like hell

I totally failed at being objective didn't I? Might as well bash him a bit seeing as they got swept,

[Martti.]

You have every right to bash that stat-whore.

[Valor]

You have every right to bash that stat-whore.

Cheers for the support and word of approval Martti!

[George7]

Great outcome! Not so far from my prediction

[Valor]

Great outcome! Not so far from my prediction

Ah yes, I believe you have the closest prediction. Well done

[Valor]

2010/11 New Zealand Panthers: Inaugural Season in Review
June 15th, 2011


Head Coach Pero Cameron's future remains to be decided

Record: 30-52
Seed: 14th in West
Playoff Result: Did not make playoffs

Before the 2010-11 NBA Season began, no one was sure how the newly founded New Zealand Panthers would do in their inaugural season as the expansion team that is replacing the defunct Memphis Grizzlies.

Or shall it be put that, no one believed they could compete in the NBA.

They certainly turned a few heads around.

Despite not making the playoffs in their inagural season, the New Zealand Panthers made great strides as a first-year franchise, racking up 30 wins after bouncing back from a 1-7 start, which included an eight game winning streak heading into All-Star Weekend.

In the process, the Panthers acquired veteran defensive specialist Shane Battier and established him as the team leader, and saw tremendous growth in their two 7 footers Yi Jianlian and Darko Milicic. Sophomore guard Marcus Thornton continued the solid play from his rookie season despite the change in scenary and hometown product Kirk Penney proved to be a pleasant surprise.

With this in mind, the Panthers will head off into a presumably very busy off-season, in which a lot of decisions must be made.

The Panthers nearly have half their roster coming off the books and heading into free agency. Aside from the lottery pick that they own in the draft, they will have to decide whether or not to pick up the team option on Kirk Penney's remaining two seasons with the team; and more importantly, whether or not they will/can resign their leading scorer Yi Jianlian.

If that isn't enough for their front office to deal with, head coach Pero Cameron's future will also be decided.

As a first year head coach, Cameron did a reasonable job with limited resources. However, his inexperience as a NBA head coach is evident througout the season, and especially magnified during late-game situations.

In addition, the Panthers have quite a few areas of concern on both sides of the floor that they need to address, and it is not certain whether Cameron is the man that has the ability to address these issues.

The Panthers scored just 92.0 points per game during the season, ranked 27th in the league, and was 29th in field goal percentage as a team at a mere clip of 0.404. In addition, because they really only had a post presence and one player that can create off the dribble, New Zealand's offense revolved around 1 on 1 plays from Marcus Thornton and Yi Jianlian. As a result, the Panthers ranked second last (29th) in assists at a miserable 15.0 assist per game, compared to a league-worst 16.4 turnovers per contest.

The other side of the court wasn't all that impressive either, as the Panthers gave up 99.6 points per contest (25th) and was only a middle-class rebounding team with 45.3 per game (12th). The Panthers clearly need a new offensive system and a better defensive scheme introduced and Cameron probably doesn't have what it takes to do so.

Owner and General Manager Leo Lai, along with the rest of his front-office staff will certainly have their hands full in this off-season.


2010/11 New Zealand Panthers Player Season Statistics

- Bold Indicates Team Leader

[µTorrent]

DARKOOOO!!!
Your bigmen are pretty much contributing well, but i don't see much from the guards though.
Eddy sure has been eating alot

[Martti.]

You don't want to foul B-Scal, he's AUTOMATIC from the stripe.

[kibaxx7]

30 wins for an expansion team is pretty good.

[Valor]

DARKOOOO!!!
Your bigmen are pretty much contributing well, but i don't see much from the guards though.
Eddy sure has been eating alot

Darko's been awesome, and yeah aside from Marcus Thornton no one really stands out
Eddy Curry gets paid 11+ million dollars to eat, damn he has a great job

You don't want to foul B-Scal, he's AUTOMATIC from the stripe.

Haha yeah I believe he only took like 3 or 4 free throws in the season. He doesn't need to play for his team to win!

30 wins for an expansion team is pretty good.

Definitely, but I do hope to make the playoffs next season though

[µTorrent]

Valor, Curry deserves a free VIP ticket to the biggest loser

[Valor]

2011 Off-Season: Retirements

Shaqtacular ride ends after 19 years

Orlando, FL -- 4 Rings, 3 Finals MVPs, 1 NBA MVP, 3 All-Star Game MVPs, 15 All-Star Selections, 28736 points, 1244 games, 19 seasons.

Most Dominant Ever.

Shaquille O'Neal (39), has decided to at last part ways with his Hall of Fame basketball career after his 19th season in the league, ending one of the most colorful careers in NBA history.

"I'm going to miss the competition. I'm going to miss, you know, the chase for the ring. You know, I'm actually going to miss everything," O'Neal said on "SportsCenter" on Wednesday.

He added: "Father Time has caught up with Shaquille O'Neal."

Shaq revealed his retirement earlier Wednesday using the new social media tool Tout, a real-time video messaging service, to announce to fans: "We did it. Nineteen years baby. I want to thank you very much, that's why I'm telling you first, I'm about to retire. Love you, talk to you soon."

Drafted 1st overall in the 1992 NBA Draft by the Orlando Magic, O'Neal took the league by storm. A big man who could run the floor, who moved with speed, he was at his athletic best. His rookie season he averaged 24-14 with 3.5 blocks per game. It was like nothing anyone had seen before.

"He's a giant," commissioner David Stern said Wednesday at the NBA Finals in Miami. "He's physically imposing; he has an imposing smile. In the game, he imposed his will, and he has done it for quite a long time. It's been a great run here, and we're going to miss him greatly. We hope we can find ways to keep him involved in the game."

Stern added later in a statement: "On behalf of the NBA, its teams, and his millions of fans around the world, I want to thank Shaq for everything he has meant to the league and to the sport of basketball, both on and off the court. We wish him and his family all the best."

O'Neal's 28,736 points is 5th on the NBA's All-Time scoring list, while he is 12th on the All-Time rebounding list with 13310 boards, he is also second only to Artis Gilmore among players with more than 2,000 baskets with a .582 field goal percentage.

Over the course of his 19 seasons in the league, O'Neal played for a total of six NBA teams - Orlando Magic, Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat, Phoenix Suns, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Boston Celtics; and at each stop, he endeared himself to the fans and his new teammates with his effervescent smile and playful attitude, including the habit of adopting a new nickname he felt embodied his role with his new team. In Phoenix he was the "Big Shaqtus"; in Boston, the "Big Shamrock."

Ironically, O'Neal's final season was spent with the Boston Celtics, the arch-rival of the Lakers with whom he spent the best years of his career, and won three championships in. That didn't stop him from signing, in pursuit of his fifth championship. However, although the Celtics did pretty well - winning 54 games in the regular season and entering the playoffs as the East's second seed. They ultimately were knocked off in the second round by the eventual Eastern Conference Champions Miami Heat and their "new big three", and thus, the elusive fifth title escaped from Shaq's enormous grasp once again.

O'Neal will be remembered as one of the most dominant, recognizable and controversial figures in the game, whose body of work included rap records, movies, a lengthy business portfolio and an even lengthier history of philanthropic deeds.

Aside from Shaq, there are also 8 other players, and two coaches, entering retirement, including O'Neal's former coach Phil Jackson, who led him and Kobe Bryant to three championships; as well as former teammate on the Lakers Derek Fisher, who is also the president of the players association.

Fisher said that he will help the players in completing the collective bargaining agreement before handing over the reigns to a successor in the association.

Below is a complete list of all retirees of this season.


2011 Retirees

Players
Kurt Thomas, Chicago (16 seasons)
Shaquille O'Neal, Boston (19 seasons)
Anthony Carter, New Zealand (12 seasons)
Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Miami (14 seasons)
Juwan Howard, Miami (17 seasons)
Derek Fisher, LA Lakers (15 seasons)
Theo Ratliff, LA Lakers (16 seasons)
Ben Wallace, Detroit (15 seasons)
Grant Hill, Phoenix (17 seasons)

Coach
Jerry Sloan, Utah (27 seasons)
Phil Jackson, LA Lakers (20 seasons)

[Valor]

Valor, Curry deserves a free VIP ticket to the biggest loser

Indeed he does At least he can actually do something in my virtual world, he's literally useless IRL

[Cruzerr]

Keen to see what signings to you get in the off-season.

[Martti.]

"I'm going to miss the competition. I'm going to miss, you know, the chase for the ring. You know, I'm actually going to miss everything," O'Neal said on "SportsCenter" on Wednesday.

Hahaa, he actually added "And most of all, I'm going to miss the free throws".

[homicide1550]

"I'm going to miss the competition. I'm going to miss, you know, the chase for the ring. You know, I'm actually going to miss everything," O'Neal said on "SportsCenter" on Wednesday.

Hahaa, he actually added "And most of all, I'm going to miss the free throws".

Yup, I watched that too.. Shaq is really funny... I hope he joins Chuck and the gang at TNT...

[Bucket]

Shaq retired without 5th ring.

[Valor]

Keen to see what signings to you get in the off-season.

Gonna be recapping off-season bit by bit as I play through it (time constraints), all coming soon!!

Hahaa, he actually added "And most of all, I'm going to miss the free throws".

Ahh yes, slipped my mind

Yup, I watched that too.. Shaq is really funny... I hope he joins Chuck and the gang at TNT...

Yeah me too, TNT will be even more fun if Shaq decides to join the crew!!

Shaq retired without 5th ring.

Really sucks, he really should've had like 5 or 6...oh well

[µTorrent]

Shaq said, his not in competition for Kobe's ring rather than Tim Duncan's rings.
He failed to achieve that one though. Grant Hill retires! Well its not hard to see why he'll retire.

[Valor]

Cleveland Cavaliers win Draft lottery
By Official release
Posted May 17 2011 8:16PM

NEW YORK -- Following are the results from the 2011 NBA Draft Lottery, which was conducted this evening at NBA Entertainment's studio in Secaucus, N.J.

The first overall selection, which had a 19.9 percent chance of winning the NBA Draft Lottery, goes to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2011 NBA Draft, which will be held in Newark, N.J. at Prudential Center on Thursday, June 23, 2011.

[Valor]

Shaq said, his not in competition for Kobe's ring rather than Tim Duncan's rings.
He failed to achieve that one though. Grant Hill retires! Well its not hard to see why he'll retire.

How so? Timmy D has 4 and Shaq has 4 but yeah sucks that Hill retired as well! He's actually playing really good IRL man