Sixers [33-15] - Exum leads Sixers to solid win against Nuggets

So here we go. I've decided to go down the rebuild path once again, this time with the woeful Philadelphia 76ers.

I was tempted to go again with the Wizards or Thunder. But I really enjoy building teams myself and this 76ers team is as much of a blank slate as the Thunder were back in 2010 in my original Live 10 dynasty. A young core of MCW/Noel/Embiid isn't quite Durant/Westbrook/Harden/Ibaka, but it's a solid foundation to build on.

This time around I'm going to avoid trading for any superstars or signing them in free agency. I'd prefer to go for the underrated guys and help them fulfil their potential.

I don't have the patience to tank for several seasons like the real life Sixers. My aim is to be terrible for only the first season to get another lottery pick. Hopefully I can strengthen my roster during the first off-season and fight for that 8th seed from the second season onwards.

For the first season I plan on playing every fourth game (play 1, sim 3) and then from the second season I will be playing every second game (play 1, sim 1). I feel like this will help keep me interested because playing 82 games a season is quite tiring and time consuming.

I'll also be playing on all-star difficulty whilst I get used to the game.

Settings

Game: NBA 2K15
Console: PS3
Qtr Length: 8 Min
Sim Length: 12 Min
Season Length: 82 games
Play-Offs: 7-7-7-7
Difficulty: Pro
Sliders: Default
Rosters: Latest 2k15 rosters
Rookies: 2015 real

Last edited by Phil89 on Fri Sep 25, 2015 6:26 pm, edited 65 times in total.

Archives

Season Records

Year	Regular Season	Playoffs	Final Result
2014-15	31-51	DNQ	14th in Eastern Conference
2015-16	33-15	N/A	N/A

Team Achievements
-

Player Achievements

Rookie of the Month
Joel Embiid - December 2014
Joel Embiid - February 2015

Rising Stars Game MVP
Joel Embiid - 2015

All-Rookie First Team
Joel Embiid - 2014-15
Nerlens Noel - 2014-15

Articles
20/10/14 - Sixers prepared to get worse before they get better
24/11/14 - Sixers' rookie big men determined to prove doubters wrong
16/4/15 - Sixers' 2014-15 Season Review
15/6/15 - 2015 Retirements

1/10/15 - 2015 Sixers Off-Season Review
4/11/15 - Early Season Transactions & Injuries

Transactions

Season 1
28/10/14 - Sixers make several roster changes
14/11/14 - Sixers acquire another first round pick
26/12/14 - Sixers sign Allen and Lewis

Season 2
15/12/15 - Sixers sign Andrew Bynum for two seasons
18/12/15 - Sixers send MCW & Noel to Utah for Exum & Kanter

League Transactions

Season 1
25/1/15 - Nets trade Lopez to Timberwolves
2/2/15 - Three-team trade sends Rondo to New York

All-Star Events

Season 1
2015 Rising Stars Game
2015 Three Point & Dunk Contests
2015 All-Star Game

Drafts
2015 Mock Draft 1.0
2015 Mock Draft 2.0

2015 Draft Lottery
2015 NBA Draft

Free Agency
2015 Free Agency Summary

Monthly Summaries

Season 1
November 2014
December 2014
January 2015
February 2015
March 2015
2014-15 Season Review

Season 2
November 2015
December 2015

_

Last edited by Phil89 on Fri Sep 25, 2015 6:04 pm, edited 64 times in total.

Philadelphia 76ers 2014-15 Roster





Starters

______Joel Embiid ____ Nerlens Noel ____ Luc Mbah a Moute _ Jason Richardson __ Michael Carter-Williams

Bench

Henry Sims _____ Hollis Thompson __-_Tony Wroten ____ Alexey Shved ____ KJ McDaniels ____ Robert Covington _____ Jerami Grant

Reserves

Brandon Davies ___ Chris Johnson ___ JaKarr Sampson

Nice team choice. Since the mode doesn't take into account the Embiid injury, the rebuild shouldn't be as painful. I like the idea of building a team with underachievers. If you could get some decent perimeter shooters through free agency, you could turn this around fairly quickly.

Good luck with the Sixers I really think you have a legit shot at winning the D-League!

Nice team choice. Since the mode doesn't take into account the Embiid injury, the rebuild shouldn't be as painful. I like the idea of building a team with underachievers. If you could get some decent perimeter shooters through free agency, you could turn this around fairly quickly.

A fit and healthy Embiid-Noel partnership was the big attraction for me in choosing the Sixers.

I figured that developing my own stars instead of trading for them or signing them in free agency adds a bit of realism to the game. One of my goals is to have 3 picks in the top 20 of the next draft so I can add some more talent. The only problem is that the draft class seems to be loaded with big men instead of perimeter guys. I'll have to check out which SG options may be available in free agency.

Good luck with the Sixers I really think you have a legit shot at winning the D-League!

Haha, maybe not. I've played a couple of games already and it's so different to 2K13. After a couple of games on all-star difficulty I had to switch to rookie just to keep up with the cpu. It's really confusing for me because I just swept the Thunder in the finals on superstar difficulty on 2K13.

I don't know if it's the different shooting controls or just my rubbish players, but I'm finding it really difficult to score.

Hopefully I get used to the game and my players quickly so that I can win a game or two

Start McDaniels!!

I think it's the game mate, I used to kick ass with my knicks on 2k14 but on 2k15 after playing the game for a few weeks I started a season with a team and got beat by 40 on superstar after using HOF in the past.

Great to see you back! Keep giving Wroten as much time as possible, maybe even next to MCW above guys like J-Rich or Shved

Start McDaniels!!

Not sure if he's reaady for that, but it's not like I have that many options at SG either. He'll probably get lots of playing time off the bench.

I think it's the game mate, I used to kick ass with my knicks on 2k14 but on 2k15 after playing the game for a few weeks I started a season with a team and got beat by 40 on superstar after using HOF in the past.

I think my biggest problem is that they changed the spin move button. I used to score a lot of points in the paint on 2k13 with the circle button.

Looks like I'm going to have to spend some time in training mode to learn some more offensive moves.

Great to see you back! Keep giving Wroten as much time as possible, maybe even next to MCW above guys like J-Rich or Shved

I plan on giving my young guys priority over the veterans who have no future on my team.

20/10/14

Sixers prepared to get worse before they get better



The Philadelphia 76ers look set to inflict another season of pain on their fans as they continue their patient rebuild by gathering high draft picks. Most NBA fans know it as tanking - purposefully making your team bad so that they lose a majority of their games and you get a better pick in the draft. The idea of completely overhauling your roster with a scorched earth approach is a high-risk, high-reward strategy that few general managers have successfully pulled off. Sam Presti in Oklahoma City being the most notable recently.


Philadelphia GM Sam Hinkie commenced with his bold plan on draft night 2013, when he traded all-star guard Jrue Holiday to the New Orleans Pelicans in exchange for sixth overall pick Nerlens Noel and a 2014 first round pick. It was a clever move in hindsight as Noel had been touted all year as being the best prospect in that draft class, but he would sit out the entire 2013-14 season due to his anterior cruciate ligament injury and wouldn't affect the Sixers' tanking plan. A few weeks later injury-plagued center Andrew Bynum was allowed to walk for free and sign a two-year deal with Cleveland. It was another sign that winning wasn't a priority for Hinkie.

Many experts predicted a tough season ahead for the Sixers, but they surprised everyone with a 3-0 start that included a win over the two-time defending champion Miami Heat. They quickly fell to their expected level though and at one point went on a franchise record 26 game losing streak, which tied the all-time NBA record for most consecutive losses in a single-season. At the trade deadline Hinkie offloaded key players Spencer Hawes and Evan Turner for basically only three future second round picks. Turner was a former number two pick only four years ago and is good a case study in getting your scouting and player development correct. The Sixers finished the season with a miserable 19-63 record, surprisingly only the second worst record in the league after the struggling Milwaukee Bucks.


The one bright spot for the Sixers all season was the play of rookie Michael Carter-Williams. The eleventh overall pick of the 2013 draft led all rookies in points, rebounds, assists and steals. Magic Johnson and Oscar Robertson are the only rookies to do that before him. Certainly great company for him to keep so early on in his NBA career. A sign of his potential greatness was on display when he made his NBA debut against the defending champion Miami Heat. Carter-Williams recorded 22 points, 12 assists, 7 rebounds and 9 steals in the Sixers' 114-110 win.



Michael Carter-Williams accepting his ROTY trophy

In the 2014 NBA Draft, the Sixers selected Kentucky big man Joel Embiid with the third overall pick, and traded tenth overall pick Elfrid Payton to Orlando for Croatian forward Dario Saric, the twelfth overall pick. They also picked up K.J McDaniels and Jerami Grant in the second round. Later in the off-season they traded veteran Thaddeus Young to Minnesota as part of the Kevin Love trade. In return they received Luc Mbah a Moute, Alexey Shved and Miami's 2015 first round pick.


When Sam Hinkie was appointed general manager in May 2013 he decided to pursue a long-term plan to rebuild a franchise that wasn't going anywhere fast. Since the heights of their 2001 finals appearance the Sixers have been the definition of a treadmill team. In the subsequent thirteen seasons they have made the playoffs on seven occasions. Of those seven, they were bounced out in the first round five times and only made it to the conference semi final stage in the other two. In that same period they only have an 83 percent winning record in regular season games and only managed to reach the .500 mark six times.

Public pressure and fan discontent usual dissuade organisations from taking this route and usually result in them opting for quick-fix solutions and dodgy trade gambles. Deals that can often consign teams to the very mediocrity they were designed to help them break free from. They keep teams just good enough that they miss out on receiving cherished high draft picks, but still nowhere near good enough to compete for a title. It's the kind of mediocrity that leads to star players like Kevin Love, Dwight Howard and Chris Paul to leave becoming frustrated and looking to move on to more appealing pastures.



Dwight and CP3 grew tired of not contending and left

Hinkie is determined to see this project out to it's completion without taking any shortcuts. He realises that to achieve big ambitions you often have to suffer big sacrifices. It's a three year plan to collect assets and the more pain the team goes through, the more likely it is that those assets are of the high-end variety. Hinkie wants young, affordable prospects with loads of upside, the kind of guys you typically acquire via the draft. "The draft is an important pipeline of talent for our team and our intention was to add players who could position us well for the future, while also allowing us to capitalise on attractive opportunities to acquire top-flight talent or additional future draft choices," Hinkie said.

Another sign of Hinkie's commitment to his grand plan was the lack of free agent activity done by the Sixers this past off-season. Signing some veteran who could score 20 points a game and secure a few more victories might keep the crowd happy, but it is harmful to the overall objective of getting the best possible draft picks. Eventually they will become more active again in the free agent and trades markets, but for now any move that could help them win games is not on the radar for Hinkie.

The main idea is to stockpile first round picks and draft a talented young core and slowly develop them into stars. It's a direct imitation of what Oklahoma City did so well. They acquired Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, James Harden and Serge Ibaka in the draft and turned them into stars. They have even made the finals on one occasion. Proof that this strategy can pay off eventually .Obviously there is no guarantee that Philadelphia will be as successful as the Thunder, but with the right scouting and development they can become an eastern powerhouse again in a few years. Sam Hinkie is in no hurry.



The Thunder are the successful blueprint to follow


Expect Hinkie to use a two-pronged approach during this rebuild. Sure his main focus will be on drafting high-end talent, but if the right player becomes available in free agency expect him to at least make an offer. Just imagine that at the end of the season Kawhi Leonard still hasn't signed an extension with the Spurs. Surely the Sixers, amongst many other teams, will throw a huge contract at the 2014 finals MVP. What if the same thing happens with Bradley Beal and Washington the year after that? You can be sure that with the salary cap flexibility that Hinkie is aiming to create he will be in a good position to tempt any young stars who become free agents.

The Sixers have an ownership group led by billionaire Josh Harris and which also includes Indonesian billionaire Erick Thohir. They will need to give Hinkie their full backing and patience over the next few years if this plan is to succeed. They need to resist making knee-jerk decisions based on the inevitable fan outcry at the results the team will be getting. After all, this strategy is about setting the team up to be able to compete for titles for a sustained period of time. At the end of the day the only reason for anyone should be involved in this sport is to win trophies. Nothing else matters.

28/10/14

Sixers make several roster changes



Philadelphia today completed a small trade and also made some changes to their roster via free agency. The trade was only a minor move and it saw the Sixers acquire point guard Donald Sloan and a 2015 first round pick from Indiana in exchange for Forward Hollis Thompson and a 2015 second round pick. It isn't a franchise-altering trade by any means, but it fits perfectly with Sam Hinkie's plan to stockpile assets. The first round pick the Sixers received may not even end up being a lottery pick, but it will still allow them to draft another talented young prospect.

Meanwhile, Hinkie also released Chris Johnson and JaKarr Sampson from their contracts. Both players were coming out of contract at the end of the season. To fill the roster void left by those two Hinkie threw NBA lifelines to two former top 2 picks. Greg Oden (2yr/$5m) and Michael Beasley (2yr/$7m) signed on with the Sixers and will attempt to resurrect their careers. Both were destined for stardom in the NBA but neither of them has achieved it. Crippling injuries in Oden's case and off-court behavioural issues for Beasley put a halt to their careers and stopped them from becoming the players their could have been.

Both could see plenty of playing time on a Sixers team that is expected to really struggle this season. Both players signed two year contracts, but the second year of both is a team option that can be activated if their perform well. This could likely be the last chance either of them will get to remain in this league.

Sixers Rotation

_C - Embiid / Oden / Sims
PF - Noel / Davies
SF - Mbah a Moute / Beasley / Grant / Covington
SG - Richardson / Shved / McDaniels
PG - Carter-Williams / Wroten / Sloan

Oden = Rings.
Don't let him dance with the trophy if you get it, though. We know what happened the last time he did that

Interesting signings, could be useful options off the bench and with Beasley the guy can score which is something your going to need.

29/10/14

Indiana Pacers [0-0] vs Philadelphia 76ers [0-0]

Pacers steamroll Sixers in season opener



IND - 23 26 18 25 92
PHI - 13 13 19 14 59

Player of the Game: Paul George
(16pts, 8reb, 2ast, 2blk)
(5-11 FG, 1-2 3PT, 5-6 FT)


Top Scorers
Nerlens Noel - 18
Paul George - 16
Hollis Thompson - 14
CJ Watson - 12
Rodney Stuckey - 12
George Hill - 11
Tony Wroten - 11
Joel Embiid - 10

Rebounds
David West - 12
Joel Embiid - 12
Roy Hibbert - 10
Paul George - 8
Nerlens Noel - 5
Luc Mbah a Moute - 5

Assists
Michael Carter-Williams - 10
CJ Watson - 5

Steals
Chris Copeland - 2
Joel Embiid - 2

Blocks
Nerlens Noel - 5
Joel Embiid - 3
Michael Beasley - 2
Paul George - 2


Embiid highlights
Flash

Noel highlights
Flash

Simmed Games

MIL - 35 16 14 22 87
PHI - 21 19 24 26 90

PHI - 32 23 24 16 95
MIA - 18 25 26 27 96

PHI - 26 28 18 25 97
HOU - 36 20 24 22 102

Record: 1-3

So yeah, this was my first attempt at playing on superstar difficulty and I just couldn't score. It was really annoying that my team scored less than Kevin Durant had been scoring by himself on my Wizards game recently

Embiid and Noel having a block party was one positive though.

Oden = Rings.
Don't let him dance with the trophy if you get it, though. We know what happened the last time he did that

If I can win a championship whilst Oden is still playing in the NBA then he can dance all he wants

Interesting signings, could be useful options off the bench and with Beasley the guy can score which is something your going to need.

I wanted to make the game a bit easier by signing two guys who I've had on previous save games. Neither Beasley or Oden will be stars for my team, but they will hopefully contribute some scoring (which I really need).

As I read the whole part about rebuilding and saw the trade, I really felt that - ok, you might lose your first game, but you will be fighting in it. I guess it didn't play out.

If the trouble is scoring, do you run plays? I find that running plays actually makes it easier to score, rather than free-flow (well, sure, if I had KD or Curry on my team, then yeah).

5/11/14

Philadelphia 76ers [1-3] vs Orlando Magic [2-2]

Magic win battle of eastern strugglers



PHI - 13 18 23 17 71
ORL - 24 18 20 24 86

Player of the Game: Nikola Vucevic
(16pts, 13reb, 1ast, 4stl, 1blk)
(6-11 FG, 0-0 3PT, 4-7 FT)


Top Scorers
Victor Oladipo - 17
Nikola Vucevic - 16
Joel Embiid - 13
Tony Wroten - 13
KJ McDaniels - 12
Tobias Harris - 12
Michael Carter-Williams - 11

Rebounds
Aaron Gordon - 18
Nikola Vucevic - 13
Nerlens Noel - 8
Michael Carter-Williams - 7
Joel Embiid - 6

Assists
Tony Wroten - 8
Michael Carter-Williams - 6
Victor Oladipo - 5

Steals
Nikola Vucevic - 4

Blocks
Nerlens Noel - 3
Tony Wroten - 3
Maurice Harkless - 2
Jason Richardson - 2
Joel Embiid - 2


MCW highlights
Flash

Simmed Games

PHI - 24 17 22 18 81
CHI - 25 23 27 28 103

TOR - 30 12 27 20 89
PHI - 29 14 25 25 93

DAL - 22 28 27 30 107
PHI - 27 30 19 15 101

Record: 2-6

14/11/14

Twitter News

Adrian Wojnarowski @WojYahooNBA
Raptors & Sixers agree four-player trade. Toronto aiming for deep playoff run by acquiring more veteran bench players

Adrian Wojnarowski @WojYahooNBA
Mbah a Moute, Shved & 2015 2nd for Fields, Stiemsma & 2015 1st. Difference between picks could end up being minimal, depending on results

Adrian Wojnarowski @WojYahooNBA
Sam Hinkie continues his stockpiling of assets. Sixers now have 3 first rounders in 2015 after trade with Raptors today

I figure that the Raptors first rounder could be between 20-30, whilst my second rounder will probably be between 31-35. So a decent little upgrade for players that weren't in my long term plans.

As I read the whole part about rebuilding and saw the trade, I really felt that - ok, you might lose your first game, but you will be fighting in it. I guess it didn't play out.

If the trouble is scoring, do you run plays? I find that running plays actually makes it easier to score, rather than free-flow (well, sure, if I had KD or Curry on my team, then yeah).

I should probably just blame my team for being rubbish. But in reality it was a combination of all-star difficulty, being new to this game and not knowing my players and what their strengths are offensively. After the first couple of games I switched it to Pro difficulty just so I could be competitive.

I actually don't really run any plays. I'm used to driving into the lane and either spinning past the defender or feeding my big men inside the paint for easy baskets. That and making the most of finding open players when I get doubled-teamed. I've noticed a lot more wide open shots missing in this game though.

I think I'll start scoring more once I figure out the best way to get MCW, Embiid and Noel working together.

14/11/14

Houston Rockets [7-1] vs Philadelphia 76ers [2-6]

Rockets prove too good for Sixers to handle



HOU - 26 22 28 26 102
PHI - 14 23 28 23 88

Player of the Game: James Harden
(26pts, 1reb, 7ast, 3stl)
(9-20 FG, 3-10 3PT, 5-6 FT)


Top Scorers
James Harden - 26
Patrick Beverley - 18
Tony Wroten - 17
Trevor Ariza - 16
Joel Embiid - 13
Jerami Grant - 10
Nerlens Noel - 10
Kostas Papanikolaou - 10

Rebounds
Dwight Howard - 12
Terrence Jones - 11
Nerlens Noel - 10
Joel Embiid - 8
Trevor Ariza - 5

Assists
Michael Carter-Williams - 9
James Harden - 7
Patrick Beverley - 6
Trevor Ariza - 5

Steals
James Harden - 3
Michael Carter-Williams - 2
Trevor Ariza - 2

Blocks
Joel Embiid - 4
Henry Sims - 2
Nerlens Noel - 2
Michael Carter-Williams - 2

Embiid highlights
Flash

Simmed Games

SAS - 24 25 22 27 98
PHI - 17 21 22 24 84

PHI - 29 25 19 28 101
BOS - 27 24 25 30 106

PHI - 25 21 22 26 94
PHX - 35 26 20 38 119

Record: 2-10

Was that Dwindidie or something like that?

21/11/14

Sixers' rookie big men determined to prove doubters wrong



The transition from collegiate basketball into the NBA hasn't been as smooth as Joel Embiid and Nerlens Noel were hoping for. Both were touted as the most likely top pick in their respective draft classes, only for injury concerns to cause them to drop down the order on draft night. In a quirk of fate they both find themselves playing together in Philadelphia and you can be sure that they will have chips on their shoulders after so many teams passed on the opportunity to draft them.

There is no guarantee that the duo can function effectively together in the NBA given their obvious offensive deficiencies. It is the defensive potential that both players possess, both individually and as a pairing, that is the real strength on which the Sixers want to build their team around. Both Embiid and Noel were named defensive player of the year in their conferences during their single seasons at Kansas and Kentucky respectively.

The potential of their combined defensive prowess has been likened to the partnership of David Robinson and Tim Duncan that San Antonio had in the late 1990s and early 2000s, dubbed the "Twin Towers". Sixers head coach Brett Brown - who spent time with the Spurs during that period - said that he thinks the Sixers can learn from how Duncan and Robinson played together on defense.

"After we drafted Nerlens [Noel], I kept thinking to myself "What type of big man is he going to be like? Can he be Joakim Noah, or Tyson Chandler?" But then a year later we got Joel [Embiid] and my thinking started to change. I thought, given their similar heights, maybe there are things that we can learn from how Timmy [Duncan] and David Robinson played so well together."

"The idea of playing with two big men appealed to me more and more. I really thought about the rim protection and the defense that we could have here. That would mean Nerlens would spend more time at power forward. Obviously there will be rotations and Joel will need rests as a rookie, so I think this year you're going to see Noel at both positions. I think at the end of the day he's going to help us the most as a rim protector and from the defensive end."

Of course, the biggest question is how Noel and Embiid will work offensively. Both players are extremely raw on the offensive end, a fact that is further exposed by the fact that Philadelphia doesn't have a ton of shooters on the roster at the moment. If coach Brown can develop these two players into consistent double-double machines, it will go a long way towards making the Sixers a competitive team in the eastern conference. GM Sam Hinkie will need to surround them with plenty of perimeter shooters as well to reduce the pressure on them.

2014-15 Stats

Joel Embiid
12.3 PPG - 7.3 RPG - 2.2 BPG

Nerlens Noel
10.3 PPG - 7.5 RPG - 1.7 BPG

22/11/14

New York Knicks [10-3] vs Philadelphia 76ers [2-10]

Knicks win scrappy contest against Sixers



NYK - 21 23 16 15 75
PHI - 21 21 09 13 64

Player of the Game: Carmelo Anthony
(22pts, 5reb, 2ast, 1stl, 2blk)
(9-18 FG, 2-6 3PT, 2-2 FT)


Top Scorers
Carmelo Anthony - 22
Joel Embiid - 18
Nerlens Noel - 18
JR Smith - 17
Jose Calderon - 10

Rebounds
Joel Embiid - 11
Samuel Dalembert - 8
Michael Carter-Williams - 7
KJ McDaniels - 6
Nerlens Noel - 5
JR Smith - 5
Jason Smith - 5
Carmelo Anthony - 5

Assists
Michael Carter-Williams - 8
Jose Calderon - 5

Steals
Nerlens Noel - 4
Jose Calderon - 3
Samuel Dalembert - 2
Jason Smith - 2
Michael Carter-Williams - 2

Blocks
Carmelo Anthony - 2
Nerlens Noel - 2

Embiid highlights
Flash

Noel highlights
Flash

Simmed Games

PHI - 34 22 18 26 100
POR - 24 22 12 35 93

PHI - 29 25 25 32 111
BKN - 19 21 22 21 83

PHI - 26 26 15 26 93
DAL - 22 23 17 22 84

Record: 5-11

A little glimpse at the potential of Embiid-Noel in the Knicks game.

Embiid - 18pts, 11reb
Noel - 18pts, 5reb, 3ast, 4stl, 2blk

1/12/14

November 2014 Summary




Division Standings

Eastern Conference

Atlantic Division


Central Division


Southeast Division



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Western Conference

Northwest Division


Pacific Division


Southwest Division




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League Leaders

Points


Rebounds


Assists


Steals


Blocks




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Monthly and Weekly Awards

Players of the Week


Players of the Month


Rookies of the Month




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Rookies Ranking





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Injuries