Andrew's Chicago Bulls Dynasty - November 2006

A collection of memorable stories from NBA Live's franchise and career modes.

Postby Andrew on Fri Apr 07, 2006 12:58 pm

It's been a while between games but we're back in business. :)

December 20th, 2005
Charlotte (95) at Chicago (116)
Bulls beat Bobcats with late third quarter burst

[ Boxscore ]

What had been a tightly contested game suddenly turned into a walk in the park for the Bulls as Ben Gordon's surge in the final two minutes of the third quarter gave Chicago a double digit lead heading into the fourth, one they would not relinquish as they improved to 14-11 with their third straight victory. Gordon was a perfect 4/4 from downtown in the third quarter, all coming with less than two minutes remaining. He finished with 42 points after nailing two more threes early in the fourth before sitting the final seven minutes.

Early on it appeared the Bobcats might pull away as they led by as many as eight in the first quarter while Chicago struggled at both ends. Chicago gained control but were unable to distance themselves from the Bobcats, who got 20 points and 13 rebounds out of 2005 Rookie of the Year Emeka Okafor. Tim Thomas, whom the Bulls traded to Charlotte this past offseason, scored 17 points in 19 minutes off the bench.

But Charlotte had no answer for Gordon's outburst at the end of the third, looking tired and disinterested even as the fourth quarter began. Coach Bernie Bickerstaff tried to rally his troops but couldn't lift their spirits as they scored only 17 fourth quarter points. The Bulls slowed down their offense but extended the gap as Andres Nocioni nailed back to back threes before he and Chris Duhon - who had 14 points and a game high 13 assists - exited the game with four minutes remaining.

The two teams will meet again December 28th in Charlotte for their third matchup of the 2005/2006 season.

Gameplay Notes

A few more slider tweaks and I feel they're coming together pretty well, though I know it's very late in the year to be suggesting them! I think I need to pull back on the user long range shooting though, just a tad. If it wasn't for Gordon's outburst, the scoring would've been a little closer to the norm, though given the circumstances 116-95 isn't such a bad score.
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Postby Mark. on Fri Apr 07, 2006 1:10 pm

Nice win, good to see your getting the sliders sorted out.

Have you moved up to Superstar yet?
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Postby kibaxx7 on Fri Apr 07, 2006 1:13 pm

Great win 'Drew (Y) Gordon is playing great.
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Postby Andrew on Fri Apr 07, 2006 1:17 pm

Not yet, but I'm thinking that might better balance out the sliders a bit rather than decreasing the long range slider for the user too much; given the CPU doesn't give the same treatment on open shots by the user, there needs to be a slight compensation. At the moment, I have that slider set to 40 for the user, 38 for the CPU. I'm probably about ready to move up anyway; the last few editions I've preferred to start out on All-Star until I'm accustomed to the nuances of the game (ie the level of cheating). With free time for play all over the place, that's taken me a bit longer this year.
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Postby Andrew on Fri Apr 07, 2006 11:48 pm

Alright, I've moved up to Superstar and so far, so good. Looks like the sliders are working OK, I think I can post them as version 1.0 over in the sliders thread. Chances are they'll still need some tweaking but they're working out for me.

December 22nd, 2005
Cleveland (93) at Chicago (116)
Bulls cruise to fourth straight victory

[ Boxscore ]

Ben Gordon may have struggled going 0-for-7 from downtown and was held scoreless in the first 12 minutes of play, but the second year Bulls guard wasn't about to give in to the pressure of Larry Hughes and the offensive onslaught of LeBron James. Gordon evenly paced his team high 24 points over the next three quarters as Chicago once again held their opponents below 100 points and scored 116 for the second consecutive contest.

Gordon would not be alone however. Chris Duhon once again had a double-double with 13 points and 12 assists and Shawn Kemp scored 8 points and had 8 rebounds in the first quarter alone, finishing with 14 and 12 respectively. The Bulls once again built up a bit lead before halftime, defending it admirably in the second half never allowing the Cavaliers to come closer than a 13 point difference.

LeBron James scored 20 points on 10/16 shooting and added 6 boards, but was quiet down the stretch as Cleveland attempted to make a final push. Larry Hughes led all scorers with 25 but was 11/28 from the field including 1/5 on threes. Zendon Hamilton, starting in place of the injured Zydrunas Ilgauskas, scored 12 points and had 14 rebounds including 7 at the offensive end.

Chicago played tough defense, giving up very few fouls and forcing several three second violations. Cleveland attempted just eight free throws, connecting on six. In comparison, Chicago made 16-of-23 from the charity stripe and while they were unusually quiet from downtown, found a way to break down the Cleveland defense to score easy buckets inside. The Bulls also benefited from fast breaks, which seemed to answer every Cavaliers run.

Cleveland currently has the best record in the East at 19-5. Chicago now sits second in the Central Division at 15-11 and are currently fourth in the East.

Coach's Diary
December 22nd - Two eerily similar games


The last two games have featured very similar scorelines, both of them in our favour. We won both games the same way; good defense and taking advantage of every opportunity our opponents have given us. We've done a good job taking care of the ball and keeping the fouls down and I'm happy with the scoring distribution. Ben had that explosion against the Bobcats and we rode that, but Cleveland were making it very tough for him tonight and his three pointers weren't falling. Everyone chipped in though and thus we have two very satisfying victories under our belts.

We're hoping to have Kirk back tomorrow when we face the Grizzlies, though he may be a gametime decision. It will be tough moving Chris back to the bench, he's filled in fantastically. I'll need to keep finding him good minutes, if I get a chance to run the three guard lineup with Chris, Kirk and Ben I will but it does leave us very small, limiting our opportunities to effectively use it. For now I like Tyson coming off the bench but he could well be starting again by the end of the season. He and Shawn have been putting up numbers despite playing about half the game recently, though I have no hesitation in putting them out there longer if need be.

Things are definitely looking a lot better right now, we're fourth in the East and depending on how things go, I believe we could be a threat to a lot of teams. We just beat the number one team in our conference convincingly; it's only one game and Z wasn't playing but it's still another confidence boost.
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Postby 3C on Sat Apr 08, 2006 9:23 am

Nice recaps, I'm glad the team is coming to shape nicely. Please can you post the link to where I can find your sliders? Thanks a mil. I'll be reading.
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Postby Andrew on Sat Apr 08, 2006 9:55 am

It's in the sliders thread in General Issues.
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Postby kibaxx7 on Sun Apr 09, 2006 2:11 am

Great win Andrew, what's your record now?
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Postby Andrew on Sun Apr 09, 2006 10:47 am

Andrew wrote:Chicago now sits second in the Central Division at 15-11 and are currently fourth in the East.


15-11. ;)
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Postby Andrew on Sun Apr 09, 2006 3:40 pm

December 23rd, 2005
Chicago (110) at Memphis (107)
Late rally gives Bulls fifth straight win

[ Boxscore ]

Chicago seemed to be down and out at the end of the third quarter after Ben Gordon left the game after injuring his thumb on a drive to the basket leading to a Grizzlies' run that resulted in a 90-79 lead heading into the fourth. But Chicago displayed their resilience, charging back in the fourth quarter including a late 10-2 run that gave them the lead for good.

Gordon returned in the fourth and played the entire quarter, scoring 9 points and finishing with 21. He struggled from downtown however, shooting 3/13 for the game and missed a dunk late in the fourth. Chicago also got a lift from Tyson Chandler, who scored 8 of his 14 in the final period.

Memphis got a surprising lift from Brian Cardinal, who shot 9/14 from the field for 19 points including a three pointer in which his feet appeared to be on the line. Bulls' coach Andrew Begley protested the ruling but to no avail. The three sparked a Memphis run that saw Bobby Jackson break down Chicago's interior defense to score six quick points, on route to the Grizzlies' seemingly commanding 11 point lead at the end of the third.

Pau Gasol left the game early after colliding with Shawn Kemp but returned and finished with 25 points, 9 rebounds and 4 blocks. His efforts would not be enough though, as the Bulls played tight defense in the fourth limiting the Grizzlies to 17 points and got to the line early and often, connecting on all of their fourth quarter free throw attempts.

December 24th
Hinrich, Gordon day-to-day: may sit


CHICAGO, IL -- The holiday season has brought some bad tidings for the Bulls as they learned Kirk Hinrich has been cleared to play but is still suffering soreness in his neck from an injury sustained two weeks ago. Adding to their injury woes, Ben Gordon is also being listed as day-to-day after injuring his thumb during the third quarter of last night's 110-107 victory of the Memphis Grizzlies.

Hinrich was expected to be back in the lineup for the Bulls' game against the Cavaliers on Boxing Day but is now questionable. Reports are circulating that Ben Gordon might also sit out as a precautionary measure, leaving the Bulls without their leading scorer. Cleveland currently holds the best record in the East at 19-6. Chicago defeated the Cavaliers two nights ago but face a tough challenge without their starting backcourt.

Gordon is averaging 30.6 ppg, 3.0 rpg and 6.1 apg through the first 27 games of the season. Hinrich, who has missed the last five games, is leading the team in assists with 8.1 per game in addition to 15 ppg (third best on the team), 2.4 rpg and a team high 1.3 spg. Chicago is currently 16-11, second best in the Central Division.

December 24th, 2005
Gasol to miss time


MEMPHIS, TN -- The injury bug has bitten the Grizzlies again, as Pau Gasol joins Mike Miller on the sidelines after spraining fingers on his shooting hand in the Grizzlies' 110-107 loss to the Chicago Bulls last night. The injury may force the star forward to miss up to four weeks. Miller is expected to be out at least another nine games.

Coach's Diary
December 24th - Bah Humbug!


Even though it's hard not to feel jolly at this time of year, I can't help but feel someone's left a lump of coal in all our stockings. We showed great heart and determination pulling out the win against the Grizzlies and Kirk has been cleared to play, but at this point we don't want to risk losing him for even longer so he likely won't be suiting up against Cleveland. We also want to play it safe with Ben, so I don't know if he'll be in action either. Both are great competitors and I know they're as unhappy about sitting out as we are to lose them, but we are all concerned about the risk. If both are out of action for the moment, I think I'll bring Tyson into the starting five and have Luol slide over to guard.

Boxing Day could be a very challenging game, but if we are to establish ourselves as a force to be reckoned with in the East, we'll need to find a way to overcome these obstacles and rise to meet these challenges.
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Postby 3C on Sun Apr 09, 2006 5:28 pm

Nice recap, sorry about losing Kirk and BG7 to injury. Hope the team can hold together in this very difficult time. Goodluck. (Y)
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Postby Andrew on Sun Apr 09, 2006 6:11 pm

So far...not so good. ;)

December 26th, 2005
Chicago (96) at Cleveland (105)
Cavaliers end Bulls' winning streak

[ Boxscore ]

Cleveland gained some revenge for the 116-93 defeat in the United Center last Thursday as they took advantage of the shorthanded Bulls, jumping on them in the first quarter and never looking back. LeBron James scored 37 points hitting on 17 of his 29 field goal attempts and was 3/5 from downtown as Cleveland stopped Chicago's winning streak at five.

The Bulls kept the game close early on but soon succumbed to the stellar play of LeBron James, who scored 19 points in the first half. Though the Bulls would rally and only trailed by seven at halftime, Cleveland came charging out of the gate at the beginning of the third quarter and quickly built a commanding lead while Chicago struggled to put the ball in the basket, scoring a season low 15 third quarter points.

Though they would make an impressive run in the fourth outscoring the Cavaliers 38-23, it would not be enough as the Bulls came up short 105-96. Free throw shooting haunted the Bulls and while they attempted 11 more free throws than the Cavaliers, Cleveland had only three fewer makes as the Bulls shot only 56% from the foul line.

Chicago was playing without leading scorer Ben Gordon, who is averaging 30.6 ppg this season and scored 24 points in last week's contest. Kirk Hinrich also sat despite being cleared to play due to continued neck pain as a result of the injury sustained earlier this month. To add to their injury woes reserve centre Othella Harrington injured his wrist in the fourth quarter and is expected to miss time.

December 27th, 2005
Bulls activate Gordon, Harrington day-to-day


CHICAGO, IL -- The Bulls activated guard Ben Gordon and placed Othella Harrington on the inactive roster with a sore wrist. Although Harrington is listed as being day-to-day, he is not expected to make the trip to Charlotte where the Bulls will face the Bobcats on Wednesday.

Gordon sat out the game against the Cavaliers as a precautionary measure after injuring his thumb, the first game the second year player has missed in his NBA career. Cleveland defeated the Bulls 105-96 to end their five game winning streak. Gordon is said to be feeling no further pain from the injury and is expected to be back in the starting lineup against the Bobcats.

Kirk Hinrich contains to sit out with neck pain as he rehabs an injury sustained earlier this month. He is expected back by the end of the month. Chicago will close out 2005 at home against the Phoenix Suns on December 31st.
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Postby Ty-Land on Sun Apr 09, 2006 6:58 pm

As always Andrew a great read. One of my favourite dynasty's to follow! The recaps are very professional, in the sense they could be passed off as the real thing. Keep it up,

Cheers Ty-land
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Postby Andrew on Sun Apr 09, 2006 8:32 pm

Thanks Ty-Land, glad you like the recaps. :) I've felt that some of my older ones were a bit stale so I'm always looking to improve them.
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Postby Fresh8 on Sun Apr 09, 2006 8:37 pm

Hey Andrew, just got up to date with your dynasty!

I'm looking for Kemp to finsih with 40, 20 and 5 blocks in the enxt game! Just cause krik Hinrich is pretty much dead. Other than that, good reading and very easy to follow dynasty (Y)
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Postby Andrew on Sun Apr 09, 2006 8:44 pm

Thanks Sit. :) Hinrich probably could be back right now but I'm just holding him out to prevent re-injury, see what Duhon is capable of and yes, make things a bit more interesting. Same reason I sat Gordon and I certainly paid for it. ;)
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Postby Fresh8 on Sun Apr 09, 2006 8:47 pm

I still want to see Shawn Kemp have a season high game when there's the chance (Y) I'm sure 40 points isn't unacheivable and unrealistic... just say your guys tried to get him the ball on every play!

EDIT: How you feel about the Bulls being beaten by the Sixers today? :lol: Tied for 8th right now. What do you think of their chances to come 8th?
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Postby hova- on Sun Apr 09, 2006 8:48 pm

Ouuu, King James got ya with 37 points, just like he does in real life ;)
I like your recaps, youre a gifted writer (Y) (Y)
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Postby Andrew on Sun Apr 09, 2006 8:49 pm

It was looking that way in the OT game against the Pistons earlier this year, if I remember rightly he ended up with 28. Don't know about the five blocks though. He can still get up and throw down dunks every now and then but he has difficulty blocking shots. :lol:
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Postby DWY on Sun Apr 09, 2006 11:09 pm

Just checking in to congratulate you on your nice dynasty man. Nice job. (Y)
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Postby Drex on Mon Apr 10, 2006 1:35 am

Awesome dynasty. I love your recaps (Y)

PS: Are you going to make a 20000 posts thread? :P
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Postby kibaxx7 on Mon Apr 10, 2006 2:22 am

Amazing recaps, Andrew... nice job.
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Postby les paul on Mon Apr 10, 2006 11:26 am

Andrew are you still using your slider v1.0 on your last 3 games?,, or you made some adjustments... pretty realistic..
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Postby Andrew on Mon Apr 10, 2006 1:10 pm

Drex wrote:Awesome dynasty. I love your recaps (Y)

PS: Are you going to make a 20000 posts thread? :P


Thanks Drex. :) When I get there, I'm sure I'll say something. ;)

Thierry² wrote:Amazing recaps, Andrew... nice job.


Appreciate it. (Y) As I said before, I'm always trying to improve them.

DWY wrote:Just checking in to congratulate you on your nice dynasty man. Nice job.


Thanks. :)

les paul123 wrote:Andrew are you still using your slider v1.0 on your last 3 games?,, or you made some adjustments... pretty realistic..


No adjustments yet, but I'll be sure to post any updates in that regard in the sliders thread, as well as posting a note here.

And now, the latest update:

December 28th, 2005
Chicago (120) at Charlotte (106)
Returning Gordon helps Bulls capture victory

[ Boxscore ]

Ben Gordon returned to the Bulls' lineup scoring 15 points along with 6 rebounds and 6 assists as the Chicago Bulls bounced back from their loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers with a 120-106 victory over the Charlotte Bobcats. Kareem Rush had a game high 23 points as well as 7 assists for the Bobcats but scored just four points in the fourth quarter as Charlotte remains winless in franchise history against Chicago.

The Bobcats would have the early advantage, taking advantage of Gordon's tentativeness in the first quarter and taking a quick seven point lead after the first eight minutes. Chicago would cut the deficit to four by the period's end but faltered at the beginning of the second committing a couple of quick turnovers and failed to protect the lane as Gerald Wallace and Emeka Okafor, who finished with 18 points and 12 points respectively, made them pay for the defensive lapses.

However, Mike Sweetney scored some quick baskets soon after entering the game to start a Bulls run that saw the gap closed to one by the half. During the third quarter, Chicago fell behind but came charging back as Gordon, quiet in the first half, scored 7 points and the Bulls matched the Bobcats' third quarter scoring to keep the deficit at one heading into the fourth.

The fourth quarter once again saw the same determined charge the Bulls have displayed late in games so far this season, as the Bulls survived the fourth quarter dogfight and pulled ahead with a 10-0 run in the final three minutes. Chandler led the attack in the fourth, scoring 9 of his team high 18 points.

December 29th, 2005
Hinrich, Harrington set to return to action


CHICAGO, IL -- Point guard Kirk Hinrich and centre/forward Othella Harrington are expected to be in the lineup when the Bulls close out the year at home against the Phoenix Suns on Saturday. Hinrich has missed the past seven games with a sore neck but says he is now 100% and ready to return to the court.

Harrington hasn't seen as much court time as expected with Shawn Kemp's signing in the offseason but has seen action in 21 of the 29 games the Bulls have played so far. He missed last night's game about the Bobcats and did not travel to Charlotte after injuring his wrist against the Cleveland Cavaliers on December 26th.
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Postby Andrew on Mon Apr 10, 2006 3:41 pm

December 31st, 2005
Phoenix (108) at Chicago (101)
Suns spoil Hinrich's return

[ Boxscore ]

Kirk Hinrich returned to the Bulls' lineup and played 36 minutes but Amare Stoudemire stole the show with 23 points and 19 rebounds as the Phoenix Suns triumphed 108-101 despite some hot shooting by Eric Piatkowski. Piatkowski entered the game with three minutes remaining and was given the green light, firing up eight threes and making four to give the Bulls a chance in the closing minutes. The Suns would not be denied however, refusing to relinquish the lead and sealing the game from the free throw line.

The Bulls got a scare when Ben Gordon was forced to leave the game in the fourth quarter after apparently reinjuring his thumb. He did not return but is not expected to miss any time. Kurt Thomas also left the game early after taking a hard shot from Kemp but is also expected to be in action for the Suns' next game against the New York Knicks.

During the third quarter the Bulls stifled the Suns' fast break offense and held them to 17 points in the period, but were unable to contain them for most of the game as they scored 64 first half points and 27 in the fourth quarter to keep the Bulls at bay. Steve Nash scored the first seven points for the Suns but cooled off, finishing with 17 on 6/14 shooting. The reigning MVP had a rare 0 assists and committed five fouls, but had two steals.

With the win, Phoenix improved to 18-11 on the year. Chicago is now 17-13 with the loss.
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