TheBigEasy's Hornets Dynasty - 2nd Season - 2004/2005

Hi Folks,

first of all ... beware ... it is a very long post. After completing my regular season last week I thought I'd give you all an overview how it went and keep you updated in the playoffs. So lets start with the regular season.

This are the settings:

Superstar
10 minute quarters (12 minutes simulated)
Andrews roster from early december
Andrews sliders with a few modifications (which I dont remember all)
82 games season
NBA schedule
7-7-7-7 playoff series

And this was the Roster for the Season:

Code:

Starting Five:

PG   Baron    Davis
SG   David    Wesley
SF   Lamar    Odom
PF   PJ       Brown
C    Jamaal   Magloire

Backups:

SG   Courtney Alexander
PG   Darrell  Armstrong
C    James    Lang
SF   Ruben    Patterson
PF   Robert   Traylor
SG   Steve    Smith
PF   David    West

Injured List:

SF   Stacey   Augmon
C    Sean     Rooks

Traded Players:

SF   Jamal    Mashburn
SF   George   Lynch

The first quarter of the season - games 1 - 20

I started with the game vs. Atlanta. As I was new to the Superstar mode, I lost that game 119-106. Same with the second game. But I was in for a surprise win vs. the Celtics in Game 3 and my confidence immediately rised. But after that I lost the next 5 games, before winning again vs. Utah. Among this 5 game losing streak was a game vs. the Lakers which was pretty weird. I stayed close all the game, but lost in the end by 5. This was the first game both teams stayed under 100 points (which I didnt manage that often unfortunately). Two games later I went to Dallas for another weird game. I thought they would blow me out, but the exact opposite happend. At halftime I led 70 - 50 and was on track for an easy win. But they closed the gap and in the end I lost it by one freakin point, 114-113.

The first game vs. New Jersey marked the highest scoring game of the season so far, I lost it 134 - 126. All those games at the beginning of the season were close until the end and I always waited to finally get over the hump and win some of those close games. But it didnt happen that fast. I squeezed out another 2 wins, @ Miami and vs. Orlando. The Orlando win came one night after I lost to them at Orlando by one point.

So after 20 games the Hornets were 4-16 and dead last in the Leastern Conference. But I got a fairly good production out of my players, first of all Baron Davis, who averaged above 27 ppg with one 51 point breakout in that one-point loss to Orlando.

The second quarter of the season - games 21 - 41

I started the second quarter with a 93-88 win @ Chicago, it was the lowest scoring game of the season. I lost two more games before going on my first winning streak of the season. I won 3 games of my 4 game western swing and a home game vs. the Kings. Those 4 wins were followed by 4 losses, before I went on a 9 game winning streak. I lost the last game of the first half of the season to Minnesota for a record of 18-23. During that winning streaks I tinkered a bit with the sliders, rising the steal slider for example. I also switched to full court press on defense for most of the game, which I believe led to that winning streak. Baron Davis was the most outstanding player and leading the MVP race at that time. In a game @ Golden State he managed his first triple double. Than, in the first games of that 9 game winning streak he went just nuts. Within the span of 6 games he recorded another 5 triple doubles, with two of them Points-Steals-Assists, rather than pts-reb-ass. The best game was a 144-110 rout of the San Antonio Spurs, were he recorded 50 points, 7 rebounds, 12 steals and 10 assists for his fourth consecutive triple double. Like I already mentioned a road loss in Minnesota ended that streak at the midpoint of the season.

The third quarter of the season - games 42 - 61

The third quarter saw major improvements and major changes for the Hornets. It started with another long winning streak, this time 13 games. During that streak the Hornets traded Forward George Lynch and unused Guard Bryce Drew to Portland for Forward Ruben Patterson. In another trade right before the all star game they send Forward Jamal Mashburn and their Firstrounder to Miami for Forward Lamar Odom.

Baron Davis was selected among the East Allstars and nearly recorded a triple double with 36 points, 9 rebounds and 9 assists in a 162-163 loss to the Western All Stars. This was one of the few games I played with 12 minute quarters.

Also during the 13 game winning streak i started to concentrate more on Defense and managed to hold 6 opponents to 90 points and under, with two even to 75 and 73 points respectively. This streak started with a 140-133 overtime win over Philadelphia, but it was the next game @ Philadelphia which was one of the highpoints of the season, especially for Baron Davis. In that 124-89 rout of the Sixers he delivered the most outstanding game of his career. In just 29 minutes of play he scored 60 points, grabbed 6 rebounds, had 14 steals and 12 assists to go with only 2 turnovers. It was his 7th Triple double of the season. The next game he lit Miami up with 56 points. At that point he led the league in scoring with 1435 points total and an average of 30.5 points per game. He was also still the leading MVP candidate at that time.

It was also around the All Star break when the Hornets took control of the Eastern Conference with all the wins they racked up. In the latter part of the season I only lost a few more games, but mostly blew my opponents out. Thats why I wasnt bothered by all that early season losses, as I knew if I played long enough I would eventually win some games. I lost two close games to Jersey and Cleveland before 5 more wins ended that third quarter of the Season.

The fourth quarter of the season - games 62 - 82 - Le grande finalé

The fourth and final quarter of the season saw only few losses, although Toronto and Seattle blew me out by 22 and 24 respectively in consecutive games. But I was still atop the Eastern Conference and was on the way to the Playoffs. As my Playoff berth was more or less secured I concentrated on my Defense and tried to hold opposing teams under 100 or better lesser points. I did not manage that often, unfortunately. I also could do some statpadding to some of my players and managed to get triple doubles for Lamar Odom (2), Jamal Magloire (1) and David Wesley (1). At the end I realized that Baron Davis wasnt that high in the MVP race anymore and squeezed out another 2 TD's for him in the final two games of the season, but he still finished only second after Tim Duncan.

In the second half of the season some of my players emerged and took some of the load off of Baron Davis. Jamal Magloire was a solid double-double machine, his highpoint coming in a triple double vs. the Lakers (!), a 22 rebound effort vs. Indiana and a 32 point / 21 rebound game vs. Philadelphia. He finished the season with 37 point/rebound double doubles and 1 triple double.

At seasons end I pulled another winning streak together, in which I also absolutely dominated the Lakers at Staples Center, before I lost the final game of the season to Washington. But I already had secured the best record in the East (51-31) and drew Boston (41-41) as my first round opponent.

Some general thoughts about the season

The season was simply awesome. It was the first time ever, that I played a whole 82 game season in NBA Live, let alone with 10 minute quarters. Although I lost a lot of games at the beginning of the season I was fairly certain that I would blow out every opponent at seasons end. The close games convinced me of that. Later I went on several long winning streaks, but the occaisonally loss every once in a while still kept it interesting. As the whole season was pretty high scoring I often tried to hold opponents under certain marks, often with stingy defense and dragging out the shot clock. Sometimes it worked, sometimes not. My best effort was a 89-73 win vs. Washington.

Througout the whole season I tried to split playing time as best as possible. Thats why and because of the 10 minute quarters, Baron Davis for example averaged only 30.7 minutes per game, but he achieved alot in this time . Most of the season I tried to play all my players, but in the latter part of the season some of them received a DNP-CD.

I also set the injury slider pretty high, in order to get one of my players injured for a longer time to have the challenge of playing an extended period of time without one or two players. But all that happend was that sometimes players were done for the game, but not longer. In one game Baron Davis and Darrell Armstrong both went out with injuries, so I had to improvise a bit, but that was about it regarding injuries. I hope everyone stays healthy through out the playoffs.

Sometimes it was a lot of fun to do a bit of statpadding, to get players to certain statpoints and reaching triple doubles. Baron Davis' already mentioned 60 point game was certainly the highpoint of the season (although some might find it a bit unrealistic).

All in all I can say I enjoyed the season very much. Now it is playoff time. Like Andrew I am fairly certain I will win the championship . If so, I think I will change teams and start a new dynasty - this time I guess with the current Portland Trailblazer team. a) because after playing the likes of Chicago, Atlanta and Orlando four times a season, I want to play in the West, were I will face the Challenge of the Lakers, Rockets, Kings, Mavericks, Spurs and wolves four times a season and b) because after playing with a team built around a superstar pointguard I want to play with an impressive frontcourt, which Portland has with Theo Ratliff, Zach Randolph and Shareef Abdur-Rahim. But I'll decide that after I have won the Title .

All the Statistics and regular season awards will be presented in the following post.

TheBigEasy

Last edited by TheBigEasy on Sat Jul 17, 2004 2:24 am, edited 4 times in total.

Season Statistics - Hornets

I kept track of every stat of my players and team through out the season with an excel sheet and I wont spare you those numbers . First the overall Stats, both for the Hornets and my opponents:

Code:

              Hornets            Opponents

Points avg:     110,2                104,3

FGM:             3660
FGA:             7324
FG %:           0,500
 
3PM:              488
3PA:             1573
3 %:            0,310
   
OR/G:             6,5            
DR/G:            39,7
Reb/G:           46,2                 41,8

Blocks/Game:      4,2                  4,9

Steals/Game:      3,9                  1,7

Assists/Game:    27,8                 22,4

Turnover/Game:   10,6                 10,7

As you can see, it was a pretty high scoring season . Next season I'll try to hold my opposition under 100 points.

Next are the individual average Stats for all my players during their time with the team.

Code:

Name                  Games   Minutes   Points     FG%     3P%     FT%    OR    DR    RB    BL    ST    AS    TO   

Courtney Alexander       81      15,2      6,7   0,448   0,204   0,860   0,4   1,8   2,2   0,1   0,1   2,2   0,4
Darrell Armstrong        82      10,7      6,2   0,486   0,134   0,910   0,6   1,3   1,9   0,0   0,7   1,9   0,6
PJ Brown                 82      25,2      8,6   0,545   0,000   0,833   1,0   7,0   8,0   1,0   0,2   2,0   1,1
Baron Davis              82      30,7     29,3   0,506   0,392   0,756   1,2   3,9   5,1   0,3   2,1   8,0   2,7
James Lang               82      10,8      3,7   0,469   0,000   0,894   0,3   3,0   3,3   0,2   0,0   0,7   0,4
Jamaal Magloire          82      30,0     15,4   0,573   0,192   0,773   1,0   9,7  10,7   1,0   0,1   2,3   1,7
Lamar Odom               31      31,9     16,9   0,512   0,300   0,889   0,5   4,8   5,3   1,2   0,2   4,5   1,4
Ruben Patterson          35      11,5      4,0   0,554   0,292   0,600   0,1   1,1   1,3   0,2   0,1   1,3   0,6
Steve Smith              31       7,7      3,5   0,449   0,125   0,905   0,2   1,0   1,2   0,2   0,1   1,1   0,3
Robert Traylor           71      10,9      3,4   0,451   0,222   0,750   0,3   3,3   3,5   0,3   0,1   0,9   0,5
David Wesley             82      22,6     10,3   0,403   0,246   0,870   0,5   2,3   2,8   0,0   0,3   3,3   0,8
David West               71       8,9      2,4   0,540   0,000   0,808   0,2   2,4   2,6   0,3   0,1   0,7   0,4

Stacey Augmon            36       8,1      2,3   0,500   0,000   0,833   0,1   0,8   0,9   0,1   0,1   0,8   0,4
Sean Rooks               10       4,9      0,5   0,222   0,000   1,000   0,1   1,3   1,4   0,1   0,0   0,4   0,1

Jamal Mashburn           51      30,5     20,5   0,517   0,323   0,865   0,8   3,5   4,4   0,5   0,3   3,9   1,4
George Lynch             47       8,4      3,1   0,478   0,150   0,545   0,4   0,9   1,3   0,1   0,0   1,0   0,3

So much for the Hornets Season Stats. League Leaders and Regular Season Awards will follow in the next Post.

TheBigEasy

And now ... as promised ... the League Leaders and Regular Season Awards:

Points:

Code:

Place   Player            Team    Points      PPG
1.      Baron Davis        NOH     2.401     29,3
2.      Tracy McGrady      ORL     2.353     28,7
3.      Tim Duncan         SAS     2.326     28,4
4.      Paul Pierce        BOS     2.197     26,8
5.      Allan Iverson      PHI     2.054     25,0

Field Goal Percentage:

Code:

Place   Player            Team     FG %
1.      Shaquille O'Neal   LAL    0.581
2.      Jamaal Magloire    NOH    0.573
3.      Tim Duncan         SAS    0.570
4.      PJ Brown           NOH    0.545
5.      David West         NOH    0.540
...
20.     Baron Davis        NOH    0.506

3 Point Field Goal Percentage:

Code:

Place   Player            Team     FG %
1.      Troy Hudson        MIN    0.425
2.      Morris Peterson    TOR    0.424
3.      Brent Barry        SEA    0.409
3.      Boris Diaw         ATL    0.409
5.      Lucious Harris     NJN    0.400
6.      Baron Davis        NOH    0.392

Free Throw Percentage:

Code:

Place   Player            Team     FG %
1.      Ray Allen          SEA    0.921
2.      Reggie Miller      IND    0.914
3.      Darrell Armstrong  NOH    0.910
3.      Allan Houston      NYK    0.910
5.      Steve Nash         DAL    0.900
...
9.      James Lang         NOH    0.894
18.     David Wesley       NOH    0.870

Rebounds:

Code:

Place   Player            Team    Rebounds      RPG
1.      Kevin Garnett      MIN       1.102     13,4
2.      Ben Wallace        DET       1.066     13,0
3.      Shaquille O'Neal   LAL       1.038     12,6
4.      Tim Duncan         SAS         982     12,0
5.      Jermaine O'Neal    IND         878     10,7
6.      Jamaal Magloire    NOH         874     10,6

Blocks:

Code:

Place   Player            Team    Blocks      BPG
1.      Ben Wallace        DET       321      3,9
2.      Shaquille O'Neal   LAL       228      2,8
3.      Tim Duncan         SAS       201      2,4
4.      Theo Ratliff       ATL       177      2,2
5.      Dikembe Mutombo    NYK       169      2,1

Assists:

Code:

Place   Player            Team    Assists      APG
1.      Jason Kidd         NJN        689      8,4
2.      Baron Davis        NOH        653      8,0
3.      Jayson Williams    MEM        649      7,9
4.      Gary Payton        LAL        580      7,3
5.      Marc Jackson       MIL        579      7,5

Steals:

Code:

Place   Player            Team    Steals      SPG
1.      Allan Iverson      PHI       196      2,4
2.      Jason Kidd         NJN       192      2,3
3.      Baron Davis        NOH       173      2,1
4.      Gary Payton        LAL       160      2,0
4.      Paul Pierce        BOS       160      2,0

Regular Season Awards:

Most Valuable Player - Tim Duncan (SAS)

Most Improved Player - Baron Davis (NOH)

Defensive Player of the Year - Ben Wallace (DET)

Rookie of the Year - LeBron James (CLE)

Sixth Man of the Year - Caron Butler (MIA)

Coach of the Year - Phil Jackson (LAL)

All NBA First Team - Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Tim Duncan, Vince Carter, Tracy McGrady, Baron Davis

All NBA Second Team - S. O'Neal, Dirk Nowitzki, Shawn Marion, Paul Pierce, Jason Kidd

Defensive First Team - S. O'Neal, B. Wallace, R. Artest, T. McGrady, J. Kidd

Defensive Second Team - Marcus Camby, Kevin Garnett, Vince Carter, Kobe Bryant, Baron Davis

Rookie First Team - L. James, Carmelo Anthony, Udonis Haslem, Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh,

Rookie Second Team - Nick Collison, S. Pavlovic, James Lang, Boris Diaw, TJ Ford


Those regular season awards are kind of odd ... Cause when I first advanced to the playoffs, T-Mac won MVP although he was third in the list behind Duncan and Baron Davis. More strangely was that Jason Kidd won Defensive Player of the Year. Than I havent saved, reloaded the dynasty and advanced again to the Playoffs ... with the above Results. Kinda weird ... and whenever I redo the process something has changed, mostly All NBA 1st and 2nd members ...

This was it about the League Leaders and Regular Season Awards ... now I am done with the Regular Season and we can all advance to the Playoffs ... wait for the next post.

TheBigEasy

Good reads so far.

Z over Shaq? My God, what were his stats?

@Psycho Jackal ... I dont have the slightest Idea why the Game chose Z over Shaq ... but as I didnt wanted to restart it another time, i took it .. . But it is as strange as J Kidd as DPOY.



And now .. finally ... the Playoffs have arrived. First of all the Playoffseedings in both conferences:

Western Conference

1. Los Angeles Lakers
8. Los Angeles Clippers

2. Dallas Mavericks
7. Houston Rockets

3. Sacramento Kings
6. Minnesota Timberwolves

4. Portland Trailblazers
5. San Antonio Spurs


Eastern Conference

1. New Orleans Hornets
8. Boston Celtics

2. Philadelphia 76ers
7. Toronto Raptors

3. Indiana Pacers
6. Orlando Magic

4. Atlanta Hawks
5. New York Knicks



Eastern Conference - First Round - New Orleans vs. Boston

First Game - New Orleans Hornets 93 - Boston Celtics 100

The Celtics handed me a pretty big surprise in stealing the first game on my home court. They came out running and were up 11-2 early in the first quarter. But I stormed back and took the lead after a block and a layup by Baron Davis I took the lead with 3:35 to go in the first quarter ... and never looked back until the fourth. Til the end of the first Boston missed 10 consecutive shots and I held them without a field goal for about 4 to 5 minutes and managed to go on a 16-0 run. I closed the quarter 23-15 behind Odoms 9pts and Jamaal Magloires 7 boards.

After the break I came out with all guns firing and went on a 15-2 run. I managed to get Mike James in foul trouble and closed the half with a 52-37 lead. After halftime break the momentum changed and Boston got back into it. The closed the gap to 4, before I went away again with a 9-0 run. In the end they outplayed me in the quarter and came within 6 points, but I still held the lead at 75-69.

Then came the cruel fourth quarter ... Boston went on another little run and tied the game at 77 with 6:58 to go in the game. Then I tried to run away again, but behind their strong threepoint shooting and the general good game of Paul Pierce they eventually tied it again at 89. At that point BD had picked up 3 more fouls and was constantly on the brink of fouling out. That made me careful, but I also failed to execute at the end and Boston got away with the win.

And all the other lowerseeds in the EC followed the example and won their first games against the higher seeds. Strange, isnt it.

Stats.

Baron Davis - 24 pts, 4 reb, 10 ass, 2 blocks, 1 steal
Lamar Odom - 22 pts, 8 reb, 6 ass,
J. Magloire - 20 pts, 13 reb, 4 ass,
D. Wesley - 11 pts, 5 reb, 5 ass,
PJ Brown - 4 pts, 10 reb, 1 ass,
R. Traylor - 6 pts, 7 reb (4 of), 2 blocks, 2 ass

Boston

Paul Pierce (POG) - 32 pts, 6 reb, 2 blocks, 4 ass
Raef LaFrentz - 12 pts, 12 reb, 1 block, 1 ass,
Vin Baker - 12 pts, 9 reb, 2 blocks, 1 stl, 1 ass


Boston leads the series 1-0

I certainly will bounce back from this dissappointing loss and will hand them a Loss in the next game ... hopefully .

So .. stay tuned for more. I'll continue this within the next days. Phuhh ... It took me the whole afternoon to finish this thread ... .

TheBigEasy

I think it was Jason Williams ,because we dont want that motherfucker(sorry for the language here)JaYson Williams back.

wow, you managed to win the MIP award with a player that's not averaging less than 1 pt ... Congratulations, this award may be even harder to win than the MVP one

kool, how do u get ur stats up like that?

kool, how do u get ur stats up like that?

Well .. i just saved the game stats after every game and put them into an excel sheet. the season awards i simply wrote down, as well as the league leaders. but if you mean how i posted them here ... its a feature of this board ... just write whatever you want in say notepad, with tab stops and all and than simply post it here with the [ code] text[/code] tag around and thats it.

TBE

And another game played ...

Eastern Conference First Round - New Orleans Hornets vs. Boston Celtics

Game 2 - New Orleans 110 - Boston 103

After losing shamefully in the opener I came back with a vengance ... well, at least I tried. As David Wesley is a bit small to guard Paul Pierce properly I tried something different this time and started Baron Davis at the 2 spot with Darrell Armstrong covering the point. But it was for no use, as the Celtics jumped out to an 10-0 lead. But I came back with a 13-0 run of my own, in which Baron Davis scored 9 points and held the Celts scoreless for around 3 minutes. In that run I changed the lineup and BD ran the point again. He left with 1:50 to play in the first quarter, having already scored 11 pts and dished out 3 assists. About a minute later the subbed in Darrell Armstrong got fouled and hurt his arm. But that couldnt stop the red hot Hornets, which closed the quarter 28-21.

Early in the second quarter the Hornets extended the lead and got news, that Darrell Armstrong was still playable. But I didnt want to risk it and sat him out for the time being. Than the shooting trouble started, but on the other side of the court the Hornets played a tight D and managed to hold of the Celtics. The halftime score was 54 - 46 in favour of New Orleans. BD closed the half with already having 15 pts, 5 reb and 6 ass and was on way to record a triple double ... or so I thought.

At the beginning of the second half DA returned to the court and the teams traded baskets until there was only 7:45 to go in the quarter. At that point Baron Davis went down with an injury too ... the Celtics used this to hit a couple of shots before I recovered and held them at bay. A bit later I received news, that BD was also still playable, but I wanted him to at least sit out the 3rd quarter, cause I dont wanted to risk another, maybe bigger injury. At the end of the 3rd the Hornets led 80 - 69, with J. Magloire having already 10 boards. I briefly thought about leaving BD out for the remainder of the game, just for safety.

But about 2 minutes into the 4th quarter I had to put him back in, in order to seal the win. I traded baskets with Boston for almost the entire quarter until they managed to close the gap to 5 with just 1 Minute to go. On the following possession for Boston I forced them out of bounds, but failed to connect on the offensive end. Than Jumaine Jones hit a 3 and the Hornets comitted a back court violation. The Celts couldnt capitalize and Lamar Odom scored off of BD's 12th assist. Than the Celts started to foul intentionally, but J. Magloire hit both freethrows to make it 108-102 with only about 20 seconds to go. The Celtics inbounded and tried to score with Paul Pierce, but he got fouled by PJ Brown and went to the line. He just made one of the two and the game ended 110-103 in my favour.

Phuhh ... what a game. Now I will travel to Boston for the next two games. Lamar Odom was quite good in this game, having 4 blocks. Baron Davis nearly scored a triple double and the Celtics had 3 people with 10 or more boards. Their rookie, Mike James, nearly recorded a triple double of his own, but needed 3 more points to do so.

Top Performers:

Hornets:
Baron Davis (POG) - 28 pts, 7 reb, 12 ass, 1 stl, 1 blk
Lamar Odom - 13 pts, 4 reb, 4 blk, 3 ass
J. Magloire - 18 pts, 11 reb, 1 blk, 2 ass
PJ Brown - 16 pts, 11 reb, 2 blk, 2 ass

Celtics:
Paul Pierce - 33 pts, 2 reb, 3 ass
Mike James - 7 pts, 10 reb, 11 ass
Vin Baker - 17 pts, 13 reb
Raef LaFrentz - 10 pts, 13 reb, 5 blocks
Jumaine Jones - 21 pts, 3 reb, 4 ass


Meanwhile ... around the League

LA Lakers lead the Series with the crosstown rival Clippers 2-1, Quentin Richardson of the Clippers is injured. Dallas leads 2-1 over Houston and Minnesota 2-1 over Sacramento. The Trailblazers lead also 2-1 in their series with San Antonio, although the Computer claims San Antonio would lead 1-2

In the East the 2nd seeded Philadelphia 76ers evened the series with the Raptors after losing the opener. Same for Indy - Orlando. The Atlanta Hawk's Theo Ratliff is on the injured list for quite some time, which might cost the Hawks their series with the Knicks. They are currently behind 0-2.

TheBigEasy

Great read! That was a fantastic effort to snatch the first seed after starting the year 4-16. Congratulations, it sounded like a pretty exciting regular season. I can certainly understand the boredom that arises from winning all the time, although sometimes I really hate losing a game (particularly when the comeback code is involved).

great game. magloire played solid. b didy scoring as usual. odom seemed quiet though

Glad you enjoy it all ... I had another game. And I am beginning to worry that maybe the Hornets wont survive the first round

Eastern Conference First Round - New Orleans Hornets vs. Boston Celtics

Game Three - Hornets 101 - Celtics 103

This time the game didnt start with the usual Celtics run, they missed 4 consecutive shots in the first couple of minutes and allowed me to snatch away with playing tight D and hitting shots. After I subbed in David Wesley he found Baron Davis repeatedly under the basket for easy points. The Celtics made a short comeback at the end of the first to close the quarter 20 - 23 in favour of the Hornets.

With Baron Davis driving consitently to the basket the Hornets pulled away, cause he either scored or got fouled. I managed to get Vin Baker and Jumaine Jones in foultrouble. The Hornets build the lead to 39-26 during a 16-6 run, but failed to hit anything from beyond the arc. Then the momentum changed as the Celtics got back into it and at halftime the Hornets held a one point lead, 49-48.

The third quarter was close throughout. Eric Williams, filling in for the foul troubled Jumaine Jones, couldnt seem to miss. Than the Celtics suffered a big blow by losing Paul Pierce to injury after a foul by Steve Smith. But even with the Truth out, the Hornets couldnt pull away. A couple of minutes later it was announced that Pierce was still playable. After repeatedly trading baskets the Celtics took a 75-72 lead into the fourth.

Here the fierce battle continued as the Celtics tightend their D and the Hornets failing to score on the first few possessions. I tightend my Defense also and no team could pull away, even after Paul Pierce got back. And still the Hornets were not able to hit anything from 3 pt land. In the end the Celtics were up by 4 when Baron Davis finally hit a 3 to make it 98 - 100. Than I fouled the Celts, they hit both to make it 102-98 with a couple of seconds to go. I took a timeout, inbounded to Baron Davis at the 3pt line and he calmly sank another three to make it 102-101. Now I fouled them again, sending Mike James to the line with 1.5 seconds to go. He missed the first, but made the second. I took my last TO and inbounded the ball again to Baron Davis, this time within the arc to hit the gametying shot. But he missed and the Celtics got away with the win and are up now 2-1 in our series.

I have to win the next game in order to win the series. I fear that I will have to go the full length and the next rounds wont become easier. I just hope that I wont be eliminated in the first round ... that would be embarrasing.

Top Performers:

Hornets:
Baron Davis - 30 pts, 3 reb, 7 ass, 1 blk
J. Magloire - 27 pts, 13 reb, 4 blk, 2 ass, 1 stl
Lamar Odom - 18 pts, 5 reb, 1 blk, 1 ass

Celtics:
Mike James (POG) - 11 pts, 5 reb, 15 ass, 1 stl
Paul Pierce - 21 pts, 6 reb, 2 ass
Eric Williams - 24 pts, 2 reb, 1 ass
Vin Baker - 10 pts, 11 reb, 3 blk, 1 ass
Raef LaFrentz - 16 pts, 7 reb, 3 blk

TheBigEasy

wow, great read so far...nice to see someone take up b diddy and the hornets! loved the mash-odom trade...good luck in your playoffs! the C's sound real tough...

interesting West 1 vs 8...lakes vs clips...lol

btw, you might want to try ruben "kobe stopper" patterson (self given nickname). he's big and strong...both davis and wesley are way too small to handle PP. but if you don't want to give up too much scoring, try alexander.

bad luck. i think you should bring odom into the game more. play him at the 2 spot and post up their little guy. he seems to have a reasonable shot

Tough break, but at least it should make things a little more exciting. Good luck in the next game!

Tough break, but at least it should make things a little more exciting. Good luck in the next game!

Well it helped . Here is the recap.

Eastern Conference First Round - New Orleans Hornets vs. Boston Celtics

Game Four - Hornets 110 - Celtics 98

Right before the game I activated Stacey Augmon from the Injured List, sending Steve Smith there. I wanted another option to stop Paul Pierce and wanted to give Augmon a try. And it helped ... partially.

The game started slow, nobody able to pull away, no runs. It was tight defense and trading baskets all the time through the first. The Celtics led 26-23 after the first.

It continued through the second quarter. Paul Pierce was pretty hot in the first quarter and the 1st half of the second, scoring 16 points in total. But I held him scoreless from there on to the start of the 4th quarter. 2 Minutes were left in the half, when Raef LaFrentz went down with an injury, but he was back at the beginning of the second half. The Celts lead 46-45 at halftime.

The tight battle continued through the third quarter, but at the end of the quarter I used a 10-0 run to open a 6 point lead for 72-66. In the fourth PP got hot again, scoring 17 points in that quarter, but it wasnt enough as the Hornets put up one of their best quarters so far and got away with the win 110-98.

It ties the series now at 2-2 each and it was the first time I was able to hold the Celtics to under 100 points.

Top Performers:

Hornets:
Baron Davis (POG) - 36 pts, 2 reb, 4 stl, 11 ass
J. Magloire - 20 pts, 16 reb, 3 blk, 5 ass
Lamar Odom - 25 pts, 2 reb, 1 stl, 2 ass
S. Augmon - 10 pts, 3 reb, 1 stl, 4 ass (after playing for the 1st time since the allstarbreak)

Celtics:
Paul Pierce - 33 pts, 4 reb, 1 blk, 1 ass
Raef LaFrentz - 21 pts, 11 reb, 4 blk, 1 stl,
Mike James - 3 pts, 1 reb, 1 stl, 12 ass

Meanwhile ... around the League

In the Western conference both the Lakers and Mavericks advanced to the second round by beating the Clippers and Rockets 4-1. Minnesota and Portland lead their series 3-2.

In the Eastern conference my series is tied, while New York (vs. Atl), Indy (vs. Orl) and Philly (vs. Tor) lead their series 3-1.

TheBigEasy

w00t u played odom! great job. the plastic man done an ok job on mr pierce

stacey augomn - playoffs mvp

yeah, a good read...no easy games in the playoffs it seems
good idea to activate Augmon...have you tried using Odom on Pierce (that would leave Wesley on Jones if I'm not mistaken). If Odom's quick enough, he might be worth a try (but hey, I don't want to mess up your season).

good luck for the rest of the series.

Congrats on evening the series at two games apiece. Seems like activating Augmon was a great idea, though it would be against NBA rules. Now just repeat that effort in the next two games. You've come too far and played too well (again, first seed after starting 4-16 is a tremendous effort, even in the Eastern Conference) to bow out in the first round.

Seems like activating Augmon was a great idea, though it would be against NBA rules.

Really? Didnt know that ... but regarding NBA rules the game is not quite correct. Even after the trading deadline, teams are allowed to sign Freeagents ... not in the game.

Anyway ... I have played Games 5 and 6 right after I won game 4 and what shall I say ... I am in round 2. Here are the recaps.

Eastern Conference First Round - New Orleans Hornets vs. Boston Celtics

Game 5 - Hornets 122 - Celtics 111

This one was pretty close throughout the game, like game 4 was. Paul Pierce got pretty hot in the first two quarters, having already scored 15 points at the 7 minute mark in quarter 2. Even a couple of blocks couldnt stop the Celtics, and on the other end Baron Davis and Jamaal Magloire even missed Dunks on consecutive possessions. The game was tied at 53 at halftime. In the third and beginning of the fourth it was still close, but I managed to run away late in the fourth with a 16-0 run, if i remember correctly, and handed them a loss. Baron Davis had his best postseason game so far and one of the best of the season. He nearly had a quadruple double (!), which was too much for the Celtics to overcome. I also played a full court man to man for most of the game, which didnt help them either (thats why BD got 8 steals).

Top Performers:

Hornets:
Baron Davis (POG) - 43 pts, 8 reb, 8 stl, 9 ass, 1 blk on just 2 turnovers
J. Magloire - 16 pts, 11 reb, 2 blk, 1 ass
Lamar Odom - 23 pts, 2 reb, 2 blk, 1 stl, 5 ass,
David Wesley - 11 pts, 4 reb, 3 ass
Stacey Augmon - 9 pts, 3 reb, 3 ass

Celtics:
Paul Pierce - 38 pts, 8 reb, 1 ass - but 6 turnover
Vin Baker - 17 pts, 14 reb, 1 ass
Mike James - 8 pts, 2 reb, 10 ass
Raef LaFrentz - 6 pts, 4 reb, 3 blk, 3 stl, 1 ass


Eastern Conference First Round - New Orleans Hornets vs. Boston Celtics

Game 6 - Hornets 93 - Celtics 77

In this one I was determined not to let them score much and it turned out to be one of my best defensive efforts all year. All game long I just made them use the clock and not giving them easy points. I have not played full court press, which makes this even better. I just wanted to hold them as low as I could manage. On the offensive end I just passed the ball around wildly until someone was open for a shot. That apparently confused the Celtics a bit, as they couldnt do anything against it. Even 30 points by Paul Pierce wouldnt help them a bit as i managed to hold everyone else (except Vin Baker) under double figures in scoring. At no point in this game the Celtics were able to really compete with me and so they lost and I advanced to the second round after winning the series 4-2.

Top Performers:

Hornets:
Baron Davis (POG) - 15 pts, 4 reb, 1 stl, 9 ass
PJ Brown - 22 pts, 6 reb, 2 ass
J. Magloire - 14 pts, 9 reb, 2 ass
Lamar Odom - 13 pts, 4 reb, 1 blk, 1 ass
Stacey Augmon - 4 pts, 1 reb, 1 blk, 5 ass

Celtics:
Paul Pierce - 30 pts, 7 reb ... yeah and nothing else .
Vin Baker - 16 pts, 8 reb, 3 blk, 1 ass
Raef LaFrentz - 6 pts, 9 reb, 2 blk,
Mike James - 9 pts, 2 reb, 13 ass ... but 5 turnover

This was quite an exciting series. I expected to sweep the Celtics, but found myself behind 2 times after losing the first and third games. But in the end I prevailed and won. Baron Davis was playing on MVP level again, averaging 29.2 pts, 4.7 reb, 2.5 stl, 9.7 ass while shooting .511 from the field (although I am not that satisfied with his 3pt %, which is .311). Jamaal Magloire played like the all star he became for the first time this year (well only in real life) with 19.2 pts, 12.2 reb, 1.7 blk, 2.7 ass while shooting a very good .540 from the field. He really stepped his game up a notch from the regular season. The Mashburn for Odom trade really payed off, as Odom provided a much needed scoring option with 19 pts a game through this series. The activation of Stacey Augmon gave me a spark also ...

But the Celtics werent that bad either. Paul Pierce was the topscorer, averaging about 31 pts a game. Raef LaFrentz blocked the hell out of me with 3 blocks a game and Mike James assisted his a.. off with 11 assists a game. But in the end the better team won and I am now in the second round, where I will face the New York Knicks, who could capitalize on Theo Ratliffs absence on the Hawks roster.

Western Conference Second Round

Los Angeles Lakers (4-1 over Clippers) - San Antonio Spurs (4-3 over Blazers)
Minnesota Timberwolves (4-2 over Kings) - Dallas Mavericks (4-1 over Rockets)

Eastern Conference Second Round

New Orleans Hornets (4-2 over Celtics) - New York Knicks (4-1 over Hawks)
Indiana Pacers (4-2 over Magic) - Philadelphia 76ers (4-2 over Raptors)

Well ... I am looking forward to another exciting series.

TheBigEasy

Really? Didnt know that ... but regarding NBA rules the game is not quite correct. Even after the trading deadline, teams are allowed to sign Freeagents ... not in the game.

Yeah, once the playoff rosters are set they cannot be changed. If a player is left off the playoff roster, he's missed his opportunity. But as you noted, we should be able to sign free agents after the trade deadline, so it's an even trade.

Congrats on advancing, good luck in the next round. I'm looking forward to the recaps.

Argh ... damnit ... sometimes I just hate this game. The (in)famous comeback code kicked in this time, preventing me from holding the Knicks to fewer than 80 points. I hate it when that happens.

Here is the recap.

Eastern Conference Semifinals - New Orleans Hornets vs. New York Knicks

Game 1 - Hornets 105 - Knicks 89

New York started with two quick 3s by van Horn and Houston, but the Hornets werent impressed. They responded with a very tight D and a 14-0 run to put the Knicks away for good already. Baron Davis scored 19 points in the first quarter, which ended 33-21 in the Hornets favour.

At the beginning of the second the Hornets pushed further with a 12-3 run in which the Knicks hit only 1-9 shots, but than suddenly the Knicks shots dropped. But in the end the Hornets pushed the lead back to 18 and a 60-42 halftime score.

I kept pushing in the third, wanting to hold the Knicks to as low a point total as I would get them. Baron Davis hit the 30 pt mark in that quarter and Lamar Odom achieved a triple double at the end of a 25-15 quarter for the Hornets, which extended the lead to 28 before the final period.

But than that freakin comeback code kicked in. I wanted to keep my starters out for most of the quarter, as I had a 28 point lead and Odom already had his tripledouble. But the Knicks went on a run. I didnt fear they would suddenly win the game, but I wanted to hold them under 80 points, which seemed achievable after they had only 57 pts after 3 quarters. But no ... the damn game kept hitting their shots and forced me to put my starters back in in order to hold them back. I could make the D as tight as I wanted, they still kept hitting shots. But even tho they outscored me 32-20 in the quarter, they lost.

But it is still very frustrating, when you are able to pressure them enough that they dont hit anything for the first 3 quarters, only to see your efforts crumble in the fourth. And on a side note ... the Knicks took 83 shots, 39 of them were 3 pointattempts ...

Top Performers:

Hornets:
Baron Davis (POG) - 36 pts, 3 reb, 2 stl, 5 ass
Lamar Odom - 12 pts, 12 reb, 13 ass
PJ Brown - 8 pts, 11 reb, 1 blk, 1 ass
J. Magloire - 16 pts, 6 reb

Knicks:
Antonio McDyess - 18 pts, 10 reb
Keith van Horn - 21 pts, 4 reb, 2 ass
Allan Houston - 16 pts, 3 reb, 1 blk, 1 ass
Charlie Ward - 13 pts, 4 reb, 7 ass

I hope I can have another 3 quarters like the first 3 of this game in the second game and hopefully the comeback code wont kick in and I can actually hold them to under 80.

TheBigEasy

Great series opener, shame about the comeback code. Thanks to the Detroit series, I'm holding my opponents to around 83 ppg (scoring 102 ppg myself). You're still beating teams by an average of 12.4 ppg in the playoffs though, which is impressive.