OKC: Part III - Tough ending in Milwaukee

[Andrew]

That's weird. Did they abruptly retire or something?

[Phil89]

I don't really know what happened. None of them were listed on the retirements screen, but when free agency came around they were just gone. I had to add 60 players back in, although probably half were just summer league players who ended up getting waived anyway.

After every season the game usually retires a bunch of players who have been on the free agents list all season. But these ones had been playing. It was just weird.

But that is why I like the create-a-player feature. My efforts at achieving realism would have been ruined if that many players had just prematurely retired

[Andrew]

Odd. The game does prune free agents just like NBA Live used to, but usually not the higher rated ones. At least you were able to bring them back, though as you said, it's a shame they're imperfect copies as far as career stats.

[Phil89]

27/3/20

Charlotte Hornets [22-50] vs Oklahoma City Thunder [24-47]

Thunder's future is on display as Gilgeous-Alexander and Bazley take down Hornets

CHA | 30 | 31 | 30 | 30 | 121 |
OKC | 36 | 29 | 39 | 33 | 139 |

Player of the Game: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
(40pts, 5reb, 10ast, 2stl)
(16-24 FG, 2-2 3PT, 6-7 FT)

Simmed Game

CHI | 17 | 26 | 16 | 17 | 76 |
OKC | 31 | 26 | 13 | 22 | 92 |

POTG: Chris Paul (20pts, 2reb, 8ast, 1stl)


Record: 26-47

These wins basically end our slim hopes of finishing with the worst record in the league. Oh well


It's taken me most of the season to figure out SGA's game, but I think I'm finally getting it. His quick first step allows him to get past his defender and get to the rim to score quite easily.

[Andrew]

Losing with honour, rather than shamefully tanking, I say.

[Phil89]

31/3/20

Oklahoma City Thunder [26-47] vs Los Angeles Lakers [49-25]

Thunder come up short against title-chasing Lakers

OKC | 28 | 24 | 29 | 31 | 112 |
LAL | 27 | 31 | 35 | 36 | 129 |

Player of the Game: LeBron James
(30pts, 7reb, 10ast, 1stl, 1blk)
(14-26 FG, 2-3 3PT)

Simmed Game

OKC | 35 | 26 | 24 | 22 | 107 |
PHX | 37 | 23 | 27 | 29 | 116 |

POTG: Devin Booker (25pts, 3reb, 7ast, 1stl)


Record: 26-49

[Andrew]

That would've been an enjoyable win over the Lakers, but obviously not an easy feat to accomplish. At least SGA outscored LeBron!

[Phil89]

4/4/20

Oklahoma City Thunder [26-49] vs Orlando Magic [33-43]

Early Adams injury allows Vucevic to dominate in Oklahoma City

OKC | 25 | 25 | 33 | 29 | 112 |
ORL | 27 | 32 | 31 | 30 | 120 |

Player of the Game: Nikola Vucevic
(35pts, 12reb, 2ast, 4stl, 2blk)
(16-23 FG, 1-1 3PT, 3-3 FT)

Simmed Game

OKC | 23 | 23 | 20 | 26 | 192 |
WAS | 18 | 32 | 19 | 33 | 102 |

POTG: Isaiah Thomas (28pts, 1reb, 7ast, 1blk)


Record: 26-51

Adams' left elbow got hurt in the first quarter, so I sat him for the rest of the game. Turns out he dislocated it and will miss the rest of the season (aka 2 weeks).

SGA picked up a thigh injury early in the fourth quarter. Luckily it wasn't serious and he was able to rejoin the game.

[Andrew]

Rough end to the season for Adams. 7 boards in 8 minutes, though; shows how much of a beast he's been on the glass this season.

[Phil89]

It would be interesting to compare his stats from before the all-star break with what he has done after it.

I think I stopped trying to boost his stats after he missed out on selection, and have run the offense through SGA a lot more since.

[kibaxx7]

Man, this is still going on! Full throttle! Nice to see CP3 around.

[Phil89]

9/4/20

Los Angeles Lakers [52-26] vs Oklahoma City Thunder [26-51]

Career-highs from Patton not enough as Thunder lose overtime thriller to Lakers

LAL | 36 | 35 | 25 | 37 | 17 | 150 |
OKC | 41 | 25 | 26 | 41 | 16 | 149 |

Player of the Game: Justin Patton
(36pts, 17reb, 2ast)
(18-23 FG)

Simmed Game

OKC | 24 | 21 | 24 | 19 | 88 |
LAC | 30 | 23 | 19 | 25 | 97 |

POTG: Paul George (24pts, 12reb, 4ast, 1stl, 1blk)


Record: 26-53

Patton's previous highs were 23 points and 11 rebounds. He really filled in for Adams brilliantly.

[Phil89]

Man, this is still going on! Full throttle! Nice to see CP3 around.

Yeah. It will probably slow down a bit when I have to do all the off-season writing stuff though

[Andrew]

Hell of an effort against a superior opponent. SGA > LBJ.

[Phil89]

Hell of an effort against a superior opponent. SGA > LBJ.

I think that makes it 3 games where SGA has outplayed LeBron this season. Sadly though, we have lost all 3 of those games against the Lakers

[Phil89]

13/4/20

Phoenix Suns [46-34] vs Oklahoma City Thunder [26-53]

Booker drops 53 as Suns hold on to beat Thunder at home

PHX | 36 | 35 | 35 | 32 | 138 |
OKC | 31 | 33 | 30 | 41 | 135 |

Player of the Game: Devin Booker
(53pts, 5reb, 2ast, 1stl)
(20-35 FG, 4-9 3PT, 9-9 FT)

Simmed Game

OKC | 21 | 18 | 25 | 27 | 191 |
MIN | 22 | 34 | 22 | 22 | 100 |

POTG: Karl-Anthony Towns (20pts, 13reb, 4ast, 2stl, 3blk)


Record: 26-55

Booker scored 23 points in the first quarter and just kept going. It was crazy.

I can't remember the last time a CPU player dropped 50+ against me.

[Andrew]

Memories of Shaq in NBA Live 2002.

[kibaxx7]

Suns winning some games, finally!

[Phil89]

16/4/20

Sacramento Kings [30-51] vs Oklahoma City Thunder [26-55]

Thunder end disappointing season with blowout loss in Sacramento

SAC | 24 | 38 | 45 | 38 | 145 |
OKC | 29 | 34 | 35 | 26 | 124 |

Player of the Game: Harrison Barnes
(27pts, 3reb, 9ast, 3stl)
(12-23 FG, 3-5 3PT)

Record: 26-56

SGA had 31 points in the first half. He didn't really have much petrol left in the second half though.

[Phil89]

Suns winning some games, finally!

Devin Booker is good. But they only started winning once they added Aron Baynes

[Andrew]

Bring on the ping pong balls!

[Phil89]

17/4/20

2019-20 NBA Season Summary




Division Standings

Eastern Conference











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Western Conference











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Playoff Seeds & Power Rankings

Eastern Conference




Western Conference




Power Rankings



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League Leaders













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Monthly and Weekly Awards











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Injuries

[Andrew]

Interesting that there aren't any 60 win teams. In some of my MyCAREER seasons in recent years, at least a couple of teams have topped the 70 win mark in the same season. Admittedly I've been responsible for some of those 70 win seasons, but the sim engine threw in a couple more.

[Phil89]

17/4/20

2019-20 Season Awards





Most Valuable Player

Houston Rockets scoring machine James Harden wins his second MVP award in three seasons. He and teammate Russell Westbrook have now won the award for the past four years and both now have twice as many MVP trophies as former Oklahoma City teammate Kevin Durant. That was probably unthinkable back during their time together with the Thunder, when Durant was the big star.

Giannis Antetokounmpo ran Harden right to the wire and the voting results reflected that. Harden prevailed by a slim margin, with Stephen Curry, LeBron James and Kyrie Irving also in the mix. A new era of dominant big men may be upon us as Nikola Jokic, Joel Embiid and Anthony Davis all polled well also. Kawhi Leonard and Russell Westbrook were the only other players to receive significant votes from the judges.

Many people had doubts about how well Harden and Westbrook would work together on the court. Early on things looked pretty grim, with the Rockets holding a 7-11 record at the end of November. But a sizzling 12-1 streak in December shot them right up the standings. They eventually overtook the Warriors into second place and then battled with the Lakers for the top seed the rest of the way home.

After a long game of musical chairs throughout February and March for top spot, the Rockets eventually found themselves sitting at the summit when the music stopped. Ironically they won eight games less than last season, but rose two spots in the standings.

Harden became the first player to ever average 33 points, 5 rebounds and 10 assists per game for a whole season. He also joins Oscar Robertson and Russell Westbrook as the only players to average 30/5/10. It was a truly historic season for him and he deserves this award.

Sixth Man of the Year

Toronto shot-stopper Serge Ibaka receives the first major award of his career after being named as the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year. He helped his Raptors secure the seventh seed in the eastern conference, leading their solid bench unit that also included Fred VanVleet and Norman Powell.

Former Oklahoma City duo Dennis Schroder and Nerlens Noel were both considered favourites to win this award, but both lost eligibility after being traded at the deadline and finishing increased playing time wit their new teams.

Defensive Player of the Year

He may have missed out on being named MVP, but Giannis Antetokounmpo will still have something to add to his trophy cabinet after being named Defensive Player of the Year for the second season in a row.

Giannis was incredibly unlucky to miss out on MVP though. He became the first player to average at least 28 points, 15 rebounds and 6 assists in a season. He finished 5th in points per game, 2nd in rebounds, 3rd in blocks and in the top 20 for both steals and assists. You would have to go back to the days of Wilt Chamberlain to find a player who truly dominates as much as the Greek Freak does on the court. Unfortunately his team finishing with only 43 wins is what hurt his MVP chances the most.

On December 13th against the New York Knicks Giannis scored an NBA season-high 63 points, to go along with 15 rebounds, 9 assists and 2 blocks. It set a new record for most points scored at the iconic Madison Square Garden, surpassing Carmelo Anthony's 62 in 2014.

Most Improved Player

Sacramento forward Harrison Barnes has had to work hard to gain respect in the NBA after being let go the Warriors so that they could sign superstar Kevin Durant back in 2016. He was also traded during a game by Dallas last season, a move which drew some criticism and earned him a lot of sympathy from fans.

Last off-season he received ridicule for opting out of a $25 million player option for this season, before proving his doubters wrong by signing a four year, $85 million contract extension with the Kings. People had said that it was dumb for him to turn down that $25 million, but he got a long-term deal on virtually the same yearly salary.

Despite another season of struggle for the California-based franchise, Barnes quietly put together the best season of his career. He averaged 20 points a game for the first time and also had one of his most efficient shooting seasons.

Rookie of the Year

Zion Williamson showed everyone this season why he was so hyped before entering the league. He produced the most dominant rookie season the NBA has seen since the likes of Jordan, Magic and Shaq entered the league decades ago. Zion averaged an incredible 26 points, 12 rebounds, nearly 5 assists and over 2 blocks per game as he led the rejuvenated New Orleans Pelicans back to the playoffs. He was selected on the All-NBA third team as a rookie, which is an incredible achievement by itself.

New Orleans improved by 10 wins over last season and grabbed the hotly-contested eighth seed in the western conference ahead of more-fancied teams like Utah, Portland and San Antonio. Nobody in New Orleans mourns the loss of Anthony Davis anymore. Zion is the new king in town.

The Pelicans have been eliminated in the first round in five of the seven times that they have qualified for the playoffs in their history. This new young group led by Zion, Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball and veteran Jrue Holiday plays without fear and it has worked for them so far. The prospect of facing Houston's dual-MVP duo of Harden and Westbrook in a best-of-seven series may concern them, but they won't show it.

Coach of the Year

Brett Brown coached his team to an upset championship win over the Golden State Warriors last season and this year he has got them perfectly positioned to go back-to-back. Philadelphia's 56 wins give them the best record in the league, one win ahead of Houston. The home court advantage that brings could be vital in a best-of-seven series.

In evidence of the how competitive the NBA is this season, only five teams reached the 50-win mark. Last season it was only six, but three of those teams won over 60 games. The Warriors had to overcome the loss of Kevin Durant and injuries to Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, whilst Oklahoma City completely reversed course after losing superstars Russell Westbrook and Paul George.

After winning the title, the 76ers lost all-star Jimmy Butler to Miami during the off-season and it seemed like their championship window had closed again. But they signed veteran big man Al Horford from Boston and retained free agent Tobias Harris. Stars Joel Embiid (27p/12r/2b) and Ben Simmons (20p/9r/8a) took another step in their development as well, with Simmons even winning the all-star game MVP after a dazzling triple-double performance.

Brown has been with the franchise since "The process" began way back in 2013 and he truly deserves this recognition for what he has helped build.

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2019-20 Team Honours

[Phil89]

Bring on the ping pong balls!

We've got the equal second-best odds alongside Chicago. Those mid-season trades really helped the tank in the end.

Hopefully we stay in the top 3 or draft night could get a bit complicated.

Interesting that there aren't any 60 win teams. In some of my MyCAREER seasons in recent years, at least a couple of teams have topped the 70 win mark in the same season. Admittedly I've been responsible for some of those 70 win seasons, but the sim engine threw in a couple more.

I think the events of last off-season really levelled the playing field, especially in the western conference. The Warriors losing Durant, Cousins and Klay brought them back to the field, whilst the Lakers, Rockets and Clippers all got stronger with their trades/signings.

Us falling from 67 wins to 26 wins may have had an effect as well.

Milwaukee only winning 43 games was a surprise. But I think Philadelphia won a similar amount last season and they ended up winning the title