Andrew's Chicago Bulls Dynasty - November 2006

[Chino]

Wow!:shock: The Dynasty goes on!

Great Dynasty, Andrew! I enjoy reading them.

[Clutch]

woooo hooo no more Bumleavy! Granger and Collison are great pick ups; these revamped Bulls are now ready to roll I'd say

[Andrew]

November 4th, 2006
Memphis (93) at Chicago (118)
Bulls crush Grizzlies at home
[ Boxscore ]

Reigning NBA Finals MVP Ben Gordon wasn't about to let his team lose their third straight game to the winless Memphis Grizzlies as he opened the game with a flurry. Gordon scored 16 first quarter points on 7/10 shooting, including 2/3 from downtown and nailed another two big three pointers in the second quarter including one at the buzzer en route to a 24 point half, and a 65-50 halftime lead.

The Bulls never looked back, swarming the Grizzlies throughout the third quarter and forcing several three second violations and hounding Memphis from end to end. Chicago totalled just nine steals but deflected several passes, including a memorable save by Luol Deng who deflected a pass into Brian Cardinal, who was still out of bounds after inbounding the ball. The defensive effort overcame a perfect shooting night for Pau Gasol, who was 10/10 from the field and finished with 24 points and 9 rebounds. It seemed, however, that Chicago would not be denied.

"We wanted to come out and make a statement to begin this season," Gordon explained after the game. "The last couple of games haven't gone to plan but we're ready to start defending our crown." Gordon finished with 32 points and shot 14/24 from the field, while adding 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals.

The Bulls received a scare when recently acquired Danny Granger left the game shortly after checking in with an apparent arm injury. Granger did not see action until the third quarter but played sixteen minutes, scoring 4 points and grabbing 2 rebounds. Nick Collison made his debut for the Bulls and made an impact with his passing, finding teammates along the baseline for easy buckets for 5 assists while scoring 8 points of his own, all in the fourth quarter.

Chicago improved to 2-2 on the season and will face the Sixers in Philadelphia this Thursday. Memphis meanwhile dropped to 0-3 to begin the season, their next game coming tomorrow night against the New York Knicks at the FedEx Forum.

Notes: Every Bulls player saw court time and scored at least three points...the Bulls had 34 assists to the Grizzlies' 19...Andres Nocioni started for the Bulls after coming off the bench in the two losses. He started in the Bulls' opening night victory...both teams shot 52.6% from the field, however the Bulls made three more three pointers and eleven more field goals.


Chris Duhon drives to the hoop for a rare dunk

[Skills]

Great job Andrew.
It's nice to see Granger in a Bulls uniform.
I'll be following..

[homicide1550]

Wow! You picked up some really good young players in the off-season.. I’ll be following this!

[Chaser7]

Great win Andrew! Nice recap, and your team definitely needed this.

One quick request though, I don't know if you can control this and/or you're doing this intentionally, but last few boxscores do not open in a new window but rather get downloaded. The one against Miami in the opener opened in a new window. Can you make it so we don't have to download it? No big deal, but just a small favor, thanks in advance! and good luck

[Andrew]

I can't control that sorry, when I left-click them they open up in a new window so the problem isn't with the code or the Forum. Try right-clicking and opening in a new window/tab if you haven't already.

[GoHornets]

Great to see nocioni as a starter!!!
Im glad to see wilcox in your team, he's my favourite non star player.
Im wondering when he is going to be the official starter at c or pf

[Andrew]

After the first game I thought I'd start him at power forward alongside Chandler at centre but it didn't seem to work out as well as I'd hoped, so for the moment he'll be coming off the bench.

[Andrew]

November 6th, 2006
Richard Jefferson out up to two weeks

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ -- New Jersey Nets' forward Richard Jefferson is expected to miss up to two weeks with a strained calf muscle. The injury occured during the Nets' 94-90 loss in Houston last night. Jefferson is averaging 16.2 ppg, 7.8 rpg and 1.8 spg through five games this season.

November 9th, 2006
Bobcats lose Wallace

CHARLOTTE, NC -- The Charlotte Bobcats will be without starting small forward Gerald Wallace for up to three weeks after he hyper-extended his knee in last night's 96-94 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers. Wallace, who finished the game with 15 points and eight rebounds, is averaging a team high 20.3 ppg in addition to 7 rpg and 2.5 apg.

November 9th, 2006
Chicago (116) at Philadelphia (103)
Hot shooting Hinrich scores 45 in Bulls victory
[ Boxscore ]

Many people in the Wachovia Center came to the building expecting to see a point guard explode for 40 points. As far as the Sixers and their fans are concerned, it wasn't the right one.

Kirk Hinrich scored a career high 45 points on a white hot shooting night that saw him go 18/23 from the field. The fourth year guard missed only one field goal in the second half and was a perfect 8/8 in the final quarter, including two three pointers. Hinrich would finish 6/8 from beyond the three point arc and added 8 assists and 5 steals while committing only one turnover.

"Kirk was just crazy tonight," Bulls' leading scorer Ben Gordon said of his backcourt partner. "It didn't matter where he was. I can't believe how open he was in the second half. We wanted to get the ball back to him as often as we could." Gordon would finish with 20 points and 6 assists of his own.

It was a tough night for Sixers' point guard Allen Iverson. Playing with a broken nose, the perennial All-Star left the game early after picking up his second foul and never found his shooting touch, scoring just 12 points in 23 minutes on 6/16 from the field. Chris Webber picked up the slack scoring a season high 33 points on 16/22 shooting, abusing the smaller Nocioni down low. He also grabbed 13 rebounds.

The Sixers were undaunted by the defending champions in the first half which saw several lead changes until the Bulls steadied themselves and gained control in the second quarter. The second half also saw some spirited runs by Philadelphia but each were answered by a determined Bulls club with a run of their own. Sixers' coach Maurice Cheeks commented after the game "We had some opportunities, but along came Hinrich. He just killed us tonight."

Chicago improved to 3-2 on the season and picked up their first road win of the year. Philadelphia is also 3-2 after the loss and will face the Hawks tomorrow night in Atlanta. The Bulls have three days rest before they face the Magic in Orlando next Monday.

Notes: The Sixers were 1/19 from three point range. The Bulls shot 8/18...the Sixers won the battle on the boards 43-32, including 19-5 at the offensive end...Hinrich missed his first free throw attempt of the season. He had connected on his previous 12 attempts...all five Sixers' starters scored in double digits.

[Lamrock]

Great wins! lol @ Hinrich's 45. Is that a career high?

I never encountered the boxscore issue. It just opens a new tab.

Good luck against the Magic, I can't wait for the next update.

[Andrew]

It is indeed. His actual career high is 38, set this season against the Pacers. I believe his career high before that was 34, which he registered a few times.

[homicide1550]

Nice defense on AI! Just 6-of-16 from the field... Hinrich really owned him in that game..

[Chaser7]

Nice win Andrew, Damn Captain Kirk was dead on tonight...

This time it didn't make me download it.. I have a Mac, and I think Lamrock has a PC, which be a factor in why sometimes I have to download it, whereas he doesn't. I looked at all the links of your boxscores, comparing the times where I had to download it and when I didn't and I can't really find a consistent pattern yet. Weird though.. Anyways good job and nice recap

[Andrew]

That could be it. I can't think of any other reason it would be prompting you to download it instead of opening it in a browser window.

Thanks for the comments guys. The 45 came surprisingly easy, mainly because three point shooting has traditionally been my weakest skill in NBA Live and they just kept leaving the lane open. Their rookie point guard (C. Lenard) was a huge defensive liability, I just kept getting by him and taking the lane or finding an open shot at the three point line. Probably one of the most effortless high scoring games I've had by any player.

[Andrew]

November 13th, 2006
Chicago (106) at Orlando (75)
Bulls rout Magic by 31
[ Boxscore ]

It wasn't a good night for Dwight Howard and the Magic. Orlando's young centre played just 20 minutes before fouling out with just 6 points and 3 rebounds as the Chicago Bulls dominated the Magic on the home court. Andres Nocioni led the Bulls with 20 points and a career high 19 rebounds including six at the offensive end. Steve Francis led the Magic with 15 points and added 5 assists.

Chicago began the game slowly but with great intensity at the defensive end with the first quarter ending with the game tied at 23. In the second quarter however, the Bulls found their rhythm at the offensive end and anchored by their defense they began to run the Magic out of the building, outscoring them 29-13 to take a seemingly comfortable 52-36 lead into halftime.

Orlando opened the third quarter with a flurry and cut into the deficit, coming within eight of the Bulls midway through the period. The Bulls remained unphased by the run and pushed the lead back to 13 by the end of the third before blowing the game open early in the fourth and never looking back, holding the Magic to a season best 75 for the 31 point victory.

Notes: Tyson Chandler was held scoreless for the first time this season. He played only 22 minutes, collecting 7 rebounds and missing both his shot attempts...Kirk Hinrich had only 9 points after exploding for 45 against the Sixers...five Bulls scored in double figures compared to three for the Magic...Justin Reed played 32 minutes with Howard on the bench due to foul trouble. He finished with 11 points and 6 rebounds.

[homicide1550]

Great job on making Dwight foul out... And that was a pretty well balanced scoring from your team (5 players in double digits)... Another good win for the defending champs!

[Lamrock]

Jebus, 31 Point win, and 19 rebounds for Noce? The Magic really suck in this game.

Your players have been pretty inconsistent. It seems every night one player explodes (Kirk, now Nocioni) while everyone else has an average night. I wonder if any of your players will make the ASG!

Good luck with your next game. Also, less than 200 posts until 30,000!

[Clutch]

man! nice string of wins there

funny to recognize names like 'Howard Mobley', 'Marty Gartner' and if I'm not mistaken, 'Justin Reed'; knowing '06 dynasty mode a little too well kinda scare me...

[Andrew]

Your players have been pretty inconsistent. It seems every night one player explodes (Kirk, now Nocioni) while everyone else has an average night. I wonder if any of your players will make the ASG!

I agree, though considering the way the Bulls have been even when they've made the Playoffs the past three seasons, it's not completely unrealistic. When it comes to scoring, Gordon is usually the most consistent though I've been trying to distribute the scoring a little more and not have him averaging up around 30 ppg. It's kind of fun to have different guys step up game to game, I tend to go with whoever's got the hot hand which is partly why some players don't get a lot of shots some nights.

funny to recognize names like 'Howard Mobley', 'Marty Gartner' and if I'm not mistaken, 'Justin Reed'; knowing '06 dynasty mode a little too well kinda scare me...

Yes, the same players (or at least the same names) do pop up a lot. Justin Reed's a real player though.

[Skills]

Great 31-point win!
It's funny how D12 fouls out with just 3 boards.

[Andrew]

That's how I was able to go 16-1 in thw 2006 Playoffs; I managed to get a lot of stars into foul trouble early which severely hampered my opponent's offense. Isidore Snow, their draft pick, is currently leading the team in field goal attempts though.

[Clutch]

Justin Reed's a real player though.

heh! i had the itchy feeling that was the case; sad when i remember the "Max McGrady's" and "Dean Karpotsev's" before real life players!

[Andrew]

Easily done; it's the kind of name that's often generated in NBA Live and his NBA career hasn't been particularly noteworthy to date.

[Patr1ck]

So are you having fun with Live 06?