[08] Flying High In The ATL-NBA Finals - Complete!

[Lamrock]

Hawks Game of the Month

Charlotte 119, Atlanta 123 - F-OT

Atlanta, GA - The majority of those gathered at the Philips Arena likely expected an easy win for the home team Hawks over the bottom feeding Charlotte Bobcats. Jason Richardson had other plans.

Scoring an unbelievable career high 54 points on 20-28 shooting, Richardson gave everything he got and then some to keep his team in the game. Led by a balanced attack by all-star Joe Johnson and the rest of the Hawks starters, Atlanta controlled the game for the most part.

It wasn't until the final three minutes of regulation when the Bobcats, led by J-Rich and Raymond Felton quickly cut a twelve point lead down to two with forty seconds left in the game. The Hawks scored on the next possession, but Richardson attacked right back. With 15 seconds left, Charlotte decided to foul the ever-struggling Josh Smith, who sunk both. Felton got extremely lucky on the next possession, getting hacked by Mike Bibby (who fouled out with 21 points and 7 assists) on a missed three point attempt. He failed to capitalize however, making just one of three. He then redeemed himself by stealing an inbounds pass and dishing it to Richardson, who hit the game-tying three. With under three seconds to go, the final shot ended up in Josh Smith's hands, but he missed everything on the potential game winner.

Determined to redeem himself for his shoddy performance earlier in the game (in regulation scored 8 points on 3-11 shooting) and the season, Josh Smith took it on himself to dominate the extra period, and that he did. Despite Jason Richardson constantly countering with shots of his own, trying to make the memory of his first fifty point game a pleasant one, Smith was unstoppable and scored 10 of his team's 13 points in the extra period to lead his team to a 123-119 victory.

JORDAN Player of the Game: Jason Richardson (54 Points, 7 Assists, 5 Rebounds, 20-28 FG, 8-11 3PT)
MCDWYANE Shitass of the Game: Adam Morrison (7 Points, 4 Rebounds, 2-9 FG, 5 Turnovers)

Top 5 Performers: (P/R/A/S/B)

Jason Richardson (CHA) (54/5/7/2/2)
Joe Johnson (ATL) (33/4/7/3/0)
Josh Smith (ATL) (18/6/2/2/4)
Raymond Felton (CHA) (17/0/9/3/0)
Marvin Williams (ATL) (22/8/4/1/2)

CHA 24 30 25 31 - 9 119
ATL 29 33 26 22 - 13 123

Notes:

- Despite the losing effort, Jason Richardson's 54 point, 20-28 performance earned him POG honors. Joe Johnson led the Hawks with 33 Points and 7 Assists.
- This dynasty is back. Don't expect daily updates, but... Too bad I missed out on my chances of contending for dynasty of the year, but if you want to throw me some low ranking votes, that would be awesome.
- Next update will be the month in review. This is an experiment, showing you the best game of the month, without telling when it was. Enjoy?

[deihatein]

Wow, nice update. That's a great game indeed, Jason Richardson is unstoppable. What is your record by the way?

[Clutch]

solid recap man one of the nicer reads in a while. that battle between J-Rich and JJ sounded epic as well as Josh stepping up at the end for the KO; McD SAotG - love it

[Chaser7]

J-Rich thats my boy! . I like the recap, but don't like how there's no context in terms of when it was. But otherwise nice to see this back and good luck.

[Oskar]

Nice to see it back man, good luck !

[Maree]

Enjoy I did! Very interesting idea but there is downside to this too, I think. The advantage is that you will be proceeding much faster to the post season(which is always good) than you would usually, but, there will be little known to us how your team plays when everything doesn't fall. But hey, personally, I like the idea - it's new

have fun with this and the "tribe" welcomes you back

[lildang]

Okay, I have some bad news. My 360 just got the lower red light of death. Basically, my game's graphics are totally screwed up. I am going to try some more things, and if worse comes to worst I'll wrap my 360 in towels to create the red rings problem that is covered and send it in.

Either way, one month hiatus, unless I fix it.

When will you post the next blog???I cant wait to hear how the game with lebron go.

[Jing]

McDwayne Shitass of the game?

I need to read this more often.

[Lamrock]

Hey, thanks for the support and bumping this!

Sorry about the lack of updates. School is finally over, so I should be able to start updating more. Also, my new cell phone has a decent camera, and once I get a USB cable for it, there should be pics! Don't expect them in the next update (coming soon), but look out for them afterwards.

[Lamrock]

The Month That Was For The Hawks: November 2008

The Hawks' season started with six straight home games. After starting the home stretch 2-2, Atlanta managed to defeat the Knicks and Sixers en route to a 4-2 record.

Their road debut was a successful one, as they defeated the Memphis Grizzlies by eleven points. Their record improved to 6-2 when they used a huge fourth quarter comeback to defeat the Nuggets, putting them at 6-2. Their win streak increased to six when they defeated those same two teams again, in blowout victories.

The win streak was halted when they were blown out by Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers. Fortunately, they bounced back with a blowout win over Chris Paul's New Orleans Hornets, the followed up by a thrilling overtime win over the Bobcats. The road trip finished with a loss in Orlando, putting them at 10-4, but they finished the month with two home wins, putting them at 12-4, giving them the second best record in the league.

Two-time all-star Joe Johnson has led the charge, averaging 24.4 points and just under 6 assists per game. Also, Mike Bibby has been playing like an all-star, averaging 17.7 points, 7.5 assists and handling the team in clutch moments. Al Horford's development has continues, as he has averaging nearly 15 and 8. On the downside, Josh Smith has been painfully inconsistent, averaging just 10 points and 5 boards on 45% shooting. Sixth man Marvin Williams, who has averaged 15 points and 5.7 rebounds on 56% shooting in less time may be given the starting nod over Smith.

The Atlanta Hawks currently hold second place in the league, and in the Power Rankings one month in. Can they keep this up and end their decade-long playoff drought, or will this year be just another disappointment? That is up for the Hawks organization, the referees and you, the fans to decide.

Record:
Month: 11-3; Home: 5-1; Away: 6-2
Overall: 12-4; Home: 6-2; Away: 6-2

Vs.
Win 116-102 - Johnson: 33/3/7; Bosh: 18/8/2 - RECORD: 2-1

Vs.
Loss 103-86 - Granger: 23/5/6; Williams: 20-7-4 - RECORD: 2-2

Vs.
Win 112-104; Johnson: 24/2/8; Marbury: 17/4/8 - RECORD: 3-2

Vs.
Win 102-94; Horford: 20/4/10; Miller: 17/8/9 - RECORD: 4-2

@
Win 109-98; Bibby: 23/1/7; Conley: 15/4/8 - RECORD: 5-2

@
Win 105-102; Johnson: 28/7/10; Anthony: 25/7/4 - RECORD: 6-2

@
Win 113-89; Bibby: 19/4/12; Green: 23/4/4 - RECORD: 7-2

@
Win 132-111; Johnson: 37/5/7; Iverson: 29/3/7 - RECORD: 8-2

@
Loss 103-87; Odom: 24/8/7; Johnson: 30/5/3 - RECORD: 8-3

@
Win 123-99; J. Smith: 29/6/9; Paul: 25/6/15 - RECORD: 9-3

@
Win 123-119 (OT); Johnson: 33/4/7; Richardson: 54/5/7 - RECORD: 10-3

@
Loss 113-98; Howard: 22/13/3; Williams: 19/8/5 - RECORD: 10-4

Vs.
Win 94-85; Horford: 23/8/2; Brand: 25/10/4 - RECORD: 11-4

Vs.
Win 94-93; Bibby: 21/4/7 (hit Game-winner with 2.3 seconds); Gay: 25/7/6 - RECORD: 12-4

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Still to Come: Power Rankings; MVP Race; Standings; Player Stats; League Leaders, and MORE!

--------------------

Okay, so there is the recap. I am still working on the format, and eventually, either in the next monthly, or the one after, I will have in game pics. For now, tell me how you feel about this, and know that I can't be bothered to do a recap for every single game. Feedback please.

[Oskar]

You have a nice record, and it's a nice recap. Looking forward to the full recap.

[Lamrock]

You have a nice record, and it's a nice recap. Looking forward to the full recap.

Thanks. Next part should be up by tomorrow. I doubt I'll maintain this 75% winning average though.

[Lamrock]

Around the NBA

MVP Candidates - P-R-A-B-S

1. LeBron James (CLE) - 29.8/7.0/7.1/1.6/1.5
2. Dwyane Wade (MIA) - 31.1/4.9/7.5/1.1/1.5
3. Chris Paul (NOH) - 22.6/3.2/10.4/0.5/2.7
4. Yao Ming (HOU) - 25.8/11.0/4.1/2.2/0.7
5. Joe Johnson (ATL) - 24.4/3.0/5.9/0.3/1.3

League Leaders:

Points Per Game: Dwyane Wade (31.1)
Rebounds Per Game: Dwight Howard (12.5)
Assists Per Game: Chris Paul (10.4)
Blocks Per Game: Tyson Chandler (3.1)
Steals Per Game: Chris Paul (2.7)
Field Goal % (20 shots taken minimum): Tony Battie (95.8%)
Free Throw % (20 shots taken minimum): Jason Kapono (100.0%)
3PT % (20 shots taken minimum): Derek Fisher (84.0%)

Season Standings: November 2008

Western Conference:
1- 14-5 - Leader: Southwest Division, Western Conference
2- 11-5 - Leader: Northwest Division
3- 11-5
4- 10-8 - Leader: Pacific Division (Tie)
5- 10-5
6- 9-6
7- 10-8 - Leader: Pacific Division (Tie)
8- 10-10
--------------------
7-10
8-12
5-9
4-10
4-15
3-12
3-14 - Worst record in league

Eastern Conference
1- 15-4 - Leader: Central Division; Eastern Conference; League
2- 12-4 - Leader: Southeast Division
3- 11-4
4- 9-6 - Leader: Atlantic Division
5- 11-6
6- 9-7
7- 9-7
T8- 9-8
--------------------
T8- 9-8
T8- 9-8
6-8
6-10
6-11
6-11
4-14

Still to Come: Player Evaluations, Transactions, Player Stats, and fun stuff!

[airBerlin]

Lookin' good dude. Shame Josh Smith isn't doing it for you, he must be doing okay on the defensive end though, no?

[Lamrock]

Lookin' good dude. Shame Josh Smith isn't doing it for you, he must be doing okay on the defensive end though, no?

Glad you like it. I hope some of my old supporters show up too.

Smith has had a couple awesome games, but also a bunch of awful ones. I sim intervene a lot, and he usually has like 2 points, 2 boards and 4 fouls. He is doing decent on defense, but I might as well trade him for Raja Bell

[Chaser7]

woah massive updates! Don really have time to read it all right now I'm in Egypt and have limited Internet but you are doing solid with this team.keep up the updates though!

[lildang]

Lookin' good dude. Shame Josh Smith isn't doing it for you, he must be doing okay on the defensive end though, no?

Glad you like it. I hope some of my old supporters show up too.

Smith has had a couple awesome games, but also a bunch of awful ones. I sim intervene a lot, and he usually has like 2 points, 2 boards and 4 fouls. He is doing decent on defense, but I might as well trade him for Raja Bell

yea i would trade him if he is not living up to his standards. Maybe for a 3pt shooter like mike miller or jason kapono

[Oskar]

Josh Smith for Miller or Kapono ? He's too valuable and skilled. What about Michael Redd ?

[lildang]

Josh Smith for Miller or Kapono ? He's too valuable and skilled. What about Michael Redd ?

that would be a good pick but the bucks wont give up redd for just smith

[Oskar]

Maybe they would, they have Mason starting at SF, and he's not the best of a starters.

[Lamrock]

Chaser7, Thanks for at least commenting and checking it out. Goos to see you still updating even in Egypt.

lildang, Well, I'm not at that point yet. I hate to break up a 12-4 team. If I make a trade, I definitely would want to include Speedy Claxton though, and our team could use another good 3pt shooter.

Oskar, I could probably get Redd for Smith. I wouldn't do it though, since Smith is about five years younger, and Redd is quite injury prone; not to mention I have a better version of him in Joe Johnson. If I do trade J-Smoove, it will be a package trade.

Thanks all for following!

[lildang]

Maybe they would, they have Mason starting at SF, and he's not the best of a starters.

Yea but Redd is their franchise player

[airBerlin]

Wow, you guys really under-estimate Josh Smith. Am I the only one that thinks he's the best player on Atlanta's team right now? I'm talking about "IRL", I'd never trade him for the likes of Jason Kapono or Mike Miller. Wouldn't trade him for Michael Redd either.

[homicide1550]

Wow, you guys really under-estimate Josh Smith. Am I the only one that thinks he's the best player on Atlanta's team right now? I'm talking about "IRL", I'd never trade him for the likes of Jason Kapono or Mike Miller. Wouldn't trade him for Michael Redd either.

You got another believer here... I think Josh has the ability to become one of the best in the league.. He has tremendous defensive awareness and the only thing he lacks in offense is jump shooting.. If he develops that I think sky is the limit for Josh..

[Oskar]

Well, I also think so, but Lamrock said he's struggling. Keep him for one more month and see.