Andrew's 06 Bulls, Part 2 :: 07/08 (October 2007)

[Fresh8]

From memory... 3pt shootout on All-Star is very easy to win.

I was never good at Dunk contest though.

[Martti.]

You use a controller Andrew? Cause I remember getting 50 dunks, especially on Superstar, was very difficult with a keyboard. I can only remember like 2-3 dunks that would give a 50.

[Axel The Great]

Sucks about the Gordon snub, but it doesn't matter, as he didn't do well this All-Star weekend. A lot of good screenshots in the All-Star game, huge game by LeBron too.

[kibaxx7]

Ah, unacceptable! How can he not be a reserve? But as we said before, the important trophy comes in June and that's the one on the radar.

[Andrew]

You use a controller Andrew? Cause I remember getting 50 dunks, especially on Superstar, was very difficult with a keyboard. I can only remember like 2-3 dunks that would give a 50.

I do, indeed I haven't used a keyboard for Live in years. Even before Freestyle Control, I was mostly using a gamepad, at least for the post-DOS Lives which had better joystick/gamepad support.

Sucks about the Gordon snub, but it doesn't matter, as he didn't do well this All-Star weekend. A lot of good screenshots in the All-Star game, huge game by LeBron too.

Thanks, the All-Star game was pretty fun despite the obvious disappointment in Gordon not making it. I definitely tried to step it up as far as screenshots were concerned so I'm glad you liked them.

Ah, unacceptable! How can he not be a reserve? But as we said before, the important trophy comes in June and that's the one on the radar.

Exactly. It's something else that can (and will) play into the story of the season as well. I just hope Gordon can get the Player of the Month award, it'll be ridiculous if he's snubbed for that too. It's not exactly easy getting 10+ rebounds with a 6'3" shooting guard with fairly ordinary rebounding ratings.

[Andrew]

February 19th, 2007
Cleveland (89) at Chicago (138)
Bulls blowout Cavs as Gordon has game for the ages
[ Boxscore ]


Carlos Boozer rises up over Drew Gooden

Ben Gordon was not amongst the twenty four players selected to compete in the 2007 All-Star game. Next year, it might just be a different story.

After registering impressive triple doubles in consecutive games before the All-Star break, Gordon amassed a rare quadruple double in a dominant victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers and All-Star MVP LeBron James, scoring 35 points to go along with 10 rebounds, 32 assists and 11 steals. Gordon's 32 assists were the most ever in an NBA game, also resulting in the league's first 30 point, 30 assist performance.

"It's just an incredible achievement," Bulls coach Andrew Begley said after the game, clearly proud of his star shooting guard. "It's been said before but Ben's been doing it all for us this month. He's all over the court, doing the things to help us win. Incredible." Kirk Hinrich agreed, adding "You'd think we'd have learned not to be surprised by now but a quadruple double...man, that's really something."

The Bulls and Cavaliers traded baskets through the first quarter and a half, as neither team managed to get a strong grip on the game. Halfway through the second quarter the Bulls took a firmer grasp of the game however, picking off telegraphed passes and racing up court for fast break buckets. Gordon had a double-double by the half with 17 points and 12 assists, to go along with five rebounds.

Everything fell apart for the Cavaliers in the third quarter however, as Gordon tallied a near triple double in the period with 12 points, 12 assists and seven steals. Cleveland were outscored 45-14 in the third, much to the delight of the United Center crowd who were on their feet all quarter. The Cavaliers narrowly managed to avoid a 50 point loss thanks to 13 fourth quarter points by Larry Hughes, who finished with 24 on the night.

Carlos Boozer had a strong game with 26 points and 11 rebounds, benefitting from several nifty dishes from Gordon. Tyson Chandler also had a double-double with 10 points and a game high 15 rebounds, while Kirk Hinrich had 19 points, 6 assists and four steals. Kyle Korver and Nick Collison each scored in double figures off the bench as Korver put in 16 and Collison had 10.

For the Cavs, LeBron had just 16 points and five assists as he was once again hampered by foul trouble, playing only 25 minutes. Drew Gooden had a respectable game with 10 points and 11 rebounds, while Damon Jones also scored 10 points off the bench.

Notes: Only four other players in history have registered a quadruple double (Nate Thurmond, Alvin Robertson, Hakeem Olajuwon and David Robinson). Including Gordon, three of the five quadruple doubles in NBA history have come in the month of February (February 18th 1986 for Robertson, February 17th 1994 for Robinson, February 19th 2007 for Gordon)...last year, Kirk Hinrich set the record for assists in a single game with 31...the Bulls were 9/9 from the free throw line, while the Cavs shot 5/9 from the charity stripe...Chicago dominated Cleveland on the boards 47-32, including a 20-12 advantage on the offensive glass.

Current Record: 44-5
Next Game: vs Washington Wizards; 18-29 (February 20th)

[Cleveland wins]

I think that was a great dunk by Carlos boozer, I've always enjoyed playing with Boozer because he can dunk, great game by the bulls, you must have had a lot of bench points in order to score that many points.

[Kenny]

Incredible game by Ben Gordon; arguably the greatest of all time. It was Scott Skiles' record you broke wasn't it?

[Martti.]

30-30-10-10.. God damn, no one can stop BG7.

[Andrew]

I think that was a great dunk by Carlos boozer, I've always enjoyed playing with Boozer because he can dunk, great game by the bulls, you must have had a lot of bench points in order to score that many points.

Not really, the bench only scored 40 of those 138. You can see that from the boxscores.

Incredible game by Ben Gordon; arguably the greatest of all time. It was Scott Skiles' record you broke wasn't it?

Yeah, don't think the real Gordon would ever do that. Skiles does indeed hold the all-time record in reality but I had a 31 assist game with Hinrich in the first season to break the record.

30-30-10-10.. God damn, no one can stop BG7.

And yet, I'm still not 100% confident he'll get Player of the Month.

[Lamrock]

Ben Gordon has one of the best games of all-time, but Boozer's in the headline picture. Always snubbed. Fantastic game though. Gordon's emulating Jordan's success, and you're on pace to beat the record.

[Andrew]

February 20th, 2007
Washington (88) at Chicago (118)
Bulls make it 22 in a row behind strong second half
[ Boxscore ]


Kyle Korver knocks down a three in the third quarter

The Washington Wizards learned the hard way that the Chicago Bulls often save their best for the second half. The defending champions shrugged off a somewhat sluggish first half in which Ben Gordon was limited by three early fouls, outscoring the visiting Wizards 59-35 over the third and fourth quarters to win their twenty-second game in a row 118-88.

Gordon opened the game with a three but struggled with his jumpshot the rest of the game, showing some signs of fatigue after putting up a quadruple double against the Cleveland Cavaliers last night. Nevertheless, he appeared undaunted by his early misses and foul trouble, scoring 13 in the fourth quarter as the Bulls took complete control of the game. He would finish with 33 points, six rebounds, 12 assists and five steals on the night.

Antawn Jamison and Caron Butler led the way for Washington as they combined for 37 first half points to help Washington take a six point lead midway through the second quarter. Chicago rallied however and finished the quarter up six before extending the lead to double digits in the third, despite 10 points by Butler in the period. Jamison finished with a team high 30 points and 19 rebounds while Butler finished just behind him with 29 points.

Chicago simply dominated the final twelve minutes, outscoring Washington 37-19 as Gordon made four steals in addition to scoring his 13 fourth quarter points. Tyson Chandler had 16 points and 9 rebounds, Carlos Boozer also grabbed nine boards while scoring 14 points and Kirk Hinrich contributed 18 points, nine assists, four rebounds and five steals as the Bulls cruised to victory. Luol Deng and Kyle Korver also reached double digits in scoring with 12 and 11 points respectively. No Wizards player apart from Jamison and Butler scored in double digits in the game, with star guard Gilbert Arenas held to just seven points in 35 minutes. Arenas had a team high 11 assists but also committed 10 turnovers.

Notes: Washington won the battle of the boards 43-40, though Chicago had 13 offensive rebounds to 10 by Washington...Ben Gordon ranks first in the NBA in scoring at 27.6 ppg and third in assists with 7.4 per game...the Bulls were 8/26 from three point range while the Wizards shot just 1/8 from downtown...Washington made 11/18 free throws, Chicago were 12/14 at the line.

Current Record: 45-5
Next Game: vs Indiana Pacers; 27-27 (February 23rd)

Ben Gordon has one of the best games of all-time, but Boozer's in the headline picture. Always snubbed. Fantastic game though. Gordon's emulating Jordan's success, and you're on pace to beat the record.

Yeah I know. I wanted a change though and while that's a fairly standard dunk, I liked the play that preceded it so I thought I'd stick with it.

[Andrew]

February 22nd, 2007
NBA Trade Deadline passes without a move

NEW YORK, NY -- In an unusual turn of events, the NBA's front office had very little work to do as the league's trade deadline came and went today without a single deal being made. With several big names set to be free agents at the end of the season, many experts are speculating that teams are reluctant to make a move and risk jeopardising potential cap space.

February 23rd, 2007
Indiana (90) at Chicago (114)
Gordon racks up another triple double, Bulls win again
[ Boxscore ]


Gordon cradles the before before dunking on a breakaway

Another triple double for Ben Gordon, another win for the Chicago Bulls. Business as usual.

The Bulls have now won 23 straight games, ten short of the record set by the Los Angeles Lakers during the 1972 NBA season, as they overcame a slow start to defeat the Indiana Pacers 114-90. Gordon scored 31 points and added 11 rebounds, 16 assists and two steals while Kirk Hinrich had 25 points, seven assists and two steals. Tyson Chandler and Carlos Boozer each had 18 points and 10 rebounds in the game.

The Pacers got off to a quick start, scoring the game's first four points to get the Bulls back on their heels and set up a 10-2 run over the first three minutes of the game. Though they appeared to be in control of the game upon building an eight point lead at 21-13, the Bulls finished the first quarter with a 20-2 run that saw them take a 34-23 lead into the second quarter.

Rattled by the Bulls' comeback to end the first quarter, Indiana soon fell apart despite strong games from Stephen Jackson and Jonathan Bender. Jackson finished with 21 points on 8/11 shooting while Bender added 19 points and 10 rebounds. The Pacers as a team shot poorly for long stretches however including a 40% performance from the field in the third quarter as they were outscored by seven in the period.

Despite a couple of runs, the Pacers would not seriously challenge the lead through the second half. Gordon scored 22 of his 31 points in the third and fourth quarters while handing out eight assists in the fourth quarter alone, helping Chicago pick up another blowout victory.

The Bulls will play host to the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday, the first two the two teams have met this season. The Mavericks currently sit atop the Western Conference with the second best record in the league at 38-16.

Notes: Indiana edged Chicago 43-42 in rebounding. Both teams had 14 boards at the offensive end...Gordon's sixteen assists have allowed him to tie Baron Davis for the league lead in assists at 7.6 per game. Gordon currently leads the league in scoring with an average of 27.7 ppg.

Current Record: 46-5
Next Game: vs Dallas Mavericks; 38-16 (February 25th)

[dare]

Didn't follow this for a while and as I can see Gordon is pushing for the MVP, and a 46-5 record with 23 games winning streak your team is really on the roll. Are you going to beat the 30+ game winning streak?

[Andrew]

I'm going to give it a shot.

[Fresh8]

Only 11 games left. Record is 33 in a row yes?

[Andrew]

That's right. Two thirds of the way there.

[Fresh8]

Is it getting boring for you?

[Axel The Great]

Quadruple-double by BG! That's gotta be the best performance in NBA history! Who the hell is MJ?

Getting 11 more wins should be a piece of cake for you, since you've been able to get 23 wins with very little resistance.

[Clutch]

MG

i'm thinking bronze is so... 90's; maybe start thinking about a black marble statue, or granite or just classic white like the ancient Greeks and Romans...

[Valor]

Ben Gordon is...HOLY SHIT

Marble? Go for a PURE GOLD STATUTE

23 game winning streak

[rise]

You could also smash the 72-10 record! You're on track to do it!

[kibaxx7]

A MJ-Pippen-BG7 statue trio outside the United Center?

A quadruple-double, that's huge. Keep it up 'Drew!

[Andrew]

Thanks guys. That's only the second quadruple double I've managed to get in Live, only other one came in my NBA Live 2004 Dynasty with KG...which of course isn't part of this canon.

Is it getting boring for you?

Nah, not really. Not sure whether I'll be able to finish the season before the new games come out so it might go on the backburner...or perhaps I could still play it on the side while I'm waiting for the first proper DNA updates for NBA Elite 11, since I usually prefer not to start my main Dynasty on the consoles until a couple of updates have come out.

[The X]

Glad to see this one still going. You think you'll put one of MJ's teams & run a season against Kobe's Lakers & Wade's Heat this year?