[13-9] Bulls ~ Rose's buzzer over Manu ices the Spurs & more

Hi. I'm going to use the opening post for explaining why I chose the Bulls and all that type of stuff. First, some of you may know that I'm a big fan of the Bulls and they've got a really nice squad for the next season, which is one of the main reasons. I thought about picking a team that I could rebuild, make trades with and what not, but then changed my mind as I got slightly afraid of losing interest, had I done that. I'm using NBA Live 07, why so crap? That's the most my computer can handle without blowing up, and for some reason I like 07 more than 06, matter of taste, I guess. The official roster patch of the 2010/2011 was not released when I started, hence I tried to do my best making the rosters as close to what they are now, in real life. I put nearly all the players to the teams they are right now, in real life, and simulated the first season. That means, that during the first season, some trades occured. Basically, the 2010 offseason in this dynasty will be similar to what it was like in real life, but only with generated rookies, different drafting queue and a few different signings, all of which will most likely be mentioned in some of the first updates. Hence, sorry if you're a fan of the David-Lee-less Warriors, sorry about that. If you're a fan of the Boston Celtics, the team that Shaq and Garnett retired from, and caused Rondo to opt out only to join the young Indiana Pacers, what can I do. Either way, I really hope every single one of you will be able to enjoy the dynasty, because I'm definitely trying to make it enjoyable for myself, but at the same time, do it so that you can enjoy it, too. I'm always looking for constructive criticism, so that I could make it better than it is at the time, hence both comments and criticism are more than welcome! Either way, enjoy the upcoming season!

Last edited by Oskar on Fri Nov 12, 2010 7:14 am, edited 20 times in total.

STARTING FIVE:




PG: Derrick Rose (C) (Memphis, #1)
SG: Andre Iguodala (University of Arizona, #9)
SF: Kyle Korver (Creighton, #26)
PF: Carlos Boozer (C) (Duke, #5)
C: Joakim Noah (C) (Florida, #13)

BENCH:




PG: Jeff Teague (Wake Forest, #0)
G: Hubert Lefevre (R) (Bradley, #15)
G/F: Danilo Gallinari (Italy, #8)
F/C: Ronny Turiaf (Gonzaga, #22)
C: Omer Asik (R) (Turkey, #3)

DEEP BENCH/INACTIVE:




SG: Keith Bogans (Kentucky, #6)
F: James Johnson (Wake Forest, #16)
F: Brian Scalabrine (USC, #24)
F/C: Kurt Thomas (Texas Christian, #40)

STAFF:

HEAD COACH
Tom Thibodeau (College - Salem State)

ASSISTANT COACH(ES)
Ron Adams (College - Fresno Pacific, Fresno State)
Rick Brunson (College - Temple)
Andy Greer (College - SUNY Brockport)
Adrian Griffin (College - Seton Hall)
Ed Pinckney (College - Villanova)

ASSISTANT COACH/ADVANCE SCOUT
Mike Wilhelm (College - Southampton)

STRENGTH-AND-CONDITIONING COACH
Erik Helland (College - Wisconsin-Eau Claire)

ATHLETIC TRAINER
Fred Tedeschi (College - University of the Pacific)

Last edited by Oskar on Sat Oct 30, 2010 7:59 am, edited 6 times in total.

GAME RECAPS:

28/10/2010 - Noah and the Bulls beat the Mavericks in a double-OT thriller. (W)
30/10/2010 - Bulls get an easy win over the Warriors behind Rose's 25. (W)
01/11/2010 - Bulls manage to hold off Rockets fourth quarter rally, win by 5. (W)
02/11/2010 - Gordon scores 30, carries the Clippers to a win. (L)
04/11/2010 - Suns come out on top thanks to Turkoglu and Nash. (L)
07/11/2010 - Stellar first half earns the Bulls a victory over the Nets. (W)
09/11/2010 - Bulls take the second road win over New Jersey, Deng drops 25.(W)
11/11/2010 - Boozer and Rose shine in an overtime victory over the Celtics. (W)
13/11/2010 - Bulls get a solid win over the Raptors despite a bad fourth quarter. (W)
19/11/2010 - Bulls have a bad night offensively, Hawks get an easy win. (L)
21/11/2010 - The rookie, Lefevre, hits a buzzer beating three to beat Miami. (W)
23/11/2010 - Short-manned Bulls escape with a 9-point win from Charlotte. (W)
25/11/2010 - Injury bugged Wizards still manage to win Bulls. (L)
27/11/2010 - Courtney Lee, Rockets stun the Bulls, get an easy win. (L)
29/11/2010 - Duncan leads the Spurs to a blowout victory over the Bulls. (L)
01/12/2010 - Boozer's near 20-20 performance earns the fresh-looking Bulls their first victory with the squad. (W)
03/12/2010 - Deron Williams' shot sails the Jazz to a one-point win over the Bulls. (L)
05/12/2010 - Iguodala and Boozer lift the Bulls to a blowout win over the Nets. (W)
07/12/2010 - Stoudamire and Felton lift the Knicks to a 13 point win in Chicago. (L)
09/12/2010 - Bulls manage to hold off the Raptors late rally, take the victory. (W)
12/12/2010 - Mayo, Randolph and Gay combine for 79 of the teams 100, carry the Grizzlies to the win. (L)
14/12/2010 - Rose lights a buzzer-beater in Manu's face to beat the Spurs in an overtime battle. (W)


NEWS:

2010 offseason transactions
Taking another look at the rookies
Bulls announce two trades with Atlanta and NY, acquire hometown Iguodala.

BEHIND THE SCENE:

Part 1: Putting in the final effort..
Part 2: Miami nightlife, trade offer and more.

COACHES CORNER:

n/a

OTHER:

2010/2011 season preview
Monthly Recap: End of October & November 2010.

Last edited by Oskar on Fri Nov 12, 2010 7:17 am, edited 24 times in total.

PLAYER AWARDS:


None from the current roster has recieved an award since the 2010/2011.

INDIVIDUAL GAME RECORDS:


Points: 41 by Derrick Rose (11/11/2010 vs BOS)
Rebounds: 29 by Joakim Noah (28/10/2010 vs DAL)
Assists: 15 by Derrick Rose (05/12/2010 vs NJN)
Steals: 6 by Andre Iguodala (25/11/2010 vs BOS and 07/12/2010 vs NYK)
Blocks: 6 by Joakim Noah (04/11/2010 vs PHO)
FG Made: 17 by Carlos Boozer (11/11/2010 vs BOS, 25 attempts)
3Pt Made: 7 by Kyle Korver (21/11/2010 vs MIA, 9 attempts)
FT Made: 13 by Derrick Rose (11/11/2010 vs BOS, 16 attempts)

Best statlines:
20 points, 29 rebounds (12 offensive), 2 blocks by Joakim Noah (28/10/2010 vs DAL)
41 points, 10 assists, 4 steals (14-22 FG, 13-16 FT) by Derrick Rose (11/11/2010 vs BOS)
36 points, 18 rebounds, 5 assists (17-25 FG) by Carlos Boozer (11/11/2010 vs BOS)

Last edited by Oskar on Fri Nov 12, 2010 7:18 am, edited 10 times in total.

Good luck man I'll be following, cause I like Bulls too. Get DRose, that MVP award

O'Neal and Garnett among the retiring players.


July 10th, 2010 -- After a great decade, some of the names that will go down as some of the best players to ever play the game, are also on the retired players list. The two standing out the most from the list, are all-time great big men, Shaquille O'Neal and Kevin Garnett. After LeBron James left Cleveland to join Wade and Bosh in Miami, O'Neal said: "LeBron is a weak second option, though. I could've done better with a fifty year old Grant Hill next to me. Bron's nothing, but a ring chaser."

The reason behind Kevin Garnett's retirement is unclear, but some sources have said that the legendary 'Big Ticket' retired due to wanting to concentrate on his family. Garnett spent three years with the Boston Celtics and won a championship, his first one, during the first year with them.

Other notable names that have announced their retirements; Michael Finley, Derek Fisher, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Donyell Marshall, Anthony Parker, Antonio McDyess and many more. Read more...

By Ethan Schwindt, Yahoo! Sports

Ricky Rubio coming to the NBA afterall.


July 16th, 2010 -- Reliable sources have recently told, that Ricky Rubio will join the NBA for the 2010/2011 season, although there were claims that the young Spaniard wouldn't come over before 2011. Rumours say that the NBA has paid a percentage of Rubio's buy-out to help the Minnesota Timberwolves, the team that drafted Rubio. With the addition of Michael Beasley and promising rookies, Rubio has decided to not make his NBA debut anywhere else, but in Minnesota. Read more...

By Raymond Sung, Yahoo! Sports

Rondo bolts from Boston, signs with the Pacers.


July 18thth, 2010 -- After Kevin Garnett left the Boston Celtics and the NBA as a whole, the Celtics players have seemed more and more worried in the interviews and what not. Trade rumours have been made up repeatedly and the coaching staff, who're now without their former assistant head coach, Tom Thibodeau, are clearly worried about the complaints recieved from the players. The first real problem occured now, though, as the All-Star point guard, Rajon Rondo signed a contract with the Indiana Pacers. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed. Read more...

By Raymond Sung, Yahoo! Sports

David Lee agrees to a deal with the Toronto Raptors.


July 22nd, 2010 -- With Chris Bosh leaving Toronto for Miami, the Raptors freed up a lot of cap space, enough to sign the former Knicks free agent, David Lee. Sources say that the Raptors had intended to sign Lee all along if they were to lose Bosh. "I liked it there (in NY)," said Lee. "but I'm going to love it in Toronto. The fans will like my game." Read more...

By Adam Dundell, Yahoo! Sports

Sixers accept the Hawks offer, Smith for Iguodala.


August 3rd, 2010 -- The Atlanta Hawks recently shocked it's fanbase and the NBA fans in general with the rumours of offering Josh Smith to Philadelphia for Andre Iguodala. The 76ers went even further with the shocking by actually accepting the trade proposed by the Hawks. "I'm going to like it here, in Philadelphia," said Josh Smith during the press conference on Wednesday. "We've some nice players here in Young, Lou' (Louis Williams), Brand and others. I can't wait to get on the court with these guys." Iguodala, on the other hand, didn't look all that happy about the trade and seemed to be slightly dissapointed about having to spend some time backing up Joe Johnson. Read more...

By Ethan Schwindt, Yahoo! Sports

Sixers give Iverson the one last chance.


August 3rd, 2010 -- Having signed and to retired from numerous teams during the last few years, repeatedly, the one-time NBA MVP, Allen Iverson, has gotten another chance, again from the Philadelphia 76ers. Iverson claimed to have gotten back in the best possible shape, and also said he's willing to take a lesser role, but would still prefer to have a shot here and there. Read more...

By Adam Dundell, Yahoo! Sports

(( Please understand, that these were not the only transactions of the offseason. Miami threesome, Am"a'"r'e to the Knicks and what not, but I didn't feel ike it was necessary to recap the moves that actually happened in real life, too, as every one of you knows of them. Some things went slightly different in this dynasty, though, and these are the ones that I recapped here. Obviously there were more trades and stuff, too, but they weren't as important as the ones that I chose to let you all know of immediately. ))

Putting in the final effort..

With the regular season just two days away, James Johnson was up for another training session with Scottie Pippen. The Berto Center was quiet, James could only hear the annoying fans buzzing in the empty building, atleast thats what he thought it was. Basketball bounces could’ve been heard throughout the building as they echoed from the courts. James looked a bit nervous and worried about being late as he was tying his shoes in the lockerroom, hurrying out quickly. To his surprise, it was Brian Scalabrine jacking up random shots from fourty feet out. James approached Scalabrine slowly, grinning slightly due to the funny look of Scalabrine with the headband and huge earphones on. Scal grabbed a hold of the earphones as he spotted James, pulled them down around his neck, casting an upward nod to James afterwards. „Yo, what’s up Jimmy?“ James kept staring at Scalabrine with a rather confused look on his face, then nodded back after a moment of silence. „Wow, Jimmy, someone put a tablock on your fridge? You haven’t been fed since the playoffs or wh -- .. Ho, That’s Pippen right there!?“ James looked over his shoulder towards the entrace, noticing Pippen as he walked in. James turned to him and walked up, shaking his head a couple times as he laughed over Scalabrine. James raised his hand a bit, giving a high-five to Pip. Pippen let go of his black reebok sportsbag, dropping it on the sideline. He looked over to Scalabrine briefly, who was staring at him and James from the halfcourt, but then refocused on James. „Hey, JJ, you warm yet?“ asked Pip. James shook his head a few times, „Give me ten minutes.“

As JJ was running up and down the court, dribbling two basketballs at once, Scalabrine was running right after him, doing the exact same, although staring down at the ground as he ran after. Every now and then he was looking up to James, then to Scottie to see wether he was looking or not. Pip, at the same time, was sitting on the sideline, holding the piece of paper with the drills he had written for James to do. After finishing with the simple jogging, James started to stretch. He noticed Scalabrine follow him to do the exact same, once again, causing James to sigh in disgrace. It took James a good five minutes to complete all the stretching, but Scalabrine was done in just about two. He waved to James once as he stood up to leave the court. As Scal walked towards the exit, he kept staring at Pippen all along, suddenly yelling out, „I’m out, Scottie Pippen! Alright?“ Pip stared at Scal for a brief moment, completely stunned, raising both of his eyebrows. Scal then shrugged his shoulders a little, looking back and forth between James and Pippen, „What?“ He then shrugged once again and walked out from the gym, towards the locker room.

JJ pushes himself off from the ground, nodding once to Pippen to let him know he’s done with the warmup and stretching. Pip nodded back slowly and stood up right away, then started walking towards the basket with James following. The two went on to talk about JJ’s game for hours, do drills for so long. The two spent time sitting back on the sideline, discussing about James’ flaws, what he does right and what he could do to get better. As the two walked off the court after four long hours of hard work, Pippen patted JJ on his shoulder once, then tapped on his own forehead with his index finger three times. „Look JJ, I’m going to say it once more, the most important thing in the game is between your ears. You’re a smart guy and let’s not even talk about the physical tools you have.. The season’s two days away, you’ve to realize whether you want to become a great player, or not. I’ll see the response after the first game of yours, alright?“ JJ looked back at Pippen with a thoughtful look on his face, nodding once after a moment of silence. As Pip walked out to the parking lot, he could see James putting on weight on the bar in the weightroom. Pip chuckled a bit, then turned back to his car, noticing a black Cadillac Escalade SUV drive into the parking lot. Out of it stepped Derrick Rose, greeting Pip with a nod and humble smile.

Last edited by Oskar on Mon Oct 25, 2010 6:41 am, edited 2 times in total.

Smoove for Iggy's a pretty big time trade... also interested to see how Bosh/Lee pans out... but not sure what Rondo was thinking going to play with Granger and the D-Leaguers

anyway, good luck with this; looking sweet so far

Looking really good man. Weird to see Rondo leave Boston.

Good luck man I'll be following, cause I like Bulls too. Get DRose, that MVP award

I doubt I'm going to get Rose the MVP award, I'll try to keep it rather realistic with his stats and all, keep it balanced and give everyone shots, you know. Either way, thank you!

Smoove for Iggy's a pretty big time trade... also interested to see how Bosh/Lee pans out... but not sure what Rondo was thinking going to play with Granger and the D-Leaguers

anyway, good luck with this; looking sweet so far

Yeah, I was like "Damn you Live o'seven, why'd you have to do that stupid trade?" until' I saw the Rondo thing and realized how stupid it could be.. smh. Thanks btw, luck's always welcome, especially from the great dynasty makers.

Looking really good man. Weird to see Rondo leave Boston.

Thanks. Like I mentioned above, it pissed me off pretty much, too. Though, it'll be nice to see it a bit different than it is in real life, so we'll see how it all will go.

Taking another look at the rookies.


With the preseason by and the regular season games starting no later than tomorrow, it is time to rate the rookies selected in the top five, aswell as the Bulls selections. Like it's been said many times before during this summer, the draft might have not been as sensational as the 2003 draft with LeBron James and the likes, or the 2008 draft with Derrick Rose and the likes, but this, 2010 draft definitely did a huge favour to the league. Every single top 5 selection was an international player. The UK now has two more young players from their national team play in the NBA, in Joe Watters and Demetrius Ford, 2nd and 3rd pick, respectively. Mexico, Kazakshtan and Angola were the other countries to have their players picked in the top 5.


The young Bulls;



The 17th pick, Hubert Lefevre and the 45th pick, Andy Hicks, both saw enough court time in the Summer League and Preseason to give the critics some work to do.

Let's start off with Lefevre. We all knew about the great shooting form and range, but many didn't expect Lefevre and his 6'3" body to do anything above the rim in the big man's game. The scoring ability is sensational, but unfortunately there's not much more to that. Lefevre is still an awful defender, who struggles to go around screens, fails to put in enough effort to contest all the shots, and when he does try to contest shots, it's usually on pump fakes and what not. Despite that, Lefevre's offense made it all good during the Las Vegas summer league, where he averaged 17.6 points and 3.3 assists per game, in 27 minutes of action on average. The bad thing was, that the players he guarded, always seemed to torch him, and the fact that Lefevre averaged 3.9 turnovers, was also pretty bad. During the preseason, he averaged 9.4 points, 2.1 assists and also 2.1 turnovers a game, in 21 minutes.

Andy Hicks surprised everybody with his first game of the summer league, finishing with 23 points, 11 rebounds and 4 blocks... There wasn't a single time he scored more than 10 points after that, though. Hicks definitely seems to have attitude problems, also trouble with concentrating during the game. A lot of turnovers, complaining to the referees and what not. During 11 games in the summer league and also the preseason, Hicks was on fire - with technical fouls. He collected a stunning 3 technical fouls. While he is pretty raw, a strong, throw-down machine that could probably run the 100 metres under 12, he's still extremely unpolished player. In the summer league, he averaged 8.4 points, 5.4 rebounds a game in 24 minutes of action. In preseason, he saw the court 16 minutes on average, finishing with 3.1 points, 5 rebounds and a block per game.


Top five picks;

There were surprises, there were disappointments.. Let's take a look at what draftexpress had to say about the rookies at first.
Note: Preseason and Summer league statistics are added in.


1st pick, LA Clippers - Ivan Medina
PF, 6'10", 236 lbs, #4, North Carolina St. - from El Rosario, Mexico

strengths: size, shooting ability, rebounding ability, speed
weaknesses: basketball IQ, stamina, lack of fundamentals, attitude problems

LV Summer League: 16.3 ppg, 7.1 rpg, 0.4 apg (.449% 3pt) (2.9 topg)
Preseason: 13.2 ppg, 8.3 rpg, 0.9 apg (0.3 bpg)

2nd pick, Portland TrailBlazers - Joe Watters
PF, 6'8", 255 lbs, #55, Ohio St. - from Paisley, Scotland

strengths: rebounding, speed, strength, post moves, ball handling
weaknesses: basketball IQ, shooting ability, stamina, turnovers

LV Summer League: 11.9 ppg, 11.3 rpg, 1.3 apg (.492% FT)
Preseason: 10.2 ppg, 8.8 rpg, 0.8 apg (.562% FG) (2.9 topg)


3rd pick, Golden State Warriors - Demetrius Ford
C, 6'11", 263 lbs, #3, Kansas - from Cardiff, Wales

strengths: defense, explosive moves, strength, good fundamentals, stamina, clutch
weaknesses: poor shooting, ball handling, lack of confidence

LV Summer League: 17.4 ppg, 12.1 rpg, 2.1 apg (3.3 bpg) (.459% FG)
Preseason: 13.1 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 0.7 apg (.515% FT)


4th pick, New Orleans Hornets - Andrei Arkhipov
PF, 6'8", 236 lbs, #22 - from Astana, Kazakshtan

strengths: rebounding ability, strength, stamina, ball handling ability, clutch
weaknesses: really poor shooting, history of injuries, awful shooting mechanics

LV Summer League: 8.5 ppg, 14.6 rpg, 0.4 apg (.444% FG)
Preseason: 7.7 ppg, 11.3 rpg, 0.1 apg (0.1 apg)

5th pick, Philadelphia 76ers - Taruvinga Masuku
PG, 6'1", 213 lbs, #6 - from Luanda, Angola

strengths: passing, offensive awarness, physical ability, ball handling, free throws
weaknesses: lack of shooting range, defensive effort, weight problems

LV Summer League: 11.8 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 6.8 apg (.892% FT) (.372% FG)
Preseason: 10.4 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 5.5 apg (.100% FG) (0.0 spg)



Everyone can judge the top 5 selections by themself, but personally I think, that the UK towers both exceeded many people's expectations, as did the Angolian, Taruvinga Masuku. Not much can be expected from the first overall selection, Ivan Medina, who has to suffer from playing on the bench, behind another recent first pick - Blake Griffin.

- NBA Discussion.

Looking ahead to the 2010/2011 season.


The upcoming season definitely looks promising. The offseason was extremely interesting - it bought in ambitious rookies from all over the world, never before has there been so many international selections as this year. Obviously with the new players coming, there always are the old, legendary players leaving. Many notable players have changed their uniforms this summer, with LeBron James and Chris Bosh heading to Miami to join up with Dwyane Wade. Carlos Boozer, Kyle Korver and Ronnie Brewer all bought a ticket from Utah to Chicago. David Lee joined the Toronto Raptors to replace Chris Bosh for the Canadian fans of the NBA. Amar'e Stoudamire left for a bigger stage and will be looking to prove that he isn't a product of Steve Nash, as he'll be playing in the Madison Square Garden, NY from now on. There were so many interesting moves this summer that majority of the NBA fans most likely know about, already. With the regular season starting tomorrow, it's time to take a look at what the teams are like on the paper.


Atlanta Hawks -

PG: Mike Bibby / Jeff Teague / Alberto Medina (R)
SG: Joe Johnson (C) / Andre Iguodala / Jamal Crawford
SF: Mike Dunleavy / Maurice Evans / Andre Iguodala
PF: Marvin Williams / Mark Webb (R)
C: Al Horford / Zaza Pachulia

The Atlanta Hawks line up looks rather confusing, even somewhat stupid. Joe Johnson, Andre Iguodala and Jamal Crawford are three players that would most likely be starters on nearly all of the other teams in the league, but in Atlanta, Iguodala and Crawford have to accept a bench role behind their captain - Joe Johnson. The Hawks trading away Josh Smith for Andre Iguodala during the summer probably still makes some people scratch the top of their heads, but if Iguodala and Crawford can accept reduced playing time and shots, who knows, maybe the move will end up being a big time brainchild from their general manager.




Boston Celtics -

PG: Nate Robinson / Cameron Luke (R) / Anthony Carter
SG: Ray Allen / Delonte West / Von Wafer
SF: Paul Pierce (C) / Jarvis Hayes
PF: Glen Davis / Chucky Parker (R)
C: Kendrick Perkins / Jermaine O’Neal

Here's a team that many NBA fans, even fans of the opposing teams might feel slightly sorry for. The Celtics lost two of their key players in Kevin Garnett and Rajon Rondo, and they also lost their assistant head coach, Tom Thibodeau. Some say that Garnett, Rondo and Thibodeau were the key to the defensive success of the Boston Celtics, but who knows - the Celtics still do have Perkins anchoring the paint and with the addition of Jermaine O'Neal, Delonte West and the two of their rookies, the Celtics could still be dangerous. Offensively, they are a pretty solid team, if they manage to put it together. Robinson, Allen, Pierce and Davis are all known for their offensive talents, plus Perkins demands a lot of attention from the opposing teams only thanks to his size. That means, the Celtics might still be able to shock the world if the other teams happen to underrate them way too much.




Charlotte Bobcats -

PG: DJ Augustin / Manfred Delgado (R)
SG: Stephen Jackson (C) / Manfred Delgado (R) / Gerald Henderson
SF: Gerald Wallace (C) / Eduardo Najera
PF: Tyrus Thomas / Boris Diaw / Derrick Brown
C: DeSagana Diop / Nazr Mohamed

The young Charlotte Bobcats, while not standing out too much on paper, should not be overlooked. They have a lot of good, young players, whom a lot are known for their defensive effort and skills. Gerald Wallace and Stephen Jackson have said it repeatedly during the summer, their team is ready to fight and destroy everyone on its path. If Tyrus Thomas can put it together between his ears, him and Gerald Wallace would be hard to pass if you're attacking them. The Bobcats have two big bodies to put underneath in Diop and Mohamed, plus their bench is filled with solid players.




Chicago Bulls -

PG: Derrick Rose (C) / C.J. Watson
SG: Ronnie Brewer / Hubert Lefevre (R) / Keith Bogans
SF: Luol Deng / Kyle Korver / James Johnson
PF: Carlos Boozer (C) / Taj Gibson / Luol Deng
C: Joakim Noah (C) / Omer Asik (R)

The Chicago Bulls - a team who had a great offseason, even though some of the fans were hoping to get atleast one from the big three, whom all ended up in Miami. The addition of Carlos Boozer was terrific, not only is he a greatly underrated player, his strengths are among the main issues the Bulls have had for years now. The Bulls have lacked a dominating post presence for a long time, now they have it in Boozer. They have lacked outside shooting for years now, now they have it in Kyle Korver, Keith Bogans and possibly Luol Deng and Derrick Rose, if the rumours about the two improving their outside shot are more than just rumours. The two starting down low, Noah and Boozer, are a perfect fit. While Boozer is a phenomonal offensive player and not too known for his defense, Noah is the exact opposite, although his passing and playmaking abilities are underrated by many. The only problem for the Bulls might be injuries, Luol Deng and Carlos Boozer, two of the key members in the team, are both known as so-called injury prones, hence the fans better cross their fingers hoping for each of the two to be able for atleast 70 games and especially the playoffs.




Cleveland Cavaliers -

PG: Mo Williams (C) / Daniel Gibson / Ramon Sessions
SG: Steven Ortiz (R) / Othyus Jeffers / Terrence Kinsey
SF: Jamario Moon / Antawn Jamison / Steven Ortiz (R)
PF: Antawn Jamison (C) / Anderson Varejao / Leon Powe
C: Marcus Camby / Anderson Varejao

With LeBron out of Cleveland, the Cavaliers season might definitely be a long one for the fans. The team will probably be not among the worst teams thanks to Mo Williams and a couple other of their standout players, but being a team in the middle is not good, either. They will definitely not be a top team with a shot at the title, but most likely they won't have a shot at a top rookie, either. The team will probably have to stink for a good five years now until' they get themselves a good young core, because right now, arguably their best players in Mo Williams, Antawn Jamison, Anderson Varejao and Marcus Camby are all in, if not past their primes. They do have a solid rookie in Steven Ortiz, though, who most definitely will be given a green light in order for him to develop the most. There's nothing to lose, Cleveland.




Dallas Mavericks -

PG: Jason Kidd / Jose Barea / Rodrigue Beaubois
SG: Caron Butler / Jason Terry (C) / DeShawn Stevenson
SF: Shawn Marion / Brody Sigmund (R)
PF: Dirk Nowitzki (C) / Jayson Simpson (R)
C: Tyson Chandler / Brendan Haywood

Here's a team that is ridicilously stacked at each position. One of the problems, though, is that while majority of their players are known names and former stars, if not superstars, it's that their primes are all long behind. Dirk Nowitzki is still an amazing player, though, one that can put up a 30/10/5 statline every now and then, but Kidd, Terry, Marion and the likes are all past their primes. That's not saying the Mavericks are a bad team, though - all of the players mentioned earlier are still definitely above average at their positions. The Mavericks actually have some young players that are often overlooked, but have a lot of potential. Barea, Beaubois and the two rookies in Brody Sigmund and Jayson Simpson, especially the latter - all of these four could end up being big time role players, if not even better. So, if the experienced Mavericks can put it together nicely this upcoming season, they'll be a threat to all of the top teams in the league.




Denver Nuggets -

PG: Chauncey Billups (C) / Ty Lawson / Smush Parker
SG: J.R. Smith / Marco Belinelli / Aaron Afflalo
SF: Carmelo Anthony (C) / Al Harrington
PF: Kenyon Martin / Al Harrington
C: Nené / Brian Butch

The Nuggets went through a tough summer, especially with all the rumours about their superstar forward, Carmelo Anthony asking for a trade, and the team also had to consider trading him due to Melo repeatedly expressing the interest in playing for a big market team such as the Knicks, Bulls or similar. Afterall, it's all nice, though, as Melo said in the end of the summer that he'll most likely stick with the team that first took him and gave him the opportunity - the Nuggets. This team is somewhat similar to the Mavericks, in some aspects, anyway. Billups, Kenyon Martin, Al Harrington - they're all getting old, slowly, but are three players that the team definitely hopes to show up during the regular and post season. The difference is that this team also has players that can still improve, J.R. Smith, Ty Lawson, obviously Melo and even Nené, all of whom have a lot of potential.




Detroit Pistons -

PG: Rodney Stuckey / Will Bynum / Cy Alsten (R)
SG: Richard Hamilton (C) / Ben Gordon / Tracy McGrady
SF: Tayshaun Prince (C) / Austin Daye / Tracy McGrady
PF: Chris Wilcox / Jason Maxiell / Charlie Villanueva
C: Aleksy Dumitru (R) / Chris Wilcox / Jason Maxiell

Sigh.. What they can hope for are that the likes of Dumitru, Stuckey and Daye start developing and get better, better and better. Rip Hamilton has not been himself ever since Billups was traded to Denver, Ben Gordon hasn't been the same since his days in Chicago, Tracy McGrady hasn't been the Tracy McGrady, either. The team does look pretty solid on paper, but the games are not played on paper, like it's been said many times by many different people. Inconsistency has been a problem for most of the players that are going to rock a Piston jersey this season, perhaps only Tayshaun Prince can make the fans proud day in, day out. Similar to the Cavaliers, the Pistons are in for a long, long season, and who knows, maybe a decade.




Golden State Warriors -

PG: Stephen Curry / Quentin Booth (R)
SG: Monta Ellis (C) / Charlie Bell / Sun Yue
SF: Dorell Wright / Vladimir Radmonovic / Reggie Williams
PF: Brendan Wright / Andris Biedrins / Vladimir Radmonovic
C: Andris Biedrins / Demetrius Ford (R) / Wiktor Mihai (R)

This team here has a lot of good young players, especially Stephen Curry, who had a spectacular rookie season. Ellis is not too old either, neither is Biedrins, both have played at a high level before and if someone can motivate them to work harder and harder, the two at their best would be a dream come true for the Warriors fans. The rookies, Demetrius Ford, Wiktor Mihai and Quentin Booth all proved in the summer league and preseason that they've got some game, and all of them have been heard of as hard workers, hence the fans of Golden State should have a lot to look forward to, even more so as there will no longer be the Don Nelson 5'2" average lineups.





Houston Rockets -

PG: Aaron Brooks / Steve Francis
SG: Kevin Martin / Courtney Lee / Jermaine Taylor (R)
SF: Shane Battier (C) / Chase Budinger
PF: Luis Scola / Jordan Hill / Logan Wells (R)
C: Yao Ming (C) / Chuck Hayes

With the return of Yao, the Rockets should definitely be able to get a good seed in the Wild Wild West's playoffs. They're likely to get about 50 wins, but there's not too much you can get with that, considering the fact that you're looking at Lakers, Spurs, Mavericks, Nuggets, Thunder, TrailBlazers and so on every now and then. The starting five is definitely great, Brooks has been improving more and more recently and might even be able to sneak into the All-Star game, especially with the help of the Rockets' Chinese fanbase. We all know about Kevin Martin's offensive repertory, but there were rumours about him recieving a lot of advice from the Rockets starting forward and known defensive specialist, Shane Battier. If Martin manages to put together a two sided game and learn defense, that'd mean a lot for the Rockets. They also have a lot of young players with tons of potential, obviously Brooks, Courtney Lee, Budinger, Hill, Wells, Taylor and more. Exciting season for the Rockets' fans.




Indiana Pacers -

PG: Rajon Rondo / Darren Collison / TJ Ford
SG: Danthay Jones / Brandon Rush / Darren Collison
SF: Danny Granger (C) / Jason Kapono
PF: JJ Hickson / Tyler Hansbrough / Josh McRoberts
C: Robert Swift / Roy Hibbert

The Pacers must be happy over their new additions of Rajon Rondo and JJ Hickson. We all know about how good Rondo has been, but a lot of us are looking forward to see him play without three Hall of Famers by his sides, which is something that Rondo himself said he's looking forward to prove. Hickson was a player that some say lived off of LeBron's passing ability, but perhaps Rondo can take the role and Hickson can keep putting together a great line every night? We'll see. The backcourts defense is going to be top notch, Rondo and Danthay Jones are both known as defensive specialists, so the opposing teams will have to find baskets from underneath, where the Pacers have many big bodies to put against them, Robert Swift, Roy Hibbert, JJ Hickson and more.




Los Angeles Clippers -

PG: Baron Davis (C) / Randy Foye
SG: Eric Gordon / Fred Jones / Caleb Abram (R)
SF: Ricky Davis / Martell Webster / Ryan Gomes
PF: Blake Griffin (R) / Ivan Medina (R)
C: Chris Kaman (C) / Blake Griffin (R)

A team with two straight first overall picks, and a team that used both of them for power forwards without limits. The Clippers have a lot of potential with all the young members of the team, Kaman still has many good years left in him, obviously Blake Griffin and Ivan Medina if they're as good as the fans are hopeing for them to be. Martell Webster, Ryan Gomes, Eric Gordon, Caleb Abram and Randy Foye are four others that can ball. In conclusion, the Clippers have nowhere to hurry, but they definitely have many, many good years ahead of them, even if one of their captains, Baron Davis, starts regressing, which he's unfortunately already showing signs of.




Los Angeles Lakers -

PG: Shaun Livingston / Steve Blake / Sasha Vujacic
SG: Kobe Bryant (C) / Shannon Brown / Sasha Vujacic
SF: Ron Artest / Matt Barnes / Luke Walton
PF: Pau Gasol (C) / Lamar Odom
C: Andrew Bynum / Pau Gasol (C) / Ben Gonzales (R)

Threepeat? If I was a betting guy, I'd place my bet on them. Bryant is still a top three player in the league and Gasol also makes a solid case for top ten. The Lakers also made a lot of nice additions in Shaun Livingston, Steve Blake, Matt Barnes and rookie Ben Gonzales. Although Derek Fisher retired to join the Lakers staff, his presence as an assistant should be felt for the players. If Bynum can stay healthy, which he's not too good with, then the Lakers should have not too many problems this season. If Shannon Brown has improved and is good for more than just fast break flights this year, he could give some more rest to Kobe Bryant, something that he would definitely need if we're looking at his age. So, with Phil Jax and Kobe leading the Lakers, the opponents need a lot to stop this team.




Memphis Grizzlies -

PG: Mike Conley / Marcus Williams / Acie Law
SG: O.J. Mayo (C) / Tony Allen / Marko Jaric
SF: Rudy Gay (C) / Gerald Green / Al Thornton
PF: Zach Randolph / Al Thornton / Marc Gasol (C)
C: Marc Gasol (C) / Zach Randolph

The Memphis Grizzlies did not get too much better in the offseason. Zach Randolph seemed to have improved his game a lot last year, and Marc Gasol is slowly taking steps towards his bigger brother Pau, but if the Grizzlies front office failed to put another big body to the Grizzlies rotation, there might be just too much asked from the two, especially for a long year. If either of Randolph or Marc Gasol ends up injured, the Grizzlies will be in a lot of trouble. If Conley, Mayo and Gay all continue improving, though, and Al Thornton will stop regressing now in Memphis, the Grizzlies could actually end up surprising a lot of people, similar to how they did last year.




Miami Heat -

PG: Rafer Alston / Mario Chalmers / Mustafa Shakur
SG: Dwyane Wade (C) / Mike Miller / Derrick Byars
SF: LeBron James / James Jones / Mike Miller
PF: Chris Bosh / Udonis Haslem (C) / Haywood Shaw (R)
C: Jacob Marin (C) / Chris Bosh

Some say that this ruined the whole next decade for most of the NBA fans, others say that it's exactly what basketball needed, a superteam that will sell out crowds all year long. Wade, LeBron and Bosh, all whom are most likely in the top 10 of every unbiased NBA fan, broke a lot of hearts this summer. The Heat fans are proud of what their front office managed to do, other fans, oh well... Fans of other contending teams have said that a team needs more than three superstars to win it all, but unfortunately for them, Miami has a lot more than just three superstars. They did a great job signing Mike Miller, keeping Udonis Haslem, getting back Rafer Alston and what not. There were even rumours about Zydrunas Ilgauskas coming down to Miami, but that went by when the Big Z announced his retirement. Either way, the only one that can stop the Heat are themselves.. and the Lakers.




Milwaukee Bucks -

PG: Brandon Jennings (C) / Earl Boykins
SG: Michael Redd / Chris Douglas-Roberts / Wesley Matthews
SF: John Salmons / Corey Maggette / Carlos Delfino
PF: Lance Burrows (R) / Carl Landry
C: Andrew Bogut (C) / Fitz Carvalho (R)

Scott Skiles' defensive force. The team was a top defensive team last year, but it might very well be even better this year. Chris Douglas-Roberts, Wesley Matthews, Corey Maggette and Carl Landry, their top aqusitions of the summer, all of them are known for their defense. Their rookie who they picked 9th, but was projected to go first overall in the beginning of last year, will give a big body and a ton of post offense for the Bucks. The team is young, has a lot of firepower in Jennings, Redd, Salmons, Maggette, Burrows and even Bogut, and let's not even talk about defense, anymore. There sure is a reason to fear the deer, now.




Minnesota Timberwolves -

PG: Ricky Rubio (R) / Johnny Flynn / Luke Ridnour
SG: Raja Bell / Corey Brewer / Wayne Ellington
SF: Michael Beasley / Quentin Richardson / Marquis Daniels
PF: Kevin Love (C) / Darko Milicic / Michael Beasley
C: Darko Milicic / Kwame Brown / Kevin Love (C)

The Timberwolves finally got Ricky Rubio to put on the Wolves' jersey, but they also got other known players this summer. Raja Bell is a great defensive player that can hit the occasional outside shot, Michael Beasley - another top class offensive player with huge potential. The team is extremely stacked at the guard positions, all of the six guards in the rotation are known names and have proven their value in this league, other than Ricky Rubio, ofcourse. The problem might be the center position. The Timberwolves acquired two of the biggest draft busts in this decade, Darko Milicic and Kwame Brown. Some say that this is a stupid move by the Timberwolves, but cheap centers with great physical tools are not given for free. Milicic still has games where he provides some good post offense, and Kwame Brown might actually be one of the top post defenders in the league due to the great ability to use his body and strength. We all know about Kevin Love, though, who was named the captain and who'se leadership abilities will be needed if you look at the history of players such as Beasley, Milicic and a few others.




New Jersey Nets -

PG: Devin Harris (C) / Jordan Farmar
SG: Terrence Williams / Anthony Morrow
SF: James Posey / Luke MacNamara (R) / Travis Outlaw
PF: Troy Murphy / Serge Ibaka
C: Brook Lopez (C) / Troy Murphy / Serge Ibaka

The fans in New Jersey must've been dissapointed over the summer. The Nets have had big plans about getting someone like Bosh, James, Wade, Boozer or similar in the summer of 2010 for a long time, but they end up with the likes of Farmar, Morrow, Outlaw, Murphy and Posey, that's all, basically. They did get Luke MacNamara from the draft, though, a rookie with unlimited shooting range, so that's three with him, Morrow and even Murphy. It's hard to predict the Nets record or how far they will go in general, but they definitely won't be a near 10 win team anymore.




New Orleans Hornets -

PG: Chris Paul (C) / Jason Hart
SG: Trevor Ariza / Marcus Thornton
SF: David Rutherford (R) / Peja Stojakovic / Renaldo Balkman
PF: David West (C) / Andrei Arkhipov (R) / Ike Diogu
C: Emeka Okafor / Matt Bonner

Similar to the Nuggets, the Hornets fans also have a hard summer behind with a lot of talks about their superstar player leaving the team. Afterall, there's not too many reason, Katrina is behind and the city is slowly starting to bloom again, and on paper, if you look at the team they have, it's not too bad. They have two stand out rookies in Rutherford and Arkhipov, and them also getting Trevor Ariza might be a big thing. Emeka Okafor and David West should compliment eachother nicely, similar to Boozer and Noah, but probably not as well. The team has a lot of shooters on the bench, Peja is known for his sharp shot, but they also have Matt Bonner stretching the defense now. We'll see if the needy Chris Paul will be satisfied with what the Hornets front office has put together for him.




New York Knicks -

PG: Raymond Felton / Toney Douglas
SF: Roger Mason / Demar DeRozan / Danny Hicks (R)
SF: Wilson Chandler (C) / Kelenna Azubuike / Danillo Gallinari
PF: Anthony Randolph / Ronny Turiaf
C: Amar’e Stoudamire (C) / Ronny Turiaf

Although the Knicks didn't get any of the big three, they had a pretty damn solid offseason. Amar'e put up 26 points a game in the preseason and D'Antoni said he will be an MVP candidate. They also have Anthony Randolph and Demar DeRozan who they acquired from trades with Golden State and Toronto, respectively. Both of the two mentioned are extremely athletic and have wonderful physical tools, hence with the right coaching and if they put in hard work, they can easily be starting level players in the league one day, although Randolph will probably given a spot in the starting five already. Raymond Felton is another player they got. Felton is, in my opinion, one of the most underrated guards in the league. While he's not a spectacular offensive player, his defense is pretty solid, a top 10 point guard, probably. With Felton, Mason, Chandler, Randolph and Stoudamire run and gunning, the opposing teams definitely need a lot of endurance to keep up.




Oklahoma City Thunder -

PG: Russell Westbrook / James Harden
SG: James Harden / Thabo Sefolosha / Daequan Cook
SF: Kevin Durant (C) / Rodney Carney
PF: Jeff Green / Rasheed Wallace / Nick Collison
C: Nenad Krstic / Loy Russell (R)

A young, exciting team, similar to the Warriors. The difference is, that the Thunder are a top class team. They've Durant, who's arguably the best player in the game, especially after his stellar play for team USA. Russell Westbrook proved that he's close, if not as good as the likes of Rose and Rondo. The Thunder's front office somehow managed to get Rasheed Wallace to sign with them, although the big man had said more than once that he'd retire after his last season with the Celtics. From the draft, the Thunder picked up the grandson of one of the best players of all time, Bill Russell. His grandson, Loy Russell, while not nearly as good as his grandfather once was, still seems like a great pickup and a draft steal. The Thunder might be able to get a high seed in the playoffs once again, but it's tough to see them going past the Lakers in the west.




Orlando Magic -

PG: Jameer Nelson (C) / Jason Williams / Rasheed William (R)
SG: Vince Carter / JJ Redick / Morris Almond
SF: Mickael Pietrus / Omri Casspi
PF: Rashard Lewis / Ryan Anderson / Brandon Bass
C: Dwight Howard (C) / Brandon Bass

Hopefully Orlando's superstar big man, Dwight Howard, did infact learn the moves of the legendary Hakeem Olajuwon. He's struggled on the offensive end in the previous years, but as the Magic did not make any big changes in the roster this offseason, there's not much more for the Magic to hope for other than Howard's improvements. The Magic were extremely close to losing their backup shooting guard, JJ Redick, who was close to signing a long term contract with the Chicago Bulls, but fortunately for the team, they managed to match the offer. The biggest acquisition for the Magic might've been Omri Casspi, an underrated wingsman. He's not too different from Matt Barnes, but the age difference and the room for improvement is just so much better.




Philadelphia 76ers -

PG: Allen Iverson / Louis Williams (C) / Jrue Holiday
SG: Jodie Meeks / Allen Iverson / Louis Williams (C)
SF: Josh Smith / Andres Nocioni / Thaddeus Young
PF: Elton Brand (C) / Marrassee Speights
C: Spencer Hawes / Jeff Foster

A lot of people must've asked themselves, "What on earth?" when the Philadelphia 76ers gave a third chance to Allen Iverson, who said he'd retire again last season. The Sixers probably don't have 'The Answer' to that question, anymore. You can never be too sure, though, but although Allen Iverson said he'd accept a bench role and reduced amount of shots now, the coaching staff said before the preseason that Iverson will be a starter. In the preseason, that seemed to work out rather nicely, though, as Iverson averaged nearly 20 points and 7 assists on 47 percent shooting. The problem for the Sixers will be that, while they're stacked on positions 1 and 3, they don't have too many players to put on the other three positions. If you have to start Jodie Meeks, there's not much to say. Also makes people wonder why the coaching staff doesn't make Allen Iverson start at SG, so that the teams new captain, Louis Williams, could start as the point guard.




Phoenix Suns -

PG: Steve Nash (C) / Goran Dragic / Jasper Rogers (R)
SG: Jason Richardson / Bonzi Wells / Josh Childress
SF: Hedo Turkoglu / Josh Childress / Jared Dudley
PF: Chris Andersen / Channing Frye / Jared Dudley
C: Channing Frye / Robin Lopez

The Suns time is most likely over, even if Nash keeps getting better with age. They no longer have a big man and as Nash is a wonderful pick and roll player, the Suns don't have a big man that would excell at that as Stoudamire did. A lot of the Suns' success depends on how their newly acquired forward, Hedo Turkoglu plays. If Turkoglu plays similar to how he did with Orlando two years ago, the Suns are lucky, but if he plays like he did in Toronto, their rather unlucky. Phoenix has basically no trouble at the 1, 2 and 3 positions what so ever, but their 4 and 5 rotation in Chris Andersen, Channing Frye and Robin Lopez makes a lot of people worry.




Portland TrailBlazers -

PG: Andre Miller / Jerryd Bayless
SG: Brandon Roy (C) / Rudy Fernandez / Morris Peterson
SF: Damien Wilkins / Luc Mbah A Moute / Nicolas Batum
PF: LaMarcus Aldridge / Joe Watters (R)
C: Greg Oden / Etan Thomas

The TrailBlazers are a young, top team just like the Oklahoma City Thunder. It'd be hard to believe that they could've gotten any better during the summer while maintaining the great young core, but they did. The TrailBlazers got another young defensive specialist in Luc Mbah A Moute, and they also got a top rookie from the draft, Joe Watters. As in the previous years, Portland will depend a lot on the health of Greg Oden, if something like this exists anymore. The TrailBlazers should be in for a great season, though, as even last year with only Brandon Roy being the healthy one, they were pretty good.




Sacramento Kings -

PG: Tyreke Evans (C) / Beno Udrih / Keyon Dooling
SG: Dion Harrison (R) / Fransisco Garcia / Luther Head
SF: Joey Graham / Donte Green / Fransisco Garcia
PF: Jason Thompson / Sean May / Joey Graham
C: Samuél Dalembert / Sean May

The Kings fans have a lot to be excited about. With Tyreke Evans and Jason Thompson on their team, Sacramento should be an interesting team to watch for years to come. They also got Samuel Dalembert during the summer, a player that should compliment Jason Thompson nicely, although Dalembert has somewhat regressed in his recent years. From the draft, the Kings got a crafty shooting guard in Dion Harrison. He's a great defender and a nice playmaker, hence a good fit next to Tyreke Evans. A problem for the Kings is long range shooting, the only shooters on the team are Luther Head and Fransisco Garcia, but in the starting five, the best shooters are probably Harrison and Evans, two players that defenders would rather have shoot the open jumper than attack the paint.




San Antonio Spurs -

PG: Tony Parker (C) / George Hill / Luigi Moretti (R)
SG: Manu Ginobili (C) / Alonzo Gee (R) / Oleg Ushakov (R)
SF: Richard Jefferson / Antoine Wright
PF: Tim Duncan (C) / DaJuan Blair
C: Dan Ellis (R) / Aaron Gray / DaJuan Blair

The Spurs keep trying to win with nearly the same lineup as before. Their three captains, Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker are still serviceable, Duncan and Ginobili probably top 5 at their positions, Parker top 10, if not top 5, too. Last season, Richard Jefferson didn't prove to be too much help, atleast not enough for the Spurs to beat the Lakers. They still chose not to make any big time trades or changes in the roster, the only moves in the starting five are that Ginobili won't be a sixth man any longer and that Dan Ellis, the rookie center the Spurs selected, will start. Ellis gives the Spurs a big body in the paint, one that is known for his defense, especially shot blocking ability. If the Spurs manage to stay healthy and the roleplayers play better than ever, and the Big Three plus RJ will manage to give their last effort before starting to age too much, the Spurs should not be counted out from the list of contending teams.




Toronto Raptors -

PG: Jarret Jack (C) / Jose Manuél Calderon / Marcus Banks
SG: Leandro Barbosa / Rasual Butler / Pelo Njanka (R)
SF: Victor Claver / Amir Johnson / Rasual Butler
PF: Amir Johnson / Joey Dorsey / David Lee
C: David Lee / Andrea Bargnani (C)

A lot of Raptor fans are mad at Chris Bosh for leaving, but some are actually happy about that and love the replacement, David Lee, even more. The thing that might be worse for the fans is that Demar DeRozan ended up in New York, but with Leandro Barbosa, that should not be too much of a problem, although DeRozans potential was perhaps too great to give up. The Raptors coaching staff said that they would start Johnson and Lee, but give Lee and Bargnani about equal playing time at the center position. Lee will also get time from the 4 spot behind Dorsey and Johnson.




Utah Jazz -

PG: Deron Williams (C) / Earl Watson / Brevin Knight
SG: Dale Koch (R) / JR Giddens
SF: Andrei Kirilenko / CJ Miles / Kirk Snyder
PF: Paul Millsap / Ersan Ilyasova
C: Al Jefferson / Mehmet Okur

Utah fans are probably disapointed about Boozer leaving to join Chicago, but the new players that Utah have are definitely solid, too. The Al Jefferson - Paul Millsap starting duo will be a good one and the two will probably have a lot of open looks with Deron Williams feeding them with assists. The Jazz also got Ersan Ilyasova who has proven to be a good, hard working player. The rookie guard, Dale Koch won't exactly be able to replace Ronnie Brewer or Kyle Korver, but he does have some potential. The problem will be that the only above average long range shooters in the main rotation are Mehmet Okur and Deron Williams, other than that, basically none. Despite that, the Jazz should be a close to 50 win team if there will be no major injuries for the key players.




Washington Wizards -

PG: Gilbert Arenas (C) / Kirk Hinrich / Juan Dixon
SG: Nick Young / Colby Adams (R) / Gilbert Arenas
SF: Josh Howard / Bryan Castillo (R) / Cartier Martin
PF: Andray Blatche / Jianlian Yi / Bryan Castillo (R)
C: Javale McGee / Andray Blatche

The Wizards look like a really good team on paper with Arenas, Hinrich, Howard, McGee and others. If this team can put their mind into the game and work hard, without anybody complaining about lack of shots or individual stats in general, the team might be able to do some damage. Andray Blatche and Javale McGee both have proved to be pretty good, especially McGee, who put up nearly 15/11 in the preseason. The Wizards have a lot of potential with Nick Young, Colby Adams, Bryan Castillo and obviously Blatche and McGee.



As you can see, many teams made changes that make the fans worry, many teams made changes that make the fans scratch their heads, confused. There were rookies drafted that the teams will depend on a lot. There were players acquired that teams will depend on. Some teams depend on the improvements of their players. The season definitely is going to be a good one with teams such as the Lakers, Heat, Thunder, Spurs, Mavericks, Bulls, Magic contending for the title. Maybe even the likes of Blazers, Nuggets, Celtics, Bucks, Jazz and even the Knicks surprising people and ending up deep in the playoffs, who knows? What's for sure, is that the season is going to be a great one.

(( Holy *uck. ))

Liking the layout with the small separators That's a long update but very nice.

Liking the layout with the small separators That's a long update but very nice.

Thanks, the seperators are useful, help keep the layout clean and neat and all, you know. Stay tuned!

GAME STORY / PICTURES / BOXSCORE

Mavericks (130) @ Bulls (135) (2 OT)

Noah, Bulls beat the Mavericks in a double-OT thriller.


Noah pulling down one of his 29 rebounds with Nowitzki and Chandler in the background.



October 28, 2010 (CHICAGO) - The Bulls hosted Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks for the opening game of both of the teams. The game deciding factor was undoubtably the difference in rebounds taken, as Chicago pulled down 57 rebounds, 19 of which were offensive, compared to the Mavericks total of 49. The clear player of the game was Joakim Noah, who clawed a stellar 29 rebounds, 12 of which were from the offensive board. Noah also scored 20 points on 8-21 shooting.

The game got off to a competitive start as Caron Butler had carried the Mavericks to a one point lead by the halftime, scoring 17 points in the first half alone. Butler finished the game with 25 points and 8 rebounds, shooting 9 from 25 from the field and hitting all 7 free throw attempts. The person that kept the Mavericks in the game when it mattered the most, was their clear leader and captain, Dirk Nowitzki, who had a solid, 22 point, 12 rebound game. 12 of his points came in the two overtime periods.

None from the Bulls team stood out in the first half, but everything was balanced nicely and the bench did their job well enough, too. In the second half, Joakim Noah started beasting, in the third- and fourth quarters, plus the overtime periods, Noah grabbed a total of 22 rebounds and scored 15 of his 20 points. Boozer, Rose and Brewer also started to show up as the second half began. Boozer finished the game with 24 points and 8 rebounds on 11-19 shooting. Rose was the highest scoring player in the game, but wasn't too efficient as it took him 29 shots to score 32 points. Rose also had 7 assists to go with the points, he was 13-29 from the field, 2-4 from the three point line and 4-7 from the charity stripe. Ronnie Brewer, on the other hand, was efficient with the 19 points he scored, he was 9-14 from the field and hit the only three point shot he took.

From the bench, most of the credit will go to C.J. Watson and especially Kyle Korver, who hit the game-tying three pointer at the end of regulation with just 2 seconds on the clock. Both Watson and Korver finished with 7 points each. Watson also dished out 4 assists. The regular season debut for the Bulls first round draft selection, Hubert Lefevre, was far below average, at best. In 12 minutes, he scored 2 points, grabbed 2 rebounds and also managed to get 2 assists on his name. It sounds pretty solid, but he also did 5 fouls in the 12 minutes of his, and managed to shoot 7 times, hitting only a single fast break layup. He missed all of his three attempts from downtown.

With a minute and a half to go in the first overtime period, Jason Kidd recieved a wild elbow in the middle of his face from Luol Deng, causing Kidd to be down for a good fifteen seconds and also making his nose bleed. The incident happened accidently as Deng ran full speed towards the basket before suddenly crashing into Kidd, who was trying to get a charge. Kidd didn't return to the floor thanks to what seemed to be a broken nose.

"I'm not satisfied with how the team played on the defensive end," said the Bulls head coach, Tom Thibodeau. "We allowed too many easy baskets and many of the shots late in the game were wide open. It's not late in the season, in which case, fatigue could be an issue, but in this game, everyone seemed to have enough rest to be able to put in more effort on the defensive end. I'm happy with how Jo played, though. He missed a couple of easy looks, but he was a beast on the boards."

"The Bulls executed their play nicely to get Korver the wide open shot. I won't find no excuses, I was slightly late to put a hand up, but the screen that Korver got from Boozer was really nice." said the Mavericks starting 2 guard, Caron Butler. "I think they were lucky, though. Most of the players had a good day, while we didn't play nearly as well as we could. We're still the better team.".


Rose getting by Nowitzki for the layup.


Kidd at the foul line in the end of fourth quarter.


Korver's game tying shot to push the game to overtime.


Rose putting the game away at with two clutch free throws.




Other games from 28th October;

100 : Denver @ Boston : 94
C. Anthony, 40 points, 14 rebounds, 18-26 shooting.
K. Perkins, 25 points, 11 rebounds, 5 blocks.

87 : LA Lakers @ Detroit : 86
P. Gasol, 25 points, 13 rebounds, game-winning layup
T. Prince, 18 points, 11 rebounds, 5 blocks

93 : Memphis @ Orlando : 99
R. Lewis, 23 points, 10 rebounds
Z. Randolph, 29 points, 10 rebounds, 3 blocks
O. Mayo, 30 points, 12-18 FG, 3-5 3PT

94 : Minnesota @ Miami : 107
L. James, 31 points, 12 rebounds, 9 rebounds, 2 blocks & steals, 4-5 3PT
C. Bosh, 32 points, 9 rebounds, 3 blocks, 15-22 FG
D. Milicic, 22 points, 9 rebounds, 9-12 FG
R. Bell, 18 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals

111 : Houston @ Atlanta : 79
K. Martin, 25 points, 9 rebounds, 4 steals
A. Horford, 17 points, 15 rebounds

87 : Golden State @ Charlotte : 100
T. Thomas, 20 points, 19 rebounds, 4 steals & blocks
M. Delgado, 31 points, 5 assists, 13-19 FG
A. Biedrins, 21 points, 12 rebounds, 9-12 FG

Rockets' Martin goes down with a knee injury.


October 28th, 2010 - The Houston Rockets starting guard, Kevin Martin, went down hard after a dunk attempt in the fourth quarter against the Atlanta Hawks. Martin was taken off the floor with a wheelchair. It was announced later the same evening that Martin's injury is serious and he'll be out for approximately 9 weeks with a hyper-extended knee. Despite the injury, Kevin Martin was the clear player of the game as he finished the game with 25 points and 9 rebounds, carrying the Rockets to a blowout victory on road. Read more...

By ESPN

Jason Kidd leaves the court with a broken nose.


October 28th, 2010 - Playing against the Chicago Bulls, Jason Kidd caught an accidental elbow in his face from the Bulls forward, Luol Deng. It was reported that Kidd's nose was broken in the incident and Kidd will probably wear a face mask for some time to prevent from anything possibly happening to the nose. Kidd will be able to play, but probably in limited minutes, said the Mavericks owner, John Cuban. Read more...

By Ethan Schwindt, Yahoo! Sports

Great looking recap and a monster game from Noah. 29 rebounds, holy shit.

Lovin' the layout for the recaps But as I've been told thousands of times, I would make the text a little shorter.

Great looking recap and a monster game from Noah. 29 rebounds, holy shit.

Thanks pal. Yeah, Noah was great, when he was approaching 20 rebounds, I was like "wow, that's going to be a good game for him." Then it was so with 25, next came 30, unfortunately he didn't crush the 30 mark, still, a really good game from him.

Lovin' the layout for the recaps But as I've been told thousands of times, I would make the text a little shorter.

Yeah, trying to keep it simple, but nice with the recaps. I'll eventually make the text shorter when I have less time for the recaps, news and what so ever, right now I have no problem with it though and I pretty much enjoy adding in as many details as possible. Thanks, anyway.

right now I have no problem with it though and I pretty much enjoy adding in as many details as possible.

Yep, that's what I say too. I like the recaps when they are more detailed as well. But, you know.

right now I have no problem with it though and I pretty much enjoy adding in as many details as possible.

Yep, that's what I say too. I like the recaps when they are more detailed as well. But, you know.

Yeah, I know. Let's see if you can do better with the Spurs, though.

Bulls finish the first home games with a 3-2 record, off to a east-coast trip.


C.J. Watson attacking the paint against Stephen Curry and the Warriors.



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99 : Warriors - Bulls : 116

Bulls get an easy win over the Warriors behind Rose's 25.

RECAP / PHOTOS / BOXSCORE



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87 : Rockets - Bulls : 92

Bulls manage to hold off Rockets fourth quarter rally, win by 5.

RECAP / PHOTOS / BOXSCORE



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102 : Clippers - Bulls : 96

Gordon scores 30, carries the Clippers to a win.

RECAP / PHOTOS / BOXSCORE



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115 : Clippers - Bulls : 110

Suns come out on top thanks to Turkoglu and Nash.

RECAP / PHOTOS / BOXSCORE

weird. i've Skype installed and it's automatically turning player stats from your boxscores into phone #s lol:

Skype Weirdness

I guess i can call Biedrins now and tell him he needs to shoot less?

anyway, Noah was a BEAST v. Dallas! good stuff so far man keep it goin'

weird. i've Skype installed and it's automatically turning player stats from your boxscores into phone #s lol:

Skype Weirdness

I guess i can call Biedrins now and tell him he needs to shoot less?

anyway, Noah was a BEAST v. Dallas! good stuff so far man keep it goin'

Lol, that's some goofy thing you've got there with the skype thing, haha. You really should tell that to Biedrins though, or well.. better if you don't, he could keep shooting your beloved Warriors out of their game!

Noah's been a beast indeed, averaging over 15 rebounds so far I think. Thanks, keep following.