Hov's Kings - Retired

A collection of memorable stories from NBA 2K's franchise and career modes.

Re: Hov's Sonics (22-39) - Running with the wolf pack ...

Postby hova- on Sat Jan 22, 2011 8:18 pm

Sit, thanks. Well, it wouldn't be a problem to add Ricky to this D. But I am not to sure if he will ever play for Minny IRL. So right now I don't plan to bring him in there.

Houndy, thank you, I like those little information about other teams, glad you do so, too.

dare, it looks like they are on the right track, but I doubt they can develope into a top tier team.
User avatar
hova-
Two time Hall Of Famer
 
Posts: 5160
Joined: Sun Jan 02, 2005 12:33 am
Location: Augsburg, Germany

Re: Hov's Sonics (22-39) - Running with the wolf pack ...

Postby kibaxx7 on Sun Jan 23, 2011 1:37 am

Maybe the Wolves won't be in the lottery Top 5 then. :lol:
× Club Atlético Independiente. ×
× Watching:
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, Echo ×
× Watched:
Romeo + Juliet (1996), Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba - To the Hashira Training (2024), Paper Moon (1973) ×
User avatar
kibaxx7
炭治郎
 
Posts: 12672
Joined: Fri Oct 08, 2004 11:34 am
Location: Buenos Aires, Argentina

Re: Hov's Sonics (22-39) - Running with the wolf pack ...

Postby Houndy on Sun Jan 23, 2011 1:38 am

Ricky won't help them. They need to pick up a nice point guard in the draft.
User avatar
Houndy
Whoa, the Mavs are ballin'
 
Posts: 3051
Joined: Sat May 29, 2010 9:55 am
Location: Dallas, Texas

Re: Hov's Sonics (22-39) -

Postby hova- on Sun Jan 23, 2011 3:40 am

Image



Image
Sonics Coach Chris Hova wants to change his team this summer, but how much time does he have?


Coach Hova looking for offseason moves to improve the Sonics
By Carl Column, NBA.com
Posted on March 30th 2011 11:34PM


With eight games to go, the Seattle Supersonics go into April with a 25-49 record, which leaves them exactly eight chances to improve their record from last year, when the franchise was still based in Sacramento and had 25 wins after 82 games.

The month of March only added four Ws to the win/loss column for Seattle, a circumstance which has many reasons.

First of all, the Sonics were struggling with injuries at the beginning of the month. Beno Udrih and Pooh Jeter missed the first seven games in which the Sonics were only able to win twice: A home game vs the Trailblazers (86-95, Donte Greene had 21 points and Jason Thompson added 18 and 10), and a road win against the still Jamison-less Hornets (111-95, Tyreke Evans posted 20, 5 and 8.)

The Sonics then lost six games in a row, which brings us to the 2nd fact: four of these six games were on the road, altogether the Sonics had 9 road games in March.

A third reason could be the case of Sam Dalembert, who complained about his role recently and told media that "it is a mess that I am not playing enough at this stage of the season, I'm looking for a new contract and need playing time".

Coach Hova commented with a simple expression: "Sam got 25 minutes per game and it's not enough? Let me see how I can change that".

And how did Hova change it? He kicked Dalembert, who is averaging 4.4 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game out of the rotation. The Haitian native did not play a game since March 18th and it does not look like he will be suited up for any of the last eight games.

"It has been clear that he won't get a contract extension here and with his statements he did not improve his situation", TNT insider Dave Aldridge says. "Add that to the fact that Hova wants to give playing time to Demarcus Cousins and Hassan Whiteside, and then you know why Dalembert is not playing anymore.


The rookies

With the rejection of Dalembert, Demarcus Cousins saw his minutes increasing to well over 25 per game, but so far you can't really say that he used these minutes to show any improvement.

The 270 lbs. colossus out of Kentucky is averaging 11.8 points and 7.2 rebounds per game in March. Solid numbers, but for a guy of his size and talent not enough. Coach Hova still shows trust in him despite his indiscipline and limited performances. The coach likes his back-to-the-basket game as well as his rebounding, but already made clear that Cousins needed to drop weight and gain more mobility and quickness.

Hassan Whiteside has this quickness, but he is lacking pretty much everything Cousins has. At the end of March, Whiteside saw his playing time increasing up to 20 minutes per game, but overall averages of 1.8 points and 2.0 rebounds per game on .369% shooting from the field do not really blow away anybody.

"Whiteside is still too raw and needs to gain weight and get stronger. He's more valuable in the pick and roll than Cousins though, because he is moving faster", David Aldridge adds.


What might happen

This brings us to the moves GM and Coach Chris Hova and his co-excutive Geoff Petrie may pull off this summer.

As a European, Hova like to have a well balanced offense with lot of ball movement and a variety of guys who can score. He also needs players who understand how to run plays and guards and big men who can play the pick&roll.

That is also why the Sonics signed Greek point guard Vassilis Spanoulis. The 29-year old Euro Champion with Greece knows how to play the pick&roll to perfection, something Beno Udrih is not really capable of.

But Spanoulis probably won't stay in Seattle for the next season. "He's pretty homesick", Coach Hova says. "He wanted to make it here so badly, but I don't expect him to be in the NBA next season", the Sonics Coach said. Spanoulis played in 10 games so far this season and averaged 3.9 points and 1.9 assists per game.

So basically, the Sonics want a new point guard and at best get rid of Beno Udrih, who only shoots .38% from the field this season and could go back to Europe if everything works out well for Seattle.

There are enough point guards in this year's draft to pick a decent one, be it Luis Chase or Leroy Graham. Further, the Sonics are already linked to Andre Miller and Kirk Hinrich, but so far trade talks for the offseason aren't imminent.


The extensions


Imminent is an extension of Tyreke Evans' contract though. The 2nd year player out of Memphis has top priority in the Sonic's future plans and will probably earn a max. contract.

"Evans and Hova have a very good relationship. Hova has helped Evans to improve his game by teaching him to look beyond his own nose", David Aldridge claims.

Hova, who does not like to run isolations a lot, typical Euro-style, helped Evans to add a mid-range game and come around screens for easy shots. The 6-6 shooting guard thus improved his shooting by three percent to .487%. He also hit better from three point range this season compared to last season. (40-120 this year - 36-141 last year).

Still Hova wants his go-to-guy to attack the rim and cut wholes into the defense for other guys like Omri Casspi.

Casspi probably won't reveice an extension this year though. The Sonics' responsibles are still not sure about the upside of the young Israeli, who is a deadly shooter and good rebounder, but lacks of defense and explosiveness. He still linked to the team via his rookie contract.

As it looks right now, Donte Greene will stay another year with the team. Coach Hova plans to pull his team option on the young Syracuse alumni. The same might happen with Jason Thompson out of Rider, who is pretty much appreciated by the coach for his ability to spread the floor and for his offensive rebounding.

Carl Landry's contract will expire in summer and so far there have been no talks about an extension, but Hova thinks that "we will definitely meet in summer and see what we can negotiate".

Right now it looks like the Sonics will at least have eight players under guaranteed contracts next season. Further they will have two draft picks and about 20M $ of cap space.

Coach Hova will have to work then. Another loosing season is not what Seattle fans and especially the Maloof brothers want to see. Let's see what rabbit he pull out of his hat.






Last edited by hova- on Sun Jan 23, 2011 7:21 am, edited 5 times in total.
User avatar
hova-
Two time Hall Of Famer
 
Posts: 5160
Joined: Sun Jan 02, 2005 12:33 am
Location: Augsburg, Germany

Re: Hov's Sonics (25-49) - Sonics Future / Wolves

Postby Houndy on Sun Jan 23, 2011 4:00 am

Glad you kicked that ungrateful whore in Dalembert out of the rotation.
User avatar
Houndy
Whoa, the Mavs are ballin'
 
Posts: 3051
Joined: Sat May 29, 2010 9:55 am
Location: Dallas, Texas

Re: Hov's Sonics (25-49) - Sonics Future / Wolves

Postby hova- on Sun Jan 23, 2011 6:54 am

Houndy, word, man. I just don't like his one-dimensional game. He's only good at the defensive end. The major problems was indeed that he was moaning at 25 mpg.
User avatar
hova-
Two time Hall Of Famer
 
Posts: 5160
Joined: Sun Jan 02, 2005 12:33 am
Location: Augsburg, Germany

Re: Hov's Sonics (25-49) - Sonics Future / Wolves

Postby Lamrock on Sun Jan 23, 2011 7:38 am

Taking Dalembert out of the rotation was a great move for the tanking movement! It should be an interesting off-season. I hope you can keep Landry.
Image
User avatar
Lamrock
 
Posts: 10936
Joined: Tue Jul 05, 2005 4:02 pm
Location: Washington State

Re: Hov's Sonics (25-49) - Sonics Future / Wolves

Postby Martti. on Sun Jan 23, 2011 8:13 am

You should have enough cap space to go after Carmelo, that would help a long way. The son of a bitch rejected my offer, but you could still get him.

Taking Sammy out of the rotation was a bold move, but as your season has already gone to hell, good idea giving Cousins and Whiteside some burn.
User avatar
Martti.
#HeatLifer
 
Posts: 8101
Joined: Mon Oct 09, 2006 5:19 am

Re: Hov's Sonics (25-49) - Sonics Future / Wolves

Postby hova- on Sun Jan 23, 2011 11:25 pm

Lamrock, I honestly doubt that Dalembert helps us to win games. Are there win shares among the metric stats? Don't want to look up now, but I think not. Would be great.

About Landry, I know you love him, but I'm not sure about his future. It will mainly depend on how much he is asking for. He's a good role player, but nothing more. MLE would be okay, more is questionable. Especially with Thompson being a solid floor spreading PF.

Martti., I'm not sure about Melo. Evans and Melo both need the ball in their hands too much. I'm working on Evans hitting the mid range J after coming around screens, but isolations are still dominating. Melo would be the same except that he can post up pretty good. It's Evans' team. I don't need no Melodrama.
User avatar
hova-
Two time Hall Of Famer
 
Posts: 5160
Joined: Sun Jan 02, 2005 12:33 am
Location: Augsburg, Germany

Re: Hov's Sonics (25-49) - Sonics Future / Wolves

Postby kibaxx7 on Mon Jan 24, 2011 3:36 am

Great (Y) Dalembert's gone.
× Club Atlético Independiente. ×
× Watching:
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, Echo ×
× Watched:
Romeo + Juliet (1996), Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba - To the Hashira Training (2024), Paper Moon (1973) ×
User avatar
kibaxx7
炭治郎
 
Posts: 12672
Joined: Fri Oct 08, 2004 11:34 am
Location: Buenos Aires, Argentina

Re: Hov's Sonics (25-49) - Sonics Future / Wolves

Postby The X on Mon Jan 24, 2011 9:42 pm

Your team is almost as sorry as mine.
User avatar
The X
is
NLSC Team Member
 
Posts: 11499
Joined: Mon Nov 08, 2004 9:21 pm
Location: Brisbane

Re: Hov's Sonics (25-49) - Sonics Future / Wolves

Postby hova- on Tue Jan 25, 2011 6:47 pm

The X, the only difference is that I have Evans. Without him my team would be worse than yours.
User avatar
hova-
Two time Hall Of Famer
 
Posts: 5160
Joined: Sun Jan 02, 2005 12:33 am
Location: Augsburg, Germany

Re: Hov's Sonics (9-23) -

Postby hova- on Tue Jan 25, 2011 9:44 pm

Image


Just as we had into the Elite Eight of the NCAA tournament, there is one guy we should take a closer look at, Jonathon Clemons out of Kansas.

The Jayhawks have been making quite some noise recently as they beat the Memphis Tigers and the Arizona Wildcats on their way to the last eight. Clemons dropped 21 points on the Tigers and had an all-around 9 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists against Arizona, also doing a very good job defending Arizona's leading scorer Jeremy Curtis, holding him to 12 points.

Clemons is not the typical basketball player. He did not start playing in his childhood.

"Actually, all we did was going to the Lakes and play Ice hockey", he says when thinking about his life back in Edmonton.

The 6-9 allrounder started playing basketball in highschool when he felt that ice hockey was taking too much time.

"My grades were not that good, and ice hockey at highschool really took a lot of time. It's just that in basketball all you need is a ball and a basket, it's more simple".

But he had to find out that the game is not that simple at all, being the team's waterboy.

It was in his last year in highschool when Clemons started dominating. He grew up to 6-6 and was taller than most of his team mates and opponents. Still it was not easy to attract any interest from colleges outside of Canada.

Clemons was really lucky to get a chance from Kansas, who were looking for an all-around player who can help bringing them back to the NCAA Finals.

So far Clemons has not disappointed. He has posted 13.3 points, 6.4 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game this season, leading his team in every category.

"We do not have the best individuals, but our team defense and our ability to shoot the ball make up for that, I hope we can win the title this year", the young Canadian says.

It's already clear that he will leave college after one year and will be a lottery pick of this year's draft.


NBAdraft.net wrote:Image

Strenghts: Good rebounder ... nice ball handling for his size ... very good court vision thanks to his size... very long arms ... good timing on blocking shots ... shows good footwork... has decent range ... solid three point shooter ... hustles on putback baskets ... good basketball IQ ... can finish with both hands ...

Weaknesses: needs to add weight ... not very strong ... seems a bit soft at times ... tends to shoot the ball rather than attack the basket ... only average athleticism ... not the best defender ... no superstar who can shoot the lights out ... will have problems with the NBA's three point range ...
User avatar
hova-
Two time Hall Of Famer
 
Posts: 5160
Joined: Sun Jan 02, 2005 12:33 am
Location: Augsburg, Germany

Re: Hov's Sonics (25-49) - Watch out, Steve Nash & Joel Anth

Postby Fresh8 on Tue Jan 25, 2011 11:50 pm

He seems like a nice prospect. (Y) Nice update bro!
User avatar
Fresh8
The poster formerly known as Sit
 
Posts: 14872
Joined: Mon Nov 11, 2002 5:19 pm

Re: Hov's Sonics (25-49) - Watch out, Steve Nash & Joel Anth

Postby kibaxx7 on Wed Jan 26, 2011 12:45 am

A comparison with Lamar is great (Y)
× Club Atlético Independiente. ×
× Watching:
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, Echo ×
× Watched:
Romeo + Juliet (1996), Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba - To the Hashira Training (2024), Paper Moon (1973) ×
User avatar
kibaxx7
炭治郎
 
Posts: 12672
Joined: Fri Oct 08, 2004 11:34 am
Location: Buenos Aires, Argentina

Re: Hov's Sonics (25-49) - Watch out, Steve Nash & Joel Anth

Postby Valor on Wed Jan 26, 2011 1:41 am

Man, I love the presentation on your recaps, articles, draft prospect reports (Y)
Image
User avatar
Valor
Fire GarPax
 
Posts: 4971
Joined: Sat Mar 25, 2006 2:23 am
Location: New Zealand

Re: Hov's Sonics (25-49) - Watch out, Steve Nash & Joel Anth

Postby Lamrock on Wed Jan 26, 2011 3:23 am

Nice article. As always, loving the NBADraft.net ratings presentation. Question: does 2K11 have the same generic draft class every time?
Image
User avatar
Lamrock
 
Posts: 10936
Joined: Tue Jul 05, 2005 4:02 pm
Location: Washington State

Re: Hov's Sonics (25-49) - Watch out, Steve Nash & Joel Anth

Postby hova- on Wed Jan 26, 2011 5:30 am

Sit, thx, man. He's pretty flexible. Don't know about his upside though.

Thierry •, it's pretty optimistic. If it was sure that he had game like Odom, I'd pick him in a minute.

Valor, thank you very much, man. Glad you like it (Y)

Lamrock, Thanks. Ahm, no ... afaik they are alway generated randomly. I had to edit the first few guys, because I wanted to transfer them to my new save. Took a while, but it's worth it.
User avatar
hova-
Two time Hall Of Famer
 
Posts: 5160
Joined: Sun Jan 02, 2005 12:33 am
Location: Augsburg, Germany

Re: Hov's Sonics (25-49) - Watch out, Steve Nash & Joel Anth

Postby The X on Wed Jan 26, 2011 7:48 am

Lovin' the prospect update (Y)
User avatar
The X
is
NLSC Team Member
 
Posts: 11499
Joined: Mon Nov 08, 2004 9:21 pm
Location: Brisbane

Re: Hov's Sonics (25-49) - Watch out, Steve Nash & Joel Anth

Postby Martti. on Wed Jan 26, 2011 7:50 am

Looks like a promising guy. 6'9 with great ball-handling skills, could be Odom 2.0. I hope he isn't hype.
User avatar
Martti.
#HeatLifer
 
Posts: 8101
Joined: Mon Oct 09, 2006 5:19 am

Re: Hov's Sonics (25-49) - Watch out, Steve Nash & Joel Anth

Postby Kubik on Wed Jan 26, 2011 8:10 am

I'm loving all of your prospect ! 6'9 with nice ball handling=Lamar Odom. Great comparison :wink:
Kubik
 
Posts: 205
Joined: Thu Dec 02, 2010 12:43 am
Location: Bełchatów, Poland

Re: Hov's Sonics (25-49) - Watch out, Steve Nash & Joel Anth

Postby CHUCK on Thu Jan 27, 2011 6:25 am

Been following since you started. I really enjoy this. One of my favs on the board. :applaud:
User avatar
CHUCK
 
Posts: 33
Joined: Fri Dec 24, 2010 1:58 am

Re: Hov's Sonics (25-49) - Watch out, Steve Nash & Joel Anth

Postby hova- on Fri Jan 28, 2011 9:20 pm

The X, thanks man. He's interesting, but I think the Sonics aren't looking for a versatile wing player at this point.

Martti., definitely hyped! All these players are hyped, even Meredith. I actually hope some of these guys will end up as busts, because that is just how it happens in real life.

Kubik, thanks man ;)

CHUCK, Thanks for posting then. Always a good feeling when someone says he's been following.
User avatar
hova-
Two time Hall Of Famer
 
Posts: 5160
Joined: Sun Jan 02, 2005 12:33 am
Location: Augsburg, Germany

Re: Hov's Sonics (25-49) - Watch out, Steve Nash & Joel Anth

Postby hova- on Fri Jan 28, 2011 11:18 pm

Image

Image


The NCAA's Final Four will take place in Houston this weekend (April 2nd to April 4th) and today we want to introduce you the teams that made their way from the last 32 to the Sweet Sixteen, Elite Eight and now finally the last four.
It's no big surprise that the current NCAA Champion, the UConn Huskies are once again among the top four teams in the country. Big man Lance Meredith and point guard Louie Samuel run the pick&roll to perfection just another year and will face the North Carolina Tar Heels in the first Semi final of the Final Four.



Image
Tar Heel's top scorer George Randolph



The 2nd match will be the two Cindarella stories of this year's college basketball facing each other, the UCLA Bruins behind their point guard sensation Leroy Graham against the biggest surprise of the Tournament, the Montana Grizzlies. Let's take a look at each team's way to Houston.

Image

The Huskies from the University of Connecticut are once against the most steady team of the country. After finishing first in the Big East with 33 wins and only 3 losses, the Huskies beat Siena in the 2nd round and also landed a win over Louisville in the Sweet Sixteen. UConn's first real test were the Blue Devils in the Elite Eight. Lance Meredith scored 24 points and grabbed 11 boards to lead the Huskies to a 77-75 win over Duke. Louie Samuel was the match winner though, as he hit a runner in the lane with 2 seconds left to knock out Duke. Blue Devils star Alvin Lewis, who scored 28 points swore revenge directly after the game.

"Without Big L on their squad, we will beat them next year for sure", the swingman said. "I won't leave my team before reaching the Finals at least once", the freshman answered questions regarding his own future.

Image

The North Carolina Tar Heels had a pretty easy way to Houston. Stacked with talent, there is one player who really stood out for UNC: George Randolph. The 6-5 forward hit an amazing 23 three pointers in four games from the first round to the Final Four. After beating Wisconsin and Eastern Washington pretty clearly, the Tar Heels needed double overtime to grab a win over Georgetown, 81-78. It was once again George Randolph who hit five three pointers and scored 22 points and grabbed 7 boards. Georgetown's only alumni for the upcoming draft Wayne Woods tried his best and posted solid numbers of 12 points, 5 boards and four rebounds but it was not enough.

Image

The UCLA Bruins had a pretty surprising run to the Final Four with their point guard sensation Leroy Graham leading the team all the way. The 6-3 sophomore is averaging 18.1 points, 6.3 assists and 4.3 rebounds per game so far in the NCAA tournament. There's no one else on the UCLA squad who stands out, but Graham managed to involve his team mates on offense whilst showing a solid team effort on the defensive end of the floor. The Bruins only finished the Pacific-10 with a 22-12 record but were able to beat the Florida Gators (and their star Juwan Hunter) as well as a strong Louisiana Tech squad in the NCAA tournament. In the Elite Eight, UCLA dropped the Kansas Jayhawks 66-59 holding Jonathon Clemons to only 8 points in 30 minutes of action.

Image

The biggest surprise of all! The Montana Grizzlies were able to make their way to the Elite Eight beating Utah, Gonzaga and Texas A&M by an average margin of 9 points! The key to their success? Two guys no one had on their radar: Orlando Brady and Murray George. Whilst the latter totally dominated Utah and his direct opponent Tim Hoffmann by dropping 29 points, Orlando Brady is the major part of the Grizzlies' success. The 6-9 power forward had four double-doubles in four games of the NCAA tournament, averaging 12 points and 10.4 boards per game His draft stock has risen enormously and he could very well be a lottery pick in this year's selection, although team's may not like his size.

The loosers

The biggest loosers of this year's NCAA tournament so far are the Wake Forest Deamon Decons, Indiana State and Duke. Especially the first two teams were hoping to go to the Final Four before their star players leave them. Darryl Spencer (WF) and Luis Chase have already declared for the upcoming draft. Duke will have another chance with Alvin Lewis staying with the team, but the Blue Devils will miss their 2nd option on offense with Joel Bridges. The small forward will also try to get draft by a NBA team this year.
User avatar
hova-
Two time Hall Of Famer
 
Posts: 5160
Joined: Sun Jan 02, 2005 12:33 am
Location: Augsburg, Germany

Re: Hov's Sonics (25-49) - March Madness Update

Postby Fresh8 on Fri Jan 28, 2011 11:46 pm

Wow... Montana made the Final Four. :lol:

Great NCAA update! Go Tar Heels!
User avatar
Fresh8
The poster formerly known as Sit
 
Posts: 14872
Joined: Mon Nov 11, 2002 5:19 pm

PreviousNext

Return to NBA 2K Stories Hall of Fame

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 8 guests