Lv06|ROCKETS-2| Officially Closed.

[The king]

oopps!!

Sorry

[Clutch]

hahah, no worries king! just glad to have another reader

[Clutch]

STARTING LINEUPS

Overall Team Ratings: HOU 78; NYK 95
Intervention: OT (subs/timeouts only)

GAME RECAP

With Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady hampered by foul trouble through most the game, Houston's reserves would rise to the occasion giving the Rockets a 108-100 Overtime victory over the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden

3rd year guard, Joey Graham, would lead Houston with 25 points and 3 assists while point guard, Luke Ridnour, would have his best game in a Rockets uniform, finishing with 13 points, 10 assists, 2 rebounds and 2 steals

Yao Ming, who was ice cold for the Rockets through 3 quarters, got into early foul trouble and would not score his first field goal til the 8:19 mark of the 4th quarter. Tracy McGrady would also be handcuffed on the bench by fouls most the night, returning midway through the 4th and hitting 2 clutch shots from beyond the arc to force overtime

The Rockets would seize control with Yao and McGrady back on the floor during the overtime, negating a huge game by Knicks Point Guard, Steve Francis, who finished with a team-high 30 points, 4 rebounds and 7 assists. Yao would finish with 11 points off a horrendous 2-for-11 night but make 7-of-8 from the free throw stripe. McGrady finished with 15 points, shooting 5-for-12 from the field

"That was ridiculous man," McGrady said following the game. "Anything Yao or I did, we got hit with a foul. I mean, there's home court advantage 'n all, but that was simply ridiculous. I'm just glad my guys came through and got us the win; I would've hated to lose like that"

Combined, Yao and McGrady would only play 46 minutes total in the overtime game due to foul trouble

The Rockets return home to once again face Jermaine O'Neal and the Seattle Supersonics for the third time in as many weeks at the Toyota Center. They lead the season series vs Seattle 2-0

Notes:

#2 overdraft pick, Jafari 'JC' Cotton would win the rookie battle against #3 overall draft pick, Jimiyo Wilkins , but only slightly. Cotton would finish with 8 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists and Wilkins with 8 points and 6 rebounds

still tweaking settings for realistic (or close as i can get) 10min comp vs comp games; sliders adjusted (pre-game): Global - Game Speed: from 32 to 31; CPU - Adj Shot Freq: from 30 to 28; as always, comments appreciated

BOX SCORE
HOU 108
NY 100 Final

Players at the Half
Player of the Game


JC powers a jam over rival rookie, Jimiyo Wilkins

PHOTOS

Mutombo on the offensive glass
Ridnour drains a three with 1:12 left in OT, much to Isiah's chagrin
JC throws another down, this time over Frye
Luke with a key assist with 43.7 left in overtime
Graham buries the trey to go up 6 with 3 seconds on the shot clock and 42.4 seconds left in OT

[Clutch]

STARTING LINEUPS

Overall Team Ratings: SEA 82; HOU 78
Intervention: last 5 min (subs/timeouts only)

GAME SUMMARY

Solid team effort gives Houston the win over Seattle 105-97. Tracy McGrady led the way for the Rockets with 31 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists while Rashard Lewis led the Sonics with 37 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists

Second strong game for Houston's, Luke Ridnour, who ended the game with 13 points off 4-of-9 shooting and 13 assists

The Rockets next host Pau Gasol and the Memphis Grizzlies

Notes:

Slider tweak - CPU On-ball physical Def from 90 to 92

BOX SCORE
SEA 97
HOU 105 Final

Players at the Half
Player of the Game


Brandon Bass? meet Dikembe Mutombo

PHOTOS

Luke to Yao
Luke/Yao alley_1
Luke/Yao alley_2

[Clutch]

NOVEMBER 2007 (MID-MONTH STANDINGS)



Entire League
Western Conference
Eastern Conference

Southwest
Pacific
Northwest
Central
Atlantic
Southeast

[k-d]

BoomDizzle#5, did you edit .dbf to bring coach Phil Jackson in Houston?

[Clutch]

BoomDizzle#5, did you edit .dbf to bring coach Phil Jackson in Houston?

k-d: yeah, checked out a bunch of the tutorials first (thx to all the folks who worked on them) and made copies of files before messing with anything; was pretty easy to move Phil J from LAL to HOU and bring on Rick Adelman as Lakers coach; i don't mess w/players stats and just let Player Evo take care of that (ah... except Yao's weight and build; i had Yao gain an extra 5 pounds over 2 seasons from 310 to 315lbs and took off his 'custom' build setting making him medium build/non-cut i think; his custom build just seemed so skinny to me)

[Clutch]

HOUSTON ROCKETS TRADE RUMORS

"With the steady development of Luke Ridnour into a pass-first starting PG, the Houston Rockets may be looking to trade 8-year pro Rafer Alston in combination with either or both rookies, Ivan Respert and J.R. Njinkeu, for a quality backup point guard or swingman"

Rafer Alston. Pos PG, Age 31, Ovrl 68, Yrs Pro: 8, Salary 4.55M, Yrs Remaining 3
Ivan Respert. Pos SF, Age 24, Ovrl 67, Yrs Pro: Rookie, Salary 365K, Yrs Remain 2
J.R. Njinkeu. Pos SG, Age 23, Ovrl 63, Yrs Pro: Rookie, Salary 620K, Yrs Remain 1

Suggestions welcome...

[Chaser7]

get a quality shooting guard.. altho its going to be tough if you only offer those 3 players....

[Clutch]

STARTING LINEUPS

Overall Team Ratings: MEM 75; HOU 77
Intervention: final minute (subs/timeouts only)

Chow's Scouting Report - MEM
MEM Injury status

GAME RECAP

Tracy McGrady's all-around play would offset a monstrous night by Center, Pau Gasol, giving the Houston Rockets a victory over the visiting Memphis Grizzlies

Memphis would keep the game close all throughout the game til the final minute, when McGrady found a wide-open Joey Graham in the corner for three with the score tied 84-84 and 40.2 seconds left in the fourth. Graham's clutch trey would put the Rockets up 87-84 and after the Grizzlies would fail to convert, Yao would close the door for good with a pullup 19-foot jumper over a flat-footed Gasol, giving Houston an 89-84 lead with 9.2 seconds left in the game

McGrady would struggle somewhat offensively, shooting 7-of-18 from the field but ended with an all-around night of 21 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals. The quicker Gasol would outplay Ming in the post, ending with a team-high 33 points and 12 rebounds but Yao would still contribute a solid 21 points, 7 rebounds

"Pau's very quick," Yao said following the game. "He's a challenging cover for me because he's always very active; I'm just glad my teammates were able to contain everyone else"

Memphis's other usual big-time scorer, Shooting Guard Mike Miller, would struggle from the field making 4-of-13 under heavy Rockets defense and finish the game with 13 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists

"It was tough to get any good looks," Miller said. "They've got lots of long, fast players like Tracy, Graham and Green, that get a hand in your face all night; without Damo to set things up for us, it was tough to get anything off clean"

Grizzlies starting Point Guard, Damon Stoudemire, did not play due to injury

The Rockets continue their home stand, next hosting division Rivals, Tim Duncan, and the San Antonio Spurs

Note
slight slider adj (pregame): CPU - On-Ball Phys Def from 92 to 93 (stats are prime; will leave it for a few games to test)

BOX SCORE
MEM 84
HOU 91 Final

Players at the Half
Player of the Game


Joey Graham buries the trey in front of Tony Barone and the Grizzlie's bench, score tied 84-84 with 40.2 seconds remaining; fatigued Mike Miller can only watch

PHOTOS
Pau vs Yao
Yao hits the jumper over Pau with 9.9 seconds in the game for the 89-84 lead
T-Mac does his best 'Rodman' for 1 of 3 steals on the night - Phil digs the effort

[The king]

YESS!!

Nice win

[Clutch]

ROCKETS TRADE RUMOR - RON ARTEST TO JOIN TMAC AND YAO?

"Latest trade rumor out of Houston is that Rockets owner, Les Alexander, met with the Maloof brothers, Joe and Gavin, earlier this week and may be looking to acquire Sacramento's, Ron Artest, now 28 years old and in his 9th-year in the NBA, in exchange for 31 year old, 9th-year Point Guard Rafer Alston, budding 3rd-year, Forward Marvin Williams, and rookie SF, Ivan Respert. Artest would bring instant toughness, defense and valuable rest for Rockets' All-Star, Tracy McGrady, but leave the roll of backup point guard in the hands of 2nd-year Shooting Guard, J.R. Njinkeu, Houston's 53rd overall pick in 2006."

Owners of the Houston Rockets from 1979 through 1982, the Maloofs watched their Rockets rise to elite status, advancing to the NBA Finals for the first time in the team’s history in 1981 and, after selling the Rockets in '82 and a 17-year absence, took over ownership of the Sacramento Kings on July 1, 1999

[Chaser7]

DO it but see if you can get some depth... because you are not a very deep team......
although it would let you put Mcgrady back at SG and have Graham back onthe bench which is where he should be.... Actually def do it.. because now your 6th man is Graham as opposed to Williams...
how do you know the trade will work though?

[Clutch]

STARTING LINEUPS

Overall Team Ratings: SAS 90; HOU 78
No Intervention

Chow's Scouting Report - (SA)
Injury Status

GAME RECAP

All-Star Tim Duncan and the San Antonio Spurs visited the Toyota Center on Sunday, showing the league why they are still among the favorites to go deep in this years playoffs, despite the team's shaky 6-3 start

The Spurs would play without 7'4" 294lbs 2nd-year Center, Sadiku Huang, but it was probably to their benefit, as Tim Duncan would assume the role and put on a majestic performance

The Spurs big trio - Duncan, Parker and Ginobili - would control the tempo of the game all throughout until Houston's Tracy McGrady and Luke Ridnour would catch fire on back-to-back 3-pointers early in the fourth, bringing the Rockets back from a 9 point deficit

At the 1:27 mark, Yao would hit a layup over Duncan cutting the Spurs lead to 2; moments later, Ridnour would knife in the paint and connect on a finger roll, giving Houston a 99-98 lead with 1:04 remaining. Both teams would fail to score on their next possessions and with 10.7 left in the game, Manu Ginobili would find a cutting Duncan breaking to the hoop; the 'Big Fundamental' would convert the layup for a 100-99 San Antonio lead

Phil Jackson would call a time out, trying to set something up for McGrady, however, due to the hounding defense of long-armed defender, Bruce Bowen, McGrady would be forced to pass inside, finding guard Joey Graham. With time winding down, Graham would attempt to float a baseline jumper over a patrolling Duncan only to be denied emphatically, thus ending the game

"It's all about defense," said Manu Ginobili. "I knew if I could force him (Graham) baseline, Tim would be waiting." Ginobili ended the game with 23 points, 2 rebounds and 4 assists; Tony Parker finished with 16 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals

"Timmy had a huge game for us tonight; he really gets fired up for playing against Yao," said Parker after the game. Duncan finished the night with 26 points, 12 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals while Yao finished with 17 points, 11 rebounds 2 assists and 3 blocks

"Anytime you go up against Yao it's a challenge," said the former MVP, Duncan. "This one came down to defense and controlling the pace of the game. Bruce did a terrific job containing McGrady which freed Manu and Tony up to penetrate and dish; it was a great test for us and I'm glad we came away with it"

"They're a terrific team, great execution, very disciplined and defensively they can really lock down on you," said McGrady following the game. "They pretty much controlled it the whole way through but somehow we managed to get back into it and even took the lead in the final minutes; we just couldn't hold on to it." McGrady finished with 20 points and 2 rebounds

With the loss, the Rockets drop to 8-3 on the season while the Spurs improve to 7-3. The Dallas Maverick's have overtaken the Philadelphia 76ers for the league's best record at 9-2. Houston next hosts the man-child, Dwight Howard, and the Orlando Magic

Notes:

Asked about the potential trade rumor for Sacramento's, Ron Artest, Rocket's head coach, Phil Jackson, refused to comment

BOX SCORE
SA 100
HOU 99 Final

Players of the Half
Player of the Game


Duncan snuffs the potential game winner attempted by Graham

PHOTOS

Yao vs Duncan
Finley gets injured
JC to the rack
JC blocks TD...
but Duncan turns it on
Duncan hits the go ahead basket with 10.7 sec left to go
Jackson calls for time but Rockets fail to execute
Manu and Tony walk off with evil grins

[Clutch]

STARTING LINEUPS

Overall Team Ratings: ORL 85; HOU 75
Intervention: OT (subs/timeouts only)

Chow's Scouting Report - (ORL)

GAME RECAP

Two of the leagues premiere big men squared off at the Toyota Center as Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic faced Yao Ming and the Houston Rockets in an instant classic overtime matchup

Despites a Rockets' 13 point lead midway through the 1st, Orlando would battle back into the game, led by the unstoppable power of their young centerpiece, Dwight Howard, and the sharp shooting of 2nd-year guard, Vince Dehere. Howard simply would not be denied all night long, destroying single coverage, double coverage, even quadruple coverage, with a multitude of ferocious one and two-handed dunks. Howard would tally 11 points, 3 boards by the end of the 1st quarter; 22 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists by half time alone

Yao Ming would slowly work his way towards a monstrous night of his own but saved his best for later in the game. With time winding down in regulation, Orlando's Dehere, would drain a clutch trey from the corner, giving the Magic a 111-109 lead with 12.8 seconds left on the clock. But Yao would answer at the other end, floating a jumper over Howard, connecting for the 111-111 tie with 2.1 on the clock. A missed shot attempt by the Magic would send the game into overtime

Tracy McGrady, who had been having a terrific scoring night up to that point, would take over and impose his will in the overtime period, besting Orlando's sharp-shooter, Vince Dehere, while under heavy defensive coverage from newly acquired free-agent Forward and defensive specialist, Boris Diaw, formerly of Phoenix. Dehere played a great all-around game for the Magic with 27 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists off 10-for-19 shooting while Diaw, Orlando's "McGrady Stopper," had a decent night finishing with 10 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals. But Diaw's defensive efforts did little to slow down McGrady who ended the night with a team-high 38 points while collecting 4 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals, shooting 15-of-24 from the field

As great offensively as Houston's dynamic duo performed, it would be their solid defense that would decide the game's outcome in the final minutes, when Tracy McGrady would come up with a key steal followed by a critical block by Yao against Howard, his only containment of Orlando's juggernaut all night; just enough, however, to secure a Rockets lead and the victory

"It was an unbelievable matchup. Howard is truly an amazing player," said Yao. "The only other person I can compare him to with that kind of size, strength and quickness was a younger Shaq, when I first entered the league. I look forward to many great matchups with Dwight in the years to come"
Yao would end a terrific night with 32 points, 16 rebounds, shooting 13-for-15 from the field and going 6-for-6 from the free throw stripe, doing most of his damage in the second half and overtime period

"Yao's something else man," Howard remarked following the game. "A guy that big, tall and powerful, yet he's got all the finesse moves in the paint and incredible defense at the other end; real special man, real special." Howard would finish an incredible night with a team-high 37 points, 3 blocks while collecting 9 rebounds and 5 assists

"I thought our guys showed a lot of poise tonight," said Rocket's Head Coach Phil Jackson. "I was curious to see how this team would respond, especially after our close loss the other night to San Antonio; we need to do a better job taking care of leads; we've a tendency to get lackadaisical during those times which let's the opposition go on runs and we find ourselves in a dogfight in the final minutes; we'll watch some tape, make some adjustments; but overall I'm pleased with what I saw out there tonight."

RN: "Coach? Rachel Nichols, ESPN"

PJ: "Hi, Rachel"

RN: "Coach, can you give us any information about a potential trade to bring Ron Artest from Sacramento to the Rockets?"

PJ: "Not at this time, Rach"

RN: "So there may be an announcement in the future?"

PJ: (smiles and leaves the podium)

RN: "Thanks coach"

The Rockets next look to even the season series as they travel to SBC Center for a rematch with Tim Duncan and the San Antonio Spurs

BOX SCORE
ORL 123
HOU 129 Final OT

Players of the Half
Player of the Game


Yao's layup over Howard ties the game at 111-111 with 2.1 sec in regulation and forces the overtime

[Cartar]

Still dynasty is looking good. Very nice recaps! Too bad that you lost to SA, but at least you won game against Orlando. I think you should do the Artest trade by the way.

[Chaser7]

So did you get him (artest) lol why won't you just tell us (you're probably smiling as you leave the podium right now huh?) haha
i'm sure rachel would be thrilled with that interview with Jackson.. she didn't get anything from him hahahahaha
can't wait for next update!

[The king]

Nice win

[Clutch]

ratrac/'rulez/king - hey thx guys; yeah i guess the verdicts not really out on Artest yet especially since Rafer's doing okay and Marvin's making some good contributions lately; Artest would make an impact but Phil's just not sure what kind... anyway, i'm sure Rachel won't let Jackson off that easy

damn. Spurs up again next; they are so freggin' tough; may have to try different tactics...

[Chaser7]

I think you should becuase your overall tema rating isn't very good 78 or so.. I mean your record is good, but I'm a little surprised that your team is doing so well especially since you are just watching the games. I think you need Artest to be a better team...

[Clutch]

I think you should becuase your overall tema rating isn't very good

overall team rating doesn't necessarily declare an auto winner; it's just taking into account every player on the roster, so a deep roster with more players will generally have a higher overall rate; but it doesn't necessarily mean they are better

i prefer to have a couple upper 80 to 90+ studs plus a short rotation/bench of 8-10 who are in the 70-80s overall versus 14-15 scrubs who are each 60s-70s overall; it just means my studs have to play more minutes but, even tired, they'll still school most 60-70 overall opponents

where i'll get into trouble is with injuries (which ironically is just like the 'real life' Rockets); but so far so good and I'll let 'coach Phil' handle that when/if the times comes

if I pick up Artest, it means sacrificing minimum 2, possibly 3-for-1 in trade, so actually my OTR will probably dip into the low 70's maybe even upper 60s; and if he goes down with major injuries...

anyway, folks are starting to favor bringing on Artest so I may go that route if his support is overwhelming; i'll keep it open for now

[Chaser7]

i prefer to have a couple upper 80 to 90+ studs plus a short rotation/bench of 8-10 who are in the 70-80s overall versus 14-15 scrubs who are each 60s-70s overall; it just means my studs have to play more minutes but, even tired, they'll still school most 60-70 overall opponents

But that is what you have 4 of your 10 players are in the 60's though... you only have 6 players 70 or higher.. and wait Marvin Williams is an 80?? in 07 hes only a 73....
well whatever, good luck whatever you do.. can't wait for next recap!

[Clutch]

said it's what i 'preferred' not what i had! but you're right; things will turn ugly fast if YAO/TMac go down

not sure why williams is so boomin' (guess whoever STAT'ed him in his rook year was an Atlanta fan); but now you see why i'm not too quick to be rid of him

anyway, thx; hope to take on those damned smug Spurs later tonight if i have time

[Chaser7]

said it's what i 'preferred' not what i had! but you're right; things will turn ugly fast if YAO/TMac go down

not sure why williams is so boomin' (guess whoever STAT'ed him in his rook year was an Atlanta fan); but now you see why i'm not too quick to be rid of him

anyway, thx; hope to take on those damned smug Spurs later tonight if i have time

You should be able to take 1 of the 2 games.... What are the Spurs rated in the modified ratings? Because in my PS2 version they are only a 87 (teams like the Warriors with Jackson and Harrington are 93) so I'm not sure if their on court success translates into Live...
But good luck, hopefully you can play it tonight....

Also if you do trade for Artest, you can always sign another backup point guard for the minimum... if they have that in '06

And one last thing, How do you know the trade will work??

[Clutch]

STARTING LINEUPS

Overall Team Ratings: Hou 75; SA 85
No Intervention

Chow's Scouting Report - (SA)
SA -Injury Status
Strategy adj - attack the basket

GAME RECAP

The Houston Rockets visited the SBC Center to take on Tim Duncan and the San Antonio Spurs in another good ol' fashion western shootout

In their previous meeting less than a week ago, Rockets All-Star, Tracy McGrady, was kept mainly to perimeter jumpers due to tight pressure from Spurs defensive specialist, Bruce Bowen. This night, however, McGrady's agenda was noticeably different as he attacked the basket often and relentlessly throughout the night

"We weren't aggressive enough in our previous game; I just made a concerted effort to get to the rim ," said McGrady

McGrady's efforts would ignite his teammates to follow his lead. "T-Mac was just taking it to them ; he rarely goes inside like that because he's such a great perimeter player," said teammate, Gerald Green. "but tonight, he was going right at them."

The Rockets aggressive outburst had the Spurs trailing by as many as 10 midway through the second quarter, but Duncan would rattle off 6 straight for San Antonio, cutting Houston's lead to 4 at the half

Reserve Center, Dikembe Mutombo, came up with a huge block of Spurs Guard, Manu Ginobili, which lead to a Luke Ridnour layup and 68-67 Rockets lead with 36.4 seconds in the 3rd quarter. Manu would bounce back, however, attacking the Rockets interior to score 4 straight points for a 71-68 lead. But the quarter would end on a desperation trey by Rockets rookie Forward, Ivan Respert, that connected with 0.6 seconds left on the clock for the 71-71 tie going into the fourth

San Antonio would seize control early in the 4th as Duncan provided an early 6-0 run . McGrady would answer with a deep three followed by a steal and dunk , closing the gap to 76-77 with 7:15 left in the game

Bowen would then rattled off a pair of treys giving the Spurs an 83-79 lead near the 5:32 mark but 8 straight points by Yao and a Ridnour trey would lock the teams in a 90-90 tie once again with 1:25 left in the game

After a Duncan layup, McGrady would miss a rushed three-point attempt leading to a fast break and a Bowen jumper at the other end, giving San Antonio a 94-90 lead with 40.1 seconds remaining

McGrady would make up for his previous hurried shot attempt moments later with a huge offensive rebound put-back, cutting the Spurs lead down to 2

The night, however, would belong to Tony Parker and the Spurs, as Parker drained a huge trey over Yao with 5.7 left in the game, giving San Antonio a 5 point edge and 97-92 lead

After a Rockets timeout, a missed McGrady trey would seal the Spurs victory

"The way Tracy came out, you know, he was just fired up," Parker said. "but I felt if we kept it tight, he'd get tired and we'd execute better down the stretch. The last play was by design - we swung it around the perimeter from Manu to Bruce, inside to Timmy then back to me; Yao was too slow to recover, so I knocked it down." Parker ended the night with 15 points and 7 assists


Eva's lovin' it

"I don't know man," McGrady said. "I don't what to say. We were close, we attacked as much as we could. In the end, Parker hit the big shot so they come away with it." McGrady finished with a team-high 27 points while collecting 6 rebounds and 2 assists

"This was a tough one," coach Phil Jackson said. "Tracy wanted it badly but they made some defensive adjustments at halftime and forced him to the perimeter down the stretch. All 'n all, our guys did well but just couldn't match their execution in the closing minutes. Looks like we have a week to look over the tapes and figure them out."

The Rockets face the Spurs again in one week, but first travel to Arco Arena to face potential future-Rocket, Ron Artest, and the Sacramento Kings


Notes:

Bruce Bowen provided a huge offensive lift contributing 4 rebounds, 2 assists and 15 points off 6-of-8 shooting, including 3-of-4 from downtown;

With the loss the Rockets fall to 9-4 on the season, 4th in the Southwest division

BOX SCORE
HOU 92
SA 97 Final

Players at the Half
Player of the Game



Parker's game-winning trey over Yao with 5.7 seconds left in the game

PHOTOS

Parker stares down Jackson and the Rockets' bench after the game-winner
Parker rubs it in
Yao pins Duncan
Yao to the rack
More great defense