The Rising of a New Suns [DDS:PB Dynasty)

[Autumn]

1995-1996 Phoenix Suns

With a new owner in Phoenix, things changed. The old management out, Demetrius wanted to bring in his own people. That's where I came in. A junior assistant under the old regime I must have said some things he liked hearing. And I must have had the right price tag. That's the first thing you have to know about Demetrius Evans, he's tight with his money.

He purchased one of the best teams in basketball, one with 11 million dollars already spent over the cap, loaded down with large unnecessary contracts. We sat down and he nodded along as I explained my ideas for the team, my plans to keep it successful in a competitive league by staying young and deep. He nodded along as I told him that despite the changes i would make I was sure we'd make a deep playoff run. And then when I explained that we were $11 million over the cap he frowned. "The cap's called a cap for a reason, son," he told me. "I don't need you out there throwing my money away." He left me with the chilling impression that he thought I would somehow come in under the cap while still remaining successful.

I couldn't imagine how that would happen, but I wasn't about to tell him that, just yet. I hoped if we came close enough, and won enough, he'd give me a pass. And then I went out and started dealing.

My plan for the Suns was easy - continue having success but pave the way for the future. To my mind that made it obvious, it was time to trade Charles Barkley while his value was highest. The guy was still capable of an MVP season, if he stayed healthy. But he's getting older, on the last year of his contract as well. If he was going to be dealt this was the time to do it. Besides, working with the team these years I realized that Kevin Johnson was the heart of the team, and I believed he had a few more years for us. We would make him the centerpiece of the team, deal anyone we could to bring in the pieces I wanted and dump those awful contracts.

Charles was the first to go. As I predicted, he was at the peak of his value and it seemed we could get anyone in the league for him. We looked only at young stars who could stay in Phoenix for the long term. Long talks went nowhere with Washington for Chris Webber, they wanted too much for him and had him signed to a gargantuan salary that I was afraid would anchor us down for years. Other guys were too old, too lazy, too injury prone or just didn't fit our style. It was in Golden State that we finally found what we liked.

PHOENIX SENDS
Charles Barkley PF

GOLDEN STATE SENDS
Latrell Sprewell SG
Joe Smith PF
BJ Armstrong PG

It took this much to meet Charles's salary, and I think his talent. In return we got Sprewell, an exciting scorer who also excited me by being a lockdown defender at the #2 spot, a treasure in this league. Joe Smith's only weakness was his on court endurance, otherwise the #1 pick could step right in as a premium scorer in the league, a hard rebounder and had the potential to be an intelligent tough defender. Defense was important to me and was something the Suns had lacked in recent years. BJ Armstrong is not young, and leaves us aging at the point. But he looked to me like a deadly sixth man, an unparalleled ball handler who would be able to slot in at either guard spot, a superior defender, and a very acccurate shooter. Joe and BJ were on three year contracts, while we would have to resign Sprewell after this year.

That was the biggest stroke, but just the first. With Barkley out, and Smith's endurance rather low I wanted some padding at power forward. I found just the guy I wanted in Sacramento.

PHOENIX SENDS
Wesley Person SG

SACRAMENTO SENDS
Bo Outlaw PF

Person was a player I felt we could lose with Johnson, Sprewell and Armstrong on the team. In return Outlaw is only 24 but has the potential to be the best defender in the league, and a devastating blocker as well. Not a bad ball thief either, he has a lot to work on in the discipline department but the work ethic he needs to get there. Not a great rebounder or free throw shooter he is however deadly in the paint. He won't be taking a lot of shots but should be able to get the buckets.

Center was our real weak point, despite having Hot Rod Williams, Wayman Tisdale and Joe Kleine on the roster. None of these guys were the type I wanted in the middle, Tisdale a great scorer, Williams an adequate defender and blocker, Kleine just average. Instead we flew out to Seattle and talked with our division rivals about a move.

PHOENIX SENDS
Tony Smith PG
Mario Bennett PF

SEATTLE SENDS
Ervin Johnson C

Smith and Bennett were just filler on our roster, late picks. Ervin is the poor man's Mutumbo, an intimidating presence inside. He's just an average rebounder, has no real shot to speak of. But his defensive and blocking presence is fantastic. With the talent at the other positions we don't need an all-star here. But Johnson should be able to help shut down opposing all-star centers and let our guys go to work.

The other goal for me was to get a good pick in next year's draft, the one everyone is talking about. And so with a lineup I already liked we went looking to trade our spare pieces for picks. We struck gold in Vancouver.

PHOENIX SENDS
Elliot Perry PG
Suns 96 First round pick

VANCOUVER SENDS
Grizzlies 96 First Round pick

Perry is a very talented point guard who wouldn't be seeing any minutes behind Armstrong. Trading him for a pick like the Grizzlies was easy. Vancouver looks likely to be horrible this year in their inaugural season and should give us a shot at the lottery. Adding a lottery player to this lineup next year should complete our reshuffle.

PHOENIX SENDS
AC Green

NEW JERSEY SENDS
Nets 96 2nd round pick
Nets 97 2nd round pick

Now it was time to see what we could get for our spare parts and cut our cap costs down. AC Green was on a ridiculous 6 million dollar contract. A good rebounder, but not worth the money. The Nets look to be fairly bad and so hopefully the 2nd rounders will at least make trade biat or help us fill our roster with youth.

I shop and I shop and I shop. But in the end I realize no one in this league is going to take on the contracts of Danny Manning, Hot Rod Williams or Joe Kleine. These guys are just going to have to stick around and contribute this year, despite the fact that I tried my best to give them away for literally nothing.

And so the NBA season starts on a very different looking Suns lineup. KJ remains at point. Recent draft pick Michael Finley remains to develop into the SF spot. Danny Manning remains with his albatross contract. And our glut of centers hangs on.

YOUR 1995 PHOENIX SUNS

Kevin Johnson
BJ Armstrong
Chris Carr
Latrell Sprewell
Michael Finley
Danny Manning
Joe Smith
Bo OUtlaw
Wayman Tisdale
Hot Rod Williams
Joe Kleine
Ervin Johnson

We end up $3 million over the cap. Demetrius might complain but I did the best that I could with four large contracts that literally could not be shipped. I think we have a very strong team. If it takes a ring on his finger to shut him up I'll have to get one.

[Autumn]

at Los Angeles Game one is on the road against Clippers, with Wesley Person starting in a quest for revenge. Johnson is the story of the first quarter with 13 points. Manning and Smith also look good, while Sprewell looks a bit lost. At half time it's turning into a massacre 59-34, with KJ scoring 21. Sprewell starts to find some rhythm at hte end of hte first and already has 6 rebounds. We end up winning it 118-83, but it wasn't really even that close. 33 points, 11 assists and 3 steals gets KJ player of the game, shooting .778 from the field.

But look at this lineup:
Kevin Johnson: 33 points, 11 assists, 3 rebounds, 3 steals, 14 of 18 shooting
Latrell Sprewell: 19 points, 4 assists, 6 rebounds, 9 of 16 shooting
Danny Manning: 20 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block, 7 of 9 shooting
Joe Smith: 22 points, 9 rebounds, 1 assists, 4 blocks, 1 steal, 9 of 14 shooting
Ervin Johnson: 2 points, 9 rebounds, 2 steals, 3 blocks, 1 of 2 shooting

And off the bench:
BJ Armstrong: 10 points, 5 assists in 10 minutes
Bo Outlaw: 2 points, 8 rebounds in 15 minutes
Michael Finley: 4 points, 6 rebounds in 23 minutes

Joe Smith put to rest initial doubts about his endurance and we demonstrated a strong four prong scoring attack in addition to tough defense, getting 9 blocks as a team and holding the Clippers to 38.4% shooting.

We don't need to look at all our games in this depth, but it's a nice start to a new lineup.

Now on to November

vs. Houston The reigning champion Houston Rockets come to Phoenix but never lead in the game as we beat them 103-95. Johnson and Sprewell both score 24, KJ dishing out 12 assists and grabbing 8 rebounds, Sprewell grabbing 11 rebounds and going 4 of 8 from downtown. Joe Smith abuses Chucky Brown for 17 points and 16 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 blocks. Ervin Johnson has to be the story of the game though going up against The Dream and getting four blocks, 9 rebounds and holding Hakeem to 4 of 18 shooting.

at New York We don't have an answer for the Knicks though, who eat us easily 114-96. KJ has a valiant effort with 18 points and a18 assists. Ervin Johnson fouls out but picks up 5 blocks against Ewing, holding him to 7 1of 18 shooting. We just get out rebounded as Ewing, Oakley and Mason all pull in double digit rebounds and none of our guys do. Bo Outlaw is the star off the bench with 15 points and 7 rebounds.

at Boston The Celts prove more competition than expected but we hold them to 35.8% shooting. Sprewell is player of the game with 25 points, 7 assists and 8 rebounds. Finley has a star turn off the bench, picking up 17 points, 3 assists and 7 rebounds himself. Smith has a very quiet night, only playing 17 minutes.

at Toronto The Raptors play us for three quarters but can't keep up as we pull ahead and win 97-88. KJ with 28 points, Smith with 23 and 12 rebounds, Manning with 16 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists. Ervin Johnson has 10 rebound and 2 blocks. Sprewell has a very quiet night.

vs Golden State This is the matchup everyone is waiting for, Sir Charles come home to show up his old team. Both teams get up for this and the TV audiences love it as it's a squeaker, Golden State pulling within 3 but losing 89-86. Latrell is the player of the game going up against his old team, dropping 30 points and 10 rebounds on them, including 4 of 7 from downtown. Ervin Johnson has 8 points, 14 rebounds and 5 blocks. Joe Smith and Sir Charles battle to a standstill, Joe getting 22 points, 7 rebounds on 10 of 14 shooting while Sir Charles scores 17 and pulls down 5 rebounds. Sprewell wins this round but I'm sure they will be waiting for us in Oakland.

[Izulde]

What, no Fox? And Manning still on your team?

Nice value you got for Barkley, though.

[Autumn]

Half the point of the damn dynasty was to get rid of Manning's contract ASAP, lol, oh well.

It's a good learning tool though becuase it hadn't occurred to me -- during the offseason I can just renounce that contract, can't I? Somehow that had passed me by.

[Autumn]

vs Denver The winless Nuggets get anohter speaking in Phoenix, their best performances coming form MacLean and Ellis off the bench with 21 and 16 points. Meanwhile Latrell Sprewell puts on a basketball clinic, scoring 35, including shooting 5 of 8 from downtown, grabbing 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals. KJ has 19 and 12 assists, Smith puts in 17 points of his own. Ervin Johnson has a crazy 6 blocks going up against Mutumbo, who had 4 of his own, and we win 105-89. 6-1

at Sacramento Nobody shines as we beat the Kings in a group effort, 109-77. We hold the Kings under 40% shooting while shooting 55% ourselves. Most notable is our bench going 16 of 20 from the field themselves. Ervin Johnson has a nice double double, 12 points, 13 rebounds. 7-1

vs Portland This is a big early game up against our rivals for division lead. The 7-1 Trailblazers can't match our shooting, however and go down 106-80. KJ is player of the game with 23 points and 10 assists, 8 rebounds, 4 steals. Manning, Smith and Johnson each have 3 blocks, Smith having a nice 16 point, 12 rebound, 3 assists, 2 steals, 3 blocks line. Sprewell injures his knee however, giving us our first ding of the season. 8-1

vs Atlanta KJ takes over this game, scoring 33 points and dishing out 14 assists. BJ Armstrong relieves Sprewell and scores 14 points, Smith brings 15 points and 12 rebounds. We hold the Hawks under 40% shooting. We come out of it banged up, however, with new injuries to KJ and Chris Carr.9-1

vs LA Lakers Armstrong takes over for KJ and does well enough with 15 points and 10 assists. Ervin Johnson is the story of the game, getting 18 points, 13 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals and 3 blocks manning the middle. Finley scores 14 off the bench as well in a 99-84 win. 10-1

vs Utah A big game against the Jazz. With both Johnsons injured we switch things around, starting Outlaw against Malone and putting Smith in at Center. Malone still gets 32 points, 11 rebounds, 8 assists but Outlaw shoots 9 of 10 against him at least. In fact we shoot 60% as a team, Sprewell scoring 24, and Tisdale and Finley scoring 18 and 12 off the bench respectively. It's all enough to add to a 114-94 win. 11-1

at LA Lakers This time we're at the Forum, but the results are the same. Bo Outlaw shoots 8 of 11 and grabs 9 rebounds. Armstrong has 17 points and 14 assists. Joe Smith and Elden Campbell battle each other to a near standstill, but Campbell comes up with a monster 7 blocks. Divac has 5 of his own but Manning still shoots 10 of 18 up against him. We get away with a 105-92 win by holding Eddie Jones and Magic Johnson to 3 and 7 points respectively. 12-1

vs Minnesota Our defense wins us another game, holding the T'Wolves to 36% shooting while we shoot 56%. Outlaw has another crazy day, 11 of 12 shooting, 7 rebounds, 3 blocks. Armstrong has 20 points and 13 assists as we beat Minnesota 100-78. 13-1

at San Antonio We finally lose our steam going up against the Spurs. We have no answer for Robinson, with Johnson fouling out after only 17 minutes facing the Admiral. Sprewell and Armstrong and Smith all shoot well, but Sean Elliot outplays Outlaw, and Robinson just dominates with 37 points, 18 rebounds and 6 blocks. We lose 96-92. 13-2

November Wrap-up

We go 13-2 in our first month. We highlight my new philosophy by dominating on both offense and defense. We're averaging a league-leading 102.5 points a game, and come in 7th ni points allowed with 88.1. We're also 7th in FG% allowed, at 43%, while we lead the league shooting 51.6%. We lead in points, assists, #2 in blocks.

On our team Sprewell is leading in scoring:
Sprewell, 21.1 points, 6.1 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 1.8 steals.
K. Johnson, 20.4 points, 4.4 rebounds, 11.1 assists, 1.8 steals
Smith, 14.1 points, 9.9 rebounds, 1.0 steals, 1.9 blocks
Manning, 13.1 points, 3.4 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1.1 blocks
Ervin J, 8.0 points, 9.4 rebounds, 1.0 steals, 3.1 blocks

I'm surprised at how even the scoring has spread, but it's worked so far. Outlaw has only started 5 games, but he has recorded a remarkable 67.9% shooting line, leading the league. He's been starting over Manning of late, we'll see how that turns out.

Around the league the Bulls and Pacers are neck to neck, both 14-1, Jordan scoring 30.5 points a game so far. He has noticed three 40 points games so far. The Knicks and Magic are battling it out at 13-4, and 12-6 respectively. In our conference the Warriors and Trailblazers are just behind us at 12-4 apiece, and our division has 5 teams above .500. The Spurs have claimed the Midwest at 12-2, with the Jazz already 4.5 games behind.

The Grizzlies are 4-14, very good for our lottery chances, but there's lots of bad teams out there still.

vs Vancouver I get a chance to make my draft pick a little better and we do so, smashing the Grizzlies 115-90. We shoot 62.8% and you can't beat that. Sprewell is player of the game with 29 points on 65% shooting. KJ has 24 points and 17 assists. Even Ervin scores some with 12 points, 8 rebounds and 4 blocks. Manning is off the bench for 16 points. 14-2

at Denver The road remains our weakness as we fall to the Nuggets, 79-89. Mutumbo unleashes 14 points, 20 rebounds and 9 blocks as he rules the center of the court. MacLean and Ellis score 19 and 13 off the bench and we just can't keep up. KJ leads us in scoring with 18 but nobody takes the game in hand as we only shoot 37.5%. 14-3

vs Miami We have to throw a lot of bodies at Alonzo Mourning and he still scores 25 points, but the rest of the team can't muster anything, shooting 32.9% as a whole. KJ and Joe Smith both score 20, Sprewell 17, and Manning has 15 points and 9 rebounds off the bench. Ervin Johnson has 6 blocks while holding Kurt Thomas to 8 points and we win 88-61. 15-3

vs Charlotte We continue a lineup of Johnson, Sprewell, Outlaw, Smith, Johnson. We have had success shuffling it each game to put Outlaw on their chief scorer inside. He's a great defender, and shoots well also. This game he holds Larry Johnson to 9 points, while Outlaw picks up 15 points and 4 steals. Glen Rice is the only Hornet able to break 10 points, as she scores 21 while holding Smith to only 8 points himself. But nobody stops Sprewell from scoring 25 points and dishing 9 assists, KJ adding 18 and 9 himself. Finley is off the bench with 15 points, and Ervin mans the middle with 12 points, 11 rebound and 5 blocks. We win handily, 116-77. 16-3

at Dallas In Dallas it was Outlaw's job to shut down Jamal Mashburn. And that he did, Outlaw getting 6 blocks on his way to holding Mashburn to 30 of 20 shooting. That was enough to key our 96-77 victory, Kidd getting a 15-11-11 triple double while holding KJ to 8 points and 11 assists, but Sprewell and Smith both scoring 18 points, Manning and Armstrong scoring 12 and 10 off the bench and Johnson holding the middle with 15 rebounds and 14 points. 17-3

at Houston The Grizzles have gone on a very disappointing winning spree to get to 9-15. That puts them within 1.5 games of the plummeting Houston Rockets who are 10-13 after the season-ending injury to Hakeem Olajuwon. They don't fare any better against us, as we beat them 102-82 in Houston. Joe Smith has 18 points, 12 rebounds and 3 blocks to win player of the game, KJ and Sprewell both chipping in 20 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists. Outlaw shoots 6 of 7, picks up 6 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals and 4 blocks while holding Horry to 5 points. 18-3

vs Washington KJ and Robert Pack battle each other to oblivion, neither breaking 10 points or 10 assists. Juwan Howard outscores Joe Smith 27 to 8 while Joe Smith sores 25 to Webber's 16. It turns out to be Ervin's 12 points, 13 rebounds and 3 blocks along with Sprewell's 23 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 steals and 2 blocks which get us the 109-81 win, Manning scoring 12 off of the bench.

at Vancouver It's another chance to improve our pick, and we do, beating the Grizzlies on their home turf 98-81. Manning comes off the bench to win player of the game, scoring 24 points on 10/11 shooting. Otherwise it's a quiet but consistent night all around, with the Grizzlies only having two scorers in double digits. 20-3

[DeToxRox]

How does one get the draft classes in before the year? I DL'd all the ones Izulde had but I dunno where to save them from and when I need to import them before the year I never see them.

Anyway besides the annyoing Q, keep it up.

[Coffee Warlord]

You are, however, playing during the Golden Age.

Therefore...Go Bulls.

[Izulde]

Originally Posted by DeToxRox

How does one get the draft classes in before the year? I DL'd all the ones Izulde had but I dunno where to save them from and when I need to import them before the year I never see them.

Anyway besides the annyoing Q, keep it up.

I just dump all the draft classes in a folder.

Then, when it comes time to import the rookie file (You'll get an email about it), I just copy the draft file for the year I need, paste it in the save folder, rename it as draftpool.rkf and hit Imprt.

[Autumn]

DeToxRox: Yeah, I think I just put the one for this year in the Saves older for the League name.

CoffeeWarlord: Ooh, you Chicago fans, you just crawl out of the woodwork. I'm going to take special pleasure in taking the Bulls down. I think I play them in a week or so.

[Coffee Warlord]

Originally Posted by Autumn

CoffeeWarlord: Ooh, you Chicago fans, you just crawl out of the woodwork. I'm going to take special pleasure in taking the Bulls down. I think I play them in a week or so.

Die like a dog.

[Autumn]

Originally Posted by Coffee Warlord

Die like a dog.

Actually that game is still a month away. Sorry, you'll have to wait to see Jordan crying.

[Autumn]

vs San Antonio The Spurs are are closest contenders for the #1 seed at this point, and they thrashed us last time we met. It's time for a rematch at home. Unfortunately they still have our number, as they roar back with a 35-25 fourth quarter to win the game by two points, 103-105. Robinson decimates us again with 32 points, 16 rebounds, 4 steals and 3 blocks. Chuck Person avenges his little brother by dropping 23 points on us as well, while Avery Johnson deals out 16 assists. We keep up better this time, KJ scoring 22 points, 12 assists and 8 rebounds on his way to fouling out against Avery. Sprewell has a 19 point, 6 rebound, 6 assists, 3 steal game while Joe Smith has 20 points, 9 rebounds and 4 blocks. But nobody steps up in the fourth and the Admiral steals another one. 20-4

vs Philadelphia The 76ers come to get spanked by us, 114-80. Joe Smith abuses Derrick Coleman, picking up POTG with 24 points, 11 rebounds while holding Coleman to 3 points. In fact Maxwell is the only starter to break double digits. 21-4

vs Denver We get our revenge against Mutumbo and company, holding them to 78 points on 38% shooting. Joe Smith is player of the game again with 23 points, 11 rebounds, 2 steals and 3 blocks. Bo Outlaw continues his crazy shooting streak, going 6 of 6 today while holding Ellis to 7 points. 22-4

vs Seattle After those warm ups it's time for a vital match up against the 19-8 Sonics. Bo Outlaw does his job, holding Kemp to 9 points. Joe Smith gets outplayed by Schrempf, while Payton and KJ battle to a near standstill. Sam Perkins out does former teammate Ervin Johnson. And so it's up to Sprewell and Manning. Sprewell dominates with 29 points, 6 assists, 4 rebounds and 3 steals, while Manning comes off the bench for 16 points. Finley adds 9 rebounds of the bench himself and we win handily 102-86. 23-4


December wrap up

The Suns go 10-2 in December, maintaining their lead in the West. Their loss to the Nuggets is revenged but the Spurs continue to spite us, handing us two of our losses so far this year. We continue to lead the league in points scored, while 5th in points allowed. We also lead in assists, blocks, and least turnovers, while 3rd and 2nd in opponents steals and turnovers allowed.

Our team leaders:
PPG: Sprewell 20.9 (14th in league)
APG: KJ 10.1 (2nd in league)
RPG: Ervin and Smith 9.8 (tied for 18th)
BPG: Ervin 2.8 (4th in league)
SPG: Sprewell 2.0 (7th in league)
FG%: Outlaw .648 (1st in league)

Around the league The Bulls and Pacers still battle out for supremacy in the Central division at 27-2 and 26-3 respectively. The Knicks have established a 4.5 game lead over everybody in the Atlantic. Likewise the Spurs are 3.5 ahead of nearest rivals, the Jazz, with the Rockets hovering at .500. Only two winning teams, whereas the Pacific has 5, the Warriors 2.5 behind us, Seattle, a surprising Lakers and Trailblazers behind. The Grizzlies have a discouraging 11-19 record, only 9th worst in the league right now. Not a single trade other than mine in the league.

[Autumn]

vs Minnesota KJ takes this game in hand, shooting 11 of 18, picking up 6 rebounds to go with his 26 points. Sprewell adds 16 points and 6 rebounds himself, the Minnesota backcourt combining for 10 points. Ervin Johnson has a terrible game, but we win it 97-85 with a strong fourth quarter. 24-4

at LA Clippers January is good to us so far as we visit LA. This time Wesley Person doesn't score a point against us, Loy Vaught being the dominant Clipper with 20 points and 14 rebounds. One player can't bring us down though, with everybody chipping in some points. Outlaw shoots 11 of 14, Joe Smith has 16 and 8, Ervin Johnson has 8 points, 14 boards and 5 blocks, Armstrong coming off the bench with 10 points. It's an easy 108-82 win. 25-4

The Pacers suffered a rare loss against the Rockets, despite Rik Smits having a crazy 25 point, 20 rebound, 10 assist triple double. Remember, this is a Rockets without Hakeem and they just beat the second best team in the league. Luckily for the Pacers the Bulls also suffered a are defeat, a surprise at the hands of the Hornets, who win by three.

vs LA Clippers After a three day rest it's the Clippers again, back for more punishment. They can't find a way today, despite KJ playing with a sore wrist and only scoring 4 point (though dishing out 14 assists). Latrell Sprewell puts on a clinic for them, scoring 39 points up against Wesley Person. Ervin has his standard 11 point, 14 rebound, 4 block game, Smith gets dominated by Vaught but still throws in three blocks, while Outlaw shoots 9 of 11 and throws in 7 rebounds and two blocks. 26-4

at Golden State And that sets us up for the game of the season so far. Golden State is nipping our heels at 24-9, and Sir Charles is eager to show me up as a fool of a GM for trading him. The Round Mound has been averaging 17 points and 11 rebounds for the Warriors and hasn't missed a game yet. Unfortunately for Charles, even though he wins POTG with a 26 point, 18 rebound, 9 assist game his team can't keep up with ours. KJ Shoots for 20 points and dishes 13 assists, while grabbing 6 rebounds. Ervin Johnson has 17 rebounds and 6 blocks patrolling the middle. Outlaw and Smith both get outplayed by Charles and Mullin, but luckily we had Latrell Sprewell, just as eager as Charles to show his old team what they lost. He shoots for 33 points against the Warriors, while Manning and Armstrong score 14 and 11 off the bench. It's too much for Golden State and they go down 118-108. 27-4

vs Dallas Joe Smith is in limited minutes with a sore knee, but Bo Outlaw fills in for him, winning player of the game with 22 points on 11/13 shooting, 9 rebounds, 3 steals and 3 blocks. KJ has 17 points and 12 assists and we down the Mavericks 108-72. 28-4

vs Cleveland KJ has been somewhat quiet of late but he makes up for it against the Cavs and Terrell Brandon. The Next KJ? people say, and Johnson proves them wrong, going out and scoring 33 points, dishing 15 assists, grabbing 8 rebounds and picking off 6 steals. Game over, 97-84. 29-4

vs. Orlando The Magic come to town, scrabbling to catch up with the Knicks in their division. This game worries me, given our weakness against dominant centers. IT seems I needn't have worried though. Sure, Shaq had 28 points and 10 rebounds, but he was 8 of 22 at the line, limiting his effectiveness. Johnson fouled out quickly against him, but we just kept throwing bodies at him. It was Sprewell who took this game in hand, not only scoring 33 points, but holding Nick Anderson to *0 points* in 37 minutes. Meanwhile KJ spanked Penny Hardaway, holding him to 5 points while scoring 17, dishing 12 and grabbing 7 rebounds. It all added up to a humiliating 120-80 loss for the Magic. And our 30th win. However, injuries to both KJ and Sprewell spell some tougher games up ahead.30-4

at Portland Coach Westphal benches Sprewell and KJ to let them heal up, and so it's no surprise that we drop a loss in Portland, 97-88. It is a surprise however to see Rod Strickland take BJ Armstrong and Chris Carr to town, pouring in 42 points against us. Finley shoots poorly from the 2 position, but does pull in 10 rebounds. Ervin Johnson is the story of the game for us with 13 points, 17 rebounds and 7 blocks. However the injuries mount as Ervin strains his abs and will be out as well.30-5

vs Sacramento With three starters out we learn just how valuable they are as we get beat by the Kings on our homecourt 89-94. Mitch Richmond puts up 25, 6 and 8 against us while Finley struggles from the field. Armstrong only manages 10 points and 9 assists. Joe Smith scores 20 but only on 7 of 19 shooting. 30-6

at Indiana It's a poor time to have to go up against the #2 seed in the East, but at least Sprewell is back with us. With no Ervin though Rik Smits goes to town on us fro 29 points. BJ has a nice 16 points, 8 assist game and Tisdale scores 17 off the bench. Miller holds Sprewell to only 9 points though and even Smith's 19 isn't enough to help us as we go down 88-103. Even worse, Bo Outlaw is now injured as well. 30-7

at Minnesota We finally manage a win, Sprewell coming to life for 28 while Hot Rod Williams means the middle and grabs 14 rebounds. . That's the presence we needed, and despite horrid shooting from the rest of the team, Sprewell and Tisdale's 15 from the bench carry us to a 95-88 win. 31-7

at Milwaukee Hot Rod has another 14 rebounds and 6 blocks in Milwaukee, while Sprwell scores another 28, grabbing 10 rebounds himself. Smith continues to struggle, but Tisdale and Carr both scoring 10 from teh bench is good for a 107-77 victory. 32-7

at Chicago It's finally time for the vaunted matchup between two #1 seeds, the 32-7 Suns and the 33-7 Bulls. Of course it couldn't come at a worse time for us, as we now have four starters injured. It's gut check time and guys are just going to have to try to play. That goes about as well as you could expect, though. Jordan scores 28 while holding Sprewell to 13. The rest of the crew limps through the game but can't really produce a thing, Tisdale's 14 points from the bench the lone highlight. 32-8

at Miami Our #1 seed is now in jeopardy as our losing streak continues. I pull out all the injured guys, creating a new lineup of Armstrong, Sprewell, Manning, Tisdale and Johnson. That's enough to pull things out in Miami, where we win 89-71. Sprewell has a 30 point game, Armstrong adding 13 and no other Sun in double digits. Mourning wasn't even on the bench, which explains who we got away with that. However, Tisdale gets injured himself. 33-8

Indeed checking the news shows me that Alonzo's broken his leg, which pretty much dooms their chances of any playoff appearance. In other shocking news, the Pacers have pulled ahead of the Bulls by a game and a half with the Bulls losing to the Knicks and Pistons this month.

at Atlanta Another ugly win, with Sprewell scoring 24 on 10/30 shooting, but with the surprising star of the game being Ervin Johnson, racking up 20 points himself on 10/11 shooting. Nobody else breaks double digits, but the Hawks can only muster two 10 point scorers so we come away with the 90-64 win. 34-8

at Cleveland Our road trip continues with the surging Cavaliers who have passed the struggling Magic for the #3 seed in the East. They will face the strongest lineup we've had for a while, with only Joe Smith and Tisdale injured at this point. KJ comes back in style with 23 points, 8 assists and 7 rebounds. Bo Outlaw puts a stamp on the game with 18 points and 6 blocks, while Ervin Johnson goes wild in the middle with 22 rebounds, 2 steals and 3 blocks. Sprewell has an off game but no Cavs have an answer for us and we romp 83-74. 35-8

January Wrap Up

Starting the month with a 7 game winning streak we hit a rocky patch with our injuries. We eventually pulled out of the tailspin though and ended going 12-4. That was good enough to maintain our 4.5 lead over Golden State, as well as the lead for the #1 seed though we dropped our first two division games in the process.

Our sad performance this month plummeted us to #6 in points per game, though we remain #2 in assists and #1 in blocks and turnovers.

Team Leaders
PPG: Sprewell 20.5 (15th in league)
APG: Johnson 8.5 (8th in league, huge plummet after his injury)
RPG: Ervin 9.7 (18th in league)
BPG: ERvin 2.8 (3rd in league)
SPG: Sprewell 2.1 (tied for 5th in league)
FG%: Outlaw .662 (first in league)

Jordan is still averaging a blistering 30.9 points per game while Stockton leads with 10.5 assists and Rodman with 14.6 rebounds. Mutumbo, Robinson and Bradley are all tied with 3.5 blocks a game.

The Bulls are 1.5 games behind the league leading Pacers now, while the Knicks have pulled away a convincing 6 games over the Magic. The Cavaliers and Hornets are the only other real contenders in the East. The Spurs maintain a 4 game lead over the Jazz in the Midwest, while Golden State hangs 4.5 games behind us. Seattle is only 5.5 behind us with the Lakers and Trailblazers battling in the back. Luckily the Grizzlies have fallen some, they now have the 5th worst record in the league, the Celtics being the absolute pits with 5 wins.

[Coffee Warlord]

Originally Posted by Autumn

Actually that game is still a month away. Sorry, you'll have to wait to see Jordan crying.

Tee hee!

[Autumn]

Originally Posted by Coffee Warlord

Tee hee!

Don't get too cocky. I've got them coming up again fairly soon. Then they'll feel my wrath.

[Autumn]

at Washington February starts with a disappointing stop in Washington at the end of our road trip. With Smith, Williams and Tisdale all injured we get taken advantage of by the Bullets, Howard laying down 28 points against Outlaw. Sprewell has 20 points, and Manning and KJ both have 17 but nobody really shines in a 115-93 loss. 35-9

vs Chicago This time the Bulls have to come to our house, but once again we're limping. Still, we've got a stronger lineup than last time and home court advantage. And with the crowd pumping us up we show that we can hang with champions. Sprewell holds Jordan to 16 points on 7/19 shooting, while he pumps in 25 himself, shooting .500 and grabbing 7 rebounds. KJ has 18 points and 16 assists. Outlaw holds Pippen to .250 shooting, though he does score 25. Rodman has an insane 20 rebounds but we dominate the Bulls all night, beating them 96-77. Take that Jordan. 36-9

vs New Jersey Buoyed by our big win we handle the Nets easily, despite a nearly absent night from Ervin with 8 points and 3 rebounds, he fouls out early against Jayson Williams. Danny Manning is able to fill in handily though, scoring 16 off the bench while grabbing 6 rebounds and 3 blocks. Joe Smith is back in the lineup for the first time and scores 17 on 8/9 shooting, 8 rebounds and 5 assists. Outlaw has a 4/4 night with 7 rebounds and 3 blocks. We win 108-83. 37-9

vs Seattle A nice long break gets everyone rested up. They take the brunt of our anticipation then, getting blown out 107-86 in front of a crazed crowd. KJ rules with 35 points, 12 assists, 7 rebounds and 2 steals up against Payton, who turns it over 8 times. Outlaw shoots 6/7, has 10 rebounds and 4 blocks. Manning scores a perfect 5/5 off of the bench with 6 rebounds. Only Sprewell has a bad night shooting 5 of 20. 38-9

An intense few days before the All-Star break. Jordan scores 40 against the Pistons, and not to be outdone, David Robinson does the same against the Rockets.

at Portland With our defensive game at full throttle we hold Portland to 33.3% shooting. Sprewell then scores 24 to go with 6 rebounds and 5 assists. It's good enough for a 95-62 win. 39-9

at Seattle we're right back up against Seattle, last game before the All Star break, and our chance to hit 40 wins. This one's a tight game on their home court, but our dominant fourth quarter earns us the win, 99-95. KJ has 23 points, 10 assists, while Ervin Johnson takes it out on his old team for 7 points, 20 rebounds and 3 blocks. Outlaw has 21 on insane 10/11 shooting, and Smith has 19 points, 10 rebounds and 3 blocks. We'll take the win, our 40th. 40-9

vs Vancouver We give the Grizzlies a little better chance at the lottery, destroying them 102-66 in Phoenix. The Grizzlies shoot 36.2% and we shoot 52.9% and that's all there is to the story. KJ is player of the game with 23 points and 9 assists. 41-9

All Star Break

Rookies:
Rasheed Wallace
Joe Smith
Arvydas Sabonis
Eric Williams
Damon Stoudamire

Michael Finley
Bryant Reeves
Alan Henderson
Kurt Thomas
Tyus Edney
Sasha Danilovic
Lawrence Moten

Sophomores:
Grant Hill
Juwan Howard
Sharone Wright
Glenn Robinson
Jason Kidd

Brian Grant
Jalen Rose
Wesley Person
Eddie Jones
Eric Montross
Aaron McKie
Chris Childs

The Sophomores win 92-83, and Sharone Wright is player of the game with 18 points and 10 rebounds. My guys play adequately but not amazingly.

All Star Game:

West
Jamal Mashburn
Charles Barkley
David Robinson
Mitch Richmond
Gary Payton

Karl Malone
Tim Hardaway
Latrell Sprewell
Cedric Ceballos
Shawn Kemp
Loy Vaught
Dikembe Mutombo

EAST
Grant Hill
Chris Webber
Vin Baker
Michael Jordan
Penny Hardaway

Glen Rice
Rik Smits
Juwan Howard
Reggie Miller
Terrell Brandon
Georghe Muresan
Larry Johnson

The West dominates, wining 110-90, with Gary Payton taking home player of the game with a 21 point, 5 steal performance. Malone's 17 points in 15 minutes is more impressive to me. Sprewell scores 8 in 16 minutes and dishes out 5 assists. Vin Baker starting at center is surprising to me, no Ewing in sight.

I suppose only one All Star isn't a surprise. I think we have the most talented team in the league, but with all the talent the stats get spread around. I'm actually surprised Sprewell made it.

vs Celtics Somehow the Celtics, just about the worst team in the league, take us to overtime. Maybe the team was distracted playing during All Star weekend. All I know is I'm glad to pull out the win, 112-105 in OT. Bo Outlaw has 13 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals and 6 blocks. KJ earns player of the game with 28 points and 11 assists. Tisdale has 14 off of the bench, while Smith has 13 points, 10 rebounds and 4 blocks. 42-9

vs Toronto KJ takes another player of the game home with a 19 point, 9 assist, 4 steal game. It's really an overall win though, with 7 players in double digits, Tisdale and Manning both scoring 10 off the bench. Sprewell has 20 points and 7 assists himself. 43-9

vs New YorkThe Knicks come to town and though once again we have to throw a lot of bodies at Ewing just to keep him to 28 points we get the win. Johnson has 4 points, 5 rebounds and 6 blocks in 24 minutes, while Outlaw has 18 points, 7 rebounds and 6 blocks himself. The Knicks out rebound us like crazy, Oakley with 19 and Ewing with 13 for starters. But KJ has 15 points and 14 assists, Finley pours in 11 from the bench, Smith has 18 and Sprewell has 15 and we get the 96-88 win. 44-9

at Jazz Things finally run aground against the Jazz. Outlaw can't stop Malone who gets 26 points and 17 rebounds, despite Bo's 4 blocks. Stockton scores 21 himself, while holding KJ to 7 points and 13 assists. Sprewell tries to save the game with 22 points but it's not enough and we go down 83-91. 44-10

at Minnesota KJ and Sprewell take out their frustration on the TWolves, KJ with 26 points, 13 assists, while Sprewell has 22 points, 9 rebounds, 8 assists. Manning roars of the bench for 18 points, Smith adding the same. Ervin has a 8 point, 15 rebound, 5 block game, and I'll take those. We win 106-91. 45-10

vs Detroit KJ has another big game with 27 points, 10 assists and 5 rebounds. Sprewell can't hit a shot, and Ervin is quiet too. But Joe Smith has 17 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 blocks. Outlaw has 16 points, 15 rebounds and Finley scores 10 off the bench with perfect shooting. That's good enough for a 98-75 win as we hold the Pistons to 30.3% shooting and only two players in double digits. 46-10

February Wrap Up

Three trades this month mark the first and last of the season. Let's look them over.

Seattle trades Frank Brickowski and their '96 first for Rick Fox from the Celtics. Brickowski is obviously just salary though he's playing a few minutes for the Celts and shooting well at least. Seattle's will be a very low pick. Fox has come in and started for the Sonics at SG over Hersey Hawkins, where he's been an inconsistent shooter so far but looks to be a better scorer.

Cleveland trades their first round, a middling pick, to the Nets for Armon Gilliam. This lets them bump Danny Ferry to the bench and get a lot more out of the position, Gilliam averaging 18.2 points and 9.4 rebounds this year. This may give Cleveland what they need to claw up in the playoff hunt. The Nets are nowhere near the playoff hunt.

The biggest trade of the season is Denver trading fixture Dikembe Mutumbo to LA for a first round pick. Now the Lakers are deep in the playoff hunt, currently a #5 seed. So this is a low rounder, and probably getting lower now, for Denver's best player. Denver is barely on the fringes of the #8 seed and are now forced to start Feng-linag Lok, a free agent from China who in three starts has averaged 9 points and 6 rebounds. Inexplicable is how I would describe that. Even more inexplicable is that the Lakers, after three starts have banished Mutumbo to the bench where he is coming in to relieve Divac. Mutumbo is not having the best season, 9.8 points, 11.1 boards, 3.8 blocks, but this is all strange. Wow even stranger is that I see that Denver was actually sent to the D-league for one game.

As for us, we go 11-2 in February and strengthen our lead in the conference. We got through our injury troubles and are now moving along strong and steady. Joe Smith is playing a lot quieter than he started, averaging 13.7 points and 7.8 rebounds, 1.6 blocks right now. Outlaw meanwhile has 10.9 points, 5.1 rebounds, 2.2 blocks and is shooting a crazy .657.

Out East the Bulls and Pacers are still neck and neck, the Bulls 2 games behind. The Magic have crawled back up 1.5 games behind the Knicks after being 6 games out at one point. At the moment the 26-30 Hawks would make it in as the 8th seed behind Washington, Cleveland and Charlotte. The Celts bring up the rear at 8-49.

We've put a comfortable 7 game lead between us and the next team. Surprisingly that has turned into the Seattle Sonics who have crawled up in the standings. The Lakers are only 2 games behind them and with the addition of Mutumbo I expect them to keep moving upwards. Golden State meanwhile has tumbled only a half game behind the Lakers. Even behind them are the Trailblazers at 32-26, they would make the playoffs right now with only two winning teams in the Midwest.

Those two teams are the Spurs and Jazz, the Spurs continuing to coast 3.5 games ahead. The Timberwolves are 17.5 games out of the lead and are merely fighting to catch up with Portland for the #8 seed, along with Houston. Vancouver is 14-40, good for 5th worst in the league.

[Izulde]

At least I'm doing better than your SP Celtics. Funny to see Fox get traded here too. And Gilliam seems to get traded in just about every universe.

[Autumn]

March

[given how many times I played these before it crashed, not many details this month]

at Dallas Sprewell has 30 points and 6 rebounds, KJ has 27 and 18 assists, Finley adds 11 from the bench. Our backcourt dominates. Dallas wins on the other end with Mashburn pouring in 34 points, Popeye Jones and Michael Smith grabbing 15 and 18 rebounds as well, Popeye scoring 21. Our guys get just enough though, and we shoot 59% versus Dallas's 38.1% We win 114-97. 47-10

vs Indiana This is the matchup of the month, with the best of the East facing the best of the West in a possible finals preview. The Pacers have to hope it isn't so as we put down a convincing 103-88 win. Joe Smith is player of the game with 27 points and 9 rebounds. The win gives us the edge with best record in the league. 48-10

at Denver Without Mutumbo the Nuggets don't stand much of a chance. Their free agent fill in goes 1/9 with 3 rebounds. Meanwhile Sprewell puts on a shooting clinic, and more, with 38 points, 3 assists, 5 rebounds, 2 blocks and 3 steals. We win 123-79. 49-10

vs LA Lakers Now we do face Mutumbo, but in his curious 6th man role, where he only plays 12 minutes. Sprewell scores 23, KJ 22, 11 assists, 7 rebounds, and Smith has 16 points and 4 blocks. Shooting 30% can't win you a game, LA. 98-65. 50-10

at Orlando Injuries finally prove a stumbling block as we begin a east road trip. We need all our big men against Shaq-fu and with Outlaw and Manning both limping we come up short 82-93. Tisdale does what he can scoring 16 and grabbing 9 rebounds all in 25 minutes. 50-11

at New Jersey even banged up we can handle the Nets. KJ is player fo the game with 24 points, 15 assists, 6 rebounds. We win 105-63. 51-11

at Detroit Grant Hill is held to 8 points, and though Houston and Hunter have 21 and 26 Tisdale's 16 off the bench does them in. 103-90. 52-11

at Philadelphia the road trips continues. Weatherspoon scores 29 against us, Stackhouse 18. But Ervin comes back from injury with a 8 point, 17 rebound, 5 block game, KJ scores 23 and Tisdale has another 12 off the bench. That adds up to a 92-77 win. 53-11

at Charlotte The hot Hornets sting us, Rice and Johnson getting 30 and 23 points respectively, each grabbing 12 rebounds. Sprewell goes off for 39 points, 5 assists and 6 rebounds but that's not enough as Joe Smith has an abysmal shooting game and we go down 95-105. 53-12

vs Golden State The first of two games against Sir Charles's new team begin. The Warriors have fallen far behind us but are still in the hunt, for seeding and revenge. Unfortunately Sprewell and Finley are both injured for us. That ends up spelling loss. We hold Barkley to 20, and Joe Smith has 28 points, but John Barry takes advantage of BJ Armstrong for 20 points and that spells the difference for us as we lose 89-96. 53-13

at Golden State Ervin is hurt, additionally, in this game. And Barkley goes off for 26 points and 19 rebounds. That's all right though as BJ finds his shot for 23 points, KJ has 25 and 17 assists, we rack up 9 blocks as a team and win 114-100. 54-13

vs LA Clippers Even limping we still best the Clippers with just all around basketball, each starter scoring at least 18 points, Hot Rod throwing in 20, Bo Outlaw 18. It's a solid game and we win 117-93. 55-13

vs Sacramento Trouble mounts as now BJ Armstrong is injured, leaving my top three shooting guard options out. I try something completely crazy, putting Bo Outlaw in at SG. Maybe it's just because it's the Kings, but it works, Bo holding Richmond to 10 points, while scoring 24 of his own. 24 points, 5 rebounds, 3 steals and 4 blocks. Shit, I'll take that. He gets player of the game and deservedly so. We win 101-72. 56-13

vs Milwaukee Things return a bit closer to normal with BJ back in the lineup. He scores 21 and so does Joe Smith taking POTG with 14 rebounds, 3 blocks and 2 steals to go with it. Outlaw has 22 points, 8 rebounds and 5 blocks, Tisdale with 14 off the bench. We win 113-89

at San Antonio Two games against the Spurs end the month. The Spurs are 53-17 to our 57-13, our real competition in the West. We're banged up as hell, Ervin and Manning joining Sprewell and Finley on the trainers table. All I can do is lean on the rest and hope they can play a full 48 minutes. It comes close, but with that hole at center I don't have enough guys to throw at Robinson who scores 30 points. Armstrong scores 29 to keep up with Del Negro, KJ outscores Avery 24-10, but nobody steps up to match Robinson and we lose 94-96. 57-14

vs San Antonio Now we get them at home though and everyone is healed but Manning. With our #1 seeding at risk we go all out. Robinson scores 31 this time, there's no stopping the man. But This time Joe Smith has 21 points, 12 rebounds, 4 blocks, Outlaw scores 12, has 5 rebounds and 3 blocks, KJ scores 25 and dishes out 12 and Tisdale manages 16 off the bench. Sprewell is a humiliating 0 of 14 in his first game back and seems to have picked up a concussion. But we squeak by anyway, 88-86. 58-14

March Wrap-Up

Things are getting hot around the league as the season closes in. We go 12-4, which should have been much better if it wasn't for injuries. I feel good about that, as even with the injuries we have claimed and hung onto the best record in the league. The Sonics have fallen 9 games behind us, with the Warriors and Lakers fighting it out behind there, the Trailblazers far behind. In the Midwest the Spurs are going all out but the Jazz are still 3 games behind as the #2 and #3 seeds so far. Nobody else is even in contention in their division, although some sub-500 team will have to get in, and it would be Minnesota right now.

The race in the East is still locked between Chicago and Indiana, Chicago having pulled ahead against by 3 games now, Indiana hitting a rough patch this month. The Knicks maintain a 3.5 game lead over the Magic, those two the only .500 teams in their division in a mirror of the West. Cleveland is the clear contender behind Chicago and Indiana, with Charlotte and Atlanta trailing behind. Last, but not least, Vancouver has stumbled after some early success and are now the third worst record in the league (who could upset Boston there?)

Jordan has only increased his lead in the scoring race, now averaging 31.8 points. Jordan had four 40 points games in the month alone. Robinson has moved up to #2 with 26.2 points, keying San Antonio's recent success. He has moved up to #2 in rebounds as well with 13.1, and is tied with Shawn Bradley with 3.5 blocks. Can you say MVP? It's hard to vote elsewhere right now.

Our team leaders:

Points: Sprewell, 19.7
Assists: KJ, 10.5 (2nd in league)
Rebounds: Ervin 8.4
Blocks: Ervin 2.4 (4th in league)
Steals: Sprewell, 1.8
FG%: Outlaw, .652 (1st in league)

Those stats don't tell the story of our team though, where we spread the scoring and rebounding and have three starters averaging over 2 blocks a game. Sprewell's injury highlighted his impact on the defensive side, where he has a ridiculous .986 stop percentage and only allows .8 points per shot faced. Outlaw and Johnson both have .974 stop percentages themselves, and only allow .7 per shot faced. In fact our whole team averages below 1.0 per shot faced.

Our team is 3rd in scoring, 2nd in assists, 7th in rebounds, 1st in blocks, 10th in steals and 1st in turnovers. We are also 4th in points allowed, 3rd in assists allowed, 1st in steals allowed and 2nd in turnovers by opponents. Probably most succinctly we are #1 in FG% averaging .502 shooting, while #1 in defense, only allowing opponents to shoot .410.

[Autumn]

Heading into April, Glen Rice breaks his wrist and will be out for two months, putting the heat on Charlotte to even stay in the playoff hunt and giving someone else a chance to move up. Isiah Rider has torn his ACL and is out for the year, meaning that Minnesota may drop out of the contention for #8 and let someone else in, Denver perhaps. Chris Webber is out for a month and a half, too bad for Washington who would be in the race for their #8 seed.

[Autumn]

vs Utah It's April Fools Day and Latrell Sprewell is out with a concussion. Time to try the Bo Outlaw experiment again? Why the heck not. We trot out a crazy lineup with Bo going up against Hornacek and Hot Rod Williams in to face Malone. Amazingly, it works, but maybe despite all that as KJ decides to show the Mailman who should be MVP, scoring 39 points against Stockton while grabbing 7 rebounds and dishing 6 assists. Armstrong scores 18 off the bench, and Kleine scores 12. Malone scores 29 but he's the lone highlight and we win 112-83 (Hornacek shooting 5/17. 59-14

at Seattle We confuse Seattle by going back to a regular lineup. Bo Outlaw produces the game of his season, perhaps, with 12 points, 19 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 blocks and 5 steals all going up against Kemp, who he holds to 8 points and 10 rebounds. That spurs on the massacre, with Armstrong leading the scoring with 25 points, and 7 Suns in double digits. 108-87. 60-14

at Vancouver While we're on the West Coast, why not make our draft pick a little better? That's just what we do, Bo Outlaw winning another POTG with 22 points, 8 rebounds, 2 blocks and 3 steals. Somehow he's turned into the heart of this team, leading our scorers today. Joe Smith has a nice outing with 12 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 blocks, Ervin throwing in 5 blocks himself and KJ with 19 points, 15 assists. We win 101-70. 61-14

vs Portland This time it's Sprewell's turn to shine, back from his concussion. 20 points, 5 rebounds, 9 assists and 6 steals. Bo Outlaw doesn't shoot well, but he comes away with 3 steals and 7 blocks. Yikes. We win 92-70, holding the Trailblazers to 36% shooting. 62-14

at Utah There's only six games left. Utah is trying to catch up with the Spurs, or at least maintain #3 status. That gives them the fire to win, it seems, as despite Outlaw holding Malone to 19 points they subdue us, reversing things and forcing us to shoot 35.3% while they shoot 50%. Ervin Johnson's surprise injury is part of it, forcing Tisdale to start, though he does score 18 points. In the end though we lose 98-81. 62-15

It's do or die time for teams like the Hawks, Pistons, Bullets, all on the verge of the playoffs. Seattle, Golden State and Lakers are all within 1.5 games, in that order, in the West. The Spurs hope to catch us stumbling in the last stretch of games and steal the #1 seed.

at LA Lakers Outlaw does his thing, holding Ceballos to 12 points. Limping with injuries, Campbell and Divac can only score 5 points between them, and Sprewell holds Eddie Jones to 6. Wit that, what chance do they have, as Smith wins POTG with 23 points, 14 rebounds 2 steals and 2 blocks. We win 94-68. 63-15

vs Houston Houston has fallen fall and hard without Hakeem, and we don't help them out. They shoot 31.8% as three of their starters only muster single digits against our defense. Smith is player of the game as we beat them 108-71. 64-15

at Sacramento I think the team was looking past this one, or maybe it's just hat Richmond exploded for 30 points while KJ had a horrible 3/12 shooting night. Either way Westphal gives these guys a long earful after this 82-89 loss. 64-16

vs Dallas It proves good that we buckled down and focused as both San Antonio and Chicago are closing in on our record and we'd like to maintain the #1 spot. KJ takes his frustration out on Kidd as he scores 28 and dishes out 14. Sprewell has a bad night, but everyone else plays well, including Outlaw with 21 points and 7 blocks against Mashburn. We win 118-91. 65-16

at Houston It's our last game and our chance to at least maintain a tie for the best record, as the Bulls have caught up with us. No chance the Bulls lose as they score 123 against the Bullets. So we go out and beat the Rocks 108-85, KJ leading the charge with 31 points. 66-16

Season Wrap-up.

The Bulls conclude the season locking up the East, pulling 5 games ahead of the Pacers, who end just ahead of the Knicks. The Knicks kept up that 4 game lead on the Magic all year. Cleveland is at #5, with no competition. It's a big drop down to the rest, all under .500.

Chicago
Indiana
New York
Orlando
Cleveland
Charlotte
Atlanta
Detroit

Just missing out were Washington, Toronto and Philadelphia. Not bad for the expansion team and Philly, pretty shabby from Washington. In the East the Celtics ended up tying the Bucks for worst record with 18 wins.

It's a good thing we didn't ease up any more as the Spurs clinched the Midwest with a 63-19 record and almost caught us. The Jazz were right behind them for the #3 seed, those two the only winning teams in their division. Behind me Seattle maintained tehir lead over Golden State and Los Angeles. After that it was sub .500, notably better parity than the East at least.

Phoenix
San Antonio
Utah
Seattle
Golden State
LA Lakers
Portland
Minnesota

Houston was next closest, they tumbled far without Hakeem while San Antonio rode the Admiral to the top. The Nuggets were the worst of the West with 21 wins, Vancouver just behind with 22, squirting up to end up #4 from the bottom.

[Autumn]

Phoenix Suns 95 Regular Season

KJ: 17.7 points, 10.1 assists, 4.4 rebounds, 1.4 steals, .553
Sprewell: 19.3 points, 4.5 assists, 5.2 rebounds, 1.9 steals, .452
Outlaw: 11.1 points, 5.4 rebounds, 1.2 steals, 2.4 blocks, .646
Smith: 14.9 points, 7.7 rebounds, 1.1 steals, 1.9 blocks, .446
Johnson: 6.9 points, 8.4 rebounds, 2.4 blocks, .516

Armstrong: 7.2 points, 3.7 assists, .514
Manning: 9.6 points, 3.3 rebounds, 2.6 assists, .528
Tisdale: 6.6 points, 2.9 rebounds, .493
Finley: 5.2 points, 2.4 rebounds, 1.8 assists, .477
Williams: 3.5 points, 3.7 rebounds, .469

[Autumn]

Regular Season Leaders

Scoring:
Jordan, 31.8
Robinson 26.2
Olajuwon 26.1
Glen Rice 26.1
Ewing 24.3
Mourning 24.0

Assists

Stockton 10.8
KJ 10.1
Kidd 9.3
Strickland 9.1
Stoudamire 8.9

Rebounds

Rodman 14.8
Robinson 13.1
Kemp 12.6
Barkley 12.1
Olajuwon 12.0
Ewing 11.4

Blocks

Robinson 3.5
Bradley 3.3
Mutumbo 3.1
Campbell 2.6
Olajuwaon 2.6

Steals

Payton 3.3
Blaylock 2.6
Robertson 2.4
Jordan 2.3
Kidd 2.1

FG%

Outlaw .646
Muresan .063
Kemp .579
Larry Johnson .565
Geiger .562

3point%

Phills .523

FT%

Houston .916

Double Doubles
Robinson 68

Triple Doubles
Kidd 5

For Rookie records, Stoudamire seems a lock for rookie of the year, though Joe Smith is a good contender too. Kurt Thomas as well.

Robinson looks like a lock for MVP to me, especially given how good he made the Spurs, but of course Jordan has to always be considered.

[SnDvls]

nice dynasty. Since I've been a long time Suns fan and was in High School during this time it fun to read what you're doing. I'm enjoying following along.

[Autumn]

@SnDvls: Thanks, I'm finding it fun, I was a Suns fan back then too. Though I completely remade them, so I don't know what that means lol KJ is the man though.

[Autumn]

NBA Playoff Preview - Western Edition

The Phoenix Suns draw the #1 seed and so they're matched up with The Minnesota Timberwolves, who limped into the playoffs despite a 35-47 record. With shooting guard Isaiah Rider out with an injury the Wolves are in an even poorer spot than the regular season. Still, they're in the dance and let's look at the match up.

POINT GUARD

Kevin Johnson vs. Terry Porter

Terry Porter is the definition of an average point guard. At 32 he doesn't have any explosiveness left, and that was shown in his 9.9 PPG and 5.6 APG stats. Kevin Johnson is arguably the best in the league, averaging nearly 20 points and 11 assists per game. There's little doubt how this matchup will go.

Advantage: Phoenix.

SHOOTING GUARD

Latrell Sprewell vs Doug West

With Rider injured it's up to 28 year old Doug West to fill his shoes. West is a defensive ace but not a dangerous scorer. Sprewell meanwhile is both one of the best defenders in the league and an explosive scorer at times. If West can keep Sprewell quiet that would be a victory for Minnesota, but it's unlikely West will contribute anything at all to the offense.

Advantage: Phoenix

SMALL FORWARD

Tom Gugliotta vs Bo Outlaw

Gugliotta is clearly the star of this team, averaging 16.9 points, 9.4 boards, 1.4 steals and 1.1 blocks. The Suns are likely to pair Outlaw against him, as they tend to put Bo on whoever the most dangerous scorer is and hope he can shut him down. Gugliotta will likely still get points, and plenty of boards, but will likely have a hard time shooting against Outlaw. They'll need him to keep trying if they're going to win one though. Outlaw in turn always shoots well but usually not much. The Suns are happy if they can shut down the other guy.

Advantage: Minnesota

POWER FORWARD

Christian Laettner vs. Joe Smith

Laettner is having a year comparable to Gugliotta's. Averaging 16.4 points and 8.6 rebounds, he'll need to produce both. Joe Smith has been inconsistent on offense but generally is a very good defender and will force Laettner to work for his points. Smith has the talent to dominate here, but not the experience or consistency. This will be a key match up for both teams.

Advantage: Draw

CENTER

Kevin Garnett vs. Hot Rod Williams

With Ervin Johnson out it's Hot Rod who will step in to produce the rebounds and defense. Garnett has a lot of potential but at this point isn't likely to produce any more than Hot Rod.

Advantage: Draw

BENCH

The Timberwolves don't have any depth, and will be pushing folks such as Sean Rooks and Sam MItchell out to play. Meanwhile the Suns field such bench players as Danny Manning, Wayman Tisdale, BJ Armstrong. A huge mismatch here.

Advantage: Phoenix

You only had to look at the record to see the mismatch here. Minnesota will be playing for pride, and hoping to prevent a sweep. Unless Phoenix has more injuries it's not likely to happen.

Phoenix in 4


Game 1 at Phoenix

Things go as planned as Outlaw holds Gugliotta to 5/16 shooting, while getting 3 steals and 3 blocks. Smith equals Laettner's output while getting 5 blocks. Garnett and Williams have similar box scores as well. Porter and West however combine for 12 points, while KJ has 16 and 11 assists and Sprewll springs for 30 points. We win 93-72. 1-0

Warriors beat Sonics
Lakers beat Jazz
Spurs beat Trailblazers
Cavaliers beat Magic
Hornets beat Knicks
Bulls beat Pistons

Game 2 at Phoenix

With Ervin back in the lineup we go at it again. Laettner has 28 this time, outdoing Smith, but our front court combines for 12 blocks. Porter has 24 but KJ has 26 adn still no answer for Sprewell who scores 22. KJ has nearly a triple double for the second game, and the T'Wolves have no answer for our backcourt. We win 109-94. 2-0

Sonics beat Warriors
Jazz beat Lakers
Spurs beat Trailblazers
Magic beat Cavaliers
Knicks beat Hornets
Bulls beat Pistons
Pacers beat Hawks

Game 3 at Minnesota

In Minnesota this is where the TWolves have to make a stand. They just don't have the weapons to do so, despite Garnett having a 18 point, 11 rebound game, Laettner scoring 23 and Gugliotta 19. West and Porter combine for 14 points. Meanwhile Outlaw has 20 to go with 6 steals, Smith has 16 and 4 blocks, and Sprewell and Johnson have 25 and 22 respectively. We win handily 107-92. 3-0

Sonics beat Warriors
Jazz beat Lakers
Trailblazers beat Spurs
Magic beat Cavaliers
KNicks beat Hornets
Indiana beats Hawks
Bulls beat Pistons

Game 4 at Minnesota

Joe Smith has a sore leg, and so I'm more eager than ever to finish this off and let him rest. With Smith on the bench nothing changes, as Manning scores 17 in his place. Sprewell takes over as KJ has an off night, scoring 35 points and putting the game away, holding West to 8 points. Tisdale and Finley have 12 and 14 off the bench and we win 98-77 in a sweep. 4-0

Warriors beat Sonics (2-2)
Lakers beat Jazz (2-2)
Spurs beat Trailblazers (3-1)
Magic beat Cavaliers (3-1)
KNicks beat Hornets (3-1)
Pacers beat Hawks (4-0, Sweep)
Pistons beat Bulls (3-1)

From there the Magic, Knicks, Bulls and Spurs all finish off their series at 4-1. The Sonics make it 3-2 while the Jazz make it 3-2 against the Lakers despite Magic's triple double. The Warriors pull it to 3-3 and force a game 7, and the Lakers do the same against the Jazz. In the end the better teams win, the Sonics and Jazz both pulling out Game 7 wins. Barkley goes home, out of the show. No upsets so far.

[Autumn]

In the second round the Suns draw division rivals the Seattle Sonics, a tough team with a 56-26 record in the regular season. However, the Suns beat them every time they met. Let's look at how they match up.

POINT GUARD

Kevin Johnson vs. Gary Payton

Payton was an All-Star this year, and deservedly so, averaging 22.6 points, 6.9 assists and 3.3 steals. An amazing defender who can light up the scoreboard, the one thing he can't do is handle the ball as well as KJ, posting only a 1.9 A/TO ratio. These two alternated dominating each other during the regular season and the match up could go either way night to night.

Advantage: Draw

SHOOTING GUARD

Latrell Sprewell vs. Rick Fox

The Sonics made a shrewd trade to get Fox and push Hawkins to hte bench. while Fox is only averaging 12.7 he's a more explosive scorer than Hawkins and an overall better player. Still, he's not a match for Sprewell and he's unlikely to come out on top of this matchup.

Advantage: Phoenix

SMALL FORWARD

Joe Smith vs. Detlef Schrempf

Schrempf is an all around guy who can pass, crash the boards and score but does not excel in any of these. He's not a great defender and that may prove key, as Smith is, and also has the ability to have big scoring games. Smith is likely to have the best of this matchup but it will be key, as Smith is inconsistent and untested in the playoffs.

Advantage: Phoenix

POWER FORWARD

Bo Outlaw vs. Shawn Kemp

With 18.3 points and 12.6 rebounds, Kemp is a force down low. Outlaw has had success this season reining in the Rain maker though and that will be his job this series. Keep Kemp quiet and score a few points. If Kemp wants to get a ring he'll have to raise his game.

Advantage: Seattle

CENTER

Ervin Johnson vs. Sam Perkins

Perkins is the very, very average center the Sonics were left with after trading Johnson away to us. Johnson won't score a lot of points but he should dominate this battle down low.

Advantage: Phoenix

BENCH

There isn't much at all behind the starting five, Hawkins the sixth man who can score, and a bunch of nothing behind that. The Suns meanwhile are deep, deep.

Advantage: Phoenix

Overall, Phoenix has won this matchup all season long, and while Seattle should prove a real battle, unlike Minnesota, they should prevail in the end.

Suns in 5



Game 1 at Phoenix

Rick Fox proves the pundits wrong, coming out in Phoenix and schooling Sprewell to the tune of 20 points, 6 rebounds and 3 steals, while Sprewell musters only 9 points himself. Outlaw does his best, holding Kemp to 8 of 18 shooting though Kemp still scores 20. KJ and Payton both score 18, though KJ manages 12 assists and 6 rebounds as well. This game comes down to two of the matchup: Smith, who out everything's Schrempf with 24 points, 12 rebounds, 3 blocks and 3 steals. And the bench, where Tisdale and Manning come out to score 18 and 14 respectively, the Sonics only managing Hawkins's 11 points. We win 109-99 to set the stage. 1-0

Bulls beat the Magic 1-0
Pacers beat the Knicks 1-0
Spurs beat the Jazz 1-0

Game 2 at Phoenix

We're back the very next night to a manic crowd. This time Westphal slows the game down, not wanting us to get ahead of ourselves. Payton manages to score 25 against KJ, but gives up a mammoth 10 turnovers, while KJ has 18 point and 6 assists. Outlaw outscores Kemp this time, 10 to 9, Smith and Schrempf put up identical 5 of 13 shooting nights, and Sprewell shoots a bit better, with 16 points. IT's enough to squeak out another win, 90-83. 2-0

Magic beat the Bulls 1-1
Pacers beat the Knicks 2-0
Spurs beat the Jazz 2-0

Game 3 at Seattle

Seattle needs to turn it on here, and they do off the energy of the home crowd, pulling out three double digit performances off the bench. That, and Payton's 26 points, proves key and they pull out a convincing win 108-87 over us. 2-1

Magic beat the Bulls 2-1 [Jordan goes down with back spasms for six days]
Knicks beat the Pacers 2-1
Jazz beat the Spurs 2-1

Game 4 at Seattle

We have to steal this one on the road to keep ourselves from danger. To do so we have to win a few matchups and we do so. Outlaw holds Kemp to 11 points, while Erving picks up 12 points and 15 rebounds against Perkins. KJ has a 9 point, 10 assist, 9 rebound game while holding Payton to 14 points. Their bench, and ours are quiet, except for Manning's 12 points. Smith beats Schrempf with a 20 points, 8 rebound, 2 steal, 3 block game. But it's Sprewell who comes alive to win player of the game with 29 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals. We win 104-85 and are on our way home. 3-1

Magic beat Bulls 3-1
Pacers beat Knicks 3-1
Jazz beat Spurs 2-2

Game 5 at Phoenix

This is our chance to clinch the series at home. And we do it, with our best game of the series, everyone clicking. KJ has 22 points, 10 assists and 7 rebounds, while holding Payton to 15. Sprewell has 22 points, 4 assists and 8 rebounds himself while keeping Fox to 11. Ervin has 16 points, 11 rebounds and 3 blocks. Outlaw has a 8/10 shooting night, holding Kemp to 15 points. Smith has only 10 points but 9 rebounds and 5 blocks. It all adds up to a runaway 111-84 win and the crowd goes wild for their Suns. 4-1

Bulls beat magic 3-2
Pacers beat Knicks 4-1
Spurs beat Jazz 3-2

With Jordan injured and playing limited minutes the Bulls pull a gut check and get a win at home on Pippen's 19 points, and Kucoc's and all around play. The Pacers prove next to eliminate an opponent, Ewing's 24 points not enough to get him to a championship this year, though Christie is electrifying off the bench with 18 points in 12 minutes.

The Jazz are playing the Spurs much tighter than I imagined, but the Admiral wins them this game with a 34 points, 16 rebound, 6 assist effort. The Spurs go on to finish the series up the next game, but only winning by one point as they surged back from a third quarter deficit. The game is a two man show between Elliot and Robinson, Stockton and Malone falling short once more.

Meanwhile the Bulls survive a 33 point game from Shaq, Pippen scoring 26, Jordan managing 17 in 26 minutes, and Steve Kerr of all people putting up 19 in a 9 point win. That sets up a game seven where the Bulls show why they're the champs. Despite a close series, the Bulls just put the pedal to the metal and destroy the Magic 122-86. Jordan shrugs off his back spasm and plays 43 minutes, scoring 41 points. He doesn't even win player of the game for that, though, as Pippen outdoes him, scoring 43, including 5 from downtown, while shooting .750 and grabbing 10 rebounds. Their matchup against the Pacers will be a thing of beauty.

[Autumn]

Western Conference Finals

There's no surprise out West as the two best teams in the regular season meet in the conference finals. The Suns have had an easy time of it, going 8-1 in the first two rounds. They meet their first significant challenge in the Spurs who have gone 8-3 so far. The Spurs match up very well against the dominant Suns, beating them 4 out of 5 times in the regular season. The Bulls may be the most feared team in the league, but it's likely that the Suns will face their hardest challenge here, where David Robinson's dominant play at center has given them huge difficulties in every matchup.

POINT GUARD

Avery Johnson vs Kevin Johnson

Avery is at best a mediocre guard, averaging 9.5 points and 7.3 assists during the regular season. He plays strong defense, but has not been able to corall KJ during the regular season. Luckily for Avery, KJ isn't a strong defender and so he'll likely get his chance to shoot and feed the other players. The Suns, however, will be looking for KJ to dominate this matchup and put a lot fo points on the board.

Advantage: Phoenix

SHOOTING GUARD

Vinny del Negro vs Latrell Sprewell

Vinny has had an excellent season, averaging 17.5 points while shooting .515. Nearly 5 assists and 5 rebounds as well, to go along with 1.1 steals. Latrell, however, is one of hte best defensive guards in the league and should be able to hold del Negro to a lower percentage, as well as score, del Negro being a very mediocre defender himself. The advantage here goes to Sprewell, but with Latrell nursing a strained knee it's questionable how much playing time he'll get here. With Armstrong and Finley filling in, the advantage tilts the other way.

Advantage: Draw

SMALL FORWARD

Sean Elliot vs Bo Outlaw

Elliot is averaging 13.3 points in the playoffs. Outlaw should have no trouble nullifying that output, though Outlaw isn't normally much of a scorer himself.

Advantage: Phoenix

POWER FORWARD

Will Perdue vs. Joe Smith

Perdue is basically San Antonio's Ervin Johnson, he comes in for 8 points and 7.5 rebounds, but without Johnson's blocking or defense. Smith has defense, scoring and rebounding and should dominate this matchup, though Perdue's got experience and height on him.

Advantage: Phoenix

CENTER

David Robinson vs. Ervin Johnson

The Admiral is a prime MVP candidate for good reason. 26.2 points, 13.1 rebounds, 1.3 steals, 3.5 blocks, .516 shooting and defense on top. Moreover, Robinson has made mincemeat of the Phoenix centers all year. Johnson, a great defender and blocker, has fouled out roughly 20 minutes into each game going up against the Admiral. It has taken a rotation of three centers just to keep him contained, if 30 points a game is contained. If the Suns can somehow contain Robinson this time, they're in a good spot, but nothing they've done has worked so far.

Advantage: San Antonio

BENCH

Chuck Person is averaging 10.8 points, mostly from the bench, but he is San Antonio's only real contributor. Once again Phoenix has the deeper bench of anybody, and will need it to perform, particularly rotating against Robinson.

Advantage: Phoenix

OVERALL

The Suns were lucky to claim home court advangage in the West, as they'll need it against San Antonio. Phoenix matches up better againt Chicago or Indiana than they do the Spurs, who have seemingly the perfect formula to take them on. With home court advantage we'd say Phoenix in 7. But with Sprewell injured, if he does not play, or play well, we will have to say San Antonio in 7.

[Autumn]

Game 1 vs San Antonio

The Suns surprise the Spurs, and the sports world by starting Bo Outlaw at center, deciding to put their defensive specialist on the Admiral, despite Outlaw's small size. It's a gamble, but one that seems to work reasonably well. Robinson only scores 23 on 10/27 shooting, much poorer than he's done against the Suns all season. He does grab 20 rebounds however over Outlaw's shorter hands. Outlaw in turn only scores 12, but has 6 blocks. That move may have been a success, but the rest of the team all seem to suffer from shooting woes, shooting only 34.1%, Smith and Outlaw the only double digits corers with 14 and 12. It's a defensive struggle, the Suns having 13 blocks and holding the Spurs in turn to 37.1% shooting. Somehow the Spurs just get the better of the Suns, hitting 3 three pointers to the Suns zero, and shooting 7 more times than the Suns. They get away with a surprisingly easy victory in Phoenix, 63-81. 1-0

The Pacers beat the Bulls by two in their opening matchup, no Pacer scoring more than 16 in a real team victory.

Game 2 vs San Antonio

Losing one in Phoenix puts us in a very unpleasant hole and we have to come out charged up and make a statement. Outlaw comes out again against the Admiral, and despite Robinson having 5 inches on him, manages to go rebound for 17th rebound with the big man. They go block for block too, Outlaw with 6, Robinson with 5. However Robinson does score 29 to Outlaw's eight.

However, Outlaw does not foul out, and this is a victory for us, letting Ervin play the entire game up against Will Perdue, where he manages 13 rebounds, 6 blocks and 12 points. Smith shoots poorly but manages 17 points and 8 rebounds while holding Elliot to 4 and 3. KJ wakes up for 23 points, 10 assist and 9 rebounds, holding Avery Johnson to 5, 4 and 2. However my personal player of the game is Michael Finley, who comes in for the injured Sprewell and shoots 10 of 16, scoring 21 points and giving us the 96-79 victory. 1-1

Out East, the bulls this time manage the two point win. Rik Smits goes wild for 37 points, 12 rebounds and 5 assists, but Reggie Miller gets only 2 in only 18 minutes. Meanwhile the Bulls get a huge game from their bench, Harper scoring 14 and Kukoc adding 26. Along with Jordan's 24, it's enough for the close win. 1-1

Game 3 at San Antonio

With our initial loss we have to steal one in San Antonio, and I'd like to do it right now. Outlaw holds Robinson to a mortal 22 points, and though he only scores 7 himself, he makes room for the rest of the team to go for the gold. KJ has his first triple double of the season, 16 points 11 rebounds and 16 assists. Joe Smith has 23, while Ervin has 10 points, 7 rebounds and 4 blocks. Finley is the star of my show yet again, coming alive for 25 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists in the #2 slot. Tisdale adds 12 off the bench and that's enough for a convincing 105-90 win. 2-1

The Bulls manage a convincing win as well, 104-93. Jordan has 32 and Kucoc and Harper each chip in 14. Smits has 25 and Miller only 11, Eddie Johnson adding in 16 from the bench but the Pacers just don't muster anything this time. 2-1

Game 4 at San Antonio

Sprewell is still injured, but the rest of the crew is healthy and I'd like to put the Spurs on the ropes here, bring them home to finish them off. It would be goo easy to count the Spurs out though. They finally come alive, Robinson finally finding a way to dominate Outlaw and scoring 30 points. Elliot explodes as well for 21, Del Negro finding his shooting touch for 25, and even Perdue having 11 points and 12 boards, dominating Johnson. Finley on the other hand loses his shooting touch, going 3/15, and KJ's 17 points and Smith's 19 isn't really enough. We lose 88-105. 2-2

The Bulls meanwhile are pulling ahead of the Pacers, managing anohter big win, despite Jordan only shooting 5/20 and scoring 15. He's the high scorer but the Pacers can't do better, and shoot worse, going down 95-78. 3-1

Game 5 at Phoenix

The crowd is insane in Phoenix, with the series on the edge. They want to see those Suns they've watched all season and they get a good lock at them. Outlaw has zero points, fouling out in 21 minutes against Robinson, but between he and Tisdale they hold Robinson to 19 points and 11 rebounds. Tisdale scores 10 points, 7 assists and 8 rebounds in his 24 minutes. KJ has 18, Finley has 15, but it's Smith who comes with player of the game, wowing the home fans with 22 points, 9 rebounds and 5 blocks. The Suns hold the Spurs to 37.6% shooting, 12 points the next highest total after Robinson. It's a 101-76 win and we go up 3-2

The Bulls put the Pacers away despite Jordan only playing 14 minutes. Kerr steps up with 19 points, including 5 three pointers, and the Bulls play monster defense, wining handily in Chicago 91-70 and earning valuable time to rest up. Jordan is not listed as being injured but has played very limited minutes at the end of this series, curious.

Game 6 at San Antonio

It's too bad to finish things off in front of the away team's crowd, but I'll gladly do it. However, the Spurs have played so good at home, I'm worried, pacing in the box with the owner before, and during, the game. Which team will show up tonight? Outlaw, embarrassed perhaps about fouling out last game plays like a madman against Robinson, scoring 17 points, his series high. He holds Robinson to 23 points and 7 rebounds. Del Negro however, goes off, abusing Finley for the tune of 35 points in a 16/22 aerial show. Ervin and Perdue battle, Ervin with 20 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks, Perdue with only 2 points but 15 rebounds. KJ not only holds Avery to zero points, but dishes out an incredible 19 assists. He only score ten himself though and we need some scoring to keep up with the insane del Negro. Armstrong provides some, coming off the bench to shoot 6/6 for 13 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists.

It's Joe Smith though who gets player of the game and sends us to the Finals, with a 27 point, 15 rebound performance, while holding Elliot to 4/13 shooting. 102-84 is the final score and while Suns fans have to applaud in their livings rooms and bars I get to dance in the box seats. We'll be in the NBA Finals, playing the best of the best, the Chicago Bulls. What more could a guy ask for? 4-2

The good news is Latrell heals up during the break and we go in fully armed. The bad news is that Chicago wins whatever tiebreaker there is and earns home court advantage. I could go back and curse some of those stupid losses that lost us the chance to have that edge. But we're too busy getting ready.

[Autumn]

NBA Finals Preview

It's a matchup of the two best teams of the season and no one doubts that this is going to be a heated battle. The dynasty of the '90s up against a young upstart Suns, is this one more ring for Jordan or the beginning of a new era?

POINT GUARD

Kevin Johnson vs. Steve Kerr

The Bulls have no true point guard, Kerr manning the spot in name but not even leading the team in assists. He contributes 7.6 points and 4.3 assists per game, and is extremely careful with the ball, averaging less than a turnover a game. He's known as a sharpshooter but isn't going to put a lot of points up.

Meanwhile KJ not only averages near to 20 points a game, but is good for 10 assists as well. He's not a premium defender and so Kerr may get some points, but there's no doubt who will win this matchup.

Advantage: Phoenix.

SHOOTING GUARD

Latrell Sprewell vs Michael Jordan

Whenever Jordan is on the court you can bet that all eyes will be on him. It won't be any different here as he goes for his fourth ring. The star had one of his best scoring years this season, and has had some legendary games in the playoffs already. We all know the Finals is when he plays his best.

This position will draw all the more eyes due to this matchup. Latrell Sprewell is young, not the scorer yet that Jordan is. But he's a premier defender, and if any guard in the league has a chance of slowing down MJ it could be Sprewell. The Suns hope they've got what no other Finals opponent has had in facing the Bulls, someone that will make Jordan work. If he can score some points too, that will be an added blessing. Clearly Chicago still has the advantage, but most important is that it is perhaps not as wide a gulf between Sprewell and MJ.

Advantage: Chicago

SMALL FORWARD

Scottie Pippen vs. Bo Outlaw

Pippen has been the key to maybe more victories this season than his more famed teammate. When Jordan has an off night it is typically Pippen who plays the star role, and he's just as capable of leading a team to victory as MJ. Averaging 19.1 points, 6.1 rebounds 4 assists and 1.8 steals this season, Pippen would be dangerous as a #1 option, never mind a #2. Add in that he's one of the best defenders in the league and you've got the all around package.

Outlaw isn't going to score a lot of points but is a deadly accurate shooter. He'll be facing off of Pippen and putting his amazing defensive talents to play. If he can cut down Pippen's scoring the Suns will consider it a victory, and Pippen's defensive play will matter little against Outlaws few shots a game.

Advantage: Chicago

POWER FORWARD

Dennis Rodman vs. Joe Smith

Rodman is clearly a one dimensional player. He's got 14.8 reoubnds a game to his name and feisty physical play.

Joe Smith will not outrebound Rodman but he can score, block and play defense. Rodman will have a hard time corralling the youngster who was the hero of the Western Finals.

Advantage: Phoenix

CENTER

Luc Longley vs. Ervin Johnson

Neither team depends much on this position, Longley putting in 10 points and 6 rebounds, Rodman doing most of the board work.

Ervin is the better rebounder, better defender and better blocker and should easily win this matchup. The Suns will be looking for him to close the lanes and keep Jordan and Pippen away from the basket.

Advantage: Phoenix

BENCH

Ron Harper plays nearly as much as Kerr, and adds 7 points a game from the bench. Kucoc is their best bench player, scoring 8.7 . There's not much from the Bulls after that.

Phoenix brings a very active bench, with Manning, Finley, Armstrong Williams and Tisdale all able to come on the court and contribute. They should easily match the Bulls bench contribution and add more versatility as well, with rebounding, assists and blocks.

Advantage: Phoenix

OVERALL

The Suns dominate each matchup except for Jordan and Pippen. Even there though they have better positional matchups than most teams, with Sprewell and Outlaw expert defenders who have proven their ability to shut down scorers all over the league. For once you have to consider the Bulls not the easy favorites.

Still, these Bulls know the playoffs, they know the Finals, they know how to win. The Suns have kept up with them in the regular season but are untested in such a high pressure environment. You have to think the Bulls will take them to the limit and there's no saying what Jordan can do with a ring on the line. If there's one team that can beat the Bulls it has to be this defense, but it's not a victory I'd bet on.

Phoenix in 7

[Autumn]

Game one at Chicago

Chicago fans are ecstatic to have their team back where they belong, on the national stage in the NBA finals. The crowd noise is deafening and stays so through a long tight game that remains a one point affair through three quarters with 18 lead changes. The fourth quarter ends in a 86-86 tie and there's nothing anyone can ask for better than that.

Overtime is a tense affair, Suns fans waiting for Jordan to explode. Jordan scores 34 for the game and Rodman has a ludicrous 26 rebounds. But the end result is pure Suns with the Bulls shooting 30.2% while Phoenix shoots 51.2% We outscore the Bulls 16-9 in overtime and take home an amazing road win to open the series. Suddenly home court advantage is lost.

While Jordan dominated Sprewell, who scored 12, had 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals, the Suns won every other matchup. KJ had 32 points and 13 assists. Ervin Johnson beats Longley with 19 points, 14 rebounds and 6 blocks manning the middle. Smith has 24 points, 6 rebounds and 4 blocks against Rodman, while the most surprising victory comes from Bo Outlaw. Holding Pippen to a horrendous 4 of 23 night, He himself scores 14 points, has 10 rebounds and 3 blocks on 7/10 shooting.

102-95 1-0

[Autumn]

Game Two at Chicago

Victory doesn't come without a price. Outlaw comes out of game one with a strained knee. His domination of Pippen was a key to victory and the Bulls have to think they're ready to dominate now.

Luckily for the Suns they have more than one premium defender. Moving Smith to play opposite Pippen, the youngster manages to hold Pippen to 1 of 7 shooting, only 7 points on the night, while Smith himself scores 12. Danny Manning only scores 8 in replacement of Outlaw, but that's enough to match Rodman. Longley has his night, dominating Johnson for 20 points and four blocks. Jordan continues to beat Sprewell, though it takes .333 shooting to get to 26 points tonight. The Suns lean on KJ, who puts up 28 points going against Kerr. It's enough on a dominant defensive night, holding the Bulls to 34.6 shooting and winning the battle 96-88. 2-0

[Autumn]

Game Three at Phoenix

Chicago has to be desperate, backed into an 0-2 corner with three games on the road. All eyes are on Jordan, the man the Bulls pay to pull them out of spots like this.

It's a defensive battle, both teams shooting less than 45%, and it's all tied up at the end of the third quarter. Pippen has his best game of the series, scoring 16, while Longley continues to surprise with 18 points, 9 rebounds and three blocks. Ervin Johnson fouls out early trying to stop him, and Tisdale performs splendidly in relief, scoring 16, grabbing 9 rebound as well. KJ leads the Suns with 18 points, 13 assists, and though Smith only scores 12 on 4/17 shooting, Manning 10 on 3/11, Sprewell's 15 are enough to let the Suns take the fourth quarter commandingly and win in front of an ecstatic crowd, 94-83. Jordan scores 19 points in defeat. 3-0

[Autumn]

Game Four at Phoenix

The whole nation was hushed, amazed at what they were seeing. The Chicago Bulls lay on the verge of humiliating elimination in a four game sweep by the upstart Suns. And not by the highpower offense of the Suns, but by grinding humiliating defense, leaving the Bulls unable to score.

Coach Westphal spoke to the players, urging them to stay focused, to treat this as any other game. The fans didn't listen though, nearly raising the roof at the prospect of sending Michael Jordan home in four games.

Jordan takes the game in his hands, leading all scorers with 32 points, driving to the hole time and time again. It's not enough though when the next best Bulls scorer is Wennington with 10 points. Pippen is held to a humiliating 8 points, and the Bulls altogether shoot 35.5% versus the Suns's 57.5%

It's a well rounded gamed from the Suns, KJ scoring 20 points and 13 assists, Sprewell with 18 against Jordan, Ervin Johnson shooting 7/8, Manning putting in 11 and Joe Smith with 22 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 blocks. It's all the Suns need as they explode in the second quarter and cruise to a 108-84 win.

Jordan and Pippen walk dazed from the court as the crowd explodes and my young Suns race around like maniacs. I hurry down to the court as well, embracing Kevin Johnson, the man I built this team around, the one who has toiled here for years for this moment. There's no doubt from anyone who is the new dynasty in town as I watch Sprewell, Smith, Ervin and Outlaw all embrace KJ. I let myself celebrate. Soon enough I know I'll be back to work.

4-0

[Izulde]

Great feeling, especially after the Barkley injury, no?

[Autumn]

It was some needed salve, yes. Made me glad I went the all-durable route here.

[Autumn]

I'm barely able to absorb the happenings of hte playoffs when it's lottery time. Normally not something the champions pay attention to, but due to holding Vancouver's pick it's an exciting time for us too. I feel bad for the Grizzlies management who foolishly traded their pick away for ours, which will be last, and some players who obviously didn't win them many games. But it's dog eat dog and I'll take what i can get.

The odds are lined up like this:

washington
toronto
philly
houston
los angeles
miami
sacramento
dallas
new jersey
phoenix
denver
boston
milwaukee

I feel good about a #4 slot, there's plenty of players who can contribute on our team there, or I could even trade down and still find something nice and pick up some future picks perhaps.

We all watch the screens as the commissioner picks the balls.

#13 Washington
#12 Toronto
#11 Philadelphia
#10 Houston
Houston at least gets this out of Hakeem's injury, a nice draft pick and hopefully a healthy Olajuwon this year.

#9 LA Clippers
#8 Miami
#7 Sacramento
#6 Dallas

Absolutely no movement so far, and I give a sigh of relief as I watch the disappointed faces of those GMs. Nobody's jumped up, which is good news for the rest of us.

#5 Boston (-3)

The first drop of the night and I can see Boston's GM cursing. They are a team with needs all over and this pick could have saved them.

#4 Milwaukee (-3)

Unbelievable. The top two teams both drop. New Jersey has jumped way up, and we're set at a top three pick. amazing.

#3 New Jersey (+2)

The Nets are ecstatic to have jumped so far. I'm staring in disbelief.

#2 Denver (+1)

And that's it. I don't even watch as the commissioner draws the last ball, I'm too busy staring at my staff.

#1 Phoenix (+3)

The crowd erupts, mostly in boos I think. I understand it. nobody wants to watch the champions turn around and win the lottery a week later. It's incredible. I sit down in the box, my legs weary. I can't say I haven't imagined this event, but to think it's true, that we have a choice of the best players of the most loaded draft class in history, or the chance to trade down and stock up. The possibilities are dizzying and my summer just grew a lot more exciting and a lot more complicated. I have a feeling we have just become the most hated and envied team in the NBA. Move over Bulls.

[Autumn]

I shuffle through the league awards over the next few days, still in shock. Pretty good selections, as the chief award goes to The Admiral who had a season for the ages.

MVP David Robinson
Defensive MVP Gary Payton
Rookie Of Teh Year Damon Stoudamire
6th Man of the Year Chris Dudley
Coach of the Year Bob Hill (Spurs)

I'd question the coach award, I think it was Robinson that drove that team to the top. But the rest make perfect sense.

1st Team All-NBA
Kevin Johnson
Michael Jordan
Glen Rice
Karl Malone
David Robinson

2nd team
Gary Payton
Reggie Miller
Cedric Ceballos
Larry Johnson
Patrick Ewing

3rd team
Terrell Brandon
Clyde Drexler
Grant Hill
Shawn Kemp
Rik Smits

Defensive All NBA 1st Team
Gary Payton
Michael Jordan
Scottie Pippen
Bo Outlaw
David Robinson

defense 2nd
Mookie Blaylock
Latrell Sprewell
Tom Gugliotta
Shawn Kemp
Dikembe Mutumbo

Rookie All-NBA 1st
Damon Stoudamire
Jerry Stackhouse
Eric Williams
Joe Smith
Sabonis

rookie 2nd
Tyus Edney
Sasha Danilovic
Michael Finley
Kevin Garnett
Theo Ratliff

I'm pleased to see my rookies get some mention, as well as my guys on the defensive squad. I'm also glad to see that the NBA could recognize KJ's season, he's the best all around point in the league I'm sure, but other guys had some flashier stats.

Demetrius calls, a phone call I have to admit I've been dreading. he's a hands off owner, can't complain much but I have a dread in my stomach that despite our amazing season he's going to complain about me spending $3 million over the cap. Indeed, he does grumble about my spending but agrees that we had a good season and let's it go at that. I agree to get back with him in a few days about next season. Now I'm dreading that call instead. I have three starters to resign and only $5 million at the moment to do it, not to mention a top draft pick.

[SnDvls]

please, please, please don't pull a Kerr/Sarver and gut the team to save some $$$...go for it

[Autumn]

Originally Posted by SnDvls

please, please, please don't pull a Kerr/Sarver and gut the team to save some $$$...go for it

:-) I told him I'd be maybe $10 million over. He gave me the same line as last year, so hopefully if I get close to the cap he won't complain. Now to see if I can do it.

[Autumn]

I feel we can get a lot of value out of our #1 pick, and still pick up a great player for us. Iverson is great, but he wouldn't mesh into our team at this moment. We work the phones all week and work out a number of trades. They result in us passing the #1 pick to New Jersey for their #3 and a future first, among other second rounder shifts. We then trade that down and pick up #7 from Sacramento and #13 in this draft. We can see if someone we want drops down to #13, if not trade it for another future first.

Iverson goes first to New Jersey, as expected.

#1 - New Jersey - Allen Iverson
#2 - Denver - Shareef Abdur-Rahim
#3 - Sacramento - Kobe Bryant
Sacramento fans have us to thank for that.
#4 - Milwaukee - Antoine Walker
#5 - Boston - Jermaine O'Neal
I'm sorry to see this pick as this is one of the guys I had slotted for our #7 pick. I expected him to fall a bit further but Boston makes a surprising jump here, surprising the draft experts as well. I wonder who will fall to us then?
#6 - Dallas - Zydrunas Ilgauskas
The experts like this pick here but he's certainly not one of the guys i would have taken this high. But that means one of them is still available at #7.

We quickly consult at our pick. There's a lot of talent still available, Marbury, Ray Allen, Steve Nash. We've already ruled out Marbury for personality issues. We just won the championship, we don't need to add any conflict in the locker room, and we don't need a guy who will be bitching about playing time. O'Neal would have been my first pick, he's well respected, works like a dog and fits a need. But we can't ignore the present that just dropped in our lap with those last few picks.

We select Marcus Camby with the #7 pick. Center is clearly our weakest position, and Camby brings scoring and an overall game to the spot. He doesn't seem to have any problematic areas. I think he'll do very well.

#7 - Phoenix - Marcus Camby
#8 - Miami - Stephon Marbury
Miami fans are cheering that Marbury fell this far. They're a team that can use his presence and he'll do well there.
#9 - Los Angeles Clippers - Eric Dampier
#10 - Houston - Roy Rogers
Houston leaves Ray Allen on the board, their need for a forward is too much. Too bad, Cassell and Allen would have been deadly.
#11 - Philadelphia - Steve Nash
I'm disappointed to see Nash go, I was hoping to nab him at #13. I'm surprised too, as Allen is still on the board. Now I have to decide, deal the pick for a next year, jump up to get Allen or see if there's anybody else worth hanging around. Looking over the boards I don't see anyone else worth the pick, maybe Peja Stojakovic. But I think we'll see if he falls to us, and if not deal.
#12 - Toronto - Ray Allen
With that we trade away our #13 for a first rounder next year.
#13 - Cleveland - Vitaly Potapenko
#14 - Washington - Peja Stojakovic
#15 - Detroit - Jeff McInnis

I'll let the rest of the round run out, that's all I've got today. I'm happy with the results of the draft, though Camby doesn't look as great as he did in workouts. Still, he's a much more complete player than we've got, or will be, and we ended up with two future first rounders as well. He brings youth at center, allowing us to try to ditch the contracts of Williams and Tisdale.

I'm trying to resign KJ, Sprewell and EJ. I need some cap room, and with Camby on board it's Hot Rod and Tisdale and their big one year contracts that I'm shipping. No one wants to give much of anything for them. But we shop them anyway. Tisdale goes to Detroit for two second rounders. Hot Rod heads to Toronto for one second rounder. Not a lot, but it frees up about $8 million in cap for me.

Negotiations take a while, but they finally go all right. I sign KJ to four more years, a bit more than I had intended but gives me some potential for a trade towards the end of his career. Sprewell signs for six, Ervin Johnson for a low three year deal. I spend a bit extra cash to bring in Aaron McKie at shooting guard. I want a little more firepower on the bench and he's also a great defender, and came cheap.

I can feel the owner watching over my shoulder, we're already over cap but only have 10 on roster. I go out and look for some cheap guys. I have to smile as I sign Elliot Perry back for a two year deal. He was part of a trade last year that netted me a championship team, now I get him back on the cheap. I also sign center Eric Riley for a one year deal to add some bodies at center.

The first big splash in free agency is the Orlando Magic, who go out and sign Hakeem Olajuwon to a 1 year, 3 million deal. He must not look good after a year of injury, but this is still wild. Golden State signs Drexler away from Houston and looks like it's time to rebuild there. Around Roy Rogers?

The Knicks sign Dennis Scott. The Celtics get Hersey Hawkins away from Seattle, funny since they traded Fox there last season. They pick up Tracy Murray the next day. Robert Pack goes to the Knicks, as well as Antonio Davis. Mario Elie goes to Miami. Bimbo Coles goes to Chicago, as does Kenny Smith.

A quick glance at rosters around the league indeed shows that Houston has imploded. They must be having management troubles. They let Drexler and Olajuwon walk but haven't signed anyone in return. They're $20 million under cap and have basically a team of Cassell, Horry, Chucky Brown and draft pick Roy Rogers. Oh my.

Orlando meanwhile now has Shaquille AND Olajuwon. I don't know hwat to make of that. It's similar to the strange move of LA last year to trade for Mutumbo and leave him on the bench behind Divac. And indeed, LA now boasts a lineup including Campbell, Mutumbo and Divac. This must be a new coaching craze, but I don't like it.

The Knicks got out of cap trouble, signing Ewing to a one year deal worth under $3 million. That allowed them to add Robert Pack, Dennis Scott and Antonio Davis, and I think that may serve them well.

I like Miami's new look, with Marbury at point, Elie at #2, with some nice bench firepower behind him, Owens or Askins at SF, Kurth Thomas and Mourning. They should improve

I'm not sure what Boston is planning, they bought on Tracy Murray but already have Eric Williams, They bring in Hawkins but seem to be planning on moving him to the point. It will be an interesting year, hopefully O'Neal will develop for them. .

[Autumn]

1996-1997 Season

at LA Clippers The season starts with a bang on a Halloween. I'm not quite prepared, lost in my offseason reverie. But we're in LA facing the Clippers in the wildest shootout I've ever seen. 142-137 is the final, in overtime, the Clippers riding the efforts of not just Loy Vaught, but former Sun Wesley Person to an overtime win. 0-1

I don't like the look of what the coaches were doing here, though I can't argue with Outlaw shooting 9/11 at center, and picking up 11 rebounds. Or KJ shooting 13/16 and picking up 12 assists. But a DNP for Marcus Camby and Manning starting are big mistakes. I get myself back in town and make some changes.

vs Houston The imploding franchise comes to town. Westphal and I get things in order and we win easily, Sprewell going to town for 36 points, EJ with 10 points, 11 rebounds and 5 blocks. Unfortunately half the damn team gets injured 1-1

at New York Injuries are a good reason to shuffle things around. Camby gets his first start, and even Riley seems some minutes. Camby only lasts 21 minutes going up against Ewing. But Smith, Sprewell and KJ all have good games, and McKie shoots very nicely from the bench. We win handily 104-90 on the road. 2-1

Now our entire starting lineup is injured. We have only 5 uninjured players. I have a talk with Westphal about slowing the pace and doing some more rotation. He's running these guys pretty rough.

at Boston even on the road with a lineup of Armstrong-McKie-Finley-Camby-Riley we squeak out a win. Camby goes crazy against Radja, with 18 points, 5 rebounds and 8!!! blocks and 3 steals. Finley has an 18-6-5 game, McKie shoots well as usual and we win by 101-99. 3-1

Sprewell's got a broken nose and is going to be hurting for a while.

[b]at Toronto[/b[ The road swing continues, as does our strange lineups. This time Finley is the star of the show, putting up 28 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists against the Raptors. Their new star, Ray Allen, puts up 20 but McKie beats him with 22. We win 103-83. 5-1

Jordan is already making a mark, putting up 60 points against the Raptors and 46 against the Trailblazers.

vs Golden State Barkley comes to town but only plays limited minutes. Instead it's Camby's turn to shine coming off the bench for 19 points, 6 rebounds and 4 locks. We otherwise shoot poorly, but play good enough defense to get the 102-84 win. 6-1

vs Denver Defense is the name of the game as we hold the Nuggets to 28.4% shooting. Rookie Abdur-Rahim only manages 8 against Smith, while on our side Perry erupts off the bench for 19. It's a 92-64 win. 7-1

at Sacramento Richmond goes for 27 against us, he's just that good. But despite us not having a scorer above 16 we handle them easily, with 6 guys in double digits. KJ is back and has 12 assists, but there's nothing outstanding here but team effort and a 100-78 win. 8-1

vs Portland Finley has a beautiful game off the bench and we just dominate in the paint and on fast breaks. Camby struggles with 7 turnovers but we win 104-91. 9-1

vs Atlanta We face our first real challenge against the surging Hawks. However they struggle against us, Blaylock the only guy able to score against our D. Joe Smith has 24, Outlaw has 12 points, 10 rebounds and 4 blocks. kJ has 16 points, 12 assists and 5 steals. We win 92-78. 10-1

vs LA Lakers With Mutumbo, Divac and Campbell all on the roster, who knows what these guys are doing, but it's working. Eddie Jones has 21 off the bench, Van Exel puts up 23 against us and Campbell has 4 blocks. We shoot better than them though, Outlaw leading the way with a 9/10 game, EJ putting up 16 points, 9 rebounds and 6 blocks while shooting 6/9. Quiet game from our bench but we win 110-102. 11-1

vs Utah Our main rival in the West right now, Utah brings some stifling defense, Malone holding Smith to 5/21 shooting, while scoring 21 himself, and Stockton holding KJ to 3/15 shooting. However, Finley shoots a sweet 10/16 and Outlaw brings it with 10/13 shooting. That and KJ's 14 assists are enough to bring the edge and a sweet 88-85 win. 12-1

at LA Lakers This time Magic Johnson brings it against a slightly ailing KJ, scoring 34 points on 16/20 shooting. Insane, and Eddie Jones still brings it from the bench. But Outlaw continues his insane offensive streak, this time going 12/13 for a 25 points game. Finley struggles but KJ has a 23 point, 11 assist game, and Camby with a nice 9 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 blocks from the bench. We squeak by in overtime 119-115. 13-1

vs Minnesota An embarrassing game for the Timberwolves, who we hold to 30% shooting. Camby makes player of the game from the bench, with 9/10 shooting, a 19 point, 3 rebound, 2 assist, 3 block game in 23 minutes. He's the highest scorer in a game where we had 7 in double digits. The score is 104-67. 14-1

at San Antonio Last game of the month is against the Spurs, and I can still remember Robinson ravaging us last year. He goes for 21 points, 6 rebounds and 4 blocks but they play amazing team defense, holding us to 37.2% shooting. Smith has a 16 point, 16 rebound, 4 block game but shoots poorly, as does everyone obviously. We go down 97-85 for our first loss in 15 games. [b]14-2[/b}

[Izulde]

I should strangle you for passing on AI.

But 14-2 is an awesome start... and a Shaq/Dream frontcourt... Wow! How is that panning out?