NBA 2k11: LA Clippers

[Johnny93g]

Road to the

April 13- A quick look at the results of the last few days in the race for the Western conference playoffs.

April 10- New Orelans 118, Memphis 103
The win for the Hornets bring them to within 1.5 games back of the Clippers with 2 games remaining. They are tied with Utah

April 11- New Orelans 102, Utah 112
Utah defeats the Hornets to eliminate them from the playoffs. Utah now trails LA by 1 game with just one game remaining for each team. On April 13th, the Clippers will host the Memphis Grizzlies, while Utah are home to Denver.

The Clippers won the season series over Utah 2-1, so that would suggest we have already clinched, but I'm not positive on how NBA2k11 would handle a tie, so as far as I'm concerned, nothing is clinched.

[Johnny93g]

April 13, 2011
Game 82
(27-54)vs(44-37)
Dec 11...112-64 Grizzlies win in LA
March 14...99-91 Clippers win in Memphis
April 5...94-86 Clippers win in Memphis

Win and we are win. Lose, and I'm not sure, but I think we are in no matter what happens with Utah. We hold the lead in the season series with them 2-1. So we should be safe.

Chris Kaman is suffering from back spasms. With his fragile injury history, he won't dress today. Channing Frye will start. Baron Davis reports to be 100% recovered from a minor ankle injury suffered a few days ago.

The Grizzlies had nothing to play for today, but Rudy Gay didn't get the message. Shot after shot, every possession, Gay was involved. The Grizzlies led at the half, behind Gay's 28 points and 8 rebounds. WOW. Nothing i did worked on him. He hit some three's, fadeaway's, dunk's, free throws....amazing performance

Eric Gordon did his best to keep us in the game, scoring 17 points himself. I did not like the way this game was going.

Gay settled down in the 2nd, as we held him to 9 points, but the Grizzlies spread the offense around. In the most important game of the year, we repeatedly gave up offensive rebounds, we missed layups, and had four seperate 0 point trips to the free throw line.

Gordon scored 26. Blake Griffin had 18 points and 15 rebounds, but it wasn't enough. We beat the Mavs and Rockets on the road, and lose to the Grizzlies at home.

Memphis 94
LA 89**


Whose feet are those?

Utah beat the Nuggests to finish at 44-38. The Clippers finish at 44-38. Tie breaker time. I think we are in, but i'm not sure. Stay tuned...

Up next: Playoffs I hope

**No boxscore. I advanced to the playoffs to see if i made it. I can no longer view the screen to upload boxscores anymore. Weird design decison.

[Johnny93g]

April 15- The NBA announced the league leaders for the 2010-11 season

Kevin Durant- OKC Thunder
29.4 PPG


Dwight Howard- Orlando Magic
12.9 rpg


Chris Paul- New Orleans Hornets
10.3 apg


Chris Paul- New Orleans Hornets
2.8 spg


Josh Smith- Atlanta Hawks

[Johnny93g]

Not-quite Final NBA Standings**

**When I advanced to see if i made the playoffs, i was unable to upload the last box score of the year. Each box score includes upto date standings and stats. Because of this, i am unable to upload the final standings for the season. Here are the standings from April 10, about 6 days before the season ended. It's the best I'm gonna do. You should note that the final standings did end up differently then they show here.

[Johnny93g]

Final LA Clippers stats***

*Minutes per game is obviously incorrect.
**RPG is Defensive rebounds per game.
*** Same as the Final stats above. Stupid design decision in the game

[Johnny93g]

April 15- The LA Clippers have qualified for the 2011 NBA Playoffs. The Clippers finished the regular season with a 44-38 record, the same record as the Utah Jazz. The Clippers won the season series against Utah, and therefor win the tie breaker for the 8th seed in the western conference.

For the 1st time in history, the battle of LA will take place. The #1 seed LA Lakers will take on the #8 seed LA Clippers in the first round of the NBA Playoffs. Both teams call Staples center home, so travel will not be an issue.

The Clippers find themselves on unfamiliar ground. It's the 8th time in the 41 year franchise history that the team's earned a playoff birth. Since moving to LA, the Clippers have won just 1 playoff series, beating the Denver Nuggets in 2006.

The 44 wins is the 3rd best win total in LA Clippers history.

The Lakers are heavy favourites. At 55-27, they finished with the best record in the NBA, including 3 out of 4 games against the Clippers.

Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, Ron Artest and company are the two time defending NBA champions

[Johnny93g]

#1 Los Angeles Lakers (55-27
vs
#8 Los Angeles Clippers (44-38)



#4 Houston Rockets(50-32)
vs
#5 Phoenix suns(50-32)



#3 Dallas Mavericks (50-32)
vs
#6 San Antonio Spurs (47-35)



#2 Oklahoma City Thunder (51-31)
vs
#7 Denver Nuggets (47-35)

[Johnny93g]

#1 Chicago Bulls (52-30)
vs
#8 Detroit Pistons (33-49)



#4 Boston Celtics(50-32)
vs
#5 New Jersey Nets(50-32)



#3 Orlando Magic (51-31)
vs
#6 Milwaukee Bucks (50-32)



#2 Miami Heat (52-30)
vs
#7 Atlanta Hawks (39-43)

[Johnny93g]

April 16, 2011
Game 1
Western Conference Quarter Final
vs

Chris Kaman is still having issues with his back, but he will start today. It's not everyday the Clippers are in the playoffs. Suck it up and deal with it.

The Crowd was really into it. Game 1. The battle of L.A. Kobe and company got started quickly, with a 10-2 run. We got a lesson in playoff basketball. It was quicker, more intense. Mistakes will cost us.

After settling down, we actually had a good 1st quarter. Blake Griffin wasn't feeling the pressure at all. He hit his 1st 4 shots and had 10 points in the first 10 minutes. We led 26-21 after a quarter

When the backups came in, that's when we started struggling. Channing Frye wasn't making his shots. DeAndre Jordan wasn't rebounding, and whoever was guarding Kobe was doing a poor job. Kobe scored 14 in the quarter and 22 in the half. Pau Gasol made all 5 of his shots, and a promising 1st quarter was now a 1st half deficit.

I love the way we responed in the 3rd. Eric Gordon attacked Kobe every chance he got. Foul trouble forced Kobe out of the game. We were able to go up by as much as 6 late in the quarter. Kobe returned for the last minute, and single handedly brought the Lakers back. Tie game after three.

The 4th quarter would be a lesson learned. How to win a playoff game. The Lakers went to work. Artest hit a couple threes. Gasol was grabbing offensive rebounds, Kobe was getting to the foul line. They forced turnover after turnover. Infact, Baron Davis ended up with a double double. 10 assists, 10 turnovers. The Lakers did a great job of jumping into the passing lanes. They won the turnover battle 16-7.

Kobe scored 37, Gasol had 21 points and 10 rebounds as the Lakers beat the Clippers 111-101

(Another weird design decision. I can't upload box scores for playoff games, so I put this together, it gets the job done)


Kobe scores 37 in game 1

up next: game 2 @ Lakers

[Johnny93g]

April 18, 2011
Game 2
Western Conference Quarter Final
vs
Game 1: Clippers 101 @ Lakers 111

We started game 2 with the mindset of making the Lakers beat us. Less turnover's, limit the fast break, and make them score on contested shots. The plan was working. We actually won the 1st quarter turnover battle 5-1. We played good defense, and yet, we only led by 3 after 1 quarter.

The 2nd quarter started with what might be the biggest play of the series. Two minutes in, Kobe Bryant looked to have a clear lane to the hoop, he took off only to be met mid-air by Eric Bledsoe. Both men tumbled to the floor. Bryant got up holding his shoulder and took himself out of the game. After a few minutes, news came that Bryant would not be returning tonight! What an opportunity!

Kobe was awesome in game 1. With him out, we had a golden opportunity to steal game 2. This was our chance. Who knows how long he'll be out, he'll probably be back for game 3. This became a must win.

We turned it up after the injury, but give the Lakers alot of credit. They are not easy to score on. And they kept coming back. Every time i thought i was about to put some distance between us, they would come back. It was frustrating.

We went back and forth for the rest of the game. Neither team could gain much of an edge. It wasn't until the last 5 minutes before control was taken.

Channing Frye, and Ryan Gomes and Sonny Weems hit 3 straight three pointers to give us a 7 point lead. The Lakers tried, and did respond, but it wasn't enough to overcome that deficit. Eric Gordon hit 6 free throws in the final minute, and we held on to win by 5!!

After the game, we recieved news that Kobe had suffered a separated shoulder. He would be out 2-4 weeks! That means he's out for the series. All of a sudden, the Battle of LA just got a bit more interesting

Eric Gordon with a game high 27 in game 2

up next: game 3 @ Clippers

[Johnny93g]

April 19- The NBA has announced that JR Smith of the Utah Jazz is the winner of the 2010-11 Sixth man of the year award. JR Smith was acquired by Utah on Jan 14th in a trade with the Denver Nuggets. He averaged 17.3ppg, 4.2rpg, and 3.6apg.

JR Smith wins the 6th man award

[Johnny93g]

April 20, 2011
Game 3
Western Conference Quarter Final
vs
Game 1: Clippers 101 @ Lakers 111
Game 2: Clippers 90 @ Lakers 85

With Kobe out, and our game 2 win, all the momentum was in our corner. I was feeling really good about our chances. Game 3 shifts the series to the staples center, the same arena that hosted game's 1 and 2. We get our court today though.

The crowd was into this one. Clippers fan's were making some noise. We fed off them to start the game. We scored 8 of the first 10 points, and led 15-7 at the halfway point of the quarter. Baron Davis had 5 assists and was creating for everyone. The Lakers stormed back with a 20-7 run of their own to win the 1st quarter. Still i liked what i was seeing from the offense.

Eric Bledsoe started the 2nd quarter right, getting in the lane and finishing an acrobatic layup. Jason Williams responded for the Lakers. Problem was he responded with 10 points, and the Lakers put up 15 straight points. This is what they call a meltdown. Nothing went right, we couldn't hold on to the ball, make a pass, hit a shot, play any defense. Before we knew what had hit us, it was essentially over. 34-11 was the 2nd quarter tally.

The 3rd and 4th were uneventfull. I played my starters most of the way, not wanting to give them any time off. I was still trying to comeback. I wasn't expecting to win or anything, respectability was the goal.

Credit Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum for really stepping up in Kobe's absence. Gasol dominated Blake Griffin and Bynum's 19 points and 12 rebounds off the bench was more then we could deal with.

Game 3. A total failure.

[


The Lakers smothered Baron Davis and the Clippers

up next: game 4 @ Clippers

[Johnny93g]

April 21- The NBA has announced that Avery Johnson of the New Jersey Nets is the winner of the 2010-11 Coach of the year award. Avery Johnson coached the New Jersey Nets to a 50-32 record. A 38 win improvement over the previous season. This is the 2nd time Johnson has won the award. He was the 2005-06 coach of the year with the Dallas Mavericks.

Avery Johnson is the coach of the year

[Johnny93g]

April 22, 2011
Game 4
Western Conference Quarter Final
vs
Game 1: Clippers 101 @ Lakers 111
Game 2: Clippers 90 @ Lakers 85
Game 3: Lakers 105 @ Clippers 80

What a debacle game 3 turned out to be. The Kobe injury seemed to expire every Laker to step up and produce that much more. They didn't miss Kobe at all. Our job to today is to make them miss them. It's game 4, and today's game will mark whether this series is remembered as a classic, or just another 1st round Lakers victory.

The crowd is electric again. It's giving us lots of energy, and we are off and running early. Blake Griffin coming off a very poor outing, gets 2 highlight real dunks in the opening minutes, and the crowd loved it. Baron Davis is again running the offense beautifully. He's finding open shots for everyone. It seems like Blake Griffin can't miss, and for a while, he can't. He makes his 1st 5 shots, and finishes the quarter with 15 points, 6 rebounds. We are able to eclipse the 30 point mark and lead 31-24 after 1.

I've learned that when my 2nd team is in the game, it's best to slow the game down. The Lakers are so good at getting mismatches and exploiting any weakness. So the plan is to rest the starters, with as few shots going up as possible. Blake Griffin was so good in the 1st, I bring him hack early, and he doesn't disappoint. He's immediately doubled every time he touched the ball. Blake is able to pick up 5 assists in the quarter. The Lakers really struggled on offense. They relied on the 3 and it wasn't falling. Jason Williams who couldn't miss in the 2nd during game 3, missed all 4 of his shots, and we had a commanding lead at halftime.

Blake Griffin's halftime numbers were gaudy. 20 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists!

Our 54-40 lead was extended to 19 midway through the 3rd. Cue the comeback. Lamar Odom went off. He was unstoppable keying a 10-0 Laker run. We managed to get a few buckets here and there, but the were not going away. Midway through the 4th, the lead was cut to 4.

My response was to go back to the sure thing. Blake Griffin was having a career night, on a national stage, in the playoffs, against the defending champion Lakers. He did not let us down. He made jump shots, fast break layups, split double teams, and a few monster dunks. Every time we needed a basket, we went through Blake. The double team wasn't working. Blake's 8 assists punished the Lakers. His performance led the Clippers to a game 4 victory, tying the series at 2!!

42 points, 22 rebounds, 8 assists. Blake Griffin

Orlando has eliminated the Milwaukee Bucks in 4 games, while the Houston Rockets swept the Phoenix Suns.


Unstoppable

up next: game 5 @ Lakers

[Johnny93g]

April 23- The NBA has announced that Terrence Williams of the New Jersey Nets is the winner of the 2010-11 Most Improved Player award. Williams improved his play all across the board. His scoring averaged went up 4.5ppg to 12.9, his rebounding is upto 6.5 from 4.5, and he's averaging almost 5 assists a game. Williams also managed to double his steals total from last year.

Terrence Williams, the NBA's most improved player

[Johnny93g]

April 24, 2011
Game 5
Western Conference Quarter Final
vs
Game 1: Clippers 101 @ Lakers 111
Game 2: Clippers 90 @ Lakers 85
Game 3: Lakers 105 @ Clippers 80
Game 4: Lakers 93 @ Clippers 101

The best part of this series has to be the travel. There is none. We're on the road today, but we came from our homes, sitting in our own dressing room. It beats an actual road game.

Game 5's are pivotal. A win today, and we get 2 chances to pull the upset. We're ready, I'm sure the Lakers were ready, lets go.

Defense was the name of the game early on. Both teams were moving their feet and contesting shots. Blake Griffin who scored 15 in the 1st period during game 4, was being guarded very closely. He managed 6 points, but not 1 rebound. Baron Davis picked up 2 quick fouls, and left the game pretty early. I haven't really trusted Eric Bledsoe much during the playoffs, but here was his chance. He didn't take it.

With the Clippers leading by 3 after 1, Bledsoe was the catalyst for a mini run by the Lakers. He missed 3 straight shots, including 2 layups, hit 1 out of 2 free throws, and threw the ball away twice, as the Lakers had the lead. Maybe I'm being hard on him, but he needs to be better. Marcus Banks came in to see his first action fo the series. He was ok, scored a bit, ran the offense, but the Lakers were off and running.

It was the defense which fed the offense. We had a devil of a time scoring, and the Lakers opened up a 5 point lead at half time. Kobe replacement, Shannon Brown had 11 points, and 2 highlight reel alley-oops, that had the pro-Laker crowd on their feet.

The 3rd quarter didn't go to well. Baron Davis picked up his 4th foul early on, and again was on the bench. We went through a 5 minute span making 1 field goal, while the Lakers built their lead to 15, and then 20.

We started making a run, and 3 minutes into the 4th, the 20 point lead had been cut to 9. Baron Davis then picked up #5 and #6, he was done, and so were the Clippers. Bledsoe and Banks played the remainder, but it was all elementary. The Lakers cruised to a easy 22 point win, and a 3-2 series lead.

Oklahoma City beats Denver in what might be Carmelo Anthony's final game in Denver. The Thunder advance in 5. The Heat beat Atlanta in 5, while the Bulls eliminate the worst team to make the playoffs, Detroit in 5


Steve Blake scores 2 of his ten game 5 points

up next: game 6 @ Clippers

[Johnny93g]

I've actually finished the season, and am in the process of finishing the updates. I just like to spread out the updates a bit. Anyway, is there any interest in me continuing this into the offseason and year 2?

[gi]

I'm enjoying the dynasty

[duff88]

I'm reading as well.

I do understand that it must be quite time consuming, but you've got a reader here.

[thehitcat]

I am reading it an enjoying it as well...though as a Celtics fan I like anything that might take the Lake show out.

[Johnny93g]

Thanks guys. It's only a chore if i don't enjoying doing it anymore, and that's not the case. The game is still fun, and the dynasty is still fun. I'll keep it going for another season

[Johnny93g]

April 25- The NBA has announced that Blake Griffin of the Los Angeles Clippers is the winner of the 2010-11 Rookie of the Year Award. Blake Griffin, drafted 1st overall in the 2009 NBA draft, missed all of the 2009-10 NBA season with a stress fracture of the left knee. He returned this season to post 16ppg, 8.6 rpg, and 1.6 assists. Griffin is the 1st Clipper to win the award since the team moved to Los Angeles from San Diego. Terry Cumming of the San Diego Clippers won in 1983.

Blake Griffin's latest award

[Johnny93g]

April 26, 2011
Game 6
Western Conference Quarter Final
vs
Game 1: Clippers 101 @ Lakers 111
Game 2: Clippers 90 @ Lakers 85
Game 3: Lakers 105 @ Clippers 80
Game 4: Lakers 93 @ Clippers 101
Game 5: Clippers 78 @ Lakers 100

We face elimination tonight. I know what needs to be done. Blake Griffin needs to be a factor. Baron Davis needs to be on the court. We need to stop the Lakers long offensive runs. We do these things, I like the chances of a game 7.

We acomplished these things in the first half. Mainly, the Lakers were not able to go on any extended runs. Griffin had 13 points, and Baron Davis played the whole 1st quarter. I decided that Marcus Banks would back up Davis at the point today. I guess I'm just wary of the rookie Bledsoe running the point in the playoffs. Banks twisted his ankle after 4 minutes of playing time and left the game. 4 minutes after that, Baron Davis twisted his ankle, and also left the game. Eric Bledsoe came in to play the final 3 minutes of the half, and the Lakers cut the 9 point lead we had to 4.

During halftime, we recieved news that Banks was done for today, but Davis would be able to continue. I moved Eric Gordon to the point, while Davis would play the shooting guard spot. Just a way to help out a hurting Baron Davis. Eric Gordon was horrible today. His jumpshot was flat, he got a bunch of inside shots blocked, nothing was going right. We still managed to keep a 4-5 point lead throughout the quarter

When Eric Bledsoe came in to give Gordon a rest, the Lakers went off. They cut the lead to 1 by the end of the quarter, and built a 7 point lead in the 4th. With 6 and a half minutes remaining in our season, it was 79-72 Lakers. Eric Gordon was 3/18 on the game when he unloaded a three from the top of the key. Swish. Our next possesion saw Frye kick it out to a wide open Gordon, another 3, swish. Gordon then stole the ball, came the court, and took one more three. Swish. 9 points, 46 seconds. Clippers lead

Channing Frye added another three after the Lakers timeout, and the game was as good as over. What a swing. Gordon shot 7/24 today, had turnover problems, in his worst game of the playoffs. And he won the game!

The Boston Celtics defeat the overachieving New Jersey Nets 4 games to 2.


Chris Kaman challenges a Pau Gasol shot during game 6

up next: game 7 @ Lakers

[Johnny93g]

April 28, 2011
Game 7
Western Conference Quarter Final
vs
Game 1: Clippers 101 @ Lakers 111
Game 2: Clippers 90 @ Lakers 85
Game 3: Lakers 105 @ Clippers 80
Game 4: Lakers 93 @ Clippers 101
Game 5: Clippers 78 @ Lakers 100
Game 6: Lakers 90 @ Clippers 98

Game 7. Staples Center. Lakers. Clippers. It's probably the biggest game in Clippers history, and i expect it to be the toughest. Baron Davis will start on a tender ankle. Like game 6, he'll be playing the 2 while Eric Gordon is at the point.

The Lakers came out flat. It was probably their worst stretch of the season. After the 1st half, the numbers were not pretty. 32 points, 28% shooting. This was the opposite of what I expected. They played good defense though. We struggled as well offensively. Not quite as bad though and led 43-32 at the half. Gordon was a beast. He rebounded from his poor game 6 amazingly well. He shot 7/10 in the 1st half, 18 points, 6 assists.

Phil Jackson's halftime talk worked wonders. It was a different Laker team in the 2nd half. Ron Artest bombed away from 3 point land, and Shannon Brown kept getting to the net. The offensive surge hurt their defensive game, as we were able to stay with them. The 3rd quarter ended with a real game going on. Clippers led by 3. 11 minutes to play.

The Lakers scored the 1st four points in the quarter to grab their first lead of the game. I quickly brought Eric Gordon back into the game, as he was clearly having an amazing night. Like he had done for 3 quarters, he started to dominate. His jump shot was working, and his teammates were converting his passes. Gordon engineered a 10-2 run to give us a 7 point lead. The Lakers chipped away for the remainder of the quarter. They chipped away but they couldn't catch us. Eric Gordon made 6 free throws in the final 30 seconds, and the Lakers came up short. Today they really missed Kobe Bryant. Infact, i think we lose in 5 if Kobe is healthy.

Eric Gordon put up one of the greatest Clippers playoff perfomances. 38 points, 10 assists, 8 rebounds. Clippers beat the Lakers 4 games to 3 for their 2nd playoffs series win in LA Clippers history!

The Dallas Mavericks beat the San Antonio spurs in game 7 to advance in the 2nd round.


Phil Jackson urging Lamar Odom to do good things during game 7

up next: 2nd round vs. Rockets

[Johnny93g]

April 29- The NBA has announced that Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic is the winner of the 2010-11 Defensive Player of the Year. Dwight Howard wins the award for the 3rd straight season. He averaged 12.9 rpg, 1.5 spg, and 2bpg. This is the third straight season that Dwight Howard has won the award

[Johnny93g]

#4 Houston Rockets(50-32)
vs
#8 Los Angeles Clippers (44-38)



#3 Dallas Mavericks (50-32)
vs
#2 Oklahoma City Thunder (51-31)





#1 Chicago Bulls (52-30)
vs
#4 Boston Celtics(50-32)



#3 Orlando Magic (51-31)
vs
#2 Miami Heat (52-30)

[Johnny93g]

April 30, 2011
Game 1
Western Conference Semi Final
vs

Houston beat the crap out of Phoenix in round 1. A clean sweep. They were rested, almost a full week off. We just finished a 7 game marathon with our older, better looking brother, and won. This was gonna be even tougher. A fresh team, on the road, in the 2nd round. It's the playoffs, it aint supposed to be easy

Houston got off to a quick start as expected. They have assembled a dangerous team. Aaron Brooks, Travis Outlas and Kevin Martin can score from anywhere. Yao Ming can dominate the middle with his size and scoring touch, and Leandro Barbosa is one of the fastest players in the league. He's capable of winning a game with a 3 minutes spurt.

They all started hot, and they didn't cool down. Outlaw scored the 1st 6 points, Brooks made a 3, and Yao beat Kaman to the net for a slam dunk. 11-0. Time out.

I wish I could say we came back, that we battled, that we made this a game. I can't. The Rockets had their way with us. Both offensively and defensively. They outhustled us, out rebounded us, and embarrassed us.

I hope this effort was the result of them being fresh, and us being tired, because if it isn't, the series will be over very soon

Travis Outlaw brings the crowd to their feet

up next: game 2 @ Rockets

[Johnny93g]

May 2, 2011
Game 2
Western Conference Semi Final
vs
Game 1: Clippers 92 @ Rockets 118

If obvious after the 1st quarter what the problem is. Our defense is like swiss cheese. 32 more points against after 1, and I didn't have any answers. The Rockets were firing on all cylanders. During the 2nd quarter, our offense stopped working. We shot just 32% in the first half, and trailed 59-38

Early in the 2nd half, Eric Gordon sprained his ankle. He left for a few minutes. The trainer gave me the news that he could return. Gordon wrapped his ankle, and came back into the game. He was playing with a noticeable limp. Despite this, Gordon did a good job. He shot 4/5 from 3 point range, and grabbed 10 rebounds

None of this would be enough. Aaron Brooks made 3 straight threes, to eliminate any progress we had made early in the 3rd, and the game was essentially over. Alarming is that Blake Griffin only grabbed 3 rebounds. He's battling Yao Ming, Ben Wallace, and Reggie Evans, probably the best rebounding unit in the league. If they keep Griffin off the boards, we're done.

**
Final was actually 116-90 Rockets


Aaron Brooks has the Rockets unbeaten in the playoffs

up next: game 3 @ Clippers

[Johnny93g]

May 4, 2011
Game 3
Western Conference Quarter Final
vs
Game 1: Clippers 92 @ Rockets 118
Game 2: Clippers 90 @ Rockets 116

Staples center host's game 3 tonight. I feel good being back home. The atmosphere should definatley help us. Eric Gordon is still banged up for this one. I would say he's around 80%, but you suck it up and play this time of year. We need to stop the offensive onslaught that is the Houston Rockets. They score in spurts that just take us out of the game. If we can do that, i think the offense will come around

Early in the 1st, like minutes into the game, Eric Gordon came down on the bad ankle and tumbled to the floor. He was unable to put any weight on it. I recieved word from our trainer later in the game that he suffered a grade 2 sprain, and would need 2-4 weeks to recover. Gordon was gone for the series. Great

Sonny Weems did very little replacing Gordon, so I brought in Marcus Banks, our 3rd string pg, and salary throw in from the Weems deal. Banks was a sparkplug, leading us to a 31 points 1st quarter and a 3 points lead.

The Rockets responded by shutting down the doorway to the basket in the 2nd to regain the lead at halftime. They would be short for the rest of the game as Kevin Martin was forced to leave. It turns out he hurt his achilies and was out for the series.

Early in the 3rd, Aaron Brooks stole the ball and drove to the net. Blake Griffin wasn't in the mood to allow and freebies and crashed into Brooks. Both went down hard. Brooks grabbed his shoulder and took himself out of the game. He suffered a seperated shoulder and was done for a month.

Speaking of Griffin, he found his way under the net again. Griffin had 8 first half rebounds and was stepping up the scoring with Gordon out. Sonny Weems had 2 points in the first half, but caught fire in the 3rd quarter. Weems heated up to the tune of 11 straight point. He couldn't miss. The Rockets took 2 timeouts to settle down, but it kept pouring. We used the Weems outburst to score 37 3rd quarter points. Clippers aint done yet.

Going into the 4th with a 10 point lead felt good. I felt we finally had these guys. The Rockets went back to playing defense. Blake Griffin and Marcus Banks were the only ones able to score. They shut us down, and turned us over. Leandro Barbosa made 2 late three's, and a layup for to cut the lead to 2 late in the game. In the final seconds, Victor Claver found himself open at the top of the 3 point line. He rattled it in, with just 6 seconds remaining. Time out Clippers

Trailing by 1, and my usual goto guy, Eric Gordon, out, it was Blake Griffin's turn. On the inbound, they doubled Griffin right away, I passed out to Baron Davis, who drove the baseline. I went up with Ben Wallace for a layup, Davis reversed under the net, but the ball hit the bottom cylander and never had a chance. 3-0 Rockets

Marcus Banks replaced Eric Gordon during game 3

up next: game 4 @ Clippers

[Johnny93g]

May 5- The NBA has announced their regular season all-star selections. The 1st, 2nd and 3rd all-nba teams appear below

1st team
----
Dwight Howard Kevin Durant Lebron James Chris Paul Dwayne Wade

2nd Team
----
Pau Gasol Carmelo Anthony Gerald Wallace Kobe Bryant Tyreke Evans

3rd Team
----
Al Jefferson Tim Duncan Danny Granger Steve Nash Deron Williams

[Johnny93g]

May 5- The NBA has announced their regulars season all defensive team's yesterday

1st team
----
Dwight Howard Josh Smith Lebron James Tyreke Evans Dwayne Wade

2nd Team
----
Marcus Camby Andrei Kirilenko Gerald Wallace Manu Ginobili Andre Iguodala

[Johnny93g]

May 5- The NBA has announced their regulars season all rookie team's yesterday

1st team
----
DeMarcus Cousins Al Aminu Evan Turner Wesley Johnson Blake Griffin

2nd Team
----
Terrico White Gordon Hayward Tiago Splitter Derrick Favors Eric Bledsoe

[Johnny93g]

May 6, 2011
Game 4
Western Conference Quarter Final
vs
Game 1: Clippers 92 @ Rockets 118
Game 2: Clippers 90 @ Rockets 116
Game 3: Rockets 102 @ Clippers 101

There isn't much to say about this one. After a good 1st half, where we led 6, we were outscored 29-11 in the 3rd quarter. It killed us. We had no fight left. The season ends after a sweep by the 8-0 Rockets. The way Houston's playing, they have to be favourites to come out of the west.

Boston beats Chicago in 5 games
Oklahoma City defeats Dallas in 6 games
The Heat need 7 games to get by the Magic


[i]Travis Outlaw scored a game high 31 in game 4/I]

up next: the rest of the playoffs

[Johnny93g]

#4 Houston Rockets(50-32)
vs
#2 Oklahoma City Thunder (51-31)


[IMG][/IMG]

#4 Boston Celtics(50-32)
vs
#2 Miami Heat (52-30)

[Johnny93g]

May 10- The NBA has announced that Lebron James of the Miami Heat is the winner of the 2010-11 MVP. Lebron James in his first season with the Miami Heat, wins the award for the 3rd straight year. He averaged 24.9 ppg, 8.1rpg, and 8.8 apg.

[Johnny93g]

vs



vs.

[Johnny93g]

vs

The winners, and champions of the world:

Spoiler

The Boston Celtics win the series 4-3. Rajan Rondo is named finals MVP

[Johnny93g]

Following the Boston Celtics 18th NBA championship, 25 players filed retirement papers with the NBA, including the following

• Anthony Parker
• Shaquille O'neal
• Jerry Stackhouse
• Jason Williams
• Joe Smith
• Kurt Thomas
• Antonio McDyess
• Marcus Camby

[Johnny93g]

Shaquille O'neal is the newest member of the Basketball Hall of fame. O'neal played for 6 teams over 19 years. He won 5 championships. 3 with the Lakers, 1 with the Heat, and 1 with the Celtics. He played in 15 all-star games, won the 1993 rookie of the year, won the 1999-2000 MVP award and was Finals MVP on three seperate occasions.

**

2010 stats are from real life, not 2k11

[Johnny93g]

The Los Angeles Clippers have made a few minor moves as the offseason gets going.

DeAndre Jordan was resigned to a 2 year contract, while PF Brian Cook exercised his player option. He returns to the team for 1.27 million.

--
Returning to LA

Willie Warren's team option of 807k was declined. It looks unlikely that Warren will return to LA next season. Warren spent much of 2010-11 playing with the Bakersfield Jam of the NBDL

Won't be back?

[Johnny93g]

The NBA coaching carousel was in full swing. Several coaching changes were announced in the last few weeks.

• Jerry Sloan has left the Jazz to coach the Sacramento Kings after Utah failed to qualify for the playoffs
• Utah has hired Chase Shaw
• Paul Westphal takes over the Denver Nuggets, will Carmelo Anthony be back?
• Minnesota hires Jim Obrien, after he lost his Pacers job mid season
• The Pacers have hired Jefferey Burns, who has no NBA coaching experience
• George Karl is now in charge of the Detroit Pistons
• Jake Garret is now Head Coach of the Houston Rockets after the retirement of Rick Adleman

[Johnny93g]

The NBA draft took place last night in New York City. Here are the results of the 1st round including the deals that took place.



**Milwaukee Bucks trade pick 20 in the 2011 NBA entry draft(Jeremy Tyler) and pick 52 in the 2011 NBA entry draft to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Martell Webster and Kosta Koufos

***The Dallas Mavericks trade pick 23 in the 2011 NBA entry draft(Maalik Wayans) and Brendan Haywood to the Los Angeles Lakers for Matt Barnes and Andres Nocioni

The Sacramento Kings trade the 32nd pick in the 2011 NBA entry draft(Kalin Lucas) and Antoine Wright to the Toronto Raptors for Luis Scola

The Golden State Warriors trade the 38th pick in the 2011 NBA entry draft(Willis Reed) and Dorell Wright to the Utah Jazz for Gordon Hayward and Utah’s 2nd round pick in the 2012 NBA entry draft

The Orlando Magic trade the 56th pick in the 2011 NBA entry draft () and Quentin Richardson to the New Jersey Nets for Damion Jones

The Oklahoma City Thunder trade the 57th pick in the 2011 NBA entry draft() and James Posey to the Sacramento Kings for Beno Udrih

We selected Jimmer Fredette, a 6’2 point guard out of BYU. He was probably the player I was most interested for a few months. I sent scouts to see him 5 times, twice more then anyone else. Out scouts thought he has a great shot, if he’s open the shot’s going in. He’s a leader, he’s very good at managing games, and a solid perimeter defender. A 4 year college player, he’s also mature, and should be ready to see some minutes. I am very happy with this pick.

Our 2nd round pick is Kenneth Fariad. He’s a 6’8 power forward out of Morehead state. Fariad was the top player on our board. He’s a good rebounder. He’s athletic. He’ll probably spend most of this season in the D-league, put he’s an interesting project.

[Johnny93g]

Now that the draft is over, the Free Agency period began. NBA2k11 gives you a 23 day period for this. We renounced the rights to Marcus Banks, Craig Smith, Tony Thompson and Willie Warren



The Phoenix Suns, Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers are the big winners of the summer season in my opinion.

The Suns signed the biggest prize of all, in Carmelo Anthony I couldn't beat the Suns last season, I don't even want to try this year!

Golden State signed a number of nice pieces. Andrei Kirilenko, Troy Murphy, Jamal Crawford and TJ Ford None of them are stars, but all of a sudden, the Warriors are very deep.

Cleveland picks up to very nice players in Wilson Chandler and Glen Davis Two young players who will play big roles in Cleveland.

The NBA Celtics are the biggest losers. After losing Shaq O'neal to retirement, Glen Davis and Kendrick Perkins bolt. The are getting older, and losing depth.

In LA, Sonny Weems refused to resign. I low balled an offer to him, which he didn't take to well. To replace him, we found a nice deal in Raja Bell. A veteran shooting guard who will back up Eric Gordon. Ryan Gomes has requested a trade. He's miserable. He's a 69 who'll be playing like a 61 right now. That's pretty unhappy. With that anticipated trade, we signed Josh Howard. Howard is a versatile swingman, who'll start and split time at SF with Al Aminu. I believe these 2 veteran signings will add alot to the team.

[Johnny93g]

2011-12 Los Angeles Clippers

#3 Al-Farouq Aminu- Entering his 2nd season, I have higher hopes today and last year. He's a capable scorer, with the potential to to be a complete player. His catch and shoot release is excellent, solid rebounder.

#12 Eric Bledsoe- Stock has dropped in my books. Will be competing with rookie Fredette for playing time to start the season. I didn't trust him late in the season

#19 Jimmer Fredette- We scouted him 4 times, and the scouts love his shot. They think he can be a great playmaker, and has the intangibles to be a winner. He was my target the whole draft. I'm very happy this selection

#7 Raja Bell- I like this signing. He will be very capable backup. There's a good chance he won't recieve the minutes he needs to be happy, but that's something to deal with later.

#34 Brian Cook- He returns after a up and down effort last year. I played him when he was hitting his shot. When the shot went cold, he spent time in behind the bench in a suit. He'll get a chance.

#5 Baron Davis- At 32, he's lost a little since last season. Ratings are starting to go down, but he's still the best pg on the team, and capable of starting for alot of teams.

#13 Josh Howard- I am loving him already. He can score, rebound and defend. I doubt we'll run many plays for him, but he will fill the stat sheet.

#15 Ryan Gomes- Want's to be traded. I won't give him away. I'll be patient waiting for the right deal to improve the team. Ideally, a younger player who has some time to develop.

#10 Eric Gordon- Our best player last season. He's a better shooter this year, and I expect him to increase his scoring.

#32 Blake Griffin- Rookie of the year, is capable of big things. He and Gordon form a top duo in the league, at least that's the goal

#9 Deandre Jordan- I was happy with what Jordan was able to do last year. He's a good rebounder, and a consistant scorer. He's could pass Channing Frye on the depth chart

#35 Chris Kaman- His number's suffered greatly from Blake Griffin's presence. I trust him though. I think he's a good center. He can shoot, his length is an asset defensively, and he's reliable from the foul line. He's frail though.

#1 Channing Frye- He's so streaky. He can score 15 points in 5 minutes, but too often, its a whole quarter of nothing. I need him to spread the floor when he's out there, if he's not doing that, he'll be on the bench

#11 Keneth Fariad- He's D-league material right now, but looks to be a ok fill in for injuries. We'll see how he develops this season. Signed for 2 years.

#1 Jake Robinson- Jake averaged 18ppg in the D-league last year. He's the 15th player on the roster, and young enough to stash in the D-league for another year. He's one dimensional right now. A great 3-point shooter

[Johnny93g]

October 27, 2011
Game 1
vs

We open the new season on the road visiting the defending western conference champions. Great, a nice easy game to get us into it.

After sitting around and watching their banner being raised, we came out flat. We bricked shot after shot. Eric Gordon missed 4 straight free throws. That just doesn't happen.

We were able to hang tough for the 1st half. Josh Howard and Raja Bell made good first impressions. Howard is full of energy. He's all over the court. He's an upgrade over Ryan Gomes, who I still like. Raja Bell was the 4th best three point shooter last season. It's evident it will be hard to get him enough minutes to satisfy myself. He can flat out shoot. Jimmer Fredette had a nice debut. Made some nice passes, and hit a three.

The third quarter was our undoing. The Thunder just took over. The 7 point lead they had at the half was stretched to 21 after three. The 4th quarter was just playing out the game. Kevin Durant had 22, James Harden had 26, and Russel Westbrook was a rebound away from a triple double with 25 points and 10 assists

James Harden drives past newest Clipper Josh Howard

up next: @ Nets

[Johnny93g]

October 29, 2011
Game 2
(0-1)vs(1-0)

The Nets were the surprise team in the NBA last season. A 38 win improvement. They showed us why early. They are tough to guard. Anthony Morrow, and Devin Harris, spread the floor. Terrence Williams fills the land, while Robin Lopez and Derick Favors are tough to handle in the post. That lineup can score.

The Nets led early. We found ourselves in trouble until Raja Bell provided a nice spark off the bench. He is a great shooter. Best shooter on the team. He came into the game firing. Nine 2nd quarter points, were solely responsible for our deficit being managable at halftime.

We were clearly the better team in the 2nd. We got scoring from everyone. 6 players scored in double figures. We had a chance to win the game in the final seconds, but good defense forced Blake Griffin to attempt a 3 at the buzzer. It clanked off the rim and we went to overtime.

With the score tied at the end of the ot, we had the ball and another chance to win. This time, Eric Gordon missed a foul line jump shot and it was time for double overtime.

Josh Howard went off in the 2nd OT, Gordon, and Griffin helped start the period off with a 9-0 run, and the marathon came to an end.

Terrence Williams of the New Jersey Nets

up next: @ Pacers

[Johnny93g]

October 30, 2011
Game 3
(1-1)vs(2-0)

#1 pick Harrison Barnes is in the lineup for the Pacers today. He's scoring 16ppg in his first 2 games. Zach Randolph is also a member of the Pacers this year.

They look like a playoff team now. What a difference a year makes. The Pacers outplayed us the whole game. They were a little better each quarter. Eric Gordon was 6/21, while Blake Griffin was dominated on the boards.

Danny Granger had a great day. 28 points. Barnes scored 15, grabbed 7 rebounds and dished out 5 assists, while Zach Randolph scored 15 himeself. It wasn't as close as the score suggests.

Baron Davis throws a pass to Eric Gordon

up next: vs. Celtics

[Johnny93g]

Oct 31- The Boston Celtics and Washington Wizards have made the first deal of the 2011-12 NBA season.

--
Yi Jianlian Trevor Booker



Jermaine O'Neal

[Johnny93g]

November 1, 2011
Game 4
(0-2)vs(1-2)

The Celtics have lost alot of the depth they have had the last few years. Kendrick Perkins, Glen Davis, Shaquile O'Neal and now Jermaine O'neal. Those are significant losses. 2nd round pick Fab Melo out of Syracuse starts at center now. Luke Harondody, Semih Erden, Trevor Booker and Yi Jianlian are the replacements. Which group would you rather have.

The defending champs got off the a quick start. Seems like everyone's doing that these days. The turning point came in the 2nd quarter. Blake Griffin bumped Kevin Garnett after a baseline jump shot. Garnett grabbed his wonky back, and exited the game. He's reportedly out 2 weeks with a lower back strain.

This is where the Celtics missed the depth of the previous year. We stormed back and trailed by just 1 at the half. Rajan Rondo was terrific. 16 points and 13 assists. He kept the Celtics going. When he left the game, we would make our runs.

This was a game that the Celtics should have killed us, but the Garnett injury gave us a chance to win. Trailing by 2, and only seconds remaining, Eric Gordon was double teamed. Chris Kaman popped open under the net. Gordon found Kaman who quickly and calmly dropped the through the net to force overtime.

The started quickly and led by 4. Gordon made a three. Stole the ball and converted the fast break lay up. The Celtics missed, and Josh Howard found his way to the net for the emphatic dunk. Despite the run, the Celtics trailed by 1 with the final possession. Paul Pierce was stripped by Josh Howard who grabbed the ball and launched a 3 quarter shot to kill the clock. Another escape by the Clippers, and our 3rd straight win over the Celtics.

Baron Davis and Ray Allen

up next: vs. Lakers

[Johnny93g]

November 3, 2011
Game 5
(2-2)vs(1-3)

The rematch between the Lakers and the Clippers gets going tonight. No doubt the Lakers are looking for blood. They don't like going out in the first round.

The Lakers mostly everybody back from last year. They did make a trade to grab Brendan Haywood, but he'll be a bench player.

We got off to another poor shooting start. I haven't really mentioned it, but our shooting has been horrible this season. Baron Davis, Jimmer Fredette, Eric Gordon, Channing Frye, and Chris Kaman have all been bad. Free throw shooting has been awful. Blake Griffin was 1/7 in the first half from the charity stripe. Bad shooting and bad defense. It's a sure fire way to get blown out, and that's what happened today.

It didn't look that way early, as we dominated the 2nd quarter. The 2nd half was horrible. The game wasn't as close as the score suggests. We finished it with a 14-2 run.

Lamar Odom makes a move to the net

up next: vs. Grizzlies