Ballin in the Big Easy | A New Orleans Hornets Story | NBA 2K11 Association

[rbaki4]

Editors Note: NBA 2K11 is the best sports game that I have ever had the privilege of playing. Last year, nostalgia hit me in the face and I decided I wanted to relive the memories of it. I picked up a copy and started up an association. A season and a half later, here I am wishing I had done something like this from the beginning. I figured better late then never though so I will catch everyone up with a brief synopsis of what has happened to this point. I lean heavily into realistic gameplay and play every single game on player lock, rotating positions each quarter. I found this to be the most enjoyable experience for me while still maintaining as much realism as possible (this game makes that pretty easy fortunately). This is also the first dynasty I’ve ever logged so please chime in with any advice you have or things you’d like to see! Hope you guys enjoy.

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2010-11 Season Summary: The Hornets got off to a brutal 0-9 start that in large part could be attributed to my rustiness with the controls. Once I was able to settle in with this team, they proved to be mostly a middle of the pack squad finishing 38-44, good for 9th in the West. We made a strong push late in the season and could have been a dangerous team in Round 1 against the top seed I think but ultimately fell just short. The main thing that hurt this squad was the fact that I could never get Chris Paul, our best player, going. He dealt with multiple injuries during the season and when he was on the court, struggled mightily with basically every aspect of his game. One of the bright spots of the team was Marcus Thornton, who filled the role of lead guard when Paul was injured. Thornton was a go to guy late in games when we needed a bucket. Complimenting him perfectly at the shooting guard sport was Marco Belinelli, a sharpshooter who had his best season as a pro. Also solid was David West, providing steady rebounding and post scoring.

Off-season: The main goal for the offseason was to move Chris Paul. After playing enough games with him, I knew it just wasn’t going to work but he still had a ton of value. My plan was to trade him for another star or a package of young players and picks and use the cap space freed by trading him to sign a big name. The focus became clearer when I ended up with the second pick in the draft lottery. This was an extremely lucky break admittedly, but one that I would use to my advantage. There were two elite point guards at the top of the board so I knew I could take one to replace Paul, ultimately selecting Jeffrey Goodwin out of Michigan State. Now it was time to make the trade. I found the perfect trade partner in the Knicks, as they had just acquired Kevin Love the previous season to pair with Amare Stoudemire in the frontcourt. While this improved their team, they still had a glaring hole at PG. At 29 yards old, acquiring Stoudemire seemed a little risky. Was his best basketball behind him? I knew that he was exactly the athletic big man I wanted to play with though. So I packaged Paul and West for Stoudemire, Danilo Galinari and a pick. This trade allowed me to still be competitive but also was forward looking. Unfortunately, I lost Marcus Thornton to restricted free agency (I still don’t understand how this works, I never got an opportunity to resign him!) but was able to bring back Bellineli (hello Italian bros w/Gallo). I also drafted a center, Jimmie Givens, with another first round pick I had from a prior trade. After a few other small additions to my bench, here was the roster going into the 11-12 season.

Starting Lineup:
PG: Jeffrey Goodwin - super athletic player who likes to get his own shot (sometimes too much)
SG: Marco Belinelli - Should be relied on less this season
SF: Trevor Ariza - Love his Swiss Army knife capabilities, want to see if he can grow as a third scorer this season
PF: Amare Stoudemire - Expecting a lot from him, he’ll be the focal point of the team
C: Emeka Okafor - Defense first center who was solid last season but I’m not sure he’s worth his contract
Sixth Man: Danilo Galinari - Slots in perfectly to provide shotmaking off the bench and can slide up to the 4 spot to stretch defenses
Key Bench Depth:
Jose Calderon - Backup PG who should be the perfect guy for Goodwin to learn from
Quincy Pondexter - Got quite a bit of run last year on the wing, was reliable but still trying to figure out when he can make his biggest impact
Jimmie Givens - Pretty raw center, figures to learn behind Okafor at least for this season
Mikael Pietrus - Signed in the offseason for cheap after no one wanted him, should provide shooting and perimeter defense off the bench

2011-12 Season Update: Nearly halfway through the season, the squad is 21-18 which actually has us 9th in the west again. This team is much different though and overall I’m happy with how we’ve played. Stoudemire has been a smashing success, having one of the best years of his career and in the league this season. The only problem is he’s missed 12 games with multiple injuries and is currently dealing with a separated shoulder for 1-2 weeks. We’ve treaded water without him, but there’s no doubt that this team would have a better record if he hadn’t missed any time. Galinari has also proven to be a solid addition, providing more than just strong shooting. Goodwin has been a TON of fun to play with. He’s averaging 20 ppg along with 8 apg and carrying the load while Amare is out but is extremely inefficient at this point in his career. He has shot us out of a few games. This isn’t helped by the poor play of Calderon, who is having a miserable season and is probably making too much money to trade. Overall though this team doesn’t have a ton of weaknesses. I’m looking forward to getting Stoudemire back so we can find some momentum again because this team can put together really good stretches when it is clicking.


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[rbaki4]

Game Settings
Game: NBA 2K11
System: PS3
Difficulty: All-Star w/slider tweaks for realism

[rbaki4]

Team Info
Current Record: 21-18
Western Conference Standing: 9th
Southwest Division Standing: 4th

Roster
#	NAME	POS	AGE	HT	WT	SALARY
12	Jeffery Goodwin	PG	21	6'2"	181	$3.96M
50	Emeka Okafor	C	29	6'10"	255	$12.54M
6	Danilo Gallinari	SF	23	6'10"	225	$4.19M
9	Amar'e Stoudemire	PF	29	6'10"	249	$17.50M
1	Trevor Ariza	SF	26	6'8"	210	$6.79M
20	Quincy Pondexter	SF	23	6'6"	225	$1.15M
8	Jose Calderon	PG	30	6'3"	210	$9.78M
44	Mickael Pietrus	SF	29	6'6"	215	$1.83M
33	Jimmie Givens	C	21	6'11"	264	$2.02M
4	Nick Collison	PF	31	6'10"	255	$480K
23	Chris Jennings	SG	24	6'6"	204	$480K
42	Tom Thompson	PF	25	6'10"	232	10 Day Contract
2	Jesse Price	PG	23	6'4"	184	$480K

Depth Chart
	STARTER	2ND	3RD	4TH
PG	Jeffrey Goodwin	Jose Calderon	Jesse Price
SG	Marco Belinelli	Chris Jennings	Jeffrey Goodwin	Mickael Pietrus
SF	Trevor Ariza	Danilo Gallinari	Quiny Pondexter	Mickael Pietrus
PF	Amare Stoudemire	Danilo Galinari	Nick Collison	Tom Thompson
C	Emeka Okafor	Jimmie Givens	Amare Stoudemire	Nick Collison

Statistics
Player	GP	MIN	PPG	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	TPG	FPG
Amar'e Stoudemire	27	971	24.8	10.3	1.9	1.4	1.0	1.4	2.0
Jeffery Goodwin	39	1255	20.2	3.3	8.3	1.2	0.2	3.4	1.3
Trevor Ariza	27	947	13.4	5.7	1.4	1.3	0.3	1.1	1.5
Emeka Okafor	39	1316	10.9	9.3	1.0	1.0	1.4	0.8	2.5
Danilo Gallinari	39	1071	9.8	6.6	0.8	0.9	0.5	0.7	1.5
Marco Belinelli	38	1233	9.4	4.5	1.2	1.4	0.2	0.9	1.4
Jose Calderon	38	754	6.2	2.4	5.4	0.5	0.0	2.8	1.1
Chris Jennings	19	270	6.1	2.1	0.7	0.3	0.1	0.4	0.4
Quincy Pondexter	28	290	5.1	1.5	0.5	0.2	0.0	0.3	0.6
Mickael Pietrus	30	376	3.5	2.3	0.6	0.3	0.0	0.4	0.5
Nick Collison	31	500	3.3	4.5	0.8	0.8	0.0	0.5	1.0
Jimmie Givens	36	480	2.6	3.3	0.4	0.2	0.3	0.3	1.0
Jesse Price	18	113	1.9	0.7	1.2	0.2	0.0	0.7	0.3

Current Injuries
Pos	Player	Injury Note
PF	Amar'e Stoudemire	Separated Shoulder - Out 1-2 Weeks
SF	Trevor Ariza	Twisted Ankle - Day-to-Day

[rbaki4]

League Info
As of January 14, 2012

Standings
ATLANTIC	W	L	GB	DIV	CONF
Knicks	27	12	--	7-3	18-8
Celtics	23	17	4.5	5-2	14-8
Raptors	18	21	9.0	3-4	13-14
Nets	16	23	11.0	3-7	10-18
76ers	8	30	18.5	2-4	5-19
CENTRAL	W	L	GB	DIV	CONF
Bulls	22	15	--	4-3	12-11
Cavaliers	21	18	2.0	5-2	17-8
Pacers	21	18	2.0	4-1	12-9
Bucks	19	20	4.0	3-5	11-12
Pistons	11	27	11.5	0-5	6-14
SOUTHEAST	W	L	GB	DIV	CONF
Heat	26	14	--	3-5	15-9
Hawks	24	17	2.5	4-3	18-9
Magic	21	20	5.5	5-2	13-10
Wizards	14	23	10.5	4-3	9-15
Bobcats	13	24	11.5	3-6	8-17
EAST PLAYOFF RACE	W	L	GB	DIV	CONF
Knicks	27	12	--	7-3	18-8
Heat	26	14	1.5	3-5	15-9
Bulls	22	15	4.0	4-3	12-11
Hawks	24	17	4.0	4-3	18-9
Celtics	23	17	4.5	5-2	14-8
Cavaliers	21	18	6.0	5-2	17-8
Pacers	21	18	6.0	4-1	12-9
Magic	21	21	7.0	5-2	13-10
Bucks	19	20	8.0	3-5	11-12
Raptors	18	21	9.0	3-4	13-14
Nets	16	23	11.0	3-7	10-18
Wizards	14	23	12.0	4-3	9-15
Bobcats	13	24	13.0	3-6	8-17
Pistons	11	27	15.5	0-5	6-14
76ers	8	30	18.5	2-4	5-19
NORTHWEST	W	L	GB	DIV	CONF
Trail Balzers	23	15	--	2-4	15-10
Thunder	22	18	2.0	4-3	13-11
Jazz	22	18	2.0	3-4	13-11
Nuggets	20	19	3.5	6-3	12-14
Timberwolves	14	26	10.0	3-4	9-15
PACIFIC	W	L	GB	DIV	CONF
Warriors	24	13	--	6-2	17-10
Clippers	20	17	4.0	4-4	14-10
Lakers	17	21	7.5	4-3	12-12
Kings	17	23	8.5	5-4	9-13
Suns	8	29	16.0	1-7	2-19
SOUTHWEST	W	L	GB	DIV	CONF
Grizzlies	27	12	--	5-0	17-8
Rockets	25	15	2.5	5-3	14-12
Spurs	22	16	4.5	4-4	14-8
Hornets	21	18	6.0	2-3	13-11
Mavericks	16	23	11.0	0-6	6-16
WEST PLAYOFF RACE	W	L	GB	DIV	CONF
Grizzlies	27	12	--	5-0	17-8
Warriors	24	13	2.0	6-2	17-10
Rockets	25	15	2.5	5-3	14-12
Trail Balzers	23	15	3.5	2-4	15-10
Spurs	22	16	4.5	4-4	14-8
Jazz	22	18	5.5	3-4	13-11
Thunder	22	18	5.5	4-3	13-11
Clippers	20	17	6.0	4-4	14-10
Hornets	21	18	6.0	2-3	13-11
Nuggets	20	19	7.0	6-3	12-14
Lakers	17	21	9.5	4-3	12-12
Kings	17	23	10.5	5-4	9-13
Mavericks	16	23	11.0	0-6	6-16
Timberwolves	14	26	13.5	3-4	9-15
Suns	8	29	18.0	1-7	2-19

League Leaders
Points Per Game		PPG	Rebounds Per Game		RPG
	1. Kevin Durant	34.0		1. Dwight Howard	12.5
	2. Kobe Bryant	31.3		2. Kevin Love	11.1
	3. Lebron James	28.9		3. Al Horford	11.1
	4. Derrick Rose	26.8		4. David Lee	10.9
	5. Deron Williams	25.7		5. Pau Gasol	10.4
Assists Per Game		APG	Steals Per Game		SPG
	1. Jason Kidd	9.6		1. Kevin Martin	2.6
	2. Chris Paul	8.5		2. Ronnie Brewer	2.5
	3. Rajon Rondo	8.4		3. Gerald Wallace	2.5
	4. Jeffrey Goodwin	8.3		4. Nate Robinson	2.4
	5. Stephen Curry	8.2		5. Kobe Bryant	2.4
Blocks Per Game		BPG	Field Goal Percentage		FG%
	1. Josh Smith	2.1		1. Amar'e Stoudemire	.607
	2. Pau Gasol	2.1		2. Dwight Howard	.574
	3. Andrea Bargniani	1.9		3. Andrew Bogut	.551
	4. Marc Gasol	1.9		4. Rajon Rondo	.550
	5. Joakim Noah	1.8		5. Lamarcus Aldridge	.541
Three Point Percentage		3P%	Free Throw Percentage		FT%
	1. Rodrigue Beaubois	.483		1. Toney Douglas	.946
	2. Toney Douglas	.469		2. Paul George	.932
	3. Gerald Wallace	.468		3. Steve Nash	.922
	4. J.J. Redick	.452		4. Eric Gordon	.921
	5. Jarrett Jack	.451		5. Stephen Curry	.916

Power Rankings
RK (LW)	Team	Record	Next Game
1 (1)	Miami Heat	24-13
2 (2)	Memphis Grizzlies	25-11
3 (10)	Portland Trailblazers	22-13
4 (3)	Chicago Bulls	21-12
5 (6)	New York Knicks	24-12
6 (16)	Oklahoma City Thunder	21-16
7 (4)	Golden State Warriors	22-13
8 (20)	San Antonio Spurs	20-15
9 (5)	Houston Rockets	22-14
10 (15)	Utah Jazz	21-16
11 (18)	Orlando Magic	20-18
12 (12)	Boston Celtics	20-16
13 (9)	Indiana Pacers	21-14
14 (7)	New Orleans Pelicans	20-16
15 (8)	Atlanta Hawks	22-16
16 (14)	Los Angeles Clippers	17-17
17 (17)	Los Angeles Lakers	17-19
18 (11)	Denver Nuggets	19-18
19 (13)	Cleveland Cavaliers	20-16
20 (19)	Milwaukee Bucks	16-19
21 (27)	Charlotte Hornets	13-21
22 (22)	Sacramento Kings	15-22
23 (26)	New Jersey Nets	13-22
24 (21)	Dallas Mavericks	15-22
25 (24)	Toronto Raptors	15-21
26 (23)	Washington Wizards	13-20
27 (25)	Minnesota Timberwolves	12-25
28 (28)	Detroit Pistons	10-24
29 (30)	Philadelphia 76ers	8-28
30 (29)	Phoenix Suns	7-26

*Note: Pelicans = Hornets and Hornets = Bobcats for the purposes of this graphic

[rbaki4]

Rumors Continue to Swirl Around Calderon

New Orleans -- On Thursday, Hornets GM Reed Bakich did nothing to dispel any chatter that backup point guard Jose Calderon may soon be on the move.

Bakich met with members of the media as part of a regularly scheduled press conference and played coy when asked directly about shopping Calderon. “We are always looking for opportunities to improve our roster. Obviously, as we get closer to the trade deadline our focus will begin to narrow.”

It’s no secret that the Hornets haven’t been satisfied with the veteran point guard’s play this season. Calderon entered the year looking like the perfect candidate to show Jeffery Goodwin the ropes but it seems like his best days are behind him. Calderon’s shooting percentages have been a career low this season and he’s also struggled with turnovers.

Sources indicate that New Orleans would likely look to get a point guard back in a potential deal. The biggest name that has been floated so far is Jason Kidd with Dallas out of the playoff mix and looking to get younger. Another potential trade partner could be the Toronto Raptors if they choose to sell high on Jarrett Jack. This would send Calderon back to a place where he had a great amount of success. Other names that have come up include CJ Watson, Jordan Farmar, and Chris Duhon.

What about you Hornets fans, who would you want to see come to the French Quarter? For now, we’ll have to wait and see.

[rbaki4]

Goodwin's Career Night Leads Hornets Past Mavs

• Goodwin went OFF for his best game as a rookie, dropping 20 of his career high 45 in the first quarter
• First quarter set the tone for game, Hornets attacked the basket and got to the line at will against the slower, older Mavs
• Things got interesting in the 4th as we stretched our lead to 20+ only to see it almost completely evaporate after the reserves came on
• This near collapse has been a theme all season, team must do a better job of keeping their poise late in games
• Overall a good result without Stoudemire and Ariza against a team that has been struggling
  

Dallas Mavericks (16-23) at New Orleans Hornets (21-18)
Jan 14, 2012 1 2 3 4 Final Dallas 27 22 19 31 99 New Orleans 34 21 31 21 107 Top Performers Dallas Mavericks D. Nowitzki - 24 PTS, 8 REBS J. Terry - 24 PTS, 5-9 3PT New Orleans Hornets J. Goodwin - 45 PTS, 10 ASTS, 6 REBS, 14-15 FT D. Gallinari - 11 PTS, 12 REBS, 2 STLS	Team Stats Comparison DAL NOR FG Made-Att 39-94 38-87 3PT Made-Att 9-21 5-24 FT Made-Att 12-17 26-28 Rebounds 48 49 Assists 25 23 Turnovers 13 13 Steals 10 6 Blocks 6 4

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[rbaki4]

Hornets Get Blown Out in Loss to Hawks

• This game was never close, not for one second
• The Hawks have given us trouble dating back to last year as we struggle to handle their athleticism especially on the defensive end of the floor
• This was the opposite of the Mavs game - we got off to an extremely slow start and just never got comfortable offensively
  
• We saw the bad version of Jeff Goodwin in this one as he was inefficient and also had 5 turnovers; this inconsistency is very much who he is right now
• The Hawks guards really impressed me - we shut down Josh Smith but the three headed monster of Azubuike, Jamal Crawford and Joe Johnson (who they now have running the point) absolutely killed us

New Orleans Hornets (22-18) at Atlanta Hawks (24-17)
Jan 15, 2012 1 2 3 4 Final New Orleans 16 17 22 21 76 Atlanta 26 27 30 18 101 Top Performers New Orleans Hornets J. Crawford - 23 PTS K. Azubuike - 18 PTS, 8 REBS, 2 STLS Atlanta Hawks J. Goodwin - 17 PTS, 6 ASTS, 2 BLKS E. Okafor - 10 PTS, 10 REBS	Team Stats Comparison NOR ATL FG Made-Att 28-84 38-86 3PT Made-Att 5-26 5-17 FT Made-Att 15-21 20-23 Rebounds 49 53 Assists 12 21 Turnovers 10 7 Steals 5 8 Blocks 5 2

[rbaki4]

Hornets Lose Goodwin, Okafor in Loss to Pistons

• Okafor went down in the first quarter with a severe ankle sprain - will miss 2-4 weeks
• Goodwin went down in the 3rd with back spasms - will miss 1-2 weeks
• These losses coupled with Amar'e already being out leave us in a really tough spot with a gauntlet of tough games coming up
  
• As far as this game, it's tough to really be too upset even though Detroit is a bottom feeder; once Okafor left the game we lacked any kind of quality in the front court as evidenced by the rebounding disparity
  
• The other area where this game was decided was from the 3 pt line, every time it felt like we could flip the momentum they got a timely 3 from either Ben Gordon or Lou Williams

NEXT GAME - vs Boston

Detroit Pistons (11-26) at New Orleans Hornets (22-19)
Jan 17, 2012 1 2 3 4 Final Detroit 28 32 20 27 107 New Orleans 29 19 33 16 97 Top Performers Detroit Pistons B. Gordon - 29 PTS, 5-7 3PT C. Villanueva - 18 PTS, 17 REBS New Orleans Hornets D. Gallinari - 21 PTS, 11 REBS J. Goodwin - 20 PTS, 12 ASTS	Team Stats Comparison DET NOR FG Made-Att 38-87 37-87 3PT Made-Att 12-27 8-24 FT Made-Att 19-22 15-22 Rebounds 55 45 Assists 22 25 Turnovers 12 11 Steals 7 9 Blocks 0 1