96-97 Lakers l NBA 2k20

[RonMexico1992]

THIS FIRST INITIAL POST IS THE LONGEST POST BECAUSE I WAS LATE AND DIDN'T POST TILL AFTER THE FIRST 10 GAMES, SO AFTER YOU CATCH UP, IT WILL BE EASY TO FOLLOW

Game: NBA 2k20
Year in Game 96-97 Using Thunder Shaq's 96-97 roster and mod work
Team Los Angeles Lakers
Record 6-4 Current Season, 6-4 All Time
Championships 0
Settings Schnaidts Sliders, 29 game season (play every team once), 12 minute quarters, best of 3 first 2 playoff rounds, best off 5 conference finals and nba finals. No simming ever.

Backstory
Thanks to the amazing 2k PC community and the work of people like Thunder Shaq (& many others) I've been able to go back in time and start MyLeague at the start of the 96-97 season with his comprehensive 96-97 roster, and future draft classes.

This era of basketball is ripe with talent and is the start of the era for me which led to my love of basketball, and ultimately the Shaquille O'Neal Lakers. The Bulls coming off their 4th title in 6 years against Seattle. Utah, Seattle & Houston all looking strong in the west. The Knicks, Heat, Pacers, Magic all trying to push Chicago in the east. With young talent spread all across the league, youngsters like Jason Kidd, KG, Ray Allen, Chris Webber, Allen Iverson, Grant Hill and plenty more. Then you have the Lakers coming off a 53 win season and a first round loss to the Rockets. After an off-season like only a few teams can have, that saw the retirement of 5 time NBA champion Magic Johnson. Shaquille O'Neal leaving Orlando in free agency to sign in Los Angeles. Jerry West pulling off a massive trade to bring in the High School phenomenon Kobe Bryant. & thats pretty much where I come in lol Oh yeah, and this year there was only 29 teams, so we turned the Pelicans into the Honolulu Tropics to make 30 teams, a team of older free agents.

Year 1: First 10 Games
Coming into this team, I knew I wanted to run the triangle offense through Shaq in the post, because I love the fluidity of the triangle, its a lot of letting the ball do the work... Rather then running pick and roll offense, or an off ball screen offense.

Before the season started we pulled off a trade to send out, of note Corie Blount, Elden Campbell, Jerome Kersey & Byron Scott, along with 2 second rounders. In return we brought in fellow LSU alum, Stan Roberts. 300lbs, 7'0, 76 rated center from the Clippers, to serve as back up for Shaquille O'Neal. He is a one year deal. We also received a 1999 1st round pick from Atlanta & a 2001 1st round pick from the Clippers.

With the help of about 15 million dollars, we talked Magic Johnson out of retirement for one more season. 38 years old and 79 rated, Magic will provide great versatility off the bench, a literal do it all player. Post defending, perimeter defending, 3 pt shooting, post ups, great passing, rebounding.

Rotation to start the season
1. Nick Van Exel 35 min
2. Eddie Jones 30 min
3. George McCloud 25 min
4. Robert Horry 25 Min
5. Shaquille O'Neal 35 Min
Derek Fisher 10 Min
Kobe Bryant 20 Min
Magic Johnson 30 Min
Stan Roberts 30 Min

Scores
Jazz 115 - 92 Lakers L
Lakers 105 - 97 Hawks W
Tropics 86 - 114 Lakers W
Magic 120 - 110 Lakers L
Lakers 107 - 106 Bucks W
Lakers 119 - 96 Kings W
Bulls 99 - 107 Lakers W
Lakers 106 - 126 Bullets L
Lakers 119 - 123 Grizzlies L
Lakers 100 - 86 Raptors W

Starting in the season in Utah was a great challenge and favored them heavily. A team like that, against a new team thats never played together. With that said we stayed really competitive through 3 quarters and let them slip away in the 4th. Shaq finished with 20 & 19 in his Laker debut. Kobe also added in 15 off the bench in his rookie debut on 6-18 shooting.

We bounced back with 2 wins against the Hawks & Tropics. The Hawks are a talented team with perennial defensive juggernaut Mutombo. Also pair him with a talented back court of Blaylock & Smith, who finished with 28 & 20 respectively. The Tropics were easy dismantle. Shaq 24 & 9 against the Hawks, Nick Van Exel chipped in 23. Against the Tropics, Shaq finished with 34 & 14.

Back on the road in Orlando for a big match against the Magic & Penny. Simply put, we choked this game. leading by 7 going in to the 4th, we lost the 4th by 17 and ultimately the game by 10. As the Magic are making a run, down by 3, Penny drives and dunks on Shaq for an and 1, 3 point play to tie the game. Couldn't believe it. Few plays later, Penny drives again, Shaq not having it, Flagrant 1. It was an amazing game and turn of events, the Magic deserved it. Penny with 33, 8 and 5. Shaq 29, 10 and 4.

Like when we lost to the Jazz, we bounced back and handled business at home against the Bucks & kings. The Bucks made it harder than it had to be but we did what we had to do and pulled out the late winner. Shaq finished with 34 and 8, while Van Exel chipped in with 24 points and 10 rebounds.
Against the Kings, we blew them out in the 4th. Van Exel finished with 33. Kobe who started due to McCloud picking up a knock, finished with 24 in his first start. Shaq finished with 24 and 18.

So again, were back on the road to face a really good team. This time, in Chicago to play against the defending champions Chicago Bulls. But this time, we do the unexpected and get the upset win. We held MJ to 30 on a sub-par 11 of 26 shooting, while focusing on shutting down his teammates and making Mike beat us. Nick with another 30 point game, this time with 32. Shaq finished with 29 and 18 and scored the first 16 points of the game for us, in an unbelievable start to the game. Kobe started again and finished with 17 on 6-14 shooting.

Now this is where things got weird. After handling business all-season and getting to a 5-2 record by winning the games we should, we drop 2 games we had no business losing. Against the 7-9 Bullets we got blown out in the 4th quarter at home, and out rebounded 66-53 which kept them in the game. Rod Strickland scored 43 and Webber chipped in with 27 & 12. Shaq finished with 31 & 9. Against the Grizzlies at home, we choked again. This time getting down by 10 in the 4th, only to bring it back and tie it up at 117 and then go on to lose 119-123. Shaq finished with a 36 and 11 performance. We got out rebounded 67-44. When you cant get rebounds in the NBA, against bad teams you can lose by giving them second chances.

In those 2 games, we got out rebounded 133-97, and Robert Horry who played 54 minutes in those 2 games, finished with 15 rebounds. Simply not good enough. Robert's defensive work rate was extremely alarming, just not athletic and then you add that to his average rebounding, and it was just something I didnt see bringing this team short or long term success. I feel like if we kept Robert we finish around .500 and not really contending in the west.

The Bulls who we beat, have MJ, Scottie and Rodman all on one year deals with team options for next season, so realistically we are targeting all 3. Paying attention to what happens with their contracts. But I got the idea that we might be able to pull the trigger on the 35 year old Rodman now, who is making 17 million dollars and a 12.5 million dollar team option for next season.

We offer the Bulls, 77 rated, 2 time NBA Champ & 27 Year old Robert Horry. Along with 76 rated, 29 year old George McCloud who had really disappointed me with his nonathletic ability. In return we received 86 Rated, 35 year old Dennis Rodman & a 70 rated, 28 year old 3pt specialist Jud Buechler, along with the Bulls 97 1st round draft pick.

I was really nervous if this deal would work on the court. In the first game, against a team we should beat the Toronto Raptors, we blew them out. Dominated them defensively and on the glass. Rodman finished with 16 rebounds and seemed to grab every board down the stretch. 16 is 4 more than Horry had managed to get in 9 different games, and Horry only broke 10 or more, twice in 9 games. So hopefully its a sign of good things to come.
Shaq finished with 27 & 14, along with 4 blocks.

League News
We're currently tied for 3rd in the west with Seattle, behind Utah & Houston. The Heat are dominating out East, starting 11-0. Chicago struggling to find their feeting, off to a 6-5 record.

Olajuwon, Malone, Shaq, Tim Hardaway, David Robinson are leading the MVP race right now. Shaq with league leading 28.8 points, along with 13.0 rebounds.

In the race for the leagues top Lottery pick, the Tropics are 0-11, Mavs are 1-10, Denver is 3-11... A draft class that features Tim Duncan, Chauncey Billups & Tracey McGrady

[RonMexico1992]

Sorry for the long post to get started, I was late and wanted to catch you guys up as much as possible on what had happened.... Future post will be smaller and try to focus on 2-3 games at most.

[RonMexico1992]

Game: NBA 2k20
Year in Game 96-97 Using Thunder Shaq's 96-97 roster and mod work
Team Los Angeles Lakers
Record 7-5 Current Season, 7-5 All Time
Championships 0
Settings Schnaidts Sliders, 29 game season (play every team once), 12 minute quarters, best of 3 first 2 playoff rounds, best off 5 conference finals and nba finals. No simming ever.

January 2nd, 1997
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We went on the road to play the Spurs in what was a battle between to MVP candidates, Shaquille O'Neal & David Robinson. We dominated early and never looked back. Shaq finished with 28 & 15, David Robinson matched him with 27 & 18. Difference was Robinson's help was Del Negro who chipped in with 16 while Nick Van Exel was the games leading scorer with 33 points. Magic Johnson with an impressive 15, 7 and 6 stat-line in only 21 minutes. We won the rebound battle again with Rodman in the team, who matched up against his former team.

January 5th, 1997
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A few nights later we were back in action against West Conference elite, the Houston Rockets. We stayed competitive early, until they started to pull away before the half. By the end of the 3rd we were down 20. Barkley, Olajuwon & Drexler were just too much, as the combined for 79 with Charles Barkley leading the way with 32 points and 15 rebounds. We played well offensively, we just couldn't make stops. The final 136-104, dropping us to 7-5 for the season. If we meet them in the post-season we will have to adjust defensively, and really zero in on the stars. Shaq who didn't play much in the 4th finished with 18 points on 8-11 shooting in 24 minutes of action. Nick Van Exel who came to play scored 34 points as he tried to keep us in the game. Rodman finished with 10 rebounds, which is a great number against Olajuwon & Barkley in only 25 minutes of action.

Next 2 Games
@ T-Wolves
@ Nuggets

[RonMexico1992]

Game: NBA 2k20
Year in Game 96-97 Using Thunder Shaq's 96-97 roster and mod work
Team Los Angeles Lakers
Record 8-6 Current Season, 8-6 All Time
Championships 0
Settings Schnaidts Sliders, 29 game season (play every team once), 12 minute quarters, best of 3 first 2 playoff rounds, best off 5 conference finals and nba finals. No simming ever.

January 8th, 1997
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After the loss to Houston, we were back on the road. This time to play the Timberwolves, in what looks like it could be a potential playoff match between the 4th and 5th seed, and in a 29 game season, every game holds weight in terms of seeding.

We played well through the first half. In the second half we lit them get away and ended up losing 124-105 on the road. Their team presented lots of mismatches. Unlike when we played the Bulls, and slowed down MJ's supporting cash, we just couldn't do that tonight against KG and the T-Wolves. KG finished with 29 & 19, West 22, Porter 20, Gugliotta 19. Not going to win too many games on the road playing defense like that.

Shaq finished with season high 44 points & 12 rebounds. 9 points shy of his career high, 53. Van Exel couldn't get going, only 9 points in 39 minutes. Eddie Jones finished with season high 19 points

January 10th, 1997
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Like any good team after a loss, we just wanted to get back on the court and avenge our loss. 2 days later we were in Denver to play the struggling Denver Nuggets. We started well and didn't stop. Shaq finishing with 40, for back to back 40 point games. Eddie Jones continued his good form, 16, 7 & 3 from the 2-guard. Magic again with a stat stuffing performance in only 21 minutes, 15 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assist from the 38 year old.

23 year old upcoming UFA Antonio McDyess, who has stated publicly that he will be leaving after this season finished with 22 points and 10 rebounds.

Upcoming Games
vs Cavs
vs Golden State

[RonMexico1992]

Game: NBA 2k20
Year in Game 96-97 Using Thunder Shaq's 96-97 roster and mod work
Team Los Angeles Lakers
Record 10-6 Current Season, 10-6 All Time
Championships 0
Settings Schnaidts Sliders, 29 game season (play every team once), 12 minute quarters, best of 3 first 2 playoff rounds, best off 5 conference finals and nba finals. No simming ever.

January 11th, 1997
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After beating Denver the previous night we were back home to play the Cleveland Cavilers, a playoff team last year in the east and a team who has started 7-3 so far this year. Led by 5'11 scoring point guard Terrell Brandon, who is a free agent this upcoming summer.

Cleveland was pesky in the first half but we made adjustment in the second half and I thought defensively we were great. On every missed basket we were really pushing the tempo and the game finished us up by 24, 117-93. For the majority of the second half I assigned Kobe Bryant to guard the much smaller but very agile Brandon, and that really slowed him and the Cavs down. Brandon finished with 29 on 11-33 shooting. No other Cavs player finished with more than 10. Brandon really showed signs of brilliance, but its always going to be tough for a 5'11 guard to carry the load without any help at all.

Shaq's streak of 40 point games ended as he finished with 37 and 12. Kobe finished one point behind his career high with 23 for the game. Nick Van Exel finished with a double double 13 points and 11 assist. Stan Roberts finished with 11 points and 11 rebounds.

January 19th, 1997
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After some much needed rest we were home to play against the struggling Golden State Warriors. The Warriors have been surprisingly bad. Last year finishing 3 games outside of the playoffs, to this year being Lottery pick fodder. But I knew better. The team features a prime Sprewell, 32 year old Mark Price and 34 year old Chris Mullin. Along with players like Joe Smith, Scott Burrell, B.J. Armstrong, Bimbo Coles and Donyell Marshall. I knew their record wasn't a true indication of the team we were about to face.

After a tight first half, we led by 5. The Sprewell led Warriors battled back to tie it at 82 going into the 4th quarter, as the tempo started to pick up drastically. In the 4th quarter we really focused on making stops and then pushing them on the break, Mullin was liability in transition and Kobe was taking advantage of him. We scored 36 in the 4th and the game finished 118-110, improving to 10-6 on the back of 3 straight wins. Sprewell finished with 30. Mullin added 18 and Price added 16.

The Warriors finished with 2 second chance points, in part due to Rodmans incredible work rate. He finished with 20 rebounds. Shaq continued his dominance with 34 points and 14 rebounds. Kobe reached 20 for back to back games, this time with 22.

Next Two Games
@ Clippers
vs Nets

[RonMexico1992]

Game: NBA 2k20
Year in Game 96-97 Using Thunder Shaq's 96-97 roster and mod work
Team Los Angeles Lakers
Record 11-6 Current Season, 11-6 All Time
Championships 0
Settings Schnaidts Sliders, 29 game season (play every team once), 12 minute quarters, best of 3 first 2 playoff rounds, best off 5 conference finals and nba finals. No simming ever.

SHAQ MAKES HISTORY

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January 24th, 1997 Lakers Center Shaquille O'Neal is now the highest single game scorer in NBA history not named Wilt Chamberlin after finishing a game with 76 Points against the Los Angeles Clippers.

The Clippers coming off a 29 game win season last year, and starting 3-9 this year were abysmal. They simply had no match for the 7'1, 325lbs center, who for long stretches assigned 6'7 Rodney Rogers with the task of trying to guard the unstoppable center.

In the 138-95 victory which saw the Lakers improve to 11-6, Shaq finished with 76 points, 12 rebounds and also tied Wilt Chamberlin for most field goals made in a NBA game, 36. Nick Van Exel contributed 19 points and 10 assist in the victory.

1. Wilt Chamberlin 100 points 1962
2. Wilt Chamberlin 78 points 1961
3. Shaquille O'Neal 76 points 1997
4. Wilt Chamberlin 73 points 1962
5. Wilt Chamberlin 73 points 1962
6. David Thompson 73 points 1978
7. Wilt Chamberlin 72 points 1962
8. Elgin Baylor 71 points 1960
9. David Robinsion 71 points 1994
10. Wilt Chamberlin 70 points 1963
11. Michael Jordan 69 points 1990
12. Wilt Chamberlin 68 points 1967
13. Pete Maravich 68 points 1977

I think this game has established Shaquille O'Neal as the future of the NBA and the most dominant player in the game. Averaging 33.2 PPG and 12.7 RPG, Shaq is now the front runner for the MVP discussion at the age of 24. The other candidates are 32, 34, 35, 31 respectively.

[RonMexico1992]

Side Note: Just wanted to say, I'm in love with the collection of personalities on this team. I think it would have produced some great stories.

Nick Van Exel
Magic Johnson
Shaquille O'Neal
Young & Naive rookie Kobe Bryant
Dennis Rodman
Eddie Jones

Like Rodman & Shaq on the same team at that time, with Magic. Kobe Bryant as a rookie. With Nick & Eddie... what a core.

[RonMexico1992]

Jud Buechler, January 24th, 1997.
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