NBA 2K23 - The Kobe Era Reimagined

[studbucket]

Wow, the East is unbelievably tight. Big time game between the Raptors and Bucks.

[the_kevstaaa]

Fitting of the tight Eastern Conference Playoff race, the Raptors and Bucks played a close game in Milwaukee. Toronto held a slim lead and made their free throws but Milwaukee kept firing away, cutting it to one on a Kyle Lowry (22 points, 8 assists) three and then tying it on a three by Michael Redd (16 points). Instead of calling timeout though, Toronto ran the length of the court, catching the Bucks off guard. Devin Harris (21 points, 9 assists) nailed a layup and got fouled to go up three with 1.7 left. DeMarcus Cousins (28 points, 10 rebounds) had his three point tying attempt blocked by Brook Lopez (19 points) as time expired.

[the_kevstaaa]

3/9/14

Around the League
• The Pelicans sit atop the West with the NBA’s best record at 43-18 followed by the Spurs (44-20), Suns (44-20), Supersonics (40-22), and Lakers (39-23). Denver has won 4 straight (40-25) and the Clippers have won 5 in a row (31-30). The 7 through 11 seeds are tight and currently held by the Kings (36-24), Warriors (36-26), Rockets (34-29), Mavericks (33-28), and Clippers.
• The Knicks lead the East (42-21) with the Pistons (37-23), Raptors (37-25), Wizards (37-26), and Hawks (36-27) rounding out the top five. Things are tight from #6 through 13, separated by just 4.0 games. The 76ers (36-28), Bulls (35-27), Bucks (34-29), Nets (34-30), Magic (32-28), Celtics (33-30), Pacers (32-31), and Cavaliers (31-31) are all fighting.
• Scoring Leaders: C. Anthony (28.0), S. Curry (27.0), K. Durant (26.8), L. James (25.3), K. Love (24.9), R. Gay (24.2), K. Irving (24.1), J. Harden (24.0), D. Rose (23.6), and T. Duncan (23.4).
• Rebounding Leaders: K. Love (13.9), D. Howard (13.6), M. Gasol/T. Duncan (12.6), A. Drummond (12.1) , Y. Ming (11.6). A. Jefferson (11.5), C. Boozer (11.3), J. Noah (11.0), and H. Whiteside (10.9).
• Assists Leaders: S. Livingston (10.4), C. Paul (10.3), B. Roy/K. Lowry (9.5), T. Ball (9.4), M. Conley/J. Wall/G. Arenas (9.2), R. Rondo (9.1), and D. Williams (9.0).
• C. Paul and D. Wade are tied for the steals lead (2.5), J. McGee and D. Howard are tied for the blocks lead (2.4), D. Howard leads in FG% (63.6), G. Temple leads in 3PT% (50.7), and K. Hinrich leads in FT% (99.0).
• 3/8/14 – Houston’s Eddy Curry (19.2ppg) has broken wrist; out 4-6 weeks.

(37-23; 2nd in East) Detroit Pistons @ (32-28; 10th in East) Orlando Magic
[19-13 on the road; Lost 1 straight; 3.5GB of 1st] [16-15 at home; Lost 4 straight; 0.5GB of 8th]
Season Series: 12/16 – ORL 121 @ DET 106

Pistons
George Hill (12.5ppg, 3.1rpg, 8.1apg, 1.4spg, 48FG%, 40 3PT%)
Martell Webster (16.0ppg, 4.3rpg, 3.1apg, 1.0spg, 49FG%, 41 3PT%, 87FT%)
Gordon Hayward (20.5ppg, 3.7rpg, 4.0apg, 1.1spg, 49FG%, 40 3PT%, 81FT%)
David Lee (12.3ppg, 9.7rpg, 3.9apg, 1.0spg, 53FG%, 94FT%)
Hassan Whiteside (15.0ppg, 10.9rpg, 1.5bpg, 51FG%)
6th Man: James Johnson (10.1ppg, 4.6rpg, 46FG%)

Magic
Rajon Rondo (13.3ppg, 3.2rpg, 9.1apg, 2.2spg, 44FG%, 50FT%)
Salim Stoudamire (14.5ppg, 3.3rpg, 4.1apg, 48FG%, 42 3PT%, Starting for injured T-Mac)
Shawn Marion (13.0ppg, 6.6rpg, 3.8apg, 1.7spg, 1.0bpg, 44FG%, 87FT%)
Zach Randolph (14.0ppg, 10.3rpg, 1.1spg, 50FG%)
Marcin Gortat (9.0ppg, 8.5rpg, 1.7bpg, 38FG%)
6th Man: Chauncey Billups (8.9ppg, 5.2apg, 39FG%, 35 3PT%, 85FT%)

[Knickerbocker91]

Nets losing Carter to injury, looks like that core is finally going to run its course and miss the postseason with how congested the East is.

[studbucket]

That Pistons team being 2nd in the East is interesting. Reminds me of the 2010s Atlanta Hawks - probably built more for regular season than the playoffs.

[the_kevstaaa]

Since Tracy McGrady’s injury, Orlando has had trouble scoring. That wasn’t the case here as they cracked triple digits, they just couldn’t stop Detroit in a 123-104 rout. Gordon Hayward established a new career-high (48 points), David Lee had a triple-double (10 points, 17 rebounds, 10 assists), and both George Hill (13 points, 10 assists) and Hassan Whiteside (10 points, 14 rebounds) had double-doubles. For Orlando, Salim Stoudamire kept pouring it in (27 points) but they had no answer for the Pistons.

[the_kevstaaa]

3/11/14

Around the League
• The Pelicans lead the West at 44-18 followed by the Spurs (45-20), Suns (45-20), Supersonics (41-23), and Lakers (39-24). The Clippers (32-3) have won 6 straight to pull within 4 games of 8th.
• The Knicks are still atop the East despite a 3 game losing streak (42-22). They’re followed by the Pistons (39-23), Wizards (38-26), Raptors (37-26), and Hawks (37-27). Atlanta has won 5 straight while Orlando (32-30) has dropped 6 in a row.
• Scoring Leaders: C. Anthony (27.9), S. Curry (27.1), K. Durant (26.8), L. James (25.5), K. Love (24.8), K. Irving (24.1), R. Gay (24.0), J. Harden (23.9), D. Rose (23.6), and T. Duncan (23.4).
• Rebounding Leaders: K. Love (14.0), D. Howard (13.6), M. Gasol (12.6), T. Duncan (12.5), A. Drummond (12.2), Y. Ming/A. Jefferson (11.5), C. Boozer (11.3), J. Noah (11.1), and H. Whiteside (11.0).
• Assists Leaders: S. Livingston (10.4), C. Paul (10.2), B. Roy (9.6), K. Lowry (9.5), T. Ball (9.4), M. Conley (9.3), G. Arenas/J. Wall (9.2), R. Rondo (9.1), and D. Williams (9.0).
• D. Wade and C. Paul are tied for the steals lead (2.5), D. Howard and J. McGee are tied atop blocks (2.4), D. Howard leads in FG% (63.4), G. Temple leads in 3PT% (51.7), and K. Hinrich leads in FT% (99.0).
• 3/9/14 – Dallas’ Tyson Chandler (10.0rpg) has severe ankle sprain; out 2-4 weeks.
• 3/10/14 – Sacramento’s Mike Bibby (13.3ppg) has sprained knee; out 1-2 weeks.
• 3/11/14 – Utah’s Kenneth Faried (13.0ppg) has broken leg; out 6-8 weeks.

Players of the Week 3/3/14-3/9/14
PHI – John Wall [1] (27.0ppg, 10.5apg, 3.5spg)
NOP – Chris Bosh [1] (25.6ppg, 11.rpg, 5.3apg, 1.6spg, 2.3bpg)

(33-30; 10th in East) Boston Celtics @ (44-18; 1st in West) New Orleans Pelicans
[15-14 on the road; Won 1 straight; 1.0GB of 8th] [20-9 at home; Won 4 straight]
Season Series: First Meeting

Celtics
Derrick Rose (23.6ppg, 3.7rpg, 8.6apg, 1.7spg, 52FG%, 81FT%)
Gerald Green (9.7ppg, 4.4rpg, 42FG%, 35 3PT%)
Paul Pierce (18.2ppg, 5.3rpg, 7.0apg, 1.3spg, 51FG%, 43 3PT%, 86FT%)
Elton Brand (14.6ppg, 9.3rpg, 3.8apg, 1.6bpg, 51FG%)
Chris Kaman (10.4ppg, 7.4rpg, 5.6apg, 1.3spg, 45FG%)
6th Man: Darren Collison (12.0ppg, 4.1apg, 47FG%, 44 3PT%, 89FT%)

Pelicans
Mike Conley (18.7ppg, 9.3apg, 1.7spg, 47FG%, 43 3PT%, 93FT%)
Brandon Roy (22.3ppg, 7.6rpg, 9.6apg, 2.3spg, 53FG%, 44 3PT%, 94FT%
Alec Burks (9.3ppg, 4.6rpg, 38FG%, 86FT%)
Chris Bosh (20.5ppg, 8.6rpg, 4.3apg, 1.2spg, 1.7bpg, 46FG%, 41 3PT%, 84FT%)
Boban Marjanovic (8.6ppg, 7.5rpg, 46FG%)
6th Man: Brandon Jennings (13.0ppg, 5.9apg, 44FG%, 38 3PT%, 93FT%)

[the_kevstaaa]

It was as if Derrick Rose (career-high tying 45 points) tried to will his struggling team to victory but the dream season for the Pelicans continued as they outlasted Boston 123-118 in a shootout. Brandon Roy (33 points, 7 assists) sealed it with a steal and late free throws to loud MVP chants and he got help from Chris Bosh (22 points) and Mike Conley (21 points, 8 assists). Rose’s supporting cast was a mixed bag with Darren Collison (15 points, 9 assists) playing big off the bench but the veterans like Elton Brand (3-13FG) and Paul Pierce (5-17FG) missing the mark.