#TheStormIsComing | A Nashville Expansion Story | NBA 2K17

[orlegend0208]

Portland (21-9) @ Nashville (27-5)

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Bobby Portis played a huge role as he came off the bench and led the Storm in scoring

This was a great game between two great teams. The Trail Blazers were surprisingly good the past two seasons. Last year, they were the 5th seed in the West and stunned everyone by making it to the NBA Finals where they lost to the Pacers in 6 games.

This season, they're building off of last years momentum as they're currently tied with the Nuggets for the best record in the West.

This really was a great game... And I can't say that enough.

For the duration of the game, the two teams went back and forth. The Trail Blazers held the lead after the 1st Quarter, while we took the lead heading into halftime. The Trail Blazers then took a 76-71 lead into the 4th Quarter.

We continued to fight back and took the lead momentarily on a Russell Westbrook 3.

But, the combo of Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum was just too much to overcome in this one.

We tied the game up at 99 with 23 seconds left in the game on a Myles Turner dunk.

On Portland's ensuing possession, Damian Lillard slowly brought the ball up the court. With 10 seconds left Mason Plumlee came up and set the screen. Lillard then exploded off the screen and flew in for the easy layup which dropped through the net with just 1.2 seconds left.

We had time for one more play. The play was actually designed for Tyler Johnson to inbound the ball and it was supposed to go to Russell who was cutting off of a screen. He was supposed to get an open mid range jumper. However, Chandler Parsons stepped in front of the pass at the last second and picked it off. We couldn't foul him before time expired and we ended up falling to the Trail Blazers by a score of 101-99.

Josh Richardson went down in our last game with a pulled lower back muscle and will be out of action for the next 1-2 weeks. And did we ever miss him tonight. Usually, a J-Rich 3 would give us momentum in close games. However, Tyler Johnson just did not provide the spark I was hoping he would. Johnson shot 6-12 from the field, which is not bad by any stretch of the imagination. However, He was only 1-5 from 3 point range.

I was really impressed with Josh Jackson and especially Bobby Portis. Jackson put up yet another double double as he scored 17 points, grabbed 10 boards, and had 4 assists and 4 steals. Bobby Portis came off the bench and played very well by scoring a team high 18 points and grabbing 9 boards. He was forced into a little more playing time than usual due to the foul trouble of Jonas Valanciunas. We also gave the ball to him a lot in the paint due to the fact that Portland played Al-Farouq Aminu at the 4... And Portis man handled Aminu in every possession he got the ball.

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[orlegend0208]

January 7, 2018: Nashville (30-7) @ Miami (21-17)

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Myles Turner throws down the one-handed slam off of the alley-oop pass from Russell Westbrook

Since the last update where we dropped the January 1st game to Portland 105-110, we've had 3 games. Here are the results for these games:

January 3: @ Indiana: L 85-112
January 4: vs. Charlotte: W 107-87
January 6: vs. New Orleans: W 126-80

And tonight, we looked to continue our momentum of crushing Charlotte and New Orleans as we take on the Miami Heat. The Heat are second, behind us, in the Southeast Division.

Over the course of the 1st half, our lead steadily grew. We held an 8 point lead heading into the 2nd Quarter and then we outscored the Heat by 6 in the 2nd Quarter.

To be completely honest, that 2nd Quarter was rather hard to watch. So. Many. Missed. Shots. We only put up 19 points in the Quarter while the Heat put up 13 points.

Here's the crazy thing. 9 of those points came from one of the most unlikely players... Backup SG Jordan McRae. McRae, who has seen very limited playing time this season, came off the bench and was red hot. He drained all 3 3 pointers he attempted in the 2nd Quarter and that really helped us increase our lead. McRae finished with a season-high 16 points on 4-6 shooting, 3-4 from 3 point range, and 5-7 from the free throw line. He only played 16 minutes and was our 2nd leading scorer.

The 3rd Quarter was really even as we traded baskets back and forth and we outscored the Heat 30-28. So, heading into the 4th Quarter, we held a 78-62 lead.

Russell then took over in the 4th Quarter and Miami didn't stand a chance. Russell scored 13 of his 22 points in the 4th Quarter as we outscored the Heat by 14 points in the 4th Quarter.

Miami mounted a quick comeback early in the 4th Quarter as they went on an 8-0 run. However, their momentum died once we got out on a fastbreak and Russell threw an alley-oop to Myles Turner. Turner caught it with one hand and slammed it home. Our bench was fired up. Even I was fired up... At that point, the score was 80-70.

We finished this game strong like we have so many times this season and ended up destroying the Heat by a score of 112-82.

Russell led the way for us with his 22 points. He made 6 of 11 attempts from the floor and made 9 of 10 free throw attempts. He also had 7 assists, 6 rebounds, and 3 steals.

Both Myles Turner and Jonas Valanciunas had double-doubles for us and they both had massive defensive impacts. Turner finished with 12 points and 12 rebounds while Valanciunas finished with 11 points and 14 rebounds. Turner and Valanciunas finished with a combined 9 blocks in this game. Valanciunas had 6 blocks while Turner had 3.

Overall, I was very pleased with our all-around performance. On offense, we shot the lights out and we played great defense.

Miami only had 3 players score in double figures. We held Hassan Whiteside to just 9 points on 4-12 shooting and only 4 rebounds. Chris Bosh was held to 7 points, Goran Dragic was held to 9 points, and Justice Winslow was held to 6 points. So obviously, we did a great job of holding their playmakers in check.

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[Slyone14]

Loved this franchise, so happy to see you back at it.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using Operation Sports mobile app

[orlegend0208]

February 7, 2018: Utah @ Nashville

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Jonas Valanciunas throws down a monster one handed dunk. Valanciunas had a monster game as he scored 11 points and grabbed 20 rebounds

It's been exactly one month since the last update. The reason for the long wait on updates is strictly due to the lack of competition. I don't mean to throw any team under the bus... But it's the truth.

Over the span of January 8-February 6 we played 13 games. We only played 1 game against a team that had a record over .500.

There really wasn't any good, nail biting games despite a couple that ended up pretty close. Here are the results of the past 13 games:

January 9: vs. Charlotte: W 105-83 (31-7)
January 12: @ NYK: W 115-92 (32-7)
January 15: vs. Indiana: W 106-97 (33-7)
January 17: vs. Washington: L 101-106 (33-8)
January 18: vs. Orlando: W 113-92 (34-8)
January 20: vs. LAL: W 118-113 (35-8)
January 22: @ Dallas: W 103-85 (36-8)
January 24: vs. Brooklyn: W 88-84 (37-8)
January 26: @ Chicago: L 102-112 (37-9)
January 27: @ New Orleans: W 115-93 (38-9)
January 29: @ Chicago: W 96-92 (39-9)
February 3: vs. Brooklyn: W 93-75 (40-9)
February 5: @ Toronto: W 112-95 (41-9)

Thanks to our great 11-2 run over the past 13 games, we increased our lead
in the Eastern Conference to 11 game overs the #2 seed Toronto Raptors. We also have the best record in the NBA.

This is a bit of a random tidbit, but this plays a big role in how the rest of our season will play out. During January, Atlanta Hawks' star Kevin Durant ruptured his achilles. As you can tell based on the injury, Durant is done for the year. When Durant went down, the Hawks were in 2nd in our division. Since Durant's injury, the Hawks have fallen to 4th place as they've lost 9 of their last 10 games.

Anyway, fast forward to our game today. We were taking on the Utah Jazz. The Jazz were playing great basketball as they had won 4 of their last 5 games. Their wins were by wide margins. They weren't just simply beating teams. They were beating teams by 15 or more points over their last 4 wins.



We got off to a very fast start in this one. We quickly jumped out to a 6-0 lead thanks to 3's on our first two possessions of the game. The first was by Josh Jackson, the second was by Russell Westbrook.

After our quick start, we started missing shots... And they were open shots too. Coach Stevens utiltized Westbrook's speed and acceleration as he would call picks on Dante Exum, who started for Utah at Point Guard. Westbrook would easily get open off the screen, pass the ball to an open man, but the shots just weren't falling. Especially in Josh Richardson's case. Richardson was 0-5 in the 1st Quarter shooting the ball.

Despite missing shots, we were able to pull away thanks to our rookies, Josh Jackson and Dennis Smith. Smith provided us with a spark off the bench once we had to bench Westbrook due to foul trouble. Once Smith came in the game, we went on a 10-0 run. Jackson and Smith were involved in some capacity in every bucket we scored... By that I mean, the two of them either scored on the play, or dished out the assist.

At the end of the 1st Quarter, we had jumped out to a 30-17 lead.

We held that momentum throught the 2nd Quarter too as he outscored Utah 33-22 and took a 63-39 lead going into halftime.

To be honest, not much else happened the rest of the game. The 2nd half was merely our team and Utah trading baskets. Utah outscored us by 1 point in the 3rd Quarter, then we outscored Utah by 2 points in the 4th Quarter.

We continued our hotstreak as we had won our 5th straight game by a score of 107-82.

We were able to hold on to our lead thanks to our outstanding rebounding. We were led in that department by Jonas Valanciunas who grabbed 20 rebounds while putting up 11 points. Myles Turner also finished with a double double by scoring 11 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. Josh Jackson scored a game high in points for the 2nd straight game. Jackson finished with 21 points. Russell Westbrook had a very efficient game as he scored 19 points on 8-11 shooting.

Utah only had 3 players score in double figures. Derrick Rose and Rodney Hood both scored 16 points a piece. Derrick Favors chipped in 12 points.

Somehow we were able to limit Rudy Gobert all game, on both sides of the ball. Gobert finished with just 6 points and 8 rebounds. He didn't block a single shot and only committed 2 fouls.

With this win over Utah, our record currently stands at 42-9 and we're the only team in the league with less than 10 losses.

Now my job gets a little tougher as we have about 2 weeks until the trade deadline and exactly 3 weeks until the contract extensions deadline.

I can guarantee you we'll have some sort of roster news within the next 2-3 weeks.

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[orlegend0208]

Big Trade Deadline Moves/HUGE Future Roster Decision

I really didn't want to make these trades. Clint Capela and Josh Richardson informed us earlier this year they would be testing free agency. Since then, we got an estimate of how much they were going to ask for once he hit they open market. Capela wants upwards of $18M per season while Richardson wants $21M+. We just really can't spend that much money on these two at this time.

Now here's the deal with me. I don't try to mess with team chemistry by making these trades... But, I'm a firm believer in making the roster better by any means necessary. I'm also a firm believer in not just letting a player go in Free Agency without getting anything in return.

Anyway, I made three deals today on the NBA trade deadline as I traded away Josh Richardson, Clint Capela, and Orlando's 2018 pick. Here are the details:

Golden State Receives: Clint Capela, 2 2nd Round Picks
Nashville Receives: Joffrey Lauvergne, 2020 1st Round Pick (Top 3 Protected)

When Golden State offered this deal, I jumped all over it. The Warriors are struggling this year as they're only 5th in the West right now, despite having Curry, Thompson, and Green.

So, why would GSW offer a deal like this for a player with an expiring contract? At first I asked the same question, but then after looking down their roster it hit me. Their best rebounder was Joffrey Lauvergne. The Warriors are currently 31st in the league in rebounds per game. And Capela has developed into one of the better rebounders in the league. So they offer this trade because they can get a great rebounder which fits their biggest need. Surprisingly, they also have the cap space to re-sign Capela.

Now you may remember from the beginning of our franchise's history, we selected Joffrey Lauvergne with our first pick in the expansion draft. We then dealt him to Philadelphia when we acquired Joel Embiid.

Ever since the trade we've been quietly monitoring Lauvergne's progression. We liked his game and thought he could be a solid player when we drafted him... But, we just liked Embiid's potential more and he was more of a household name that we could promote to get fans in the seats.

Lauvergne will be a very solid backup for Valanciunas. He is also on a VERY friendly contract for the next 3 years. Like I said earlier, our main concern with Capela was how much money he wanted. Lauvergne is making $5.58M this season, $5.84M in 2018-19, and $6.09M in 2019-2020. Lauvergne is exactly what we needed, a solid backup with a friendly contract.

Indiana Receives: Josh Richardson
Nashville Receives: 2019 1st Round Pick, 2021 1st Round Pick

For the next two trades, they're high risk, very high reward trades. I traded Josh Richardson for two Indiana 1st Round Picks. Why? Word around the league is that Paul George is testing free agency. So, I traded Richardson with the mindset of, if George leaves, I probably just got my hands on two Top 5 picks. If George doesn't leave, I still got my hands on what's probably going to end up being two lottery picks.

Sacramento Receives: 2018 Orlando 1st Round Pick and Golden State's 2020 1st Round Pick (Top 3 Protected)
Nashville Receives: 2020 Sacramento 1st Round Pick

Then in Sacramento's case, I traded away two first round picks for their 2020 1st Round Pick. Why? Again, word around the league is that DeMarcus Cousins might not return. To be honest, regardless of if he leaves or not, there's a good chance I just landed us another lottery pick. If Cousins leaves we just got a Top 5 pick since Darren Collison would be the most talented player on that team if they sign no one else.



Before making the trades, I called Brad Stevens into my office to get his thoughts. He approved on the Capela and Sacramento trade. He reluctantly agreed to the Josh Richardson trade. However, we discussed how to replace J-Rich. Here is our convo:

Stevens: So now that J-Rich is gone, our best bet is to put Dennis Smith at Shooting Guard.

Me: Those were my thoughts exactly. Gives him more playing time and it will hopefully help him progress faster.

Stevens: The only problem is, he's only 6'3. Can he effectively play the 2?

Me: You've played him there during games throughout the year and he's done very well. I think he'll adjust fine.

Stevens: But he can't stay at the 2 the rest of his career.

Me: Of course not. I have this all planned out. Smith can finish the season at the 2. In the off-season, we have Dallas' pick (currently projected as the #1 pick) and Charlotte's pick (currently projected as the #3 pick). Surely, one of them will land us a Top 3 pick. That should be good enough to go with SF Michael Porter Jr.

*Coach Stevens' eyes lit up. When I saw his reaction I knew we were on the same page.

Me: Josh Jackson is developing into a great perimeter shooter. So, we can move Jackson to the 2, start Porter at the 3, and we're set for easily the next 3-4 years.

Coach Stevens was now looking at the floor. I saw a slight smile and he looked up and just started shaking his head in disbelief... A good kind of disbelief. I mean, wouldn't you get excited if you had the chance to coach a lineup of Westbrook/Jackson/Porter Jr./Turner/Valanciunas on top of Dennis Smith and our other top pick (between Dallas/Charlotte's pick that we own) coming off the bench?

Stevens: So when can we start working on a contract extension?

[reddsix]

Just got around to this and I've gotta say, I really like what you're doing here. I always appreciate having a plan going forward and thus far, it seems like you have a general view for how you want the team constructed and are sticking to it.

Just curious, how many games are you playing?

[orlegend0208]

Quote: Originally Posted by reddsix

Just got around to this and I've gotta say, I really like what you're doing here. I always appreciate having a plan going forward and thus far, it seems like you have a general view for how you want the team constructed and are sticking to it. Just curious, how many games are you playing?

Well for now I have a plan and a better understanding of what my players will want in their next contract lol. I'm gonna have to make some big decisions in the near future when some of my player's have expiring rookie contracts.

And to answer your question, I usually play games that I think would be a good challenge and I'll also play games against my division rivals. For example, I simmed like an entire month because we only played one team with a record over .500... So obviously, like none of those games were going to be a big challenge. We do have some really good teams coming up on the schedule soon, so I'm definitely going to do posts on the results of those games.

Thanks for the comment!

[Slyone14]

Quote: Originally Posted by orlegend0208

Big Trade Deadline Moves/HUGE Future Roster Decision I really didn't want to make these trades. Clint Capela and Josh Richardson informed us earlier this year they would be testing free agency. Since then, we got an estimate of how much they were going to ask for once he hit they open market. Capela wants upwards of $18M per season while Richardson wants $21M+. We just really can't spend that much money on these two at this time. Now here's the deal with me. I don't try to mess with team chemistry by making these trades... But, I'm a firm believer in making the roster better by any means necessary. I'm also a firm believer in not just letting a player go in Free Agency without getting anything in return. Anyway, I made three deals today on the NBA trade deadline as I traded away Josh Richardson, Clint Capela, and Orlando's 2018 pick. Here are the details: Golden State Receives: Clint Capela, 2 2nd Round Picks Nashville Receives: Joffrey Lauvergne, 2020 1st Round Pick (Top 3 Protected) When Golden State offered this deal, I jumped all over it. The Warriors are struggling this year as they're only 5th in the West right now, despite having Curry, Thompson, and Green. So, why would GSW offer a deal like this for a player with an expiring contract? At first I asked the same question, but then after looking down their roster it hit me. Their best rebounder was Joffrey Lauvergne. The Warriors are currently 31st in the league in rebounds per game. And Capela has developed into one of the better rebounders in the league. So they offer this trade because they can get a great rebounder which fits their biggest need. Surprisingly, they also have the cap space to re-sign Capela. Now you may remember from the beginning of our franchise's history, we selected Joffrey Lauvergne with our first pick in the expansion draft. We then dealt him to Philadelphia when we acquired Joel Embiid. Ever since the trade we've been quietly monitoring Lauvergne's progression. We liked his game and thought he could be a solid player when we drafted him... But, we just liked Embiid's potential more and he was more of a household name that we could promote to get fans in the seats. Lauvergne will be a very solid backup for Valanciunas. He is also on a VERY friendly contract for the next 3 years. Like I said earlier, our main concern with Capela was how much money he wanted. Lauvergne is making $5.58M this season, $5.84M in 2018-19, and $6.09M in 2019-2020. Lauvergne is exactly what we needed, a solid backup with a friendly contract. Indiana Receives: Josh Richardson Nashville Receives: 2019 1st Round Pick, 2021 1st Round Pick For the next two trades, they're high risk, very high reward trades. I traded Josh Richardson for two Indiana 1st Round Picks. Why? Word around the league is that Paul George is testing free agency. So, I traded Richardson with the mindset of, if George leaves, I probably just got my hands on two Top 5 picks. If George doesn't leave, I still got my hands on what's probably going to end up being two lottery picks. Sacramento Receives: 2018 Orlando 1st Round Pick and Golden State's 2020 1st Round Pick (Top 3 Protected) Nashville Receives: 2020 Sacramento 1st Round Pick Then in Sacramento's case, I traded away two first round picks for their 2020 1st Round Pick. Why? Again, word around the league is that DeMarcus Cousins might not return. To be honest, regardless of if he leaves or not, there's a good chance I just landed us another lottery pick. If Cousins leaves we just got a Top 5 pick since Darren Collison would be the most talented player on that team if they sign no one else. Before making the trades, I called Brad Stevens into my office to get his thoughts. He approved on the Capela and Sacramento trade. He reluctantly agreed to the Josh Richardson trade. However, we discussed how to replace J-Rich. Here is our convo: Stevens: So now that J-Rich is gone, our best bet is to put Dennis Smith at Shooting Guard. Me: Those were my thoughts exactly. Gives him more playing time and it will hopefully help him progress faster. Stevens: The only problem is, he's only 6'3. Can he effectively play the 2? Me: You've played him there during games throughout the year and he's done very well. I think he'll adjust fine. Stevens: But he can't stay at the 2 the rest of his career. Me: Of course not. I have this all planned out. Smith can finish the season at the 2. In the off-season, we have Dallas' pick (currently projected as the #1 pick) and Charlotte's pick (currently projected as the #3 pick). Surely, one of them will land us a Top 3 pick. That should be good enough to go with SF Michael Porter Jr. *Coach Stevens' eyes lit up. When I saw his reaction I knew we were on the same page. Me: Josh Jackson is developing into a great perimeter shooter. So, we can move Jackson to the 2, start Porter at the 3, and we're set for easily the next 3-4 years. Coach Stevens was now looking at the floor. I saw a slight smile and he looked up and just started shaking his head in disbelief... A good kind of disbelief. I mean, wouldn't you get excited if you had the chance to coach a lineup of Westbrook/Jackson/Porter Jr./Turner/Valanciunas on top of Dennis Smith and our other top pick (between Dallas/Charlotte's pick that we own) coming off the bench? Stevens: So when can we start working on a contract extension?

Interesting trades, I think they are all honestly fair minus the Richardson one. Just my two cents, I think one first rounder for him is more realistic, while he is a good player, hes not a game changer or a guy who has that kind of value. This is coming from a Heat fan, okay. But, if they offered it to you, then take it. Just giving my two cents bro, hope you don't mind. I would want someone to do the same.


Anyways, glad to see everyone is getting along well chemistry wise and your are doing so well. Now that Nashville, has a NHL team in the playoffs and now a NBa team, you are putting the city on the map!