Chicago Bulls-Return to Glory: NBA 2k13 Association

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Melo shines in Bulls debut

The Bulls acquired one of the most dynamic scorers in NBA history and were not disappointed. In his debut in a Bulls uniform, Carmelo Anthony lit up the Mavericks for 38 points in 35 minutes. He shot 16-21 from the field and 4-6 from three point land in a far more efficient performance than he had ever had in New York this season.

"It's exciting to be a Bull," said Melo. "They've got a really great group of guys here, guys that never quit on the court. They're a real tight knit group and it shows on the court in their play."

Melo received some help from James Harden and reserve Jimmy Butler, who scored 20 points and 14 points, respectively. Taj Gibson added 15 points and a great defensive performance on Dirk Nowitzki, holding him to just 7-20 shooting from the field. Reserve Kenyon Martin pulled down his 5000th career rebound in the game, finishing with a team high 9 rebounds off the bench while adding 4 points and 7 assists.

"Melo is a heck of a player," said Joakim Noah after the game. "When he was in Denver and New York we always hated playing against him because he scores so effortlessly. Even if he's ice cold the whole game, if the game is on the line he can step up and drain a game winner with someone draped all over him. Glad he's on our side now."

In other news, news is quietly spreading that Derrick Rose is very close to a return to the court. A backcourt of Rose and Harden alongside Anthony strikes fear in to the hearts of most teams in the league. However, Rose still has declined to define a definite date for his return.

 

[clonetrooper264]

Harden burns former team

The Bulls and Rockets met for the first time since the blockbuster trade that sent James Harden to the Bulls in exchange for Carlos Boozer and Richard Hamilton. It seemed like each player had something to prove in the game, with Harden and Hamilton going back and forth early on in the game. Hamilton and Boozer played well, scoring 14 each, but it was Harden who came out on top with a game high 31 points and the win for his team.

"Yeah I kind of miss my old teammates," said Harden. "I got traded pretty early on in the season, so we didn't get a chance to mesh a whole lot, but they were a pretty awesome group of guys. I still talk to Jeremy and Chandler every now and then."

"Chicago is one of the best cities I've ever played in," said Boozer. "Houston's my home now, but I definitely enjoyed my time in Chicago...I try to keep in touch with everyone and see how they're doing. They got a heck of a team now...it's a shame I couldn't be a part of it, but my focus in on the Rockets and how we can get to that level of play."

With the win, the Bulls were also able to push the Rockets' losing streak to 5. The Bulls will get a rest with the All Star break just around the corner and will resume play after the break against the Heat. Rumors continue to swirl about Derrick Rose possibly making his return against the Heat, but again, no confirmation from him or those close to him.

 

[clonetrooper264]

Went through All Star weekend really fast. Teague got named a reserve for the rookie-sophomore game. Melo got in as a starter for the East All Stars. Harden got snubbed and Rudy Gay managed to get on there because of how well I played with him before I traded him.

Ricky Rubio hit a 27 foot contested 3 over Teague to win that game and got "MVP" honors (aka player of the game).

Melo got "MVP" for the ASG.

Heat game up next...and maybe a surprise of some sort. Not sure when I'll get to it...perhaps tomorrow after my exam.

 

[clonetrooper264]

Standings after the All Star break

East
Chicago 13-4
Miami 14-6
Philadelphia 12-8
Boston 11-8
Milwaukee 13-10
Atlanta 9-7
Brooklyn 12-10
Toronto 10-9
Charlotte 9-11
Indiana 7-9
Washington 12-15
Detroit 6-11
New York 7-13
Orlando 6-12
Cleveland 3-16

West
San Antonio 13-7
Denver 14-8
Minnesota 14-8
Oklahoma City 11-6
Golden State 12-7
Los Angeles Lakers-12-8
Los Angeles Clippers 10-9
Phoenix 11-10
Houston 11-12
Memphis 11-12
Sacramento 10-12
Portland 10-13
Dallas 7-13
Utah 6-13
New Orleans 6-15

 

[clonetrooper264]

Rose scores 20 in #theReturn

Many Bulls fans thought it might never happen this season. It came suddenly, without warning. And against perhaps the toughest opponent the Bulls could face. Derrick Rose shocked the world by making his return to the court Friday against the Miami Heat. Rose started, but only played 22 minutes. He was able to score 20 points, grab 3 rebounds, and dished 3 assists along with a couple blocks in his return. Though Rose looked a bit rusty at the beginning of the game, he soon showed flashes of why he was MVP in just his 3rd year in the league. The Bulls, perhaps inspired by Rose's return, dominated the Heat behind Carmelo Anthony's 36 points. James Harden added 19 as the Bulls' new big three outshined the Heat's three superstars. Lebron, Wade, and Bosh combined for 56 points, but could not contain the offensive explosion from the Bulls. The Heat were also playing without sixth man Ray Allen.

"Yeah not having Ray hurt us a bit," said Dwyane Wade. "But that's no excuse. Regardless of whether guys are in or out, we have to play our game. We didn't do that tonight."

Rose's return to the starting lineup pushed Kirk Hinrich to a sixth man role. He was effective in his new role, still leading the team in assists, while also playing some minutes alongside Rose.

"I knew it was going to happen at some point," said Hinrich on losing his starting spot. "We're just glad that he's finally back. He brings so much to this team. I knew that this would be my eventual role going forward, so I'm not disappointed or anything. It doesn't matter if I get 36 minutes or 20 minutes as long as we are playing well and getting wins."

 

[clonetrooper264]

Played the Trailblazers and destroyed them. Forgot to do a write up. Nothing special happened though.

 

[clonetrooper264]

Melo's game winner lifts Bulls over Clippers

Bulls fans have been accustomed to watching blowout wins this season behind dominating performances by James Harden, now departed Rudy Gay, new acquisition Carmelo Anthony, and the recently returned Derrick Rose. Against the Clippers, however, they did not see a dominating performance by any of their players, but rather by their opponents, namely Blake Griffin and Chris Paul. Griffin proved to be an unstoppable force scoring 33 points and grabbing 14 rebounds, including 9 offensive. Paul added 24 points and 12 assists, many to Griffin, in what looked like the streak buster for Chicago.

The Bulls had struggled to score all game, missing several shots that normally went in. Derrick Rose's rust showed as he shot just 6-17 from the field, finishing with 18 points and 4 turnovers. James Harden also couldn't find the basket for nearly the entire game, many perhaps due to the fact that he did not draw as many fouls as he normally does leading to several missed layups. He finished just 5-17 for 15 points, but came up big late in the 4th with two big 3s. However, the Bulls' other star, Carmelo Anthony, continued his hot streak since joining the Bulls. He finished with 28 points on 11-18 shooting and 5-8 from downtown, including the game winning 3 pointer with .8 seconds left in the game.

"This is why we went out and got Melo," said Tom Thibodeau. "He's a clutch playmaker and he's shown time and time again that he can take and make those shots at a high percentage. Of course, we also have Derrick and James who can take those shots, but in that situation, Melo felt like the best option to go with the catch and shoot and he proved us right."

The rest of the Bulls squad was also able to make up for the lack of production from Rose and Harden. Taj Gibson had 16 points and 11 rebounds and Kirk Hinrich had 9 points and 8 assists off the bench. Jimmy Butler led the bench scoring effort with 10 points on just 4 shots.

"Our bench is great," said Rose. "When guys are able to pick you up like that it gives you a lot of confidence even if you're not playing that great because you know that they got your back and aren't gonna get down on you for missing a shot or whatever. I love these guys."

The win pushes Chicago's winning streak to 13. They will look to push it to 14 against the OKC Thunder on Friday.

 

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Rose's 32 points leads Bulls to 14th straight win

It was perhaps the first game all season that Derrick Rose looked like MVP Derrick Rose. This coming just a few days after a dreadful shooting performance against the Clippers. Rose lit up Russell Westbrook for 32 points, including a 12-12 performance from the free throw line. Rose was aggressive, not settling for jumpers, instead attack the basket with reckless abandon that we've grown used to seeing him do with little effort. He single handedly powered the Bulls past the Thunder and Kevin Durant. Durant finished with 27 points. Westbrook and Kevin Martin added 20 apiece. For the Bulls, it was another solid performance by the whole team. James Harden bounced back from his poor game with 21 points on 9-14 shooting. Carmelo Anthony had 20 points and 11 rebounds.

"I've just been working hard everyday in practice trying to get back to where I used to be," said Rose. "My knee feels fine, it's just a matter of getting all my instincts back. It's getting there, definitely."

"He's been a workhorse since his injury," said Joakim Noah. "He's put in extra hours everyday trying to get back on the court. Now that he's back, he's been working trying to improve his game. That's just who Derrick is. It's great to see him have that same swagger in his step out there."

 

[clonetrooper264]

Chicago's Big Three combine for 65 to lead Bulls to 15th straight victory

It was a battle of superstars in Brooklyn with the Nets' Joe Johnson, Deron Williams, Brook Lopez, and Gerald Wallace going up against Chicago's formidable group of Derrick Rose, Carmelo Anthony, James Harden, and Joakim Noah. The Bulls showed that although they are a high powered offensive team, they could still buckle down defensively. Brook Lopez was checked hard by Noah all night and finished just 1-6 from the field for 2 points and 4 rebounds. Noah on the other hand finished with 9 points and 5 boards and a couple blocks in just 25 minutes as the game quickly got out of hand in the second half. Derrick Rose led all scorers with 26 points and added 8 assists in just under 30 minutes. James Harden, along with reserve Jimmy Butler, did a good job on Joe Johnson, holding him to just 8-21 shooting. Harden added 17 points and Butler had 14 off the bench.

It seems that Derrick Rose is quickly rounding into form as he was able to attack the rim with more success than in past games while also knocking down several midrange and long range jumpers.

"I'm just getting back into the swing of things," said Rose. "My knee feels fine and has been feeling fine since I came back. It was just a matter of me getting back in rhythm. My teammates are doing a great job of getting me open looks and opening up lanes to the rim and I'm just taking what the defense gives me."

"Of course it's good to see Derrick playing like we all know he can," said Tom Thibodeau. "His play helps us a lot of both ends of the floor. His defense still needs some work...he's got to be more aggressive defensively and try to disrupt guys but that will come."

Despite Thibodeau's inability to be satisfied with a win, the Bulls were able to ramp up the intensity on defense, especially in the 3rd quarter, getting in the passing lanes as well as blocking shots. The Bulls finished with 13 steals and 7 blocks on the night.

 

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Bulls' Martin playing through knee tendinitis

It was discovered after Friday night's game against the Brooklyn Nets that reserve forward Kenyon Martin has knee tendinitis. The ailment is expected to heal within 1 or 2 weeks and Martin will be able to play through the injury if needed. However, it is speculated that Tom Thibodeau will rest the aging veteran.

"We have guys on this team who can step in and fill his role for us," said Thibodeau. "With a guy like Kenyon who's up there in age, it's more important down the line that he be 100%, so it's probably in both our interests that he rest a couple games, especially since we have a couple back to backs coming up. After a few days we'll see how he's feeling and maybe get him out there for a few minutes on one half of the back to backs depending on how things go."

 

[inactiveuser1]

this is the gayest thing i have ever seen in my entire life! so stupid. get a life im ashamed tht yu are using my team for this stupid crap. wow this is just sooo gay

i had to make an account just to tell yu how gay this is.

Would you care to explain why this is such an outrage :andruw:

Still waiting.

 

[clonetrooper264]

Still waiting.

I wouldn't bother :elephant:

 

[nwfisch]

anyone who hates Clone can :gtfo:

 

[clonetrooper264]

Rose gets first double double of the season; Bulls cruise to 16th straight win

It appears as though Derrick Rose is indeed returning to his preinjury form. Rose did it all against the Hornets, attacking the basket, draining jumpers, scoring at will, but most importantly, displaying the court vision and leadership that this team needs from him. Rose racked up 12 assists in addition to his 26 points in just over 30 minutes of action. The result, an outstanding effort from the rest of the team that was able to withstand a 33 point effort from Eric Gordon.

"I'm just trying to find guys in their sweet spots," said Rose. "The defenses like to collapse and double, sometimes triple, team me in the paint so someone's bound to be wide open. I was able to find those guys tonight and they did their part by knocking down shots. I couldn't do it without them."

Bulls reserve forward Kenyon Martin sat out the game with knee tendinitis. His status for tomorrow's game against the 76ers is unknown.

 

[clonetrooper264]

Balanced attack leads Bulls to win over 76ers

Much hype has been placed around Chicago's Derrick Rose, James Harden, and Carmelo Anthony, a high powered offensive trio that rivals Miami's Lebron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh and Oklahoma City's Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and Kevin Martin. However, this game the Bulls stars decided to show off the rest of their squad's offensive prowess. Rose and Anthony scored just 16 and 17 points each and Harden had just 9 in the win, but all three players were more than happy to share the ball with their teammates, demonstrated by 16 points from Taj Gibson, 13 points for Jimmy Butler off the bench, and a season high in assists for the team. The Bulls were also able to buckle down on defense and hold Philly to 42% shooting for the game and just 16% from the line.

"We're a team, not just three players," said Anthony. "The great thing about this team is that anyone can and does contribute. Maybe not everyone is going to score a lot of points every night, but ball movement, defense, rebounding, all those things are what this team is about. I don't have to drop 30 points, 40 points to win a game, and that's what I love about being here."

 

[clonetrooper264]

The pace of this is going slower than I'd like it to be...probably gonna sim off the next 6 or so games and that should get me to the playoffs. That should also get me some losses. While I hate losing, it makes for a boring read (for the 2 people that read this) if I win every game. :elephant:

Though for what it's worth, Miami's stuck around 1.5-2 games behind me in the standings...that team is broken.

Might sim some of the playoffs too just to get something interesting...maybe I'll sim a whole round who knows.

 

[clonetrooper264]

Went sim crazy and am now in the conference finals...I'll play that out. It's against the Heat...shocker.

Summary of what happened:

Went 5-1 in the last 6 games. Harden had a separated shoulder in I think the 4th game and was out until the start of the playoffs. Started Kirk and Jimmy in his place. I think the win streak was broken at 21. Lost to the Magic by 2...the Magic of all teams.

Melo won MVP and Thibs got COY. This was interesting because every time I checked Melo wasn't even in the running for MVP...it was all Nuggets players and Durant. Oh well, not complaining.

Other awards:
DPOY-Dwight Howard
MIP-Goran Dragic
ROY-Damien Lilliard
6MOY-Toney Douglass

Melo got into the All NBA 1st team and Teague made the All Rookie 2nd team. Interestingly, Lebron wasn't on any of the All NBA or All Defensive teams, but Wade was on 1st team for both.

Playoffs off the top of my head (will fix if I'm wrong):
Seeds
East
1-Chicago
2-Miami
3-Philly
4-Atlanta
5-Brooklyn
6-Washington
7-Milwaukee
8-Indiana

West
1-Denver
2-OKC
3-San Antonio
4-Golden State
5-Minnesota
6-LA Lakers
7-Phoenix
8-Sacramento

After 1st round matchups were
Chicago/Atlanta
Miami/Philly
Denver/Golden State
LAL/San Antonio

Current matchups
Chicago/Miami
Denver/San Antonio

 

[clonetrooper264]

So turns out the game didn't save the 2nd round so I had to redo that. Only new result is that the WCF is...totally different. OKC/GS now. Go figure.

 

[clonetrooper264]

Harden, bench effort lead Bulls past Miami in Game 1

If you told anyone that Miami's big three would combine to 71 points and lose, you probably would've been laughed at. Yet, that's exactly what happened in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals. Wade had 36 points to lead all scorers, but ultimately, the Bulls as a whole were able to outperform the mighty Heat. James Harden led the Bulls with 21 points while Derrick Rose had 16 points and 14 assists. Carmelo Anthony added 17 points.

"It's always been about the team," said Harden. "That's been our attitude from the beginning. Yeah we have guys like Derrick and Melo who can dominate games, but we're not about hero ball, we're about playing the right way and that's what we did tonight. Miami played really well, we were lucky that we came out with the W."

"There's still a lot we have to work on," said Tom Thibodeau. "We have to take care of the ball to limit their transition baskets and our defense still has a ways to go. It's tough to contain a team like Miami, but we have a good defensive unit. We have to continue to communicate and just make it hard on them."

In an interesting move, Thibodeau played Jimmy Butler far more minutes than usual, usually putting him on Lebron James. The Bulls tried a wealth of defenders on Lebron, including Carmelo Anthony and Taj Gibson, but it seemed that Lebron was best "contained" while Butler and reserve Kenyon Martin were on the floor. Gibson, who started the game at power forward, played just 20 minutes against Miami's small ball lineup.

"We're going to have to adjust," said Thibodeau. "If they're going to run a small lineup from the start we either have to dominate them inside or play small with them to keep up. It depends on how it goes. If the bigs are playing well, we'll go big, if Jimmy has it going, we'll try running him at the 4 to match up with Lebron. It all depends...nothing's set in stone."

 

[RoseMVP1]

Harden, bench effort lead Bulls past Miami in Game 1

Maybe you could help me out with something. I hate 2k but I play it since it's the only basketball game out there. I primarily play franchise and when I finish a season instead of just having rookies generated I like to DL someone's list of rookies that have real comparisons to actual upcoming draft prospects. Problem is almost every time I try to do it, it won't load any lists up. Sometimes I go to get one and it loads everyone that has uploaded one but almost every time it never loads them. Is there something I'm doing wrong?