NBA 2K12 - Playoffs / Gods of the Arena

what's done in the last 6 months time is done, it's all over.. there are no back to backs.. or concentration or capacity problems due to the intensity of the calender.. there will be intensity of the game.. defense will be stifling, offense will be lethal.. hammer dunks will be echod deeper.. 16 teams with one goal ad astra per aspera*. Let the game begin fullthrottle..

Meir21's video compilation for Playoffs.. follow him on twitter @meir21







Bulls - Sixers

three words: Bulls in Five..

Bulls played without Rose pretty long time, and meanwhile learned to make this in quite right manner grabbing the lead since they have the greastest bench of the east.. however, they absolutely need Rose for the rest of the way.. Although they finished 1st, the path to the conference title is more challenging than Miami..Even In case Rose can not reach his statistics, this series would end in 6 considering the fact that the regular season match was 2-1 bulls.
Both teams have athletic players on the offense and defense side of the court so I assume scores   would go around 90s. Phily should be tougher in defense side, remember that Bulls swept all opponents in all matches they scored +100 (22-0), and bad news for sixers they lost 11/12 matches as the opponent scored +100.

Heat - Knicks

Knicks formed a little version of Big 3, Chandler added much to Knicks defense, Carmelo turned into a tornado in April.. bla bla bla.. or from the miami side, they dont have a dependable bench, big 3 was disturbed with injuries in april etc.. these are all stories, and knicks should add plenty of things to their name so as to challenge Miami.. Neither LeBron - Carmelo nor Bosh - Amare match ups can be considered as fair, even if it would be so then Wade will be the free lance assassin of the day.. bench is the only fact, Knicks dominates but the decision point will not depend on that parameter at this stage. as in regular season where Knicks swept by 3-0, Heat will crush them out. Lets give a game for the name of Carmelo.. Heat in 4 or 4,5 :)

Pacers - Orlando

Pacers is the 3rd in east and 5th of the NBA.. George Hill-Granger-Paul George are predatory drivers of the team with acceptable level of talls. on the paper, the scale is totally facing to Pacers. Without superman Orlando absolutely needs a Magic. and this could only realized by 3s, raining 3s cats and dog will prevent Pacers to take the score far away. furthermore, 9-10 hits on the target for sure with around 40% would lead to a Magic. they have this potential -J.Rich, J.J.Redick, Nelson, Hedo- as they had always (R.Lewis as before). Davis is just recovered from injury, if he gives up, the rim will be pacers game area. 6th man Ryan might be a plus as well. anyhow, Pacers in 6 in a real world. (in regular season, it was Pacers 3-1).

Boston - Atlanta

Lords of the clovers. you might have nothing but respect for Celtics. they are all veterans rolling on the floor; snake eyes KG is now responsible for the C following all giants securing the area; Perkins Davis and Oneal; Pierce one more time leads the gang; Ray goes on hitting the bullseye with high %. On the other hand, bad boys Atlanta, likes to be here around in recent years. Yet couldnt make it end in a final but last year made a good start by defeating Magic. Josh boy is on fire and JJ doesnt want to let his last chance to fly away. One of the most important but misty matchup. lets see, 6 even 7 is possible but Boston by heart and soul. (Boston beat Atlanta 2-1 in regular season)







Spurs - Jazz

The oldest team against the youngest. As long as Duncan-Ginobili-Parker are on air, the result will not be a surprise. Spurs defeated in the first round in last two years, one in last year was unavoidable against big shadows of grizzlies, they are all two years older but plays as if they are younger; in addition to that this time they are all healthier, wiser, and winner. Another point of respect, Spurs turned into a offense team last year at that age at that intense season. Jazz will try to withstand in the rim but Spurs bedevils the front players for sure. Spurs who won 3 of 4 matches in regular season with not much difficulty -last one without Duncan,Ginobili,Parker- would go to next round in 4 at most 5.

Thunder - Maverics

Thunder was burning like hell but ended up 6-4, while Mavs were playing impervious throughout the season. For sure loosing Chandler and getting one year older might take away some but not as much as we see throughout the season. Playoffs would bring the soul back in the team Dallas only if they are not satisfied with one ring. 1 for Nowitzki 1 for Carlisle so Thunder in 6.

Lakers - Denver

After trade deadline, Lakers didnt only get rid of trade stories on Gasol but also gained Sessions. Since then they become more assertive for at least conference final but with again no result; 14-8.  They have all instead of a dependable bench, only explanation might be they were waiting for the playoffs. But one should remember they played against +0,500 teams 45/66 matches. Lakers will play in the paint whereas Denver as usual will make a run run offense to speed up the game both for the sake of paralyzing two towers and exhausting Kobe. However, this is not worked out in regular season (3/4 Lakers), which means Denver is not the competitor that would challenge them. Kobe in 5.

Grizzlies - Clippers

The most interesting match up. Clush of the titans. Gay-Gasol-Randolph against Griffin.. Grizzlies are already looking for San Antonio for the final :) Memphis in at most 6 considering regular season matchup (2-1 Grizzlies)

let the game begin..

*(to the stars through difficulty)

NBA 2K12 - regular season awards overview

 no matter it was a tight schedule where both teams and players didnt pay too much effort, this season was another "i love this game" time. now we are on the edge of the shortened and spurious marathon, at the time we will forget about all the problems of the preseason and the regular season; since then its the time for Gods of the Arena with full throttle.

i will check in for a regular season overview for the teams and players in a short while; however, since the spotlights are on regular season awards nowadays, today you will get my awards here below...

MVP - Most Valuable Player:

LeBron James..

i should mention that for sure this is not the most attractive title that LeBron James would call.. yeah, he is the king, yes he would dominate all the positions and awards by statistics BUT yet he is not a champion and the critics will not come to an end unless he gets at least one..

first of all, there is no third nominee other than James and Durant..

then, lets come up to the answer why James..

i will start with the statistics versus opponents; 27,1 points 7,9 rebounds 6,9 assists together with 1,9 steals, that result in being number one in terms of efficiency*; 29,9 points.. Kevin Love and Durant trail him with 28,3 and 27,3 efficiency points respectively (K.Love 26p/13,2r/2a/0,9st & K.Durant 27,9p/8r/3,5a/1,3st). One must remember that all happened in 37,5 mins, staying on the court 1,5 minutes less than his mentinoned opponents (39 mins for KL and 38,7 mins for KD).

the second thing is the improvement in his game and mentality. Lebron plays a dominating role in the his teams. This results in forced shots and plays / unforced errors time to time, especially at clutch time or basically as the team fell behind. This year he has the same role but with more mature understanding. First of all, he cut down 3s; he fired 279 with 33 % last year whereas nearly the half this year; 140, even with a improved hit; 35% (Durant 38%). This year, instead of shooting a 3 while the team in set, he rolls down and find the most appropriate alternative to the basket. I can tell the same story for the 2p as well. He finds the basket with 53% (2011: 51% and Durant 50%). He is forcing the rim more; important for two reasons; the defense formation is disturbed together with increased score and assist (especially for 3s) opportunity; (from 4,3/5,9 to 4,9/6,6 score/attempts), this means also one of the criticisms for him is cleared off. His game always involves the play maker responsibility; year by year he increases his assist capability. Considering the "pace and space" offense formation and DWade himself, the decrease in assists from 7 to 6,2 is understandable (Durant:3,5). He should maybe improve his freethrow (76 %) since he is one of the players who grab many freethrow shots.(Durant: 85%).

Conclusion: New LeBron is playing not by heart and nature but also with his game sight as well.     

last but not least; the team he is playing. just after BIG 3 formation, the question was how to manage the ball and the personal egos. Last year, we have seen that this was not an important issue, it was mostly all right; especially this year discussion is over as they added harmony and tactic to their game. In fact, the real and on going problem is the center and the bench. anthony is not the worst but he has nearly nothing as an alternative on the bench. there are many snipers for 3s, but not so dependable. battier and turiaf are good patches, but only for the defense side. nonetheless, there is haslem getting better day by day. Under these circumstances, it is not so fair to compare LeBrons load to that of Durants, having Sfolosha Ibaka Perkins and Harden in addition to Westbrook. This means Miami is not the best team or maybe it will not get the title - we will see in time - but this should not prevent James to get the MVP title.

Efficiency Calculation: ((Points + Rebounds + Assists + Steals + Blocks) - ((Field Goals Att. - Field Goals Made) + (Free Throws Att. - Free Throws Made) + Turnovers)).

Coach

my nominees are,

Gregg Popovich...  with a gang of veterans and rookies, he is claiming the top of the conference and even the league. He knows how to adapt the kader to the facts and conditions. He changed the chemistry and the play of the team from a defensive team to an offense monster.  

Eric Spoelstra... i feel he is accepted by the big3 this year.. pace and space offense formation worked well throughout the year..

Tom Thibodeau.. without Rose he keeps his team winning. but i should admit that Bulls played only 29 games with teams of  >0,500 win and scored 18w-11l.. this is 26-11 for spurs, 25-13 for heat and 21-14 for thunder. 

Gregg Pops for the SA Spurs legend. 

Defensive Player:

my nominees are,

Kevin Garnett.. since he still stands strong as the last samurai. respect his name and age..

Tyson Chandler.. as he was the key point for Dallas dream last year, and he played the same role in New York this year.. This was a little bit harder since NY was one of the worst defensive team last year (21th). He seems to be successful.. NY let opponents reach 100 points only for 21 games (6w/15l) while this was 58 last year (22-36 w/l)

Luol Deng.. brave and talented enough to defend LeBron.. key point for the mid region defense organisation.. 

Serge Ibaka.. one of the most important part of the thunder; although Durant improved his defense abilities and Perkins is a qualified center, the soul of Thunder defense is Ibaka. 3,7 blocks per game is another impressive statistic.

LeBron James.. since he is James, LeBron James.. 

i would like to call for Serge Ibaka..

6th Man:

James Harden.. he played at average 22-27-31 minutes in the last three years..  meanwhile he doubled his efficiency score to 17. this also means in fact he is a starter level player for many of the teams. there is no much player coming from the bench who adds so much as him (instead of O.J Mayo of Grizzlies)

  

but i should mention..

Ersan İlyasova .. after all problems in the kader he became a starter as a consequence.. however, if he would be realized earlier as a 6th man, he surely would claim this title.

Most Improved Player:

Jeremy Lin.. transition from an ordinary unwanted bench guy to a legend. the cindirella man was playing for the "west coast" last year with a bunch of looser stats; 9,8 mins in 29 matches coming from the bench with a 2,6 p/1,2 r/1,4 a. with a conclusion of 4,34 efficiency point. and the prince time. 35 games till injury, 25 of which as a starter; 26,8 mins result in 14,6 p / 3,1 r / 6,1 a and 14,94.. The fairy tail should be crowned with a title for sure and being a player of NY franchise makes this conclusion easier.

Ryan Anderson.. it should be hard to grab 7 rebounds and score 15 points along with superman, ha?. 

Jeremy Lin since he turned a disappointment story into a acceptable transition failure for NYork.

Most Improved Player:

Kyrie Irving.. no other alternative at all.. he met all expectations of being draft #1..

i love this game..

NBA 2K12 at the edge of the regular season

oynanırdı oynanmazdı derken başlayan kısa sezon beklentilerin de üstünde bir keyifle sürdü ve yoğun bir takvimin sonunda playoff dönemi geldi çattı.

şampiyonlar..

doğuda bulls ve miami, batıda oklohoma şampiyonluğun en büyük adayı beklentilerini boşa çıkarmadı. bulls rose'un (25+ maç kaçırdı) sakatlığına rağmen takım kimliğini öne çıkararak iyi bir seviyede bitirecek. miami ise gerek big3 nin wade bacağını kaybettiği dönemler gerekse mental olarak yogun takvimde ipleri bırakması nedeniyle beklenenden düşük viteste tamamladı. oklohomada çifte patlar westbrook ve durant yanıyor, ibaka perkins ve sefolasha ise söndürüyor formülü inanılmaz sonuçlarla devam ediyor.

yükselen yıldızlar..

yılın flash takımı clippers özellike ihtiyar kurt billupsı kaybettikten sonra yavaşladı, ama batı yakasının yılların ezilmiş takımını yukarılarda görmek güzel. belki de bu yılın en güzel olayı öncelikle şampiyonluk sınırında olmasa da bazı ekstra takımların ön plana çıkması oldu. Doğuda indiana, batıda memphis keyif verdi.

kayda değerler...

yine doğuda atlantanın istikrarını sürdürmesi (her ne kadar bir adım öteye geçemese de), her yıl atletizmden birşeyler kaybettirse de tecrübeleriyle hep başa çeken boston, ve sene içindeki önemli kayıplarına rağmen son ana kadar playoff barajını kovalayan ersanlı milwaukee oyuna değer kattı. öte yandan batıda bostona nazire yaparcasına spursun hala konferans zirvesine oynaması bu oyunun gücü. lakers sene başında ve ortasında gasol takas fikirleri ile takıma huzur vermedi (keza ben olsam bynum'ı takaslarım) halbuki sadece 1 numaramsı bile yeterdi, keza sessions ara transferi bile lakersı tekrar bir vites ileri aldı, en azından final yolu aralandı. mike brown ipleri sıkı tutarsa bir de kobe azcık topu bırakırsa olur.

hayalkırıklıkları..

doğunun adı unutulmaya yüz tutmuş takımı new yorkun cevabı kendi big3 sini yaratmak oldu ama amarenin yaşı ve sakatlıkları carmelonun savrukluğu chandlerin bir big olmaması ve bench boşluğu vsvs balon etkisi yaptı. doğu yakasının clippersı sayılabilecek nets de benzer bir atılım yapmak istedi ama transferde sadece deron ile sınırlı kalınca 20+ galibiyete takıldı, sanırım deron da kalmayacaktır. ve portland.. yıllardır sakatlıklar problemler ile boğuşan portland sezona da çok iyi başladı ama malesef gerisi gelmedi.. charlotte; nba de bir takımın <10 galibiyette kalması sistemin doğasına aykırı..