"Blast from the Past-Randolph to Memphis"

     This is a "Blast From the Past" blog.  I am back to blogging a bit more full-time, and I was going through my blog's directory noticing many times I start a solid blog/article, only to get sidetracked too never finish that original blog.  This one stood out to me a bit, as the date I had started writing it was 8/30/09, (AUGUST of 2009) when Zach Randolph was traded to the Grizzlies (for Q-Richardson's $10 million expiring contract) and everyone said he would "destroy their team chemistry" and that "there weren't enough shots to go around with Zach, Gay, and Mayo.

     The onslaught of hate on Randolph lasted months, along with the bashing of Grizzly management, ownership, etc.  90% of the online community was pissed for some reason; I guess they simmede to think

     Of course, I spent wasted time in forum trying to explain to "noobs" that an NBA team like the Grizzlies would play a faster pace and shoot 80+ Shots Per Game... and very few people listened.  I tried to explain that Mayo, Gay, and Z-Bo combined to make a solid SG/SF/PF scoring combo and little-BIG3(aka Celtics SG/SF/PF = Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett).  I tried to explain that while yes, the Celtics Big-3 were a bit more mature (well, a lot more mature), that the Griz plan was great.

     Just in case, for those who might not waste as much time watching/living the NBA  like me Zach Randolph's nickname is Z-Bo.  Don't ask me why, but it works for me.

     I even added up the FGA's from the PREVIOUs year of OJ Mayo, Rudy Gay, and Zach Randolph, and it was like 50 Field Goal Attempts between the 3.  Let's also note that each of these players logs anywhere from 36 to 39 minutes a game, meaning their backups at SG, SF, and PF are limited to 10 minutes on the court to relieve the little'BiG-3.  50 FGA?  Throughout the game they are going to shoot over 80 shots as a team.

     So rationally and logically, how could that be "not enough shots to go around"?  That's 30+ FGA's for the 2 other starters (Conley, a 12ppg pass first PG; Marc Gasol, a near 60%FG Center that anchors the D), and a bench that really has nobody to come in and shoot 10 FGA's a game or anything.  To me the trade made 100% sense; yes they did have to believe in the trade since Zach's contract went one extra year over Quentin Richardson's(who they traded him for), but I believed they were correct as well.

     These were all points I wrote down in AUGUST of 2010 right when the trade happened.  Now I want to fast-forward to REAL-TIME ANALYSIS of what I was thinking.  Remember, I was in the minority while everyone else was screaming "Zach will DESTROY the chemistry of the amazing young players in Memphis: OJ Mayo and Rudy Gay".  So..........

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-Memphis Grizzlies-

2008-2009 Season (without Z-Bo)

Record: 24 wins, 58 losses (Lottery Draft, 2nd Overall Pick on Thabeet)

PG: Mike Conley: 10.9ppg, 5.3apg, 2.4rpg, 1.4spg, 44%FG, 40%3FG, 30.6mpg, 10.4 FGA's

SG: OJ Mayo:    18.5 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 3.2 apg, 1.11 spg, 44%FG, 38%3FG, 38.0mpg, 15.6 FGA's

SF: Rudy Gay:   18.9 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 1.7 apg, 1.24 spg, 45%FG, 35%3FG, 37.3mpg, 16.0 FGA's

PF: Hakim Warrick:  11.6 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 0.8 apg, 49%FG, 24.7 mpg, 8.5 FGA's

C: Marc Gasol:   11.9 ppg, 7.4 rpg, 1.7 apg, 1.1 bpg, 53%FG, 30.7mpg 8.1 FGA's

STARTERS:  58.6 FGA's per game, 161.3 minutes per game

* Rookie Darrell Arthur started a majority of the games (63) at Power-Forward & 19 mpg.  Warrick was just a more productive PF when he came off the bench, and was their "main" PF.
          
     (So in the 2008-09 season Gay and Mayo combined for 31.6 of the teams 77.0 Field Goal Attempts per game.  Maybe the Bobcats shouldn't of traded for Stephen Jackson this season... I mean he takes close to 20 FGA's while the BobCats already had Wallace, Diaw, Felton, who totaled much more than 31.6 FGA's.  But adding a 20 FGA per game scorer like S-Jax made them a playoff team, and adding Z-Bo nearly did the same thing for the Grizzlies.)


2009-2010 Season (with Z-Bo starting PF 38 minutes / game)

Record: 40 wins, 42 losses (almost made the playoffs in the West)

PG: Mike Conley: 12.0ppg, 5.3apg, 2.4rpg, 1.4spg, 32.1mpg, 45%FG, 39%3FG, 10.4 FGA's  

SG: OJ Mayo: 17.5 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 3.0 apg, 1.2 spg, 46%FG, 38%3FG, 38.0 mpg, 14.4 FGA's

SF: Rudy Gay: 19.6 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 1.9 apg, 1.5 spg, 47%FG, 33%3FG, 39.7 mpg, 16.1 FGA's

PF: Zach Randolph: 20.8 ppg, 11.7 rpg, 1.8 apg, 1.0 spg, 49%FG, 37.7 mpg, 16.5 FGA's

C: Marc Gasol: 14.6 ppg, 9.3 rpg, 2.4 apg, 1.0 spg, 1.6 bpg, 58%FG, 35.8 mpg, 9.4 FGA's

STARTERS: 183.3 minutes per game, 46.8 FGA's per game

     (My point is I would hope my 2 best pure scorers would shoot 16 shots a game, but it's never a problem to have 3 players that are 16 FG Attempt scorers as long as you have the right pieces around them.  The Grizzlies happened to have PERFECT pieces around them; their main problem and reason they didn't make the playoffs was the fact that they literally have NO BENCH.  I liked their late pickup of Ronnie Brewer, though he's an RFA and not quit the scoring SF/SG they need off the bench.  If they can sign a SG and SF, or just a solid swingman capable of playing both SG/SF, they will be competing for the playoffs.  Especially with Thabeet developing into an NBA capable backup Center that should contribute quite a bit more this upcoming season for 2010-2011.)

  *( pg = Per Game )

2008-09 TEAM

77.0 FGA's pg, 93.9 points pg,   FG%45, 3ptFG%36
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83.8 FGA's pg, 102.5 points pg, FG%47, 3ptFG%34

2009-10 TEAM

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-CONCLUSION-

     I wanted to rub it in my own face that I was right about the Z-Bo trade being a smart move by Grizzly management and it made the team turn from a young, lottery team into a playoff contender.  Not bad for ONE trade and taking on 6 million extra for this previous season and 16 million more next year (yes $16 million is overpaying Z-Bo, but it's perfect for the Griz current financial / player / salary situation).

     Simply put, Z-Bo was worth 16 wins (in a sense; the other players adapting to the new lineup helped).  16 wins!  That's more than Pau Gasol did for the Lakers when he came there....

     But please, all you NBA forum talkers and bloggers, keep calling Zach Randolph "a cancer to any team" and "the worse 20/10 player ever" among other things.  Sure his defense isn't good, but go look at his production at www.82games.com.  He's simply put a +7 points per game player at PF, meaning his efficient and skillful offense and rebounding are outweigh his poor/mediocre defense by quite a bit.  That's pretty damn solid.

     The Grizzlies have another draft pick and money to spend this summer if they choose to use it.  If they can pickup a solid swingman to play 20 minutes off the bench and provide 10+points a game and Thabeet can really backup Gasol at center, this team is will stare at 45-50 wins, and the playoffs, all season assuming they suffer no major injuries (knock on wood).


(PS:  Did I mention that Zach Randolph was voted an ALL-STAR, for the first time, by the COACHES AND MANGERS of the NBA?  We aren't talking the starting 5 All-Stars voted by fans, which is a joke always, but the actual All-Star backup's voted in by smart Coaches, Owners, and Managers.)

" Final Four- Finals: Duke or Butler? "

           So the final four is over.  It's now down to duke and the Butler university.  I swear to god, I don't think I've ever seen so many white guys in the finals.  This year's brackets had me really guessing.  It's just really ironic, I mean I've been a duke said for years…  Basically sense I was five years old.  But I guess I've given up on them, let me rephrase that, I had almost given up on them.

         So Duke and Coach K are headed for the big show, and personally I think they've got an easy win ahead of them.  Butler, a mid-major college from Indiana; straight from the cornfields of where basketball was created.  I really would love to say Butler has a good chance to win...  But that's simply not the case.

         Butler just does not have enough offense, it's really that simple.  Duke, on the other hand, has one of the best offenses in the nation.  Now butler is known for their tedious game plan in trying to limit the game to as little possessions's as possible.  If each team gets 50 shots, the butler coaches happy.  Too bad!

          Coach K and his fellow players are the real Duke this year.  They have of all the pieces they need.  Now while Butler is trying to slow the game down and keep the possessions clean, duke is going to do the exact opposite.  I am officially predicting a 20 point win by the duke blue devils and grant hill will be smiling tonight.

      I would go more in depth, but this game just seems too obvious; you've got duke, a huge school with many juniors and seniors who have experience, while butler is still that second tier mid-major college.  Butler wants to keep the game total near 100 points while duke wants to score 100 points by themselves.
            
         I would start going off about the fact the Butler head coach presents himself in the essence of John Schyer; are the mormon brothers?  Anything is possible.  But back to the subject....... So...

         Yes.  Defense wins championships.  But, if your not be able to score 70 points in 40 minutes of gametime, well, your defense better be friggin a life changing experience, haha, because you still need to put the basketball in the hoop.

         I will keep this clean.  Duke wins by 17 with the second half running away.  Butler and their schematics will work for probably 10 minutes, maybe 20, but I'm taking once that second half starts and Coach K and crew counter with a European style basketball lineup…  Just like he did with the Olympics last summer winning gold.

JoshFarc's OFFICIAL Prediction:


-Duke 74

-Butler 57

       

         Butler keeps the pace semi-slow in the first 10-20 minutes, maybe the whole 1st half, and it's an ugly game like 30 to 30.  But Duke will go on a crazy run sometime with Scheyer, Schindler, Nolan, and all the others (Zoubek and other KEY role players).  I predict a 13 to 0 run by Duke to help them get that lift.  Then it's smooth sailing and I hope you got someone to bet against you and Duke.  It's really not that hard as people seem to really hate Duke, unless the love them; very unipolar style.

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO DUUUUUUUUUKKIIIIEEES!

"Clipps send Camby for Blake & Outlaw"

LA Clippers trade: 

• Marcus Camby --6'10''-- C/PF ( $7,650,000 / 1year )

 Portland Trailblazers trade: 

• Steve Blake --6'3''-- PG ( $4,000,000 / 1 year )
• Travis Outlaw --6'9''-- SF/PF ( $3,600,000 / 1 year )
• $3,000,000 cash 

Total Traded Salaries Confirmed: 
Clippers Send: $7,650,000 | Blazers send $7,600,000
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Clippers and Blazers 
winners in trade... 

     I obviously love this trade to be typing about it now, weeks after the actual trade happened.  And it's not to say that "Player A is putting up MONSTER numbers" or anything of that sort.  It's just about how trading role players (or glorified role players), who are also all expiring's can really make a team better, and not just for the short term and just this season, but for the future and next summer as well.  I really like where both these teams are at, and feel the management and GM really have a brain-trust that is working well.  So the Blazers FINALLY made a trade that I had been expecting a month prior, similar to this trade ( I also thought it possible to get Okafor for Blake, Outlaw, and a 1st rounder and New Orleans clears mad cap-space, but that probably wouldn't of happened, and is probably why this did.  So let's take a look overall starting with the LA Clippers and see what is going on with them after the trade...

     Getting Steve Blake is a starting caliber PG, low turnovers, top 3pt% shooter, decent defender, and all-around good, smart player. I think Blake is quite consistently underrated.  He is a great backup PG to have for the Clippers, and not only that but he could play next to a big guard in Baron Davis or Eric Gordon and that would be a solid back-court combo.  Blake has played 61 games in 2009-2010, and is very consistent, though his minutes have been down due to young, second year player Jerryd Bayless who has become a player this year and plays PG and SG.  His numbers are still legit though:

  Steve Blake - 2009-20010 Averages:

• 7.1 ppg, 4.3 apg, 1.3 to, 0.7 spg, 3ptFG: 38%
•                 Per 26,9 mpg                

     Now that we see he plays about 26-27 minutes a game this season, and he is likely to remain in that range with the Clippers, as the main backup PG that is guaranteed 12+ minutes per game, along with minutes next to B-Diddy and Gordon that will probably range around another 8-12 more minutes or so, but he really helps them in the things you can't see on paper; his veteran leadership and poise and amazing assist : TO ratio is the tops in the league and should help the Clippers keep their poise when Baron is out or having a bad game.

Steve Blake - 2009-2010 Per36 Averages:

• 9. 6ppg, 5.7 apg, 1.0 spg, 1.8to, 3ptFG: 38%
•                    Per 36.0 mpg                    

     Then the other main piece, along with over $3 million in cash from Portland, is another future Unrestricted Free Agent, but if he fits in well the Clippers could have an advantage in signing him.  Now overall Outlaw's basketball IQ and awareness on the court really need improvement, but his raw athleticism is still amazing and he's proven that he can score the ball in the 4th quarter; he's a very clutch player offensively. The problem can be he plays every minute like it's the last possession, and that can result in brain-dead errors or bad shots.
     Travis Outlaw comes in to basically replace Al Thornton's role who was traded to the Wizards in another deal for the Clippers.  That pretty much gives him the same role that he had in Portland: he's a 6th man scorer pretty much that is good to come in off the bench and score 10-20 points on any given night in 26 or so minutes. Now Outlaw has tried starting at SF, and PF, but he really is the definition of a "tweener" forward. I personally think he's at his best playing with the 2nd unit and getting time at both forward spots depending on match-ups.  But overall he's a solid 6th man'ish type of player to have and come in at either forward spot and give your team much more offense, especially when he plays PF and the team goes small with Travis playing next to Kaman.
     Outlaw has had a tough year this year, especially when you consider that it is a contract year for him and this summer is all about the "stars" in Free Agency.  He only played 11 games with the Blazers before being traded, and his minutes were quite limited to get him back into game shape.  He's been playing games since the 22nd of February since going down on November 14th in 2009.  That means he's only played 8 games this year, 2010, so he's still getting a feel for the game, especially with this new Clippers team.  While he hasn't had the best shot selection, he's still a pretty efficient player:


Travis Outlaw - 2009-20010 Averages:

• 9.4 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 38%3PT, 80%FT
•                 Per 20.0 mpg                

     Now that we see he plays about 26-27 minutes a game this season, and he is likely to remain in that range with the Clippers, as the main backup PG that is guaranteed 12+ minutes per game, along with minutes next to B-Diddy and Gordon that will probably range around another 8-12 more minutes or so, but he really helps them in the things you can't see on paper; his veteran leadership and poise and amazing assist : TO ratio is the tops in the league and should help the Clippers keep their poise when Baron is out or having a bad game.

Travis Outlaw - 2009-2010 Per36 Averages:

• 16.9 ppg, 5.9 rpg apg, 1.2 spg, 1.0 bpg, 3ptFG: 38%, 80%FT
•                    Per 36.0 mpg                    

     This season Chris Kaman made it obvious he is the Center/PF for the Clippers putting up great numbers ( 21.1 ppg, 9.2 rpg, and 2+bpg; not too shabby... I mean he was only a 2010 All-Star reserve.  Then you have youngin' Deandre Jordan who has really picked up his game and is a competent back up for now.  He is not exactly consistent, but that will come with age.  Then of course, I couldn't end this analysis without mentioning that Blake Griffin will be a "rookie" in essence next year, but he will get worked in slowly next year, and I really like this idea, though he might get into the full rotation quicker than I think ( mostly because the Clippers played it VERY safe shutting him down for the year; so he should be good to go come training camp, or summer league. The Clippers are a good team without him, with a lot baring on B-Diddy, and Griffin will determine their improvement.

     I forgot to say that Camby will be a Laker after this season. Seems like a good idea. Partial - MLE or even bi-annual style. Lakers can have Odom behind Gasol at PF and Artest at SF and Camby behind Bynum. Talk about a legit front-court rotation.
     Anyway, I love it for Portland right now. It gives them a much improved approach to the playoffs now, and if Camby is healthy for them come playoff time, they are going to be a threat for sure; they do need to make up the scoring from Outlaw at SF/PF and that PG/SG combo guard spot Blake played. That's gotta be something like 25 points together? 30 maybe?
     Camby's defense is gonna be so welcomed in Portland.  While they do still have Joel Przybilla nad young, yet still a prospect Greg Oden who seems injury prone, sort of like Andrew Bynum was/is.  But Camby still brings them a shot-blocking element they have never had.  I really hope he likes it there and is a good, calm veteran presence that decides to re-sign with the team for an obvious reduction in pay, but still a solid contract... let's say $5,000,000'ish a year or so for 3 years guaranteed; I'm sure that's his range, and at his age 3 guaranteed years is tough to come on (he's like 35/36); that's far older than Turkolgu when he signed his contract last summer; like 6 years difference, haha.  But Camby brings his element to any team and is worth a decent amount of money until he shows he can't still do it.  This season Camby seems to be doing pretty solid as usual, and he's played 58 total games which shows his body is holding up well.
  Marcus Camby in 2009-20010 has averaged:

• 7.2 ppg, 8.3 rpg, 2.8 apg, 2.0 bpg
•                 Per 30.8 mpg                 

     Now that we see he was playing 30 minutes a game this season, let's see what his production will likely be come playoff time when he starts and plays big minutes, at least 36 a game, if not more; here's his Per36:

• 8.4+ ppg, 13.9 rpg, 3.2 apg, 2.3+ bpg
•                    Per 36.0 mpg                    

     Then Oden and Przybilla both coming back to Portland next season most likely (they could be traded to re-sign Camby, you never know).  Camby can play both Center and Power-Forward like he did next to Kaman with the Clippers, as well as earlier in his career.  It would be nice for them to be able to sit both Aldridge AND Oden (to work him back in VERY slowly) while Camby and big Przybilla hold down the fort at PF and C.  Now that's now a great scoring duo up front, but for 5 minutes rest you have 2 players who block shots and play defense; their defensive tendencies complement each other greatly.  Camby loves blocking shots off the ball while Przybilla(or Oden) both play great on-the-ball defense down low in the post, making it tough to get a good shot off.  Imagine having Oden guard your center while Camby was playing weakside help and you tried to go up for a layup or shot; Camby would be all over that... and in opponents heads.

     So yes, I obviously love this trade for the Blazers.  They lose two solid role players, one expiring (Blake) and the other expiring / Restricted Free Agent (Outlaw), and gain a top 15 C/PF in the NBA who is also expiring with his $7,650,000 contract this season.  The move keeps both the Blazers and Clippers the same financially with the nearly $8 million in expiring contracts still in hand but just different pieces.  These are the pieces that fill the wholes each team has ( especially the Blazers, but Clippers too ).  The Blazers had ZERO interior defensive presence with Aldridge at PF and Juwan Howard (really a PF) playing Center.  They had no shot in the playoffs with that lineup.  They simply saw that Jerryd Bayless had stepped up his game tremendously, not only with his scoring and efficiency with free-throws, but his overall game at PG.  This allowed Blake to be put on the block.  Martell Webster back playing healthy, and now Nicolas Batum back from injury they have plenty of players capable of playing both SF and PF, which allowed Outlaw to become expendable.  Their new rotation is very solid, and I have to say that I really think the Blazers could be a scare in the playoffs if they are close to 100% healthy ( especially Roy and Camby ).
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- Trade Evaluation -


Portland

      Blazers's rotation (done my way):

-PG- Andre Miller - ( 36 minutes ) | Jerryd Bayless - ( 12 mins )

-SG- Brandon Roy - ( 38 minutes ) | Jerryd Bayless - ( 12 mins )

-SF- Nicolas Batum - ( 24 minutes) | Martell Webster (24 mins )
-PF- LaMarcus Aldridge - ( 36 minutes) | D. Cummingham ( 12 mins)
-C-  Marcus Camby - ( 34 minutes) | Juwan Howard - ( 14 mins)
------------------------------------
-6th Man- Martell Webster
------------------------------------


     All around this is a very complementary lineup, and when Brandon Roy is at full health and playing at his best, this team is still straight up going to compete with any team in the NBA.  When I look at how they match-up with certain teams now, I think they could even, at least, "scare" a team like the Lakers in the Playoffs if Camby is healthy and out of foul trouble while Roy leads the charge and Aldridge plays second fiddle.  It's weird to say with Oden AND Przybilla out, but the Blazers are still one of the strongest rotations with Bayless, Batum, Howard, and Cummingham ( a surprise rookie ) all off the bench.  Of course, this team comes down to Brandon Roy in the end, and if he's doing his thing efficiently, and LMA can shoot over 50% and stay consistent as the 2nd option, this team is dangerous.  Dre at PG adds another dimension and guy that can put up 30 on any given night as well, while both Batum and Webster can go for 20+ any game.  Then of course Camby will block 5 shots on a great night, grab 15 rebounds, and hopefully keep the opposing Center around 10 points if possible.

- Portland TrailBlazers -
                   8.5 / 10.0

     -trade note: I love the trade for Portland and think it's close to a 9.5, but when I heard they had to also pay over $3,000,000 in cash to get it done I was thinking that was a little unnecessary, but I still think they could of bumped that to like $1,000,000 or just no cash at all.  Anyway, Camby is the perfect fit, and they have the same $8,000,000 in expiring contracts too, so they did get better and their cap is identical... that's usually the sign of a good move. 

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- Trade Evaluation -

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Clippers

Clippers's rotation(done my way):

-PG- Baron Davis - ( 36 minutes ) | Steve Blake - ( 12 mins )

-SG- Eric Gordon - ( 38 minutes ) | Steve Blake - ( 12 mins )

-SF- Rasual Butler - ( 32 minutes) | Travis Outlaw (16 mins )

-PF- Drew Gooden - ( 32 minutes) | Travis Outlaw ( 16 mins)

-C-  Chris Kaman - ( 36 minutes) | Deandre Jordan - ( 12 mins)

---------------------------------

-6th Man- Travis Outlaw

---------------------------------

     I have really started to grow fond of the Clippers this past season ( and a little bit last season ). They've made some very smart moves, and I swear on something sacred that I couldn't of been happier when I found out that not only did this trade go down but Mike Dunleavy Sr. was no longer the head coach of the Clippers organization; though he's still GM and apart of the organization.  This team looks like it's ready to go on a run and get to the playoffs or it's about to die a painful end of season death streak... it all depends on how their chemistry forms.  So far they've played 11 games and only had 4 wins.  That's not going to cut it... but I am giving them another week or two to get their chemistry together to see what happens.

    But then again, they only have $33,000,000 committed in cap for this upcoming 2010-2011 summer. That's looking like $25+million in available money to use on the Free Agency this year... one that includes all these huge names yet the Clippers are never mentioned.  Why wouldn't someone like Joe Johnson or Rudy Gay want to go to LA and play on the Clippers.  Sure, it is LA's "other" team, but that could evolve any time the Clippers become a consistent playoff threat in the future.  Either way, this team is built solid, with B-Diddy and Kaman taking up $25,000,000 in cap, this team will definitely be doing some work in the off-season.  They lose tons of players, but their best players: Chris Kaman, Baron Davis, Eric Gordon, young DeAndre Jordan, and of course the "rookie" Blake Griffin are all still Clippers next season with that money.  Where does that leave them?  Can Griffin play small-forward next year?  Can Jordan play Center next to Kaman at PF successfully?  Will they re-sign Blake or Outlaw or Gooden with their extra cash?  

- Los Angeles Clippers -
            8.0 / 10.0

     -trade note: I love the Clippers more After this trade, but I can't help but feel like they basically made a lateral move somehow, even though they traded a C/PF for a solid PG and a solid combo forward.  The Clips did trade with the Wizards too, getting Drew Gooden's expiring among other things, and sending away Al Thornton and Sebastian Telfair, who I felt was doing alright at backup point; but I could not stand Thornton one bit... his game is more one dimensional than Corey Maggette's.  Now Outlaw is similar in the way they play, but he can shoot and is proven to be clutch.

''NBA 2k10 PC Review'' - JoshFarc.com

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     I was originally writing a quick reply to someone in an online forum about NBA 2k10 on PC (at the actual companies website and forum he and so many other's will go to somewhat often. But through some time it became an original post and quick blog... interesting how that works. This game has no real online mode(yet); though the actual 2k Server itself works and we do all that 2k Share "mode / options" through the server which makes Association Mode and My Player mode completely original and different.  When you attempt to go discuss the game in the "NBA 2k10 PC" International Forum on the 2k Sports official website, I lie you not, it consists of 90% nagging children "who want their internet modes to work (so they come on the official 2k forum and biitch about it DAILY and ask for refunds; haha, I just laugh at that when I think about what a steal this game was at $20 bucks right off the market.  

     The online modes "will eventually come", and that's a definite knock on the game because the times we've been able to play online and get a good game going you're really just sitting and watching the potential it has.  So those of you who have cried for 4 months since it's release rather than play it's "MY Player" mode (can put 100's of hours into it) as well as the "Association Mode" (100's of hours), or haven't just messed around with the All-Star teams or just played simple, semi-short games of regular teams in real life to see how similar the players and teams look, run, shoot, score, individual styles, etc, well then, you've been wasting valuable time.  By the time the online mode works, those of us who have played "My Player" or "Association" for hours on end will be the ones dominating when we can finally play... enough prologue, to the game:

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--______JoshFarc's Official Review of______--
--______NBA 2k10 PC______--

Overall: ( ?.? / 10 )

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ASPECTS OF THE GAME ANALYZED IN DEPTH:

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(_---_---__---__ My Rig Experience__---__---_---_)

     The game overall pretty much deserves, flat-out, a minimum of an 8 on a scale of 10. Running it with my current setup (25" 1900 x 1200 monitor / 21.6" 1680 x 1050 dual monitor setup), you can see I have a nice monitor / video setup.  But my actual PC, especially the video card, are not "new" by any means, but I still run 2k10 at 60fps consistently. Powered by the first quad-core: q6600 Intel Quad processor @ 2.7ghz(OC'd), an 8800gt 512mb video card(my next real upgrade comes here, but it does the job), and then my recently added 4.0gb of extra ram to make it a total of 8.0gb of memory; it never comes close to occupying 4.0gb of total memory when I am doing unheard of things on 2 monitors, so having all that extra memory for now is useful.  I love being able to use Adobe Premiere on my left, smaller monitor while I play 2k10 on my main monitor and record video clips with Fraps(really is a great program worth the price). Simply put I can record live 60fps video from the 2k10 game, usually replay mode or reels, and then I can open that video file in Adobe Premiere on the other monitor without any real slowdown.  Really love the memory.

     This game came ready and ported to function with multiple OS's, including Windows 7 and 64bit processing, but works literally perfect on Windows XP 32 bit(tested by me) and appears fine on either Vista OS. Even with it "windowed" on my 1900 x 1200 monitor while I have other tasks going like this browser on the secondary monitor, the game still runs around 60fps for the most part (possibly more drops to 50 when in "windowed" mode, which is completely playable still. And that's because while my video card is solid, it's getting old and could be upgraded. So I am guessing you can run this game fine with a solid Dual Core processor, 2gb of ram /memory, and a video card that is in my range at the minimum to keep everything crisp.

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(_---_---__---__ GAME/GAMEPLAY__---__---_---_)

     Game with and against similar level AI and a set of specialized sliders(manually changed or downloaded),downloaded aspects, and this game is damn solid and the AI are fine at All-Star level when you have the right sliders. It's all about sliders / difficulty with the game as far as having a great experience with this game in Association Mode; it's still got depth and should be played; but those who don't really like or watch the NBA then it's a lot different.

 

     The detail to the players they have used (and rating system), and not just the improved graphics they tweaked, I mean each player is daily on the correct team if you want to just play a quick game and shit, I always just play a game real quick with short quarters and play the game(on the perfect settings for AI against me) and play the game. I swear, the first 10 games I basically tried it, 8 of the games were correct. Then I figured I would try some more tests, just 10 games at a time. The results was interesting, with one 7(and the actual game was a playoff game that went into OT and resulted by a 3 point spread/win), two 8's, one 9, and one 10. It's a solid game, and is extremely realistic simulation style. I don't even gamble even though I probably should of.

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(_______---____My Player Mode____---_______)

My Actual Player: Kidd Magic 

2k development obviously spent a ton of their time this year creating and

tweaking with the added My Player mode; Simply put, it's badass from the get go. You enter the mode, create a player (name, nick, position, size, quite detailed facial / body aspects), as well as choose his primary position: for example I chose "PG" and then there are like 5 sub-categories I believe to start out as (effects attributes basically).  Pass First, Scoring Guard, Athletic, Pure Shooter, All-Around, and I think that's it, but don't quote me on that.  Since I made my player a 6'6'' PG I figured he needed that boost of athleticism so I chose "Athletic"; right off the bat you better only take wide open jump-shots and know his release or you WILL miss. I've discovered most people go "Pass First" when they're guards and often go "All-Around" when it comes to any position; it can't really hurt. Then you go ahead and finish creating him/her up and Start the game. Instantly you find yourself in a Summer League on a team like the Minny Timberwolves.  I could go on all day about the intricacies of the system that grades your player during the game, leaving you with an overall grade, and then later you can see your offense, defense, and rebounding grades.  Let me keep this part breif, so you can enjoy your own "MY Player" if you are interested.  You play 10 games in the Summer League, along with 10 Drills you can run to improve certain attributes and also earn Skill Points, which go towards "buying" more skill points.  Either have a great Summer League and either get offered a contract or offered a chance to compete for a spot at a teams training camp, or play poorly in the Summer League and enter the NBA D-League; where you can get stuck, just like in real life.  The key is to go to a team that is relatively weak or needs depth at your preferred position.  You should end up playing 10 more games for that training camp, and by the end of it either the team's management boots you to the D-League or you end up making the last spot of the team.  Don't feel bad either, I was the LAST spot on the team, and only got like 10 minutes per game in the rotation for the first 5-10 games of the season.  

     The KEY to the game is simple: just because it's "MY" Player doesn't mean you have to score 40+ points a game with your guy.  The game will score you positively for doing so many things other than taking and making a good shot, like: "set off-ball screen", "box-out opponent successfully", "fill the lane correctly", "good pass", "assist", "steal", "block", "steal/block leading to a layup", "good spacing", and many more other small things you can do as a player that will boost your overall "Grade"; one which you really need to average an A to an A+ to be successful.  If you play the game of basketball correctly and let the AI do some damage and play as the actual player (which is why All-Star setting is key; it makes your own AI guys play better/smarter).  Just continue playing the game, as the rotations might switch up depending on your coach and your performances and consistency; do well enough right away and they will trade a player to open up a starting gig for you.  The key is to play each game, and try to achieve the little "Goals" for each game.  If you do all that, get an A or A+ overall and win the game for your team, you will earn close to 2,000 Skill Points each game to add to your player, which definitely comes in handy.  There are other milestones and such in which you get bonuses, but I'll leave it at that.  

     So that in itself is the all magnificent "My Player" mode summed up in a very long, drawn out paragraph or two.

     Now quickly put, if you want your player to become a sick player, you need to play at least one full season; I've played basically 1 season + 1/4 a season, including an All-Star Game, Rookie-Sophomore Game, Rookie Of The Year Award, All NBA 3rd Team, All Rookie 1st Team, and 6th Man of the Year (the end of the season is like Christmas if you played extremely well with your player. So now "Kidd Magic" is in the 80's, which is pretty solid overall; high 80's and 90's are just on a different level and yet are not just unstoppable or whatever.  I play on "All-Star" level, and obviously some play more simulation style than others, so in terms of time and hours you could reach the 80's much faster than myself. 

Personal Note (Dynasty Mode):

     Personally I've only put in a couple hundred hours to My Player single player and then of course started the Dynasty mode to start up a franchise and build their future as like GM and playing as as good as possible for the game(mostly the 1st year). I haven't gotten far(time), but I took a team with a solid team while having plenty of 2010 cap space for the summer and free agency; as well as get a solid lottery pick. You can have a solid team and still have 30-40$ million in cap-space for the FA. This is always a good time to do this and simulate the draft(with a solid, even personalized Draft Class that you've imported from the 2k servers(or Alby's, that 3.1 version(sorry, can't think of the name), are both GREAT draft class models as well as abilities. The simulation aspect of the game is pretty goddamn slick, even if you do a quick sim once in awhile...... or more after rookie season.  But don't let my short summary of the Dynasty Mode fool you.  It's deeper than ever and the AI is smarter than ever.  They put together strong teams if you do fantasy drafts and they have strong rotations put together; the teams are coached well.  Combine that with the right set of sliders on All-Star level and you have yourself a game against all these different AI teams that almost feel like playing against a fellow simulation style gamer.  I really think the AI has stepped up in this game overall; not just the court awareness on both ends but the fact that very few unrealistic things happen during a game with the CPU.  That's not easy to do, and 2k Sports accomplished that.

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__________[_____Online Mode_____]__________

     When online has worked(has in the past and it WILL quite soon) make sure you have a microphone of some sorts if not an actual headset like a console so you can chat at the same time; especially in 5 on 5 or 4 on 4 CREW matches. Now the -0.5 is from that: while I don't mind the online part of 1 vs 1 regular team style ball missing for now(key words "for now"), I do want to see how this CREW mode works and if I can maybe get some 3 on 3 or 4 on 4 games where my ping / latency are near or under 100ms. It's quite possible, and once they figure it out over time, those of us other guys just played the regular parts of the game and are quite satisfied. I hope the people that basically "quit on this game" or whatever end up picking it up to play online once it's up. The main key to have a great online experience is to have a bigger volume of players like 95% of the time, and having to "Benchmark Video" at random times can be annoying, but you have to do it to log into the servers and use "Share" mode to get better Draft Classes, Updated Rosters w/progression, special player models from the 60's to current college players; edit and upload your own game reel from a replay; and just so many other things to experiment with.

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______-------FlNALE-------______

 It's Primed for Windows 7 and instantly during one quick play it made 2K9 look like a completely different engine, very unique though you could still feel 2k9. The new My Player mode might almost as addicting the Association single player stylee. Similar feel, better organization (I am glad they keep doing the same type of menu). The true only gripe about the "game" is that it can not be played online? So it was released with an online system/mode "promised" or written on the box and on the website, so the actual online matchups part has been useless except for a 2 week span (I just hope 2k doesn't read this thread because they are making the best basketball simulation PC game EVER if they continue with 2k11. 

     Otherwise, if honestly analyzing objectively and rating this game I'd have to give a score that was relatively close to or near 10 overall. I'll tell anyone I know, even the people who could care less about sports PC games, that "this is the best basketball game ever made" for PC or a console game, and even better if you do certain aspects detailed during for each mode.  Right now all I have done is ranted and raved about the 2k10 game on PC, so let me get ONE thing clear:  I wanted to get this into the blog now before some hater comes on here and posts "you must work for 2k you douche" or some random, unnecessary, illogical, statement like that. Personally, shit, I wish I did, but my top one or two hobby is PC gaming, and I appreciate and enjoy many different types of games.  But to narrow it down, I mostly play: first-person shooters (COD Modern Warfare 2, etc), the new style open world action-RPG's (GTAIV, Mass Effect 2; Assassins Creed 2 soon!), and then of course the couple of sports games I always love each year: NBA(2k), a game that has more lasting appeal for me than COD does, even without online features, then Tiger Woods Golf(EA), NHL(EA), Fifa(EA), and I will of course try any game out there.  Tomb Raider's are enjoyable for a bit, and I'm always checking out those third party games like Psychonauts (just got it for $2 off steam!).  I'm not the biggest Real-Time-Strategy (RTS) gamer... I think I was just born to suck at them, but I did love Warcraft 2 and 3.  

  

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|To be simply honest, it's all about three (3) things:    |
|______________________________________________|
-
-1- Gameplay:  includes the graphics, the game engine and physics, and the combination of things that convert to how the game plays from your gamepad to the screen.  With 2k10 you instantly notice the beautiful flow of the game and the realistic touch added, while the "video game" aspect stays in tact, but has become a bit more complex depending on where and when you are on the court. 
 --
-2- Depth of Modes:  I call this the "underrated rating criteria".  I love online games like COD-MW2 and Gears of War and whatever, you name it.  But the actual "depth" of the single player game is something that really draws instant attention to us, the consumers, and when a games announces a "new mode" you hope to God that it's not just some scrapped in, last second add in.  Rather, you hope it's something like the "MY Player" mode on 2k10, a genius, new way to play a 2k series basketball game, and not only did they implement it perfectly, but it's accuracy and consistency are very solid; very solid.
---
-3- Replayability:  Usually comes down to some type of online mode for the most part.  Games like COD Modern Warfare 2 sell millions because of their ability to have tons of depth added with the online modes: ranking up, upgrades, etc; all which combine entirely for "replayability".  I mean look at Counter-Strike 1.6, a game that I grew up playing basically 10 years ago.  Download it through steam and there are still thousands who play it; much more that play Counter-Strike: Source (basically the sequel). 

--____________________________________________--

     Now while I play the other sports games moderately, when it comes to the new 2K Sports NBA games every year on PC now, I'd have to admit it's my "Favorite Overall Game Of The Year - 2009". Yup... I'm likely to play this game over CODMW2 as well as the newer Mass Effect 2 because I'm still hooked... and the online mode is just about to start working consistently... 10/10 if the online mode wasn't such a tease, but because doing all the new training modes, My Player mode, and testing out Association should prime your game to really play well online.

     100's of hours will be focused on this game in many possibly ways, but you'll end up hooked on getting all the real sliders / simulation gameplay / sim rosters and applying them with the improved Association mode or My Player mode. Or both. Enjoy!

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• Gameplay:  9.5 / 10.0

• Depth Of Modes:  9.0 / 10.0

• Replayability:  8.0 / 10.0 

 _________________________________________

OVERALL SCORE:  8.5 / 10.0

 --___________________________________--

This has been a review by JoshFarc.  While the final score will remain an 8.5 (unless the online mode turns back on full time and action soon), I will be using some more detailed writing, photos, and uploaded video's I've made to really let those people who have never played NBA 2k10 on PC or even console know what it's all about.

It's that damn good.