Hud, not only KG was suspended, but also Ricky Davis... Without their 2 best players the T-wolves got routed by 29 pts... But Shawn Marion played a blinder with 17 pts & 20 rebs in 3 quarters, which probably helped his cause for an All-star bench position...
If I'm a Suns fan I'd start worry about if this current run of luck would dry out in the playoffs... But the Rockets had a lot of bad luck moments during this and the last season and they haven't been compensated yet... I'm still foreseeing a first round matchup between the Suns and the Rockets... Let's see who'll get the blessing of Lady Luck by then...
And what do you know, Hillary Clinton is running for presidency... I know you probably won't be a Democrats supporter if she's representing them?
Sports talk (formerly NBA talk)
by Hud » Mon Jan 22, 2007 4:46 pm
I was a bit surprised to see Garnett suspended. I guess the new clean cut image of the NBA got him. It could have been an explosive situation with McDyess, but it really wasn't much. I was hoping they could shake hands when they calmed down, but I didn't see it happen. They are supposed to be friends off the court. I really will be glad when the Suns can play a stretch like the Rockets are going through against better teams. Right now, when they play very good teams they seem to get hyped up for them and make too much of them. The whole season boils down to who is playing best and is most healthy going into the playoffs. I watched most of the Mavs/Heat game yesterday and was surprised to see the Heat make a game of it before losing.
It's too bad that more games aren't aired in the UK. I'll bet lots of games are aired on the continent what with all their home grown players in the NBA now. I look for Mark Iavaroni (asst with the Suns) to become a head coach somewhere at the end of the season.
Slipping into politics, the older I get, the less conservative politically I become. It's going to take a really distasteful Democrat for me to not vote for him/her. My early prediction is that a Dem will win it. Dems I won't vote for are: Mitt Romney and John Kerry. Hmm, both in Massachusetts.
Edit: Oops, I just read in The Economist that Romney's a Republican.
It's too bad that more games aren't aired in the UK. I'll bet lots of games are aired on the continent what with all their home grown players in the NBA now. I look for Mark Iavaroni (asst with the Suns) to become a head coach somewhere at the end of the season.
Slipping into politics, the older I get, the less conservative politically I become. It's going to take a really distasteful Democrat for me to not vote for him/her. My early prediction is that a Dem will win it. Dems I won't vote for are: Mitt Romney and John Kerry. Hmm, both in Massachusetts.
Edit: Oops, I just read in The Economist that Romney's a Republican.
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by udosuk » Wed Jan 24, 2007 4:27 am
Another day, another win for the Suns... This time they got the revenge against the Wizards in Washington, apparently it's the Wizards' 1st home loss since Dec 9 (btw it was to the Rockets then)... I guess this time Arena wasn't as psyched up against D'Antoni as the last time...
Everyone's talking about how great AI and Melo are playing together, but the fact is they only beat the Grizzlies by 17... Sure their offense is great, but it remains to be seen if their defense is solid enough to enable them a good playoff run...
Everyone's talking about how great AI and Melo are playing together, but the fact is they only beat the Grizzlies by 17... Sure their offense is great, but it remains to be seen if their defense is solid enough to enable them a good playoff run...
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by Hud » Wed Jan 24, 2007 5:02 pm
The Suns downplayed the importance of last night's game, but I don't buy that. They were motivated both to get payback, and also to show that the current best team in the east can be beaten. They finally got 7 men in double figures which I believe is an important accomplishment. I hope there's no letdown tonight against the hated Knicks.
Melo and A.I. seem to be jellin (sic) for now. I kinda believe they'll coexist since they play different positions.
I'll try to watch the Rockets/Spurs game tonight.
Melo and A.I. seem to be jellin (sic) for now. I kinda believe they'll coexist since they play different positions.
I'll try to watch the Rockets/Spurs game tonight.
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by Hud » Thu Jan 25, 2007 5:49 am
The Rockets got the 6th of 10. I watched the entire second half and they played harder than the Spurs, but it got pretty sloppy at times. T-Mac willed them to win the game. That's 2 in-a-row for the Rockets in San Antonio after losing 17 straight there. The next 5 for the Rockets should be easier, but they have to avoid a letdown. Can they win 4 of the 5?
The Knicks played the Suns tough as usual, but didn't have enough. Marbury missed the game. Where have I heard that before?
The Mavs play the Bulls tomorrow and I have a feeling the Bulls will play well. Oh heck, I'll predict a Bulls win (is that wishful thinking?).
The Knicks played the Suns tough as usual, but didn't have enough. Marbury missed the game. Where have I heard that before?
The Mavs play the Bulls tomorrow and I have a feeling the Bulls will play well. Oh heck, I'll predict a Bulls win (is that wishful thinking?).
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by udosuk » Thu Jan 25, 2007 2:46 pm
Yeah, it was a good win to stop the 3-game losing streak... T-Mac played well in getting 37 pts from 14/24 FGs... The number of shots was reasonable and it's good to see him sharing the shots with Alston, Juwan & Head...
There were quite a few thrilling tight games today... And the Suns win was a little tighter than I thought... The Suns can probably cruise past the remaining 3 games in Jan (Bucks, Cavs, T-Wolves) but they'll take on the Spurs, Jazz, Nuggets in the 1st 3 games in Feb, then another 10 easy games in the month... Meanwhile the Mavs have a slightly tougher schedule in Feb... So I won't be surprised to see the Suns have a better pct. at the end of Feb...
I have a little trivia for you:
I'll give you a hint: it's neither the Suns nor the Rockets...
There were quite a few thrilling tight games today... And the Suns win was a little tighter than I thought... The Suns can probably cruise past the remaining 3 games in Jan (Bucks, Cavs, T-Wolves) but they'll take on the Spurs, Jazz, Nuggets in the 1st 3 games in Feb, then another 10 easy games in the month... Meanwhile the Mavs have a slightly tougher schedule in Feb... So I won't be surprised to see the Suns have a better pct. at the end of Feb...
I have a little trivia for you:
Of the current top 12 teams in the West:
Mavs, Suns, Spurs, Jazz, Lakers, Rockets,
Nuggets, T-Wolves, Clippers, Warriors, Kings, Blazers
Which one of them has beaten every other 11 teams at least once so far?
I'll give you a hint: it's neither the Suns nor the Rockets...
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by udosuk » Fri Jan 26, 2007 1:30 pm
None of these 4 teams is the correct answer...
The Bulls are building a big 1st quarter lead against the Mavs... So perhaps your wish will come true...
Added later:
The Bulls won it... So good calling again... The Mavs FG% was shocking (29/93 or 31.2%), especially Josh Howard (4/20 for a lousy 9 pts)... And the Bulls outrebounded the Mavs 59-45, led by Big Ben's 17...
If an All-star berth is fought between Josh Howard & Marion now I'd say Marion will get it...
Do you know Ben Gordon, the Bulls' leading scorer, is born in London? So at least the English have someone in the NBA to cheer for... Albeit I think "Air Gordon" would decide to represent USA internationally if given the choice...
Added even later:
The All-stars starters have been voted:
East: Lebron, Bosh, Wade, Arenas, Shaq
West: Yao, T-Mac, Kobe, Duncan, KG
Focusing on the West, I can't believe Dirk missed out... KG is solid but definitely not better than Dirk...
So with Yao missing, either Amare or Dirk will replace his spot... And it's D'Antoni's decision... Do you think he'll pick Amare and face criticism for bias to his own player?
Assuming Amare will replace Yao, here is my prediction on 6 of the 7 reserve spots:
Nash, Dirk, Boozer, Melo, Iverson, Ray Allen
The last spot, as speculated, will be fought between Josh Howard and Shawn Marion... I think their performances next week will decide the results...
In the Aussie Open, the 2 men's finalists (Federer, Gonzalez) played lights-out tennis to win their semi-finals... It's gonna be an amazing match if both of them maintain the level in the final...
As for my trivia, I'll tell you the answer tomorrow night, unless you're willing to spend the time and effort to research yourself!
The Bulls are building a big 1st quarter lead against the Mavs... So perhaps your wish will come true...
Added later:
The Bulls won it... So good calling again... The Mavs FG% was shocking (29/93 or 31.2%), especially Josh Howard (4/20 for a lousy 9 pts)... And the Bulls outrebounded the Mavs 59-45, led by Big Ben's 17...
If an All-star berth is fought between Josh Howard & Marion now I'd say Marion will get it...
Do you know Ben Gordon, the Bulls' leading scorer, is born in London? So at least the English have someone in the NBA to cheer for... Albeit I think "Air Gordon" would decide to represent USA internationally if given the choice...
Added even later:
The All-stars starters have been voted:
East: Lebron, Bosh, Wade, Arenas, Shaq
West: Yao, T-Mac, Kobe, Duncan, KG
Focusing on the West, I can't believe Dirk missed out... KG is solid but definitely not better than Dirk...
So with Yao missing, either Amare or Dirk will replace his spot... And it's D'Antoni's decision... Do you think he'll pick Amare and face criticism for bias to his own player?
Assuming Amare will replace Yao, here is my prediction on 6 of the 7 reserve spots:
Nash, Dirk, Boozer, Melo, Iverson, Ray Allen
The last spot, as speculated, will be fought between Josh Howard and Shawn Marion...
I think their performances next week will decide the results...In the Aussie Open, the 2 men's finalists (Federer, Gonzalez) played lights-out tennis to win their semi-finals... It's gonna be an amazing match if both of them maintain the level in the final...
As for my trivia, I'll tell you the answer tomorrow night, unless you're willing to spend the time and effort to research yourself!
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by Hud » Fri Jan 26, 2007 10:54 pm
Don't give me the answer, I'm trying to research with my crappy dial-up and it takes time lol. I believe I can eliminate the Nuggets and Kings?
Edit: I think I can also eliminate the T-Wolves and Sonics thus leaving the Jazz
Clips
Warriors
T-Blazers
I was listening in on a sports talk show yesterday and they said Howard will be on the all star team either by coach's decision, or special appointment by the commissioner. I think both he and Marion will be there and justifiably so. I also read that Nash might start for the west by shifting one of the guards to the forward position. It's a bit sneaky, but the voting isn't altogether representative of the players' merit (I believe). Just imagine if Shaq starts for the east after playing in 6 whole games? I think Amare will start at center for the west since he did play center most of the season. I'm sure someone will feel slighted and have an axe to grind with D'Antoni. Arenas is turning into a joke with his vendetta against the World's coaching staff. He seems to place his stats against them over his team's. I wish we had a do over against the Wiz in the game in which the Suns got snowed in in Denver and only arrived back 2 hours prior to game time. I might be biased?
I didn't know about Ben Gordon being born in London. I'll have to check out his background.
I like the Suns chances against the Bucks since I believe Redd is still out?
I like the chances of strong defensive teams against teams like the Suns and Mavs like the Bulls played last night. It might partly explain the shooting percentage, but not entirely I think.
Edit: I think I can also eliminate the T-Wolves and Sonics thus leaving the Jazz
Clips
Warriors
T-Blazers
I was listening in on a sports talk show yesterday and they said Howard will be on the all star team either by coach's decision, or special appointment by the commissioner. I think both he and Marion will be there and justifiably so. I also read that Nash might start for the west by shifting one of the guards to the forward position. It's a bit sneaky, but the voting isn't altogether representative of the players' merit (I believe). Just imagine if Shaq starts for the east after playing in 6 whole games? I think Amare will start at center for the west since he did play center most of the season. I'm sure someone will feel slighted and have an axe to grind with D'Antoni. Arenas is turning into a joke with his vendetta against the World's coaching staff. He seems to place his stats against them over his team's. I wish we had a do over against the Wiz in the game in which the Suns got snowed in in Denver and only arrived back 2 hours prior to game time. I might be biased?
I didn't know about Ben Gordon being born in London. I'll have to check out his background.
I like the Suns chances against the Bucks since I believe Redd is still out?
I like the chances of strong defensive teams against teams like the Suns and Mavs like the Bulls played last night. It might partly explain the shooting percentage, but not entirely I think.
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by Hud » Sat Jan 27, 2007 5:47 am
Aha, it was the Jazz.
How can the Rockets hold a team to 69 points? That kind of defense has to pay off later in the year especially when Yao comes back.
The Suns held off the pesky Bucks. I think their biggest obstacle now is getting up for teams they are supposed to beat.
By the way, the Suns have a first round pick in this year's draft that they got from the Hawks in the Joe Johnson deal. As of this morning, it was projected to be the #4 pick. The Suns are extremely disappointed in Marcus Banks and will move him sooner or later.
I can't believe emm didn't like the steamed crabs in Baltimore. You never know, she may have gotten them at a bad restaurant or just never developed a taste for them?
How can the Rockets hold a team to 69 points? That kind of defense has to pay off later in the year especially when Yao comes back.
The Suns held off the pesky Bucks. I think their biggest obstacle now is getting up for teams they are supposed to beat.
By the way, the Suns have a first round pick in this year's draft that they got from the Hawks in the Joe Johnson deal. As of this morning, it was projected to be the #4 pick. The Suns are extremely disappointed in Marcus Banks and will move him sooner or later.
I can't believe emm didn't like the steamed crabs in Baltimore. You never know, she may have gotten them at a bad restaurant or just never developed a taste for them?
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by udosuk » Sat Jan 27, 2007 8:31 am
The Rockets played immaculate defense and T-Mac had a spectacular 3rd quarter, but I'm most delighted about Bonzi playing solidly against his former team (14 pts, 7 rebs in 24 mins)... He could be the X-factor come playoff time...
I can't believe the Lakers got swept by the Bobcats for the season... Both teams have displayed the same characteristic: they can defeat the best when they're on, but can also easily lose to the worst when they're off... Just that Lakers have turned on much more frequently than the Bobcats... Another team in the East with similar characteristic is the Bulls...
The AI-Melo duo came back down to earth in Utah... So at least the rest of the league know now these 2 together can be beaten... Like I said, their defense is vulnerable...
And the Wolves have lost 6 in a row... After they started the new year 7-1 (with the sole loss a 1-pt game to the Clips) I thought they're for real with the leather ball but turned out they're not...
Regarding the All-stars, I think the coaches will pick 7 reserves, and one of them will get promoted to replace Yao in the starting five (most probably Amare), and David Stern will pick another reserve... Perhaps I'm a bit hasty to pick Ray Allen, but he really has played well enough so far in the season, averaging 26.1 pts (#8 overall in the league, and #4 in the West)... I think there should be at least 2 players for each of the 5 positions and 2 more extras... So my potential team is this:
We already have 3 PFs, so I figure there should be a 5th guard in the team, and it's Ray Allen (if it could be a PG then I'll pick the Jazz's Deron Williams because Chris Paul is injured)... I think if both Josh Howard and Shawn Marion are included then there would be too many forwards (6) and not enough guards (4)...
And good point about Nash starting... We could push Duncan to the center, and have T-Mac & KG as forwards, with Nash & Kobe as guards... Nash definitely deserves more to be a starter than Amare...
I can't believe the Lakers got swept by the Bobcats for the season... Both teams have displayed the same characteristic: they can defeat the best when they're on, but can also easily lose to the worst when they're off... Just that Lakers have turned on much more frequently than the Bobcats...
Another team in the East with similar characteristic is the Bulls...The AI-Melo duo came back down to earth in Utah... So at least the rest of the league know now these 2 together can be beaten...
Like I said, their defense is vulnerable...And the Wolves have lost 6 in a row... After they started the new year 7-1 (with the sole loss a 1-pt game to the Clips) I thought they're for real with the leather ball but turned out they're not...
Regarding the All-stars, I think the coaches will pick 7 reserves, and one of them will get promoted to replace Yao in the starting five (most probably Amare), and David Stern will pick another reserve... Perhaps I'm a bit hasty to pick Ray Allen, but he really has played well enough so far in the season, averaging 26.1 pts (#8 overall in the league, and #4 in the West)... I think there should be at least 2 players for each of the 5 positions and 2 more extras... So my potential team is this:
- Code: Select all
PG Nash, Iverson
SG T-Mac, Kobe, Ray Allen?
SF Melo, Josh Howard/Shawn Marion
PF Duncan, KG, Dirk
C Amare, Boozer
We already have 3 PFs, so I figure there should be a 5th guard in the team, and it's Ray Allen (if it could be a PG then I'll pick the Jazz's Deron Williams because Chris Paul is injured)... I think if both Josh Howard and Shawn Marion are included then there would be too many forwards (6) and not enough guards (4)...
And good point about Nash starting... We could push Duncan to the center, and have T-Mac & KG as forwards, with Nash & Kobe as guards... Nash definitely deserves more to be a starter than Amare...
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by udosuk » Sat Jan 27, 2007 8:54 am
Regarding the trivia, here is the complete scenario of the 12 teams:
Very surprising that the Warriors & Blazers have a perfect record against the Mavs & Lakers respectively... And it shouldn't be surprising the Lakers had the Spurs' measure... While the Rockets always have trouble playing the Suns... The Clips are certainly impressive in managing to have beaten the top 2 teams (Mavs/Suns) considering their position...
I know you don't wanna admit, the Suns' list stands out like a needle among the top 6 (they have a 0-6 record against the Mavs/Spurs/Jazz/Lakers and haven't played the Nuggets yet)... So they have a lot to prove in the 2nd half of the season...
One thing crosses my mind, since the Suns are so consistently winning against the lesser teams, if you bet on them for every game except against the elite teams it could be a very safe way to win a lot of money! If I were you I'd start rolling a bet on them for the rest of the regular season...
- Code: Select all
Teams -> Opponents which they haven't beaten at least once
-------------------------------------------------------------
Mavs -> Warriors
Suns -> Mavs, Spurs, Jazz, Lakers, Nuggets
Spurs -> Lakers
Jazz -> ---
Lakers -> Blazers
Rockets -> Suns
Nuggets -> Mavs, Suns, Spurs, Jazz, Lakers, Kings
T-Wolves -> Mavs, Suns, Lakers, Warriors
Clippers -> Spurs, Jazz, Lakers
Warriors -> Suns, Lakers, Nuggets, T-Wolves
Kings -> Mavs, Suns, Spurs, Lakers, Rockets
Blazers -> Mavs, Suns, Spurs, Jazz, Nuggets, Warriors
Very surprising that the Warriors & Blazers have a perfect record against the Mavs & Lakers respectively... And it shouldn't be surprising the Lakers had the Spurs' measure... While the Rockets always have trouble playing the Suns... The Clips are certainly impressive in managing to have beaten the top 2 teams (Mavs/Suns) considering their position...
I know you don't wanna admit, the Suns' list stands out like a needle among the top 6 (they have a 0-6 record against the Mavs/Spurs/Jazz/Lakers and haven't played the Nuggets yet)... So they have a lot to prove in the 2nd half of the season...
One thing crosses my mind, since the Suns are so consistently winning against the lesser teams, if you bet on them for every game except against the elite teams it could be a very safe way to win a lot of money! If I were you I'd start rolling a bet on them for the rest of the regular season...
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by mikejapan » Sat Jan 27, 2007 9:06 am
I calculate that Udosuk has posted approximately 194 posts in this thread.
If you subtracted this amount of posts from Udosuk's total number of posts, it would mean that the leading poster would be Ronk.
The extended lifespan of the roundworm from 2 to 20 weeks was quite interesting.
At Djape's site I had come to the conclusion that Udosuk wasn't born and bred in Kangaroo land coz he didn't know the "Incy wincy spider" rhyme. So the answer is Hong Kong, is it? My latest killer posted on Djape's site might be of interest. (I'm not posting it here coz it's far too political)
If you subtracted this amount of posts from Udosuk's total number of posts, it would mean that the leading poster would be Ronk.
The extended lifespan of the roundworm from 2 to 20 weeks was quite interesting.
At Djape's site I had come to the conclusion that Udosuk wasn't born and bred in Kangaroo land coz he didn't know the "Incy wincy spider" rhyme. So the answer is Hong Kong, is it? My latest killer posted on Djape's site might be of interest. (I'm not posting it here coz it's far too political)
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by udosuk » Sat Jan 27, 2007 11:33 am
The beautiful thing about sports is that there is something exciting happening everyday for us to chat about (well, depends on what sport - if you're a supporter of England Cricket then perhaps less frequently
)...
BTW I think the general atmosphere is more peaceful and sophisticated here than other forums... I truly wish there wouldn't be too many offensive personal attacks towards others (seriously or jokingly) appearing here...
)...BTW I think the general atmosphere is more peaceful and sophisticated here than other forums... I truly wish there wouldn't be too many offensive personal attacks towards others (seriously or jokingly) appearing here...
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by mikejapan » Sat Jan 27, 2007 3:54 pm
So offensive personal attacks (jokingly) towards other people are not OK, but offensive personal attacks (jokingly) against other people's countries are OK?? (eg; joking about the English cricket team)
Anyway, the only personal attacks I've seen in this forum in the last week were both by emm. She accused me of liking "Pop" music and 80s obscure bands and Udosuk 's poetry as being a bit dodgy.
Anyway, the only personal attacks I've seen in this forum in the last week were both by emm. She accused me of liking "Pop" music and 80s obscure bands and Udosuk 's poetry as being a bit dodgy.
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