The New Sudoku Players' Forum

[Hud]

I also like to root for the underdog in these playoffs (except for the Suns). I have a friend who hails from Detroit, and he guaranteed the Pistons would win every game against the Cavs by more than 20 points. I guess he hadn't heard of big "mo". The Cavs seem to have it now and better win the next game at home.

I did get my wish with the Spurs winning their game. I hope they win another one. I don't have a favorite in that series, but like Avery Johnson. Mark Cuban is a major pia, but he does treat his players well (except for Steve Nash lol).

I was impressed that in both games last night it came down to a similar scenario that faced the Suns at the end of OT1. Both losing teams had around 2 seconds to inbound and shoot one last shot, and both failed badly. Nowitski had a chance for a put back, but said he lost track of the time remaining.

Kobe was on the post game show with Barkley and the other usual suspects. I didn't watch much of him but wonder if he mentioned Raja Bell's shot?

For my next wish, I'd like the Suns to win tonight to get Steve Nash some much needed rest.

[TKiel]

I hope you don't mind me butting in on your two way conversation. (I take it from the lack of participation that the NBA is not the favorite sport of Sudoku-doers from around the world, minus Udosuk, of course.)

Is there really a need to play any of the Western Conference playoffs? Seems like a big waste of time and a lot of people's money and expectations. Shouldn't they all just pack their bags and hit the golf course?

The champs are coming out of the East, no matter who it is.

Tracy

[Hud]

TKiel, you never really know who's going to be hot when a series starts. I know people who thought the Pistons could simply show up and they would be in the finals, and probably win it. They still might, but they'd better play better than they have these last 3 games.

I'm by no means guaranteeing the Suns will get past the Clips or even the Mavs (Spurs look done to me). The Suns even without Stoudemire, match up very well against the Heat and could very well beat them, especially with the home court advantage (?). I'll also take the Mavs over the Heat. The Cavs are harder to figure out. I like the play of their 2 big guys (especially Varejao). I thought he was ejected on a phantom foul last night, but that's the home court advantage.

Feel free to post your views on these playoffs at any time. I wish more posters would. As usual, I won't know who wins tonight til the 10:30 news.

[udosuk]

Hud, too bad your wish wasn't granted... As I speculated, the Suns have to go 7-deep again...

And TK, I don't think your observation that "the NBA is not the favorite sport of Sudoku-doers from around the world" is true... In the past I posted something about soccer and cricket etc, and they were much less responed than this topic (albeit a big bulk of them was from Hud alone)... Perhaps "Sport is not a favourite topic to Sudoku-doers from around the world" is a better description to the reality...

The champs coming out of the East? Don't be so sure... As Hud analysed the Mavs have a good chance against the Heat... And don't write the Spurs and Clippers out so soon... But if the Suns do make it to the Finals, Hud's statement that they "match up very well against the Heat" might be a tad bit too optimistic... Provided that Nash and Wade is a 50-50 match, then Shaq alone will eat them alive (if Elton Brand can give them that much trouble...) Also, home court hasn't been too big an advantage for the Suns so far... In fact, I think if Pat Riley has a choice, he'd mostly prefer to meet the Suns...

[Hud]

Yeah, the Suns never do anything the easy way. Even if the Suns pull the game out on Monday, I believe they've gone as far as they can.

I was basically quoting a sports talk show guy yesterday about the Suns/Heat matchup. If the Suns can get out and run like they did earlier in the season, who knows what would happen in that hypothetical series. If the Cavs get by the Pistons (and that's not a given imo), I'll take them over the Heat.

It is fun to speculate about the games. I didn't mean to pile on the Pistons, but as we've said before, it's fun to root for the underdogs.

[udosuk]

The Pistons survived to fight another day... Again imcompetent shooting at the end but the offensive boards in desperation saved them...

Getting uglier by the minute and more convincing that none of these 2 are a match for the Heat... Unless there's some disastrous injuries happened to Wade or O'neal...

Regarding the Suns, if they can keep running and shooting 60% on FGs and threes, nobody is able to defeat them (unless the opposition (e.g. Mavs) shoot 70-80% )... But is it realistic to assume they can do so in every game? And bear in mind that in playoff time, the defensive level is tripled from the regular season... So any form guide based on offensive powerness during regular season is not reliable... It's an old saying that was proved true from time to time: Offence wins games and fans, but it's defence that wins championships...

I truly felt for the Mavs, the Terry suspension looked unfair to me... Mark Cuban is a noisy brat but he did have a point in complaining about that...

So after 1 series out of 8 in 1st round going 7-deep, we have 3 out of 4 in this round... Remember in the 1st round many were expecting upsets but all home teams won at the end? If that goes to form now we'd have:

Spurs vs Suns
Pistons vs Heat

Which seemed so unbelievable just a couple days ago...

[Hud]

I hope your prediction of the final 4 is right, but The Suns scare me. I'd bet that the other 2 games will be tlose ones, like under 5 points difference. It seemed to me that the Pistons and Spurs had deeper benches and they used their bench players more effectively. The Pistons did get all the bounces at the end, but they did work for em.

The Suns took yesterday off completely. I hope D'Antoni tries to use some more bench players in the game, but don't see it happening. I read that they're basically using a 7 man rotation. I keep thinking back to years ago when the Portland Trailblazers won and used like 10 players each game. I think Jack Ramsey was coach. That was long ago and I may have parts of it wrong.

I also keep thinking of the most disappointing loss that a team I loved had. Does anything come to mind for any of you? You have to tell first lol.

[udosuk]

I hope your prediction of the final 4 is right...

Those weren't my predictions... I was just merely stating the situation if things were to repeat themselve as in the 1st round... In fact my prediction would be:

Mavs vs Clippers, Pistons vs Heat
and
Clippers beating Pistons in the final...

I also keep thinking of the most disappointing loss that a team I loved had. Does anything come to mind for any of you? You have to tell first lol.

If you like the MLB, you can't forget in 2001 when the Diamondback closer Byung-Hyun Kim blew it twice against the Yankees. Luckily for you guys Big Unit and Curt came through at the end. Those 2 losses must have been great agony for all Arizona residents...

As for myself, it came in the 2000 Olympics when Lithuania played USA in the semifinal. The missed 3 pointer at the end almost became the first breakthrough for international basketball against the "Dream Teams". But as it turned out it only postponed the inevitable for 2 or 4 years...

[Hud]

Well the Pistons returned to form. If the Cavs add a couple players, they'll be a force in a year or two.

When BK gave up those 2 homers to the hated Yankees, I almost cried. Curt Schilling and RJ did do a great job that season, but I felt the D-backs were a bit lucky to win the last game. Once again, I couldn't watch the games. When Luis Gonzales went to bat against Mariano Rivera, Tim McGarver who was one of the announcers, mentioned that the Yankees shouldn't play Gonzo to pull since Rivera would pitch him away. Bingo, Gonzo hit it right where the shortstop would have been. Sorry about any mispelled names.

My most crushing loss happened many years ago, I believe it was 1967. I was originally from Baltimore, MD and had moved to Rochester, NY for work in the space program. The Colts were to play the upstart NY Jets in the super bowl (#3 I think). Joe Namath made his brash prediction of a NY Win, and it happened. The night before the game, I dreamed that NY beat my Colts and in the postgame press conference, Johnny Sample who had played for B-more before going to the Jets. was being interviewed and was crying and hugged Weeb Ewbank , who formerly coached the Colts. He was saying something to the effect that we did it coach. After the game I think they actually interviewed Sample, but I hastily turned the TV off. Wow, almost 40 years, and it still hurts. During the 64 season, I got a job as an usher at the Colt games and saw some great games.

What a turnabout it would be if the Clippers could make it to the NBA Finals.

[udosuk]

It gets scary when you talked about sports stories that was way before my birth to this world... But it must have been special when you worked for a sport franchise/organisation... I can see why you felt (and still feel) so attached...

But back to the (more) recent times... The 2001 WS was indeed one of the best classics in baseball history (alongside the 2004 ALCS)... And so many things made it special, the 9/11 effect on NYC, how the Yankees made dramatical comebacks in games in NY, how the D-backs rebounded by routing Yankees 15-2 in game 6, how they turned it all back in the bottom of the 9th in game 7, against Rivera (arguably the best closer at the time), how RJ won 3 games in the series, including both game 6 & 7... And the Yankees never recovered afterwards, only going back once to the WS and losing to the Marlins (my favourite team) in 2003 (another curse)?

But of course your beloved D-backs also haven't done much since but I think they're playing quite well this season and have every chance to go to the postseason...

Also, roughly 2 years ago the D-backs had another major achievement - the Big Unit Perfect Game... And would you believe it that stood as the last no-hitter from now, a period spanning over 2 years... Of course, that's the last season RJ played in Arizona and he moved on to your behated Yankees the next season... Wonder how you guys feel about him now...

Phew... Enough of the MLB, back to NBA... I "predicted" the Clippers to win it all was just speculating how spectacular it would be for a team to "tank" to the 6th seed and "gain" home court advantage, and then manage to win it all (which was of course highly unlikely, as it's very unusual for a visiting team to win a game 7, as proved by the Cavs)...

And elsewhere, Martina Hingis finally won a tournament (again)... And a few days ago I was just comparing the Pistons' game to her game... Guess the Pistons aren't that hapless against the Heat (which I would compare as Venus Williams, whom Hingis defeated in the semis)...

[Hud]

udosuk, that is a coincidence about Martina Hingus. I don't follow much tennis, but in another life I would have followed Sharapova lol.

I never blamed RJ for taking all the cash George Steinbrenner threw at him. I cringe a little when he gets shelled like he has been several times lately. I considered Curt Schilling the heart and soul of the team in 01, but RJ was also terrific, albeit not as vocal. Have you ever considered what would have happened if the D-backs had simply tied the game against Rivera? There's speculation here that BK would have been thrown to the wolves one more time. I wonder what would've happened? It was a bit of a shame that the Yankees failed that year what with 9-11. That was mentioned quite a bit here at the time. I make no excuses for being a "Yankee hater" since I even hated them in the old Yankee/Dodger series in the early 50s. That's as far back as my sports fanaticism goes, but it was fun listening to the games on the radio. OK, I promise to put the baseball stuff to rest, but one last take. Barry Bonds just tied Babe Ruth and there's a lot of controversy here about it due to the use of steroids (human growth hormones). I personally feel he was a great ball player whose career was extended artificially. I'd hate to see him challenge Hank Aaron's record, and don't really see it happening. His numbers this season when he's probably free of drugs are pretty dismal.

I have no idea what's going to happen tonight with the Suns/Clippers. Nothing would surprise me. There are reports of Steve Nash feeling a lot better, but who knows? They also reported he has a pretty bad degenerative back condition that affects his legs. I've got a little of that also, but at least I can still hit a golf ball (far but not straight). I almost forget the Spurs/Mavs game tonight. I suppose it also could go either way. The Mavs are on the road again, but they played tough there in games 1 and 2. I don't recall how game 5 went. I'll go out on a limb and take the Mavs tonight. I hope Eva Longoria sheds a little tear.

We'll have to get a golf thread going. I was watching the last round of the men's tournament yesterday, and couldn't believe how many Australians were "in the hunt" at the end. I can recall when Greg Norman was one of the only ones on tour. There were probably other Aussies, but none was as famous as he. Women's golf seems to be being taken over by the Korean golfers. I was there in 57 and 58 and never saw a golf course, and not many trees except for one place I was stationed at where many of their royalty were buried and not much of the war occurred.

[udosuk]

The Mavs & the Suns prevailed... So 2 out of 3 outcomes from my prediction... But I guess you're happy, at least the Suns won't need to face Duncan and I think Bruce "Lee" Bowen might go to hurt Nash big time...

Nash and the other Suns shot well. 60% FG and 15/27 in 3P, as I said, not many teams could beat that. Now we're looking forward to another high scoring series... Or does Avery has something more in his sleeves to slow down the Suns' offence? Would like to see who the Suns will send to guard Dirk, who has transformed from tall outside sniper to big inside bully...

Golf... Yeah it's quite a big thing in Oz, and after the Shark we have had much more talent in the past decade... But I was watching more ladies golf in the past, from the time Annika Sorenstam and Karrie Webb fighting it out to the now incredible (but not yet fully matured) Michelle Wie (who's actually a Korean by blood), who I think will one day rock the men's circuit... The Korean women golfers are actually a successful model in how good government planning can help develop a certain sport in a country...

[Hud]

I buried my head in the sand last night and didn't know who won til this morning. I did have a premonition that the arena was rocking and maybe that and the extra 2 days off energized the Suns. Their style of play isn't part of the blueprint for post season success, but it worked last night.

According to the morning paper, Shawn Marion is to try to defend Dirk Nowitski. Shawn Marions seems to be a Heckle and Jeckle (Jeckle and Hyde) kind of player. In years past, he was known to disappear during the playoffs, but not this year so far. I truly feel the Suns have gone as far as they can this year, but they are a spunky bunch. They'll have to play every other day in this round as will the Pistons/Heat. I'll take the Pistons/Mavs to go to the finals. The Pistons/Heat will probably set a record for free throw futility. I think Shaq can beat Ben Wallace in free throws, but not by much.

[udosuk]

Regarding Ben Wallace's poor free throw shooting, I read from this article that this is due to some of his wrist ligaments being cut off in a surgery... So it's more of a physical disability than say, Shaq's problem, which I think is more psychological...

I don't really think Shawn Marion could handle Dirk Nowitzki, seeing he couldn't handle Elton Brand. But Suns would mostly try to outshoot the Mavs, and it's more to see if the Mavs can stop the Suns offence enough times... I don't think the Mavs will run the "double point guards" scheme again this time, but instead will feature a more defensive starting lineup, expecting consistent contributions from the big trio (Dirk/Howard/Diop)... I read that before game 7 the Suns commented that the Clippers don't have an answer for their speed... Which surely isn't the case for the Mavs...

On the other side, I think my hatred against Shaq will make me cheer for the Pistons... Albeit how great a player Dwayne Wade is... Can't see them double team Wade though, as he has Shaq, Alonzo Morning, Antoine Walker, Payton, Posey, Jason Williams, etc. to pass to... Absolutely a series of "workmen vs stars", after the 2004 Lakers-Pistons final...

[Hud]

The Pistons looked a bit tired last night, but they did hold their own for the last 3 quarters. I don't think home court will be a great factor in this series so we'll see what happens. I wish defenders didn't have to flop to get a charging call from the refs. I watched a little of the game, but wife wanted to watch the last segment of the singing contest.

I'll try to watch some of the Suns/Mavs tonight since my expectations are low. I was surprised to hear some of the "experts" give a fighting chance to the Suns in this series. I don't expect them to win it, but I'd like to see it go 6 or 7 games. D'Antoni is very close mouthed as to whether Kurt Thomas will play or even suit up. I predict he'll suit up, but probably not play.

There was an article in today's paper about Don Nelson (Sr). It said he lost his desire to coach the Mavs when Nash was traded. My daughter knew Don Jr when he was in Phoenix.