The New Sudoku Players' Forum

by **Hud** » Sun May 06, 2007 5:34 pm

It was too bad the Rockets had to check out. I think much of their problem stemmed from the Bonzi Wells Fiasco. They need another play maker I believe. T-Mac wasn't shut down, but was controlled. I'm sure the Spurs will do everything possible to bottle Nash up today. When that happens, Amare must go inside and battle Duncan. I do worry about Parker's Speed. It should be a very good series, but I probably won't watch the games. I can't stand to watch the eastern teams play. I suppose that kind of team can win championships, but I just don't like to watch it.

by **udosuk** » Mon May 07, 2007 4:13 pm

Hud, Steve Nash fought gallantly against the Spurs despite having his nose crushed in half from a collison with Tony Parker's forehead. Too bad the bleeding disabled him for 45 seconds in the last minute which allowed the Spurs to extend the lead to 4 pts and pull out the game. I think it would be too much for your heart had you watch it live.

Hopefully they can bounce back from this loss. If the MVP voting takes place right now Nash would undoubtedly be the unanimous MVP. :!:

And very good insight on the Bonzi Wells issue. A few months ago I already speculated he would be a crucial factor in the Rockets' playoff chances. To think I have kept myself from talking about them and jinxing their chances and they still blew it big time against one of my all-time hated teams (sorry but I always think the Jazz are a bunch of dirty cheap-shot elbows/knees delivering thugs since the days of Stockton-Malone).

Now there are reports that Jeff Van Gundy is leaving Houston I hope they will acquire a good new coach with at least the calibre of Rudy Tomjanovich and a great PG in the offseason. Chauncey Billups might be too wishful-thinking, but I hope it will be someone as good as a healthy Steve Francis. Rafal Alston is easy to watch but his defense is a big liability to the team. I think even Steve Blake from the Nuggets is a better choice for the Rockets.

by **Hud** » Mon May 07, 2007 10:40 pm

Udosuk, I had to wqtch the first half of the game and managed to take it in stride since the Suns led by 2(?). I ignored the second half since my son left and I no longer had to watch the game. I didn't like several of the calls especially the one against Amare late in the 2nd quarter. That really hurt since it was also his 3d PF and probably affected his play. I can't ever rule anything out in basketball, but I sure hope we win game 2. Nash called out several players for lackluster play after the game, but I don't think he named names.

Can you believe the one year contract Clemens got from the Yanks? $18.5m for 4 months work. Maybe I'll come out of retirement and try to get another job designing circuit boards.

by **udosuk** » Tue May 08, 2007 3:59 am

Too bad Joey Crawford wasn't the referee in the series.

I know the Yankees need the Rocket to revive their season. Today they lost another game due to a clear umpiring mistake at 2nd base. I think they're destined to miss the playoffs this season.

Clemens' contract also costs the Yankees $7.4M in luxury tax, so they're spending $26M for 4 months of his work. If they don't get into the playoffs that would be all in void. I suppose they can only make it a decent deal if they somehow can get all the way through to the World Series and win it.

by **Hud** » Wed May 09, 2007 2:24 pm

The Suns survived a "must win" situation last night. Maybe they ought to play at the slower, more defensive pace all the time unless they fall behind in these games. There was an article in today's paper about Diaw, Parker and Turiaf being friends and having all attended a sports academy in France at the same time. Diaw and Parker were roommates, and Turiaf's room was down the hall. Now we have to snag one of the games in San Antone.

I wonder if the Jazz can control the Warriors? I believe they can, but I guess it remains to be seen.

The Yankees are starting to get some pitching, but Rivera seems to be struggling. Did I hear an announcer pronounce Wang's name, "Wong"? The D-backs seem to win and lose games in bunches. I like the looks of some of the young pitchers. Now if only Webb and RJ would get some consistancy.

by **udosuk** » Wed May 09, 2007 3:44 pm

Good win to the Suns today. It seems starting Kurt Thomas to defend Tim Duncan was a great idea, which saved Amare more energy on offense. It's the Spurs' turn to adapt.

In Taiwanese/Mandarin "Wang" should be pronounced as "waang", although I suppose they would accept English people pronounce it as a short "a" like in "w@nk". "Wong" is more like a Hong Kong/Cantonese pronounciation. The literal meaning of that surname is "King".

by **Hud** » Fri May 11, 2007 3:54 pm

I can't believe the Pistons scored 28 points in the first half last night and ended up winning by 7. I guess it's possible if the Bulls don't score much in the 2d half.
There's supposed to be a film clip on UTube (I think that's the site) showing Bowen kicking at Amare's heel on a breakaway while Amare is in the air. I haven't seen it, but assume it's true. Amare has called out Bowen and Mano for dirty play. As long as he can back it up on the court, I don't mind Amare bad mouthing people/teams.
I read the Bowen pointed out a drop of blood on the court after Nash returned to action in game 1 thus getting Nash sent to the bench. That was a legal act, but a little chicken imo. The newswriter pointed out that if that didn't work, Ginobili would havbe flopped next to the blood drop and the ref would have seen it. Maybe by the end of this series, Diaw and Parker will get into it lol.

by **udosuk** » Fri May 11, 2007 4:49 pm

Here is the address of the film clip:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sc4yz__akIU

I can't really conclude if it's intentional with the video, even though it's in slow motion. When I play I often accidentally step on somebody's heel

. But I never like Bruce Bowen as a player anyway.

And this is the quarter-by-quarter score of the Pistons-Bulls game:

Code: Select all: Pistons 18 10 32 21 = 81 Bulls 20 24 17 13 = 74

As you can see, the Bulls outscored the Pistons 44-28 in the 1st half, but was outscored 53-30 in the 2nd. Not that extraordinary I'd say.

And what do you think of the All-NBA teams this year :?:

:

1st team:
Nash, Kobe, Dirk, Duncan, Amare
2nd team:
Arenas, T-Mac, Lebron, Bosh, Yao
3rd team:
Billups, Wade, Melo, KG, Dwight

I would have opposed to the selection of Amare over Yao as the 1st team center, but I guess it's legit since Amare is in round 2 and Yao isn't.

Of these 15 players, only 5 are in round 2 (Nash, Billups, Lebron, Duncan, Amare). Perhaps these 5 deserve to be the first team more...

by **Hud** » Sat May 12, 2007 4:10 am

I just noticed the part of your post about the all NBA squad. I'm a little surprised to see Nash and Amare on it. I don't think Nash has ever made it before and Amare's not a true center. Maybe he's the prototype of the center of the future? Another surprising think is that all the first teamers are from the west.
The Warriors took care of business tonight and I'd pick them to go to the next round.
As expected, Dirk will get the MVP award. It's too bad he was neutralized in the playoffs thus clouding his legacy imo.

by **re'born** » Sat May 12, 2007 9:14 am

Baron Davis' playoff performance really highlights how sad it is he can't stay healthy during the regular season. He would easily be on the above list if he could.

by **udosuk** » Sat May 12, 2007 3:34 pm

I'm also rooting for Baron Davis & the Warriors. But let's not jump too far ahead... To win the series they need to protect their home court twice more and try to steal a game in Utah in either game 5 or 7.

From the Suns' perspective I suppose they want to face the Warriors more?

Here is a link listing all previous All-NBA teams:
http://www.nba.com/history/awards_allnba

Nash has been on the 1st team for the last 3 seasons (since he joined the Suns). Another notable thing is Shaq has been the 1st team center 7 years in a row before this season, and he's not even on the 3rd team this time.

Welcome rep'nA for joining our discussions!

by **re'born** » Sat May 12, 2007 7:49 pm

I grew up in the Bay Area, so it won't surprise anyone to find out that I am a huge Warriors fan. Naturally, they wait until the year I move out of the country to go to the playoffs. I'm not worried about them holding serve at home, they've been exceptional there all season. If they can take game 5 I give the series to the Warriors. If it goes 7, though, Jerry Sloan is too good of a coach to let his team lose a home game 7.

As for the Suns, yeah I gotta think they'd rather play the Warriors. They play the same style as the Warriors, they're just better at it. The Jazz are a solid team that can break the Suns down in the low post. The Jazz are to the Spurs as the Warriors are to the Suns, and I don't think the Suns particularly like playing the Spurs.

udosuk wrote:Welcome rep'nA for joining our discussions!

Thanks! I love hanging around the board, but the main areas seem to dying off a bit lately. So I thought I'd chill in here with you guys (it sure smells better in here).

by **Hud** » Sat May 12, 2007 9:51 pm

Udosuk, I didn't recall anything about Nash being a first teamer last season. That kinda surprises me. Call me Pollyanna, but I still think when healthy, the Suns can, and probably should, beat any team in the league. We'll see how they fare today, but I hope they give the Spurs another defensive lesson (but will they?). I also think the Suns can play inside when they use Amare and Kurt Thomas against bigger teams. I was happy to see them get away a little from the "small ball" concept. For some reason, I fear the Warriors more than the Jazz.

Rep'nA, nice to see another perspective on the thread.

by **udosuk** » Sun May 13, 2007 3:58 am

Too bad the Suns lost today. To beat the Spurs I think they need Amare to play 120% and have Duncan on an off night. Today's game was just the opposite of that.

I can understand Hud's concern about the Warriors, as when they're hot they're very dangerous and the Suns must play at their best to beat them. However I think you're being a bit too optimistic about the consistency of the Suns' defense and big-men-game. I still think the Jazz have enough big (and dirty) players to hustle the Suns out of their comfort zone. I know the Spurs definitely like to face the Jazz rather than the Warriors.

So in a word, the Spurs prefer the Jazz, the Jazz prefer the Suns, the Suns prefer the Warriors ( :?:

) and the Warriors prefer the Spurs. And we're in a nice loop situation here.

rep'nA, let me guess, you're also a fan of the Giants or the A's? Today both of them lost and Barry Zito was whacked for 4 runs in the 1st inning. Barry Bonds didn't hit anything as well. Not a good day for a Bay Area baseball fan...

by **Hud** » Sun May 13, 2007 4:14 am

Ouch, it was a bad day for the Valley of the Sun also. Suns and D-backs both lost. I didn't watch the game and will read the details tomorrow. Losing by 7 doesn't sound bad, but sometimes it can be deceiving.

I'm curious to see how Rep'nA feels about Barry's chase for the homerun record? I've heard that he has a lot of support in the Bay Area.

I read an informative article in last week's The Economist about the drought conditions in Australia on the Murray-Darling River. It sounds worse than I had thought. We have a similar problem here, but no where near as severe.

The New Sudoku Players' Forum

Sports talk (formerly NBA talk)