The New Sudoku Players' Forum

[udosuk]

Good for you guys Hud... Nash had another blinder and Diaw came up big... But there're injuries to Marion & Bell, as well Mavs' Josh Howard...

Marion did a great job defending Dirk ("only" 25 pts/19 reb)... And the Suns haven't been out-rebounded too much (38-48)... But as we all speculate, the Suns got a real chance if the Mavs let them score 120 pts every game...

So many people had predicted a Pistons-Mavs final, and they both lost ground there... Let's see if they're classy enough to bounce back...

[Hud]

I know the Pistons and Mavs will bounce back. I really hope Raja Bell's calf isn't too badly hurt, but it doesn't sound very good. I still couldn't watch the game last night and only learned who won this morning at 4:30 when I got up to play 9 holes. Holding Nowitski to "only" 25 is ok. Marion is supposed to be a pretty good defender. In the last round, he was asked to guard Cassell at certain times. I really think Nowitski is a class act. A Dallas rag told the fans to boo Nash and they did. Before the Spurs series, Nowitski said it would be ok to boo Finley. They asked if he thought Nash should be booed and he wouldn't answer. They are supposed to be great friends. Nash was asked about some of the criticism he's been getting in the playoffs, and he said he wasn't supposed to be good enough to play college ball. I suppose he's an "over achiever". These series are going to break down many of the players who log big minutes. I'll still take the Pistons and Mavs, but who knows?

[udosuk]

It's too bad you can't get too excited from watching close games... We're getting no shortage of supply of these this postseason, which is 3 7-game series from being one of the classics in NBA history...

I think Raja Bell isn't a better player than Josh Howard, so in case both miss out, it'd be a wash to both teams... But of course the Suns are currently playing a 7-men rotation, and shrinking to a 6-men unit won't help them one bit there... Also, I just noticed Brian Grant was on their bench... And he isn't used at all... Must be getting too old cause he was one of the more important members in the Blazers team when they were challenging the Lakers dynasty...

On the other hand, the Mavs had Keith Van Horn on the bench, and he could be the X-factor in the series... I just don't understand why the Mavs run the double PGs again... It's not like the Suns are pressing them tough in defence and the Mavs don't really need to push up the tempo that much... Perhaps Devin Harris and Jason Terry are both playing too well to be dropped from the starting lineup, but something's got to give for the team's benefit... Avery Johnson was a terrific PG, but he shouldn't let his preference of certain types of players to influence his game plan...

I read that Nash and Nowitzki (BTW it's not "Nowitski"...) went to dinner together the night before game 1, and Nash allegedly said to Dirk that "one of us is going to the Finals, unbelievable!" or something along that line... It's really heart-warming that players of opposite teams can remain good friends... While sometimes teammates can become enemies (e.g. Shaq & Kobe)...

[Hud]

Thanks for the tip about Dirk Nowitzki's name spelling. I actually looked it up in the paper once, but I was mostly concerned about the "w" vs "v" deal and missed the "z".

I was surprised that the Heat made a game of it last night in the last minute. A break here or there and they might have won. It looked like Prince got hosed on the attempt at calling timeout. Dick Bavetta was looking right at him as I recall.

Tonight I'd like the Suns to be competitive but they were destroyed in both other game 2s on their home court. I think they'll probably split the 2 games when they return to Phoenix.

I think they'll have to play Brian Grant more now that Bell is dinged. Maybe Barbosa can have a career game tonight like Diaw did on Wednesday. Speaking of Diaw, the Suns' owner, Sarver took all kinds of abuse for not keeping Joe Johnson. That trade looks better all the time and we have draft choices coming as well.

[udosuk]

A way of looking at it, we have 2 5-game series now, where the Heat and the Suns are holding home court advantage... But the final games will be held at Detroit & Dallas respectively...

Most people will tend to think the Heat will win it all if the Pistons fail to beat them in game 4... But I think Wade is due for a bad game and it's pending whether Shaq and others could step up for him...

And I think the Suns are in real trouble now... I don't understand why D'Antoni would rather play James Jones and Eddie House than give his big guys a chance... Now the Dallas has Howard and Diop healthy they just have too many weapons to throw at them, even if Dirk has one of his bad nights... And it seems they might have found the way to stop Nash, from the look of the 2nd half in game 2... Barbosa didn't come through as you wished, but Diaw continued to be impressive...

[Hud]

Miami seems to be able to handle Detroit so far. I felt the same way about the Cavs, but Miami looks much more versatile.

The Suns also puzzle me. I see no way they can go with the limited lineup they've been using, but they always seem to surprise me. Greg Anthony blasted Nash last night for not playing MVPish in the second half on Friday. It would have been great if the Suns could have won that one, but one of two is ok. I still see them losing one at home of these two. Barbosa was a real disappointment so far this series. After looking at the stats, I don't see how the game was as close as it was. Free throws were the biggest factor but I suppose the rebounds also entered into it. I guess they'll live or die by the jumpshot and that cuts down on the FTs and RBs. I wouldn't be surprised to see Bell in today's game although the Suns say no.

[udosuk]

As we speculated all along, Dallas got one back in Phoenix. If Dirk and Howard continue to play consistently while holding the Suns back with good defense, this series could end well soon...

And could you believe BK, of all the pitchers in the world, gave up Bond's 715th? It seems everybody we talked about in this thread is gonna have something big happened to them... Next thing we know Curt will throw another perfect game...

[Hud]

That was funny re: BK. I was thinking the same thing when I heard he threw it.

Everyone here is blaming the Suns for not hustling, but I believe they're simply tired from the grind. The game was actually close til late. Early in the season, that was when the Suns pulled away from teams in lesser condition but not lately. Amare keeps getting in the news here even though he's not playing. I hope he can use his time with "Team USA" this summer to hehab his legs and come back strong next season. They also have to strenghthen their bench imo. It simply makes no sense having 3 or 4 guys there who aren't used.

Speaking of coincidences, I mentioned that Amare S's Mom had a troubled past? Last week she was sentenced to 3 years in the pokey for driving under the influence. The paper mentioned that that might have been a distraction if Amare were playing. Amare seems to be taking care of himself and his image, and I hope he continues to do so.

Now we have to see if Detroit can contain the Heat's offense. I don't see it happening, but they may. Shaq was complaining after game 2 about not getting enough touches. He downplayed that when interviewed during and after game 3. He must be a hard man to coach but Riley seems to know him pretty well. Speaking of Riley, he took some fire for his handling of Van Gundy earlier in the season, but seems to have the team on track for a title run.

[udosuk]

You're right Hud. Pat Riley is a great coach and he, instead of Stan Van Gundy, controlled Shaq's ego and blended all the talent into a good mix. The Pistons are not officially out yet, and I don't want to write off their chance totally yet, but it's hard to bet against the Heat now...

[udosuk]

Well done the Suns. Raja Bell came back and played great defense, Barbosa finally played well, and Dirk had his bad game as I anticipated, while his teammates didn't step up enough... Perhaps this will go 7 games again... Could the Suns become the first team to play 4 7-game series in a playoff?

[Hud]

I give up trying to figure out what the Suns are doing or will do. I do feel that they are overachieving and MUST play with maximum effort and emotion to win. I missed the game last night (go figure) but rehashed several different scenarios in my sleep last night and in them they won once and lost once. Non of them considered a 20 point differential.

Before the game, the Mavs were told that Bell would play. Dirk Nowitzki is reported to have said "next thing Amare will play; maybe even Tom Chambers".

Now I'd like to see the Pistons rebound (funny choice of words?). Dirk had his bad game as you theorized, and we'll see if Wade does also.

Just a quick baseball note: The D-backs and Mets play tonight and 2 of the hottest pitchers in baseball go against each other. Brandon Webb has been lights out lately and we know how good Pedro Martinez can be. Both have uinder 3 era's. I might have to watch that game.

[udosuk]

As you wished, the Pistons staved off elimination. I can see why you wished so, the Suns couldn't cope with the Heat having won in 5 and getting a week of extra rest in case they beat the Mavs in 7. Of course from a viewpoint of an outsider fan we'd hope both series go 7 games...

It's so well documented how the Pistons should change to compete better with the Heat (e.g. Prince staying on Wade all the time, more fastbreaks, more aggresiveness...) but it remains to see if Flip Saunders is a good enough coach to grind out a road win in game 6. Look at the Timberwolves' problems this season he should be off the hook for all their underachieving perfomances throughout the years...

Also, I watched a bit of the D'backs-Mets game... Both are terrific pitchers and no wonder it became a 13-inning 1-0 game. Too bad the D'backs couldn't hold on at last. I wonder if you've watched it the whole way...

Perhaps Amare really would come back as a surprising/shocking move... I wonder why Dirk hasn't mentioned Barkley though...

If you are to select 5 greatest former Suns, who would be your choices? Tom Chambers, Charles Barkley, Kevin Johnson, perhaps Dan Majerle, Jeff Hornacek, Danny Ainge, A.C. Green? Or more recently, Cedric Ceballos, Jason Kidd, Penny Hardaway, Stephon Marbury (Okay maybe not him )? Evan Sam Cassell and Robert Horry played with the Suns... Man they must have the highest personnel turnover in league history...

[Hud]

It looked like the Pistons reverted back to their tough defensive minded self last night. I think and hope their strategy is to try to limit the damage that Shaq and Wade do, and see if the Heat's support players can hurt them. It's funny, but if the Pistons win in Miami, they should take the series. It's like the Cav series, but the Heat are lots tougher, obviously. I liked Tayshawn(?) Prince's play last night, and I especially liked Rasheed Wallace standing up to Mourning for him. I hate to say it, but I think the Suns would fare better against the Heat than against the Pistons. That being said, I still think the Mavs will advance. I read that Barkley blasted some of the Pistons for throwing Flip Saunders under the bus for what has happened in the playoffs.

I recently changed the programming on my Satellite and couldn't find the D-backs game. It was on radio, but I got interested in the basketball game. The game wasn't televised on local TV for some reason. Most of the basketball playoff games are also not on local TV either, but I can get ESPN and TNT (the stations they're carried on here).

I wish Amare could return, but it doesn't look like it'll happen. The Suns got a big scare when he tried to come back during the season and aggravated his other knee; I suppose while compensating for the injured knee. Barkley said that his 93 team would beat any of these playoff teams. I wouldn't go so far as to say that. I believe that Paul Westphal wasn't quite ready to coach at that level and may have cost the Suns that title shot. It's impossible to say, but fun to speculate.

Wow, the Suns have had many players and many great ones over the years. Your question as to my personal greatest 5 Suns really makes me think and my head's starting to ache. Anyway, here they are:

Alvin Adams
Charles Barkley
Kevin Johnson
Tom Chambers
Connie Hawkins

I only included Hawkins from what I heard about him, but I believe he wasn't on the team when I arrived in Phoenix in 1975. I didn't include some of the candidates for character reasons, but I don't think that would have changed them. I always looked forward to the day when Kevin Johnson slowed down so he could be a more complete point guard like John Stockton and Steve Nash, but it didn't happen. When he slowed down he retired.
I think when the final story is told, several of the present Suns will be on that team as well.

[udosuk]

Wow, talk about bouncing back. From 11 points to 50... I expected Dirk to response well but not this scale...

Looks like Amare really need to play for the Suns to have anybody to stand up to Dirk... But I can see why it's so hard for him, as atheletically elite people are known to spend their bodies to extreme and it's hard for him to play like 75% on "rehab mode" to not straining the legs too much while helping his team... But I think the Mavs have fully adjusted to Nash's play and the Suns desperately need something fresh to stimulate the team...

I see a couple of your picks are Hall-of-famers from the "prehistoric period" ... But I know they've managed to fight into a final series with the Celtics in the 60s-70s (the Chamberlain-Russell era), and played a 3OT game which is considered one of the best classics in the history. That and another 3OT game against the Jordan-Bulls in 1993, and then another 3OT game vs the Clippers earlier... And in my memory the Suns played another 3OT game about 5 years ago against the Spurs or the Sonics... Guess there's some strange connection between the Suns and 3OT...

So I see you (and many Arizonians) still think Kidd was a wife basher? Also despite Penny didn't play to his full potential as a Sun, I think he's one of the best in his prime (same for Grant Hill)... Of course we'd never know how they'd compare for the Lebron/McGrady/Wade now...

[Hud]

I did mention the character issue, but Jason Kidd didn't seem to impress me for some reason, even before the wife incident. He lobbied long and hard to get the Suns to sign Penny Hardaway, but Penny was hurt almost since the day they got him. One scary thing is that he had the same surgery that Amare had. That type of surgery (micro-fracture) was the end for many athletes. The ones who it helped were younger, and that should be in Amare's favor.I got to thinking about some other great players they've had and Dennis Johnson and Maurice Lucas came to mind. At that time, the Suns didn't seem to like having any players with an "edge" to them. Dennis Johnson went on to greatness (imo) with the Celtics.

Speaking of "edge". I do feel these playoffs are making the Suns a tougher minded team in contrast to so many of their predecessors who were labeled "soft".

Dirk had a career game and may have needed it since I hear it was anyone's game starting the 4th quarter. Some local sports radio guys were speculating about who would win last night's game and one said if they win it, they'll probably lose the next one at home. I have to agree with that. I still feel the Mavs will take the series, but hope they don't get to celebrate on the Suns' home court. 110 degrees here today with around 4% humidity. I could sure use a beer.