Basketball (NBA, College, etc.)

Dallas takes game 2 105-98, the Suns made it interesting, but ran out of gas down the stretch, at least they got a split :applaud:

gaijin mark wrote:Dallas takes game 2 105-98, the Suns made it interesting, but ran out of gas down the stretch, at least they got a split :applaud:

Tim Thomas was shooting the 3's amazingly....and kept them in it...
The Phx Suns shoot such a high percentage, and have a good chance to take Dallas in this series. But i really hope that Dallas regains homecourt adv in the playoffs.
I am also glad that Dallas was able to take game #2. :applaud:

qilver wrote:
bagel = sweep? :headscratch:
i haven't heard that one before...lol

Bagel = donut = nada = zippo = zero. :D

dochira wrote:
Bagel = donut = nada = zippo = zero. :D

got it... :applaud:

gaijin mark wrote:But Miami has to feel confident going back home, they won the first game, and with a little luck, they could have won both.

Well, I just hope that the Heat can win their home games and take command of the series, you know how I love to see the Pistons losing :beaten: :hehe: . But the Pistons is a very tough team, so it's not gonna be easy for the Heat to win this series :sweat: .

qilver wrote:Tim Thomas was shooting the 3's amazingly....and kept them in it...
The Phx Suns shoot such a high percentage, and have a good chance to take Dallas in this series. But i really hope that Dallas regains homecourt adv in the playoffs.
I am also glad that Dallas was able to take game #2. :applaud:

Yeah, outside shooting is the Suns' lethal weapon, they are very good at it that it makes them a very tough opponent, and I admire them for that :bow: . But still, I think the Mavericks is the one that deserves to be in the finals after beating the Spurs, so I still root for the Mavs :mrgreen: . Good thing they were able to take game 2 to lessen the pressure in this series :victory:

Saito_Hajime wrote:

Yeah, outside shooting is the Suns' lethal weapon, they are very good at it that it makes them a very tough opponent, and I admire them for that :bow: . But still, I think the Mavericks is the one that deserves to be in the finals after beating the Spurs, so I still root for the Mavs :mrgreen: . Good thing they were able to take game 2 to lessen the pressure in this series :victory:

it was a must win situation for the Mav's in game #2...and they stepped up to take it..
they still need to apply the pressure to the Suns, who have progressed and taken each series thus far......Will the Mav's take it and move on? we'll just have to wait and see... :sweat:

Pistons made a strong run at the start of the 4th quarter, but Miami held them off :beaten:

gaijin mark wrote:Pistons made a strong run at the start of the 4th quarter, but Miami held them off :beaten:

i thought Miami played a good game at home, and did the job...
Shaq and Wade scored well.
They must repeat it in the next game, to maintain their home court adv against Pistons. :bonk:

Let's see how the Mav's do in game#3, in Phx, and if they can take one on the road to regain home court adv.

they did the job in game #2, to tie it up, this next game will be tough, cause Phx could run Mav's off the court in an very fast uptempo shoot them up type game.... :beaten:

gaijin mark wrote:Pistons made a strong run at the start of the 4th quarter, but Miami held them off :beaten:

Well that's good :victory: . I shouldn't have underestimated the Heat. Looks like the Pistons found it's match :mwahaha:

qilver wrote:Let's see how the Mav's do in game#3, in Phx, and if they can take one on the road to regain home court adv.

they did the job in game #2, to tie it up, this next game will be tough, cause Phx could run Mav's off the court in an very fast uptempo shoot them up type game.... :beaten:

Yeah, that is gonna be an interesting game. The thing to watch out in this game is whether Avery Johnson is gonna stick with his balanced lineup or will he choose a small lineup to be able to catch up with the Suns' running game.

Saito_Hajime wrote:

Yeah, that is gonna be an interesting game. The thing to watch out in this game is whether Avery Johnson is gonna stick with his balanced lineup or will he choose a small lineup to be able to catch up with the Suns' running game.

the suns have been able to score in the paint with Diaw, and barbosa/nash driving layups, and with Marion with his floating shoots and jams....other than that, mostly, they shoot the long range 3's and 2's...

if Dallas can contain them, not necessarily stop them cause you can't, but contain the perimeter game, and guard nash's drive and make him work extra hard on defense to wear him out, that will slow the phx running game, and give Dallas a better chance to steal one game or two in Phx......somehow i don't see this happenning as Phx will probably run them off the court and shoot the ligthts out with their long range shots.

qilver wrote:

the suns have been able to score in the paint with Diaw, and barbosa/nash driving layups, and with Marion with his floating shoots and jams....other than that, mostly, they shoot the long range 3's and 2's...

if Dallas can contain them, not necessarily stop them cause you can't, but contain the perimeter game, and guard nash's drive and make him work extra hard on defense to wear him out, that will slow the phx running game, and give Dallas a better chance to steal one game or two in Phx......somehow i don't see this happenning as Phx will probably run them off the court and shoot the ligthts out with their long range shots.

Avery Johnson did both. He used a small lineup with Nowitzki at the center position in some portions of the first half......and they struggled :shakehead: . But he used his usual balanced lineup in the second half...... and as a result, they played well and is now on the lead in the 4th quarter :woot:

The Mavericks won 95-88 :victory: . The balanced lineup looks more effective for the Mavs than the small and fast lineup :thumbsup:

Yup, Dallas kept Phoenix from running and the Suns weren't able to win :beaten:

gaijin mark wrote:Yup, Dallas kept Phoenix from running and the Suns weren't able to win :beaten:

Yeah, the Suns maybe a good team when it comes to adjustments, strategy and tactics. But they are going up against the coach of the year (Avery Johnson), so the Mavericks is the best team in those categories :mrgreen: . Gotta love the mind games that Johnson is doing in every game :applaud:

Saito_Hajime wrote:

Yeah, the Suns maybe a good team when it comes to adjustments, strategy and tactics. But they are going up against the coach of the year (Avery Johnson), so the Mavericks is the best team in those categories :mrgreen: . Gotta love the mind games that Johnson is doing in every game :applaud:

my analysis of the game...

Dallas kept Phx under 100, and to a field goal percentage of lower than 45%, which resulted in a victory for Dallas. I have to hand it to the Mav's, they played tough, and slowed the game, which went to their advantage, and Phx cannot play well in a half court game, since they lack a true big man, that can play a post up game and rebound, shot blocking, which they lack. Also, as one of the announcers said, teams will have off-shooting nights, and Phx had one tonight...that is when you feed the ball down load and try to pound it in and score inside, or atleast draw fouls and hit freethrows...

My confidence in Phx has wavered, as i see a stronger Dallas team, a more talented team than the previous two opponent for Phx...this game was pivot, and the next one, even more pressure on Phx...a true Must win, or else...cause down 1-3 going back to Dallas is not a good thing for Phx. Also, they need R. Bell to play next game, if not, more pressure on Phx as they have a 7 man rotation...
Look for Dallas in the next game to keep applying the pressure and try to repeat tonights performance which was spectacular...

qilver wrote:

my analysis of the game...

Dallas kept Phx under 100, and to a field goal percentage of lower than 45%, which resulted in a victory for Dallas. I have to hand it to the Mav's, they played tough, and slowed the game, which went to their advantage, and Phx cannot play well in a half court game, since they lack a true big man, that can play a post up game and rebound, shot blocking, which they lack. Also, as one of the announcers said, teams will have off-shooting nights, and Phx had one tonight...that is when you feed the ball down load and try to pound it in and score inside, or atleast draw fouls and hit freethrows...

My confidence in Phx has wavered, as i see a stronger Dallas team, a more talented team than the previous two opponent for Phx...this game was pivot, and the next one, even more pressure on Phx...a true Must win, or else...cause down 1-3 going back to Dallas is not a good thing for Phx. Also, they need R. Bell to play next game, if not, more pressure on Phx as they have a 7 man rotation...
Look for Dallas in the next game to keep applying the pressure and try to repeat tonights performance which was spectacular...

With this kind of performance, the Mavericks is definitely gonna take this series. They can still repeat the same strategy that they did for game 4, and would still probably see no response from the Suns because they don't have the big men to make enough adjustments in a half court game. The Suns got away from their previous opponents with their running game, but it doesn't work for the Mavs, so they will not get away this time :mrgreen:

Saito_Hajime wrote:

With this kind of performance, the Mavericks is definitely gonna take this series. They can still repeat the same strategy that they did for game 4, and would still probably see no response from the Suns because they don't have the big men to make enough adjustments in a half court game. The Suns got away from their previous opponents with their running game, but it doesn't work for the Mavs, so they will not get away this time :mrgreen:

i guess we will have to wait and see for the next game, and to see if R. Bell plays again in this series, the Suns will need his help to have a chance. The next game is important for both teams, Suns could come back from behind yet again, but this time, it will be tougher.
:beaten:

Put a fork in the Pistons they're done :beaten: Flip Saunders is not Larry Brown (he's not even Pat Riley)

gaijin mark wrote:Put a fork in the Pistons they're done :beaten: Flip Saunders is not Larry Brown (he's not even Pat Riley)

Pistons-Heat series

one more, and they are done for...coming back from 3-1 down, is tough...even if the phx suns pulled that off against the Lakers this year... :beaten: