First, light news. UO may have been the greatest MMORPG of all time in terms of gameplay. The game was very deep and had so many things to do. Unlike other MMORPGs, where even if you're a crafter you still have to fight monsters to level up, in UO, if you're a crafter, you never have to fight (you can if you want though). There was just so many little things to do, which in our opinion, made it plenty of fun. When we get DSL we're surely going to set up a shard just for us and our friends to run around in.

Next, I thought it'd be interesting for me to write a short analysis on the current playoff situation. So here it goes:


Playoff Analysis

Well as I've already mentioned, the playoffs have already begun. Apparently they made the first round a best of 7 situation too, so to correct my first post, after the win today, Indiana needs to win three more times.

Indiana did fairly well against the Celtics in my opinion. They may not have fully contained Paul Pierce but they still played the game typically at the pace they wanted. Boston is a running team. They get a lot of points from fast breaks, which are created by their defense (unlike the Suns, who have no defense). Indiana is still better at defense though (including transition defense), and I think Indiana has the edge here. The playoff intensity is insane, and now that the series is evened up, you can tell the rest of the series will be interesting too.

About the Suns, sure they may have had the best record during the regular season, but one thing that I noticed about playoff intensity is that when people step up their plays, it's most noticeable on defense. I don't think Phoenix is just a good enough defensive team (or has any defensive depth) to make a difference. They do have individual defenders though, but their preferred offensive pace makes their defense lack. Hence, they score a lot and give up a lot of points as well, which is how they want to play. I'm not sure this formula will work all the time. Memphis, with whom they are matched in the first round, is capable of slowing the Suns down. Memphis will fight and fight hard.

About Houston and Dallas. Dallas is a better team (to me) now that Nash is gone, and Avery Johnson has done a good job with what he has. They have better defense and rebounding this year, without losing much of their offensive style. Houston is a little surprising really. My impression of the Rockets is that they're a little unstable, and it all relies on how well Yao and/or McGrady performs. They lead the series 2-0 right now, but I don't know how long it can last against the defense and transition offense of Dallas. I read an analysis that Shawn Bradley will be the X-factor in this series, and I think I agree. Bradley can definitely guard Yao Ming, having the height and the defensive skill for it.

And the last matchup I want to talk about is the Pistons and Sixers situation. The Pistons, who have been known over the last few years as a great defensive power with their zone D, can definitely shut Iverson's penetration down a bit. Iverson may have to resort to making more passes, which he does well anyway. But that means all his other teammates need to step up and not just rely on him to keep scoring for them, like they pretty much did all season. If the Sixers can't get the whole team hot both on offense and defense, the Pistons will definitely win this one. Like other analysts say, the Pistons have a playoff experience, and their defensive strategy is tried and tested in the playoffs, even against an offensive team like the Lakers last year (hence Detroit is the reigning champ).