Two new blogs to check out

I’ve recently come across two blogs newly written by Adelaide 36ers Adam Ballinger and Jacob Holmes. Both very well written and humurous with more than just basketball talk.
You can find super awesome balls here and On Top of Mount Diddy here

The Greatest Has Arrived

It’s the dream come true for bball gamers all around the world, a player who has eluded video games since the Lakers vs Celtics brand. And his name is Michael Jordan and the game is NBA 2K11.
I can’t tell you how excited I have been in the lead up to this release as an avid NBA 2K player. Twitter has been crazy with news, even trending in the Twitter search.
I will update this with my thoughts on the game later, but for now all you need to know is GO AND GET THIS GAME!!! Graphically amazing, gameplay amazing, Jordan challenges, classic Jordan teams, updated association AI, it all adds up to the greatest basketball sim ever.

Bring on the Playoffs – never give up

Having not made the Playoffs last season, now the NBA playoffs have started it’s interesting to see how the intensity picks up once the post-season is in action.

My favourites for the flag were the Cavs, although now with LeBron injured, they may have a bit of trouble getting past a Rondo inspired Celtics. I’d like the Suns or the Spurs to do well as I like their rosters.

In other news, I am continuing work at the Royal Adelaide Hospital in the emergency department, which has been very enjoyable. The hours are good, the staff are friendly and there is a great atmosphere there. In addition to that, I am preparing for the next NBL season – 5 gym sessions a week which include 2 at FastTwitch have so far been going well with improvements in my vertical. Also playing for the Sabres in the CABL, we are leading the league… it all keeps my plate full.

Till next time.

Rough times

Lately, here at the Sixers, it’s been a 4 game losing streak, with three of those after having leads going into the last quarter.
Our record now sits at 7-8, which is actually not that bad. Only two weeks ago we were sitting at the top of the league. It is going to be an up and down season, no reason to panic, as you will see all teams go through this cycle this year.
We’ve been readjusting a few things at training and hopefully that will help us win those close games. If you take out those 4th quarters, we have been playing really well, so no need to throw it all away and start again.
Tonight we take on the Gold Coast Blaze at home to start the winning streak.

Road double coming up

As I write this we are in the Adelaide airport about to jet off to Wollongong in the first of two away games this week. We play the Hawks on Wednesday, and then the Townsville Crocodiles on Friday.  So far so good on the season, currently sitting in third place with a nice 6-4 record. This is a big chance for us to even take top spot if we get the two wins. With the competition ridiculously close this year, it would be nice to be clear of the main pack.

The game vs Wollongong is on Foxtel on Wednesday at 7.30pm EST. Wish us luck!

Let’s FIFA 10

FIFA 10 Review

A long time Pro Evolution Soccer fan, I switched over to FIFA 09 last year after two poor versions of the PES brand. PES 5 and 09 were nowhere near the game that it used to be. On the other hand, FIFA delivered it’s best game for many years, with a complete overhaul of the physics of the game, allowing gameplay to feel very realistic. The second factor was that of the rights to clubs, kits, etc, which made FIFA the real deal.

FIFA 10, in my eyes, didn’t really need to improve much more to the previous version as it was that good. Team updates, current kits, etc would have been enough.

The big change FIFA 10 is promoting is the new 360 dribbling, allowing much more freedom in dribbling direction, rather than just fixed to the 8-spoked axis of movement. I could only notice this subtly in the game – most of the dribbling moves are the same as in 09, but the angles of the moves are greater.

Gameplay is fantastic. Players will make runs allowing more use of the high thru-ball and defenses will be more weary of the one-two’s.  Goalies are tough to get by, but realistic and the feeling satisfying once a goal is scored. Gone are the times of using a fast Forward and just dribbling past the defence to get on goal. This year, the defence can run down the dribbler (it is faster to run without the ball) and make the challenge. This of course places great importance on the dribbling moves and passing game. Beating an opponent with a dribbling move has great reward, giving space to the offence to run on to. The strength of the player also comes into play, with stronger players able to retain/gain the ball easier. Everything comes together for realistic gameplay.

The most pleasing improvement to the gameplay, I feel, is the physics of the ball deflections, collisions and accidental touches of the football. There are now times where you will score a goal due to a deflection, which occurs in real life. The ball will also bobble “randomly” when a tackle is applied, a defender blocks a shot/pass or anything else when the ball spills free. It adds more freedom and less predictability to the gameplay.

The free kicks have changed slightly in FIFA 10, or else the use of kicks for different distances from goals has changed. Last year, from about 28m and beyond, use of the power button (L1) was used to have a decent shot on goal. With Christiano Ronaldo in the practice arena, I was able to kick goals from 42m out without the use of the power kick (this may be a reflection on the skill of Ronaldo, but I have found this to be the case for others). In other words, the power shot isn’t really needed until probably 35m +, but this would vary player to player.

The practice arena was the one thing missing last year, and this time round FIFA has included it. You can practice with any number of players up to 11 each side and trial set plays, free kicks, or just free play.

Check out this juggling cool juggling tutorial I found on youtube.  <>

Online play is fairly similar to 09 and I think the most fun part of the game. There is a summary of points earned at the end of each game, including team rating bonus which rewards players who beat a high powered team with a less talented team.
You can team up with your friends to play 10 on 10 online (although I haven’t tried this yet) as well as the FIFA world cup mode.

My Player mode has returned and while I haven’t played it yet, reports suggest it is smooth and a worthwhile exercise.

Overall, FIFA 10 plays just as great as it’s predecessor with subtle improvements that keep the feel similar to last year, while adding pleasing nuances to the gameplay. A quick comparison to PES 10, shows that while PES’s graphics of the players are slightly better, it’s gameplay still lags behind, and FIFA 10 is still the premier football game to buy this year. You can’t go past the authenticity of the game.

NBA 2K10 review

I’ve been playing 2K10 now for a couple of weeks on the PS3, so thought I’d put up a bit of a review to add to the numerous you can find on the web.  This won’t be so much the intricate details of the game, but my personal thoughts on the newest edition of a game I’ve played since about 2004. I’ll try and relate it to how a game is played in real life, as I like my sports games to be realistic. Quite a few of the guys on the team are playing it right now too and we have a good chat about the game most days.

First thing I did was run an exhibition game to get a feel of the gameplay (note – I am playing against the computer in that described here, not against another human). There are quite a few differences compared to 2K9. The most noticeable and that which I find quite difficult, is the change of the isomotion button to L2. Using the R2 trigger previously allowed you sprint with the ball and then do an isomotion move in fluent motion. However, now if you were to sprint you would need to either keep R2 + L2 held down to do one of those moves, or more realistically, release R2 and then press L2 to do a move. This particularly drastically reduces the efficiency on the fast break and allows defenders to stop you one-on-one or chase you down and prevent the break. If I am not really understanding this, or if there is an efficient way of isomotion, please leave a comment!

The next thing is in terms of the AI. There is much more help defense and helping off the weak side this year. For instance, if you are posting up and backing down, defenders on the weak side will get off their man and play more on the split line. This allows you to skip the ball to open guys who can then shoot the three. I guess this adds a bit more realism to the game, but there are times that you just don’t want that help, especially if you have the post covered with a good defender – it just gives up the open look. I guess you can tweak these settings in coaching or something, but I haven’t looked into that yet.
Also, with the defenders coming off their men, everyone seems to crash the boards. It is very noticeable that if the offence comes up with a rebound, all of the defenders have come in for the board, leaving the offence to kick it out for an open three. Again, some realistic game play there, but it happens far too often.

Don’t get me wrong, the game looks and plays REAL. The presentation looks as if you were watching it on TV, with great little additions like seeing who your team is playing next and previous day’s results.  The commentary is also really refreshing and not too repetitive. The NBA today feature is also great. It allows you to see which teams are playing today and puts the match-ups there on the home screen so you can play them.

The fluidity of dunks, lay-ups and alley-oops are fantastic and according to the manual, there are now more dunks that you can do with the shot stick. There are probably a little too many alley-oops thrown by the AI from all types of angles that can really get frustrating.

MY PLAYER – This is a really fun (possibly addictive) addition to the game. Similar to FIFA’s Be A Pro, it allows you to create a player and take him through summer league, NBA camp and D-League, before making it to the NBA. All the while, improving your player’s ratings. Things don’t happen quickly, but at a rate that WILL require the hours to make your player better.  I’ve finally made the NBA with the Knicks at an overall player rating of 50 after quite a few hours on the PS3. I see on the global ratings, that some players have their rating in the 70’s. I can’t imagine how much they must have played the game.

The menu system has also changed to what I can only describe as something like a phone keypad/boxes system, with you having to point the joystick to the box you want and confirm. Not sure if I like it or not yet, am still figuring out where everything is and all the submenus.

Overall, the game has made improvements over 2K9 and looks fantastic. From all reports if you are a bball gaming fan, this is still the one to get. After playing the NBA Live 10 demo, I still think 2K10 trumps it even though Live have made some improvements. You’d be able to play this until next year’s comes around.

I’m also playing FIFA10 at the moment, and I’ll put up my thoughts on that soon. It’s a busy time of year for Bball and Football gamers.

D

Last two games

Two wins from two at home against NZ and Townsville.

We did a great job of staying infront of NZ and fighting off every run that they made. Defensively a good job on the guards Penny and Bruton. Read more on the the NBL website.

The game against Townsville was a little different. With an 18 point lead in the first half, we saw that dimish in a matter of about 5 minutes, when the crocs went on a 22-2 run. Corey Williams dictated terms in the second half, with a near triple double including 32 points. Only a John Gilchrist buzzer beater with 1.9s left on the clock would deny the Crocs the comeback win and their second buzzer-beater loss in two games. Check out the last few minutes of highlights here.

This week we are away to Perth on Sat night. Having played them three times in the pre-season, we are well aware of their style of play, although we are yet to see them with Luke Schenscher in the middle.

1st home game tomorrow

Tomorrow night is the 36ers first home game against the NZ Breakers. After a loss last week to Cairns, we are keen to make amends this week. It will be tough to contain the two NZ guards Kirk Penney and CJ Bruton who shot amazingly in round one. CJ had 8/9 three’s while Penney had 8/11. You can see more at the nbl site.

Tomorrow night also marks the retiring of 13-year 36er captain Brett Maher’s singlet. It will be unveiled before tip-off to hang next to Mark Davis’ #33 singlet in the rafters. Mahersy’s career has been phenomenal and I don’t need to go into detail of it on here. It should be well known, and if not, google it. He has been an absolute superstar in Australian basketball, someone I have looked up to.

Other things to look forward to:

• The new ‘Hollywood’ seats at the Dome. These seats are right next to the bench, much like those seen in the NBA (Jack Nicholson anyone? Also those seen on Entourage for those who watch that series). Best seats in the house for sure. I think these seats are selling for around $550, so they are exclusive for sure. Look out for Dee Brown (ex-Boston Celtic and NBA dunk comp champ) to be sitting in them tomorrow night. He is in town conducting a clinic. Also, for those lucky few, some ticket holders will get an upgrade to these seats. Make sure you are at the game!
• An LED screen at the Eastern end of the stadium. I just saw this today and it will show replays, etc. Should be better quality than the current projector screen we have.
• A new merchandise stand at the main entrance. Look out for t-shirts, hoodies, caps, etc.
• Not only will Brett Maher’s singlet be retired, but the new signage for the Brett Maher Court will be unveiled. Not sure if people know what it is yet, but it is different to that of last year.
• Of course, the new 36ers team. Many new faces, new management, new excitement.

Be sure to check out Adelaide36ers.com for all 36ers updates, news, results.

Also FOLLOW ME on TWITTER, username DarrenNg8

I hope it will be a huge crowd on Saturday. Tip-off at 7.30pm. Seeya there!

Oh and sorry for the long time between posts. Check out Hoops as a thankyou to the one who prodded me in the right direction to keep posting.

Swine time

Ok, so I’ve been a little busy with doctor work at the RAH… Unfortunately, I’ve neglected the blog for a little while. I will try and post more regularly, especially as my half year of being a doctor winds down and basketball starts to pick up a bit more.
It’s been very busy lately in the hospital, especially with the whole Swine Flu thing. For everyone out there – it is really no different to the normal flu, except that it is more infectious. i.e. more people will catch it. The mortality rate is the same if not less than the average flu that circulates each year. A lot of people have been coming in to get checked at the hospital, and during winter (now) many people are getting sick as well.
Currently I am on Orthopaedics and we see a lot of trauma (road accidents, etc). I think we are running at above 100% capacity for beds right now.

As for basketball, our Sturt Sabres team is doing very nicely, sitting in second spot. With the addition of Jacob Holmes, we are pretty dangerous from inside and out. Lately, I have only had to play three quarters of the game, which allows us to rest a bit more. Should be a good stretch to the finals.