The Lakers came out strong in the first quater, and ended the half solid. I'm anxious to see the half time adjustments, and who will respond the best. I expect Phoenix to hit their shots they've been missing, but I hope the Lakers keep up their defensive hustle. Side note: Cavs sigh with relief that Lebron didn't hurt his ankle to bad. Good win though.
Better than a halftime deficit. Lakers defense is suffering, Barbosa's everywhere. Got to grab some defensive rebounds too, the number of second shot oppurtunities is downright horrible.
Suns win 95-87. Not the best of games, but that just underscores why the Suns should win this series without losing more than a game.
Yeah, they totally PWNED the Lakers. In fact, they made the Lakers look like preschoolers. I think this'll definitely be a sweep. Why are the Lakers in the playoffs? They suck. This wasn't even a close game.
Nash has a better jump shot, shoots the three better, passes better and shoots better from the free throw line. So no, Barbosa's not even close to Nash. That being said, Barbosa could still be a starting PG on a crap load of teams if he wanted to.
Wow, I really didn't think it would've been necissary to put "sarcasm" in brackets in that post. Oh well, now I know. And how is that again? Because LA was right there for 41 minutes of the game, playing teriffic defense, and keeping the Suns out of the paint most of the time. Kobe could've hit a few more of those shots that he hits regularly at the end of the game. He could've not played like an idiot and actually passed the ball to his teammates. Or those same teammates could've actually crashed the glass for offensive boards, considering Kobe was getting double, and even triple teamed at times in the final moments. Any of those three things happen, and this game goes down to the final possession. The Suns certainly played better, in the second half at least, then the Lakers. But I fail to see how this "underscores" why LA is completely doomed. If it were a blowout, I might be forced to agree with you, but this thing was competitive throughout. LA actually led for what, 40 minutes of the game? C'mon now, this series is far from over. And not only all of that, but it was IN Phoenix. The Suns are supposed to take this. Obviously LA will have to take at least 1 if they want to win the series, but I'm not altogether surprised that Phoenix won this game at home. It's expected.
The Lakers weren't playing great defense in any way shape or form. The Suns just weren't hitting their shots. If the Suns are on, no amount of Laker defense can stop them. The bottom line is that the Suns played poorly for much of the game, and shots they normally make weren't falling, yet they still won. Suns in five for sure.
Saying "if the Suns were on, no amount of Laker defense could stop them" is completely arbitrary. One could easily say the same thing for the Lakers, who looked amazing at times earlier this season. I think that this will be a good series. I have no idea who will win, but I think that you guys aren't giving the Lakers as much credit as they deserve, and this game proves that.
I've given them their due credit, and they lost. The only thing this game proves is they lasted for a bit, and they lost,
I disagree. I think that this game shows that the Suns are at least within the Lakers grasp. The game was close, for most of the time. In close games, it's the minute things and the breaks that matter, and today those things went to the Suns, but another day, they could just as easily go to the Lakers.
Did you notice Amare much this game? I realize he had 23/12, but did you really get the feeling he had control of the paint, like you normally do when you watch him? I certainly didn't. We did a great job controlling the paint on defense, and keeping Amare out. Did you notice that Nash failed to get into the paint as much as he normally does? And when he did, our bigmen stayed with their checks, making sure that Nash's penetrating didn't break them down? That happened as well. There was a reason Phoenix failed to reach triple figures, and only shot 43%. The Lakers were daring Marion/Amare/Diaw to hit jumpers. And some of them went down, but a lot of them didn't, mainly because those three aren't very good jumpshooters. We stay with Bell/Nash, and sag off those three, and we can actually keep the Suns in check. This is all the first half mind you. Of course, Barbosa took over in the second half, LA started shooting horrible shots, missing easy ones, and turning the ball over, leading to fastbreaks and easy buckets. Those are team killers. That first half showed that LA can stick with the Suns. Not necissarily beat them, but at least make it competitive. We'll take two.
The Lakers can play as well as they possibly can and still lose to a lot of teams. If the Suns play at even 80-90% of their capacity in each game, it doesn't matter how well the Lakers play. I give the Lakers even less credit now because they had a good chance to win today, with the Suns scuffling along, and still lost. The Suns were shooting terribly, and the Lakers still couldn't win. Look for Bell or someone else to get hot on Tuesday. Did you notice Amare much this game? I realize he had 23/12, but did you really get the feeling he had control of the paint, like you normally do when you watch him? I certainly didn't. We did a great job controlling the paint on defense, and keeping Amare out. Who's this "we"? Which player were you on the court? I hate it when fans use the "we" like that. We don't play the games. The players play the games. And some of them went down, but a lot of them didn't, mainly because those three aren't very good jumpshooters False. Stoudemire is an above average shooter who just had a bad shooting game, and the same for Diaw. Anyway, there's no point in arguing about it. The Suns'll win in five or six and then move on.
Denver beat San Antonio 93-89. Denver scares the hell out of me, and a series against them for the Suns would be almost as difficult as a series against the Spurs. Camby is a hell of a defensive presence, and Anthony and Iverson will always be formidable. I've told several people that I think one of the big three teams is going down in the first round, and it's not going to be the Suns.
Denver should scare the hell out of everyone out there. San Antonio. Phoenix. Dallas. The entire Eastern Conference. They've got two bona fide superstars. They've got good role players. They've got an intelligent head coach. And we all saw last year in the finals what happens when a team gets hot, and their superstar starts to get calls from the refs. AI could be this year's Wade. Easily.
The Lakers can play as well as they possibly can and still lose to a lot of teams. If the Suns play at even 80-90% of their capacity in each game, it doesn't matter how well the Lakers play. I give the Lakers even less credit now because they had a good chance to win today, with the Suns scuffling along, and still lost. The Suns were shooting terribly, and the Lakers still couldn't win. Look for Bell or someone else to get hot on Tuesday. And the Lakers shooting 45% and 55% from the line was just breathtaking, wasn't it? You're pretending like this is the very best LA can play, when they really didn't shoot the ball that well. Lots of blown layups, bad shot attempts, etc. Phil will make the adjustments. Who's this "we"? Which player were you on the court? I hate it when fans use the "we" like that. We don't play the games. The players play the games. It's a habit, get over it. False. Stoudemire is an above average shooter who just had a bad shooting game, and the same for Diaw. Stoudemire is a completely average shooter, and an excellent dunker/finisher. There's a huge difference between the two. He couldn't get inside as well tonight (in the first half anyways) because we were sagging off of him, giving him those jumpshots, and nto allowing him to get the high percentage shots that he thrives on. Diaw's the same way, although he's a slightly better shooter. The same can be said for Marion.
Game one has come and gone for the lakers, and just like last year the games squeaked by. Not to downplay any of Barbosa's play today he was truly the difference maker today, and I will be not surprise if he takes the sixth man award this year. It was good to see that Amare play because even with him out there the Lakers gave Phoenix all they barginned for and then some. Just like last year I think the Lakers will adjust and possibly take the second game before heading back to L.A. Once again the world wondered if L.A could hang with Phoenix, and I'd say they did more then hang. This series will be interesting to the end with the fact that the Lakers dictated the tempo of the game, and if it isn't for one Barbosa who shot lights out in the second half especially in the third quater the arena in Phoenix would of definitely been a lot more quieter. Second game is in a few days can't wait to see if Phoenix needs Barbosa to bail them out again.
It very well may be. But I wouldn't be all too surprised to if the Lakers weren't completely blown out, either.
