Fakers at Suns 7:00 FSN AZ and ESPN

[D-Dogg]

Any talk about Bynum being some sort of badass at the 5 is really overblown. Out of Shaq, Gasol, and Bynum, Bynum is the worst center of the three. Right now, he only puts up big numbers against teams that have no credible centers, but supposedly has a lot of potential to do more in the future. He won't be Wilt against Shaq, he'll just wilt.

Wrong.

 

[joshstmarie]

Bynum and Ariza weren't even playing.

FYI

youre kidding...wow i TOTALLY forgot about him.

 

[D-Dogg]

Fingergate is a lie. I thought it was funny how they showed what were supposed to be Kobe's X-Rays, just to reassure us (and David Stern, undoubtedly) that "We promise we're not making this up!"

Uhm, that was a graphic.

 

[D-Dogg]

I like what I have seen from the game! Very encouraging!

Don't forget what happened last game we played against Lakers, we got blown out! Now we r doing much much better.

We need time to adjust the system, like what we did in the second half. We need a wing defender. That's about it.

Dude, you are a Shaq fan, not a Suns fan.

The last time they played the Lakers the Suns won.

 

[Michael]

Entertaining game to say the least.

There could not have been a better first point scored as a Phoenix Sun than this beautiful facial for Shaq.

Overall, I was impressed by Shaq. He absolutely lost all his athleticism as you can tell by his dunks. Seems hard for him to get high enough at all.
He really helped our rebounding a lot. Did we actually outrebound the Lakers? Wow!

I just checked the boxscore to see if I missed something of Raja. But that's just reflecting what it felt like. We just couldn't get him involved offensively.
Nice job on Kobe - there's only so much you can do, when he's hitting tough shots.

The mid-range game of Grant Hill is a beauty to watch. Every single time. So is his defense, his hustle and his decision making. Never seems to force anything, good shot selection.

The Nash/Amaré pick&roll just didn't work (except for two dunks at the end when the Lakers defended half-heartly).
Another thing we expected from our offense: inside- outside game. There was not a single time when Shaq or Amaré drew double- teams and kicked it out for the open three.

Boris Diaw is such an amazing player on the low block. And so useless on the wing. A shame. If we could involve him more like in 2006, but this seems very unlikely with yet another low-post presence in Shaq.
His jump-shot is just not reliable at all. Whenever Hill or Nash take a mid-range J, I follow the ball. Whenever Diaw takes one, I look out for Amaré to position himself for an offensive board.

Barbosa just has a poor court vision. Two times in the first quarter, Nash was open for three and waving his arms. He never received the ball.

I really liked DJ Strawberry's defense on Bryant. He made it hard for Kobe to get the ball and put a hand in his face every time Bryant went for a shot.

Regarding Gasol, it's just not fair. Imagine the Suns trading Thomas&picks for him. Nash/Bell/Marion/Stoudemire/Gasol with Hill/Barbosa/Diaw on the bench... *sigh*

The Lakers will be hard to stop, and finally Bryant could lead his team to the second round (and further).

 

[SO91]

Dude, you are a Shaq fan, not a Suns fan.

The last time they played the Lakers the Suns won.

 

[az1965]

Barbosa just has a poor court vision. Two times in the first quarter, Nash was open for three and waving his arms. He never received the ball.

That is an understatement...

 

[dodie53]

maybe Shaq's elbow will wake up Raja for the next game

 

[Covert Rain]

Great freaking game. The Laker fans can say what they want. However, if this game was any indication of what is to come and we only get better the more Shaq plays, I am confident.

He said at the press conference he was lost out there, didn't know plays and was out of position. The rest of team looked out of sync to (especially on their defensive rotations). The guy didn't have the offense run through him and he got 15 and 9. Now couple in the fact that with Shaq in there Amare had one of his best nights ever.

Holy crap. How could you not be excited about this teams possibilities? This team will improve.

 

[az1965]

We are now 5-12 against West playoff teams.

 

[SO91]

We are now 5-12 against West playoff teams.

Thank you, I'm sure most of us missed the multiple times they brought that up during the broadcast.

 

[Andrew]

We win the division, book it.

 

[Chaplin]

We are now 5-12 against West playoff teams.

However, we are only 0-1 against West playoff teams with Shaq.

 

[mojorizen7]

The Lakers scored how many points tonight in the paint? And the rebounding edge will narrow between the teams will narrow if Bynum comes back healthy. The Suns need another shooter and a perimeter defender to win it all, Artest solves both but as we all know he comes with baggage.

We scored 124 and lost, it's safe to say offense wasn't the problem.

46 to 34 overall edge to the Suns
18 offensive rebounds edge to the Suns.
Lakers got a herculean performance from Kobe/Gasol
Yes we could use a pure shooter but if you think that the Suns were in rhythmn offensively tonight with the new look you're crazy.

 

[dodie53]

We are now 5-12 against West playoff teams.

ugh.

 

[Covert Rain]

However, we are only 0-1 against West playoff teams with Shaq.

Good point. This is a different team with him.

 

[pokerface]

However, we are only 0-1 against West playoff teams with Shaq.

You got that right

 

[mojorizen7]

Barbosa is really starting to wear on me.

 

[AceP]

We desperately need a servicable backup G/F. Diaw once again prove he is not good for perimeter game, either offense or defence!

 

[Suns_fan69]

My biggest worry with the Shaq signing was that he wasn't going to be able to score consistently one on one to force teams to double him. Today's game has alleviated that a bit. Sure it was against Gasol who isn't exactly known as a defensive stalwart but he had a couple nice little moves in the paint in the 4th that were very encouraging. If he can score like that consistently one on one I think he'll fit in perfectly fine in the offense as teams will have to start doubling.

 

[Covert Rain]

We desperately need a servicable backup G/F. Diaw once again prove he is not good for perimeter game, either offense or defence!

You know that Diaw took some rally bad 3's. Teams are going to just lay off the guy. With Shaq he is going to have a bunch of open looks. If he doesn't get better I am all for benching his ass or trading for another shooter.

 

[dodie53]

if Ridnour is health,
the Suns should use the TE on him.

 

[bigfoot]

Count me in the 'excited' camp... especially about Amare.
Amare! Amare! Amare! Amare! Amare!

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

Yes we could use a pure shooter but if you think that the Suns were in rhythmn offensively tonight with the new look you're crazy.

And if you think we're going to routinely score more than 124 points then you're the one who's crazy. No stops, no rings. We still need to learn how to defend.

 

[cly2tw]

Barbosa is really starting to wear on me.

Actually, LB had two good passes playing p&r with Amare like Nash in the early half of 4th q, with great outcomes. He seemingly was in control gauging Amare's motion and delivered the passes properly enough. His problem is when he starts dribble and drive without much of a plan. Also, his defense is still very bad.