Lakers At Suns Game Thread

[jagu]

I agree, that move by Nash hurt us more than his turnover down the stretch.

This game came down to

Nash TO
Nash leaving his man open
Ref's blind to blatant fouls (odom push, bynum throw down)


My game plan would have been to give it to the hot hand JRich who kept us in the game late. Also Gentry with a stupid play getting the two T's which pretty much knocked us out. However, we aren't a team that has a legit shot of winning the ring. I'm happy with the way the Suns played tonight even though it was a loss and I think with a few breaks we would have had this.

And again I think the NBA leans towards teams with superstars like Kobe on it. It's going to be very tough getting calls against teams like the Lakers and Spurs late in games.

Nice try Suns!

 

[TJ]

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Bite me, David Stern!

 

[ASUCHRIS]

boy, i guess all that rest didn't help Nash at all cause he looks AWFUL.

Yep, Nash clearly isn't healthy, and the time off didn't help. He is hurting more that he's helping at this point and clearly not himself. I don't care if you have to shut him down for another week or two, as soon as Barbosa is ready, he needs to take time off. With turd games put up by both him and J Rich, who did his usual shrinking in big games routine, Amare had no help.

The ultimate loser award goes to Lopez. 18 minutes, 0 rebounds. Again, 18 minutes, 0 rebounds for the tallest guy on the floor. Hopefully this is a learning experience for him, because he'll need to learn how to deal with guys that are actually his size.

And lets please not sound like sore losers by blaming this one on the refs. Obviously, the flagrant foul should have been called, but other than that it was a pretty fairly officiated game. Bottom line, we couldn't get a stop when it mattered, and Nash, Lopez and J Rich all had awful games. Hard to win a game under those circumstances, even with as well as the bench played.

 

[cly2tw]

Nash's health would be the biggest obstacle, plus how to reduce his burden. We stuck with zone for too long in the 3rd. Maybe due to Nash's physical limitation Gentry wanted it played as long as possible. But they clearly found the way to bust our zone. Then, Amare was the only reliable scorer for the game. JRich came to life way to late. Our bench was up to task. Nash's shooting really was crucial in a playoff like game like this. Anyway, it's great effort from everyone at leatst.

 

[D-Dogg]

4 things -

1. Should have been a flagrant on Pau
2. Lakers played with no heart and were lucky to steal a win
3. Why the hell does Majerle wear two watches?
4. I want a Lou Amundson on my team

 

[O]

Why the hell does Majerle wear two watches?

I never noticed before but good question.

 

[Sunburn]

Too much size and strength from the Lakers. Nash and Lopez laid an egg. Between the two, I'm most concerned about Nash. His carelessness with the ball is really hurting us, unfortunately his usually golden shooting touch is not making up for it lately, as the number one shooter of all time has lost his stroke. I love Nash but for the first time ever I can say I would've preferred to see Goran out there tonight.

 

[elindholm]

1. Should have been a flagrant on Pau

Probably, but it sure as hell wasn't worth getting tossed over. If the players were reversed, of course it would have been called a flagrant, but it wasn't that hard of a foul.

2. Lakers played with no heart and were lucky to steal a win

Something about the Suns brings out Bryant's "unselfish" mode. There were tons of times when he had a fairly easy shot and passed out to a teammate. I understand he doesn't want to force things, but come on, when he beats his man, gets into the lane, and sees no help defense, he should just finish the play himself.

3. Why the hell does Majerle wear two watches?

One counts backward to closing time at the local bars.

4. I want a Lou Amundson on my team

Gee, you sure you wouldn't rather have Frye?

 

[nashman]

What a JOKE! Typical NBA officiating to help the struggling Lakers steal a win! SURPRISE!

 

[WildBB]

Of course Kobe got the foul.. NBA sucks.. Go ahead and give the title to the Lakers, Pistons, Spurs, Bulls, Rockets, Celtics.. Those are the only teams that have won it the past 30 years with the exception of that one Heat team.. League prolly just wanted Shaq to win that one anyways.. But bank on one of those teams winning.. Its been going on for decades.. The NBA is Booooooooring.. Nothing amazing or fantastic happens there anymore..

You can throw the Knicks into that group when they sign LeBron in the off season to go along with another throw in like Bosh.... The NBA only respects mostly NBA towns. Portland, Utah and San Anton all have their undivided attention as well.

 

[TJ]

You can throw the Knicks into that group when they sign LeBron in the off season to go along with another throw in like Bosh.... The NBA only respects mostly NBA towns. Portland, Utah and San Anton all have their undivided attention as well.

San Antonio yes. Portland hasn't done much since 1992 and Utah is the least fortunate team in the NBA. Out of all the coaches in the NBA, Jerry Sloan deserves a ring the most. Guy has been with the team for so long, had so many good player, good runs in the playoffs but just comes up short. Don't get me wrong, I still hate playing them but if I had to pick one team to get a ring before us, it'd be them.

 

[Mainstreet]

Although LB is not a PG the Suns really need him back if he can play anywhere near the level when he was the Suns key 6th man. Nash is really hurting and the Suns need another ball handler not to mention another scorer. Dragic is too erratic except on defense where he plays well. Lopez did not have his head in the game or he was intimidated by the Lakers frontline. Lopez should look to Amundson for an example of how to rise to an occasion... energy and toughness.

 

[ASUCHRIS]

Lopez should look to Amundson for an example of how to rise to an occasion... energy and toughness.

Lou is a badass, maybe the best game he's played. That sequence where he blocked Gasol, then Bynum was awesome. He's all heart, and if he could get rid of his stone hands could be a passable offensive player.

 

[AzStevenCal]

San Antonio yes. Portland hasn't done much since 1992 and Utah is the least fortunate team in the NBA. Out of all the coaches in the NBA, Jerry Sloan deserves a ring the most. Guy has been with the team for so long, had so many good player, good runs in the playoffs but just comes up short. Don't get me wrong, I still hate playing them but if I had to pick one team to get a ring before us, it'd be them.

I can't stand basketball the way it's played in Utah. Personally, if the Suns can't win it this year I play on cheering on Dallas. I've always enjoyed watching Kidd and Terry play and despite his whining I'm still a Marion fan. But even more than that, I'd like to see Cuban get rewarded for putting his pocketbook where his heart is. He's a players' owner and a fans' owner and that beats the heck out of what we're stuck with.

Steve

 

[AfroSuns]

I can't stand basketball the way it's played in Utah. Personally, if the Suns can't win it this year I play on cheering on Dallas. I've always enjoyed watching Kidd and Terry play and despite his whining I'm still a Marion fan. But even more than that, I'd like to see Cuban get rewarded for putting his pocketbook where his heart is. He's a players' owner and a fans' owner and that beats the heck out of what we're stuck with.

Steve

When the Suns go fishing, i will be rooting for Dallas too, but i cant stand Terry.

 

[AzStevenCal]

When the Suns go fishing, i will be rooting for Dallas too, but i cant stand Terry.

I know he rubs some people the wrong way (especially ASU fans) but I've always respected his willingness to do what the team needs. The Cats don't win a championship if he'd come to play with the same attitude some of his teammates possessed. And whether Dallas has needed him to start or sub at either guard position he's taken it without complaint.

Steve

 

[AfroSuns]

Talking about Dallas, they are trailing the Knicks big time at home

 

[Mainstreet]

Lou is a badass, maybe the best game he's played. That sequence where he blocked Gasol, then Bynum was awesome. He's all heart, and if he could get rid of his stone hands could be a passable offensive player.

I really wanted Lou to guard Gasol when the Lakers went back down the court after Gasol gave Lou a arm in the face. It would have been worth it if Lou gave Gasol a dose of his own medicine with a hard foul. Lucky for Gasol that Lou is not a dirty player.

 

[Griffin]

As I suspected, the league upgraded the Gasol foul on Lue to Flagrant 1.

Gasol received a Flagrant Foul 1 after league officials reviewed the foul in which Gasol struck Amundson's head during Friday night's game. The play led to Gentry's ejection and a $25,000 fine for the coach.

 

[SactownSunsFan]

Pity they didn't make the correct call when it happened - that missed call was potentially a 6 or 7 point turnaround (take away the two points from the tech FTs, add Lou potential 2 made FTs, and a made field goal on the Suns possession after the flagrant FTs)

 

[TJ]

Pity they didn't make the correct call when it happened - that missed call was potentially a 6 or 7 point turnaround (take away the two points from the tech FTs, add Lou potential 2 made FTs, and a made field goal on the Suns possession after the flagrant FTs)

More so were the missed goaltending calls, which directly led to us losing 4 points. But that flagrant foul certainly took points away from us and gave them to the Lakers

 

[jagu]

We always lose games to the big teams in such a fashion late. Face it we aren't getting the calls. The coach had the right to be angry but the two T's finished us off. You have to be more composed. As for Kobe, he is one of the bigger cheapshot artists in the game with his elbow throwing and no one's gonna call fouls against him anyway.

Let's hope we get the Fakers later on and beat them. I think if we stay composed, have Nash actually stick his own man rather than his half-ass double team help which is of no use, and keep going to Amare to get the bigs in foul trouble, we can win...