Lakers haunted by the Suns?

[D-Dogg]

You don't think that this also favors the Suns? They are looking to get back their starting C, Nash's eye back to normal, as well as rest for himself and Grant Hill. The Suns record after rest is very good.

Not as much as it does the Lakers. Not so much the length from now until the start, but the huge rest between the games. Lakers look truly awful without rest. Kobe's lift is critical to his shot. Your bench gives your starters rest; the Lakers bench gives them heart attacks and forces them to win games twice. The rest is far more important, IMO, to the Lakers.

And I prefer having Lopez out there, btw. I consider that a boon to the Lakers fortunes, not the Suns. Not because he's a poor player or anything like that, but he changes the flow just enough, and can affect your great current chemistry. Get well soon, Robin!

 

[dreamcastrocks]

Not as much as it does the Lakers. Not so much the length from now until the start, but the huge rest between the games. Lakers look truly awful without rest. Kobe's lift is critical to his shot. Your bench gives your starters rest; the Lakers bench gives them heart attacks and forces them to win games twice. The rest is far more important, IMO, to the Lakers.

And I prefer having Lopez out there, btw. I consider that a boon to the Lakers fortunes, not the Suns. Not because he's a poor player or anything like that, but he changes the flow just enough, and can affect your great current chemistry. Get well soon, Robin!

Fair enough, I can understand that logic.

I'm sure Lopez won't change the chemistry. In fact, the chemistry started building when they inserted him into the starting lineup. He will be playing spot minutes with Frye getting most of the minutes anyway. ANYONE who can take away minutes from Collins is a great chemistry boost.

 

[Cheesebeef]

Not as much as it does the Lakers. Not so much the length from now until the start, but the huge rest between the games. Lakers look truly awful without rest. Kobe's lift is critical to his shot. Your bench gives your starters rest; the Lakers bench gives them heart attacks and forces them to win games twice. The rest is far more important, IMO, to the Lakers.

And I prefer having Lopez out there, btw. I consider that a boon to the Lakers fortunes, not the Suns. Not because he's a poor player or anything like that, but he changes the flow just enough, and can affect your great current chemistry. Get well soon, Robin!

he can't screw up team chemistry any more than Jason Collins does every time he steps on the court, which will be the only minutes Robin would get IMO. The very fact that we'd have someone out there that isn't the most useless player in the game helps us if he comes back, but make no mistake, Frye and his ability or inability to stretch the D will probably be the biggest key to this series. Him hitting threes means one of the Lakers big either has to come out of the paint, opening it up for Amare/Nash or he'll just rain 3s, which is our best way to beat you.

but yeah, expecting Robin to come on for Collins' wasted minutes as anything but a positive for this team is faulty thinking on your part IMO.

 

[dreamcastrocks]

he can't screw up team chemistry any more than Jason Collins does every time he steps on the court, which will be the only minutes Robin would get IMO. The very fact that we'd have someone out there that isn't the most useless player in the game helps us if he comes back, but make no mistake, Frye and his ability or inability to stretch the D will probably be the biggest key to this series. Him hitting threes means one of the Lakers big either has to come out of the paint, opening it up for Amare/Nash or he'll just rain 3s, which is our best way to beat you.

but yeah, expecting Robin to come on for Collins' wasted minutes as anything but a positive for this team is faulty thinking on your part IMO.

great minds... as they say.

 

[D-Dogg]

Then who covers Nash? I figured Artest on Nash, Bryant on Richardson, Fisher on Hill. That would seem to blunt the Suns' preferred points of attack most effectively. It's what I'd do, anyway.

Artest can't guard Nash. Phil would be a fool to try it in the playoffs. Unless he wants Ron on the bench in foul trouble. Let Nash penetrate into Bynum and Pau, threat of shotblocking to force the kickout (and not the layups he killed the Spurs with).

Kobe on JRich will happen, and its the worst matchup for the Lakers to use. Kobe is lazy on closing out on shooters, and tends to prefer getting in a tit-for-tat contest with guys like JRich. Though he may turn up the D for that matchup, you never know. I prefer not to find out, and feel that plays into the Suns strategies.

 

[D-Dogg]

You didnt hear? Only the Lakers are getting rest. The Suns are going to play some pick up games at Kiwanas park.

Save your sarcasm for trolls.

 

[Mulli]

Do the Suns have the capability to beat up Kobe like Paul Pierce did a couple years ago? PP started playing Kobe close right away and the refs let him hand check him something fierce the whole time. Can Grant Hill or J Rich do the same?

 

[Cheesebeef]

Artest can't guard Nash. Phil would be a fool to try it in the playoffs. Unless he wants Ron on the bench in foul trouble. Let Nash penetrate into Bynum and Pau, threat of shotblocking to force the kickout (and not the layups he killed the Spurs with).

Kobe on JRich will happen, and its the worst matchup for the Lakers to use. Kobe is lazy on closing out on shooters, and tends to prefer getting in a tit-for-tat contest with guys like JRich. Though he may turn up the D for that matchup, you never know. I prefer not to find out, and feel that plays into the Suns strategies.

I don't know. Kobe has played JRich pretty damn well the last couple years and almost always gets him frustrated. My fear is that the refs let Ron abuse Nash the way he abused Durant, basically, they let him go Bruce Bowen on Nash.

My other fear is that Nash, as he seemingly always does, doubles off Fisher who just buries us from 3.

 

[dreamcastrocks]

Do the Suns have the capability to beat up Kobe like Paul Pierce did a couple years ago? PP started playing Kobe close right away and the refs let him hand check him something fierce the whole time. Can Grant Hill or J Rich do the same?

I don't think so. Kobe beats Kobe by settling for the outside shots, or by getting his teammates involved and they fail.

 

[elindholm]

Do the Suns have the capability to beat up Kobe like Paul Pierce did a couple years ago? PP started playing Kobe close right away and the refs let him hand check him something fierce the whole time. Can Grant Hill or J Rich do the same?

Probably not, but I don't think Bryant is at the top of the Suns' list of worries. His shooting numbers are on the lackluster side, both in the regular season and in the playoffs. Of course he's going to get his points, but if he does it with mediocre efficiency, that's to the Suns' advantage. I think Gasol is the more intimidating weapon as far as the Suns' defense is concerned.

 

[Cheesebeef]

you gotta figure Hill takes Kobe, right? I think you can switch J Rich on Artest and allow him to camp at the three point line and throw bricks at the rim, while Grant's length and athleticism will actually make Kobe work for every shot. It will also be near impossible for Kobe to post on Hill, who's got long arms and two inches on him.

And can Kobe take it to the rim against Grant? Probably better than Manu could, but Grant also did a pretty damn good job on Parker, who's lightning fast out there.

That should be a fascinating matchup to watch.

 

[D-Dogg]

he can't screw up team chemistry any more than Jason Collins does every time he steps on the court, which will be the only minutes Robin would get IMO. The very fact that we'd have someone out there that isn't the most useless player in the game helps us if he comes back, but make no mistake, Frye and his ability or inability to stretch the D will probably be the biggest key to this series. Him hitting threes means one of the Lakers big either has to come out of the paint, opening it up for Amare/Nash or he'll just rain 3s, which is our best way to beat you.

but yeah, expecting Robin to come on for Collins' wasted minutes as anything but a positive for this team is faulty thinking on your part IMO.

LOL, I'll have to take your word for that.

 

[D-Dogg]

you gotta figure Hill takes Kobe, right?

~snip~

That should be a fascinating matchup to watch.

Yep.

 

[SirStefan32]

Artest can't guard Nash. Phil would be a fool to try it in the playoffs. Unless he wants Ron on the bench in foul trouble. Let Nash penetrate into Bynum and Pau, threat of shotblocking to force the kickout (and not the layups he killed the Spurs with).

Kobe on JRich will happen, and its the worst matchup for the Lakers to use. Kobe is lazy on closing out on shooters, and tends to prefer getting in a tit-for-tat contest with guys like JRich. Though he may turn up the D for that matchup, you never know. I prefer not to find out, and feel that plays into the Suns strategies.

I think Artest COULD guard Nash. Maybe not for the entire game, but he could do it. However, if you put Artest on Nash, Kobe has to use a lot of energy on D to guard J-Rich, and Fisher would have a tough time with Hill in the low post.

I expect to see Artest on Richardson, Kobe resting on Hill, and Fisher on Nash. I do expect to see Kobe and Artest defending Nash for a few minutes here and there though. If I were Jackson, I would trust Fisher to defend Nash, as he is a good defender. I would not, under any circumstances put Kobe on JRich full-time.

There is no need to use all that energy on defense when you can rest on Hill. J-Rich is exactly the kind of a guy who can get into Kobe's head and affect his game all around. Every time J-Rich scores, Kobe will try to score himself. Don't get me wrong, Kobe is an outstanding defender, but Lakers have NOTHING to gain by putting Kobe on Richardson when they have Artest.

 

[D-Dogg]

His shooting numbers are on the lackluster side, both in the regular season and in the playoffs.

Maybe the first 3 games of the playoffs, and definitely the end of the regular season, but that is not the case in the past 6 games, which started after a full 2 days rest between games. In that stretch, he is shooting damn close to 50%, and just put up 4 straight 30 point games on the Jazz.

I don't disagree as to Gasol being top priority, but the shooting argument isn't realistic at this point.

 

[D-Dogg]

I think Artest COULD guard Nash. Maybe not for the entire game, but he could do it. However, if you put Artest on Nash, Kobe has to use a lot of energy on D to guard J-Rich, and Fisher would have a tough time with Hill in the low post.

I expect to see Artest on Richardson, Kobe resting on Hill, and Fisher on Nash. I do expect to see Kobe and Artest defending Nash for a few minutes here and there though. If I were Jackson, I would trust Fisher to defend Nash, as he is a good defender. I would not, under any circumstances put Kobe on JRich full-time.

There is no need to use all that energy on defense when you can rest on Hill. J-Rich is exactly the kind of a guy who can get into Kobe's head and affect his game all around. Every time J-Rich scores, Kobe will try to score himself. Don't get me wrong, Kobe is an outstanding defender, but Lakers have NOTHING to gain by putting Kobe on Richardson when they have Artest.

I completely agree here. All over the place. Well said.

 

[Bufalay]

Jarron Collins has been such an impact player that Suns fans are still referring to him as Jason.

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

you gotta figure Hill takes Kobe, right? I think you can switch J Rich on Artest and allow him to camp at the three point line and throw bricks at the rim, while Grant's length and athleticism will actually make Kobe work for every shot. It will also be near impossible for Kobe to post on Hill, who's got long arms and two inches on him.

And can Kobe take it to the rim against Grant? Probably better than Manu could, but Grant also did a pretty damn good job on Parker, who's lightning fast out there.

That should be a fascinating matchup to watch.

Here's the problem - Kobe has destroyed Grant over the past few years. Look at the numbers.

I honestly don't know what to expect in this series. So many different scenarios could unfold from a strategy perspective because the teams are so different.

 

[Chaplin]

Nobody on the Lakers said that. Ric Bucher said that. Ric Bucher is not on the Lakers roster, and that's his impression. Ric Bucher also said that there was no way Kobe would ever play in a Lakers uni ever again, certain of it. Dude has no idea.

He also called Alvin Gentry "Al." The guy's got a screw loose and should never be a sidelines reporter.

 

[Chaplin]

I think Artest COULD guard Nash. Maybe not for the entire game, but he could do it. However, if you put Artest on Nash, Kobe has to use a lot of energy on D to guard J-Rich, and Fisher would have a tough time with Hill in the low post.

I expect to see Artest on Richardson, Kobe resting on Hill, and Fisher on Nash. I do expect to see Kobe and Artest defending Nash for a few minutes here and there though. If I were Jackson, I would trust Fisher to defend Nash, as he is a good defender. I would not, under any circumstances put Kobe on JRich full-time.

There is no need to use all that energy on defense when you can rest on Hill. J-Rich is exactly the kind of a guy who can get into Kobe's head and affect his game all around. Every time J-Rich scores, Kobe will try to score himself. Don't get me wrong, Kobe is an outstanding defender, but Lakers have NOTHING to gain by putting Kobe on Richardson when they have Artest.

Wow, you make Grant Hill sound worthless. If he's got Kobe on him, you don't think Grant will try to post him up? We'll see that every time if Artest is guarding JRich.

 

[SirStefan32]

Wow, you make Grant Hill sound worthless. If he's got Kobe on him, you don't think Grant will try to post him up? We'll see that every time if Artest is guarding JRich.

I am not saying he is useless. I am sayiong that J-Rich is much better offensively. J-Rich is the second or third option. Grant is 4th or fifth, depending on who is playing 5.
J-Rich has the ability to make Kobe work hard on defense. Hill can not drive to the hoop on Kobe, he can TRY to post up, but I am not really sure how effective that's going to be.
Not really sure how you interpret that as "Hill is useless"

 

[SirStefan32]

Also, let's not forget that Kobe Bryant is an outstanding defender.
He may not be quite as good as Artest, but he is not that much worse.

 

[D-Dogg]

Also, let's not forget that Kobe Bryant is an outstanding defender.
He may not be quite as good as Artest, but he is not that much worse.

Caveat...when he WANTS to be.

 

[mojorizen7]

A SUNS lineup including Nash/Dragic in the backcourt, along with Duds,Amare & Frye could be an effective goto move if JRich can't get it going with Artest draped all over him. Trying to move out or trap Nash with this lineup would be foolish. Hopefully Gentry will be able to find ways to keep JRich involved though.

JRich is again the SUNS x-factor (initially)....along with Frye.

 

[Mainstreet]

I am not saying he is useless. I am sayiong that J-Rich is much better offensively. J-Rich is the second or third option. Grant is 4th or fifth, depending on who is playing 5.
J-Rich has the ability to make Kobe work hard on defense. Hill can not drive to the hoop on Kobe, he can TRY to post up, but I am not really sure how effective that's going to be.
Not really sure how you interpret that as "Hill is useless"

I like Hill or Dudley on Kobe defensively. When JRich is burdened with a having to play too much defense it effects his offense. Hill has the nicest mid-range shot on the team.