Lakers @ Suns game thread

[jbeecham]

it would be nice if we could actually get some foul calls too. I think we've still only taken 5 fts for the game.

 

[jbeecham]

lol, I hate it when I rip someone and then they immediately get hot. Seriously I do hate it.

I'm happy House actually hit 3 shots, but he was gunning the ball for a while and taking bad shots. the shots that he hit we actually good shots where the ball came to him in rhythm.

 

[Treesquid PhD]

50 wins definately an indicator of a great regular season.

 

[jibikao]

I really wonder how this Lakers are in the playoffs. I mean... I thought we have bad defense. The whole team lives on Kobe's scoring. Does the team suck THAT BAD or the players are just soooooooooooo used to Kobe bailing them out to the point they don't know what to do when they have the ball?

Man, I think Nash is suffering some mental problems now. His 4Q display is totally weird. He couldn't dribble, couldn't shoot and his decision making was painfully slow. He probably wanted this win so bad to the point he doesn't want to make any mistake. This is not good. He needs to get back to his MVP form. We can't close out game like this with so many turnovers.

PS: Tim Thomas SUCKS!!!!! Please don't defend him. I've said it since the first time I saw him and I believe what I see in him. He may display some offense every once a while but for a guy his size, he should be ashamed. This dude has NO SPEED, no heart. He looks like he is stepping backward as we head to the playoffs and he is taking up Burke/Grant's playing time. I am glad coach D replaced him with James Jones immediately after 3rd Q.

 

[jibikao]

I'm happy House actually hit 3 shots, but he was gunning the ball for a while and taking bad shots. the shots that he hit we actually good shots where the ball came to him in rhythm.

I agree. This is the "illusion" of Eddie House. He only made 4/11 so it's hardly "great". He was firing left and right and missed tons of shots and then he would go for 2 3pt to drive the momentum up. It's really hard to judge whether his contribution is "positive" or not. What House is good for is his fast scoring when we have no offense going. Overall, House's on fire shooting was right on the money tonight and congrats to him.

Marion finally looked alive in the 4th quarter. He was corpse-walking the first 3Q.

Nash had a pretty good first half with very high % shooting but the 2nd half just doesn't look right. Remember Nash played bad in the first few games of the season where he couldn't find the rhyme? Well, I think Nash is in that slump now. The crowd got scared a bit when Nash stepped in in the 4Q and had a few turnovers and close to turnovers.

 

[sunsfn]

The Suns are a very tired team.
Shawn Marion looks like he is just going through the motions.

They came off a rough road trip, played a lot of games in a few days, and it will take a while to recover. They will look better the next game, then they did tonight.

Seattle and Chris Wilcox......should be a great game to watch!
Seattle is considered one of the worst defensive teams in the NBA...high scoring game coming up!

 

[jandaman]

also means they will put up 110+ against the suns...

so it should be around the 115-120 mark... Suns in the last 5 games have been giving out 110+ ppg for the opposition.. Ugly.

 

[jibikao]

also means they will put up 110+ against the suns...

so it should be around the 115-120 mark... Suns in the last 5 games have been giving out 110+ ppg for the opposition.. Ugly.

I went to Lakersground and whenever they talk about the matchup, they said we have no defense. While I don't think our defense has been as good before KT went down, I hardly feel Lakers' defense is all THAT GREAT. Look who's talking. Lakers' defense was just as bad, if not worse. Their man-to-man defense isn't that impressive and their communication is worse than ours. How many open shots did we take tonight? In comparison to Pistons' defense, theirs is a joke.

Lakers can score 110, we'll score 120!

 

[D-Dogg]

Kobe: 19-33
Lakers not named Kobe: 18-49

Is there any doubt as to why Kobe shoots that many shots? Especially when he's rolling at a 57% clip?

It's a small wonder the Lakers are in playoff contention at all. We need some freaking shooters.

I also hated Phil trying AGAIN to small ball with your team...we can't do it, not at all. Pulling Kwame only resulted in lots of short range shots and layups for your Suns. Phil is the most stubborn genious of all time. He's going to genious the Lakers right out of the playoffs.

 

[jibikao]

Kobe: 19-33
Lakers not named Kobe: 18-49

Is there any doubt as to why Kobe shoots that many shots? Especially when he's rolling at a 57% clip?

It's a small wonder the Lakers are in playoff contention at all. We need some freaking shooters.

I also hated Phil trying AGAIN to small ball with your team...we can't do it, not at all. Pulling Kwame only resulted in lots of short range shots and layups for your Suns. Phil is the most stubborn genious of all time. He's going to genious the Lakers right out of the playoffs.

Phil pulled Kwame because he performed BADLY early in the game. Maybe it's some sort of punishment. Kwame did come back later and performed better but it's a bit too late.

 

[jibikao]

Man, Kobe and Bell going at each other!
--------
"He gets 50 and we win the game," said Suns guard Raja Bell, who guarded Bryant for most of the contest. "At the end of the day, I am OK with that. Even though it (stinks) to have 50 dropped on you, if we win, I've done my job. I really don't give a (darn) if he respects me. If I can keep him preoccupied on beating me 1-on-1, then the four other guys aren't getting shots and that plays into our hands."

"I don't even think about Raja Bell," Bryant said. "I have bigger fish to fry then Raja Bell. You have got to be kidding."

 

[justAndy]

Where's BIM???
"genius" is the spelling, sir.

 

[elindholm]

Okay, I have to ask. Why is it that about 3% of the misspellings and grammar errors on this board get aggressively corrected by some cop, whereas all the others are ignored? Is it because the cops don't recognize any of the other errors?

If I wanted to go through and correct every English error on this board, it would be a full-time job.

 

[Brian in Mesa]

If I wanted to go through and correct every English error on this board, it would be a full-time job.

 

[D-Dogg]

Phil pulled Kwame because he performed BADLY early in the game. Maybe it's some sort of punishment. Kwame did come back later and performed better but it's a bit too late.

However, he pulled him again in the 4th. It wasn't so much him playing badly..this is a theme with Phil v. Suns. He thinks he can small ball against them, and that's when we get our asses handed to us. It happens every time.

Kwame played poorly offensively early, but he played good defensively...and he's done that all season (until the last month) and Phil's had no problem. Unless vs. the Suns.

IMO, the way to match up against you guys is not to go small and try to run with you, but to slow it down and play good interior defense, not allowing a ton of layups (see the second and fourth quarter on how not to defend the Suns.)

It wasn't just that he pulled Kwame...he also didn't play Turiaf either. He really wanted to go small, and Jim Jackson got a lot of PT when he's hardly ever played. Same with Devean George...he's been complaining recently about lack of playing time, yet last night he got a good deal.

Rest assured Suns fans...as long as Phil remains his stubborn self, we will have no choice but to be dominated by you.

 

[D-Dogg]

Man, Kobe and Bell going at each other!
--------
"He gets 50 and we win the game," said Suns guard Raja Bell, who guarded Bryant for most of the contest. "At the end of the day, I am OK with that. Even though it (stinks) to have 50 dropped on you, if we win, I've done my job. I really don't give a (darn) if he respects me. If I can keep him preoccupied on beating me 1-on-1, then the four other guys aren't getting shots and that plays into our hands."

"I don't even think about Raja Bell," Bryant said. "I have bigger fish to fry then Raja Bell. You have got to be kidding."

If Raja Bell thought he defended Kobe 1 on 1 then he's dumber than I thought.

Oh, and Raja, the "other guys" got 49 shots...and missed all but 18 of them. If they had hit those shots, it would be a very different game, and your terrible performance allowing Kobe to score 51 points on 57% shooting wouldn't be something for you to brag about. You DO have to be kidding.

 

[D-Dogg]

Where's BIM???
"genius" is the spelling, sir.

I nevur said I were one.

 

[jibikao]

If Raja Bell thought he defended Kobe 1 on 1 then he's dumber than I thought.

Oh, and Raja, the "other guys" got 49 shots...and missed all but 18 of them. If they had hit those shots, it would be a very different game, and your terrible performance allowing Kobe to score 51 points on 57% shooting wouldn't be something for you to brag about. You DO have to be kidding.

Well, last night Kobe was really on fire. Did you see how many long 3pt he took and made them? In our first two matchups, Kobe wasn't shooting that well. I think Bell did an alright job last night and we did not double team Kobe the way many other teams do. This is why Bell did his job. I know Kobe scored 51 on him but as long as Kobe wants to go one-on-one with Bell, I am happy with that. That's exactly what every Suns fan want.

 

[jibikao]

However, he pulled him again in the 4th. It wasn't so much him playing badly..this is a theme with Phil v. Suns. He thinks he can small ball against them, and that's when we get our asses handed to us. It happens every time.

Kwame played poorly offensively early, but he played good defensively...and he's done that all season (until the last month) and Phil's had no problem. Unless vs. the Suns.

IMO, the way to match up against you guys is not to go small and try to run with you, but to slow it down and play good interior defense, not allowing a ton of layups (see the second and fourth quarter on how not to defend the Suns.)

It wasn't just that he pulled Kwame...he also didn't play Turiaf either. He really wanted to go small, and Jim Jackson got a lot of PT when he's hardly ever played. Same with Devean George...he's been complaining recently about lack of playing time, yet last night he got a good deal.

Rest assured Suns fans...as long as Phil remains his stubborn self, we will have no choice but to be dominated by you.

Well, Kwame did play REALLY bad in the first Q. He couldn't finish anything. I do think Phil pulling him out right away hurts Kwame's confidence even more, but you know what, this dude needs to learn how to play with shame. He is so mentally weak. I've seen him a few times when he was in Wizards (I live in Maryland so I got to see him on TV). Kwame got BOOED when he was here. He was THAT bad. Michael Jordan said he is the future in NBA... that's too much praise for him.

I welcome Phil to go small against us. That's our game.

 

[D-Dogg]

Well, last night Kobe was really on fire. Did you see how many long 3pt he took and made them? In our first two matchups, Kobe wasn't shooting that well. I think Bell did an alright job last night and we did not double team Kobe the way many other teams do. This is why Bell did his job. I know Kobe scored 51 on him but as long as Kobe wants to go one-on-one with Bell, I am happy with that. That's exactly what every Suns fan want.

Thing is, that's the way Kobe's played all season. When the rest of the Lakers hit their shots, you have big problems. When they brick them, like last night, it's a one-man show. Usually Kobe's not quite as hot, and the rest are not quite as cold. It's a fantastic strategy when the rest of the Lakers shoot like poop, which they do often. How many wide open looks did Smush Parker brick alone?

You did double Kobe, almost every play...but to your credit you guys didn't triple team him like many other teams try to do. Interestingly, you also doubled Odom in the post quite a bit. I thought that was very effective, and something most teams do not do. Kept Odom from going off, IMO.

And talking about long 3's...Kobe's been doing that all season too..his range is truly incredible. I watch all the Laker games on League Pass, and he regularly cans big shots from 5-10 feet behind the three point line. Yes, ten feet. It's ridiculous, and he's not barely making them...he's drilling them.

 

[D-Dogg]

I welcome Phil to go small against us. That's our game.

Yep. The Suns own Phil, and he for all his great legacy, simply isn't getting it.

 

[F-Dog]

The Suns have to get something from House, and they've got to get something from TT (or Brian Grant). Right now they've got as much depth as they did last season--six players--but without the quality at the top.

TT has a huge target on his back now. He's almost single-handedly killing the team's defense when he's in there...



Anyway, it's good to see the Lakers go down again.

 

[Errntknght]

One thing I was glad to see is Barbs pulling up for a couple of midrange shots. I won't go so far as to say he was keeping his head up more because I didn't actually see that, but it seems likely he is or at least staying under better control. He made some progress in that direction early this year but then he seemed to regress some, post injury.

 

[CaptainInsano]

One thing I was glad to see is Barbs pulling up for a couple of midrange shots. I won't go so far as to say he was keeping his head up more because I didn't actually see that, but it seems likely he is or at least staying under better control. He made some progress in that direction early this year but then he seemed to regress some, post injury.

At this point that would actually be icing on the cake, he is shooting 3's like man with a mission and finishing well around the hoop. The one thing I did notice though is he cannot finish strong at all because any little bump when he goes up for a layup and it is usually botched but im definately not complaining because he IS built for speed. Maybe if the guys on our team can try and physically bully people out of the lane a little bit during Barbs drives then maybe he can finish more of his layups.

 

[jibikao]

At this point that would actually be icing on the cake, he is shooting 3's like man with a mission and finishing well around the hoop. The one thing I did notice though is he cannot finish strong at all because any little bump when he goes up for a layup and it is usually botched but im definately not complaining because he IS built for speed. Maybe if the guys on our team can try and physically bully people out of the lane a little bit during Barbs drives then maybe he can finish more of his layups.

He got blocked or fouled quite a few times going in against the Lakers. There were a lot of none calls. Either Barbosa couldn't finish strong or he really did get fouled. The truth is Barbosa can't draw fouls the way Amare can. He is not an A-list player. If it was Amare going in, he'll draw tons of fouls if there's any contact at all. So the best way is to finish strong inside. I wonder how Parker does it so well?