Lakers @ Suns Sunday Playoff game thread 5-23-2021 - Game 1

[JCSunsfan]

Well. At the moment, Devin Bookers career playoff scoring average nudges out MJ (34 to 33.45) for the highest in NBA history.

 

[Mainstreet]

Also when CP3 went down and the Lakers went on a run, Devin Booker took the game over.

Most points in NBA history without a playoff game and he was absolutely the best player in the game.

Agreed. That fellow Ayton was pretty good too.

 

[Proximo]

CP3 will play with no arms. He doesnt have too many more shots to get this done.

he has to be able to pass and shoot. Lakers will not be dumb enough to not take advantage of his injury twice.

 

[NashDishesDimes]

Ayton proved he is capable of showing up in big games, Booker is capable of dominating a playoff game and the suns proved they can beat LA.

good summary, thats a fair assessment from takeaways today

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

he has to be able to pass and shoot. Lakers will not be dumb enough to not take advantage of his injury twice.

As I mentioned earlier, if Paul can’t shoot and they are going to play him, he can’t stand at the three point line. They can just double off him with impunity. If he sets up down low they can double off him, but he’s at least a bigger threat that cause their defense to scramble.

 

[Cheesebeef]

Not really.

i would love nothing more to be repeatedly proven wrong all series long!

 

[Muggz]

i would love nothing more to be repeatedly proven wrong all series long!

There's a good chance this team can oblige.

Here's to it.

 

[AZ Native]

i would love nothing more to be repeatedly proven wrong all series long!

You have said that all along. Many on here think we have it made since we finally won a game one. We held home court for one game. That is all we have done. The Lakers are still the champs until we prove it differently. If we don't take game two, they have the advantage. I'm glad we won but we still have a ton of work ahead of us. Being a realist, I know we have so much further to go in this series.

 

[Superbone]

You have said that all along. Many on here think we have it made since we finally won a game one. We held home court for one game. That is all we have done. The Lakers are still the champs until we prove it differently. If we don't take game two, they have the advantage. I'm glad we won but we still have a ton of work ahead of us. Being a realist, I know we have so much further to go in this series.

Most definitely. LeBron’s teams have lost game ones quite a few times only to come back and win the series. It’s now imperative that we win game two.

 

[Krangodnzr]

Golden road

Glendale one?

 

[Hoop Head]

You have said that all along. Many on here think we have it made since we finally won a game one. We held home court for one game. That is all we have done. The Lakers are still the champs until we prove it differently. If we don't take game two, they have the advantage. I'm glad we won but we still have a ton of work ahead of us. Being a realist, I know we have so much further to go in this series.

I could not agree with this more. It was a big game 1 but its still just game 1 and now we have an injured CP3. I'm not that worried about Paul going forward because I think he'll play and continue to find ways to be effective but I'm a little worried how some other guys will step up and cover some of what he would give us while the Lakers also have time to gameplan to attack Paul's injury.

I like what I saw tonight but I remember the first game of the year just 2 seasons ago we came out and whooped Dallas before losing 63 of the next 81 games. I'm not saying the wheels will fall off but I expect game 2 to be much harder. The Lakers are the defending champs and know how vital it is to keep from falling 0-2 before they head home to play the best road team in the league.

 

[JCSunsfan]

The most encouraging thing about this game was Ayton. DA dominated AD and he did it while in foul trouble the entire game. DA seems to feed off fans in the stands. Once this kid figures out what he can actually be . . .

 

[Western Font]

Great win. And it didn’t come from unusually hot shooting that’s unsustainable through an entire series. I hope Ayton knows he can repeat his performance. We know Booker can. And Payne needs to keep his cool if CP isn’t 100%.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

Great win. And it didn’t come from unusually hot shooting that’s unsustainable through an entire series. I hope Ayton knows he can repeat his performance. We know Booker can. And Payne needs to keep his cool if CP isn’t 100%.

Under-rated issue yesterday. Paul was already injured and Payne loses his cool and gets tossed. He totally earned his two techs and getting tossed was the right move for the refs. But it could’ve proven disastrous given Paul’s issues. I’m sure someone has talked to him already, and I’m equally sure he already realized what a bad move that was for him.

 

[Carolinacacti]

Payne is playing for a BIG contract he is going have a huge series.

 

[Hoop Head]

Under-rated issue yesterday. Paul was already injured and Payne loses his cool and gets tossed. He totally earned his two techs and getting tossed was the right move for the refs. But it could’ve proven disastrous given Paul’s issues. I’m sure someone has talked to him already, and I’m equally sure he already realized what a bad move that was for him.

Payne seemed shook up by Paul's injury. In the brief time Paul was out, Payne looked lost. That caused Monty to bring in Moore, which wasn't that surprising given Paul's status but had me concerned long term.

I'm glad Moore got to have that big game against the Spurs in the finale because I think Monty will try and keep him fresh going forward because of Paul's injury and Payne's composure.

 

[Mainstreet]

I was impressed with a focused Ayton. If he can play like this the entire series it would be huge.

Payne has shown he can have good games and I like his ability to penetrate the lane but thus far he has not proven he is more than a backup point guard.

Having Moore and Galloway on the bench may yet pay dividends.

 

[Ronin]

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[Ronin]

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[95pro]

Great game, i did end up watching on my phone.

First quarter, LeBron kind of starts going off, then here comes cp3 to the rescue. He completely didn't let the moment get to the team in the 1st quarter.

We maintain that lead and our squad is just deep enough to sustain that lead.

Interesting that Craig played a few minutes, i mean we still had minutes to handout to Dario, Kaminsky, Moore and Gallo as well. For me, who is so underrated is Cam Johnson. He's actually a big body out there for us, can shoot and does have a bit of mass to use on Lebron or Davis if needed for a possession or two.

The booker double teams were handled quite well as we had people flashing to the freethrow area to create an easy passing lane. Book owned Caruso, his two flops were annoying one on a screen and the other drew a booker offensive foul.

DA was amazing. enough said about him.

 

[phillycard]

Pray that Dario shows heck he's getting $27 million over 3 years he should come to play or ride him like everybody here does Ayton who is far better. Dario doesn't even earn his minutes they are given to him. Don't know what they see in Dario

Big Al, you post TOO much. Gonna have to hear less from you kind sir!

 

[Hoop Head]

Interesting that Craig played a few minutes, i mean we still had minutes to handout to Dario, Kaminsky, Moore and Gallo as well. For me, who is so underrated is Cam Johnson. He's actually a big body out there for us, can shoot and does have a bit of mass to use on Lebron or Davis if needed for a possession or two.

Cam Johnson has slowly become one of my favorite Suns. He's a good shooter but he's so much more than that. He can put the ball on the floor and drive. He can also body guys up quite effectively. I hope he works on his handles and rebounding going forward because he could become a really good stretch 4 with just a little improvement. He is so much better than what his scouting report said coming into the league. He's also suffered some with the shortened offseason and not having a summer league last year. I doubt he'll take part this offseason but who knows. It won't hurt him but he's old enough now that I doubt it'll help much.

 

[Luciano]

Glendale one?

Yes , they have a nice setup with a big screen outside

 

[Cheesebeef]

You have said that all along. Many on here think we have it made since we finally won a game one. We held home court for one game. That is all we have done. The Lakers are still the champs until we prove it differently. If we don't take game two, they have the advantage. I'm glad we won but we still have a ton of work ahead of us. Being a realist, I know we have so much further to go in this series.

agreed. Also, LeBron isn’t bullet proof in Game 1s, has a history of losing them and using them more as feeling out process to figure out how to attack the rest of the series. Just read that since 2016, he’s 6-7 in Game 1s, and has won every one of those series except for when he ran into the mega-super team Warriors. So, we’ve held serve so far in Game 1, but this is nothing new for him.

Gotta put him down 0-2.

 

[ozzfloyd]

Lebron will quit on his team if discouraged. Now let's discourage him.