Ok, so what's the plan for game 4...

[gdiddy]

Let's not get too hung up with game 3; game 4 is around the corner. Suns have been in this situation before. Besides, game 3's loss wasn't that bad. Think about it: after all the turnovers, after all the FT attempts for LA, the game was actually tied (barbs's 3) with a couple minutes to go. Maybe if we made one extra shot near the end or one less turnover, we'd be celebrating a 3-0 lead in the series.

Looking at game 4 now, what should be done to our game plan in order to beat LA? A couple of observations:

-in game 2 we did a lot of double-teaming of Kobe; game 3 it was mostly one-on-one.
-when the Lakers begin to clog the lane, there's either one of two things Amare can do: attack the rim in hopes of a foul, or dish the ball out to a 3 point shooter. Remember the whole "point center" position? It's all common sense. If Amare can't rack up the points, let him rack up the assists. When PJ calls time and LA returns to one-on-one coverage, thus opening up the space, I'll take the Amare over Kwame any day.
-Someone needs to step up to help Nash out of the double team. Remember the end of game 4 last year? Don't think for a second that the refs will call a foul. I mean, if you want a basic explanation as to why the Lakers were able to take the series to 7 last year, it's because they were too physical and they got away with it. Suns don't like playing physical.
-Marion needs to come to terms that he will not get a lot of scoring in this series playing one-on-one against Odom. Unless it's a fast break opportunity, his scoring should mainly come from 3 point shots. Instead of points, he needs to focus more on rebounds and assists.

There's no rocket science to beating LA. PHX just has to impose their game and be versatile.

I'm optimistic about game 4. We're 2-1 this year, not 1-2 like last year.

Go Suns!

 

[BC867]

Suns don't like playing physical.

That's why the Suns are still looking for their first championship. Playoff basketball is physical. Always has been. Always will be.

As long as we have home court advantage, we should be able to overcome that shortcoming.

Time will tell.

 

[elindholm]

I think Nash need to anticipate the trap better and get rid of the ball more quickly. By the time he's off-balance near the sideline with two or three Lakers swarming all over him, it's too late. Nash didn't have his usual alertness in any phase of the game last night, and I wonder whether he wasn't feeling well.

My guess is that he'll get much better at moving the ball once trouble starts brewing, and the Suns as a team will be much better at moving to open spots and finding the open man once the Lakers start swarming. This is exactly what happened in their fourth-quarter push that erased the deficit and really should have given them a decent lead, had they been able to shoot.

 

[ndjmc]

Same game plan, no changes or crazy talk. The Suns gotta play their game and do what they do.

 

[Covert Rain]

The Suns are fine. They Lakers did what they should have done and won at least 1 game on their home court. I personally think we got the Lakers best punch. If D'Antoni actually manages to make adjustments for this game, we should be able to play our game.

I don't want to see the pick and roll forced from the top of key if it isn't going. I don't want to see them wait to go to a larger lineup if we are struggling on the boards (meaning put Amare/Kurt in their at the same time).

Last but not least, I don't want to see Junior in the starting lineup. My gosh I know he has nude pictures of D'Antoni with a stripper or something but my gosh. Junior drives me nuts. For every good thing I see him do, he does at least 2 bad things right after. It's not like Diaw is playing very well but at least he would take up some space in the paint.

 

[jenna2891]

win.

 

[jenna2891]

Last but not least, I don't want to see Junior in the starting lineup. My gosh I know he has nude pictures of D'Antoni with a stripper or something but my gosh. Junior drives me nuts. For every good thing I see him do, he does at least 2 bad things right after. It's not like Diaw is playing very well but at least he would take up some space in the paint.

i disagree with this. i really like junior starting. as a starter, his role is more of defense than offense, which is good because he clearly can't shoot well when he feels like he *has* to. he's a solid defender and he can be good for a couple of blocks or steals.

diaw as a starter, on the other hand, seems to think he's point guard #3 and not a forward. with marion, amare and bell on the floor with him, there's no way he'll be aggressive and take the shots we need him to for him to be effective. plus, he really doesn't add too much defensively (unless you call standing in the paint with both arms raised defense).

the most important thing, imo, in the diaw v. junior debate is that, while diaw is clearly much more talented, he doesn't seem to have the heart that junior does. so, while junior will never be more than a good player, i'll take him over diaw because at least we know that every time he's on the floor he's playing his heart out. that (again, imo) does more to help the team than the occasional burst of talent diaw has been giving us.

 

[D-Dogg]

win.

Succinct. I like it.

 

[clif]

nut up

 

[az1965]

Simple plan:

- Hit the freakin' boards!!!!
- Don't turn your back on your opponent near the freakin' basket to give him consecutive dunks after dunks
- Don't turn the ball over!!
- Hustle!! Dive for loose balls...
- Post up Amare more instead of just shooting jumpers even if they are falling to get to the line and get fouls on their bigs
- Oh, and of course, hit your shots!

 

[jbeecham]

You can't blame Amare for giving up wide open dunks to Kwame Brown. Every time it happened was because Odom, Kobe & Walton got past their defenders and had clear paths to the basket for layups/dunks. If Amare doesn't come over then the Lakers score anyways. The person to blame is whoever was supposed to rotate over to Kwame once Amare went to help on the play (usually Diaw or Marion).

 

[The Commish]

Personally I think you hold Diaw's family hostage and tell him that for each layup he passes up that you will cut off one of their fingers and forcefeed them Freedom Fries. That will get his attention.

 

[HooverDam]

I think a HUGE problem was that the Suns weren't running after made shots like they normally do. This is a key piece of their game plan every night, but because of LAs full court press type defense, I guess the Suns just decided it was too tiring? The entire second half the Suns werent getting shots off until 10 seconds or less were on the clock. Part of this was good defense by LA, but a lot of it was lack of movement on offense, it just seemed like the Suns thought they'd be able to flip the switch when they needed to.

Ah well, I thought the series was going to go 5 and that LAs best chance to win would be game 3, so my prediction is still in tact. Though after game 2, I was really jazzed about a potential sweep.

 

[Covert Rain]

i disagree with this. i really like junior starting. as a starter, his role is more of defense than offense, which is good because he clearly can't shoot well when he feels like he *has* to. he's a solid defender and he can be good for a couple of blocks or steals.

I would buy that if Junior didn't commit so many stupid fouls. How many times do we have to see him do something good then to turnaround the next position and soft foul someone going in for a hoop?

diaw as a starter, on the other hand, seems to think he's point guard #3 and not a forward. with marion, amare and bell on the floor with him, there's no way he'll be aggressive and take the shots we need him to for him to be effective. plus, he really doesn't add too much defensively (unless you call standing in the paint with both arms raised defense). .

I actually would prefer that for the reasons I stated above. Also, as many times as Junior ended up with a much bigger guy on him on the switch, it doesn't help. I know that wasn't all his fault but the guy drives me nuts with his inconsistant play. I much prefer him coming off the bench.

 

[sly fly]

What needs to happen...

- More passing. Less dribbling. Best way to beat that mini-trap is to pass and cut.

- Look for others besides Nash to initiate the offense. Yesterday, Nash was practically met at half court by two defenders.

- Nash needs to stop deferring his open J's. It's great that he wants to involve others... but he needs to be a bit more selfish when it comes to taking the open J.

- Front Kwame with weakside help. He'll crap his pants.

- Keep throwing different angles of D at Kobe.

- Take the crowd out early. This time, don't let up with the intensity. I actually think the Lakers will come out on fire this game, and PHX will make the comeback.

- Someone needs to drop a testosterone pill into Boris Diaw's scrambled eggs.

 

[jenna2891]

I much prefer him coming off the bench.

maybe that's better for junior as an isolated player, but from a perspective of maximizing both first and second squads, i think he's better as a starter.

off the bench he comes in as a scorer, but starting he's defense and support for the guys who are actually good offensively. also, junior can actually rebound, but when he came in with kurt, that wasn't "his job". he tended to stay near the perimeter and wait for a three-point shot that he could miss.

coming in as a starter his focus is more on defense and rebounding (offensive and defensive), something that all of us have been griping all season that the suns needed to fix.

 

[TheHopToad]

The Suns are fine. They Lakers did what they should have done and won at least 1 game on their home court. I personally think we got the Lakers best punch.

Gotta agree with this. The Suns don't need to make any significant adjustments to their game plan. They just need to execute with more intensity and hustle.

The fact is, the most consistent thing about the Lakers this season is their inconsistency. It took an outstanding effort by them to barely beat a lackluster, energy-less Suns team. Why would anyone expect that the Lakers could string together two games in a row like that when they haven't done it all year long? Game 3 for LA was the exception, not the rule.

I'm pretty sure that the Lakers will follow-up a great win with a flat, careless performance and give the game away. It's what they do.

 

[Sunshooter]

Amare can control the fouls trouble.
No chance for the Lakers 3rd scorer.

that's it

 

[dodie53]

the plan is to win..

 

[TucsonDevil]

Plan?

Coach D'Antoni grabs his clipboard, "OK guys, today we need to run more. The ball will find the energy. OK, Suns on three."

 

[Treesquid PhD]

What needs to happen...

- More passing. Less dribbling. Best way to beat that mini-trap is to pass and cut.

- Look for others besides Nash to initiate the offense. Yesterday, Nash was practically met at half court by two defenders.

- Nash needs to stop deferring his open J's. It's great that he wants to involve others... but he needs to be a bit more selfish when it comes to taking the open J.

- Front Kwame with weakside help. He'll crap his pants.

- Keep throwing different angles of D at Kobe.

- Take the crowd out early. This time, don't let up with the intensity. I actually think the Lakers will come out on fire this game, and PHX will make the comeback.

- Someone needs to drop a testosterone pill into Boris Diaw's scrambled eggs.

Unfortunately, this would not onlt rule Boris ineligeble due to the drug policy, it would also create a situation where more turnovers are created due to the constant itching of his new found sack.

 

[FArting]

Does anyone know if the Suns game will be on ESPN Radio?

 

[Nasser22]

They just need to want it more and go after the rebounds. The team needs to treat this and every playoff game like a must-win.

It would also help if Amare stays out of early foul trouble because we need him on the defensive end.

It looks like the Nuggets won't help us so we NEED to finish this in 5.

 

[panfolk]

Unfortunately, this would not onlt rule Boris ineligeble due to the drug policy, it would also create a situation where more turnovers are created due to the constant itching of his new found sack.

Last postseason he showed some heuvos. I think he's got too complex a thought process or something and is psyching himself out. Either that or he's just soft between the ears.

I say this even though I'm a fan. Dire times, man.

 

[F-Dog]

The Lakers were riding Nash with the double-team man 25 feet from the basket. If they're not going to call that a foul (and it looks like they won't, as long as the game is in L.A.) then the Suns need a second player to handle a dump-off pass and create a good shot from that scramble situation.

IMO the Suns need to fix their offense more than anything. They got really bogged down--they weren't aggressively attacking or running up the court. They need to leave a screener back so that Nash can shed his full-court shadow more easily, and start running and creating secondary break opportunities.

In a half-court game, with the Lakers getting the calls, it's anybody's game. If the Lakers are forced to play a full-court game, Odom, Walton and Kwame will tire, and the Lakers' defense will break down like it usually does.


Suns favored by 4.5 today.