Playoffs 2010: Western Conf Finals, Game 1 – Suns At Lakers Game Thread

[mjb21aztd]

Man that was a horrible game , what the heck happened in the 1st qtr we looked so good but then we just feel apart horrible... I bet that whole knee thing of kobe was just a joke and if it was it sure worked man he was on fire couldn't miss a shot .
Also frye is so bad on the road just every shot he took I just felt like it had no chance. Oh well horrible game we must try and get game 2 to have a chance in this series. Oh heh in the 3rd qtr when the lakers were making the big run I accidently threw a huge fist down on a bag of doritios all over my bad man that sucked to clean up.

 

[AzStevenCal]

Well, it looks like I can dump this game from the DVR without watching it. I have to say re-watching the first few hours of Firefly beats the heck out of what you guys had to sit through.

I really thought we'd lose big tonight and Odom playing well doesn't surprise me a bit. That guy often becomes the best player on the court when he sees a Suns uniform. He'd be first team all-NBA if he could match that against the rest of the league. From what I've read though, the only real surprise was how effective Robin was. That bodes well for the series.

I think we lose the next game also but it will be much closer. These two games and then 4 days rest will give us a chance to fully integrate Lopez at which point we'll win 4 straight.

Steve

 

[mojorizen7]

The LAKERS are going to have to deal with Lopez in gm 2. This could get Amare going(hopefully).
PJ will keep Artest on JRIch so the logical thing to do is to make the LAKERS have to focus defensively on somebody else. The Nash P&R with Rolo was working nicely at times.

Start Goran on Kobe, Nash on Fisher,Hill on Artest, bring JRich off the bench(who's gonna guard JRich off the LAKERS bench?) and go at Gasol/Kobe with the P&R.

We've got to get Richardson off & its not going to happen with Artest on him.
If Phil counters by bringing Artest off the bench then we've instantly got more offensive options w/our starting 5........even minus JRich, because Odum cant cover our wings.

Am i desperate? Yes!!

 

[cly2tw]

We destroyed ourselves with our game plan!

1. The priority of getting Frye going is all wrong. Nash force-fed him in the 1st q. for 3 straight contested bricks. He hit his only 3pt when wide open on an Amare pass. We are not a team that has to live or die with Frye's 3s, and we shouldn't force ourselves into that corner!

2. Nash was overdribbling and let Lakers' defense dictate who was to shoot a contested jumper, as Nash's dribbling never created much space like in regular season games. We have alternatives and we should have gone to them much earlier and more consistently. Fisher won't get called for fouls against Nash. That's playoff fact! He worn down so much that he missed the wide open 18' jumper when switched to Gasol late in the 4th quarter. Nash needs to establish himself as a shooter, after getting screen help as he did, again too late, late in the 3rd after Amare high post play.

3. JRich, rarely touched the ball before late 3rd quarter. We finally realized that force-feeding Frye and Nash dribbling was not working and went to him using Amare-screen and cut for easy basket. But too late, as Lakers got too hot already with a big lead in the bag.

4. Amare. Amare attacked basket too little. We went to him too little in the early going. We should try to get Lakers bigs a little more into foul troubles this way. His defense was a tad slow that met red hot Gasol and Odom, which can be easily fixed with better communication between our bigs.

Grant Hill played great defense, as well as Dud, on Kobe. One of the refs were constantly calling Hill for breathing on Kobe. They gave Kobe and Gasol everything, like the no call on travel from Kobe's falling into paint or clear jump ball turned into foul call in favor of Gasol. Artest hit some timely big shots early. But our bad offense gave them big leads and gave their fair weather players like Odom and Farmar et al confidence to hit their often contested shots. It's just the momentum thing. Not worried at all.

If we recognize this and manage those momentum swings well with patience, we should be fine. Still maintaining my prediction: Suns in 6!

 

[mojorizen7]

I think Nash has to become more aggressive shooting the ball in game two--kind of the way that he was against the Spurs in game one when he put up those huge points--and the three point shooters need to keep shooting--their shots will begin to fall.

I admit--if Lamar Odom looks like an All-Star throughout this series, it will be tough.

Need to exploit Fisher--Nash should be able to beat him pretty frequently--I think Steve was too unselfish tonight--he has to shoot more in game two.

Absolutely.
Absolutely.

 

[Lefty]

This game sucked and I'm pissed but I'm not going to bitch like a certain few here do after every loss. It's only one game and the Suns can win game two. The Lakers won't shoot as well as they did tonight. Stay positive.

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

This game sucked and I'm pissed but I'm not going to bitch like a certain few here do after every loss. It's only one game and the Suns can win game two. The Lakers won't shoot as well as they did tonight. Stay positive.

Well, the Lakers did score 121, 108, 103, and 102 against us this year not counting tonight. It's become pretty obvious they're just a really bad matchup for us defensively. We have nobody that can guard Kobe and Lopez is the only guy that capable of defending their three talented bigs and he's rusty.

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

Grant Hill played great defense, as well as Dud, on Kobe.

No, he really didn't. Neither did Dudley. Kobe was getting into the lane at will.

 

[AzStevenCal]

Well, the Lakers did score 121, 108, 103, and 102 against us this year not counting tonight. It's become pretty obvious they're just a really bad matchup for us defensively. We have nobody that can guard Kobe and Lopez is the only guy that capable of defending their three talented bigs and he's rusty.

Nothing's changed for me. If we see the Lakers of the past 6 weeks we'll win a series; if we see the Lakers of the first several months we'll win a game.

I mean seriously, does anyone really believe we can beat the Lakers at their best? I keep saying Suns in 6 because I refuse to abandon the hope that the Lakers will play us like they played April (the month, if it's a question for anyone).

Steve

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

Starting to remind me of the NBA Finals between Miami and Dallas a few years ago--the Mavs even breathed on Wade and they got foul shots...

Come on, we shot ten more free throws than the Lakers despite shooting significantly more outside shots. When you give up 128 points in the postseason you generally get run out of the gym.

 

[sunsfan88]

Come on, we shot ten more free throws than the Lakers despite shooting significantly more outside shots. When you give up 128 points in the postseason you generally get run out of the gym.

It wasn't a 21 pt blowout during that momentum switch they had was it???

I can bet the Suns gave up thinking, why try when their just gonna get away with BS calls, AND THEN it turned into a 21 pt blowout.
Its simply not possible to beat a team once they take all the moentum in the whole arena especially in the second half.

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

It wasn't a 21 pt blowout during that momentum switch they had was it???

I can bet the Suns gave up thinking, why try when their just gonna get away with BS calls, AND THEN it turned into a 21 pt blowout.
Its simply not possible to beat a team once they take all the moentum in the whole arena especially in the second half.

It would've been 20 points in the first half if we did not live at the free throw line in the second quarter.

Blaming the refs for this debacle is childish and extremely laughable.

 

[jagu]

It would've been 20 points in the first half if we did not live at the free throw line in the second quarter.

Blaming the refs for this debacle is childish and extremely laughable.

The refs weren't giving us a lot of calls in the 3rd and the fouls on Hill were pretty sad. I think that plus, bricking a lot of shots did us in.
The J-Rich foul made no sense. He was standing there still and they called a blocking foul on him as Shannon Brown tried to dunk on him.

The Suns need to adjust their strategy for game 2. Basically we lost this game because we couldn't do what we do best, score on their misses (since they weren't missing). I'm not very down. I just hope we get better defense and 3 point shooting. Frye was a joke today.

I am not a Kobe fan but Lebron is nothing compared to Kobe. He makes such crazy shots and Lebron has such a weak J.

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

The refs weren't giving us a lot of calls in the 3rd. I think that plus, bricking a lot of shots did us in.

No mention of the defense? The Lakers got everything they wanted.

I am not a Kobe fan but Lebron is nothing compared to Kobe. He makes such crazy shots and Lebron has such a weak J.

Can you imagine someone with Kobe's skill set in Lebron's body?

The Suns need to adjust their strategy for game 2.

Absolutely, whatever Majerle and Cartwright thought of this week isn't going to work.

 

[az1965]

These two games and then 4 days rest will give us a chance to fully integrate Lopez at which point we'll win 4 straight.

What are you smoking?

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

here's my game 1 truth:

1. amare: he just played soft. offensively and defensively. i understand his shooting ability is a big weapon against their bigs, but his steadfast refusal to attack the paint just allows them to dictate the game. he has to attack. gasol is going to block his shot every time? no way in hell. and bynum was a nonfactor. and defensively . . . GEEEEZ. that was old amare. disengaged. no hustle. not even paying attention. 3 rebounds? give him a skirt for tonight's game.

2. nash: overdribbled at times tonight and for some damn reason just lets fish get in his head. he should dominate fish and he just doesn't. he also needs to penetrate more to create for the rest of the team. not over dribble, mind you, but penetrate, create movement on their defense and find the right shooter. he just really looked bad to me tonight.

3. jrich: if he's not expending himself guarding kobe he's got to put up points. and if that means more movement off the ball instead of waiting for the kick to 3 (cuz artest is waiting at home for him), then he's got to get more movement early in the game. i liked the adjustment gentry made with the curl into the middle. the good thing in jrich's game? he WAS hitting shots, he just wasn't getting many looks. which in my mind means he's still got his touch and wasn't intimidated by the lakers, he just needs more/better plays run for him.

4. hill: love him to death. he played hard. he looked old. i realize this isn't a surprise to anyone on this board, but when kobe's right, like he was tonight, hill has no chance.

5. lopez: surprise production. but man is he slow. just can't get to loose balls. but he provided us some impact tonight. something to grow on, 'specially if bynum's really mostly a no-go.

6. frye: dude's nads shrivel up against the lakers. have all season. i was really hoping that his success in the prior to two rounds would carry confidence over into a series against a team against whom he struggles. no luck. dude was atrocious shooting the ball and it carried over into the rest of his game.

7. rebounds: at one point amare, lopez, and frye combined for 9 rebounds. at the same point odom had 19. that's just flat out embarrassing.

8. dragic: looked unfazed out there. good for him. i thought he played too FEW minutes. he was perhaps the most aggressive player we had on the floor tonight.

9. barbs: surprised me. i'll be more surprised if he does it again.

10. dudley: may just not have a good place in this series. he's either too small to defend most of their players or not athletic enough. a shame 'cuz i love his heart, but i see him being a nonfactor in this series. hope i'm wrong.

11. lakers shooting: i don't think we'll see them this hot again, but man was that an old fashioned butt whupping. i really don't see them continuing to shoot the 3 as well as they did. that offers some hope. we have to stop running at them. the overpursuit killed our rotation.

12. odom: he killed us. and i know he traditionally kills us. but he also has a tendency to disappear. he won't get 19 and 19 again on us. i suspect he'll disappear in the next game.

13. lou: has no place in this series.

14. i despise phil jackson, the lakers, and virtually all of my socal coworkers.

15. i hope wed doesn't suck.

 

[Cheesebeef]

15. i hope wed doesn't suck.

wednesday will either be the greatest Suns game we've ever attended or the single-worst sports experience of our lives (yes, worst than the Super Bowl because we'll be surrounded by 20k fans who we hate more than anything else in the world). I'm fearing the latter.

 

[jagu]

Amare was god awful on defense and rebounding, Odom had position and got every rebound he wanted and Amare didn't even care. If this guy doesn't man up and play on both ends we have no shot. I thought Nash was decent, 13A to 4TO's isn't bad and he didn't really play offense much which I think he should do. Amare needs to drive in and get fouls.

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

I'd like to see more of Dragic and Nash on the floor at the same time when Kobe is on the bench. We might even be able to throw Barbs out there with Artest being so bad on offense. I understand needing to rest Stevie, but if it's close we have to push him to as much as possible on Wednesday because it's over if we lose.

 

[cly2tw]

From the outcome, the Lakers did get on our mind with their pre-series mind games. Artest making Frye responding to 'he'd know my name by the end' or PJ saying Nash carryin the ball, guess what, our team seemed to want to prove them wrong too much so that Nash overdribbled as he hasn't done since the first game of Blazers' series and Frye got force-fed contested 3pts. Both were the main reason we lost the game. In Frye's case, were he taken out of his offensive production like that, it'd be better to put in Lou to harass Lakers' very hot bigs in Gasol and Odom for some defense.

Anyway, we sometimes really need to play an all-defense second unit, maybe with either JRich or Hill on it but not Frye, to frustrate Lakers bench particularly Odom, whom you can't let to get confident on you.

 

[cly2tw]

I'd like to see more of Dragic and Nash on the floor at the same time when Kobe is on the bench. We might even be able to throw Barbs out there with Artest being so bad on offense. I understand needing to rest Stevie, but if it's close we have to push him to as much as possible on Wednesday because it's over if we lose.

As I said, resting Nash is the most important but it starts with stopping him from overdribbling while making him available for jumpers, either after a simple p&r or running himself open via screens like JRich likes to get open with. Establishing the JRich and Nash as the main shooter, next to the constant threat of Amare is the foundation for our playoff success. Who among Frye, Dud, Hill, LB might get hot is secondary and we'd just let the flow of game decide it.

 

[Greg Popovich]

Don't get me wrong--when I made the comment about the refs, it was during a period when the Lakers had fairly obvious contact with Suns players without any fouls called and conversely had even the slightest contact on Kobe Bryant with fouls being called. I am not blaming the loss on the refs. But I think that the game overall was poorly officiated, which certainly did not help matters.

In my mind, I still contend the Suns can compete with this Lakers squad, but it will take a complete reversal of philosophy--one that totally commits to defense, especially in the paint. Last night's game reminded me of the old Suns defense--and that is a total regression. Phoenix got to this point by embracing the defensive game plan--but it requires each player taking a role. Amare was simply awful last night.

I don't know if Steve's eye is bothering him or not, but he simply has to become more selfish with his own shot selection. He should be torching Fisher.

In a nutshell--the Lakers played the way that the Suns had played against the Spurs. Phoenix needs to remember what got them here to the WCF--defense, Nash playing brilliantly, and the team playing more cohesively at both ends of the court. On defense, they have to find a way to get some help to Grant Hill on Kobe. On offense, Nash has to take more shots and they need to keep taking three point shots because eventually they will start to drop.

 

[Cheesebeef]

From the outcome, the Lakers did get on our mind with their pre-series mind games. Artest making Frye responding to 'he'd know my name by the end' or PJ saying Nash carryin the ball, guess what, our team seemed to want to prove them wrong too much so that Nash overdribbled as he hasn't done since the first game of Blazers' series and Frye got force-fed contested 3pts. Both were the main reason we lost the game.

absolutely shocking that Amare's complete and utter pathetic defense/rebounding inability to finish plays or take it strong to the hole are absent in your reasons why we lost this game.

 

[Ode to Ocho]

Amare playing, defending and rebounding soft?? I'm shocked.

Total Domination.

 

[Cheesebeef]

Amare playing, defending and rebounding soft?? I'm shocked.

Total Domination.

can someone ban this clown and send him to spurstalk where he belongs already?