Suns vs. Lakers Game Thread 11-12-09
Thursday: Suns at Lakers
When: 8:30 p.m. | Where: Staples Center
TV/radio: TNT/KTAR-AM (620).
Lakers update: Los Angeles (6-1) has not played since beating New Orleans 104-88 on Sunday for a fifth consecutive win. With Pau Gasol (hamstring) out hurt, center Andrew Bynum is off to a good start with 20.0 points and 10.6 rebounds per game. Kobe Bryant is averaging 33.6 points. New Lakers forward Ron Artest is averaging 12.0 points, 5.4 rebounds and 4.6 assists and is helping the defense hold opponents to 43 percent shooting.
Suns Notes:
Suns are shooting 47.1 3-point shooting percentage which is better than two-thirds of NBA teams' field-goal shooting and way ahead of the 13-year-old NBA record of 42.8 percent, set by the Charlotte Hornets. Phoenix's 11.1 3-pointers made per game was ahead of its NBA record set in 2005-06, when it averaged 10.2.
Jason Richardson's 55.8% from 3 point range is scorching by any standard.
Robin Lopez - X-rays on his left foot fracture was negative. The Suns will try to reincorporate Lopez during practices after next week's Houston-New Orleans trip.
Steve Nash - In a pre-game ESPN chat with Marc Jackson before the Hornets match, Nash admits that he misses having Shaq on the team despite the team's early success. This seems to dispel any notion of animosity between the two ex-teammates.
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Anticipation growing for Suns-Lakers game
by Paul Coro - Nov. 11, 2009 10:15 PM
The Arizona Republic
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/suns/articles/2009/11/11/20091111sunschamps-CR.html
The Phoenix Suns and Los Angeles Lakers have accounted for the past six Pacific Division titles. The Lakers are the NBA champions.
The Suns have given the Lakers company atop the West. Despite a wide disparity in expectations, anticipation for Thursday night's TNT Suns-Lakers nightcap is growing.
"It'd be a build-up if it was the seventh game of the Western Conference finals," coach Alvin Gentry said.
The Suns won the team's previous meeting, saving themselves from a season sweep by beating the Lakers 118-111 in March without Steve Nash.
But they did that with departed players starring. Shaquille O'Neal scored 33, and Matt Barnes had 26 points and 10 rebounds.
"They're a much more talented team than us and they're the world champs," Nash said. "I don't think we're sitting here saying, 'We're better than the Lakers.' We want to continue to get better every day. If we go and play well, we can beat them, sure. I don't think it's a situation where we're, all of a sudden after two weeks, going from a team that was supposed to be out of the playoff picture to a team that's going to win a championship. We've got to be humble."
Thursday: Suns at Lakers
When: 8:30 p.m. | Where: Staples Center
TV/radio: TNT/KTAR-AM (620).
Lakers update: Los Angeles (6-1) has not played since beating New Orleans 104-88 on Sunday for a fifth consecutive win. With Pau Gasol (hamstring) out hurt, center Andrew Bynum is off to a good start with 20.0 points and 10.6 rebounds per game. Kobe Bryant is averaging 33.6 points. New Lakers forward Ron Artest is averaging 12.0 points, 5.4 rebounds and 4.6 assists and is helping the defense hold opponents to 43 percent shooting.
Suns Notes:
Suns are shooting 47.1 3-point shooting percentage which is better than two-thirds of NBA teams' field-goal shooting and way ahead of the 13-year-old NBA record of 42.8 percent, set by the Charlotte Hornets. Phoenix's 11.1 3-pointers made per game was ahead of its NBA record set in 2005-06, when it averaged 10.2.
Jason Richardson's 55.8% from 3 point range is scorching by any standard.
Robin Lopez - X-rays on his left foot fracture was negative. The Suns will try to reincorporate Lopez during practices after next week's Houston-New Orleans trip.
Steve Nash - In a pre-game ESPN chat with Marc Jackson before the Hornets match, Nash admits that he misses having Shaq on the team despite the team's early success. This seems to dispel any notion of animosity between the two ex-teammates.
________________________________________________________________
Anticipation growing for Suns-Lakers game
by Paul Coro - Nov. 11, 2009 10:15 PM
The Arizona Republic
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/suns/articles/2009/11/11/20091111sunschamps-CR.html
The Phoenix Suns and Los Angeles Lakers have accounted for the past six Pacific Division titles. The Lakers are the NBA champions.
The Suns have given the Lakers company atop the West. Despite a wide disparity in expectations, anticipation for Thursday night's TNT Suns-Lakers nightcap is growing.
"It'd be a build-up if it was the seventh game of the Western Conference finals," coach Alvin Gentry said.
The Suns won the team's previous meeting, saving themselves from a season sweep by beating the Lakers 118-111 in March without Steve Nash.
But they did that with departed players starring. Shaquille O'Neal scored 33, and Matt Barnes had 26 points and 10 rebounds.
"They're a much more talented team than us and they're the world champs," Nash said. "I don't think we're sitting here saying, 'We're better than the Lakers.' We want to continue to get better every day. If we go and play well, we can beat them, sure. I don't think it's a situation where we're, all of a sudden after two weeks, going from a team that was supposed to be out of the playoff picture to a team that's going to win a championship. We've got to be humble."
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That's great.
