The Suns Thread

[Donatello]

oh, that's supposed to be brokeback mountain? i wouldn't know, because you see, I don't watch movies where Heath Ledger and that other guy have gay sex or something. Not my idea of a good movie, though I'm sure you enjoyed it.

You aren't banned yet? Congrats!

Anyway... on topic....

I really dislike the Lakers. It's just something about them. Ugh. Kobe is an excellent player, but... meh. Meh. Meh. I'm alright with people being great and trying to be leaders, but you can't have an overly cocky leader. You'll fail. If they win the series against the Suns... well.... well.... I'll cut off my left foot. Quote me- I'll do it. yeah, right

That dunk was totally a charge.

[dada]

oh, that's supposed to be brokeback mountain? i wouldn't know, because you see, I don't watch movies where Heath Ledger and that other guy have gay sex or something. Not my idea of a good movie, though I'm sure you enjoyed it.

You havent seen it yet you seem to know all about what happening in it. Why, did you inquire?

I personally didnt think the flick was out of this world but if it was I wouldnt be ashamed of to say. What? Am I gay? Only a child would come to that kind of conclusion.

[peaches]

Lakers lead 28 to 24 i think. A bullshit tech foul on Diaw and Luke Walton picked up a flagrant. Kobe and Nash haven't really got started yet. Nash has thrown some iffy passes.

[Dean]

Tim Thomas for MVP!!!!
4/5 FG, 4/4 3PT, 4/4 FT, 16 Points.

Anyone else watching the game on ESPN think its funny how Bill Walton keeps bagging out Luke Walton??

[BIG GREEN]

It's not funny..thats what fathers do..they always try to be extra tough on their sons.

[Drex]

It's OK, Walton made a stupid foul.

Nash is playing like a little girl or sth He's scared to shoot, has made bad passes...and every fucking time the Lakers do something the crowd screams like they just won a championship

[Colin]

Suns NEED to fucking man up and control the defensive boards. They're making Kwame Brown look like a tough rebounder for God's sake.

And making open shots wouldn't hurt. They've missed a number of close raneg shots and lay-ups to go with missing open threes.

[gergerjai]

While making Tim Thomas look like a savior.

[Dro]

Some comments/observations:

1. Shawn Marion is playing terrible. He could have brought the Lakers down to 2 on a fast break, instead pulls up and tries a 3 with his unreliable shooting.

2. Mike D'antoni must not be the brightest of coaches (or maybe it's playoff inexperience?). A child could figure this out:

When Kobe scores a lot vs. the Suns: Suns win 3/4

When Kobe gets others involved: Lakers win 2/3

If D'antoni knows Kobe is not looking to shoot first, why the hell does he continue to have his team double-team Kobe? I say let Kobe shoot the damn ball 30 times. Let Kobe beat you...don't let Walton, Cook, Brown, or Smush EVER beat you.

3. How does D'antoni expect his team to keep their composure when he's screaming the whole game? I must agree with him that the refs were atrocious tonight, but you don't see other coaches going crazy at every stoppage in play.

Good game played by LA. Suns once again not playing up to their potential

[Colin]

If they could get the Lakers off the offensive boards and make lay-ups and wide-open shots these games would be blowouts. The Lakers took 16 more FG's and 6 more FT's. That's at least 16-17 points right there.

Dammit...

edit: Dro you are waaay off base. The way you get out of a shooting slump is to just keep playing your game. That's a good shot for Marion so why not take it? Kobe scored 35 a game this season: double him. It makes perfect sense. And have you ever spent anytime watching basketball? There are so many coaches who scream, just because the Lakers are winning with serene Jackson doesn't mean D'Antoni shoudl stop.

[Dean]

Great, we have an even smaller lineup now, as Tim Thomas goes down with a knee injury.

Anyways, we never really played our own game, and Phoenix blew it. Were not out of it yet though, just as long as Marion decides to turn up to a game.

[J@3]

Tim Thomas is injured? This could not get any better

[Dro]

Dammit...

edit: Dro you are waaay off base. The way you get out of a shooting slump is to just keep playing your game. That's a good shot for Marion so why not take it? Kobe scored 35 a game this season: double him. It makes perfect sense. And have you ever spent anytime watching basketball? There are so many coaches who scream, just because the Lakers are winning with serene Jackson doesn't mean D'Antoni shoudl stop.

Personally, I don't think the time to try to get out of a shooting slump is with 40 seconds remaining in the game. With 10 minutes, maybe. 40 seconds? No. Suns had a chance to cut the lead down to 2, and every single ounce of momentum was in their favor. Every single ounce was lost with the missed shot. Now if it was Steve Nash or Tim Thomas taking that shot I wouldn't be so mad, but that's not Marion's shot to take.

Doubling Kobe hasn't worked. The playoffs are about adjustments. I'll say it first; if the Suns continue to use the same strategy when defending Kobe Bryant, this series will be over in 6.

[gergerjai]

They did an good job today denying Kobe, they just couldnt expect that Walton could burn them.

[Axel]

Tim Thomas is injured? This could not get any better

Why don't you go and brag about it in the Lakers thread.


Sidenote, why the fuck isn't D'Antoni playing Brian Grant?? He can rebound, and he can certainly defend Kwame... the Suns are getting killed on rebounds, it doesn't take a genius to realize that Diaw isn't getting the job done.

[Nel]

I have to agree with dro too. Marion's shot was ill-advised and it was too early and hes not a great 3pt shooter. Oh well i hope d'antoni can adjust coz right now hes being schooled by the zen.

[Colin]

Marion is more than capable of making that shot.

And did you notice those times where Kobe drilled jumpers over one defender in the 4th? That's why Kobe gets a double.

[Fresh8]

You guys really need Marion to figure out how he's gonna play next game. Maybe the playoffs isn't his time to shine? Seriously, last year he played horribly against the Spurs and this year it's LA. And I agree with Axel, Brian Grant should get a chance to help out in the paint.

[Axel]

Marion is more than capable of making that shot.

And did you notice those times where Kobe drilled jumpers over one defender in the 4th? That's why Kobe gets a double.

Kobe shouldn't be doubled, ever. Other teams might double him, but I think Kobe's jumpers play into the Suns offense.... if he misses 3 or 4, it would likely result in fast break points.... Kobe definetly wont shoot a higher percentage than Kwame or Odom in the paint.

[Dro]

Marion is more than capable of making that shot.

And did you notice those times where Kobe drilled jumpers over one defender in the 4th? That's why Kobe gets a double.

Again, look at the facts:

Kobe scores 42.5ppg vs. the Suns in the season; Suns win 3 out of 4

Kobe hasn't scored over 30 in this series; Lakers win 2 out of 3

An adjustment needs to be made on defense.

[Andrew]

As impressive as big scorings nights may be, Kobe looks a lot better playing this way, getting more people involved and then picking his spots especially since he wasn't shooting particularly well.

I was a little non-plussed with some of the calls being made though. The technical foul on Diaw was ludicrous seeing as the situation didn't escalate and it was Kobe whose momentum caused the domino effect. Kwame's foul didn't seem consistent with some other calls made in the playoffs, I've always been under the impression that a basket doesn't count when an offensive foul is committed and there were a couple of others small things here and there I didn't quite agree with.

That said, the Lakers outplayed Phoenix. They came out riding the energy of the home crowd and some of the passes they were making at times reminded me of former Laker units with the unselfishness, crispness and court visions that resulted in everyone doing damage at the offensive end. The Suns missed so many easy attempts too, credit the Lakers' defense but there were some poor, ill-advised attempts by Phoenix and even though his final stat line doesn't really suggest it, Nash really struggled as did Marion. It was surprising the score was as close as it was but with a team like the Suns an off-night still tends to be at least average.

One of the Bill Walton commentary highlights of the night was having to criticise Luke, on the first replay he was a bit hesitant but from there on he could barely stop referring to the foul as terrible and unnecessary. Best moment came in the second half though.

Tirico: (jokingly) Luke Walton, who has had to overcome an overbearing and mentally unstable father...
Walton (laughing) I concur...wholeheartedly!

[Colin]

An adjustment needs to be made on defense.

That adjustment is the defensive rebounding. That is where they have been getting killed. There hasn't been a whole bunch of bad rotations as a result of Kobe being a focus of the defence. Kobe was doubled when he drove into the paint (I'll give Kwame a jumphook or lay-up before I give it to Kobe) and sometimes they trapped him coming off a screen. They were effective traps too.

Where the Suns are getting burned on the rotations has mostly been off doubling the post. Not as much in the last game, but it's still been a weak point. They don't have enough size, so a man is open on the perimeter. Those times where there was a dish-off to someone right near the hoop: they were almost always off of penetration. And when someone drives into the lane you cover them and help on them. There's a higher chance a pass and shot goes wrong, than just one shot by the man driving.

[Nel]

I think the suns are tired from running. They need amare badly. I agree too that nash was also ineffective only because his teammates didn't make shots and he's the only creator left. In the lakers passing, its a combination of over double-teaming on kobe and other lakers making their open shots. It looks good when you make the open shots but if shots don't fall it would really look ugly. Right now they're making them. Marion meanwhile looks terrible and being outplayed by odom. The lakers defense exposed the limitation of marion on offense. He has to find a way to overcome them or they'll be done in 5.

[Dean]

Yeah, id do anything to have Amare back right now, even Kurt Thomas would be a huge relief.

Also Andrew, that quote was one of the only times i wasnt angry all game lol

[Matt]

Suns game has been effectively controlled by the Lakers....no imagine what a team with a real post threat could do.