SUNS -at- LAKERS - 5/19 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

[DancingBarry]

Pick Your Poison... Death lives to kill.

He is a versatile assassin, a master of his weaponry. He is relentless and cold-blooded.

Sometimes he takes shape of the Black Mamba.

As the blood red Sun rises again in the distance, it is in the form of the Mamba that Death hunts. He is the sharp tip of the spear in the Horsemen's attack. He confounds them, strikes when needed, but occupies their attention and then sets up his fellow Horsemen for easy kills.

You watch from the little used perimeter defenses of the city. They throttle their opponent with deadly efficiency and the light fades in retreat. Ten bells chime throughout the city. The Horsemen have won.

Your bags are already packed, waiting at your feet for your upcoming trip. Someone has written on your luggage tag. DancingBarry:

"The Horsemen were here. They altered their attack, but they were just as efficient at inflicting wounds. The hunt is on.

I will continue to track them..."

The Suns must pick their poison. Do they want 40-point Kobe or 21-point, 13-assist Kobe? It's Black Mamba venom, either way.

After the last game, Kobe said, "If they send two guys at me, then I've done my job." The doubles came tonight and he promptly did his job.

"Maybe we'll decide to let Kobe get 80 and guard the other guys," Alvin Gentry said after their 124-112 loss to the Lakers. Hard to win when you are giving up 120+ points a game. The Suns must now take four of the next five games.

They made a couple of adjustments this game. The Suns tried to take the ball out of Kobe's hands in the first half. He promptly dished 9 assists. The Lakers continued to score with efficiency (consistently at 58 percent in this series). Unfortunately, so did the Suns in the third quarter.

The Suns tied the game up by going small with Dudley instead of a cold shooting Channing Frye. The Lakers couldn't get stops as shooters were left open with the defense scrambled.

With the score tied to start the fourth, the second unit came to the rescue. Led by a couple threes from Farmar, the Lakers won the first 5 minutes of the fourth by 11. Huge response by the second unit. Pau would score 14 points in the fourth. Lamar would have 8. But asked what turned it around in the fourth, Kobe quickly said, "Jordan Farmar."

The Suns bench was heaped with praise prior to this series, but it has been the Laker reserves who have stepped up. Once again, they outscored the Suns bench 36-25 tonight. Can they continue the trend on the road or will roles be reversed?

With the Laker impact players dominating, maybe it won't matter. "Every time we try to make an adjustment to slow them down, they go somewhere else," Gentry said.


Kobe -- -- "There's a reason he's the best basketball player in the world," Gentry said. Kobe looked to spread the ball around from the start, perhaps passing a little too much a couple of times, but he orchestrated the offense well. He had 9 assists in the first half as he picked apart the Suns D. In the second half, he usually gets a little more aggressive with his shot when he has these types of games. He actually shot less in the second half of this game. His passing was brilliant. He put the ball on the money to open perimeter players. He threw bullets to teammates under the hoop for layups. Late in the game, he continually got the ball to Pau to go to work. He conducted the orchestra with precision and tied his season high with 13 assists. It was in the Western Conference Finals last year when Kobe's complete game took over. The other end of the floor could use a little more work. He was soft defensively (except for a great block on Amare), but he was not making an attempt to recover to shooters or was often very late when he did. The defensive rotations certainly had something to do with that but often Kobe was getting caught in no man's land without purpose or didn't make the extra effort that he has been. He'll need to tighten that up when those small Suns units have more shooters on the floor. The Stats: He scored 21 points on 8-18 shooting (1-3 from three, 4-4 from the line) to go with 5 boards, 13 assists, 1 block, 2 turnovers and 2 fouls in 43 minutes. He was a +14. The Action: He sank a wing jumper to start the game. He missed a short jumper. He overpassed on the break instead of dunking, turnover by Pau. He picked up a foul getting caught in the air, but thought he was standing up straight. He missed a leaning jumper. He got it back, blew past defenders with a hesitation move and scored a layup. He missed a short jumper in the lane, got it back and couldn't knock down the follow up. He was fouled twice on one offensive possession and drew FTs, he made both. He backed off JRich and he hit a three on him. He missed a corner three. He swished an open three over the zone. He hit Ron at the buzzer for an open three. He had 9 points on 3-8 shooting and 6 assists in the first. He missed a jumper short, then lost his man on the other end for a three. He missed a short bank. He kicked to Artest for a three. He got picked for a dunk trying to cross over Dudley. He hit Fish for a three next time down. He missed a wild shot in the paint. He swished an elbow pull-up. He had 11 points on 4-11 shooting and 9 assists. Second Half: He attacked the lane, slammed on the breaks and hit the short jumper. He sank a pull-up elbow jumper. He blocked Amare's dunk from behind, great play. No close out and he gave up a three. Horrible pass in traffic, uncontested score the other way. He sank a pull-up in the lane. He missed a three at the end of the third. He had 6 points on 3-6 shooting. He whipped a no-looker off the dribble to Pau for a layup. Dudley hit a wide open three on him next time down. He bricked trying to draw contact on a jumper. He backed his man down, then jump passed to Lamar for a layup. He lost Hill with a behind-the-back dribble and he hit the open baseline pull-up jumper. He missed an open baseline jumper. He whipped a pass from the corner to a cutting Pau for an And-1. He drew FTs on the perimeter, he made both. He hit Pau slipping a screen for an And-1 (Kobe telling him "Go! Go! Go!).

Gasol -- -- The Suns can't play Pau straight up. He's an instant double or instant trouble. Amare doesn't have the rep of being soft like Pau does, but he is much, much, much softer on D. Great, he can dunk and swat on occasion. He can talk some trash on Twitter. But he can't handle Pau man on man. When the Suns go to small ball with Amare against Pau, the Lakers have got to pound it inside. With doubles coming to Pau and going Lamar against a bunch of little guys in the paint. Chew it apart. Make them pay the price or bring in an extra big to defend. When the doubles came tonight, Pau was superb at picking them apart with the pass. The play between him and Lamar carved up the Suns D up on several sequences. Down the stretch, Kobe directed the ball through Pau. Amare had foul issues and had no chance by himself. At the end of the night, Pau led all scorers. The Stats: He scored 29 points on 11-19 shooting (7-10 from the line) to go with 9 boards (3 offensive), 5 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks, 3 turnovers and 2 fouls in 44 minutes. He was a +20. The Action: He missed a wide open elbow jumper. He attacked, pulled up and bounced to Bynum for a dunk. He airballed on the break when Kobe surprised him with a pass he should have taken himself. He missed a lefty jumphook. He sank a turnaround jumper looking for the foul. He dunked on the break with Ron. He sank a floater getting open in the middle of the zone. He hit Lamar cutting for a layup. He had 6 points on 2-3 shooting in the first. He attacked baseline on a kickout and drew FTs, he made one. He missed a short jumper. He swatted Amare's drive. He had 7 points on 3-6 shooting and 3 boards. Second Half: He missed a face-up elbow jumper. He hit a jumphook off low position. He missed a wing jumper. He dunked off the high-low from Lamar. He attacked and hit Lamar for a layup. He attacked the rim and was mugged, he made both FTs. He threw a pass away. He scored a layup off the high-low from Lamar. He had 8 points on 3-6 shooting. He scored a layup on a no-looker from Kobe. He missed a short jumper in the paint. He drew FTs off the Lamar pass in the lane, he made both. He set up Shannon for FTs on a cut. He rejected Barbosa out of bounds (Barbosa bloodied crashing into a camera). He scored an And-1 layup off the Kobe pass as he attacked the rim, he missed the FT. He slipped the screen and Kobe set him up for another And-1 layup, he missed the FT again. He missed a jumphook, but Lamar drew FTs on the board. He scored a layup taking the entry pass over a fronting defender. Next possession, he worked the pivot and scored over Amare. He was called for a travel getting a perimeter double team. He drew FTs on the perimeter, he made both. He hit Lamar for a layup working Amare in the post again.

Bynum -- -- Better game from Drew. He's still got his hands full on the defensive end, but he was able to use his size tonight on the other end. Teammates also did a good job finding him (especially Fish on a couple of plays). "He did some things that were really good for us offensively," Phil said. "When they went to their screen-roll offense, that's when we had to accelerate the pace a little bit and use more mobile players on the outside." That will be the case against the Suns with all their shooters. His minutes were limited, but he was efficient when he got the ball in good scoring position. He looked a little better at powering up tonight, as well. Very good numbers in limited minutes, but the team was a -2 when he was out there. The Stats: He scored 13 points on 5-5 shooting (3-4 from the line) to go with 7 boards (3 offensive), 1 steal, 1 turnover and 4 fouls in 18 minutes. The Action: He drew FTs trying to throwdown, he made both. He dunked off the bounce pass from Pau. He traveled trying to gather himself under the hoop and power up. He scored a layup off the drive and dish form Fish. He had 6 points on 2-2 shooting and 3 boards in the first 5 minutes. He grabbed a Pau miss and hit the putback jumphook. He drew FTs getting a post entry pass, he made one. he finished a lob from Fish. He had 11 points on 4-4 shooting and 6 boards. Second Half: Great read to swipe a pass to Nash under the hoop to start the half. His jumphook was goaltended on a play set up out of a timeout (Pau cut to form a sideline Tri, Bynum sealed weakside).

Artest -- -- "During the regular season he was a consistent three-point shooter for us," Kobe said. "It's just about him getting back on track and he made them pay tonight." The Suns looked to send help off of Artest early on (something the Lakers have seen a lot of), but tonight Ron was knocking down his shots at a high clip. He had 15 points on just 7 attempts in the first half to lead all scorers. Take one thing away from L.A., you generally pay the price somewhere else. Artest delivered. Gentry told his guys to play straight up on D in the second half. They couldn't gamble and leave him without Kobe picking them apart with ease. Of course, as it seems to be the case this post season, the two-way impact ball is hard to come by from Ron. It's often been one side of the floor or the other. JRich scored 27 on 10-17 shooting. The Suns are getting him the ball on the move or for some open looks when given space. Phil never made the switch of putting Kobe on JRich, so Ron will have to clamp down tighter. The Stats: He scored 18 points on 6-9 shooting (3-6 from three, 3-4 from the line) to go with 5 boards, 3 assists, 2 steals, 2 turnovers and 4 fouls in 40 minutes. He was a +8. The Action: He attacked from the wing and flipped in a finger roll with his left. He drained an open sideline three. He passed on the three next time down to hit Bynum for FTs. He started to probe with the dribble and was tied up. He flashed to the ball, attacked down the lane and powered up a bank past JRich. He missed a wing three left open cross court. Next time down he set up Pau for a dunk in transition. He fouled JRich trying to close on a three. He hit Kobe for a three. Kobe returned the favor and Ron drained a corner three at the first-quarter buzzer. He had 10 points on 4-5 shooting and 2 assists in the first. He drew FTs when Lamar hit him in the lane, he made both. He missed a wing three with the shotclock low. He sank a corner three on a Kobe kickout. He had 15 points on 5-7 shooting (3-5 from three). Second Half: He trailed Fish's miss on the break and drew FTs on the board, he made one. He sank a wing jumper working off the screen. He stole a pass on a switch out of a timeout. He missed an open wing three.

Fisher -- -- "He is a pitbull," Reggie Miller said (no doberman?). You'll take the pitbull when you are getting steady D and even steadier, 58 percent shooting as a team. He's playing the defensive schemes smartly and that's making a difference. "They were loading up on the pick and roll, putting a third defender in there," Nash said. With Bynum and DFish on the floor, the Lakers definitely must go to a help and rotation scheme to get some stops. The reason the small ball worked well for the Suns was that it was harder for the Lakers to recover off these screens. Frye can shoot the three, but not when rushed. Lopez can't spread the floor. Having those guys off the floor, the Suns were able to thrive with guys like Dudley and Hill. This will be an area Phil will have to tighten up. Offensively, Fish did a good job moving the ball and setting up teammates. Love seeing Nash put in the situation as the weakside help man against some of those fronting defenses. Fish does a good job of getting in the right spots in the Tri. The Stats: He scored 7 points on 2-8 shooting (1-3 from three, 2-4 from the line) to go with 5 assists, 2 steals, 2 turnovers and 2 fouls in 31 minutes. He was a +4. The Action: He attacked Nash in transition and drew FTs (looked like a clean block), he missed both. He missed a wing jumper. He attacked and hit Bynum for the layup. He swiped a Frye pass, attacked and missed the breakaway layup, Lamar cleaned it up. He drew a charge off the ball on Amare, heady play in transition. He deflected a pass to the post and it ignited a Laker breakaway dunk. He thought he had a clean strip of Nash and had to sit with 3 minutes left with his second foul. He missed a pull-up three in transition. He nearly lost the ball in traffic but threw it up high for Bynum to finish. He sank a sideline three on the Kobe swing pass. He attacked Nash on iso and scored a layup in the final possession of the half. He scored 5 points on 2-5 shooting and had 2 steals. Second Half: He attacked baseline and drew FTs, he made both. He missed a wing jumper. He pushed out a jumpball and missed a layup. He missed a wing three. He drew a moving screen on Amare. Sweet extra pass from the corner, not settling for a three and Lamar dunked off it (all five Lakers touched the ball on that sequence).

Lamar -- -- Another "lucky" game from LO, Amare? Lamar dropped his second big double-double off the bench. He and Pau had some very nice sequences together on the offensive end when the Lakers worked with purpose. With Hill fronting him or sagging off and daring Lamar to shoot from the perimeter, the Lakers couldn't take advantage of the small Suns lineup in the third. When they started to explore their counters and run the ball through Pau, Lamar was able to make an impact off the ball for some easy scores against these lineups. All of this fronting and gimmick defense the Lakers have seen has made the Lakers (finally) going deeper into their offensive sequences. They closed the regular season without any real skill in this area. They had to do it to survive against the Thunder. Tonight you saw some nice high-lows, off-ball cuts and working off the attention drawn by others. The Kobe/Pau two-man game sequences where Pau was making an extra pass to Lamar are precisely the kind of plays that kill the Celtics. The Stats: He scored 17 points on 7-10 shooting (3-4 from the line) to go with 11 boards (3 offensive), 4 assists, 3 steals, 1 block, 2 turnovers and 3 fouls in 33 minutes. He was a +10. The Action: He cleaned up a Fisher miss on the break. He posted up Dudley and drew FTs, he made one. He cut off Gasol's post up and was hit for a layup. He set up Artest for FTs on a drive and dish. His kickout was off target, turnover. He was blocked under the hoop. He had 5 points on 2-3 shooting and 4 boards. Second Half: He drew a foul with a good job fighting for an offensive board. Quick hit on the high-low to Pau for a dunk. He scored a layup posting up a smaller man. He scored a layup on the interior feed from Pau next time down, he wanted the foul and picked up a delay of game tech. He was called for 3 seconds (didn't want to vacate the low position as Ron attacked). He missed a wide open FT jumper (got to hit those looks). He scored a layup off the Kobe jump pass. He set up Pau for FTs on a drive. His layup was blocked. He crashed the glass against the small lineup and fouled out Dudley on a Gasol miss, he made both FTs. He dunked over a rotating Amare on a great pass from DFish. He scored a layup cutting off the Pau post.

Brown -- -- Aside from getting a little sloppy on the defensive glass, some good minutes from Shannon. He sank a couple perimeter shots and manufactured FTs cutting and attacking. Love seeing Shannon make the post feed, then make a quick cut to the hoop. He needs to play with more off-the-ball savvy with the instant doubles others are picking up. Keep the D guessing. The Stats: He scored 8 points on 2-4 shooting (1-1 from three, 3-4 from the line) to go with 1 board, 2 assists, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 13 minutes. He was a +4. The Action: He drew FTs on the break with Farmar, he made one. He drained a pull-up 19-footer. Bad foul, holding a man on the defensive glass instead of boxing out properly. He was trapped in the backcourt out of a timeout and threw a pass away (Fish or Kobe should have been bringing it up). He swished a corner three. He had 6 points on 2-4 shooting. Second Half: He drew FTs feeding the post and cutting off it, he made both. Dudley flopped and made it look like Shannon shoved him on the defensive glass (Shannon was ticked).

Farmar -- -- Hell of a start to the fourth quarter by Farmar. When the Suns had momentum and the second units had to go head to head, he helped the Lakers win the first 5 minutes of the quarter by 11 points. He sank a couple of threes and stole the ball in that stretch. Those are huge minutes for him and the team. That put the Suns in the hole after they had gained some momentum. You don't ask perfection from Farmar, but he nearly gave it tonight. He made all three shots he took beyond the arc. He gave the team a spark when they needed it most. Hopefully, that will give him confidence to make an impact on the road. 'He's shooting with a lot of purpose," Kevin McHale said afterward. He added, "When you start seeing that out of Artest and Lamar Odom. I don't know how you can beat the Lakers." The Stats: He scored 11 points on 4-5 shooting (3-3 from three) to go with 1 board, 2 steals, 1 turnover and 4 fouls in 14 minutes. He was a +6. The Action: He swiped a pass. He hit a pull-up baseline jumper off the pinch post. He pushed out a board and set up Shannon for FTs. He lost the ball out of bounds trying to turn it up court. He drained an open wing three initiated off a Kobe double team. He had 5 points on 2-2 shooting. Second Half: He swished a corner three to start the fourth. He then stole a pass and biffed the break, but we regained possession. He missed a fade on iso on that possession. He drained an early offense three left open. Bogus foul D'ing up Nash on the other end on the perimeter, Farmar's fourth. Great minutes.


Phil -- -- The Lakers led 15-13 when Frye and Odom came in the game midway through the quarter... The Lakers extended to a 23-16 lead, forcing a Sun timeout... Fish had to sit with his second foul and Phil brought in Farmar with 3 minutes left... The Lakers won the first quarter 36-24, shooting 58 percent (14-24, 3-5 from three). The Suns shot 45 percent (9-20, 2-4 from three), but had 7 turnovers... Phil started a Bynum, Lamar, Artest, Shannon, Farmar unit... The lead was cut down to 6 after 4 minutes with turnovers and sloppy play. Bynum didn't get the ball in the low post... Phil brought back in Kobe and Pau. The lead was trimmed to 3 before the Lakers rallied... Fish came back in with 5:30 left... The Lakers lost the quarter 32-29... They led 65-56 at the half. The Lakers shot 57 percent (24-42, 7-11 from three, 10-16 from the line) and had 8 turnovers. The Suns shot 45.5 percent (20-44, 6-12 from three, 10-14 from the line) and had 8 turnovers. The Lakers won the break 8-5... Phil didn't like that the Lakers gave up a couple offensive boards off missed FTs (they would give up another in the second half and Phil was steaming)... Richardson scored several baskets to start the half and Phil called a quick timeout when the lead was trimmed to 6... Drew picked up his fourth foul with 7:32 left and Phil brought in Lamar up 75-67... The Laker defense was getting no stops against the smaller Sun lineup with Dudley in instead of Frye... The Lakers were outscored 34-25 in the third. "We kind of lost our way in the third quarter," Phil said... Lower production in each quarter for L.A., the Suns were increasing their scoring. The Lakers would have to change that trend in the fourth... The score was tied 90-90 heading into the fourth... Phil started a Pau, Lamar, Kobe, Shannon, Farmar lineup... Phil sat Kobe for Ron after 3 minutes, leading by 2 points... The Lakers were up by 6 when Barbosa left with a cut on his head. JRich returned. Phil brought back Kobe on that change with 7:30 left. Short rest... They led 106-95 with 6:52 left, forcing a Suns timeout... Phil brought back in Fish for Farmar who played great... They pounded the ball into Gasol, who scored or set up Lamar for scores to keep the door shut on the Suns... The Lakers shot 58 percent again for the game. They made 9-16 from three and had 32 assists... The Suns shot 49 percent (10-24 from three). They had 17 turnovers, the Lakers 14...

Game Flow -- LINK -- A dominating fourth quarter with multiple runs. Pau scored 14 on 7 shots in the fourth. Lamar had 8 points and 5 boards. Farmar's +11 in that quarter was huge.

[Vishnu]

1st

[JTS1]

10 bells...for some reason, they seem to be getting louder.
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'How many kids can say growing up that they'll turn pro and play for their favorite team in the world and spend your entire career there? IT'S BEEN A DREAM!'-Kobe Bryant 11.29.15

[Dumhead]

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"We got a new universe coming and he's going to control all our universes. We're going to put our universes together" - Metta World Peace

[City_Dawg]

Thanks DB.
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*sighs*

!...

[thurloly]

[IPK]

[TooMuchMajicBuss]

Thanks DB!!

OK. 4th quarter.... Is it my imagination, or were Kobe and Pau just relishing the thought of making Amare pay for his comments?

The way Kobe repeatedly fed Pau down low, who in turn either scored or dumped it off to Lamar Odom for a slam started to remind me an awful lot of the way Magic used to drive the offense, with Kareem down low and Worthy waiting in the wings ready to swoop in for a tomahawk. That 4th quarter was just flat-out fun to watch.

[heatseeker08]

Thanks DB! Anyone has a broom?
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Ron Artest: "SAY QUEENSBRIDGE"

[markjay]

[prisma8slg]

I wonder what Amar'e's twitter said last night?

thanks DB
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"I define success by championships, by winning..." Kobe Bryant

"I've seen it all. Sasha dunked on somebody," Kobe Bryant said. "I'm ready to retire now."

[wolfpaclaker]

[limchrc]

Thanks, nice win.

[RVCdesigns]

Another lucky game from Lamar, duh.

[Rodman28]

Thanx!
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*On Thin Ice*

I guess I am kind of injury prone.- Andrew Bynum

These young guys are playing checkers. I'm out there playing chess.- Kobe Bryant

[RCS926]

That 3rd quarter really had me worried as it seemed that the Lakers were completely befuddled by Phoenix’s small lineup. However, the adjustments were made in the 4th with the Lakers picking the Suns apart offensively and stifling them defensively. I loved Kobe’s playmaking last night. Often, when Kobe goes into playmaker mode, he forces a lot of passes, which results in a lot of turnovers. That wasn’t the case last night. I also loved the fact that Kobe deferred to Pau in the 4th and let him carry the Lakers to a game 2 victory. Phoenix really has no answers for Pau and LO, and both those guys absolutely murdered the Suns. Artest, Drew and Farmar provided an unexpected offensive lift, and I didn’t see anything that leads me to believe that they can’t still be effective on the road.

On the negative side, Kobe and Ron really need to do a much better job of guarding Richardson, Hill and Dudley. Those guys were hot last night, but they also had too many good looks. Kobe, in particular, was simply lazy on a lot of his rotations. The Lakers as a whole are going to have to tighten up their D because it’s unlikely that they are going to score 120+ points at Phoenix. The coaching staff really needs to go over game 2 with the team because game 2 highlighted all the ways that Phoenix can hurt us (quarters 2 and 3) as well as the way the Lakers can make Phoenix play for attacking the Lakers with small-ball.

Still, if you’re Phoenix, last night’s loss had to be discouraging. Phoenix got 20+ point games from both Richardson and Hill. They got a near perfect offensive game from Dudley. Even though Nash and Amare didn’t dominate, they still produced 15 assists and 18 points, respectively. With all that offensive production, the Suns still lost by 12 and showed no signs whatsoever of being able to slow down the Lakers. Even if the Suns get better production from Frye, Amare, Nash and the bench, I don’t see it being that huge a deal because they’ll simply replace the production that Richardson, Hill and Dudley gave them. I just can’t see those 3 guys playing that well again in the same game.

[Klone_dd]

Smart game by Kobe with surgeon-like precision. Of course, Pau was his supremely steady self, but this time I felt like he was gaining so much confidence in his game -- almost Mamba-like. Maybe Amare's smack talk inspiring him to go right at Amare.

However, I gotta give it up to JoFar. His 4Q play separated the Lakers from the Suns. Last game, I thought he took his matchup with Dragic too personally and that it would be a detriment eventually. Now, go get 'em, JoFar. Kinda Mamba-ish himself, JoFar plays with some real competitive fire and attitude. As long as he's under control, he can add a speed boost that elevates the 2nd unit. Doing on the road will be a test for him.

A lot of talk about Phx not helping LA prepare for the Celts. I'm of the opinion that with the Lakers offense not being real precise all season this series is actually helping them focus on ball movement and player movement. Sure, they're not going to get the same open looks or unimpeded waltzes to the hoop, but in this series, they've made all the correct plays offensively and gaining a rhythm that was inconsistent throughout the year.

[PopcornMachine]

[Lakersneuron]

Thanks DB! Not too many of these write up left! Looking forward to the next positive thoughts and ratings : )

[squidward]

6 more wins. Let's get 'em.

[RCS926]

I just read Mark Stein's article about last night's game. I didn't realize that Hill's 23 points was the most he's scored in a playoff game since 1999. Also, the Suns had previously been undefeated in these playoffs when Richardson scored 20+. It has got to be a bit sobering for Phoenix to get these contributions from Hill and Richardson and STILL lose by double digits.

[Fleur-de-Lis]

[A Mad Chinaman]

"LL" (Lucky Lamar) is providing the needed activity to make the Lakers a very dangerous team, especially when combined with the Black Mamba and the "Go Go Go" Pau!

A good test to see how ready the Lakers are for The Finals will be Sunday's game where the Suns will be firing away with all barrels while (probably) playing some zone to pack the paint while playing "Small Ball." It shouldn't work if the Lakers don't fall into the Suns' traip(s). All thy have to do (as per Mychal Thompson's words) is to swing from strong-to-weak side or vice versa and stopped in front of the basket, receive the ball and shoot over their undersized defenders.

[PopcornMachine]

[ssiknick833]

Thanks DB.
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