LA Lakers at Phoenix game 2

[ducks]

LA Lakers at Phoenix

Preview - Box Score - Recap - Series Breakdown

Game Info: 10:30 pm EDT Tue Apr 24, 2007
TV: TNT, RNET Add to Calendar
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By BOB BAUM, AP Sports Writer

PHOENIX (AP) -- The Phoenix Suns know they shouldn't be too comfortable going into Tuesday night's Game 2 of their first-round playoff series against the Los Angeles Lakers.

The Suns won the opener of the best-of-seven series, but they've been here before.

A year ago, Phoenix won Game 1 against the Lakers, then lost the next three and needed seven games to put away Kobe & Co.

"It's a huge lesson," said forward Amare Stoudemire, who watched that series in street clothes. "Last season the Lakers came back and played well and pushed it to a Game 7. We can't allow that this year. We've got to go ahead and take care of business so we can rest for the second round."

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Kobe Bryant, however, noted that this Phoenix team has one muscular, 6-foot-10 difference from last season.

"You've got that gorilla in the middle," Bryant said. "Stoudemire, he makes it tough on our guys down there because he's a great shot blocker. You've got to pound the ball inside but it's not as easy to do it this year as it was last year."

Stoudemire, out all but three games of the 2005-06 season, watched last year's playoffs while recovering from two knee surgeries. Now that he's back in the middle, the Suns have an inside presence that was sorely lacking a year ago.

He had 23 points and 12 rebounds in Sunday's victory but said he and his teammates could have done better.

"I missed a couple of easy jumpers I normally make," Stoudemire said. "A lot of guys missed some jumpers they normally make. There were a few easy baskets we might have missed in the first half. But the thing about it is we stayed aggressive, we didn't get down. We stayed focused and got a win."

The teams drew far different conclusions from Sunday's game.

The Suns felt good about winning despite a sub-par performance, the Lakers felt they showed they can stay with Phoenix.

"In many ways, we realize we were lucky to win," Suns guard Steve Nash said. "We didn't play well at all offensively. We didn't make shots. We didn't come out with a lot of energy, but we were mentally strong and defensively gave ourselves a chance to win."

The Suns shot 43 percent Sunday but were 6-of-23 on 3-pointers. Raja Bell, James Jones and Boris Diaw were a combined 4-for-16 from the field.

"I didn't think we played our `A' game, and against these guys you need to," Phoenix coach Mike D'Antoni said. "I was really happy with the way we fought, the way we defended. You just don't want to give Kobe a chance going down the stretch that he can win a game by himself."

For two quarters Sunday, Bryant looked as if he would do just that.

He scored 28 points in the first half, capped by a series of spectacular shots to give Los Angeles a 48-39 halftime lead. Harassed by Bell and a host of helpers, Bryant was just 4-for-16 in the second half, 1-for-10 in the fourth quarter, when the Suns -- led by Leandro Barbosa -- pulled away.

It's a familiar situation for Bryant, who has long contended that he needs more help from his teammates when the defenses clamp down on him.

"Yeah, it makes it frustrating," he said before Monday's practice. "It's not only that when I miss we struggle, it's just that I've got to shoot through three guys. If everybody else is not hitting shots, it's going to be a very, very tough night."

Despite their fourth-quarter woes, the Lakers were conceding nothing.

"I don't think anybody feels particularly bad about the Game 1 loss," Bryant said. "I think we've learned some good things. Now we're trying to carry them over to Game 2 and see if we can't duplicate the success that we had last year."

With Luke Walton hobbled by a sore ankle, Smush Parker banished to the bench and Kwame Brown ineffective, other than Lamar Odom, the options are few.

The Suns know they could have joined Dallas and San Antonio as surprise Game 1 losers if not for Barbosa, who matched his career high with 26 points, 19 in the first half. The "Brazilian Blur" won the NBA's sixth man award on Monday.

"He's a phenomenal player. I enjoy watching him play," Bryant said. "Obviously, we have our hands full, but it's something I'm sure we'll make some adjustments to."

Los Angeles coach Phil Jackson gave Barbosa his due respect, but said he can be defended much better than he was on Sunday.

"I'm not going to say he's Kobe Bryant yet," Jackson said. "There's a way you have to do it, and I think we have to focus on that."


Updated on Monday, Apr 23, 2007 8:07 pm EDT

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Team Comparison
Team Record Standings PF PA Road/Home Streak L10
LA Lakers 42-40 2nd Pacific / 7th West 103.3 103.4 Road 17-24 Won 2 4-6
Phoenix 61-21 1st Pacific / 2nd West 110.2 102.9 Home 33-8 Lost 2 7-3

LA Lakers Notes
Apr 22 With Sunday's loss, the Lakers have lost four consecutive playoff games, all to the Phoenix Suns. Including their last three playoff losses last season, the Lakers have lost seven of the last eight meetings against Phoenix. ... Los Angeles has not won a playoff series since C Shaquille O'Neal left the Lakers in 2004. ... G Kobe Bryant scored 28 of his 39 points in the first half. After making an 18-foot jump shot to give the Lakers' a seven-point lead with 2:01 remaining in the third quarter (73-66), Bryant was held without a basket over the next 12:19. Bryant missed nine consecutive shots before making a scoop layup with 1:42 left. He missed 11 of his last 12 shots to finish the game. ... Coach Phil Jackson lost for only the second time in his career in an opening game of a first-playoff series, dropping to 14-2. Both losses have been to the Suns.


Phoenix Notes
Apr 22 The Suns have won six straight Game Ones of a first-round series dating to 2000. Phoenix is 17-8 (.680) all-time when winning Game One of a playoff series. The team that has won the opening game has gone on to win 273-of-348 (.784) best-of-seven series. ... G Leandro Barbosa scored 15 straight points for the Suns over a 4:33 span in the third and fourth quarters en route to a playoff career-high 26 points. It was Barbosa's fifth career 20-point effort in the postseason, three against the Lakers. In his last three playoff games against the Lakers (including Games Six and Seven of the 2006 first-round series), Barbosa is averaging 24.7 points. ... G Steve Nash recorded his 32nd career postseason double-double with 20 points and a game-high 10 assists. Nash has had double-doubles in all five games against the Lakers this season.

[resistanze]

I hope the Lakers win this, to make this series at least somewhat competitive.

[Vinnie_Johnson]

Suns fans are loud tonight that place is rockin.

[schadenfreude52]

Go Suns!

[mavsfan1000]

Go Suns!
I agree. Fuck the Lakers. :hungry:

[resistanze]

lol, Smush Parker is just so bad.

The Lakers just don't have the talent to compete with Phoenix

[resistanze]

This is getting ugly, gonna take my shower :lol

[AnkleBreaker21]

doug collins sucks, i dont know why he doesnt just go and suck the sun's balls

[Amuseddaysleeper]

phil jackson has officially given up not on this game, but on this entire series

[lefty]

Man, this series is over. :sleep

[cornbread]

The Suns are serving up some pwn tonight.

Come on Lakers!

[mavsfan1000]

doug collins sucks, i dont know why he doesnt just go and suck the sun's balls
Yeah Fuck Doug Collins. He says the spurs are rusty and than says the Warriors own the Mavericks.

[AnkleBreaker21]

:lmao:lmao:lmao

[AnkleBreaker21]

damn whats the suns going to do when they run into some defense and a real team

[mavsfan1000]

damn whats the suns going to do when they run into some defense and a real team
The same question should be asked for the nuggets. :lmao

[lefty]

The same question should be asked for the nuggets. :lmao
:cry :cry

[resistanze]

The Suns move so damn fast that sometimes I wish the opponent just sticks out their foot, they'd fly into the stands.

[Budkin]

Holy assrape...

[resistanze]

I turned that shit off, i'm catching up on House episodes.

[J.T.]

LA is getting bitchowned. Suns got this.

[schadenfreude52]

The only reason I'll continue to watch this is to see what the final point total for the suns is.

[kingsfan]

fakers down by 30 http://spurstalk.com/forums/images/smilies/lmao.gifhttp://spurstalk.com/forums/images/smilies/lmao.gif Christmas in April http://spurstalk.com/forums/images/smilies/santahat.gif

[lefty]

The only reason I'll continue to watch this is to see what the final point total for the suns is.
:lol :lol

[lefty]

fakers down by 30 http://spurstalk.com/forums/images/smilies/lmao.gifhttp://spurstalk.com/forums/images/smilies/lmao.gif Christmas in April http://spurstalk.com/forums/images/smilies/santahat.gif

Kings playing golf
:lol :lol

[Dirk Nowitzki]

Anyone who thinks the Suns wont be that tough to beat, has another thing coming. This is a legit contender in the west that is going to be a bitch to eliminate.

[Amuseddaysleeper]

suns fans have hit a new low

[J.T.]

Spurs will beat the Suns in 5 again.

[lefty]

Anyone who thinks the Suns wont be that tough to beat, has another thing coming. This is a legit contender in the west that is going to be a bitch to eliminate.

Well, maybe for Dallas

[loveThe23]

Kings playing golf
:lol :lol

HAHAAA that's pretty funny. i can imagine Brad hicky boy doing that every day. :lol

[mavsfan1000]

Stern conspiracy alert. Stern wants running in basketball to be back. He will put his effort on getting the Nuggets, Suns, and Warriors to go far.

[lefty]

HAHAAA that's pretty funny. i can imagine Brad hicky boy doing that every day. :lol

Yep ; Lakers can catch Kings at some Phoenix golf course tomorrow

[L.I.T]

Jeez, this game needed a Parental Warning.

[kingsfan]

Yep ; Lakers can catch Kings at some Phoenix golf course tomorrowAnd they can all tee off in SA next weekend.

[Nashfan]

Spurs will beat the Suns in 5 again.


Ignorant statement :blah

[Dirk Nowitzki]

Spurs will beat the Suns in 5 again.
If that happens, the Mavs are heading back to the finals because the biggest threat to the Mavs (Suns) will be eliminated. The Mavs will then do what they should of done last year, eliminate the spurs in 5 games.

[Nashfan]

And they can all tee off in SA next weekend.
:lmao

[lefty]

Smart statement :blah

[lefty]

If that happens, the Mavs are not heading back to the finals because the 2nd biggest threat to the Mavs (Suns) will be eliminated. The Mavs will then do what they did, hitting bikes after 5 games.

[Nashfan]

Very funny :donkey

[lefty]

:flag: :worthy:

[THE SIXTH MAN]

lefty ftw.

[Nashfan]

You wish! Your team might want to win a game first before you start bragging :donkey

[itzsoweezee]

amare is a shell of his former self. remember how the suns w/ amare the beast got eliminated so quickly? i wonder if the suns will make it to 5 games against the spurs this year?

[lefty]

You wish! Your team might want to win a game first before you start bragging :donkey

Hey,U got the easiest 1st round matchup un the West ; would love to see u vs Denver

[Carrot Top]

Looks like a heat vs suns final. :ihit

[Nashfan]

Hey,U got the easiest 1st round matchup un the West ; would love to see u vs Denver


Hey, your team had a chance to be the second seed and blew it so don't come crying to me about who you are playing. :cry I think we match up just fine with Denver :)

[Nashfan]

amare is a shell of his former self. remember how the suns w/ amare the beast got eliminated so quickly? i wonder if the suns will make it to 5 games against the spurs this year?


You need to get glasses or watch more Suns games. Amare is not a shell of his former self at all. :lol

[ponky]

Jeez, this game needed a Parental Warning.


:lol thank god for tivo, click, click, click at 8X speed, game over...at least the other games were alright...lol at farmar's attempts at point, get a real point guard idiots, you could get away with that back in the day of kobe/shaq tandem but no longer....well, i guess the suns will be sitting and resting while the spurs and nuggets battle it out

[lefty]

Hey, your team had a chance to be the second seed and blew it so don't come crying to me about who you are playing. :cry I think we match up just fine with Denver :)

We didn't blow it , Crawford did

At the end of the day, Spurs > Suns

[ponky]

Hey,U got the easiest 1st round matchup un the West ; would love to see u vs Denver


oh god, i don't usually stick up for that homer nashfan, but c'mon lefty, this statement was weak. yeah, the suns lucked out in terms of the matchups game but i doubt they would have as much trouble with the nuggets as the spurs simply because of the matchups. the suns would run at the nuggets even harder and probably come out with enough wins to get the series. this is not how the spurs play, apples and oranges. anyway, no need to bash the suns and predict future matchups when the only texas team getting it done right now resides in houston

[Nashfan]

We didn't blow it , Crawford did

At the end of the day, Spurs > Suns


Yeah right, did Crawford make you lose games to the Bobcats and other bad teams this year also? :wtf Win more games and you would have had the second seed. You are hoping the Spurs own the Suns, first you have to get out of the first round.

[ponky]

We didn't blow it , Crawford did

At the end of the day, Spurs > Suns


it's called a season for a reason, shouldn't allow it to be decided by one game...same with the mavs and avery's choice of benching the starters in the last game against the warriors, that worked out very well :rolleyes

[Carrot Top]

:rolleyes :rolleyes the refs

[Nashfan]

oh god, i don't usually stick up for that homer nashfan, but c'mon lefty, this statement was weak. yeah, the suns lucked out in terms of the matchups game but i doubt they would have as much trouble with the nuggets as the spurs simply because of the matchups. the suns would run at the nuggets even harder and probably come out with enough wins to get the series. this is not how the spurs play, apples and oranges. anyway, no need to bash the suns and predict future matchups when the only texas team getting it done right now resides in houston


And I don't usually agree with some of your posts, but this time you hit the nail on the head. :)

[THE SIXTH MAN]

Yeah right, did Crawford make you lose games to the Bobcats and other bad teams this year also? :wtf Win more games and you would have had the second seed. You are hoping the Spurs own the Suns, first you have to get out of the first round.
:rolleyes I didn't know the suns advanced to the second round already. there's still plenty of ball to be played Jr..

[L.I.T]

:rolleyes I didn't know the suns advanced to the second round already. there's still plenty of ball to be played Jr..

You mean you didn't get the memo? Laker's fans have declared it over! Over dammit!! Over!!!

The horses drawing the wagon are heaving sighs of relief.

[Nashfan]

:rolleyes I didn't know the suns advanced to the second round already. there's still plenty of ball to be played Jr..


Did not say we were out of the first round yet. Same could be said for your fellow Spur fan, Lefty. :donkey

[THE SIXTH MAN]

Did not say we were out of the first round yet. Same could be said for your fellow Spur fan, Lefty. :donkey
I'm not talking about lefty I'm talking about you. You're posting like you guys just eliminated the lakers already. :dramaquee

[Purple & Gold]

Horrible Horrible game for the Lakers :depressed

Looks like it might be Suns in 5 now. Lakers still haven't played at home yet so this series is ain't over yet.

But what was going on with the Suns keeping their starters in till late in the 3rd up by 20. Did they think the Lakers were gonna come back? I know they run a short rotation, but this is ridiculous. Suns have no class.

It's going back to L.A. so time to defend the home court. This series ain't over yet.

:soapbox:

[Nashfan]

I'm not talking about lefty I'm talking about you. You're posting like you guys just eliminated the lakers already. :dramaquee


Learn to read :donkey

[THE SIXTH MAN]

Learn to read :donkey
Learn to comprehend what you read. :nerd

[Xylus]

But what was going on with the Suns keeping their starters in till late in the 3rd up by 20. Did they think the Lakers were gonna come back? I know they run a short rotation, but this is ridiculous. Suns have no class.
... Are you kidding me?

The Suns are classless because they kept their starters in until late in the 3rd quarter?

:dizzy

This is the goddamn playoffs, and teams will fight hard enough to erase a 20-point lead with more than 12 minutes left...you'd be insane to pull your starters midway through the 3rd and expect the bench to hold down a 20-point lead. In the playoffs, you don't take risks like that, you make sure you get the win.

[Nashfan]

Learn to comprehend what you read. :nerd


You really are an idiot aren't you? :lol

[Nashfan]

... Are you kidding me?

The Suns are classless because they kept their starters in until late in the 3rd quarter?

:dizzy

This is the goddamn playoffs, and teams will fight hard enough to erase a 20-point lead with more than 12 minutes left...you'd be insane to pull your starters midway through the 3rd and expect the bench to hold down a 20-point lead. In the playoffs, you don't take risks like that, you make sure you get the win.


Co-sign!

[Nashfan]

If you think about it Purple and Gold, Nash and Amare only played 24 minutes. Also, why did Phil play Kobe when it was obviously over? He got hurt, which is not good. Hope he is okay.

[THE SIXTH MAN]

You really are an idiot aren't you? :lol
:elephant I guess you're not good at reading comprehension.

[Purple & Gold]

... Are you kidding me?

The Suns are classless because they kept their starters in until late in the 3rd quarter?

:dizzy

This is the goddamn playoffs, and teams will fight hard enough to erase a 20-point lead with more than 12 minutes left...you'd be insane to pull your starters midway through the 3rd and expect the bench to hold down a 20-point lead. In the playoffs, you don't take risks like that, you make sure you get the win.
First off it was a 30 point lead. Kobe was on the bench and you still have some starters in. Wait till one of your players gets injured and then I want to see you defending that move.

[Nashfan]

:elephant I guess you're not good at reading comprehension.


Where did I say this round against the Lakers was over? I think it is far from over. :donkey

[THE SIXTH MAN]

Where did I say this round against the Lakers was over? I think it is far from over. :donkey
:lol Like I said reading comprehension. Go back and read my post quoting your post, and maybe you'll get it. :reading

[Xylus]

First off it was a 30 point lead. Kobe was on the bench and you still have some starters in. Wait till one of your players gets injured and then I want to see you defending that move.
I've never heard of a team pulling their starters that early in a game in the playoffs, no matter what the lead.

You're really reaching here.

[Purple & Gold]

If you think about it Purple and Gold, Nash and Amare only played 24 minutes. Also, why did Phil play Kobe when it was obviously over? He got hurt, which is not good. Hope he is okay.
Kobe only came in because it was embarrassing out there. The game was over, he just came back to keep it looking respectable. It's not like he came back shooting the ball. He came back passing to Bynum. Something that will help in the long run. You guys played your key players way too long. Not a smart move at all, and it was running up the score.

[Purple & Gold]

I've never heard of a team pulling their starters that early in a game in the playoffs, no matter what the lead.

You're really reaching here.
When the Lakers have a lineup of scrubs on the floor for extended periods of time. They basically conceded the game. But if you don't think it was running up the score than that's fine. But it wasn't a smart move at all. It's asking for an injury big time.

[Nashfan]

:lol Like I said reading comprehension. Go back and read my post quoting your post, and maybe you'll get it. :reading


You might want to tell me which post you think I was bragging about moving on to the second round already. None of my posts say this series is over. I defended my team when one of your fellow Spurs fan said Spurs in five over the Suns. Don't tell me you wouldn't stand up for your team. I don't think this series is over by a long shot. Lakers will really be pissed on Thursday, so we have to weather the storm and play our best to beat them.

[Xylus]

Amare and Nash only played 24 minutes apiece, so your claim that D'Antoni kept his starters in until the end of the 3rd quarter is wrong. They probably both played about 19 minutes in the first half, and then the first 5 minutes of the 2nd half. D'Antoni probably kept Bell in until Bryant was finally taken out.

[Nashfan]

When the Lakers have a lineup of scrubs on the floor for extended periods of time. They basically conceded the game. But if you don't think it was running up the score than that's fine. But it wasn't a smart move at all. It's asking for an injury big time.


Marion played 33 minutes and JR played 31 minutes. Believe me, JR needed the practice, he is not that good. Otherwise, our best players played a small amount of minutes. What I thought was crazy was Phil playing Kobe when the game was out of hand, and Kobe got hurt.

[THE SIXTH MAN]

You might want to tell me which post you think I was bragging about moving on to the second round already.
Sorry, but if you cant follow simple banter then that's your problem. You really don't have any credibility as a poster here so I'll just leave it at that. Thanks for playing though.

[Xylus]

Sorry, but if you cant follow simple banter then that's your problem. You really don't have any credibility as a poster here so I'll just leave it at that. Thanks for playing though.
Are you going to contribute anything to the actual topic, or are you just going to keep blabbing on about Nashfan? Seriously, shut the fuck up if you're just going to spam the topic with this pointless shit.

[Nashfan]

Sorry, but if you cant follow simple banter then that's your problem. You really don't have any credibility as a poster here so I'll just leave it at that. Thanks for playing though.


Thats your best shot! :lol Pretty pathetic. You cannot prove that I said the series was over and that we had it in the bag. You need to go back to school and learn how to read and comprehend. :donkey I think we will have a tough time in LA, Kobe and Co. are not going to just lay down for us. The Spurs sealed their own fate on who they are playing by being lax in the regular season against teams they should have beat. Can't blame the Suns for that.

[THE SIXTH MAN]

Are you going to contribute anything to the actual topic, or are you just going to keep blabbing on about Nashfan? Seriously, shut the fuck up if you're just going to spam the topic with this pointless shit.
Who the fuck are you? :lol
Ban me douche bag!!!!
That's right you cant do shit fucking wanna be mod. :lol
Besides, I said I was done crybaby. :cry Carry on :dramaquee

[Nashfan]

Are you going to contribute anything to the actual topic, or are you just going to keep blabbing on about Nashfan? Seriously, shut the fuck up if you're just going to spam the topic with this pointless shit.


Thanks, Xylus. It is hard to get through to this person. Guess they might be worried about playing Denver, but for the life of me I cannot figure out why. If they wanted the Lakers then they should have fought harder for the second seed, simple as that.

[Nashfan]

Who the fuck are you? :lol
Ban me douche bag!!!!
That's right you cant do shit fucking wanna be mod. :lol
Besides, I said I was done crybaby. Carry on :dramaquee


Who is calling who a baby :cry Quit complaining and say something intelligent instead of bashing people.

[Purple & Gold]

Marion played 33 minutes and JR played 31 minutes. Believe me, JR needed the practice, he is not that good. Otherwise, our best players played a small amount of minutes. What I thought was crazy was Phil playing Kobe when the game was out of hand, and Kobe got hurt.
Kobe has way to much pride to lose like that. He only came back because your guys played heavy minutes. He's Wolverine so he should be fine. You guys didn't break your 8 man rotation till 8 minutes left in the game. And it's not like Rose, Piatkowski and Banks are scrubs. I thought it was running up the score, but I do know you guys run a short rotation. It's something that will probably bite you in the ass if you're not careful.

[Nashfan]

Kobe has way to much pride to lose like that. He only came back because your guys played heavy minutes. He's Wolverine so he should be fine. You guys didn't break your 8 man rotation till 8 minutes left in the game. And it's not like Rose, Piatkowski and Banks are scrubs. I thought it was running up the score, but I do know you guys run a short rotation. It's something that will probably bite you in the ass if you're not careful.


What do you consider heavy minutes? You don't consider Rose, Piatkowski and Banks scrubs? Funny, I think our coach does since that is the only time they get to play :lol

[Nashfan]

Oh, by the way Purple and Gold, if you had listened to the postgame show on NBA league pass you would have heard Kobe answer the question about why he played when he did in the fourth quarter. He wasn't really sure.

[Purple & Gold]

What do you consider heavy minutes? You don't consider Rose, Piatkowski and Banks scrubs? Funny, I think our coach does since that is the only time they get to play :lol
Anything 30 min plus in a blow out is heavy minutes. But like I said I give the Suns half a pass for their known short man rotation. And Rose, Piatkowski, Banks are not scrubs that give up 30 point leads. Like I said none of those got more than 8 min. The box score is there look at how many minutes your scrubs played compared to ours. So I don't wanna hear none of you guys complain if somebody gets hurt.

[Nashfan]

Anything 30 min plus in a blow out is heavy minutes. But like I said I give the Suns half a pass for their known short man rotation. And Rose, Piatkowski, Banks are not scrubs that give up 30 point leads. Like I said none of those got more than 8 min. The box score is there look at how many minutes your scrubs played compared to ours. So I don't wanna hear none of you guys complain if somebody gets hurt.


I guess you haven't watched enough Suns games. Our so called bench players give up plenty of points and yes I do consider Banks and the other two scrubs that you mentioned, including Burke. Whose complaining about somebody getting hurt? It was Kobe that got hurt not our guys that I know of. Don't worry so much about this game, things can change quickly as you know with the Suns. :)

[Purple & Gold]

Oh, by the way Purple and Gold, if you had listened to the postgame show on NBA league pass you would have heard Kobe answer the question about why he played when he did in the fourth quarter. He wasn't really sure.
I haven't seen it, but I'll tell you why. Because it was embarrassing out there. You did see the lineup the Lakers had out there. If it was Phil or Kobe's call, I'm glad he went out to there to at least try to keep it respectable. Bynum needed some playoff experience. And you need Kobe out there to make sure those playoff minutes are a positive. If you give Bynum minutes with scrubs and he doesn't play well then it could be a negative instead of a positive.

[Nashfan]

I haven't seen it, but I'll tell you why. Because it was embarrassing out there. You did see the lineup the Lakers had out there. If it was Phil or Kobe's call, I'm glad he went out to there to at least try to keep it respectable. Bynum needed some playoff experience. And you need Kobe out there to make sure those playoff minutes are a positive. If you give Bynum minutes with scrubs and he doesn't play well then it could be a negative instead of a positive.


Yeah, but Phil risked Kobe getting hurt. Not smart in my opinion. There are still more games to play.

[Purple & Gold]

Yeah, but Phil risked Kobe getting hurt. Not smart in my opinion. There are still more games to play.
True this series is far from over. The home team has won, nothing unexpected. I guess Phil values Bynum's confidence over a risk to Kobe getting hurt. I do see the wisdom in that. We do need some type of low post presence.

[Nashfan]

True this series is far from over. The home team has won, nothing unexpected. I guess Phil values Bynum's confidence over a risk to Kobe getting hurt. I do see the wisdom in that. We do need some type of low post presence.


Bynum will be good eventually, he is really young. Give him time and I think you will have your low post presence. :)

[Purple & Gold]

Yes he definitely will be. It just takes time and Laker fans are not patient. I've seen many great centers and Bynum has the skills to end up being a great one. Many factors involved, but he more than likely will end up being more than solid. Fact is Lakers are bigger than Kobe, but Kobe teamed up with a solid post threat puts us as instant contenders. Not sure if KG is gonna opt out, so not sure what's going on with him. But I expect moves in the offseason. More than likely a package of Odom, Kwame, and some combo of picks for a solid post player. Bynum will only be moved for KG IMO. So Lakers are not far away from being competitive again.

[The_Game]

Spurs will beat the Suns in 5 again.

No chance in that

Spurs simply don't have enough offensive firepower to win the series in 5. Said it before If Manu doesn't have a better series than Barbosa then the suns will win with ease. That is if the spurs even get past the nuggets.

[RonMexico]

Purple & Gold will bitch about anything.

"Suns had Nash in the 1st quarter!!! WTF??? NO CLASS!!!"

Cry me a river... I guess the Suns "got lucky" this game too right? Wait a min... I believe I said that Game 1, the Suns would have won by 30 if they actually hit some of their open shots... damn, I hate being right all the time.

[2Cleva]

Phoenix waxed the Lakers ass and their is very little outside of Kobe that LA can do to prevent it from happening two more times.

[da_suns_fan__]

Give Purple & Gold a break...he would rather talk about anything, ANYTHING except how his Lakers got their asses beat.

I thought we shouldn't expect another "career" game from Barbosa, or another "hot quarter" like the 3rd quarter of game one, right???

Now he wants to change the topic to the Suns running up the score. Saying Banks, Piatowski and Jalen Rose aren't "scrubs".

They are on THIS team, pal.

BTW - As Ron Mexico pointed out, we still haven't seen the "official" excuse as to why the Lakers lost this game, or what type of divine intervention allowed the Suns to win.

[2Cleva]

BTW - As Ron Mexico pointed out, we still haven't seen the "official" excuse as to why the Lakers lost this game, or what type of divine intervention allowed the Suns to win.

Fiyastarter.com had it best.


The Sun have more talent. Kobe will get blamed. So, in summary, the Suns have more talent and Kobe will get blamed.

[LakeShow]

Did the lakers play the Globetrotters last night? Shit! :pctoss

[LakeShow]

It's one game, anybody remember the Memorial Day Massacre? It's not over, till it's over!

[Purple & Gold]

Purple & Gold will bitch about anything.

"Suns had Nash in the 1st quarter!!! WTF??? NO CLASS!!!"

Cry me a river... I guess the Suns "got lucky" this game too right? Wait a min... I believe I said that Game 1, the Suns would have won by 30 if they actually hit some of their open shots... damn, I hate being right all the time.
HaHa Ron it's classic how you try to suck your own dick all the time. Do you gotta compliment yourself so much because nobody else will?

Like I said before you guys have no Rings because the Suns are classless. It's Karma muthafucka.

[Purple & Gold]

Give Purple & Gold a break...he would rather talk about anything, ANYTHING except how his Lakers got their asses beat.

I thought we shouldn't expect another "career" game from Barbosa, or another "hot quarter" like the 3rd quarter of game one, right???

Now he wants to change the topic to the Suns running up the score. Saying Banks, Piatowski and Jalen Rose aren't "scrubs".

They are on THIS team, pal.

BTW - As Ron Mexico pointed out, we still haven't seen the "official" excuse as to why the Lakers lost this game, or what type of divine intervention allowed the Suns to win.
Oh yes the Lakers got ran. When did I say Barbosa won't get his, I already had him penciled in for 20+. Game 1 was a career game because of not only how many points he put up, but how he put them up. He had almost 30% of his teams points. It was ugly.

You guys played your key players way too long another classless move from a classless franchise. The funny things about your "scrubs". Banks would start for the Lakers, Rose would either start or be the sixth man, Piatkowski would definitely get good minutes with the Lakers. And these guys get no run with your team at all, but yet injuries and talent are excuses. :rolleyes

And anytime you look to Ron for insight you get exposed for being a whiny douche.

[Purple & Gold]

Purple & Gold will bitch about anything.

I think I did talk about Game 1 and told you to stop being a pussy. Convienent how Boris Diaw got a technical foul in Game 3 on a Luke Walton flagrant foul. Convenient how Kwame Brown didn't get a technical for standing over Diaw on the floor later in the same game. I guess Kobe's welt on his forehead was worse than when he broke Ginobili's nose earlier this year with an unnatural act... and then did it twice more to Korver and Jaric.

P.S. I can hate Phil all I want... I bet I could get at least 3 rings sitting on the toilet all season long with some of the talent he's had on the court. I love how everyone jumps out to protect Kobe and Phil when they can't win on the road and only go 42-40 this year. Oh, they just don't have enough talent and were decimated by injuries!!!
:oops :oops :lmao :lmao

[SirChaz]

You guys can bitch about the subs if you want but Rose is the 9th or 10th man in an 8 man rotation.

The bench does give up big leads. They gave up a 20 point lead in the fourth quarter early in the season and Coach hasn't really trusted them since.

Rose came in when Nash would have normally come back in the game. So D'Antoni didn't put his players back in at the end but PJ still put Kobe back in.

Coach played the bench about as much as you are going to see in the playoffs.

[RonMexico]

:oops :oops :lmao :lmao

9 rings and only one win against a +.500 opponent since February... can we say "phoning it in"?