Hate to start a new thread but I find myself cheering for the Lakers in this series against the Suns and appreciate Kobe's game and Pj's coaching the more I watch. I hope I'm not a closet Lakers fan but man they're exciting to watch. I thought I'd always hate the Lakers I hope this is just cause they're an underdog in this series.
When I don't have an interest in who wins (i.e. when the Rockets are not playing), I tend to root for the underdog or for a long/short series, depending entirely on how much fun it's to watch. As for the Lakers/Suns series, it's a lot of fun to watch these two teams go at it, and the only reason I gave the Lakers the edge here was because I felt they had more of a matchup advantage with Odom and Kwame inside, not to mention that in close games the Lakers have the best player on the court. Another big reason is that I think the Lakers have thoroughly intimidated (both physically but mostly mentally) the Suns' players. I think Kwame/Kobe give them that edge. While it's true the Lakers are young, the Suns are also equally a young team, and have a few guys who aren't "battle-tested". Phil Jackson has done an improbable job with this young team. He seems to have FINALLY convinced Kobe to trust his teammates...I can't help but have flashbacks of Phil Jackson asking Michael Jordan in one timeout, "Michael, Who's open? Who's open Michael? Who's open? Paxson is open" while staring him in the eyes; that was a turning point for MJ and I think Phil Jackson might've accomplished the same thing with Kobe here. I think Odom has been the unsung hero so far, he's been incredible. Kwame has been playing very well, along with every Laker really doing his role and playing it well. I really can't say it enough, Phil Jackson is a freakin' genius.
me too go lakers I hate Phoenix, I think steve nash is trying to get under kobe's skin, good thing kobe is not ron artest.
barbosa just got his **** spiked into the floor by kobe on a great block that i don't know how they called a foul. kobe jumped as straight up as you possibly can (even a little backwards). you can't block someone if that's a foul. and kobe has to force the issue more. no matter how well the rest of the team is doing, 8 points and 5 asts won't get it done. odom looks tired and walton has been bricking all night. maybe he's just waiting for the 4th now that his teammates seem to be wearing down a little.
i don't think it's about getting it really. i don't think phil was telling him to share and he just decided to score 35 for 80 games and then decided to pass overnight. i think phil wanted what happened in the regular season, or he would've said something on at least one occasion about kobe shooting too much. i mean he would've had to. i think they just decided to focus on this for this series b/c of how much of an advantage they have on the inside and how much they need to slow it down. "getting it," if kobe even needed to get it, doesn't just happen after 80 games. it's a process and unlikely that kobe just woke up the morning of game 1 and said i think i'll pass today. and i'm not sure if they're not overdoing it at this point. nash is forcing the issue right now and phoenix is scoring a lot more. now forcing it doesn't mean kobe has to shoot, it means doing what he just did. drive and kick to odom for 3. not pass it off to others to create. that's too passive and i even think takes kobe out of rhythm. can he just turn it on if he needs to now?
He really is, by not letting kobe shoots 30-40 times in a game, He can stay in the game longer too. He must plays 45 mins per game.
Yeah, thats my point. And I think Nash deserves the MVP, less than last year, but he is still deserved it.
I actually hate the Lakers. But I have to admit PJ is one of the greatest coach in history. JVG is not even close.
it would be pretty hard to deserve an mvp any less that steve nash did last year. funny, watching kobe pass so much, i think nash actually needs to shoot more. it wouldn't shock me if the suns role players caught back on fire and phoenix ran off 3 straight, but at this point i think nash might need to start shooting more like he did in last year's playoffs b/c he can be freakin' deadly with his shot.
Very True. I doubt someone like Luke Walton would ever get to play 40 min under JVG. Also, I just think Kobe just wants to win this series and PJ convinced the entire team that the only way they can pull this off is to slow it down by pounding the ball inside, dominate the boards, and have everyone as a threat on offense. Looking at the LA's boxscore, it resembled the Detroit Pistons.
Go Lakers I hate Suns cos the coach does not believe in YAO And i also want them to know that their system only fun to watch in regular season but not in the playoff
It would be fun to see an all LA second round match-up and I think the Clippers would probably beat the Lakers in 6 maybe 7 and go to the Western Conference Finals
I like neither. However, since I rooted feverishly for the Rockets to get PJ and still firmly believe that he is the only coach that can lead the Rockets to championships with Yao and TMac in the lineup, it's painful to see that PJ can contain Kobe's ego and design game plan that takes the Suns totally off their own game. Finally it's great to see that the Suns's run and gun style stinks in the playoff. Half court game and great defense are still the recipe to win NBA titles.
100% agree. Don't be surprised if the Suns pull off 3 straight. I'm not a believer in this Lakers team.
