The series will be depended on how the referees gonna call the game whether they will give favourite to the lakers. IMO, suns have enough defenders to throw at kobe, like Bell, Marion, Thomas. I think the suns shoud win 4-2. But as much as i hate kobe, i agree he has the ability to pull an upset. Will be an exciting series!!!
I agree with Mr. Barkley, in a seven games series, the better team always wins. Suns is a better team so I picked them as the winner. But Kobe alone will earn Lakers two wins. 4-2 will be the result.
His role in the offense is tantamount to pippens with the bulls, afterall it's the same system. The reason odom did so well with miami is because of the up-tempo style of play. He is used to starting off at the top of the key instead of the low block drawing defense to initiate a kick out pass to a third option. If you can't see Odom's role in a guard posistion you aren't watching laker games. http://espn.go.com/ncb/2003/0128/1499926.html
2006 Playoffs: Lakers vs Suns thread Haven't started a thread for quite a while. This is a series I am quite interested in in the first round. Lakers played the Suns quite well, although they were behind all the time, never were they totally out of the game. Odom had a great game going inside, so was Walton and Parker. Kobe wasn't his old self. Still, IF he was sent to the line after that hit he got in the face, it would be a 4 points turn around, they did have the chance to win that game. As Barkley said, they should be encouraged by this game. It's quite strange that Lakers got the short end of the stick in officiating in crucial moment. I guess it's just a missed call by the refs. As much as I like JVG's coaching ability, Phil is at another level. It was a very interesting game to say the least, and this will be a very close series. If Matrix can't play at the same level as he did in regular season, the Lakers do have a chance to pull this upset. What do you guys think?
The phoenix suns couldn't get any defensive rebounds during the game. They're really missing Kurt Thomas. Lamar Odom was everywhere it seems, and grabbing every rebound. Even though Lakers won, I liked how they controlled the tempo to their liking. They adjusted well after the first quarter. We'll see how well Phoenix responds. We still haven't seen their full attack. Same with lakers and kobe. With that said, I'm pulling for phoenix all the way.
I really don't like the Suns that much, but I do prefer them to the Lakers, and I am very happy the Lakers went down. The series is far from over, and it should be a fun one to watch. Though I'm currently pulling for the Clippers, and love watching them play.
Didn't see the game; listened to it on espn radio driving back from Dallas. Did the Suns really miss Kurt Thomas that much? I am amazed the game turned out to be so close with Kobe playing way below average. I think the Lakers blew a golden chance because Luke Walton probably will not duplicate his stat line anytime soon and the Suns will come out fired up the rest of the series after playing so poorly.
kobe wont have that kind of game again. walton and odom played really well. that should be encouraging for kobe...
Kobe started to get to the basket at will toward the end of the game. It's too late for the Lakers. But the Suns need to find a way to stop that in the next game. And grab some rebounds. And you can bet that Kobe is going to shoot a lot next time. Phoenix should swarm him and dare him to force shots. Let the other Lakers get the ball and Kobe will bound to try to get his shots.
I guess you didn't watch the game. Kobe tried to get his teammates involved, didn't take very many shots, and the shots he did take, he was wide open, but the jumper wasn't falling. He wasn't feeling it from the outside, so he started going to the hole at will. Too little too late, then only down by 4, he went to the hole, got smacked in the head and NO CALL. Could have made it a 2 point game with around 1 min to go. Just curious, did you watch the game or did you just see the highlights/box score and then decided to make a baseless claim that the suns shut Kobe down?
They can't, the suns lack the height in the paint, kobe bryant can get into the paint at will. Especially with bell not on him. Lamar can also exploit the suns in the paint for the same exact reason.
Just remember that.. I doubt walton is going to be as effective the next game. Same with tim thomas. Yes, Kobe will be better the next game. But Marion will do better in the next game as well. True, the Suns need to adjust. But DAMMIT the lakers lost that game. I think the Suns should get some credit for that.
