I would tend to agree with that. I think he has a tremendous amount of 'flexibility' in his body that allows him to twist-and-turn probably more so than any other player in the league outside of Manu Genobili. Moreover, I am willing to bet that he spends an entire practice session taking shots in all types of kinky positions.
how does smush parker let diaw spin baseline EVERY SINGLE TIME he gets caught guarding him? he did it about 10 times last year in the playoffs and now the first time it happens, he does the spin move. every single time. and those great laker defenders are in regular season mode now and getting torn through like tissue paper. wide open shots all over the place and getting killed on the boards by amare and marion.
because hes too damn lazy to fight through the screen and picks to switch instead... I agree with phil... Smush Parker sucks, but the man is getting paid minimum so we can't expect that much out of him.
suns and lakers have torched rockets with 100+ points so i'll say good shooting, but the defense is definately lacking for both sides.
Yeah, it's something like PER stats in the "clutch". I remember seeing a rankings chart not too long ago comparing players' abilities to make 'clutch' shots and compared to some other superstars -- surprisingly -- Kobe wasn't ranked very high. The only reason why I referenced it is that the term "clutch" is extremely subjective and is largely based on perception rather than reality. For instance, I would trust that Kobe or T-Mac are better 'clutch' players than Manu or Dirk or Nash, but that isn't the case according to the numbers. But despite all that, if it came down to one shot to either win or lose a game I would STILL give it to the following players in no particular order: Wade, Kobe, T-Mac, Manu, Pierce and Nash. But that's just my list, and it pretty much varies from one person to the next, so I am completely fine with someone who might disagree with me and argue otherwise. I know it's subjective.
damn kobe, great job pulling a drexler and going too early and leaving time for the suns to get their own shot, which somehow is a 35 footer that barbosa drains. that's why the lakers can't beat the suns. at the end of the day, the suns just make too many shots, even if they're guarded. this is like the reverse of game 1 last year. lakers play great defense to start, then just fall apart. the suns might actually get to 115 now.
Can we somehow lure Barbosa to Houston to be our starting point guard? May be offer him up a Brazilian supermodel or two along with other incentives. I have had a man-crush on him for about three years running now. The kid is amazing. Why haven't the Rockets done as good a job as the Spurs/Suns or even Nuggets in terms of scouting foreign talent? Man, we need to get our hands on some good European/South American talent and develop them into something special.
I have to say, the Lakers might have played about as well as they could against the Suns so far. They're tailing off now but they've given it their all earlier in the game, especially on defense. Leandro freakin' Barbosa! It's the Brazilian Sensation, he moves on the basketball court like Ronaldinho does on the field, crossing over everyone in his path while exploding towards the goal. Oh please God let the Rockets get him!
can we get smush out of there now? a horrible pass that amare steals and then an amazingly bad backpedaling job on barbosa combined with a stupid ticky tack foul for the 3 point play. i know no one can backpedal with barbosa but get back faster or at least don't foul him. barbosa has just taken this game over. if it's not bell hitting 6 3's on you, it's barbosa just going off on one of his stretches. and people think there isn't a ton of talent on this suns team.
Well, that effort by the Lakers was cute... but inevitably, the Suns are too good and the Lakers aren't good enough.
Barbosa reminds me of Clyde with the way he drives in the lane. He sort of tilts his head down and glides into the paint in similar fashion.
Where's Kobe? Damn it Kobe, you can't let Barbosa steal the show like this. The kid has scored the last 15 points for the Suns. He's single-handedly winning the game...and he's not even one of their "Big Three"
do the lakers ever commit hard fouls? always just enough to let them get fouled but finish the layup. and phil made the mistake of playing kobe to start the 4th again. let him rest at the beginning or span it over the end of 3rd and start of the 4th. even kobe gets worn out if he plays all game.
i don't like how they went away from kobe in the beginning of the 3rd though. Even though they were making solid open jumpers, it cooled kobe off.
It just looks like suns want the game more. THey're quicker to rebounds and quicker on their breaks and double teams.
