Game Preview: Suns vs. Lakers
by Wil Cantrell on Dec 6, 2009 9:27 AM MST
in Phoenix Suns: Game Coverage
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Ah the dreaded second game in back to back nights. The Suns flew out of Phoenix last night after the Kings victory to Los Angeles to play the Lakers tonight at 7:30 tonight. The Lakers are still very pleased with themselves after a last second Kobe three finished the Heat, 108-107.
The Lakers hold a game edge on the Suns atop the Pacific Division and are currently on an 8 game winning streak. Are you all worried? I am not. And here is why. The Suns can gain a moral victory tonight without scoring more points than the Lakers at the end of 48 minutes. Here's how:
- Play with confidence (unlike last time out vs. the Lakers)
- Make shots we should make (shoot the three, and a respectable FG%)
- Battle on the boards (put bodies on Bynum, Odom, and Artest)
- Play some defense (let Kobe get his 30, but don't let Pau and the others kill you)
- PLAY COMPETITIVE BASKETBALL FOR 48 MINUTES
Simple, yes? Look, there has been much made of late about the Suns and their confidence. From Gentry to Nash to Stoudemire, the sentiment echoed is the same. Against the Knicks and Cavaliers the Suns were tired and lacked confidence. (They also didn't make any shots). While we cannot say that the Suns won't be tired, it's a fact of NBA life. There's a game scheduled, and the Suns have to play it. Why not down an extra red bull before the opening tip?
Stats:
Lakers: 104 ppg (6th). Opponents 96.7 ppg (10th). 46.3 %FG, 34.7% 3 pt FG%
Suns: 110 ppg (2nd) Opponents 105.8 (27th). 49.6% FG, 43.8 3pt FG%
Top Five Man Units (+/-):
Lakers: Bryant-Fisher-Gasol-Bynum-Artest: 117.5 minutes/+52/80% win percentage
Suns: Nash-Richardson-Stoudemire-Frye-Hill: 320.4 minutes/+50/ 53% win percentage
Quick Facts:
- The Suns are 1-3 on the second games of back-to-back sets, averaging 102.8 points to opponent's 116.3.
- The Lakers have not lost a game since Pau Gasol returned to the lineup
- In the Suns 5 losses, they have shot 35 percent from 3-point range. In their 15 wins, unsurprisingly, they shoot 46 percent from three.
- Amare Stoudemire's 21 rebounds last night was more than his combined totals versus the Knicks and Cavaliers.
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I don't agree w/ moral victory
I would be disheartened if we did all of those things and we STILL lost.
Steve Nash, the league's MVP, is a longhaired Canadian who spoke out against the war in Iraq and reads The Communist Manifesto. Quentin Richardson declared after a game-winning shot that it "was like Hamlet. It was a suspense thriller, and I killed them at the end." Amare Stoudemire, when asked to comment on a 22-point third quarter against the Kings, said, "I've got a tendency to jump over some guys' heads and throw it down."
with that being said
I didn’t mean to start off so doom and gloomy. I think that this is going to be an incredibly difficult game(Coro calls it Mission Impossible II), but we CAN win it if we do what you outlined above. I just think that it’s going to be very hard to do so….Gasol makes their team virtually unstoppable offensively, and we are just so incredibly undersized that we really need to be just about perfect on offense to come away with the W.
Steve Nash, the league's MVP, is a longhaired Canadian who spoke out against the war in Iraq and reads The Communist Manifesto. Quentin Richardson declared after a game-winning shot that it "was like Hamlet. It was a suspense thriller, and I killed them at the end." Amare Stoudemire, when asked to comment on a 22-point third quarter against the Kings, said, "I've got a tendency to jump over some guys' heads and throw it down."
Well, my secret belief is
We’re going to steal this one. But I can’t tell the masses otherwise it won’t come true.
Blogging Suns Basketball. Twitter: @willcantrellphx
Why does it seem like we only play at Staples on the 2nd game of back to back when we play the Lake Show.
I will be pleased if we compete
Just like Miami did and they were also on the wrong end of a back to back. No excuses. Go out and play hard and good things will happen.
"Basketball doesn't build character. It reveals it"
I think we'll play well for at least the first half.
I expect us to shoot much better than last game vs. Lakers. I also expect us to be within 5-6 pts at halftime.
I fear however that the Lakers extra rest and our back to back situation will show up in the second half. I can see a close game in which the Lakers go on a 15-4 run in the 3rd quarter to open it up. Hope I am wrong. I’m going to the game.
Go Suns !!
We're completely overmatched
BUT we don’t know how well the Lakers will shoot. And everybody is just assuming that the Suns won’t defend. Force Kobe to make jumpshots, take away everybody else. Deny Gasol the ball; trip/hack him if you have to. It’s OK to have bad offensive execution if the other team can’t score either. If the effort isn’t there, the Suns are going to get blown right out of the Staples Center.
by ArizonaBornandBred on Dec 6, 2009 4:10 PM MST reply actions
Key to Victory...
We need to shoot 50% from 3pt…plain and simple. We have to be lights out, and do our best to contain Gasol and Bynum on the inside.
looking forward to the game
and we can win this. The thing about us is that we can win any day against anyone. But we can also lose anyday to anyone, as we saw a couple games ago. Here’s to hoping JRich, Hill, and Dudley are on fire from 3. Nash will get it to them, they just need to make them.
Crashing the [message] boards from the heart of Spurs Nation, San Antonio, Texas. GO SUNS!
question...how does a team as small as the Rockets give the Lakers fits
when we have issues competing with those guys…I mean is it a heart issue cause the Rockets are not more talented then the Suns are
true, but I guess the point I'm making is that they are (right now anyways) not a super star
driven team…they have some very good guys that know their roles…and I also feel like they play the cards they are dealt better than any other team in the league…kinda reminds me of the 05-06 Suns as far as utilizing talent..
I still feel that overall the Lakers are not a real tough team...I look back at the Rockets series
last year and the Celtics series the year before…Gasol is a 7 foot finese guy
Problem is that we're not that tough either :(
Steve Nash, the league's MVP, is a longhaired Canadian who spoke out against the war in Iraq and reads The Communist Manifesto. Quentin Richardson declared after a game-winning shot that it "was like Hamlet. It was a suspense thriller, and I killed them at the end." Amare Stoudemire, when asked to comment on a 22-point third quarter against the Kings, said, "I've got a tendency to jump over some guys' heads and throw it down."
tell me about it...you know what though...Hakeem O. was far from a big center...most people
said he was 6’10 even though he was listed at 7 ft…but the guy was a defensive anchor…I know this will never be Amare, but it’s nice to dream…pun intended
Amare fell into Phil Jackson's "Chris Webber trap"
Which means taking passive 15 footers instead of making the defense work, putting the defense in foul trouble, and setting up chances for weakside offensive rebounds. That’s the first game I have really seen of him but if he plays like that during a series with the lakers, his stat line will look good but he will have had zero positive impact and the suns will get trounced.
I made this exact point after the first Suns/Lakers game.
In that game Amare DID attack the basket early. The problem there was that he didn’t finish. He missed a dunk and missed a few easy layups that he usually makes. And then Gentry complained afterwards (allegedly) to Amare that he should have taken the jumper. I don’t agree with that — I agree with you Archon. Obviously you don’t want your game to be one dimensional, so it is good to mix it up a bit. That being said, I think the Suns are a better team when Amare is scoring inside and going to the basket strong. If for no other reason than we don’t have another player who is capable of doing that in the same way, and we are overly reliant on jumpshots for our scoring.
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