Pregame coaches notes:
- Gentry said the Suns "might" use the zone against the Lakers. He said it wasn't some genius plan in the playoff, it was done out of desperation because they couldn't guard Gasol.
- Gentry was happy with the pace and overall how the Suns played in Utah (easy to say after a win).
- He was really happy with the team's defense which he credits with the win. As a sign of the team's emphasis on defense this season, the white board in the locker room now has defensive game notes on top of offensive. That's new.
- Gentry said it's hard to trap Pau because the triangle creates such good spacing and since he's the most skilled big man in the league now, Gasol will make the right play 99% of the time. He said they would "pick their spots" to double him.
- Asked about Robin's struggles, Gentry just said it's early in the season and again said how much the Suns need him to play well this year.
- Gentry says the Lakers are still the team to beat and thinks they are loving all the attention Miami is getting. They like being the underdogs despite winning the last two titles and three straight trips to the finals.
- Goran said his knee was actually feeling better. He looked fine in pregame warmups to me. He also seemed to be in a great mood and stopped to sign autographs for quite some time.
At this point last year, fans treated Goran like a ball kid. Now, he's a rock star.
Question: Who are the Lakers gonna to play at the 4/5 when Gasol and Odom are on the bench? I suppose Derrick Character is going to get minutes and Theo Ratliff (who is listed has having a "sore left knee" will come in. Do those guys scare you?
So, while I don't think the Suns can win this game (thanks NBA schedule) the opportunity is there if you can get one of those guys into foul trouble and/or run them enough to wear them out by the 4th qtr.
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What she said...
Yeah yeah yeah, it's about that time. By which I mean: time for Kobe Bryant to show once again that he's the fastest gun in the West. You can usually count on the Suns' D to cooperate.