LA Lakers @ Phoenix Suns [game 54]

[Mr. Sun]

Consider Jackson had the luxury of rotating 10 different guys in the first half.

[ShowtimeFan]

Kobe+Odom+Gasol combined for 92 points, any Team would be hard pressed to beat that!

[JohnVancouver]

Shaq and Amare are going to grow into a mighty duo!

That combined block was a taste of things to come

[Mr. Sun]

Kobe+Odom+Gasol combined for 92 points, any Team would be hard pressed to beat that!

But Lakers gave up 124 points. Suns D improves as the season progresses it will be a different tale in the playoffs.

[That Nicka]

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But Lakers gave up 124 points. Suns D improves as the season progresses it will be a different tale in the playoffs.

Because the Lakers defense and rebounding wont improve at all once Bynum comes back....

[bww78]

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our first game with shaq and we play the lakers close...how often do you **** your pants?

i never like losing to the lakers but i thought we played fairly well with the big fella. we definitely made some good adjustments in the 2nd half and i think we'll continue to improve.

playing a lakers team that has started to gel vs a suns team just adding a key piece...not the fairest match up but i'm not here to make excuses.

Lakers on the road, on the second of a back to back, without their starting center. Yup, no excuses.

[djericho]

good game

Shaq got free in the 2nd half, guess they stopped doubling him. Should be fun in the playoffs if the Suns and Lakers meet.

Don't expect that same effort out of Shaq every night tho. Hopefully, D'Antoni will widen the rotation, Strawberry looked better on Kobe than Bell.


I think Shaq was trying to knock some sense into Raja w/ the elbow. Maybe make Kobe play some D to tire him out? Raja going for 0 points? he killed my fantasy bball team right there, I picked him up for 3s and steals...

Good luck against the Celts fri, I'll be rooting for ya for a change... lol

[-SDU-]

strawberrys defense is definately NBA ready

heaps to like about the young man

keep grooming him, hes our raja of the future

[-SDU-]

as smokey from Friday would say

"you got shaqed the F&^% out man........"

[That Nicka]

^ LOL @ Kobe's face


and Diaw

[-SDU-]

i think diaws worried because his head looks like its about to be swallowed by shaqs butt!

[8'sReverse]

Despite the loss, you really can't go wrong scoring 124 points and outrebounding the opponents with Shaq in the lineup. I didn't expect Shaq to pull down more than 10 points tonight, I suspect it was because of his debut. Nonetheless, even after this classic game ended, I thought the Suns weren't really the Suns... oh wait, Shaq.

Amare is a keeper, but I'm sure you all already know that. Beat down those Celtics for us Westerners.

[LA]

I actually think we'll see the Celtics regress a bit as the season progresses.

btw, great game. props to the suns fans who aren't making excuses for the loss. both teams played hard (no sheed). good luck with shaq. he looked good.

[rsavaj]

Before the trade the Suns ranked #11th in opp FG% at 45.1%. In the games since the trade that number is 47.4% which is good enough for last place.

Our defense really needs some help.

O Marion, Where Art Thou?

[Arles]

Before the trade the Suns ranked #11th in opp FG% at 45.1%. In the games since the trade that number is 47.4% which is good enough for last place.

Our defense really needs some help.

O Marion, Where Art Thou?

Just so I understand, you were expecting the Suns to have a better defense by moving Marion and not replacing him? Let's see where their defense is after getting Shaq in the fold. But, I can't see how anyone's suprised that the Suns have a worse defense when subbing in Stu Gotz for Marion for 5 games.

[rsavaj]

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Just so I understand, you were expecting the Suns to have a better defense by moving Marion and not replacing him? Let's see where their defense is after getting Shaq in the fold. But, I can't see how anyone's suprised that the Suns have a worse defense when subbing in Stu Gotz for Marion for 5 games.

I don't think I once said in that last post that I expected the defense to be better after moving Marion, or that I was surprised that our defense sucked....nope, still rereading it and I can't see where I wrote that. I simply thought that was a statistic worth sharing because it is something that we should be concerned about.

[Arles]

OK, I can go with that. But, IMO, if we add a decent perimeter defender and get Shaq in the fold, our D will be better by the playoffs. Plus, we will be much better offensively/rebounding.

[semi-sentient]

I just don't see how Bynum+gasol+Odom+Bryant+Fisher is a better unit than they had tonight. With Vlad, Sasha and Walton, you atleast have a 3-point threat. With the big lineup, you have Odom as your deep threat (when he's much better posting up). Call me crazy, but I think Gasol and Odom work better on the blocks than Gasol+Bynum. And, you lose a lot with Odom from 3 compared to the other forwards.

Defense.

The Lakers aren't going to look to outscore opponents in the playoffs, they'll look pound it inside and slow the game somewhat. In a run-and-gun style of play, I would agree that that's a better lineup, but against teams like San Antonio, Boston, and Detroit (who know how to slow the pace), trying to outscore your opponent doesn't work. Besides that, Fisher and Kobe are still legit outside threats, and even Odom has picked up his 3-point shooting as of late (50% in February). Vlad has been a pleasant surprise, to be sure, but I think it only adds to our depth having him come in off the bench.

Also, Walton is not a 3-point threat. Kobe is actually shooting it better from long range. It'll be interesting to see what happens when Ariza comes back, seeing as how he was having a better season on both ends of the floor. We're like, stacked.

...

As for Shaq in his debute, I think he did better than expected. He'll be much more important when you play against defensive-minded teams who will try to force you to play a half-court style of basketball. All he really needs to do is drop 15-20 pounds by the time the playoffs start and he'll be a big enough factor to help get the Suns over the hump. Right now he looks pretty slow, for the most part, and that's all about conditioning, which he's always had a problem with. Still, I think he played good considering the circumstances, and when it comes to the playoffs, he's going to pick it up a notch or two.

[Chubby Chaser]