GM3: LA Lakers (2) @ Phoenix (0)

[magicbalala245]

I freaking love it, Laker fans: we can easily beat those guys, they dont have James Posey, Kevin Garnett is getting old, i will totally disregard the fact that they have been playing amazing in the playoffs, and that Rondo has done really great in the post season, there is nobody better than the Lakers, we will win no doubt, we'll sweep in the finals. The Celtics suck because they dont have Kobe, hehehe.

 

Just because the Celtics are playing amazing in the playoffs they should be handed the trophy already. If I can recall Lakers were also playing amazingly in the playoffs in 08 while the Celtics were struggling to get there in fact let me break it down

 

Lakers sweep Denver

Lakers Beat Utah in 6

Lakers Beat Spurs in 5

 

Celtics Beat ATL in 7

Celtics Beat the Cavs in 7

Celtics Beat the Pistons in 6

 

 

Just because you play well in the other rounds doesn't mean you should be handed the trophy. Lakers will win in 7 against the Celtics book it.

Edited May 24, 2010 by magicbalala245

[YugoRocketsFan]

Just because the Celtics are playing amazing in the playoffs they should be handed the trophy already. If I can recall Lakers were also playing amazingly in the playoffs in 08 while the Celtics were struggling to get there in fact let me break it down

 

Lakers sweep Denver

Lakers Beat Utah in 6

Lakers Beat Spurs in 5

 

Celtics Beat ATL in 7

Celtics Beat the Cavs in 7

Celtics Beat the Pistons in 6

 

 

Just because you play well in the other rounds doesn't mean you should be handed the trophy. Lakers will win in 7 against the Celtics book it.

 

Love how you decide to bring up an entirely different situation, shows the lack of basketball knowledge you have, but what the Celtics are doing right now to the Magic is very surprising, taking BOTH games at their house, completely owning them at home, stopping the 3 point shooting, shutting down a lot of players on their team.

 

All I will hear from Laker fans before the finals is, hehe no posey, not the same good team as 2 years ago, no radmanovic hehe, we have a much better Pau Gasol, quite annoying when you use those points to say that your team will likely win but then not acknowledge the fact that the Celtics have gotten much better in other areas and the fact that they are doing much better defensively, and playing like a great team offensively, and have Rondo doing great. The fact that some of you guys arent even worried about the Celtics just shows how cocky and arrogant you guys are and just gives more reasons for other fans to dislike you guys and support the Celtics.

[Sun Tzu]

Nice win for the Suns today. Lopez and Amar'e definitely came out to play and Nash stepped up

[Real Deal]

Didn't watch the game (played basketball instead), and I'm glad I didn't. I told Terry I had a feeling we were going to drop this one, so I decided to go to the park...first Lakers game I've missed all season long.

 

Can't really say much about it, though. Looking at the box scores, it looks like "Foul Collector" Andrew Bynum made a HUUUUGE impact, Ron and Odom chucked and bricked, and someone (Gasol or Odom) forgot that Amare is still an all-star player.

 

Great game by Bryant -- 36/9/11 on over 50% FG. Gasol did pretty good offensively. All expected, though.

[magicbalala245]

Love how you decide to bring up an entirely different situation, shows the lack of basketball knowledge you have, but what the Celtics are doing right now to the Magic is very surprising, taking BOTH games at their house, completely owning them at home, stopping the 3 point shooting, shutting down a lot of players on their team.

 

All I will hear from Laker fans before the finals is, hehe no posey, not the same good team as 2 years ago, no radmanovic hehe, we have a much better Pau Gasol, quite annoying when you use those points to say that your team will likely win but then not acknowledge the fact that the Celtics have gotten much better in other areas and the fact that they are doing much better defensively, and playing like a great team offensively, and have Rondo doing great. The fact that some of you guys arent even worried about the Celtics just shows how cocky and arrogant you guys are and just gives more reasons for other fans to dislike you guys and support the Celtics.

 

Your saying Laker fans are disregarding the fact that the Celtics have been playing well. Give Celtics credit they are playing well. But just cause your playing well doesn't always pan out. Just look back in the 08 year with the Lakers. That really show your basketball IQ. And what the Celtic are doing to Magic is somewhat surprising but to me I believed that winner of the C's vs Cavs were gonna make the NBA Finals regardless of how well the Magic were playing at the time. The Magic were vastly overrated by the media. Magic played teams with no defense in Atlanta and Charlotte. And now the Magic just ran into a team that actually plays defense and have more then one option unlike Atlanta who only has Joe Johnson, and Charlotte in Stephen Jackson. And it's not like I said LA in a sweep. I said Lakers will beat Boston in 7.

Edited May 24, 2010 by magicbalala245

[YugoRocketsFan]

Your saying Laker fans are disregarding the fact that the Celtics have been playing well. Give Celtics credit they are playing well. But just cause your playing well doesn't always pan out. Just look back in the 08 year with the Lakers. That really show your basketball IQ. And what the Celtic are doing to Magic is somewhat surprising but to me I believed that winner of the C's vs Cavs were gonna make the NBA Finals regardless of how well the Magic were playing at the time. The Magic were vastly overrated by the media. Magic played teams with no defense in Atlanta and Charlotte. And now the Magic just ran into a team that is actual plays defense and have more then one option unlike Atlanta who only has Joe Johnson, and Charlotte in Stephen Jackson. And it's not like I said LA in a sweep. I said Lakers will beat Boston in 7.

 

Of course you didnt, but I get annoyed when someone says, OH MY TEAM WILL WIN IN THIS MANY GAMES, THEY WILL! Personally I think that fans shouldn't make predictions on who will win or in how many games because we all know who you support and think will win

[Erick Blasco]

Didn't watch the game...how exactly did the Suns win? How did the Lakers defend Phoenix' screens? Was anybody paying attention? Obviously Stodemire feasted, but how?

[YugoRocketsFan]

Didn't watch the game...how exactly did the Suns win? How did the Lakers defend Phoenix' screens? Was anybody paying attention? Obviously Stodemire feasted, but how?

The Suns played some zone and it bothered the Lakers, they also let Kobe and Gasol do what they can, while shutting down their teammates. Stoudemire feasted, because he played with more aggression and was getting good passes in his strong spots.

[magicbalala245]

Of course you didnt, but I get annoyed when someone says, OH MY TEAM WILL WIN IN THIS MANY GAMES, THEY WILL! Personally I think that fans shouldn't make predictions on who will win or in how many games because we all know who you support and think will win

 

It's what fans for every team do though man. Every fan (or I hope which are the true fans) believe that there team will win the series (unless you know your team stands no chance). It's how fans believe. Even back the 05-06 years I said LA in 7 but unfortunately LA lost after having a 3-1 lead. Fans making predictions in their teams is just a reflection of confidence in their team. And to me at least Laker fan are the most confidence fans in the league.

Edited May 24, 2010 by magicbalala245

[magicbalala245]

The Suns played some zone and it bothered the Lakers, they also let Kobe and Gasol do what they can, while shutting down their teammates. Stoudemire feasted, because he played with more aggression and was getting good passes in his strong spots.

 

Don't forget how Robin Lopez just went off today.

[YugoRocketsFan]

It's what fans for every team do though man. Every fan (or I hope which are the true fans) believe that there team will win the series (unless you know your team stands no chance). It's how fans believe. Even back the 05-06 years I said LA in 7 but unfortunately LA lost after having a 3-1 lead. Fans making predictions in their teams is just a reflection of confidence in their team. And to me at least Laker fan have the most confidence fans in the league.

 

Its one thing to have confidence, but seeing people say my team will win by this much for 82 games + playoffs gets a bit annoying. I for one hate to make predictions considering my own team, I also wouldnt use the word confident, cocky fits their description more.

[Erick Blasco]

The Suns played some zone and it bothered the Lakers, they also let Kobe and Gasol do what they can, while shutting down their teammates. Stoudemire feasted, because he played with more aggression and was getting good passes in his strong spots.

 

Good for Stoudemire. That's how you respond to a bad first two games.

[Sun Tzu]

I saw the highlights and Amar'e had a few nice moves to blow past Gasol's defense.

[Warren2ThaG]

Can't win them all, series might go 7 if we lose the next game too.

[Sky]

Erick - Amare was in constant motion off ball tonight and was much faster in his cuts. In LA he hesitated and ended up in traffic waiting for him. The difference in game 3: his no hesitation acceleration beat LA to spots. The Laker rotation was a step slow, terrible game for Bynum and the communication/anticipation between Gasol and Odom was off tonight. Amare was playing to restore max FA status and mission accomplished.

 

Gentry brought a zone after the first and LA didn't execute the passing and ball movement to beat it. Threw rushed passes into the guys with the worst hands and turned it over, took the conceded 3's, forced the action solo. Everything they learned in ball movement against OKC was forgotten.

 

Bynum, Artest and Odom were no shows. Odom, Brown and Farmar played dumb basketball. Laker offensive execution was too solo, defensive execution was too late.

 

 

Yugo - In comparing then and now I thimk both Boston and LA have taken an important step forward in some areas and back in others. What fans will do is just point to those aspects that favor them and bury the bad stuff under the rug. So LA says Boston is older, slower and thinner on the bench, Gasol is much improved, Artest a better d matchup on Pierce than a coming back form injury Ariza. All true but not all of the truth. Boston says yeah older, slower less depth, but the defense is still brilliant with KG's return to health and Rondo has improved even more than Gasol.

 

Left unsaid: For LA, Kobe has lost acceleration and could be vulnerable when the series goes to every other game, Bynum is a non-factor shell, LA is still vulnerable to the Boston cut the head off the snake defensive schemes and congested lanes. LA did prove they can counter that vs. OKC but it took four games before that kicked in and they proved tonight they can forget how to do it. For Boston, Tony Allen isn't Posey. Posey hit money 3's, played lockdown D and delivered when it was needed most. Allen is more of a frontrunner and is turnover prone. Sheed's D is still there but his O is not. And the final thing, Pierce's ego won't let Rondo be the Boston star in consecutive games. If Pierce isn't hitting but still goes black hole out of ego he can cost the Celtics a half. He is not comfortable with Rondo as star. Pierce is LA's secret weapon in this series. Bizarre as that sounds. If they handed Rondo the keys every night LA would be in more trouble. Thankfully, Pierce won't allow that.

 

I'm confident that the Lakers get it done. But I realize they will have to play disciplined and intelligent basketball to do it. The passing and off ball movement are vital and with the Lakers that can come and go.

[YugoRocketsFan]

Erick - Amare was in constant motion off ball tonight and was much faster in his cuts. In LA he hesitated and ended up in traffic waiting for him. The difference in game 3: his no hesitation acceleration beat LA to spots. The Laker rotation was a step slow, terrible game for Bynum and the communication/anticipation between Gasol and Odom was off tonight. Amare was playing to restore max FA status and mission accomplished.

 

Gentry brought a zone after the first and LA didn't execute the passing and ball movement to beat it. Threw rushed passes into the guys with the worst hands and turned it over, took the conceded 3's, forced the action solo. Everything they learned in ball movement against OKC was forgotten.

 

Bynum, Artest and Odom were no shows. Odom, Brown and Farmar played dumb basketball. Laker offensive execution was too solo, defensive execution was too late.

 

 

Yugo - In comparing then and now I thimk both Boston and LA have taken an important step forward in some areas and back in others. What fans will do is just point to those aspects that favor them and bury the bad stuff under the rug. So LA says Boston is older, slower and thinner on the bench, Gasol is much improved, Artest a better d matchup on Pierce than a coming back form injury Ariza. All true but not all of the truth. Boston says yeah older, slower less depth, but the defense is still brilliant with KG's return to health and Rondo has improved even more than Gasol.

 

Left unsaid: For LA, Kobe has lost acceleration and could be vulnerable when the series goes to every other game, Bynum is a non-factor shell, LA is still vulnerable to the Boston cut the head off the snake defensive schemes and congested lanes. LA did prove they can counter that vs. OKC but it took four games before that kicked in and they proved tonight they can forget how to do it. For Boston, Tony Allen isn't Posey. Posey hit money 3's, played lockdown D and delivered when it was needed most. Allen is more of a frontrunner and is turnover prone. Sheed's D is still there but his O is not. And the final thing, Pierce's ego won't let Rondo be the Boston star in consecutive games. If Pierce isn't hitting but still goes black hole out of ego he can cost the Celtics a half. He is not comfortable with Rondo as star. Pierce is LA's secret weapon in this series. Bizarre as that sounds. If they handed Rondo the keys every night LA would be in more trouble. Thankfully, Pierce won't allow that.

 

I'm confident that the Lakers get it done. But I realize they will have to play disciplined and intelligent basketball to do it. The passing and off ball movement are vital and with the Lakers that can come and go.

 

Wow, why cant more Laker fans be like you?

 

Kingfish, get a pen brah

Edited May 24, 2010 by YugoRocketsFan

[Klashnekoff]

All i am going to say is i been a fan of Lopez brothers games for a while and i predict in the future both of them make all-star teams.

 

Phoenix are doing exactly what they are suppose to do; play mediocre defense on Kobe and Gasol (hope they miss) and play strong defense on their teammates.

[Real Deal]

Just watched most of the game (fast-forwarding through free-throws and commercials, haha).

 

I definitely don't like how easy it was for the Phoenix bigs to lose Gasol. I have no idea why that was happening, really...just the activity, I suppose. And Nash was like a surgeon out there, cutting up our defense left and right, sticking passes wherever he wanted...sucks to see it, but then again, Nash is a top 3-4 point in the NBA, and it should've been expected.

 

That zone hurt. We have to learn to adjust DURING games, and not AFTER. I noticed Phil was resting Kobe a little longer after that huge first quarter, and we lost momentum and eventually struggled going into the half, one of the few things I really don't like about Phil (and him neglecting to call a timeout when he NEEDS to).

 

At the end of the game, it was evident that the Lakers shot too many threes (Kobe did, and Odom should never attempt four per game) and we had way too many turnovers, both due to the zone. Have to adjust; there's nothing more to say.

[Guru]

Just watched most of the game (fast-forwarding through free-throws and commercials, haha).

 

I definitely don't like how easy it was for the Phoenix bigs to lose Gasol. I have no idea why that was happening, really...just the activity, I suppose. And Nash was like a surgeon out there, cutting up our defense left and right, sticking passes wherever he wanted...sucks to see it, but then again, Nash is a top 3-4 point in the NBA, and it should've been expected.

 

That zone hurt. We have to learn to adjust DURING games, and not AFTER. I noticed Phil was resting Kobe a little longer after that huge first quarter, and we lost momentum and eventually struggled going into the half, one of the few things I really don't like about Phil (and him neglecting to call a timeout when he NEEDS to).

 

At the end of the game, it was evident that the Lakers shot too many threes (Kobe did, and Odom should never attempt four per game) and we had way too many turnovers, both due to the zone. Have to adjust; there's nothing more to say.

I luv reading your break downs of games.

[ChosenOne]

The three point ball is not the lakers strength, so when the end up jacking up 30+ three pointers they are beating them selves. But the Suns did play well and that zone did hurt the Lakers forcing them to take even more three pointer. Amare finally had a good game but I dont expect that to continue, Lakers will end this in 5.

[The Regime]

I missed the game last night so my analysis is based off the highlights and the box-score. First things first, did that zone defense really throw our game off? From what I saw it just looked like we just missed a lot of easy looks. We shot a total of 32 three pointers and that's just not us. Pau said it best during his press conference, we failed to work the ball inside then out.

 

The Suns finally decided that that they wouldn't double Kobe as much, and because of that Artest struggled shooting a miserable 4-13 (2-7 from three). He has been great this series but I don't want his shooting woes to start back up. And where the [expletive] was Bynum last night, just two points. It was as if he and Robin Lopez switched roles.

 

Secondly it's hard to ignore the free throw disparity. 42 attempts vs. 20 attempts, it's like the Thunder series all over again.

 

I hate Nash, but the dude is a badass. Who the [expletive] decides to put their nose back in place when they break it lol?

 

All in all I'm not too worried about game 4, we'll make the adjustments to counter that zone. We need to knock down our open shots and stop relying on the three ball so much.