Nothing much has happened yet

[Tyler]

Let Kobe shoot, he cant beat you by himself when he is taking shots away from the rest of the team.

 

[D-Dogg]

They were busting the zone, and doing just fine. Seriously, scoring STILL isn't an issue.

The issue is now, and has been all series long...defense. The Lakers D has been crap this entire series. Your zone is just making it hard to outscore you, but we are still scoring like crazy. It's the fact that we can't stop you that is killing us.

You are getting far too many points. I mention it in the initial post in this thread...simply trying to outscore the Suns isn't a sane strategy.

 

[D-Dogg]

Let Kobe shoot, he cant beat you by himself when he is taking shots away from the rest of the team.

You can go back to 2006 with that argument. Try catching up to reality and I promise you we'll all wait until you catch a clue.

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

They were busting the zone, and doing just fine. Seriously, scoring STILL isn't an issue.

The issue is now, and has been all series long...defense. The Lakers D has been crap this entire series. Your zone is just making it hard to outscore you, but we are still scoring like crazy. It's the fact that we can't stop you that is killing us.

You are getting far too many points. I mention it in the initial post in this thread...simply trying to outscore the Suns isn't a sane strategy.

You're missing the main point. The Suns are scoring easily because they're getting out in transition. They're getting out in transition more easily and often due to the zone.

The Lakers are defending just fine in the halfcourt.

 

[cly2tw]

Reminder: Nothing much has still happened yet. However, I was hoping and expecting a split. Now I will have to be a bundle of nerves for Game 5.

Exactly my biggest worry hit here...the Suns had sustained runs and rode the crowd energy. Puts the Lakers back on the pressure side to hold home court.

The ONLY thing I'm truly upset about right now is wasting two sensational games by Kobe. Lakers bench should show up better at home, and the Suns bench should grip more.

Lakers should win game 5, and I don't want to hear Suns fans complain when the refs aren't as kind to the Suns next go-around. You got way more than your fair share of calls tonight. I was cracking up at times thinking what some of the more ref-complaining fans would have thought had the shoe been on the other foot. I had no problem in Game 3 with the free throws and such, but tonights refs were very much riding the emotion of the home crowd. Lakers fought through it well enough, but it was pretty transparent.

Also transparent, the way the Suns as a team were going after Fish...interesting to say the least. We'll see if it pays divendends down the line in the series, but it wasn't very hidden.

Good home stand, Suns fans.

Suns coaching finally told players of Fisher's tactics: Charging hard into the pick/screen setters and bail refs to call moving screen; for the minimum hurt the screensetter hard. If the screen setter is not patient or firm enough in his stance, both are more likely to happen. But once they do it properly, Fisher becomes victim of his own tactic. But he can be proud of drawing opponents special attention to him.

 

[Michael]

Sorry to say, but we played horribly in game 3 and won. We played a lot better in this game, but that was just our bench, we had no stand-out players in this game like Amare's 42 (or Kobe's 35).

What surprises me the most is how effective our zone is. They couldn't solve it the entire game. THE. ENTIRE. GAME. That to me is the incredible thing. Then they switched it up late in the 3rd quarter, playing essentially a 2-2 zone with the 5th man sticking to Kobe wherever he went. I don't think I've ever seen that before at the professional level.

Surely you refer to NBA and not professional there, Chaplin.

The Box-and-1 is the obvious choice to go against a team with only one strong scorer in non- NBA basketball.

But I'm with you on the surprise! I mean, we are talking about the most successful coach in the history of the NBA. You would imagine him to figure out something over the course of two games.

 

[D-Dogg]

You're missing the main point. The Suns are scoring easily because they're getting out in transition. They're getting out in transition more easily and often due to the zone.

The Lakers are defending just fine in the halfcourt.

They actually AREN'T getting out in transition, even with the zone. Their running isn't an issue, at all. The problem is, they are scoring off penetration kickouts, and scoops at the rim. The threes aren't coming in transition, they are coming after setting up half court. Tonight you KILLED us on offensive glass.

They are scoring easily because they are bringing the "want to" and exploiting their mismatches better than the Lakers are exploiting theirs.

If you think the Lakers are defending fine in the halfcourt you seriously don't understand your team or mine. They are getting TORCHED in the halfcourt; their best defense has been in transition, shockingly. Then they get rocked to sleep.

 

[D-Dogg]

Suns coaching finally told players of Fisher's tactics: Charging hard into the pick/screen setters and bail refs to call moving screen; for the minimum hurt the screensetter hard. If the screen setter is not patient or firm enough in his stance, both are more likely to happen. But once they do it properly, Fisher becomes victim of his own tactic. But he can be proud of drawing opponents special attention to him.

Yes, sticking Rolo's ass into him as he tries to get up is being firm in the screensetter's stance.

Please. Don't pretend you don't see it. It's working well, give credit.

 

[cly2tw]

They were busting the zone, and doing just fine. Seriously, scoring STILL isn't an issue.

The issue is now, and has been all series long...defense. The Lakers D has been crap this entire series. Your zone is just making it hard to outscore you, but we are still scoring like crazy. It's the fact that we can't stop you that is killing us.

You are getting far too many points. I mention it in the initial post in this thread...simply trying to outscore the Suns isn't a sane strategy.

I agree partially. Unlike game 3, Lakers were patient, without committing TOs. But they needed Kobe to drain all those long jumpers to stay in the game, facing an equally patient zone defense.

As to Suns' offense, Nash only shot 3/11. But Suns have now confidence they can work out good shots, it's just a matteer of time that they hit them. And, we have now put Amare into a better Iso position to get us cructial baskets at crucial juncture of the game, as long as covered one-on-one. That's huge confidence booster for the whole team, too.

 

[cly2tw]

Yes, sticking Rolo's ass into him as he tries to get up is being firm in the screensetter's stance.

Please. Don't pretend you don't see it. It's working well, give credit.

Well, you can't blame the victims to pay back with same medicine from time to time. Nothing worse than what Fisher has been doing anyway. He has injured both Amare and Nash in this series with his reckless plays already. I wouldn't complain if say Dudley busted both Kobe and Gasol's faces in 3 games and your teammates would go after Dudley the next game. Fair?

 

[jagu]

With the Suns shooting better, Amare is getting a lot more space down there to create, draw fouls and put the Lakers out of rythm. We just need to make sure we don't pull up a stinker in Game 5 by missing easy shots. Tonight we did, we could have shot a lot better but failed with wide open misses.

 

[Superbone]

Still nothing has happened. Each team has held serve. We've got to do it again on Saturday and then finally break through on Monday.

 

[tobiazz]

If the Lakers win the series in game seven, nothing will have happened?

 

[ninous26]

lmao! Technically no because every team is supposed to win its home game.

From the looks of things and how they're going.. It looks like the suns will win at home and easily have a shot of taking one in LA.. We lost game fans but we all know that the Lakers, their fans and the entire organization were shizzing their pants when we were shooting those last second 3's.

 

[elindholm]

If the Lakers win the series in game seven, nothing will have happened?

The old saying is, "Nothing happens until someone loses at home, or it's Game 7." Not that I believe in it, but that's the saying.

 

[tobiazz]

The old saying is, "Nothing happens until someone loses at home, or it's Game 7." Not that I believe in it, but that's the saying.

I believe this was updated in 2006: "Nothing happens until someone gets clotheslined."

 

[Covert Rain]

The old saying is, "Nothing happens until someone loses at home, or it's Game 7." Not that I believe in it, but that's the saying.

You know it's hard to put those sayings into context. When you look at sayings like that and look at the likely hood of the Suns winning the next 2 out of 3 from the Lakers...it's all about perspective I guess.

It seems often these playoff basketball sayings always seem to be from a different point of view.

If I am the Suns I don't think about winning 2 out of 3. I stick to the "nothing has happened" let take care of home court.