No Brainer

by Brett Edwards

Anyone that has followed the NBA even a little bit this season knows that it's virtually impossible to beat the Phoenix Suns at their own style of play. The reason the Lakers had a 3-1 series lead was because they slowed the game down, had balanced scoring, and made the Suns play half-court basketball.

So what did the Lakers do in their last and best chance to close out the series? They allowed PHX to score 60 points by halftime, 88 through 3 quarters, and 21 in the five-minute overtime, while watching them hit 45% of their 3-point attempts. Did the game tapes from the first 4 games get stolen? Was there a fire or something that destroyed all documentation of how the Lakers won 3 of the first 4 games in this series? Seems that way if you saw the way the Lakers handled game 6.

As I said after game 5, I don't see the Lakers being able to win a game 7 on the road. They really are too inexperienced and except for Kobe are having trouble (read: choking) in these high pressure playoff games.

Is there a bright side for a basketball fan in Los Angeles? Yes. At least the a-holes on ebay won't get their $800 for second round playoff tickets.

Comments

[basketbawful]

Let's not forget my immortal words of a few days ago: "You have a better chance of seeing God than of seeing the Suns win Game 6 in L.A." Well, how is God and what is he like? I'm guessing very tall, shines like the sun, and a beard. Not a Jake Plummer beard, but something cooler, maybe like Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart.

Did Phil change the game plan or something? I mean, I watched the game and kept waiting for the Lakers to slow the game down to the pace they wanted. But they didn't. Did Kobe just want to score 50 to cement his "like Mike" legacy? Man, unbelievable.

[mrnoname]

I think they did a good job at containing the Suns. I mean, they were a defensive rebound/Tim Thomas 3-point miss away from the win. Only in overtime did I think the Suns started playing Suns ball - 21 points in 5 minutes?!?!

Have some faith in your team. I don't think you foresaw the Lakers winning games 3 or 4 so who's to say they can't win Game 7?
Anyways Raja vs. Kobe should be fun.

[Clipper Fan]

Don't hate on capitalism. As a Clipper season ticket holder, we can't lose. Either the Suns go through and we get to see a great series between two deserving teams containing zero sexual assailants, OR I can sell my tickets to sucker Laker fans for an insane amount of money so they can watch the NBA advance their team to the WCF. Don't hate on capitalism.

Wow, the Lakers blew a Dick Bavetta game at home. I'm sure the league won't let that happen in game 7.

[Craig]

Two key adjustments by the Suns changed the course of the game:

1. The Suns put Shawn Marion on Kobe for most of the game. Kobe had a hard time dealing with Marion's length and suprisingly quick hands. There were several Macho turnovers by Kobe in the first half. What I mean is that Kobe would not accept that Marion was doing a fine job and decided to go one-on-one on Marion. This led to several bad turnovers. It wasn't until the 4th quarter that Kobe realized that he can take Marion off the dribble from the wings. Somehow Kobe forgot about that for the last shot in regulation.

2. The Suns mixed double-teams on Odom and Kobe. This caused some confusion for the Lakers and the scrubs (Smush Parker and Luke Walton) could not get the Triangle set up. This upped the pace of the game which plays into PHX hands.

I never thought D'Antoni would make such key adjustments, but he deserves a lot of credit for the Suns victory. Jackson was out-coached in game 6.

[Brett]

mrnoname- Yes the Lakers were one rebound/play away from winning, but it's NOT because "they did a good job containing the Suns." They only managed to contain the Suns in the 4th, but still gave up 105 total points in regulation. By contrast, in the 3 games LA won, PHX had 93, 92, and 98 (in OT) points TOTAL for the game. That's the type of pace they need to play to beat the Suns.

Clipper Fan- Not hating on the capitalism, in fact I've been on the seller side of this many times. I do however hate the whole ebay ticket selling culture, including:

-how people list "COURTSIDE!" when their seats are 10th row,

-listing tickets WAY over what is realistic (the $800 listing)

-the games ticket brokers play, like using multiple accounts to bid up their own listing or ending the auction early because they thought the sale price was too low, only to relist it later.

I'm a veteran of the ebay ticket scene, and even had a relative sued and taken to small claims court over an ebay ticket fight. (Hilarious story by the way, I'll have to post it sometime).

So I guess what I'm saying is, I'm cool with selling tickets for whatever the market will pay, I just hate all the BS associated with shopping for tix on ebay.

[Clipper Fan]

Ah, ok. I'd disagree that particular price is unreasonable though. I'm in the 200's and thats pretty much what I predicted I could get per game. Stubhub had tickets in the 200's going for 300+ early in the week. If the Lakers get through 800 for a pair will be the norm. Scalpers...FEELING YOU!

[Craig]

"FEELING YOU"

-God I hate that guy! I saw him at the game last night wearing his Laker poncho looking for people to idolize him.

Hey Clipper Fan, what do Clipper fans think about Vic the Brick since he's such a Laker homer/apologist.

[Clipper Fan]

I won't speak for everyone, but that guy is a douche. But then so is pretty much everyone else on 570. Thompson, Joe Grande, Money, though I'll excuse Money a little since he is on the payroll. Its unlistenable, especially if one expects to learn anything about basketball. Hearing VtB's voice on ESPN last night almost made me throw my remote. Trying to sound all normal and not at all douchey. YOU'RE NOT FOOLING ANYONE VIC.

There are plenty of reasons why I'd like the Lakers to lose, and hearing the cast at 570 explain it away and try to jump on the bandwagon is right near the top. Hell they will have to take Thompson off the air until the Clippers lose because he won't be able to take it. Literally. His worldview might be so flipped he could sue for a hostile work environment or something.

[Someone Please Stone Vic the Brick]

Vic the Brick is such an embarassment. It's true AM570 is completely unlistenable. But that guy is the worst. He has no sports knowledge whatsoever. When Steve Hartman was on AM690, I thought he couldn't have a worse co-host than Bill Werndl. But Vic the Brick (and Mychal Thompson also) proved me wrong. As much as I didn't like Steve Hartman, I'd rather listen to him than his idiot co-hosts.

[Nike Shox NZ]

Vic the Brick is such an embarassment. It's true AM570 is completely unlistenable. But that guy is the worst. He has no sports knowledge whatsoever.