Impressive Performances, 113-100 Suns (Series 3-1, Suns)

Tonight's game was just... absolutely... and... well... wow. Speechlessness is really the only appropriate way to describe exactly how ridiculous Nash and Amare played tonight. Two players with absolutely insane nights, on the same night.

For those of you who didn't catch the game, I suggest contemplating suicide if you don't have the means to watch the game. Nash was absolutely brilliant and Amare was a complete beast.

Just one of 23 assists.

Let's start with Nash. 17 points (6/15 FG), 23 assists, 2 steals and a block, with just 3 turnovers to show for it all. Everything that Nash needed to do better last game, he did this game. He didn't hold on to the pass too long, he beat the hard trap on the pick and roll, he beat the hard doubles they threw at him, and most importantly, he continuously found people open for wide open shots and, more importantly, dunks and lay-ups. I'm fairly certain that a least 14 of Shawn's 22 points were off of easy lay-ups and dunks which Nash set him up perfectly for. Every time we needed a play, Nash made it. Every time someone seemed to be out of rhythm, he found them an easy shot and got them involved. Every time they packed the paint and wouldn't allow an entry pass, he hit the shot he needed to hit. Overall just a spectacular performance by an outstanding player.

No, it's all you Steve. All you.

Hand in his face... think it mattered? Me neither.

Meanwhile, Amare was rocking the Staples Center like everyone knows he is capable of. He came out with an agenda or two. The first, don't get outperformed by Kwame Brown. No easy task, right? ... Right? Nobody? Okay. His second task, hit the boards. Through the game he was ripping every rebound that bounced in his general vicinity. Any time he can do that, we are basically guaranteed a win. Any time we outrebound the opponent, we are setting ourselves up for a smooth ride. Tonight, Amare hit the boards like it was going out of style, and that's exactly what I like to see out of him. Everyone knows he can score. Everyone knows he can finish. Most people know he can shoot. (Still a few people who think he can't, that's fine. Let him shoot then, Kwame.) What really defines him having a great game is how many rebounds he pulls down. Whenever he's hitting the glass like that, the rest of the game will come to him and that was definitely the case tonight. 27 points (10/20 FG, 7/10 FT), 21 rebounds, 2 steals and a block (A monstrous block on Kwame) in what was, in my opinion, his best playoff game. Yes, better than in the Spurs series. In the Spurs series he never dominated the glass like he did tonight, and he scored very efficiently as well. Here's looking out, Amare. If you do it again on Wednesday we can look forward to another win.

He seems to be angry at the rim...

And speaking of hitting the glass, Shawn was active tonight. That's really all that needs to be said, as anyone who knows the Matrix knows that when he's active, he's having a great game. He was deflecting passes, running down loose balls, grabbing rebounds, and flat out smashing the Lakers on back cuts and finishes on lobs. Shawn's shot may not be falling very consistently, but when you get the majority of your points on lay-ups and dunks, that's not really a problem. Quite a few times tonight I was just thinking "Wow, tonight he's the Matrix.", which is good, because when he's just Marion, he's nearly invisible. (Hear that, Shawn? If you just keep on being the Matrix you won't have any problems with people noticing you're there!) Shawn put up a routine Matrix night, filling up the stat sheet with 22 points (10/15 FG), 11 boards (5 offensive) and two steals.

The Matrix doesn't need to be watching to get a steal. He just knows.

Speaking of people filling up a stat sheet, Kobe once again had a great game again tonight. 31 points (12/25 FG, 6/6 FT), 7 rebounds, 9 assists, 2 steals and a block filling out his stat sheet, but he had to work hard for every last bit of it. No easy shots, no easy buckets, no free trips into the lane. The fact that he had 6 turnovers is a good indication of how hard he had to work for everything, especially since he's not prone to high turnover games as he takes very good care of the ball. In the end, it just seemed like Raja upset his rhythm enough that he really didn't get into the flow like he wanted to, and when Bell wasn't on him, Marion was. And when Marion wasn't on him, Diaw was. (Diaw played him rather well, when he switched off or doubled on to him.) Overall, you really can't ever hope to stop Kobe as much as throw his game off, and tonight I think the Suns did a good job of throwing him off his game. All around he did everything you could possibly hope for though, got his teammates involved, scored in bunches... just... his supporting cast didn't step up to the plate like they did early in the game.

It's just like last year. Except without any clotheslines.

Kobe seems a bit tense... maybe it's about his supporting cast.

Boxers or briefs? Kobe says he wears briefs, but Nash isn't sure he believes him.

Boris Diaw passes up a good lay-up for a bad pass. How Christ-like.

Speaking of Boris Diaw... he played like absolute crap for the first three quarters, airballing jumpers, making bad passes, and playing like an antsy schoolgirl. Then when the game was basically decided, he made some good plays to keep us ahead, and went strong to the hoop. If Boris played the entire series the way he played the fourth quarter tonight, I wouldn't be lamenting his apparent case of contractextensionitus. Oh well. Let's all hope he stops playing like he's scared and starts playing as his talent dictates he can.

The NBA, it's flooooop-tastic!

Lakers Bounce Back, 95-89 Lakers (Series 2-1, Suns)

A confused Raja talks to a visibly disgusted Nash.

Well, it was bound to happen and, honestly, I can't say I'm surprised that it happened. The Suns go nuts in game 2 and absolutely demolish the Lakers in every aspect. Everyone jumps on the "SWEEP!" bandwagon, people start talking like the series is already over, and, to top it all off, the Suns actually believed them.

After a quick start, jumping out to a 17 point lead in the beginning of the first quarter, the Suns decided that the game was over. That's really the only way to describe the complete lack of focus, teamwork, and effort that went forth in that game... it makes me shudder.

Notice how Amare thinks the game is over in the first half.

The Lakers fought back, playing great perimeter defense, and rebounding. (Shammond Williams and Smush Parker did very well in the backcourt, and Lamar Odom was trapping like he actually knows how to play defense tonight. Hell, after a couple more games of this it may actually be reasonable to say that he really does know how to play defense.) The Suns got outrebounded by 9 (44 to 35), while giving up 19 offensive rebounds (-13 in that category). After the Suns decided the game was over, the Lakers similarly decided that the game was just getting started. (And, considering it was the beginning of the second quarter that this happened, they would be absolutely correct.) Amare Stoudemire, while trying to stay out of foul trouble, allowed Kwame Brown to have his way inside as Kwame put down a few baby hooks, dunks, and actually made a nice spin move to free himself of Stoudemire, who looked on as though he was wondering who possessed Kwame Brown's body and made that move.

Amare, mere seconds away from letting Kwame Brown get an easy bucket.

On to the third quarter, where Steve Nash makes a couple boneheaded turnovers and, even more importantly, failed to make the passes when he needed to, choosing instead to hold on to the ball longer than he ought to and try to pull everything out and try again. Shawn Marion, having been a ghost the whole game, continued to do absolutely nothing on the defensive or offensive end. Marion's game is predicated upon hustle and he didn't seem to put much effort in the game. Generally his complete lack of ability to create off the dribble and finish lay-ups is masked by the fact that he's running at 120 miles an hour and making all the little plays, but tonight it wasn't.

Cut to the fourth quarter, where Leandro Barbosa and Boris Diaw are actually playing pretty well. In fact, Leandro Barbosa was the one bright spot in this game (22 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 5-11 from three point land), hitting several tough shots including the game tying three in the fourth quarter. (To be fair, Amare played very well on the offensive end and rebounded reasonably well, which still doesn't make up for the fact that his defense was absolutely atrocious.) A couple times tonight Boris started playing like he actually cared about what was happening on the court and drew some fouls, made some plays, and really boosted his play to something approaching good.

Cut scene to Kobe Bryant going absolutely crazy on Raja Bell, Shawn Marion, and basically anyone else that got in front of him. Kobe decided that he wasn't settling for the mid-range jumpers early on, and it worked out superbly. He went 15-26 from the field, 13-13 from the charity stripe, and all the while got his teammates involved in the game. (6 assists.) Towards the end he started forcing up bad shots from 16-20 feet away, but the Suns failed to capitalize as they made mistake after mistake on the offensive end, their tie midway through the fourth quarter gone as quickly as it was gotten. I was particularly impressed by Shawn Marion wildly flinging the ball two handed from above his head at the rim while flying through the lane. That play signified tonight's game for the Suns: Sloppy, ugly, and extremely uncoordinated.

Kobe takes it to the hole.

A note of interest. When the game came down to the line and D'Antoni decided what play he wanted to draw up to try to make up the deficit, he drew an inbound play to Amare Stoudemire for a three pointer in the corner. This says several things. 1) We need to make sure Phil Jackson didn't draw up that play. 2) Amare Stoudemire's three point range has possibly come along far enough that D'Antoni feels he can hit them now. 3) That Nash, Raja, or Leandro should have taken the shot.

Oh, and a note to whoever is guarding Lamar Odom... Make him go right. Make him go right. For the love of GOD make him go right. Every single last one of his buckets was him making a quick move left and scoring with his left. His right arm is basically useless, exploit that. Good Lord.

Congratulations, Lakers (and Lakers fans). Let's see if this turns into a series.

Kobe can't win (sniff)

After getting smoked in Game 2, it's clear the Lakers can't compete with this year's edition of the Phoenix Suns. The Lakers haven't beaten the Suns this season with Kobe in the lineup. When playing the Suns, the Lakers are faced with asking Kobe to get everyone involved and confident in an uptempo game and scoring at the end or have him try to score at will to keep his team in the game. Whatever effort he gives, the Lakers' terrible defense undercuts it. Either way Kobe can't win.

In Game 1, Kobe goes for 28 in the first half and pushed his team to a nine-point lead only to see the Suns heat up offensively and shut him down in the second half. In Game 2, Kobe looked to get everyone involved early and still got his looks for 13 in the first half only to see his team down 21 at the break. For some strange reason Kobe was reinserted into the blowout and he turned his ankle. Bryant finished with 15 points and five assists on the night.

After Game 2, Craig Sager interviewed a clearly frustrated Lamar Odom who said the team isn't "close" and the score was a clear indication of their lack of cohesion. Odom's frustration showed on his face after being blocked several times at the rim by Amare Stoudemire and with his hard foul on Steve Nash. Odom is supposed to be Kobe's wingman but he's playing hurt. He's helpful but he's just another piece on a team of pieces.

During this series, I've been reading the Lakers blogs and LA news sites to read from people who watch the team all-season. The team has an all-world talent in Kobe but they aren't a team. They have several pieces who could step in at any moment and hit shots or get exploited defensively. Injuries have derailed any sense of identity the team has. They changed their starting point to a rookie who was double dipping in D-League games the last few weeks. Their top free agent signing isn't playing and 3/5 of their starting lineup is playing hurt. It's easy to underestimate this team because they aren't cohesive and their star has been forced to carry them and they are far too willing to let him do it.

On all the boards, it's suggestions about how to change the lineups and who they need to fix the team. At best, Kobe can blowup and put pressure on an opponent. It's great for Suns fans because we know our team can outscore Kobe and his weak teammates. Despite shooting terrible against the Lakers twice in two weeks, they've pulled out games because Kobe couldn't take over. Even if the tempo increases for a short stint, the Suns have too much firepower. The Lakers are trying to keep games close because they don't play well enough to beat anyone. In all of Kobe's March outbursts, all those games were close against bad teams.

When he attempted to pass more in Game 2 it was undone by the Lakers defense. The team wasn't ready for the Suns, who looked more like themselves and found their way to the basket for numerous highlight dunks and layups. The remedy may be more fouls but in today's NBA anything flagrant will be bring swift punishment and fouling the best freethrow shooting team may backfire.

This Lakers team isn't the tough opponent who tried to squash the upstart, small ball Suns last year. They are a bad team with a great player that the Suns need to put out of their misery. The Lakers don't need to figure out a way to beat the Suns. They need the off-season to find a way to build a team that doesn't sabotage their star's best efforts.

Suns beast Lakers in Game 2 (PHX 2-0)

All the buzz around this series has been the Suns failures in Game 2's the last few years. They've lost five straight Game 2's including four out of five at home. It's not a useless stat because that recent history is something this team has to move past. They did that tonight in a big way. The Suns ran the Lakers off the court in a 126-98 clinic.

After the sluggish start and poor shooting in Game 1, the Suns needed to establish their tempo early and that was the case. Steve Nash found Shawn Marion and Amare Stoudemire on dives and pick n' roll plays and the Suns were looking sharp. James Jones got a block. STAT blocked a Kobe dunk and he took a Lamar Odom dunk attempt out of the air (Doug Collins screamed 'Oh my!'). Toss in a couple threes by James Jones and Raja Bell and the Suns were rolling. Leandro Barbosa, who accepted the Sixth Man Award before the game, started slow but hit a jumper and a three to end the quarter. They dropped 31 in the first quarter and firmly established the tempo.

With Nash on the bench to start the second, LB continued to attack. Shawn Marion also got a couple easy buckets and when Nash returned the lead had grown from five to 14. Nash continued to push it. Push it real good. He tossed a halfcourt ally oop to Marion. STAT got a couple more dunks. LB scored 12 in the quarter before picking up his third foul. Nash finished the half with 11 assists. Three scorers were in double figures and the Suns took a solid defensive effort (47 pts, 37% FG) and a 21-point lead into halftime.

One area of emphasis for Lakers coach Phil Jackson was to prevent 30 point quarters. The Suns dropped 31 and 37 in the first half. Kobe had a good half with 13 but the Lakers only scored 47 points. The game was over without a strong third from the Lakers and a big effort from Kobe.

The Lakers were more aggressive offensively but their defense remained awful. The Suns continued to get layups and open threes. Lamar Odom couldn't take it anymore and fouled Steve Nash hard, mugging him about 80 feet from the basket. Nash had a WTF look on his face and kissed the guns in front of the bench. After a few turnovers (only 1 in the first half) Steve Nash settled the club with a couple layups and back to back threes. Raja Bell pushed the lead up to 28 with a three and breakaway reverse. The fourth was cautious garbage time, especially after Kobe came back only to turn an ankle. Everyone scored for PHX and there was much rejoicing.

Positives
Team bounced back from an uneven performance with a dominant win. Six scorers in double figures with strong floor games from Boris and KT.

Concerns
Raja turned an ankle on a ref's foot at the end of the third.

Thoughts
This is what we wanted. This is what fans wanted to see after the Suns had to comeback to win on Sunday. This is also what we wanted to see after Dallas and San Antonio lost at home. We needed to see the running and gunning Phoenix Suns smack the Lakers. Now the Lakers should know that they will lose and no amount of past success, points from Kobe or tedious game planning is going to work. The Phoenix Suns are clearly the better team and they will not underestimate the Lakers.

Now the series shifts back to LA. The Suns will be happy with a split but should go for the sweep. The Nuggets and Spurs is going to be a war. The Nuggets have already won on the Spurs' homecourt and I seriously doubt they'll give away more than one in Denver. That series should at least go six and if the Suns sweep or win in five they'll get at least three days rest between series. Playoff rest is far different than regular season rest. After running with the Lakers, their legs can rest up for a battle with the Nuggets or Spurs, with plenty of time to prepare. A big part of the postseason is creating your own breaks. The Suns can force the issue by quickly disposing of their first round opponent, when none of the other Western top seeds appear ready to do.

LB wins Sixth Man Award

Leandro Barbosa won the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year Award in a landslide vote. Congrats to LB, who has given Suns' fans plenty to cheer for this season.

LB mixtapes by Zei Zao

Suns adjust, take Game 1 (PHX 1-0)

The Suns and Lakers got their playoff series underway Sunday. The Lakers started strong and Kobe Bryant was on fire in the first half. The second half was all PHX as the Suns held homecourt in a 95-87 win in Game 1.

The first half was brutal for the Suns. They missed a ton of jumpshots and Kobe got his jumper going. He drew a few early fouls on Raja Bell and James Jones to establish his will on the game. Leandro Barbosa and Boris Diaw came in cold and the Lakers built a 11-point lead. The Suns did get a run fueled by Shawn Marion's hustle and goods plays from Steve Nash and Amare Stoudemire. Kobe settled his young team by banging four straight jumpers, including three from distance to give the Lakers a 48-39 halftime lead.

So at the half, here's the situation. The Lakers defense held the Suns under 40% shooting with only 39 points. Kobe was red hot with 28 points on 11-17 at that point. So the adjustments were pretty clear. The Suns needed to attack the rim. Nash and Marion had gotten some offense going but needed an impact from STAT and LB. Kobe had come out gunning but no other Laker was in a rhythm and Lamar Odom's half was diffused by three fouls. At this point, the Lakers would need Kobe to continue to fire and hope someone else would get hot because the Suns were going to trap and double more. If Kobe cooled off and Lakers didn't get a ton of offensive rebounds, the Lakers would be playing into the Suns strength.

In the third, the Suns were a different team. The effort to get STAT the ball was clear and effective. Nash was taking shots in the lane as well. The teams traded baskets at first but the pace and quality of shots was in the Suns' favor. The Suns scored 35 points in the third on mid-range jumpers, layups/dunks and three from distance. LB hit a long three at the buzzer to cut the lead to three, fire up the crowd and give the Suns momentum heading into the fourth.

In the fourth, LB continued to attack. He scored the first seven points of the quarter for the Suns and gave them a lead they wouldn't relinquish. Like we said in the series preview, the Lakers have no counter for LB (26 pts, 19 in 2nd half). On one of his moves, he was driving full speed at a backpedalling Smush Parker. He blew by and Smush fouled him for an and1. When his jumper is on and he's attacking in the open court- he's unguardable.

While the Suns offense opened up a lead, their defense sealed the deal. Kobe went ice cold in the fourth. The Suns sent doubles and traps at him. When he passed, his teammates were missing and when he shot he forced the issue. Kobe shot 1-10 in the fourth and the Lakers could only muster 10 points. Whether or not Kobe was gassed, the defense was better. The Suns rebounded the Lakers misses and got great board work from STAT (12 reb, 9 def.) and the Matrix (16 reb, 13 def.).

Positives
PHX got an offensive rhythm when they made an effort to establish STAT (23 pts, 12 reb, 2 blk, 2 stl) and Nash (20 pts, 10 ast) in the third.

Concerns
Lamar Odom (17 pts, 16 reb) showed glimpses of the trouble he gives the Suns. When he attacks with a full head of steam, he's tough.

Thoughts
Don't know if many of you have watched Steve Nash's DVD but there's something on the bonus disc that we saw in this game. Nash's pregame warmup is legendary as he makes about 300 shots all over the court. The bonus disc is him talking the viewer through that workout. He starts from about four feet away and extends out to NBA three-point range. He says during the close shots it's a chance to make sure he's using proper mechanics, get his confidence up and to get hot. When the third quarter started that clip came into my mind. The Suns got a bunch of buckets in the paint and at one point Nash waved off an open three to reset and James Jones got an elbow jumper out of it. The shots the Suns hit in the paint helped build their confidence after a bad shooting first half.

The Suns held serve in this one but the Lakers will still be looking for a split in Game 2. Their stars got them through this game and sometimes in the playoffs that exactly what you need. The Suns may have scored and shot beneath their averages but once they established their tempo and turned up the defensive pressure on Kobe, they took control. Their ability to get points from numerous sources is a strength not many teams have and today we saw that's the clear difference between these two teams.

Scouting Report - Lakers pt. 2

As promised, a scouting report on a few of the key contributors off the bench. You may be a bit less familiar with these players as they don't get as much playing time as the starters, but they are every bit as important. The Suns have a tendency of letting players put up massive numbers who have no business putting up said numbers. I'm a bit tired of hearing "Player X has a career high tonight off the bench with 27 points". Anyway, on with the post!

Name	Position	Height	Weight	MPG	PPG	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	FG%	3PT%
Maurice "Mo" Evans	SG/SF	6'5	220 lbs.	22.8	8.4	2.9	1.0	0.5	0.2	43.2%	36.1%
Scouting Report

Mo Evans is having a career year in L.A. under Phil Jackson, and has finally found a spot where he's getting consistent minutes. (He only played spot minutes in Detroit and Sacramento and was a garbage time player in Minnesota.) Mo Evans is a well conditioned player with very good upper and lower body strength, and is a tremendous leaper. Has a well rounded offensive game. He's a decent shooter, he's got a decent post up game, he's a good finisher, and has a decent post up game. Not great at any one thing, but can do a bit of everything on offense. Is a poor passer and tends to get flustered when someone plays tight defense and the ball is in his hands. Moves well without the ball. Is able to absorb some contact and still finish due to his strength, though he tends to take it up a bit too strong when he knows he's going to be taking contact. Good defender due to good lateral quickness and his strength, though he occasionally has mental lapses where his man gets away from him when he's guarding off-ball. (When he's matched up with Marion or Barbosa, look for them to take advantage of this.) Expect him to be guarding Leandro, Raja or James Jones while he's on the floor. Might get matched up with Marion on occasion as well.

Name	Position	Height	Weight	MPG	PPG	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	FG%	3PT%
Jordan Farmar	PG	6'2	180 lbs.	15.1	4.4	1.7	1.9	0.6	0.1	42.2%	32.8%
Scouting Report

You may hear a lot of talk about Farmar being Nash-lite, but he's more like... Luke Ridnour-lite, or Dan Dickau-lite. (That's not as backhanded of a statement as it sounds.) This rookie point guard out of UCLA is a bit out of place in Phil Jackson's system as he's actually a true pass-first point guard. He has good ball handling skills in the open court and in the half court, and has good court vision and passing skills. Still doesn't seem to be quite accustomed to the NBA game though, and his game hasn't translated as well in the NBA as it did in college due to his lack of athleticism. Is a poor shooter by point guard standards, though he can knock them down on occasion if he's left open. Can go off the dribble both to the left and right (not nearly as effectively with his off hand though) but really can't finish at the basket. (Nash actually went man-to-man with Farmar earlier this season and straight up blocked him once he got to the basket.) Is somewhat slow by NBA point guard standards. Defense is border-line atrocious. His passing skills aren't as effective in the triangle offense as he doesn't do as much ball handling as he could do with everything being run from the high post. Expect Nash to be on him any time they are both on the court, and Leandro to be on him for the time that Nash isn't on the court. Marcus Banks may make an appearance to try to force some turnovers in the back court out of the inexperienced and mostly overmatched Jordan Farmar if the Suns don't need the offense in the situation as much as they need the defense. (I'd love to see Marcus have some stints off the bench when Farmar is out there. There is no way Farmar can guard him in the open court or in the half court, he just doesn't have the speed.)

Name	Position	Height	Weight	MPG	PPG	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	FG%	3PT%
Andrew Bynum	C	7'0	275 lbs.	21.9	7.8	5.9	1.1	0.2	1.6	55.8%	0.0%
Scouting Report

The next "Big Thing" in L.A. by most accounts, he is coming along quite well, being as old as quite a few of the people in my own graduating class. (Not much older than myself, which is saying something since he's supposed to be a big-time player some time in the near future.) With Kareem Abdul-Jabbar taking him under his wing and tutoring him, he's made some very big strides to become more than just an exceptionally large and athletic kid out of high school with a raw post game. Has a soft touch around the basket, and good hands so he has no problems holding on to tough catches on entry passes. Has a fairly effective set of offensive post moves, including a baby hook going to his right that he uses the majority of the time. Extremely long arms and good athleticism, especially for his size. Has good timing and instincts as a shotblocker, but he is quick to bite on the pump fake. Foul trouble is a problem for him because of this. Has decent fundamentals on his man-to-man defense in the post though, minus the foul problems. (3 fouls per game in just 22 minutes.) Expect him to be matched up with Amare and Kurt Thomas the majority of the time. If he happens to get matched up with Boris on the defensive end, Boris should be able to abuse him from the outside, assuming he's in attack mode. (Let's pray he's in attack mode, the playoffs will be much easier if he returns to the same form he had in last year's playoffs.)

Some other notables:
Ronny Turiaf - 6'10, 250 lbs. PF/C - An energy guy off the bench who hustles the entire time he's on the court. Fairly good rebounder and defensive player, though he's foul prone. (Like most energy players, especially big ones.) The game against the Lakers on March 8th he went off for 19 points and 15 rebounds in just 25 minutes.

Brian Cook - 6'9, 258 lbs. PF - A good offensive player who can space the floor at the PF spot with his exceptional outside shooting. Has caused problems for the Suns in the past. Not a good rebounder or defender for his size though, his whole value lies in his shooting and offensive awareness on the other end of the floor.

Scouting - Los Angeles Lakers

As it turns out, there is a couple new additions to the Rising Suns roster of writers and I'm one of them. I'm sure you've all (never) heard of me, so introductions are clearly unnecessary. Anyhow, I'll be trying to provide a mostly unbiased, objective point of reference and entertainment for anyone hapless enough to run into my various posts. This particular post will feature a scouting report of all the Lakers players, some of their tendencies, strong points, weak points, and how they match up with their counterpart on the Suns. Just doing the starting 5 (Well, assuming Smush Parker starts over Jordan Farmar) for now. I'll probably throw in a bit about the key bench players at a later time, preferably before Sunday when we start our road to the finals.

Name	Position	Height	Weight	MPG	PPG	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	FG%	3PT%
Smush Parker	PG	6'4	180 lbs.	30.0	11.1	2.5	2.8	1.4	0.2	43.7%	36.5%
Scouting Report

Smush Parker is the starting PG for the Los Angeles Lakers, but really doesn't have much in the way of point guard skills, though that's not strictly necessary in his case due to the fact that all he has to do as the point guard in the triangle system is run the ball up court and give it to whoever is initiating the offense. (Usually Luke Walton, Kobe Bryant, or Lamar Odom) Smush Parker is a good ball handler, and rarely loses the ball in the open floor. Can dribble left and right, but can't finish very well going to his left, so expect whoever is guarding him to try and push him left. Is a fairly good slasher going to his right, and can also finish fairly well going right. At 6'4, he's bigger than most point guards. Has long arms and active hands, is a big threat to get steals in the passing lanes and on the ball. Can also play fairly good man defense due to his quickness, plays Nash better than quite a few of the other point guards in the league. Has a decent shooting stroke, but is very streaky. One night he may be hitting his open jumpers, the next he may be going 2-9 from the field. Confidence has been in the gutters, as Phil Jackson has been very inconsistent in how he has been handling Smush. Due to this, Smush has been unhappy of late and hasn't been playing as well as he is capable of. Will be matched up with Nash and Leandro for the majority of the time he's on the floor. If he starts scoring in bunches, Marion will probably be put on him to cool him off. (Jordan Farmar has been starting of late, not exactly sure how the situation will play out though.)

Name	Position	Height	Weight	MPG	PPG	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	FG%	3PT%
Kobe Bryant	SG	6'7	220 lbs.	40.8	31.6	5.7	5.4	1.4	0.5	46.3%	34.4%
Scouting Report

Kobe is, quite simply, the most talented player on the planet. Offensively speaking, he's led the league in scoring the last two years, and has had some stretches of games that put him in the record books. (4 straight games with 50 or more, two of those were 60+ points. Jeez.) Can take and make nearly any shot within 30 feet of the basket, contested or uncontested. Can get to the hoop and create contact. Has a nearly unstoppable fade away jumper, any Suns fan who watched him drain the clutch fade away over Boris and Shawn know that all the defense can do is watch and hope. Due to his ability to take and make ridiculous shots, Kobe often falls in love with his own ability and starts taking shots that he has no business taking, however, poor shot selection on his part happens all the time. Has a tremendous post up game for a guard. Is a very effective passer, when he bothers getting his teammates involved. A lot of the time he stops trusting his teammates to make the easy buckets and he starts launching up bad shots. (He makes more of them than he rightfully ought to as well.) Has very good court awareness and knowledge of the game though, and understands how the game is supposed to be played. Is a great defender, but doesn't seem to bring his A-game on offense nearly as much as he ought to. Gets lazy when he's guarding players who aren't very talented offensively, which can lead to a lot of open shots from the perimeter for his man. Will be matched up with Raja Bell for the majority of the time, D'Antoni actually makes it a point to sub Raja in when Kobe is going in, and sub Raja out whenever Kobe is going out. Occasionally Marion is put on Kobe, and once in a while Barbosa is put on him. If he starts hitting shots that he has no business making, expect to start seeing double teaming from whoever is guarding Smush Parker, Kwame Brown, Ronny Turiaf or Jordan Farmar.

Name	Position	Height	Weight	MPG	PPG	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	FG%	3PT%
Luke Walton	SF	6'8	232 lbs.	33.0	11.4	5.0	4.3	1.0	0.4	47.4%	38.7%
Scouting Report

Luke Walton is a facilitator on offense, primarily being the one who sets up the offense or who the offense is run through from 14-20 feet from the basket. Has excellent passing skills, especially at the SF position, and has a high basketball IQ to compliment this. Has become a fairly good shooter, having shot over 40% from 3 point land for a good bit of the season. Has a decent post up game, but is generally used to a nearby defender or when he gets switched off onto a smaller man. Is an average defender at best, but understands where to be on the floor and rarely makes slip ups where his man just shrugs free of him. Not good at scoring off the dribble. Not a good finisher. Not especially athletic, has trouble guarding quicker players. Is stronger than you would think by looking at him. Expect Marion, James Jones and Boris Diaw to switch back and forth guarding him. Occasionally Barbosa gets stuck guarding the SF spot, and the Lakers generally try to capitalize by posting up Walton from about 15 feet out. If he's playing poorly, Nash might get stuck on him so Nash doesn't have to do entirely too much, but don't count on it, as a situation similar to what happens to Barbosa will probably get abused, and Nash isn't as strong, long, or quick as Barbosa so it works out much worse as Barbosa can actually fend him off.

Name	Position	Height	Weight	MPG	PPG	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	FG%	3PT%
Lamar Odom	SF/PF	6'10	230 lbs.	39.3	15.9	9.8	4.8	1.0	0.6	46.8%	29.7%
Scouting Report

After an explosive, amazing start to the season (after abusing the Suns in the playoffs the year before, going off for 19-11-5 in the playoffs) For a while, Lamar was actually leading the Lakers to wins with Kobe out of the line up. From there Lamar ran into quite a few injury problems, and his shooting, finishing, and overall game has been off since his shoulder injury. Of late he's been tentative and careful of his shoulder, not going for rebounds as hard as he normally does and not finishing strong at the rim. Very rarely do you see a player of Odom's size and strength have such good passing skills and ball handling ability. Tends to float around when he doesn't have the ball, doesn't play well off the ball. Has a decent post up game, but can't finish with his right hand very well. Outside shooting has been very suspect since the shoulder injury, has mostly just been trying to finish the easy ones at the rim. Decent defender, doesn't seem to put much effort into it though as he has all the tools to be an excellent defender. (Very long arms, very quick for his size, and is strong.) Has killed the Suns in the past, so I don't feel confident at all in his slump since his injuries. Expect Boris and Marion to be on him for the majority of the time. James Jones may see some time against him as well, as long as he can stay in the game. (Which means he'll have to start being able to shoot the ball.) Is a tough match-up for Marion due to his strength, tends to have good games against him.

Name	Position	Height	Weight	MPG	PPG	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	FG%	3PT%
Kwame Brown	PF/C	6'11	270 lbs.	27.6	8.4	6.0	1.8	1.0	1.2	59.1%	0.0%
Scouting Report

Absolutely massive. Is 6'11 (maybe 7'0), and 270 pounds of muscle. One of the most athletic players of his size in the league, can definitely get up. Despite this, however, his offensive game is rather limited. If he manages to catch the ball in the post, he has a semi-decent baby hook going right. Can't finish with his left. Has brick hands, has a lot of trouble keeping hold on entry passes, bounce passes, and most anything not directly aimed at his chest. Defensively underrated. Good at stripping the ball if his man faces up. Is big enough that you aren't going to back him down unless you're a mammoth. (This includes Amare, as I've never seen Amare successfully back him down, though Amare is fast enough to just blow by him.) Has fairly good timing on his shotblocking, though he bites on fakes fairly easily. Is, thusly, foul prone and has a hard time staying on the court if he's playing a good offensive player. Isn't comfortable coming too far out of the paint to defend his man. Only a decent rebounder, especially for someone his size. Has gotten better at finishing close to the hoop. Expect Amare and Kurt Thomas to be matched up with him the majority of the time. Boris Diaw may come down and play him in the post if the Lakers play a big line-up with Lamar Odom, Kwame Brown, and Andrew Bynum all in the line up at the same time.

Suns/Lakers Preview

This is Hersey from Ball Club. I'm a special playoff correspondent (or something like that) for the Rising Suns. After a 61 win season, the Suns start the playoffs with a familiar foe in the Los Angeles Lakers. I read some LA sites last night and the LA Times and Kevin Ding's OC Register blog are running stories about the Suns' comments on the Lakers from 7 Seconds of Less, which is an awesome book btw. Add in a little trash talk from Amare Stoudemire (who said the series will over early) and the series has a little juice.


(2) Phoenix Suns (61-21) vs (7) Los Angeles Lakers (42-40)
This matchup is one of the better ones in the NBA. The teams are long-time rivals and have met several times in the playoffs, including a seven-game epic last season.

Overview
In last season's matchup, the Lakers pounded the ball inside and used Kobe as a playmaker. The strategy was successful with a little help from blown calls and an attempt from the Lakers to intimidate the small ball Suns. No such luck this year. Amare Stoudemire and Kurt Thomas are healthy and the Suns have an interior presence on both ends to counter the versatile and active Laker big men like Luke Walton and Lamar Odom. Kobe Bryant added 'Nash mode' to his arsenal of offensive weapons this season to good results early. The rash of Laker injuries derailed a promising start and Kobe had to make it rain in the second half just to make the playoffs.

Steve Nash added an edge to his game this year to solidify his status as the NBA's best leader. Nash's numbers improved but his playmaking and insistence on an unselfish team culture helped the Suns welcome Amare Stoudemire back into a unit that played well without him last season. The Suns had a delicate mix this season as Amare started slowly then regained All Star form, Boris Diaw's play and attitude fluctuated, Shawn Marion did everything once again yet got more national attention for his perceived lack of appreciation, Leandro Barbosa has become a star, James Jones got a ton of minutes despite an inconsistent shot, none of the free agents got any significant minutes- all in a year where the motto was 'Eyes on the Prize.' The championship is obviously the goal for this group and that focus has kept them cohesive even though the roster is loaded with stars.

Keys for the Suns
Rebounding: When the Suns don't rebound, they can't run and that's how teams slow them down. The Lakers will focus on getting good shots against the Suns so the longer possessions will require good defensive rebounding.

Limit Lamar Odom: Shawn Marion has struggled defensively against Odom when he operates on the block. Marion becomes the Matrix against larger, slower forwards but Odom doesn't fall into that category. Odom's shot is awful now that he's playing with an injured shoulder. Forcing him to settle for jumpers rather than his hooks and floaters in the paint will be important.

Leandro Barbosa: the Lakers have no counter for LB. The Lakers backcourt outside of Kobe is a crapshoot. The enigmatic Smush Parker takes the challenge of trying to score on Nash but he can't guard him. Jordan Farmar has been starting for the Lakers and he's a rookie. LB will be facing defenders who can't guard him and should have a big series, just like last year.

Keys for the Lakers
Kobe, Kobe, Kobe: Once again the Lakers are faced with the choice of letting Kobe loose and asking him to get 40+ to stay in games or asking him to distribute with his teammates questionable scoring abilities. The Lakers haven't beaten the Suns with Kobe in the lineup this season so neither strategy has worked. However, Kobe saved their season with his scoring outburst after the All Star break.

Ronny and Kwame: This sounds like a show from the WB in the late 90's, but it's this duo that has to perform well against a hungry Amare Stoudemire, who has had to wait two years for playoff action. Kwame has had a bad year healthwise but his interior defense is important to the Lakers. Turiaf is the classic energy guy off the bench but has been forced into starting duty of late due to Kwame's injury problems. These two have to perform well to prevent the Suns from having a major advantage in the paint.

Defense: The Lakers defense has been awful over the second half of the season and that was the reason for their long losing streaks and low playoff seed. While slowing the pace against the Suns may keep the point total down, if their defense doesn't improve it won't matter against one the most efficient offenses the NBA has ever seen. The Suns barely missed becoming the first team in history to shoot 50% from the field, 40% from distance and 80% from the line.

Prediction
The Lakers aren't the team they were last year. The Lakers aren't healthy, they've struggled down the stretch and the only chance they have is to feed Kobe. However in recent matchups, Raja Bell has made him work for shots without getting into foul trouble while countering with good numbers on the offensive end. The Lakers don't have enough firepower or defense to win this series. Suns in 4.

I rekindled an old personal tradition and made a playoff bracket. Click here to download and print it. Go Suns!

Looking For Writers

The Rising Suns is now looking for writers to keep up on everything Suns. Due to a recent job change I am far too busy to keep up with regular posting and I am looking for help. If you're interested please email me a sample post or two and I will consider you for a blog writer.

Suns Blow it in Houston

The Phoenix Suns fell apart in the third quarter last night as the hot shooting and rebounding of Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming proved too much and sent the Suns home with a 120-117 loss. McGrady had a vintage night and nobody could shut him down. The Suns shot the ball extremely well but the disparity in rebounding doomed the visiting Suns despite a fourth quarter rally.

Amare was active as ever, while not puting up big rebounding numbers against his much larger foe Yao, he was active in passing lanes all night and collected six steals. I was impressed at the desterity he showed when anticipating passes and explosively jumping into the lane. The Suns played well until the third quarter when Yao and T-Mac got too hot to handle.

Shawn Marion played extremely well with his teammate Amare and he was all over the place, although we could have used some lockdown defense on Tracy. The Matrix was hitting all sorts of circus shots and was a huge reason we were still in the game in the fourth. The highlight play of the night came on an Amare steal and break when he got locked up by the defense he dumped it to a quick-cutting Diaw who took it hard at the rim but then dumped it to the waiting Marion who had the tenacity to avoid Yao and lay it in. Pretty play.

Anyways, the ramifications of this loss are small as the Spurs also lost last night so it looks like we will be hanging on to our playoff position and hopefully we see the Lakers in the first round. The Lakers have taken a serious step back this season and Phil Jackson is feeling the frustration and actually came out and said the Suns weren't an explosive team to the media. Phil Jackson is overrated. Injuries or not, he's got Kobe and Lamar Odom, who should be a top 10 player in the league, and this Laker team is bad.

I guess the era of riding your superstars has passed and now that he actually has to coach, things aren't going so well.

Lakers Can't Hang

Well the Lakers tried and tried to keep the game close but the Suns proved too much for the home team in Los Angeles yesterday as Phoenix took the game 115-107. I'm not sure what it is but the Lakers always seem to give the Suns everything they got, and often come up short. Kobe was Kobe, with a Raja Bell clinging to his jersey at all times. Raja did an admirable job on Kobe despite his scoring 34 points.

Smush Parker was intent on proving to his coach that he should always be in the lineup and he did just that. Until Jackson pulled him in the fourth and left his point guard cold and confused. During the broadcast I remember the announcers saying how Smush was feuding with Coach Phil and that he 'gave up on trying to read that man long ago.' Looks like Jax knows just how to crush a players confidence.

Ronny Turiaf was unfazed and had a monster game. I think Ronny has had good games against the Suns in the past too. Well it wasn't enough for our prolific guard play who took over the game during a stretch in the fourth. I also think this one had to do with the mediocre play of Lamar Odom. Odom is the key to beating the Suns. He is simply a matchup nightmare and one the Suns can't counter very well.

Since our loss to San Antonio last week, it's that time again. Time for the trolls to come in here and gloat about one regular season win as if it is gospel. The Suns lost to the Spurs, it's a fact. As far as gimmick offense and no defense, well that's debateable. If you call managing to score a ton of points on any team a gimmick, I would hate to have the real thing. And 'no defense?' Come on, surely the Spurs fans trolling here remember that game in February when we hung 103 on their great defense AND held them under 90 points. Surely you remember that blowout.

I have a problem with any team whose star has planar fasciitis and relies on a combination of Brent Barry, Michael Finley, Robert Horry and Bruce Bowen. San Antonio won't make it out of the second round.

So That's What a Great Defense Looks Like

After watching yesterday's marquee Suns/Mavs matchup you may think I'm talking about the Suns who held the Mavs to 45% shooting from the field while out-rebounding, out-blocking, out-assisting and flat out dominating Dirk and Mark Cuban for a 126-104 win. With all the talk about Dallas' defense, with all Avery Johnson's interviews talking about D, with every talking head repeating that same defensive motto I was expecting a little more. They should keep quiet down there in Dallas.

The tides have shifted and Dallas should now be the one who has to adjust to the Suns. Two late-season wins is far more telling than early season wins and the Suns took it the last two times these teams played. The Mavs have no answer for a number of Suns players: Leandro, Amare, Steve, Boris, Shawn Marion's D.

Finally we got to see Phoenix Suns basketball. The last couple times these teams played the Suns were frantic, not keeping to their strengths. Maybe it was hype or media coverage but they were out of sorts. Yesterday they got it together and played how they have played most of the year. Quick sets, crisp passes and solid shooting dictated this game and ths Suns shot a season high (for the entire league) 65%.

Leandro Barbosa was terrific and any inch Dallas' defense gave him he exploited and hit big shots. Not only that but he was creating shots and they just couldn't stay with him. I give credit to Steve who was making good plays all day and easy passes were flowing like wine. Shawn quietly dominated defensively and was extremely active the entire game.

Amare is a huge problem for the Mavs as well. He consistantly shoots a high percentage against them and they have no way of slowing him down. They should be having flashbacks to the 04-05 playoffs. Boris played great too and he even abused Jason Terry in the post on a number of possessions which made me particularly happy. I don't understand the logic that had the Mavs not switch or when Boris was posting Terry but whatever.

This should be a very welcome sign of things to come in the playoffs. Not only was this game good news but the Spurs lost too so we have a good chance to hold our playoff spot.