# Game 2: Phoenix Suns at L.A. Lakers - 11/3



## ShuHanGuanYu (Feb 3, 2005)

*Game 2: Phoenix Suns (0-1) at L.A. Lakers (1-0)*

*November 3rd, 8:30 PM (PST - Arizona), TNT*












*Starting Lineup*





































Smush Parker Kobe Bryant Lamar Odom Kwame Brown Chris Mihm

*Reserves*

Aaron McKie 
Andrew Bynum 
Devean George 
Brian Cook 
Slava Medvedenko 
Sasha Vujacic 
Laron Profit 











*Starting Lineup*





































Steve Nash  Raja Bell  James Jones Shawn Marion Kurt Thomas

*Reserves*

Jim Jackson 
Leandro Barbosa 
Boris Diaw 
Brian Grant 
Eddie House 
Pat Burke 
Dijon Thompson 



*Chris's Game Notes:* The Suns are coming off a heartbreaking double overtime loss to Dallas on Tuesday night, opening day for the NBA. The Suns led by as many as 17 points in the second half, but were unable to contain Dirk Nowitzki late in regulation to put Dallas away. Nash played a terrific game, but logged 58 minutes in the loss. The Suns look to bounce back by defeating the Lakers in their first game on the road. The Lakers are just removed from a season opening overtime win over the Denver Nuggets, which saw possible MVP candidate Kobe Bryant nail a 20-foot shot with less than a second remaining in the period. The victory was led by 33 from Kobe and 20 from unlikely hero Smush Parker, who played a brief stint with the Suns at one point. Kobe Bryant, Lamar Odom and Smush Parker each logged 40+ minutes just 24 hours before their first back-to-back test of the season. 

​


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## Darth Bryant (Feb 1, 2005)

Going to be a good game. I got the suns pegged as winning. But I hope the Lakers make it a good game at least.


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## qross1fan (Dec 28, 2004)

Suns: 104
Lakers: 87

Marion gets 27 pts, 13 boards, 5 dimes, 3 steals, 2 blocks
Nash gets 19 pts, 14 dimes, 2 turnovers, 3 steals

Suns make 13 treys as a team


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## Tiz (May 9, 2005)

should be a good one. hopefully not an OT thriller like last nights opener.


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## Seuss (Aug 19, 2005)

If we can't beat the Lakers, its gonna be a long season.....


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## LakerLunatic (Mar 1, 2005)

*WELCOME TO DIE!!!*


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## rocken (Nov 5, 2002)

Phoenix Suns (0-1) @ L.A Lakers (1-0)


When Thursday 3rd November 
Time: 8.30 PT
Location: STAPLES Center, L.A
TV: TNT

Probable Starting Lineups:

PG-Steve Nash
SG-Raja Bell
SF-James Jones
PF-Shawn Marion
C-Kurt Thomas

PG-Smush Parker
SG-Kobe Bryant
SF-Lamar Odom
PF-Kwame Brown
C-Chris Mihm

Starting 5 match-ups

Point guards
Steve Nash Vs Smush Parker

Steve Nash goes up against the same guy who the Suns waived last season Smush Parker. Amazing turn of events. Smush Parker now a starter which is very hard to believe. Steve Nash had 30 points, 8 rebounds and 9 assists in the Suns tough season opening loss to the Mavs. He had great overall numbers but made some very questionable decisions late in the game. Even though Parker has improved he should take Smush with no real problem. Should dominate this match-up. Smush though had an amazing start as a starter as he scored 20 points, 4 rebounds and 6 assists in the Lakers surprise overtime win @ Denver last night

Shooting guards
Raja Bell Vs Kobe Bryant

Raja Bell goes up against superstar Kobe Bryant who is fresh off his game winner against the Nuggets. Raja Bell had 18 points on 7-11 shooting in his Suns debut against Dallas but had only 5 points in the 2nd half and the two overtime periods after having 13 at halftime. He needs to stay involved for the whole game. Kobe Bryant is coming off a 33 point game last night in helping the Lakers beat the Nuggets in overtime.


Small Forwards
James Jones Vs Lamar Odom

James Jones struggled a little with his shot in his Suns debut. JJ scored 13 points on 4-12 shooting but did hit 3-6 threes. He is bound to keep improving. Lamar Odom meanwhile is back at his natural position at the 3 spot. He had a soild all-round game with 9 rebounds and 7 assists but struggled scoring. Adding just 8 points.

Power Forward
Shawn Marion Vs Kwame Brown

Shawn Marion had a very impressive all-round game against Dallas tallying 13 points, 16 rebounds and 7 assists. Although he struggled from the floor with just 5-14 from the field. He will need to have a better showing offensively tonight. Kwame Brown on the other hand struggled with foul trouble and didn't look very impressive last night. Although the match-ups were never going to be easy.

centers
Kurt Thomas Vs Chris Mihm

Kurt Thomas had a very quiet start to his Suns career with 7 points and just 3 rebounds. The Suns need alot more out of the center position than that. Mainly on the boards. He was however a presents inside and made a mistake when he was on the floor. Chris Mihm wasn't very effective as he also got into foul trouble and had just 7 points in 27 minutes. It looks like he may be in Phil Jackson's doghouse soon enough 


Key's to the game

Suns

Get Shawn Marion going early by attacking Kwame Brown who is not off to the bests of starts and has proven to be a very average defender. No reason why Marion can't take It to him and dominate.

Raja Bell must do the best job he can on Kobe who everyone knows can go for 30+ every night. He must also come to play on the offensive end. Raja fell away in the 2nd half the Mavs game.
Must get more out of Kurt Thomas who although was a presents inside did not get many rebounds and wasn't up to his normal scoring self. Same goes for Jimmy Jackson.

Lakers

Get their big men going early. Kwame Brown and Chris Mihm seem to be struggling and low on confidence. They need to get something going at least. As right now their frontcourt looks quite bad.

Lakers go as Kobe Bryant goes to a key for the Lakers is to let Kobe lead their team and take It strong to the hole. He is at his best when he is attacking.

Must find a way to try and contain Steve Nash. Smush Parker as hard as he works doesn't stand much of a chance to guard Nash. It's going to be team defense that gets the Lakers through this one.


Final thoughts 

The Phoenix Suns look to bounce back from a breakhearting double overtime defeat to the Dallas Mavericks. The game ended 111-108 in what was a game the Suns simply threw away. Losing a 17 point lead in the 4th and also a 5 point lead with 30 seconds left in the first OT period. Steve Nash had 30 points, 8 rebounds and 9 assists but tried to get one on one too much for my liking. Shawn Marion had 13 and 16 along with 7 assists but struggled a little offensively shooting the ball. While Raja Bell had 18 on his Suns debut but had a very quiet 2nd half.

The Lakers came away with a shock 99-97 win in Denver last night in overtime thanks to the game winner from Kobe Bryant who finished with 33 points. The Lakers are playing their home opener and are on a back to back. It will be a real challenge for them to win this game partly due to that reason.

With Amare missing, most teams fancy their chances with the Suns but as Dallas found out this is still a very talented basketball team with two all-stars and a bunch of good role players.

The Suns badly need this one and put tuesday's dissapointment behind them and get off the mark. Even without Amare, on paper the Suns have the better team and more proven players. So all in all I expect a Suns win. It should be close though, road games are never easy even when the home team is playing their 2nd game in two nights.


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## Carbo04 (Apr 15, 2005)

We're going to need alot more people to step up, and really score this game. Steve Nash will be dead before December if nobody does.


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## Ghiman (May 19, 2003)

Good luck Sun Fans...its gonna be a good game

<embed src="http://www.gisxprt.com/heysong.mp3" autostart="true" loop="true" width="0" height="0"></embed>


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## Sedd (Sep 1, 2003)

LOL at the Lakers starting 5. Don't see how they can lose this game even without Amare.


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## ShuHanGuanYu (Feb 3, 2005)

I do. Mihm and Brown are not exactly the greatest frontcourt duo, but they do have size. If they actually decide to attempt to go inside, it could be trouble for the Suns. With the way Kobe can get to the rack at will, and partnered with the Suns lack of a blocking center, he should be able to score at will on the Suns. On defense, the Lakers have no answer for Nash. I doubt Smush Parker can do anything to halt Steve, so I wonder if they'll try Kobe on him later in the game. Suns need to find someone else to go to in the halfcourt game other than Nash. Someone needs to step up and create something for themselves or their teammates. Shawn struggles in that capacity, so I don't think it'll be him. I would like Eddie House to come in during the second quarter this game. I think coach pulled him too early to put Jackson in, even though House was doing well. I hope Jones can learn to put the ball on the floor. It seems that in the Dallas game he was easily taken out of the offense by sticking someone close to him. The Suns made a mistake in the Dallas game to expect Nash to do everything at the end. Nash has to work so hard on every play to create something out of nothing. Last year, the threat of Amare on the court opened the game up for Nash tremendously. Now, he just dribbles the ball around hoping to get someone open. There's no real strategy involved. Mike needs to implement some kind of offense where guys are moving off of screens constantly to get open shots. Suns should win this game though.


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## Lakers Own (Mar 3, 2005)

Sedd said:


> LOL at the Lakers starting 5. Don't see how they can lose this game even without Amare.


Don't quite see whats so funny. That starting line up beat the Nuggets.


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## LakerLunatic (Mar 1, 2005)

Good to see Suns Fans being very disrespectfull, i actually like the suns quite a bit, pretty much my 3rd fav team in the west, but for all you die hard suns fans "LoL"ing at our starting 5, well....

LoL at Steve Nash's D

LoL at Raja Bell

LoL at all your championships...oh wait?


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## ShuHanGuanYu (Feb 3, 2005)

LakerLunatic said:


> Good to see Suns Fans being very disrespectfull, i actually like the suns quite a bit, pretty much my 3rd fav team in the west, but for all you die hard suns fans "LoL"ing at our starting 5, well....
> 
> LoL at Steve Nash's D
> 
> ...


Don't see why this is necessary. It was "one Suns fan", not "Suns Fans". I think the whole "you make fun of my team so I make fun of your team!!!!!!!!!111111" bit gets old quick. Any thoughts about the game, perhaps? Other than Welcome to Die even?


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## musiclexer (Aug 30, 2005)

Suns better win I put up some ucash on u guys


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## PauloCatarino (May 31, 2003)

Although i haven't been a Suns fan since X-Man left the club, i am eagerly antecipating the showdown with the Lakers. Monster Nash against the Kobster.

I predict an 106-100 Laker win. But he could go either way.

Hope to see Leandrinho getting some minutes...


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## ShuHanGuanYu (Feb 3, 2005)

45-39 Suns. I'm seeing shades of 4th quarter vs Dallas. Smush Parker is annihilating Nash right now, which I definitely didn't think I'd ever say. Suns sure could use a nice run to end the half.


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## ShuHanGuanYu (Feb 3, 2005)

9-0 run! Where's our Suns fans at tonight?


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## ShuHanGuanYu (Feb 3, 2005)

Suns up 12 with just over 2 minutes left in the half. 10 assists already by Nash, beautiful.


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## Dissonance (Jul 21, 2004)

I've been watching the game, thats where I been lol.

Nash now has 12 assists, to go with 3 pts. He's not shooting that well. 1/5

We're lighting it up from 3. 8/14. 

I wish we had Amare. I want to see him with the new additions damnit.


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## ShuHanGuanYu (Feb 3, 2005)

I know, it's so heart-wrenching to watch them without Amare. You just know that the Suns would be an amazing team with Amare out there, and I definitely say they'd be better than last years team. No doubt in my mind.


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## Dissonance (Jul 21, 2004)

ShuHanGuanYu said:


> I know, it's so heart-wrenching to watch them without Amare. You just know that the Suns would be an amazing team with Amare out there, and I definitely say they'd be better than last years team. No doubt in my mind.


Yeah, I was on record of saying we could win 60 with this team. Now we'll be judged differently w/o Amare. Some even said they'll be Nash vs Marbury threads when we struggle but that's bull****. Marbury and this team struggled with a young Amare besides making the playoffs as an 8th seed. Nash is a different kind of player and has no Amare. That comparison is stupid. And I don't think we'll struggle as many people think. But it is early in season though.


Damn we're on fire coming out at halftime.


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## ShuHanGuanYu (Feb 3, 2005)

Nice shot by Jones. That's what I wanna see from him. JJ was the expert at that, getting himself a shot out of the dribble.


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## ShuHanGuanYu (Feb 3, 2005)

dissonance19 said:


> Yeah, I was on record of saying we could win 60 with this team. Now we'll judged differently w/o Amare. Some even said they'll be Nash vs Marbury threads when we struggle but that's bull****. Marbury and this team struggled with a young Amare. Nash is a different kind of player. And I don't think we'll struggle as many people think. But it is early in season though.
> 
> 
> Damn we're on fire coming out at halftime.


Trading Marbury catapulted Amare to stardom. Sure, there were other factors...but there's no way Amare has the same effectiveness with Marbury on the floor. Nash, 12 assists without the star. That speaks volumes, even if it can't be done every night.


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## RP McMurphy (Jul 17, 2003)

It makes me sad to see James Jones doing awesome for the Suns. We should still have him.


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## ShuHanGuanYu (Feb 3, 2005)

RP McMurphy said:


> It makes me sad to see James Jones doing awesome for the Suns. We should still have him.


I still can't believe the Suns got him. The Suns probably wouldn't have given up a first for him, but he's definitely worth a Suns first.


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## ShuHanGuanYu (Feb 3, 2005)

Momentum swinging in favor of L.A. Suns need to weather this storm and somehow get some open shots. This is the same test they faced last game. What is their strategy when the game is heating up?


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## Dissonance (Jul 21, 2004)

God I love Marion.


And our offense is on fire without Nash in the game. We just went on a run early in the 4th.

Suns up 104-89.


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## Ezmo (May 11, 2003)

marion is going to have a monster year...i love it


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## ChristopherJ (Aug 10, 2004)

Nash still raking in the dimes even without Amare. That has to prove quite a few doubters wrong. :raised_ey


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## 1 Penny (Jul 11, 2003)

Marion should finally get props from Non-Suns fans, we all know what he does, but he definitely is an excellent player. 30 and 10 tonight so far.

Odom having a great game also.

Suns need to withstand the last 2 minutes.


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## ShuHanGuanYu (Feb 3, 2005)

Yikes, this is looking familiar...but...Jones for 3!


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## ShuHanGuanYu (Feb 3, 2005)

What a shot by Bell!


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## 1 Penny (Jul 11, 2003)

Nash 17 assists, without Amare carrying him. Ha.

But seriously, Nash, Diaw, and Barbosa with 27 assists between them... thats a sign of a good flowing offense... like last year, but with contributors from the bench.


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## ShuHanGuanYu (Feb 3, 2005)

Yeah, I definitely agree. I love the fact that Barbosa was so involved in the offense. Having Diaw and House on the court with Barbosa seems like it frees things up for him quite a bit and allows him to play to his strengths. Very nice win by the Suns. I'm very impressed with what Thomas and Grant have done for this team so far too.


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## 1 Penny (Jul 11, 2003)

Suns win, it could of been 2-0 right now, but good signs for the suns, it seems they can still average 110 ppg. The real test should be againts the teams with star big men.


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## Seuss (Aug 19, 2005)

I was gonna shoot D'Antoni if he didn't put Kurt back in for the last of the game. 


I would say that was a reason the Suns lost to Dallas. 


Good game from the combo(Nash,Marion)

Bench played great. Bell, Kurt, and Jones all played well. 


Positive stuff to build off.


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## ShuHanGuanYu (Feb 3, 2005)

D'Antoni actually told Collins that he wish he would have put Thomas back in the game against Dallas. I still don't know who he would have guarded though, between Dirk and Howard. Dirk would easily drive by Kurt or shoot threes over him. Same with Van horn. I think he made the right move going small, but he never should have played Marion at center. Diaw worked well against Howard. Problem in that game was also noone to guard Terry. Can't put Raja on him cuz that means Nash takes Daniels. That's one of those times that you simply just have to keep scoring to win the game, and the Suns were unable to do that in crunch time. They had shadows of the same tonight, but were able to play through it. And with Kurt able to guard the Lakers' bigs, he came up big tonight.


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## ChristopherJ (Aug 10, 2004)

It's good to see a win with such a balanced attack. I guess adding depth helped us.


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## qross1fan (Dec 28, 2004)

man i miss Eddie House  nice job getting him and congrats on the win

btw: Suns still have Jared Reiner?


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## 1 Penny (Jul 11, 2003)

The thing is, the suns vulnerability comes when Nash is allowed to score whilst the rest is guarded tightly, I expect it to happen sooner than later, just let Nash beat them, without Amare it could lead to Nash averaging high ppg, but it will affect the flow of the offense and wear Nash out a lot quicker.. But hopefully Diaw, Barbosa, House all continue to adapt to the offense contribute on the playmaking/ball handling more as the season progresses.


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## Dissonance (Jul 21, 2004)

1 Penny said:


> The thing is, the suns vulnerability comes when Nash is allowed to score whilst the rest is guarded tightly, I expect it to happen sooner than later, just let Nash beat them, without Amare it could lead to Nash averaging high ppg, but it will affect the flow of the offense and wear Nash out a lot quicker.. But hopefully Diaw, Barbosa, House all continue to adapt to the offense contribute on the playmaking/ball handling more as the season progresses.


Yeah, but in the first 2 games, we've had Nash on the bench till mid 4th and we've gone on big runs with Diaw, House, Marion, etc on the court. And both times when he back came in we gave up big leads. Whats up with that?


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## ShuHanGuanYu (Feb 3, 2005)

> Nash, Suns rain on Lakers' opening night parade
> 
> Nash dishes out 17 assists in Suns' win over Lakers
> 
> ...


Game summary by Lakers Associated Press. Always good to see what the other teams' media is saying. Overall, this game still came down to hitting shots, like Mike said. Sometimes we just aren't going to be hitting, like against Dallas, and those games are going to be very tough. If Amare can come back strong, these guys learning to win without him only helps the team when they get him back.


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## Sedd (Sep 1, 2003)

Lakers Own said:


> Don't quite see whats so funny. That starting line up beat the Nuggets.


Nuggets are whack.


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## G-Force (Jan 4, 2005)

Good job hanging on and smacking down the Lakers on the road. Let's get a winning streak going here.


G-Force


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