# First RD - Game 3 Thread: [2] Phoenix Suns @ Los Angeles Lakers [7] [Tied 1-1]



## Dissonance (Jul 21, 2004)

*[Phoenix Suns]** (54-28)*



*PG **S. Nash







* - *SG* *R. Bell







* -* 
SF* *S. Marion







* - * PF* *T. Thomas







 * - *
C **B. Diaw *










*Suns Playoff Index*












 * @*
























*[Los Angeles Lakers] * *(45-37) * 


*PG * *S. Parker







* - *SG* *K. Bryant







* - 
*SF* *L. Odom







* - 
*PF* *L. Walton







* - *C* *K. Brown







*






*Friday, April 28th- 10:30PM ET/8:30PM MT- [ESPN] - Staples Center- Los Angeles, CA *










* Suns Regular Season Team Stats* 

*Pts Reb Ast * 
*Phoenix* - *[108.4] [41.8] [26.6] * 
*Opponents*- *[102.8] [45.9] [18.9] 
*
*Regular Season Statistical Leaders*
*[Scoring]* *S. Marion [21.8]* 
* [Rebounds]* *S. Marion [11.8]* 
*[Assists] * *S. Nash [10.5] * 
*[FG%]* *B. Diaw [52.6] * 
*[FT%]* *S.Nash [92.1] * 
*[3PT%] * *L. Barbosa  [44.4]* 
*[Blocks]* *S. Marion [1.7] * 
*[Steals]* *S. Marion [2.0] * 







*Lakers Regular Season Team Stats  * 

* Pts Reb Ast * 
* LA* *[99.4] [42.2] [21.2] * 
* Opponents* *[96.9] [40.2] [21.1] *

*Regular Season Statistical Leaders*
*[Scoring]** K. Bryant [35.4] * 
*[Rebounds* *L. Odom* *[9.2] * 
*[Assists] * *L. Odom [5.5] * 
*[FG%]* *L. Odom [48.1] * 
*[FT%]* *K. Bryant * *[85.0]*
*[3PT%]* *L. Odom [37.2]* 
*[Blocks]* *L. Odom [0.8] * 
*[Steals]* *K. Bryant [1.8]*​







*Game 1: Lakers 99, Suns 93*
*LAL-PHX  Boxscore* 

PHOENIX, April 26 (Ticker) -- This time, Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers did more than get close. 

Bryant had 29 points and 10 rebounds and the Lakers again controlled the tempo and upset the Phoenix Suns, 99-93, to even their Western Conference first-round series at one game apiece. 


Lamar Odom scored 21 points and made two critical hustle plays down the stretch for the seventh-seeded Lakers, who came up just short in Game 1 but stole home-court advantage with their second straight committed effort against the second-seeded Suns. 

"It's going to take a team effort to win and advance in the playoffs," Odom said. "These are games that we have to put together." 

Bryant, who led the NBA in scoring at better than 35 points per game, appears clearly committed to sharing the ball, especially with low-post players. The Lakers have used size to their advantage against the smallish Suns, who never got their running game going. 

"In Game 1, we did an okay job. I just didn't make shots that I normally make," said Bryant, who made just 7-of-21 shots en route to 22 points in the series opener. "Tonight everybody contributed. We are just trying to work hard on defense. We are attacking as a unit. 

"In the playoffs, everybody kind of has a rhythm for the game. During the regular season, we were trying to find our rhythm and I had to shoulder the scoring load. We know we can start attacking teams as a unit and not me going out there trying to score 40 or 50 points." 

Taking the lead for good at the end of the first quarter, L.A. held a 74-67 advantage entering the final period and widened it to 92-83 with 3:11 remaining as Odom dove to grab a loose ball and zipped a pass to Bryant, who sprang for a flying dunk over Steve Nash. 

"We had some dramatic plays down the stretch," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. "Kobe stayed very well inside of what we were trying to do. We kind of died on the vine a couple of times when the shot clock was running down. Then we were able to find that penetrating pass. We were able to find a couple of things that worked for us." 

Raja Bell made two free throws and two jumpers, cutting Phoenix's deficit to 92-89 with 1:51 to go. Bryant and Bell traded misses before Odom again tracked down a loose ball and found Smush Parker for a layup and a 94-89 advantage with 49 seconds to go. 

It was at least a two-possession game thereafter as Bryant made three free throws in the final 27 seconds. He made 12-of-24 shots and added five assists. 

Kwame Brown scored 12 points and Sasha Vujacic added 11 for the Lakers, who shot 51 percent (38-of-75), including 9-of-16 from the arc. 

The Lakers host Game 3 and Game 4 on Friday and Sunday. Jackson is 14-0 all-time in first-round series. 

Nash had 29 points and nine assists for the Suns, who shot just 42 percent (33-of-78) and turned their playmaker into a scorer. 

Phoenix went scoreless for more than seven minutes in the first half and received just four points from its bench. 

"I think it goes hand-in-hand with us being inexperienced and not making shots we normally do," Nash said. "We got a little bit down and started forcing shots. We also don't seem to be playing as hard as we normally do. 

"In the first half, we weren't scrappy enough and offensively we panicked a bit. You can't give yourself a 15-point hole and expect to yourself to fight out of it and win in the playoffs.” 

Bell scored 23 points and Shawn Marion added 13 on just 5-of-15 shooting for the Suns. 

Early on, Bryant was involved in a shouting match with Nash, who had 15 of Phoenix's first 20 points. 

A jumper by Eddie House gave the Suns a 22-19 lead before they inexplicably went nearly 7 1/2 minutes without a point. The Lakers scored 19 straight points - just two by Bryant - and opened a 36-22 lead midway through the second period. 

"In the first half, for whatever reason, we were on our heels offensively and defensively," Suns coach Mike D'Antoni said. "Once we played as bad as we could, we said, 'The heck with it,' and picked it up. In the second half we played great. I don't think we had enough fight defensively and when we did, we could not get out on the break." 

Phoenix appeared to get a break when Bryant sat down with his third foul with 3:01 to play in the first half. But Vujacic and Odom drained 3-pointers and Los Angeles actually widened its lead without its superstar to 53-38 at halftime. 

"Kobe is going to do his thing," Odom said. "Everybody was sticking to the game plan and we picked it up. We were controlling the tempo and we made them pay." 

Bryant opened the second half with a jumper to give the Lakers their largest lead before the Suns raced back into it with a 20-6 surge, closing to 61-58 on a 3-pointer by Tim Thomas. But Phoenix missed its next six shots and LA made four straight hoops - three by Bryant - to rebuild the lead to double digits. 

"We are playing good basketball," Bryant said. "We played great defensively as a team. We played offensively as a team. When you play together as a cohesive unit, you can do a lot of things."


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## Carbo04 (Apr 15, 2005)

We got to win this game. Let's go Suns!


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## The MAMBA (Jan 6, 2006)

Yall REALLY need to win this game.


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## Dissonance (Jul 21, 2004)

I'm going to say this again...so it doesn't start up again.

Everyone quit with disrespecting. I will not have it here on this forum. You didn't do it all yr, and I expect it to be that way here too. Go somewhere else if you can't discuss this series or games properly. Lakers have come prepared and are playing great. You may be shocked about it. Doesn't give you any right to talk ****.


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## Jammin (Jul 3, 2005)

Suns will take this home at the Staples Center...

Suns: 109
Lakers: 97


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## Sedd (Sep 1, 2003)

Let's do this!!!!!!
Keys to the Suns
Shawn Marion must make a positive impact and slow down Lamar Odom. Shawn is a better player and needs to prove that.

House/Jones must shoot the rock. They are being too cautious out there

Rebounds. Everybody needs to crash boards!!

REAL PLAYERS PROVE IT IN THE PLAYOFFS!!!!


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## sunsaz (Apr 18, 2005)

dissonance19 said:


> I'm going to say this again...so it doesn't start up again.
> 
> Everyone quit with disrespecting. I will not have it here on this forum. You didn't do it all yr, and I expect it to be that way here too. Go somewhere else if you can't discuss this series or games properly. Lakers have come prepared and are playing great. You may be shocked about it. Doesn't give you any right to talk ****.


Laker fans don't know the meaning of the word "respect", but I applaud your efforts nonetheless.


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## Dissonance (Jul 21, 2004)

sunsaz said:


> Laker fans don't know the meaning of the word "respect", but I applaud your efforts nonetheless.



with every team there are people who can't follow that but it's not cool to lump a fan base though. you know there are some or a lot of good people who post objectively and have no bad intentions. Laker fans included.


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## sunsaz (Apr 18, 2005)

dissonance19 said:


> with every team there are people who can't follow that but it's not cool to lump a fan base though. you know there are some or a lot of good people who post objectively and have no bad intentions. Laker fans included.


When I say something like that, I usually refer to the majority. I never have bad intentions when I post, unless the truth is considered a bad thing.


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## The MAMBA (Jan 6, 2006)

I hope you guys aren't referring to me? I was just stating the truth. dissonance19, a fellow Suns fan, even gave me props for saying it.


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## sunsaz (Apr 18, 2005)

The MAMBA said:


> I hope you guys aren't referring to me? I was just stating the truth. dissonance19, a fellow Suns fan, even gave me props for saying it.


Did I say names? Like I said, the majority.


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## Dissonance (Jul 21, 2004)

Ok, ok. lets get back to talking about the game now. 

predictions anyone? 10,000 ucash pts to the right answer since I don't care about ucash pts.


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## The MAMBA (Jan 6, 2006)

This isn't looking good for Phoenix.


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## MarshallBR (Nov 17, 2005)

If something doesn´t change radically from now on, I fear that we can pretty much lose the next 2 games and say bye bye to the season! :sad:

... Horrible shot selection, Giving up too many offensive rebounds (some of them unbelievable), not aggressive enough... This is really bad!

Coach DÁntoni has to work on the mental aspect... I think the players are feeling the pressure to beat the "poor" Lakers... And they are player much smarter than us!

Shawn Marion has to play MUCH more than he´s playing for us to have a chance... Diaw has to improve... Barbosa needs to be more confident and use his speed to our advantage (and also hit more shots)... A lot of times, it looked like we didn´t have a clue about what to do! :nonono:


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## jibikao (Nov 14, 2004)

The MAMBA said:


> This isn't looking good for Phoenix.


Do you enjoy trolling that much?


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## Dissonance (Jul 21, 2004)

at least last yr we had Amare inside. face it. we can't get past the first rd just having a perimeter based oriented team without ANYTHING inside. Kurt Thomas would help somewhat at least but yeah, I guess we're done.


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## jibikao (Nov 14, 2004)

Let's just say I won't miss a thing if we trade Marion and Barbosa... 

Ideally, I would love to have KG especially with Amare being unstable. 

Diaw is our new definition of soft. His spacing with Nash is bad. Nobody wants to go inside until the sh!t gets to their arse. Then Marion showed some good sign and then missed layups, miss 3pt shot... miss this and miss that. It was too late. 

Refs are bad. Brown should get ejected with both T. First by elbowing Diaw, second by starring down at Diaw to cause fights. Oh wait, Kobe finger pointing is a great way to stop fights. No T. 

I haven't seen such bad officiated game for a long time. Faker kicked the ball so many times after they scored. One T after coach D complained sooooooooo many times since game 2. NBA rule says "Player cannot touch the ball after he scores." Which part of this is so hard to understand? 

We are very short handed with pathetic center. Tim Thomas was on fire but his defense is.... sigh. Our plan B, C and D are Skita, Grant and Burke. Make your pick.


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## sunsaz (Apr 18, 2005)

jibikao said:


> Do you enjoy trolling that much?


It's probably the only thing he has going for him in his life. As tempted as I am to say let him, I won't.


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## Dissonance (Jul 21, 2004)

jibikao said:


> Let's just say I won't miss a thing if we trade Marion and Barbosa...
> 
> Ideally, I would love to have KG especially with Amare being unstable.
> 
> ...


yeah, we shoulda gotten delayed calls but whatever. 

Marion's played like crap. But you'd miss him a hell of a lot when we can't rebound the ball and no one is doing the things he does. D'Antoni said we'd be a 25 team without him on this particular team and I agree. We need Shawn at SF with Kurt Thomas and Amare on the floor. He's out of position and without those 2 it's caught up with us. And the Lakers are doing a good job against him and they're playing better than they did during the yr of course. At least last yr, it caught up with us against the Spurs but Marion had good series' against Mavs and Grizzlies.

Diaw needs to get fined 5,000 bucks for every time he tries to lay it when he can dunk it.

We need another big body in the offseason to go along with Amare and Kurt.


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## jibikao (Nov 14, 2004)

dissonance19 said:


> yeah, we shoulda gotten delayed calls but whatever.
> 
> Marion's played like crap. But you'd miss him a hell of a lot when we can't rebound the ball and no one is doing the things he does. D'Antoni said we'd be a 25 team without him on this particular team and I agree. We need Shawn at SF with Kurt Thomas and Amare on the floor. He's out of position and without those 2 it's caught up with us. And the Lakers are doing a good job against him and they're playing better than they did during the yr of course. At least last yr, it caught up with us against the Spurs but Marion had good series' against Mavs and Grizzlies.
> 
> ...


Marion is an all-star in regular season. Mind you, who is our biggest threat to Final in the West? Spurs. Marion can't produce in that series. There is no reason to fantasize about that. Marion has no one-on-one move, very inconsistent outside shot and his game relies 99% on his athletic ability which will fade away when he gets older. It's time to move on. 

If I were GM, I would make a serious move to get KG. Say goodbye for Mr. I've Got No Respect. 

Edit: We got out rebounded tonight.. 34 to 53.


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## Dissonance (Jul 21, 2004)

jibikao said:


> Marion is an all-star in regular season. Mind you, who is our biggest threat to Final in the West? Spurs. Marion can't produce in that series. There is no reason to fantasize about that. Marion has no one-on-one move, very inconsistent outside shot and his game relies 99% on his athletic ability which will fade away when he gets older. It's time to move on.
> 
> If I were GM, I would make a serious move to get KG. Say goodbye for Mr. I've Got No Respect.
> 
> Edit: We got out rebounded tonight.. 34 to 53.


all star in the regular season but not post season cuz of one series and 3 games? Don't make so much sense there. Just because he was shut down by Bowen and is exerting most of his energy playing Odom it's effecting his offense? He has been huge for us. He's 27 turning 28. Sure he's not the best shooter, or best at creating his own shot but he is valuable to us. We need Amare ****ing Stoudemire and Kurt Thomas inside. That is why we brought KT over. Marion moves back to his natural spot when he's not guarding PFs and Cs.

And with your thoughts why would we get KG for Marion and whatever. If you have such a low opinion of him, why would the Wolves do it? They wouldn't. 


Well, duh Kwame Brown and Odom are 6'10ish and Marion is 6'7" and Thomas is 6'9" if that. What do you expect? Lakers were shooting it pretty well for a while and you can't get rebounds when theyre not missing. Offensive rebounds you can forget about it when you shoot jumpers. That's all Marion's fault?


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## jibikao (Nov 14, 2004)

dissonance19 said:


> all star in the regular season but not post season cuz of one series and 3 games? Don't make so much sense there. Just because he was shut down by Bowen and is exerting most of his energy playing Odom it's effecting his offense? He has been huge for us. He's 27 turning 28. Sure he's not the best shooter, or best at creating his own shot but he is valuable to us. We need Amare ****ing Stoudemire and Kurt Thomas inside. That is why we brought KT over. Marion moves back to his natural spot when he's not guarding PFs and Cs.
> 
> And with your thoughts why would we get KG for Marion and whatever. If you have such a low opinion of him, why would the Wolves do it? They wouldn't.
> 
> ...


I have no low opinion on Marion but I also don't think highly of him. He is unique but not competitive enough for the playoff games. 

You have to understand Marion relies on his athletic ability 99% of the time. His second quick jump and his speed are his only tools. When he gets old, he is going to take a HUGE hit on his game. Mark my word. 

Of many all-star SF, Marion has almost NO one-on-one game, no post game and he is a terrible passer. His best game is the little stuff he does which won't happen that often in the playoff game. Sure, he still got his 20pt tonight but I don't get a feeling he played well tonight. When the game is tight, Marion couldn't secure a rebound, went to Walton for a layup. That possession gave me heart-attack 'cause we could tie the game. Then Nash broke down the defense, his soft layup missed or blocked. Then I believe he also went inside once and airball. 

Trading for KG is just a fantasy right now but I do believe getting rid of Marion is a must. Do you know how much money Suns' paying for Marion?? He has max contract and I believe he is the highest paid on the team. 

I am not the only one who thinks we should trade Marion. I won't link to other Suns' board but trading Marion (and Barbosa) is inevitable unless he can prove us wrong in later games.


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## Dissonance (Jul 21, 2004)

spriggan said it best earlier this yr about Marion though so I don't have to retype it





> Marion somehow combines superstar talent with an aggressive, dirty-work roleplayer's mentality - the perfect 2nd fiddle. He has superstar athleticism and superstar basketball instincts. He has great length and unlimited endurance. He has good court sense. He can shoot out to the three. He's actually a good passer, but he never has the ball in his hands to rack up the assists. His only real weakness is that he isn't great at creating a shot for himself. But he often plays like a big man, where ball-handling ability isn't vital, and he opens himself up for so many opportunities to score in other ways that I don't think his weak handles are an issue. His career scoring stats agree. Doesn't matter who's running the team, Marion will always find a way to get his points, and always in the flow of the game.


yes I know how much we're paying Marion. and you base competitiveness off of just one series and 3 games?


And I highly doubt we trade Marion ever before his contact is done, unless we got a KG deal done.. which is a fantasy. As for his athleticism, it will eventually go in his mid or late 30's but he's just 27 turning 28. He can still play at a high level. We've been loyal to him this far and he's been in trade rumors before. But there is no way Twolves would take Marion/Barbosa and 2 1's or whatever for him though. Maybe have to think of another player for him? Maybe Jermaine O Neal? Although, hes had injury probs lately.


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## Carbo04 (Apr 15, 2005)

Man, we need to step it up. 

BTW: Where have these Lakers been all year? It's like they all of a sudden got good.


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## upsanddowns (Dec 29, 2005)

The Lakers have been playing solid as of late...they ended the season with a five game winning streak...


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## Lukasbmw (Jul 30, 2004)

I've trashed Kobe up and down for years.

I've always thought he was nothing but a ball hog hype monster.

If he keeps playing like this...dear god!

At the begining of the series I said I did not respect the Lakers. But they are playing damn near perfect right now. The new system is working great.

Suns need an inside game and defense. We need to get tougher. Bell and KT were good additions but we need more.


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## The MAMBA (Jan 6, 2006)

jibikao said:


> Do you enjoy trolling that much?


I was just letting you know during the game, that it was looking bad. Don't be salty...


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## LamarButler (Apr 16, 2005)

> Well, duh Kwame Brown and Odom are 6'10ish and Marion is 6'7" and Thomas is 6'9" if that. What do you expect?


Well Tim Thomas isnt exactly small... Hes only giving up about 5 pounds vs Kwame. Marion is listed at 228 lbs and Odom is listed at 230. Thtas not really a huge size difference. Lakers have Luke playing PF and Diaw is like the same exact size.

Its not that the Suns are undersized compared to LA, its that their big men cant play defense and bang inside.


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## jibikao (Nov 14, 2004)

dissonance19 said:


> spriggan said it best earlier this yr about Marion though so I don't have to retype it
> 
> 
> 
> ...


No KG, no trade. That simple. That's why I call it a "fantasy". I have a feeling Marion will retire as Suns and that's why it's frustrating to see Marion complaining about not getting the respect when he hasn't really earned one. Marion performed well against Griz (that team sucked anyway) and Mavs. Mavs is one team that we have a chance to beat mainly because none of them can stop Marion and Amare was putting their big guys in foul trouble all the time. That's how Marion got his chance. Not against Spurs though. 

If we can't trade for KG, we don't want to trade Marion. J. O'Neal? No thanks. His injury is scaring me and he is nowhere at KG's level. 

All this *****ing stems from not having Amare and Kurt Thomas. I was very excited about this year because I think it's about time Amare learns how to play competitive defense without worrying about foul troubles. That's the ONLY reason we got Kurt Thomas. Amare still has a lot to learn. His team defense is weak but I believe he can learn it. It's very unfortunate that he went down even before the season started. sigh.... 

The original team is: 

Amare
Nash
Marion
Bell
Kurt Thomas

With the emergence of Diaw, I can picture KT playing only about 18-25mins per game. This is great because KT won't have to worry about his foul trouble. We can afford him being in foul trouble. That will only boost his confidence on the defensive end. Diaw will be in a tricky role. Knowing D'Antoni, it won't surprise me if he starts Diaw over KT. 

I don't think we'll make any trade this off-season unless KG is involved. We don't even know what this team plays like with full roster!

Edit: I also want to add that if Diaw is involved in KG trade (since they are in re-building process anyway), it won't surprise me if Suns let him go.


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## jibikao (Nov 14, 2004)

The MAMBA said:


> I was just letting you know during the game, that it was looking bad. Don't be salty...


We have eyes. We know when things don't look good. Don't be trolly.


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## jibikao (Nov 14, 2004)

LamarButler said:


> Well Tim Thomas isnt exactly small... Hes only giving up about 5 pounds vs Kwame. Marion is listed at 228 lbs and Odom is listed at 230. Thtas not really a huge size difference. Lakers have Luke playing PF and Diaw is like the same exact size.
> 
> Its not that the Suns are undersized compared to LA, its that their big men cant play defense and bang inside.


I can't believe you are coming up this theory. Tim Thomas has NEVER played center position. Yes he has size but he is not a center. Marion and Lamar is a good size difference. Are you blind? 

We've been undersized ever since Amare and KT went down. It's our weakness and it's not an excuse. We can't grow height overnight.


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## Carbo04 (Apr 15, 2005)

Times like these is when you miss Amare the most. Because you know if we had a healthy Amare he would probably average about 40 PPG this series.


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## Seuss (Aug 19, 2005)

I don't know what to say.

All I can say is the series isn't over. If Suns can get the win Sunday then its a whole new ball game.

But what the Suns need to do, is not give up layups. They get about 15-20 layups/dunks a game. If we limit that to 5-6 then we could beat 'em.

And what do you know? Kobe sharing the ball with the Lakers and they're winning!
So, much for that arguement about how he has to score 50pts a night.


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## jibikao (Nov 14, 2004)

SunsFan57 said:


> I don't know what to say.
> 
> All I can say is the series isn't over. If Suns can get the win Sunday then its a whole new ball game.
> 
> ...


If Kobe wants to score 50pt a game, we have good chance to beat them. Phil won't allow that. Our perceived weakness is too good to pass on. lol

I might not want to watch the game tomorrow. It's too intense for me.


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