LAKERS -at- SUNS - 2/20 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

[BLP711]

Great work DB, thanks.

[Mation]

Thanks DB!

Incredible performance by our team. What a glimpse into a playoff picture between these two teams. There's tons of respect from each squad, but emotion and recent history unfolded as well. Lamar and Barbosa fighting over the ball. Pau and Shaq fighting over the ball. Turiaf pushing Nash out of his way. Kobe pushing Bell off the court. Afterwards, Pau sure got a lengthy scratch mark on his shoulder courtesy of Shaq. You just don't see this fire and competition in regular season games. Love it.

Where Kobe is stealing left and right in Atlanta, he came with some timely blocks in this back-to-back win. The left-handed one against diaw and the semi-block against Shaq, I just wished that other secondary-block against Shaq would've counted.

Great games from Lamar and Pau on the offensive end. Would liked to have seen them work a two-man game a little more. Huge clutch plays by both individuals.

Seems like Radman is collecting steal statistics in every game now. I wonder if Ariza is talking with him about playing passing lanes? Also, very proud of Vujacic and how he's stepped up. Him and Pau exhibit a lot of passion in every game (Turiaf too), just facial expression-wise, so I guess I tend to notice it more than others.

Shaq had some silly moments out there today: bowling over a referee, diving too late for a loose ball, getting knocked down by Pau. Got a good laugh from it, but he did end the game with surprising numbers.

[LA]

...AND we were on the 2nd game of a back to back.

I love my team
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[limchrc]

Nice win. Thanks for the recap.

[Mr. EiGhTy-OnE]

-GREAT WIN, THE DEBUT BUSTERS
-kobe's D was amazing (diaw block, swatting shaqs alley oop)
-lamar had a monster game and made up for his blunders(missed layup and technical)
-phil killed us in the 2nd qtr by refusing to call a timeout until our 13 point lead was cut to 3. (luke was the main reason)
-i was worried about that lineup phil started in the 4th but to their credit they pushed the lead and forced phx to call a quick timeout. i thought phil waited too long to bring pau back in the 4th though.
-the machine = clutch
-props to shaq for having kobe's back and taking out raja
-turiaf hit some nice timely jumpers
-i cant wait for bynum to come back (pau got bullied last night)
-someone tell the media to get off our bandwagon
-i cringe when D-fish tries to drive to the hole
-farmar hit some big 3s but i feel like he is settling too much behind the 3 point line
-gasol's 2 4th qtr dunks were
-lol @ mike tirico blaming joel for jinxing kobe's free throw streak
-bill walton: "kobe is near perfect in every aspect of the game"
-shaq didnt look as bad as i thought he would (poor mbenga)
-suns pre-game, eddie johnson and tom chambers were joking about "the hand is part of the ball" and suggesting that the suns should hack kobe's pinky.
-i hope kobe doesnt re-injure that pinky from "THROWIN IT DOWN"
-pau is the only guy to win his debut (marion, kidd,webber,bibby,shaq)
^ shows how amazing it was from him to gel so easy with his teammates.
7-1 with gasol

GO LAKERS!
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"When (Kobe) gets you on life support, he won't give you mouth to mouth. HE PULLS THE PLUG." -stu

[Texas_Pete]

Thanks DB!

Like Tony the Tiger, that win was ggggrrrreeeaaattttt!!!

Could this be the type of win that shows we are turning the corner. I mean, 130 points on the 2nd night of a back to back is outstanding.

[angrypuppy]

Thanks DB!

The Lakers really controlled this game, despite the rather tight lead:

1) Phil let the Suns back into the game by not calling timeouts. Any other coach would have yanked Luke, but Phil is trying to let Luke work through his problems.

2) Laker leads seemed to dissipate whenever the first unit stopped running the two man game, or abandoned passing and movement. If you net out these lapses (which are controllable in a playoff setting), the Lakers are the ones setting the tempo and controlling the game.

[BigE32]

Excellent recap as always, DB. Back to back for us and we beat them in their building. Nice win. I like how we responded to losing the lead momentarily in the fourth quarter. We maintained our composure and quickly regained the lead. We definitely missed AB's presence down low as evidenced by the fact that we were outrebounded by 13. Luke really struggled again last night when he was on the floor. I agree that PJ is trying to let him work through these tough times. I love seeing Gasol's emotion on the floor. Like I said earlier, nice win and we own the tiebreaker over the Suns. I like the sound of that.

[JustE]

[BigEvil]

I have to take back a little of what I've said and give Shaq some credit. I guess you forget that he's such a great passer and indeed he made some excellent passes out of the post last night.

But damn... I don't care how much space you take up in the paint, their interior D was atrocious. Not that the Lakers was much better, but Shaq and Amare should have bought tickets they spectated so much...

THAT does not bode well for them. Not with Duncan and Yao and Boozer and I won't even get into Gasol and Bynum, all potential opponents in the playoffs.

[Rick12322]

Thanks for the recap, wow, I'm just amazed we escaped with a win against the officials, errr, suns. Just, amazing! I have a new respect for Kobe, he is playing his best ball ever. The Suns dared him to play one on one and lost because of it. You do realize, their defensive game plan was a "right back at ya!" for us making Nash a scorer, right? It just doesn't get any sweeter than that.

[jodeke]

Nice recap DB

Steve Nash is scary. Doubling him most often leads to wide open shots. He very adept at finding the open man. Stop his penetration he drops off for easy eight ten footers. He seldom misses from the free throw line in and has the heart to finish at the rim. LO's playing like the player he was signed to be. Rebounding, scoring and playing point forward. His outside shot needs honing but he's not afraid to take it. The acquisition of Pau has allowed him to play to his strengths. I'm apprehensive about Kobe's finger. Last night he had the awareness to block with his left hand but in the heat of battle I'm fearful he'll go for the block without thinking and hurt himself. He's a winner and I'm afraid he'll forget. His shot is back, evidence, last night's game. When the season started I thought we'd go deep into the playoffs. Now, I'm thinking about winning it all. When we get healthy we have as good a chance as any of the elites.
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Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.

America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.

[RCS926]

The only thing that the Suns really had working for them was that they were killing on the offensive glass. When Drew returns, they're going to lose that advantage big time. In fact, I think it's going to swing the other way around in the Lakers favor because Lamar will be at the 3. The Suns are in big trouble.

[venicebeach]

Thanks, great recap DB!!!

[Vancouver Fan]

on point as usual DB!!!!
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Music is my medicine

[hi_ma]

Unbelievable game. Feel sorry for any lakers fan who missed it.

Lamers best game ever IMO.
Pau is better than advertised and the next best option to KG
Kobe left no doubt who the games best is. Biggest game of the year. everyone on the planet watching. He goes postal.

Sasha. I have a new found respect for that dude.
RT. great

Pure greatness to witness
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The lakers will get prince.

[yanyon]

best game ive seen this whole season.
great recap by LG's own DB ...
again the lakers spoil the debut of another player playing on his new team (1st if was bibby and now shaq )..

this game was a seesaw action packed game and im sure it wont be this like this once Big AB comesback...


P.S. i saw the interview with shaq.... one note here... he sure does sound like he has handful of balls in his mouth whenever he talks!

[hoopschick29]

I swear Kobe and Pau must have been lovers in a past life. The transition has been so effortless. Absolutely no growing pains, no adjustment period...it was like love at first sight.




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So glad we gave you your flowers while you were here, Kobe.

[Mr. EiGhTy-OnE]

[Arizona]

[Arizona]

[Arizona]

[Muad'Dib]

DB--on point, as usual.

[Arizona]

[SweetP]

Great recap. That was a FUN game to watch!
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“There is always light if only we're brave enough to see it, if only we're brave enough to be it.” --Amanda Gorman