Lakers win 119-98. Suns booed by home crowd!
(AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin) The home opener was not supposed to end like this, not against the Lakers. Suns (1-1) were overwhelmed from tip-off by a very sharp LA team and got booed by the home crowd on few occasions during the night as the game soon turned into a Lakers workout.
In the end the Lakers won 119-98 and led by as much as 33 points at one point in the final quarter. Just checking the highlights you get the feeling, it’s a long series of Lakers’ dunks, lay-ups and open shots and Kobe didn’t even score 50! The Lakers looked like the more balanced team (which they’re not) as Bryant scored 16 (6-15 from the field including a couple of great 3-point jumpers and 11 rebounds), Fisher added 14, Bynum 14 (and 13 rebounds) and Radmanovic 19 on 4-4 shooting from 3-point.
The Lakers outplayed the Suns in every aspect of the game: shooting (LA shot 56.5% from the field, including 61.5% from 3-point range while Phoenix went 42.5% and 32.1% or 9-28 from 3P) and rebounding (54-34).
Phil Jackson even called a timeout with 4:55 to play and the Lakers ahead by 33 points ! Was he trying to tell his team that he liked them that way or was he just trying to play mind games with the World? Remember it’s the same Jackson that doesn’t like to call timeout when is team is falling behind because players have to find a way out by themselves (Hey Coach! MJ is playing golf now). Sometimes it seems like he’s trying to do anything as long as it doesn’t make sense, so that you could ask yourself if there’s something you can’t understand.
My “theory” is that he’s trying to create a sort of “Us vs the World” idea to keep Kobe focused…whatever, Coach D’Antoni summed it up quite well as quoted on ESPN.com: “He might want to try to do it in playoff time when we bust them every year”. Welcome to the Western Conference’s regular season.
It doesn’t make much sense to check Suns’ individual performances, highlighted by Nash’s 3 assists and Amaré’s 2-10 from the field, as it was just a collective collapse.
If you fail to remember the last time the Suns trailed by such a margin you’re in good company, if you can’t recall the last time the Home crowd booed its own Suns…well, let’s just say Steve Nash was playing with his friend Dirk in Dallas.
Was it a lack of effort or are the Suns simply not ready to start the season yet? It could have been both actually, as the Suns were probably still in preseason mode and it could take a week or two get back into the real-game rhythm.
The Suns are too good to be like that and Nash, Hill, Marion, Bell and Co. won’t tolerate another soulless outing any time soon, so we could expect a much better performance on Sunday (6PM) as LeBron and his Cavs make their annual visit to Arizona.
It’s too early to judge anyway, and definetly, all of you attending Sunday’s game, it’s way too early to boo your Suns.
Yours truly, Steve Fan
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Posted by Steve Fan
Blogger and Steve Nash enthusiast. Don't get in his way, he'll MVP your ass.
http://sonsofstevenash.blogspot.com
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