LA Lakers @ Phoenix Suns, Thu, Nov 20, 2008

A reunion of Kobe, Shaq and the Zen Master. How could you miss it? Here's my running diary of the game:

First Quarter:

• Right out of the gate, the Suns decided to run, reminiscence of their old “ seven seconds or less” offense, and hitting 3s too. Raja Bell is hot.
• They were playing good defense on Kobe too. So far. I like their improved defense under Terry Porter.
• Amare’s mid-range Js are deadeye, almost automatic.
• A nice lob pass by Nash to Amare for a nice layup. And-1. 24-18 Suns. Timeout Lakers.
• Nash sat down, and immediately the offense stalled.
• Odom and Ariza led the 2nd unit to spark a 8-0 run and ended up leading 26-24 at the end of Q1
• Just noticed Phil Jax shaved all his beard and mustache. He looks young. As for Terry Porter, I haven’t seen him shown any expression on his face yet. Perfect poker face.

Second Quarter:

• now 2nd unit vs. 2nd unit. Diaw looks great, just had a great low post move and scored past Bynum, and on next possession a nice inside-out pass to Singletary for a wide open 3
• Grant Hill is still active. He made a driving layup and fouled. And-1. 34-33 Lakers.
• the defense by Lakers is good, a huge improvement from last year. They double team Shaq, are fast in rotation, pressurize the ball, forcing the Suns to commit TOs and shoot tough outside shots. Just like that, the Lakers pulled off a 46-39 lead with 2:30 to go. Timeout Suns.
• Shaq attack! He made a nice spin move and scored a layup over Gasol and fouled. And he made the FT!
• Kobe made a beautiful layup, then the Suns threw a touchdown pass to Grant Hill in the Lakers’ paint. Surrounded by 3 defenders, he pulled up for a tough shot at the buzzer, lots of contacts, missed but no whistle.
• Lakers leading 50-44 at the half.

Half Time:

• It's a TNT game. I should be able to watch the half time report by Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and Ernie Johnson in the States. Too bad ESPN Star didn't show that here. So I ended up going to cook my lunch during half time.
  
• There are many suspicious non-calls. Many times the Suns players were obviously fouled but were not called. Isn’t there something called home court advantage?
• Nash hasn’t scored in the entire half. 0-3 FG. He had 7 ast though.

Third Quarter

• Terry Porter decided to focus the offense on Shaq, kept on dumping the rock to him in low post against Bynum. Shaq generated 5 pts and 1 ast to Matt Barnes in the first 3 min of action. Not bad.
• But the problem is Bynum and Kobe are also heating up., combining 9 pts.
• Another 3 by Radmanovic. He’s so far 4-4 from beyond the arc.
• Lakers’ D basically prevented the Suns to score in the paint, and the Suns are not connecting on the perimeter. Lakers by 12, 66-54. Timeout Suns.
• Finally Nash scored on a layup.
• Radmanovic hit ANOTHER 3. Now 5-5. Surreal.
• OK, Nash is getting more aggressive. He hit another floater.
• After Q3, Lakers led 80-67.

Fourth Quarter

• Actually the defense of the Lakers’ 2nd unit is even more impressive. They were all over the Suns on the wing, forcing a few TOs.
• Trevor Ariza is just phenomenal. Driving and hitting Js. I love this guy.
• 3-pter by Odom. 89-71. Lakers. Timeout Suns. The Suns have serious trouble stopping the Lakers. Doesn’t look good.
• 4.37 to go and trailing 81-96. the Suns is sitting Amare and Nash. What? I know they need to rest, but time is running short. Are they giving up?
• Matt Barnes had back problem, he’s wrapping an ice pack behind his back and they let him play like that! Ridiculously comical.
• OK, maybe the Refs don’t want to embarrass the game, they finally let Barnes go back to the locker room.
• 3.45 to go, the Lakers are getting their starters out. Game over.
• Some last effort by Grant Hill to pull within 10 pts with 2 mins to go. But nah they won’t get any closer.
• Got a chance to look at the rookie PG, Dragic. Well he got a good handle, but he looks lost, doesn’t have a clue where his teammates are, or where he’s going with the ball. His J is off too. Exactly how good this guy is? I wonder.

FINAL: Lakers 105-92 Suns

• Hate to say that, but the Lakers are better than the Suns on both offense and defense. The Lakers have way more offensive weapons than the Suns, and they have superior defense than the Suns. Kobe got so many help that he’s just cruising, almost effortlessly. On top of that, they have a deep bench with two elite players, Odom and Ariza who could start for any other team, not to mention the solid Vujacic and Farmar.
• Nash proved that his effectiveness is much lower playing at a slow pace. While Shaq has been impressive reviving his career and Amare being unstoppable, they don’t have enough wing players to beat the elite teams. Matt Barnes is solid but not good enough, though he can shoot some 3s.
• With the Amare-Shaq duo, the Suns should be able to go to the playoffs but unlikely to survive past 2nd round.
• However, the way the Lakers play, they look like the best team in the league. (Yike! I said such thing again! Hate that.) The only weakness about the Lakers is that they remain to be relatively soft. Big men Bynum and Gasol are not the tough guys that can intimidate opponents, that’s one big difference between the Celtics and the Lakers.