What Happened
-The Phoenix Suns came out with energy and were able to maintain a sense of urgency for four quarters on Sunday night. The result was a 118-109 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers. Amar'e Stoudamire attacked the rim from the beginning of the game and led the way for the Suns with 42 points and 11 boards.
-The real story of the game was how the Suns controlled the tempo and the Lakers played right into their hands. Trailing 36-29 in the second quarter, the Suns went to a zone and forced the Lakers into taking out-of-rhythm three pointers. When the Suns went to the zone, the Lakers had their least imposing offensive line up on the floor: Farmar, Brown, Artest, Odom, and Bynum. The Lakers struggled to get anything started with this group and Phoenix ended up outscoring LA 25-15 for the quarter.
-Read this quote from my post following Game 2: "If the Lakers continue to make Amar'e an active defender (pick and rolls, high screens, driving at him and dishing) then the Suns have no chance." So waht did the Lakers come out and do? They shot 32 three pointers on Sunday night; I wouldn't call that making Amar'e an active defender. Give credit to Alvin Gentry for realizing that going with a zone was his best way to cover up the Suns lack of low post defense. Andrew Bynum ended up playing only seven minutes the entire game (partially due to foul trouble, partially due to the Suns tempo). Check out the shot attempts for the Lakers last night:
Kobe Bryant- 24
Lamar Odom- 14
Pau Gasol- 14
Ron Artest- 13
Andrew Bynum- 1
The Suns have got to love the fact that the Gasol/Bynum combination only attempted 15 shots. Kobe shot the ball well last night, but you have to question how the Lakers only found 15 attempts for the two guys that have the biggest advantage on the offensive end of the floor. Furthermore, many of Lamar Odom's 14 attempts came from outside the lane. His efficiency in Games 1 and 2 was rooted in being able to attack the basket. By forcing Odom outside, the Suns made the Lakers try to beat them from the perimeter.
-Suns fans have to be encouraged by the fact that they won Game 3 making only 5 three pointers. It was painful to watch Channing Frye's performance. He was 0-7 from the field and his first attempt of the game had that same hitch in it. It is tough to watch a guy who was a great shooter in the regular season collapse like this. I will state once again that my major problem with Frye is on the defensive end. I don't see how he can take minutes away from Dudley, Lopez, or even Louis Amundson. If you need to stretch the floor, play Dudley. If you need someone to defend the post, play Lopez. If you need someone who brings energy around the basket, play Amundson. If Channing Frye is not making three's, he is nothing but a liability on the court. I will say this, the crowd is going to explode when/if Frye makes a three in Phoenix.
-The Suns wanted this game. The play that really exemplified this statement happened early. Steve Nash was trying to get Jason Richardson the ball in the corner. Artest deflected it and it was going out of bounds until Nash dove for the ball and was able to get it to Richardson in the corner. He knocked down the three and then Kobe scolded Gasol for not getting out there to contest the shot. I felt like that sequence really summed up the game well.
-Poor Andrew Bynum may have only played seven minutes, but he provided some highlights. Early in the first, Amar'e drove the middle of the paint and took the ball right into Bynum's chest when he was late coming over and finished strong for the and 1. In the second quarter, Goran Dragic made a Manu Ginobili-like shot where he went into Bynum's body and still found a way to spin in a left handed scoop shot.
-While the zone did help the Suns hide some of their defensive weaknesses, credit is due to Robin Lopez for providing a level of toughness that the Suns have been lacking the last few years. He was the Suns second leading scorer in the game and got it done in a variety of different ways. Jumpers from the elbow, hook shots, and dunks.
-If you told me before Game 3 that one team would take 32 threes and 20 free throws while the other team would take 20 threes and 42 free throws, I would have been extremely confident that the Suns would be the team shooting the threes and not getting to the line.
-Steve Nash had a "quiet" 15:1 assist to turnover ratio. I'm pretty sure that a few of those assists may have set up Amar'e.
Whats Up Next
Game 4 in Phoenix on Tuesday. 8:00 PM (CT) on TNT
Around the Corner
The Lakers were caught looking ahead to the NBA Finals on Sunday night. While a Boston-LA final still looks likely, the Suns are making everyone wait. Obviously the Lakers will be working on beating the Suns zone, so it will be interesting to see how they attack it on Tuesday. Also, will the Suns try to survive with man-to-man defense until the Lakers second group comes in and then go to zone? It worked on Sunday, but we will have to see if the Lakers take the bait again in Game 4.
FFOTD
I was paying close attention since I had challenged myself. There were the usual exaggerated reactions to screens and the "foul" on Grant Hill while Fisher was attempting a three, but nothing that really stood out. Nothing until the 6:36 mark in the third quarter. That's when the FFOTD happened. Fisher and Robin Lopez bumped after a made basket. Lopez raised his arms above his head and started to jog down court. Fisher was walking backwards, looking at Lopez and leaned into Lopez whose elbow grazed Fisher's forehead. The result was Fisher running at Lopez like he had just been swung at. Double technicals were handed out and one FFOTD. Congratulations!
P.S. Robin Lopez has crazy eyes, he is not the guy to go after if you are making a statement.
Ask Charles
The "Ask Charles" portion of the TNT half-time show usually features someone asking Barkley a ridiculous question. The question during Game 3 was from Amar'e. He asked Charles (great NBA scorer and rebounder) for advice on how to improve his defense. You've got to love Charles for his honesty. He quickly pointed out that he was not a good defender (understatement) and then advised Amar'e to work on improving his rebounding. You see, every now and then Charles says something that actually makes a lot of sense!
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