It's April 28, 2024, 03:54:29 AM
Total Members Voted: 39
Quote from: Now_Im_Blowed on April 27, 2006, 09:39:17 AMAs for the game...Good game, I like what I saw. Everyone was involved, but I already knew how the playoffs would be for us with Kobe and Phil back before the season began...Good thing we traded for Kwame, I remember people comparing Caron Butler's stats to Kwame's midway through the season, but there's no way we'd be this good without Kwame as an inside presence...I'm going to the next game on Friday, should be REALLY interesting and intense ...PeACeThats cool man, I bet its gonna get crazy over therejust out of curiosity how much did those tickets cost you? and how good are they?>
As for the game...Good game, I like what I saw. Everyone was involved, but I already knew how the playoffs would be for us with Kobe and Phil back before the season began...Good thing we traded for Kwame, I remember people comparing Caron Butler's stats to Kwame's midway through the season, but there's no way we'd be this good without Kwame as an inside presence...I'm going to the next game on Friday, should be REALLY interesting and intense ...PeACe
Hell yeah!!, Lakers got Home court advantage!! Waive your Gold Rags!! ...BTW, Lamar Odom owns Marion, so far. that shit is crazy, and Sasha is playing good , so far. Lakers have controlled the pace & Tempo these 1st 2 games, Playing great defense. Kobe just needs to keep on doing what he's doing...
Im going to make my 2000 post in this thread. Staples Center is going to be rocking this weekend!!
Easy now, guys. Don't get too pleased with yourselves. Don't go thinking you've accomplished something here. Hey, Lakers, you've won one game. A very well played game. A hard fought and deserved playoff victory on the road in Phoenix. Congratulations. It's just that it takes four of those to advance, and dare we even mention, 15 more for that shining gold ball. With youth, with collective and individual playoff inexperience, there can be a tendency in these situations to get a tad too happy. To start believing you've actually got this playoff thing down. It's not exactly that the Lakers should fear and odd overconfidence as losing their edge. Sometimes young teams can forget how hard they had to work to win. They're just get so excited. "It's just a natural reaction," said Lakers coach Phil Jackson. "People are going to relax a little bit behind a first win. You just think you've got things solved, and you certainly don't. "You've got to stay on it and on top of it. The Suns were within a basket (Wednesday) of making that game a heartbreak instead of a joy." Game 3 is at home tonight, but understand this right now: Winning will be more difficult. It only gets harder from here. These are uncharted playoff waters for almost everyone on the Lakers, save Kobe Bryant. The Lakers cannot afford to let up, afford to take a single thing for granted. Because rest assured, the Suns will be a more determined bunch tonight. They were taken out of their game on their home floor in Game 2. They were almost embarrassed at their first-half performance. They're going to be ticked. "As a young team, we have to understand that they're going to come back with a vengeance," Kobe said. "And we have to make sure we're ready for that." The Lakers did a lot of things right Wednesday. They went to the hoop and tried to stay away from the long jumpers that, when missed, can feed the Phoenix fastbreak. They moved the basketball, took advantage of mismatches, controlled the tempo, and most important, turned up the defensive intensity. But the Suns also missed their share of open jumpers. The Lakers cannot count on the Suns shooting 34.3 percent from the field (12 of 35) in the first half again. Don't expect Shawn Marion, despite the dramatically improved play of Lamar Odom, to again make just five of 15 field goals. As soon as the Lakers start thinking they've got these playoffs wired, they're Phoenix lunch meat. They cannot afford to let up and play without a hint of desperation in their game. "We can't relax," said center Kwame Brown. "Kobe emphasized today that they're going to come back 10 times harder on our home floor, since we stole one. It was `Don't relax. Don't get the big head. Just come ready (tonight).' " The Lakers won Wednesday because they shot better and played harder than the Suns. They can't count on shooting better. They can count on the Suns and Steve Nash being even more determined to get that high-octane offense untracked. "We have to understand they're going to come out and really push the ball and try to generate that energy and get us playing their pace of game," Jackson said. Saying you understand it is one thing. Actually guarding against the slightest of subconscious letdowns is something else. It's the job of Kobe and Jackson to make sure the Lakers come out even more determined, that they avoid any afterglow from Game 2 like collagen in some aging Hollywood starlet's overripe lips. "(The Suns) are going to step it up a level," Kobe said. "I think that's where our youth will grow up quickly. "Once you get a win, now that team is going to come back at your hard. Now we have to be ready to raise our level and meet that intensity." If the Lakers can bring the same game tonight that they surprised the Suns with in Game 2 - moving the ball inside, Kobe playing under control but more aggressive, hitting the boards, sharing the ball - and win, they could really be onto something. The Suns' disappointment could begin to create serious self-doubt. "For us to be a little bit tentative and indecisive in the playoffs is frustrating," Nash said. "Sometimes I try to get us going and sometimes Raja (Bell) tries to get us going, but it is really up to the individuals to leave it all out there." It's up to the Lakers to step it up. Being younger, their growth curve has more room to its zenith. They can continue to take significant leaps in playoff maturity. They just can't get the least bit satisfied along the way.
Quote from: Inglewood Ave Iz Active on April 28, 2006, 11:28:56 AMIm going to make my 2000 post in this thread. Staples Center is going to be rocking this weekend!! props on the 2k inglewood
Quote from: Black_Smoke Tha Don Iz Active on April 28, 2006, 12:29:29 PMQuote from: Inglewood Ave Iz Active on April 28, 2006, 11:28:56 AMIm going to make my 2000 post in this thread. Staples Center is going to be rocking this weekend!! props on the 2k inglewood
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