Suns-Lakers Round 1 Game 3

Pregame

I don't really know what to expect with this game. Sam Cassell seems to think that Kobe is going to go off for 55 or 60 (which is entirely plausible) and that the Lakers will win (so much for his NBA street cred). Chuck isn't so much in the Suns' corner as he just has to accept the fact that the Lakers just aren't that good. Personally, I don't think it matters what Los Angeles does. They have no answers for the Phoenix offense -- how many times does it need to be said? I've said it before -- there is only one team in the league that can beat the Phoenix Suns right now, and that team is the Phoenix Suns. As long as they push the tempo, share the ball, and work their asses off on the defensive end, there is no one, least of all the Lakers, who can stop them. It's just that simple.

One thing I do worry about, though, is the officiating. We all remember game 4 last year. I just hope that Dick Bavetta and Bennett Salvatore have the night off, especially after that job Salvatore pulled on Golden State in the third quarter last night. I won't get in to that here. Still, I feel that the Suns can overcome even a game crewed by Bavetta, Salvatore, and Violet Palmer if they have to. Their focus should be on their game - not LA's, not the refs.

Los Angeles is always tough because the normally laid back crowds get vicious in the playoffs. Lamar Odom and Lakers assistant coach Brian Shaw seem to be taking the low road already, as they want to see Leandro Barbosa hit the deck a few times to discourage his penetration. Look...I understand the mentality. Don't let anyone get an easy lay up on your home floor. But there are two things to consider here.

1. If not for the Lakers' own porous, ineffectual, almost nonexistent defense, Leandro wouldn't be getting into the lane so easily. Don't take your frustrations with yourselves out on someone who is just doing his job. You think any of the Lakers wouldn't be doing the same thing in LB's position?

2. Leandro Barbosa hits the deck ALL THE TIME! We've seen him drive to the basket, get the ball in the hole, then slam to the floor behind the basket. He always gets right back up and keeps playing. They've seen game tape, haven't they? The tactic won't work on him.

The only thing that will prevent him from going to the rack is if someone hammers him so hard that he has to be taken off the court on a stretcher. Is that what the Lakers REALLY want? Is that what they're saying when they tell the media that Leandro has to go down hard? If it happens, then I pray that the series goes five games, just so I can gather the troops and wait for the Lakers outside of USAC. I'm not a violent person, but if anything happens to Leandro, someone is going to pay with their career.

On a related side note...I find it somewhat disconcerting that Laker fans - the ones who complained on blogs about Kobe getting booed after turning his ankle - are on board with this "play WWE Smack Down on Barbosa" thing. The LA Times blogs are full of comments from these lowlifes talking about how how LB needs to pay for going into the lane. It is one thing to seek vengeance on an arrogant, jerk of a player who keeps waltzing to the hole. It is quite another to expect the team to exact retribution on a guy who, for all his stunning talents, is just doing what a basketball player is supposed to do. LB is not taunting anyone. He's not rubbing their faces in it. He is just taking what the defense gives him, which is a ton of open space.

I have a somewhat uneasy feeling going into this game. I just get the sense that, with Laker fan stupidity as well as Laker player stupidity (Teflon), this will be a very ugly game. The Lakers will probably try to take the Suns out of their game, and it will have less to do with basketball than pure thuggery. They can't get into the Suns' heads, so they will try to get into their bodies. Let's hope that I am wrong.

We need NBA photographers on the sidelines. The pictures I found on suns.com just didn't do justice to Amare's presence in the paint on Tuesday. I found a great one on eastvalleytribune.com yesterday, which I'll share later. No time or space for links in these live sessions. *Update: I put two up on the side for now. I'll do it properly later.

Steve Nash expresses himself through his passing. If an assist is a song, then Nash is Leonard Cohen. He evokes memories of Magic Johnson, which is just what the Laker fans don't want to see. Too bad. So sad. Sorry for ya.

And someone really needs to talk to Leander. This whole "Greatest Show on Sneakers" routine got old quick, and was never that cool to begin with. The guy tries too hard. He had a good one with "Solar Express", but he ripped off Steven Spielberg for that one. Maybe he should watch more movies. Might I recommend, A Clockwork Orange?

Staples Center. Man...what happened to the good old days when arenas, stadiums, and ball parks had a personality all their own? I hate having to think about buying a plane ticket or office supplies when watching a game. What's next? Auto Zone Elementary School? Church of Christ and Coca Cola? Meet my son, Nextel, Jr.? Bah...the old days are gone, I guess. Time to move forward and distance myself even more from corporate America. Let's roll.

First Quarter

9:36 Suns in their road orange. No need to wear the same color as the home team. A Clockwork Orange in full effect. Tip off controlled by Suns as Raja gets it to Nash. Raja's first attempt it a nice high arc rainbow that sweeps the bottom of the net. Kobe gets an offensive foul. Nash makes him pay. No signs of evil empire as the Suns are on fire starting 3-3. EJ questions the mobility of the net. Teflon tries to handle the rock against Amare. Some people never learn. Four Suns have hit a shot as the Suns have yet to miss. And it's another block party for Amare who gets the lob from Nash and throws it down HARD! Laker fans are quiet. Nope...now they're booing. They seem to think that Amare's second block was a goal tend. It's possible, but their team can't score anyway. 20 second time out Zenerella.

7:41Amare gets popped going for the steal, but he's jumping like an 18 year old in a free brothel. Suns turnover, but Raja accepts responsibility. Kobe makes a tough one over Raja...falling backwards and it barely clears the rim. The ball is moving, and Nash leans in for a three. Jones tips the rebound out, preventing Teflon from grabbing it. Kobe is definitely impatient. He's taking matters into his own hands and hits again. Amare shoots over Teflon. BIG surprise. Odom drives on Marion and gets his shot tipped out. Amare gets his second foul on a pump fake by Teflon, who hits everything but the net. One of two, and the rebound goes right back to him.

6:05 Odom lowers his shoulder into Raja, but it's a blocking foul. EJ lets us know the name Derrick Stafford. Odom gets the continuation? 1-2, Suns lead 13-6. Man...Kurt needs to take his contacts out. Nice...Kobe gets stripped by Bell, who feeds Nash on the break for the easy deuce. Lovely. Odom bricks one over Marion, and this game should be over soon. Thomas posts Farmar and scores. You've got to be kidding me. My fears are realized as Kobe and Teflon work the screen and roll. Kwame bowls over Marion, but inexplicably gets the benefit of the doubt. Here comes LB and Diaw. 17-7

5:25 They're going to let Kurt shoot all day, it seems, and he says,"Thank you for the two." Geez...Lakers can't hit anything, and it takes about a day and a half for the ref to call the jump ball. TV timeout, Suns up 19-7.

Room Store reminds us all that Butler is alive and well. I'm thinking of turning to TNT for the half time (yes, I'm that far ahead already because this game is just a formality at this point). Charles shouldn't have much to say because the Lakers really do suck, but I'm sure he'll manage a few thousand words (mostly "first of all" and "the problem is").

3:45 What a surprise. The gimpy Odom out jumps the senior citizen. Kobe falls away and misses, but LB forgets to block out Cab Door. Kurt decides to throw the in bounds to Farmar. Good thing Bynum has no clue how to get the ball in the hoop. Nash gets in the middle, and Raja gets a three. Farmar posts the MVP, and draws a foul? Since when does a rookie get that call?

2:29 Suns are getting sloppy as they seem to be viewing this game like I am. Ahead by 11, and this is a formality. That's fine for me, but I'm not playing. Kobe makes the highlight reel again, and LB is golden outside the arc. So much for the highlight. Odom is attacking the rack early and often, but he isn't making much of it. Kurt gets the step on Bynum...too bad he missed. Nice move by Kobe as we go to the TV time out.

My ass! That car did not just outrun a Lexus falling at 120 miles per hour! Corporate America...always preying on the ignorance of the masses.

1:05 Refs are keeping the Lakers in this one. Six fouls to one, 8 free throw attempts to none. Make that 10 attempts. Lakers are packing it in the paint, but the Suns are hot, including the Matrix. THAT'S how you challenge for the rebound LB! WOW! His shot is SOOOO sweet and smooth! LB FOR THREE! Lakers posting Bynum, and Farmar air balls a shot jumper with Diaw closing in. Suns are challenging everything, even if they're not getting every rebound. Raja gets mugged in the lane and misses the first free throw, but not the second. 31-14

CLANK! Goes Bryant. LB skies for the carom. But then Kobe cans a trey from the corner after a Raja miss. It's all about pride, young man. Suns offense is stagnant when KT takes a dribble to get inside the three point arc for the jumper that is out of his range. Kobe lobs to Bynum, but the rim isn't his friend. Refs are, though. Another foul. I would complain more, but we're up too much. He misses both freebies, anyway...and I'm not surprised. Both teams shooting 50% from the free throw line, but the Suns have only 2 attempts to the Lakers' 12. Suns end the quarter up 31-17.

Cute brunette makes dorks believe that Subway is perfect game food. Gorilla pays for Majerle's lunch.

How pretentious is this? Lakers present a Laker birthday cake to Jack Nicholson at mid-court for the big seven-oh.

2nd Quarter

10:04 NBA rules dictate that the game must continue, so Teflon finds the bucket when he's close enough. LB gets mugged by a Laker, but he left his wallet at home. They turn it over, anyway. Suns need to get their act together and put this one away. A strange sentiment up by 12, but we don't want them believing that this is a game. Leandro makes it to the rack in transition, and Odom is disappointed. A three by Cook, but Suns don't care as Stat hits a 15 footer. Suddenly a crappy offensive line up is putting points on the board. Teflon is a retard trying to draw an Amare foul on the perimeter.

8:49 Shammond Williams is 33? Kwame's hook sticks to form as he misses. Suns are just chucking. They need to calm down and stick with the game plan. They should be creating distance at this point with Kobe on the bench. 10 offensive rebounds for the Lakers should cause Coach some concern. Suns by 9, 35-26, and we have our first D-3 violation against the Lakers. Television says we need to see some commercials.

Question...how does a dude with a bulbous plastic head and foot long pointy nose get a hot blonde? Jack...you da man. She must like his big yellow hat.

Kwame starts a line of high schoolers taken first over all in the draft. Followed by LeBron and Dwight Howard. Talk about a historical footnote.

8:30 Suns getting erratic on the offense and Amare heaves a late clock shot. Kobe turns it over, and the refs are confused. It's a travel, not a foul on Princess. Coach wants to take a few seconds to talk things over. The Lakers are trying their damnedest to draw Amare's third foul. They're swarming him everywhere, challenging him to lower his shoulder. He ain't dumb, guys. That's Kwame's job.

7:15 Boris continuously refuses to take a shot, and he keeps passing it back out to the perimeter as soon as he touches it. He needs to get his act together, or this will be a long game. Nice feed by Stat to Boris under the basket. He has no choice but to shoot, and he scores. Can someone tell me how Kwame keeps scoring? Lakers trap Nash out, but somehow manage to get back to cover Amare. It draws another D-3.

5:59 Marion gets away with a travel, but misses the layup. Bob Delaney is blind, as Amare gets called for offensive interference when the ball just falls off the rim. Can we say ugly? Kobe gets fouled, and the delusional fans of L.A. chant MVP! How dissonant are these people? Points do not = value, my friends. That's only a small part of hit. Kobe hits them both. Lakers within 5. Amare stops the bleeding momentarily. Shammond, you can't move your feet on a ball fake. Odom comes out to guard Nash who gives it to Raja. He's bumped out of bounds, but tosses the ball into the back court. Shades of Game 4 on that one. Only TV tells us when to stop playing momentarily.

Suns are shooting the lights out, but the Lakers own the offensive glass with an 11 to 1 advantage. The Lakers are playing physical, but the Suns aren't responding. The 17 point lead is down to 7, and something needs to change. Diaw needs to sit. I'm tired of him passing out.

5:07Kwame still hasn't learned. A half-ass spin move results in a travel. Michael Jordan must be proud. Marion gets to the spot before Lamar, and Odom gets the charge. These officials are stinking up the joint. The ball is moving again, which I like. Leandro patrols the perimeter, but Smush comes from behind and leads Kobe for the And-1 against Raja. Lakers fans are still stupid. 40-36 Suns.

2:51 Amare shuts the fans up with a wicked jam. Somehow the refs swallow their whistle on Odom's travel. Consistency would be nice, considering they called it on Amare a minute ago. Wow. Kobe gets popped for the offensive foul, but it's only his second. Nash draws the charge, and proves once again that his defense is underrated. Amare can't capitalize, but Kobe does and it's a 2 point game. LB misses the three, and Kobe gets a boner for the ball. No three for the Lakers. Bell misses a three, and Marion gets raped on the rebound. The ball goes out of bound, and the refs politely award it to the Suns. I'm left wondering what a foul is in this game. If Marion getting his arms ripped off isn't one, then what else can the Lakers get away with.

Suns just need to catch their breath, realize that they knew it was going to be a tough game, and fight through it. If they can prove to the refs that they can deal with the rough calls, they'll start getting some breaks. We have under three minutes before half time, and the Suns should aim to get the lead back to 7 at least.

Phoenix is the Southwest Airlines feature destination. A lot of good that does for us. What are we going to do, circle the airport three times?

1:53 In bounds play works nicely. Kwame pulls a quick spin on Amare, but not without help from the left arm. No call, but Nash answers with a three, and the crowd shuts up momentarily. Two minutes in the half. Suns get a D-3 as Shawn gets caught in no-man's land. 47-43

Who is Kwame guarding? No one? Thought so. CAN'T JUST STAND IN THE PAINT LOOKING LIKE HANSEL AND GRETEL! No call, but Nash gets the hoop. Kwame can't hit a shot at the rim in three tries. Raja knocks the ball off Odom and it rolls harmlessly out of bounds. Thomas enters with under a minute to go. Lakers scramble everywhere, and KT hits an open jumper. Kobe holds up for the last shot of the quarter. He gets it to a wide open Odom who nails a three. Apparently he got some treatment on that shoulder. Suns lead 51-48. If not for that three, Suns would have had the better cushion.

A quick break, and I shall return. Chuck looks happy. He must love when the Suns struggle. He applauds himself for stating the obvious previously. Too bad he forgot that he recommended that the Lakers run with the Suns. What a tool. Back in a minute.

Halftime

So everything's going as predicted. The Lakers are playing physical ball, the refs are being inconsistent, and the Staples Center crowd are full of themselves. It's been ugly so far, even when the Suns were up by 17. The Suns just need to come out of the tunnel loose and free-wheeling, and not fall for the bait the Lakers are dangling. The Suns are not a physical team, but they can still hurt a team if they need to. Suns are shooting 58% to the Lakers' 40%, but offensive rebounding and free throws are keeping LA in this one. The refs usually do an about face in the third quarter, and that bodes well for Phoenix. Lakers have 7 fouls to the Suns 10, but mysteriously, the Suns only have 4 free throw attempts - two on D-3 technicals. That has to change. It's not like the Suns aren't attacking the paint and glass. They're just not getting the calls.

The Lakers are playing gimmick defense a la Don Nelson, scrambling and trapping. The Suns just have to be patient and find the open man. At least two of them are always open. Again, this works in the Suns' favor because the Lakers will get tired doing all that running on defense. Still, they need to box out a lot better and get some of those rebounds to fall their way. The offensive rebounding difference makes sense, since the Suns are shooting so well. They only have 13 defensive rebounds to the Lakers' 15 on the offensive glass. I have to admit, the Lakers are hustling. But again, that will come back to bite them as they wear down in the end.

I don't understand these Jeep Patriot commercials. Some giant wreaks havoc on hapless wilderness buffs, and that has what to do with an SUV that profits from the war? Something about big, bad bullies picking on the little guy, maybe.

Does anyone REALLY believe that Doug Collins is still a blond? He states the obvious, anyway, for casual fans who don't know. One good point - the Suns came out so fast that they got complacent. They feel they should win this game on principle alone, and that's a recipe for disaster. I'm sure Coach D'Antoni will remind the team that they have to earn every win. This could prove to be a valuable lesson in the later rounds, especially if they get early series leads.

3rd Quarter

9:42 Kobe shooting 8 for 10, which means the Suns have to make it a LOT harder for him. Odom shoots a three over Nash and misses. You got the match up you want, and you settle for a three. That'll get you a loss every time. Suns using up too much clock, as Junior's three bounces over the back board as time expires. Kobe makes a nice pass to Walton underneath, butTeflon was sitting in the lane too long. Kobe gives Nash a man hug and is called for his third foul. Oh...NOW MArion gets the travel on his quick first step. I hate that call. Vader's kid scores over Jones. Nash finds Junior under the basket, but Odom causes him to fall off balance. The ball goes back out, and Raja misses from 18 feet. Farmar steps out of bounds. Amare fixes it all.

7:18 Marion gets his defensive groove on, and tips Odom's interior pass out of bounds. That man can sky to do that against a 7-footer. Walton finds his three stroke, and we have a tie at 53. Nash plays Bob Cousy, opening an opportunity for Junior to fix his stroke. Suns are too hesitant on the shooting. Nash's pass is tipped out of bounds by Odom, but the refs believe otherwise. Ridiculous. Kobe draws a three shot foul on Raja. Lakers have their first lead, 56-55.

6:01 Lakers should not be feeling like they have a chance. Odom wants the rebound more than Amare, but no one checks Nash on the other end. Pretty move by Shawn as Raja leaves the ball high for him. Suns retake the lead by a point. Keep this up, and we're talking about a huge run. If they continue to run on everything, then the Lakers will lose that confidence again real quick. Time out from the throne.

4:32 For some reason, the Lakers are running the offense through Teflon in the post. He dishes to a streaking Kobe, but he doesn't see Matrix flying in for the block. Kobe looks possessed as Amare forgets to rotate. The ball slips out of Nash's hands, and the shot clock blows up. EJ makes a good point...the Suns aren't being aggressive. Teflon falls down hurting, and Marion gets the break away dunk. Looks like he nailed his ankle again. That's what happens when you try to score on Black Jesus. Don't expect his healing powers to save you, son. Boo Boo time out.

1:42 Suns gather the troops awaiting for Teflon to come back in. Leander compares him to Willis Reed, and should expect a pink slip in the morning. Teflon gets a dunk. Then so does Amare. Odom feeds Teflon to make him feel better as the Suns refuse to let Princess penetrate. Teflon looks happy as the fans cheer him on. Delusional. LB's shot is off still. He's not getting enough touches, with only 8 points tonight. He doesn't miss that one from Diaw. MEEP MEEP!!! Kwame's living off Suns double teams. Walton is not that much of a threat, Stat. Don't let Teflon beat you. Suddenly the refs feel sorry for Teflon as he hits his 18th point over Amare, who gets called for the foul. Suns down, 71-68. Don't expect much more of this.

LA is 9-16 in the quarter, Suns are 8-16. Lakers are getting easy shots on the Suns scrambling defense. They're overplaying too much. The Lakers don't have a lot of scorers, so there's no reason to double the ball every time out.

Laker dad teaches son the benefits of the beer hat at an early age.

1:13 I smell a Suns run coming soon, so long as they gather themselves. Teflon hits the freebie, and they're up 4. Leandro misses the leaner, and Princess draws another foul under the hoop. Free throws make it a 6 point game.

What the hell? Boris sends a weak pass back to the paint from under the basket. Fortunately, Farmar isn't any smarter on the other end. Walton dry humps Diaw, which probably isn't the right thing to do with a Frenchman. Your pager will be blowing up after the game. He makes up for it by tripping Boris on a drive. Can Boris make up for his bad decisions in the paint? He makes one. Teflon sits down to rousing applause. Again...delusional. Boris makes the second, 74-70 LA. Kobe isolates for the last play, squaring of against Matrix. Not a good thing, especially when you miss. LB travels on a spin move, leaving LA with 0.1 seconds to shoot. The buzzer goes off too early...seriously. 0.1 seconds, and the buzzer was too quick. Well, that was pointless. lakers outscore Suns 26-19.

As well as they're playing on the defensive end, the Lakers are only up by four. They like that, though, because it gives Kobe a chance to take the scoring load. So be it. It's Suns against Kobe for 12 minutes, Lakers' life on the line. If the Suns outscore him by 5, they have a stranglehold on this series. If not, they have to play in LA on Sunday anyway. Expect Steve Nash to impose his will.

4th Quarter

8:46 Suns inbound per NBA rules. They won the tip at the beginning, they get the ball in the 4th. Marion misses a short spinning jumper. The Suns just refuse to box out for some reason, and Bynum gets fouled on the backboard. Miraculously, he makes both for the 76-70 lead. Late call, but it's about damn time. Cook bumps Boris at the perimeter. Can't hold Leandro down for long, and he hits the three. Kobe gets left alone for SOME reason, and hits the jumper. Barbosa gets the friendly road roll. Kobe's early facilitating has helped as his three is good. Kurt boxes out the kid, but the ball bounces too far out. Suns need to call a timeout. Good thing he didn't call one as Raja hits a thee. Still down by 5, but lots of time left.

Kobe spins and misses badly, and the ref waits until the ball hits the floor before blowing his whistle. That should never happen. It's either a foul when he's shooting, or it's not a foul. Regardless if the ball goes in or not. Foul shots favor the Lakers, 24-6. Explain that one.

Jey could use a break to gather himself, but I'm die hard. I can wait another 20 minutes. Maybe I should open the front door and get a different view. Nah. The game is back, and we get to see the laser pass of the game. And it's not even worth it, as it's a Laker play. That makes sense. After all, this is only a Suns broadcast.

7:42 Kobe goes to the line, thanks to that oddly late whistle. This makes the foul shooting 26-6 in favor of Los Angeles. Remember the Golden State game last night? I do. Boris scores on Cook, which should happen a LOT more often. LB goes high for the Kobe miss, his fourth in a row. Boris hesitates on everything, and the clock winds down again. Smush bails the Suns out as he fouls Leandro on the drive. Little Canadian honkey is back in, and gets it to a slashing Leandro. he's hammered hard, but stays on his feet. The first freebie goes in, but it's afraid of heights and promptly pops out. The second one isn't so acrophobic.

5:33 Leandro freaks out Kobe, forcing the travel call. Diaw gets in the way of Nash's pass to Raja, and Kobe picks it up and goes for the open court lay in. Nash finds Frenchy under the basket, and amazingly he scores. Lamar misses another three, and LB is a rebounding machine tonight. Boris gets stupid again as he forgets to jump under the basket. Nash sets up Marion, who gets hacked cutting to the rack. The ball teases him as it hangs on the front of the rim, but then breaks his heart as it falls out. Two free ones coming after the break. 87-83 Lakers.

The Suns are getting what they want. The Lakers are discombobulated on offense as they're not sure which Kobe they're playing with. Is he still passing, or is it Shooter McKobe again? The Suns are missing their easy one in no small part to Diaw's lax play. What the hell is he thinking about? A Burger King Croissanwich?

Southwest High Flyers shows us all the plays we've already seen. For some reason, watching Teflon Brown throw it down doesn't exactly get me pumped up.

3:48 Key stat of the game...Shawn only has three rebounds. I said THREE REBOUNDS! Marion goes half and half at the line, down 3. Nash gets it to Marion, but goes too early on Browns right hand. Teflon looks gimpy. Amare comes down the lane and forgets to dribble. Back and forth with the bad decisions on both sides, Amare gets a couple of hustle rebounds. Nothing comes of it, and Kobe drives for 2. 41 points, he has. Amare goes against a 7 foot brick wall, but he has to understand that the refs aren't calling anything on this end. Best just to be smart and kick it back to Nash. Ball goes out of bounds, possession Phoenix. Amare looks perplexed. I wonder why. Maybe we should ask Baron Davis.

I just realized that I forgot to save the third quarter box score. That sucks, as I rely on those to make my analyses of games. And that's going to suck big time because there will be a lot to look at for this game. If the Suns can pull it out, I won't worry about it much. 89-84 Lakers. Remember when we were up by 17? Yeah...me neither.

2:00 Raja gets the in bounds lob to Amare. He doesn't get close enough to catch and dunk, but he actually gets fouled on his way up anyway. Amare's first free throw of the night. What a crock of something stinky. He and Allen Iverson should meet up after the game. Shammond Williams jacks one up for some reason. Suns rebound, but turn it over on the break. Why? I don't know. Way to bail out the 31 year old nobody. Odom complains about a non-call as Marion gets the rebound. Shut up and play. You've gotten enough calls, jackass. Leandro is money from the corner. 89 all.

1:09 Odom gets a tough one to go. Marion drives the other end, but doesn't get it to go. Foul? I didn't hear a whistle, so no. Williams drives, throwing his forearm into Nash. Steve hits the deck, and it's a blocking foul on the MVP. Unbelievable. 91-89 LA.

The Suns aren't doing themselves any favors by not protecting the glass. Down by 2, despite a 12 point discrepency at the line. That's how things go in Los Angeles. It seems to have been the theme of Game 3s this round.

20.8 Kobe goes one-on-one, and it's a four point Laker lead. Barbosa makes a bad decision under the basket, and this game is ugly. I hate when I'm right. Princess draws another foul call. The MVP chants are louder as he makes the first. 95-89 Lakers with 20 seconds to go. We've been here before against better teams and won. Time out Coach D.

12.0 It's not that I'm surprised about all this. I mean, I DID call it an hour before the game started. I just hate when this kind of game comes about. I have so many complaints, but I have to lay it on the Suns for not fighting for more rebounds. We expected at least one loss in this series, but we'll see. LB misses two tries at a three with 12 seconds left. Could all that rest in game 2 have hurt the Suns? It was such an easy win, maybe they just forgot how they even got it. They'll bounce back in game 4. At least now my boy B and I can catch a Suns/Lakers game.

So they call the play for Amare to shoot the three, and he misses twice. Smush gets stupid and goes for a jam as the clock winds down. What a lack of class. Raja fouls him, and the refs are looking to see if there is any time left. Leander reminds me that Junior did something similar in game 2. The difference is that the Suns still had a shot clock running. All LA had to do was hold the ball. Officials decide that there was no time on the clock, and Raja is off the hook. All I'll say for now is...don't expect this on Sunday. Suns will win in another dogfight, then come home and beat the living rodents out of the Lakers at the Purple Palace.

Postgame

Well, this is an interesting stat...Kwame Brown plays 36 minutes, only 1 foul. Amare plays 32 minutes, 4 fouls. I have to believe that those stats won't repeat themselves. I don't like blaming officials for costing us a game, but they make it so hard to be objective about it when the statistics have glaring discrepencies like that. The fouls were fairly even, 15-18, but the free throw attempts would break the scales of justice. 28-12 in favor of Los Angeles. A lot of that had to do with where the fouls occurred. Apparently, the Lakers only foul on the perimeter, and Kwame Brown, that Tim Duncan of Los Angeles, never fouls. This is a guy who can't move, has exactly zero finesse game, and carries all the subtlety of a Mack truck at a drive in.

I want so bad to blame the Suns for not rebounding more, which I did over the course of the game. But how can Amare and Shawn be expected to get those numbers when they are being mauled under the basket with no calls going their way? I watched the game. It's not like they weren't aggressive. They were in the mix of everything, but Lamar Odom and Teflon Hands were allowed to push and shove our front line to the floor with reckless abandon. Hard to get rebounds when the refs don't keep the paint work in check. And that is the only way that officials are allowed to influence a game - by making sure that players don't get too rough inside, and keeping the calls consistent at both ends of the floor. If they had done their job, the Suns may not have had more rebounds, but they certainly would have had more free throws.

But enough of that. Steve Nash echoes what I said earlier about the Suns defense. They weren't working on it. They didn't bring the energy that they did the first two games of the series. They played sloppy and gave up too many turn overs. That's why I can't blame the referees for the loss. Despite being close in the face of such a huge free throw disparity, the Suns were close the entire game. They didn't do what they were supposed to do, which is take care of the ball. There were a lot of unforced turn overs, as the Lakers only had 4 steals and forced maybe 2 shot clock violations. That isn't Suns basketball. So in the end, we have to accept the fact that the Suns lost this game on their own. There were plenty of ways to overcome the officiating, and they didn't do themselves any favors with their careless play.

I'm also less than thrilled with the play of Boris Diaw. Sure, he went 3 of 4 for 8 points, 3 rebounds, and 5 assists. But how many times in the first half did Nash get him the ball in the lane, and Boris passed it righ back out? Normally Diaw finds the open man in that situation, and there is no reason he should be kicking it back out to the guy who fed him the ball. He has to learn to make the officials make the call, even when they've swallowed their whistles.

None of this is to take away from the Lakers' defense. They did a fine job at that end of the floor, even though they couldn't hit a shot in the first half. But the Suns just would not continue attacking. Someone in that locker room needs to grab Diaw by the ears, and remind him that he is the player who had a phenomenal postseason last year. Where is that Diaw? He isn't on the floor with Amare as much, so is he now subjugating himself to Leandro? Not to blame the loss on him alone. It was a team effort to lose this one, but it has to start somewhere. And the only person not doing his job was Boris Diaw.

Still, I expect the Suns to come back on Sunday afternoon and do what they do best. I have all the faith that the coaches will review the tape for hours and hours, living off Starbucks and Krispy Kreme. The guys will suck it up, realize who they are, and forget this whole mess of a game three ever happened on their way into game four. The Suns are the best team in this series, if not the entire playoffs, and they are smart enough to know what they did wrong. They are also accountable enough not to turn into the Lakers of games one and two and start blaming each other. They won the first two games as a team, and they lost this game as a team.

The Lakers did what they were supposed to do...what they were expected to do. They came home pumped up, and protected their home court. But they did it by playing out of their minds on the defensive end. The Suns should be encouraged that they held the Lakers to 42% shooting, which means that they just need to play their offensive game. If they do that, then this Laker win will be the meat in a first round exit sandwich.

Suns in 5.

The Good: Well, the Suns jumped on the Lakers early. That was pretty good. Not much thereafter was, though. I guess we can be happy that the Suns were still in the game despite all the foul difficulty and rebounding disadvantage. I'll give props to Amare, though, for having a 24 and 10 night to go with 3 assists and a pair of blocked shots. I'll forgive him for the turnovers because the callas were anything but consistent. He was called for a travel on a move similar to one that Lamar Odom got away with. Also of note is that Phoenix held Los Angeles to 42% shooting for the game.

The Bad: The Suns didn't protect the defensive backboards, they played sloppy offense, and just didn't seem focused in the midst of building a 31-17 first quarter lead. They checked out early, and it came back to bite them in the end.

The Ugly: I wonder about something. Is Phil Jackson still crafty after all these years? When Teflon Brown went down with a rolled ankle, the game seemed to be shifting in the Suns' favor. When he came back in, the Suns were leaving him alone to double the ball, and he was getting easy baskets. I said it during the play by play. A little later, he was gimping around again. Could it be that Phil had Teflon fake it just so the Suns would leave him alone under the basket? Watching the play, it wasn't even a bad roll. It was well within the normal range of motion for the human ankle, even if he did have a bruised bone however long ago. Teflon was gimping around, yet somehow found the explosiveness to dunk the ball several times in a row. Could the Suns have been had?