Are the Lakers coming together at precisely the right time of year? That’s what happened when Kobe won his first championship in Phil Jackson’s first year as Laker coach. Something has definitely changed with the Lakers in the last two games. Witness:
- Kobe didn’t score 40, 30 or even 20. 17 points on only 18 shots. Probably a third of those shots came in the final period which the Lakers have designated “Kobe time.”
- The Lakers are suddenly playing physical against the smaller Suns, effectively neutralizing their quickness advantage. Also, the Lakers instigated both major altercations during Game 3, but Phoenix ended up with 3 technical fouls and L.A. only 1.
- Phil Jackson has shown his playoff genius again with the small adjustments. For example, in Game 3 Laker players were obviously catching the ball after Laker made baskets and gently dropping the ball to the floor to keep the bounce low. So what? If the Suns can’t pick up the ball easily, they can’t run the fastbreak on made baskets.
- During Game 2, it also became evident that the Lakers had been practicing jamming Nash’s passing lanes on dribble penetration. The passes that used to make him look like a genius now make him look like a chump.
- Kwame Brown, previously known as Jordan’s Bane, has become a player. 11 rebounds, 5 assists and 5-8 from the field. Sure it’s easy to get numbers like that against Tim Thomas and Shawn Marion, but he’s doing it. Did he ever perform like that for Washington?
- Even better than Brown’s improvement has been Lamar Odom’s. Odom was “the man” on Miami’s playoff team 2 years ago but he has virtually disappeared since donning a Laker uniform. Why? Mix a new system in with having to play with Mr. 35-Per-Game and I think you can figure it out. Now, there’s a good chance that Odom can play Scottie Pippen to Kobe’s Michael Jordan.
- Another talent that Phil Jackson brings to the table is his unerring ability to get the most out of his role players. Brian Cook had 9 points and 7 rebounds (6 offensive) in 11 minutes. 11 minutes. He was a factor in the game during every second that he played.
- More importantly, he seems to have finally convinced Kobe Bryant (just like he did 16 years ago with MJ) that no player can win without his teammates. If it’s true, the Lakers could go much further than beating the beat-up Suns.
On the other hand, it’s hard to find any good news for the Suns:
- Tim Thomas went down hard after a knee-on-knee collision with Marion during Game 3. Sucks to be a Suns big man—Amare Stoudemire, Kurt Thomas, Brian Grant and now Tim Thomas. It’s like a curse.
- Why aren’t the Suns running pick-and-roll more? Tim Thomas and Shawn Marion both seem like excellent candidates for that strategy with Nash or Diaw.
- They seem to be relying too much on Nash’s penetration, which has often resulted in a blocked shot or turnover.
- While Nash has continued to dish out the assists at his regular pace, his scoring is way down. Not only have they taken away most of his points of penetration, they have managed to reduce his 3-point production, too.
- Leandro Barbosa, James Jones and Eddie House have virtually disappeared in the last 2 games. The Suns can’t win without them.
- Boris Diaw has been amazing this year but has nearly sucked in this series. He has to use his quickness to find a way to make the Laker big men pay.