Duel in the Desert

LAKERS 105 SUNS 92

What better way can start a blog than one of the most intense rivalries in the NBA? The Los Angeles Lakers and Phoenix Suns, Kobe vs Shaq, Mamba vs The Big Aristotle, Diesel, Ex-Superman, Ex-Cop, KAZAAM!

Two Western Conference powerhouses went head to head today at the US Airways Center in Phoenix. Before tip-off you see the ex-teammates Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'neal shake hands with a little hug before the game. You can't help but wonder, if they had put their differences aside, how many more championships would the two have won?



The LakeShow started off slow as usual but won the game by playing hard-nose defense. Which can actually be the key to winning a chip this year and many more years to come. 25 assists on 7 turnovers. More importantly forcing the Suns to 15 turnovers. Steve Nash was held to only 8 points on 3 of 9 shooting. I truly believe if the opposing teams star PG is held shooting wise or assist wise, we will win games big. If they can't be stopped, they can always be contained. Nash still dropped 10 dimes, but it wasn't enough for Bryant and company. RadMan shot an incredible 5 out of 5 from the 3 point line. With all the talent on this team, if Radmanovic steps up and hits these kind of shots, it will definitely be a wise decision by the Zen Master himself to keep him in the starting lineup to spread the floor. L.O. stepped up big today, but is it me or does he always play good against the suns? Maybe he hates them as much as I do. 6 of 11 from the field, hitting a 3 pointer with major confidence to spread our lead. 9 rebounds, great job L.O.! Pau only scored 4 points but only took 8 shots and had 9 rebounds and 9 assists to make up for it. He also held Amare Stoudemaire to 9-21 shooting. As Phil said, we'll settle with Amare taking the outside jumpshots. Kobe was just being Kobe. Shooting horribly in the first quarter but eventually found his way to the paint and started knocking down shots. 8 of 23 for the night with 24 points. Andrew Bynum had a hard task by guarding the interior offense of Shaq and Amare, but did a great job along Pau. Bynum is being more aggressive, and had a pretty efficient night. 5 for 8 shooting, 10 pts, 7 rebounds and a block. We're still waiting for his breakout game but we all must remember, our Lakers are 9-1, Kobe doesn't need to score 50 anymore, Pau and Bynum can switch at being 2nd and 3rd option, and we have one of the best small forwards in the league coming off the bench? Now that is the pure definition of DEPTH! Trevor Ariza had another great game playing defense and hustling on every posession. It looks like him and Sasha got passed differences and know when to go to work. It must be a blowout when Luke comes in and hits a three on you. Shaq finished with 15 points and 9 rebounds but didn't play in the fourth quarter because, well, he can't run anymore.

The Lakers look solid and will rest up for tomorrow nights game against the "new-look" Denver Nuggets with their newly acquired star PG in Chauncey Buh buh buh buh Billups. In our last meeting in the beginning of the season we took a 104 to 97 victory on the Nuggets home floor. This was during the trade talks of Iverson and Billups, and A.I. didn't play in the 4th quarter. Look for a more organized Nugg team with Chancey running the point and making plays. We should be able to come out with a win and take the first double digit win column in the big bad Western Conference!