Lil Pau referenced him in a prior post.

See what happens to Laker fans when there is no game. I get weird!

http://www.forumblueandgold.com/2010/05/15/taking-a-look-at-the-x-factors/

The Lakers have no business losing this series. Phoenix is a very good team playing what some consider the best basketball in the league (although everybody seesm awfully quick to dismiss the fact that Orlando has yet to lose a playoff game), but their last game will have been 8 days ago when the ball tips off at the D-town Hoops Dojo (sorry, I’ve been listening to alot of AM 570 lately) Who’s to say they are still playing the best ball in the league? my take is that as long as they are still playing the BEST BALL in the league, then the Lakers will have their hands full. The moment they fall below that level, they are going to get hurt. I really don’t want to be overly dismissive, but when push comes to shove, I feel that most Laker fans would admit that this is a series the Lakers should win. yes, they provide different challenges than the Jazz, but at the end of the day, even Sir Charles admitted, Nash and Stoudemire are awful defenders, and those guys are going to be on the court for all the big minutes. A focused Laker team (I know, not a given) brings way too much to the table. I think the super long layoff has people talking themselves into something that wouldn’t seem plausible if this series had gotten going this week.

The Lakers playing .750 ball against the Suns this year has been dismissed by Alvin Gentry because the Suns were coming off back to backs in the Laker victories (or 2 of the 3). That’s fine, but winning a series requires .571 ball (4 out of 7).

The videos put together by Phillip were awesome (I’m a dork, I eat that x and o stuff up), but I wonder if we are missing the forest for the trees. The Lakers were up 6, 13, and 2 (in the first quarter) when those plays happened for Phoenix. What was happening in the game prior to those virtuoso offensive paroxysms? I’d argue more good than bad for the Lakers. If it was just a matter of Phoenix running their stuff, then at some point they should have led during the game should’t they? Of course we know that running one play is never “the answer” in a league with the talent and coaching in the NBA, so I’m left to wonder, What exactly is Phoenix going to repeatedly do to beat what the Lakers are going to repeatedly do?

Remember, in the playoffs it’s not the ability to answer 1st or 2nd questions (how do we stop Nash or Amar’e) but how you answer the 3rd, 4th, and 5th questions. Nash and Amar’e can both go off and the Lakers can still win. The Lakers 3, 4, 5 questions from the Suns POV are Lamar, Bynum, and Ron Ron defensively. What is Phoenix’s answer for them?

Lakers should win. Phoenix can win. Given that, I’ll take my chances.

Dude: Well said, can’t wait for rematch against the celtics.

Ken: Your post confused both of us. Or maybe I need to dust off the poli sci books.

But the second key point about the Lakers bigs will arise from the defensive half of the floor. Nash can’t get out and run if his teammates can’t rebound and outlet. It’s basketball 101, but so long as the Lakers win the war on the glass, it’s really going to slow the Suns’ offense.

Pau, Odom and Bynum’s size advantage will be critical on both ends. So long as the Lakers don’t get stupid and start chucking up early threes, they’ll be OK. They just need to remember that long shots lead to long rebounds, and run-outs for the Suns equate to easy baskets.

L.A. needs to pound it inside until the little guys scream. Then get up and pound it inside again.

(1) going inside on almost every possession… Kwame Brown (yes) was able to get dunks whenever he could hold on to the ball, and when we missed, transition d was a lot easier; and

(2) passable D clogging up the lane and running out on 3 pointers. Basically forcing them into the midrange game.

2007 was just a mess, with too many injuries, and the choice of smush-farmar for pg.

So compared to 2006, LA has much stronger D (including better PnR defense), and stronger O in the paint. PHX has a tad less firepower and perhaps more dedication to the PnR and more of a rep for D (which seems like a bunch of hooey to me… The stats do not support that PHX has a much improved D compared to the pringles era).

It seems to me that if LA uses the 2006 recipe, pounds it inside and limits the Suns running game, it should be a straightforward series win. If not, then we’ll have some very tense days ahead.

On ORL-BOS. Fascinating series. ORL beat BOS last year (pretty handily once they focused). This year, ORL has an improved Dwight, much more team focus, more X Factor in VC. BOS has improved Rondo and improved (but still limited) KG, and everything else is worse. I can’t wait to see how it plays out, but I expect ORL to win.

Is that a reference to the end of King James from the author of The Prince?

Was he the shooting guard and Da Vinci the point guard?

Was The Art of War a basketball book?

Are you saying Phil uses his theory to outwit other coaches?

Please help me I am so confused