LA Lakers v. Phoenix Suns 2007 NBA Playoff Predictions

June 5, 2008 | Posted By Larry Cook

The Lakers and Suns square off Sunday in a rematch of last season’s dramatic 7 Game series that saw the Lakers blow a 3-1 lead. If the Suns have any chance of making the NBA Finals and reaching their goal, they want no drama again from the Lakers in the first round. “We won Game 1 last year and were feeling good about ourselves,” Steve Nash said, “and the next thing you know, we’re down 3-1. Hopefully we won’t be in that position. That should be good lesson for us.”

With Amare Stoudemire and Kurt Thomas healthy, the Suns pose as a bigger threat than they were a year ago. They will be much stronger inside which will allow their 3-point sharpshooters to hit daggers from the outside against the Lakers consistently. The Lakers don’t have anyone in the middle to stop Amare from going for over 30 points a game if the Suns give him the ball enough. Amare seems to be very confident with his statements as well.

A bit of locker room billboard material has cropped up in Los Angeles. First, there’s Stoudemire’s matter-of-fact statements that this series won’t go seven, a comment he amended Saturday by saying it might go six. “I’m just thinking of what’s best for us as a team,” he said. “If we take care of them earlier than seven, we’d have time to rest for the second round.”

Those comments should fuel the fire that the Lakers need to give the Suns a run for their money. For all of you Laker fans out there, I believe that you will see your team put up another colossal effort. Kobe Bryant is the league’s best player in my eyes and should win the MVP award. He has carried his team more than any superstar since Michael Jordan and he will have to carry the bulk of the load again. Phil Jackson wants him to shoot less, which Kobe had no problem doing last season.

If the Lakers are to win this series though, Kobe will have to take his share of the shots in the 4th quarter. Phil Jackson will try and ride his role players until it gets down to crunch time and save Kobe’s legs more for the end of ball games. Lamar Odom, Luke Walton and Smush Parker will have to step up their games tremendously if the Lakers have any chance of staying in this series.

A sampling published by the Los Angeles Times after the Suns were down 3-1 last season quoted D’Antoni as saying, “Kwame Brown is awful. Lamar Odom is a very average defender. Vujacic can’t guard and Kobe Bryant in the open floor takes chances that aren’t good.” D’Antoni said the following remarks about his comments made. “You’re down 3-1, you’re not going to come out and say these guys are great and we can’t beat them,” he said. “You try to run them down so we mentally get an edge with our guys. It’s no disrespect to them.”

Lakers coach Phil Jackson doesn’t blame the Suns for being confident. “They have three seasons with close to 60 victories now,” he said. “They still haven’t gotten to that final step, to get to the finals of the West and the finals of the playoffs. But they’re a confident team, and it shows. You’ve got to give them some respect for that. After we get into the series, all that rhetoric, we’ll see how well that holds up.”

All the talk makes for an exciting series. I think the Lakers can compete, but the return of Amare Stoudemire could prove to be the difference. You just can’t ever count Kobe Bryant out though, so give the Lakers the respect they deserve.

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