Phoenix had the easier bracket.
L.A. would overwhelm the Suns.
The Suns were a road stop, not a roadblock.
Four games later and a 2-2 series tie indicate exactly what the Suns-Lakers series is: An even matchup.
For all the Lakers backers and pundits who dismissed Phoenix against their championship counterparts, the reality is clear—Phoenix is either better than they had thought, or the Lakers are worse.
You can pick apart the Suns for playing a zone defense because they can't guard anyone man-to-man.
Fine. That's fair. But if you say that, then you're also compelled to admit the Lakers are less intelligent than half the high school teams in the U.S. How else do you explain their utter inability to solve Phoenix's desperation move to zone over a two-game span?
There are more give-and-take situations that have manifested themselves.
Pau Gasol may be too skilled for Amare Stoudemire, but Amare is obviously too quick for Pau.
The Lakers starters, better than their Phoenix counterparts, ended up getting waxed by the Suns' bench.
All these counters and balances ar ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NBA
Article written by Matt Petersen
One or the Other: Either Suns are Contenders, or Lakers are Pretenders
May 25th, 2010 by Matt Petersen Leave a reply »
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