How Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers Exposed the Phoenix Suns

It would be in very poor taste to gloat about the Los Angeles Lakers dominant performance in Game One of their Western Conference Finals series with the Phoenix Suns, especially since it's only one game.

But, I will take a moment to point out a few observations from the Lakers' 128-107 victory, and I promise to do it in the most objective manner that is possible.

Before the series began I penned a couple of articles which dealt with the reasons I felt the Lakers would prevail against the Suns, and I was summarily accosted for the shallowness of my opinion.

The bare essence of my theory revolved around an assumption that the Lakers were simply a better team than the Suns, and after witnessing Game One's debacle, I am hesitant to divert from my stance.

The premise of my conclusion was rationalized as that of another Los Angeles homer by various people who chose to comment on my articles, but the ideas may not be as outrageous as perceived.

My main argument centered around the Suns' newfound defense, and Los Angeles' 128 points on 58 percent shooting from the field renders any further discussion about this myth as comical.

The Lakers were able to score at will, and they did it by relentlessly assaulting the rim with their cadre of talented and versatile post players.

There was a general consensus which determined the Lakers would dominate the paint against the Suns, but Lamar Odom and Pau Gasol made it look much easier than it should have been.

Gasol scored 21 points on 10-13 shooting while adding four rebounds and five assists, but Odom's numbers were more impressive than that. 

Odom scored 19 points and pulled down 19 rebounds while assuming the role of the hardest player to defend on the Lakers' roster due to his length and versatility.

I may have mentioned Odom would be a terror to defend for anyone on Phoenix's roster, but I am certain I made it clear there was no Sun who had a chance in hell of defending Bryant.

Bryant scored 40 points and he did it on 13-of-23 shooting from the field, while taking turns making Grant Hill, Jared Dudley, and Jason Richardson the victims of his various offensive forays.

For those who pointed out the fact I made a mistake with Dudley's name by calling him Chris, please forgive my transgression, but it's easy to forgive my mistake considering his ineffectiveness against Bryant.

Dudley's hopeless plight brings me to another point concerning the reserve squads of each team, and the performance of the Lakers' bench when compared to the Suns' has to leave a sour taste in the mouth of Phoenix fans. 

The Lakers' bench scored 44 points, and this is the one area besides point guard where the Suns were thought to have a clear advantage, but on this night even Steve Nash couldn't live up to his potential.

Nash did record 13 points and 13 assists but Lakers' point guard Derek Fisher was not bothered by Nash's quickness, and Fisher's strength advantage became clear as early as the second quarter.

The tempo that Phoenix prefers plays into the the strengths of Los Angeles because the Lakers have players who are capable of playing in transition, or settling down in the half court.

The triangle offense necessitates discipline, and even though the Lakers' reserves have been inconsistent, they are athletic and capable enough of running with the Suns when circumstances dictate it.

But, even this does not portray the whole story, because even though the Suns managed to score 107 points, their offense was still a victim to the Lakers' defensive excellence.

Phoenix is the highest scoring team in this year's postseason, and their 43 percent average from three point range stood as the standard for all of the playoffs' remaining teams.

Yet Los Angeles managed to hold the Suns to 4-16 shooting from beyond the arc, and gave the ultimate thumb to the nose by dominating this category on offense too.

Most Phoenix fans will cling to the false logic that this one game is not representative of how the entire series will play out, but Lakers' coach Phil Jackson's 46-0 record after winning the first game of a postseason series defies that notion.

Maybe the Suns will attempt to regroup on the strength of their defense, which has received so much recognition after their dismantling of the San Antonio Spurs in the conference semifinals.

But there is fallacy in that line of thought because the Lakers are not the Spurs, and regardless of what Phoenix fans, NBA analysts, or casual observers want to think, the Suns are not a good defensive team.

I attempted to bring this issue to light, but more people were concentrated on believing the false tidings of the Spurs' series, and there is nothing like a cold dose of reality to return one to the present.

There may still be a small chance for Phoenix to prevail in this series, because it is only one game, but if this is David vs. Goliath as one of my readers pointed out, then Goliath has just delivered a seismic blow to the hopes of the David.