Amare Stoudemire's Come Out Party: Phoenix Suns Get One

It was the underwhelming performance heard around the world.

Amare Stoudemire had just nine rebounds in the first two games of the Western Conference Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers, both losses.

As the primary rebounding force for the Suns, Stoudemire's lackluster rebounding performance simply wasn't enough, especially against the bigger Lakers.

Phoenix was dominated on the boards in the first two games, being out rebounded 81 to 68 and being beat at their own game, the three-point shot.

L.A shot 17-33 in the first two games from the three-point line, while the Suns shot 15-46.

For a team that relied heavily on three's, that statistic would have to change. So would the 252 points the Lakers hung on Phoenix, a team that was supposed to be recommitted to the defensive end.

So what did Phoenix do for an encore at home Sunday night?

Alvin Gentry and his staff made the adjustments, and the players followed suit as the Suns corrected all of the ailments on their way to a 118-109 victory.

How did Gentry and the Suns correct their issues in Game Three?

Problem No. 1: Rebounding

Solution: The man of the hour in Game One, Lamar Odom, came off of the bench and pounded the Suns down low by grabbing 19 rebounds to go along with 19 points.

Stoudemire called it a lucky game, but Odom came back in Game Two with a 17 point, 11 rebound performance.

For Game Three, the Suns forced the action on the offensive end by being smart and aggressive, and eventually fouled Odom out. Andrew Bynum also fell into foul issues and was largely ineffective in eight minutes on the floor.

Ultimately, it was the zone defense that Gentry employed in the first half that caught L.A off guard.

The Lakers were so taken aback by it that they continuously jacked up three's in response, leading to a  9-32 night from behind the arc.

Apparently Phil Jackson didn't hear Doug Collins commentating and repeating, "the way to beat the zone is actually not shooting out of it, but going inside."

L.A started to do that halfway through the fourth quarter, and by then the Suns had built the momentum and had the Lakers chasing them, but they never looked back.

Stoudemire was free to move about the back line and, with help from Robin Lopez, was able to get his first double-digit rebounding game (11) of the series.

Seems easy enough. We'll see after Game Four.

Problem No. 2: Defense

Solution: The Lakers aren't known as a great three-point shooting team. After watching them shoot over 50 percent in the first two games, you wouldn't believe that.

Phoenix, who is actually tops in the association from behind the three-point line, somehow swapped places with L.A as they were a dismal 32 percent in the first two.

Couple that with the Lakers scoring output and double-digit wins in Games One and Two, and flashbacks of the old "7 seconds or less" Suns came to mind.

A team that can consistently put up 110-plus on you, but will give up that and more.

For Game Three Gentry decided to allow Kobe Bryant to do his scoring by consistently not bringing his big men all the way past the foul line to help on Bryant when he beats his man up top.

So when Kobe would drive by Jared Dudley, Steve Nash, or Jason Richardson, the big's allowed him to enter their territory and not help in order to prevent the pass.

So Kobe's choice was either a jump shot, pass off to someone covered, or to challenge Stoudemire and Robin Lopez.

The result was less opportunities for his forwards and center (other than Gasol often beating them one-on-one; Artest, Odom, and Bynum were a combined 9-28) and many jump shots fired by Kobe.

Bryant only shot 2-8 from the three-point line, although he was an efficient 13-24 from the field.

Even with 11 assists, Bryant's impact was kept to he and Gasol, a combination the Suns team will take their chances with as long as they control the others.

With 59 of the Lakers 109 scored by those two, the Suns got what they wanted.

The Suns made great adjustments in Game Three that got them one win, but they will need to build on it in Game Four as L.A will have some adjustments themselves.

To win the next game, the Suns will have to mix-up their defense and try to confuse the Lakers. Also, Stoudemire will need another amazing performance.

Basically, the Suns don't have a chance in this series if Amare doesn't average something like a 30-10-4 for the remainder of games.

Stoudemire's break out performance of 42 points and 11 rebounds, while shooting 14-22 from the field and 14-18 from the line, propelled the Suns offensively and kept them in control.

It seems every time the Lakers made a run, Stoudemire had a resounding answer.

With Nash now nursing a broken nose courtesy of what appeared to be a bit of a cheap shot by Derek Fisher, he may have some ill-effects on Tuesday.

That means Amare will have to have his hand glued to the on-button once again.

Defensively, if the zone is being busted early, Gentry will have to decide if he should stick with it or make a panic move, one the Lakers may make him pay for.

Either way, Game Four is a must-win for the Suns if they want any real chance to move on to the NBA Finals.

As for now, they can feel confident about two things: they found a way to gut out a win against the mighty Lakers, and they won't be swept out of the postseason.

Now for Orlando...