Suns' Game 3 Win Leaves Tough Road Ahead
Make no mistake about it - the Phoenix Suns executed a great game plan Sunday to secure a season-saving 118-109 Game Three win over the Los Angeles Lakers.
However, with that said, it is not likely the same bag of tricks will work again going forward.
Zone Defense
Coming out of a first quarter in which Kobe Bryant scored an easy 15 points against individual defenders, Suns coach Alvin Gentry decided to take his chances in a 2-3 zone.
The move befuddled the Lakers into scoring an ironic 15 points as a team in that second quarter.
Los Angeles got away from their offense and consequently settled for open long-range jumpers from Ron Artest and Lamar Odom.
By the time LA finally figured out the Suns defense, it was too late, the Suns were not to fold like they did in Games One and Two.
LA's bad passing led to 17 turnovers, most of which, looked like a direct result of the switch in defense.
Phil Jackson will adjust and LA will have a game plan of its own to counter the Suns new found success.
In other words, don't count on the Lakers attempting 32 three-point field-goals again.
Look for Bryant to try to get more dribble penetration into the lane instead of passing around the perimeter.
The Lakers will want to get back to the free-throw line as it did in its' first two home victories.
Phoenix shot 20 more free-throws than LA in Game Three.
Amare's Dominance
42 points and 11 rebounds is quite the line.
And if the Suns get that same line from Amare Stoudemire for each game remaining in the series, of course they have a chance to win.
However, just last week Stoudemire failed to reach those numbers in two games combined, collecting just 41 points and 9 boards while in Los Angeles.
Obviously the difference in Game Three was the sheer ineffectiveness of Lamar Odom (who shot 4-for-14 with six rebounds) and the absence due to foul trouble and injury of Andrew Bynum.
Both revelations give Phoenix hope moving forward, but once the series does shift back to Los Angeles, it is still unclear whether Amare's resurgence will follow.
