Suns-Lakers: A Preview

It is the first meeting of the year between the two teams who have forged a bitter rivalry of sorts in the post-Shaq era of Lakers. 

The Suns have dominated the Lakers during the better part of these last four years, with Lakers getting ousted from the playoffs during the first round twice at the hands of Phoenix. 

Also, to add the hostility, the Suns have added the one-time Laker and not-best-friend of Kobe, Shaquille O'Neal. 

This should be an entertaining game to watch, as both teams are playing well, play in the same division, and both are the class of the West so far in this young season.  Let's take a look at what both teams have done this season and then I'll go into individual match ups, which are just as entertaining.

Phoenix Suns

Currently standing at 8-4 with a loss coming at the hands of Utah on a second game of a back-to-back on the road.  Their four losses have came at the hands of some pretty tough teams in Hornets, Rockets, Bulls, and Utah—although each one was by at least 10 points. 

The Suns definitely aren't that old Suns that most of us remember for their run-n-gun style of play.  They have settled for a more traditional offensive style, and have been playing much better defense compared to what we have seen from them in the last few years.

Los Angeles Lakers

The Lakers have the best winning percentage in the league with a record of 8-1 and are the lone team in the league with only one loss, coming at the hands on the Pistons last Sunday.  

Los Angeles is coming off a victory against the Chicago Bulls, in which they played like a team that can blow out anybody—but only for spurts.  Their offense is much more balanced that it has ever been, and they are trying to become a great defensive team like the Celtics, Rockets, and Spurs, featuring some very aggressive defensive schemes.

These teams have some history between few players, most notably between Kobe and Bell and Kobe and Shaq.  Also, there was a little issue between Bynum and Shaq during Bynum's first season with Lakers while Shaq was still with Miami Heat. 

I am sure these things will be shown over and over before the game.  So lets take a look at the individual matchups.

PG: Steve Nash vs. Derek Fisher

Steve Nash does the most with the least amount of athletic ability than any other person in the league. 

He isn't the quickest PG, or the best dribbler but he does all the other things that most other PG wish they had.  He can shoot the ball efficiently, he can dribble very efficiently, and he has the vision to see the angles that only a handful have been able to do throughout history. 

Fisher, on the other hand, is more like a backup point guard, but he has learned to play the triangle offense to perfection for this role.  He can shoot the three, has the midrange jumper, but isn't as efficient as Nash at distributing or going to the rack for layups. 

But to Fisher's credit, the triangle doesn't require him to do all those things, which makes him a perfect fit in the PG slot. 

Fisher is known to play solid defense and he will be called upon to keep Nash in check.  Also look for him to be aggressive on the offensive side of the ball to wear out Steve Nash more, who also isn't known to be a good defender.  Nash is averaging 13.7 points and 7.5 assists in 32 minutes of play while Fisher is averaging 10.6 points and 2.7 assists in 28 minutes of play.

SG: Raja Bell vs. Kobe Bryant

These two probably have a more bitter history (dating back to Raja's days in Philly) between them than both team's fans are willing to admit to, although Shaq-Kobe saga is definitely much longer.  Both are very fierce competitors and will be hounding each other all day long. 

The Suns use Raja to make Kobe's life a living hell while he is on the court.  He will be on Kobe the whole game, trying to take away every inch of open space between them to keep Kobe in check.  There have been times where he has been successful and there have been times when Kobe has torched him pretty good.  I wouldn't be surprised if things get chippy between these two again, as it seems it happens each time they play each other. 

Raja isn't known to be a great scorer like Kobe is, but he can hit the open three and drive to the basket occasionally.  Kobe has a tendency of leaving him open to go help out on the penetrator, leaving Bell open—and this has cost Lakers a few victories in the past. 

Keep an eye on this matchup, as Raja's offense can be a big plus for the Suns if Kobe decides to play him too loosely.  Kobe, on the other hand, is about as hard of a defensive assignment as they come.  There isn't anything he can't and isn't willing to try on the floor, and he is the most feared player in the clutch.  

Raja and Kobe are averaging 9.8/2.3/1.3 and 24.3/5.1/4.0, respectively.

SF: Matt Barnes vs. Vladimir Radmanovic

Barnes has been a nice addition to the Suns to say the least, as they now have decent options at the SF position in him and Hill.  He plays with aggression on both sides and is fitting in with this team perfectly. 

Vlad has been struggling with his shooting this season, and there are rumblings in the La-La land asking about a possible change if he doesn't start shooting well.  I really don't see it happening, as the only other decent SF on the Lakers roster is known to be slasher rather than the shooter they need.  And to make the case worse, the only other longrange shooter the Lakers have (Sasha) is struggling as well. 

Barnes won't have to worry about Vlad driving on him, but he will have to worry about his shooting.  When Vlad's shot is falling, the Lakers are a very lethal team. 

Barnes will be asked to cover Kobe as well when Raja goes to bench and/or gets in foul trouble. 

Matt is averaging 12.0/5.7/1.7 in 28 minutes and Vlad is averaging 6.1/3.3/1.1 in 22 minutes.

PF: Amare Stoudemire vs. Pau Gasol

It's the Goggle versus the Beard!

Regardless of all the talk about other matchups, this is the one that will most likely decide the outcome of this game.  Both of these players have been playing outstanding ball on the offensive side.  Stoudemire has probably already turned in the best game of this young season (I am sure Spurs fans might disagree) and Pau is just coming off his best game against Chicago. 

Stoudemire is as athletic of a big men as they come, as Gasol is as smooth in the post as there is in the league.  Gasol did play great defensive basketball against Boozer, Duncan, and Garnett during last year's playoffs.  He might not known for his defense, but he uses his length to his advantage very beautifully and can make the opposition PF take some tough shots. 

Whoever wins this battle on the defensive side of the ball will give their respective team a great chance to win tonight.  Amare is averaging 23.3/8.3/2.0 in his team-leading 38 minutes and Pau is averaging 17.6/10.1/3.1 in his team-leading 35 minutes per game.

C: Shaquille O'Neal vs. Andrew Bynum

Past versus present.  One is known as one of the most-dominant big men to play for the Lakers and the other is trying to add his name to that list one day. 

Shaq might not have the agility and lift he once had, but he is still a force to be reckoned with.  He can still give you 30/15 on any given night—just don't ask him to do it every given night. 

Bynum is trying to find his way into the offense.  With so much talent around him, it's getting hard for the ball to come to the young fella.  He is definitely the future of this Lakers team, and has shown the talent and ability to do it. 

He is coming off a quiet 18/9 game versus the Suns (his best game this season), and is starting to get his timing back on the defensive side of the ball with offense not too far behind.  If Bynum can negate the Shaq performance with his own, he will give Lakers a real good shot of winning this game in Phoenix. 

Bynum does have a tendency of trying to do too much when he plays against the great post players, so look to see if Shaq can realize that and take advantage of it.

These two are also the best offensive rebounders for their respective teams, with Shaq at 2.0 and Bynum at 3.7.  It will be crucial for both of them to keep each other off the glass and do a good job rebounding the ball.

Shaq is averaging 15.1/7.8/2.1 in 27 minutes of play and 10.8/8.9/1.8 in 30 minutes of play.

Benches

The Suns are finally going deep and bringing in more than just three guys off the bench. 

Their main players off the bench include Barbosa, Diaw, and Hill.  They all can come in and provide their team a big boost, although Barbosa and Hill have been struggling with their shooting this year.

The Lakers definitely have the best bench in the league, featuring Odom, Farmar, Sasha, Ariza as their main guys.  They look to speed up the tempo when they get in the game, and this could be trouble for Suns if their bigs get caught up in this up-tempo style early, tiring them later in the game.

The Lakers bench has been the main reason they are sitting at the top of the league.  If opposing teams fail to deal with them, they can easily reel off a 12-0, 15-1 run by themselves while the starters are still off the floor.

Final Verdict

The Lakers will definitely come out aggressively to set the tempo and try to take the crowd out of it quickly, Kobe is really good at that.  The Suns have to make sure they don't get caught off-guard by the strength of Lakers bench, and the speed at which their big men run the floor during a fast break. 

This is definitely the must-watch game of the week.