Lakers 111, Suns 103 (Lakers win series 4-2)

I had quite a busy Friday and Saturday, so I fell asleep for most of this game. When I woke up, the Lakers had the game in hand early in the fourth quarter. I considered changing the channel, but then a barrage of Goran Dragic brought the Suns right back into this game, with the Suns getting within five points of the Lakers. At this point, with the crowd behind their backs, it looked like the Suns were going to come back and win this game.

<insert ridiculous Kobe jumpers>

Every time the Suns got close, Kobe seemingly hit a tough jump shot as the shot clock was expiring. The Black Mamba finished with 37 points, while Ron Artest played big with 25 himself. The Suns shot themselves in the foot at times by not blocking out and getting rebounds, allowing for many second chance opportunities.

I have to look at the Suns, and be very impressed with what they did this season. At one point, Amare Stoudemire was nearly shipped out. Instead the organization stuck with what they had, and had quite the playoff run. Steve Nash further cemented his legacy as an all-time great and Grant Hill brought even more credibility to his successful comeback story. How they will fare next season is a whole other question.

Looking ahead….

The Lakers will have home-court advantage against the Celtics, in a rematch of the Finals from 2 years ago. The last time they met in the finals, the Celtics won, led by their Big Three. This time around, Rajon Rondo has emerged as the main threat of the Celtics, while the Lakers have Ron Artest and Andre Bynum to help defensively.

For the Suns, the situation that will be the most interesting is to see whether or not Amare Stoudemire returns to Phoenix. If Phoenix is unable to resign him, the Suns would be in trouble. Filled with rising young studs (Dragic, Dudley, etc), it could be time to relinquish veterans such as Steve Nash and Jason Richardson.

-G