The Los Angeles Lakers Look to Burn the Phoenix Suns
Los Angeles Lakers’ guard Kobe Bryant doesn’t care who he’s facing, he just wants to win. But victory must taste that much sweeter for the perennial all-star and his squad when it comes against the Phoenix Suns. For the first time in the young NBA season,
the Lakers (1-0) will have a chance to defeat the Suns (1-1) when they travel to the US Airways Center on Friday, October 29th.
The meeting will be a rematch of last year’s Western Conference Finals, which the Lakers took in six games. Led by Bryant, who averaged 33.7 points and 8.3 assists during those contests, Los Angeles’ dominance in the series propelled them onto the NBA Finals
and, eventually, their second consecutive Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy.
Last season provided sweet redemption for the Lakers, who met their playoff exit in both the 2006 and 2007 postseason at the hands of the Suns. Bryant, who had no remorse for dashing Phoenix’s title dreams, revelled in last season’s accomplishments over
the pesky Suns squad, saying, “They used to kick our butt all the time in the playoffs. So I have no sympathy.”
Meanwhile, the Suns have had to revamp their squad following the departure of fan favorite Amare Stoudemire, who signed with the New York Knicks this off season as a free agent. That comes as good news to Lakers coach Phil Jackson, who sees Stoudemire’s
exit as a major tactical advantage for his guys.
“Stoudemire is right up there as a player that gets a lot of finishes and gets a lot of foul shots,” Jackson said. “So that's a high-percentage shot, he shot in the high 50s and consequently they'll miss that accuracy that comes along with that productivity.”
However, the Suns hope that power forward Hakim Warrick, an off-season acquisition from the Chicago Bulls, will pick up some of the slack created by Stoudemire’s departure. Point guard Steve Nash spoke highly of the fifth year player’s performance on Thursday
night, a 110-94 victory over the Utah Jazz.
“Hakim was great on the glass and hustled,” Nash said of Warrick’s 18 point, 11 rebound output. “He finished and got to the line. He did a lot of little things that matter. But he also scored and when he can do that, it makes us a better team.”
Despite what they’ve lost, Jackson remains wary of Phoenix’s ability to surprise them not only on Friday night, but throughout the year, stating, “Phoenix will still be a real good team.”
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