Previous week’s games
5/23/10 SUNS 118, Lakers 109
5/25/10 SUNS 115, Lakers 106
Upcoming week’s games (that’s right, Lakers, fans, you have more games against the Suns!)
5/27/10 SUNS @ Lakers, 6 p.m., TNT
5/29/10 SUNS vs Lakers, 5:30 p.m., TNT
5/31/10 SUNS @ Lakers, 6 p.m., TNT (if necessary)
It’s funny how quickly things change over the course of a week. Last Thursday, all anyone could talk about, especially the LA media, was the matchup in the NBA Finals between the Boston Celtics and Lakers. They didn’t just talk about the possibility of the matchup, either. They talked about it as if it were a sure thing, a done deal. Ted Green of the LA Times even went as far as saying the Lakers would win this best-of-seven series with the Phoenix Suns in three games.
LA fans ran their mouths, and kept talking about how their Lakers were about to sweep the Suns. Heck, I even received comments here at the Suns Spot from Lakers fans claiming I owed Bill Plaschke an apology for a piece I wrote two weeks ago.
The Suns' bench was special in Game 4. Getty Images.
Then Sunday came, and the Suns won game three. Did the Lakers’ fans finally start giving us respect? Nope. LA fans, along with Lakers head coach Phil Jackson, complained about the free throw discrepancy. They cried that the zone defense that Phoenix head coach Alvin Gentry implemented in the second quarter of Sunday’s game was a bailout. They said it was a way of admitting the Suns can’t defend the Lakers man to man. They labeled it as “girlie.”
The media didn’t change their tune, either. Plaschke wrote another piece for the LA Times belittling the Suns once again. He went on to say the Lakers should rest starting center Andrew Bynum. Hold him out of game four. Rest him now and Bynum would have at least a week off before the Finals matchup with the Celtics.
ESPN basketball “expert” Ric Bucher decided to jump in on the action with this tweet he sent out Sunday night:
“Give Suns credit for stepping up, but let’s put this into perspective. LAL had 3 guys MIA: Bynum, Odom + Artest. Too many vs. Phx at home.”
I responded to Bucher saying he should give the Suns’ D some credit, especially for what they did to Ron Artest. I argued they put a hand in Artest’s face and made him put the ball on the floor plenty of times. Apparently, Mr. Bucher didn’t like that, because he responded by sending me the following direct message on Twitter:
“Artest/LO were a combined 2 for 11 and I didn’t see one of those 3s contested. but whatever.”
“But whatever?” Really, Ric? Sensitive there much? I was just pointing out what I saw in the game, no need to get upset if you feel you saw differently.
On to Tuesday and game four. The Lakers saw much of the same from the Suns defense. Gentry threw a heavy dose of zone at the Lakers once again and the result was much the same. The Lakers heaved brick after brick up at the rim from beyond the arc. Only difference this time around was where the points came from on the Phoenix side. Instead of Amar’e Stoudemire picking apart the Lakers it was the super subs of Phoenix scorching the entire Lakers squad.
Did this finally earn the respect from the Lakers fans and media? Not really, but it did shut them up.
Instead of writing a piece bashing the Suns once again and declaring them dead, Plaschke wrote about how the Lakers’ bench is only hurting the team rather than provided any type of relief for the starters. He still failed to really give the Suns the credit they’ve rightfully earned, but at least he didn’t rip them apart.
As far as Bucher goes, he has yet to say anything. No more tweets about how LA just played bad. No more tweets putting the Phoenix victories into “perspective.” His silence speaks volumes.
From the Suns’ viewpoint though, none of this matters. They don’t need validation from the media. They’ve earned the respect of each other and the support of the Phoenix fans. By winning two games in this series, they’ve already proved all the doubters wrong. When game five tips off tonight, the Suns will look to continue piling up that proof.
