LAKERS SET THE SUNS

The Lakers are back in The Finals! Nothing new, huh?
(Kobe Bryant sports the "scowl" after scoring one of his two of his 37 points)
The Lakers make it back to the championship series, where they will take on the Boston Celtics, as they attempt to win their 16th world title. Behind 37 pts. from Mr. Kobe Bryant the Lakers were able to hold off a late surge by the Suns and win the series 4-2 with a 111-103 score. The Suns used a strategy that seemed to backfire on them as they invited Ron Artest to shoot from the perimeter and the "NY City Mad-Man" obliged. Good strategy as Artest has not been hitting from the outside throughout the playoffs, but in Game #6 he found his shot and played a yeoman's game scoring 25 pts hitting 10-16 and 4-7 beyond the arc. The Laker defense also was in the house as they held the Suns to no more than 21 pts. thru 3 quarters  until the final quarter when they allowed the Suns to get back into the game, allowing a 29-20 scoring advantage.

The Suns outscored the Lakers in the 4th quarter by 9 pts. but it proved to not be enough as they could not stop Bryant and that sweet jumper of his as he drained shot after shot, including one where perfect defense was played by two Sun defenders but he still sank it with precision. Amare Stoudemire led the Suns scoring with 27 pts and Steve Nash added his usual strong stat line of 21 pts. and 9 assts. as he attempted to will the series to a game 7, but it was not to be.  Stoudemire and Nash were not allowed the pick and roll play that they have had such success with in the last two games and that proved to be the demise of the squad.


More pressing for the Suns at this point is the fact that Stoudemire can opt out of his contract and become part of the star-studded free agent pool that continues to have GM's salivate at how they sign just one of the many that are being courted by the leagues teams with the checkbook to sign them.

The NBA Championship gets underway Thursday, June 3, 2010 @  9 pm in Los Angeles at Staples Center as the Celtics come to town after having 5 days to rest their geriatric legs and concussed noggins. The series, with it's very old-school flavor, will be a series to watch as it is sure to entertain as the Zen Master brings his mind games and talent laden squad to the floor to face Doc Rivers and his team of mentalist.