Campioana en-titre din NBA, Lakers (24-11) se deplaseaza in Arizona pentru a da piept cu Phoenix (14-18) si pentru a continua marsul catre al 3-lea titlu consecutiv.
Ingerii s-au zbatut in deplasari, avand la activ 6 infrangeri, in schimb o victorie concludenta asupra lui Phoenix in 2010, in prima deplasare in desert. Condusi de superstarul Kobe Bryant, (5 titluri NBA, 1 MVP, de 12 ori prezent in All Star Game) cu o mana de ajutor de la Ron Artest prin interceptiile sale si Pau Gasol, prin eficacitate, Los Angeles incearca sa prelungeasca sirul victoriilor. Dupa revenirea pivotului Andrew Bynum Lakers a recastigat forta, dar a pierdut agilitate odata cu izolarea pe banca a lui Lamar Odom, care poate candida anul acesta pentru titlul de rezerva sezonului. Veteranul Derek Fisher inca impresioneaza cu aruncarile de 3 puncte din 'downtown', iar de pe banca tasneste Shannon Brown care si-a perfectionat aruncarile de la semi-distanta. Matt Barnes si Steve Blake, achizitionati in vara lui 2010 din postura de liber de contract, sunt si ei in lumina reflectoarelor gratie defensivei. Debutantii Derrick Carracter si David Ebanks isi fac cu greu loc in angrenajul campioanei, unde se strecoara cu evolutii apreciate, Luke Walton, copilul de suflet al antrenorului Phil Jackson. Recent recrutatul Joe Smith, un acord care l-a trimis pe Sasha Vujacic la New Jersey Nets, profita de absenta lui Theo Ratliff si incepe sa se sudeze in sistem. Lakers vine dupa o victorie convingatoare asupra lui Detroit, 108-83 seara trecuta in Staples Center, unde Kobe Bryant, 'The Black Mamba', a reusit sa treaca pe locul 10 in topul all time al marcatorilor. In seara asta, 40 de puncte l-ar propulsa pe Kobe pe locul 9. Phil Jackson a criticat dur aportul ofensiv precar al unor jucatori, contra-performanta care a condus la infrangeri dezolante pentru LA. Principalul vizat a fost Ron Artest, cel care se zbate inca la aruncarile din afara perimetrului ,,caciulii". Replica a venit imediat de la controversatul Artest in vestiar, dar apele s-au linistit.
Suns, care a invins pe Lakers chiar in LA sezonul acesta, se confrunta cu o criza dupa plecarea lui Stoudemire la New York in presezon, care o poate arunca in afara play-off-ului NBA. Phoenix a fost una dintre protagonistele perioadei de transferuri ce se deruleaza. I-au cedat la Orlando pe turcul Hedo Turkoglu, centrul Earl Clark si pe Jason Richardson, de unde a sosit tripleta Vince Carter, Marcin Gortat si Mickael Pietrus. Texanii, condusi de canadianul Steve Nash, cu doua titluri de MVP la activ, si-au continuat si anul acesta meciurile de +100 de puncte. Cu toate acestea, defensiva scartaie, iar Suns se regaseste in abisurile Conferintei de Vest, departe de locurile de play-off. Orgoliul violetilor poate izbucni in seara aceasta contra celor care i-au eliminat anul trecut din cursa spre finala. Lakers pare usor favorita, dar in fieful texanilor nu se castiga asa usor. Asteptam ca toti candidatii la All Star Game sa straluceasca in aceasta noapte, intr-un meci care a devenit atat de clasic...
Cheile meciului:
-Lakers- recuperari, implicarea lui Andrew Bynum, stoparea aruncarilor de 3 puncte ale gazdelor, puncte din apropierea panoului prin patrunderile extremelor de forta.
-Suns- anihilarea lui Kobe Bryant, atacuri pe faza a doua, o banca prolifica, procentaj decent al aruncarilor de la semi-distanta, reducerea greselilor nefortate, interceptii.
-English version:-
The NBA defending champion, LA Lakers goes in Arizona to took the Phoenix Suns and to put its 24-11 record on the line against their biggest West rivals. The Angels, who are looking to 'three-peat' back to back championships, struggled on the road, with 6 losses, but beat The Suns, who were trailed by as many as 11, in Phoenix with a confident win at season's debut.Led by Kobe Bryant (5 times NBA champion, 1 MVP,12 appearences in the All Star Game, great athleticism), a helping hand by Ron Artest, with his steals and Pau Gasol with his skills to score easily from the paint. LA tries to extend its winning streak. After the comeback of the center Andrew Bynum, they regained the force in front of the screen, but lost the agility of Lamar Odom, a man who can compete for the 6th man award this season, who has to seat and enter in the game with a depth impact from the bench. 15 years veteran Derek Fisher is still connected at the game, although he's not always in double digits, shown by his amazing 3 pointers and the awesome winning buzzer-beater against the Clippers. From the bench, the human air-plane, Mr. Shannon Brown, which is giving a lot of credit, sprungs with his updated jump shots from the mid range and long behind the arc. Matt Barnes and Steve Blake, acquired last summer as a free agent, shine in the spotlight, grace of their defense. For the rookies Derrick Carracter and David Ebanks is tough to make their way to 5 starters, 'cause they are far away from a depth impact. The terrible local kid, Luke Walton with a solid play, averages a few strong minutes per game, with big points. Congrats Master Zen! Recently traded Joe Smith, from Nets scored against Pistons his first as a Laker, his 12th team in 15 years. Meanwhile, Theo Ratliff is feeling a sweet redemption after a knee surgery. Lakers come in Arizona after a huge victory, with good scoring from the bench agains The Pistons, tuesday night in LA, when Kobe Bryant passes Dominique Wilkins on the All Time Scoring Leaders and now he's threating the 9th place.(16 points left for The Black Mamba) Phil Jackson criticised the bad help and execution from his bench players especially, in the ofensive end thing who led to some very disturbing loses this year so far. In the spotlight of the critics was Ron Artest, the one who still struggles with his shooting from the outside paint perimeter. Ron-Ron had his reaction in his post game press meeting in the locker room, but they have calmed down a bit.
Suns, who beat the Lakers right in LA this season, are facing a deep crisis after the departure of Stoudemire to The Knicks in the preseason, fact that can drop Suns out of the playoffs spot.Phoenix took advantage of the NBA Trade window and waived Hedo Turkoglu, Earl Clark and Jason Richardson to Orlando, where the triplet Vince Carter, Marcin Gortat, Mickael Pietrus had arrive.The Arizonans, led by canadian Steve Nash, two times MVP's league, continued their 100+ points games performances this year.Although, the defense had been struggling allowing many second chance points on offensive boards and the Suns has dropped the ladder in the West Conference standings, far from a playoff spot. The purple-pride could break away tonight against the team who stopped them from the NBA Finals race last season, with a 4-2 defeat in the West Conference Finals.Still, Lakers seems to be the favorite to win the contest on the road, but on the Texan feud Phoenix was quite invincible during the seasons.We're expecting some brilliant performances from the All Star Game candidates tonight, into a clash from the NBA Classics already...
Keys of the match:
-for The Lakers: rebounds, getting Andrew Bynum involved, stopping Phoenix from the 3 point range, points from the paint by penetration to the screen of their power forwards.
-for The Suns: neutralizing Kobe Bryant, transition attacks with numbers on the 2nd phase, good bench help, decent percentage from outside the arc, cutting the turnovers, steals.
