For five seconds, Lakers Late Night is a barbershop quartet. From there, it's roundball analysis. High points include:
What to make of a fairly bizarre game. The Lakers did plenty of the things they were supposed to do -- in my opinion, if nothing else -- but ultimately couldn't withstand Phoenix draining 22 three-pointers. Then again, can any team beat an opponent who nets 66 points off treys alone? There were defensive breakdowns and turnovers, without question, but again... 22 three-pointers? That's just silly.
The potential effect of Andrew Bynum's eventual return on team defense.
The upcoming three-game roadie (Milwaukee, Detroit, Minnesota).
Be sure to check out more video after the jump, including reactions from Phil Jackson, Kobe Bryant, Lamar Odom, Matt Barnes, Derek Fisher, and Phoenix coach Alvin Gentry.
Kobe Bryant hates losing like Gargamel hates Smurfs, but 22 treys made is unheard of in NBA 2K11 (or an empty gym, as the Mamba noted), much less during an actual game. Thus, it's hard to get too bent out of shape over this result. With all due respect to the Suns, they're not likely to Xerox this effort.
Phil Jackson tended to agree, labeling Phoenix's franchise-best mark from deep "pretty remarkable shooting." And as he noted, the Lakers operate with a mindset that made and missed treys "even out after time," this particular game being the blatant exception. Obviously, film will be perused for mistakes and such, but the bottom line is you can't really plan for a sequel this drastic, much less worry about it.
Jackson was upset, however, about a technical foul called against Lamar Odom with 53.7 seconds remaining. Unhappy after a no-call on a blatant foul by Hedo Turkoglu, LO made it clear his layup should have garnered "and one" status. Instead, Steve Nash shot the free throw, and Phoenix retained possession. In a (then) two-point with less than a minute remaining, this sequence may not have literally cost the Lakers a shot at winning, but it definitely affected the outcome.
PJ felt the referees needed to exercise better restraint, considering the game's high emotions and LO refrained actually berating the official. I plan to discuss this at greater length tomorrow, but at the risk of crushing suspense, The Zen Master is exactly right.
Already on the hook to make an NBA Cares "donation," Odom opted to largely take the high road on the matter. "A rule's a rule," he said with a shrug. Still, Lamar pointed out how the referee who T'd him up wasn't even the one he shouted at, nor did he have a clear view of the situation. Odom also was quite surprised the ref would opt to exercise his power that late in the game, new standards or not.
Not to harp on matters, but even Alvin Gentry didn't like the T, and he's fairly partisan towards the Suns.
Matt Barnes admitted Phoenix's breakneck pace and rapid ball movement led to some confusion while guarding the arc.
Shannon Brown expressed hope a three-game roadie could sharpen some execution recently lacking, if for no other reason that being on the road often forces you to play better. "Playing on the road is definitely not easy," explained the high fly act. "Going into other people's states, other people's arenas, with their fans. Everything on their side. We gotta come out and we gotta control everything."
And finally, the Suns may have made serious hay tonight at the defending champions' expense, but Derek Fisher didn't hesitate when asked about Phoenix's long-term prospects playing small ball:
"I'll just say that I have five rings playing a particular way. I feel like that works pretty well. And that people do other things and we see the results. That's just my opinion. Obviously, I'm biased, but..."