Lakers in the Desert to Battle the Suns by Jeff Little

It’s February 19, 2012 and the (18-12) Lakers have traveled to the valley of the sun to play the (12-19) Phoenix Suns. Two days after defeating the Suns at the Staples Center, round two will take place at the US Airways Arena.

Despite Friday’s much needed Laker win, there was a good dose of the good, the bad and the ugly.

The good: L.A. had four players score in double-digits including double-doubles by both Andrew Bynum (center) and Pau Gasol (power forward/center). There were 54 points in the paint, 52 rebounds and a triple double by the reserves (34-points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists).

The bad: L.A. had nine offensive rebounds, shot 75% from the free throw line and shooting guard Kobe Bryant logged 35 minutes.

The ugly: L.A. was careless with the basketball which lead to 19 turnovers and allowed the Suns’ bench to score 46 points.

Nothing has really changed in 48 hours. The Lakers are the better team and the only question is, can they prove it on the road? They lead their season series with the Suns 2-0 after winning last season’s series for the fourth consecutive year. LA. has gone 6-4 in their last 10 regular season games and 6-2 in the last eight trips to Phoenix.

The Lakers can come away with a win by communicating on defense, playing solid against the pick-and-roll play, stopping the dribble penetration of the guards and controlling the tempo. They’ll need to defend, get back in transition, control the boards, quickly rotate out to open shooters and extend their defense out to the three point line.

L.A. is doing a better job of moving the basketball and moving bodies to find high percentage shots. However, they need to work the ball inside more and are still settling for too many jump shots as opposed to attacking the basket. The Lakers need to start fast and play with good energy and a sense of urgency.

It would behoove the purple and gold to take better control of the basketball and make precise passes to eliminate their turnovers. They must play better defensively, challenge every shot and limit the Suns to one shot per possession. L.A. guard Steve Blake has solidified the bench and the second unit has been more productive. The task of increasing said production is necessary, but remains a work in progress.

Starters
Lakers: D. Fisher, K. Bryant, M. Peace, P.Gasol, A. Bynum
Suns: S. Nash, J. Dudley, G. Hill, C. Frye, M. Gortat

Tip-off: 5:00 PM PST

Television –

• Los Angeles: KCAL 9 (Bill Macdonald & Stu Lantz)
• Phoenix: FS AZ (Gary Bender & Eddie Johnson)

Radio –

• Los Angeles: 710 ESPN (John Ireland & Mychal Thompson)
• Phoenix: KTAR 620 AM (Al McCoy & Tim Kempton)

Injuries –

Lakers:

• Steve Blake (Costochaondral fracture) Probable

Suns:

None