| A Lost Opportunity Authored by Graham Flashner - May 5, 2006 - 3:59 am
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Didn’t think so.
The Suns’ 126-118 overtime victory swung playoff momentum heavily in their favor, the Lakers now forced to make a trip they have to be dreading.
Nervous Lakers fans can cling to the numbers:
- Phil Jackson is 44-0 all-time when his team has led a playoff series, and he’s never lost in the first round.
- The Lakers are 27-0 when leading 3-1 in a playoff series; the Suns have never come back from a series in which they trailed, 3-1.
I expect both streaks to be snapped on Saturday night.
And in case you think the numbers overwhelmingly favor Los Angeles, note the following:
- In the NBA, the home team is 75-17 all-time in Game 7.
- No. 7 seeds are 4-38 all-time in NBA playoff series.
About that Lakers-Clippers series? Expect it to go the way of so many anticipated Hollywood projects: into turnaround.
Maybe the Lakers bought into their own hype. Maybe they took Kobe Bryant’s Game 4 heroics for granted, figuring he’d be there to save them at the end once more. Bryant was there at the end, but after scoring the 5 most important Laker points of the fourth quarter, his final shot in regulation was tipped by Shawn Marion.
The same Shawn Marion whose offensive rebound led to a game-tying three-point shot by Tim Thomas, a possession that will likely haunt the Lakers well into summer.
After being lead for dead in the wake of the Lakers’ miracle finish in Game 4, the Suns have roared back, answering the Lakers inside game with relentless ball movement and jump-shooting.
In the process, the Lakers have resembled the inexperienced, youthful team that stumbled through much of January and February.
The kind of team that squanders a golden opportunity – Game 6, home court, Phoenix’s best defender, Raja Bell, on the bench – and starts to doubt themselves.
Bryant, with 50 points on 20-35 shooting, did his best to save them, but turned into a one-man show down the stretch, and missed several key shots in the fourth quarter before hitting two very difficult ones. Even with Raja Bell on the bench, Leandro Barbosa and Marion did a credible job making Bryant work end-to-end for his shots, while Kobe’s backcourt mate, Smush Parker, was a disaster, missing all five of his shots.
The Suns, meanwhile, have rediscovered their explosive offense, making the Lakers pay for all of their 20 turnovers. Their speed and athleticism has started to cancel out the Lakers’ size advantage, Steve Nash has reasserted control after his nightmarish finish in Game 4, and have to feel that they’ve already seen the best the Lakers have to offer.
Give the Lakers for making good on Charles Barkley’s prediction that this would be the most thrilling ever between a No.2 and a No. 7 seed. Come Saturday night, expect the Lakers and Suns to play like their respective seedings, while L.A. fans lament what might have been. |
