Suns/Lakers Game 1

A highly entertaining game, but not quite what I expected. This figured to be a close series, and if game 1 was any indication, it will be, as the Suns won 107-102, but it was the way that it was so close that was so surprising. The Lakers being in this game had less to do with Kobe Bryant and more to do with the balance of everyone on the team. Here's the numbers for the five starters from LA.

Kobe Bryant - 22 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists
Lamar Odom - 21 points, 14 rebounds, 3 assists
Luke Walton - 19 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists
Smush Parker - 15 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist
Kwame Brown - 14 points, 6 rebounds

Through 3 quarters the Lakers were playing a great game... they had slowed down Phoenix's fast break game (the Suns scored 36 points and hit no 3-pointers in the 2nd and 3rd quarters combined), they were getting the ball inside, and everybody was contributing. Then in the 4th, the Suns were able to get up and down again, Tim Thomas hit some big shots, Leandro Barbosa played well, and while the role players for the Lakers still played well, Kobe never got it going from the outside. He finished up 7/21 from the field, and only 1/6 from beyond the arc.

For the Suns, Tim Thomas shined qith 22 points and 15 rebounds. Barbosa was big off the bench with 15. Steve Nash was himself, scoring 20 points and dishing out 10 assists. Guys like Boris Diaw and Raja Bell struggled a little bit, but the aforementioned players made up for it.

The most entertaining matchup of the game was Lamar Odom vs. Shawn Marion on the low block. Both players put up good numbers (Odom has 21 and 14, Marion had 19 and 6), but they made each other work all day for everything they got. These guys are overshadowed in this series by the perceived stars, Kobe Bryant and Steve Nash, but these two may have just as big of a hand in this series as those two. This is going to be a fun battle to watch throughout, and if game 1 is any indication, a very fun series to watch.