Game 7 is forthcoming

Once again, the Suns have escaped to live another day, beating the Lakers 126-118 in an overtime thriller. The game was sent to OT when Tim Thomas hit a 3-pointer with 6.7 seconds left, tying the game at 105, followed by Kobe trying to win the game, relatively speaking. It didn't quite make it to the rim.

This sets up a Game 6 Saturday night, and it really should be a fabulous game. Raja Bell will be back, and tempers will definitely flare. I guarantee Kobe will bring his A-Game (whether it's good for LA or not), and the Suns will be geared up to win the game in front of their home crowd.

In Game 6, Kobe scored 50, but that may have been part of the problem. This tells me 2 things: 1) LA didn't get the ball inside enough (Kwame was 8/9, Lamar Odom was 8/14) and most importantly 2) LA played Phoenix' game. Unlike the first four games of the series, LA tried to match Phoenix's pace, for some reason unknown to me. Sure, they practically had the game in the bag until Marion rebounded a missed shot by Nash and kicked it out to Thomas, but that tied it at 105, which is not where the Lakers want the score to be. In overtime, this was even more apparent, as Kobe tried to beat the Suns by himself, reverting back to regular season form, and the Suns ran them out of the gym.

I'm sure you'll read lots of stuff today and tomorrow about how the Lakers blew their chance, and how they can't beat Phoenix at home in Game 7, but I don't see it that way, not with Phil Jackson coaching the Lakers. If I can tell that the Lakers trying to match the Suns pace was a bad idea, I can guarantee Phil knows it too. I expect Game 7 to be very physical, and I expect Phil to get the Lakers to slow it way down, and Kobe to be playing more like he did in Games 2 and 3, pounding the ball down low. The game will depend on if Phoenix can run their style or not (Phoenix when it scores over 100: 3-0. Phoenix when it doesn't score 100: 0-3) With Phil Jackson at the helm, I expect the Lakers to slow the game down, pound the ball inside, get back on defense, and when a hard-fought game 7.

Before the series I picked the Lakers in 7, and I'm sticking with it. Hopefully we'll see more of the same in Game 7 as we've seen throughout, because this has been special.