The title basically sums things up here...

The NBA couldn't have two series with 2 teams down 1-3

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no one thinks theyll win

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Probably not, but if you had asked me 4 days ago I would have said "no way". Today, I'm going to say maybe.

In any event, I'm certain it isn't some grand NBA conspiracy. If you watched the game you watched Phoenix outplay LA. "The NBA" had nothing to do with that unless they were the ones that told Derek Fisher to get old and slow and forced Artest to take bad shots.

The suns wouldn't win a game 7.

Their shot is to continue the hot shooting and steal game 5, then ride the home court wave and take the series in 6.

No way LA would allow a team to beat them in game 7 on their home court in the conference finals.

Hell, no way Stern would allow LA to lose that close to a possible LA-Boston rematch, and lose the LA media market.

The chance for PHX is tomorrow night.

It's a small chance, and I don't think they'll win the series, but I don't think it's a foregone conclusion that LA wins it either.

The sad thing is that even if Phoenix does the unthinkable and wins, they'd get slaughtered by the Celtics. I think that's a terrible matchup for them.

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I think that's a terrible matchup for them.

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Almost everybody said the same thing about PHO with regards to LA. If they somehow find a way to beat LA they'll find a way to be competitive against the Celts.

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The sad thing is that even if Phoenix does the unthinkable and wins, they'd get slaughtered by the Celtics. I think that's a terrible matchup for them.

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I agree. Rondo may be one of the few guys in the league right now that could shut down Nash/Dragic defensively, and the C's are big enough inside to limit Amare's prodcution as well. Do those two things, and the Suns are clearly beatable.

^Isn't that what they said about Fisher and Gasol & Bynum respectively?

In retrospect "they" weren't very bright when "they" suggested Fisher had a chance of stopping Nash/Dragic.

If Parker/Hill couldn't do it, Fisher wasn't going to do it.

Rondo's the best defensive PG in the league though.

[This message has been edited by MassAggie97 (edited 5/26/2010 12:45p).]

The Celts would be tough because they play defense and they can actually hit some outside shots. But I dont really think you can say for sure that Phx style would be stymied by Boston. With Lopez back and playing pretty well this Phx team is a threat.

I think the Lakers have some matchup issues with Phoenix. Gasol obviously is not athletic enough to keep Amare from scoring. Fisher does not force Nash to play defense and is not particularly long or fast on defense. Their big men off the bench that can shoot make it difficult to keep a guy like Bynum or Gasol in the paint to block shots.

The Celtics have the PG not only to guard Nash, but to abuse him on the other side of the court. They are multiple enough in offense to be very efficient against the Phoenix defense. And they are once again playing the best defense in the league, and a physical brand at that. Garnett will frustrate Amare much better than Gasol.

Although. Phoenix's bench has a huge edge over the Celtics.

I think Amare would abuse anyone on the Celts roster, including Garnet. And yeah, Rondo can guard Nash but there's going to be a lot of screen and rolls going on. Orlando has run them but they haven't capitalized like Phx would.

For me the real key is not defending Nash, which is clearly a team defense thing which the Celtics excel at -- they key is making Nash work on defense. Tire him out on that end and he'll be much less effective as the game goes on. Nash will get abused by Rondo whereas Fisher rarely makes him work, especially when they play zone.

Garnett is going to play Amare much better than Gasol.

Game 5 really is a must win for the Lakers! It sounds ridicules but it is true. PHX has big Mo, PHX has won 8 straight playoff home games, PHX has beat the LA 7 straight in PHX. While game 5 winner is likely to go on and win, PHX could still hold home court and steal game 7. This is the Lakers only chance to make the finals, yikes the preasure. Also Kobe is getting a bit annoyed with his teamates, any chance he explodes if things go south early tomorrow? And the PHX bench has confidence which could also carry over. Should be fun either way.

[This message has been edited by AgentZero (edited 2/7/2012 11:03am).]

It's a combination of a huge amount of success and extremely difficult access to affordable tickets the closer you get to the court for the normal fan.

However I do I assure you there are some quite 'crazy' fans that sit up top. Wearing the opposing teams uni up there is NOT a good idea.

Zona -- Both games in Phoenix were basically tied heading into the 4th quarter and the Lakers laid an egg both times. Phoenix is no more unbeatable at home than the Lakers are in Staples. Of the two teams, Phoenix is the one that has lost a home playoff game this year and the Lakers have the longer home playoff streak. I do agree that tonight is more a must win for LA than Phoenix though. Losing three straight and heading to a road elimination game would be tough on the psyche.

[This message has been edited by Look Out Below (edited 5/27/2010 9:39a).]

GAME 5 TONIGHT. MUST WIN LAKERS. LETS GET IT