Lakers Scorch the Suns

Sure, Steve Nash and Amare Stoudemire were out with injuries. Sure, Shaquille O’Neal is getting long in the tooth and is no longer the once fearsome MDE. Sure, Alvin Gentry, the Phoenix Suns interim head coach has only been on the job for a few weeks since the firing of Terry Porter. Sure, we all know that the Suns have hit hard times ever since Mike D’Antoni was booted out the door in favor of a game plan that called for a new defensive approach, rather than the run-and-gun style that had prevailed previously. Sure, the Los Angeles Lakers are now 3-0 this season against the desert dwellers from the Southwest and own the league’s best record at 48-10, with the Suns a dismal 32-25 and out of the playoffs currently in 9th position. Sure, we expected more fireworks between Kobe Bryant and Shaq, Kobe posting an efficient 22 points on 10-13 shooting and Shaq garnering 12 points (6 of 7 free throws) and 7 rebounds. Sure, Lamar Odom (23 points, 12 rebounds) and Pau Gasol (16 points, 9 rebounds) continued their solid and efficient play since Andrew Bynum’s unfortunate knee injury. Sure, the Bench Mob responded again in a big game with Sasha Vujacic, Jordan Farmar and Trevor Ariza posting 14, 12 and 10 points respectively. Sure, we had all hoped for a better showing between Pacific Division as well as Western Conference rivals.

dEDGE Post Scriptum

You will never guess what happened at Staples Center last night. The Phoenix Suns gave up. They threw in the towel, waved the white flag, shouted uncle, asked for leniency, threw themselves on the mercy of the court, pulled the plug. And when it was all said and done, the Phoenix Suns quickly and quietly left town heading for home smelling of toast and badly sunburned.