NBA Playoffs WCF: Los Angeles Lakers vs. Phoenix Suns

[King Taharqa]

(1) Los Angeles Lakers (56-24)

STARTING 5

PG # 2 Derek Fisher

6'1 210 lbs

Arkansas-Little Rock '96

7.5 PPG 2.5 APG 1.1 SPG 85.2 FT% 34.4 3PT%

SG #24 Kobe "Black Mamba" Bryant

6'6 205 lbs

Lower Merion HS '96 (Ardmore, PA)

27.0 PPG 5.0 APG 5.4 RPG 81.1 FT% 32.9 3PT%

SF # 37 Ron Artest

6'7 260 lbs

St. John's '99

11.2 PPG 4.3 RPG 3.0 APG 1.4 SPG 36.0 3PT%

PF #16 Pau Gasol

7'0 250 lbs

Spain '01

18.2 PPG 11.3 RPG 3.4 APG 1.8 BPG 53.1 FG%

C #17 Andrew Bynum

7'0 285 lbs

St. Joseph's HS '05 (Metuchen, NJ)

15.0 PPG 8.3 RPG 1.4 BPG 57.0 FG%

BENCH

PG-Shannon Brown

PG-Jordan Farmar

SG-Sasha Vujacic

SF-Luke Walton

PF-Lamar Odom

C-DJ Mbenga

HEAD COACH

Phil "Zen Master" Jackson

[King Taharqa]

(3) Phoenix Suns (53-28)

STARTING 5

PG #13 Steve Nash

6'3 178 lbs

Santa Clara '96

16.6 PPG 11.0 APG 50.7 FG% 93.8 FT% 42.4 3PT%

SG #23 Jason Richardson

6'6 225 lbs

Michigan State '01

15.7 PPG 5.1 RPG 39.2 3PT%

SF #33 Grant Hill

6'8 225 lbs

Duke '94

11.3 PPG 5.5 RPG 2.4 APG 44.7 3PT%

PF #1 Amar'e "STAT" Stoudemire

6'10 249 lbs

Cypress Creek HS '02 (Orlando, FL)

23.2 PPG 9.0 RPG 55.8 FG%

C #15 Robin Lopez

7'0 255 lbs

Stanford '08

8.4 PPG 4.9 RPG 1.0 BPG 58.8 FG%

BENCH

PG-Goran Dragic

SG-Leandro Barbosa

SF-Jared Dudley

PF-Channing Frye

C-Jarron Collins

HEAD COACH

Alvin Gentry

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I think the Suns will steal 1 of the first 2 games in LA, and get 1 more in Phoenix, but in the end they wont be able to matchup with the Lakers height & length in the paint. Lakers in 6 games.

[Kakarot]

I really wanna go with the Suns, but I think the Lakers will pull this one out in 6.

[Wither]

I'd like to see the Suns win, and they could possibly pull it off, but I think the Lakers will make it out. I "sense" a 5-6 game series.

[tarheelpride]

Anyone But LA....and I will stick to that

[Dilla]

Suns, don't have viable reason, I just want them to win.

[Hawk]

wasn't this Suns team designed to beat LA?

I say they fail, LA in 6

[tarheelblue89]

I want a Lakers/Magic re-match

Lakers in 6.

[Kevin Greene]

Lakers in 6, possibly 5 if the Sun's 3 pointers aren't dropping with regularity.

[HeatCheck]

Lakers.

LA's big men are going to be critical to the Lakers' success. They can present match-up problems for the Suns whose big men are more finesse. But I guess the Suns could take advantage of their perimeter oriented big men if Frye plays well. It will force Gasol to the perimeter leaving the lane a bit more open.

Also I doubt Fisher will be able to handle Nash. But it the end Kobe and Gasol will be too much for Phoenix.

[rico6]

Lakers are just too big in the front court for the Suns, Ron Artest is going to shutdown Grant, Jared, and possibly Frye.

I say Lakers in 5.

[God]

I say the David Sterns win in 6.

[HeatCheck]

Pumped for this game tonight. Phil Jackson's trying to get into Nash's head like he tried with Durant in the first round. But it won't work, Nash has proven nothing phases him. Nash and his rainbow colored eye will still be going on all cylinders.

It will be interesting with Bynum's injury to see how productive he is. I heard he feels worse and it won't get any better. So maybe the front court advantage won't be as great. And if the Laker's shut down or at least contain Phoenix's pick and roll, it should be that much easier.

I am going to stick to my original prediction before the playoffs, Lakers over Suns in 6.

[King Taharqa]

Latin group protesting Zenmaster & Lake Show tonight

Activists outraged at comments made by Lakers Coach Phil Jackson that seem to back Arizona’s controversial new immigration law plan to rally outside Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles before Monday’s playoff opener against the Phoenix Suns.

“The way we look at it, Phil Jackson is supporting the Arizona law,” said Mario Gonzalez, a longtime Lakers fan and rally organizer. “That’s surprising. It caught us off guard. We want to find out where the team stands on the law.”

John Black, the Lakers' vice president for public relations, did not respond to telephone messages seeking comment.

Sparking the furor are remarks made by Jackson to ESPN.com columnist J.A. Adande in which the Lakers coach seems to back the incendiary Arizona law, which allows local police to check citizens documents and arrest them if they don't have them.

“Am I crazy, or am I the only one that heard [the legislature] say, ‘We just took the United States immigration law and adopted it to our state?’” Jackson said of the Arizona statute.

The Lakers coach then disputed the columnist’s assertion that Arizona legislatures had “usurped” federal immigration law -- an allegation widely made by critics who say the law could lead to racial profiling of Latinos.

Supporters say the state law complements federal statutes and deny any intent to target Latinos.

“It’s not usurping” federal law, Jackson replied, adding that the Arizona lawmakers “gave it some teeth to be able to enforce it.”

Jackson, long known as a free spirit who in Adande’s words “has showed lefty leanings in the past,” also seems to chastise the Suns’ management for its criticism of the Arizona law.

The Suns’ owner and several players have publicly criticized the statute.

“I don’t think teams should get involved in the political stuff,” Jackson told the ESPN.com columnist. “If I heard it right, the American people are really for stronger immigration laws, if I’m not mistaken. Where we stand as basketball teams, we should let that kind of play out and let the political end of that go where it’s going to go.”

Gonzalez, the protest organizer, said Monday’s rally was not meant as a call to boycott the Lakers or root against the L.A. squad in its push to repeat as league champions. Rather, he said, the action is aimed at condemning Jackson’s apparent support for the Arizona law and clarifying Lakers management’s opinion on the matter.

“We want to know the team and Phil Jackson’s opinion on the law,” Gonzalez said.

Supporters of the rally said they wanted to give Jackson and the Lakers the opportunity to clarify their position on the Arizona law. Activists voiced the hope that both the Lakers and Jackson would follow the Suns’ example and come out against Arizona’s plan.

“We want to give Phil Jackson the benefit of the doubt,” said Nativo Lopez, head of the Mexican American Political Assn. “There are nuances here that Phil Jackson perhaps is not familiar with. He’s an expert at basketball but not at immigration law.”

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2010/05/activists-protest-lakers-coach-phil-jackons-comments-on-arizonas-new-immigration-law.html

There are also rumblings that Phil will retire after this season. If he does thats real bad news for the Lake Show. Last time that happened, they ended up missing the playoffs the next year and had to beg him to come back.