How big is the Gentry / Jackson coaching mismatch?

[Snowball]

I have to say I really didn't respect Gentry but he did impress me a little by winning these last two playoff series. I'm sure some of that has to do with him working for Pop in SA as Goat Milk pointed out.

On the other hand, really WTF are we talking about here ? SA was beat up and tired. Portland was missing 3 starters. I respect Grant Hill and Amare, and Nash, although I think Nash is limited in what he can do against this Laker team. I respect the capabilities of the Phoenix bench, but they are smalls. PHX was hot. Too hot. STREAKY HOT in my opinion, meaning they will not hold up to this level of shooting % and 3-pointers. You know I think Stoudemire is the only player on PHX that can really be effective against LA. It ain't gonna be enough. Nash better not think he can penetrate.
Houlihans said it they don't have the size, strength or mental toughness to make this a competitive series. Kobe can laud Grant Hill as a defender as I saw him do on ESPN, but that's just talk before he burns him. Of course the Lakers will need Artest, Bynum and Odom to play smart and with 100% hustle.. but they will slow down the Suns and Phil Jackson will play the half court game on Laker terms.. clogging up the floor with bodies and arms..and maybe some Derek Fisher steals.
these games could be blowouts for the Lakers, if Phil Jackson can win these games by 15-20 average then I will say he IS the ZEN MASTER. But I'm tellin' you all right now that if the Lakers don't pound the crap out of this PHX team and win games by over 10+ average, they will lose to whoever emerges from the Eastern Conference. They have to take both these games in LA convincingly and crush PHX illusions early.

[Dark Horse]

Gentry and staff are better than D'Antoni and staff ever were. And the D'Antoni Suns owned the Jackson Lakers in the playoffs.

Don't be surprised if the Suns own the Lakers again. I know they haven't won a championship, but this team is certainly capable of going all the way. They are much tougher -mentally, physically, and defensively - than any of the previous Suns versions.

The Spurs were the Suns nemesis for years. Not the Lakers.

Once the smoke clears, all this exaggerated talk about matchups will be forgotten. It will just be about the team that wanted it more. And the Suns bench wants it more than anybody. They are the secret weapon/engine. The Suns starters only have to keep it close; the bench will do the rest. The Suns bench would be a playoff team in the East.

Farmar... lmao.

Utah respected the Lakers. They were afraid to hit 'm in the mouth when they could have. They backed off at the crucial moments in games 1 and 2. Don't expect that kind of respect from the Suns. The previous Suns, that beat the Lakers in the playoffs..., were nice guys. The present Suns are murderers. As long as they play with the same intensity as against the Spurs, the wrong team is favored.

As long as the Lakers win, all is well in Lakerland. The way to beat them is to break their spirit. What is their spirit? The merging of Kobe and his supporting cast. Break that and the team falls apart into two separate parts. (Surely, you know that Kobe is only a team player when he wins?) I have no doubt that the Suns are capable of achieving this. And I also have no doubt that the Suns spirit can't be broken. That is because they are a true team, including the bench, where everybody sacrifices for everybody.

To end on a Gentry note. The previous Suns couldn't afford to play touch and pick up fouls, because there was nobody on the bench (that had played significant minutes). So they were forced to play softer... Gentry gave the Suns a bench. He build on the foundation laid by D'Antoni, and greatly improved the team. Again, the soft Suns, the Suns who couldn't play defense, owned the Lakers twice in the playoffs. Do Lakers backers really think that the addition of Gasol is going to tilt the series in LA's favor?

[Goat Milk]

The Suns bench would be a playoff team in the East. -darkhrse

[Dark Horse]

Yeah, you can quote me on that. The Suns starters would have lost the series with the Spurs. The bench would have none of it.

They blew out the Spurs starters, in San Antonio, in the fourth quarter of game 3.

[Goat Milk]

Yeah, you can quote me on that. The Suns starters would have lost the series with the Spurs. The bench would have none of it.

They blew out the Spurs starters, in San Antonio, in the fourth quarter of game 3.

J Rich, Amare, and Nash all abused the Spurs starters.

[Dark Horse]

What do you want? Change the subject whenever you're off? You laughed at my bench statement, so I showed you an example of the strength of the bench. Take it or leave it.

4Q:

http://popcornmachine.net/cgi-bin/gameflow.cgi?date=20100507&game=PHOSAS

[Goat Milk]

What do you want? Change the subject whenever you're off? You laughed at my bench statement, so I showed you an example of the strength of the bench. Take it or leave it.

4Q:
http://popcornmachine.net/cgi-bin/ga...07&game=PHOSAS

Huh? I wasn't in the mood to talk about the bench because you're way off. You think that Dudley can start on any team in the east players? You think that Amundson can start anywhere on a East playoff team? Let alone these 5 guys starting on the same "playoff team."

I was more interested in talking about the fact that you said the Suns starters would lose to the spurs when the only reason the bench got so many minutes was because Nash, Amare, Hill (defensively on Ginob just like I called), and J Rich all tore it up.

[Dark Horse]

Did you actually watch the series? The Spurs were up by 1 point after three quarters in game 3...

The Suns bench in game 2 saved the game early, after the starters had fallen behind 21-30 after 1Q at home, and looked lifeless.

Just a few examples facts.

[chaseman]

No phil cant play mind games with Nash- you are correct. Nash is a proven winner at this stage of the playoff level and nothing will throw him off his game in his quest for another ring.

[lakerboy]

Do Lakers backers really think that the addition of Gasol is going to tilt the series in LA's favor?

No but they also added in Artest/Bynum/Fisher along with Gasol. You actually think the Lakers are the same team as the ones that the suns beat 3-4 years ago-lol. At the same time the Suns are better as well . It should be a good series but your a homer and im a homer.

[lakerboy]

Let me guess the week off gave the lakers the edge. One week off for both teams and 1 extra day for the suns and they get blown out of the building. I would think Phil had the lakers better prepared than Gentry's boys.


Gentry" we are gonna be okay"


See you next year pal.

[jsmithj88]

we know nash usually comes in at 6min, but not u gotta use common sense sometimes
i didnt understand sitting nash when the lakers basically had their starters to begin the 4th
suns go on a drought and they get blown out

[HenPrivilege]

Great bump.

If you name doesn't end in Sloan, Karl or Popovich you aren't scaring the Zen Master.

[Snowball]

or Rivers..

[HenPrivilege]

or Rivers..

Definitely Rivers..

I won't miss Lakers Celtics this year if it happens. I'll pay top dollar for that shit at Staples.

[lakerboy]

gentry sees kobe and gasol st the fourth in a 90-90 game and he brings in dragic/barbosa and amundson to st the 4th.


you dont play until sunday clown . you go all out.

[t-wizzle]

gentry sees kobe and gasol st the fourth in a 90-90 game and he brings in dragic/barbosa and amundson to st the 4th.


you dont play until sunday clown . you go all out.

I couldn't believe that either. He treated it like a regular season game... He rested nash like that all year for what? So that he could rest him some more in the biggest games?

[lakerboy]

What makes me laugh is how people said that the coaching wont be the issue. So many folks around here think they know the game.

[Pauulzcappin]

Yea, as soon as I saw that I placed a very big bet on Lakers -3.5 for the game on the start of the quarter.

[Goat Milk]

Jackson much> Gentry. Next two games will be won without Gentry. Nash and Hill are the generals.

[kobefanatic]

hill doesn't look like someone who can handle kobe

[lakerboy]

[quote=Goat Milk;4641377]Jackson much> Gentry. Next two games will be won without Gentry. Nash and Hill are the cavalry[/quote]