Tonight in a much anticipated match up between the visiting Phoenix Suns and the Los Angeles Lakers, Shaq and Kobe will be lacing it up against each other one more time. Like most match ups between the two since their split after the 2003-04 season, Kobe's Lakers will once again be the favorite to win over Shaq's Suns. After the firing of Coach Porter, the Suns under newly instated Head Coach Alvin Gentry, have moved back to their uptempo style, averaging 128 points per game, with three 140 point games in a row. The return of the uptempo style has drastically improved the Suns on the offensive end of court and also improved their team defense, as they are looking to swarm their opponents and cause turnovers. The only chink in their armor has been the loss of Amare Stoudemire for the remainder of the season. Stoudemire after having surgery on his right eye to reattach a partially detached right retina, will be out at least 8 weeks and possibly for the playoffs as well. The injury has given minutes to more rotation players but it will be very difficult for the Suns to make a run in the playoffs if they are without their starting Power Forward. Small ball can only win you games in the regular season, not in the playoffs.
As for the Lakers, everything has been clicking on all cylinders. They still hold the best record in the league at 47-10, and Kobe has still been leading the team both on the offensive and defensive sides of the court. It will be very difficult for the Suns to steal this game in L.A. but if they can get big numbers from their starters and solid numbers from their bench they may be able to keep the game close and still it in the end. For the realists, expect the Lakers to get out to a quick start and pull away from the Suns rather quickly. The bench for the Lakers is far superior to that of the Suns but the Suns have the better starters when you think about the numbers each person can put up. Tonight should definitely be interesting.
As for the rest of the league, the much dreaded injury bug has begun to spread from team to team. The Los Angeles Clippers have lost nearly one-third of their team to injuries this season, Dallas is expected to be without Jason Terry for at least another week or two, Amare Stoudemire and Tracy McGrady are done for the season, Utah's Carlos Boozer just returned from a three-month absence, Kevin Garnett is expected to be out with a knee sprain for at least a week or two until he is 100 percent, and Manu Ginobli is day-to-day again with a ankle sprain. The injuries this season have been far worse than they have in the last few seasons or so. Hopefully, there will be enough healthy players left to make the playoffs competitive when May rolls around.
In a type of closure for New York Knicks center Eddy Curry, a suspect was arrested and charged with the murder of Curry's 10-month-old daughter, Ava, and ex-girlfriend Nova Henry. Henry and Ava were found shot to death in their home in Chicago on Jan. 24. Henry's ex-boyfriend has been arrested and will most likely be charged with the murders. Curry and Henry's 3-year-old son, Noah, was found untouched and asleep in the home when authorities arrived. He has since been held out of school for fear of the child's safety.
That's it for this installment! Enjoy the rest of your week and make sure to catch tonight's game between the Suns and Lakers.
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