ESPN

With a highly entertaining Western Conference Finals between Dallas and Oklahoma City now in full swing, we asked Clippers forward Ryan Gomes, a six-year vet who has matched up with both Dirk Nowitzki and Kevin Durant, to break down the action for ESPNLA.com.

He looks at Thursday's win in Game 2 for Oklahoma City, and ahead towards Game 3. Here's an excerpt:

"...After Dirk Nowitzki's incredible Game 1, the Thunder did a nice job with their adjustments in Game 2, giving Dirk different looks compared to what they did in the other night. In Game 1 he was fouled a lot, but on the shots where he wasn’t, Dirk had his areas down. He was catching, jabbing, and shooting over guys. He was comfortable. In Game 2, the Thunder ran a few double teams at him, and made him get rid of the ball. Dirk finished with five assists, but in the third quarter the Thunder were forcing turnovers because he and his teammates couldn’t time when that double team was coming.

Oklahoma City did a nice job putting it in Dirk’s mind that help could be coming at any point, and from different places. As a player, that makes you just a little less sure in your moves. Then as they built the lead, they didn’t really want or need to double any more. The Thunder could play Dirk as straight and solid as possible, keeping other defenders on their shooters, knowing if he scored the Mavs still needed two or three more possessions in order to tie.

Dirk still had a great game, with 29 points on only 17 shots from the floor, but over the course of the night Oklahoma City did a nice job changing his rhythm.

Offensively, I thought Oklahoma City did a good job against Dallas' zone, putting Durant on the wing, but moving him around to the middle of the free throw line area. The Thunder tried to get him isolated right there against the guards at the top, so he could take those little mid-range shots or draw attention and kick to the opposite side of the floor. One time, he shot a pull up and missed it, but the Thunder earned the offensive rebound, and were able to capitalize with a nice lefty putback from Nick Collison. That’s the thing about a zone- if you don’t get that first defensive rebound, the opportunities for the offense to go in there and find holes are big.

That’s what they’ll need to keep doing in Game 3. Keep finding ways to get Durant to the middle, and have him make plays.

But even though Dirk and Durant were both good, the big key Thursday was with the other guys on the court..."

For the rest of Gomes' breakdown, including some great stuff on James Harden and the fourth quarter benching of Russell Westbrook, click here.

By the time a series reaches Game 6, the chips are basically on the table. Sure, there are adjustments still to be made, maybe some rabbits still lingering at the bottoms of hats, but everyone basically knows what has to happen for one team to beat the other. Particularly these days, when no number goes undiscovered. (I'm sure someone somewhere has computed Alvin Gentry's PER in courtside vomiting after Game 5.)

You know the Lakers need to control the boards, get the ball in the seam of the zone, aggressively defend the pick and roll, and keep Amare Stoudemire off the line (among other things). So will they do it?

Here are five true/false propositions to occupy your time before tonight's tip...

1. True or false: The Lakers will get more than 12.5/8/2.5 and 37 percent shooting from Lamar Odom.

These were his major-stat averages in Games 3 and 4 in L.A.'s first visit to Phoenix, compared to home averages of 17.67/14.33/3.67 on nearly 64 percent from the floor. The guy has been called an X-factor so often, X-factors on other teams are just called "Lamar." But there's no question Odom is a barometer for the rest of the group. They can (and often do) win when Odom isn't active, but rarely it seems they lose when he goes off. If Odom doesn't settle for jumpers, his ability to run the floor, handle the ball, and get inside via the post, pass, and off-ball movement makes him a great zone-busting weapon.

Game 3 was easily Odom's worst of the series. He was discombobulated and in foul trouble. While Game 4 wasn't bad (15 points, 10 boards), it wasn't high impact. But what should encourage Lakers fans are his 12 attempts a night on the road, three more than he averaged during the regular season. It's easy to live an off night from Odom as long as he's at least trying to find offensive opportunities. It's those five FGA nights the Lakers can't afford.

VERDICT: True. Odom will improve on the 37 percent mark from Games 3 and 4, and earn a solid double-double.

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The playoffs have a way of bending time.

Only six weeks ago, the Lakers and Kobe Bryant were in a very different place.

The start of Bryant's postseason was, to say the least, rocky. Over the first three games of L.A.'s opening round series against Oklahoma City, Kobe shot an abysmal 28-of-76 from the floor (36.8 percent). He had been harassed first by Thabo Sefolosha, then the long arms of Kevin Durant. The lift on his jumper wasn't there. In their 21 point loss to the Thunder in Game 4, Kobe didn't have a field goal until three minutes into the second quarter, and finished with only 12 points.

The Lakers were tied 2-2, and after a season of endless injuries Kobe looked tired and slow. Charles Barkley famously declared Bryant had lost a step. Did he have the juice to make it through the second season grind? Was it the beginning of the end for Bryant?

Then a funny thing happened. The Lakers had two days off after Game 4, then blew out the Thunder in Game 5, allowing Kobe to play only 29 completely stress-free minutes. The bum knee hobbling him started to heal.

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Wednesday afternoon at practice, Phil Jackson repeated one of his favorite expressions about the game, that everything can change "on a trifle." The small things can add up. Little moments turn into bigger ones. The same can be said for playoff runs. On the path to a championship, there are those moments able to turn history if they go the other way. If the Denver Nuggets can get the ball in bounds during last year's Western Conference Finals, or Courtney Lee doesn't blow a layup at the end of regulation in Game 2 of the Finals.

If, if, if...

These are plays more on the massive end of the Jackson Trifle Scale, but even they can, in the course of a 20-plus game playoff marathon, get lost in the fabric of things, obscured by the end result if it comes with a trophy.

The alchemy of dumb luck, dogged play, and fundamental breakdowns can turn a game, a series, and perhaps a run for a repeat. The Lakers saw it Oklahoma City, when Pau Gasol put back a Kobe Bryant miss to end the series at the buzzer in Game 6. Or in Game 3 in Utah, when a Wes Matthews tip in the final seconds didn't fall. And they had another one tonight, when Ron Artest made one of the fastest goat-to-hero swings in basketball history.

After Jason Richardson stunned the Staples crowd with a three-pointer off the glass, tying the game at 101 and finally erasing a Lakers lead as large as 18 points in the third quarter, Lamar Odom stood on the sidelines to inbound the ball. No surprise, he searched for Kobe Bryant, cutting towards Odom at the right wing. Accepting the pass, Kobe rose, thinking he only had to shoot over Steve Nash, with Grant Hill closing.

"I felt I had a good look," Kobe said. "Hill stuck his hand in there at the last second, forced me to double pump. Other than that, I was going to shoot over Steve."

The Lakes should send Hill a nice gift basket, something with a nice pinot and some fancy cheeses, thanking him for not giving up on the play.

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Oh, for the carefree feeling of five days gone by, when the Lakers were storming through Phoenix and headed for the Finals like Godzilla tearing through the streets of Tokyo. Life for fans was easy. It was good. It was free of stomach acid and ulcers.

Now, not so much. After consecutive losses to the Suns in the desert, the Western Conference finals are tied at two with Game 5 coming tonight at Staples. By now, many of your more prominent storylines are well known -- Amare Stoudemire's resurgence, L.A.'s issues with the zone (and the 60 threes they shot against it in Games 3 and 4), and the breakdowns for the Lakers defensively.

But there are still more questions to be asked as we all gear up for tonight's game. Here are four:

1. The Lakers won twice in convincing fashion, but then were skunked in Phoenix. Is this just another example of a team lacking killer instinct?

Not really. Most pundits looked at this series and figured it would be long and hard fought, myself included (I predicted the Lakers in a tight six). Some picked the Suns to win. So it seems we -- and by that I mean a healthy majority of media and fans alike -- changed our collective minds and decided after Games 1 and 2 the Suns were cooked.

We tend to overreact to the natural ebbs and flows of the postseason, I said to Phil Jackson Wednesday afternoon.

"Yes," he smiled, "you do."

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The Threepeat era is often remembered as an era of instant gratification. Phil Jackson arrives in 2000. The Lakers capture the title that season, then reel off another two in succession. No fuss, no muss. But the glare of three trophies can blind one from the details. It's easy to forget how dangerously close Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant came to stalling their arrival as the decade's most dominant duo.

After gaining a 3-1 Western Conference Finals advantage over the highly talented (and even more dysfunctional) Portland Trail Blazers, the Lakers appeared to have turned a corner on their recent history of postseason flame outs. Then came a 96-88 Game 5 loss in L.A. Followed by a 103-93 fall in the Rose Garden. Followed by a Game 7 in which Portland took a 16-point lead after three quarters. A 67-win season appeared to be all for naught. Phil Jackson would go down at the hands of a guy he guided to six rings (Scottie Pippen). Shaq would endure another offseason hearing the critics claim he couldn't lead a team to a title.

Instead, in keeping with the drama so often defining this franchise, it was merely a dramatic setup for the biggest fourth quarter Game 7 comeback in NBA history, an epic 25-4 run waged on both sides of the floor, with everyone finding a way to contribute.

Brian Shaw drained a pair of three-pointers to help start the party. The Lakers defense hunkered down, denying Portland on ten consecutive possessions and limiting them to just 22 percent from the field during the fourth quarter. Shaq, held in check throughout the game by Portland's double/triple teams, came alive during the final frame with nine points. He also hit a pair of crucial free throws to force a 77-77 tie with 2:44 remaining.

But above all, there was the sequence now synonymous with this victory.

Kobe drives the lane as Shaq drifts towards the basket while signaling for a lob. The alley oop goes up. O'Neal stuffs it down one-handed, then races upcourt, mouth agape, two index fingers out in salute of everyone in his sight line.

These two superstars had spent four years together alternately making each other better and making each other crazy. At this moment, however, their chemistry, mindset and talents were perfectly aligned with one goal in mind.

It was a moment bigger than either of them, and together Kobe and Shaq put the ultimate stamp on a game now legendary in Lakers lore.

ESPNLA.com and Land O' Lakers are counting down the ten greatest playoff moments in Laker history. Upon completion, fans will be asked to vote on the single greatest moment of all. Previous moments include:

-Shaquille O'Neal's near quadruple-double in the 2001 NBA Finals, Game 2
-The Logo's steal in 1962
-Elgin goes for 61 in '62
-Worthy's Game 7 Trip-Dub in 1988
-Kareem's sky hook marks the end of Boston's dominance over L.A.
-Horry wins Game 4, Western Conference Finals, 2002
-Derek Fisher and .4, 2004
-Magic jumps center to secure the 1980 championship

People grieve in different ways. Some find a quiet corner of their house and shed a few tears. Others channel anger and sadness into a vigorous workout, sweating the pain away. Others still quilt or write haiku.

Andy and me? We head to the studio to record another edition of the Kamenetzky Brothers Land O'Lakers PodKast. The incredible specificity of it makes it tough for counselors to recommend this

PODCAST
Andy and Brian recap the WCF Game 3, with topics ranging from Amare Stoudemire, Andrew Bynum, Robin Lopez, and zone defenses. Plus, why Andy is every bit as tough as Steve Nash. Podcast

strategy to the public generally, but it seems to work well for us. So when the Lakers dropped Game 3 Sunday night, we didn't pout but instead demanded people stay late at the office so we could indulge ourselves a little basketball chatter.

And so we could watch All Night's Jason Smith through the glass separating the two studios. (Go ahead and look at the man behind the curtain. He dares you...)

The show is all about Game 3, with a lookahead to Tuesday's Game 4. Topics include:

• Steve Nash's self-service rhinoplasty, and why Andy thinks he's just as tough as America's favorite Canadian.
• Amare Stoudemire's big-time bounce back. 42 points, including 18 free throws, plus 11 boards answered those who questioned his pride after Games 1 and 2 plus the huge contributions (and cactus elbows) of Robin Lopez (@7:30)
• Too many fouls for the Lakers (13:25), plus the Phoenix zone, and why it befuddled the Lakers... or did the Lakers just befuddle themselves? (16:30)
• Phil Jackson suggested Sunday night he might sit Andrew Bynum for Game 4. Today, he reconsidered. Good idea, or bad idea? (Read my written take here...) (22:10)
• Does anything really change now that Phoenix is on the board? (28:00)

There are a few more subjects tossed in here and there, but those are the highlights. It's not quite nervous time yet (frankly, even if they lose Tuesday, I wouldn't worry until they dropped Game 5), but Lakers fans are certainly hoping to come back to L.A. with a chance to polish of the Suns.

Look, folks, just because the basketball world (or at least the purple, gold, and green parts of it) has turned giddy in anticipation of an L.A. vs. Boston Finals- and Saturday night's pasting handed to the Magic gets us one step closer- doesn't mean the work at hand can be totally ignored.

Phoenix remains a dangerous team, particularly at home. So sure, go ahead and guesstimate how many chickens you'll have once they've hatched, but don't work a firm count quite yet. Game 3 matters. Here are five big questions surrounding the Sunday afternoon's tilt:

1. So, seriously, does Amare Stoudemire have any pride ?

We'll find out. No player I can think of has been so widely eviscerated for his play on the defensive side of the ball as Stoudemire has been since Game 1. People are piling on to the point that the piles have piles, and deservedly so. Praised down the stretch for, belated as it may be, attention and improvement to that part of his game, Amare has been a massive impediment to his team's fortunes in the first two games, failing in the pick-and-roll, in the post, as a help defender, and on the boards. The Suns cannot win unless he improves.

At the very least, I'd be shocked if Stoudemire doesn't come with more effort in Game 3. He won't be Dwight Howard, but he can't possibly again be Curly Howard, can he?

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The NBA has been kind enough to build in a lot of down time since the end of the conference semi-finals. As such, we were given ample opportunity to form an opinion on the Lakers vs. Phoenix. Would L.A. be able to contain the potent Suns attack? Would Phoenix's improved defense slow down the purple and gold, despite a serious size advantage for the champs.

PODCAST
Andy and Brian break down L.A.'s big wins over the Suns in Games 1 and 2, digging deep into Phoenix's defensive problems before looking towards Sunday's Game 3. Plus, Phil Jackson's future, and FSN's Bill Macdonald joins us to talk WCF, 81, and media catering. Podcast

We start with the action on Phoenix's end of the floor, breaking down Games 1 and 2:

• The issue of Kobe Bryant, and whether or not Phoenix can double him. They can't, and we break down why.
• Then there's Amare Stoudemire, and the incredible damage he's doing to Phoenix's defense. Fair to say, he should have kept his mouth shut- LuckyGate hasn't helped him in the slightest.

From there, we welcome the venerable Bill Macdonald of Fox Sports West/Prime Ticket, host of Lakers Live (and every other show on FSN, we think). We talk about his call of 81- he was sitting in for Joel Meyers that night- the series to this point, the stark nature of his Wikipedia page, and his prima donna tendencies when it comes to media dining.

After, we turn to Games 3 and beyond. How competitive is this series going to get?

And to wrap it up, more talk of Phil Jackson. If, as has been reported, his salary for next season will be capped at $5 million, what impact would it have? Is it an offer designed to be refused? Would it be a mistake to let the Zen Master walk? Or is this all just more smoke and mirrors in a situation that'll work itself out?

In Game 1, facing mostly single coverage, Kobe Bryant lit up the Suns for 40 points and five dimes as the Lakers shot 58 percent and rolled up 128 points. Not exactly what the Suns had in mind. So Wednesday night in Game 2, Suns coach Alvin Gentry went with Plan B, more frequently throwing extra bodies at Bryant. Kobe scored 21 points and handed out 13 assists as the Lakers shot 57.7 percent and rolled up 124 points.

A few more games of this, and the Lakers could be down to 55 percent and 117 points.

After the game, I asked Gentry if he thought last night's strategy on Bryant could be considered a success. "You look at Kobe's line, he's eight for 18. Has 21 points," he said. "But then when you do that, he has 13 assists. Guys, there's a reason he's the best basketball player in the world. he's not going to force things. He doesn't do that anymore. And so if you ask me if we did a good job on him, we took him from 40 to 21. So that's a good job. But when you add in the 13 assists, that's 26 more points. So you're looking at 47 is the way we look at it."

Technically, it was over 50, since at least four of Kobe's dimes resulted in threes, not twos. But let's not split hairs. For a great look at where Phoenix went wrong, check out this video, another top-shelf Kevin Arnovitz joint:



The basic problem? Phoenix isn't a good enough to pull off frequent double-teams, particularly with Amare Stoudemire having gone off the grid defensively. They neither rotate nor recover well, evidenced both by the number of wide open threes- players frequently face more pressure in pregame warmups- and easy layups generated when Kobe saw the additional attention. I realize the Lakers aren't the strongest perimeter shooting team in the league, but they're still professionals and when given time to set their feet, spin the ball, check for any prevailing drafts, and run through a few affirmations will more often than not knock down the shot.

No wonder Gentry was fishing for suggestions after the game.

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Given the Lakers scored 128 points in Monday night's Game 1 matchup with the Phoenix Suns, this may be the wrong time to talk about how Alvin Gentry's crew has, in fact, improved on that end of the floor. But clearly they're not the Celtics, and the largest reason is due to a fundamental problem of personnel.

Their two best players- Steve Nash and Amare Stoudemire- are two of their worst defenders.

Obviously both need to be on the floor for Phoenix to be successful, but while solid teamwork or clever manipulation of matchups and schemes can often hide one weak link, it's hard to protect two players, particularly against a team like the Lakers.

Nash is what he is, a 36-year old point guard with All World offensive skills and average ability on the other side of the ball. Stoudemire, on the other hand, is supremely athletic but only recently seemed to take any interest in his defense. They- meaning people who watch him on a day in, day out basis- say he's improved, but "better" is a relative concept. I, for example, am better at basketball than my brother. In a pickup game, you want me, not him.

But you don't want me, either.

Offensively, the Lakers did myriad things right Monday night, and chief among them was taking advantage of Stoudemire's defensive deficiencies in a variety of ways.

Here are five examples:

HELP AND RECOVERY (or lack thereof...)
1) 9:00, first quarter: The Lakers aren't exploiting Stoudemire in isolation, but exploiting what they know he won't do with consistency and effectiveness, namely help and recover. Ron Artest takes Jason Richardson left off the dribble from the right wing, putting Richardson on his hip. Artest is so big there's not much a defender can do once placed in that position except hope for the help to come. It should come from Stoudemire, guarding Andrew Bynum on the left block, except he makes virtually no move to stop Artest save appearing to put a forearm in his back as Artest lays it in with the left hand.

1a) 7:00, first quarter: Artest again penetrates. This time, Stoudemire does help. Artest makes the right play, dishing to Bynum. Drew hesitates, giving Amar'e a chance to recover. Stoudemire takes a quick jump out, but it's more posturing than a real attempt to close on Bynum. Stoudemire doesn't contest in the slightest as Bynum finally makes his move, putting the ball on the floor and rising for the dunk. Ineffectual work at best from Amar'e.

Both examples show how Stoudemire doesn't frighten people inside. And perhaps why he finished 33rd in blocks per 48 minutes this season.

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This would be the total number of field goal attempts inside five feet for the Suns during Monday's Game 1 stomp job.

In the postgame, I noted how effectively the Lakers minimzed good looks for the Suns near the rim, and it turns out I managed to get this one right (I'm remembering an expression about blind squirrels and nuts...). The Suns were 16 of 25 from five feet and in, good for 32 points. By contrast, the Lakers made more shots from the same range than Phoenix attempted, going 26 of 38 and generating 52 points.

During the regular season, the Suns averaged 33.2 attempts from in tight. For all their size, the Lakers only took 1.7 more a night. While the Suns are known for their outside shooting- knocking down 41.2 percent from beyond the arc certainly burnishes a reputation- becoming an offensive juggernaut required Phoenix not only to knock down threes but also get easy points inside, whether in transition or off the pick and roll.

Meaning last night's result isn't simply a matter of L.A. getting inside, though that certainly helps, but keeping Phoenix out of the paint. Even if things don't go as well for them offensively going forward as they did Monday night, if the Lakers can continue this trend at the other end, the Suns will be hard-pressed to beat them four times.

(Big thanks to the ESPN Stats & Information Group for their help fleshing out the numbers.)

As Andy and I noted when it was over, the third quarter of Monday's impressive 128-107 Game 1 win over the Suns at Staples belonged to L.A.'s star tandem of Pau Gasol and Kobe Bryant. Particularly Bryant, who scored more than half of the 40 points he'd log on the evening coming out of the halftime chalk talk/orange wedge break.

As you'd suspect, though, in such a dominating win, the Lakers saw contributions up and down the roster.

Start with Lamar Odom, who contributed 19 points and 19 rebounds off the bench. He

was unusually aggressive right off the bat, finding his shot and at one point scoring seven straight for the Lakers after entering in the first quarter. Writes ESPNLA.com's Dave McMenamin:

"I didn't really want to wait," Odom said, speaking to a throng of reporters after the game, with the big blue NBA backdrop behind him -- his first podium game of the postseason, as ESPN colleague J.A. Adande puts it. "I said to myself, 'If I'm going to have a bad game, I'm going to have a bad game going out swinging,'" he continued. "I'm not going to wait for the game to come to me tonight. I'm going to try to attack, and if a jump shot is there, I'm going to take it." And if a rebound was anywhere near his 7-foot-4 wingspan, he was going to take that, too. Odom tied his playoff career high by corralling 19 rebounds and secured the symmetrical double-double with 19 points, the most points he has scored all postseason. Odom's output buoyed the Lakers' bench to a 44-35 scoring edge over the Suns' much-ballyhooed second unit.

Rounding up the rest of the ESPNLA.com crew, Ramona Shelburne wonders if the Suns have the wrong makeup to take down L.A.:

"...To beat the Lakers at the moment, a team must be either brash (like the Oklahoma City Thunder) or crass (like the Boston Celtics?). The Suns, unfortunately, might just have too much class... "They beat us down a little bit," Suns center Channing Frye said. "In the past series, we've done a better job of establishing how we want to play, being aggressive and taking things away. Tonight we just didn't do that. But the Lakers are a great team. What do you expect?" Afterward, Nash was even more blunt. "You know," he said. "I think our room for error is small. They're a lot bigger than we are. They had a lot of points in the paint. They're probably going to continue to be taller than us as the series goes on." In other words, the odds are long..."

At the same time, don't discount what the Lakers are doing, writes Arash Markazi. The days of the up-and-down, often disappointing Lakers may have passed:

"...That's right, throw out everything you've seen this season. Trash everything you saw in Games 3 and 4 in Oklahoma City, forget about that 4-7 conclusion to the season and that dreadful 2-3 road swing that started it all. It doesn't matter. The Lakers have now won seven games in a row in the playoffs and in the process have closed out the Thunder in Oklahoma City, swept the Jazz in Utah and beat the Suns at their own game, blowing them out 128-107 to take a 1-0 lead in their Western Conference Finals series. I know you're surprised. About as surprised I was the first time my cousin was waiting for me at dinner and ended up paying the tab. You're probably thinking, "Who are these guys and where have they been all season?" You're not the only ones. "Well, you know this is a surprise for us," said Lakers coach Phil Jackson. "Maybe they've peaked, I don't know. I think their attentiveness has been great. I think their focus has been very good. They're trying to do things that we're trying to get operated out there on the floor, so those things are good..."

If you're keeping score, Phil Jackson is 46-0 in the playoffs when his team wins Game 1. For more from around the web after Monday's win, click below...

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So far, so good for the purple and gold...



Much, much more below the jump...

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Steve Nash is capable of putting the game on a string if allowed. Beyond the need for a solid team defensive scheme, one more strategy teams employ for controlling Nash is to make him work on the other side of the floor. It's no secret the two time MVP isn't a lockdown defender.

Saturday at practice, Derek Fisher was asked if he would look to be aggressive offensively against Nash. Yes, Fish said, it's important to put pressure on him, but he and teammates can't get so wrapped up in running Phoenix's PG they start making poor choices. That would take the Lakers out of their offense, and likely serve to fuel the Suns: