The Purple And Gold Blog and Don of With-Malice will be collaborating on a continuing daily digest on the Western Conference Finals featuring the Lakers and the Phoenix Suns. Here's the first entry:

Don (With Malice): Well, here it all goes again. The Lakers in the Western Conference Finals, 4 wins shy of getting to their 3rd consecutive Finals series. However, the Phoenix Suns stand in the way of that particular destiny. But will they be a brick wall, or a speed bump? For my part - and I mean no disrespect to PHX - but I think it'll be tough... but leaning towards "speed bump". I think the Lakers get this in 5. Phoenix just lack the defensive presence, and will struggle with the length of the LA forwards.

The Purple And Gold Blog: I agree. I've actually heard both sides of the story, and I followed the Suns-Spurs series as well. The biggest reason why the Suns swept the Spurs was their ability to exploit San Antonio's the deterioration of their superstars' abilities and Pops' lack of Plan B when his best players are being taken out of the game. The Lakers will not only present a different beast all together for the Suns but a team that has more than enough talent and capabilities to dismantle whatever new-found glory they have. That said, Game 1 will only be their best chance of drawing first blood in this series. Lakers in 5 as well.

WM: From what I've seen, Suns fans seem to think that the biggest reason that 'they're going to win (the Suns)' is the match-up between Steve Nash and Derek Fisher. Now, Nash's great - but we've just seen Fish survive against Russell Westbrook and Deron Williams. Now, I think Nash's had a better season than either - but Fish has a greater chance of matching up against the slower Nash than either of the other two - and even given that, LA still beat OKC and Utah. Nash is all class, and his vision and creativity are going to create some very real problems for LA... but not more so than the water-bug quick Westbrook or the fast/powerful Williams.

TP&GB: If Suns fans are relying on Nash's matchup with Fish to be their guide for their team's success in this series, then they've already lost. If they think Fish is a liability on defense, then they're ignoring the fact that Nash is THE worst defensive starting point guard in the league today. According to Fish after practice on Sunday, the Lakers are intent on making Nash play defense. If that's the case for this series, then that would mean that the Suns will have to compensate for every single player out on the floor because no Sun is capable of defending a single Laker starter one-on-one and that Nash will be forced to come out of the game for either a rest or because of foul trouble. That should be a major concern for Phoenix considering how vital Nash is to winning any game in the playoffs.

WM: The only things I'm a little worried about are:
- LA's difficulty in defending the pick 'n' roll, a Phoenix staple...
- The ability to consistently apply the advantages the Lakers have when on offense...

Phoenix are going to get points, LA just have to make sure they're patient, and don't force the shot - use the triangle and get the best of the individual match-ups on the floor.

TP&GB: There's no question Phoenix will score in this series. Nash is still the master of the P&Rs. Fish has certainly seen just about every single version of that too, and he's still aggressive in fighting through those screens. But the Lakers have done a good job at defending that lately minus their only lost to the Suns this season. I see Phoenix's perimeter defenders to actively helping out their inside defenders to try to discourage the Lakers from throwing the ball inside often and guys like Stoudamire and Brooks to play physical defense on both Pau and Andrew. But that is nothing the Lakers haven't seen in the playoffs. The real issue here is: will the Suns be able to stop the Laker offense enough from losing this series? Having no viable defender to put on either Kobe or Gasol, that will prove to be an impossible task.

WM: Spot on, and therein lies the rub for the Suns: when on defense, where do they have any advantage at all?  Reversed, I see a few for LA... but Suns?  I can't pick one.
I realise that basketball isn't a game of 1-one-1 multiplied 5 times... but it's an interesting way to look at it!

To be continued tomorrow...

Kobe's game-winners never grow old.

Lakers.com's Lakers Insider: By Ryan Dupuie

With the Lakers deep in the playoffs, looking to earn their 16th NBA Championship, Lakers Insider looks back on Kobe Bryant's six game winners from the 2009-10 NBA Season.

Lakers vs. Miami Heat, December 4, 2009, STAPLES Center

With 9.3 seconds left in regulation and down by four points to the Miami Heat, the Los Angeles Lakers were facing a short and steep uphill battle to protect their seven-game win streak. To start the comeback, Lakers' guard Derek Fisher hit a three point jumper with only 4.3 seconds remaining.

The Lakers were forced to foul Dwyane Wade immediately after the next inbound pass. After Wade missed the first and made the second free throw, the Lakers were now only down by two points with 3.2 seconds showing on the game clock.

The Lakers advanced the ball with a timeout and set the play up to have their newest teammate, Ron Artest, inbound what would be the last play of the game. Artest passed the ball to Kobe Bryant, who started to drive towards the basket. After slipping, Bryant regained possession only to throw up an off-balance three point attempt with Wade's hand right in his face

A sellout STAPLES Center crowd watched the ball fly through the air as time expired, bank off the glass and fall into the basket. With both arms raised in triumph, Bryant was rushed by his teammates to celebrate a 108-107 win over the Miami Heat.

In the locker room after the game Kobe stated, "I didn't think I would make that shot… I just couldn't believe it. This was the luckiest shot I've made."

Unfortunately for Wade and the Miami Heat, Bryant's luck meant a loss on the road, "If you told me before the game that the game would be decided by Kobe shooting a left, one-legged backboard three, I'd have taken that," explained Wade. Fisher described it best, "It's L.A., why not have it as dramatic as it was?"

On that Friday night Bryant finished with 33 points, and his fading bank shot will probably rank amongst the top highlights of the year. Little did Bryant know that this was just the first of a half a dozen game winning shots he would make this season.

Lakers at Milwaukee Bucks, December 16, 2009, Bradley Center

At the end of regulation, Bryant barely missed the go-ahead, game winning fade-away, only to have another chance to steal the win in overtime.

With the Lakers down 100-106 with 1:18 left in overtime, Kobe turned on the jets to score five unanswered points. After a Lakers timeout with five seconds remaining, Bryant hit the lead changing15-footer from the left elbow of the key, identical to the same spot as his first game winning attempt, as time expired to lift the Lakers to a 107-106 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks. "I had a really good look on that first one and wanted to go right back to the same spot and get the same look," Bryant said after the game.

Kobe Bryant scored 27 of his 39 points in the second half and overtime to help the Lakers climb to a 20-4 record.

NBA.com started another Q&A for some of the top bloggers, including The Purple And Gold Blog, in the country to send in their questions.

This time, Sekou Smith of Atlanta Journal Constitution and NBA.com's resident sportswriter blogger at Sekou Smith's Hang Time Blog is up to answer what some of us want to know about what's going on with some of the teams in the NBA right now.

TP&G Blog asked Sekou: If team chemistry is the issue for the Hawks from going deeper into the playoffs each season, then which two players should the Hawks keep to build a better team around and why?

Hope on to NBA.com's Q&A with Sekou Smith to read his response as well as his answers for the rest of the questions from other bloggers.

It took 3 years but a rematch between the Lakers and the Phoenix Suns has finally arrived! In 2006 and 2007, the Suns eliminated the Lakers in the first round consecutively. Both early exits left a really sour taste in Kobe Bryant which led to his demand for the front office to bring in better help or trade him.

That was a summer Laker fans will never forget. Of course, things came out well for Lakers. They started by signing Derek Fisher after his request for a release to focus on his daughter was granted by Utah. Later, they made a trade for Pau Gasol and the Lakers never looked back.

Three consecutive trips to the Western Conference Finals and an impending third trip back to the NBA Finals for a team the Suns thought was easy to beat 3 years ago. Interestingly enough, Phoenix is 3-9 against the Lakers in the regular season since 2007.

Regular season records may mean nothing in the playoffs, but no one can deny that the Lakers pose more problems for the Suns than the other way around. Phoenix may have worked their way back to the Western Conference Finals and looks to be unstoppable after sweeping one of the two NBA Finals staples this decade to earn their spot in this series. But don't let that fool you.

The Suns faced a Spurs team that has become too old and too young to do much of anything in the playoffs. The Spurs' interior defense rested soley on Tim Duncan. We've all seen how inconsistent Duncan on D had been this year. As for their perimeter defense, the Spurs lack a perimeter stopper.

San Antonio did eliminate the new-look Mavs team in the first round, but we're talking about a Dallas team that's notorious for choking in the post-season. So it didn't matter who they faced in the first round.

Phoenix has yet to face a team that can dominate on offense and defense as good as the Lakers can. Need I mention the defending champs also have the size, players, coach, system, versatility, and experience to boot?

The Suns may be tops in 3-point field goals, but the Lakers are the best team at defending them.

As for the Lakers, they're used to facing an undersized, up-and-down team with a good point guard and could play "intense" defense. Besides, who will the Suns put on Kobe, Pau, Andrew, Ron, and Lamar? The more players Phoenix put on any one player for the Lakers makes their defense even weaker. Both the Thunder and the Jazz tried that and how did it work out for them?

But the less players the Suns put on anybody, the less chances they have at beating the Lakers. So yes, Phoenix will have to pick their poison in this series.

And don't say Steve Nash has the advantage over Derek Fisher. That's what everybody thought about Deron Williams. Look what happened to him and his team.

Fish has grown tired of everybody calling him too old or a defensive liability. This is the final year of his contract and would love nothing more than end his illustrious career with the Lakers. So he will make sure Jerry Buss and Mitch Kupchak won't find it too easy not to keep him over the summer by playing his heart out from here on out regardless who he faces.

As for Amar'e Stoudamire, how often has he dominated either Pau or Andrew on either basket? Gasol has no problem matching up with him. Stoudamire still relies heavily on Nash's ability to give him the ball. He also relies on his mid-range jumpshot too often when nothing is working for him inside. And how successful can he get at sinking those 15-footers when a 7-foot player with a 7.5-foot wingspan is in his face? Even Lamar Odom (who is actually taller than Stoudamire) is able to play good defense on him because, again, of his long wingspan.

Above all, who is not only willing but capable to defend Kobe who will no doubt be on a mission to destroy the Suns? Unless that player is a bonafide defender, Bryant will just toy with anybody Phoenix puts on him. Alvin Gentry may be a defensive-minded coach, but he's no Nate McMillan.

The Laker bench will be alright in this series, I think. Phil Jackson is a master of working out his rotation and for making his reserves focus more on what they need to do each game. Besides, what team in the playoffs whose reserves didn't play hard against them?

As long as the Lakers play hard, play smart, and play for one another on both ends of the floor, I don't see this series going very far at all.

Lakers in 5!

GO LAKERS!!!

Never a doubt!

For the first time in Lakers history, they swept the Utah Jazz 4-0 in the Western Conference Semi-Finals. Call them bigger, better, or badder than the Jazz but the Lakers are simply coming full circle at the right time. Again, big thanks to the Thunder for waking up the giant!

Speaking of waking up, the lovely fans up in Utah and Deron Williams lit a fire under Derek Fisher like no other team has this season. Much of the focus were on Deron being the problem for Fish and his backup guards before the series began, but Derek certainly turned the tables on the Jazz. Williams may have blown past Fish a couple of times each game, but he absolutely has no idea of stopping Fish on the other end. Frustrations all around for Deron and it showed.

Jerry Sloan tried to play some mind games on Kobe Bryant before the game by comparing Kobe's domination on offense to how a Miss America would get anything she wanted in hopes that Bryant would retaliate by shooting the Lakers out of contention.

Obviously, that never happened. Nice try but leave the mind games to the experts, Sloan!

Pau Gasol surprisingly led the Lakers with 33 points and 14 rebounds. The big Spaniard just continues to be a force to be reckoned with for the Lakers. But Shannon Brown made his presence known with 12 big points on 5-of-10 shooting. He helped the Jazz cut the lead to 8 with a turnover and giving an "and-1" to Williams, but he made up for it by splashing 2 three-point bombs in the 4th quarter.

The Jazz threw an array of flops, hard fouls, illegal screens, and runs at the Lakers, but the defending champs simply smiled and fired back with threes, three-point plays, stops, and a whole lot of Kobe and Pau. Everytime Utah wanted to sneak up the Lakers catch them red-handed every single time.

It was simply total domination by the Lakers.

Bring on Los Suns!

GO LAKERS!!!

Injury Update: According to Phil Jackson, Sasha Vujacic could return to action against the Suns in Game 1 of the WC Finals next Monday.

Good news! The Lakers will probably need his shooting and defense against Phoenix.

Game 4 highlights:

THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED!

It's a new week in the NBA playoffs, which means there's another chance to win some official NBA merchandise brought to you by NBA.com and The Purple And Gold Blog!

Pau Gasol's rebounding against the Utah Jazz has been increasing each game. View Gasol's rebounding numbers using NBA.com's Team-by-Team Statistics category. Then, predict how many rebounds Gasol will grab for Game 4.

Again, your answer must be entered using the comments area below. So don't forget to return here once you're done with your little investigation to leave your entry. Game 4 between the Lakers and the Jazz are tonight at 7:30 PSD. There's not a whole lot of time before this contest ends tonight during halftime.

The winner will be randomly selected by NBA.com and will be notified through a blogpost here at The Purple And Gold Blog or via e-mail (if provided).

GOOD LUCK!!!

The 4th quarter of Game 3 was the most dramatic 12 minutes of this entire series with both teams standing their ground in a wire-to-wire finish. The Lakers eventually took a daunting 3-0 lead, but their win was two close misses away from becoming a slim 2-1 edge. Carlos Boozer and the Utah Jazz were crying foul when Boozer thought he was fouled by Derek Fisher on his layup attempt after he rebounded Wesley Matthews' three-point attempt with about 9 seconds left on the clock.

Then again, Fish was clearly fouled by Matthews on the inbounds play that turned into a steal for the Jazz. Utah also had two chances of winning the game with Deron Williams' jumpshot at the top of the key and Matthews' tip-in at the buzzer, but both shots came out empty for the Jazz.

So that's 4 shots Utah missed in the closing seconds that could have made a difference in their 1-point loss to the defending champs. But let's not kid ourselves here. The Jazz had no chance of getting past the Lakers in a 7-game series to begin with. The Lakers have too many advantages they can go with at anytime where the Jazz have very little, if any, answers for.

That said, Game 4 will be a tough game for the Lakers to closeout simply because of their history of letting these games slip out of their hands, and the fact that the Jazz will never go away quietly.

But the Lakers are well aware of all of this. Besides, they know they must eliminate Utah on Monday because the Suns just sent the Spurs fishing sweeping their series Sunday night. So every bit of advantage for Phoenix should be nullified before the Western Conference Finals get started.

Some are expecting the Jazz to address their perimeter defense, and some are thinking that Utah will stick to taking away the Lakers' bigs in Game 4. But I don't think the Jazz have the manpower to take away both only because we've seen that they absolutely can't defend the Lakers without giving up something somewhere. That's how the Lakers were able to get plenty of open looks from behind the three-point line since Game 1.

I don't think that's changing anytime soon.

However, the Lakers will still need to defend and rebound well to have any hopes of sweeping the Jazz on Monday. Offensively, they still need to go inside first no matter what the defense does. Utah may play frenetically on D, but that still doesn't mean they can protect the paint from either Pau Gasol or Andrew Bynum effectively.

Kobe Bryant may also try to setup the tone for the Lakers by attacking early and often. As long as he's taking good shots and making them, that should bode well for the Lakers. Otherwise, Bryant should still operate within the confines of the Triangle first before taking matters to his own hands.

The Lakers feel like they're finally returning to their old form when they won the title last year. Sweeping the Jazz on Monday should also prove that a killer instinct is also developing.

GO LAKERS!!!

Kobe on Game 3 and Game 4:

Pau on Game 4:

One of the beauties of the Laker offense is it's dangerous ability to take over games in the paint or out in the perimeter at any given game. The Utah Jazz learned that in a very harsh way on Saturday culminating to the Lakers taking a prominent 3-0 lead in this Western Conference Semi-Finals series.

Most people didn't think the Jazz could solve their disadvantage in the paint against the Lakers at any level, but they somehow did by employing OKC's strategy of throwing a highly active and aggressive defense out on Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum. It worked for them. Andrew never scored a single point, and Pau went 6-of-12 for only 14 points the entire game.

The two bigs had scored 72 combined points in Games 1 & 2. So allowing just 14 points certainly looks like a recipe for success for Utah in Game 3.

But not so fast.

The Lakers didn't win the top spot in the west for the third consecutive year, dispatched the highly-intense Thunder, and bringing a 2-0 lead into Salt Lake City by merely hiding behind their two 7-footers. They still have the best player in the league, still have one of the most clutch players in NBA playoffs history, still have one of the best defenders in NBA history, and the most versatile 6th-man playing today.

Take all that into account and a win is never guaranteed against the defending champs.

Jerry Sloan may have checked and re-checked his formula for Game 3, but he (and everybody else) never expected Ron Artest and Derek Fisher to have the kind of game they both did on Saturday.

After shooting 10% in this series and 18% against the Thunder, Artest went on a 4-of-7 rampage from three-point land en route to his most productive outing on offense in the playoffs this year with 20 points. Fish also put out his own 20 points on 7-of-13 shooting that includes a big bucket after a big bucket.

Derek was hardly on anyone's radar against any team the Lakers face in the playoffs. He certainly made everyone take notice of him now after that performance. Then again, he was probably on a mission of getting the last laugh after hearing a chorus of "Fisher Sucks" from the crowd that onced loved him for splitting his time with his then sick daughter and their beloved Jazz team in the playoffs not so long ago.

Not a single "Fisher Sucks" chant was ever heard again after Fish kept nailing one big shot after another right on the grill of Utah's best player. As they say, payback is a b!#*h!

Of course, let's not forget Kobe Bryant who continues his march of returning to his old form. He scored 35 point to lead all scorers which means that the Jazz still have no answer for him. Andrei Kirilenko returned to action, but even Sloan wasn't stupid enough to assign him on Bryant full-time. That leaves rookie Wesley Matthews to have the dubious mission to keep Kobe from being a factor again.

That alone is a recipe for disaster.

But you live with what you can get against the Lakers. Just don't be surprised if you get more than you bargained for.

GO LAKERS!!!

Game 3 Laker highlights:

This contest has ended. The winner will be selected by NBA.com, and The Purple And Gold Blog will notify the winner via blogpost or e-mail (if provided) as soon as the first 3 players reach 100 assists. So return here to check if you've won!

That's right, ladies and gentlemen! The Purple And Gold Blog and NBA.com have teamed up to give you, our readers, a chance at owning some very cool official NBA products of your own every week throughout the entire 2010 NBA Playoffs!

What's the catch?

You've got to have the right answer for our trivia questions. Click on that trivia question and return here to leave your answer in the comment area. A winner will be randomly selected from our blogsite as well as from other NBA blogs here at the Bloguin community.

But you have until Sunday of each week at noon to provide your entry.

Here is this week's trivia question:

As of Thursday, May 6th Rajon Rondo leads all NBA players with 85 assists in the playoffs so far.

Who will be the first 3 players to get 100 assists in the playoffs?

Need Help? Check out the rest of the assist leaders at NBA.com

Remember, you have to leave your answers in the comment area in this blog post to enter the contest, but do so by Sunday, May 9th at noon to be eligible to win this week's prize(s).

Return here next week for the next round of trivia.

Good luck!!!

The Lakers made quick work of the Utah Jazz at Staples Center the first two games of this series to take a 2-0 lead up in Salt Lake City. But this is familiar territory for the Lakers since they did the same thing last year in the Western Conference Finals. They lost Game 3 but won Game 4 to take a 3-1 lead back to L.A. where they ended another post-season for the Jazz in 5 games.

Naturally, most people are saying that the same thing will probably happen regardless if the Jazz are undermanned. But people are forgetting that Utah's lack of size and athleticism against the Lakers even when healthy are what's killing the Jazz. Tack on having Mehmet Okur out for the season, Andrei Kirilenko in average (at best) basketball conditioning, and Deron Williams' nagging elbow/shoulder injury to that undersized factor and Utah's got a whole lot on their plate against the Lakers.

Need I mention that Kobe Bryant is fast returning to his old form thanks to his knees healing at the right time?

The Jazz might have some better luck if they still had Ronnie Brewer or Matt Harpring on the bench. If they're resting their Kobe-defense on AK-47, then they're truly out of luck. Wesley Matthews and C.J. Miles aren't bad defenders, but they're not good enough to keep Bryant from doing serious damage on offense.

Plus, Andrew Bynum is taking on Kobe's attitude when it comes to injuries. The kid is just ignoring and playing around the pain from the torn cartilage of his right knee. The way he's been playing the past two games who's going to tell him to have his surgery now?

The Lakers may have allowed Utah back in Games 1 and 2, but I believe that was the product of the defending champs' ability to score against the Jazz almost at will. In other words, they lost their focus because of plain boredom. Well, the crowd up in Utah aren't too shabby when it comes to supporting their team. Then again, what arena can even come close to that of the Ford Center crowd? Maybe none.

The series with the Thunder just challenged the Lakers to a point where every other team after them seems too slow or too tamed. I think that's what we're seeing in this series. You just have a feeling that the Lakers aren't really threatened by the Jazz at all no matter what they do.

Besides using their size advantage, the Lakers will need to defend and rebound better at EnergySolutions Arena. That and crowd control. The fans in the stands are the biggest reason why the Jazz are one of the top teams at home in the west. So our defending champs are gonna have to take them out of the equation by keeping the Jazz in the rearview mirror.

Assistant coach Frank Hamblen may want to win at least one in Utah. But I say the Lakers should come out there to win both games. It isn't just about winning this series and moving on. It's about developing that killer instinct that could come handy as the opposition gets a little tougher and savvier.

It's a good thing the Laker players are talking like they're not looking past the Jazz at all. They know they fooled around enough during the regular season, so it's time to do some serious work no matter what kind of opponent they're facing now or later in the playoffs.

We'll see what happens on Saturday.

GO LAKERS!!!

Other Notes: Kobe made the first All-Defensive team (8th all-time) for the 5th straight years while he and Pau Gasol made All-NBA team. Bryant got on the first team, and Gasol is in the third.

With all the injuries he's had this season and still make first team All-Defensive says Kobe is nowhere near past his prime.

Bynum skipped practice on Friday to get treatments on his right knee. There's some pain because of the torn cartilage, but Andrew doesn't mind at all.

The kid is tough.

Lakers talk Game 3: