Steve Nash had a bruised eye which will hopefully heal by Sunday, but the Suns as a whole will have a difficult time coming back from an 0-2 deficit against the Lakers for the Western Conference Title. In Game Two the Lakers came out strongly and evidently the 7.5 point favorites which the odds makers pinned them. The Suns gave up a 36 point first quarter, and even though the Suns tightened their game, the Lakers ran away with it in the fourth quarter. The Lakers travel to Phoenix for Game Three of the Western Conference Finals Series.

Tip off for Game Three is Sunday at 8:30 ET. TV coverage is provided by TNT.

The Suns will play much better at home Sunday if they can give their best effort for 48 minutes. Late in Game Two the Suns appeared tired. They were unable to hit shots, making poor passes, and committing unnecessary fouls.

Phoenix knows they can put points on the board and score in the triple digits, yet they can’t outscore Los Angeles. If Phoenix can keep Los Angeles under 30 points each quarter, they are likely to win Game Three.

Turnovers are key in any post-season NBA match up, and the Suns are giving up too many points off turnovers. The Suns had 17 turnovers on which the Lakers scored 22 points.

Additionally the Suns had 44 points in the paint. They did not give Steve Nash many opportunities to drive the ball and possibly complete three point plays.

Another aspect of the Sun’s game that they will look to continue implement in Game Three on Sunday is their bench’s three point shooting. In Game One the Suns’ bench hit one of 12 three point attempts, but in Game Two Jared Dudley stepped up and hit five of his five three point attempts. Dudley averaged 45.8% from beyond the three during the regular season. He has a 42.6% three point shoot percentage for the post-season and he has hit six of 10 three point shots against the Lakers.

Phoenix is a league leader in three point shooting, but it did not work in Game One where they hit about a quarter of their three point attempts. In Game Two the Suns were able to turn it around and shoot 41.7% from the three point land.

The reigning champion LA Lakers played up to their status Wednesday night. As expected Kobe Bryant’s day to day injury status is almost a joke. He played 43 minutes with a wrap on his finger. The wrapped finger did not interfere with his shooting ability. Bryant went eight for 18 from the field. He hit one of three three-point attempts and all four his his free throws totaling 21 points. Bryant also played had five rebounds and 13 assists.

The Lakers overall passed well in Game Two, and this could be a key to winning on the road in Phoenix. The team had 32 assists. There is a correlation between Bryant’s points per game, assists, and the Lakers’ success. There have been several games during the regular season (and this was true in the 2008 – 2009 season as well) where the Lakers lost to winning teams like Phoenix when Kobe scores more than 33 points per game. The Lakers lost in Phoenix at the end of December 103-118 when Kobe had 34 points and only two assists. Los Angeles beat Phoenix on the road in March 102-96 when Kobe had 21 points and eight assists.

The bookmakers opened Phoenix as 2.5 point favorite with a total of 219. Expect the line to close 3 or higher as we expect the public to pile on the Suns knowing a loss here and their season is likely over.