[LAL/HOU] - Western Conference, Round 2

[MoneyMike916]

 

[Aenadin]

LOL

should have been
Never Been Played logo hahaha

so funny!

seriously if they do however manage to get past the lakers then go to the finals and by a great miracle win via the ancient spirit of mutumbo wouldnt it feel like T-mac got a free ride for a ring

not i said IF it happens

 

[PurpleHaze]

Ron Artest willed the big underdog Kings through 6 rugged games against San Antonio with the help of Bonzi Wells not that long ago. This time the Houston Rockets have a similar challenge in front of them but... I can't see it going 6 this time, although possible... I think Yao won't get off in consistent big way he really needs to against Gasol and Bynum. Fisher might find the little dart Brooks a bit of a bothersome pest. I think both benches "were" relatively even before but now that Deke's gone - not good for Houston's hopes with Lamar Odum a huge X-factor. Battier as the defensive specialist will need help with Bryant (who wouldnt) to keep him from going off as he's prone to do on anyone. Artest better hope he's not constantly asked to help slow down #24 since Rockets have to get solid points from him all series long or somehow try to win with their grind it out half court low score game.

 

[Big Cuz 15]

this is a series i'm excited to watch. i absolutely hate the lakers but know they will probably take it in 6 or 7. i wanna see some pushing and shoving from the rockets on kobe. they need to wear that guy down.

i wish the rockets best of luck in this series. go adelman!!!

 

[Big Cuz 15]

Anyone see Artest's postgame interview yesterday? He said Brandon Roy was the best player he's ever defended. David Aldridge then said " do you want to rethink that statement given who you're facing in the 2nd round?" Artest said " no, Brandon Roy is the only player to ever score 40 on me". The talking has already begun. Kobe will try to light him up for 40 on monday night. This will be a great series.

If I was a betting man, Lakers in 7. But I would love for the Rockets to take game 7 in LA in front of the Lakers fans. But I also would like to see Lebron beat Kobe in the finals. That would be an even better matchup.

gotta love artest talking the smack. LOL

 

[RKid]

Yao will have a field day with bynum thats for sure

kobe will have a hard time scoring with ron ron.. if ron ron sits Shane battier takes over, and that guy is also a great defensive player, both have different styles,

if the rockets really do turn it up on D i see it as rockets in 6 or even 5. that is if ron ron really makes him work in the offense.

ron-ron-kobe
Scola-Gasol
Yao-Bynum
Von wafer- vujacic
brooks-fisher

LAL has been weak at the point, for the past few years their point guard has averaged less than 5 assists pergame.. but that doesnt mean their point doesnt score. rockets better utilize that most plays goes to kobe and tire him out.. i wouldnt advocate a hard foul but if necessary why not.

BEAT LA

The thing is that the triangle offense does not warrant a point guard dominating the ball ala Deron Williams and getting a ton of assists. I remember back in 2000 Phil started Ron Harper at the point.

The point guard numbers are a little misleading in that sense. Its pretty difficult for Derek to rack up amazing assists with Kobe dominating the ball, Odom doing some handling and the Gasol and Bynum working the post.

 

[Aenadin]

The thing is that the triangle offense does not warrant a point guard dominating the ball ala Deron Williams and getting a ton of assists. I remember back in 2000 Phil started Ron Harper at the point.

The point guard numbers are a little misleading in that sense. Its pretty difficult for Derek to rack up amazing assists with Kobe dominating the ball, Odom doing some handling and the Gasol and Bynum working the post.

which should give them an idea on how to guard the triangle..

as much as possible i want them to burn kobe out.. he cant be full of energy the entire playoffs hes human!

that being said, rockets would probably have all that excitement and energy going to the second round being that its their first time


on a funny side they could be asking one another "what now? uhmmm...Yao?"

 

[Andre87]

hopefully Rockets will make this a series not like the Jazz and win in 7 games!

 

[Gargamel]

This could be a smart tactic. I'm of the opinion that if Kobe is trying to score 40 a game, the Lakers are worse off for it. When Kobe is taking what is coming to him and allowing Gasol, Odom, Fisher and Bynum to get theirs, they are far more effective. Besides, you will likely see Battier on Kobe alot more than Artest.

I bet the likeliest scenario is Kobe dishing in Gm1 and then looking to score in Gm2, then finding a balance for the rest of the series.

If Houston is going to win any game at Staples, Gm 1 is probably it. LA has crept into rust territory at least a couple of days ago. I think back to the Finals gm they lost in the 15-1 year after 11 days off. This is Houston's best chance.

 

[VF21]

I honestly think game 1 will set the tone for how much benefit the Rockets can derive from Ron-Ron, too. If the crowd can push him into his "I am just as good as Kobe" mindset, it could be very difficult to get him out of it. And if Artest tries to play Bryant's game, they might as well just hand you guys the tickets to the Western Conference finals.

If, on the other hand, Adelman can find a way to convince Artest he is a better player if he plays the game the Rockets truly need him to play - stats be damned - then your Lakers might have a bit more trouble than they're planning for.

 

[Aenadin]

I honestly think game 1 will set the tone for how much benefit the Rockets can derive from Ron-Ron, too. If the crowd can push him into his "I am just as good as Kobe" mindset, it could be very difficult to get him out of it. And if Artest tries to play Bryant's game, they might as well just hand you guys the tickets to the Western Conference finals.

If, on the other hand, Adelman can find a way to convince Artest he is a better player if he plays the game the Rockets truly need him to play - stats be damned - then your Lakers might have a bit more trouble than they're planning for.

agree stats and regular seasons be damned! Would love to see lakers exit early


btw why do images of artest running to the stands beating up jack nicholson keep flashing on my mind?

 

[AriesMar27]

the key to the rockets winning is if they can get odom into foul trouble early. that way they can force kobe to try to win it all by himself which will take pau, fisher and bynum out of the game. or the rockets could just defend the 3pt shooters and dont help on double teams. dont leave sasha, fisher or ariza wide open in the corners or the top of the key. mbenga and powell are non issues. i dont think brown will be as big of a factor in this series, lowry is just as good as brooks so theres no drop off in talent when the rockets sub their pgs.

bynum will be in foul trouble... fisher will be in foul trouble... thats 2 starters that will be taken out of the action off the bat. kobe is kobe, just dont let him get a lot of assists. if kobe has 5 or 6 assists by halftime the rockets will lose. i live in los angeles and i have watched every single laker game this season unfortunately(my roommates are laker fans and i couldnt afford league pass this year) kobe is the least of the rockets worries. dont let the bench players make wide open 3's and the rockets will have a chance.

 

[est.1999]

the rox can keep the games close. But when it comes down to crunch time they don't have a go to guy and their offense stalls. The lakers I think take in 6 but if ron ron and battier give Kobe fits they can possibly take it in 7. Maybe

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

It amuses me that people think that the Rockets have a better chance against the gd lakers than the Hawks have against the Cavaliers, despite the fact that the Hawks match up better against the Cavaliers, and have actually beaten them before...

 

[6th]

It amuses me that people think that the Rockets have a better chance against the gd lakers than the Hawks have against the Cavaliers, despite the fact that the Hawks match up better against the Cavaliers, and have actually beaten them before...

I don't think it at all. I want Houston to have a chance.

BEAT LA!!

 

[est.1999]

com on slim. What's your deal. Who cares about match ups and what happened in the regular season. All we know is now. And for whatever it's worth I can guarantee you that the rockets will give the lakers a run for their money way more than the hawks will give the cavs a run for their money

 

[AriesMar27]

well the rockets have better players than the hawks, thats why i think they have a better chance against the lakers than the hawks do against the cavs.

 

[Oprostaj]

well the rockets have better players than the hawks, thats why i think they have a better chance against the lakers than the hawks do against the cavs.

Matchups, matchups, matchups! If the Hawks were healthy, I could see them pushing Cleveland to 7. They are younger, way more athletic and don't really realize how big of an underdog they are. Rockets have not proven anything other than Kobe can get inside Ron's head, Pau and Gasol are better than anything the Rockets can throw out there (Ming included, he's not playing against a rookie and a bench warmer anymore.)

 

[Larry89]

my god Aaron Brooks is terrible

 

[Tmassfan4life]

Damn I've been waiting for this game ALLLLL day.

 

[Larry89]

Bogus calls on Rockets, letting all kinds of contact on Rockets.. Battier bleeding like a boxer above eye, referees ignore him..

 

[Tmassfan4life]

that expression on artests face when he banked it was priceless.

 

[Tmassfan4life]

that block looked clean to me........

 

[Kings Faithful]

Lets Go Rockets!

 

[Oprostaj]

Jesus Yao is terrible defensively. I seriously think that if he was not this tall he would be slightly above average. He's so tired already, I'm afraid what would happen if they take him out due to the lack of size the rockets don't have, but man it's kind of scary how much he's laboring.

 

[Larry89]

What the hell are the rockets doing, don't put Jason " Von Wafer " Williams into the game at this point

 

[Aenadin]

oh **** yao!!!! no!!!!!!!

sick cross over by brooks though

 

[Larry89]

Kobe barrels into Yao, no charge.. Yao Injures Knee...

 

[Larry89]

Yao is such a proud player, respectable, hard working and truely cares..

 

[coolhandluke]

Hope Yao shakes it off. This could be huge with Rockets clinging to a tiny lead.