Oh my Gosh, I missed it. I am so angry at myself for not waking up for this one. Dang, What a game. Without Yao, without Tracy we still only lost by 1 and even forced overtime. It is pretty dissapointing but on the other hand it really shows that we can beat anybody. Kobe with 41....Not a good sign.
I did not pay attention to the Rox during the preseason and have only seen the Jazz and the Lakers game and am impressed with how this team plays. The current roster consists of several above average players, but they are still too small up front and do not have a go to guy for the fourth quarter. If they continue to play with the hustle that they played tonight, the Rox may make it to the playoffs. It looks like Hayes developed his layup skills in the off season. Getting 10 points a game from him is a great help. I like the team play, the fast breaks and the movement of the offense which was so often not existent when either Yao or McGrady were playing. The question is who will step up to be that 4 Q scorer?
This team is a damn tough team to beat. We were without both Yao and Tracy...forced it to a 103 102 outcome.... you can not ask anything more than that. This team is definitely one of those that could excell if we really had two stars that could remain healthy. We finally have the role players that could definitely take us all the way.
Fourth quarters will be a problem Ariza still cant penetrate therefore should not be the go to guy. Unless of course its a set play where they find him open for a jumper. Of course they could have gone to Landry again but considering AB cant pass into the post that is a problem. So you either keep the ball out of brooks hand to find a player in the post or you let him run wild. Sadly Brooks lost or stopped his dribble and they paid for it.
The last play shows why we need Tracy McGrady. We have talent, we have heart, we have courage but we need that last peice. The guy who will make the last play to win the game.
as opposed to other times when players can just be going up for a backwards shot and they get the call? there was a play in the first half when odom was fouled by ariza on the ground was able to spin and lay it in for an 'and 1' the foul happened well before odom went into any motion to shoot, but odom never put the ball down again hence continuation just like AB
Sometimes i think we should just let chuck play all 48 minutes this year even if it means more losses. The guy is averaging 2.5 steals a game playing only 26 mins a game. I know most stats decrease as the season goes on, but chuck is the real deal when ti comes to intercepting post passes or stripping the ball.I'd say 3.5 would be realistic if he played starter's minutes.. isn't that close to the all time record? And chuck is currently #10 in nba stls avg, you have to get to # 29 before there's someone averaging less than 30 mins a game and that's rudy F at 1.6 stls.
The Lakers played championship defense late int he fourth quarter. But man, **** the refs. Seriously, **** that bull**** mother ****ing call that was ****ing bull**** mother ****.
I hate to say it, but we missed Budinger. We could have used another offensive threat, and some fresh legs. AB and Ariza play long minutes. Budinger takes some of the pressure off them, keeps the defense off balance by bringing in another offensive threat. -- I'm impressed with what I saw tonight. And the funny thing is we didn't really play all that well.
I don't think the refs cost us the game. I appreciate RA being animated but he was whining alot more than he normally does, prolly still some dislike for the Lakers. Looked like Fisher strip was clean, but AB really put Trevor in a tough situation. I cant put this game on the refs, we made a lot of mistakes. Played our hearts out, but we need that go to guy.
Hmmm. Its like you have to have a shoe commercial feature you in order to get a call at the end of an NBA game.
Just back from arena. It was a damn good game. Me and my friend enjoy it. No fight between fans, very civilized. But we don't like the fans booing Ron. He did not do anything wrong to Rockets. Just Rockets did not want him. Rockets played very hard. I think the ref call is pretty fair ( compare to before). Too bad Kobe is too good and Chase did not play( one extra 3 points will change everything).
i dont know why everyone is pining for tmac. we lost by 1 in ot. this is where we are missing CBud. he wouldve taken some pressure off of AB and punished the lakers for trapping. screw tmac. im sick of hearing we need tmac. we need our current team to stay healthy. 19 to is inexcusable. we beat ourselves as much as kobe beat us. the real test is boston.
Hate it for our guys as hard as they fought, but someone has to lose. Props to Chuck/Landry for playing well tonight. Also, it seemed the Lakers plan from the get go was to shut down and take the ball out of AB's hands. This is what happens when you have no creator at the 2 or 3 spot. Ariza being 5-21, and Battier unable to create his own shot at times. Yes AB struggled, but didn't have much help in the back court either.
It seemed to me that the Rockets lacked poise in OT. Brooks was flustered all through the forth and OT. He kept dribbling himself into trouble on the perimeter and running down the shot clock. There was a lack of decisiveness and commitment to taking shots towards the end which resulted in lost opportunities and sloppy turnovers. Even with all that it was still a very close game and they played hard.
