ClutchFans Game Thread: Lakers @ Rockets 12/12/2006

I, for one, am confident in the rockets w/o mcgrady. T-mac in the line-up HAS to play well for rockets to win a game like this.. wHY? b/c the other rockets aren't has urgent and defer to t-mac too much.

w/o t-mac, we know exactly what the rockets will do and the players know EXACTLY what the offensive game plan will be. give the ball to yao!! pound it pound it, shoot the 3.

also, our d is much better w/o t-mac.

battier, howard, yao, head, alston <---- good enough TEAM to be the Kobakers.

 

Our backcourt will have problems with their big frontline of Smush, Kobe, and Luke. I won't be surprised to see Bonzi start to size up on Luke.

 

Um, Smush is part of their backcourt . However, I was thinking along the same lines. If, as suggested earlier; Battier guards Kobe and Hayes is on Odom, who is going to pick up Walton?

 

The Lakers record is fools gold. They have only played FIVE total road games and are 2-3 away from home.

Tmac or no Tmac, the Rockets are better.

Rockets 105
Lakers 94

DD

 

Head and Span would be my guess, but Novak and Padgett may also see time on Walton.

 

Not sure if anyone posted this but....
http://www.nba.com/rockets/news/Notes_Wells_returns_to_practi-199677-34.html
JVG said he might play Bonzi tomorrow.... Looks like everything is patched up between the 2 which is only good news.

 

Steve Kerr just rank the Fakers #1 in the league. Rockets #7.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_y...YF?slug=sk-rankings121106&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

I love L.A.
I love L.A.

By Steve Kerr, Yahoo! Sports
December 11, 2006

Are the Lakers for real? We're about to find out.

After a friendly schedule placed them in Staples Center for 15 of their first 20 games, the Lakers find themselves at the top of the Pacific Division – and Yahoo! Sports' rankings – with a 14-6 record. But now comes the test: Eight of their remaining 11 games in December are on the road, including a brutal six-game stretch that takes them to Miami for Christmas.

For the time being, anyway, L.A. has proven to be a top-notch team. The Lakers are deep, well-balanced, unselfish and pretty good defensively. Andrew Bynum and Kwame Brown are improving in the middle, Lamar Odom and Luke Walton are having career years, and Kobe Bryant looks like he's almost made a full recovery from knee surgery. If they prove they can win on the road consistently, they just might be what no one thought they could be: championship contenders – even without Shaquille O'Neal.

Here's a look at this week's rankings (records and statistics are through Dec. 10).

1. Los Angeles Lakers (14-6, Last ranking: 2) – The Lakers are showing their depth. Mo Evans gets 22 in Kobe's place after the sprained ankle, and L.A. beats the Hawks. Then Bryant returns and all five starters score in double figures in a win over San Antonio.

2. San Antonio Spurs (15-6, Last ranking: 4) – The Spurs beat three opponents by a combined 89 points, but then got shut down by the Lakers in L.A. Still, not a bad week.

3. Dallas Mavericks (14-6, Last ranking: 1) – Rumors of an Iverson trade can't be true, can they? Perhaps losses to Washington and Detroit will sway Mark Cuban into making a pitch for A.I., but what a risk that would be.

4. Utah Jazz (15-5, Last ranking: 3) – Slow week for the Jazz. Only two games on the docket, which they split. This week will be tougher: Four games, including dates with the Mavs and Clippers.


5. Phoenix Suns (13-6, Last ranking: 7) – Ten in a row for the smoking hot Suns. The 114 points they put up in Charlotte were the fewest they've scored in the past five games.

6. Detroit Pistons (13-7, Last ranking: 9) – Rasheed Wallace made seven combined threes in back-to-back road wins over Dallas and Orlando. When he shoots well, Detroit usually wins.

7. Houston Rockets (14-6, Last ranking: 8) – Yao Ming is emerging as an early season MVP candidate: He's putting up 25.5 points and grabbing 9.4 boards and shooting 53 percent.

8. Cleveland Cavaliers (12-7, Last ranking: 10) – Second-round pick Daniel Gibson has started the last two games in the backcourt, and he's produced, shooting a combined 8-for-14 from the floor (including five three-pointers) and scoring a total of 26 points.

 

omg finally..................

 

can you prove this?

most games, each player has to play well for their team in order to win a game, it's a given. i'm pretty sure yao has to play well in order for us to win this game. the lakers are pretty good so far this year.

w/o tmac, our offense becomes predictable because we lack someone who can create from the perimeter. thus the defense can pester yao into turnovers, and then what? we rely even more on our 3 point shooting? sounds like too much of a gamble to me. i think we have a much better chance of winning with tmac on the court. he doesn't even have to play all that well, he can stand there and the defense will still key in on him, giving yao and the rest more opportunities.

 

i don't have the time to prove that.

 

i cant believe it...

 

hahaha! fair enough

 

15-6!!
YAO dominates!!!

 

i'm just being optimistic

 

amen, amen.

i think the best case scenario would be a win with bonzi doing well (fitting in with the team)...yao will have to dominate, and i think he will.

 

Anyone knows which channel I can catch Tuesday's game in San Diego, CA? I have league pass but it seems that all Laker/Clippers games are blacked out in San Diego.

By the way, Rockets win.

Rockfan94

 

no he won't play.

 

Rockets win by playing good clamp-down D and pounding it to Yao and hitting 3s. Bonzi helps with D and points in the paint...and umm a couple of steals.

 

Steve Kerr is such a Lakers homer .. ROckets Win

 

Difficult game especially without T-MAC. But I think Rockets have very good solutions from the bench. I think it's gonna be a difficult win. But a win is always a win, so I don't care. I just hope for the game a win.