Rockets not as good as Lakers at this point of the season

First, if you're a Laker fan you walk away from this game feeling ok at best. The fact that it was a fairly tough win should not give the Lakers any confidence or make Boston worried about seeing the Lakers in June. Boston is still the better team.

As far as comparing the Rockets to the Lakers I guess I need to get way, way ahead of things for it to matter. I would have to imagine the Rockets actually get to the point where they face LA in the playoffs. Assuming that happens then it means the Rockets got healthy and got out of the first round because these teams won't meet until at least the second round unless something crazy happens during the regular season.

If the Rockets see the Lakers in the playoffs I do think the Lakers size will definitely be an issue. The sad truth is that unless a lopsided trade is made the Rockets are not getting a C/PF who is going to make an impact. Deke isn't going to matter much against the Laker post players. I'm not sure what drug some of you are on or if your internet only shows you things from the 90s but Mutombo does not match up favorably with Bynum or Gasol. He can log a few minutes against Bynum but if Bynum has it going then Deke is done. If Bynum doesn't have it going then who cares who is guarding him? Gasol will just face Deke up and foul him out in no time.

The Rockets best hope is that if they meet LA in the playoffs it means Tmac is healthy, Ron is back to being the Ron of the last 3 years, Brooks has continued to get better and Yao is playing MVP level ball. Simply put, the Rockets will have to be better at playing to their strengths than LA is at playing to theirs.

 

The only way the Rockets will have a chance is if T-Mac stops playing like a wuss and starts to be the superstar the he should be.

 

Fisher sux, he hardly does anything.

 

I think:

Yao>>Bynum
Gasol>Scola
Kobe>T-mac

There is one variable you've missed in your analysis. That would be HEALTH(absolutely not referring to the Lakers ).

1. Tracy seems to me that he hasnot fully recoverd. He had a few weeks off to rehab and came back really strong. He could penetrate and pass. But later on, he seemed to be lost on court. You might not notice he even existed on court. He said fatigue is a thing that bothered him. But given the history of his 'injury-prone', I didnot think he is MENTALLY ready to play full strength on court. I have a doubt of his WILL though I am not him who had his knee a surgery.

when Tracy is MENTALLY ready to take the challenge from Kobe, we'll have more chances to take out the Lakers.

Who else is still on the way back from the rehabilitation

Battier...
Rafer...
Ron Ron...
Barry(though he came back)

2. The officiating needs to be righteous. We all knew how we'd been taken out by the refs in the game against the Cavs. That was pathetic and unbearable.

This Rockets team is bulit around Yao. Being without Yao for 10 mins on court is ok. Being without Yao for 15 mins on court is bearable. But being without Yao for 20 mins on court is unbearable.

On one hand, Yao needs to stay aggressive and be smart as usual. Dont be afraid of being called offensive fouls.

On the other, for the refs, please do your job FAIRLY.

3. Team work. After all, basketball is of the essence of team work. It does not mean it'll be ok ONLY Yao or T-mac or Ron Ron step up alone, it always needs five or six or seven players to do their best.

With the talents we have now, it's fair to say that the Rockets and the Lakers take a even chance in the playoffs.

4. The will. Everyone has a will to play on court, but is everyone having the WILL to play through the pain and pressure to DEFEAT your enemy in the ballte field? We always want to be healthy, but what if we cant be 100%? Do we back up? Do the Rockets back up? I think the will is more a mental thing. You just need that to break the wall when you hit it. If everyone in the Rockets' locker room has the will, let's see in the playoffs.

It's gonna be very interesting to watch.

Go Rockets.

 

May I also add please don't go placing bets on the games as well for crying out loud.

 

kobe > tmac and during crunch time kobe>>> tmac

 

From begining of the seaon, I insisit that Rockets should get a PF like 6-10 that can rebound and def(not necessary score). Mutombo is not a good fit i think, because he kant play 20min. Scola is not athletic enough....Landry is too short.

 

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the rox can't beat La in a 7 game playoffs with the current roster plus deke. Deke helps a lot, but man for man, they're just better. Ariza is better than any 2/3 on our team not named tracy and ron and he's on the bench. They have some deadeye shooter like fisher,sasha from the pg spot and radman from the big forward spot. They have versitility all through their lineup, which the rox don't either. Its just too many cants the rox have to deal with.

 

The main issue Rockets have right now is Tmac, that's it. You see Boston, and LA day in and day out, all their big 3 have anywhere from Great to decent games, you never see Kobe go the whole game scoring 4 pts and being a complete non factor. Tmac has these games about once every 3 games. It could be his knee still bothering him, he could be lazy and not willing to play under pressure, or he simply does not have the fire, I dont know, so far Yao is getting more consistent and even his bad games does not mean only scoring 4 pts...usually it means he scored 10 - 15 pts...artest may have a bad offensive game but does a ton on defense...mcgrady is the only one that continues to be inconsistent, we get a consistent effort from tmac, and we have just as good a chance as any team in the league to compete for a championship.....think about it, Cavs with a complete squad playing their best beat us by 9 points in a close grind it out neck to neck type game without or star center for half the game, flopping and getting bad calls to go their way, and Tmac not even trying (due to pain or lack of desire).

 

and the sky is blue.

 

can we just get out of the 1st rd first .....


before we compare ourselves to the LAKERS and Celtics.

 

Definitely not the 1st guy in that list.

 

Shane
Artest

... in that order.

 

QFT, baby.

 

It would just be a bad matchup. We have no where near the depth or the athletisism. Plus if u think the Cavs flop a lot, the Lakers are the masters. I could totally see Gasol flopping to get a few horrid calls out of Yao. Then you have Fisher as well as Vujacic. The Lakers , i hate them with a passion.

 

The Lakers have lost to some bad teams and came close to losing to Grizzlies. So they are definitely beatable. Dribble penetration by guards of the opposing teams have been killing them.

 

Your guys forget one thing is Battier will guard Kobe. But Kobe will guard Tmac or Tmac > Kobe. Because if you put Walton on Tmac, Tmac will score at will.

When you put Kobe on Tmac, then Kobe will be exhausted.

So I'll say Kobe=Tmac.

 

Yeah. Actually, Fisher and Walton are always a step slower when they guard somebody who can penetrate.

 

Forget that Kobe is better than Tracy, and remember that Battier can shut down Kobe. Also, I think that Brooks can easily blow past Grandpa Fisher. Brooks will be our secret weapon.

 

That depends which Tmac shows up. But then again, even playoff Tmac got shut down by Derek Fisher two years ago.