This is how I see it...Rick Adelman has been scorned by Phil Jackson several times. Adelman would have a few rings if it weren't for Phil. The Bulls-Blazers, The Lakers-Kings, and now the Lakers-Rockets. Adelman...it's time to get revenge man, enough of taking this Ish lying down. You can't let Phil punk you you're entire career.
Thats exactly how you beat the Lakers. You make Kobe shoot them out of the game. They showed a stat a few weeks ago about the Lakers record when Kobe shoots 20 or more shots. They were like 33-3 when he shoots less than 20 shots but about 24-14 when he shoots more than 20 shots. If anyone remebers Game 7 in the Dallas series, that is how Dallas beat us. They basically let Yao and Tmac do their thing. They both showed up for that game. Problem was, nobody else showed up.
Do not know if this is a simple blueprint, but Kobe can score the 81 points in one game, could we win if you let him score lots of points? You got to control him under the 40 points, then not let others score too many, it is easy to say than to do.
If we're just going to let Kobe beat us, why even bother playing Artest and Battier? Just put Wafer and Barry in the game and let them do their thing. This might sound crazy, but I think the way to beat the Lakers is to play them exactly how we have all season. If you look at the last 3 games (the first one doesn't count because it was a radically different lineup) they were all pretty close and Houston even built sizable leads at certain points, but LA was able to pull away in the 4th. Houston's problem was execution. Too many bad shots and turnovers. If we do a better job of playing our game and not making those mistakes, I think that can be the difference. Pound the ball into Yao, space Scola for the open mid-range jump shots and give him a few post ups, let Artest barrel his way to the basket, have Battier spot up for open corner 3's, and let Brooks use his superior quickness to break down the Laker defense. Don't forget that Landry and Wafer both have come up big against the Lakers. Wafer will especially have something to prove since the Lakers cut him before. If we do all those things on offense, I have faith that our defensive tactics from before will be good enough to keep our head above water.
I think Battier needs to play Kobe most of the time, not Artest. Kobe can get his, but Battier needs to force him to be ineffecient in his scoring: 25 shots to get 25 points kind of thing. I think Artest could bang with some of their bigger players down low. He has guarded the 4 spot before.
umm artest can not bang with their bigger players.. he will just get blocked over and over again.. artest has no post game... Gasol and Odom are too tall for him in the post. . Artest just needs to play like he did the last game and hopefully his shots keep falling. .he needs to be agressive and go inside but ISO posts with artest will certainly end up being a missed shot or a turn over for us. With that said I think we match up well with teh lakers .. hoping for a miracle
I'm not sure we should double kobe every time he touches the ball. The fakers have too many other weapons. I say we put Battier on Kobe and play him one on one for the most part. If necessary, bring in help defense (if he's on fire) to get the ball out of his hands. I know I'm bringing up old stuff - but I'm still pissed that the Lakers did not give up any of their top 8 players for Gasol. Why Grizzlies why? Surely they had better offers on the table.
Kwame was a starter with the Lakers, he was definitely a top8 player here. What did you guys give up to get Artest again? .....
Ok... here's the plan... if we are way down at the end of a game and they bench kobe or gasol - then we pull a Robert Horry and bow the smallest laker on the court. Hopefully some lakers will get off the bench and get suspended. Seriously, if we beat the lakers, I think we could go all the way.
kwame was the lakers version of stromile swift he may have been in the rotation but he brought negative value to the team. Trust me every lakers fan i know (and I live i LA too) would have gladly given up kwame for a 2nd round pick they just wanted him off the team since he hardly did anything to help the team. Now you take that player who brought negative value, had the city hating him (the crowd always booed kwame) and you flip that into an all-star forward who is perfectly suited for the triangle??? that is a huge steal...first round picks and marc gasol yeah but chances are none of the players the lakers gave up and the pics would have resulted in meaningful PT. the grizzlies brought over gasol he probably would have stayed in spain had the lakers kept him. the rockets too had a steal in artest but he wasnt a perfect fit per say like Gasol was for the lakers. bobby jackson was a productive bench player (unlike kwame) and the two first round picks are throwaways like the lakers picks were. the bigger thing is that artest is a free agent this season and if the rockets do not re sign him then it was just a 1 year rental..the lakers got gasol for several years (even though at his contract, it is deserved) not saying that we didnt get a steal in artest but we went in and robbed a 7-11 when the lakers went into Memphis National Bank and robbed the vault.
The biggest key will probably be Battier - if he can contain Kobe by himself and we don't have to double, it greatly improves our chances.
If it were that simple we wouldn't have been swept on the season. Plus you seriously underestimate the Lakers bench. I like Wafer, Landry, and Lowry too, but the difference is Vujacic, Odom, and Walton can all shoot the long ball decently which is of more value when you have a playmaker and a low post talent. Plus Walton and particularly Odom are decent rebounders. Moot point though because Walton has a ligament tear that will probably keep him out of most of the series which might not be off too much consequence since I'm guessing Phil's rotation off the bench would have primarily been Odom, Vujacic, Farmer, and possibly Mbenga(for situational matchups to hassle Yao) anyway.
Rockets/Lakers - Let the Chess Match Begin I'm giddy as hell about the CLUTCH asswhipping our hometown heroes put on Portland. I've got HUGE hopes for pushing the Lakers hard and taking them down. I'm listening to Eminem's "Lose Yourself" as I type this. It's an oldie, but I think of it when I think of the CLUTCH performances of our teams (the Rockets last night, Jeff Kent's and Chris Burke's homers...) So, before I post the substance of my post, here are the key lyrics that come to mind: Look, if you had one shot, one opportunity To seize everything you ever wanted, one moment Would you capture it or just let it slip .... You better lose yourself in the music, the moment You own it, you better never let it go You only get one shot, do not miss your chance to blow This opportunity comes once in a lifetime . . . --------- Now, for my post. Every key factor I can think of brings me back to coaching decisions. Here are the keys as I see them. 1. Does Phil start Bynum or Odom? Personally, I would much rather see Bynum start and get lots of minutes at Odom's expense. Yao can and must school Bynum, and would not have to guard Gasol. 2. Does Phil front Yao with Bynum or Gasol? This is a question of hubris. I think everyone in the damn Lakers organization think this is going to be a cakewalk, and they'll play Yao straight up, figuring they beat us 4-0 in the regular season in this fashion. No arguing scoreboard, they did beat us, but it would be a big mistake if Phil didn't front Yao. Yao has grown up in this series. If they play behind him, he is going to drop 30/12 on them. i guarantee it. Yao senses the moment and will deliver. This is going to be Yao's signature series. Yao will summon the spirit of Dream v. Robinson, and take his game to another level. 3. Brooks must attack Derek Fisher. He has to use his speed to score. Fisher and Gasol/Bynum can be exposed in the PNR situation. We need enough good games from Brooks to win. Adelman should call Brooks number early in each game. 4. Artest must RISE!!! The performance he gave in Game 6 must be repeated at least twice. He cannot get into a duel with Kobe and forget his teammates. If he does, Adelman must limit his minutes. The series might swing on Artests play alone. 5. How do we address the scoring droughts that hit? Adelman must call on the Hands of Fire!! He must summon the journeyman that has arisen from the D league. He must call upon the BroHawk, who draws from the spirit of Mario Elie and is destined to answer the call. BroHawk isolated at the top of the key. Brohawk on a curl, penetrate and drive. Brohawk in PNR with Yao. SUMMON VON WAFER!!!! 6. Scola the Rock. Gasol v. Scola is going to be a huge matchup. Based on the regular season, it would seem that this favor's Scola. However, Scola has taken his game to another level. He was flat out Clutch and Brilliant in the Portland series, and easily our team MVP. Adelman cannot forget to rely on Scola and get him going, particularly if the Lakers front Yao in the 2nd half of games. So, let the chess match begin. My prediction - Yao will rise! The Hands of Fire will burn! Artest will protect this House! Rockets in 6!
We need to keep in mind that our team didn't come together until the end of the season. Through the first several months, we suffered through injuries and inconsistency, particularly surrounding T-Mac. Despite this, it was a tough fought season series between these teams and it was one of those situations where two of those games could have gone the other way, but they didn't. I agree with you, though, that it's not as simple as comparing talent on rosters. What made the Lakers great this season was that their pieces fit into a system and that if all else failed, they had Kobe who would will his team to victory on numerous occasions. And having Kobe on the team, it instilled a great deal of confidence in their role players who are no more talented than our role players. Ultimately, I'm tired of everybody talking about how hopeless it is for the Rockets. Most experts do not agree, and many are on record as believing that this Rockets team poses the biggest threat to the Lakers. As I said before, if it was uncool for T-Mac to say that the Lakers would win the championship this year (and by inference, that the Rockets would lose to the Lakers), why is it okay for all these fans to say basically the same thing?
The lakers will not front Yao in game 1. They've spent the past few years sending hard double-teams at Yao. They won't change that up unless Yao burns them in game 1. If we want to have a chance in this series, Brooks has to tear fisher up. AB can do a lot of damage on the p/r if he is aggressive and shoots with confidence. This series comes down to one thing for the Rox. Offensive execution. We cannot have the offense bog down because the lakers will kill us in transition. That's the best way to beat this rocket's defense. The best thing about the blazers series is that we had major contributions from everyone on the team. Every game we had a different hero. Which is good practice because only a total team effort on both side of the ball can win us a series against the lakers.
The man has proven he can score 81 points in a game...that might be enough to beat the Rockets on some nights. lol. I know what your trying to say, but with a guy like Kobe who has routinely put up 40, 50, and 60 point performances since 2006, its not the smart thing to do. I say double team him on occasion, and make Gasol and Odom beat us. Just don't leave Fisher, because he is money from 3 point land. Ariza is streaky. Vujacic will keep launching away if he's left open. I'd rather those guys shoot than Kobe pulling up for a 3, or Kobe in the post or kobe using a pick to get to the basket. We can't let Kobe get his, because he can put up enough points to keep his team in it, and if its close, you know Kobe can close out a game...he thrives at that.
i understand we're all happy that the rockets are finally past the first round in ten years, but i think u should lower your expectations in the next round just a tad.
actually i'd rather we let kobe get his. the reason the lakers are so dangerous is because they have so many weapons. there was a stat that said the lakers actually have a mediocre record when kobe scores 30 or more or something like that. if we let kobe get his, the role players are all out of rhythm and we have a chance. if we don't stop kobe, the role players will keep them in the game, and then kobe will still take over in the 4th. its pick your poison.
