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The winner of the Rockets/Lakers series will be the 2009 NBA Champion

Discussion in 'Houston Rockets: Game Action & Roster Moves' started by Champ06, May 2, 2009.

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  1. Champ06

    Champ06 Member

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    The winner of the Rockets/Lakers series will be the 2009 NBA Champion

    by grungedave on May 2, 2009 10:19 AM CDT in Random Commentary

    Yes, I'm going there. I have no problems stating it. Whomever is fortunate to survive the war of attrition that will be the Rockets/Lakers 2nd round series... that's going to be the team that collects this from Mr. Stern in June

    [​IMG]​

    The Lakers are the obvious favorite to win the series, and the homecourt advantage only helps the cause. Kobe is admittedly on an insane, obsessive mission of types to win his fourth ring this year. Let's face it, the Lakers are damned good.

    Meanwhile, the Rockets just got a massive monkey off their back by winning a first round series. Which means -- no pressure. None at all. While Artest stated to the fans Thursday night that they are not done with their goals, a simple series victory is now going to allow the Rockets to play free and loose. Don't expect a lot of mental mistakes due to pressure or playing "tight". Yao is no longer an annual playoff flameout. Hell, you might even see Coach Sleepy call a play or two now. Anything is possible. As Simmons likes to state, the proverbial ceiling has been removed.

    The Rockets will be motivated by T-Mac's tears, too (T-Mac said the Lakers are going to win the championship this year. More reasons for his former teammates to stick it to him.)

    And yet... the Lakes are 4-0 against the Rockets so far this year. Further, the Lakers won an astounding 65 games this year. And somehow did not have the best overall record. The Rockets weren't too shabby at 53 wins, but the Lakers regular season was on a whole different level.

    I can already hear the peanut gallery:

    "What about Cleveland?"
    "Aren't you ignoring the Mavericks and Nuggets?"
    "The Rockets won't win this series with the referees no longer on their side!!"
    (this particular comment probably came from Portland)

    Here's why none of that matters -- The only team that is true a matchup nightmare for the Rockets is already eliminated. (Haha, you suck Utah!) Denver does not scare me. Nor does Dallas. And the Rockets will want revenge for the last game of the regular season if it comes to that. Over in the East, does Boston scare anyone? The Rockets own Orlando (Yao > Dwight). The Rockets have also shown the supposed best team in the NBA how defense is really played. The last team LeBron wants to see in the NBA Finals would be the Houston Rockets. (And it's not like the Lakers don't completely own the LeBrons this year either.)

    Remember? LeBron with 0 assists? Yeah, that was Houston's fault.

    Meanwhile, the Lakers are not exactly a great matchup for the Rockets, and all of us here were hoping to avoid Kobe until the Western Conference Finals. Actually we were hoping that the Rockets could play Dallas... then Denver... and hope that someone eliminated Kobe before the Rockets had to. But that's no longer an option. The good news is that the Rockets have a healthy White Pills to throw at Kobe this time around.

    [​IMG]​

    Last four games against the Kobes:

    Lakers 93, Rockets 81. This was the game where fans reached the breaking point in watching Artest dribble around and not pass. He's been much better since. This is also the only game where the Lakers faced the current version of the Rockets roster (save for Carl Landry, who will make a huge impact this series).

    Lakers 102, Rockets 96. Also known as the "don't trash talk Kobe! Noooo!" game. Kobe was quiet, and then Crazy Pills had to go and say something to him about being the worst player in the world. Whoops.

    Lakers 105, Rockets 100. Also known as the game featured in Michael Lewis' article on Shane Battier. Alternatively known as the "f--k you, Rafer!" game where he shanked two free throws at the end. Again. Fortunately, Rafer is banished from our fair city and won't play a role in this series. Yeah, I was at this game. 20 feet away from Kobe when he drained that long 3 at the end. Ugh. But there was no Artest in this game. And no Bynum. Landry had a MONSTER game of his own.

    First game: Lakers a lot. Rockets not so much. Tracy McGrady played in this game. Or, rather, he kinda showed up and took a lot of shots. He only made one. Enough said. I'm going to ignore this game for analysis purposes. The Rockets from this game are nothing like the current version.

    In reality, the Rockets have only played the Lakers once this year. The other three games featured players that won't be anywhere the Staples Center or the Toyota Center over the next two weeks. (Though T-Mac might be in the trainer's room catching up on the latest issue of Vogue magazine.)

    What should be the goal for Houston? Steal one of the first two games in L.A. That's it. Steal a game, and hold serve at home in Game 3... that's when we'll see whether the Rockets have what it takes to be a champion. If the good guys can get past Kobe, there isn't a single team in the league that can stop the Rockets. This is not going to be easy. But it can be done.

    http://www.thedreamshake.com/2009/5/2/862580/the-winner-of-the-rockets-lakers?ref=yahoo
     
    #1 Champ06, May 2, 2009
  2. KareemOlajuwon

    KareemOlajuwon Member

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    we'll just have to wait and see.
     
    #2 KareemOlajuwon, May 2, 2009
  3. BrooksBall

    BrooksBall Member

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    The winner of the 2009 NBA Finals will be the 2009 NBA Champions.
     
    #3 BrooksBall, May 2, 2009
  4. JayGoogle

    JayGoogle Member

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    Denver does scare me, they have a guy named Chauncey Billups and we have Aaron Brooks.

    As for Dallas...they have Jason Terry...

    As for the Cavs...we really can't go by what happened one game. Remember the first game we played them at home...well they have Homecourt and we all know we can't beat the Cavs on Homecourt.

    Now if the Magic make it to the Finals and if we were to somehow get to the finals...then yeah.
     
    #4 JayGoogle, May 2, 2009
  5. ItsMyFault

    ItsMyFault Member

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    I second that.
     
    #5 ItsMyFault, May 2, 2009
  6. BruceHR

    BruceHR Member

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    If we win the series, anything can happen, beat the Lakers can make our confidence growing. Now just do best to win the series, no need to worry(we have nothing to lose).

    Go Rockets.
     
    #6 BruceHR, May 2, 2009
  7. rocketsmetalspd

    rocketsmetalspd Member

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    Nice anaylsis. The Rockets are not the team the Lakers beat during the regular season. The Rockets do have a chance in winning the series and it all starts with getting the win on Monday. If the Rockets can get that game it will set the tone for the rest of the series which will not be a cake walk for the Lakers. Most have the Lakers in 5 and I have the Rockets in 6, Believe It Again!!!.
     
    #7 rocketsmetalspd, May 2, 2009
  8. plutoblue11

    plutoblue11 Member

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    I can almost agree with that.

    If the Rockets don't beat the Lakers, no one else will. Denver doesn't have a great big man and Dallas is too weak-minded and lacking the same to beat LA in a series.

    I don't think Cleveland will be much trouble for them, either and Boston has no chance without KG. But, I do believe, if motivated the Magic could possibly upset them with Dwight Howard. LA doesn't have anyone who can stop him, like Yao. They've struggled against Orlando for the last 2 years with or without Bynum.


    For the Rockets, if they somehow throw the knockout blow to Lakers, they'll breeze to the Finals (even with a serious injury). Denver and Dallas are pretty light to take compared to Utah or even Portland. While, the Rockets could probably beat every team in the East within 4 to 5 games, except the Celtics who probably will give the Rockets fits on defense. Orlando, Cleveland, Atlanta, or Miami would be almost matchup made in heaven for the Rockets, after battling through Portland, LA, and the next team (in the next round).

    That would really suck, if we beat LA and lost in WCF or even NBA Finals.
     
    #8 plutoblue11, May 2, 2009
  9. ClutchCityReturns

    ClutchCityReturns Member

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    Really?

    To me it was little more than a shining example of homerism.
     
    #9 ClutchCityReturns, May 2, 2009
  10. Dei

    Dei Member

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    Ugh... I can't express how much it would suck to have Rafer win a ring before us.
     
    #10 Dei, May 2, 2009
  11. Yao4REAL

    Yao4REAL Member

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    That's what i mean, the Lakers didn't beat Houston 4-0!! A lot of people exaggerate on this record as if the Lakers REALLY beat them under our current roster and with everyone healthy. But the reality is they only face the current team ONCE and it was a close game. I don't care about Lakers beating Rockets with Tmac and Rafer playing...those don't count because they're not part of our current rosters. And i believe the Rockets were up by 15 pts at their home court at one point under the current roster. Ron was out of control..had he stay in control we would have won. But now i think Ron is more in control.

    So i think people are making deal about the 4-0 record and the fact that Lakers had the best record in the NBA. The fact, they only play Houston once , count them ONCE under the current roster...and it was a close game!!
     
    #11 Yao4REAL, May 2, 2009
  12. bravo six

    bravo six Member

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    haha.. that was good ****.. and I'm not just saying that because I'm drunk, nope
     
    #12 bravo six, May 3, 2009
  13. Alvin Choo

    Alvin Choo Member

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    Nene?

    And given that KG will be missing the play offs, Celtics play into Rox hands, as they have no inside presence other than Perkins who is no where near Yao.
    Cleveland will always be a hard match-up just because of Lebron James as well as a scoring PG in Mo Williams, Gibson and West.
     
    #13 Alvin Choo, May 3, 2009
  14. TheMacster

    TheMacster Member

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    Lakers weren't at full strength for most of those games either.
    (Bynum out, Odom Suspension)
    But Reg. Season is irrelevant if a team can win in the Post-season
     
    #14 TheMacster, May 3, 2009
  15. ThaShark316_28

    ThaShark316_28 Member

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    I said this thursday to some people after we won game 6...

    but i agree 100%...winner of this series = World champs...PERIOD.
     
    #15 ThaShark316_28, May 3, 2009
  16. rodmanhust

    rodmanhust Member

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    pretty much everything has to go right for our Rox to have a shot.
    if wafer can return healthy,
    if Yao dominates,
    if Artest does not go crazy with Kobe,
    if Brooks attacks and runs team,
    We'll have a shot.
    Rockets in 6! lets do it!
     
    #16 rodmanhust, May 3, 2009
  17. Yao4REAL

    Yao4REAL Member

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    I don't think Bynum will help them much against Yao. Odom might....

    I definitely know Tmac won't help much and Rafer sucks. Our current roster is much more lethal...much stronger than with Tmac in the lineups. Tmac hurt the team by playing hurt, taking a majority of the shots and being very inconsistent, and on top of that ...he don't play defense. The offense flow better, defense is better, chemistry is better...everyone is playing better since Tmac left. Lakers have not face this current roster much at all. So imo, they didn't really get to test this roster and this roster never really get a real test from the Lakers. I mean if Lakers beat Houston 4-0 under the current roster, then i would say..yea they're pretty darn good. Until then, i still have doubt whether the Lakers are really that good. I really think this Houston is a force to be reckon with though.

    We might be in for a big surprise!!
     
    #17 Yao4REAL, May 3, 2009
  18. tfvic

    tfvic Member

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    go rockets baby! go rockets all the way! go rockets!
     
    #18 tfvic, May 3, 2009
  19. cst_chenchen

    cst_chenchen Member

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    Agree 100%. we have no pressure, and everyone think that Lakers will beat us, we just need to do our best, maybe we will shock the world. ;)
     
    #19 cst_chenchen, May 3, 2009
  20. plutoblue11

    plutoblue11 Member

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    Nene and Martin, I doubt they'd give the Lakers big as much trouble as Yao (along with energetic Scola).

    Perkins is actually a pretty good defender has become one of premier defensive centers in the league. Perkins is probably a better defender than Pryzbilla (and Oden) together, and being much more committed to it than Bynum and Gasol. While, Dallas and Denver would pose no kind of opposition for Yao in any sense. Perkins would probably be toughest defender Yao faces in the playoffs, I think does a better job (maybe with KG) on Yao than does Dwight Howard.
     
    #20 plutoblue11, May 3, 2009
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