I have to admit, when Yao went down I thought things were hopeless. With Deke, we might have had a shot, but with Chuck Hayes starting at center? At this point, though, if the Rockets go to LA on Sunday and get blown out by 40 again, I'll still be prouder of this team than any other Rox team in over a decade. These guys have fought and clawed and scratched and just plain out-WORKED the Lakers, and in the process exposed the former media darlings as the frauds they are -- Kobe and his soft, weak-minded posse. Consequently, there is absolutely no pressure on the Rockets apart from whatever pressure they put on themselves. Before the season, if you'd said that our new Big 3 would cruise into the second round and take the Lakers to 7 games, most Rox fans would consider that a pretty damn good season, and certainly another step toward winning it all. That we were able to do so despite T-Mac, Artest AND Battier all missing significant time with injuries, then losing T-Mac altogether, then losing Deke, and -- NOOOO! -- losing Yao? Nothing short of miraculous. As badly as we all want to see them take down this laker team once and for all, NOBODY should be upset with this team if they run out of steam on Sunday. On the other hand, the Lakers are under ENORMOUS pressure to win this game. Not only is their entire season riding on it, but if they lose this game, they're looking at the very real possibility they might lose both Phil Jackson (who looks really tired of coaching at this point) and Kobe (who can opt out of the final 2 years of his contract and become an unrestricted free agent THIS off-season). There's huge pressure on the role players to atone for their game 1-4-6 sins and get it done when their backs are against the wall. Much of the fan base here in LA is LIVID with what they've seen from their heroes, who were supposed to waltz their way to the finals against the Cleveland LeBrons. Simply put: If the Fakers lose, they go from being one of the two best teams in the entire league, with a legit shot at restarting the Laker dynasty, to a spectacular example of a second-round washout. Don't believe me? Check out the LakersGround forum and see the kind of stuff they're posting about their former heroes, including a thread which is the polar opposite of this one: Anyone else have a sinking Ralph Sampson feeling? Or take a look at what's being printed in the LA Times. A small sample: "THIS IS EMBARRASSING. Only the underachieving, disappointing Lakers could make Luis Scola look like Larry Bird" and "Yo, Trevor Ariza, they've started the game." These guys have a lot riding on only four quarters of basketball. Screw it up and many of them could be wearing different colors next year. Let's see how they do under pressure again, like in game 7 against the Celtics last year. Can the rag-tag Rockets pull another rabbit out of their thrift-store hat? Stranger things have happened. All I know is that I wouldn't bet money on the Lakers to win Sunday. Against whatever odds and all logic and reason, I still have that feeling.
I'm with you topfive. I thought for sure after Yao was declared out for the rest of the playoffs that this team was done and finished. Then came Sunday's game which surprised me, not because they won, but HOW they won. They took it to the Lakers from opening whistle to the closing seconds. Tuesday's 40 point loss was what it was. Rockets never got it on track after Hayes came out of the game with 2 fouls in the first. And then tonight's Game 6...what can you say. I had a sinking feeling all day before heading over to Toyota. I thought the Lakers might come out with a vengeance not missing a step from Tuesday's game, but here were the Rockets not missing a beat from Sunday's home game. It was like they completely erased Tuesday's game from their minds. LA not scoring a field goal until 6 minutes and change in the first? Are you kidding me? What a unpredictable series. With the way this series and the way this Rockets team has battled all season with first McGrady out and now Yao out in the playoffs..nothing will surprise me. I'm not saying the Rockets will win Sunday, but this team has shown time and time again that they have what it takes. They have proved to the naysayers in this series not once, not twice but three times. Some people thought this series could be a cake walk for LA before the best of 7 started. So we'll see. I will be pumped come Sunday.
This L.A. team reminds me of the Dallas team of two years ago. They made it to the finals against the Heat and the next year were taken down by the underdog team of the Golden State.
To be honest, i've no clue how the LA FAKERS will handle the pressure, but sure, they must be under huge pressure right now. On the contrary, i do believe the rox players will handle the pressure, if any, pretty well. Remember what happened in Game 6 against the Blazers? Before that game took place, all media said that the pressure was on houston. Then the rockets played one of their best games in this season and singlehandedly crushed the blazers team.So, IMO we've got every reason to BELIEVE!!
whether rockets could beat fakers on sunday or not , i'll also give my applause to this team, they've made great miracle in this series even this team was regarded as the underdog thay had no chance to win 1 or 2 games.actually the result made all the media disappointed, hey, man ,believe our guys who also offer great difficulty to lakers, a game with 50/50 chance, fakers will be in great pressure ,ha go !cannot to wait
Last time you made that thread, we lost the game just after. And I hated you for doing it because at the end of the thread you said "I think we are going to get game 2".
