[BleacherReport] Myth: The Rockets Have a Lot Less Talent Than the Lakers.

Nice read.

For those too lazy to click on the link:

Ron Artest said it best. "At the end of the day, you can go down the line and see who would you rather have on your team. . . . You got me and Kobe. OK, you take Kobe. You got [Pau] Gasol and [Luis] Scola. Who would you rather have, Gasol or Scola? Who would you rather have, Aaron [Brooks] or Fisher? Who would you rather have, Von [Wafer] or Walton? Who would you rather have, Chuck or Bynum?

The media would have you think that the Rockets have a huge talent defecit, and while they are definitely short-handed, don't short-change the Rockets who are still playing. Take a look at a position by position comparison:

At center: Bynum vs. Hayes.. Hayes gives up half a foot, but Bynum - especially fresh off a knee injury and playing with very little confidence, does not have the strength to overpower Hayes. Hayes is a tremendous defender, as we've now witnessed (see his incredible play drawing a charge on Brandon Roy in round 1) who combines incredible strength and quickness, though he has virtually no offensive game. Now it's definitely true Bynum is a big body, but he hasn't used his size to his advantage outside of his performance in game 5. On one sequence in game 4, he caught the ball in the paint with his back to the basket and Ron Artest behind him. Instead of going up for a bunny jump hook 5 feet from the hoop, he instead kicks it out to Jordan Farmar at the 3 point line. To compound the issue, when Bynum doesn't score, he lets that affect his game on the defensive end. An size advantage that isn't utilized, well.. it isn't much of an advantage. Call it even.

At power forward: Gasol vs. Scola.. Scola was a 2-time MVP of the Spanish league and MVP of the 2007 FIBA Americas Tournament. He also won a gold medal the 2004 Olympics. While some may say he's underrated, you'd have to be ignorant to the fact that he's got a lot of hardware in his trophy case to overlook him. Gasol is taller, longer, and quicker than Scola, but there's no denying Scola's toughness and scrappiness. While many have questioned Gasol's toughness and heart, these questions simply do not apply to Luis Scola. Is Gasol more physically gifted? No doubt. Is he better than Scola? I'm not so sure. Defensively Gasol will block shots while Scola will step in to take a charge. Offensively, Gasol can face up or post up while Scola will spin through the lane 3 times before slipping by his man for a layup. Loose ball on the ground? You better believe Scola will hit the floor first. Who's better? I'd like to see an argument that Gasol is vastly superior to Scola by any stretch of the imagination.
At small forward: The battle of the glue guys, Ariza vs. Battier.. Battier is one of the best perimeter defenders in the league, hands down. Ariza is long and athletic - able to get out on the break and finish with monster dunks. Batter is not nearly as gifted athletically but he's one of the smartest, hardest-working players in the league. Meanwhile, Ariza has made several bone-head turnovers at the start of games that have led to easy gimmes. Battier is a much better 3-point shooter. He won't rise up for thunderous dunks, but last I checked, baseline jumpers count for points too. Battier is hands down the better player, and given the choice, I'm sure most coaches in the league would agree.

At shooting guard: Kobe vs. Ron-Ron.. Both are explosive, in different ways. Artest has kept his cool this season, and has actually been a pretty good 3-point shooter (except for the last few games) and is a beast in the post. But Kobe is undoubtedly in a different class. Both guys can break up their team's offensive flow, though Kobe does a much better job of getting away with it. Kobe has the clear advantage on the wing over anyone not-named-LeBron, and this is one position where the Lakers are vastly superior.

At point guard: the combo of Fisher/Farmar/Brown vs. Brooks/Lowry.. Fisher has big game experience, as well as a strength advantage over the Rocket points, but at the expense of a huge quickness disadvantage. Add to that the fact that he hasn't been able to hit from outside consistently. Brooks and Lowry have continually abused the Lakers defense, sometimes blowing by 3 Lakers to get to the hoop. Brooks has hit big shots against Portland, and it's carried over to the second round. Shannon Brown has actually played the best among the 3 Laker points, but it seems the 3 guard rotation isn't working and none of the 3 see the floor long enough to get into a groove. The big knock on Brooks and Lowry have been their youth and inconsistency, which go hand-in-hand. Farmar and Brown are in the same boat, though they've been vastly outplayed by the Rockets duo this series. Fisher has for the most part been invisible, except for the cheapshot on Luis Scola. It appears the Rockets have the edge at this position.

6th man: Odom vs. Landry.. Odom is versatile - able to handle the ball, read the floor and make plays. He can shoot from distance and take it to the basket. He's long, he can block shots, and he can rebound. Landry is a scoring machine off the bench and plays with a lot of hustle and energy. He doesn't defend nearly as well as the other Rocket bigs, and definitely not as well as Odom. The knock on Odom however, is his inconsistency. He'll put up a near triple-double one night, and disappear the next. Landry also struggles with his confidence at times - and it's usually when he picks up a bunch of fouls and just generally seems lost on the floor. At their best, Odom clearly has the advantage. Though with Odom hobbling with a bad back, I'd have to call this one even.

The rest of the bench:

Vujacic vs. Wafer (both can be game-changers, both can make inexcusable bone-head plays. Right now, Wafer is actually hitting shots, so I'll give him a slight edge)

Walton vs. Barry (neither has played a heckuva lot, and when Walton's played he's been a turnover machine. Barry might come in if the Rockets need a clutch 3. Neither player has really had an impact so far in the series.)

Powell/Mbenga vs. Cook (Cook can't play a lick of defense, but can occasionally hit an outside shot. Powell and Mbenga can mix it up inside, but don't get much playing time unless Gasol/Bynum/Odom are in foul trouble. Let's hope we don't have to see much of these guys in game 7)

Summary:

So the Rockets and Lakers are actually pretty evenly matched. Kobe and Odom (when healthy) are advantages for the Lakers, while Battier and the young point guards give Houston an edge. Combined with a much better team effort, it shouldn't be too much of a surprise that Houston was able to force a 7th game. What should be more surprising is the Lakers' lack of that overused sports cliche.. a "sense of urgency".

 

Looks to me, a lakers fan try to find excuse for suckness.

 

Has this been posted? Found it after reading the other article. Nice job, OP.


Why The NBA Needs The Houston Rockets To Beat The L.A. Lakers


Come on, Houston, do it for Golden State.

For Bryce Drew.

Hey, for Yao Ming.

No, don't do it for that team, or that college player everyone has forgotten. Don't even do it for your center—who can never manage to finish a playoff run.

And definitely don't do it for Tracy McGrady.

Do it for the NBA. Do it for the fans. Win Game Seven in Los Angeles. Be the underdog that actually came through.

Because really, we need this. I mean, we really need this.

True, the playoffs have been intense. With both of the Boston Celtics' series grinding it out into a full seven games, and the Denver Nuggets shocking everyone, it has been a remarkable postseason.

But not remarkable enough.

This hasn't been Muhammad Ali-great. This hasn't touched the Giants beating the Patriots-awesome.

There have been glimpses of what could end up being the greatest modern postseason, yet, it hasn't been enough.

We need that, "Did you see that game" conversation. The water cooler is drying up. The superstar, NBA icon, MVP-feud-fed drama is dying down.

All we have left is those pesky reigning champs (Celtics), a trey-launching Orlando squad, and that ensemble of hard-nosed, ghetto Denver Nuggets (and I mean ghetto in the best way possible).

You're down to your last card, Houston. You've put forth a courageous effort. You've done the impossible; you've shaken Kobe Bryant's confidence. His swagger, as unbelievable as it may sound, is fading.

It's time to pull the trigger. Kick the beast while he's down.

Find your inner-Hakeem Olajuwon, and set him free.

Yao Ming, once again, out for the rest of a season. Check.

Tracy McGrady having nothing to do with the playoffs. Check.

Dikembe Mutombo down, out, and retired. Check.

To the rest of the world, you're nobodies. You're living, breathing, walking cliche's.

Way to hustle, Houston. Way to crash those boards. Great job, Rockets. Atta' boy, and thanks for getting back on defense. Oh, and let's not forget boxing your guy out.

That's all you'll be hearing when this series is over. That is, unless you put the Lakers to sleep.

Not only could you pull off one of the greatest upsets of our era, but you could change the way people look at the NBA. No. 1 seeds will forever be afraid of you, and anyone else who dares to play team defense.

A no-name squad, led by an interim starting point guard and some Luis Scola guy nobody can stand to look at.

You don't even have to get to the Finals. You don't even have to win another game.

Just beat the Lakers. Just shut down Kobe Bryant. Just win, baby.

Do that, and you've done your good deed. Do that, and you've made history.

Do that, and you've made the NBA great, again.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/...eds-the-houston-rockets-to-beat-the-la-lakers

 

nice read. LETS GO ROCKETS!

 

Luis Scola is a complete gangster and maybe the single most underrated player in basketball, but let's not kid ourselves here. He's not in Pau Gasol's league.

 

Artest is hilarious... I can't wait for his quotes anymore..

 

Two nice articles in one thread. I agree: the NBA is boring with its relentless hero worship. Kobe Kobe Kobe. Kobe-LeBron Kobe-LeBron zzzzz. . . . Chris Paul [burp-o-vom]. Enough with the marketing of faces/personalities (Kobe--personality?!?!). How about marketing *competition*?

 

We have much more strength of character than those fakers !

 

Paul-----> $16.4M
Scola----> $3.4M

If I have to pay one to play for me, scola all the way.

 

This is exactly what I've thought before and during the series. When almost EVERY non-Laker fan pretty much is rooting for the Rockets (Considering they are one of the most hated teams in the NBA), with the Rockets being such huge underdogs, why the hell would the NBA want the Lakers to win? Who cares about a LeBron/Kobe match-up, I think a colossal underdog upset like this is MUCH more excited, even if I wasn't a Rocket fan. I'm sure this series has drawn in a ton of viewers. So, everyone says the NBA wants the Lakers to win, but I just don't see why they would.

 

Last time I checked, we had Ron Artest.

Pretty sure he's a star.

But yeah, I can see where the article is coming from.

 

what a load of crap. lakers don't have more talent than the rockets? LOL. the writer just spent his whole article talking about how the lakers do have more talent than the rockets. But how the rockets players are negating that talent advantage with heart, hustle, and scrappiness. In a league that rewards talent with big contracts, look at the laker's salaries compared to ours. case closed. it's not our fault that every other game laker's all-star supporting cast plays like a bunch of stromile swifts.

 

Who would have thought, thats why you play the games. 3-3 deciding game 7 on Sunday, I guess you could argue that we have more talent if Yao were healthy.

 

I just wish for Battier to do the new version of Marios Kiss of Death.

That would bring me to tears!

 

It's pretty even if you compare them to cars:
Bynum-- Hummer (big and bulky and going bankrupt) vs Hayes-- F150 (solid, reliable)
Gasol-- Lexus SUV(a class above, but not a good value) vs Scola--Toyota SUV(great value pick)
Ariza-- Mazda Miata (high flyer, fun) vs Battier-- Honda Accord (another great value pick)
Kobe-- Ferrari (flashy, best in class) vs Artest-- Ford Mustang (rough around the edges power)
Fisher-- VW bug(old school steady) vs AB -- Mini (new school small, speedy handling)
So you see how comparable these fleets are??

 

I like what JVG said earlier. The Rockets are the only team in the west conference that match well against the Lakers.

 

Talentwise:

Brooks+Lowry = Fisher+Farmar+Brown
Artest <<< Kobe
Battier > Ariza
Scola < Gasol (not by much)
Hayes << Bynum

Landry < Odom
Wafer+Barry < Vujacic+Walton
Cook << Powell+Mbenga

It's a myth?

I think the writer is confusing performance with talent. The Rockets players are performing on the level of the Lakers. But they are far away from the Lakers talent level.

Did I mention the Rockets have no center?

 

fixed.

 

first read to hit the truth and not full of spin. Thanks for posting!