The Rockets know the game scheme on how to play the Lakers. I was also assuming Battier would be playing (as he would be if we were in the playoffs) and we also have Ariza who does a decent job on Kobe. Chuck Hayes has somehow always been able to slow Bynum down.... We match up better just because of experience with the Lakers. We also have a better bench than the Thunder.
They give Mark too much talk time. JVG has apparently ticked someone off because they only have him there for 1-2 sentences every few minutes. And it's usually nothing game related.
do you remember game 7 of last year, no yao, ROCKETS GOT BLOWN OUT LIKE 89-70, Tthey could not even score enough points on lakers to keep game close, with yoa, out rockets cannot matchup well with la lakers especially with hayes at center, who gaurds gasol, even if hayes stops bynum, who stops gasol? kobe will still get his 30 points regarless of who is on him
Do you also remember game 4 and game 6 without Yao? I don't think you do. Yeah sure Kobe can get 30 points on 25-30 shots.
Thunder keeping it close... good sign for them, Make some adjustments at the half and improve the rebounding, they still have a chance to take this game.
It could be much worse for the Thunder. Once Westbrook got going, they got back into the game. That's where the prize might be, because Fisher cannot slow him down for the whole series.
but the rockets had landry who brought energy and intensity, they had ron artest and a healthy battier, they had lowry healty and a hot shooting brooks, rockets last year were a very good defensive team i think in top 5-7 in the league in field goal defense and points allowed. this year's team is totally different from last year's playoff squad, no landry, no artest, and no wafer; are defense is one of the worst in the league; artest would kill kevin martin on the defensive end; gasol and bynum would kill the rox thin front court of hayes and scola or hill/jeffries, does not matter; lets be realistic if a team is bad defensively how do they beat a team that scores nearly half its points in the paint?
anyone watching the halftime show? the media hasn't learned its lesson from last year, they just jumped right into LA v Cleveland. Uh... LeBron didn't make it to the finals last year.
if rox played the lakers in 1st round with no yao, this year, they would GET KILLED!!! like 4-1, they could not even beat teams like thunder, suns or heat late in the season, heck they GAVE UP 122 AND 125 points to PACERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
