rockets should not focus too much attention just on kobe. Battier or artest on him is sufficient. You don't want to have 2 perimeters lock on kobe and Yao stare at kobe in the post waiting for him to drive and leave 3 other lakers open. If kobe can do his **** against battier or artest 1 on 1 then let him do it. Take away easy baskets from everyone else is the key.
I know a way to stop Kobe..by giving him a sore throat. He is listed day-to-day as of right now. http://my.lakers.com/blogs/2009/05/03/bryant-misses-sundays-practice/
I like this option. We can bring active Dorsey to break his legs. NBA suspends Dorsey for the rest of the postseason.
Do what the celtics did, Kobe has only 2 decent shooting Nights in the finals. Ofcourse we don't have KG to provide Help D or Ray,Pierce or Garnett to score on the other end.
Do your best with one on one d switching Ron and Shane out and keep the other guys covered. It's hard to double a play maker without leaving your interior d vulnerable.
i know send some one in to the game and tell them to take him out break his nose or arm, leg, and the rockets will pay the fines.
The defensive blueprint: Celtics defense on Bryant in last years NBA finals There has been alot of talk in the BBS about what defensive strategy the Rockets should use against the Lakers. Quite a few posters argue that the best way to defend the Lakers is to let Bryant score his points and shut down the rest of the guys. I strongly disagree with that argument. If you look at our losses to LA this year, it was Kobe who made plays in crunch time when the game was on the line. Let's face it. When LA needs a basket, Bryant is going to be the guy with the ball in his hands looking to score. We have two defenders(Ron and Shane) who are capable of making life difficult for Bryant, but its really going to be a team effort. I was listening to an interview with Daryl Morey and he said that the Rockets coaching staff has been analyzing last year's finals to see how the Celtics were able to slow down the Lakers offense. In this video you will see that the Celtics basically had 5 guys watching Bryant at all times, and collapsing on him the second he steps inside the three point line. You will also see that they were extremely physical with him and they made sure to have a rim protector in the game at all times(perkins/brown). <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/zQaVvf2VOsc&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/zQaVvf2VOsc&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object> Watching that video makes me think about how much we will miss Mutumbo's physical prescense in the paint. Bryant will relentlessly attack no matter how many defenders we throw at him, so Yao's shotblocking will be tested. He has got to find a way to impact the game defensively without fouling. It will not be easy, but I think Yao has made major strides this season when it comes to avoiding fouls on the defensive end. He will have to play physical, but smart. I think he is going to have to play atleast 40 minutes a game for us to even have a chance in this series, so staying out of foul trouble will be vitally important for Yao. Another thing worth mentioning is that the Rockets can not allow the Lakers to get out in transition. The best way to limit the Lakers in transition is by executing on offense and avoiding turnovers. Our PGs will have to be patient and poised for 48 minutes. The Lakers are the best team in the league IMO, but the Rockets always give themselves a chance to win if they play championship calibur defense. The Celtics proved last year that defense wins, and I feel like the Rockets have a chance to win this series if they employ the same defensive strategy the celtics did. I think we have better perimeter defenders than Boston had last year. I'm more worried about our interior defense. Yao and Scola will really be tested. Mutumbo will be missed.
Yeah, I saw this video a while back. It's really great defense against Kobe.. though I don't think we're capable of playing it because of Yao's mobility and the way Garnett intensified that defense in Boston.. it was remarkable. I don't think we're capable of doing it..
I think Paul Pierce's defense on Bryant is the blueprint Ron should follow. He is physical with Bryant and doesnt gamble. I think that kind of defense took its toll on Bryant as the series went on.
Battier needs to be the one defending Kobe. Ron doesn't know how not to make it personal, and Kobe has all the confidence in the world against Ron after tearing him up in the last meeting. Ron's a more physical defender than Battier but he's not smarter nor necessarily better. And Battier knows how to keep his composure, plus we'll need Ron more on offense than we'll need Battier.
As far as having a rim defender besides Yao (and Landry who can block shots pretty well), because Deke is hurt, can Dorsey play in this series? Does the roster change for each series, or how does that work?
Yeh I agree. Shane will be guarding Kobe. Artest will be helping out though when battier gets rubbed off on screens. It really will have to be a team effort, but battier will be doing most of the heavy lifting.
Our squad does not have the lenth, athleticism or physicallity of that Boston defense. Pierce and Posey were both physical and quick on man defense. Artest and Battier can offer similar on man defense, as well as help defense. However, the key is Garnett, Perkins, Powe and the like. Those guys are tall, long and athletic, and can get to the spot faster than our guys. Yao, while tall, will not get there fast enough. Scola and landry are try hard guys, but do not have the speed or elevation to be shot blocking threats. the celts totally shut down the paint because of the interior help. We will not be able to duplicate that, and run the risk of getting yao and Scola in foul trouble if we do. No, our best best is to coax Kobe to shoot jumpers, and live with the results, and hope that we execute in enough 4th quarters to win. To body up and play aggressive man or zone defense in the first three quarters is suicide. We have to do so in the 4th quarter, and i'd feature a mix of Artest and Battier to do that.
As far as having a rim defender besides Yao (and Landry who can block shots pretty well), can Dorsey play in this series (because Deke is hurt)? Does the roster change for each series, or how does that work? I'm obviously not sure Dorsey knows all the defensive schemes, but at Memphis, that dude was a shot-blocking monster, even at 6 ft 9. He could at least guard the basket and be aggressive.
And to follow up that comment, I think Dorsey adds to our overall athleticism and physicality. We are a very physical team, and I think he'd just ramp that up even more.
I think Hayes is a guy who could be effective in this series. He's not a shot blocker, but he is always aware of where the ball is going and he is great at getting to a spot and drawing charges. If ron ron is on bryant i think battier could also be effective helping out on the interior.
Thanks for the video. How you bout callin this great defense? Most of it was illegal. Stern wanted Celtics to win it, and so they did. This year its Lebron. Next year will be someone else. It's all about making money you know. I don't think if we make it to the finals a lot of people will be watching the series. That means less cash for the NBA. It will be Kobe vs Lebron finals.
Although, I hope we do try to use the same defense the Celtics used. I don't think we can though. Celtics have/had the most mobile big men in the league and none of their bigs can be exposed to the pick n roll like Yao can. I do hope we send Shane Battier guarding Kobe though and not Ron Artest. Shane is much better at fighting off screens and pick n rolls, and also Shane is our best finesse defender. What I mean by that he's better at guarding guys who rely a bit more on speed and quickness like Kobe Bryant than guys who use a lot of strength like LeBron James. Also Shane doesn't gamble too much defensively and he is pretty good at cheating when he's playing defense (No offense to him, but at least he's not dirty). However, Yao's gotta alter the paint against Gasol and Kobe, we'd rather let them live and die by 3's then live and die in the paint. Losing Deke is a lot more crucial than we all think, I do wish he was playing right now to motivate our team and to help us defensively. Although, I do believe Landry, Hayes and Scola are capable of slowing down Gasol we need more shot blockers and players who alter the paint, nobody aside from Yao is capable of doing that. Let's just hope we pull this thing off. Get Red.
