Pau is such a wuss! The only Gasol you need to worry about nowadays is Marc! He could rip his brother in half! ha ha
Laker's challenges with current Rockets Squad * Ron and Bynum don't get back on the fastbreak * ScoLandry will give Mr. Kardashian the blues * Bynum can't score consistently against chuck * Brooks gives Fisher and Baby NewYear the blues
I am buying what you are selling... a fresh Rockets team vs. a Lakers team poised to make excuses if they are lethargic on the road on a back to back...
I don't see us winning this game.. I hope we do, but I'm realistic. This team is not ready for a real test yet. I do hope we make it interesting though...
I disagree, this is the perfect time to play the Lakers. -Championship hangover? -No chemistry or cohesion? -Injured Star? -2nd night of back to back? ...and lets not forget we are at home. I am sure the Lakers remember what that means. wins against Playoff teams in your conference are ALWAYS important no matter what part of the schedule you are in.
yeah with a healthy lakers team with Gasol we stand no chance with a front line of Odom,Bynum, Gasol. There is just too much height and i hate to stay it but Gasol and Odom always kill Scola on offense. Bynum sucks if Yao is in there but he's not so he might get some easy put back dunks. But I do like Hayes and he will be hard to back down but if Bynum does get post position then he just too talk for Hayes. It will be tough but Gooo Rockets!!
We match up well in large part due to our point guards. The Lakers struggle with small quick guards who can score. They are the best team in the league, so naturally the game will be difficult though. We also have a mental edge given that we pushed them harder than anyone else in the playoffs especially when we were at home. They won't forget that. While I don't think we have nearly as much talent as they do, I think we could end up being what Golden State was to Dallas a few years back, that team that just matched up well....We'll see. Go Rockets.
I think if they dont Get caught up with Kobe trying to dominate then we will have a great shot at winning. We are looking real good right now. I hope Barkley chokes on it.
Amazing how winning a few games at the beginning of the season brings out the cockiness. I do agree that chemistry with the Lakers will be a factor, however we (fans) shouldn't take this game lightly. Bynum is no slouch. We could win this one as long as the defense holds up, but we could very easily get blown out of this one.
Kobe's scoring performance during LAL vs HOU 08-09: Game 1: 32 points on 14 of 31 FGs (.451); 1/7 3's Game 2: 40 points on 16 of 27 FGs (.592); 2/3 3's Game 3: 33 points on 11 of 28 FGs (.392); 4/6 3's Game 4: 15 points on 7 of 17 FGs (.411); 1/4 3's Game 5: 26 points on 10 of 19 FGs (.526); 1/3 3's Game 6: 32 points on 11 of 27 FGs (.407); 1/5 3's Game 7: 14 points on 4 of 12 FGs (.333); 1/4 3's Stats are based on this link: Wikipedia Link From this, it looks like you can't expect Kobe to be stopped, even with Battier's superior defense. However, he can occassionally be slowed down, contained. He shot less than 42% from the field in 4 of 7 games, but over 50% in 2 of them. The big difference seems to have always been whether the rest of the team could put together a solid performance against us or not...
i dont get this whole shut down business.. no one can really shut down kobe.. but Battier sure can make it tougher on him and force him to take some bad shots and get the lakers out of their groove. .thats about it..
I think this also doesn't take into account assists and turnovers. Shane and Ron last season played one game where LeBron scored a bunch of points, but had no assists. Naturally the Cav's lost. Teams like Cleveland and LA rely on their stars assists as much as points. Even games where Kobe drops 40-50, LA still loses. It's very true Kobe can't be stopped, but he can be turned into a poisen for LA. Turn him into a volume shooter, eliminate his ability to kick the ball out, he'll still drop like 50 points but LA will lose. Easy formula.
Kobe Bryant is having "flu-like symptoms". Questionable tonight vs OKC. Possibly out tomorrow as well? http://lakersblog.latimes.com/laker...s-flu-symptons-questionable-for-okc-game.html
If we don't have to play the refs.. then it should be a good game considering Gasol is out and the Lakers look a little soft lately.
God please don't let Joey Crawford ref the game... It will not be a cake walk. They will bring their size which will put us at a disadvantage. Expect Ron Ron to shoot 20+ shots on his former team. He's got something to prove on Wednesday. Look what happend to Pops when we played his former team. Pops kicked their ass. I'm not saying it will happen to us, but it might. But I just can't wait for it to start. Getting really excited...
