ClutchCity.net Game Thread: Rockets @ Lakers 11/17/2002

Is Kam going to be at the game?

If yes, give him some tranquilizers before the game and don't let him get near Kobe and Phil...

 

We are SO going to lose this game...

Lakers 127
Rockets 72

 

I say Rockets 103
Fakers 73
Go Rockets!!!

 

it depends if kobe is on. if he is, we will have no answer for him. if he isn't, we could pull it out. as zrb pointed out, the lakers can (and do) kill us with jumpers. we just don't handle jump shooting teams well at all. if we run soft double teams at kobe and allow him to pick us apart, he will and we will have to try to keep up with them offensively which we might not be able to do. if their jump shooters are off, we could win. if the jump shooters and kobe are off, obviously we win. i'm just not optimistic about their shooters being off. even when we play good D, jump shooters never seem to be off against us. i say it gets ugly like others here have.

lakers 101
rocks 91

but it really isn't that close

 

What is the situation with Cato? Will he be available to start?
If he is not, I hope Yao will get his first NBA start.

 

If we play in this game like we have played the first 7 this season, we are going to get ran. The fakers are probably drooling saliva down their chins at the thought of getting an easy one off of us. Very unlikely that our rockbottom basketball IQ squad will be able to get a win off a team with finals experience.

 

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/sports/bk/bkn/1665590
Nov. 16, 2002, 9:23PM

Rockets summary

Excused absences

The Rockets will be without center Kelvin Cato, with his family in Atlanta after the death of his grandmother, for the third consecutive game. He is expected to be in Houston on Monday.

Besides Shaquille O'Neal, who has pushed back his scheduled return to Friday against the Bulls, the Lakers have been without center Soumaila Samake, who was suspended for using a banned substance.

Samaki Walker played 42 minutes Friday with a sprained ankle. But forward Devean George missed the game with tendinitis in his right foot and Lakers coach Phil Jackson said he would be out tonight.


Second that motion

The Rockets couldn't make it last, but for much of Friday's 88-87 loss to the Suns they showed the ball movement and balanced scoring they have said has been routine at the long practices of the past two weeks (including Saturday's).

"I thought the ball movement and the shots we were getting were really good," coach Rudy Tomjanovich said. "We had a bad stretch right at the end, a couple miscues and we missed two layups, two open shots and two free throws by a great free-throw shooter (Cuttino Mobley).

"But I thought the flow of the game was really good."

Rockets forward Glen Rice, who has been preaching the virtues of ball movement since the preseason, said Friday was a step in the right direction. But he said the idea is not to have more scorers while reducing the scoring of Steve Francis and Cuttino Mobley, but to have more scorers to make it easier for Francis and Mobley to score as they had been before Friday.

Averaging a combined 51.1 points before Friday's loss in Phoenix, Mobley and Francis combined for 29.

"We have a lot of guys with incredible offensive skills," Rice said. "To utilize everyone and move the ball around like we did at times as I've said time and time again, is going to be a big advantage for us. Once you get guys feeling good, it's going to make it easier for our one-on-one players like Steve and Cuttino.

"If everyone is filling the basket, where is the help going to come from? It's going to be easier for them. They work too hard. To their credit, they've been doing an outstanding job. But if we can make it easier for them, you can imagine how it will look. You can see when we're moving the ball around, we get easy buckets.

"It's easy for them now. But if they haven't been getting hit all game, it's going to be so much easier for them because you can't guard those guys one-one-on. You can't."

Good eye

Rockets center Yao Ming has yet to show the passing touch he demonstrated with the Chinese national team in games. But the Rockets have begun to see that more regularly in recent practices.

"He sees things underneath, it's kind of amazing," coach Rudy Tomjanovich said. "Only a handful in the league do that."

 

I hope too. With Samake, Samaki and Diesel (I like Shaq's name being last on the list!!) out, this could be Yao's game.

First, I want to see Yao do well. IF he starts its fine, but I suspect Collier's familiarity virus will keep Yao out of the starting line up!!.

PS : I was missing ZRB's predictions. His predictions helped us win many times (LOL!!!). Lets see if he can still deliver that magic tonite.

 

I see A-Train is helping me out a bit. Keep it up man! Keep the pessimism flowing!!!

 

Your pessimism is getting on my nerves, heck if you dont believe or your not having fun, then pack your bags man, and find something that will give you true enjoyment!

and PS your killing the rest of our highs

 

Every time I've said that the Rockets are going to win they lose. So....

Lakers 95
Rockets 90

The Rockets will then go 0-75 the rest of the year.

 

It'll be interesting to see what Rudy decides for the matchups. I'm guessing MoT and Griffin can clear out some space for Yao to roam and do his stuff.

Assuming that Francis cancels out Kobe's production, we have to rely on some D to make Kobe work for his 40 shots again and trip up his FG%.

Assumption #2 that Steve and Mobs will be in their usual firing moods, I think the key to a win will be KT. We need a solid game from him tonight to stand a chance.

Control the front court and we win. Simple.

oh... not to mention the 24 minutes for Yao.

 

Forget Kobe. he's going to get his. You can kill yourself all you want, he can get 40 if HE wants. For the eprsonnel we have, we MAY bring his down to 40% shooting, but that's it.


What we SHOULD do is make sure NO other Laker surprises us. If every other Laker gets the same average as they did last year, probably plus one point even, they still won't win.

Keep everyoen else is check. Our backcourt will outscore theirs, so I'm comfortable with our bench and frontcourt outscoring theirs.

This one is ours.

 

Originally quoted by:sonique 15

Hope the Rocks play Ming cuz Samaki and that new african guy wont be able to hold him.

Yeah our new chinese center and our american center should have no trouble with them at all.

 

The Rockets need to win this BADLY! I don't know if I can handle any more "Trade Mobley for 31 year old Brent freaking Barry" threads! Come on Rocks, beat the Lakers!

 

This is the game preview from NBA.com. I'm only really posting it because whatever idiot that wrote it made 2 obvious mistakes, one typo and one stupid backasswards Suns game note:

Houston (4-3) at LA Lakers (3-6) 9:30 pm EST
LOS ANGELES (Ticker) -- The Los Angeles Lakers try to defeat the Houston Rockets for an eighth straight time when they square off at the Staples Center on Sunday.

The Lakers have not lost to the Rockets since an 84-74 setback in Houston on November 7, 2000. Los Angeles has won five home games in a row against the Rockets, not losing to the Lakers in Los Angeles since a 97-81 defeat on November 12, 1999.

On Friday, the Lakers ended a four-game losing streak - their longest since 1995 - with a 96-89 overtime triumph over Golden State.

Kobe Bryant scored 45 points and Robert Horry had seven of his nine points in the extra session. Bryant broke a tooth after colliding with Antawn Jamison late in regulation but came back to score four points in overtime.

Samaki Walker, the only other Laker to reach double figures in points, had 12 and 14 rebounds.

Houston was edged by Phoenix on Friday, 88-87, after Steve Francis made a layup with six seconds remaining.

Francis led Houston with 16 points, six rebounds and five assists but was just 5-of-18 from the field. Maurice Taylor added 14 points in 16 minutes off the bench, while Yao Ming, the top overall pick in the 2002 draft, had his best offensive game, making 5-of-6 shots and scoring 10 points in 14 minutes.

 

Sure would be nice if YM could get double digit points, two games in a row.

Raven

 

Well, even though I want us to, we are not going win tonight

 

I would be surprised if we win, but I sure hope we will!!!