That advantage, plus the advantage where we beat them last year without Ming in the lineup. I agree, it would help to add that shooting/ slashing wingman that both Adelman and Morey have said we're looking to add. But seriously, we match up well against the Lakers because they haven't got a PG who can really hurt us. We tend to get burned by the teams with real fast points - Williams/ Parker/ Paul all feast on us. The Lakers don't.
To beat the Lakers in a 7 game series the Rockets need: 1. Health (anyone else tired of saying/hearing this?) 2. A legit SG/SF with size/athleticism to help out Tmac and Shane 3. A large, mobile big guy to match up against the larger Laker front line. To me this is a bigger concern than many think. Deke is as much a liability as he is a luxury most nights while Scola and Landry just can't match 7 footers that can move. I'm not looking for a great player but a guy who can give 10-12 minutes a night and help wear down the opposition with size/strength. Something in the mold of a young Kelvin Cato (minus the laziness and bloated salary) would be great. I believe Morey will effectively address #2 and #3. #1 is all about luck and a competent medical staff.
Make a Gasol-esque trade. Say, Boozer for Bobby Jackson & Steve Francis' expiring contracts, Aaron Brooks, 2 first-round picks, and the rights to that Australian player we drafted. Yup, that would do the trick. But oh wait, we're not in LA. So the NBA wouldn't want that. I forgot only the big-market teams get those great trades. So like everyone else not in LA, Boston, or NY, we'll just have to be underdogs hoping for a lucky year.
Hornets can beat them too. Utah should beat lakers. Spurs should win if Manu is healthy. lakers have talents, but not scared people at all. If both healthy, Rockets can beat them in 7 games easily.
i swear u guys are the biggest homers ive ever seen. "when healthy we can beat the lakers". rofl give me a break. kobe owns t-mac fisher owns rafer odom is a borderline all-star who noone in the league can match up with pau owns scola bynum fits the lakers triangle better than yao fits our offense and dont get me started on the bench. turiaf, vujacic, farmar, vlad all pour in about 30+ pts.
I guarantee you that we won't be ranked #1 next year on Hollinger's list. Everyone here that thinks that we can compete with the Lakers in a 7 game series ought to hand over your tonic or whatever your happy juice your on. We need some serious roster improvements and true leadership on the floor. We need a guy with the heart of a champion. He doesn't have to be our star player, he just needs to lead our team.
Is that why we beat them 2-1 in the season series? 2-1 And don't offer me "they were missing players" - so where we. Having said that, I'd be hoping for an upgrade in our backup GF position and C position at the very least before the season starts (someone who can shoot 3 pointers in the season AND the post season would be nice...)
Elson is a free agent can we make use of him? As for small forward, we can try to raid the Knicks and Heat's cupboard.
Unfortunately it's impossible to beat the Lakers because we got knocked out in the 1st round. It's my opinion that the only two teams that stand any chance of beating the Lakers at all right now are the Celtics and the Pistons - and the Pistons have next to no chance of even playing them.
I"m reallly not liking the available free agents available at shooting guard and small forward. Why can't Stern gift us with a Gasol??? Makes me mad just thinking about it. Just look at this bunch of scrubs in free agency. FREE AGENT SHOOTING GUARDS Brent Barry, Gerald Green, Dahntay Jones, Julius Hodge, Luke Jackson, Keith Langford, Tarence Kinsey, Allan Ray, James White, Desmon Farmer, David Wesley, Richie Frahm, Qyntel Woods, Dajuan Wagner, Dion Glover, Penny Hardaway, Doug Christie. FREE AGENT SMALL FORWARDS Ira Newble, Marcus Vinicius, Bobby Jones, Ruben Patterson, James Singleton, Sean Banks, Kasib Powell, Carlos Powell, Ronald Dupree, Jiri Welsch, Kedrick Brown, Stephane Lasme, Justin Reed, Eddie Robinson, DerMarr Johnson, Chris Crawford, Josh Davis, Zarko Cabarkapa, Tremaine Fowlkes, Dijon Thompson, Darius Rice, Brian Hamilton.
Actually no. I question how many people watch Rockets games. Battier often limits Kobe to low percentages. It's just that he shoots so much, he gets the points anyway most of the time (which is all that matter to most people). "OMG!!! Kobe scored 35!!!" Yeah, on 35% shooting. All of a sudden we get a nationally televised game and it's "Wow, Battier held Kobe to 35% shooting..." I'm not saying that it always happens. No one would be able to hold Kobe to sub40% shooting in all the games of a 7 game series. But I'm confident that Battier could do a solid job on Kobe. poprocks, that is indeed a bad list. I think Ruben Patterson would be solid though - big and strong, can post up, plays ok defense. Basically another Bonzi type.
With Yao and McGrady healthly we can beat them. The problem is not Kobe Yao or McGrady. The problem is Lakers role players. They are playing their best, everybody is hitting shoots, they give Kobe big help. That's why LA is so great
If healthy, the Rockets have no weaknesses. They can beat any team in the league. Only the Rockets can beat themselves. Utah does not have our number. Rafer was injured. Battier has hold Kobe to 39% FG since he became a Rocket.
For the sake of the Houston Rockets, I hope the team management, going into the offseason, is not as delusional as the posters in this thread.
I hope not either. Ive said alot about a tim thomas. Why? Lamar Odom. I've talked about Ron Artest. Why? Kobe Bryant. Ive talked about Mihm and Mbenga. Why? Yao. Why i try to stress to posters on this board is that the rox need to be able to matchup against any west opponet. What the Lakers did to the Spurs was Odom was too big,strong and mobile for any spur. The legnth of all their players also played a vital role in knocking out the spurs. When they go to the bench, they have energy,versitility and size. All the things the rox dont have. Back to the players i mentioned. I like scola and landry, but they're too similar. One needs to stay and one needs to go. We all know that yao is going to stay inside and guard the guy closest in the paint. Scola and Landry are good players, but the rox have problems with the longer atheletic guys at the 4. Enter Tim Thomas. A 6'10 versitile 3/4 player to stretch the defense. He's not the franchise savior some thought, but at 2 yrs and 5m per, a trade for the versitility is enough for me. I like battier, but Artest is a true difference maker on both ends, He defends like crazy, tough,physical and another guy that can play 2,3,or 4 effectively. With artest and tracy on the court at the same time, where do the best defender go, Tracy or Artest. Against La, does Kobe or Lamar check Artest? Against SA does Manu or Bowen guard Artest in the blks? He gives the rox endless matchups that people just dont understand. This 1st deal is the one that will set everything in motion. Watching La like i have for the 30 games or so during the regular season and playoffs really just make me wonder if the mgmt is going to rest on the 55 wins or are they going for the ring. I will tell you this and u can mark it down with a sharpie, if the rox dont dramatically change their personell, they will be 1 and done even with a healthy team. I dont care about the 2nd or 3rd rd either because the Lakers have shown u can go from a 47 win 7th seed to the title game. I dont want to hear about this rd by rd progress bs. Its going to be a dogfight to just make the playoffs next yr.
Having Battier means we can beat them...well, beat Kobe... Defensive Matchups: Starters: Yao > Gasol Scola is just slightly worse player than Bynum Battier limits Kobe Tracy > Odom Rafer = Fisher So we have a fairly good chance of beating LA. The facts speak for it self: Season Record Rockets 2-1 Lakers Who knows what it will be like next season after Morey weaves his offseason magic!
I completely agree with LeeBIgez. We just need more versatility on our lineup. Heck what in the world are we doing with Hayes? It's time we mix things up.
