You're dead on! And I don't know if Odom aka Houdini will show up this series especially if he's played hard and comes off the Bench it doesn't take much to rattle Odom. He's been choking Since Rhode Island.
Since when is Trevor Ariza a Baller don't believe the Hype. Just another Rapeshow roleplayer getting way too much props because he start fo the Lakers. he couldn't even break the starting line for NewYork last year. He may have skills but Battier can't handle him thats a joke. All the Lakes perimeter players are in trouble except Kobe. Believe That!
Another thing Odom aka Houdini, most likely will take himself out of the game. gasol also doesn't have a good track record of performing under pressure. So don't act like this is a clutch Vet team. They're good and we can beat them if we continue play at a high level,no doubt in my mind. Rockets Returns to second round. Like KG said "Anyting is possibillllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll"
Best plan is not to keep the game close. Either blowout win or blowout lose. When the game is close theres no way we can close. Start with a big lead in the 4th. Shut down Gasol, Bynum, Odom, Fisher, Ariza and we win.
i don't see us blowing out the lakers. a vital contributor from L.A. would have to miss a game or injury in order for a blowout.
This BBS is full of a bunch of doubters. Too many years of futility are breeding insecurity among core fans. To claim that "knowledgeable basketball fans" clearly favor the Lakers in this series is to completely ignore what's out there. Among ESPN's "Expert Picks", four of six guys have this series going 7 games, and one of them has the Rockets pulling it out. No one else has it going fewer than 6 games. If the disparity in talent were so obvious as you propose, then at least a few of those guys would be calling for a sweep or 5 game series. There are others like Cowherd and Simmons who have talked regularly about how the Rockets are the biggest threat to the Lakers in the playoffs, too. But then again, it is ESPN, so I suppose you could argue they are not "knowledgeable" about basketball. But looking at the underlying argument, let's compare the rosters: 1. Yao >>> Bynum (Obvious. Yao is bigger and more dominant. Bynum is also coming back from an injury.) 2. Scola < Gasol (They are their respective countries' best post players. Scola had a coming out party in the first round. We don't use him enough, which is something I've felt during his time with the Rockets. Don't forget that he propelled Argentina to the World Basketball Championship and was MVP of the tournament when Ginobili sat out. Gasol may have an edge, but it's only a slight edge.) 3. Battier >> Ariza (Battier has a much higher basketball IQ and is a more effective player. They both play defense and hit 3 pointers, but I'll take Battier by a long shot over Ariza.) 4. Artest <<< Kobe (Not worth discussing at length. The Black Mamba is the best player in the league. But we have Battier and Artest to contain him.) 5. Brooks < Fisher (Derek Fisher is more experienced, which is the biggest liability for Brooks, who is still settling into his role as the starter. But Brooks has more talent by far.) 6. Houston Bench > Lakers Bench (I'll take Wafer, Landry and Lowry over Vujacic, Odom and Walton.) 7. Adelman < Jackson (Big Chief Triangle has control of his team and they do what he wants them to. Adelman struggles to control Artest, and Brooks doesn't always follow the game plan.) So it's a coin toss in my view (and supported by the ESPN experts). Rockets in 6.
Defending Kobe sort of a replica of how the celtics guarded him last year. give him the long range shots, keep him infront of you at ALL times (RON, SHANE). Play SAFE defense on him, dont reach after unnecessary steals and allow him penetration just give him long jumpers, hes not reggie miller or ray allen so if he beats us shooting deep shots all game we'll take it because he wont make them all. Late in quarters is when we can get physical with him and up in his face as little bit when hes a little drained offensively. our role players need only stay stride for stride with their man and keep a hand in their face ALWAYS because they can shoot and the transition game is the key to their runs. the x-factors will be trevor ariza and lamar oden, keeping them is check will be key for rockets victory, im confident in our pgs ability to keep fisher and farmar in check, they are the least of our worrys because neither of them can win a series for LA. between scola, landry, and hayes i think we can contain pau gasols scoring and its up to yao and a little help defense to keep bynum from getting those easy points in the paint which is basically his whole game. if we focus on our defense we can take LA completely out of there game, keep kobe out of the lane which limits LAs offensive production dramatically seeing as he creates a huge amount of their scoring opportunities. let the other players try and win the series (which they most likely cnt) or let kobve shoot them out of it (which he has done before)
I hope Artest's comments make Kobe try to score 50 on us in game 1. It would be great for all the other Lakers to be standing around on offense waiting for Kobe to do something.
The Rockets must do a better job at getting Yao the ball when he is fronted. If the Rockets can take advantage of the fronting defense, then the Rockets have a chance. The key is limiting the runs that the Lakers make. If you watched the Utah games, the Lakers would go on a mini-run and be up by 12. At which point, Utah would have to struggle to get back in; then the Lakers would go on another run and push the lead back up. The Lakers have enough talent to stay ahead once they get ahead. It will be imperative that Yao get the ball during those points in the game. If you limit or stop the Laker's run then you have a chance to beat them and this can only be done by getting Yao the ball.
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Learn from the Celtics: <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/zQaVvf2VOsc&hl=zh_TW&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/zQaVvf2VOsc&hl=zh_TW&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>
For starters, the TC crowd needs to take a lesson from San Antonio a few years ago and start a rousing "NO MEANS NO!" chant to Kobe. I'd die laughing.
I agree, I would live with Kobe taking long contested shots. Just tell Shane and Ron to keep him in front and to get a hand up on every shot. When he starts to drive I would pack it in so he can't get going on layups or freethrow line. Their transition game is how the role players get envovled so if we get back on defense and keep them off the glass by blocking out for rebounds (they love getting on the glass for o-reb.) we will have a great chance of winning the series.
The dude who made this video is such a whiny baby. And the background music? Come on. It makes it seem so tragic and terrible when it's just basketball. It's not like the Celtics bent Kobe over a sofa against his will.
Don't delude yourselves people. The Rockets are going to get destroyed and you know it. The only reason we could beat the Lakers in years past was because Mcgrady usually took an interest i those games and could negate Kobe's offense somewhat with his own. If the Rockets did by some miracle happen to beat the lakers they'd instantly become the favorites to win it all.
I think a lot of Rockets fans are severely underestimating what Gasol can do to us. I have a sinking feeling that he will have 2 or 3 huge games in this series. In all practicality I don't like the Rockets' chances one bit. Our offense can be very erratic if the shots aren't falling. To have a chance, Rockets will need Scola and Artest to both step up in big ways. Scola MUST neutralize Gasol, we can't be owned at the four. Artest can't get into the immature jawing with Kobe - I mean, my god, it's not only embarrassing to us as fans but then Kobe just lights him the hell up.
