The Rockets' best regular-season player against LA didn't score

Vujacic did a great job pressuring Von. I don't think he expected it initially. He started anticipating it and dealing with it later on, but I think Rick found something that worked better (without Von) when he had Lowry/Brooks in together. Look for that a lot.

I think Von will look at the video, see what opened up for him and how to deal with Vujacic and make an adjustment for next game. He won't average 17 PPG in this series, probably not even double digits, but he'll revert to becoming a threat on the offensive end at the very least.

To be honest though, we won this game while turning the ball over more and rebounding less. If we had taken care of the ball a bit more, it would have been a blow out. We also out-rebounded Portland last series consistently, and Portland is a long team like L.A., so I imagine will do better on the boards too.

 

They sure weren't good enough last night. I love your optimism because it mirrors my own. I've never felt like we couldn't win this series. It's going to get a lot tougher, but we can still turn it up a notch. We still have a gear we haven't used. If the Rocks can keep their heads on straight, like last night, we can take this thing.

 

You can't guard Odom when he's going up for that hook shot on the paint. He's done that same shot like 3-4 times in that game.

You gotta make sure he can't have that inside position on the paint. I don't think Landry can take it. Chuck needs to take over Odom and Landry on someone else. I can see Landry playing D successfully against Gasol.

 

I'd bank on it.

 

Agreed, he was hawking him. I bet its the VERY first time anyone has called Sasha a defensive "stopper" in his career!

 

Imperative of game 2 is not to expose Yao to Kobe or Larma too much. They will do that though. Kobe will try getting his teammates especially Gasol going for awhile, and then open it for himself.
We have to keep our poise. Frustrate their other players as much as we can. It's not about stopping Kobe. If we can stop others, Kobe goes volume, and we put ourselves in a good situation. Blueprint for the series. Of course Phil will throw his full court pressure gimmicks here and there, our young guards have to be ready for that.

 

I'd disagree completely. Obviously, this type of defense, which Von hasn't seen much of, impacted his game negatively last night. But in general, once he reviews the tape, and just has a better game mentally, I'd expect pressure defense to actually work in Von's favor. The deadliest part of his game is his ability to beat people off the dribble with a quick first step and a great change of direction. Get up in his grill, and once he's accustomed to it, you can basically expect Von to drive by you at will.

What's more, let's not pretend like Von is an all-star. This is what he does. He has great games, then he has a bad game or two. And sometimes not just bad, but awful, like last night. If you look at his game logs, you will see a lot of volatility in his performances. That's what you get from these types of players, for the most part. The next step in Wafer's career is to (1) become way more consistent, and (2) become a little more rounded (rebounds, assists, defense).

The Cat makes a great point about the Rockets areas for improvement, though I think there are even more.

1. Wafer
2. Rebounding (the Rockets got doubled up on offensive boards 12-6)
3. Turnovers (rebounding and turnovers combined, the Lakers shot 15 more shots then the Rockets, though the Rockets did go to the FT line more).
4. 3 Point Shooting (though it's hard to see how, relative to the Lakers, we could do much better here, but certainly if they can shoot 3's better, we can, too).

Then others that I'll add:

1. Scola - Not just that he wasn't as integral a part of the offense because of the Lakers defense, but overall, Scola just didn't seem as active in the game.
2. Landry - Great shooting on putbacks and being in the right place at right time, but his quick elevation still isn't there and he still struggles on defense. I'm starting to think that is what we're going to get in this year's playoffs from him, though...but he can definitely play with more energy still.
3. Battier - Great, great defense Shane. What happened to your shot, though? Goes to the 3 point shooting argument..Shane, 0-4, should improve. Plus he had a couple of stupid plays and did his usual act on offense where somehow he plays 39 minutes and is MIA from the offensive statline. Guess I shouldn't complain given his defense, though.
4. The Bynum Factor - more points last night then the previous 3 games combined, including a number of FT line jumpers that surprised me with their consistency.

Anyway...that's why the play the games. The Lakers should play better in some areas and worse in others...same with the Rockets.

I think the key remains Lamar Odom. If he plays like last night, the Rockets can win this series. If he plays like he did against Utah, the Lakers should win the series.

 

I agree. If Brooks, Yao, and Artest played anywhere near the level they played, then we just need a Scola/Wafer/Landry to step up and it's a brand new win.

I'm still in shock.

 

***If Brooks, Yao, and Artest PLAY, not played. Stupid editing..

 

We can and must play better period. Limit turnover, grab more rebounds and hit those FT please. Von hopefully will get used to physical pressure from Vuvabiatch and contributes.

 

Of course you won't hear about it.

According to the media, the Rockets didn't win that game; the Lakers lost it.