I know I'm jumping the gun here but I need to posit a couple of things even before Clutch puts up the Game 5 thread. Tuesday night is going to be a war! Rockets will have to weather an emotionally charged effort by the Lakers. The Lakers are embarassed, angry, and determined to right their ship. It defintely is a must win for them; they will not stop at anything to achieve their goals. Expect it to be a challenging physical game. The Lakers will be as dangerous as a cornered rabid animal and just as vicious. Kobe will be primed for a 40+ night (at least that's what he'll be shooting for, regardless of whether or not a teammate has a higher percentage shot, or even if his shots don't all go in). Fisher, Vucabitch, and Ariza will be hacking and slashing, regardless of the officiating crew. Gasol will be playing Hayes face up, hoping to negate Chuck's defensive advantages. And, of course, the Laker goon squad of Odom, Bynum, and Walton will try to skirt the line of legality to limit the effectiveness of our 3s and 4s; even to the point of baiting Ron into retaliating. It's going to be a tough night! But, wait! The Lakers' Achilles Heel - players, coaches, and fans - is their confidence level. The Rockers pretty much clobbered their confidence level Sunday to the point of being extremely fragile. If and when the Rockets respond to the Lakers' frenetic charges early in the game with maturity and patience, I think the Lakers' confidence will be shattred like a cheap glass. Phil Jackson and Kobe Bryant are both hard-headed stubborn, and, when the Rockets fight back, the Lakers could easily implode. Not to say the game will be easy - it won't be. But mind games will probably be as important as Kobe's attempted 3s and Jackson's Xs and Os.
You have to believe that after spending yet ANOTHER day getting beaten up by their local media and fans for not being tough and motivated, they're going to come out and play their brand of FAKE TOUGH/BORDERLINE DIRTY basketball to try and get all the critics off their backs. It's going to be our job to not allow them to take the game over and play at their pace. The entire weight of this series is going to fall on the shoulders of Aaron Brooks and his shooting. If he comes out and continues to hit shots like he did yesterday, it's going to make life VERY uncomfortable for the Lakers. The thing that worries me most is that Brooks has not responded well in either series so far this postseason when the other team has made a decisive effort to channel him away from the basket, and you have to believe that the Lakers are going to throw the kitchen sink at him on defense tomorrow. I'm excited to see how the Rockets respond on the road after such an emotional win.
