Im not saying bench Fisher, only let Farmar much time. Also I dont think Phil Jackson will let AB score 19' so easily
I think you will see the biggest difference will be that Kobe will look to get his teammates involved early. They will come out like gang-busters. We've woken up a sleeping giant to be sure....they will play like their backs are against the wall. There's not much adjustments in terms of doubling yao or anything. I think they feel they lost this game because of rust and passiveness, not anything else. The key to whether or not we stand a chance at the Laker counterpunch will be this: How much are our guys satisfied to win just one or how bad do they want to put the Lakers in an 0-2 hole. Other than that, expect them to attack the point a lot more early in the possession.
they lost because they had too much rest and thought they could coast through this series like they did against the jazz. they will play harder next game and that doesn't bode well for the rebound margin which already favored them.
any adjustment would focus on Yao. they might try front Yao by Gasol from time to time, but not expect they start with tight double on Yao and last the whole game. would Lakers play like that? I only worry about 2 things: fouls on Yao in 1st q & stamina of Yao in 4th q. ron and AB must keep their performance in game 1. expect more from luis as Yao will score less for sure.
he's done is fairly successfully in the past. also, gasol always does the "pull yao's seat from under him move" where yao'll fall. i think yao should mix up his offense a bit and not always just lean on the defender. i know that's how traditional centers play, but he has a sweet in-rhythm turnaround jump shot from the post. i want to see that more frequently.
1. I'm waiting for the well timed Phil Jackson b**** session about the refs. 2. Derek Fisher might not play again in this series...at least not meaningful minutes. Brooks is going to destroy him if Fisher remains on the court. 3. Kobe on Artest. Why they tried Ariza on him is beyond me. I know they're trying to save Kobe the effort of having to defend when he's going to have to play 45 minutes a night, but Artest will take over this series if Ariza stays on him. 4. More back picks to get the blanket known as Battier off of Kobe. I don't really think there is much that the Lakers are going to change. They were pretty rusty last night and it showed big time. I wouldn't expect that Battier is going to get away with the defense he played last night in every game. There was a lot of contact on Kobe's jumpers that was not called. As I said, PJ is going to say something...probably today. He'll take the fine, but he's going to do all he can to get the calls more in their favor.
on offense, kobe will drive more, they will go harder at yao, and flop more, because that's what worked for the blazers in game 2, on d they will be more aggressive for more of the game, they were soft until the 4th, but they could have played better d in the 1-3 quarters. the rockets have to be equally aggressive, contain kobe 30 pts and under, we need to be more active on the glass, gave up too many second chance points, wafer will need to play better, carl will need to play a little better, and scola will need to score some more, all of this will allow us to get over the defensive adjustments on yao...i can't imagine they will focus on anything as hard as stopping yao, he was the game plan for the rockets, although ron got us started, thanks ron just play with heart, play strong, and don't expect anything, earn it
I'm tired of everyone saying that the Fakers lost because of rust and complacency. They played poorly because the Rockets took it to them. The Rockets took it to them in a way that the j*zz never could. The Rockets borrowed a page from the Celtics playbook. The Rockets decided that the Fakers could be exposed as frauds and they went about doing just that. Outside of Kobe and Gasol, the Fakers aren't that special. Everybody forgets that only a few years ago (and with substantially the same cast of teammates, less Gasol), Kobe was at risk of making the playoffs and never a threat to advance. I realize that Bynum developed into a proficient offensive player, but he still plays dumb which drives Phil crazy and prompts him to bench Bynum. And Odom has always (and will continue to be) about potential -- a 6'10" point forward who creates all sorts of matchup problems. Well Odom was going to be a great NBA player . . . but then he got high. Except for a breakout season with the Heat, he's been better on paper than on the court. Derek Fisher, though, has been clutch and he has the rings to prove it. But he can't keep up with Aaron Brooks. We need to keep exploiting that matchup to resign Fisher to the bench. So really -- Vujacic, Farmar, Ariza, Brown, Powell? When did these guys become good enough to tout the Faker's depth? Get real. The Rockets are as deep and with superior talent. It's time people started recognizing. Actually, I hope people don't recognize until after we hoist the O'Brien trophy at the end of the playoffs. Keep underestimating this team and keep talking about the $21 million hole in our roster. We'll keep racking up the Ws.
Seems to me that in this thread, a lot of people are still doubting the Rockets and not even giving them a chance to steal game 2 as well. Although I would agree that it would be extremely hard, it is still possible because of how we play DEFENSE! Our Keys are: 1) Yao stay out of foul trouble with Chuck Hayes having great spotted minutes defending like he did. 2) Keep Kobe's scoring out of the lane by sending 3 or more players on him in the lane 3) Keep their fast breaks to a minimum 4) Force their second tier players to score 5) Our two point guards keep attaching them under control. If we do this like we did in game 1, it won't matter what adjustments that the Lakers make, it will be our game to WIN, not their game to LOSE.
Watch for Kobe to attack the paint alot more. I am surprised Kobe dind't make that adjustment during Game 1. Oh well, I guess you can't alwasy be like Mike.
the lakers are gonna have to play harder. they will not beat us because thay have more talent. we are gonna be all over them all series long and if they don't play with poise they are in trouble. the pressure is all on them. they expect to beat us, but that's not good enough. they are gonna have to outplay us and that's no easy task.
If they're smart they'll front Yao. Bynum never even tried it. Gasol tried it a couple times but never stayed in front of him long enough which allowed the post feed to happen eventually. Also, they need more Odom and less Ariza. The Lakers are nearly unbeatable when he's playing well and hitting the glass like he was last night. Odom needs to be playing 40 minutes unless he's in one of flaky modes. Getting Gasol involved more too is key. I would imagine they'll try to get Bynum involved more on both ends. He was largely one-dimensional last night (10 shots in 15 minutes) while completely helpless trying to defend Yao. As for dealing with Battier, they'll probably try running more high screens to create a switch on Artest or whoever. I could be wrong but i'm pretty sure Kobe either scored every time Artest covered him or got his shot off fairly easily. Outside of trying to draw switches I would expect them to use Kobe relatively the same way. Most of those shots he took last night (contested or not) were typical Kobe shots. It's no secret that he doesn't drive much anymore and has become a mid-range/pull-up assassin. Defenders start to pick up on that stuff eventually so even despite seeing it coming, they usually still can't stop it. It's more a testament to how good Kobe is but even Charles Barkley picked up on this: we can live with Kobe taking a bunch of jump shots. Adelman said at halftime our goal was to keep him from getting to the basket. These are all things we can live with. And as a few posters have already suggested, I agree trying to pressure the ball more might not be a bad idea considering Brooks/Lowry's inexperience and (at times) erratic, sloppy play. We got away with a few near-TO's in the 4th quarter last night. Definitely a little unsettling but they played well so I can't nit-pick.
Some random thoughts: Bynum and Gasol probably have too much ego to front Yao. PJ is not dumb, but let's hope he realizes it when it's too late (Rox up 2). The Fakers believe they lost because they were rusted, and everyone played bad, etc., meaning that they are still arrogant as hell (aka. "we couldn't play any worse") and do not take the Rox seriously. Good thing, 'cuz Rox can play better as well. The two teams are actually evenly matched: Brooks <> Fisher (speed vs. experience) Artest <<< Bryant Battier > Ariza Scola < Gasol Yao >> Bynum On the bench, they have Odom, but the Rox also have a few solid contributors. Most predictions are based on Faker's 4-0 record in the regular season. After game one, any psychological advantage they had is out of the window. The Fakers are a finess team. Rox have to be physical, but poised. I have a good feeling about game two. I think PJ won't complain about officiating just yet, not after Battier's bloddy face and Yao's knee. He will pick another moment. Again, hopefully after game two
Well, if you watched postgame shows, you'd realize how cocky the Lakers really are. They basically said they don't need to do anything different. This is exactly how they lost to Detroit and Boston.
They will run more PnR on Yao with Kobe and Gasol. Kobe will shoot less in the first to get his teammates involved. All I am asking for is we stay poised, no TO no dumb shots that lead to easy points for the Lakers. That was how we killed ourselves in the regualar season against the Lakers. They need point runs to feed their defense, and their defense in turn fuels their offense. If that happens, we will be in trouble.
