Lakers/Rockets Thread!

[banditbdl]

While I would agree the Rockets outplayed LA last night, they couldn't close the deal and the fact is LA played like absolute dogshit and still won. The Rockets got the worst performance out of the Lakers they could hope for and still didn't win. No way in hell you can win a playoff series with Stevie "Let's count the Turnovers" Francis running your team. Okay, maybe a 1st round series in the East, but that doesn't count.

[andyfox]

Karl Malone was 3 for 14 and Kobe was 4 for 19. Shaq missed ten free throws. The Lakers scored nine points in the 3rd quarter. And they won.

How can the Rockets hope to win a game if they didn't win this one?

[Zeno]

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Unfortunately, the Lakers caught the breaks at the end.

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As a Blazer fan I know this only too well. But I agree with Banditbdl below that the Lakers played very badly. If the Rockets were legitimate contenders they should have won by 20 pts. The Lakers are dysfunctional and playing poorly but it will not catch up with them until the second round, IMO.

I would love to see the Rockets win. It just isn’t going to happen. They could not even capitalize on a golden opportunity to take one in LA.

-Zeno

[Aceshigh7]

All you people talking about how badly the Lakers played. Maybe they played badly because of the Rocket's defense?

It's easy to say the Lakers had an off night but maybe Houston's defensive pressure had something to do with it.

[Ulysses]

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No way in hell you can win a playoff series with Stevie "Let's count the Turnovers" Francis running your team.

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That Stevie can f'in jump, though.

Yeah, the turnovers suck, hard. An amusing moment for me was the spin move where Stevie lost the ball, grabbed it back from right in front of George, then got fouled (but not called) by Shaq and tossed it in over his shoulder. They replayed it about 10 times. It was the Sprite Great Skillz play or whatever. Yeah, great play, but 9 times out of 10, he turns that ball over and Lakers get a fast break bucket.

[Ulysses]

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How can the Rockets hope to win a game if they didn't win this one?

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I think the better question is how can the Rockets hope to win the series if they can't win that one? That's true. How do they win a game? Play good defense and execute well another day when the Lakers aren't executing well and catch a couple of breaks.

[Ulysses]

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If the Rockets were legitimate contenders they should have won by 20 pts.

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Don't get me wrong, I agree. I just think the Rockets playing at their best can give the Lakers a fight, that's all.

Look, I just watched the Rockets lose to the Warriors twice in the last few weeks. I know how great they aren't. At least I got to see William Hung perform live, though.

[banditbdl]

I'm gonna preface this by pointing out that the Rockets are indeed one of the top 3 or 4 defensive teams along with the Spurs, Pistons, and (gasp!) Timberwolves in the league right now.

On to the rant... When it comes to bad sports commentary by announcers and halftime crews I don't think there is anything that pisses me off more than watching a basketball team brick wide open shots and make unforced turnovers for an entire half, shooting something like 35% and scoring 38 pts then hearing the announcers go on and on about how good of defense the opposition played. Sometimes the shots just aren't falling. Kind of like those nights were you are getting flushstraighted at the poker tables. The NBA announcers seem oblivious to this and believe poor shooting entirely reflects good defense. This can be true, but you can't explain a 9 pt. quarter on defense alone.

As concerns the Rockets-Lakers series LA scored only 72 points last night and won the game. Kobe might even shoot 4-18 or whatever it was last night once or twice more in this series, but he ain't gonna shoot like that 5 or 6 games in a row. The Rockets play good D and all but there is just no way they're gonna consistently hold the Lakers in the low 70s. Last night they did, and it still wasn't enough.

[banditbdl]

Yeah, Steve is an incredible, incredible physical talent. If he had half a brain he'd probably be the best point guard in the league.

[Ulysses]

OK, at the end of the game, Stevie fouls Shaq. Van Gundy looks confused and the announcers comment on it.

I can just imagine the conversation:

"Stevie, WTF was that?"

"Yo, man, Shaq can't shoot free throws."

"Look guys, we're not fouling yet. Play defense."

"Yo, don't sweat it coach. We're just gonna foul Shaq. We got it under control."

"NO! NOT YET!!"

"Don't worry, coach. I got a plan."