Rockets 2009 Playoffs

[Mike]

Not a Willis Reed moment, but he showed me some stones last night. Jeff Van Gundy always talks about how Yao cares, and how bad he wants to win, and I see it more and more. This team showed grit all year, the battle with injuries, and last night taking back the lead in the 4th quarter.

Kobe, besides being an adulterer, is a punk/loser after rubbing his junk on the head of Battier. I have zero respect for crap like that.

[HPF Bob]

Congrats to the Rockets on their big road win. That was a gutty performance. Our ace in the hole may be Adelman's experience going against Phil Jackson and the Lakers so often while coaching in the Pacific Division all those years. He knows what the Lakers will do probably better than anyone. From there, it's a matter of getting his players to recognize and execute.

Artest also seems to be the x-factor we didn't have in past seasons.

[Nconroe]

Kobe, now added to my Malone, and Stockton hated punk list. And LA floppers, deserve to loose. poor coaching control by whats his name in LA.

[barrett]

Originally Posted by Nconroe

Kobe, now added to my Malone, and Stockton hated punk list. And LA floppers, deserve to loose. poor coaching control by whats his name in LA.

Poor coaching control for LA??? What do you call it when adelman gets yelled at by a scrub like Von Wafer on the sideline in the middle of a playoff game.

Houston just lacks the offense to win this series. Too much dribbling around in the 4th quarter tonight. And it was done for sure after Artest was unlucky enough to have his "I got hit in the throat" motion look like an "I'm gonna kill you" motion.

Houston plays very hard but is outgunned here. I'll take money it doesn't go past 6. The only drama left is who the first Rocket to beat up Sasha Vuajic will be.

[popanot]

Most of the time I feel the Yao bashing we hear a lot is unwarranted. However, I can certainly see why people get upset with him. Yes, he got into early foul trouble, but he played like a total wimp last night when he was in game and has got to be one of the weakest (especially in the hands) big men of all time. Get a frickin' contested rebound or hold onto the ball in traffic once in awhile, Jeezus! Adelman should have just left Landry in the game and only put Yao in to spell him when got tired.

I disagree the Rockets are outgunned by the Lakers. The Rockets problems were mostly self inflicted last night. The ~19 turnovers, missed FT's, and over-dribbing is what killed them - not LA's offense or overpowering play. They can let Kobe get his points, but they cannot let the others like Odom and Gasol get easy baskets. Yao was letting them do whatever they wanted to in the paint and was pretty much a stiff.

As a side note, not factoring in Kobe and Gasol/Yao and Artest, I'd take the Rockets roster over the Lakers roster. If the Rockets take care of the damn ball they have a good shot at beating the Lakers, IMO.

[barrett]

Originally Posted by popanot

Most of the time I feel the Yao bashing we hear a lot is unwarranted. However, I can certainly see why people get upset with him. Yes, he got into early foul trouble, but he played like a total wimp last night when he was in game and has got to be one of the weakest (especially in the hands) big men of all time. Get a frickin' contested rebound or hold onto the ball in traffic once in awhile, Jeezus! Adelman should have just left Landry in the game and only put Yao in to spell him when got tired.

I disagree the Rockets are outgunned by the Lakers. The Rockets problems were mostly self inflicted last night. The ~19 turnovers, missed FT's, and over-dribbing is what killed them - not LA's offense or overpowering play. They can let Kobe get his points, but they cannot let the others like Odom and Gasol get easy baskets. Yao was letting them do whatever they wanted to in the paint and was pretty much a stiff.

As a side note, not factoring in Kobe and Gasol/Yao and Artest, I'd take the Rockets roster over the Lakers roster. If the Rockets take care of the damn ball they have a good shot at beating the Lakers, IMO.

That's the point. Kobe makes the difference. The Rockets only have one good one-on-one player and that is Yao and he is easy to deny and easy to double. That means the 4th quarter is spent with Aaron Brooks dribbling or Ron Artest shooting contested jumpers. Every once in a while it works (game 1), but you can't win 4 games like that.

The Lakers meanwhile just run their offense and if it doesn't work Kobe raises up for a 50/50 jumper over Battier or gets a teammate an open look. The Rockets may have the deeper roster (especially at PG) but it's irrelevant. They can't close because nobody on the roster creates shots. Maybe (and a big maybe) brooks in a year or two if he learns to stop dribbling so much and learns to run the pick and roll.

[HPF Bob]

Don't forget the NBA is a fixed league. It's going to a Kobe-LeBron final. That's what the suits want and the order has been passed down to the refs to make sure it happens.