ROCKETS -at- LAKERS - 5/6 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

[DancingBarry]

(Note: We put a little music to this one, when you get to the fifth paragraph.)

Judgment Day... You see Little Larry O'Brien standing amid a raging battle, the wounded falling at his feet as chaos seems on the verge of engulfing him. Hands reach for him and are struck down. Bold rushes are made toward him and collapse just short. You feel an ache in your gut and notice blood on your hands. Still, you stagger forward to reach for him.

The ground shakes around you. Voices call your name. Little Larry O'Brien begins to fade away. "Nooooo!" you scream, and that is when you wake. Angel is holding tightly onto your arm, shaking you and calling your name. "Come on, now. Wake up," she says. You get your bearings. It's not pretty. Dry blood covers your clothing, and you're sleeping in a bed of trash in some urine-soaked back alley.

"Finally found you. I've been looking everywhere," she says. "Nice sleep? They jumped you pretty good."

You stagger to your feet, the images of Little Larry linger in your head. "I'm ready for some payback," you say, spitting blood. The two of you leave the alley and park yourself in the entrance of a hotel a block away.

Downtown is eerily quiet. No traffic, no hustle and pulse. The street lights buzz and give off halos in the mist. The flapping fringe of an awning provides you and Angel a little shelter as the wind suddenly picks up. The Horsemen appear as if from vapor at the end of the street. With them, a mournful classical composition echoes through the city as they march.

You're full of questions, and she always seems to have answers. "What's the music?" you ask. She closes her eyes and takes it in. "Mozart's Lacrimosa. Lacrimosa means weeping or tearful. It's about judgment day." That sounds about right, you think.

The Four Horsemen ride. Death followed by Pestilence thundering ahead of the pack, Famine and young Destruction follow. Quickly, you hear the screams. Glass shatters around you, cascading off the awning like a crystal waterfall. Whispers fill the air. You've heard these before from this opponent, "Knock you out"... "Time to die"...

Angel has slipped away from you again. A deafening roar like a freight train driving through your front door shakes the ground around you. You duck, expecting buildings to come down. When you lift your head, it's silent again and Angel is standing next to you.

The bells ring... nine...ten...eleven... and stop. The Horsemen have won again. And, as if the bells tolled for thee, a bellboy pops out of the hotel and hands you an envelope. It's from DancingBarry, of course:

The Four Horsemen were here. They were not going to be denied this fight. They had more focus and purpose. Death and Pestilence led the charge. The Death Riders followed. Sacrifices were made.

They will meet again. I will continue to follow them...

The one-two punch of Kobe and Pau combined for 28 first quarter points as the Lakers pushed the tempo and pace out of the gates. On their way to the chippy 111-98 win, they had the Rockets on their heels early with Lamar in the starting lineup and Bynum on the bench.

But it was the shuffling of bench lineups that got the Lakers into trouble in the second quarter. The Rockets surged back to even up the game at halftime, erasing a 15-point Laker lead. The Lakers bounced back, opening the second half with a 16-4 run.

"We started to regain our purpose," Phil said of the Lakers shoving the Rockets back in that third quarter. The clutching, shoving and talking from both sides started to reach a crescendo late in that quarter with techs flying. DFish took a rare ejection. Ron Artest would follow him midway through the next quarter, and that would seal the Rockets fate.

"We're being tested," Kobe said.

Phil is mixing lineups like a madman. The Lakers ran some units we haven't seen all season, not exactly what you want in the playoffs. We paid the price at times. With Kobe dropping 40 points on 16-27 shooting and Pau giving an efficient 22 points, 14 boards, the Laker offense looked more potent than the rusty performance in game one.

The Lakers got the uptempo pace in their favor -- the transition game was killing the Rockets. Make no mistake, however, it was ignited on the defensive end. When they play strong D, get steals and boards, they can get out on the break or probe for early offense shots. They need to meet the challenge again as we move to Houston.


Kobe -- -- In the middle of a scrum with Artest trying to muscle and tanle with Kobe under the boards, Kobe spun to get box out position and caught Artest with an elbow. Apparently he hit the self-destruct button because Artest lost it. After barking at the refs, Ron charged over to Kobe to get in his face. Asked what Artest said, Kobe replied, "Nothing. I didn't hear anything." Artest picked the wrong time to get in Kobe's face. The refs were trying to get control of the game. "I didn't do nothing to get ejected," Ron said. Kobe agreed and added that he liked the physical nature of the game. "It's fun...'80s style," he said. These fireworks went along with the flame throwing Kobe was doing on the offensive end. Kobe got more into his spaces in this game than the Rockets probably wanted. The quicker tempo and a little less stagnant movement in the offense helped that. "Rather than more hesitant shot section, he loaded up and got rid of the ball more quickly," Phil said. Kobe was much more efficient, the offense less stagnant and it was better for the team. However, there is still a lot of work to be done. The Lakers need to do a better job of orchestrating the offense and not rely on so many isolation sequences and getting caught playing right into the Rockets defensive schemes. We played with more purpose than the first game, where the one-two punch was flat. Tonight, the one-two punch delivered blows. Next game, they need to work on integrating that third weapon. When they start exploring deeper into their triangle sequences (keep feeding the post, keep working the high screens and moving off the ball), that should pick up. The Stats: He scored 40 points on 16-27 shooting (2-3 from three, 6-7 from the line) The Action: He sank a catch-and-shoot 16-footer from the elbow. He swished another 16-footer, this time off a dribble. He missed a double-clutch jumper from the wing. Quick attack in early offense and he scored a layup before the D could set up. He swished a 22-footer in early offense. He drained a 20-footer off the high screen with Pau. He swished a pull-up three in early offense. He missed a pull-up wing jumper with the shotclock low. He missed a long three with Luke falling down in the lane. He missed a turnaround from the wing. He drained a wing jumper, sticking it as the first quarter buzzer went off. He had 15 points on 7-11 shooting. He posted up Wafer and scored an easy turnaround in the lane. He attacked Wafer again, drew the D and hit Brown for a three. He missed a long pull-up jumper. He missed another long pull-up (Yao out of the game and he's not attacking). He swished a three in front of the bench out of a timeout. He had 20 points on 9-15 shooting (2-3 from three) and 3 assists. Second Half: He sank a baseline 13-footer. He sank an And-1 pull-up jumper from the FT line over Battier, he missed the FT, got it back and missed a short bank. He sank a 19-footer in early offense after getting a step on Battier with a dribble. He hit an early offense runner. He attacked, drew a crowd and FTs, he made both. He fumbled the ball away in the corner. He drew FTs getting his jersey held by Battier as he was trying to create off the dribble, he made both FTs. He missed a 22-foot chuck. Kobe and Ron then battled under the boards on our defensive glass and Ron blew his fuse when he was called for a foul (Rockets first foul of the quarter after 5 minutes in the fourth), Ron got tossed. Kobe had swung around Ron with an elbow in that battle trying to box out. Kobe made the tech FT. He swished a turnaround jumper and was immediately called for a tech for saying something while heading back down court (very weak). He scored an And-1 layup, busting out on the break. One of the plays of the game: He went up and under Battier, threw the ball underhand off the backboard to himself and tipped in the layup over Yao (could have been an And-1 on Yao, too). He missed a bank from the left side.

Gasol -- -- Give him the ball. Is that really so difficult? The Lakers slid Pau over to start in the center spot. We played with speed: Pau beating Yao down court a number of times; Pau creating off iso with faster feet. The result was Yao in foul trouble quickly and a number of easy hoops for the Lakers. Pau had a great first quarter. So what do we do? We keep him on the bench a couple minutes too long in the second quarter and don't feed him much when he returns. We paid the price. "We didn't give him the ball as much as we should the second quarter and even the second half," Phil said. He needs to beat this into his players heads. Don't feed Pau in the post, the Lakers lose games. Phil said Pau's activity and running the court affected Yao, but thought we didn't really make that big of an impact in Yao's poor game. The Lakers did a much better job fronting the post, taking that away from the weak post entry passing Rockets. They got him in foul trouble. That's precisely how we want to play him. Yao said they will make adjustments, but complimented Pau as a smart player. The Stats: He scored 22 points on 9-13 shooting (4-6 from the line) to go with 14 boards (5 offensive), 4 assists, 4 blocks, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 38 minutes. He was a +19. The Action: He blocked a shot, then hit a turnaround over Yao. He pushed up the break and hit Ariza for the dunk. He dunked off the pass from LO on the break. He drew FTs on his second post up of Yao, he made one. He one-handed an oop in on the break (Yao trailing badly). He faced up at the elbow, attacked to his right, spun left to lose Yao and dunked. Quick spin on Yao next time down and he drew Yao's second foul on the reverse dunk attempt, he made both FTs. He tipped in a Kobe missed jumper. He swished an elbow jumper. He grabbed a Kobe miss, posted up his man and drew FTs. He traveled at the elbow. He had 16 points on 6-6 shooting in 18 minutes. Just 3 points in the second quarter. Second Half: He missed a layup on the break. He missed a 17-footer. He sank an elbow jumper off the Ariza drive and kickout. He faced up Yao, attacked quick to his left and scored the lefty layup. He tipped in a Luke miss from behind Yao. He hit Brown coming weak to strong for a layup. He no-looked to a cutting Luke for a layup.

Lamar -- -- LO walked two miles to Staples center today to get his focus ready for the game. He should have saved his legs. Moved into the starting lineup, he had to D-up against Scola. Lamar doesn't have the strength to keep Scola from backing him down. So, there were stretches when we gave up easy scores to both Scola and Artest because we had guys who couldn't hold their own. It made no sense when Yao was out of the game for the Lakers to keep Lamar on Scola, who will become their post threat when Yao isn't in the game. But that's what happened. Lakers need to switch Lamar onto Hayes or Landry and let Pau D-up there. If we don't want Artest backing down our PF spot, we've got two options: Luke or Lamar. I'd like to see the Lakers go big against the Rockets sometime to counter their small lineup. Our flexibility is suffering by not doing it, and Lamar has been hitting threes consistently the last month versus our other SFs who run hot and cold (mostly cold). There were a couple nice sequences for Lamar offensively in this game. He also brought the ball up more and pushed it out more off boards and steals. Look for the Lakers to integrate him more into the Tri in the next game. "We know he's going to find his way in this series and find a way to score," Phil said. Things got chippy tonight when Scola gave LO an extra tug on Lamar's jersey after a foul. The Rockets really hold the jerseys and players a lot, but this was more like the unnecessary extra activity after a play that got the Lakers upset. The Stats: He scored 7 points on 2-7 shooting (0-1 from three, 3-6 from the line) to go with 11 boards (5 offensive), 4 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 4 turnovers and 1 foul in 35 minutes. He was a +15. The Action: He lost the ball trying to push it out. He hit Pau on the break for a lob. He kept an offensive possession alive, going after an offensive board. He got striped under the hoop. He scored a layup, curling from the weakside and taking the feed from Bynum. He got tapped on a 16-footer. He missed a layup. Touch perimeter foul for Rocket FTs. He was fouled by Artest on a runner, he made one FT. Second Half: He attacked Yao in the restricted area to pick up his fourth foul on a throwdown attempt, he made both FTs. Nice D on Artest, Ron still hit the long jumper (all take those attempts all day). Scola backed him down for an easy score (we have Pau guarding Hayes). He swatted Scola on help D recovery after a switch. He missed a runner trying to create with the shotclock low. He curled across the lane, took the feed from Luke and scored the layup. He attacked with speed and drew FTs (Scola said something to LO afterward and several techs were handed out...Lakers came out on the short end of that), he missed both FTs...so we lost a point on that sequence at the end of the third. He missed an open wing three. The Lakers swarmed Artest, Lamar scooped up the loose ball, pushed it out and hit Farmar for the layup.

Ariza -- -- "Trevor's got his hands full defensively," Phil said. Artest just overpowered him off the dribble and collapsing the D. Phil had to go to Luke for a stretch to stop the bleeding. (Again, how about LO a little?) When Yao goes to the bench, the Lakers should immediately go to a stronger defender on Artest. The Rockets are going to try to run the offense through him even more during these stretches. Ariza also has to deal with the bigger, slower defenders in the cross match situation on the offensive end. We need to get him cutting off the ball with speed. The Stats: He scored 8 points on 3-8 shooting (1-3 frmo three, 1-2 from the line) to go with 3 boards, 3 assists, 1 block, 1 turnover and 3 fouls. He was a +11. The Action: He missed a layup off the LO feed. He hammered down a dunk over Battier in transition. He drained a sideline three over Scola. He traveled on a handoff. He missed a sideline three. He missed a three badly (should have reposted and cut). Second Half: He and Artest traded fouls and FTs to start the second half, both made one. He swatted Scola from behind. He missed a jumper off the two-man game. He took an offensive board away from Scola and scored a layup. He missed a runner off the glass.

Fisher -- -- DFish thought the pick was closer to him than it was and he was getting ready to take a foul we had to give. He gave it, all right. This was on the heels of techs flying with Scola, LO and Luke. "My intent was to run through the pick hard," DFish said. He explained his arm came up when he mistimed the play. The Lakers immediately pointed out to the Deron/Bynum foul in the first series, and also that Fish didn't take a shot at Scola's head. He said there was no intent to take a shot at Scola. But he also added, "For some reason they get to T-off on the little guys when setting the screens," he said. Fish had to think back to a decade ago when for when he was last tossed from a game. This play aside, Fish played a better game. The Rockets did look to probe the Brooks/Fish matchup, but our team D was much more effective in containing it. Better shooting game from Fish (he at least made a three). He'll need to bring that in Houston. The Stats: He scored 12 points on 4-7 shooting (1-3 from three, 3-3 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 28 minutes. He was a +15. The Action: He drained a 16-footer off the high screen to start the game. He deflected a pass off of Brooks. He picked Brooks to ignite a breakaway. He banked a pull-up jumper on the break. He drew an offensive foul on Scola (who did one of those pivot screens with the ball). He was called for a perimeter foul with a couple seconds on the shotclock trying to strip the ball from Yao. He missed an open three badly. He forced a pass into a crowd, turnover. He swished a runner attacking off the three line. Second Half: He sank an early offense three. He tied up Artest on a drive (not easy to do). He missed a wing three. He missed a long pull-up jumper. Nice close on Brooks in the corner to block his shot with the clock low. He was fouled on a corner three attempt, he made all three. He dumped Scola who was coming fast to set a screen, and Fish was then ejected with a Flagrant-2 call late in the third.

Bynum -- -- Bynum was reduced again to a single first-half stint, this one just 4 minutes off the bench and another brief stint later in the fourth. There were no foul issues. Phil said they lost the momentum of the game in that second quarter and that's why Bynum's minutes were reduced. I might also look to the Sasha, Brown and Farmar unit that ran with Bynum at the same time. I'm not sure this unit has ever played a game together...and we were pulling it out in the playoffs. I don't see how you can blame Bynum for that. I'd like to see Bynum out there as we go with a big lineup to counter a Rockets small-ball lineup. Sometimes, you need to make your opponent adjust to you versus you adjusting to them. Luke on Bynum: "It's got to be mental for him, because he's shown us what he can do," Walton said. "So it's not like he's not capable of doing it. Basketball is funny about your confidence. If we get him a couple of easy ones, a couple of dunks, a couple of jump hooks and the next thing you know he's giving us a 20-20. I'm not worried about Drew." I'd like to see Luke setting him up for a few of those in the next one. Right now, Phil is talking about getting just the D end from Bynum. We need to get his game jumpstarted on the offensive end and we aren't doing that. The Stats: He played 9 minutes on 0-2 shooting, had 1 board, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block and 3 fouls. The Action: He hit Lamar curling for a layup. He missed a tip in. He was a -7 during that stint (we ran a Farmar, Brown, Sasha trio out there). Second Half: He missed an easy finish on a lob to start the quarter (should have had that one).

Luke -- -- Difference maker tonight. He came in for Ariza late in the first half and didn't seem to show any signs from the injury. Ariza was getting overpowered by Artest. Luke's strength helped keep Artest from easy scores. Offensively, he moved the ball well and found others for good looks. His shot was mostly off, but he did a lot out there tonight. Down the stretch, Phil ran with Luke at the PF spot as the Lakers closed out with Lamar and Bynum on the bench. Luke was the only bench player with a positive +/- in the game. The Stats: He scored 6 points on 2-7 shooting (0-2 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 1 board, 5 assists, 2 steals and 2 fouls in 20 minutes. He was a +6. The Action: He drew a couple fouls in the final minute of the first quarter (the second one posting up Wafer), he made both FTs. He missed an open sideline three in transition. He missed another wide open three. Decent D on Artest, who was scoring easily against Ariza. He fed Lamar cutting for a layup. He picked up a tech having some words with Scola. He took a pass from Farmar who was on the floor, pushed out the break and fed Sasha trailing for the layup. He hit a baseline jumper over Yao. He missed a wing jumper. He flagged down a pass in the backcourt to regain possession. He missed an open baseline jumper.

Brown -- -- Things you like about Shannon: off-the-ball cuts in the offense; ability to sink the open three; better athleticism defensively; speed and athleticism in transition; and finally, he doesn't commit a lot of stupid fouls like others. Shannon got some extended run in this game to match up with those smaller Rocket lineups. Phil is reluctant to go big against those lineups, so Shannon becomes a key role player. He played the final 8:50 of this game. While we might be missing Vlad's three shooting in this series, we need the things Shannon brings to the game, too. The Stats: He scored 7 points on 3-5 shooting (1-2 from three) to go with 1 board, 2 steals and 1 foul in 14 minutes. He was a -3. The Action: He swished a three off the kickout from Kobe. He missed an open three next time down. Second Half: He hit a hanging jumper in the lane. He stripped Yao under the hoop to save a basket. He came weak to strong under the hoop and easily scored a layup off the Pau pass.

Vujacic -- -- The second blow up in this game was Von Wafer getting tossed by his own coach, sent to the locker room in the fourth. Sasha has gotten into his head and apparently has done a psyche job on Adelman. Not sure how that happened. Honestly, Sasha makes me very nervous in this match up. He's right on the edge and we seemed to survive it, tonight. Phil went to Brown at SG for a long stretch in this game...and I think that's a very good call. Note to Sasha: What Battier gets away with, you will be called for. Not right, not fair, but just the way it's going to be. He needs to be careful starting the fourth quarter. We got into the penalty way early and a couple of those calls were on Sasha. The Stats: He scored 4 points on 2-3 shooting (0-1 from three) to go with 1 board, 1 steal, 1 turnover and 3 fouls in 10 minutes. He was a -1. The Action: He tied up Wafer for a jumpball, he didn't win it. He had another man jump in front of him again to steal a Brown jumpball. He didn't even hit rim on a jumper off the screen. Second Half: He nearly tied up Wafer. He picked up an off-the-ball foul on Wafer. Nice challenge on Wafer on the next defensive stand. He was called for a double dribble trying to push out the break in the last seconds of the third. He sank a wing jumper off the Bynum handoff (squared up well). He scored a layup trailing Luke on the break. He picked up another 30-foot foul and the Lakers were out of fouls with a little under 9 minutes left.

Farmar -- -- Unlike the last game, Farmar got some extended run against the speedy Rocket backcourt. He came in for DFish as the first guard off the bench. Late in the game, however, Farmar was thrown into the mix for long run when Fisher was ejected. He played a poised game with moments of excellent hustle. We saw him go to the floor for loose balls and even take a charge. He did a good job trying to orchestrate the offense and play to our strengths. He's got to play that kind of heady ball on the road. He needs to forget the second quarter, which was a mess offensively, and focus on what we did right in the fourth quarter. Farmar was a -8 in the first half, but a +4 in the second half. The Stats: He scored 5 points on 2-7 shooting (1-2 from three) to go with 1 assist, 1 steal and no fouls in 18 minutes. He was a -4. The Action: He missed a leaning runner off the glass. Second Half: He went to the floor to steal a ball, then passed to Luke while still down and it led to a breakaway layup. He scored a layup on the break when LO scooped up a loose ball and pushed out. He missed a drive over Yao. Great help D, stepping in for a charge to help Brown. He missed a good look at a 17-footer (nice shot selection, though). He missed a layup trying to finish between two players when Luke stole the ball. He drained a long three out of a timeout with the shotclock low. He got tapped on an open three next time down when Kobe kicked out to him.

Powell -- -- Powell came in for some brief spot duty at the end of quarters for just a possession. That's fine. But he had an odd, brief 2:18 stint in the middle of the second quarter during which the team went -6. These are the puzzling minutes that makes you wonder just what we're trying to do. We have to get more minutes for our best players. With Bynum, Pau and Lamar, there shouldn't be stretches like this where we don't have an impact player at PF. Powell actually had a couple nice plays defensively in those few-second stints at the end of quarters...but we've got to have an impact baller out there for the longer stretches. The Stats: He didn't score or shoot, had 1 turnover and 1 foul in 3 minutes. He was a -6. The Action: He helped stripped a ball off a man driving down the lane. Second Half: He came in briefly to give Pau some rest in the final seconds of the third and again he seemed to get a hand on a ball defensively.

Phil -- -- With Lamar in the starting lineup, the Lakers pushed out to a 16-8 start. The tempo and pace of the game was quick and the Rocket D couldn't get set. The Lakers made 8-10 shots, including two dunks and a layup... The Lakers pushed out to a 29-16 lead, continuing to push the pace... The Lakers had more fastbreak points (11) in the first quarter than the previous game... The Lakers led 39-25 after the first quarter. Kobe had 15 points, Pau 13 and the Lakers shot 16-22 (73 percent), the Rockets 10-18, but had 5 turnovers... Phil started the second quarter with a Bynum, Lamar, Sasha, Brown, Farmar lineup. Never seen this lineup before. This was to go against a Brooks, Lowry, Wafer lineup... The lead was cut to 43-36 as the Rockets outscored this unit 11-4... Phil brought in Kobe and Luke for Farmar and Lamar... Yao picked up his third foul midway through the second quarter. The Rockets, however, were in the bonus... Phil went to Powell for a couple minutes midway through the second quarter. Lamar or Bynum should have been in there during that stretch. The lead was completely erased before Phil called a timeout with 3:51 left... The Lakers were outscored 32-18 in the second quarter and were tied 57-57 at the half. The Rockets made 21-37 (57 percent), the Lakers 23-43 (54 percent)... The Lakers started the second half on a 12-5 run, forcing a Rocket timeout. That extended to a 16-4 run... Yao picked up his fourth foul and had to sit. Phil kept LO on Scola instead of switching him on Hayes defensively. We also didn't feed Pau against the smaller defenders... A series of technicals against the Lakers vs. Scola ended the third quarter. The Lakers gave up 3 FTs and the ball one sequence. They lost Fisher with an ejection... The Lakers led 86-77 going into the fourth quarter... Phil thought the refs were inconsistent (see Deron's foul on Bynum)... He started a Bynum, Lamar, Luke, Sasha, Farmar lineup. The Lakers gave up three quick fouls... A couple steals and layups and the Lakers forced a Rocket timeout... Lakers were in the penalty with 8:50 left in the fourth... Lakers ran a Pau, Luke, Kobe, Brown, Farmar lineup... Up 12 with 3 minutes left and 5 seconds on the shotclock, Phil called timeout to try to create a shot. He got another made three. Twice he did that out of timeouts... The Lakers scored 23 points off 20 Rocket turnovers and only had 11 turnovers themselves. Big difference in this game... They also shot 6-17 from three. They make those in the last game and maybe they are 2-0...

Game Flow -- LINK -- It may not have seemed like it, but the Lakers won every quarter but the second.

[Ray_Gonzoles]

Thanks for the recap as always DB. Finally the Lakers showed some toughness and intensity for 4 quarters. They will need to lighten up on those stupid early outside shots and go inside more if they expect to win in Houston. 1 down, 3 more wins to go.

BTW - 1st
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"Just show up ready to work, ready to play, Have your big boy pants on, leave your diaper at home." Kobe Bryant
Anything less than a championship is a failure. Period.

[DancingBarry]

6 hours from start to finish to cover this game.

[kups]

2nd??
good, grind it out win. thanks DB.
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#2 Lonzo
#28 Derrick White, Jordan Bell, Deonte Burton

[HungryBear]

thanx for the recap.

[japanesebeef1]

[dna.]

Lakers won but still need to step it up. FOCUS!!!!!!!!!!!1one

The type of focus and (to steal Kobe's favorite word) execution they are displaying so far will not beat the team that wins the East if we manage to get to the Finals. Please Lakers, don't repeat what happened last year.

We have time. Pull it together.

[MedRomLaker]

Thanks DB, right on about needed to put Pau on Scola when Yao is out. We have to continue feeding the post if we are going to win this series. Oh and great choice of music, truly helps paint a picture.
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11/9/12 the day the brown was flushed down!!!!!!

4/30/14 the day the ant left the building!!!!!!

[sec 110]

This series is shaping up to be a classic. I love it.

[A Mad Chinaman]

DB - thanks for your six hours of work, it is something that I (and many others) look forward to after each game.

Who do you think will step on when theyplay Houston at home? Outside of Kobe, with some help from Pau, there is little offense from anybody else.

With Sasha, Luke, LO, Jordan and others having problems with their shots at home, what will happen when they are playing in Houston

[Dr. Laker]

[prisma8slg]

thanks DB.

this was a very physical game, but the surprise of the game was not fish getting tossed but wafer getting tossed by Adelman.
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"I define success by championships, by winning..." Kobe Bryant

"I've seen it all. Sasha dunked on somebody," Kobe Bryant said. "I'm ready to retire now."

[Gallofa]

Thanks!

In a way, I am glad that we are having a tough early round. Last year, it was a walk in the park until the finals, and we all know what happened then, we wiltered like flowers. Perhaps if we have to fight it out now, we will be tough come finals time.

[Mr. EiGhTy-OnE]

-joey crawford must have thought TD was playing the way he was giving out Ts and ejections
-I don’t think d-fish, nor artest should have been ejected
-I expect kobe to be fined for his elbow since the refs blew the call and set off artest
-what a game for kobe bean bryant. Hopefully he can continue to prove that battier cant guard him in Houston. that off the glass pass to himself was CRRRAAAZZYYY
-props to derek “watch out for the quiet one!” fisher for bouncing back and sending a message to scola and the rockets
-I agree with barkley, WHERE IS ANDREW BYNUM? I blame phil and andrew 50/50 for that
-PUT L.O. ON ARTEST
-if fish does get suspended for game 3 I think we’ll be in good hands with the quickness of brown/farmar
-sasha is doing a good job of getting in von wafers head. he killed us in the regular season, now he’s killing his teams chemistry by arguing with hitler
-L.O. should walk to the games more often. I wonder if he’ll walk to game 3?
-Lamar is the only player to turn 2 free throws into a -1 possession
-I like that they drew up that lob for bynum to try and get him going. Too bad he blew it
-this team has to defend without fouling and if we are in the penalty….STOP COMMITING DUMB FOULS
-note to trev: theres a reason they are leaving you open
-horrible lineup to start the 2nd qtr
-i hope stu jackson was heckled at staples
-I cant believe d-fish fouled yao at the 3 pt line with 2 secs left on the 24 clock. BUT that lead to yaos 3rd foul
-pau really man’d up last night and did a great job of fronting yao
-welcome back Jordan farmar
-luke has to hit that open corner 3. I like his fire though getting into it with scola
-nice hustle by Shannon getting back on d on that fast break off of the jump ball
-landry=2009 leon powe

-artest loves telling stories about how tough his neighborhood was. "my friend was playing basketball and he was winning. it was so competitive that they took a piece of the leg from a table and threw it at him..... it went thru his heart and killed him.....he died on the court" (partially paraphrased but mostly word for word)

LAKERS IN 5! (LETS HOPE SO)

THANKS db
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"When (Kobe) gets you on life support, he won't give you mouth to mouth. HE PULLS THE PLUG." -stu

[Sage_10]

Good to see a rough and tumble win by the Lakers.
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"You Must Be Willing To Give Up That Which Can Be Lost In Order To Gain That Which Cannot Be Lost." - FORTUNE COOKIE

[limchrc]

Thanks for the recap. Nice win.

[Vishnu]

As always, thanks for the recap DB.

[IPK]

[macwebb]

[Rick12322]

Thanks Db, love your recaps.

[Freakout]

[Vadorojo]

[Klone_dd]

The Lakers decided to muck the game up themselves. The end of the 3rd was as chippy as I've seen them play. Not necessarily smart chippy, either.

I'd be surprised if DFish doesn't get suspended for the next game. His body slam was pre-meditated and gave the Rockets 2 FTs and the ball. I know DFish was trying to send a message, but to give up points (and himself) at that juncture wasn't smart.

Funny that RonRon went begging to the press about Kobe. Kobe's practically fouled, grabbed and tugged at on every offensive possession and yet he only shoots 6 non-tech FTs. Battier's fouls are subtle and slick, but fouls nonetheless.

Pau had his normal steady game. His fronting the post on Yao was an unheralded key to the game. Make someone other than the team's star beat you is a basic strategy. If Pau can match Yao's output, the Rockets don't have enough firepower.

What they do have is scrappyness. We saw that in the 2nd quarter. Hayes & Landry smacked us around.

This series may hinge on who is more efficient - RonRon or Kobe. So far, RonRon has been shooting the ball well despite taking shots you normally want him to take (except for the 2 dribble, size up 3 with no one around him). When he overdribbles or tries to do what Kobe does, the Rockets suffer and the Lakers can get out in transition.

I'm happy that JoFar is starting to 'get it' or get it back. ShanWow is the steadier of the 2, but if Fish is out for game 3, we'll need JoFar as well.

[LuciusAllen]

As you mention, Luke really made an impact tonight. Yeah, his shot was horrid, but everything else was damn good, on both ends of the court. Glad he was back and ready to play.

[AJLakerFan]