Game Preview: Houston Rockets vs. Los Angeles Lakers - Game 3 - NBA Playoffs - Conference Semifinals- 8:30PM CST
by UofTOrange on May 8, 2009 1:03 PM CDT
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Point Guard
Brooks/Lowry vs. Fisher/Brown/Farmar - Will this be a rallying point for the Lakers? It'd be sad if it was since what Fisher did was pathetic, but it's very possible. Can Aaron Brooks translate his road success to home success? The most interesting aspect of tonight's game is how much the Rockets will use the two point guard lineup that worked so well in game 2. It will clearly depend on Phil Jackson's rotation with 1 less point guard that he can play.
Edge: Rockets
Shooting Guard
Battier/Wafer/Artest vs. Bryant/Vujacic - Shane Battier got the best of Kobe Bryant in game 1, Kobe got the best of Shane in game 2. I thought it was hilarious that Kobe was yelling "You can't stop/guard me" to Shane when he so thoroughly disrupted him in the first game. Did he think that was going to get into Battier's head? Because that is absolutely not going to happen. Did he really want Shane to focus even further? I guess we will see tonight. The Wafer wrinkle is just another interesting story to add to these playoffs. Wafer has apologized to the team and the fans. Frankly I don't know what happened, but my guess is both Wafer and Adelman overreacted. It's water under the bridge now though, Von, given some minutes is going to have a huge game tonight.
Edge: Lakers
Small Forward
Artest/Battier vs. Ariza/Odom/Powell - Will Artest try to take the game over? Or will he get even more focused and completely eliminate bad shots? It really could go either way. I stand by my assessment that what he did after getting elbowed (wherever it was) was the correct thing to do. He had to show Kobe that he wasn't going to be allowed to do whatever he wanted to do. Now it is incumbent upon Ron to be Ron Artest and not Crazy Pills. Trevor Ariza is, as usual, a wild card in this series. He's been decent but hasn't really had an effect on the games. Past a few awesome plays he hasn't been anything special. That could all change tonight, but it will depend on if Kobe keeps shooting or if he starts distributing.
Edge: Even
Power Forward
Scola/Landry/Hayes vs. Gasol/Powell/Odom - Gasol really limited what Yao could do. Unlike Przybilla before him, Gasol is actually moving his feet very well and not resorting to arm, jersey pulling and beating on Yao. This is actually good news because Gasol cannot guard Yao once he gets the ball, he can just force the Rockets to work harder to get it to Yao. Gasol has been a lot better than I have given him credit for in the past though. He does all of the little things and works hard on the court. Lamar Odom has been everything I thought he would be in this series, namely "nothing special". Luis Scola has had a tough go of it in the first couple of games. I fully expect him to have a break out game in game 3. And I'm still not sure why Carl Landry didn't get to play in the third quarter more. The Rockets have actually had the edge at the power forward spot in this series, mostly because Gasol has been playing center mostly.
Edge: Lakers - But no where near as big as some think
Center
Yao/Hayes vs. Bynum/Gasol/Mbegna - I'm not even going to talk about the Lakers centers since Gasol already was mentioned. This game rests on Yao's shoulders. Whether he simply occupies two defenders properly without letting them recover, or he beats the front it hinges on him. 20 points from Yao tonight guarantees a Rockets victory. I'm chalking Game 2 up to some poorly timed fouls more than Yao not beating the double/front. He really didn't have the time to do so on the court. Game 3, 24 and 14 is coming
Edge: Rockets
Prediction:The Rockets are going to win this game, period.
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The Rockets will win this game
I expect nothing but the best from both teams. (Not personality wise-lakers lose that one) It should be one of the better games of the playoffs. I’m hoping for the lakers to fall apart, but i’m also a realist
You're the master prognosticator, but I wanna give it a try :)
Point Guard: Brooks/Lowry vs. Brown/Farmar -
I believe that having fisher gone actually speeds up the Lakers, improving their defense of brooks and their fast-break ability. Having said that, I believe Brooks will step up with some confidence in what could amount to our highest profile home game in years! Brooks seems to like showing of what he can do and on this stage I think he’ll show up. I also look to Lowry to provide some physical play and rebounding while Brooks is out. I would have given the Rockets the edge with Fisher taking minutes, but….
Edge: Even
Shooting Guard: Battier/Wafer/Artest vs. Bryant/Vujacic -
Kobe is going to go off for 35+ tonight. Yes he had 40 in the last game, but he was being pumped up by the peanut gallery in L.A. I don’t think it’s likely that he’ll drop 40 on us two nights in a row (though he’s one of 2 people in the world that could), but I still expect him to try and make a statement tonight now that his elbows will be getting more attention. I look for Wafer to be more productive tonight. He’ll be much better than he was in L.A. with the Houston fans behind him. I think he needs one big dunk or 3 to get rolling. Von had 7 points last game and I think he’ll double that tonight. Battier had only 6 points in last night’s game and I think it will be a similar story tonight because he’ll be focused on D.
Edge: Lakers
Small Forward: Artest/Battier vs. Ariza/Odom/Powell –
Ron ron is going to be a man possessed tonight. It will be his greatest strength and his greatest weakness. His points total will be around 25 points, but he’s going to use a lot of clock and attempts to get there… Where I think it will really help us in on defense, providing the league hasn’t given Javie a directive… Odom Ariza and Powell will fair about as well as they did in game 2 which will amount to fewer points and less defense than the Rockets will provide at this position…
Edge: Rockets, but barely due to turnovers, shot-clock violations and bad shots…
Power Forward: Scola/Landry/Hayes vs. Gasol/Powell/Odom –
Scola and Landry will be focused and fired up after the BS in L.A. The emotion will work against Scola in the form of stupid fouls, but I expect he’ll be able to put up 15 to 20 points tonight. When he’s in fould trouble, the Rockets will lean on Landry for that long jumper, which he’ll be making tonight. But I also expect Gasol to have his best game of the series tonight, getting many of his points from the charity stripe… Landry’s efforts will be the key and I think he’ll come to play!
Edge: Rockets!
Center: Yao/Hayes vs. Bynum/Gasol/Mbegna –
Scola is going to wear Gasol out! Yao is going to have a 20+ point game rather than the 12 he put up 2 nights ago, but because I gave Scola and Landry the edge over Gasol in the other category, and because I still don’t expect any points from THE Chuck Wagon…
Edge: Even
So….. Rockets win by single digits…
Since this game is in Houston I would be very surprised if the fouls didn’t tilt to fewer on Yao and more on Gasol.
—
Hey I have a question about Battier. Does he use that face-guarding (whatever you want to call the hand in the face) move on other players? Or is that just a special treat he saves for Kobe? Haven’t seen him defend other teams enough to know. Thanks.
He does that against every player he defends.
by Enfuego142000 on May 8, 2009 2:14 PM CDT up reply actions
yep, every player
and its spread to other Rockets if you watch carefully. But Shane is by far the best at it
Game 1 100-92 Rockets
Game 2 111-98 lakers
Series Tied 1-1
It's legal in the NBA, by the way.
To my knowledge he’s never poked anyone in the eye yet.
Go to the light. Go to the light...
Rockets will not win again
They are done, stick a fork in them.
Talk about a dysfunctional team, good grief. Artest going bonkers for no good reason, wafer apparently retarded, scola wandering around the court in a daze half the time, can’t or won’t give the ball to Yao – pathetic.
So thankfully NBA fans will not have to endure the sight of yao and artest ponderously clomping up and down the hardwood much longer.
SWEET!
Thanks for jinxing your team… See you after the game I hope…
You really don’t think we’ll win another game? Or are you just stirring the pot like a typical troll?
You know the Laker’s lost game one right? You also should know that you wouldn’t have won by as much as you did in game 2 if Artest was still in the game, right? Oh, and you also know that there is more scrutiny on the officiating, right? And you also know that the next couple games aren’t in L.A., right? I mean, you spoke with such confidence… It doesn’t seem warranted. Maybe if you’d blown us out in both games, but certainly not in a 1-1 situation with the Rockets holding home court advantage..
by 34forDreaming on May 8, 2009 2:10 PM CDT up reply actions
He's just trolling.
There’s really no point in wasting your time. When someone comes in with an obviously tilted view like that there is nothing you or anyone else can do to make them agree that’s there just might be a chance that the Lakers are capable of losing.
And with a screen name like Lakers Rule, it’s quite apparent that he’s just a troll.
"I am from one of the top 15 cities in the world. Buffalo, New York." - TrentEdwardsHoF2018
Instead we’ll have to watch the pompous ass Kobe Bryant? Yeah, that sounds like fun. To tell the truth, if the Lakers do get by the Rockets, which I know is probably the likely scenario, I hope they make it to the finals against the Cavs. I would love to see the Cavs beat the Lakers into submission. The teams are the exact opposite. Everyone enjoys being on the Cavs and playing with their superstar LeBron James. Nobody enjoys playing with the asshole Kobe. It makes me sick watching the forced camaraderie on the Lakers.
by Enfuego142000 on May 8, 2009 2:23 PM CDT up reply actions
After the series is over
you don’t have to watch kobe’s pompous ass anymore.
The CAVS have no HOPE against the Lakers. The match up is perfect. The CAVS are a jump shooting team and it wouldnt work. The Lakers have 2 bigs they can send into the post and draw fouls on the Cavalier big men. The Lakers and even the Rockets (yao Ming) are a very bad match up for the CAVS. I don’t see how Big Z has the agility to front Yao. I think he is even slower and he sure as hell can’t guard Yao from the back and Battier and Artest can do the work on Lebron.
You're the reason noone likes the lakers.
Allways with some douchebag comment. Do youself a favor and make some taost in the shower
I am a Laker fan and it is highly unrealistic to think they won’t win another game. I would say this. The Rockets have the ability to win the championship this year. Heck if they knock out the Lakers, I think they would. It would take excellent basketball from the Lakers to win this series, nothing less
I don't know about the period
Maybe a semicolon
Before you criticize someone, walk a mile in their shoes. If they get mad, you're a mile away AND you have their shoes.
ROX THE LAKERS!
No seriously, do, blow them out as vengeance for Weds….
Proud member of Duck nation!
You want to see Yao get postered?
"Hip-Thrust!" - Hard Gay
In case you're wondering, Hard Gay is married.
Hyperbole
I think it’s a stretch to say that Battier got the “best” of Kobe in Game 1. I’ll grant that Battier guards Kobe as well as anyone, and I’d take him on my team anytime, but Kobe went 14-31 in that game, which is almost exactly the same FG percentage he had the entire year. In a game where he was sick. If you’re definition of “getting the best” of someone is “he didn’t explode on me for 40”, well, okay then, but that’s really not how most people use that term. The reason why the Lakers lost Game 1 is that Ariza/Fisher/Vujacic went 0-10 from the three point land, and Odom went 1-6 from the free throw line. Lakers deserved to lose Game 1 but it wasn’t because Battier did anything spectacular on Kobe.
Pretty good points here.
Especially the 0-10 three-point stat for the Lakers role players.
Though I think the Rockets defense deserves some credit for some of those misses as well.
Pickaxe & Roll.com: 5,280 reasons to be a Nuggets fan
I agree
The Rockets play stellar D, and frankly, I think whoever wins this series will win it all, as I think both of our teams match up well with Cleveland and Denver. I actually think the Rockets would have an easier time with Cleveland than the Lakers, given the matchups.
Yes, being a Nuggets fan ...
I see the matchup problems the Rockets and Lakers create for Denver (baring Denver can advance against the Mavs.) There is no way that I’ll concede defeat for the Nuggets against either team though.
Pickaxe & Roll.com: 5,280 reasons to be a Nuggets fan
Kobe picked up 6-8 points in garbage time in that game, look at the tape, they let him pad his stats.
If he was so sick, he should have stayed out. He looked fine to me.
Non-garbage stats – 11-28. We’ll take that.
And the 3pt shooting, no, D couldn’t have anything to do with it…
Go to the light. Go to the light...
Please. There is nothing like Kobe picked up garbage stats. That is just plain ridiculous analysis. He was 14 of 31 for 45.2%, period. END OT STORY. Should I say he was rusty in the first half from the week layoff, having fone 3 for 12? Could that have been an excuse?
The point is this season as a whole, including regular season, Kobe has gotten the best of Battier very often. A mad, obsessed Kobe out to prove a point is not a player a lot of defenders want to play against. PERIOD
In most cases I would agree with you here
But you are wrong. Kobe DID pick up those point in garbage time when the game was over. Kobe is a phenomenal player, the best in the league, but Shane won the matchup in Game 1 and now in game 4.
You are right about “end of story” that was the end of the story, but you forgot the 80% before the end where the Rockets won the game because Shane was beating Kobe in every way defensively.
So rust huh, what was your excuse for Game 4?
www.TheDreamShake.com Co-Founder and Writer
Can't wait for this game!
After an entertaining first two … I expect nothing less than a great game tonight!
I didn’t get to watch a lot of Game 2, but checked in for the the rest right as Derek Fisher was wiping a little blood from his head and the replay from his Scola hit came on. I was glued to the tube after that.
No idea what to expect tonight, but it should be fun watching a crazed Houston town and the Lakers trying to steal one on the road. Love the previews over here … nice work today UofT Orange!
I think a lot of folks knew this would be a good series and we’ve been treated to a couple great games so far.
Post Script: Becoming a Yao Ming fan. Guy showed some incredible guts in game one … hopefully he’ll stay out of foul trouble tonight.
Best of luck Rockets fans!
Pickaxe & Roll.com: 5,280 reasons to be a Nuggets fan
The NBa is Super Excited
STERN and STU are very very happy Fisher took out Scola and Kobe elbowed Artest. VERY happy. After the classic Celtics-Bulls in the first round, the second round is rather boring without some drama and the Lakers have successfully provided it. They already get watched the most because they are the Lakers and all this added fuel is SWEEET for the NBA. Without this match up, the second round of the playoffs would generally be a DUD. Blow out after Blow out from the Cavs, Nuggets etc. I LOVE THIS!
Yao
has to get more touches. What did he score in game 2? A couple of points??
Crazy Pills and Brooks, PLEASE look for him first before trying to chuck up your own shots. You can jump shoot later in the shot clock if Yao can’t get it. Yao has to get better position on the puny Gasol! Can’t let that guy front you like that… embarassing. Shove him to the ground or something to send a message. He’s not Bynum!
It must be the first time ever
that ESPN gave the spot of “Wednesday’s Worst” to a 12point 10rebound performance. I was really disappointed when he started passing shots up in the 4th quarter, he has to realize any shot he takes has a better chance of going in than the ones they’re getting.
"Hip-Thrust!" - Hard Gay
In case you're wondering, Hard Gay is married.
Yao Ming Focal Point Period
IF the rockets can get 15-20 touches for Yao Ming and Play inside and out this will be an easy win for them tonight. I think Derek fisher not playing will derfinelty hurt there half court game and is the most trusted player for Mrs. Kobe. He will take 35 shots tonight and they will lose. All you laker fans will truley understand what defense is about tonight. Prediction….Rockets 94….Lakers 87
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