Rockets/Lakers: Five Random "Opening Night" thoughts

1.  Damn you, Steve Blake.  Damn you. 

You know I'm one of your biggest fans, but come on.  That was just mean.  Once you released that shot, I knew it was in.  Kobe might have had doubts... the Laker fans that didn't leave might have had doubts... Rick Adelman was busy dreaming about butterflies... ABZ was busy doing who knows what... but I knew that last shot was in.  It was eerie how inevitable that seemed.

2.  I like you Chuck Hayes, but I like winning more.

Chuck, it's been real.  But our high-octane offense just died every moment you were on the court.  There is no way that Jordan Hill's defensive liabilities are so great that it's worth sacrificing that much offense with you on the court.  ABZ and Speed Racer went from having open looks to having to pass out of double teams the moment Chuck checked in.  Now don't get me wrong, I like you Chuck.  You work hard and you fill your role.  But Rick Adelman has got to stop with this.  Free Jordan Hill!

3.  Re-introducing the Jim Eddy defense!

For those that do not remember who Jim Eddy is/was - he's responsible for this.  The day the "prevent defense" went from being comical to tragic (see... more evidence of cruel and tragic shenanigans!).  The Rockets had an 11 point halftime lead.  They were firing on all cylinders.  Then......... they just stopped.  Hippie Phil made halftime adjustments.  Sleepy made none.  Next thing you know, the Rockets are walking it up the court and taking shots without passing the ball.  Didn't Coach Hackman teach you guys anything?  THREE passes before a shot!  Basically, the guys in red went into the prevent offense/defense wayyyy too early.

4.  Moral victory?

At least the Rockets covered.  Vegas had them as 7 point underdogs to the Lakers.  Meanwhile, the Martin/Brooks duo looked mighty good.  At first.  Kyle Lowry's return to health can only help. 

5.  The Heat lost, too

The Greatest Team of All Times that Never Played a Game Before also lost on Tuesday night.  I think we can all agree that the Rockets looked better in defeat than Dwyane Wade and his merry band of sidekicks did in their respective loss.  As a friend texted me right before the Rockets tipped off....... Celtics/Heat was an abortion of a game and we're all glad it's over.  Though if the Heat and Lakers both lost on Opening Night, the NBA would have probably demanded a re-do.  I'm still not convinced that David Stern did not make any calls at halftime during our game......... because some of those third quarter offensive fouls were, uh, questionable at best.

Anyway, 81 more games to go.  If nothing else, it was real nice to see Yao back in action.

GO ROCKETS!