There are some losses that should be talked about. There are some losses that can even help a team. You analyze them, see what you did wrong, make the necessary adjustments and come out better than before. Game 5 was not one of them. Game 5 was what happens when a more talented team that has underachieved for the length of the series plays up to their potential against a team that has been exceeding expectations for the better part of a year and finally slips up. The result was a massacre. A brutal, embarrassing, ruthless slaughter of the Houston Rockets at the hands of the Lakers. And quite frankly, I don't want to talk about it. To put it simply, the Lakers played the way people have wanted them to play all year, and the Rockets played the way our talent says we should. All year we have done more with less, and Tuesday night in Los Angeles we just couldn't keep it up. This is not a knock on the Rockets. We have done more than anyone not living in Houston even dreamed we could, and I'm proud that we were able to maintain it for so long. But the fact of the matter is, if you take the best two players of any team in the NBA they are going to suffer. It may not be immediately, but at some point in time, the team is going to struggle. Take Kobe and Gasol off the Lakers, they don't make the playoffs. Remove Pierce and Garnett from the Celtics, they lose to the Bulls in the first round. Take Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups off the Nuggets and you have another lottery-bound team. Take Lebron and his chalk off the Cavaliers and they probably don't even win 20 games. The point I'm trying to make here is that as Rockets fans, we should have seen this coming. Don't let Billy or anyone else tell you otherwise. A game like this was to be expected. When you don't have a go to player on offense, there will be nights when you struggle to score. When you play a ticked off, almost-unfairly talented team on that same night, 118-78 happens.
And I know it may not seem like it, but nothing in my recent memory has hurt more than typing that score, than watching that game. Nothing is more painful than watching your team get the life sucked out of it and hardly putting up a fight, but not because they don't want to, because they just can't. The Rockets as a team were dead by the end of the second quarter on Tuesday night. The effort and energy we put into each minute of every game finally caught up to us, and it was evident from the way we played. What resulted was something that I'm going to remember for a long, long time. It takes a lot for a game to make me feel the way I did after Game 7 of the first round of the 2006 playoffs, but Game 5 was able to take me back there. Seeing my team get beaten senseless, its face shoved into the dirt repeatedly with its opponent only stopping to gloat was able to take me back to that abyss, that continuous blackness, that feeling of sickness, hopelessness and utter depression all rolled into one, and I hated every moment of it. But deep down, I knew that I should have seen this coming. Which is why I have nothing to say about Tuesday night. I've said before on this very blog that no matter what happens from now until the end of the postseason, I'm proud of the Rockets for all we've been able to do with seemingly every break (a bad pun, I know) going against us. And that's not just this year, but last year. And the year before. And not the year before that, because we admittedly choked away the Dallas series, (with the help of some poor, poor refereeing. Enjoy your prison cell Donaghy) but the year before that as well.
But the point of all of this is that I'm not going to talk about what happened last night. I'm going to focus on another game against the same team tomorrow night, when we get another shot and the golden boys (get it? it's funny beacuse they actually wear gold) of the NBA. Tthat's the beauty of the playoffs. You're down one second and given new life in the next. And that's exactly how it should be. But back on topic, the question on our hands is a simple one: what do we do now? Do we lie down, admit that the Lakers are the better team and let them finish the series at the Toyota Center on Thursday? Or do we pull together for one last run, one last, confusing, logic-defying victory over a more talented, better coached, and honestly, luckier team? Knowing these Rockets, I believe it's going to be the latter. Now, more than ever, we need to feed off the doubts. The whispers, the "I told you so's," the previews of a Lakers-Nuggets Conference Finals. I don't care what happens in Game 7 if and when it happens, all I'm asking for is another "upset" tomorrow night. If for nothing else, just because I don't want to go back to that dark place in the back of my head just yet. For at least one more night, I want to feel the pride I get when our undersized, undermanned, under-respected, (I think I just made up a word) team beats a team it should have no business even having a close game with. And I know I'm not going to be saying this once we actually get there, but right now, screw Game 7. I just want to win Game 6. And by doing so, move on past Game 5. I don't want to think about what happened last night, I want to hope for what's going to happen tomorrow night. I want to Beat LA, even if it's for the last time this year. And I know I say this a lot, but I promise that I can't remember a time when I've felt it more than I do right now. Go Rockets.
5/13/2009
Rockets' Game Five Grades
Last nights game was an embarrassment to the entire city of Houston. The Rockets lost by 40 points in the biggest loss in franchise playoff history. The game started off well, and we jumped out to an early lead in the beginning of the first quarter; however, we never got anywhere near the lead after that point. The game was no one player or coaches fault, so the grades are going to reflect that.
Aaron Brooks C- : Aaron led the Rockets with 14 points on 4-11 shooting and had some three pointers almost go in. However, our offense's stagnation and turnovers fall on Brooks because it is his responsibility as the point guard to run the offense. Also, his two assists are way to low for a point guard and he needs to put his teammates in better positions.
Ron Artest F- : 4-15 from the field, 1-7 from behind the arc, 0 free throws, and 4 turnovers. Crazy Ron refused to play in the flow of the offense after he made two shots early in the game, instead choosing to dribble the ball around before jacking up a bad shot. He made lazy passes and wasn't careful with the ball, so the Lakers took advantage. Ron hijacked the offense and probably deserves most of the blame after last night's debacle.
Shane Battier D : When Shane takes seven shots, he better make half of them because he only shoots when he is wide open. Last night, he shot 2-7 including only 1-4 from three. He wasn't able to replicate his game 4 performance on offense or defense. Kobe was a very efficient 10-19, and he was able to get in the paint several times. This falls on Shane, and Shane must play D like he did on sunday if we want to win.
Luis Scola F : Scola has not played well at all this series. Last night was no different. He had two turnovers and struggled to catch the ball all night. He is not making his shots because the length of the Lakers is bothering him. Luis needs to figure out how to play before our next game or we will lose.
Chuck Hayes C : Chuck scored six points!!! SIX!!! Thats THREE made shots!! However, after his three baskets, Chuck didn't do that much. He got in foul trouble early and was not able to make a difference like in game 4. He needs to stay out of foul trouble and play great D on thursday.
Carl Landry B- : The highest shooting percentage on the Rockets at 67%, he scored 9 points. Another good performance for Carl. I think we need to see more of him than Scola in game 6.
Von Wafer B : Please explain why Wafer played the second least minutes on the team (13, James White had 5). He scored 13 points in 13 minutes. His only turnover was when Vujacic pushed him out of bounds. He had five quick points off the bench then was replaced. Adellman needs to get past his grudge and let Wafer play. We need to score more points.
Brian Cook F- : I wonder why Cook never plays for us? Maybe its because he sucks: 0-7 from the field. Why is he even playing? I would rather see Joey Dorsey get a few minutes than this bum.
Kyle Lowry D : 1-7 from the field and 0-3 from three, Lowry did not shoot well at all. However, he did have 4 assists and no turnovers. We need to cut down on turnovers, so maybe Lowry should play more.
Brent Barry B- : 3-5 for 8 points, but he had 3 turnovers. We cannot turn the ball over, period. Their is no place for Brent's turnovers on the court.
James White D : He got in the game. However, he didn't dunk the ball and went 0-6. Oh well, its just garbage time.
Joey Dorsey Inc. : Maybe he should play. At least he didn't do anything wrong.
Rick Adelman F : The Rockets played terribly on Tuesday, and a lot of the blame must fall on the coach. While he deserves a lot of credit for getting the Rockets this far, last night was a disaster. Brian Cook played 19 minutes. End of story. There is no way in hell that Brian Cook should be allowed to suit up for the team, let alone play significant minutes. Also, Adelman's feud against Von Wafer is hurting the team and he needs to get over it.
Aaron Brooks C- : Aaron led the Rockets with 14 points on 4-11 shooting and had some three pointers almost go in. However, our offense's stagnation and turnovers fall on Brooks because it is his responsibility as the point guard to run the offense. Also, his two assists are way to low for a point guard and he needs to put his teammates in better positions.
Ron Artest F- : 4-15 from the field, 1-7 from behind the arc, 0 free throws, and 4 turnovers. Crazy Ron refused to play in the flow of the offense after he made two shots early in the game, instead choosing to dribble the ball around before jacking up a bad shot. He made lazy passes and wasn't careful with the ball, so the Lakers took advantage. Ron hijacked the offense and probably deserves most of the blame after last night's debacle.
Shane Battier D : When Shane takes seven shots, he better make half of them because he only shoots when he is wide open. Last night, he shot 2-7 including only 1-4 from three. He wasn't able to replicate his game 4 performance on offense or defense. Kobe was a very efficient 10-19, and he was able to get in the paint several times. This falls on Shane, and Shane must play D like he did on sunday if we want to win.
Luis Scola F : Scola has not played well at all this series. Last night was no different. He had two turnovers and struggled to catch the ball all night. He is not making his shots because the length of the Lakers is bothering him. Luis needs to figure out how to play before our next game or we will lose.
Chuck Hayes C : Chuck scored six points!!! SIX!!! Thats THREE made shots!! However, after his three baskets, Chuck didn't do that much. He got in foul trouble early and was not able to make a difference like in game 4. He needs to stay out of foul trouble and play great D on thursday.
Carl Landry B- : The highest shooting percentage on the Rockets at 67%, he scored 9 points. Another good performance for Carl. I think we need to see more of him than Scola in game 6.
Von Wafer B : Please explain why Wafer played the second least minutes on the team (13, James White had 5). He scored 13 points in 13 minutes. His only turnover was when Vujacic pushed him out of bounds. He had five quick points off the bench then was replaced. Adellman needs to get past his grudge and let Wafer play. We need to score more points.
Brian Cook F- : I wonder why Cook never plays for us? Maybe its because he sucks: 0-7 from the field. Why is he even playing? I would rather see Joey Dorsey get a few minutes than this bum.
Kyle Lowry D : 1-7 from the field and 0-3 from three, Lowry did not shoot well at all. However, he did have 4 assists and no turnovers. We need to cut down on turnovers, so maybe Lowry should play more.
Brent Barry B- : 3-5 for 8 points, but he had 3 turnovers. We cannot turn the ball over, period. Their is no place for Brent's turnovers on the court.
James White D : He got in the game. However, he didn't dunk the ball and went 0-6. Oh well, its just garbage time.
Joey Dorsey Inc. : Maybe he should play. At least he didn't do anything wrong.
Rick Adelman F : The Rockets played terribly on Tuesday, and a lot of the blame must fall on the coach. While he deserves a lot of credit for getting the Rockets this far, last night was a disaster. Brian Cook played 19 minutes. End of story. There is no way in hell that Brian Cook should be allowed to suit up for the team, let alone play significant minutes. Also, Adelman's feud against Von Wafer is hurting the team and he needs to get over it.
5/12/2009
Game 5 Preview: Still Punching
And swinging. And hitting. And kicking and scratching and scrapping and and any other verb you can think of that means putting up one hell of a fight. Except elbowing. We don't elbow. We leave that to number 24. But the point is, the reason we've won two games in this series is because we have put in more effort in both of those games, and that's exactly what we're going to have to do tonight. The Lakers aren't going to play another game like they did in Game 4. Call it overconfidence, call it being poorly prepared, call it a bunch of overpaid athletes with a strong sense of self-entitlement coming out and playing like the game would just be given to them getting their asses kicked by a harder working team, but the Lakers are not going to play worse than they did on Sunday. Which most likely means we're going to have to play even better. With that in mind, we've got a big game to preview. A huge game really. Maybe even Yao-sized.
The Good
-Andrew Bynum does not look anywhere near fully healthy. When Yao went down I was worried that the Lakers would just pound the ball inside to Bynum and let him go to work. The good news is that Bynum's knee is in worse shape than Magic Johnson's immune system (yes, that was an AIDS joke). What does that mean? It means that we're not going to lose this series by the Lakers out-sizing us in the paint.
-Lamar Odom should miss Game 5. He hasn't really dominated in this series, but he's a big part of the Lakers' offense and can be very dangerous when he's at his versatile, involved best. When he's not interested he's deader than Derek Fisher, but he's still always a threat. Not having him should help our chances. On the other hand, this will probably lead to more shots of him and his massive nose on the bench. That's 3-0 in favor of those damn blind people.
-Ron Artest will not have another 4-19 night. It's as simple as that. Sure, he might go 6-19 or 7-19, but not 4-19. Call it confidence, call it blind faith, call it stupidity as a Rockets fan, but I refuse to believe that he will shoot that poorly again in this series.
The Bad
-The Lakers have Kobe Bryant. And in case anyone needs reminding, that is bad. Very, very bad. The only thing worse than Kobe Bryant is an angry Kobe Bryant, and that's what we're going to see tonight.
-There's always the chance that Phil Jackson decides to play someone with an actual heartbeat at point guard and give minutes to Shannon Brown. He was great in Game 4, and even though he mostly played in garbage time, having him running the offense is one hell of an upgrade over Dead Fish. That's Derek Fisher by the way. As for the movie, I've never seen it. I googled Dead Fish and that was the first result that came up.
-Once Pau Gasol realized that he is actually 6 inches taller than Chuck Hayes, he started to play him face up a little more. This could hurt the Rockets in Game 5 because if the Lakers start to use their size to their advantage, there's nothing we can really do about it. I know what you're about to ask: If the Lakers actually start using one of their obvious advantages that also happens to be one of our biggest weaknesses, it would help them? Really? I know, it's a novel idea. Someone call Phil Jackson.
-The Lakers are going to come out focused and aggressive. As Boston and Cleveland both know after losing both of of their meetings with the Lakers, when this team is playing hard they are very, very difficult to beat. The Rockets most likely aren't going to be able to open up another big lead early, so execution will be critical down the stretch.
The Ugly
Lamar Odom (M), and his nose that only a plane landing on it could love.
What Has To Happen
-The Rockets have to show up. For us to have a shot at this series, every single player on the team has to come to play every night. That means Ron Artest needs to play like he did in Games 1-3, which means operating within the offense and taking smart shots. Scola needs to step up and start taking his 20 foot jumper. Brooks has to have another game of zipping around, nailing shots and creating general confusion in the Lakers' defense. Rick Adelman needs to actually call a play once in a while. Aside from that last part, which was mainly just wishful thinking, all of these things can and have to happen for us to win Game 5.
-Battier has to defend Kobe. Not that this needs to be said, but I'll say it anyways. Kobe Bryant looked pissed off after Game 4. And I don't mean reglular, "I'm going to be a jerk to everyone because I'm Kobe Bryant" pissed off. I mean "I am going to put up 48 shots and take out that midget with an elbow to the head the next time we play these guys" pissed off. And that's bad. Which is why Battier has to come out ready to defend on every single possession. Not that he doesn't already. He'll come out feet shuffling, hands moving, and manual manualing. Not that manualing is a verb. I just wanted a way to bring up that book of his again.
-The Rockets need to come out with the same energy and attitude they played with in Game 4. The Rockets started Game 4 as the clear underdogs and that turned out to be a good thing for us. We played free, loose basketball and acted as though we had nothing to lose. Which was true. We also came out and played confidently, like we knew we could beat the Lakers. Which also was true. Now that there is a little more attention being paid to the other 11, non-Asian, non 7'6" members of the Rockets that carefree mindset might be a little harder to find in Game 5, but it's still vital if the Rockets want to get another win at Staples Center.
-I hate to repeat myself, but the Rockets' offense needs to work. When it works, we win (see Games 1 and 2). When it doesn't we don't. It's as simple as that. So don't stop whatever got Mr. Magic Marker up in Game 4. It seemed to work well.
-The Rockets bench needs to outperform the Lakers bench. If the Sasha-Shannon All-Girl Extravaganza outplays Landry, Lowry, Wafer and the rest of the lot, the Rockets could be facing some problems. The bench needs to bring the energy and up-tempo game it always does. On a related note, doesn't Sasha Vujacic seem like the type of guy who would name his "Big Man in the Paint?" If he actually did, I think its name would be one of these three gems: The Little Machine, The Slovenian Sharpshooter, Kobe, or my personal favorite, Sasha's Vujacic.
The Point
The Rockets have outplayed the Lakers through heart and determination in their two series wins, and that's what it's going to take to get another one. We cannot beat them on talent alone, and if the effort isn't there for a full 48 minutes, we are going to lose. Hopefully we can continue to do what we've done all year long, which is play hard and prove the doubters wrong. And no matter what happens in the next 2-3 games, I'm proud of these guys. If I ever have kids, when I take them to their first Rockets game, I'm going to have some stories to tell. First, I'll tell them about Hakeem and the championship runs that I was born just too late to understand. But right after that, I'm going to bring up this team. This team that lost it's best player last year and it's two best players this year, yet keeps on going. This team that makes me understand why people watch sports. Because despite all of the steriods, poor officiating, controversies and other problems (in other words, the bullshit we deal with daily as sports fans), something happens to make it all worthwhile. And that something is the Rockets. Last year, we lost our best player and went on to have the second-longest winning streak in NBA history. This year, we lost our best player once again in the playoffs after losing our second-best player earlier on in nthe year, and what did we do? We went out and won. And that's why, no matter what happens tonight, Thursday, and possibly Saturday night, I'm proud of this team. That being said, let's not stop the punching after it's gotten this far. Go Rockets.
The Good
-Andrew Bynum does not look anywhere near fully healthy. When Yao went down I was worried that the Lakers would just pound the ball inside to Bynum and let him go to work. The good news is that Bynum's knee is in worse shape than Magic Johnson's immune system (yes, that was an AIDS joke). What does that mean? It means that we're not going to lose this series by the Lakers out-sizing us in the paint.
-Lamar Odom should miss Game 5. He hasn't really dominated in this series, but he's a big part of the Lakers' offense and can be very dangerous when he's at his versatile, involved best. When he's not interested he's deader than Derek Fisher, but he's still always a threat. Not having him should help our chances. On the other hand, this will probably lead to more shots of him and his massive nose on the bench. That's 3-0 in favor of those damn blind people.
-Ron Artest will not have another 4-19 night. It's as simple as that. Sure, he might go 6-19 or 7-19, but not 4-19. Call it confidence, call it blind faith, call it stupidity as a Rockets fan, but I refuse to believe that he will shoot that poorly again in this series.
The Bad
-The Lakers have Kobe Bryant. And in case anyone needs reminding, that is bad. Very, very bad. The only thing worse than Kobe Bryant is an angry Kobe Bryant, and that's what we're going to see tonight.
-There's always the chance that Phil Jackson decides to play someone with an actual heartbeat at point guard and give minutes to Shannon Brown. He was great in Game 4, and even though he mostly played in garbage time, having him running the offense is one hell of an upgrade over Dead Fish. That's Derek Fisher by the way. As for the movie, I've never seen it. I googled Dead Fish and that was the first result that came up.
-Once Pau Gasol realized that he is actually 6 inches taller than Chuck Hayes, he started to play him face up a little more. This could hurt the Rockets in Game 5 because if the Lakers start to use their size to their advantage, there's nothing we can really do about it. I know what you're about to ask: If the Lakers actually start using one of their obvious advantages that also happens to be one of our biggest weaknesses, it would help them? Really? I know, it's a novel idea. Someone call Phil Jackson.
-The Lakers are going to come out focused and aggressive. As Boston and Cleveland both know after losing both of of their meetings with the Lakers, when this team is playing hard they are very, very difficult to beat. The Rockets most likely aren't going to be able to open up another big lead early, so execution will be critical down the stretch.
The Ugly
Lamar Odom (M), and his nose that only a plane landing on it could love.
What Has To Happen
-The Rockets have to show up. For us to have a shot at this series, every single player on the team has to come to play every night. That means Ron Artest needs to play like he did in Games 1-3, which means operating within the offense and taking smart shots. Scola needs to step up and start taking his 20 foot jumper. Brooks has to have another game of zipping around, nailing shots and creating general confusion in the Lakers' defense. Rick Adelman needs to actually call a play once in a while. Aside from that last part, which was mainly just wishful thinking, all of these things can and have to happen for us to win Game 5.
-Battier has to defend Kobe. Not that this needs to be said, but I'll say it anyways. Kobe Bryant looked pissed off after Game 4. And I don't mean reglular, "I'm going to be a jerk to everyone because I'm Kobe Bryant" pissed off. I mean "I am going to put up 48 shots and take out that midget with an elbow to the head the next time we play these guys" pissed off. And that's bad. Which is why Battier has to come out ready to defend on every single possession. Not that he doesn't already. He'll come out feet shuffling, hands moving, and manual manualing. Not that manualing is a verb. I just wanted a way to bring up that book of his again.
-The Rockets need to come out with the same energy and attitude they played with in Game 4. The Rockets started Game 4 as the clear underdogs and that turned out to be a good thing for us. We played free, loose basketball and acted as though we had nothing to lose. Which was true. We also came out and played confidently, like we knew we could beat the Lakers. Which also was true. Now that there is a little more attention being paid to the other 11, non-Asian, non 7'6" members of the Rockets that carefree mindset might be a little harder to find in Game 5, but it's still vital if the Rockets want to get another win at Staples Center.
-I hate to repeat myself, but the Rockets' offense needs to work. When it works, we win (see Games 1 and 2). When it doesn't we don't. It's as simple as that. So don't stop whatever got Mr. Magic Marker up in Game 4. It seemed to work well.
-The Rockets bench needs to outperform the Lakers bench. If the Sasha-Shannon All-Girl Extravaganza outplays Landry, Lowry, Wafer and the rest of the lot, the Rockets could be facing some problems. The bench needs to bring the energy and up-tempo game it always does. On a related note, doesn't Sasha Vujacic seem like the type of guy who would name his "Big Man in the Paint?" If he actually did, I think its name would be one of these three gems: The Little Machine, The Slovenian Sharpshooter, Kobe, or my personal favorite, Sasha's Vujacic.
The Point
The Rockets have outplayed the Lakers through heart and determination in their two series wins, and that's what it's going to take to get another one. We cannot beat them on talent alone, and if the effort isn't there for a full 48 minutes, we are going to lose. Hopefully we can continue to do what we've done all year long, which is play hard and prove the doubters wrong. And no matter what happens in the next 2-3 games, I'm proud of these guys. If I ever have kids, when I take them to their first Rockets game, I'm going to have some stories to tell. First, I'll tell them about Hakeem and the championship runs that I was born just too late to understand. But right after that, I'm going to bring up this team. This team that lost it's best player last year and it's two best players this year, yet keeps on going. This team that makes me understand why people watch sports. Because despite all of the steriods, poor officiating, controversies and other problems (in other words, the bullshit we deal with daily as sports fans), something happens to make it all worthwhile. And that something is the Rockets. Last year, we lost our best player and went on to have the second-longest winning streak in NBA history. This year, we lost our best player once again in the playoffs after losing our second-best player earlier on in nthe year, and what did we do? We went out and won. And that's why, no matter what happens tonight, Thursday, and possibly Saturday night, I'm proud of this team. That being said, let's not stop the punching after it's gotten this far. Go Rockets.
5/11/2009
Bring Back Novak: The Incredible Name Controversy
Alright so there's really not much of a controversy, and it's not that incredible, but still. As Tom Martin from The Dream Shake pointed out, the name of our blog matches the name of one of the users on The Dream Shake (his). This is not on purpose, and I know this is harder to believe than Kobe's teammates acting like they actually like him, but we thought of the phrases "Bring Back Novak," "Steve Yesvak," and "Suck My Novak" when we attended the Clippers game on March 28. I started reading The Dream Shake around when the playoffs started, and we only realized there was someone named Bring Back Novak on it when we googled the blog. So I'm hoping that clears things up. In other news, someone from The Dream Shake was actually able to find the blog, which must be a step in the right direction.
Is Kobe Bryant a Top Flight Defender?
Kobe is a member of the NBA all defensive first team, ahead of the Rockets' two super defenders, Shane Battier and Ron Artest. As I have watched the Rockets-Lakers series, I have come to question the idea that Kobe is an elite defender. Last year during the MVP race, the argument was made that Kobe was a much better defender than Lebron, and, therefore, he deserved to win the MVP. He did win the award, so his reputation as an elite defender was recognized. Then, this summer a lot of time was spent discussing Kobe's role on the national team as a defensive specialist. This solidified his reputation as a great defender. Because most basketball writers do not pay attention to the defensive side of the game and because the standard stats devoted to defense do a poor job of identifying good defenders, most selections to the all-NBA defensive teams are based on reputation and hype. Once Kobe was called a good defender by ESPN and the other propaganda machines of the NBA, he was bound to be voted to the all-defensive team. The question is whether he deserves it:
THE CASE FOR KOBE: -He is twelfth in the NBA in steals per game this year (1.46) However, as I said before, standard defensive stats are a poor measure of defensive prowess, and the always great Rafer Alston is thirteenth in the league.
-He is a great athlete and competitor He is athletic, but being a great athlete is not a guarantee of being a great defender (see: Carter, Vince and Wafer, Von)
-He guards the other teams best player Oh really? So Shane Battier is our biggest scoring threat? I would expect him to want to guard Artest, but he has spent the whole series on Battier
MY CASE AGAINST KOBE: -He gives Shane Battier the open three every time down the court This worked out real well for the Lakers last night when Battier went off
-He spends too much energy trying to run the Lakers' offense With terrible point guards, a 3 that can't do anything, a head case named Lamar Odom, and a Spaniard at center, Kobe is forced to do everything for the Lakers offense. He always ends up with the ball in his hands and is required to score, to make plays, and to save enough energy for the fourth quarter. All of this activity puts a toll on Kobe's body and he is unable to play his hardest on defense all the time
-He is almost never called for a foul Oftentimes, a foul is the result of a good, aggressive defensive play and hustle. Being a great defender requires hustle and effort, and Kobe's lack of fouls seem to indicate a lack of both of these crucial defensive traits
THE VERDICT: Kobe has elite defensive ability; however, his incredible expenditure of energy on offense forces him to pick his spots on defense when he really locks on. Because he doesn't always bring it, his inconstancy means that he doesn't deserve a spot on the All-NBA defensive team instead of Shane Battier.
Shane Battier demonstrating good D
THE CASE FOR KOBE: -He is twelfth in the NBA in steals per game this year (1.46) However, as I said before, standard defensive stats are a poor measure of defensive prowess, and the always great Rafer Alston is thirteenth in the league.
-He is a great athlete and competitor He is athletic, but being a great athlete is not a guarantee of being a great defender (see: Carter, Vince and Wafer, Von)
-He guards the other teams best player Oh really? So Shane Battier is our biggest scoring threat? I would expect him to want to guard Artest, but he has spent the whole series on Battier
MY CASE AGAINST KOBE: -He gives Shane Battier the open three every time down the court This worked out real well for the Lakers last night when Battier went off
-He spends too much energy trying to run the Lakers' offense With terrible point guards, a 3 that can't do anything, a head case named Lamar Odom, and a Spaniard at center, Kobe is forced to do everything for the Lakers offense. He always ends up with the ball in his hands and is required to score, to make plays, and to save enough energy for the fourth quarter. All of this activity puts a toll on Kobe's body and he is unable to play his hardest on defense all the time
-He is almost never called for a foul Oftentimes, a foul is the result of a good, aggressive defensive play and hustle. Being a great defender requires hustle and effort, and Kobe's lack of fouls seem to indicate a lack of both of these crucial defensive traits
THE VERDICT: Kobe has elite defensive ability; however, his incredible expenditure of energy on offense forces him to pick his spots on defense when he really locks on. Because he doesn't always bring it, his inconstancy means that he doesn't deserve a spot on the All-NBA defensive team instead of Shane Battier.
Shane Battier demonstrating good D
5/10/2009
The Dream
Something all Rockets fans should see at least once. The quality of the video leaves something to be desired, the quality of the play is just fine.
Game 4 Recap: Never Underestimate the Heart of a
Champion. And on Sunday afternoon, only one basketball team looked like champions. And it wasn't the team that has been predicted to win the championship by "experts" since the end of last season. It wasn't the team with the supposed best player in the world. It wasn't so-called deepest team in the NBA. It wasn't the team that barely lost in the Finals last year without their starting center, which everyone thought meant that there was no way they would lose this year. It was the team that has been doubted all year long. It was the team that was missing two of its best three players, a combined 45 million dollars a year. It was the team that came out and played inspired, smart, hard, free, emotional, prideful basketball. It wasn't the Lakers. It was the Houston Rockets. Those relentless, tenacious, persistent Rockets. I've never seen a team go through so much in one year only to bounce back stronger every single time. I don't give a damn if we lose Games 5 and 6 by 78 points combined, what the Rockets have done in this series and this season is more impressive than anything any other team has done all year long. Now that that's out of the way, on to business.
The Good
-Aaron Brooks played the best basketball that I've ever seen him play. With Derek Fisher's Dead Body guarding him, Brooks was able to get to the basket, find his teammates, and wreak general havoc. All 6 feet of him.
-The Rockets' defense. We played stifling, determined defense, holding the Lakers to 54 points in three quarters. Even though we let them back into the game in the end of the fourth quarter, but 45 minutes of lock down defense makes up for 3 minutes of falling asleep at the wheel.
-Shane Battier played the game of his Rockets career, scoring 23 points and playing his usual bothersome, effective, Kobe pamphlet-studying defense on Bryant that we've grown to love and expect from him.
The Bad
-Ron Artest's Hero Complex kicked in and he took some shots that made we want to rape a Coloradan. We won despite Ron-Ron, not because of him, and that can't happen again if we want to win Game 5.
-Pau Gasol scored 30 points, and even though some of them came in the fourth quarter when the game was already decided, he looked comfortable going against the likes of Scola and Hayes. In other Pau-related news, his beard actually covers the whole underside of his chin/neck, almost reaching his Adam's Apple. I'm starting to think it's more of a fungus than facial hair, and that it actually has a mind of it's own and is spreading by itself. For everyone with vision's sake, let's hope Pau regains control of his face. Until then, those damn blind people win again.
-I just insulted blind people and made fun of a sexual assualt case within two paragraphs of each other. Other than that, the Rockets played a hell of a game and I can't really find any more fault with it. We lost some of our intensity towards the end of the game, but that happens when you've been giving your full, unbridled effort for 3 and a half quarters.
The Ugly
Dick Bavetta (L), one of our officials for Game 4.
What Happened
The Rockets attacked the Lakers from the opening tip, beating them to loose balls, defending with intensity, and generally out-hustling the girls in purple for the duration of the game. I don't know if we were inspired by Yao, everyone counting us out, or Lamar Odom's nose, but the Rockets played with more effort than the Lakers, and that translated into the win. The Rockets were also on fire for most of the game. I compared the Rockets' offense to a man's Magic Johnson in the sense that it only needed to function for us to have a chance, and in Game 4 we found the Viagra. That might have been in poor taste, but I liked it. And spent 5 minutes on Google looking for a funny phrase for a man's little man, so you bet your ass I was going to use "Magic Johnson" once I found it. Back on to the point (it just happened that time), the Rockets dominated the Lakers today, and that's really all there is to say. I have a hard time nitpicking when we played such an impressive game, so I'm not going to try. Like Phil Jackson said in his post-game interview, "Give them some f*cking credit". So that's what I'll do. I'll give them some f*cking credit.
The Point
The Rockets lost Yao, everyone thought this series was over, we came out and proved them wrong. If this storyline sounds familiar, it's because the same thing happened last spring. And this spring for that matter, except Yao was replaced with Mcgrady this time. No matter what happens after today I'm proud of the Rockets for finding strength in numbers when we needed it the most. I can't imagine what it feels like to go against a team that already might be better than you when you're healthy without your best player, but the Rockets do. And thanks to some hot shooting and tough defense, we now also know how it feels to beat that team. Game 4 went better than I dared to hope it would, but now comes the hard part. Stealing a game [again] in Los Angeles. But that's a different topic for a different day. Today, I'm glad we were able to keep this playoff run alive for a little longer and promise ourselves another game at the Toyota Center. The better team won today, it just wasn't the team everyone expected it to be. Go Rockets.
The Good
-Aaron Brooks played the best basketball that I've ever seen him play. With Derek Fisher's Dead Body guarding him, Brooks was able to get to the basket, find his teammates, and wreak general havoc. All 6 feet of him.
-The Rockets' defense. We played stifling, determined defense, holding the Lakers to 54 points in three quarters. Even though we let them back into the game in the end of the fourth quarter, but 45 minutes of lock down defense makes up for 3 minutes of falling asleep at the wheel.
-Shane Battier played the game of his Rockets career, scoring 23 points and playing his usual bothersome, effective, Kobe pamphlet-studying defense on Bryant that we've grown to love and expect from him.
The Bad
-Ron Artest's Hero Complex kicked in and he took some shots that made we want to rape a Coloradan. We won despite Ron-Ron, not because of him, and that can't happen again if we want to win Game 5.
-Pau Gasol scored 30 points, and even though some of them came in the fourth quarter when the game was already decided, he looked comfortable going against the likes of Scola and Hayes. In other Pau-related news, his beard actually covers the whole underside of his chin/neck, almost reaching his Adam's Apple. I'm starting to think it's more of a fungus than facial hair, and that it actually has a mind of it's own and is spreading by itself. For everyone with vision's sake, let's hope Pau regains control of his face. Until then, those damn blind people win again.
-I just insulted blind people and made fun of a sexual assualt case within two paragraphs of each other. Other than that, the Rockets played a hell of a game and I can't really find any more fault with it. We lost some of our intensity towards the end of the game, but that happens when you've been giving your full, unbridled effort for 3 and a half quarters.
The Ugly
Dick Bavetta (L), one of our officials for Game 4.
What Happened
The Rockets attacked the Lakers from the opening tip, beating them to loose balls, defending with intensity, and generally out-hustling the girls in purple for the duration of the game. I don't know if we were inspired by Yao, everyone counting us out, or Lamar Odom's nose, but the Rockets played with more effort than the Lakers, and that translated into the win. The Rockets were also on fire for most of the game. I compared the Rockets' offense to a man's Magic Johnson in the sense that it only needed to function for us to have a chance, and in Game 4 we found the Viagra. That might have been in poor taste, but I liked it. And spent 5 minutes on Google looking for a funny phrase for a man's little man, so you bet your ass I was going to use "Magic Johnson" once I found it. Back on to the point (it just happened that time), the Rockets dominated the Lakers today, and that's really all there is to say. I have a hard time nitpicking when we played such an impressive game, so I'm not going to try. Like Phil Jackson said in his post-game interview, "Give them some f*cking credit". So that's what I'll do. I'll give them some f*cking credit.
The Point
The Rockets lost Yao, everyone thought this series was over, we came out and proved them wrong. If this storyline sounds familiar, it's because the same thing happened last spring. And this spring for that matter, except Yao was replaced with Mcgrady this time. No matter what happens after today I'm proud of the Rockets for finding strength in numbers when we needed it the most. I can't imagine what it feels like to go against a team that already might be better than you when you're healthy without your best player, but the Rockets do. And thanks to some hot shooting and tough defense, we now also know how it feels to beat that team. Game 4 went better than I dared to hope it would, but now comes the hard part. Stealing a game [again] in Los Angeles. But that's a different topic for a different day. Today, I'm glad we were able to keep this playoff run alive for a little longer and promise ourselves another game at the Toyota Center. The better team won today, it just wasn't the team everyone expected it to be. Go Rockets.
5/09/2009
Game 4 Preview: Hoping Against Hope
By now, any Rockets fan has seen the news. Our talented, hard-working, oft-injured, 7'6" center from Shanghai will be out for the rest of the postseason. In other words, goodbye 2008-2009. I believe we will win tomorrow, but I do not believe we can win this series without Yao Ming. He is the best player on our team, and you don't beat a team that might have beat you healthy without the best player on your team. Yeah it sucks, but then again so does losing in the Finals, and you don' t see the Lakers bitching about not having their starting center last year. Wait..scratch that. Let the bitching begin. But like it or not, we have a game to play tomorrow. And that means we have a game to preview.
The Good
-For the second time in three games, Kobe Bryant had a poor shooting night against the Rockets. I have to attribute this to Battier and his pesky, relentless, Kobe-manual-reading defense. I don't see why this won't continue.
-We actually match up better against the Lakers without Yao. I am not saying we are better without him, far from it, I'm just saying that Pau has been playing Yao very well during the series, doing a much better job of poking the ball away from him and fronting him than I've seen from him before. On defense we also might end up putting Scola on Pau, which is a much better matchup for him than Odom or Ariza. Also, they could end up treating us to the greatest Spanish trash-talking matchup ever. How Scola's hair does against Pau's Pubic-Beard is key for us tomorrow.
-Derek Fisher is back. If we are to have a chance tomorrow, Aaron Brooks has to use his quickness to score, get in the paint, and wreak general havoc on the Lakers defense. That'll be a lot easier if Derek Fisher's Repuation As A Good Player is guarding him.
The Bad
-Yao Ming isn't playing. There's nothing to really say here, we know what he does for our team. Losing his 20-10 is going to hurt. Losing our 9,000 fans who watch basketball just for him is probably going to hurt just as much. So will losing his agonized facial expressions that I've grown to love. Nobody can make sitting on a bench look as painful as Yao can. Not only does losing Yao ruin this series for us, it ruins it for the rest of the league, the fans, and the Lakers. Beating us without our best player is not the same as beating us when we're at healthy, and you can bet your subscription to O, The Oprah Magazine that they wanted to beat us with our full team.
-The Lakers are still the best offensive team in the NBA. They actually played a pretty sub-par game against us Friday, with their two best players shooting a combined 15-39. Stopping them is going to be even harder without 7 and a half feet of China's hopes and dreams in the paint to contest their shots.
-Our offense has a tendency to stagnate, and without Yao we are going to be more prone to that. We can't let it turn into the Ron Artest show, and ball movement and smart decisions are going to be more important than ever tomorrow.
The Ugly
Vanessa Bryant. Not that she's ugly. She's actually far from it. I just want to remind everyone that Kobe cheated on this woman. Look at her, read that last sentence again, smile.
What Has To Happen
For the Rockets to win Game 4 we are going to have to do what we have done all year long, except we're going to have to do it better and without our best player.
First and foremost, the Rockets need to defend with intensity and hustle. No letting players get open looks like in Game 3, every shot needs to be contested for us to have a chance. Despite their best efforts to convince themselves otherwise in Game 3, Ariza, Farmar, Walton, and Odom are not three point shooters and we can't allow them to look like they are. A simple hand in their face will help with that.
We have to continue to out-rebound the Lakers. This is obviously easier said than done after losing Yao, but we still have to find a way to do it. Rebounding is going to have to be a more of a team effort. Every time a shot goes up, all five players on the floor for the Rockets have to box a man out. Landry, Scola, and Hayes are going to have to work especially hard tomorrow afternoon. Not that bringing the effort is ever a problem for these guys.
The bench has to step up. With Landry most likely becoming a starter, Lowry, Wafer, and Hayes are going to have to out-produce the Lakers' bench. Say what you want about their names, but Sasha, Shannon, and the rest of the girls can actually play some pretty good basketball. This seems like a good time to bring up that when asked about the craziest thing that ever happened to him as a basketball player, Sasha Vujacic recalled a time when a girl asked him to sign her panties. I don't really know how that affects Game 4 at all, I just think it's something you should hear. Anyways, the Rockets' bench has to outperform the Lakers', which is only made tougher by Jordan Farmar remembering that he is, in fact, and NBA player sometime during Game 3.
The offense has to work. Think of this game as a married couple's desperate attempt at having a child, with the Rockets' offense being the male's go-to guy. It doesn't have to work well, it just needs to function long enough to get the job done. I don't care how ugly and unsatisfactory it might be, the Rockets offense has to perform. Artest has to stay within the offense and take smart shots, which he has done a decent job of all series long. Battier needs to get more shots, and Wafer simply cannot go 2-10 again.
The Point
So here we are, punching just to have a puncher's chance. The Rockets have played through injuries all year, and we're going to have to do it again tomorrow afternoon. It's going to be hard, but so is everything else worth having right? Rudy Tomjonavich once told us to "never underestimate the heart of a champion," and the Rockets have proven his words time and again this year. We have played with heart and determination all season long and I expect us to play every second like it's our last tomorrow. Of course, I'd have a 7'6" heart with phenomenal basketball skills and footwork, but we have to work with what we have. We are going to have to play as a team tomorrow to win as a team, and luckily for us, that's what we do best. We can't control that the basketball gods seem to have a passion for kicking us in the shins, but we can control how much effort we put in tomorrow. Tomorrow, we play for pride, we play for the fans, we play for the chance to let Kobe know that the NBA Championship isn't just going to be handed to him. Just like that girl in Colorado wasn't handed to him. Uncalled for, I know, but I'm bitter and it made me feel better. Sexual assualt cases aside, tomorrow, more than anything else, we play for our franchise player, the man who led us out of the first round for the first time since 1998, the best center to put on a Rockets jersey since that guy we called The Dream. He fought through a knee collision that would have ended T-Mac's career in Game 1 and through a hairline fracture in Game 3 for us. I hate to sound sentimental, but tomorrow afternoon we're fighting for him. Go Rockets.
The Good
-For the second time in three games, Kobe Bryant had a poor shooting night against the Rockets. I have to attribute this to Battier and his pesky, relentless, Kobe-manual-reading defense. I don't see why this won't continue.
-We actually match up better against the Lakers without Yao. I am not saying we are better without him, far from it, I'm just saying that Pau has been playing Yao very well during the series, doing a much better job of poking the ball away from him and fronting him than I've seen from him before. On defense we also might end up putting Scola on Pau, which is a much better matchup for him than Odom or Ariza. Also, they could end up treating us to the greatest Spanish trash-talking matchup ever. How Scola's hair does against Pau's Pubic-Beard is key for us tomorrow.
-Derek Fisher is back. If we are to have a chance tomorrow, Aaron Brooks has to use his quickness to score, get in the paint, and wreak general havoc on the Lakers defense. That'll be a lot easier if Derek Fisher's Repuation As A Good Player is guarding him.
The Bad
-Yao Ming isn't playing. There's nothing to really say here, we know what he does for our team. Losing his 20-10 is going to hurt. Losing our 9,000 fans who watch basketball just for him is probably going to hurt just as much. So will losing his agonized facial expressions that I've grown to love. Nobody can make sitting on a bench look as painful as Yao can. Not only does losing Yao ruin this series for us, it ruins it for the rest of the league, the fans, and the Lakers. Beating us without our best player is not the same as beating us when we're at healthy, and you can bet your subscription to O, The Oprah Magazine that they wanted to beat us with our full team.
-The Lakers are still the best offensive team in the NBA. They actually played a pretty sub-par game against us Friday, with their two best players shooting a combined 15-39. Stopping them is going to be even harder without 7 and a half feet of China's hopes and dreams in the paint to contest their shots.
-Our offense has a tendency to stagnate, and without Yao we are going to be more prone to that. We can't let it turn into the Ron Artest show, and ball movement and smart decisions are going to be more important than ever tomorrow.
The Ugly
Vanessa Bryant. Not that she's ugly. She's actually far from it. I just want to remind everyone that Kobe cheated on this woman. Look at her, read that last sentence again, smile.
What Has To Happen
For the Rockets to win Game 4 we are going to have to do what we have done all year long, except we're going to have to do it better and without our best player.
First and foremost, the Rockets need to defend with intensity and hustle. No letting players get open looks like in Game 3, every shot needs to be contested for us to have a chance. Despite their best efforts to convince themselves otherwise in Game 3, Ariza, Farmar, Walton, and Odom are not three point shooters and we can't allow them to look like they are. A simple hand in their face will help with that.
We have to continue to out-rebound the Lakers. This is obviously easier said than done after losing Yao, but we still have to find a way to do it. Rebounding is going to have to be a more of a team effort. Every time a shot goes up, all five players on the floor for the Rockets have to box a man out. Landry, Scola, and Hayes are going to have to work especially hard tomorrow afternoon. Not that bringing the effort is ever a problem for these guys.
The bench has to step up. With Landry most likely becoming a starter, Lowry, Wafer, and Hayes are going to have to out-produce the Lakers' bench. Say what you want about their names, but Sasha, Shannon, and the rest of the girls can actually play some pretty good basketball. This seems like a good time to bring up that when asked about the craziest thing that ever happened to him as a basketball player, Sasha Vujacic recalled a time when a girl asked him to sign her panties. I don't really know how that affects Game 4 at all, I just think it's something you should hear. Anyways, the Rockets' bench has to outperform the Lakers', which is only made tougher by Jordan Farmar remembering that he is, in fact, and NBA player sometime during Game 3.
The offense has to work. Think of this game as a married couple's desperate attempt at having a child, with the Rockets' offense being the male's go-to guy. It doesn't have to work well, it just needs to function long enough to get the job done. I don't care how ugly and unsatisfactory it might be, the Rockets offense has to perform. Artest has to stay within the offense and take smart shots, which he has done a decent job of all series long. Battier needs to get more shots, and Wafer simply cannot go 2-10 again.
The Point
So here we are, punching just to have a puncher's chance. The Rockets have played through injuries all year, and we're going to have to do it again tomorrow afternoon. It's going to be hard, but so is everything else worth having right? Rudy Tomjonavich once told us to "never underestimate the heart of a champion," and the Rockets have proven his words time and again this year. We have played with heart and determination all season long and I expect us to play every second like it's our last tomorrow. Of course, I'd have a 7'6" heart with phenomenal basketball skills and footwork, but we have to work with what we have. We are going to have to play as a team tomorrow to win as a team, and luckily for us, that's what we do best. We can't control that the basketball gods seem to have a passion for kicking us in the shins, but we can control how much effort we put in tomorrow. Tomorrow, we play for pride, we play for the fans, we play for the chance to let Kobe know that the NBA Championship isn't just going to be handed to him. Just like that girl in Colorado wasn't handed to him. Uncalled for, I know, but I'm bitter and it made me feel better. Sexual assualt cases aside, tomorrow, more than anything else, we play for our franchise player, the man who led us out of the first round for the first time since 1998, the best center to put on a Rockets jersey since that guy we called The Dream. He fought through a knee collision that would have ended T-Mac's career in Game 1 and through a hairline fracture in Game 3 for us. I hate to sound sentimental, but tomorrow afternoon we're fighting for him. Go Rockets.
It's Not Over Yet Houston
How do you replace your teams best player? Thats the question Rockets fans must ask themselves once again after Yao Ming's latest injury setback. We have spent most of the Yao/McGrady era sweating out injuries and hoping the Rockets can adapt, and, now, all of our practice will be put to use. The Rockets have spent more time recovering from injuries than anyone else in the league, so its not time to give up hope yet. Last year, we were proclaimed dead when Yao was injured, but we kept our streak alive and won more games in a row than every team in the history of the NBA but one. This year, we lost T-MAC and were told that the suns would pass us up and take the last playoff seed. Look where we are now. If we know one thing about this team, its that they never give up, and if they believe why shouldn't I? So keep your heads held high Rockets fans because we can still win this series.
We have not been matched up well against the Lakers the last two games. Pau Gasol is one of the top match-up problems for Yao because of his height, athleticism, and skill. He gives Yao fits on defense by poking entry passes away and making life difficult inside, and then he runs the floor and can convert in the open court. Yao can defend him straight up, but Pau can score on him. With Yao on Pau and Crazy Ron guarding Odom, we have been using Scola to guard Ariza/Walton. Scola is not quick enough to guard them on the perimeter, and we are conceding the open three. Friday, they capitalized and went 4-6 from the 3 point line, combining for 19 points. Without Yao, I predict that we will play Scola at center with Landry at the 4. With this lineup, we have the option of Landry or Artest on Odom, and we can guard their 3 with a quicker man that will contest the three. If they decide to go big with Gasol and Bynum's injured knees, we can counter with Chuck Hayes and Scola or Landry.
While losing Yao is not good for the Rockets, it is not devastating either and we still have a chance to win this series. I predict that our defense will be stifling tomorrow, and good games from Artest and Wafer will provide the firepower for a Rockets win.
We have not been matched up well against the Lakers the last two games. Pau Gasol is one of the top match-up problems for Yao because of his height, athleticism, and skill. He gives Yao fits on defense by poking entry passes away and making life difficult inside, and then he runs the floor and can convert in the open court. Yao can defend him straight up, but Pau can score on him. With Yao on Pau and Crazy Ron guarding Odom, we have been using Scola to guard Ariza/Walton. Scola is not quick enough to guard them on the perimeter, and we are conceding the open three. Friday, they capitalized and went 4-6 from the 3 point line, combining for 19 points. Without Yao, I predict that we will play Scola at center with Landry at the 4. With this lineup, we have the option of Landry or Artest on Odom, and we can guard their 3 with a quicker man that will contest the three. If they decide to go big with Gasol and Bynum's injured knees, we can counter with Chuck Hayes and Scola or Landry.
While losing Yao is not good for the Rockets, it is not devastating either and we still have a chance to win this series. I predict that our defense will be stifling tomorrow, and good games from Artest and Wafer will provide the firepower for a Rockets win.
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