<div align="center"> VS February 8,2006, 07:30 PM(CT) Toyota Center, Houston,Texas KNW Channel 51 Houston </div> <font color="blue">Los Angeles Lakers:</font> Lamar Odom made a surprise return last night in a losing cause against the Mavs. It remains to be seen if he is fully recovered from his rib injury. Ever since Kobe made history by scoring the second highest total points in a game, the Lakers suddenly went cold losing game after game which stands four in a row right now. With recent injury to Chris Mihm, it decimates the Lakers big men leaving Kwame to move up in the center spot along with Bynum as a backup. Although not in a much desperate situation as the Rockets, they're in a pressure to win tonight to avoid falling behind .500 mark and possibly losing the 8th seed. <font color="red">Houston Rockets:</font> The Rockets seems to get their lineup almost fully healthy with the possibility of Barry and Anderson returning to play tonight. That leaves Sura as the lone handicap. With the two returning somebody must be put in the inactive list. It maybe be either Baxter,Moochie,Bowen or even Hayes. JVG will probably try to have the best lineup as possible. If fully recovered, Derek Anderson and Barry might provide instant offense to the Rockets low scoring games. Rockets are in need of reliable shooters as TMac, Head and Alston have lessened their FG percentage. On the other hand Yao is still adjusting but has shown improvement by taking charge of the offense when TMac got cold during the last game against the sixers. Still he has to take better shot selections. PF position is still at grabs between Howard,Swift and Hayes. If Swift will backup Yao, Hayes might be given minutes otherwise he's the third option although it would be nice if he plays because he has the ability to chage the tempo of the game with his rebounding skills. If only he could play the SF that would be a plus. <div align="center"></div> Tonight's matchup will be an exciting one featuring two prolific scoring machines in the person of Kobe and TMac. It will also present 3 of the upcoming All Star starting lineups. Kobe vows to guard TMac this time as he was disgusted when his teammates failed to stop TMac's winning layup the last time they played against each other. The Rockets will be undersized on the backcourt but a switch position on the defensive end will do the trick. The Lakers offense is fully dependent on Kobe's hand while the rest of his teammates grabs the opportunities they can get. If the Rockets can limit Kobe's production as well as Odom's mismatch in speed against players of his size, the game will be in their favor but if they still continue their shooting woes at home and Lakers shoots well it will be the other way around.
The Rockets will have to contain Kobe tonight, as you can't really opt to guard his teammates and let him score by himself. The Raptors were looking to do that and Kobe scored 81. Let the other guys beat us, but not Kobe. Guard Kobe like how the Raptors did TMac, force him to give up the ball and let Odom orchestrate their offense. Play Swift more, as his quickness is needed against Odom, but he should watch the fouls. The last thing we want is to be over the limit and have Kobe drive to the basket and drawing fouls. I think the Rockets can pull it out if Kobe scores below 35. Yao should do pretty well against Kwame Brown and Brian Cook. Rockets by 9.
If kobe guards tmac ...yao will have to set a lot of picks. Is mihm injured? That would be good for yao
All season long teams magically heal up to face the Lakers it seems. The Lakers road trip has been a disaster on all fronts, and after last night I'm not sure what' left in the tank. The Lakers spent a lot of energy to get back in the game in Dallas, only to fall far behind again at the end. A loss like that just takes the wind out of you, and right they might be looking past this game and returning home. There is a lot of frustration and second guessing with the Lakers right now, and with the Rockets starting to click, I don't like the Lakers chances tonight. This is a bad match-up for LA, because TMac can match Kobe's production on offense. The Lakers are not going to get 28 points in back to back games from Brian Cook, and without Mihm the Lakers lose any threat in the post.
McGrady has generally struggled at home, and he hasn't played well against Kobe and the Lakers as a Rockets, as far as I can remember. I don't expect a great game out of him. Yao, on the other hand, needs to deliver big for us. And hopefully JVG will play Chuck Hayes the minutes he deserves (20+). After a bad outing against the Mavs last night, I expect Kobe to go off against the Rockets. 40+ points for him.
Well if JVG has been paying any attention to what beats the Lakers the Rockets should win this game easily. Teams have been killing the Lakers with 3-guard lineups. The trio of Alston-Head-TMac on the floor at the same time would disrupt the Lakers offense and be tough for the Lakers to handle defensively. I know JVG prefers a halfcourt grind out game, and without any one to defend Yao Ming, I'm pretty sure he'll go with that approach first. Should be interesting to see if PJax plays small ball to neutralize Yao, or goes big to match up with Houston. In the past, PJax always had the luxury of forcing teams to match up with his lineups. This season he's always a move behind in the match ups, because of the lack of talent on the roster.
We know that Wesley cant hold Kobe.. Y not try Mcgrady on Kobe and let Wesley hold the 2 or the 1 on defense. and on Offense welsey can play the 2 which makes T-mac play the 3 and if Kobe dont play defense on t-mac it will be a t-mac show.. I look for yao to get the ball more bcoz he is better than kwame brown.... Lamar Odom still didnt recover fully from his injury and kwame brown had a bad game yesterday.. and so did.. KOBE....so this should be easy unless the rockets dont start good or if rockets dont get a boost from mcgrady in the third... still 20 mins till tipoff.... Im a listen to the radio 610...
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Umair15:</div><div class="quote_post">We know that Wesley cant hold Kobe.. Y not try Mcgrady on Kobe and let Wesley hold the 2 or the 1 on defense. and on Offense welsey can play the 2 which makes T-mac play the 3 and if Kobe dont play defense on t-mac it will be a t-mac show.. I look for yao to get the ball more bcoz he is better than kwame brown.... Lamar Odom still didnt recover fully from his injury and kwame brown had a bad game yesterday.. and so did.. KOBE....so this should be easy unless the rockets dont start good or if rockets dont get a boost from mcgrady in the third... still 20 mins till tipoff.... Im a listen to the radio 610...</div> The last time the two teams played, I thought Kobe played great defense on TMac, using his strength to prevent TMac from getting the room to drive to the basket, and when TMac took a shot, Kobe was always quick enough to thrust a hand in his face to change the trajectory of the shot. TMac still hit the game winner though... I think it's very unlikely Wesley won't guard Kobe. If TMac guards Kobe, Wesley will be on 6-10 Odom, who will have a 9-inch advantage. Wesley plays fairly good defense on almost everyone (Michael Redd abused him two weeks ago ), let him try guarding Kobe first and if that doesn't work sub in Hayes or Bowen which can allow TMac to slide down to the 2.
The Lakers look fluid tonight and Brian Cook still has the hot hand from last night. The Lakers halfcourt sets look great early on, and they are really move the ball around well. The achilles heel has been the 2nd unit for the Lakers. They go through long droughts of scoring, and the defense drops off a lot when they substitute in. The Rockets are also getting great looks at the basket. Both coaches have to be happy about the execution and pace of the game.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting shapecity:</div><div class="quote_post">The Lakers look fluid tonight and Brian Cook still has the hot hand from last night. </div> Why on earth isn't this guy in the starting lineup alongside Chris Mihm (when fit)? I know Kwame has a big contract, but surely Cook is the better option. Hell, at least the guy works hard and can make an impact offensively.
WOW KWAME! With a two-handed stuff! I guess those shots PJax took at him in the post-game interview lit a fire under him. He's making the difference right on both ends. He's battling well against Yao in the low block, and finally finishing strong with two dunks. Devean George is killing Houston on the offensive glass. Derek Anderson is lost out there, and getting abused after the shot goes up. <div class="quote_poster">Quoting Jerry West:</div><div class="quote_post">Why on earth isn't this guy in the starting lineup alongside Chris Mihm (when fit)? I know Kwame has a big contract, but surely Cook is the better option. Hell, at least the guy works hard and can make an impact offensively.</div> Well, normally Cook misses those open looks and then gets silly fouls on defense leading to a quick yank. Right now he's making the most of his opportunity for the extra PT. JVG calling a timeout to make an adjustment on the pick & roll, is the first time any team has had to make an adjustment defensively on the Lakers. Hopefully the Kobe to Cook two man game can continue the success the rest of the way.
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post"> Devean George is killing Houston on the offensive glass. Derek Anderson is lost out there, and getting abused after the shot goes up.</div>Anderson's playing? I'm reading the play-by-play on Yahoo and Anderson hasn't logged a minute according to the box score. From the box score, neither of our two superstars are getting the ball in the basket at a high efficiency, and man, Brian Cook is killing us. Neither Swift nor Howard are succeeding in guarding him, why not try Hayes on Cook? TMac and Yao better pick it up soon, or the Rockets could find themselves in a hole they can't get out of.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Locke:</div><div class="quote_post">Anderson's playing? I'm reading the play-by-play on Yahoo and Anderson hasn't logged a minute according to the box score. From the box score, neither of our two superstars are getting the ball in the basket at a high efficiency, and man, Brian Cook is killing us. Neither Swift nor Howard are succeeding in guarding him, why not try Hayes on Cook? TMac and Yao better pick it up soon, or the Rockets could find themselves in a hole they can't get out of.</div> I could have swore it was Anderson, maybe it was Luther Head actually. Moochie Norris & Chuck Hayes also played in the game, but it doesn't show them on the boxscores either. The Rockets are getting the ball to Yao, but he's allowing Kwame to push him out of the block, and Yao is coming up short on his shots. TMac is trying to get the other players involved on offense, and most of his looks have been bail out shots against the shot clock. The Lakers full court press is really disrupting the Rockets right now. They find themselves deep into the shot clock by the time they get their offense going. By the time the offense is set, there's only 8 seconds left for the Rockets to get a shot off. Lakers lead 44-33 at the half. Forget to mention, Kwame and Howard almost got into a fight at halfcourt. Keep an eye on this situation in the 2nd half, they had some heated words and there wasn't much resolution to it.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Locke:</div><div class="quote_post">Anderson's playing? I'm reading the play-by-play on Yahoo and Anderson hasn't logged a minute according to the box score.</div> He means Luther Head. Yao and Tracy are playing terrible, and yet we're not getting blown out. I suppose that's progress. We're again getting our ass handed to us on the boards, and Chuck Hayes barely touched the court. I can't believe how many rebounds Howard and Swift lost that they should have had. The last 2 minutes of the game, Van Gundy decided to go small and took Yao out of the game. And who did he put in? Ryan Freakin' Bowen. Why? He didn't think Chuck Hayes could handle Luke Walton's blazing speed? I'm so angry with this PF situation I almost want us to lose the game. This winning streak has masked how bad the Howard/Swift combination has been. -- Kobe is on fire, with 3:30 left in the third. David Wesley doesn't have a chance against him. He's too small, and he's too slow. -- End of the third, and it looks like the Rockets realized that Wesley can't guard Kobe and McGrady has taken the responsibility. McGrady doesn't really have it offensively anyways, so I think it's a good idea that he focuses on trying to stop Kobe. He's an underrated defensive wing player, and he's the only one on the Rockets capable of limiting Bryant's offense. With McGrady preoccupied with Kobe, Yao needs to step up. He's not getting many double teams, and they aren't fronting him. He should take advantage of this, and the Rockets should feed him the ball. -- Timeout. Stro can't catch a pass. Yao can't hit a point-blank shot. And no one can get a defensive rebound.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Locke:</div><div class="quote_post">The last time the two teams played, I thought Kobe played great defense on TMac, using his strength to prevent TMac from getting the room to drive to the basket, and when TMac took a shot, Kobe was always quick enough to thrust a hand in his face to change the trajectory of the shot. TMac still hit the game winner though... I think it's very unlikely Wesley won't guard Kobe. If TMac guards Kobe, Wesley will be on 6-10 Odom, who will have a 9-inch advantage. Wesley plays fairly good defense on almost everyone (Michael Redd abused him two weeks ago ), let him try guarding Kobe first and if that doesn't work sub in Hayes or Bowen which can allow TMac to slide down to the 2.</div> I agree... nicely said there mate..
Smush Parker has come out shook to start the 3rd quarter. Passed up an open look, then watched Alston go coast to coast. He followed that up with a turnover to Alston in the backcourt, missed a wide open 3, and just toasted again by Alston leading to a Juwan Howard layup. Timeout Lakers, PJax is PISSED! Lakers lead cut to 5.
Rockets came out on fire in the 2nd half and actually took the lead with a 13-3 run. Rafer Alston did most of the damage, slashing to the basket, getting assists, and hitting the 3ball. Lakers got back in the game when Yao went to the bench. Kobe Bryant scored 4 straight times on Wesley, and is on fire right now getting his point total up to 18. He's 6/6 in the quarter so far. JVG cannot figure out the defensive matchups at this point. He tried double teaming Kobe, and Cook made the Rockets pay. Then JVG tried single coverage on Kobe, and Kobe took over the game.
Well, at least the Rockets are down just 8 entering the fourth quarter. Tracy McGrady needs to take over. Yao has had a good third quarter but McGrady is having a miserable night from the field. Wesley and Alston are picking up the slack but the Rockets are a different team when McGrady can't score. Also need to hit free throws; Yao and TMac are 0-4 from the line.
Stromile 'bonehead' swift is gettin on my nerves. It's not a bad pass when it hits his knees and every time they dish to him he seems to fumble it. Oh and wtf is this brilliant matchup of wesley and kobe? jvg is that dumb! and plz take swift out..he doesnt box out ever and he gave geeorge and kwame tons of offensive rebounds. where is chuck hayes. update: bonehead swift gets in a good position but can't catch the ball again. ..i think these amount of turnovers are just too much to get a W. and swift is the reason Mcgrady sux..he missed all his shots in the 4th. Plz trade mcgrady..he's too lazy too injured and trying to take over with 4 minutes left in the 4th is dumb. be like kobe..play hard all 4 quarters!
