OT: Turns out Houston has the deepest team in the league.

I thought we did, Lakers thought they did, but Houston is the real deal. A deep bench that delivers no matter how many people get hurt or have off games.

 

The funny thing is that if the injuries to Dikembe, Yao, and TMac hadn't happened. They wouldn't have gotten as much playing time, and people would just call them scrubs and inexperienced players that wouldn't do well.

Its great to see them playing their hearts out and taking advantage of the opportunity given due to injuries.

 

The Rockets are like the Hydra, you cut their strongest heads off and they come back even stronger.

This guys are some tough cookies! Bringing the Lakers to game 7 without Yao.

Now granted, they don't stand much of a chance in LA without Yao, but man, how did they not win their division??

 

The Rockets bench has been impressive. But the reason this series is going 7 games has more to do with the play of Aaron Brooks. In the 3 Houston wins he's averaged 26 ppg. He's not exactly an assist machine but his ability to create off the dribble is breaking down the Lakers defense. When Yao went down I think we all thought that Houston would NEVER be able to find enough offense to stay in this series.

If I'm the Lakers, I'm thinking shut down Brooks and you win game 7 going away. Once he gets past half court, trap him and get the ball out of his hands. You live with giving Battier, Artest, Wafer, and Scola some open looks from the perimeter. Just don't let Brooks dribble penetration beat you again. It's hard to imagine Houston even making this a close game if Brooks is kept in check.

 

That won't work, which is why the well coached Lakers haven't done it.

You trap Brooks way out there, he passes out and the ball quickly gets to Artest, who is now looking at a 4 on 3 half-court set. Scola moves too well without the ball and would dive to the hoop or slide to the open space for layups and open jumpers. If they stay home on Scola, Artest has one-on-one. Sometimes Artest screws that up, but usually in a one-on-one situation with no help coming, he will kill his defender driving to the hoop.

 

I'd like to see Houston somehow pull off game 7, but I expect the Lakers to blow them out at staples on sunday.

 

The Blazers have a better bench. I'm sorry, but I do not agree. The Rockets were allowed to get away with some serious bullshit in the first round. They played physical, Portland is not a physical team. That does not equate to depth. It's style of play. If the Blazers had played San Antonio, they'd be going up against LA in the second round and Houston would have played the Nuggets. Denver is a much more physical team as well. I would have predicted Denver knocking out the Rockets in five or six games.

 

But that is the definition of the playoffs, man. Physical. My question is, why is the game called one way during the season, and called another way when the playoff's roll around. That being said, it remains that the playoff's are a more physical game and more is let go. It has been that way as long as I can remember. That is reality.

 

regardless of who the blazers played in the first round, you would have been saying they got away with some serious bullshit. the rockets beat the blazers and the blazers really can only blame themselves by conceding homecourt so easily.

 

i tried telling people that houston had a good bench when everyone wanted to claim the bench as one of the blazers big advantages over the rockets. landry, lowry, hayes, and wafer are all very good role players.

the blazers have a good bench as well but the perception of their bench is skewed because the bench players get so many minutes. rudy and outlaw both come off the bench but play more minutes than two of the portland starters so of course the blazers have big bench numbers.

 

Learn the game then post.

 

The Spurs are not a physical team. Sorry, but I saw the Rockets hanging all over the Blazers, and yet Portland was getting called for ticky tack shit. You're right though, the Blazers bench has two players who play more than the starters. Batum disappeared in the playoffs, which didn't help.

 

you saw what you wanted to see and what you would have seen regardless of who the opponent was. the rockets are my favorite team. the blazers are 2nd and have my favorite player. the series was evenly officiated and decided by the players.

 

So you are going to make me go back and look up the free throw and foul disparity between the two teams?

 

Hell yes, the Rockets made the Blazer's bench their bitches. Our bench is vastly over-rated by some. Even our starters had a tough time against the Rockets bench. Everyone on the Rockets just plays tough balls to the wall, and the Blazers have a tendency to pussy foot around...particularly the bench. However, I still think that if we had won game 4, we'd have won game 7 and the series.

We lose game 4 by 1 point, and Scola hit a shot when the shot clock was clearly expired. Therefore, by rules of the NBA (which were not enforced)


WE WON!!!!! YAAA!!!!!

 

We're much deeper, but Houston has a coach who isn't afraid to utilize his bench, especially in the playoffs.

Giving Nate a 10-deep team is like giving a case of bullets to a guy with a derringer.

 

We'll see on Sunday. Like I said, Brooks scores 26 ppg in the 3 Houston wins. That's the biggest common denominator in their victories. I disagree with you - I think the "well coached Lakers" will make Houston find offense somewhere other than Aaron Brooks. I also don't happen to think trapping Brooks will render the Lakers on the defensive side of a 4 on 3 - not if they trap with quick, athletic guys. Besides, I wouldn't be worried about Artest having the ball and attacking more - dude is like a bull in a china shop with the ball and he's 14-49 in the last 3 games. He jacks up some crazy shots. Even if he starts off and hits a couple, he probably won't stay hot all night. Did you see game 5 in LA? Artest's play in the first half of that game was a big reason the Lakers were up by 25 at the break. But even if they don't trap Brooks, I bet they let Farmar match up more with Brooks than Fisher. Brooks has just been abusing D-Fish.