2004 NBA Playoffs: **Houston Rockets vs. LA Lakers** Series Thread

I'm usually somewhat down on Francis, but I have to admit that he had one of his best games of the year. He did a great job penetrating and getting people involved. And he got his 12 assists while turning the ball over only 2 times.

Problems in game 2:
- Yao had another poor game offensively. Yeah, he scored 21 points, but he missed quite a few gimme shots for him, and when Shaq guarded him he rarely got himself good looks. He didn't take advantage of his size while Malone and the others were on him. After the first opening minutes, he had a strong first half. But he disappeared in the second half when the Lakers busted the game open.
- Missed free throws. I couldn't believe how many times the Rockets split their free throws. Those misses could really impact the game. They shot only 63% for the game. When the Lakers defense is on the Rockets HAVE to capitalize on the freebies.
- Too many defensive breakdowns by the Rockets in the second half. The Lakers increased the pace of the game, scoring 30 in the third quarter, and the Rockets weren't able to keep up. But, overall, I thought the Rockets did a solid job on their D and the Lakers just made some great shots. Karim Rush and Kobe Bryant just made some great shots despite solid defense being played on them, and Fisher was on fire with his outside shot.

Doug Collins made a good point late in the game. He referred to the first game and how the Rockets won in most of the key statistical categories, forced sub-par games from Shaq, Kobe, Malone, and Payton and STILL lost the game. Then he said, "that's when you say maybe they just have a better team." That's what I was thinking after game 2. The Rockets played a very good game, kept their turnovers down and played solid team defense for the most part, and they lost by a wide margin. The Rockets have definitely raised their level of play in the playoffs compared to where they were at in the regular season, but they simply are not in the Laker's class. I expect the Rockets to win a game in Houston, possibly 2. But this series will be over in 5 or 6 games, and it will be a great learning experience for our team.

 

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting HoustonHoopa33:</div><div class="quote_post">I still think the Rockets will win the series; however they are only making it harder on themselves. They have yet to play to their full potential, and they need to start putting it all together NOW.</div>

Still think they can win the series down 2-0?? You actually feel the Houston Rockets will come out of nowhere and win four straight games against the Lakers? Ok, if the Lakers take Game 3, and there's a huge opportunity we can go in there and win, what'll be your next line?

 

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting shapecity:</div><div class="quote_post">Yes, Francis did a good job in the first quarter of getting Yao involved, and it lead to the Rockets having the lead at halftime. The second half is where he abandoned the offense running through Yao, and the Lakers went on a run. Yao only had 4 attempts and 1 point late into the third quarter, when the Lakers put Karl Malone on him. On the flipside, the Lakers made 34 shots on 27 assists. There was a stretch in the game where Yao wasn't even at half court, and Francis was taking the ball against 3 defenders. He earned the "T-Mac award" tonight, good stats, but a Loss.</div>


Would you have preferr that Yao have 2 points on 8 shot attempts in the third? Yao got his chances in the second half, but he didn't capitalize. You can't blame Francis for that. He did what any good point guard would do in that situation, look elsewhere for production.

Yao is a good center, but he is not in the class of Hakeem where you keep going to him regardless of the type of game he's having late in the game. In a few years he might get there, but now he's prone to be off for long stretches.

Cuttino and Yao had quiet second halfs, while the Lakers just made some great shots and stole the momentum. For the most part, Rockets played solid defense (though a few defensive lapses in the second half hurt), but the Lakers made some excellent plays. In the first game, the Rockets beat themselves. In the second game, you just have to give all the credit to the Lakers. No way around it; they were the better team.

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Laker_Fever_834:</div><div class="quote_post">Still think they can win the series down 2-0?? You actually feel the Houston Rockets will come out of nowhere and win four straight games against the Lakers? Ok, if the Lakers take Game 3, and there's a huge opportunity we can go in there and win, what'll be your next line?</div>

I'll stick with my pre-series prediction of Lakers in 5 or 6. But look at it this way. The Rockets are very capable of taking the next to home games. Then we're left with a 3 game series, with the momentum in the Rocket's favor. In that scenario, yeah its definitely possible that the Rockets can get the upset. I wouldn't bet on it, but who knows what could happen in that situation.

 

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Laker_Fever_834:</div><div class="quote_post">Still think they can win the series down 2-0?? You actually feel the Houston Rockets will come out of nowhere and win four straight games against the Lakers? Ok, if the Lakers take Game 3, and there's a huge opportunity we can go in there and win, what'll be your next line?</div>

Yes, I do think they can still win...do I think they can win four straight? probably not, but they can win 4 out of 5...all of these nagging injuries will catch up with LA somehow if the series goes longer and I dont think its nearly impossible for the Rockets to win the next two home games, for LA to win the 5th game at home, for the Rockets to win the next game (6)...and then anything can happen in game 7...we have yet to see the Rockets play their best, and i think they are learning a lot in these two games...The Rockets, IMO, match up very well with LA so I never think they are out of aa game, or in this case, a series...

 

Mobley needs to step up IMO. If he can make the outside three consistently, it'll take a lot of the double teams off of Yao, and will make the Lakers more honest on defense, thus allowing more penetration.

 

This is hilarious ..why do the rockets always start sucking in the 2nd half where it all counts? they stop going to Yao...JJ stops shooting the shots...Mobley disappears..and their plays never make sense..they got cato to shoot 2 jumpers..why not drive in with our fast guards to create or give it to yao when he posts?!?! Ok there's gonna be some off-loading going on because even if Yao is slow, he's still 7'6 and if they set him up nicely he could drop the shots..why r the rockets making it so hard for themselves..

 

<strike>yao sux they cant beat the lakers
with kobe and shaq playin</strike>

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<div class="quote_poster">Quoting HoustonHoopa33:</div><div class="quote_post">Yes, I do think they can still win...do I think they can win four straight? probably not, but they can win 4 out of 5...all of these nagging injuries will catch up with LA somehow if the series goes longer and I dont think its nearly impossible for the Rockets to win the next two home games, for LA to win the 5th game at home, for the Rockets to win the next game (6)...and then anything can happen in game 7...we have yet to see the Rockets play their best, and i think they are learning a lot in these two games...The Rockets, IMO, match up very well with LA so I never think they are out of aa game, or in this case, a series...</div>

The Rockets really needed to win Game 2 in order for them to gain hgue confidence as they returned to Houston for three games, but the Rockets return home down 2-0, and with an inexperienced team that they are, I don't see them rebounding back to make this a series, and I personally don't think they can win four out of five even with three games at their place. In the playoffs, the Lakers play their best games on the road. They're more focused of a team, they play with a sense of relaxation, and they know what it takes to win on the road with all the championship experience that's surrounding this team.

 

Game 3 is obviously the huge game for the Rockets...if they lose this game, they're done because I cant see them winning 4 straight with the fragile confidence they already have...however, if they win game 3, i think winning game 4 becomes a more likely scenerio...and that means its 2-2...the Lakers dont play very well in Houston for some reason, and the Rockets are a much better home team than they are a road team...they have not completely dominated the Rockets (as many have predicted they would) by any means, so I still see a glimmer of hope of the Rockets pulling out the unimaginable and winning the series in 7...

 

I favor the Rockets to win game 3. Despite being down 0-2, I thought they actually played pretty well the first two games. I expect a fast starts for the Rockets, jumping out to a good lead after first. It will be a dogfight for them through the rest of the game, but hopefully the Rockets can stay tough and get the win. A win in game 3 will help confidence-wise for the Rockets, but it will also motivate the Lakers to come out with a vengeance in game 4. If the Rockets can weather THAT storm (assuming, of course, a game 3 win) and get game 4 as well, then we'll have a series.

Of course, Houston historically has played well when down 1-3 in the playoffs. But let's make it easy on ourselves and get it to 2-2.

 

We have shown in the past two seasons that we can beat the Lakers, and the things we did in Game 1 and 2 did nothing to discourage that. I believe they will come out red-hot, jumping to a 10+ point lead at halftime, falter in the 3rd Q but still leave enough gas in their tank to carry them through the fourth.

 

Rockets up 12 at the end of 3rd. They just need to survive one more quarter to win.

 

nice win, 102-91, for the rockets in game 3 at home. francis made big baskets at the end of the 4th to seal the win. he even got the spin-a-roonie shot after he bumped into shaq to go in. hope it goes back to la tied at 2. i thought after payton hit that 3pter, that they lakers would come back, but the rockets played very well to keep the lead. nice game.

 

great game.

if the rockets do the following they would get a much better chance of winning:
1. get yao the ball early in the game
2. play every posession as if it was ur last
3. team defense
4. try to aviod yao getting fouls
5. no more turnovers

 

Well this method for houston to win is simple limiting turnovers. You got to get up as many shot attempts as possible in the playoffs even if you dont shoot the highest %. Plus turnovers lead to easy open court points for kobe. Cuttino has proven that he can limit kobe to a certain degree in the half-cout, by making kobe work. But if you give kobe easy baskets in the open court that makes him much harder to guard in the half-court because he has found his rythm from the points you gave him off of turnovers.

Steve Francis did a much better ball handling job today. Alot less passes where he jumps in the air & then tries to pass. Jump passing is usually one of his main downfall imo. But he didnt do that as much tonight, so thats a good sign. Shot selection still left something to be desired. But he step up big in the 4th. I still think he needs to go to Ming more (especally against Karl Malone).

 

Amazing...this was a picture perfect game and if anyone is still convinced that Steve Francis needs to be traded, they need to be checked out...He has played astoundingly well this series against a very good defense...and everyone stepped up...Mobley, Jax, Taylor, Yao...everyone played great and within themselves...I am convinced the keys to winning games against these playoff Lakers are 1) Mobley's aggressive play on offense and 2) 3-point shooting....the Rockets played their best tonight and came out with a convincing victory...I still say Rockets will win in 7...great game tonight....

 

It just goes to show you what driving can do than settling for the jumper in Steve Francis' case. I always thought the key to Houston winning was to get Yao the ball down low and get him to distribute the ball. But Francis creating is also good, because his ballhandling is excellent, but his jumper is kind of streaky and he's better at drawing fouls and finishing around the rim with the amount of bulk he has compared to other point guards.

 

Great to see the Rockets win last night. Hopefully they came come back and make a huge upset.