Lakers-Rockets Preview

Much needed victory for the Lakers to end their road trip. I think the Lakers were inspired by Rudy's speach before the game started and game out running on all cylinders. They did what they needed to do to win this game, and the was to push the ball. Even though Yao finished with 32 points, the Lakers took him out of the game early by running the floor and getting Yao very fatigued. Brian Grant also did a good job of beating up on Yao with his for arm shivers and knocking him to the ground on a couple of plays. Yao was on the floor a lot in this game and was constantly bent over gasping for air.

I am disappointed in the way the Lakers blew the lead. They get in serious trouble when they switch gears into a perimeter team instead of attacking the basket and allowing easy put backs by Mihm or Grant. Kobe took a lot of difficult shots with the shotclock running low and bricking. This allowed the Rockets to gain momentum and get Yao involved more on offense. Once he got going and the Lakers started sagging in on him and double teaming, he kicked it out for wide open 3pt shots and the Rockets were able to climb back in the game and actually take the lead after being down by 24 points.

The Lakers bench has to step it up and hold leads so the starters can rest. There is no reason for the Laker starters to have to play more than 7 minutes in the 4th quarter when they are up by more than 20 points on their opponent. The Laker bench is responsible to maintain the lead and keep the game out of reach and the way to do it is to remain aggressive on offense and stop forcing shots. Tierre Brown needs to stop trying to take on three defenders when he drives to the hoop, and to stop jumping in the air before he makes a pass. Also I would like to see Walton look for his shot more. He passes up so many open looks and is TOO unselfish at times.

Glad the Lakers won and my prediction was off. Winning on the road is vital for us to make the playoffs this season.