Lakers Fall in Game 1
by Sideout11 on May 4, 2009 10:44 PM PDT
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PrintUnfortunately I wasn't able to watch the first half, but (and perhaps just as unfortunately) I was able to see a Lakers team go 0 for a million in the fourth to lose the game to what looked like a hungry, energetic, and focused Rockets team. On a side note, I'm not sure how it was the rest of the game, but the officiating in the last 9 minutes was questionable at best. However, that is never an excuse, especially for a team as talented as the Lakers.
So congratulations to the Rockets. Let's see how Kobe and Co. respond in Game 2. Here's the box score and recap. Fire away below in the post-game thread.
Go Purple & Gold!
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There were
some questionable calls from the referees, but in no way is that an excuse for what happened tonight. The Lakers come out extremely rusty after having a week off. I expect them to be back to normal in Game 2.
May have been rusty
But they still need to make some defensive adjustments.
And Houston’s defense had something to do with the Lakers shooting 44% for the game.
And Lamar Odom needs to make free throws. It’s demoralizing to work hard, get the foul call, and come away with nada.
by Gils_Keloids on May 4, 2009 10:50 PM PDT up reply actions
Remember back in November, at the beginning of the season,
when defense was a big concern for this team? Now it’s May, and were still talking about their defensive woes. This team needs to learn to love playing defense. They need to learn to love stopping an opponent from scoring more than they love scoring for themselves.
And I definitely agree that Lamar needs to start hitting his free throws. Half the battle is your mentality, and I’m betting that LO doesn’t have much confidence from the line right now.
by BruinFanBaby on May 4, 2009 10:54 PM PDT up reply actions
Our defense was good in spots…
When we made shots we played bad defense.
When we couldn’t make shots we played great defense (shot clock violations, etc)
I don’t understand how we cant do both at the same time.
Totally agree
We were getting stops but we couldn’t but a basket Gasol has to be effective Lakers have to attack the rim, I can’t believe they played the way they played tonight Bynum was the only bright spot I saw but he got in foul trouble. I can’t wait to see game 2 Lakers better come out and act like they want it
Hopefully they will look at the tape
and make the necessary adjustments to counter what Houston had going. True the rust did show, however we had a one point lead in the fourth only to see Houston go back up by 6-7 points.
Foul shooting needs to be better…….makes and attempts. Odom going 1-6 on FTs is unacceptable We need to drive the lane more and get them in foul trouble.
GO BRONCOS IN 2009 AND BEYOND!!
Lakers down 1-0
rwe had a one point lead in the fourth only to see Houston go back up by 6-7 points.
and i still continue to ask why didn’t Kobe get any touches during the Rockets 7-0 run…
We need to drive the lane more and get them in foul trouble.
I agree, we settled way too often for the jumper.
On Kobe getting touches during that run.
I am stumped on that one.
GO BRONCOS IN 2009 AND BEYOND!!
Lakers down 1-0
Thats Houston's defense for you!
The Rockets play defense to take away the lane and make their opponents shoot jumpers. Thats what they did against portland, thats what theyve been doing since the all star break, but its been cranked up in the second season.
What i was surprised most by was Kobe not driving alot. Credit goes to Battier but i would be surprised if Kobe doesnt drive alot more in Game 2. But your team overall will still be shooting alot of jumpers.
Game 1 100-92 Rockets
Rockets Lead Series 1-0
From the game thread
Why wasn’t Bynum in instead of Pau?
Ariza went 0-4 from the 3 point line
The whole team went 2-18 from 3
Everyone settled for jumpshots
Odom didn’t but went 1-6 from the FT line
Houston shot 29 FT’s to our 19
Pau was soft and went 6-14
Both Pau and Bynum didn’t front Yao
Yao got 17 shots and made 9
Add those all up and we get a loss.
Why didn’t Farmar get more time on Brooks? He played him pretty well … Better than Fish was at least.
This is huge.
I’m from The Dream Shake.
This game defines this series and I think will now go 7 games. How this series ends is a complete mystery to me at this point.
This will definitely be interesting.
Don't be a prisoner of the moment.
Just because the Rockets took one game doesn’t mean that they are suddenly taking this to seven games. The Lakers were rusty, and Game 2 will have a completely different feel.
by BruinFanBaby on May 4, 2009 10:50 PM PDT up reply actions
Anything is possible
Except the Celtics winning it all this year.
by Gils_Keloids on May 4, 2009 11:01 PM PDT up reply actions
Good to see you here
I agree, this will be one heck of a series.
I’m interested now to see how our boys will react, fighting uphill for the first time as favorites.
I'll decide once I see what adjustments, if any, are made in Game 2
One game is too small a sample size
by Gils_Keloids on May 4, 2009 10:51 PM PDT up reply actions
Rust is an excuse for 1 half only
Our execution throughout the entire game was awful. We hung around through some steals, a couple players turning it on in stretches, but we never exerted influence on this game. The passing was never crisp, the triangle offense never really run for long stretches.
Kobe always comes back with a vengeance after these types of games, as we just saw last series.
How does Shane Battier have that much blood? WWE stage pills?
You get hit there (or on your cheekbone, or near your eye socket)
Your skin splits. Blood spills. A lot of it. I wish the rules would let you keep playing with blood. Shane would have looked like a horror movie character.
by Gils_Keloids on May 4, 2009 11:05 PM PDT up reply actions
And Pau. Why was he so flat footed? He didn’t make his presence felt AT ALL…. He can’t use the “tired” excuse anymore…. He hasn’t had that great of a playoffs at all.
To be fair, he took the major defense assignment against a 300 pound behemoth
After Bynum picked up his girly touch fouls and skipped off to the bench.
Yao looked really good
Better than I remember him playing this season and season’s past. He seemed very patient, and actually made some of those hook shots.
Now someone is going to come back at me statistically and point out some nice numbers Yao has put up on the Lakers before, but qualitatively this was one of Yao’s best games against the Lakers in recent memory.
by Gils_Keloids on May 4, 2009 10:57 PM PDT up reply actions
Bynum did a decent job defending Yao
When Bynum was in the game …
by Gils_Keloids on May 4, 2009 11:00 PM PDT up reply actions
Yao or Bynum
need to start continually making their shots to make Yao guard them. Neither of them made Yao have to guard them so he didn’t have to expend as much energy…
Yep, the strength of our bigs
Is that they eventually made Yao come out of his little hermit shell called “the key”.
by Gils_Keloids on May 4, 2009 11:06 PM PDT up reply actions
That should read Pau or Bynum
not Yao or bynum _
Not really. He didnt defend Yao well at all, he got whatever he wanted. Then his help-defense was horrible he let Brooks go around him and make his way to the basket. When you’re 7’ and a small PG gets into the lane its Pau’s job to stop him. Continually he lets others have easy baskets.
His defense left a lot to be desired.
I didn't say his defense was good
I said he took on that assignment. Guarding a guy like that takes a lot out of anyone (especially a natural PF), whether he does a satisfactory job or not.
And no, no one did a good job on Yao tonight. Most individual defenders can’t.
So if he can’t play defense he needs to make Yao guard him in order to tire him out. He didn’t do much of either and continued to settle for the jump shot instead of taking it into the paint.
Pau had plenty of open looks
from 15 feet, he just wasn’t money like he usually is.
You take the shot when it’s open, you don’t force your way into the teeth of the defense if they allow you an open 15 footer, even when it’s not falling. You stay confident in your shooting skill and you keep shooting.
by Gils_Keloids on May 4, 2009 11:03 PM PDT up reply actions
Let's not forget
That the game plan on Yao was to hit the midrange J and pull him away from the hoop, opening the lane. Today Pau’s shots didn’t fall, but that’s a shot he’s hit all season. Pulling Yao away from the hoop will be crucial to letting others get into the teeth of the defense.
Exactly!
I don’t get when people keep saying “drive the ball” when there is a good look.
If the defense lays back and you drive the ball, you’re either going to get stuffed, or be called for a charge.
by Gils_Keloids on May 4, 2009 11:07 PM PDT up reply actions
"...be called for a charge."
Lamar understands this better than anyone
i hated todays game
lakers played horrible like stephen a. smith says “they played like absolute gaaabage” I think lakers will win the next game and eventually the series..well they better cuz if they dont we are gonna be the laughing stock losing to the rockets. I know rockets aint a push over but we should be able to beat them
Do we have a series
This only one game. The player’s decide the game not the officials. Even if the refs were a factor we all know who get’s the most “home cooking” when it comes to officiating. KOBE BRYANT! This is not the same team the Lakers played in the regular season. All the statistics are out the door. I believe the Rockets are capable of winning this series if they play 48 minutes. At least they’ll make it series, regardless of what the “subject matter experts” and lakers fans say.
Stop putting words in Lakers fans and "experts" mouths
The experts said 6 games, the consensus is 6 games.
And I don’t believe anyone ever said it was impossible for the Rockets to win the series, just less likely than the Lakers winning the series. That has not changed. You think the Rockets will be favored to win on Wednesday? Again, I’m not saying the Rockets can’t win, just that this one win won’t all of a sudden shift the odds in Houston’s favor.
by Gils_Keloids on May 4, 2009 11:10 PM PDT up reply actions
No sir
All I can is buzz is that the Rockets don’t stand a chance, that the Lakers have the best two teams in the NBA (the starters and their reserves). Very few consider the fact that in spite of the fact yes the Lakers undoubtedbly have the best force to be reconed with ,in Kobe, since Michael Jordan, that there another team out there with maybe just as much hunger, little heart and some skill as well. I never expect the odds to changed. I figure odds to be a joke anyway. Someone has to predict something or else there would be alot of jobless people.
All you can buzz is that the Rockets don't stand a chance?
I can guess at what you mean, but why don’t you go read some previews and read where the parts where they say “The Rockets could win if …” I don’t think those parts are follow by “hell freezes” or “pigs fly”.
by Gils_Keloids on May 4, 2009 11:24 PM PDT up reply actions
I apologize
I actually kinda skip a few words and didn’t proof read, but you get the idea.
Don’t put words in our mouths saying we blamed the refs for the loss when we said no such thing. I don’t recall many saying that the “Rockets dont stand a chance.” Another example of you putting words in our mouths. Way to generalize all Laker fans. Why dont you go read some of the older posts and read some of the comments. Then maybe you would actually have something intelligent to say without sounding like a stupid fan that’s high off a win, and really does not know what they are talking about. Especially about the members here on SS&R.
Playing the disrespect card
Is just a milder form of trolling.
We should add to the sign up sheet: If you’re a fan of an opposing team – yes, we respect your team, no we don’t think your team is a joke. And yes, your team has a chance of beating our team on any given night. Because we think the Lakers are better in your team does not mean we think they will win by 20 points every night (It would be nice, but it ain’t happening).
Some of the Jazz fans got all bent out of shape once they won a game against the Lakers, like that proved everyone wrong.
Yeah, I thought the Lakers would win Game 1, but shit happens. Houston is a quality team. This doesn’t mean I don’t still think the Lakers are better, but crazier stuff has happened than a second round upset. The reason I bring up the odds maker is that I wouldn’t put my money on it, though. If you are so sure the Rockets will make a series of it, maybe your time would be better spent going to Las Vegas and placing a proposition bet – it’s a special bet you can make, and one of them is the length of the series. Otherwise stop saying we said it couldn’t happen. You won’t get anything out of it, if all you want is for someone to acknowledge that your team has a chance.
by Gils_Keloids on May 4, 2009 11:42 PM PDT up reply actions
I really hate
that Laker fans get SUCH a bad rep for trolling and not knowing anything about the game. Opposing fans always say we have our homer glasses on and the only guy we can name on the team is Kobe. I find that so offensive because on other sites game threads they unnecessarily bash Kobe and all the other guys on the team. Then when Laker fans do it its because we’re conceited and think our team is unstoppable or whatever. More trolling and homerism goes on by other teams but its only the Laker fans that are homerists and have the wool pulled over our eyes.
On Houston’s site they’re already saying that the Lakers will get handed at least one game in the seires and I find it appalling. If we said that about the Houston team the other guys would come over here talking about how we get super star calls and if Artest were to “breathe” on Kobe he’s get a foul called on him. That Stern is all wet over us and the Lebron-Kobe Finals is already set up.
I’m so sick of the other fans displaying worse manners than Laker fans. Then them coming over here accusing us of things THEY are doing. /end rant.
Well
I guess there also should be a rule to only mention what’s being said here on SS&R. If that’s the case excuse my “unintelligence”!
Well
Aren’t you addressing us, here?
If not, take your complaints to the people who are offending you, not us!
by Gils_Keloids on May 4, 2009 11:57 PM PDT up reply actions
I believe the Lakers are capable of winning this series if they play 48 minutes
by Gils_Keloids on May 5, 2009 12:10 AM PDT up reply actions
Just observing
There wasn’t blatant blaming but I read little clues like "questionable " calls and “the Rockets shot more free throws” (29-19).
What adjustments are people looking at?
On offense, it sounds like the same old tired song, but just crisper passing and sticking to the triangle. Luke Walton should help with that. I’d also like to see more Kobe/Pau pick and rolls.
Defensively:
Obviously, we have to give Yao different looks. I’d like to see more soft double teams on Yao, especially when Hayes/Landry are in the game. Also, fronting Yao has usually had great success, I’d love to pull it out in the 4th quarter. Kobe did a good job not gambling and letting Battier kill us. Aside from that, the main issue is how to handle Brooks.
Here’s an option to explore: putting Sasha on Artest. Yes, Sasha would likely get annhilated. But putting the league’s most annoying perimeter defender on the most volatile perimeter player? It could be genius..
I've been saying this all season
There is nothing wrong with the Lakers but there is a problem with there PG spot, Fisher can not keep up with the small guards then the Lakers have to cover for his behind and send people to help on penetration that left Houston other players open. Right now if they Lakers want to move forward they need to go with Farmer and Shannon NO FISHER. No one attacked Houstons basket and Lakers didn’t get Houston in foul trouble besides that I still thought Lakers could of one the game if they started the game with some intensity.
Hate to say it
But I like seeing Brown in there so much more than Fisher.
by Gils_Keloids on May 4, 2009 11:11 PM PDT up reply actions
Yao may have some of the best press conferences
Dude’s got some underrated personality.
“Yao, did you feel you were the underdogs coming in to LA?”
“I just learned the word underdog a few days ago. Like they say, the NBA…where amazing happens.”
lol the guy is very, very hard not to like
He is pretty funny
Deeper trips into the playoffs mean more attention, which means more opportunity for Yao to showcase his underrated wit. My favorite, when he gave “The Star-Spangled Banner” as his favorite American song: “I listen to it at least 82 times a year.” He and the Rockets guaranteed themselves at least four more renditions of the national anthem by sending the Trail Blazers back to the lab, but if they want to make it past the Lakers and get a crack at playing into June, they need Yao to play like a superstar. The rules of the playoff postgame news conference are simple: If you want to sit behind the microphone, you have to stand tall on the court. Figuratively.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/playoffs/2009/columns/story?columnist=adande_ja&page=Yao-090504
The Chinese politicos are going to be pissed when they read
That his favorite song is the U.S. anthem!
by Gils_Keloids on May 4, 2009 11:43 PM PDT up reply actions
After Game 6 vs Portland
Artest and Yao were doing a press conference and Artest gets up to least before Yao is finished talking to the press and Yao blurts out, “See you in the CLUB!” I was dying laughing…
I can just imagine his gigantic ass out there busting a move with some tiny asian girls the he’s 3 feet taller than…
"I am from one of the top 15 cities in the world. Buffalo, New York." - TrentEdwardsHoF2018
BTW: SS&R went over the 1100 mark in the game thread tonight...
Not bad for a baby, baby blog…
Pontiff of the Pryz for Prez Posse...
Anxiously awaiting Dexter Fishmore's pace-corrected breakdown
To see if the key points outlined by Lakernomics 101 were once again correlated.
Kobe had an off-night
He didn’t take off like he usually does in the 4th.
Rockets fan here from The Dream Shake.
This series will go 7 games. Los Angeles will win one in Houston to get home court back, make no mistake.
The question is, can Houston win AGAIN at Staples?
We shall see.
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