khandor’s sports blog

FINAL SCORE: ROCKETS 95, Lakers 80
Complete Game Info

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From The Lakers Perspective

1. Phil Jackson, with 9 NBA Championships to his credit already, is a terrific head coach … but he was out-coached last night by Rick Adelman.

2. Anytime Andrew Bynum was not on the floor, the Lakers’ interior defense [read as Pau Gasol] could not cope with Luis Scola, or Aaron Brooks, or Carl Landry.

3. There was no legitimate reason for Andrew Bynum [-1] to have only played 19:03 last night when Pau Gasol [-15/43:03] was repeatedly being abused by the Rockets on the defensive end of the floor. 

4. Given how the Rockets have used Luis Scola, Chuck Hayes and Carl Landry at the C and PF positions, since the injury to Yao Ming, it is simply criminal that Josh Powell [DNP-Coaches Decision] has been chained to the Lakers’ bench … considering that he is the single best match-up on the Lakers’ team vs an under-sized post player.

5. Derek Fisher is a physically sturdy PG … who is simply not quick enough to cope with a player like Aaron Brooks and does not possess the type of low-post game it takes to punish the Rockets’ diminuitive PG at the offensive end of the floor.

6. Given how well Jordan Farmar [21:00] and Shannon Brown [09:12] have played in this series Derek Fisher [1-7, FGM-FGA] should not be getting 21:24 of floor time.

7. Sasha Vujacic [06:34] and Luke Walton [15:50] are two highly serviceable players who were not used effectively last night vs the Rockets’ [i] small back-court combo of Brooks & Lowry and their [ii] physical forward combo of Artest & Battier, respectively.

If the Lakers are going to advance to the Western Conference Finals and then have success against the Denver Nuggets … and eventually the Celtics, Magic or Cavaliers … Phil Jackson will need to re-think how he is using his player personnel. If he fails to do this … and, instead, stubbornly sticks with the same old same old … the Lakers will not win this year’s NBA Championship.

From The Rockets Perspective

1. At this point, Houston is playing with house money.

2. Basketball is fundamentally a game of quickness, relative to the oppenent, at the position played, and as long as the Rockets can accentuate their advantage in this aspect of the game there is every reason to believe that this team can succeed, if they make their fair share of open and contested shots.

3. Going at the Lakers last night with an interior attack focused on the Scola vs Gasol match-up was a stroke of genius by Rick Adelman. See the seminal article by Malcolm Gladwell on the way in which David must attack Goliath if he hopes to succeed, i.e. through the use of unconventional/unexpected strategies & tactics.

4. Winning Game 7, on the road, will still be a mighty chore.

5. It’s a treat to watch this collection of NBA players & coaches give their all in the face of such adversity.

6. The NBA game is based upon individual and team match-ups … and, the outcome of Game 7 in this series will depend on the answers to these two straight-forward questions:

I. Can Rick Adelman continue to out-fox the ZenMaster?

II. Which team is going to make more shots than the other?

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Far too frequently too many so-called “NBA experts/observers” try to make the game much more complicated than it actually is. 

Yesterday’s action finished with the following results:

W-L: 0-2
Units: -3.16

which is a long way from par.

Overall, after Day 3:

W-L: 3-6
Units: -6.53

The good news is that with each game that passes, more is learned about the current state of these 16 playoff teams and where exactly the better investment  opportunities can be found, as the Playoffs progress.

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Tue Apr 21 2009

Game 1 - 1/CAVALIERS vs 8/Pistons

Do not like the way the Pistons caved in during the latter half of the 4th quarter in Game 1. LBJ & Co. have their pedal to the metal right now and may open up even earlier this game vs what looks like a dispirited crew of from the Motor City. Can’t help but be leary, however, when asked to lay that many points against a tested outfit like the Pistons. Will sit back & watch, instead, with an eye focused on the upcoming Game 3.

Detroit +11/+104
CLEVELAND -11/-112
Call: Pass

Game 2 - 4/BLAZERS vs 5/Rockets

As much as Portland seemed like an attractive move on the weekend, there was much to like about the vim & vigar which Houston brought to the table on the road in Game 1. Aaron Brooks is going to be a tough cover for the Blazers all series long … unless Nate McMillan is brave enough to see the solid match-up possibility he has on his bench with the under-utilized Jerryd Bayless, who is thought to be a poorous defender overall but who is also quick enough, in this instance, to at least cause some worry for the diminutive floor general of the Rockets. As was mentioned in this space earlier this season … a major weakness for the Blazers heading into this post-season is the defensive deficiency of Steve Blake [PG]. A second viable which McMillan has at his disposal is to finally go with the Blazers best option at the PG-spot, i.e. Brandon Roy, right from the start, instead of waiting to “close” with him. Closing is not an option when you’re down by 30 in the 3rd Q. This would accomplish several things for Portland, not the least of which is get their best offensive player away from the “Deadly Duo” of Ron Artest and Shane Battier at the Wing positions for the Rockets. Who would Portland then go with on the Wings, in place of Roy? It would be terrific if they had a healthy Martel Webster ot insert right about now. In lieu of that, however, Rudy Fernandez would begin the game at the Off Guard position as the running mate to Nicolas Batum, with Travis Outlaw then sliding down to the SF position, where he is a much more physical presence for the Blazers … necessary to combat the size and strength of Ron Ron & Shane … and opening up a big man slot for Channing Frye [who can stretch Houston's D with his J] to get additional minutes as the 4th player in their front-court rotation, i.e. Przybilla & Oden at Center; Aldridge & Frye at Powr Forward. Moves like these are what separate the Top Notch coaches in the NBA from the also rans. For their part, the Rockets need to realize the opportunity which they now have in this series … against a rattled, inexperienced outfit like the Blazers, who were really shook in Game 1. Play with similar intensity and unselfishness again this evening … centered around the stellar work of Yao Ming, Aaron Brooks, Luis Scola [who just really knows HOW TO PLAY THIS GAME, like his Argentian brethren, Manu & Fabricio], Battier, and Artest - but also very ably supported by the likes of strong, physical role players like Carl Landry, Chuck Hayes, Kyle Lowry and Von Wafer, at their respective positions - and the Rockets will be sitting in the catbird’s heading home to the Toyota Center.

Houston +6/-103
PORTLAND -6/-105
Call: Houston [2 units]

Game 3 - 1/Lakers vs 8/Jazz

The Lakers are going to win this game; take that to the bank. What is far less certain, however, is whether their relative lack of depth [in comparison with the Jazz's lengthy list of capable subs] and all out focus on the prize at the end of the rainbow will in fact allow them to pull away and THEN sustain their energy to get the cover. With 10 seconds left on the clock in the 4th quarter of Game 1, Utah was down by 13 points, intercepted a Lakers’ pass and had a wide open 3 from the TOTK to make the final margin 10 points, when the closing numbers were LA -11.5/-110. There’ll be far better games ahead on the schedule for the Lakers during this post-season. Trying to stay healthy and get to Utah with a 2-0 series lead might just be all the Lakeshow cares about this evening, and the cover be d*mned.

Utah +11.5/-105
LOS ANGELES -11.5/-105
Call: Pass