# [2009 NBA Playoffs 2nd Round Game 1] Houston Rockets at Los Angeles Lakers



## Cornholio (Feb 13, 2005)

*[0-0]*


*STAPLES CENTER
Monday, 5/4
10:30 PM ET
TNT*​


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## Spaceman Spiff (Aug 2, 2006)

Let's get it.

Keep the turnovers low, and I like our chances.


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## mtlk (Apr 25, 2005)

GO ROCKETS.
Lets shock them, and steal the 1st game.:bump:


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## ztpc_lukui (Mar 3, 2006)

Good luck!


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## jdiggidy (Jun 21, 2003)

Maybe Kobe's sore throat will lead to him getting sick. Game 1 would definitely be the one to take if the black mamba isn't at the top of his game. This is what happens when your wife disrespects your 
maid. The replacement maid may have given him swine flu. :smilewink

Go Rockets!


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## Legend-Like (Mar 25, 2006)

Let's surprise the world like Chicago did Boston.


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## ztpc_lukui (Mar 3, 2006)

We GOT IT!!!!

congratulations!


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## Basel (Mar 31, 2005)

Congrats on stealing Game 1.


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## ztpc_lukui (Mar 3, 2006)

Yao,take good care of yourself,we need you !


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## Dean the Master (Feb 19, 2006)

Good to see that Yao's okay. Huge relief. 

But, Rockets took game 1, YAHHHH!!


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## Spaceman Spiff (Aug 2, 2006)

Good win. We never got too careless which was the real killer in our games with LA this season. We took care of the ball for the most part and converted on the good looks.

Game 2 is a must-win situation for us. I can't be satisfied going back to Houston tied.


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## lingi1206 (Jun 2, 2006)

Legend-Like said:


> Let's surprise the world like Chicago did Boston.


Lets not cause Chicago didn't win. I don't want us to be like them. YAO.....you are the man.


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## OneBadLT123 (Oct 4, 2005)

When Yao went down I kept saying to myself that this cant be happening. This cant be happening. My heart dropped, but when he came back in, and hit that 18 foot jumper I then realized, Yao has become great.

Not just good, or a great player now, but forever as a all time Great Houston Rocket. That was what real winners, and champions do.


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## rocketeer (Oct 7, 2002)

great win for the rockets. just have to keep up the defense and not let so many easy opportunities get away on offense.


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## OneBadLT123 (Oct 4, 2005)

I also didn't like how Scola was very passive with his jumpers. He hesitated on a few open ones, only to pass to a player who was covered.


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## rocketeer (Oct 7, 2002)

OneBadLT123 said:


> I also didn't like how Scola was very passive with his jumpers. He hesitated on a few open ones, only to pass to a player who was covered.


and it always seemed to be late in the shot clock forcing someone to take a horrible shot.


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## mtlk (Apr 25, 2005)

Basel said:


> Congrats on stealing Game 1.


Don't ever underestimate the heart of a champion.:champagne:


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## hroz (Mar 4, 2006)

Man despite missing out on seeing the game I cant tell you how happy I am.

But still apprehensive we need to continue.


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## OneBadLT123 (Oct 4, 2005)

hroz said:


> Man despite missing out on seeing the game I cant tell you how happy I am.
> 
> But still apprehensive we need to continue.


There is a guy on clutchfans who posts videos of the game so you can download it and watch it a day or so after. Even though you know the result, its always good go be able to see it.


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## Spaceman Spiff (Aug 2, 2006)

I like how everyone is acting like the Lakers played the worst basketball in franchise history while the Rockets were in God mode. The Lakers were very good last night. They outrebounded us, had fewer turnovers, more steals, and more blocks. I just read ESPN Daily Dime where JA Adande made every excuse possible for the loss. The sole reason for their scoring output is the slower pace that we controlled.

We played good(not great) defense. We did manage to get a hand in the face of the 3pt shooters and close out properly.

Hopefully our defense improves in the next game and we can set the pace again. We really need to win Game 2.


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## Cornholio (Feb 13, 2005)

Spaceman Spiff said:


> Good win. We never got too careless which was the real killer in our games with LA this season. We took care of the ball for the most part and converted on the good looks.
> 
> *Game 2 is a must-win situation for us. I can't be satisfied going back to Houston tied.*


Exactly. LA is not like Portland, they could very easily steal a game from us in Houston.


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## Cornholio (Feb 13, 2005)

Kevin Arnovitz said:


> *Houston Gets Defensive*
> 
> During the hour or two prior to tipoff, it's typical for NBA teams to have game tape on the locker room monitor. Most of the time, it's footage of the basic network broadcast with no extras -- but not for the Houston Rockets Monday night. Each clip of video was coded by the name of the play set, and players actually tuned in, something else you don't usually see.
> 
> ...


TrueHoop [Full Post]


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## jdiggidy (Jun 21, 2003)

Standing O for Shane. He did everything tonight. While he didn't hit a 3ball, his six points came from being agressive and making free throws. In addition, he played outstanding defense. Yes Kobe got his 30 but, he had to take 31 shots. That is exactly what will give us a chance to win the series.

This was a pretty impressive game all around for Houston. Artest was solid and for the most part playing within the team. AB was tenative at times but, shot 50% from the field and scored the ball. Yao had a very solid game and our team defense was outstanding. The biggest key to the game was the teams ability to continue scoring the ball in the 4th quarter.


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## Cornholio (Feb 13, 2005)

> _Scanning the blogs and beats following the Rockets' 100-92 win over the Lakers in Game 1 of the Western Conference Semifinals ..._
> 
> *SLAM Online*: "One of the most tired axioms in sports is that saying about how a playoff series doesn’t truly begin until the home team loses a game. Normally it makes me crazy —what about those seven-game series where the visitors never win a game? — but tonight, it totally applies. Tonight, the playoffs officially began for the Lakers. That first-round series against the shooting-challenged Jazz and their cheesecloth defense? Ancient history. Tonight, the Rockets served notice that the Lakers are in for a battle. 'I don’t know if we could play much worse,' said Phil Jackson, noting his team’s 2-18 shooting from beyond the arc. Call it rust. Call it the Lakers’ six-day layoff between series, as compared to the Rockets’ four. Call it the law of averages: another tired axiom is that what happens in the regular season — like, say, one team sweeping all four games from the other, as L.A. did to Houston — is meaningless come playoff time. Or, you can tip your hat to Rick Adelman for a masterful game plan ..."
> 
> *The Dream Shake*: "Through all of the statistical analysis that Battier does before every game, he has learned how to pinpoint Kobe's favorite places and times to pull up and shoot. Bryant's offensive gameplan is the most refined and crafted in the NBA, and the only way to minimize its effectiveness to counter it with a defensive gameplan that is just as carefully crafted. Battier can do this when many other defenders can not. His ability to force Kobe take the most uncomfortable shots possible is uncanny, and even more impressive is his ability to time his close outs on the jump shot. 32 points from Kobe may look like poor defense, but when it comes on 31 shots, Shane is the clear-cut winner."


'Net reaction: Rockets at Lakers, Game 1


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## Cornholio (Feb 13, 2005)

> *Behind the Box Score, where Yao sits tall*
> 
> *Houston 100, Los Angeles Lakers 92 (Houston leads series, 1-0)*
> 
> ...


Ball Don't Lie


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## jdiggidy (Jun 21, 2003)

Hilarious Bill Simmons recap of the last 12 minutes of the games!

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/090505&sportCat=nba



> 8:57: Kevin Harlan just claimed Sager was "The award-winning Craig Sager." What???? I'm Googling this.
> 
> 8:57: Sager apparently won some Georgia-area Emmys in the early '90s ... and ... well, that's all I can find. My old Web site won a couple of "Best of Boston" awards in the late '90s. Does that make me the award-winning Bill Simmons? I think it does!


Awesome! LOL!!!


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## OneBadLT123 (Oct 4, 2005)

Nobody seems to be giving us any credit for this win. Its always..

"Lakers were rusty"
"Rockets were hot"
"Lakers wont do this bad again"
"no way Houston wins another game"
"Kobe cant be stopped"
"Gasol wont have another bad game"
"Rockets defense cant stop Lakers"
"Lakers offense too much for Rockets..."

And so on. You guys get the point.


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## Cornholio (Feb 13, 2005)

OneBadLT123 said:


> Nobody seems to be giving us any credit for this win. Its always..
> 
> "Lakers were rusty"
> "Rockets were hot"
> ...


Were you expecting something else? It's always like that, even with Portland.


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## Spaceman Spiff (Aug 2, 2006)

I'm not going back into that other game thread anymore. It's a waste of time. I'm now embracing the fact that we're not getting any credit for winning. Just stay humble and watch the rest of the series.


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## OneBadLT123 (Oct 4, 2005)

Exactly. One game at a time and pretty much each game is game 7 mentality. Nobody is giving us a chance, so were playing with nothing to lose. 

It reminds me a lot of last years 22 game winning streak.


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## rocketeer (Oct 7, 2002)

the more i think about it the more i am very pleased with this game from the rockets.

as it is, the rockets won but the lakers can legitimately feel like they could have won the game had they just hit a few more shots and aren't likely to make huge adjustments. this means i expect brooks/lowry to continue having their way with fisher offensively and the lakers to stupidly continue to play mostly behind yao. the lakers probably feel if they just play better they can win rather than feeling they need to change up strategy(like the blazers did after the game one blowout).

if the rockets had actually played a perfect game like people in the media and laker fans want to pretend, game one would have been a blowout, but the lakers would have likely come into game two heavily fronting yao and with a better strategy on keeping brooks out of the lane. i much prefer the lakers thinking they don't need any change in strategy.


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## Spaceman Spiff (Aug 2, 2006)

rocketeer said:


> the more i think about it the more i am very pleased with this game from the rockets.
> 
> as it is, the rockets won but the lakers can legitimately feel like they could have won the game had they just hit a few more shots and aren't likely to make huge adjustments. this means i expect brooks/lowry to continue having their way with fisher offensively and the lakers to stupidly continue to play mostly behind yao. the lakers probably feel if they just play better they can win rather than feeling they need to change up strategy(like the blazers did after the game one blowout).
> 
> if the rockets had actually played a perfect game like people in the media and laker fans want to pretend, game one would have been a blowout, but the lakers would have likely come into game two heavily fronting yao and with a better strategy on keeping brooks out of the lane. i much prefer the lakers thinking they don't need any change in strategy.


The Lakers will certainly make some adjustments. I don't see an all out assault at fronting though, maybe we would see it more frequently late. Phil Jackson doesn't like to double early and often. Fronting Yao is the worst strategy if keeping Brooks out the lane is also on the chalkboard.


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## rocketeer (Oct 7, 2002)

Spaceman Spiff said:


> The Lakers will certainly make some adjustments. I don't see an all out assault at fronting though, maybe we would see it more frequently late. Phil Jackson doesn't like to double early and often. Fronting Yao is the worst strategy if keeping Brooks out the lane is also on the chalkboard.


they'll make adjustments, but i don't see them making huge ones. i love bynum starting playing behind yao. makes it much easier to get early touches.

and fronting yao while trying to keep brooks out of the lane could be as simple as switching kobe or ariza onto brooks. that would open up different possibilities for the rockets, but either guy could deter brooks more than fisher.


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## mtlk (Apr 25, 2005)

> *Yao helps lift Rockets to stable ground*
> By Johnny Ludden, Yahoo! Sports
> 15 hours, 17 minutes ago
> 
> ...



http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=AsOHp.DnIhvs6s53yneQnla8vLYF?slug=jy-rocketslakers050509&prov=yhoo&type=lgns


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## lakeshows (Mar 17, 2009)

hroz said:


> Man despite missing out on seeing the game I cant tell you how happy I am.
> 
> But still apprehensive we need to continue.


Hey hroz, I think I got a better one for your sig: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dVan4C88AM :bsmile:


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## afobisme (Apr 29, 2006)

yao is funny.. i heard a transcript of his post game conference and he didn't know what the word "split" meant.. or maybe he was joking?


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