Official Game 4: 05/10 Los Angeles Lakers @ Houston Rockets 12:30PM PST ABC

[clutch 713]

See my Clutchfans homeys on NT too.

 

[holdenmichael]

Damn.

I expected them to be down a dozen or so and work their way into the game slowly, winding up with a two or three point win, not this.


I saw part of the first quarter or maybe it was the second. Neither the effort or the IQ was there so I guess I shouldn't be too surprised by the outcome.

 

[holdenmichael]

I'm watching the replay right now and don't see what mark Jackson was talking about when he was blaming Kobe for Battier's 3's or anyone elsethat may have laid the blame on Kobe or Fisher.


Ariza had two turnovers, a missed lay up, and it was he that didn't recognize the switch that gave Battier the first open 3.

The second 3 for Battier came when Kobe sagged into the lane so that Scola wasn't given an easy lay-up. On this play, Gasol was lazy on his rotation whichmade Lamar follow Gasol to help (or Lamar was just making the wrong decision like he usually does) and left Scola open in the lane.

Kobe was guarding Ron on Battier's third 3. Here, Gasol didn't recognize that he was guarding no one and just sat in the lane. He didn't even movein a position to stop the pass the way a big is supposed to.


Kobe was 4-8 at the end of the first quarter. Two of those misses were on last second shots. I make that clarification just to point out that they weren'tof the 1-5 variety. His offense and his defense was fine this quarter.

This was their worst quarter (score wise) of the game and it wasn't on Kobe or Fish at all.



I'm watching guys not knowing when or where to rotate on D and it created all sorts of easy offense for Houston.

Odom rotated too early (maybe) when Ron drove to the lane and neither (or either) Farmar nor Gasol had his back. It led to a lay-up for Hayes.

Von Wafer is driving on a fast break (one started by Bynum dropping the ball when he was wide open) and Odom intentionally fouls him even though he has Sashafor help.

One or two possessions before this, Odom watched Von Wafer lay the ball up when he probably could have blocked it.


Forget LeBron, I'd rather trade for the Cavs coaching staff.

 

[kal ripped ken]

^ interesting points.

If there was ANY way we could lure a top defensive coach to the Lakers that'd be great. Rambis just doesn't get it done or maybe the players justdon't listen to him. Lakers have been mediocre on defense for a minute now.

 

[swyftdahoe]

Really? You guys are blaming the coaching staff for that performance? I think the lack of heart and effort has more to do with it. They just got outplayed,that's it. The Lakers can still clearly win this series but they're gonna have to really man up if they wanna beat the Nuggets or Cavs.

 

[bangtcg]

well you know lakers fans, last year boston was taken to 7 by the hawks and cavs--ended up winning the whole pot

 

[swyftdahoe]

Originally Posted by gone in 60 seconds

this will be a blowout imo

good call

 

[holdenmichael]

Really? You guys are blaming the coaching staff for that performance? I think the lack of heart and effort has more to do with it. They just got outplayed, that's it.


No, that isn't it.

I just got to see Farmar flinch thinking that 6' 160lb Aaron Brooks might hit him while going up for his alley-oop lay-up at the end of the third quarter.That's not effort, that's a lack of IQ.

This play came after Shannon Brown put up a 3 in an effort to get two possessions (26 seconds left on the clock when he took the shot) instead of getting theball down to Gasol who was literally on the block (read: 3 feet from the hoop). That's not effort, that's IQ.


Many of the shots I saw Aaron Brooks make were due to his own skill and not any lack of effort or IQ on the Lakers part, but he didn't win the game byhimself.


If defensive IQ isn't the problem, it's defensive chemistry. Clearly, this team is lacking in the offensive chemistry it had at the end of last seasonand the beginning of this season so I shouldn't ignore the possibility that their defensive chemistry is even worse, but what I've heard from coachesabout the IQ of some of these players and from players about how much they're being coached defense makes me think it's something other than poorchemistry on D.

 

[socluis90]

My other gripe...Why haven't we laid out brooks yet? 1 hard foul in the paint and I guarantee you he'll think twice but driving in there again for theeasy layup... $@*%'s embarrasing.

 

[kal ripped ken]

Originally Posted by swyftdahoe

Really? You guys are blaming the coaching staff for that performance? I think the lack of heart and effort has more to do with it. They just got outplayed, that's it. The Lakers can still clearly win this series but they're gonna have to really man up if they wanna beat the Nuggets or Cavs.

they have games where they lack heart, but this team has been consistently poor on defense all year long. I don't know if that can be changed

 

[jbone2308]

Originally Posted by tupac003

Originally Posted by jbone2308

Originally Posted by tupac003

franchise3 wrote:

---

imINchucks5 wrote:

---

blackxme wrote:

---

Originally Posted by s dubl

Lakers will put a beat down in the next game...beleive that, game six however...let all of us Laker fans prey.

Possibly. But the Rockets give better effort than the Lakers ( outside of Kobe) so it's hard to see that. If we win game, which is a big IF, NT will explode.

C'mon Rockets!!

i didnt see any effort from kobe tonight

Sad thing is, he's gonna start stroking it game 5, and start spewing 'He can't guard me' and will start staring into the stands every shot he makes.

Yeah, ok, Kobe..

Its so true. But you have to understand majortiy of his fans have VERY short attention spans.

What happened last game doesn't matter if he scores 50 and we win.

It was his D in game 3 that set the tone. Those 2 blocks on Yao were HUGE for the team.

He let Shane kill him tonight. I don't understand why he picks and chooses when he wants to play D and when he doesn't.
Hmm that's all I stated in my thread.




That's all you stated?

You turned in you "laker card"

So your trash.

The end.

At the whole military theme of fanhood...

 

[daddyrabbit251]

This game really had me pissd yestrday

.... I missd it due to wrk but no way that game should hve turned out that way w/ Ron not even scoring 20

 

[bryanne2210]

This game should be a wake up call for the Lakers, because they are lacking that fire! I hope they can pick it up and win 2 straight because I fear that ifit goes to a 7th game than the Lakers are going fishing early and then Kobe will again go crazy ! I really want them to get to the Finals and Kobe get one ofhis few last chances to get another ring !!!

 

[westcoastsfinest]

there isnt much to say except that we didnt bring it yesterday...houston played as if they had the best record in the west and played withurgency...lackluster effort by the Lakers...with a yao out everything was there for us to take but we didnt...when a championship team smells blood they takedrink it but instead we let it go to waste

 

[CP1708]

We got creamed, point blank. They wanted it more, they played harder and smarter, we didn't, they drilled us.

It is what it is, move on and get the next one.

But what I didn't get, was with a 29 point game, throw Gasol/Kobe/Odom on the bench, and put in Bynum, Sasha, Farmar, and Fisher, and FORCE them to playthe entire 4th quarter. What's the wors that can happen? Lose by MORE then 29?

Who cares?
Those guys should have been out there, taken every single shot, ran every single play and worked on their game. Sasha and his shots. Fish on tryin to stopBrooks. Farmar on his shot, and when to shoot. Bynum on his footwork and rhythm.
It's pretty clear most of these guys play better on D, when they feel in sync on O. So let them work on it.

Watching Gasol get meaningless buckets in the 4th isn't going to carry over, playing Kobe the final 6 minutes and not scoring or even being aggressiveisn't going to carry over, so why play that way? Why not use the opportunity to get those players struggling some time against legit NBA players in atough atmosphere?

That was my gripe against Phil. Oh well, as I said, shake it off, go get game 5.

 

[osh kosh bosh]

All those who laughed when I said Kobe plays defense only sometimes, most of the time he just rests, this time Shane made him pay.

Y'all will probably win this series due to the disparity of talent, but this does not look like a championship team to me, the Cavs do and Denver defiantlydoes but the Lakers keep proving all that said Lakers Cavs final was a lock, wrong.


A Melo Lebron final would be nice.

 

[henz0]

Originally Posted by mYToAsterspeak

Lakers are a team of suckas i've said it time and time again on here, and they're led by a sucka.

 

[bryanne2210]

^^^
Maybe Phil was expecting a surprise run and was wanting Kobe to explode and go on a tear.. But like you said it's time to move on. Hopefully, they feel thesense of urgency the next game and never put it behind them, as they will be needing it for the next round through the Finals. This year's playoffs has puta lot of excitement into people's hearts with great teams.

 

[shuges]

I haven't read through this thread yet.....

And I'm sure this has already been said somewhere.

But I have to give props to the Rockets fans (especially franchise3) for having faith in their team.

And I also owe Brooks an apology (just for this game though).

 

[franchise3]

Yeah SHUGES, AB really stepped up yesterday. Dude has been inconsistent throughout the playoffs. With Yao out though, I think he can get into the lane easiersince Yao isn't clogging the lane. Plus, let's be real, AB never really did a good job of getting the ball into Yao anyway. With him out, and if Ron isoff, AB is gonna need to score.

It was a good win yesterday for sure, but, I expect the Lakers and Kobe to come out firing. Kobe seems to really be on, when his back is sorta against thewall, ie, games 2 and 3.

I'm interested to see whether Odom plays or not though. Him not playing will make it tough for the Lakers since Bynum clearly isn't the Bynum of old.He's like a liabilty out there. Odom is quick enough to keep up with Scola. Bynum is not. Luis might have a huge game Tuesday if Odom can't go. No Odommeans Artest can help on Kobe. The past 4 games it's been Scola on Ariza since Ariza stays on the outside, and Scola not quick enough to guard Odom. As aresult, Ron was on him.

With Ron, I think he excels on the road where he feels everybody is against him. I mean, two great games in LA, and two medicore/poor games in Houston.. Seemsto be the only explanation.

With all of this said though, the only way the Rockets win in LA is if somehow Kobe doesn't go off for 40+, AB continues to score, Ron finds his shot, andthe Rockets knock down the 3 ball.

A win in game 5 for Houston, and LA fans will be on pins and needles.

 

[Chester McFloppy]

Originally Posted by SHUGES

And I also owe Brooks an apology (just for this game though).

 

[socluis90]

Originally Posted by franchise3

Yeah SHUGES, AB really stepped up yesterday. Dude has been inconsistent throughout the playoffs. With Yao out though, I think he can get into the lane easier since Yao isn't clogging the lane. Plus, let's be real, AB never really did a good job of getting the ball into Yao anyway. With him out, and if Ron is off, AB is gonna need to score.

It was a good win yesterday for sure, but, I expect the Lakers and Kobe to come out firing. Kobe seems to really be on, when his back is sorta against the wall, ie, games 2 and 3.

I'm interested to see whether Odom plays or not though. Him not playing will make it tough for the Lakers since Bynum clearly isn't the Bynum of old. He's like a liabilty out there. Odom is quick enough to keep up with Scola. Bynum is not. Luis might have a huge game Tuesday if Odom can't go. No Odom means Artest can help on Kobe. The past 4 games it's been Scola on Ariza since Ariza stays on the outside, and Scola not quick enough to guard Odom. As a result, Ron was on him.

With Ron, I think he excels on the road where he feels everybody is against him. I mean, two great games in LA, and two medicore/poor games in Houston.. Seems to be the only explanation.

With all of this said though, the only way the Rockets win in LA is if somehow Kobe doesn't go off for 40+, AB continues to score, Ron finds his shot, and the Rockets knock down the 3 ball.

A win in game 5 for Houston, and LA fans will be on pins and needles.

yup, LA will be on suicidal watch if that were to happen

.I wouldn't put it past the Lakers to lose this game with their current mentality though smh

 

[fro b giant]

Originally Posted by socluis90

Originally Posted by franchise3

Yeah SHUGES, AB really stepped up yesterday. Dude has been inconsistent throughout the playoffs. With Yao out though, I think he can get into the lane easier since Yao isn't clogging the lane. Plus, let's be real, AB never really did a good job of getting the ball into Yao anyway. With him out, and if Ron is off, AB is gonna need to score.

It was a good win yesterday for sure, but, I expect the Lakers and Kobe to come out firing. Kobe seems to really be on, when his back is sorta against the wall, ie, games 2 and 3.

I'm interested to see whether Odom plays or not though. Him not playing will make it tough for the Lakers since Bynum clearly isn't the Bynum of old. He's like a liabilty out there. Odom is quick enough to keep up with Scola. Bynum is not. Luis might have a huge game Tuesday if Odom can't go. No Odom means Artest can help on Kobe. The past 4 games it's been Scola on Ariza since Ariza stays on the outside, and Scola not quick enough to guard Odom. As a result, Ron was on him.

With Ron, I think he excels on the road where he feels everybody is against him. I mean, two great games in LA, and two medicore/poor games in Houston.. Seems to be the only explanation.

With all of this said though, the only way the Rockets win in LA is if somehow Kobe doesn't go off for 40+, AB continues to score, Ron finds his shot, and the Rockets knock down the 3 ball.

A win in game 5 for Houston, and LA fans will be on pins and needles.

yup, LA will be on suicidal watch if that were to happen

. I wouldn't put it past the Lakers to lose this game with their current mentality though smh

I don't think the Lakers can afford to lose this next game at home, if they do that will tell me a whole lot about this team.

 

[dman14]

do the lakers prefer to play with their backs against the wall and people doubting them (even though they are the most talented team)? that is a bad mindset tohave. where is that killer instinct?

when you are the better team, you got to come out with better energy (like in gm3), knowing that houston was going to be amped. they knew what was at stakewith the opportunity to close it out in LA and not come back to houston. now you got to fly back to houston, where anything can happen. lakers dont benefit byplaying more gms. injuries may occur (look at odom, he needs all the rest for that back now), crazy ron ron may commit a hard foul on gasol/ariza/etc and breaka bone.

is being challenged by an undermanned team really testing you or just adding more doubt? is this lakers team (aside from kobe and phil) mentally strong enough?

i still expect the lakers to win the next 2, but i said that before gm4.

 

[lazy b]

I think everything that has been said about the Lakers has been said.

I am so anti-Farmar and Walton its not even funny.

http://www.worldstarhiphop.com/videos/e/16711680/wshh7kp5j56Q88wZBfAy