Kobe, Lakers host Houston Rockets for Game 7
Kobe, Lakers host Houston Rockets for Game 7
Half of the conference finalists are home resting this weekend before cranking up their next round of action. The other half will be decided on Sunday when a two conference semifinal series reach their seventh and deciding games. On their home floor at the Staples Center, Kobe Bryant and the Lakers look to finally put the Houston Rockets away while the Boston Celtics host Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic.
They were the top two favorites to win the 2009 NBA championship. On Sunday night, both the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers could find themselves eliminated in the second round.
Good thing they have home-court advantage. That’s been the theme in both conference semifinals, but with a twist. Boston and the Orlando Magic are evenly matched with Kevin Garnett out of the picture, while the Lakers are supposed to be mopping the floor with the Houston Rockets now that Yao Ming has joined Tracy McGrady on the sidelines. But it didn’t play out that way Thursday night at the Toyota Center, where the Rockets prevailed 95-80 as 9-point home dogs to force a Game 7 in Los Angeles.
Some analysts say the Lakers have an on switch and an off switch; coach Phil Jackson has talked about this phenomenon in terms of Jekyll and Hyde. “We play a different game on our court, and that’s pretty obvious to see,” Jackson told reporters after Thursday’s loss.
In this series, the home team has won two of three SU and ATS. Early betting odds for Sunday had the Lakers laying the same 12 points they did while covering Game 5 at Staples Center. The total of 195 points is down noticeably from 199.5 after each of the last three games went under, thanks to the home team turning up the defensive pressure.
Aaron Brooks has been a thorn in L.A.’s side in each of his team’s three victories, and a virtual non-entity in three defeats. Here are the splits:
Brooks in Houston wins: 27-of-47, 79 points, 10 assists
Brooks in Houston losses: 12-of-34, 34 points, five assists
I’m not the only one who’s been on Derek Fisher in this series for the way he matches up against Brooks. But in Game 6, all three Los Angeles point guards came up dry:
Derek Fisher: minus-3
Jordan Farmar: minus-5
Shannon Brown: minus-6
Aaron Brooks: plus-12
It’s easy enough to pin the difference on young and emotional players getting a lift in front of a supportive audience. But during the first round, the Lakers and Rockets each went 1-2 ATS at home, and during the regular season, it was Los Angeles going 20-21 ATS and Houston a half-game better at 20-20-1 ATS. Why is this series different? And why are the Lakers having difficulty putting away a Yao-free Rockets team that they pounded 4-0 SU and ATS during the regular season?
Again, it all seems to boil down to attitude and the 20 minutes per game Fisher continues to play despite his struggles, such as Thursday’s two points on 1-of-7 shooting (0-of-5 from long range) in 21 futile minutes. The Lakers were down 17-1 to start the game and 23-9 before Farmar replaced Fisher and immediately hit a pair of threes to close the first period. Los Angeles clawed back to within two points before fading late in the third; a bad pass by Fisher led to a 3-pointer by Brooks that swung the momentum back to the home side.
The Rockets tightened up their rotation in Game 6 by giving Brooks, Ron Artest and Shane Battier over 40 minutes apiece. This shouldn’t be a problem for Brooks at age 24, not with the Houston starters getting pulled early in their 40-point loss to L.A. in Game 5. But Battier is already a veteran of eight seasons and reportedly played through his 41 minutes with what the Associated Press called “an illness.” Although his shooting was off at 2-of-8, Battier finished with a plus-8 and forced Kobe Bryant (minus-11) into some difficult shots, as is the blueprint for beating the Lakers. We’ll see if Battier has any defense left in the tank for Sunday.
ABC has the television rights to this game starting at 3:30 p.m. Eastern. Game 7 of the Orlando-Boston series will follow on TNT at 8:00 p.m.
Half of the conference finalists are home resting this weekend before cranking up their next round of action. The other half will be decided on Sunday when a two conference semifinal series reach their seventh and deciding games. On their home floor at the Staples Center, Kobe Bryant and the Lakers look to finally put the Houston Rockets away while the Boston Celtics host Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic.
They were the top two favorites to win the 2009 NBA championship. On Sunday night, both the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers could find themselves eliminated in the second round.
Good thing they have home-court advantage. That’s been the theme in both conference semifinals, but with a twist. Boston and the Orlando Magic are evenly matched with Kevin Garnett out of the picture, while the Lakers are supposed to be mopping the floor with the Houston Rockets now that Yao Ming has joined Tracy McGrady on the sidelines. But it didn’t play out that way Thursday night at the Toyota Center, where the Rockets prevailed 95-80 as 9-point home dogs to force a Game 7 in Los Angeles.
Some analysts say the Lakers have an on switch and an off switch; coach Phil Jackson has talked about this phenomenon in terms of Jekyll and Hyde. “We play a different game on our court, and that’s pretty obvious to see,” Jackson told reporters after Thursday’s loss.
In this series, the home team has won two of three SU and ATS. Early betting odds for Sunday had the Lakers laying the same 12 points they did while covering Game 5 at Staples Center. The total of 195 points is down noticeably from 199.5 after each of the last three games went under, thanks to the home team turning up the defensive pressure.
Aaron Brooks has been a thorn in L.A.’s side in each of his team’s three victories, and a virtual non-entity in three defeats. Here are the splits:
Brooks in Houston wins: 27-of-47, 79 points, 10 assists
Brooks in Houston losses: 12-of-34, 34 points, five assists
I’m not the only one who’s been on Derek Fisher in this series for the way he matches up against Brooks. But in Game 6, all three Los Angeles point guards came up dry:
Derek Fisher: minus-3
Jordan Farmar: minus-5
Shannon Brown: minus-6
Aaron Brooks: plus-12
It’s easy enough to pin the difference on young and emotional players getting a lift in front of a supportive audience. But during the first round, the Lakers and Rockets each went 1-2 ATS at home, and during the regular season, it was Los Angeles going 20-21 ATS and Houston a half-game better at 20-20-1 ATS. Why is this series different? And why are the Lakers having difficulty putting away a Yao-free Rockets team that they pounded 4-0 SU and ATS during the regular season?
Again, it all seems to boil down to attitude and the 20 minutes per game Fisher continues to play despite his struggles, such as Thursday’s two points on 1-of-7 shooting (0-of-5 from long range) in 21 futile minutes. The Lakers were down 17-1 to start the game and 23-9 before Farmar replaced Fisher and immediately hit a pair of threes to close the first period. Los Angeles clawed back to within two points before fading late in the third; a bad pass by Fisher led to a 3-pointer by Brooks that swung the momentum back to the home side.
The Rockets tightened up their rotation in Game 6 by giving Brooks, Ron Artest and Shane Battier over 40 minutes apiece. This shouldn’t be a problem for Brooks at age 24, not with the Houston starters getting pulled early in their 40-point loss to L.A. in Game 5. But Battier is already a veteran of eight seasons and reportedly played through his 41 minutes with what the Associated Press called “an illness.” Although his shooting was off at 2-of-8, Battier finished with a plus-8 and forced Kobe Bryant (minus-11) into some difficult shots, as is the blueprint for beating the Lakers. We’ll see if Battier has any defense left in the tank for Sunday.
ABC has the television rights to this game starting at 3:30 p.m. Eastern. Game 7 of the Orlando-Boston series will follow on TNT at 8:00 p.m.
