Lakers

[MarkGrace]

Houston has 2 points in the first 6 minutes of the 3rd quarter. LOL.

[TripletDaddy]

I decided to stay and wash the dishes. Maybe that will bring some blessings the Lakers way.

I wonder if the Rockets will have the fear in the 4th quarter? The ball starts getting heavy, they get over-anxious, nervous, lose some composure as the pressure of the playoffs lord over them.

Probably not.

[TripletDaddy]

This game is over. Nice job, Lakers!

Game 7 on Sunday, I think.

[smokymountainrain]

This game is over. Nice job, Lakers!

Game 7 on Sunday, I think.

For game 7, the Rockets have to make it as ugly as possible. If the Lakers score 100 or more, they will win. In fact, the Rockets probably have to keep them under 90. Artest is 14 out of his last 51 FGs - it would be nice if he'd show up. And yes, it is Sunday afternoon.

[Fiyero]

Facing Houston in the playoffs is supposed to be a gimme, so why can't the Lakers close them out? Sheesh talk about a bunch of overrated chumps. The finals will be LeBron in 5, if Los Angeles gets that far.

[HBCoug]

Facing Houston in the playoffs is supposed to be a gimme, so why can't the Lakers close them out? Sheesh talk about a bunch of overrated chumps. The finals will be LeBron in 5, if Los Angeles gets that far.

No, facing the Jazz in the playoffs is a gimme. At least for the Lakers. Houston matches up quite well with LA considering Aaron Brooks can have his way with our guards, and Battier and Artest are respected enough defenders to give Kobe some trouble. It helps them that Bynum and Gasol grow giant labias on the road and refuse to bang.

[MarkGrace]

It helps them that Bynum and Gasol grow giant labias on the road and refuse to bang.

Such a waste of giant labias. Tragic.

[HBCoug]

Such a waste of giant labias. Tragic.

Exactly...and nice catch.

[Surfah]

Our bigs sucked. They get pushed off the block and don't try to re-post. So frustrating.

I hate pulling this card out but the officiating sucked. Artest and Scola flopping. Phantom fouls and then frustrating no calls. The kick ball on Houston that wasn't called. The Lakers should be better than the calls and didn't lose because of them, but it's frustrating to watch. Bottomline is the refs are far too visible in this series and that's the Rocket's game plan which is brilliant. They make the game ugly and with Artest there is a constant need for the refs to keep the game in check and that's usually done with ticky tack fouls. On a side note I hate how refs make emphatic calls at times like charges and blocking fouls. I feel at times the way they make the call can add or kill momentum.

I'm still hopeful. Boston killed the Lakers after being pushed by less talented teams.

[TripletDaddy]

Lakers shot about 30% in the first half. It wasn't the refs.

A few permanent adjustments Jax needs to make:

1. No more starting Fisher against this team. Jordan Farmar plays pretty well when he is in against the Rockets. Fisher brings little to nothing in this matchup.
2. He can't rest Kobe until the 8 minute mark in the 4th quarter when the team is trying to make a run. You rest him at the start of every 4th quarter until the 8 minute mark through the entire season so that he can play through it in the playoffs.Of course, if Kobe truly is exhausted, then that is another story.
3. He can't wait forever to call that first timeout. This team is not a brute force team. It hasn't shown a great ability to "figure things out" in this series....at least not within each particular game that they lost. He should stop the bleeding ASAP. Jax should have called a timeout once the lead got to about 8 or 10 points, max. Esp in light of Game 4. Not great play calling on Jax's part.

Not Jax's fault, but:

1. The 3rd quarter worked...the Lakers were able to cut the lead by attacking the basket more. Where did that go in the 4th?
2. If the Lakers lose this season, my guess is that Odom is gone, simply because Pau gives you so much consistency on offense. However the Lakers need a consistent defender that isn't weak and timid. Bynum is still too young or whatever it is that is preventing him from getting it. This is really his first deep playoff run as a player, so I get that he will be nervous, but he needs to focus out there.

Sasha has a lot of 'splainin to do. He is the main culprit in this current situation. His horrible outside shooting is allowing teams to pack it in the lane.

Always have to do things the hard way.

One interesting thing...we are definitely seeing what this particular team is made of. And thus far, it seems to lack any interest in playing tough defense.

[Surfah]

Lakers shot about 30% in the first half. It wasn't the refs.

A few permanent adjustments Jax needs to make:

1. No more starting Fisher against this team. Jordan Farmar plays pretty well when he is in against the Rockets. Fisher brings little to nothing in this matchup.
2. He can't rest Kobe until the 8 minute mark in the 4th quarter when the team is trying to make a run. You rest him at the start of every 4th quarter until the 8 minute mark through the entire season so that he can play through it in the playoffs.Of course, if Kobe truly is exhausted, then that is another story.
3. He can't wait forever to call that first timeout. This team is not a brute force team. It hasn't shown a great ability to "figure things out" in this series....at least not within each particular game that they lost. He should stop the bleeding ASAP. Jax should have called a timeout once the lead got to about 8 or 10 points, max. Esp in light of Game 4. Not great play calling on Jax's part.

Not Jax's fault, but:

1. The 3rd quarter worked...the Lakers were able to cut the lead by attacking the basket more. Where did that go in the 4th?
2. If the Lakers lose this season, my guess is that Odom is gone, simply because Pau gives you so much consistency on offense. However the Lakers need a consistent defender that isn't weak and timid. Bynum is still too young or whatever it is that is preventing him from getting it. This is really his first deep playoff run as a player, so I get that he will be nervous, but he needs to focus out there.

Sasha has a lot of 'splainin to do. He is the main culprit in this current situation. His horrible outside shooting is allowing teams to pack it in the lane.

Always have to do things the hard way.

One interesting thing...we are definitely seeing what this particular team is made of. And thus far, it seems to lack any interest in playing tough defense.

I hate John Hollinger and I hate when he is correct. At the start of the season he crunched his numbers and determined that last year's performance by Sasha was an aberration and that his numbers and FG% would come way down.

I pin a lot of this series on Jax as well. The Lakers settle for jump shots way too often. Pau looked tired out there tonight. He was getting really lazy on the pick and rolls. Most of the fouls were because of lazy defense and the Lakers reaching instead of moving their feet.

Fisher playing in this series has irked the hell out of me. When Brooks is in, Farmar should be in. When they bring Lowry in off the bench, Shannon Brown needs to come in and match up with him.

Bynum is a space cadet. He seems to inherited VladRad's disease. He's slow on the glass. He's not getting position. His double teams are ill-timed and worthless. He takes way too long to gather himself when he does get an offensive board.

The Lakers just need to pound the paint. Drive and kick and work Bynum and Pau in the post until the Rockets scream mercy. This should be so easy. Your rec league coach could game plan this series. I don't know why Jax can't or the players don't.

[TripletDaddy]

Lakers blow it. Force Game 7

http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-...,1616653.story

Embarassing

http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-...2245538.column

Failure of Epic proportions

http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-...,4312816.story

Bynum: Zero points again

http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-...,3743559.story

Lakers blog

http://lakersblog.latimes.com/lakersblog/2009/05/rockets-95-lakers-80-utter-frustration.html

Why Pau Gasol began more interested in hoisting jumpers from 12-17 feet instead of simply going at the undersized Chuck Hayes, whether through postups or off the dribble, I just can't answer. Why Andrew Bynum rushed putbacks instead of resetting and being patient with a new possession and a major size advantage, I just can't answer. Why nobody seemed interested in putting Houston's shrimpy bigs in foul trouble and Brian freakin' Cook on the floor, I just can't answer. Why Kobe Bryant often settled for the highly contested, iso-heavy jumpers that Houston literally WANTS HIM TO TAKE instead of attacking and working himself closer to the bucket, I just can't answer. Why Phil Jackson let his team fall into another deep deficit (this time 13-1) before calling time out and regrouping when they're ignoring these obvious approaches, I just can't answer.

"We're all aware of the stakes, we all know that a loss on Sunday would be pretty much a failure of a season," Luke Walton said.

[JohnnyLingo]

Kobe is a douche even as a puppet.

[YOUTUBE]MP-p9i85sNc[/YOUTUBE]

[HBCoug]

28, 29, and 30.

The respective shooting percentages of Vujachuck, Fisher, and Walton this series. The bench has been absolutely brutal aside from the PG spot. The good news is these guys obviously play much better at home as is the case with most bench players. This series has been really frustrating to watch. It's just ugly basketball. I'm tempted to change up my avatar from Nick the Quick to Chucky Atkins, but I'm pretty sure that would make things even worse.

[JohnnyLingo]

28, 29, and 30.

The respective shooting percentages of Vujachuck, Fisher, and Walton this series.

A further testament to the sucktitude that is the Jazz defense.

Good work guys, you made these players look good.