did we suck or were the Rockets good?

[snaquille oatmeal]

I keep reading articles in the LA Times, yahoo, etc about how the Lakers "bipolar" tendencies make this team ripe for not winning the chip. even the TNT a**clowns think Denver will win the next round (altough this a good thing because Charles Porkley is always wrong).

with all that said I think that it takes away from the great effort the Rockets gave. the media is making it seem like it was the Lakers fault that the Rockets played well and won 3 games. is this true? I know we already have a thread about appreciating the Rockets, but this is more about the perception that we put ourselves in a game seven situation by handing the Rockets 3 victories that they didn't earn.

I think they beat us 3 times because they gave it their all and took us out of our game and did not let us recover and not because we didn't try because we felt so full of ourselves or because we just sucked for sucks sake.

so I am asking... do we suck and will we get beat by Denver? or was it that the Rockets heart and effort high fived our faces and could have done it to the likes of the Celtics, Magic, Cavs and Denver just as easely?

[Slava]

We just went into a rut period. Everyone from the players to the coaching staff played down to the level of a team surprised by where they were getting after a game 1 loss at home and we were fortunate enough to win game 3 on road or else we'd be looking at something pretty bad by now.

Atleast after Yao got injured you cannot lose to a team with only 2 decent offensive players in the starting line up.

[Dr Aki]

bit of column a, bit of column b

[TommyTheCat]

we sucked. complete lack of effort in game 4 & 6.

denver is a much better team than the rockets and if the lakers give two games away because of lack of effort, they will lose the series.

[hermes]

this team wants to get by on its talent alone, they need a sense of urgency, like all the time and they'll be fine

[Erik Eleven]

Yeah, a little bit of both, I'd say. Denver won't allow the Lakers to disrespect them / fall asleep.

[NetsForce]

Teams that play grind it out defense-first and halfcourt basketball play the Lakers well... Which is why I don't see Denver as much of a threat.

[KObe Bryant]

We played horrible on the road. It must be the early and pumped up energy the Houston crowd gave the Rockets on games 4 and 6. But when we played game 5 and 7, it was larger than game 2 and 3. This next series will be the answer for this, when we prove that we're the best.

[ryantp]

The media never likes to eat their words. Most of them predicted Lakers in 5, so in order to recover their lost omniscience they blame others. It's kind of like finding out that little whimp in your class is the smartest kid in school, so you pick on him to prove your superiority.

[Sedale Threatt]

I don't think there's any question we could have played much better, and harder. We obviously took them lightly. But give credit where credit is due -- the Rockets played with a ton of heart. Most teams would have quit when Yao went down. The Rockets, on the other hand, gave it everything they had. I respect them immensely for that.

[magic1fan]

the rockets would have been a tough matchup for anyone. i have always considered them the real second best team in the west. they play tough defense,and when yao is healthy they play good inside out ball,the way it should be. plus they don't have guys trying to be something they're not. you don't see chuck hayes shooting jumpers. you don't see scola trying to break people down from the top of the key. each guy knows his role and they play it well...

[MAMBAEMD]

We played poorly on two of the road games (#4 & 6).
I think the week off really affected our play to start the series.
I was at Game 1 and it felt like the Lakers were playing in mud. Just couldn't match their strength and quickness.
The Rockets played their hearts out and never quit. I really respect them for that. They punched the Lakers in the mouth and got in their heads IMO.
I think this experience will be very good for the Lakers. They didn't get pushed around until the finals last year and by then it was too late to adjust.
It's going to help them this year that they got outplayed and outhustled by a depleted team.
It's also going to help them when they hear people like Artest say that they don't always play hard.

I'm really dissapointed in our performance in Games 4 & 6 but I think going forward, this experience will help.

[That Nicka]

I don't think there's any question we could have played much better, and harder. We obviously took them lightly. But give credit where credit is due -- the Rockets played with a ton of heart. Most teams would have quit when Yao went down. The Rockets, on the other hand, gave it everything they had. I respect them immensely for that.

[wackokid05]

last year when we coasted to the finals, in didnt work out well while the celtics had a rough time till the confrence finals then clicked, this yr we have done the opposite of last yr sohopefully it will work out better

[kevin_405]

Look at the bright side ..we got a chance give Bynum some more playoff experience.

Bynum tends to take 10 -15 games before he starts motoring along.. so post injury he almost there .. hopefully we get the real bynum in the WCF..

[Dr Aki]

Look at the bright side ..we got a chance give Bynum some more playoff experience.

Bynum tends to take 10 -15 games before he starts motoring along.. so post injury he almost there .. hopefully we get the real bynum in the WCF..

try 3 months and 40 games to get going, not 10-15

[AmusingFiddle]

The Rockets are a very different team without Yao (obviously). IMO they are a tougher match-up for Lakers without Yao. It was the speed that drove the Lakers crazy (and some lack of effort). Lakers also lost to the Bobcats this year 2 times, that doesn't make them any more inferior. Having all the length in the world does not automatically make you the best team - it comes with a weakness - LACK OF SPEED. Is the main reason, IMO, why Phil wants his second unit to push the ball. He wants a team that is capable of competing in a half-court offense as well as at full-speed both defensively and offensively.

[NOODLESTYLE]

Both. Good thing Lakers had home court advantage.