**GM#1 Lakers vs Houston 10/26 7:30 TNT**

[iamworthy]

[stunnar0b]

finally the season has started!! The building should be full of energy, cant wait to see ron ron get his ring. As far as the game i just want to see kobe take more a back seat and not try to force the situation. I'll like to see him move the ball more and use the offense while cutting back on the 1 on 5 approach cause IMO it just makes everybody play more selfish especially Artest. Other then that I'm ready for this three-peat

[Kobe System]

finally the season has started!! The building should be full of energy, cant wait to see ron ron get his ring. As far as the game i just want to see kobe take more a back seat and not try to force the situation. I'll like to see him move the ball more and use the offense while cutting back on the 1 on 5 approach cause IMO it just makes everybody play more selfish especially Artest. Other then that I'm ready for this three-peat

This.

Ring night baby! Road to threepeat begins here! Go Lakers!

[DEEP3CL]

Damn !!.... Big Game, I knew you was going to rip the GT but not like this. Man I see the Photo Shop skills is off the hook now, You certainly got me on graphics cause I won't even come close to that. Great job man.

In the immortal words of Ice Cube........."Oh yeah it ain't over Mutha F***"

Yeahhhhhhhhh boy it's on ! Time to bash in heads and take names, we gunning for this 3 Peat hard. The third is always the hardest to get but it's the feat that will go unmatched if the Lakers can pull it off this decade. Seriously I don't see it happening again, not with the way the next CBA is going to construct the league. So we need to get this one off to cement our prestige and legacy forever.

Anyway this is the return of Yao, going to be interesting to see what he brings. But seeing as he will be limited on minutes, I don't see how a player can impact a game in the 24 minutes they're trying to limit him to. Our defensive focus will need to be on Kevin Martin, they're going to run their offense through him heavily. And we already know the Rockets will bust ass and play hard, so we have to match that energy. This type of game is where a team like the Rockets can catch us slip'in, but I think we're ready.

Let go fellas........it's time to ball !

[semi-sentient]

Should be a really good game.

Haven't seen Yao play in ages, so it'll be nice to see him and Pau going at it. I think Pau wins this match-up though. He needs to be really agressive and take it right at him since Yao is sort of slow footed.

Scola is going to own Odom. It seems like he always does. Odom needs to hit the glass like a madman in this one and keep Scola from getting good post position. Once he's in the low post he's very hard to stop, and Yao will draw Gasol out of the paint.

Kobe is probably going to struggle in this one. He looks like crap to begin with, and Battier plays him tough. Hopefully he's doing more play-making than bad shooting. The other night against GS Hamblen said that Kobe was forcing the offense (read his lips when he was talking to Shaw), so hopefully that was just a pre-season thing. It's time to play smart.

Artest and Martin is going to be another great match-up. Artest has been playing solid on both ends, and I think he needs to post Martin up a lot in this one. Martin is probably going to be a tough cover for him, but I think he'll do a good job and keep him in check.

Brooks will be a handful as well. Fisher can't stay in front of him (or anyone, really) to save his life, so hopefully we see a lot of Steve Blake in this one, preferably 30+ minutes.

I like our bench over theirs.

[dockingsched]

good stuff iamworthy, lets go lakers!

[The Skyhook]

Great thread to kick the season off.

I can't wait for the season to finally kick off. This off season hasn't been as bad as previous ones but I still hate waiting for the regular season to begin.

[Hunter103]

And so it begins. Let's do this thing.

[Pablo Escobar]

Time for the 3peat

[Guy986]

The only way the Rocket steal this one from the Lakers is if Brooks dominate the game right from the start. Steve Blake and Fish are the two guys that Aaron Brooks have just crushed throughout his career. Basically i see the PG battle as the only favorable matchup for the Rockets.

If Aaron Brooks doesn't have a big game(25+ points/7+ assist), i fully expect the Lakers to win the opener.

[iamworthy]

Thanks for the props fellas. Hopefully we start off with a win.

[Guy986]

Should be a really good game.

Yep

Haven't seen Yao play in ages, so it'll be nice to see him and Pau going at it. I think Pau wins this match-up though. He needs to be really agressive and take it right at him since Yao is sort of slow footed.

Yao is probably only at about 60%. Offensively he is still a tough cover but defensively he's lost what little mobility he had left and is about a couple step slow. I expect Gasol to destroy Yao. Even a healthy Yao struggle against Gasol much less a gimpy one.

Scola is going to own Odom. It seems like he always does. Odom needs to hit the glass like a madman in this one and keep Scola from getting good post position. Once he's in the low post he's very hard to stop, and Yao will draw Gasol out of the paint.

I see this as a draw.... maybe even a slight edge to Odom. Odom has historically performed well against the Rockets.

Kobe is probably going to struggle in this one. He looks like crap to begin with, and Battier plays him tough. Hopefully he's doing more play-making than bad shooting. The other night against GS Hamblen said that Kobe was forcing the offense (read his lips when he was talking to Shaw), so hopefully that was just a pre-season thing. It's time to play smart.

Kobe might struggle but he's still kobe. Battier will play him tough no doubt but Kobe is Kobe is Kobe.

Artest and Martin is going to be another great match-up. Artest has been playing solid on both ends, and I think he needs to post Martin up a lot in this one. Martin is probably going to be a tough cover for him, but I think he'll do a good job and keep him in check.

Yea this by far the most interesting matchup. Artest should have a hard time checking Martin because while Artest is a great one on one defender Martin is not an isolation type scorer. I remember as a Rocket Artest struggled mightily against shooters who runs around screens in circle. And on the other hand Artest has about 50 pounds on Kevin Martin. This is the most interesting matchup in the game imo.

Brooks will be a handful as well. Fisher can't stay in front of him (or anyone, really) to save his life, so hopefully we see a lot of Steve Blake in this one, preferably 30+ minutes.

Neither one can check Brooks. Incidentically i remember Jordan Farmer doing a good job....

I like our bench over theirs.

With Odom on the Bench yea. But without him I like ours better than yours. We'll see....

[iamworthy]

Should be a really good game.

Yep

Haven't seen Yao play in ages, so it'll be nice to see him and Pau going at it. I think Pau wins this match-up though. He needs to be really agressive and take it right at him since Yao is sort of slow footed.

Yao is probably only at about 60%. Offensively he is still a tough cover but defensively he's lost what little mobility he had left and is about a couple step slow. I expect Gasol to destroy Yao. Even a healthy Yao struggle against Gasol much less a gimpy one.

Scola is going to own Odom. It seems like he always does. Odom needs to hit the glass like a madman in this one and keep Scola from getting good post position. Once he's in the low post he's very hard to stop, and Yao will draw Gasol out of the paint.

I see this as a draw.... maybe even a slight edge to Odom. Odom has historically performed well against the Rockets.

Kobe is probably going to struggle in this one. He looks like crap to begin with, and Battier plays him tough. Hopefully he's doing more play-making than bad shooting. The other night against GS Hamblen said that Kobe was forcing the offense (read his lips when he was talking to Shaw), so hopefully that was just a pre-season thing. It's time to play smart.

Kobe might struggle but he's still kobe. Battier will play him tough no doubt but Kobe is Kobe is Kobe.

Artest and Martin is going to be another great match-up. Artest has been playing solid on both ends, and I think he needs to post Martin up a lot in this one. Martin is probably going to be a tough cover for him, but I think he'll do a good job and keep him in check.

Yea this by far the most interesting matchup. Artest should have a hard time checking Martin because while Artest is a great one on one defender Martin is not an isolation type scorer. I remember as a Rocket Artest struggled mightily against shooters who runs around screens in circle. And on the other hand Artest has about 50 pounds on Kevin Martin. This is the most interesting matchup in the game imo.

Brooks will be a handful as well. Fisher can't stay in front of him (or anyone, really) to save his life, so hopefully we see a lot of Steve Blake in this one, preferably 30+ minutes.

Neither one can check Brooks. Incidentically i remember Jordan Farmer doing a good job....

I like our bench over theirs.

With Odom on the Bench yea. But without him I like ours better than yours. We'll see....

Who do you guys have coming off of the bench?

[Guy986]

PG: Kyle Lowry.(may be hurt for opener) Like Steve Blake, i think Lowry is good enough to be a starter in this league.

SG: Courtney Lee: Definitely starting material.

SF: Chase Budinger: Great athleticism, smart player and absolutely deadly from beyond the arc. Won't surprise me if he gets more minutes than Battier this year from the bench.

PF: Chuck Hayes/Patterson(rookie 14th pick): Rockets weakest position on bench.

C: Brad Miller/Jordan Hill: 2nd weakest position. But one is a seasoned vet the other is a young big with potential.

Rockets are probably going to play a 10 man rotation. Lee/Lowry/Budinger/Miller/Hayes will all play in the regular season.

Whose on the lakers bench? Blake.... Barnes....?

[iamworthy]

PG: Kyle Lowry.(may be hurt for opener) Like Steve Blake, i think Lowry is good enough to be a starter in this league.

SG: Courtney Lee: Definitely starting material.

SF: Chase Budinger: Great athleticism, smart player and absolutely deadly from beyond the arc. Won't surprise me if he gets more minutes than Battier this year from the bench.

PF: Chuck Hayes/Patterson(rookie 14th pick): Rockets weakest position on bench.

C: Brad Miller/Jordan Hill: 2nd weakest position. But one is a seasoned vet the other is a young big with potential.

Rockets are probably going to play a 10 man rotation. Lee/Lowry/Budinger/Miller/Hayes will all play in the regular season.

Whose on the lakers bench? Blake.... Barnes....?

As of now, here are the guys who will probably get minutes off the bench:

Blake
Barnes
Luke..if healthy
Shannon Brown
Theo Ratliff (defense..thats abut it)
Shasha
-------------------------------------------------------------

Laker fans are hopeful that these two guys gets minutes:

Ebanks
Derrick Caracter

[Guy986]

Theo Ratliff is still playing in the NBA. wow

[iamworthy]

Theo Ratliff is still playing in the NBA. wow

Thats what I was thinking. But watching him in the pre-season he doesnt look half bad. He knows his roll which is defense. He goes after everything. From quickly looking at the numbers he averaged a little more than 1 block a game..but he altered a few also.I think he will get minutes this year...even when Bynum comes back.

[Wavy Q]

Kyle Lowry is one of my favorite young players, an excellent perimeter defender.

Also Theo Ratliff is younger than Shaq, 37

[iamworthy]

For fun, Ive decided to post the graphics I was working on for this GameThread but decided to go in a different direction. Figured I let you guys see. Im still an amateur but hopefully I can get my game up to produce some better things in the future. G=K has photoshop on lock. here ya go.

[TylersLakers]

I expect a slow start to the season but I want to see guys start to round into form, Kobe specifically. We're gonna need Kobe and Gasol to work their magic and lead this team.

Awesome game thread!

Time to get rolling.