- Good money says that Eddie House won't have another game like he had last night.
- Rajon Rondo, before our eyes, is transforming into a legit top 5 PG. That's like the 3rd or 4th time I've said this since the playoffs started. But it's warranted. This guy is making it happen.
- Skip was dead wrong. I saw the replay and heard him say that House shot him a bow to the stomach and when they showed the replay, I saw what he was saying. But it wasn't intentional. Skip has a history of taking it there when he's being outplayed. Just earlier this season, he did something similar to Steve Nash after Nash had run circles around him and that led to that little dust-up.
- I was playing softball for the first 2 1/2 qtrs so that's all I have on this game.
LA/Houston
- Kobe came out on fire. You couldn't have played better defense that Battier played on him. Dude was just unconscious. So now the question is, as Barkley asked, can Kobe do this 3 more times? Obviously, he's more than capable of doing it, but unless his guys around him step up, he'll be forced to do it.
- I like Houston's bench. Lowry, Landry, and Wild A$$ Chuch Hayes (as Shaq calls him) are real scrappers. They have stuff that you can't coach. They just want the ball more than you do. And they all play and unintentionally physical brand of basketball. The fact that the game was tied at halftime with Yao on the bench with 3 fouls was a victory in and of itself.
- All points bulletin for Lamar Odom and Andrew Bynum. Like I've said before, you never know when Odom is gonna show up. He might have 30 and 20 in Game 3, but he's an inconsistent dude. I think his matchup with Scola is a huge disadvantage for him on the defensive end. Scola's a little bit bigger than he is, and he's better on the block offensively than Odom is on the block defensively. Bynum last night looked out of place. I think Phil messed his rhythm up bringing him off the bench.
- Derek Fisher's getting suspended. He was, as always, a gentlemen and a professional about it after the game during his comments, but that was intentional. He tried to break Scola's chest-plate.
- Artest was right and wrong all at the same time (story of his life, right?). True, Kobe did shoot him a bow to the throat, but as Kobe said after the game, it's basketball. You can't be physical with someone and not expect them to be physical back with you. There were other ways to deal with that. What he did probably didn't warrant an ejection, but considering the little dust-ups that had JUST taken place and, not to mention, the fact that his reputation precedes him, it was bound to happen. He could've said what he had to say to Kobe the next time down on offense. When he left, it all but deflated the Rockets. Here's the video. You decide.
- Being a 49ers fan, you know I have a deep affection for a coach that will send some young punk tinky-winky to the locker room early. I appreciate Rick Adelman for taking control of his team and sending the boy Von Wafer to the showers midway through the 3rd. He'd had a nice little run there, and I like his game, but man c'mon. Who are you?! You're Randy Brown!! You're Cliff Livingston!! You're Jud Bucheler. A straight role player who's had a decent run. You're nobody, man. Don't try to upstage your coach..Especially at a time when your team needs you.
- Finally, I'll say this. LA has the talent to win this whole thing running away. And if they do, for the first time in my life, I'll give them their due. Because if/when they get by Houston, they're gonna be battered & bloodied. Same thing with Denver. And in the Finals, having a 6'8" 270 lb. locomotive at SF thumping in your chest night in and night out is nothing to sneeze at. I didn't realize how stiff their road to the Finals would be. So if they run this gauntlet, they've got my respect.
No comments:
Post a Comment