The LA Lakers, with a sick Kobe Bryant, didn’t look like themselves as they lost on home court, 92-100, to the Houston Rockets in Game 1 of the Western Conference Semi-finals. Tonight, May 6, with a healthy Kobe the Lakers must fight back or risk facing a 2-0 series deficit heading into Games 3 and 4 on Friday and Sunday in Houston. NBA oddsmakers at SBGglobal.com have the Lakers as -10 point home favs over the Rockets with the over/under listed at 193 points. Get your 2009 NBA Playoffs LA Lakers vs Houston Rockets Pick in now at SBGglobal.com
The Rockets know tonight’s game will be a lot tougher than Game 1. "Tomorrow is going to be probably the most difficult game," Coach Rick Adelman said. "They're going to really come after us." Was it that the Rockets played better ball than the Lakers, or did the Lakers just have a bad shooting night? The Rockets made 35 of 73 (47.9%) from the field, 5 of 18 (27.8%) from the arch and 25 of 29 (86.2%) from the line. Compare that to the Lakers making 39 of 88 (44.3%) from the field, 2 of 18 (11.1%) from the arch and 12 of 19 (63.2%) from the line. The Rockets top producers in Game 1 were Yao Ming with 28pts 10 rebounds, while Ron Artest added 21pts and Aaron Brooks had 19pts. Yao showed no ill effects from his knee-to-knee collision with Bryant on Monday, when he limped off the court before returning. Yao went through a full practice Tuesday, and then sat with an ice pack around his right knee. "It's a little bit sore. It's fine. I could move around well," he said. "We are a physical team, particularly defensively. If the rest of the games stay like Game 1, we're happy."
The Lakers Kobe feels better, but Andrew Bynum is still not 100%. Bynum's ability to pivot and jump explosively is missing, and he needs those skills to defend Houston's Yao Ming. "He's got to be much more active as a defender, not letting Yao catch the ball where he wants to," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. "Yao will catch it and throw it back out and reposition in a better position. Drew has a tendency to just stand behind and play defense because of his size. That doesn't work against Yao. Defense and rebounding are the focus we really want to have." The Lakers top scorers last game were Kobe Bryant with 32pts, while Pau Gasol added 14pts 13 rebounds and Trevor Ariza and Andrew Bynum each chipped in 10pts. Houston overwhelmed the Lakers in the paint with the strength of 7-foot-6 center Yao Ming and on the perimeter with the quickness of 6-foot point guard Aaron Brooks. The Lakers countered with lackluster interior defense from big men Gasol and Andrew Bynum and poor shooting from leading scorer Kobe Bryant and almost everyone else dressed in purple and gold. The Lakers got no momentum throughout the game, which brought them their demise.
Recent Trends to Consider:
- Rockets are 2-5 ATS in the last 7 meetings in Los Angeles.
- Rockets are 1-4 ATS in the last 5 meetings.
- Lakers are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games as a favorite of 5.0-10.5.
- Lakers are 5-2 ATS in their last 7 when their opponent scores 100 points or more in their previous game.
- Lakers are 7-3-1 ATS in their last 11 Conference Semifinals games.
2009 NBA Playoffs LA Lakers vs Houston Rockets
When: Wed, May 6, 2009 10:30 PM ET
Line: SBGglobal.com
Pick: Rockets +10
Point-Spreads.com 2009 NBA Playoffs LA Lakers vs Houston Rockets
The Bottom Line: The Lakers might get the win, but the Rockets will come out harder after feeling good about stealing a rare road win against the Lakers. Go Rockets! Get your 2009 NBA Playoffs LA Lakers vs Houston Rockets Pick in now at SBGglobal.com and receive a 60% sign-up bonus on your initial deposit
