Tell me why Rockets can't. beat L.A.!

[fairweatherfan]

They match up with Kobe probably better than any team in the league, but they're gonna struggle guarding LA's 3 bigs (Pau, Bynum, Oden).  They do have some undersized bangers off the bench though.

The key to the series for Houston is Aaron Brooks.  The Lakers are very weak at PG, and if Brooks can take advantage of that and plays with poise, the Rockets can stay in every game.  If not, they probably lose in 5 or 6.

Bumping this thread in anticipation of Game 7 - it's neat to see what people thought prior to the series.  Hope the Rockets can pull off another one Saturday.  If they do they'll be 3-1 without Yao (!)

[Who]

I hope the Rockets have one of those "can't miss a shot" nights and knock the Lakers off. I'd love to see the Lakers complacency punished.

[RAcker]

For some reason the Rockets just don't shoot as well in Staples Center.  Otherwise, in terms of toughness, defense, etc. there is no reason they couldn't shock us all.

[BrickJames]

Once in awhile (it's more rare nowadays) Artest has one of those games where he tries to impersonate Kobe and takes an obscene amount of off-balance 20 footers off the dribble. Most of the times his team ends up losing the game. Very rarely he gets hot and succeeds. If he (or Von Wafer) has 4 of those very rare games out of 7, the Rockets may win.

Why are people assuming the Nuggets can be competitive versus the Lakers, btw? I mean, they can pull an upset, but it's rather improbable. Once Manu went down, McGrady went down and Webster didn't come back + Oden didn't start moving quicker, the Lakers had a highway to the finals.

I expect Houston to give the Lakers a hard time (series will go to at least 6 games) and Denver to as well.  I wouldn't call it a 'highway' to the finals by any stretch.

BTW Houston is better without T-MacCrap

pats self on back...

[Donoghus]

I'd fell a lot better about the Rockets chances in Game 7 if the game was in Houston.

I have a tough time convincing myself that the Rockets will beat LA in Staples Center in a Game 7. (I'm well aware that Houston has already beat them once in LA this series)  Wish 'em the best of luck, though, and will definitely be rooting for them.

[PaulPierce34G]

Because the NBA is hoping to God that there will be a Cavs/Lakers Finals in June.

If the Celtics don't make it, i'll be rooting for Denver the rest of the way

[Hoops]

I'm just joining this thread and haven't read the other posts, but to answer your question, there's absolutely no reason the Rockets can't win game 7. Put in historical context, it would be one of the biggest upsets in NBA history. But if you only consider the last 6 games between the two teams, the only real reason not to favor Houston is that the game is in LA.

GO ROCKETS!!

[Mr October]

I'd fell a lot better about the Rockets chances in Game 7 if the game was in Houston.

I have a tough time convincing myself that the Rockets will beat LA in Staples Center in a Game 7. (I'm well aware that Houston has already beat them once in LA this series)  Wish 'em the best of luck, though, and will definitely be rooting for them.

The Lakers are a much different team at home. The confidence in their jumpers are there. Houston is going to loose by 10-15 in game 7.

...even though i would love to see the Kobe's knocked out.