Aw, this sucks.

How can the Lakers measure themselves now?  However… do you think this is a ploy of the Houston Rockets ala Boston Celtics and Paul Pierce?  Maybe a little drama can pump up the Rockets?

If true (the injury, not the drama), the Rockets are still a dangerous team.  With Yao playing, the Lakers kept running and Yao lagged behind most of the time.  Without Yao, maybe the Rockets can now run with the Lakers.

Well, the Lakers are going back to complacency mode.  I’ll assure you that.

First seed, Los Angeles Lakers, takes on fifth seed, Houston Rockets.

The Rockets are a a different animal.  They have 2-pronged defensive monsters in Ron Artest and Shane Battier.  And if you go past either of them?  You only have to get by 7-6 behemoth Yao Ming.

Tell that to Kobe Bryant.

Defensively, the Rockets are a beast.  They have two very well-known perimeter defenders and one legitimate shotblocker.  Don’t forget their scrapper, Luis Scola.  He’s an offensive rebounding demon.

The Lakers’ sleepwalking days are over.  They cannot afford to dilly dally with a defensive veteran team like the Houston Rockets. » read more

That almost was a sweep, wasn’t it?

The Los Angeles Lakers won the series 4- 1 and I’m happy about it.  I’m not estatic, but I’m happy.  As they say, a win is a win, no matter how ugly.

A lot of sports writers say that the Lakers were, sort of, sleepwalking through this series.  That they should’ve won game 3 and that they shouldn’t have blown 22-point leads.

My take is this: Utah’s rallies is a testament to their team’s resilience and not necessarily because of the Lakers‘ flaws.  This Utah Jazz has a legitimate leader in Deron Williams and you just don’t dismiss them like the Lakers should’ve blown this team away like peanuts. » read more

Tex Winter, architect of the triangle offense and mentor of Phil Jackson has suffered an apparent stroke.

Tex was in Kansas for a reunion wit the Kansas State basketball team.  He fell ill while taking the shower.  He was taken to the hospital and apparently has already made some progress.

Get well soon, Tex.