It is March 20, 2012 and the (28-17) Los Angeles Lakers are in H-town to face the (24-22) Houston Rockets. The Lakers seek to bounce back from a terrible performance at home against the Utah Jazz, losing 103-99. L.A. came out flat with no energy, suffering through a bad shooting night by guard Kobe Bryant (3-for-20), having an amazing 27 turn over’s and allowing the Jazz to shoot 47-percent from the field.
The loss wasted center Andrew Bynum’s 33-point, 11-rebound, 1-assist, 1-steal and 2-blocked shots performance. Andrew is dominating in the post and demands an immediate double-team. He has averaged 28-points and 15-rebounds in the last five games.
The Lakers will pick up Bynum’s $16.1 million option for next season. It sounds like the Lakers are set to present their 24-year old all-star center with a long-term contract and they have until June 30. Bynum will be a free agent after the 2012-2013 season – ironically at the same time that Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard is set to become a free agent – again.
L.A.’s offense has improved, but it is at the expense of the defense. The Lakers need to re-commit to the defensive side of the game. They have surrendered 100 points in three of their last four games. Head coach Mike Brown and staff pride themselves on defense and have definitely stressed the exact same message in team meetings, video sessions and practice.
The Lakers lead the season series (1-0, after a 108-99 win this past January 3rd at the Staples Center) and have taken each of the last three year’s season series. That game in January was the game that Bynum posted his first career 20-point, 20-rebound game – the first game of this season that the Lakers scored over 100 points.
Los Angeles is 8-2 in their last 10 games overall. They are 7-3 in their last 10 road games against the Rockets and 9-5 all-time at the Toyota Center in Bayou City. The Lakers lost their last game in Screwston a.k.a. the “City of Syrup” 109-99 in the 2010-2011 season.
Houston has struggled mightily this season and the obvious culprits have been the lack of a superstars and injuries. The Rockets, like the Lakers, have had trouble holding onto leads. Six teams have come back from a 10-point deficit or better against the Texas team.
Tonight’s game would be a matchup of the third and eighth seed teams if the playoffs started today. The Western Conference playoffs are as tight as the Tower of Power horn section. The Lakers are 9-14 on the road seeking to place their road win total in double digits. Look for Lakers’ guard Kobe Bryant to lead his team with a bounce-back performance. Look for the Lakers to play to their strengths and establish Bynum and forward Pau Gasol in the post. The Rockets will bring a quick double-team which means that the Lakers’ ball movement and player movement has to be at a high level.
The Lakers are 9-14 on the road seeking to place their road win total in double digits. To be successful they have to commit to the defense and perform better on that side of the court. The Rockets are a scrappy team that will put up a tremendous fight; the Lakers need to be prepared to match the intensity of their opponent.
It is imperative that the Lakers play with energy, take care of the ball, defend, own the boards and limit the Rockets to one shot per possession. The Rockets can score and rank 9th overall in the league at 97.7 points per game average. Houston is without their starting backcourt, but guards Goran Dragic and Courtney Lee are solid players. Houston forwards Luis Scola and Chase Budinger can light up the scoreboard. It will be advantageous for the Lakers to make sure that they do not allow one of the Rockets’ reserves to become a star tonight.
Starters
Lakers: S. Blake, K. Bryant, M. Peace, P. Gasol, A. Bynum
Rockets: G. Dragic, C. Lee, C. Parsons, L. Scola, S. Dalembert
Tip-off: 5:00 PM PST
Television –
- Los Angeles: KCAL 9 (Bill Macdonald & Stu Lantz)
- Houston: FS Houston (Bill Worrell & Clyde Drexler)
Radio –
- Los Angeles: 710 ESPN (John Ireland & Mychal Thompson)
- Houston: 610 AM (Adam Wexler)
Injuries –
Lakers:
- Steve Blake (Costochaondral fracture) Probable
- Kobe Bryant (Nasal Fracture) Probable
- Darius Morris (Sprained Left Wrist) Day-to-Day
Rockets:
- Kyle Lowry (Bacterial Infection) Day-to-Day
- Kevin Martin (Strained Shoulder) Day-to-Day