On The Real - Rockets vs. Lakers

Houston Rockets (16 - 16) @ Los Angeles Lakers (16 - 14)

Date: Friday, January 7th
Time: 7:30 PM
TV: ESPN, FSN

— Projected Starting Lineups —

C - Yao Ming (18.5 PPG, 8.6 RPG, 0.8 APG)
PF - Juwan Howard (8.1 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 1.2 APG)
SF - Tracy McGrady (24.0 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 5.5 APG)
SG - Bob Sura (8.2 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 4.3 APG)
PG - David Wesley (13.2 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 4.3 APG)
Coach - Jeff Van Gundy

C - Chris Mihm (10.8 PPG, 6.9 RPG, 0.5 APG)
PF - Lamar Odom (14.4 PPG, 10.6 RPG, 2.7 APG)
SF - Caron Butler (13.0 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 1.3 APG)
SG - Kobe Bryant (28.6 PPG, 6.8 RPG, 6.7 APG)
PG - Chucky Atkins (11.1 PPG, 2.6 RPG, 3.8 APG)
Coach - Rudy Tomjanovich

— Who Dat? —

Dikembe Mutombo
Predicted Stats: 10 points, 6 rebounds, 2 blocks

Tierre Brown
Predicted Stats: 11 points, 1 rebound, 4 assists

— Who Got Game? —

Yao Ming
Predicted Stats: 23 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists

Kobe Bryant
Predicted Stats: 32 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists

— Brandon’s Analysis —
Two big matchups tonight…between Kobe/T-Mac and Yao/Mihm. Last season, many would say that a Yao vs. Mihm matchup would be a joke, but this year opens up a different book. Yao’s aggressiveness has been well short of…aggressive…and Mihm plays his best basketball when he’s wearing yellow or white. As far as Kobe Bryant goes, he’s bigger and tougher…and this showed in the Lakers/Rockets first meeting earlier in the season when he, along with Odom, pulled down 11 boards to Lamar’s 13 to help the Lakers pull ahead of the Rockets for the win, 84-79. However, that was without McGrady, who missed the entire game due to injury. Their first meeting is tonight…pitting two probable starters for the West All-Stars…something you won’t wanna miss.

The key to success for the Lakers this season has been ball movement. If the Lakers can limit the turnovers and get the ball moving, they can easily win this game…especially if the Rockets are forced into the double-team. However, the Rockets’ zone defense is what kept them into the game against the Suns the other night, when early in the season, it may have been their downfall. Is this possibly due to David Wesley’s arrival in Houston? I don’t know about that…but I do know one thing: Atkins is in trouble.

Off the bench, Tierre’s speed and Dikembe’s defense will play factors in this game. Tierre may see alot of minutes, if Atkins’ shot isn’t falling…and you can bet your money that the former DPOY, Dikembe Mutombo, will be in action against Mihm and Grant. Mutombo did incredibly well against Amare, showing hustle and team leadership, all while putting up some impressive offensive numbers. Shades of 1995? Probably not, but he’s still got it in him.

— Brandon’s Prediction —
The Rockets didn’t have trouble keeping up with the Suns the other night, but the Lakers have been close to beating them twice now…one coming down to a last-second buzzer beater by Q-Rich. The Rockets are trying to bounce back from the disappointing 20+ games of the season that put them out of playoff contention, but the Lakers don’t want to make three losses in a row. Lakers over the Rockets by six, 89-83.

Sound off in the Lakers Forums!