It's obvious that the Lakers won a big game three, but there is something that they're doing that might prove to be the end of the Rockets.
Take a look at the fast break points in this series:
Lakers 38
Rockets 9
In game three, the Lakers held Houston to zero fast break points, none (LA had seven, and won by 14). At home games, I sit next to Bill Bertka, the long time Lakers assistant coach who is now helping Mitch Kupchak run the scouting department. Bertka pointed out to me that when the Lakers get out in transition, they almost always score. By comparison, the Lakers are so athletic that if they get back on defense, they can keep the opponent from running at all. This series is separated by 19 points, and the Lakers have had more fast break points in every game.
(Side note: Bertka is a long time Santa Barbara resident, and has been right in the middle of the wildfires that are raging through that city. His house is still standing, but he's worried. Mitch Kupchak talks to him daily and says that Bill's house is on the other side of the freeway from where the fires are, but the fires are uncontained. Hang in there, Bill).
The other thing that the Lakers are doing well is defending Yao Ming. When Yao scores more than 20 points, Houston is undefeated in the playoffs. In game three, Yao had 19, but that number is misleading. The Lakers frustrated him, and several of LA's 11 steals came from stripping Ming near the basket. Now that Yao is hurting again (he has a ankle sprain that makes him a game-time decision for game four), the Lakers have a great chance to nullify him in the series.
The most surprising thing about game three was the play of Jordan Farmar. He's had better overall games, but his 12 points, seven assists, and two steals were huge in a playoff game. His most important statistic was that in 33 minutes, Farmar had just one turnover. In the game, the Rockets turned the ball over 17 times, and the Lakers six.
It would be impossible for me to overstate how frustrated Farmar has been for the last couple of months. He went from being the first man off the bench to not playing, and watching Shannon Brown take almost all of his minutes. When Derek Fisher was suspended, we all wondered if it would Brown or Farmar to take his minutes, and it was a little surprising that Jordan played so much. The fact that he did, and that he played well, is huge for his confidence and should pay dividends down the road.
Game four on Sunday is critical for the Rockets. If the Lakers win it, I would bet big money that were not coming back to Houston, and Rick Adelman knows it. He will play this like a game seven. But I saw Derek Fisher in the hotel late after game three and he told me that "we have to win Sunday...we can't give them life."
For what it's worth, I think Yao will play, even if he's hurt, and I don't think Ron Artest will be suspended for the flagrant foul on Pau Gasol at the end of game three. I hope I'm right--this series deserves to play out with both teams at full strength.
Hey John,
Good to see that you are catching up to the new generation with blogs and twitter. Interesting tweets during the game. As I am writing this, Carmelo hit a clutch 3 for Denver to give them the lead 106-105 with one sec to go. Dallas is claiming that he was fouled before the shot as they had a foul to give. If there was no foul to give, that would not have been called a foul at that point in the game 99% of the time. Can the refrees look for intent before calling a foul in that situation? Cuban and Howard were very livid after the game. Since I was a pistons fan, I love Billups and he is tearing up the Dallas defense. It is very interesting to know that both teams shot almost 80 free throws in this game. So much for Lakers-Rockets being physical. I still think Lakers will wrap up the series in 6 games. Denver will be rested and waiting. The X-factor for Denver will be the play of Nene. The only thing that will be a problem for the Lakers will be the shooting of J.R. Smith. Not that he is a great player but he absolutely has no conscience and will take any shot anytime. Someone on ESPN mentioned during game 2 that Smith starts shooting right when he parks his car. lol. If they start falling, it would tilt a game in favor of Denver. I still like the Lakers in 6 against Denver.
Posted by: Mohammed | 05/09/2009 at 05:20 PM
The Lakers have established home court advantage again after losing game one. Wisdom says they will prevail in this series but I don't think they will beat Denver if they advance. I just like the team they have become with Billups. Do you think the Pistons want a redo?
Posted by: arizona bankruptcy | 05/10/2009 at 09:39 PM