[LA Times] Series coverage

Depressio · May 4, 2009

I love reading the other city's newspaper websites. Here's some juicy snippets:

http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-bresnahan-lakers4-2009may04,0,5294767.story

From the message boards

Posted by user name "Game-

speed" at chron.com, the website of the Houston Chronicle:

"The Lakers are overconfident. They have not had to deal with adversity like the Rockets have. They will get introduced to it this series. Yao is the key here. He has to play like a champion and get 25 and 12 on average. It will send a message and plant seeds of doubt in [the Lakers'] heads. L.A. is a national media favorite, living off their history as a champion. They get the big buildup because of it. It also means network ratings. They are in for a surprise."

Right. Let me know when all of that happens.
...
Best-case Lakers tonight

Ron Artest opens his mouth. Kobe Bryant hears what he says.

Final thought

The Lakers swept the Rockets during the regular season, so I'm going to pick a sweep in the playoffs. Almost. Lakers in five.
Click to expand...

http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-lakers-rockets4-2009may04,0,3275762.story

Andrew Bynum will almost surely return to the starting lineup, where he will try to improve upon his puny five-point, three-rebound average in the first round against Utah.

"I think he's really revved up for this and he's excited about it," said Lakers Coach Phil Jackson, who estimated there was a 90% chance Bynum would move back into a starting role.
...
Out on the perimeter, Fisher will match up against second-year blur Aaron Brooks, who took over the Rockets' point-guard job when Rafer Alston was traded to Orlando before the February deadline.

In the first round, Fisher was assigned Jazz guard Deron Williams, a physical 6-foot-3, 207-pounder. Now he'll match up against the 6-foot, 161-pound Brooks, who averaged 15.3 points and 4.3 assists in the first round against Portland while shooting a commendable 44.8% from three-point range.

Brooks had 27 points and seven assists in the series opener against the Trail Blazers, who never seemed to recover in a series that lasted six games.

"That quickness really bothered Portland," Jackson said.

Oh, and about that first game: The Rockets pummeled the Trail Blazers in Portland, 108-81, a big step in becoming one of two lower-seeded teams to win a first-round series this season.

Neither the Lakers nor Rockets can claim fatigue tonight. Houston will have gone four days without a game, the Lakers a full seven days.
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[LA Times] Series coverage

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