The reigning back-to-back championships took the court yesterday. I was not able to watch the entire game but I was able to catch a the first several minutes and the highlights from NBA.com. At first, it seems as if the Lakers were a bit sluggish and rusty. Kobe Bryant seemed to be a little bit bothered by a recent injury and his shooting was obviously affected by it. Bryant shot only 8-20 from the field but he did finish with a total of 27 points. Kobe will be Kobe; he hit clutch shots and provided his team with the intangibles that saw them through this game. Pau Gasol once again seemed to be a great pickup for the Lakers organization. His presence as a leader and a huge scoring threat in the post really pulled through in this game. Gasol finished with a team high 29 pts and grabbed 11 rebounds to finish with a double double.
The big story for the Houston Rockets was the return of center Yao Ming. After missing nearly all of last season with a foot injury, Yao returned to the starting line up. While he did not start, Ming did share time with Brad Miller at center splitting the time at about 50/50. Yao seemed a bit rusty from the field and his timing was a little bit off but that may be due to all the time that he has missed. He finished 4/11 from the field with 9 pts. and 11 rebounds. I'd say that his return to the game was a successful endeavor. Aaron Brook's looks like a legitimate guard for the Houston Rockets with his good decision making and knack for scoring. Brook's finished the game with 24 pts and a team high 9 assists.
Final Grades:
Los Angeles: B. Hey its just the beginning of the season and the Houston Rockets aren't exactly a pushover team anymore. There's still some rust on the reining champs and Kobe still seems to be recovering from his injury. But there's no need to panic just yet. With Pau Gasol manning the post and the continued development of Shannon Brown, the Lakers should regain the form that won them the championship these past two years. As the season goes on, expect Kobe to recover and return to his original form and for the Lakers to be favorites to win the Western Conference once again.
Houston Rockets: A-. While they didn't come out of the stadium with a win, the Rockets showed the league that they are planning to be a force in this year's Western Conference race. They were leading the Lakers for a majority of the game and once had a double digit lead on the champs at one point. With Yao Ming back and the emergence of young guards like Aaron Brook's and Kevin Martin, Houston should be a good lock for a playoff spot this year. If they can keep up this level of play, Houston will be a very fun team to watch.
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