The surprising Houston Rockets face a big test Wednesday
when they welcome the defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers to Toyota
Center.
After watching the postseason play out last year in which the Rockets took the
eventual champion Lakers to seven games in the Western Conference semifinals,
Houston boy wonder general manager Daryl Morey boldly "tweeted" that his club
was the second-best team in the NBA.
The exciting postseason run doubled as Aaron Brooks' coming out party and the
Rockets excelled despite losing Yao Ming during the series with LA and being
without Tracy McGrady and Dikembe Mutumbo coming in.
In the offseason, the aging Mutumbo finally called it quits and a grim report
surfaced saying Yao may never play again due to a fractured navicular bone in
a left foot. For now, the Rockets are expecting Yao to miss only this season
but at 7-foot-6 and 310 pounds, Yao's prodigious size make leg injuries a
sensitive subject. Other talented big men like Sam Bowie and another former
Rocket, Ralph Sampson, had careers cut short by a seemingly never ending
series of leg injuries.
Yao, a seven-year NBA veteran, has now had three different fractures of the
left foot and a hairline crack of the right leg. Already, the All-Star's
tenuous future has knocked over a series of dominos in south Texas. It was
likely the tipping point in Ron Artest's decision to flee Houston for
the Lakers and had Morey looking for band-aids in the pivot. Meanwhile,
McGrady is still sidelined after microfracture knee surgery.
Instead of falling apart Houston has looked impressive in the early going,
winning its third straight game on Monday when Brooks poured in 19 points and
dished out nine assists, as the Rockets used a strong second half to take down
the Utah Jazz, 113-96, in Salt Lake City.
Luis Scola added 14 points and 15 rebounds for the Rockets, who have won three
straight games after a season-opening loss at Portland. Rookie Chase Budinger
added 17 points off the bench. Former Laker Trevor Ariza chipped in with 15
points, while Shane Battier ended with 13 points. Chuck Hayes finished with 12
points and nine boards for the victors.
"It was a big game. When you're playing against Utah you know it's going to be
tight at the end of the season," said Brooks. "Even though it's early in the
season we know these games really count because they can determine a lot later
down the road."
The Lakers, meanwhile, opened a quick, two-game road trip on a positive note
Tuesday when Kobe Bryant poured in 31 points and hit the go-ahead jumper in
overtime, lifting Los Angeles to a 101-98 victory over the Oklahoma City
Thunder.
Andrew Bynum tallied 22 points and 10 rebounds for the champs, who have won 10
in a row against the Thunder franchise. Artest posted 20 points, six assists
and five steals for the Lakers. Lamar Odom ended with 13 points and eight
boards as the Lakers moved to 12-2 in their last 14 road openers.
"We got stops, that's what it boiled down to," said Bryant. "There was
obviously a free throw shooting contest down the stretch. We made some key
defensive plays."
In the regular season, the Lakers have won four straight over Houston and
three of their last four visits to south Texas.
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