Rockets Upset Rusty Kobe and Lakers in Game One

Was Kobe Bryant still under the weather? Were the Lakers just rusty because of too much time off between games? Were the Rockets just the better team on Monday night?

There will be tons of questions about game one in this seven game series between the Houston Rockets and the Los Angeles Lakers, but I think it comes down to the fact that the Lakers were a little rusty and the Rockets are for real.

No matter what part of the Rockets game you look at in game one they played the Lakers exactly the way they set out to. Yao Ming was a force inside that the Lakers had absolutely no answer for. The Rockets forced Kobe Bryant to take 30+ shots to score over 30 points and controlled every aspect of the game all night long. Kobe finished the game with game high 32 points on 14 of 31 shooting and eight rounds. The Lakers are 2-7 in games where Kobe takes 30 or more shots. Both Shane Battier and Ron Artest harrassed Kobe all game long and forced the former MVP to take bad shots and limited his drives to the basket.

The Rockets out scored the Lakers in every quarter except for the second quarter where both teams scored 22 points. At times it looked like the Lakers were going to mount a comeback with steals and good defense, but they just couldn't capitalize on the Rockets mistakes.

The biggest problem for the Lakers in game one which really didn't happen much in the Jazz series was the bad shooting. Los Angeles shot an ugly 2 for 18 from three point range which will just never get it done and is very uncharacteristic of Lakers outside shooting. Not only could Lakers not hit three all night long, but even mid range shots seemed to be a challenge as well with Pau Gasol, Derek Fisher and Kobe Bryant struggling with their shot.

I really don't see this happening again in any game left in this series, but one thing is for certain the Lakers will have their work cut out for them if they want to advance to the Western Conference finals.

The Rockets on the other hand are riding high after stealing home court advantage away from Kobe Bryant and company. Houston did have a little scare late in the game when Kobe Bryant and Yao Ming knocked knees in the paint when Kobe attempted to drive to the basket. Once the two players collided Yao fell straight to floor and grabbed the same knee he had surgery on recently. Needless to say every single Rockets fan attending game one and watching from home held their breathe as Yao was noticibly in pain holding his knee on the floor.

Anyone that has played basketball for a long period of time like myself knows what it is like to knocks knees like that on occasion. When this happens usually only one player gets hit with the pain, but it only lasts about five to ten minutes and then you are ready to go again. So I knew Yao would be back on the floor in no time.

Just like any great competitor, Yao Ming came back out only a few minutes after he went into the tunnel headed to the locker room and finished the game with 28 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks. Ron Artest also had an impressive game with 21 points and seven assists.

Kobe Bryant struggled all night long with his shot. The Black Mamba started to get hot to finish the game, but it was just too little, too late and the Lakers ended up losing game one in LA 100-92.

I still think the Lakers have what it takes to win this series, but the Rockets defense will really test the Lakers high powered offense as the series presses on.

LOS ANGELES LAKERS NEXT PLAYOFF GAME: HOUSTON ROCKETS @ LOS ANGELES LAKERS WEDNESDAY MAY 6TH 7:30PM PST

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