I am not singing a different tune after the blow out.....
Firm believer in not handing out props for things that people are SUPPOSE to do. In this case the Lakers are suppose to beat a Houston team missing 2 of their 3 all-star players.
I actually read a story that looked at teams results when the stars were out. It is surprising how often a team wins the first game after a star gets hurt. That Houston won game 4 was not all that surprising. The Lakers have focused on Yao, and developed a game plan to defend Yao, and a game plan based upon Yao being on the floor, creating various defensive and offensive outcomes. He is suddenly gone, and now the Lakers have absolutely no idea how Houston will respond. All their preparation is completely thrown out the window. Who do they need to focus on, who is hot etc.
Another game like game 5 is more likely than another game 4.
Which makes total sense. It was a real bad combination. A little bit of energy boost on the Rockets to make up for missing their star and a little bit of the Lakers not having any sense of killer instinct.
Had they (the Rockets) won by single digits then I wouldn't have been so upset with the Lakers. They got out hustled by the home team who was feeding off the crowd. The problem was being down the entire game and looking like they gave up themselves. No reason for a team as talented as the Lakers to lose in that fashion.
This team is not physically soft. It is mentally soft.
