(1) Los Angeles Lakers vs (5) Houston RocketsOffense Eff.: Los Angeles (3) 109.8, Houston (16) 105.4
Defense Eff.: Los Angeles (5) 101.9, Houston (4) 101.4
Pace: Los Angeles (6) 96.9, Houston (19) 92.7
Analysis: I'll be honest, I don't think the Rockets are all that good, because they don't have a playmaking scoring guard on offense and Yao Ming still isn't dominate enough down-low to take over a series. I honestly will be shocked if this series goes more than 6 games. Yeah, the Rockets have Artest and Battier to throw at Kobe, but Kobe doesn't need to take over a game for the Lakers to win anymore. Lamar Odom was great in the Utah series, where he averaged 17.8 points, 11.0 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks a game, while shooting 62.7%. I honestly believe the Lakers are unbeatable when Odom plays that well. Also, I don't see how the Rockets are going to slow down Pau Gasol in this series either, since they let LaMarcus Aldridge go off for 19.5 points & 7.5 rebounds a game in the 1st Round. Pau should be able to do his usual thing against the Rockets and probably more if the Lakers need him too. Anything the Lakers get from Andrew Bynum will be a plus. The Lakers also won all 4 games during the regular season. Houston was the more veteran team in their series with Portland, which is the main reason they were able to win the series, but they won't have that advantage against the Lakers now. Maybe this series goes 6 if Yao steps it up and Kobe struggles with the defense of Artest & Battier, but I don't see it getting past that.
Prediction: Lakers in 5
More: NBA & NBA Playoffs
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