LAKERS @ Rockets Halftime Post

Score: LAL 49 HOU 51

Alright, welcome in to the halftime post of the Lakers' 2nd matchup against the Rockets where the Rockets have a two point lead at the half.

The Positives

Carlos Boozer, 11 points, 5-9 shooting, 9 rebounds. It was embarrassing to see Boozer get shut down against a mediocre at best defender at Harden, but aside from that Boozer had quick 8 points at the quarter, had a 3 point play in the 2nd quarter. Gotta give a lot of credit to Kobe for trying to get him involve. Boozer had a poor shooting against the Warriors Sunday night, but the other night he picked it back up and tonight, he's picking it up again as long as someone gives him the ball inside early.

Kobe Bryant, 13 points, 6-10 shooting. Ariza (come back to LA please) did a good job defensively in the 1st quarter against him. However, in the 2nd quarter, Kobe became Kobe when he's needed to provide the scoring. When the Rockets looked like they were going to build a big lead considering the way, they've hit 3's tonight, Kobe picked up the scoring slack and that's why the Lakers are only down 2.

The Negatives

3 point defense. The news that Dwight Howard is sitting out with a strained knee was surprising, everybody was slightly disappointed that there wasn't going to be another Kobe-Dwight drama like opening night. I saw it as opportunity for the Lakers to slash in the paint and try to score as much as possible in the paint without Dwight patrolling the rim. However, it also provides opportunity for the Rockets to play small and stretch the Laker defense and they've done a great job. Ariza hit some 3's, Beverly hit some 3's, and Papanikolaou was hot on a near perfect 4-5 shooting from beyond the arc. Byron Scott should make some adjustments to address that and try to counter their small ball by playing small ball as well.

Bottom Line

It's a competitive game. The Rockets have the tendency to get hot in the 2nd half, so the Lakers have to be aware of that. However, the Rockets offense in the last few games has been atrocious and with Howard out of the picture the Lakers can't squander this opportunity. They need to let Boozer and Kobe continue the scoring in the starting lineup, need to let Nick Young get going to provide the spark on the 2nd unit, and they need Hill or Lin to be X factors.