Welcome in to the full recap of the Lakers' matchup vs. the Houston Rockets where the Lakers got a bit of a throwback performance from Kobe Bryant, but they just couldn't secure a victory as they fall to the Rockets 107-87.
First off, it's good to be back and knowing that I survived a hellacious week of finals. It was a tough decision for me to contract some activities here on the blog. But, I made it in one piece and I'm free to resume activities here of covering games for you guys. If there was one thing to describe this game, despite the loss, it was nostalgic. We all know that Kobe Bryant is no longer at the top of his game anymore, but performances like this is what makes him a legend and one of the all-time greats to play the game. Tonight was one of those games where we were reminded on what kind of a player Kobe was in his heyday. Now of course, this game shouldn't all be about Kobe. The Lakers had a chance to rally, but they had too many turnovers down the stretch. I'm not too angry about this loss because the Lakers have to keep that top pick. They already won against Milwaukee, the cost-benefit of winning again is that they win, but they decrease their chances at a top 3 pick for the draft.
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Kobe Bryant, 22 points, 9-16 shooting, 8 rebounds, 3 assists. On social media, Thursday is usually defined as "Throwback Thursday." Kobe definitely provided a throwback moment this game whether it was splitting defenders and driving to the hoop for a tough, contested layup or isolating a defender one on one, dancing with the defender, and knocking down a jump shot, Kobe's arsenal in the past was on full display this game. Of course, we have to include the highlight when he posterized the young fella, Clint Capela. It goes to show that those 37 year old legs still have some hops in them, despite all the injuries. Now, I may be overreacting on this a bit, but it was just good to see that he's still able to pull off those patented moves (watch all the Jordan fans come at me for this). Like I said, it's rare to see Kobe pull off a performance like this during the season, but once he performs like he did this game, it just brings an overflow of memories from us Laker fans. It's not just only his performance, but he was doing the little things as well, such as securing defensive rebounds and getting teammates. He could've had more assists, but some players had a tough time catching Kobe's passes or they couldn't finish the shot attempt.
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Turnovers. The stats indicate that it was close in the turnover category as the Rockets committed 13 while the Lakers committed 14, but the Lakers committed the most turnovers when it mattered the most. In the 4th quarter, the Lakers were within striking distance. They were hanging around and competing against this Rockets team. However, too many turnovers just doomed them and that translated to easy points in transition for the Rockets. As a young squad, they just have to develop the skill of taking care of the ball. I'm sure as Clarkson, Randle, and Russell continue to grow together and develop, they'll get the memo of not turning the ball over when the game is on the line.
Offensive rebounding. The Rockets thoroughly dominated this category and it wasn't even that close. One of the key fundamentals of playing defense in basketball is to box out for the rebound. No defensive sequence is complete until a defensive rebound is secured. Aside from Kobe and Julius Randle's rebounding, there was just no activity at the defensive end to secure some boards and gain possession. The Rockets generated all kinds of activity in getting 2nd chance possessions the lead to points. Knowing that the Rockets are capable of shooting the three ball and dominating the paint, it turns into an ugly result when you can't box out. Luckily, the Rockets had an off night from beyond the arc in this game, but it could've created an uglier margin of defeat if they hit their shots.
Conclusion
Overall we have to remember two things: this Laker team, outside of Kobe Bryant, are still learning the game at the professional level and they have to secure a top 3 pick or they will lose their first round pick if they don't make it at least into the top 3 of the 2016 draft. Yes, this game was against a struggling Rockets team, but there was no chance that this Laker team was able to matchup with established All-Stars like Harden and Howard. Their last meeting was self-explanatory in which the Rockets blew out the Lakers in Houston last Saturday. The Lakers will gain a couple of wins here and there, but at the end of the day, the team needs all the draft picks they can to secure a bright future after the Kobe Bryant era is over. I'll see you guys later on Christmas Day for the matchup against baby brother, LA Clippers.
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