Rockets expect to see a different Lakers team in Game 2

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Besides seeming to take their Game 1 victory against the Lakers in stride, the Rockets also anticipated they’ll see a much different Lakers team in Game 2 tonight at Staples Center. For one, The Times’ Mike Bresnahan already reported Lamar Odom will likely start in place of Andrew Bynum, who has averaged 5.8 points, 3 rebounds and a whole lot of fouls. He also mentions that Pau Gasol will have the unenviable task of guarding Rockets Center Yao Ming, who posted 28 points and 10 rebounds in Game 1.

‘We guess there’s a certain way they’re going to play,’ Yao said after Tuesday’s practice. ‘We’ll prepare for that. We’ll still come up tomorrow night and find out and make an adjustment.’

The Rockets also expect the Lakers won’t be shooting a dismal 44.3%, which included Kobe Bryant dropping 32 points but only going 14-for-31 from the field without many drives to the basket. The Lakers’ 92 points fell well below their season average.

‘If it gets to 114 or 115 [points], we’re probably going to get in trouble,’ Rockets Coach Rick Adelman said. ‘That’s more their game. We were able to keep them under control [in Game 1]. The big part of that is we have to score and make sure we don’t turn it over too many times. That’s a huge part. We have to control the tempo. We don’t want them to get in the open court and get easy baskets.’

Rockets guard Ron Artest maintained he thought the Lakers just had a bad shooting night for no apparent reason. The Lakers won on the glass, 39-35, including 12-6 in offensive rebounds. The Rockets also committed 16 turnovers to the Lakers’ 13, convincing Artest that a better-shooting L.A. team will spell trouble.

A lot of that could be decided on how Houston locks down on Bryant. Forward Shane Battier was credited with limiting Bryant’s production and living up to his reputation as the ‘No-Stats All Star.’ Case in point, Battier had six points, one assist and three rebounds, but clearly stood out in Game 1. And it wasn’t just because of Sasha Vujacic elbowing Battier above his left eye, which required four stitches:

‘You have to give [Bryant] different looks,’ Battier said. ‘What may work in Game 1 might not work in Game 2. He’s going to make adjustments. This is a constant evolution of trying to figure out a way to defend the best player on the planet.’

Adelman says ‘we like Shane on him right now to start with a lot of times because we like to put Ron with other people. Foul trouble can dictate it.’

What happens tonight will make it easier for Artest to answer whether he feels the Rockets are truly better than the Lakers.

‘That’s a hard question,’ Artest said. ‘I always feel like we’re the best team. If you ask me a question like that, I’m always going to give a confident, arrogant answer. So there I gave you a confident, arrogant answer. I could be lying. I don’t even know. I think I’m the best. I know I’m not, but I think I am.’

-- Mark Medina

Photo: Lamar Odom, right, is expected to move ahead of Andrew Bynum in tonight’s starting lineup when the Lakers host the Houston Rockets in Game 2 of the NBA second-round playoffs. Credit: Lori Shepler / Los Angeles Times