Know thy enemy: Houston Rockets

The Houston Rockets were the Western Conference’s best team in terms of opponents’ field-goal percentage and rebound differential, and they finished atop the league in points allowed per shot.

In short, finding any breathing room against the Rockets last season was a colossal pain in the [you know where].

Adding Ron Artest will only make Houston stronger defending its net. Just as the Lakers can field a great deal of different lineup combinations, so too will Houston have plenty of ways to align stalwart defenders like Artest and Shane Battier, supported by bruisers like Luis Scola, Carl Landry, and Chuck Hayes.

If rookie strongman Joey Dorsey can play meaningful minutes for the Rockets, they’ll have another muscle-laden body to throw at teams. Rafer Alston can defend at the point, and as a group, they have an intense, lunch-bucket dedication to challenge every shot and snare every rebound.

The Kamenetzkys

from “Lakers Blog “