As the Rockets spoke of facing the remaining Lakers tonight, it was clear that the injuries would have a large impact. The Lakers would be without Dwight Howard, Pau Gasol and their backup Jordan Hill. The Rockets clearly were in trouble.
“Any time main players go down, other guys always take advantage of their opportunity,” said Rockets forward Chandler Parsons, who missed practice on Monday with flu-like symptoms but said he’d be able to play. “They have great other players in (Metta World Peace) and Kobe (Bryant) and (Steve) Nash and (Antawn) Jamison. They’re all capable of scoring 20 or 30 points. It’s going to present challenges for us. We expect those guys to step up and make big plays. But it’s not about them, it’s about what we’re going to do.”
The Rockets, however, were not just repeating a party line. Teams do often initially react well when shorthanded, with injuries catching up with them over time. But beyond that, though no Rockets player goes back to the years making do without either Tracy McGrady or Yao Ming, including the 22-game winning streak that included 10 games without Yao, at least one Rockets player knows first-hand how teams can make life-changing runs when shorthanded.
Rockets guard Jeremy Lin’s career took off when he played in New York and Knicks stars Carmelo Anthony and Amar’e Stoudemire were out, Anthony with an injury and Stoudemire to be with his family after his brother’s death.
“You have no expectations,” Lin said. “It’s like, “We’re just going to go out there and play. Sometimes, that’s when you play the best. That’s two of their best players, both big men and their backup center who brings energy and is very efficient. Definitely, there is going to be a sense of freedom and difference with their team.
“It’s like a wild card, an X-factor. We don’t know what to expect because they’ve never been in this position before. They may come out here with an absolute sense of freedom. That’s what we want to be ready for.”
The Lakers have not played without expectations often, and have not done well this season with them. The Rockets viewed facing the Lakers without Gasol and Howard as facing the Lakers with more Bryant and Nash.
“I’m not sure what lineups they’re going to have. I’m not sure who is going to start. They had to go to the D-League Showcase to get (Robert) Sacre back for the main club. I assume they’re going to play small and that kind of fits how (Mike) D’Antoni played before. It can be a helter skelter, up and down kind of game. Steve Nash will have the ball in his hands a lot, which is a problem. Kobe will probably be more aggressive, which is a problem.
“In the long-run, you can’t take a Pau Gasol, Howard and a Hill out and say we’re going to be better. But in the short-term, it’ll be interesting to see. I told the team, ‘I’m not sure how they’re going to play, but I’m sure they’ll play faster. We’ll have to be good to come out and beat them.”
