Lakers Were Just Better

Game 3 showed a disappointing truth. The Lakers are the better team in this playoff matchup. Both teams played hard in a relatively clean game and it was well-officiated. And Los Angeles won.

Three factors stand out in Game 3.

1. The Rockets outrebounded the Lakers by 13,
2. They gave it back by committing 13 more turnovers than L.A.
3. The Lakers just shot well from the 3-point line. On average, a team that takes 20 three-pointers will make about seven of them. The Lakers hit 11, four more than average. That alone counts for most of the margin of victory.

With the exceptions of Lowry and Landry, virtually the entire team again seemed determined to dribble into the teeth of the Lakers' collapsing defense. Ron Artest and Aaron Brooks were two of the most guilty. Both were so anxious to contribute and be aggresive that they hurt their team.

The reason the Lakers hit so many threes is that the Rockets were so focused on stopping Kobe and Gasol that they were giving away open threes to the supporting cast members - and they hit them. I'm not saying that this was a bad strategy by Coach Addleman, but sometimes good strategies work and sometimes the other team just gets hot.

Artest's flagrant foul late in the game was a non-issue relative to the outcome of that game. The game had been decided and he obviously did not intend to hurt anyone. He merely committed a "play-off foul" in attempting to keep Gasol from scoring in the lane. The Rockets are waiting to hear if Artest will be suspended, but upon further revue, I think the NBA will see it as just a hard foul.

Having regained home-court advantage, the Lakers look almost invincible. If the Rockets lose game 4, the lead will be insurmountable.