The Los Angeles Lakers were unfortunate last night.  After disposing of the perennially good, but not great, Utah Jazz, they came up against a team with a true identity.  The Houston Rockets are a team with role players who are not afraid to accept their roles…realizing that their effectiveness as a unit is far greater than the sum of their individual abilities, talents and skills.  And while the Jazz are routinely recognized as a team with sharp execution, the truth of the matter is that Houston were far more successful in fulfilling their gameplan (against the Lakers) than the Jazz could have ever been.

Now the Lakers are in the precarious position of coming up with a Game 2 win against a confident team.  Not only did the Rockets have the lead for almost all of the game – - but when the Lakers actually came back and gained the lead 77-76, the Rockets remained calm, played their game and pulled away despite the best efforts of Kobe Bryant.

Kobe needs to work harder at making his teammates more productive if the Lakers are going to win this series.

So, what should L.A. do if they want to tie the series up 1-1?

Los Angeles needs to get more production from Kobe’s supporting cast – most importantly,  Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol.  In Game 1, they neglected to attack Yao Ming’s defense.  They both need to make Yao move his feet on the defensive end.

The Laker guards are going to have to find a way to stop the penetration of Aaron Brooks and Kyle Lowry.  Brooks and Lowry got into the lane whenever the Rockets needed them to make a play. 

And, of course, there’s a bit of criticism for Kobe.  He has to put in the work early in the game to get his teammates into the flow of the game (i.e. they need field goal attempts).  The more points “the Kobettes” get, the easier Kobe’s shot attempts will be.  Bryant must always remember that the more he gives, the more he will receive.

“The Goods” has to give L.A. some more punch off the bench.  Normally, 9 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists is a great contribution from a bench player.  However, Odom is not your run-of-the-mill bench player.  He is 6’10″, multi-skilled and a great facilitator.  In Game 1, he played a starter’s amount of minutes – so he needs to produce as if he were starting.

They say the series doesn’t start until a team wins on the road.  If that’s the case, this series started as quick as humanly possible.  And it looks like we’re in for a real good one, too.

T Lamont is the owner, administrator and author of all content for Ball or Nuthin\'. Feel free to contact T Lamont with a question or comment at ballornuthin@gmail.com.  All created Ball or Nuthin' content is the sole property of T Lamont. Read more from this author