9:18 – Well, actually the season opener's at STAPLES Center. But I'm sitting at Pepper's with some Vipers staff and fans (including Stephen, who is sitting to my left eating something that looks really good... I'm waiting for my food). I want to point out that I picked the Celtics to beat the Heat. The difference in that game, and perhaps many Heat losses this year (many not meaning they will lose a lot of games, but many meaning the majority of those they do lose) will be the point guard position. The difference was Rajon Rondo. He had a career-high 17 assists. Sure, he only had four points and five rebounds, but none of that matters. He is THE REASON the Celtics beat the Heat. Offense by committee does NOT work. Who started at point guard today for the Heat? On the stat sheet it says Carlos Arroyo, but he has a lot of 0s in the box. No assists. LeBron and Wade can't be co-point guards. It can't happen that way. Too many chefs but not enough recipes.
9:25 – Gosh, that took me seven minutes to write? Well, Analee, one of my radio show co-hosts, showed up and is now flanking me to my right. Only a few minutes until the Rockets tip-off!
9:26 – By the way, I'm calling it right now. The Rockets are going to beat the Lakers.
9:27 – By the way, $2 draft and $5 appetizers during the Rockets game. Get to Pepper's now! ... David Stern is hosting the Championship ceremony. Time to give out the rings. I can't wait to see Vipers alum Shannon Brown get his.
9:29 – Just think, in a couple of weeks, we get to do this too!
9:35 – SHANNON BROWN!!!!!
9:37 – Okay, that's it, no more Lakers. Let's Go Rockets!
9:59 – The spinach and pepperoni pizza at Pepper's is really good. And we're tied 9-9 four and a half minutes into the game. This is going to be a good back and forth contest.
10:00 – K-Mart just dialed up long distance. He's going to score 30 tonight. And how about Aaron Brooks stopping on a fast break to nail a three? One way to avoid Derek Fisher. 6-0 run for the Rockets, 15-9.... TIMEOUT LAKERS!
10:06 – Yao Ming just totally DOMINATED Ron Artest. Rebound over him, turnover, but two blocked shots before getting lifted for Brad Miller.
10:09 – The Lakers have gone to Pau Gasol twice in a row. They will probably keep going to him until either Yao comes back in or Miller proves he can stop him. Can he? Time will tell.
10:13 – TNT informs us the Rockets are getting outscored in the front court 20-4, yet lead 27-22 with 2:17 left.
10:17 – Shannon Brown just hit a long two
10:18 – Aaron Brooks just hit a three with 0.5 seconds left to give the Rockets a 33-26 lead after one quarter. Brooks already has 15 points. You remember how he said his goal is to repeat as NBA's Most Improved Player? hmm....
10:24 – It occurs to me that Brooks has played every minute of the game. Kyle Lowry is inactive with back spasms. I wonder how hard Ishmael Smith's heart is beating right now.
10:30 – Smith's in. So is Yao.
10:32 – Courtney Lee just went coast-to-coast for a dunk. That was suh-weet!
10:35 – Stephen points out to me the Lakers are on an 8-0 run. 48-43 Rockets. Timeout Houston.
10:44 – Just got distracted by a friend who works for DHR. I look back at the TV and it's a commercial break. I'd better check someone's live blog for the score... oh... wait...
10:47 – 57-47 Rockets. Woo. Almost halftime.
10:49 – Did you know Phoenix and Portland are playing tonight too? I did not.
10:50 – I respectively disagree with the Technical Foul call on Kevin Martin. I mean, does that really count as an air punch or karate chop? I mean, it wasn't in an official's face. It was a motion of "dang it." Nothing threatening.
10:52 – 62-51 Rockets at halftime!!! Kevin Martin has 19 points, Aaron Brooks has 18 points. Told you so. Gasol has 12 points. I think he had that late in the first quarter. That's a good sign.
11:12 – Just got home. Perfect timing. Third quarter just started. I really don't like weekday west coast games. I mean... it's bed time! If the Rockets win it will be worth it, though. By the way, I'm not sure what to think of LeBron's never ending half-time ad. The message was inconclusive and confusing. If he was trying to use it to rebuild his image after the fallout from "The Decision," I would suggest he try something else, like not talking about it all with the hopes people won't think about it so much.
11:33 – I've been very impressed by the way Rick Adelman is handling Yao's 24-minute limit. Looks like it's basically six minutes per quarter.
11:41 – 82-77 Rockets after three. That new kid for the Lakers, Steve Blake, just hit back-to-back threes to make it a game again.
11:46 – So... Brooks and Martin combined for three points in the third quarter...
11:47 – Do the Lakers get to wear that Championship patch on their jerseys (left shoulder) all season? If so... can we do that?
11:48 – For all the talk of Yao Ming's 24 minute limit, he has four minutes to go... or one foul. Whichever comes first.
11:52 – Beautiful shot of a packed STAPLES Center. It's a shame the Vipers won't get to play there this year, although, it was never really packed for the D-Fenders...
11:53 – Smith is back in... Now I'm conflicted. Shannon Brown gave the Lakers the lead, so, booo. But, it is a Vipers alum, so, yay? 88-86 Lakers. Under nine minuets left.
11:54 – Brown just hit a buzzer-beating trey. 91-86 Lakers. So conflicted.
11:56 – Yao slam for an answer. He has one minute left in this game. You think Phil Jackson is keeping track of that on the Lakers bench? Maybe the Rockets shouldn't have announced it was going to be 24 minutes and just let it happen. At least at first teams wouldn't know that there's a magic number when the Rockets lose their All-Star center for the rest of the game.
11:58 – Well, it doesn't end up mattering. Yao just fouled out in the 24th minute. He played 23:21.
MIDNIGHT – I should really be asleep. Six minutes left. Rockets trail by a deuce, and after a non-costly turnover, Brown drains another three. Who needs Kobe? Brown just hit another one. This is getting ridiculous. Timeout Houston. The former-Viper is dismantling his former team's parent club. For the record, Brown was assigned to the Vipers by the Cavs back when they were a parent club too.
12:04 – You know what I was just thinking? How similar Brown's game is to Antonio Anderson's. It took Brown a while to establish himself in the NBA. He was with several teams and didn't look like he'd pan out, but found a niche with the Lakers. The big thing for Brown was the development of his three-point shot. If Anderson can develop that portion of his game, he could be the next Brown.
12:10 – Luis Scola's really struggling at this point in the game. Anyone else remember when the Rockets led by 15? 103-97 Lakers, 2:48 left.
12:14 – K-Mart trey. He has 26. He needs four more to reach my prediction of 30. If the Rockets can get some stops, those four points would tie the game.
12:15 – Scola bucket makes it a two-point game, but Kobe responds with his first bucket of the fourth quarter (plus a free throw). 107-102 LAL
12:16 – Scola board and a bucket. Here he goes. 1:30 left.
12:17 – Scola now has 16 and 16. Great slash by Brooks to make it a one-point game. One minute left.
12:18 – SCOLA!!! 29.5 left, 110-109 Rockets!!!!
12:19 – Blake just hit another three. Man that kid is good. 18.8 seconds left, 112-110 Lakers. Timeout Rockets. Okay, so what do you do now? Go for the tie or go for the win? What's the saying? Go for the tie at home and the win on the road? Or is it the other way around? I don't know. My philosophy, home or road, is you have to tie it before you can win. With that said, if Brooks or Martin is given an open three... take it. But I'm probably looking for Scola right now for the tie. Shane Battier is a wild card for a three as well.
12:21 – The only problem with going for Scola, like the Rockets did and I said I would've done too, is that he got double-teamed. Did a good job of spinning away from it and getting a decent, albeit contested look at a hook shot. Rebound thrown out of bounds with 2.4 seconds left. Hard to say if Odom or maybe Brooks was the last to touch it on the way out.
12:23 – People can say, man, I wish Yao was available now. Others can respond, minutes restrictions or not, he fouled out. Just remember, without the minutes restrictions, Yao is probably pulled before fouling out. It would be really nice to have him available right now... Oh well, it is what it is. Good teams adapt.
12:25 – It's off Odom! Rockets ball! 2.4 seconds left! They've got a chance. That's all they can ask for.
12:26 – Aaron Brooks can't inbound past Pau Gasol from the corner. The Rockets call their final timeout (:20, which is really at least :30 since there's a commercial break involved).
12:27 – Shane Battier to inbound this time. Found Brooks underneath, but Blake stopped him cleanly. No foul. Lakers win 112-110.
12:28 – Well, that was disappointing and awesome all at once. On the one hand, the Rockets led for most of the game and let it slip away late. The Rockets had a chance to open up the season with a win at the home of the defending champions, so it's frustrating to fall short. On the other hand, the Rockets, who were 42-40 last year, almost just beat the defending champs on their home court. Yao's still healthy, and a pair of former-Vipers (Brooks and Brown) excelled.
Lots of games left on the schedule.
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