Admit it. If you weren't a Lakers fan, you'd be pulling for the Rockets in this series. Frankly, it's ridiculous that this series is still a series. The Rockets toasted the Lakers in the 4th quarter of Game 6 with a lineup consisting primarily of Aaron Brooks, Ron Artest, Shane Battier, Carl Landry, and Chuck Hayes. No, I'm not kidding. At the start of this season, that was four bench players and Ron Artest for the Rockets. But now - somehow, someway - they have forced a Game 7 versus the vaunted Los Angeles Lakers.
How have they done it? Through some overused sports cliches: guts, grit, hard work, toughness. Usually, those descriptions are reserved for lazy television analysts to describe a team with non-glamorous talent. But here, they are actually applicable. It helps that the Rockets are facing an opponent that doesn't seem interested in putting forth maximum effort until they really have to. It also helps that said opponent, while tremendously talented on the offensive end, consists of a bunch of pillow-soft wusses on the defensive end.
I doubt the Rockets have much of a prayer in Game 7 on Sunday. The Lakers are clearly the superior team (and that's even if the Rockets had their two best players). But I bet the Rockets will show up and put up a good fight. For this Houstonian and bandwagon Rockets fan, how can I ask for more? This is a team that is easy to root for, doesn't make excuses, and gets everything out of what they have. In other words, a heck of a team. Go Rockets.
