Battier Saves Opening Day For Rockets

It has begun, the 2007-2008 season is here. Actually it didn't really start for the Rockets until the end of the first quarter last night against the Los Angeles Lakers. Houston started off very slow as if they didn’t realize the season had actually begun. Kobe Bryant took control of the first quarter while McGrady and company struggled to find their identity. A new coach and a few new faces on the pine will do that to any team, but the starting five did not change from last year’s line up. Many thought that the newly acquired Luis Scola would be starting in place of the defensive-oriented Chuck Hayes but that wasn't the case as Rick Adelman chose to save Scola for later.

The third quarter was when it all came together for the team. McGrady found his groove and a few easy buckets let the Rockets take complete control of the game at this point. Yes people, they actually had offensive rebounds and fast break points! Hit the bomb shelters. At this point the Lakers seemed to fold so badly that they decided to score a couple for the Rockets as Luke Walton accidentally scored a basket for Houston while trying to grab a loose ball.

It all seemed set for a nice Houston opening day road win, but the Rockets had a slew of turnovers in the final minutes of the fourth quarter to make us sweat. The team led by 12 points with one minute, 36 seconds left in the game when turnover after turnover let the Lakers tie it with a Derek Fisher outside jumper that was called a two pointer by mere inches. In the end, the Duke graduate Shane Battier hit a clutch three-point shot with under three seconds to go in the game to pull out the win. We think the team needs to come together soon because a two-point victory over a disheveled Laker team playing without Lamar Odom isn't exactly what we were hoping for from the much hyped roster.