[CoachGreg]

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Lakers celebrate championship, then celebrate rout over Rockets

LOS ANGELES, CA - Once the rings were passed out and the banner was raised the celebration of last season's accomplishments were put in the past and the focus was set on present and the future. No jumping around, poising for the camera and tv. It was all business once the whistle blew for the 2010-11 season to begin. Of course, after such a highlighted ceremony you don't want to come out and not live up to the hype that is centered around you. For the Los Angeles Lakers, they did not settle for a ring ceremony and banner raised then packed their bags and went home, they settled into the moment, gained focus from the start and unleashed a showing that not only their fans have come to expect, but the kind of showing that the entire league has been hoping would not show itself. Unfortunately for the Houston Rockets, they just happen to be the Lakers opening night opponents and were unable to match the intensity and the energy of the back-to-back champions.

If this was a sight of what is in store for the regular season and their opponents, then pencil the Lakers in the NBA Finals for June and let them rest for the next six months. Six players scored in double figures led by Lamar Odom 18 points, Steve Blake 17 points, Kobe Bryant 15 points, Pau Gasol 14, points, Shannon Brown 13 points and Ron Artest 11 points and you get a very orchestrated team attack resulting in 109-77 victory. So sharing the ball all around was an effective tactic that made everyone aware that Kobe Bryant doesn't need to score thirty or shoot twenty five shots in order for the Lakers to have success. The Rockets were led by Kevin Martin with 17 points and Terrence Williams added 10, but no other Rocket was in double figures. The Lakers hit an impressive 11-18 from three point range and held the Rockets to 4-28.

Spoiler

Houston Rockets (0-1) @ Los Angeles Lakers (1-0)
Oct 26, 2010 1 2 3 4 OT Final Rockets 20 19 20 18 - 77 Lakers 24 29 27 29 - 109 Top Performers Houston Rockets Kevin Martin - 17 pts, 4 rebs, 2 asts Terrence Williams - 10 pts, 7 rebs, 3 asts, 2 stls Los Angeles Lakers Lamar Odom - 18 pts, 9 rebs, 7-10 FG's Steve Blake - 17 pts, 5 asts, 6-11 FG's, 3-6 3FG's	Team Stats Comparison HOU LAL FG Made-Att 29-87 38-79 3PT Made-Att 4-28 11-18 FT Made-Att 15-19 22-29 Rebounds 41 51 Assists 18 20 Turnovers 7 6 Steals 5 6 Blocks 4 5 Fast Break Points NA NA
Houston Rockets STARTERS MIN FG 3PT FT REB AST STL BLK TO PTS Terrence Williams 37 5-19 0-6 0-0 7 3 2 0 0 10 Luis Scola 27 2-6 0-1 0-0 6 3 1 0 0 4 Yao Ming 37 4-6 0-0 1-3 6 1 2 4 0 9 Kevin Martin 33 4-16 0-6 9-10 4 2 0 0 1 17 Kyle Lowry 36 2-12 1-4 2-2 3 7 0 0 3 7 BENCH MIN FG 3PT FT REB AST STL BLK TO PTS Courtney Lee 22 4-11 1-5 0-0 1 0 0 0 1 9 Patrick Patterson 17 3-7 0-0 1-2 6 0 0 0 0 7 Goran Dragic 13 2-5 2-5 0-0 2 1 0 0 1 6 Chase Budinger 5 1-2 0-1 2-2 4 1 0 0 0 4 Jordan Hill 7 1-1 0-0 0-0 2 0 0 0 1 2 Chuck Hayes 12 1-2 0-0 0-0 3 1 0 0 0 2 Brad Miller -- DID NOT PLAY --
Los Angeles Lakers STARTERS MIN FG 3PT FT REB AST STL BLK TO PTS Ron Artest 28 3-4 2-2 3-4 8 2 1 1 2 11 Pau Gasol 30 5-11 0-1 4-7 7 2 0 0 1 14 Andrew Bynum 27 2-5 0-0 1-2 8 0 0 1 2 5 Kobe Bryant 32 7-20 1-2 0-0 3 5 0 0 0 15 Derek Fisher 25 2-6 2-3 2-2 2 2 1 2 0 8 BENCH MIN FG 3PT FT REB AST STL BLK TO PTS Lamar Odom 20 7-10 1-1 3-4 9 1 1 0 0 18 Steve Blake 24 6-11 3-6 2-2 2 5 1 0 1 17 Shannon Brown 17 4-7 1-2 4-4 2 1 0 0 0 13 Matt Barnes 20 1-3 1-1 2-2 6 1 1 0 0 5 Theo Ratliff 12 0-1 0-0 0-0 3 0 0 1 0 0 Joe Smith 10 1-1 0-0 1-2 1 1 1 0 0 3 Devin Ebanks -- DID NOT PLAY -- Derrick Caracter -- DID NOT PLAY -- Luke Walton -- DID NOT PLAY -- Trey Johnson -- DID NOT PLAY --