Empty the Bench

By Darren Yuvan

Heart. It’s what separates the champions from the also-rans. The contenders from the pretenders, as they say. It can even be what separates the mediocre from the bottom feeders.

But how do you quantify heart? It doesn’t show up in box scores or in stat lines, and you never see Sportscenter Plays of The Day based solely around it. But ask any serious sports fan to identify a performance with heart, and be the performance real or fictional, they can surely point it out to you.

Heart is what pushed Ali over the top against Foreman. It’s what gave Kellen Winslow the strength to block that kick against Miami in 1982 after suffering a pinched nerve, stitches and dehydration and after already catching 13 passes for 166 yards and a touchdown. Heart is what drove Michael Jordan to 38 points in the legendary “Flu Game” in 1997. It’s what brought Rocky Balboa back onto his feet what seemed like 167 times in 6 movies. And it’s what fueled Lane Meyer’s highly improbable victory over Roy Stalin in their race down the treacherous K12 (he’s skiing on one ski!).

Heart is also what propped up the Houston Rockets to an unlikely Game 1 upset of the Western Conference favorite Los Angeles Lakers on the Lake Show’s home floor. And if the Lakers don’t quickly snap out of their obvious opening-game malaise, it could also be what sends the West’s number one seed home a lot sooner than what anyone had anticipated.

Shane Battier and Kobe Bryant photo credit: Icon SMI

There was Shane Battier, taking a an errant Sasha Vujacic elbow that split his face wide open like Marvin Hagler against Tommy Hearns. Then getting stitched up and quickly returning with that ever-present hand in Kobe’s face, helping to hold the Lakers’ star to 14–31 shooting, including 1–7 from downtown.

There was Yao Ming, putting a skip into the heart of Rockets fans league-wide late in the 4th quarter, laying on the court in a position we’ve seen way too much of in recent seasons – grasping his knee and writhing around in obvious pain – only to return from the tunnel minutes later against the wishes of Rockets trainer Keith Jones, hobbling to the court in a scene reminiscent of the Knicks’ Willis Reed in 1970. Yao promptly scored 8 huge points in the game’s closing three minutes to snuff out any Laker hopes of a rally, finishing with 28 points and 10 boards.

There was Ron Artest, sporting a freshly-shaved mohawk in a show of solidarity with Rockets guard Von Wafer, also adding his own little twist by carving the Rockets logo into the side of his head. The Rockets’ mercurial forward seems to have finally found a home and happiness in Houston, as he added 21 big points, scoring from the outside and off of drives, and also contributed his trademark bulldog defense.

There was Aaron Brooks, responding to Rick Adelman’s challenge after a lackluster first half, darting and weaving through the Lakers defense, finishing with 18 points, most of which came after halftime.

And of course, there was Chuck Hayes, Kyle Lowry and Carl Landry, grabbing offensive boards, diving for loose balls, drawing charges and playing their customary superb team and individual defense.

Why Game One wasn’t a fluke, after the jump…

On the other side, you had Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum complaining to the press about the officiating (though I don’t recall any Lakers ending up a bloody mess or in a heap on the floor with no fouls called), Phil Jackson chalking up the defeat simply to the Lakers “taking bad shots,” and Kobe Bryant being either too fatigued, too disinterested or simply defended too well to do what he does best in taking the ball to the hole and drawing fouls. 25 of Bryant’s 31 shots were jumpers.

At the moment, which squad seems to be exhibiting championship pedigree heart to you?

Now, I fully expect the Lakers to come out with more energy and better shooting on Wednesday night’s Game Two, but they’re hardly a lock to completely bounce back with a victory.

One aspect of Houston’s game that never goes away is its team defense. The Rockets have been a top-5 defensive squad for 5 years running now, and don’t expect that to change just because the Lakers will come out with more energy and focus.

Yao Ming and Carl Landry photo credit: Icon SMI

There’s been much ado over the Lakers not performing to their normal standards in shooting only 44 percent, including only 2 of 18 from long range. But the Rockets didn’t exactly play their finest ball statistically either. Houston committed 16 turnovers and shot only 27 percent from downtown themselves, both worse than their season team averages. And for one of the best 3-point shooting teams in the league, shooting a full 10 percent less from beyond the arc as the Rockets did could have been a serious hindrance to their offensive game plan. Don’t expect the Rockets to shoot so poorly Wednesday night either.

Houston also let up 12 offensive rebounds to the Lakers, and it’s highly unlikely that one of the league’s best defensive rebounding squads allows that to happen two games in a row as well.

And the Rockets received next to nothing from Von Wafer, who’s been one of their most consistent bench producers all season long.

The Lakers were out-muscled, out-hustled, out-worked and out-hearted (yeah, I just made up a word) by the Rockets. And if there’s one thing we learned from last season’s Lakers Finals defeat at the hands of Boston, it’s that if L.A. has one weakness, it’s that they can be physically pushed around by a squad ready and willing to bring the fight to them. If the Rockets continue to wear their heart on their sleeve, so to speak, while the Lakers try to cruise by on sheer talent alone, this could turn out to be the most unlikely series result of the 2008 Playoffs.

Born in Pittsburgh and currently residing in New York City, Darren is a part-time writer, part-time night club disc jockey (vinyl only, please), full-time cog in the corporate machine, both a card-carrying member of Raider Nation and the owner of several Terrible Towels, and has also had a slightly unhealthy man-crush on Hakeem Olajuwon since 1986.