Watch Houston Rockets @ Los Angeles Lakers Game 5 live on Sky Sports Arena in the early hours of Sunday morning (1am)
Friday 11 September 2020 10:14, UK
Shaquille O'Neal says the Houston Rockets have to make a decision on how to defend against the Los Angeles Lakers in their Western Conference semi-final series.
The Rockets were dominated for the majority of the 110-100 Game 4 loss to the Lakers, falling 23 points behind before a series of fourth-quarter Lakers turnovers allowed them to make a late rally. Even so, defeat left them trailing 3-1 in the series.
The undersized Rockets - Robert Covington is their tallest starter, listed at 6ft 7in - had no answer to the physicality of LeBron James and Anthony Davis. They were outscored 62-24 in points in the paint, 17-3 on second-chance points and 19-2 on fast-break points and were outrebounded 52-26, matching the worst figure in the playoffs this season.
Speaking on Inside The NBA, O'Neal said the Rockets lacked fire in Game 4 and have to make a decision to make before Game 5 in order to keep their playoff hopes alive.
"The Lakers came out and smacked (Houston) in the mouth. I didn't see a lot of fire from (the Rockets). James Harden, the No 1 guy on the team, can't go 2-for-11. He didn't play well," O'Neal said. "In the first half, the Lakers did a really good job of running them off the (three-point) line.
"Houston have to make a decision. If you double-team LeBron James, he will get others involved. Do you let LeBron go for 50 or 60 points and shut everybody else down? Or do you try to stop LeBron? Every time you try to stop LeBron, he is the true definition of a great player.
"You can't let LeBron, Anthony Davis and the other Lakers all have great games. You will never win."
O'Neal's Inside colleague Kenny Smith, a former Rockets player, added: "Houston were just too small. Until the Lakers started turning the ball over in the fourth quarter, they couldn't get back (into the game). There is 'small ball', and then there is absurdity. LeBron and AD are big guys, 6ft 10in guys who can play with the ball in their hands."
Fellow panellist Charles Barkley drew a comparison between Houston and the Milwaukee Bucks, the top seeded team in the Eastern Conference eliminated from the playoffs by the Miami Heat earlier this week.
"Houston are the Milwaukee Bucks of the West," he said. "'Small ball' can work in the regular season, just like the way the Milwaukee Bucks play offense can work during the regular season. But at some point, you are playing against elite teams and elite coaches in the playoffs.
"Over a seven-game series, you are going to run against a LeBron or an Anthony Davis? Let's say you win the series, you are then going to play against Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and Montrezl Harrell.
"Can you win three series playing 'small ball'? I don't think you can. It is too physically demanding on PJ (Tucker) and James (Harden). PJ is getting beat to death every night. He is a terrific kid and a hard-working dude. But when you are at a disadvantage every night, it is hard to play basketball."
Watch Houston Rockets @ Los Angeles Lakers Game 5 live on Sky Sports Arena in the early hours of Sunday morning (1am)
