Print
Thursday March 29, 2007 9:29 PM


Defending Kobe


Rockets will attempt to slow down NBA's top scorer


Damien Pierce
Rockets.com Staff Writer

LOS ANGELES -- Shane Battier traveled across Asia over the summer with the U.S. national team and recently went on a short vacation to Mexico over the NBA’s All-Star break.

The Rockets forward, however, has a feeling that no one is going to envy his latest excursion.

"I'll be on Kobe island," Battier said. "Sometimes, it gets lonely out there."

He and the Rockets are just hoping it's not one of those real lonely nights.

Battier will be asked to keep in check the one man in the NBA who hasn't been stopped of late – Kobe Bryant – when the Rockets visit the Los Angeles Lakers Friday night at Staples Center.

The Rockets forward has guarded the NBA's leading scorer in all three of the meetings between the two teams this season with Bryant averaging 28.7 points in those encounters. Bryant did the bulk of his scoring against Houston during a 53-point outburst in December that led the Lakers to an overtime win.

The bad news is that Byrant wasn't nearly as hot heading into those performances as he will be heading into Friday's game. The Lakers star had a streak of scoring at least 50 points in four straight games before finally cooling off against the Golden State Warriors. How much did he get against Don Nelson's team to end that scoring spree? Oh, only 43 points. The string of 50-point performances helped Bryant join the late Wilt Chamberlain as the only players in NBA history to accomplish such a feat.

The Rockets now have to figure out a way to keep Bryant from putting up another arcade-like scoring performance.

"He's the toughest in the league to defend because he's a thirsty offensive player," Battier said. "There's a lot of talented offensive players in this league that become satisfied once they have 30 points. Kobe wants to score every time he touches the ball."

Bryant's thirst for big scoring numbers has been in high demand with the Lakers trying to wrap up a playoff spot.

After losing seven straight games earlier this month, the Lakers were only one game over .500 and were in serious jeopardy of slipping down the Western Conference standings. That’s when Bryant got hot. He responded with 225 points in four games – pushing Los Angeles to five wins in its past six games.

So can Bryant be stopped when he's in such a zone? Rockets star Tracy McGrady isn't so sure.

"We can try different things, but it really doesn't matter what we do when he's scoring like that," McGrady said. "One guy isn’t going to set a guy like him down. He’s too good. He’s one of the best freakin' offensive players in NBA history. One guy does not shut him down."

Battier is well aware.

Despite having some success in defending the Lakers star in the past, he understands that Bryant can go off for 40-plus points even if he stays in the scorer’s face from start to finish.

Battier said main focus is to avoid fouling Bryant and not allow the star to get anything easy. He also wants to make Bryant take shots from different spots and angles on the floor rather than getting comfortable with one spot.

"He's really skilled," Battier said. "The great ones in this league get the shots that they want. The really good defenders in this league can’t stop the really good offensive players. They're only going to try to bump them two or three feet off of their spot. That's what your aim is against a guy like Kobe. You have to play him solid. It's going back to pee-wee defense – stay between him and the basket."

Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy seconded such an approach.

"With any great scorer, you have to limit their transition points, second shots and free throws," Van Gundy said. "You have to stay disciplined against him. You have to realize that sometimes he’s going to score even when you do everything right defensively."

Battier has already accepted that heading into Friday's game.

He's just hoping that his latest excursion in trying to slow down the game’s most prolific scorer won’t become a historic scoring night for Bryant.

"I've got to force him into taking different looks because even the balanced scorers favor something," Battier said. "But it’s a lot easier to talk about it the day before the game than actually doing it."