Yep, Kobe Bryant will be in Houston where he will look to close the door on the Rockets this season.

In what is turning out to be one of the most predictable games you can bet on in the 2009 NBA Playoffs, Game 6 of the Western Conference semifinals series between the Lakers and the Rockets is on this Thursday and Yao Ming will still be on street clothes, leaving his team prey to the visiting predators from LA.

You read it, after the Los Angeles Lakers literally obliterated the Rockets at the Staples Center 118-78 in Game 5 to take a 3-2 series lead, another win for the Purple and Gold seems inevitable. After all, the Lakers are coming off a 40-point win. And without Yao Ming to defend the paint for the Rockets, the Lakers should have a field day scoring inside yet again.

After being criticized by Magic Johnson following a humbling loss back in Game 4, the Lakers dominated the Houston Rockets right from the get-go in Game 5. If Magic provided the wake-up call, the Lakers were definitely awake, cranky but awake.

Led by Kobe Bryant who scored 26 points, the Rockets never had a chance. Pau Gasol chimed in with 16 points and 13 rebounds while Andrew Bynum came up with his best performance in the playoffs at last, scoring a playoff-high 14 points.

If the Lakers will always play this way every single time a Hall of Famer like Magic Johnson will describe the Lakers as a disgrace to Laker fans, then by all means, infuriate these Lakers some more. If that’s what it takes to get these Lakers to play at this level, I reckon Kobe Bryant won’t mind.

However, SINCE the Lakers did win Game 5 by a huge margin, what happens if the Lakers are not mad anymore? Will they revert back to that Laker team that lost in Game 4 to the Rockets who were playing without Yao Ming?

Magic Johnson better stand in front of a camera quick.

Can the Houston Rockets beat the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 6? SPORTSBETTING.COM has the odds.

Houston Rockets +8.5

Los Angeles Lakers -8.5

Want more odds? Visit SPORTSBETTING.COM for more basketball betting odds. Want to watch the NBA live? Get NBA tickets online now.

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