Rough Stuff Not Over in Lakers-Rockets

Yes, this is playoff basketball, and yes, the games are getting more physical. It's what separates the postseason from the regular season, and we wouldn't want it any other way.

But what went on in Game 2 of the Houston-Lakers series, with the physicality, fouling hard and flopping was a bit over the top, don't you think? Game 3 on Friday night – a 108-94 L.A. victory – was tamer, but rest assured the dust-ups and skirmishes will return in this series.

It's totally predictable.

---

---

First of all, desperation will re-emerge for Sunday's Game 4, with the home team, Houston, down 2-1. That always raises the intensity level. That was certainly the case when all the Game 2 funny business occurred -- the Lakers, with homecourt advantage, down a game.

You've also got to throw in there that these two teams have some players who would rather flop than defend or start a little business instead of chase a guy around a screen one too many times. There are a bunch of players who aren't afraid to mix it up, maybe make a little something or two happen to change change the tide, if need be.

It's kind of the perfect storm for floppers, badgers, weasels, musclemen, mess-stirrers, and, yes, actors. They're why there's likely more pushing and shoving, and then some, to come.

Ron Artest's flagrant 2 foul on Pau Gasol late in Friday's game (almost certain to be reduced) isn't going to be the most physical play the rest of the series, put it that way.

There were three guys who fouled Gasol on that play, including Shane Battier, who was trying to wrap Gasol up around the waist.

But back to the players at hand, the ones who are most likely to be at the center of any future melees or brew ha-has. ...

-- Derek Fisher. He is one of the game's fiercest competitors and it's impossible not to admire him for that. That competitiveness and inner fire are the reasons Fisher is in the league in the first place.

But that drive sometimes gets the better of him, and you'll find that he's often among the scattered bodies after some kind of nasty scrum. Fisher always has been a contact seeker, completely comfortable hurling his body into the path of an oncoming player or, heck, an innocent bystander.

Then it's cross your fingers and hope the refs will see it your way. Unfortunately, too much of the time they do.

His lowering-of-the-shoulder bowl-over of Luis Scola was described this way by former NBA player and current ESPN analyst Jon Barry: "That was as dirty a play as I've seen in a long time in this league."

-- Luis Scola. He is a First-Team All-NBA Badger, and when the stakes get raised from regular season to playoffs, there's likely to be less acceptance from opponents. Scola's no spring chicken, either. He's been through the whole international/Olympic scene and knows the drill.

Scola is one of those players who pushes you a little more than he should, who brushes up against you when he shouldn't and who has the perfect "Who-me?" look when he's caught in the act.

His hard foul on Gasol midway through the third quarter on Friday night managed to get lost. Lamar Odom, you can tell, doesn't seem to be a big Scola fan.

-- Sasha Vujacic. Let's be honest, Vujacic has some weasel in him. He's the kind of guy who'll pester, grab, step in front of you, hold on to your jersey ... anything to try to get an undeserved call from the officials.

And when he doesn't? Oh, the histrionics. Sometimes it's tough to get behind a player who spends so much of his time and energy on the court simply trying to fool the officials.

His foul on Von Wafer's 3-point attempt on Friday wasn't even close to cheap. Which, you have to admit, was a little surprising.

-- Ron Artest. Who the hell knew what Artest was going to do on Wednesday night as he rushed toward Kobe Bryant in Game 2? That's the uncertainty that is Artest, making him the wild card in all of this.

His reputation probably got him the ejection in Game 3 more than anything else, but still ... that's the thing about Artest, something's always happening with him. And when it isn't, it's on the verge of happening.

Of all the players in this series, Artest is the most naturally physical. He doesn't need the postseason as an excuse to mud-wrestle, he's been doing it all season. But as steady as he is on the defensive end, there's still the overall feeling of unpredictability with him.

Anything can always happen with Artest. And it still might.

-- Kobe Bryant. He can be as tough and physical as anybody when he doesn't feel things are going smoothly. And Bryant isn't above getting down and dirty, particularly in the playoffs.

The elbow Bryant delivered to Artest in Game 2 isn't an everyday occurrence in the NBA, but it happens its fair share. On the offensive end, Bryant handles the ball so much he can't help but draw a lot of contact.

The fact that Bryant sometimes goes after contact, and seldom tries to avoid it, always makes him a candidate to start a little brush fire.

-- Shane Battier. Yes, Battier belongs here. C'mon, admit it. You think he's like the teacher's pet in elementary school, the kid who leaves the apple on Miss Smith's desk while the rest of the class is concocting ways to drive her crazy.

Just because Battier plays the right way doesn't mean he can't agitate a little bit. Yes, he should be commended for being willing to take a hit on an offensive foul. But he's also quite adept at the phantom flop ... and that's a bane.

Battier has taken that whole hand-in-the-face thing a little too far, making sure to keep it up there a little bit longer than it needs to be. Even if Battier meant well, he almost can't help not being involved in anything that might occur, however, what with having to guard Bryant most of the time.

-- Lamar Odom. Some of the time, Odom is content to kind of float through a game with his laid-back demeanor. Not so far. Odom has found himself in the middle of a couple of the fracases, and as long as he remains engaged, he might find himself in more.

And did we mention he really seems to have a thing about Scola?