FanHouse Luisscola

FanHouse previews a player to watch from each NBA team in advance of the 2009-10 season.

Luis Scola is a 29-year-old power forward. He has long(er) hair, and is not built like a racehorse. He doesn't jump out of the gym, his tangibles aren't off the charts, his wingspan isn't epic, and he's not a franchise player. But man, the guy can play ball.

Since Scola came into the league two seasons ago, he's quietly been a foundation of the Rockets' success. A rare miscalculation by the San Antonio Spurs, who drafted him in 2002 when he was only 22 but traded him to the Rockets, Scola has become just the kind of player you expect to find in San Antonio. Hardworking, efficient, dedicated and professional. Scola manages to play with fire and intensity, without ever losing his cool.

FanHouse previews all 30 NBA teams in advance of the 2009-10 season.

There is a scene in Major League where the manager relates how ownership essentially has stacked everything she can against the team. They have no hope, because no matter what happens, they'll only be released as soon as it's convenient in pursuit of moving the team. Essentially, there is no reason for hope, no reason for effort, no reason for showing up to play. Tom Berenger's character looks up and says, " Well, I guess there's only one thing left to do ... win the whole (expletive) thing."

And that's pretty much where the Rockets are this season, barring the psychopathic sexbomb owner, threat of relocation, and the fact that they play a much more strenuous sport.

The biggest free agent on the market this year just got inked. Kind of. Though he wasn't going anywhere, Daryl Morey's been working without a contract since the end of last season. And today, the Houston Chronicle reports, the Rockets have finalized a deal that will keep him with the team through 2013.

So given the new timeline for Morey and his prior success, what are the odds Morey nabs an Executive of the Year award by the time his next contract is up?

Argentina, which won the Olympic gold in men's basketball in 2004 and took home bronze in 2008, is ... having a bad summer. Manu Ginobili is not playing with the team due to injuries. (Injuries aggravated by last summer's Olympic run, we should note.) Andres Nocioni is out. Carlos Delfino didn't have a contract until a couple weeks ago, so he demurred from national service. It's up to Luis Scola and Pablo Prigioni and ... it hasn't gone well at FIBA Americas.

Canada, meanwhile, lost Samuel Dalembert due to an internal spat early last summer. Steve Nash still won't give up his summer for a team on the third tier of international competition. There is one current NBA player on the Canadian roster: Joel Anthony, who lost his starting job on the Heat to a decrepit Jermaine O'Neal. Yet, here's Canada, 2-0 and through to the quarterfinals after blowing out Mexico and the Virgin Islands.

There's a good chance that at some point during the NBA Finals -- or likely before they even start -- there will be talk of whether or not the Lakers are tough enough to win a championship.

And there should be that kind of talk. But it wasn't even an issue against the Denver Nuggets.

The Lakers are going to their second consecutive NBA Finals because their big players were more skilled and more talented than the Nuggets' big players were tough and physical.

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HOUSTON -- Unexpected achievement in the face of incredible adversity isn't quite how the Houston Rockets saw their playoff run unfolding.

But that was certainly the theme that carried the Rockets, minus injured stars Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady, to within one game of reaching the Western Conference finals this season. One amazing night by McGrady or just the presence of aging Dikembe Mutombo in the paint might have been all the Rockets needed to avoid a Game 7 Semifinals in Los Angeles and overcome the Lakers.

It wasn't meant to be, but still it was enough to re-energize a franchise that seemed in serious trouble a few weeks ago because of it's often-injured stars and nondescript supporting cast. The Rockets hadn't been out of the first round of the playoffs in 12 years prior to this season.

The undermanned Rockets were able to battle their way into a Game 7 with the heavily-favored Lakers, and this turn of events left much of the NBA world doubting L.A.'s championship aspirations.

On Sunday, however, there was absolutely no doubt who would be advancing to the Western Conference Finals. Behind huge games from Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum (and a not-so-great one from Kobe Bryant), the Lakers finally completed their expected elimination of the Rockets.

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HOUSTON -- Let's be honest: This wasn't supposed to be this difficult for the Los Angeles Lakers.

Add up talent level, star power and experience and the Western Conference's top team should have taken the Houston Rockets out in five, maybe six games tops. But here we are staring at an upcoming winner-moves-on Game 7 after the Rockets put forth an astounding performance at home Thursday night to prevail 95-80 in Game 6 of their semifinal matchup with the Lakers.

The series unexpectedly moves back to Los Angeles tied 3-3 Sunday with the winner moving on to face the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference finals.

"For the last two days all I've heard is that we weren't going back to L.A. and guys in our locker room didn't believe that," said Rockets coach Rick Adelman.

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If it's true the two most important positions in basketball are the point guard and the center, than the L.A. Lakers are going to be in for a doozy of a Western Conference final.

OK, so technically the Lakers haven't quite advanced that far yet. But after their 118-78 Game 5 blowout win over the Rockets, is it really going out on a limb to say L.A. is going to get there? Ditto for the Denver Nuggets, who lead the Mavericks 3-1 in the conference semifinals and have two cracks at putting them away on their home floor to close out the series.

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Five Things takes a look at five things to watch out for in marquee games with playoff implications.

Intensity. Fire. Desperation. These are the building blocks of an NBA Game 4.