The team excelled on the defensive end before landing Artest. Along with Shane Battier, Houston has two top perimeter defenders to match up with Bryant. Yao towers over Bynum.

• 在换来阿泰斯特之前，火箭队已经是一支优异的防守型球队。连同防守疯狗肖恩-巴蒂尔，火箭队拥有两个顶级的防守专家去对抗科比。而姚明这座内线巨塔就是对抗拜纳姆的绝佳武器。