Game Preview: Houston Rockets at Portland Trailblazers - Game 2 - NBA Playoffs - 9:30PM CST
by UofTOrange on Apr 21, 2009 12:49 PM CDT
in Game Previews
73 comments
The Match-ups:
Point Guard
Brooks/Lowry - When I said that Brooks could step his game up, I certainly didn't expect 27, 7 and 4. I was thinking 18 and 5, but I'll take all of it. I wouldn't expect him to have such a spectacular game again, but in all reality, none of Portland's point guards can keep up with his speed, so if his three point shot isn't falling, he can just continue to drive to the basket and get Yao, Scola or Landry to clean up if his shot isn't falling as well. Kyle Lowry had a respectable game, if not stat filled, he played well and his defense was solid. I expect Brooks to fall back down a bit and Lowry to step his game up.
vs.
Blake/Rodriguez - Blake and Rodriguez were completely ineffective. Some of that was defense by Lowry, some of that was reeling from Brooks' offensive explosion. I think Blake will step his game up and not what the Rockets do on the offensive end affect what he does on the offensive end. He's a much better player than he looked like in game 1 and a bounce back is inevitable. If he doesn't, Portland will not win Game 2.
Edge: Rockets - This was evident on Saturday night. I'm not sure it's as big of a gap as it looked Sunday morning in the box score, but it is an edge to the Rockets.
Shooting Guard
Battier/Wafer/Artest - News out of the Rockets camp is Battier was in the hospital prior to the game and was getting by on adrenaline. He's recovered now and 1-5 is less likely to happen. He was a solid 5-5 from the free throw line and had 5 rebounds to go with 2 assists and a steal. As usual, it was his defense that made the difference. Brandon Roy was not the same player he was after Battier switched to him instead of Artest. This is the premier match-up defensively and Battier should be the one guarding him. Von Wafer had a rough game, which is somewhat surprising. He has absolutely scorched teams that gave up on him this season. He should bounce back as Roy nor Fernandez is likely to focus their defense on him while matched up.
vs.
Roy/Fernandez- I'm going to be as clear as I can be about this Portland fans. Brandon Roy is a man; he's a great player and was the only player that showed up. Artest can't guard him, and that makes all of 2 players in the league (Kobe) that this is true about. That said, he was not fouled early in the game, you are delusional. He was getting absolutely wide open lanes and making lay-ups early. He went away from it because the game was lost, not because he wasn't getting foul calls, you are wrong; I'm just going to leave it at that. I think Fernandez will have a bounce back game and will score whenever he is matched against Wafer (I expect Von to return the favor). Rudy is a better player than he showed in game 1.
Edge: Trailblazers - This is Roy's advantage; he's just a fantastic player. Yes, I'm freaking bitter the Rockets don't have him, it was THIS close in that draft
Small Forward
Artest/Battier - I said before game one that Artest is more of a small forward than a SG, and I really mean that more from the defensive end. It was evident when Brandon Roy was running him off picks for the entire first quarter and going untouched to the basket. Battier needs to guard him, it's as simple as that. However, Artest can provide help on Roy, especially out top and deep in the lane. Given that information, Batum and Outlaw are in big trouble as Artest will be forced to take his defense out on them. On the offensive end, Ron was measured and dominant. I can only pray that he will have a similar game.
vs.
Batum/Outlaw - If Ron Ron is on these two guys, the Blazers could be in trouble as both of them are X factors for Portland. If both of these guys have good games tonight the Trailblazers are likely to win. Both had borderline awful games on Saturday night, I think one will play a lot better but the Rockets must stop them both from contributing.
Edge: Rockets
Power Forward
Scola/Landry/Hayes - I'd say the world finally sees Luis Scola for how awesome he is, but this series is on so late that I doubt it's true. Scola is a mismatch for most players on the offensive end, and Aldridge is at a disadvantage there. It's his defense that hasn't always been great. The Trailblazers played directly into his hands in game one and he absolutely dominated defensively. Let's put it this way, I expected 15 minutes from Chuck Hayes and he played 2. Scola didn't need the help. Even Carl Landry only played 12 minutes. Now, I don't think Portland will be that silly with their offensive plan for Aldridge again, and Landry and Hayes are likely to play more tonight, but that doesn't change how great of a game Scola had.
vs.
Aldridge/Frye - Scola played physically with Aldridge, and it mentally frustrated him. He's had a lot less of those moments this year than he has previously, and he seems to bounce back well this season afterwards. I expect them to run him off some screens to get some shots. If they are posting him up or giving him the ball with a player on his back, then the Trailblazers didn't learn their lesson. McMillan is smarter than that and the change will happen.
Edge: Trailblazers - Aldridge SHOULD bounce back. As I said in game one, this is closer to even than a lot of people will admit, well, maybe more will after game one.
Center
Yao/Hayes/Mutombo - Holy crap, the referees actually saw Yao on Saturday night (I know, 7'6 is hard to miss, but they usually do). I'm extremely excited and scared about that happening as it's likely not to happen again. I mean, they didn't even call any of Przybilla's flops (though they did call a terrible block when it was a charge by Fernandez and a flop by Roy on him). I'm not complaining I promise, it was awesome. If Yao starts out shooting more than 60% from the field for the first half, Blazers fans need to get very, very worried. Can he beat the front that is inevitable? I think the answer is yes, as the four times the Trailblazers tried it, he absolutely demolished it. Mostly it will depend on what the refs allow Przybilla to get away with while doing it.
vs.
Przybilla/Oden - Joel P wanted Yao 1 on 1 and got him. It did not work well. Well, it did for Rockets fans, but you know what I mean. He's going to front Yao, and he's going to flop, so we'll see how the game is called. If it's tight, he's going to foul out in the first half. If it's loose, the Blazers will likely win this game.
Edge: Rockets
Injuries/Suspensions
Houston Rockets
OUT - None
Portland Trailblazers
OUT - None
My Prediction: This is going to be a lot of fun, and a lot of craziness, and a lot of heartache for someone, it's also going to suck at stretches and be nerve wracking. The NBA Playoffs, where hating the fact you are watching a game and are totally engrossed in a team is somehow actually fantastic! - (Just going to leave this, worked out well last game)
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can't wait
for tonights game… i do expect it to be closer since im sure the blazers dont want to lose on their homecourt… but at the same time im sure our players who didnt have good games will most likely step up theirs… well see what happens… im sure we can get another…
by MyFriendFromArgentina on Apr 21, 2009 1:00 PM CDT reply actions
another win*
didnt quite finish the last statement…
by MyFriendFromArgentina on Apr 21, 2009 1:01 PM CDT reply actions
Battier
So was Artest on Roy because they were worried about Battier’s condition? That would make more sense. I didn’t understand why we had Artest matched up with Roy at the start, but still thought he’d be effective.
JE Skeets at BDL made the point
that it just might be that Przybilla and Oden physically can’t front Yao. I mean, I remember seeing Prz trying to front Yao at various times, and the Blazers said they were doing it, but it just wasn’t working.
Przybilla and Oden don’t seem to be agile enough to front Yao effectively. It’s a good matchup for our boy.
That's my general opinion as well
But was going to wait and see before I spouted it. Neither are fast enough, like say an Andris Biedrins is. And that is why I said it will depend on how the refs call him down low. To pull it off he’ll have to pull arms and jerseys and we’ll just have to see how they call it.
www.TheDreamShake.com Co-Founder and Writer
1560
They were talking about the same thing on 1560 this morning. It can’t be Oden or Przybilla that fronts Yao. They have to be much quicker than him. They have to put Outlaw or Aldridge in front of Yao. Someone who can get around him, and beat him to the other side of the court when we swing it around to counter the front.
yeah, that's pretty much what Skeets proposed
Aldridge could do it, but then you wonder what that opens up elsewhere. Using Outlaw just strikes me as a bad idea, but if I were the Blazers and the Aldridge option weren’t working, I’d give it a shot.
Hey chumps
You played as well as you are capable of playing in game 1, and Portland played about as bad as they can play. That’s not going to happen again. LaMarcus Aldridge got treated like a bitch by your fair haired South American drug lord. He knows it, and tonight he will head slap Scola’s hair out of place. If I’m wrong, I’ll come correct, but I don’t think I’m wrong.
Golly Gee, I sure hope I didn't huwt anybody's feewings.... sniff...sniff....
GO G.O. ! You've got a calcium supplement endorsement waiting for you!
Be Careful
Or before you know it your team could be down 0-2 in the series..I hope Scola doesn’t read what you said about him or you will be ;-)
correction
I hope Scola DOES see what you wrote about him, that way you will be*
My prediction
I think Portland gets back on track and wins by 7-10.
Look for Oden to be effective once again off the bench as long as he avoids foul trouble. Portland needs to look for him while he’s in there, he’s too strong for the Houston big men.
Portland’s bench will also be much more relaxed and effective. Rudy and Outlaw should each have a nice game, and Aldridge will get his 22-10
As for Oden
How much of his impact on the game was in garbage time? As much as Yao plays soft in the paint at times Oden doesn’t stand a chance. Yao’s on a mission
by clutchcitywillreturn on Apr 21, 2009 2:08 PM CDT up reply actions
Oden got 4 pts in 4 min
while both yao and oden were in the game. Obviously he cant keep up that pace for a whole game and its tough to tell how oden would play against yao for more time. The blazers never posted up oden while yao was in the game and i think his points were a tip in and a dump off by roy after he had driven and drawn yao away from oden.
Game 1 108-81 Rockets
Rockets lead series 1-0
by TexasHoosier on Apr 21, 2009 2:39 PM CDT up reply actions
They didn't post him up
Because it’s a terrible idea. Oden’s post game isn’t nearly as good as it looked in the second half
www.TheDreamShake.com Co-Founder and Writer
My recollection is that
Most of Oden’s damage came on Mutombo after Yao had taken a seat with a 4th foul and Deke got called for Oden taking 6 steps into him and then shooting. After that Deke, being the wily oldster he is, realized that it was more important for him to stay in the game than to stop Oden, as the Rockets were basically scoring at will at that point.
If you are trading buckets with a 30pt lead nothing really bad can happen, and the closk will run out. Deke realized this, and Oden went berserk. I think Oden still has a good future, but let’s not make more of his “explosion” than was really there.
i think that message may need to be related to BEdge
cause for some reason they think that oden can play like an all star the rest of the series, atleast against mutombo
Game 1 108-81 Rockets
Rockets lead series 1-0
by TexasHoosier on Apr 21, 2009 5:07 PM CDT up reply actions
What a whiner
As much as you complain about Joel and Brandon flopping you would think that you would notice scolla and battier flopping around like a bunch of fish(usually with the benifit of actually getting the call from the official)
hey, welcome to the Dream Shake!
Since “basketball” seems to be a new thing for you, I’ll help you out. A “flop” is generated by little or no contact. For instance, Brandon Roy fell down next to Yao in an (successful) attempt to get the offensive foul from the refs. That’s a flop.
Now, a “charge” comes when a defender takes a lot of contact to the body after having set his feet outside of a specified area on the court. This usually results in the defender falling down, too. But you’ll notice that the critical difference between a “flop” and a “charge” is that one involves real contact being generated, and the other involves bullshit.
How about all the times roy gets mugged by the "defence" of houston with no call
and joel consistently sacrifices his body to draw real charges. I somehow doubt that a 180 lb guy can knock over a 7’6" center with such ease and it showed when the officials didn’t award yao for flopping. And don’t insult me about my knowledge of basketball when it’s obvious you are basing your flopping comments on your fandom of the rockets.
I somehow doubt that a 180 lb guy can knock over a 7’6" center with such ease
Not my fault you don’t understand physics, either.
And don’t insult me about my knowledge of basketball when it’s obvious you are basing your flopping comments on your fandom of the rockets.
Oh, I’m sorry. I really thought this was your first time watching basketball. And it’s obvious you’re just pissed ’cause your team got its ass kicked.
Yeah i'm pissed
and i hope the blazers show a little more heart than saturday! They flat got their asses handed to them! And just to be clear, I am not one of the whiners that is blaming the loss on the officials. I just think that Houston fans need not throw stones in a glass house when talking about flopping.
Seriously
You are wrong about Battier specifically. Selling a call is different than flopping. Flopping is the reason players like Shane have to sell calls.
Scola sells calls too. It’s in a more floppy way than Battier, but most of what you see is his hair and that’s why people think he flops.
Roy and Przy COMPLETELY flopped in that game. Przy wasn’t even touched on his, at all. Roy literally jumped backwards.
www.TheDreamShake.com Co-Founder and Writer
Chillax...
personally i do think pryzbilla is an above average defender, who probably draws a handful of legit charges every so often. its just that for whatever reason you choose to believe, he chooses to flop on yao at least twice a game. i’m not gonna call joel a flopper in general, cuz i haven’t watched enough blazers games, but i have seen legit defense on yao thats made him ineffective, and i’ve seen flops that have taken him out of the game and Joel is the latter. i remember how karl malone used to always pull the chair on yao, and i considered that legit defense.
"misspellings"
I recognize that Shane and Scola flop….or exaggerate the contact when they establish position on the court. That is part of the game, and it is a part I can deal with on a limited basis. I don’t have much experience with Joel, but to say that his charges are “real charges” while our guys “flop like fishes” just shows your ignorance and bias. The idea that Scola gets the benefit of any calls is laughable. As a foreign player and Argentinian, he had a target on his back as a flopper from the get go. He rarely gets calls he deserves, and Yao is the worst officiated player in the game today. You will not find any officiating sympathy here.
I know how you feel about players not getting the calls they deserve
From day one Greg Oden has been getting screwed with fouls. He can barely breathe on someone and get whistled but he will get hammered on the offensive end and not get any calls. Also Rudy Fernandez gets hammered repeatedly throughout games with no calls. I don’t know if it is due to him being a foreign player or just cuz he is a rookie but it sucks. And please don’t pretend you’re not biased when you talk about houston players. You’re a fan, you’re expected to be biased
Yao..
and probably Dwight Howard (maybe Oden too) are the worst officiated players in the league. They’re all so big that fouls against them don’t look at rough or disrupt thier shots as much as a smaller player.
Garbage time or not
Oden was effective. Don’t forget that Houson left its starters in (besides Yao) for most of the 4th quarter. Since Oden comes off the bench, a majority of his minutes come against Mutombo. Oden is able to easily overpower Mutombo, as he showed in the first game, and I don’t see why it wouldn’t continue if they look to feed him the ball.
Something else interesting to watch for is the fact that Nate has mentioned playing Oden and Joel together in game 2. Will be fun to see how that works out
garbage time
is when all the benchplayers stop caring about defense and try to put up some numbers (ie. brent barry dunked, brian cook hit a trey… oden scored… etc).
oh cmon
you need a better comeback than that. lets say ur right and brooks did score 12 of those points in garbage time/aka second half. that means he still scored 15 pts in the first half… which is still really good, so ur point being?
He did have a good game.
I just think its funny that people are declaring him the next great pg because he scored 27 when half of them were in “garbage time” and Oden does the same thing and its just garbage points so it’s nothing special
There is a specific point to be made about Oden's minutes
Mutombo was playing relaxed defense during that stretch. Oden is a good player and will be better than he has been this season. His post game is not nearly that good though. Deke was playing off him and trying not to foul so that the game wasn’t extended any further.
www.TheDreamShake.com Co-Founder and Writer
Say what you want
Oden will dominate that matchup. I hope he breaks that fucking finger the next game.
Finger
He might strain it from slapping around roy all night. Fear the Deke!
by mutombo4life on Apr 21, 2009 4:06 PM CDT up reply actions
Whats classy about taunting your opponent during a game?
Whats classy about slapping someone around?
They don't even let him wag his finger at a player.
Deke wags to the crowd, if he wags his finger at a player he gets a taunting T, so the tender feelings of his opponents are spared. And that IS a vicious taunt isn’t it, a wagging finger.
Classy?
You’re probably one of those guys who gets out of the shower to take a piss. Stay over on your side of the trail, hopalong
by mutombo4life on Apr 21, 2009 4:41 PM CDT up reply actions
yeah that confused me too
is it classier to pee in the shower than in the toilet?? cause if thats the case then everybody is unclassy i think
Game 1 108-81 Rockets
Rockets lead series 1-0
by TexasHoosier on Apr 21, 2009 5:30 PM CDT up reply actions
looks like you kids need to take a class in irony.
by the grawlrus on Apr 21, 2009 8:05 PM CDT up reply actions
I am glad to come here and read this preview and not see a bunch of stuff like, BRING ON THE LAKERS
or “Can’t wait to sweep the Blazers” etc. The Dream Shake is one of the few SN blogs I enjoy reading outside of BE because the fans are smart and understand basketball. Here is to hoping that you guys don’t play outstandingly again and that we don’t crap the bed!
Oh and by the way, I hope that some of these new SN posters don’t give you the wrong idea about Portland fans. As you can see, alot of them have very few comments to their reputation (not that I have alot, but I was a major lurker before I was a poster) and they come in here and say inflammatory things. For the most part, we Blazer fans are pretty reasonable and knowledgeable. There are always a few trolls that slip through the cracks though…
Can I get a headband? One for my peeps, one for the fans in the really cheap seats, one for my momma, one for the mayor, and if you wanna get down with the players, YOU GOTTA GET A HEADBAND!
one thing you can be certain of
No one here will ever say “Bring on the Lakers” until 10 seconds before any hypothetical second round matchup with LA. We’ve blown too many leads and had too much heartache to assume a series win is a foregone conclusion until I see clocks reading 0:00 and the Rockets having exactly 4 wins. No looking ahead until that point.
For instance, the Rockets were up 31 in the 2nd half on Saturday and Lee and I were still not convinced the Rockets had secured a win yet…
Good write up...here's to an awesome game...want the most for my League Pass dollar
here’s hoping one of our guys elbows a ref in the face…..o did I just say that….? I’ve watched too many games to not hate NBA officiating…here’s a clue refs….if the ball goes up in the air without the guys arms, the contact was on the arms…reffing hint of the day…
I’m not a Blazer fan per se …have a friend on the team…so I’d like them to win…but if he ends up on another squad, I’ll follow on there…so I don’t have the rose(garden) colored glasses..I will say that the Blazers are a better squad then they showed the other night, so I expect this to be a closer game…
""Look. I can touch the rim on my tippy toes.. " – Greg Oden
So the let's blaze handle refers to something other than Oregon's Team?
FWIW, nearly everyone here on TDS has said Portland is better than they showed last game. The respect, and even affection we have for Portland is real. Be assured, in general we neither like nor respect most teams.
We aren’t lAkEr fAnZZ, or Wasatch Mountain Trolls. We do want to win, but we’re generally not jerks. We’ll accept grumbling about the refs to a certain point, because we know what its like. Believe me, we do. But eventually the complaining about that, in a 30pt loss, looks a little, well, desperate.
yeah guess the complaining looks worse at some times than others
it consistently is awful though…been at a bunch of games…mostly away games for this Portland squad cause I live on the east coast…tend to sit close enough where the bad calls kinda jump out at ya…alot of times I’m sitting with people I know who are fans of the other squad and we usu agree about the quality of the officiating…
these guys (players) work their butts off to get where they are…the league owes them consistency in officating so that things can play out the way they’re supposed to…
I don’t feel that the league did enough to convince me that last years scandal was just one bad apple…I also understand that it is a really hard job for 3 people…
sorry about motumbo tonight – - wish for him that he had got a chance to play until he chose to stop…
""Look. I can touch the rim on my tippy toes.. " – Greg Oden
o and he name's association with anything BUT the team was an unitentional
sid-effect – - although I would like to take credit for it being something else…my buddy tried out for Memphis, San Antonio, Milwaukee and…someone I’m forgetting this summer before ending up in Portland so I was like….ok Lets Blaze then….
""Look. I can touch the rim on my tippy toes.. " – Greg Oden
Key Reserves
I think you got it all wrong on the key reserve for Portland. Rudy is important for spreading the floor and the occasional drive to the basket but Travis Outlaw is the most important bench player for the Blazers. I think i remember someone saying that he has taken 7 game ending shots, making 6 of them.
not to be negative or anything..
but my best memory of travis outlaw was of him being the 6th guy on the court against the celtics, and his wide open alleyoop dunk counted.
There are more players then just Kobe and Roy that ‘’ron ron’’’ cant defend
Like, any player in the NBA on any given night
Artests defense isnt as good as its cracked up to be, especially now…and his offense if just downright putrid
It’s the face palm. When all else fails in trying to explain your argument, there’s always the face palm.
paintitblack's points
were so mind-bogglingly stupid that I just couldn’t put it into words. By every defensive metric, Ron Artest is a great defender. And his offense – while generally inefficient – is anything but “putrid.” It’s just such a stupid thing to say.
love the picture...I will credit u when the next person on BE deserves this
""Look. I can touch the rim on my tippy toes.. " – Greg Oden
That is one of the most insanely idiotic things I've ever seen on this blog
Ron is one of the greatest defenders in NBA HISTORY, not just in this season. I award you no points Mr. Madison and may God have mercy on your soul
www.TheDreamShake.com Co-Founder and Writer
Artest
I believe Lad is responding to the person above who stated:
“There are more players then just Kobe and Roy that ‘’ron ron’’’ cant defend
Like, any player in the NBA on any given night
Artests defense isnt as good as its cracked up to be, especially now…and his offense if just downright putrid”
I think Lad summed up my feelings on that statement pretty well, but let me go ahead and answer anyway.
1. You say anybody on any given night but go ahead and look at how perimeter “stars” have been doing against the Rockets since Artest got fully healthy (and even before then). Even when he was hurt the man is/was a bulldog on D.
2. If you’re a stat geek, then look at Artest’s stats on defense. They’re very good.
3. Even if you’re not a stat geek, just watch a few Rockets games. Ron Artest consistently bothers whoever he is on and plays great help defense. His strength makes it damn near impossible for him to get posted up. He also hustles hard all the time on defense. I can appreciate anyone who goes hard all the time.
4. His offense clearly isn’t perfect, but Mr. Artest can be very good on the offensive end if he works within the offense, posts up, and sets his feet when shooting. Even with this “weakness” to his game, he more than makes up for it with hustle and defense.
No Layups!
All these boundaries - Africa, Asia, Malaysia, America - are set by men. But you don't have to look at boundaries when you are looking at a man - at the character of a man. The question is: What do you stand for? Are you a follower, or are you a leader? -Hakeem Olajuwon
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