Blazers v. Rockets - The Breakdown
Written by Ptownpadre, Friday April 17 2009
This series isn't about experience, it's all about the matchups.
To be honest, many in Blazer land weren't thrilled with this matchup. But once a person looks inside the possibilities found within the pairing, things tend to look better for Portland than for Houston.
Season Series:
The Rockets took 2 out of 3 from the Blazers. The game Portland won though was the tip of the iceberg in finding out what kind of performer this team has in B. Roy. The shot with the time expiring to win the game at home is now stuff of legend. But the Rockets played tough at home, and Portland will have it's hands full pinning them down in Houston.
Advantage: Houston
Superstars:
Brandon Roy vs. Ron Artest. I think this goes to Roy no question. No matter how the teams have it schemed to start the game, these two will be playing a lot of one on one by the fourth quarter. Brandon Roy has the younger legs and loves to hit the big shots. Artest seems to force his moments more than Roy does.
Advantage: Portland.
Big Men:
Yao vs Joel and Greg. Greg hasn't been out of foul trouble any time he's played the Rockets. That won't translate into this series though. He's learning to stay out of the way of easy fouls. Greg Oden, due to his lack of playing time against Houston this year, is essentially the unknown X-Factor. And Joel still does his job too, just not as well as Yao yet. Truthfully, until this team is able to really make a statement against the Rockets, this matchup goes to Yao. Yao's savvy, and he's the proven commodity that Portland's big men aren't yet.
Advantage: Houston
Foreign players (6th men)
Really the NBA is coming to the point where this needs to be a category in most pairings. Essentially we're looking at Scola against Rudy, Nic and Sergio. The foreign players are mentioned because in both cases, it's this group that has the flair to really get the home crowds behind them. Scola's a gamer. Most people outside of Houston can't stand the guy because he's that good when he needs to be.
But Rudy and Nicolas especially deliver the better bang for the buck. Rudy is electric and gets the crowd involved almost as well as Terry in Dallas. And Batum is the ultimate X-Factor because his shot changing abiltiy isn't ever deterred by being on the road.
Advantage: Portland.
This series will be something to see. But Portland is the better team. This is the team with momentum. Houston went from being the 3 seed to being the five seed in a half an hour after giving up a huge lead to Dallas. This team is going to have issues. And Portland finished the season beating every team in sight by 20 to 30 points.
Portland in 6!!!!
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