I seen one of those plays and I did see Yao do the traveling motion with his hands to say that he did travel, I don't know if he said anything but I am sure they all noticed on the bench that he did travel. Is it just me but was Oden's posting up move and banging himself into Deke deserving of offensive fouls , he was throwing his whole body into him, he should get the chair pulled out under him next time that would be a good veteran move
overall great game, (duh!!) we took advantage of young portland's jittery start, and Yao basically stunned them in the first half. props especially to brooks who utilized his speed and agility, and ARTEST, for turnign his "kobe" mode off, and turning into a very clutch and smart player. hopefully we will see the same things from them in game 2 it probably wont be as easy as this one in game two once blazers get used to the playoff intensity, and expect doubling and fronting on Yao. but theres going to be definite destruction by rocks next game.
Game 2 win = GET Your Broom. The D was amazing along with AB getting real wet. Artest took about 3 bad shots and fed Yao effectively
Awesome game tonight! Will people stop using this quote? It's totally inapplicable - there are no champions on this team except for Brent Berry who plays garbage minutes.
These refs suck was probably what they chanted. But man, even in the 3rd quarter the place got loud every time the blazers scored.
Just wanted to throw out some props to Artest, who went 7-12 tonight. I know he's been making everyone nervous, but he played a good game.
Yep. Some people here are getting a little too giddy after this win. If the Rockets win both games in Portland, then you might start thinking sweep, but a lot of people thought the Rockets were going to beat Dallas a week ago. The Rockets seem to find a way of making a series interesting before it's over. Lowry did not seem as effective and Wafer seemed like he was trying to play without the team.
Great win, but Rockets cannot get complacent. They haven't done anything but win game one and get hca for now. Remember when the Rockets were up 2-0 on the Mavs after winning both games in Dallas and when they were up 2-0 on Utah after winning both games in Houston a couple of seasons ago, both times they lost. They need to continue to be hungry and develop a killer instinct. One good sign was not letting the Blazers back in the game after getting the big lead. Glad Adelman played Deke, but he better not let old man Oden score so much next game. Deke played well and did a good job of rebounding and guarding the paint, but neither I nor Deke probably expected Oden to be so aggressive. I think Mutombo will be ready for that next game and not allow Oden to get such deep position in the post. Also, Oden rarely takes it up without pump faking first, hopefully Deke noticed that and next game he stays on his feet and goes for the block. Oden should'nt be scoring in double figures. Blazers don't play much D. Let Roy get his and try to make him earn his points from the outside as opposed to allowing him to penetrate. Shut the rest of the guys down. Good job by Scola on Aldridge after Dirk lit his ass up. Great games from Yao and AB too. Let's keep it going in game 2. Yesterday I put $100 dollars on a 3 team parlay where I picked the Rockets, Cavs, and Lakers to win their series.
Wow I loved the Rockets Intensity especially on the defensive end. Great Defensive effort. Only problem is Artest isn't quick enough for Roy. But he's always been that great effort player. Surprised the way Yao Ming played Defense. It looks like he gave it his all breathing hard and his face turning red. I know it's still early but I'm ready for the Lakers!!!
Rockets could not have played any better tonight. They were damn near flawless. I'm glad they were able to keep it up the entire game and keep this game a blowout because it would have been devastating if the Blazers would have come back. With that said, they need to keep things in perspective. I hope they don't get too cocky because they are not going to play flawless basketball every game. This is just one game of a 7-game series. They need to keep their energy going.
I can sleep better today since all I read for the past couple of days are espn/si/yahoo bandwagoner sports writers jumping on portland to take the series LOL
