[ESPN] Team-by-team look at the West playoffs - Marc Stein

I'm slowly getting over the loss to Dallas when the Rockets knew how important that game was, but I digress. I like our chances but we have to win atleast 1 or 2 games in Portland which will not be easy.

Here is an article by Marc Stein from ESPN. Marc has the Rockets in 6 btw.
Click here for the full story.
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No. 4 Portland Trail Blazers

What I like: The Blazers have so many commodities crucial to playoff success. Already.

They are feared on their home floor. They have Brandon Roy as a closer who has somehow earned that rep before he ever played in a playoff game. They also have copious amounts of length and depth to surround Roy.

Add it all up and you have a team that, in spite of its virtually nonexistent collective playoff experience, is being increasingly nominated as the West team best equipped to give the Lakers problems in a series.

It's a theory that obviously might never have made it into circulation so soon if, say, San Antonio, New Orleans or Houston weren't weakened by injury. But none of that diminishes the wow factor here. Nate McMillan won 54 games with a ridiculously young team and wound up in the right bracket to test that L.A. theory if it can get to the second round.

How can you not like all that?

What I don't like: The flip side is that when it comes to playoff experience, I actually am one of those stubborn old-school purists. I generally need to see it on the postseason stage before I can believe it.

So I inevitably presume that the young Blazers won't look quite as good as they have once the glare and expectations of this postseason hit them. I'm convinced that the lack of experience has to be a key factor in Houston's favor, even when Portland is facing a group whose own cornerstone still doesn't know how it feels to win a first-round series, either. (This will be Yao Ming's fourth attempt to reach Round 2.)

Complicating matters for the Blazers, who still have some holes in their defense and perimeter shooting, is the fact that they probably won't be able to play with the nothing-to-lose looseness that you'd expect for a team in their situation. The support they receive in Portland from Blazers maniacs is tremendously loud and loyal -- and the Blazers are lucky to have it -- but that also means expectations are tremendously high in spite of the experience issues.

Remember back in February when Roy basically said "just making the playoffs and giving ourselves a chance on that stage" was the general aim this season? Don't think Blazers maniacs would sanction that sentiment after what they saw in a rousing March and April.
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No. 5 Houston Rockets

What I like: Home-court advantage is Portland's. Most of the other advantages belong to Houston.

Shane Battier and Ron Artest represent two top-shelf defenders to throw at Roy. The Blazers have struggled to cope with Yao Ming -- even with Joel Przybilla and Greg Oden as Portland's two-headed center -- and know that LaMarcus Aldridge will be hounded by the pesky Chuck Hayes in relief of Luis Scola. Backcourt speed (Aaron Brooks, Kyle Lowry, Von Wafer) is another Rockets strength.

The Rockets obviously wanted Game 1 at their place. But I've had the feeling for a while now that Portland is the first-round opponent they wanted given the choices available, setting up Houston -- which has its own well-chronicled playoff psyche issues -- to be the bully for once.

What I don't like: The usual complaint about the McGrady-less Rockets is that they have no late-game closer without him. That's not my complaint, though, since T-Mac has never advanced past the first round in his career, just like Yao.

How can you miss what you never really had?
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That's true, this is becoming a monkey on our backs and that monkey is only getting bigger and heavier every year.

 

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Yao might not average 20+ points a game but I bet that he will be close. Probably 19.9 points per game

If we break it down game by game:

At Portland
Houston 99 Portland 101
Thu Nov 6th - 41 Minutes 6 rebounds 13 points

In Houston
Houston 98 Portland 94
Tue Feb 24th - 30 Minutes 8 rebounds 15 points

In Houston
Houston 102 Portland 88
Sun Apr 5th - 36 Minutes 12 rebounds 21 points

The game in Portland was very bad for Yao, hopefully it doesn't stay that way.

 

If they don't front Yao then I'll gaurantee Yao gets his numbers and with Oden I think they will. However, if they front him with a smaller guy, we could be in trouble.

Also if it had not been for that lucky shot by b-roy the Rockets would have swept the Blazers this season. The Blazers have more to worry about than just Yao.

 

I agree that Yao will not dominate but I do think he'll get his numbers [20/10]. Yao's worst game was the first one against the Blazers and he had the most minutes. However his last game he did play well against the Blazers and Greg Oden was back for that game.