Amazing how cocky Blazers fans can get after a win in Portland... http://www.oregonlive.com/sports/or...sf/2009/04/look_out_houston_now_its_your.html Look out, Houston: Now it's your problem by John Canzano, The Oregonian Tuesday April 28, 2009, 11:28 PM There was a pile of towels in the center of the losing locker room. Yao Ming sat on a folding chair, arms folded, his feet jammed in a giant plastic tub of ice, eyes down, scowling at the carpet. Ron Artest was down the way, laptop booted up, already running film of Game 5. The long faces belonged to the Houston Rockets on Tuesday. The worries do, too. It was Portland 88, Houston 77 at the Rose Garden. The Rockets lead this best-of-seven series 3-2. And they spent a good portion of the post-game talking in hushed tones, saying things such as "bounce back" and "gotta play our game." But if you listened close enough, there was a deeper whisper in the room. It was this: Portland in seven? That thought has to be bouncing around Yao's brain today. Rockets coach Rick Adelman's, too. The people who answer the phones in the Rockets front office are probably hearing it, too. Because we're talking about an NBA franchise that hasn't been out of the first round of the playoffs in more than a decade. And there was a contingent of Chinese media surrounding the 7-foot-6 center, aiming microphones at his head, reminding him of his own first-round playoff futility. J.Canzano Yao Ming, in the Rockets locker room after Game 5.The Ming Dynasty? Four first-round playoff series --- and four first-round exits. Adelman is toast if he can't get this team out of the opening round against the league's second-youngest team. Artest has already flexed after baskets and called for the Lakers. And Yao has seven All-Star appearances since he was drafted No. 1 overall in 2002, but has to be feeling the suffocating pressure of failing to elevate the team assembled around him. The Blazers were the aggressors Tuesday. They had better ball movement. They had stronger moves in the post. They defended the basket and beat Houston to loose balls. And right about now, is there anyone on the planet who believes the Rockets don't view Game 6 as their final good chance to escape their ghosts? Portland in seven? The Rockets may have won Game 1 in a blowout. They may have squeaked out victories in Games 3 and 4. But there's no way they get a positive outcome should this series return to Portland. No way. No how. Not even with Yao. The worries of this series today belong to Houston, not Portland, and the Rockets have to be hoping they make the most of their final home game in this series. It's why Artest didn't shower. He just watched film. When he did talk, he was barely a whisper. It's why Chuck Hayes dressed in silence. It's why Yao was cranky and answered a question about what Houston needs to do to win Game 6 by saying, "Get ball inside. Get ball inside. Get ball inside." Then, he looked away. Portland in seven? That wild thought is going to ring across the state of Texas today. It's going to be whispered in office cubicles. Sports talk radio in Houston is going to be dominated today by questions about Adelman's suitability for the franchise, Yao's postseason slump and whether the Rockets' pack of role players will ever break through. The laces will feel tighter. The ball will feel heavier. The practice repetitions will be treated with alacrity. The Rockets will wonder on the flight back from Portland if they've played their veteran stars too many minutes against a younger team with fresher legs. This is why Thursday's Game 6 isn't just an elimination game for the Blazers, it feels like an elimination game for whoever loses it. Portland in seven? Ask yourself that question today. Ask your co-workers. Ask your children. Because it's the question the Blazers are asking themselves. And it's the thought that anyone associated with the choke jobs that have plagued the Rockets has to be thinking. Portland, trailing by a game with two to play, has Houston right where it wants it. Remember, the Rockets aren't just 0 for 6 in the their last six first-round playoff series, they've performed that act in a stomach-churning manner. In 2007, they led Utah 3-2 before folding in the final two games, including the final one at home. In 2005, they led Dallas 2-0 and lost three in a row, including two at home. Game 7 at the Rose Garden would amount to uncomfortable corner of playoff hell for a franchise that hasn't handled heat well. Said Adelman of Game 5: "You've got to play with some composure -- we didn't do that." Ironic that the losing coach is talking about poise. Because pressure does interesting things to people. Squeeze one person, they focus. Squeeze another, and they go to pieces. The Rockets aren't a close-it-out bunch, see. There is only one good opportunity left for Houston to win this series. It comes in Game 6 in Houston on Thursday. And that contest promises to be a grind, just like the last two at the Toyota Center. Lose that one, and the Rockets are looking at a spleen-busting return to the Rose Garden, where the Blazers feel like a lock. The losing faces told an important story after Tuesday's game. The Rockets didn't look like a team ready to close out a series. They looked like a bunch of guys away from home, worried sick that they'd left the iron on back at the house. Maybe they have. Portland coach Nate McMillan played Rudy Fernandez more minutes in Game 5. He's active and dangerous from outside, and is a fresh factor Houston suddenly has to worry about. Fernandez's play, especially early, opened up a series of uncontested shots for Brandon Roy, Steve Blake and LaMarcus Aldridge. Portland played loose and free. The result was its best basketball of the series. And right about now, Adelman is squeezed between an underachieving past and the reality that Portland twice came within a whisker of winning at Houston in this series. Something felt changed on Tuesday. The Rockets don't just have to overcome Roy and his teammates anymore, they also now have to overcome their own legacy. Portland in seven?
all mind games. they have to win 3 in a row (2 now) to win the series, we only have to win one. how's it our problem?
Oh good grief ... I hope the Rockets read this to motivate them, and crush them in the next game. I expected us to probably lose this game, but there's no way we lose 3 games a row to them, after beating them most of the time all season. They are too inexperienced, although very talented. Making adjustments is what its all about in the playoffs ... so, we adjust ... that's why Adelman gets paid the big bucks ... ... but, fear in the backs of all our minds ... lol ... give me a break.
Truth about playoff basketball: if you lose one game, you absolutely have to win the next. Otherwise you are in trouble, unless you are leading 3-0.
That article is ridiculous. No one is really worried. We all expected this loss, it always happens when teams have a 3-0, 3-1 lead. Houston in six?
The article is a little over-the-top, but we DID squeak out victories in Games 3 and 4. I remember when we went up 2-0 against utah a couple of years ago and everyone here was basically calling the series. We got blown out the next 2 games, then won Game 5 to go up 3-2. Again, everyone here was calling the series. We lose Game 6 at utah and everyone here was saying “no problem…Game 7 is in Houston.” Of course, we all know what happened after that… I guess my point is...I’m not calling ANYTHING until we have officially won this series. Until then, I’m not resting easy. As I said after Game 4…this series is NOT over. Sorry if you think that makes me any less of a fan.
It's fair to give the fans hope. And I do think it's true that the pressure is on us to win tomorrow. If we lose, I doubt we have the steel to close them out on the road. Momentum is a very dangerous thing. But that was their "not in our house" game. I don't expect them to be nearly as tenacious in Houston. It's neck-stepping time. Evan
He is right though. Just look at Clutchfans and see how many game 7 threads there are. I said it the other day the Rockets had to treat game 5 as an elimnation game. That was the only way that they could match Portland's intensity. Game 6 is no different. Lets not talk about game 7 and especially about the Lakers until this is done.
Whatever, it would've been spectacular if we'd won in Portland. And we could've. We didnt. Oh well. Just win at home and its all good. I'll freak out if we lose that, but until then, this series has gone exactly like predicted.
So, so funny... terrible article. As ibm said, "all mind games". Portland was supposed to win in 7, remember? They are the only team that has lost a home game in the series... Rockets up 3-2 with a Game 6 at home? Everyone here would have taken that and no one in Portland would have.
actually after game 4 loss, the author John was pretty humble when he did the video with Richard Justice on chron.com. maybe he writes for the media and fans' sake, not necessarily what he thinks himself.
That's smart. Before the series we talked about how close this series is gonna be. We should feel confident, as you mentioned we haven't lost at home and they still have to win 2 game to advance. Before the series everybody would have been happy with us winning in 6. In reality after game 5 loss people start to panic. Remember, we still have the adventage.
This is one of the most illogical pieces of trash I've ever read. I could go on forever, but I'll stick to two particularly irrational statements: Oh, really? So Portland wanted to be down a game with two to play, having to win on the road in Houston just to stay alive? The last four games of this series have all been close. They've all been in doubt with six minutes to play. But somehow, in Toyota Center, it "promises to be a grind," while in the Rose Garden, it "feels like a lock." Are you kidding?
I'd like to see if the Astros would allow Roy Oswalt to sit on the bench with the Rockets for Game 6.
