ClutchFans Game Thread: Rockets @ Blazers 1/25/2008

Blazers are one of the teams we need to get by to make in into the payoffs.

We need to win!

 

The Blazers are too athletic and have too many weapons up and down their lineup. Most of their subs are better than our starters let alone our second string.

This is how the Rockets should have been built around Yao Ming. I'm afraid the Blazers will turn this one into a West Coast laugher, Blazers 110, Rocket 92.

 

You are wrong, Rox win. Man, you call yourself a fan........west coast laugher.........we will put this fluke-portland joke-team in their place.......the losing column.

 

There's nobody here who loves the Rockets more than me. However, I'm a realist.

Jarrett Jack / Steve Blake > Rafer Alston / Aaron Brooks

Brandon Roy > Luther Head / Bonzi Wells

Martell Webster / Travis Outlaw < T-Mc but > Shane Battier

LaMarcus Aldridge / Channing Frye > Chuck Hayes but = Luis Scola

Joel Przbilla < Yao Ming but > Luis Scola (as a center)

 

I've watched a lot of the Blazers this year and I'm afraid to say that right now Portland is a better team than Houston. The Blazers are a great 4th quarter team and the Rockets...well...let's just say that the 4th quarter is not the Rockets' forte. In addition, the Blazers are a great home team.

I'm predicting a loss.

 

rockets take it, 110-98
is demon gonna be able to post the link?!

 

i think somehow the rox has a problem against athletic teams...they tend to give up rebounds and fast-break points to them...

hopefully that's not the case tomo.

 

It doesn't mean much by comparing each single of their players with ours. I'm sure New York got much more talented players but they're still a crappy team. We've already got 2 of the best players in the league. The key is if our role players will be able to step up and unload some pressures off YAO and Tmac. Portland's interior defense and offense is joke without Greg this season. Aldridge mainly score his points beyond the paint and I do think YAO can dominate his area just like last time we play them. If we could put on our sticky defense and Tmac offered us a lift in the 4th quarter, I don't see how we can lose this game.

 

This game will test the rockets' true color!

 

This game is crucial for two reasons:

- Winning this game means that the Rockets will have gained 2 games on the Blazers within 3 nights, and are that much closer making the playoffs;

- The Rockets will secure the tiebreaker against the Blazers which could be crucial down the stretch as the fight for the 7th and 8th playoff spots heats up.

Winning this game would be a HUGE step towards making the playoffs this year.

 

Rockets play to the level of competition and this is good. Rockets win.

Rockets 104 Blazers 88

 

Yes, our W-L record is sooo much better than theirs. Huh?

Seriously, Greg Oden has never played a minute of NBA ball so how can you make that statement, without meaning it as as joke? This is a young, tall, athletic, motivated team -- just the type that historically gives us fits. I'll be thrilled to sneak out of there with a win, but I'm not banking on it.

 

Well he's partially correct. The Blazers are mediocre at best on the defensive end and don't have a good shotblocking presence inside. They currently rank 20th in the league in defensive efficiency. What many analysts say is correct -- their current record is largely a product of a weak schedule. This is a very winnable game for the Rockets, but they must bring their A-game.

If the Rockets win their next two games they'll be 0.5 games out of the playoffs and poised to make a great run heading into the All Star Break.

 

Historically, I have detested the West Coast teams (except the Clippers, a team you can only pity), but the Blazers' GM has done an incredible job of assembling young talent. Granted, there were some lucky draws but there also was some shrewd trading mixed in. What they have on their roster is not even all they have (Peteri Koponen and Rudy Fernandez are stashed in Europe). This is the way I would like to see the Rockets team built.

 

Oh don't get me wrong -- the Blazers have an extremely good young team, and with the potential additions of Oden and Fernandez next year they could graduate to elite status. I was impressed with this team even before the season began - it puzzled me when I saw them ranked as low as 25th in some power rankings. I watched some of that opening night loss against San Antonio and was even more impressed. They're a pretty good team - it's just that they not as good as their recent win streak indicates -- they have beaten up on a lot of inferior competition. That's why you'll see them on par with or below the Rockets in rankings such as Hollinger's Power Rankings and Jeff Sagarin's computer ratings despite having a better W-L record.

And like I said earlier, if the Rockets win this game, they'll only be one game behind them and hold a tiebreaker advantage.

 

Pound the ball inside and let Yao operate. Really want the backcourt to hit those open perimeter shots and compete on defense. If the Rox can do that, it'd be an easy W. Go Rox!!!

 

This is one of the most important games of the season.
Beating the Blazers at home would be more than huge.

I expect T-Mac to continue on his great performance in Seattle. Yao has to keep his solid play inside. The other players have to step up, Portland is a team where everyone contributes, I don't see us winning with only Yao and Tracy.

A must-win.

I predict a very close game, a win for sure.

Can't wait, GO ROX !

 

I wish we could duplicate that feat!

Actually, I agree with your posts in this thread. However, most of the posters are seeing Portland as a weak sister. I'm just trying to boost the awareness level. We desperately need more athletic talent -- that's why I keep harping on acquiring players like Gerald Green in the random trade thread. Unlike Portland, we aren't going to get a great draft choice so we have to do it another way.

 

A win is a win...Yao and gang shine..

Rox: 105

Blazers: 100

 

Portland Blazers
Utah Jazz
Golden State Warriors

Win 2 please, or 3 would be even better.