I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to end it tonight, but even in defeat this wasn't completely bad. We knew the Blazers weren't going to lay down in an elimination game, and I thought the Rockets were going to fold early on when the Blazers pretty much piled the pressure and had the momentum going on their side, but through all that the Rockets still nearly came back from TWO double-digit leads, and kept the game pretty tight up until the last 2 minutes. Now they're coming back home where THEY make the leads AND have already survived two nail-biters, so even if the Blazers walk in a couple of days from now and go for the kill, I know the Rockets will respond in kind. I guess the only remaining question is if our fans will be as up to the task as Portland was in a must-win game.
Nothing is our. Game 6 belongs to whoever handle it better under pressure. Should've put them out but now Blazer have more life and confidence. If we don't get a decent cushion in the 4th, we'll lose.
Blazers were no where near as good as they are now. I'd love to have some of your confidence, but I expect the game to be 50/50. I wouldn't be suprised at all if they came back to beat us the next 2 games based on our history and the way we lost today.
Realistically, this was going to come back to Houston from the beginning. If you thought it likely that the Rockets were going to go to Portland and beat a very good Blazer team with it's back against the wall you are probably a pretty bad homer. The facts that the Rockets were right there until the end AND fought their way back from a double-digit deficit are positives to me. They basically walked through hell with gasoline underwear on and still gave themselves a chance to win. Tonight was Portland's best shot and it barely got them a win at their own building. The tables will be turned in the Toyota Center for game 6. I'm predicting a solid, double-digit victory in Houston when the Rockets put everything together in game 6.
The Blazers barely won in game 2. The series could have easily been a Houston sweep. A win is a win and a loss is a loss. They have not won in Houston and that is all that matters.
Like I said, we already won two nail-biters in our floor, so close games are in our favor. We're the ones that normally establish leads, AND even came back when we blew them, so I don't see the Blazers making a foothold like they did today. I see game 6 as being similar to game 3, actually. The Blazers won game 2 with the same confortable edge as in game 5, and suddenly looked alive again after being blown out the previous game. Then we go on to take our home games. The only difference now is we only have to win one more time.
Have you forgotten the Jazz series already? We beat them 3 times at home, all of them being close games. And then when it came to game 7 we lost... Points differential tells a lot on what kind of game to expect, and I expect the Blazers to be close till the end.
I predict Game 6 would be also a tight game. Which team would pull off the win depends on refree's officiatiing and homecourt advantage, in which Rox certainly has an edge> Key point is keep AB out of the 4th quarter and keep Artest under control, I see Rox has a high possibility to end the series in Toyota Center. Go Rox!
But that's the Jazz. I think the key thing that prevents the Blazers from taking the control of this series from the Rockets like the Jazz could is that unlike the Jazz (along with our other archenemy, the Mavs), the Blazers don't exert the same unsettling aura that intimidates the Rockets into submission. I certainly don't see the Jazz and the Mavs getting blown out by 20+ on their home floors, or having their next games tight wins. Hell, if the Jazz or the Mavs had us in the same situation the Blazers had in games 3 and 4, they would've probably won.
