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[Battier's blog] How to deal with the challenge of game 2

Discussion in 'Houston Rockets: Game Action & Roster Moves' started by BaiHua, Apr 21, 2009.

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  1. BaiHua

    BaiHua Member

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    [​IMG]

    Sitting in my room in Portland waiting for game 2 of our series to get here. We played an absolutely great game against the Blazers in game 1. I'd be lying if I said that I expected the game to go as it did. I knew that if we played great defense, then we would have a great shot at winning the game, but no one expected a 27 point win. Wow.



    We know that Portland will come out much more aggressive in game 2 of the series. Their home arena, the Rose Garden, is a tough place to play. They have fantastic fans who are super loud. They are louder than the Jazz fans from last year (which I thought was the loudest arena in the NBA). We expect the Blazers to play a much better game.



    The way the playoffs work is all about adjustments. Whoever makes better adjustments in their gameplan usually wins game 2. I am sure the Blazers will not allow Yao to catch the ball uninterrupted in the post. They will either deny him the ball or send double teams his way. It is up to us to respond to this double team and make the Blazers pay for committing to stopping Yao. When we do this well, we usually win, when we don't respond well, we usually lose.



    We will continue to play tough defense on the Blazers, Brandon Roy is an all-star level player and he will be tough to stop, but we will improve our chances to win dramatically if we do a great job of stopping their complimentary players like Travis Outlaw and Steve Blake.



    This is going to be a long and tough playoff series, we are happy that we were able to win game 1, but unsatisfied. We need to keep building every game.



    I am also happy to announce a new way to keep in touch with my Chinese fans. Starting Tuesday, I am launching the Chinese version of http://www.mogotxt.com. If you visit mogotxt.com and sign up to be a part of the Shane Battier group. You can receive daily updates directly to your cell phone about the happening and thoughts of the day. It's a great way to keep up with me and the Houston Rockets. We are also trying to get Yao Ming to be a guest on my chat line so you can ask us questions and we can answer them together. Check it out!

    Talk to you soon,

    Shane

    Link
     
    #1 BaiHua, Apr 21, 2009
  2. Rookie34

    Rookie34 Member

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    We usually win? You better win if that's the case! And what's up with: "This is going to be a long and tough playoff series"? Make it a short and easy playoff series, just win today!
     
    #2 Rookie34, Apr 21, 2009
  3. stipendlax

    stipendlax Member

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    It's called having respect for your opponent.

    You don't want to say something stupid like, "Oh, piece of cake. This series will be short and sweet."
     
    #3 stipendlax, Apr 21, 2009
  4. DCkid

    DCkid Contributing Member

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    Exactly, Battier is tactful in his public comments, as opposed to other current Rockets.
     
    #4 DCkid, Apr 21, 2009
  5. van chief

    van chief Member

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    Its being a gracious winner, and showing Respect, any night one NBA team can beat another. As we should all be aware of given how many times the Rockets lost to sub par teams.

    That being said,

    Game 2 should be much tougher, but the Rockets will take it to them, and hell I would love to see another blowout! Lets close this thing out in 4 at home!
     
    #5 van chief, Apr 21, 2009
  6. maverick6146

    maverick6146 Member

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    Tmac's comment on Pistons came into mind......
     
    #6 maverick6146, Apr 21, 2009
  7. smoothie

    smoothie Jabari Jungle

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    shane's right. shut down the roll players. roy/aldridge aren't shaq/kobe. they won't score 60-70 points together and win by themselves. the blazers rely heavily on the roll players.

    of course, so do the rockets. so if the supporting cast can't bail out yao when he is doubled or fronted then it's going to be a long night.
     
    #7 smoothie, Apr 21, 2009
  8. Al Capone

    Al Capone Member

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    Shane is a cunning linguist.
     
    #8 Al Capone, Apr 21, 2009
  9. ima_drummer2k

    ima_drummer2k Contributing Member

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    I'm sure we all thought it was going to be a short and easy playoff series when we took 2 on the road against dallas a few years ago. Then dallas took 4 of the next 5 and blew us out by 40 in Game 7.

    I'm not going to rest easy until the clock runs out and we've officially clinched the series. I don't care if we're up 3-0 and ahead by 20 in Game 4. I'm glad Shane feels the same way.

    Even if we win tonight, it ain't over.
     
    #9 ima_drummer2k, Apr 21, 2009
  10. Hmm

    Hmm Member

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    wise approach.. if only most here would insert a little bit of it.. into their fandom..
     
    #10 Hmm, Apr 21, 2009
  11. Carl Herrera

    Carl Herrera Contributing Member

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    and does a masterful job of baiting the opponent into taking bad shots.
     
    #11 Carl Herrera, Apr 21, 2009
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