I think this could be a hell of a series; I could easily seeing it going to game seven. We all know that no one Rocket will be able to effectively shut down Dirk; there're very few PFs in the league who can. What I can see though, is the Rockets going small and trying to guard Dirk with a quicker defender. For all his great mobility (for a big man) he's still a big man. A smaller guy backed up by good, smart team defense might be able to blunt his sharp edge a bit. The X-factors from either team, IMHO, are Finley and Sura. When both play at their best, their teams generally win. When they don't ... their teams struggle unless someone else steps up. That's what happened vs Denver the other night; Sura was foul-plagued but Wesley and Barry stepped it up big-time. The next game vs the Clips, Wesley struggled a bit, but Sura scored 15 and dished out 6 assists. Hell, Scott Padgett scored 15 on 5/6 from downtown. I was there in section 122, row 25 (why the hell are those seats only $31? They're great!). The Rockets have had guys picking up the slack for each other pretty consistently for the last two months. Losing and/or trading two starting-level power forwards hasn't seemed to cripple them like many feared (I even had pangs of doubt myself). But they've seemed to buy into JVG's defense-first philosophy --- they're second in the NBA in opponent's free throw percentage against (a great barometer of defensive effectiveness). TMac seems to be rounding very nicely into his role of team leader/playmaker. Yao's defense has been much better the past month and a half or so, probably because he's reduced his foul numbers. Mutombo has been hell on wheels against high-powered offenses, blocking and snaring rebounds like a demon. Barry has been a remarkably effective playmaker off the bench (it's no wonder the Rockets struggled when he was out a few games back problems). Even when Wesley is off, he still plays wonderful, fundamental defense. And when he's on ... I've read/heard Mavs fans crowing about facing the Rockets over the Kings. That's a mistake. The Rockets are a much tougher out than the Kings. All Dallas would have had to do to win vs the Queens is score big in 4 games; Sacramento plays very minimal defense. The Rockets, on the other hand, play good defense most of the time. Ask Phoenix (twice), Seattle (twice) Dallas, Denver, Miami, Memphis, Sacramento, Indiana, Philly, Minnesota, Chicago and Washington, among others. They'll tell you. If the Rockets play their best, they can defeat any team. I have a chance to get into the same company seats for the playoffs that I was in last Wednesday (section 108, row 20 -- about 70 ft from the floor). Apparently the PEMEX (Mexican oil co.) horndog an executive from my co. and myself were hosting that night took a shine to me and wants to go to a Rockets playoff game. The exec. told me that the horndog liked me because I explained the game to him and pointed out celebrities (he was blown away to learn that Mutombo and "Padreeg Jewing" were with the Rockets). Thank God for an outgoing personality and a love of basketball! I'm really looking forward to the coming I-45 Shootout(tm). This could be a great, great series. Who wants to bet something crushingly humiliating on the outcome? Eh? Eh? EH!?! -G [Reality.Hole - http://realityhole.wheelcipher.net ]
Especially when Mark Cuban has bots crawling over the net looking for his enemies secret weaknesses....
