Really starting to get nervous about this series...

right on.. yao is still effective on the defensive end and rebounding.. very impressed with the bench play.. wafer's been amazing this series.. and mandry and k low have been playing solid as well

 

The Rockets have had double digit leads in every game, Portland has barely ever taken the lead...

We got this....

DD

 

I'm not that nervous. The Rockets are the better team. In a must win game 2, the Blazers were tied with the Rockets going into the fourth quarter.

I expect the Rockets to play a complete game on Sunday and get the commanding 3-1 lead.

 

I don't agree with you. If the defende attention focus a little bit less towards Yao or little bit more towards the role players, then you'll see diffferent things happening. I am ok they use 2 or 3 people on Yao and the rest of our team beat them anyway.

 

Game 4 is a must win, we can't let the Blazers get any room to breathe.

I am getting a little nervous. The Blazers have stopped Yao Ming. We will have a problem scoring now. If the Rockets continue to be unable to get Yao the ball, we will be scoring in the low 80s for the rest of the series. Our defense will have to continue to be better.

 

Read my sig.

It wasn't a fluke the Blazers won 54 games this season. They are a good team with real talent and we should be nervous. That said though we aren't down and outside of Yao's offense are playing very well as a team. We have a great coach with a ton of playoff experience.

In a way I think it was good we lost a close one in game 2 as it has kept the team focussed on playing hard, especially at the D. At the same time with such a long layoff before each game it is hard to maintain momentum. We just have to take each game at a time until the series is over.

 

We scored over a 100 in game 2.

 

Considering I thought Portland would win in 7, I like the look of the 2-1 lead. The Rockets can take total command with a game 4 win. I think it will be a tough game, harder than game 3.

Two other tidbits.

Yao is doing OK. They are basically taking 2 guys on him before the ball gets to him. If the other 4 can't beat 3, that is a reflection on them. There are some small things we can do to get Yao more involved in the O--but taking up two men (freeing up Scola in part) is important.

IMO what has really hurt Portland is their SF spot. They are a much tougher team to play with Fernandez in and Batum/Outlaw out (at least with the way Outlaw is playing). We can handle Roy/Aldridge doing their damage if we choke the rest of the team and right now we can somewhat cheat off of Batum/Outlaw/Pryz/Oden w/o paying for it. If Outlaw starts playing better, or more minutes to Fernandez, our task gets a lot more difficult.

 

[Knock on wood obviously] I'm not that nervous. This team isn't better than us. Much like some have already mentioned: they've barely even led at any point in this series. We've played our BEST only once. We're fine as long as we take care of business at home and officially put the clamps on.

 

I'm getting so annoyed about these comments.

First: Good defensive teams force role players to beat them, especially in the playoffs. Teams only win playoff series when you have support casts to "carry the team" as you put it, because the opposition forces it. When your supporting cast can take that pressure and win the game for you, that is when you know you have a contender that can do something for you.

Second: If a wing player was to consistent get double-teamed and triple-teamed and gave the ball up to his teammates who made shots, he would lauded. Things would be said like "un-selfish player" and how the entire team is a strong, unit. Yao being a low mobility center makes it harder to make those initially passes, but his presence on the court has the exact same effect. We just have to take advantage of it, you know "taking what the defense gives you. (and no that does not mean have Artest take some one of the dribble, Brooks needs to!!)

This board overreacts all the time, but it is as if most Rockets fans are so used to Rockets blowing chances, failing in crunch time, or frankly not meeting expectations, that they want everything to work perfectly.

Nothing happens as such, and you need to have some faith the Rockets can persevere.

 

Ill say what i have been saying since the playoffs began if you back off of roy he really has no game. his game is going to the basket abd exploding. i say back off of roy and let him beat you from the outside. If he happens to make a few then step up close on him. but as of now what a hell of a job artest and battier have done on him

 

I am not too worried about the production of Yao as I think his main effect from last game on the offensive side is to draw as much attention as possible to free up his team mates. It was obvious when he was not on the court, the team was not seeing open shots as much. Yao was the reason why scola had such a great game. I just feel that entry passes should be quicker. he was open a couple of times and the team did not even look to pass to him.

 

it seems like portland will live with our role players beating them instead of yao. if thats the case our role players have to play well. they did well last game but game 4 will INTENSE. portland will try their hardest to win that game.

 

Can't agree more, the mark of a contender is having a reliable supporting cast who can win games even when it's go-to-guy is shut down.

I believe we have right now. They'll be spanking POR to the punch for paying too much attention on Yao.

Deserves a +1 mate.

 

If the series is at 2-2 after tomorrow, will you guys be worried? Not me.

 

You don't care who wins or are you a Portland fan?

 

Completely agree. It doesn't matter what position, you need a player who can continuously create plays for himself while having a killer instinct. We are a better team w/out TMac but we are not a better team w/out Yao. Unfortunately, Yao can easily be shut down. He's effective when you're playing different teams each night, but when it comes to a series, he becomes a liability. We need a Dwayne Wade type of player or a Jason Kid. As long as Yao is the focal point in our offense, we will always struggle in the playoffs.

 

I believe.

(and I wouldn't mind a game 7 in Portland, since I'm flying there next Saturday) - we got this.

 

i said we take it in 5, i'm sticking to it, we'll take the next game then win up in portland.