Those clutch 3rd and 4th games in particular helped prepare the team mentally for the kind of pressure situations we saw tonight. In the past, they would've folded like fresh laundry every time the Lakers batter down the door with their patented runs. But this time they didn't relent when the Lakers attempted TWO runs (and even took the lead), and remained in control until the very end.
Most definitely good post. We definitely learned a lot from the Blazers game especially keeping our composure when the other team strikes us and go on a offensive burst. Rockets on the other hand need to maintain the offense and keep scoring at will.
I was thinking this myself. The media really hyped that series up as a trial by fire for that young Blazers team, but I felt that the same thing could be said about the Rockets. The Blazers are young, but this Rockets team as constructed has only been together for a few months now and practically nobody outside of Brent Barry has any kind of significant playoff experience. The experience this team gained was enormous. In a way I feel that Yao's previous post season failures kind of fueled the entire team as they saw how badly he wanted to win. We always ask for Yao to be more of a leader, and I think that's exactly what he became in that Portland series. I think some of our younger guys probably looked at Yao, who is in his 6th season now, and got the message that you can't take your opportunities for granted and if you want to win, there's no better time than the present. I believe it was that increased focus that lifted the Rockets over the Blazers, and now that they're finally in the second round, it feels like they've really carried it over against the Lakers. The OP is right. I think past Rockets teams would have likely faltered in similar situations. I don't think those Rockets teams thought they could actually win a game like tonight. Something tells me that these Rockets expected to. That's the difference.
Amen I really expected Rockets win last night. I expected Rockets take the championship this year. So far my bracket prediction is 100% correct.
I agree...but what's with the last few minutes of matador defense...letting them drive and dunk several times in the crunch. I mean we weren't that far ahead. Was it that they were protecting the 3pt line? I didn't like it. If the Rockets missed their freethrows it coulda been different. Just don't want to see that again.
The blazer's helped us prepare since they are built so much like the Lakers... defensively we didn't really have to alter much...
basketball is a game of momentum. there is no ceiling to how well we can play in this series. we don't have the pressure we had vs. portland, so we're free to just play hard. the lakers will play better and hopefully we will too. this might turn out to be an epic series. the most encouraging thing about last night was that we controlled the tempo--> in LA! that is huge. how many teams took the lakers to task at home this year?
I agree. The media loves the "new" Nuggets, and the "young" Trailblazers. They miss the fact that the Rockets w/o TMac and Rafer are a totally new team. New primary ball handler, and new people taking the shots. Bottom line is no one yet knows how good this team is. We'll have to see if we can show big and eliminate the Lake show. In short, the media does understand the Rockets are a new team. But it takes too long to explain it. We will earn that media time if we hold a series lead against the Lakers.
What impressed me the most last night is the swagger the Rockets came out with. They were cool, confident, and most importantly, poised for the entire 48 minutes. All this is a game 1 in LA where they were supposed to get dominated - despite the "rust" LA had. And I was laughing so hard when Bynum couldnt move against Hayes...that was classic, and Chuck came up huge for us grabbing a couple offensive rebounds.
Agreed. With the pressure to get out of the first round, combined w/ our lackluster 4th quarters this season, we had no choice but to step it up in the Portland series. I have to say I'm surprised we withstood their run. I'm sure they'll make better runs in the next few games, we just have to keep our composure and don't rush or gamble.
