LMAO! talking about a 4 game series and ignoring the regular season stats. Hey, why don't you tell people Houston is the best shooting team after the 1st playoff game?
Strongly disagree with this. Maybe your basing it more on potential as opposed to what they've demonstrated? Rudy really hasn't been much more than a three-point shooter. There's no way in hell he starts over Battier with all the other stuff Shane brings. Oden has not produced any better than Landry this season. Their stat lines are identical. There's no way he starts on 22/23 other teams in the league. The only teams he would start for are bottom-feeders that are building for the future and want him to gain some experience. He's just not ready. I like Outlaw a lot, but he's been dreadful these playoffs. His stat line is probably the worst of anyone on the court this series. Kind of hard to make a case for him contributing to their talent when he's been the worst performer for the Blazers. I think most NBA coaches would start Battier over him opting for steady production rather than sporadic.
Agree with your points,but they are dangerous.Battier and Ron have had to work over time against Roy. Fortunately Fernandez hasn't done too well but his 3 point shooting and athleticism can cause us a lot of problems. Von Wafer can attack the basket but his weaknesses on defense worries me a great deal. Outlaw is sporadic which has obviously gone in our favor. He looked good yesterday,this could give him more confidence going back home. Oden got 15 in first game,Deke is out as well. He could become a factor in Portland.
WOW! Did you even read the thread. First off the title of this thread is wrong and I thought I made that clear with the initial post. I was talking about talent and not effort. Very shortly later in an additional post I asked if the title could be changed to say "are more talented" than "better" which is what I clearly meant to say if you read the first post. And that was not even my ****ing point that alot of you idiots are not even acknowledging. This Blazers team is good. Adelman said we are even team. Scola said they are not about to give up. Pryzbilla said they still are in it. And MY POINT is if we don't play with as much heart and determination as we did on Sunday we will lose on tuesday. And this Portland team is too talented to give that chance. Even if you believe the Rockets are much more talented than this Blazers team you must acknowledge it took a miracle like effort in the 4th quarter to put this one away! Come on someone on this board concede at least that much. 8 or 9 offensive boards, Lowry make giant rebound after giant rebound as if he is 7 foot. Battier shooting like he is Mister Automatic from the 3 when half of this board thought he was a 4th quarter choker. And CHuck Hayes to pulling off the chair attached to his butt so he could come out and take a game saving charge. Come on if all that doesn't happen plus a couple of boneheaded plays by Pryzibilla and Blake and this series is 2-2. I personally felt if we lost that game last night we would probably lose the series. You can say you didn't think otherwise but I think you would be lying to yourself. The Rockets left their heart and souls on that court and that is how the won last night. ANd if after that you still think the Rocket s are the most talented team than fine I have no gripes with you. But don't go stupid on me. I am bigger Rockets fan than 95% of you guys on this forum. I am as diehard as they come and unlike many out there including TMAC I think the Rockets can beat the lakers. I have also been watching this game since the days of Chamberlain and Russell and been following the Rockets since San Diego. And I know Superstars win Championships. ANd that is why I don't want to let the Blazers get hope. Because Roy scares me. He is the type of Player who can single handidly take his team to victory. So i want to put an end to this now by kicking their butts tuesday before they can breath. Now is that so hard to get. And even if you don't agrree than so be it. I am done with this discussion.
I get what you are saying OMR, I don't happen to think they are better, they are certainly more athletic, but the Rockets team fits together rather well, especially defensively. I agree with you though that we need to stomp em, NOW, do not give them any hope, any life. Come out smoking and put them on the defensive, immediatly. I actually think the Rockets have just begun to discover whom they are as well....so they might be able to do something this year....but....you will have to wait for the video to find out. DD
Really??? I had no idea the regular season and postseason were the same. This is where I LMAO right??? Hey, why don't you tell us why so many people disappear in the playoffs since it's all about regular season stats?
Such a tease! My thoughts are they are more talented. But lack the chemistry and foundation that a low post threat can offer a team. I mean, you guys saw what the simple THREAT of Yao did in games 2 and 3. Blazers were terrified to death of him, and if it werent for bad FT shooting and poor defense in game 2, this series would have been made a sweep. All due to the overreaction of a great half of basketball by the best offensive center in the league.
so, we go from "blazers are a good matchup for the Rockets" to "the blazers are better than Rockets" simply by leading the series 3-1? I stopped reading after "point position is the only advantage Rockets have".
Fixed... See OMR the problem is no one able to get past the first paragraph to actually read the entire post. Almost every post is Defending the "Talent" issue. I have even highlighted some of the statements that you actually made where some post are stating exactly what you said in the beginning.
other than brandon roy, who is a genuine superstar, the blazers roster isn't that impressive. lamarcus aldridge has decent offensive skills (not dominant yet) and zero defense. przyibilla does most of his work by getting into shoving matches or flopping. oden is far from being a dependable center. steve blake is a solid pg but by no means a game-changer. his backups basically suck. i think rudy fernandez and travis outlaw are very good players, but their productions are sporadic. i honestly can't see how they are a better team player-by-player than the rockets.
Thank you an intelligent poster who disagrees with me. By the way I do agree with your point. The Rockets are improving game by game. Yao is becoming more of a beast and even with all the doubles may have finally figured out how to still get his. Let's win this and get ready for the Lakers.
You could have said "They are talented, we shouldn't take them lightly, and need to continue to play hard and try to close them out asap", then it will be ll good.
No doubt, they have a great deal of talent, especially in the form of size and athleticism. Outlaw has not had a good series, but he smoked during the regular season. They obviously aren't better, because the Rockets are leading 3-1; however, I think the Blazers are fully capable of winning the next three games if the Rockets "relax." Your point is, they can't relax. I agree that these pests need to be exterminated quickly before they multiply. And next season, avoid them, because this is a monster in the making.
Yes I could have but I didn't. And I said that was a mistake but if reread my initial post you can clearly see that is what I meant! SO if you would like I willsay it just for you... They are talented, we shouldn't take them lightly, and need to continue to play hard and try to close them out asap!
OMR, why are you getting so defensive? Did you not realize that the thread title alone would cause someone like you to get flamed? You can't use subtlety or a contention like "The Blazers are Better" as a means to indicate that the Rockets are ultimately more of a team in order to prove your point. PEOPLE DON'T WANNA HEAR "THE BLAZERS ARE BETTER" IN ANY WAY, SHAPE, OR FORM. You start with that premise, you're just not going to win with this group. Kinda like what's going on with Atlanta right now. Position by position, they appear to be the better team. But they sure ain't looking like it, regardless of Wade's presence. The only thing we can speculate on is that the Blazers will be a powerhouse in 2/3 years. But that doesn't take into account injuries (and Roy's already had several of them), player movement, etc. Wasn't the Hornets supposed to be the powerhouse this year? Sure- but injuries and chemistry killed them. The only thing I can say with almost absolute certainty is that the Lakers will probably be a force for the next 2 years barring injury because they lost Bynum and didn't hardly miss a beat. I think it's also very likely that, with T-Mac's contract situation, we can either get something back very good in return and remain a contender or T-Mac can become the Mac of old and we would be the powerhouse #2 under the Lakers.
I'm thinking the same. Their team(Blazers) position for position, player for player is overall more talented and full of unleash potential but our hustle, hard work, and will to win out matches all that talent and potential they have and keeps us above water.
A blowout game that drives up the Rockets shooting % suddenly makes the Rockets a good shooting team in post-season? Really? I love how people like to interpret numbers and argue their conclusion because of the results of a few games. If the Rockets can shoot over 45% vs the Lakers, I will be surprised.
