1. Portland's perimeter defense is garbage. Lowry, Wafer and to a lesser extent, Brooks, can penetrate at will. 2. Portland will change their strategy in Game 4. The heavy focus on Yao is NOT WORKING, not if the objective is to win the game. Our players are not having career games. Yet we had a clean look at winning Game 2 on their floor with 3 minutes left. Yet we controlled Game 3 from wire to wire, they only threatened with a series of desperation 3's. 3. Folks, let me say it again, their current fronting of Yao is NOT WORKING, not if their objective is to win the game. We can all talk a good game about being frustrated by their ball denial of Yao, but the truth is it gives all of our other players too much room to operate. Adelman knows it. Scola, landry, Wafer, Lowry . . . they all know it. Yao doesn't like it, but he knows it too. 4. Yao can impact the game on the Boards and Defense, does not have to score. He did just that in Game 3. 5. Landry's back. Straight Butter on the J. 6. Lowry's for real. Seriously. For real. Lowry already plays with the poise and bulldog mentality of Elie. He reminds me of D Fisher. The right plays, the right time, tough as nails all the time. Kudos again to Morey. 7. Game 4 is going to be different. Look to the tape of the 2nd half of the last regular season matchup between the Rockets and Portland. That is what we are going to see. They fronted Yao with Aldridge only, and went small. We won because other players made plays and scored down the stretch. Their current approach is not, I repeat, not working. 8. Battier makes play after play. If I have to identify the key passes, defensive rotations, then it's hopeless to explain this. (But I'm more athletic than Shane and it bugs the crap out of me) 9. All our young players are growing, especially AB. Without Tmac dominating the ball, the kids are growing up. AB, Lowry, Landry. 10. Game 4 is going to come down to Yao. Play in front of him, but not do the sandwich. Perimeter defenders aren't going to sag into his lap. He'll get the ball when we swing to the other side. Will he convert. Will he impose his will. Yeah, he will and we go up 3-1, a strangle hold on the series.
great points. i have gained a completely new appreciation for shane in watching this series. some of the mistakes he covers up are amazing to watch. lowry-rafer was daryl morey's best move as a GM so far. heavy dosage of aldridge on yao in game 4 if they are smart.
Excellent post Rileydog! The only thing I disagreed with you is AB and I hope that I'm wrong on him. I would rather have Lowry starts and AB comes off the bench, our offense would be much more efficient and fluid and our defense would be even better.
Landry needs to be more of a presence on the boards. 5 rebounds, zero offensive, in 49 minutes of play is not good enough. I thought the Rockets offense in the second half yesterday wasn't as crisp, and might be due to some adjustments the Blazers made. I couldn't catch what they were doing differently though. Whatever it was, I hope the Rockets respond to it better in game 4.
pretty point on........I agree with most of the post only thing is they are not gonna stop fronting yao ever......even if they lose the series the point of fronting is not just to stop yao............but to force other players on the rockets team to beat them......they know yao can dominate and score at will........so u take him out of the game and take your chances with other guys on the team beating you....its the only chance they got to even have a chance to beat the rockets when they played behind them they lost by almost 30.....when they fronted it has been close enough for them to try to pull one out.....so that strategy wont change.....
I agree. I don't necessarily know how far they can go or how many of their current shortcomings and problems they can overcome, but they are learning a lot. I just wish that they could have learned more in the regular season! Unfortunately, if we continue on and win this series, our "learning experience" will probably come to a dramatic halt with the Lakers. They are going to be 2 steps ahead of these young guys.... well, that and 6 inches above them as well.
They are not going to stop doing what they are doing. Their defensive strat is solid on us. Their offense is the problem.
Great post. I guess the only concern from Portland side for having Aldridge fronting Yao is the energy level Aldridge can still have offensively after being exhausted guarding Yao. After all, he remains to be one of the two lethal weapons Portand has against Houston. My observation tells me that Scola would have made more those open shots if he didn't spend this much energy fronting Aldridge.
That may have been the most aggressive I have ever seen Shane Battier on offense. It definitely was one of him most complete games. I hope to see more of this, because he is capable.
It wasn't said they would stop fronting. Just front with Aldridge only. Portland needs to try to play their game instead of only trying to deny the Rockets the chance to play their own. Thats where the thought of a new approach comes in and the expectation to see something different for game 4.
I beg to differ. Fronting Yao gives them their best chance at winning. Game 1 and 2 clearly shows it. Winning one and losing by a basket rather than getting blown up by 30 points they will take that on any given day twice on Sunday. For us we basically have our best player playing as the statue of liberty great tourist attraction that we can run around but nothing more, having to heavily depend on role players to make the clutch (superstar) shots will not get u deep into the post season not win u a series. It is a deadly strategy that unfortunately for us we cannot do much about.
You mean interior defense? I agree the Blazers have to forget about doubling Yao and leaving Scola wide open for that mid-range J, I'd like to see the Rox go high/low with the entry pass coming from the middle instead of the wing to Yao if the Blazers play Scola man to man. I have seen the high/low play once this season with the pass swinging from the wing to the middle with Yao in motion to the basket, it wound up being an easy layup.
not the greatest of ideas have to use one of your best offensive options, using all that energy to try to stop a giant like yao on the defensive side of the ball I would take that on anyday and twice on sunday......he cant possibly expend all that energy on D......and then they ask him and roy to carry the team with gargantuan offensive efforts???......Ill take the over on that one.... secondly yao has been taken out.....but he has also had pryz and olden in foul trouble in all the games in this series thus far....I would absolutely love for those fouls to be on lamarcus trying to guard yao....if he got them in foul trouble...he will def gat lamarcus in double trouble....which would be perfect for the rocks look at roy last night, fouled out....would love to see lamarcus watching from the bench in the closing minutes from mcmillan trying to let him guard yao
I was wondering myself about the difference in Blazers defense--I think it was just that they were more attentive to the Scola/Landry in the high post, either by sinking a different defender to help on the pass or recovering more actively.
I saw a little bit of BOB HORRY in that last straight away 3 he hit . . . he was just making the plays that needed to be made for the 1st time I was REALLY was ULTRA PROUD of Battier Rocket River Label me impressed!
True, but having a more athletic forward doing the fronting may actually work better for them. Most if not all of Odens fouls came from just jockeying for position against Yao because he just trys to force him around. Aldridge may be able to use more finesse. In the end I think it could be seen as a bonus to either team depending on how Yao and the rockets handle it.
How can you say their fronting defense on Yao is NOT working? Game 1 they didn't and we blew them out. Games 2-3 have been extremely close and split. If they quit doing it they will be blown out again... so that won't change.
i would think if they continue to front yao, maybe move scola or ron to the post and put yao at 15 foot knocking down jumpers, hes got the range. And id love to see the pick and roll we use to do with tmac and yao with von/ab and yao that would give us a new look.
Exactly. Yao so thoroughly dominated them in game 1 that they have abandoned everything to take him out of the game. The effect that Yao's perfect game had on Portland has colored each of the subsequent games to the point that they seem willing to lose the series as long as Yao doesn't go off on them again. That works for me, we have players that can take advantage of it!
