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Game 2 on NBATV..
With that said, like a lot of people figured out before game 1, if you don't front Yao, you're in for a long day. It all came to fruition, as, Yao hada field day against Pryzbilla, LA and Oden, who tried to play him straight up. Yao got off to a hot start, and the rest of the Rockets followed. It reallywas pretty much over after the 1st quarter. The Blazers did try to front Yao in the second half, but Chris Rock, I mean, Aaron Brooks shot lights out. As aresult, Yao didn't even really play the second half.
Now, the Rockets are not going to come out firing like they did in game 1, but, nothing's really changed. The Blazers still have prototypical bigs, andnone of them are really agile enough to front Yao on a consistent basis. Yao will continue to get position, and if the Blazers bring the double team, I thinkthe Rockets have enough shooters to kill 'em with the 3 ball. Because the Blazers have the type of bigs that they do, it gives Dikembe burn, as he canmatch up. He's barely played at all this year, but he was a glass cleaner in game 1. All your boards belong to Dikembe Mutombo Mpolondo MukambaJean-Jacques Wamutombo. We even got to see a few finger wags.
Scola more then held his own against LA, rendering him useless. Like I said in the game 1 thread, LA is more of a jump shooter, back to the basket type ofplayer. Scola can hold his own against a player like him defensively. On the flipside though Scola is too shifty for LA to guard. LA doesn't have thelateral quickness.
Looking back, everybody on the Blazers played timid, like they had stage fright, in game 1, minus Roy. It was a physical game, and the Blazers shied awayafter they weren't getting calls, and started to settle for jumpers. That's not really the Blazers game, as they like to wear you down and beat youwith their depth. Their depth was a no show in game 1.
All in all, I expect the Blazers to play better in game 2, but how does a young team like the Blazers handle all this pressure? Especially getting blown outthe way they did in game 1? Game 2 is a must win for them, as, they will not be winning any games in H-Town. The Rockets are 33-9 at home, and I readsomewhere that the only above .500 teams that the Blazers beat this year on the road were a Manu-less Spurs team, and a CP3-less Hornets team. That's it. If that is the case, and the Rockets win game 2, bring out the brooms.
With that said, like a lot of people figured out before game 1, if you don't front Yao, you're in for a long day. It all came to fruition, as, Yao hada field day against Pryzbilla, LA and Oden, who tried to play him straight up. Yao got off to a hot start, and the rest of the Rockets followed. It reallywas pretty much over after the 1st quarter. The Blazers did try to front Yao in the second half, but Chris Rock, I mean, Aaron Brooks shot lights out. As aresult, Yao didn't even really play the second half.
Now, the Rockets are not going to come out firing like they did in game 1, but, nothing's really changed. The Blazers still have prototypical bigs, andnone of them are really agile enough to front Yao on a consistent basis. Yao will continue to get position, and if the Blazers bring the double team, I thinkthe Rockets have enough shooters to kill 'em with the 3 ball. Because the Blazers have the type of bigs that they do, it gives Dikembe burn, as he canmatch up. He's barely played at all this year, but he was a glass cleaner in game 1. All your boards belong to Dikembe Mutombo Mpolondo MukambaJean-Jacques Wamutombo. We even got to see a few finger wags.
Scola more then held his own against LA, rendering him useless. Like I said in the game 1 thread, LA is more of a jump shooter, back to the basket type ofplayer. Scola can hold his own against a player like him defensively. On the flipside though Scola is too shifty for LA to guard. LA doesn't have thelateral quickness.
Looking back, everybody on the Blazers played timid, like they had stage fright, in game 1, minus Roy. It was a physical game, and the Blazers shied awayafter they weren't getting calls, and started to settle for jumpers. That's not really the Blazers game, as they like to wear you down and beat youwith their depth. Their depth was a no show in game 1.
All in all, I expect the Blazers to play better in game 2, but how does a young team like the Blazers handle all this pressure? Especially getting blown outthe way they did in game 1? Game 2 is a must win for them, as, they will not be winning any games in H-Town. The Rockets are 33-9 at home, and I readsomewhere that the only above .500 teams that the Blazers beat this year on the road were a Manu-less Spurs team, and a CP3-less Hornets team. That's it. If that is the case, and the Rockets win game 2, bring out the brooms.
