Welcome to the first edition of elliott ness sports investigation. Today I will preview the fifth game between the Houston Rockets and the Portland Trail Blazers in one of the most interesting NBA playoffs we have seen in years. As a huge Rockets fan, I will try to keep my biased opinions to myself and only present facts. Well as you all know the Blazers won game 5 by eleven points after a 4th quarter surge in which they out scored the Rockets 15 to 0. The Rockets were clicking and then all of a sudden all momentum shifted to Portland. I won't say that this was the result of Houston "choking", but instead a sudden boost of momentum from the die hard 20,462 Portland fans. So here we are now. The series has shifted back to Houston and the Rockets are up 3-2. I am far from being a TNT NBA analyst, which someday I will be, but I will give you the keys of the games for both the Blazers and the Rockets.
Now since I am such a huge Rockets fan, I'll give
you their keys first.
1. Get the ball to Yao Ming!
-and I stress this the most for my Rockets because when he can get the ball against Greg Oden or Joel Pryzbilla, he can score eight out of ten times. When he is double teamed, which he usually is by these young Blazers, he can either pass the ball back out and repost or swing the ball for an open shot.
2. The Rockets need Ron Artest to be more consistent on offense.
No knocks on Ron, coming to a team his first year and virtually becoming the star in place of Tracy Mc(Trade Me), or Tracy McGrady in his better days, but Ron needs to shoot the ball better after going 3 of 9 from the field.
3. Crash the offensive boards.
I have this key at number 3 for a reason. The Rockets had only 3 offensive rebounds yesterday which makes them unable to produce as many second chance points. In game 4 Houston grabbed 16 offensive rebounds in their win. The Rockets need to crash the boards to win game 6.
4. Houston has to pick their poison defensively.
The Rockets have to contain both Lamarcus Aldridge or Brandon Roy. Since it's nearly impossible to contain Brandon Roy because of his great midrange and driving game, I say lets take Lamarcus out of the game by playing him with a physical and quicker opponent such as Chuck Hayes. I love Scolas defense, but he will foul Aldridge too many times and the Rockets need him on the floor.
Now for the Portland Trailblazers.
1. Give Brandon Roy the ball when the game is on the line.
Portland, you are a young team with a superstar that is capable of putting you on his back and winning the game. Every one saw how horrible of a game he was having in game 5 until he erupted in the 4th quarter to score 14 of his 25 points. If they want to stay alive in this series, Portland has to give him the ball. He averages 27.9 points in the playoffs, so why not?
2. Stay poised on the road.
As I mentioned before, Portland is still a very young team and inexperienced in the playoffs. They have to come out firing on all cylinders in Houston, but when they slump, and they will because of Houstons crowd and the Rockets defense, they need to collect theirselves and take the game one possesion at a time.
3. Force turnovers.
In game 5, Portland forced 17 turnovers, which is the most forced upon Houston for this series. Keep forcing turnovers and allow your young talent to turn them into fast break points.
4. As much as I hate to say it, double team Yao Ming. Their double team is very effective on Yao as he had no first quarter shots in game 5. Force the other players to score and keep the ball out of Yao's hands.
That's todays edition of the elliott ness sports investigation. Tune in after Game 6 to get my version of the recap.
Elliott Ness The Untouchable
Now since I am such a huge Rockets fan, I'll give
you their keys first.1. Get the ball to Yao Ming!
-and I stress this the most for my Rockets because when he can get the ball against Greg Oden or Joel Pryzbilla, he can score eight out of ten times. When he is double teamed, which he usually is by these young Blazers, he can either pass the ball back out and repost or swing the ball for an open shot.
2. The Rockets need Ron Artest to be more consistent on offense.
No knocks on Ron, coming to a team his first year and virtually becoming the star in place of Tracy Mc(Trade Me), or Tracy McGrady in his better days, but Ron needs to shoot the ball better after going 3 of 9 from the field.
3. Crash the offensive boards.
I have this key at number 3 for a reason. The Rockets had only 3 offensive rebounds yesterday which makes them unable to produce as many second chance points. In game 4 Houston grabbed 16 offensive rebounds in their win. The Rockets need to crash the boards to win game 6.
4. Houston has to pick their poison defensively.
The Rockets have to contain both Lamarcus Aldridge or Brandon Roy. Since it's nearly impossible to contain Brandon Roy because of his great midrange and driving game, I say lets take Lamarcus out of the game by playing him with a physical and quicker opponent such as Chuck Hayes. I love Scolas defense, but he will foul Aldridge too many times and the Rockets need him on the floor.
Now for the Portland Trailblazers.
1. Give Brandon Roy the ball when the game is on the line.
Portland, you are a young team with a superstar that is capable of putting you on his back and winning the game. Every one saw how horrible of a game he was having in game 5 until he erupted in the 4th quarter to score 14 of his 25 points. If they want to stay alive in this series, Portland has to give him the ball. He averages 27.9 points in the playoffs, so why not?
2. Stay poised on the road.
As I mentioned before, Portland is still a very young team and inexperienced in the playoffs. They have to come out firing on all cylinders in Houston, but when they slump, and they will because of Houstons crowd and the Rockets defense, they need to collect theirselves and take the game one possesion at a time.
3. Force turnovers.
In game 5, Portland forced 17 turnovers, which is the most forced upon Houston for this series. Keep forcing turnovers and allow your young talent to turn them into fast break points.
4. As much as I hate to say it, double team Yao Ming. Their double team is very effective on Yao as he had no first quarter shots in game 5. Force the other players to score and keep the ball out of Yao's hands.
That's todays edition of the elliott ness sports investigation. Tune in after Game 6 to get my version of the recap.
Elliott Ness The Untouchable
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