Spring Break
Grounding Rockets
Ben Bradea
Issue date: 4/20/09 Section: Sports
Portland, you have a problem! Going into Saturday night, the Blazers were winners of their last six games and 10 out of 11. But everything fell apart in 12 minutes.
I was the one a couple of weeks ago that said the Houston Rockets were the worst potential match-up for the Blazers, and unfortunately this proved true. But don't lose hope, we can still do this. All the Blazers have to do is man up, win one road game, and follow my keys to beating the Rockets.
So let's dive into the match-up and take a deeper look at the Rockets. The Rockets are one of the most efficient defensive teams in the NBA. Their frontcourt of Yao Ming, Luis Scola, Chuck Hayes and Carl Landry provide the framework for the Rockets defensively, who are fourth in the league in defensive rebounding efficiency.
They rank fifth in opponent field goal percentage, and overall they come out to be the fourth most efficient defensive team in the league. What also makes the Rockets a tough team to play against is that they don't give up any easy shots - just ask Brandon Roy. One of the biggest stats in the Rockets' favor is their second place mark in opponent free throws attempted and allowed. They are also fourth in opponent field goals made. They have extremely good perimeter defenders in Battier and Artest, and can muscle you inside with Hayes and Yao.
They are a very disciplined team who, under the direction of the once-great Blazer coach Rick Adelman, don't commit silly fouls and are rarely caught in the wrong position.
On the offensive end, the Rockets again push the notion that they are a finely tuned machine. Having Yao, a great inside post player and passer, has a lot to do with that. Yao averages 20 points per game while shooting 55 percent from the field.
The Rockets play an inside-out game where they depend on their perimeter players to make shots. Ron Artest, Shane Battier, Aaron Brooks, Von Wafer and Brent Barry have made the Rockets sixth in 3-point attempts, and seventh in 3-point makes.
I was the one a couple of weeks ago that said the Houston Rockets were the worst potential match-up for the Blazers, and unfortunately this proved true. But don't lose hope, we can still do this. All the Blazers have to do is man up, win one road game, and follow my keys to beating the Rockets.
So let's dive into the match-up and take a deeper look at the Rockets. The Rockets are one of the most efficient defensive teams in the NBA. Their frontcourt of Yao Ming, Luis Scola, Chuck Hayes and Carl Landry provide the framework for the Rockets defensively, who are fourth in the league in defensive rebounding efficiency.
They rank fifth in opponent field goal percentage, and overall they come out to be the fourth most efficient defensive team in the league. What also makes the Rockets a tough team to play against is that they don't give up any easy shots - just ask Brandon Roy. One of the biggest stats in the Rockets' favor is their second place mark in opponent free throws attempted and allowed. They are also fourth in opponent field goals made. They have extremely good perimeter defenders in Battier and Artest, and can muscle you inside with Hayes and Yao.
They are a very disciplined team who, under the direction of the once-great Blazer coach Rick Adelman, don't commit silly fouls and are rarely caught in the wrong position.
On the offensive end, the Rockets again push the notion that they are a finely tuned machine. Having Yao, a great inside post player and passer, has a lot to do with that. Yao averages 20 points per game while shooting 55 percent from the field.
The Rockets play an inside-out game where they depend on their perimeter players to make shots. Ron Artest, Shane Battier, Aaron Brooks, Von Wafer and Brent Barry have made the Rockets sixth in 3-point attempts, and seventh in 3-point makes.
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