ROCKETS @ BLAZERS - GAME THREAD - 11/05/13, 7:00 PM, TUESDAY

I believe its the 2 game winning streak.

Haven't had one of those in about 8 months.

 

It would be soooo nice to smash this team. It will take national notoriety because 1.) Win Streak against quality opponents, 2.) 2 wins against contenders, 3.) Houston just came back from a loss and will come out swinging.

This will be a good sign on how "relevant" this team truly is.

 

I'm not really sold that Asik and Howard can really co-exist. Pau Gasol and Howard couldn't really make it work, and Pau at least had a midrange game and passing skills. Imagine last year's Laker offense with Gasol's arms taped together unless he's under the basket. Yuck.

I expect Lopez to get in early foul trouble, forcing us to go small ball with LMA at center. We might even run Batum at PF--he can guard Omer. Hell, any play Houston runs to expose that matchup is a play Harden and Howard aren't scoring.

We're going to get our asses handed to us on rebounding anyway. It's the best rebounding team in the league. However, Portland is 6th in the league in scoring (!) so we might as well make it a track meet. I think this is what all the teams are doing against Houston, which is probably why Asik is only playing 23mpg so far.

The real issue with Houston isn't the twin towers. It's that they've got 6 guys who score in double figures, and one of them is Harden (and Asik isn't). They've got such a great passing back court that everybody is a scoring threat.

 

Chris Haynes @ChrisBHaynes
Hmm. Opponents shooting 56.8% at rim on Rockets Dwight Howard. #Blazers Robin Lopez holds them to 51.7%. Small sample size, but interesting.

 

Have the Rockets played more up tempo fast paced teams than us? That would surely affect that number.

 

Dame gave himself that nickname. Forum weirdos invented "Rolo". Big diff.

 

I watched some of the Clippers game last night. I think they are giving up easy buckets at the rim before their defense gets a chance to get in place. Once their defense is properly setup with Asik and Howard in position its much more difficult to score inside on them.

 

Hopefully the Blazers can exploit this. They're going to need to push tempo and hopefully generate some easy buckets by playing the passing lanes. Getting suckered into a slow, deliberate pace isn't going to do us many favors.

 

Not that I trust the Clipper announcers....but surprisingly they said last night that Houston prefers an uptempo game. (And that the Clippers were happy to run with them) Last night it sure looked true. So maybe we will not have to worry about a slow deliberate pace.....

 

If the Blazers can get back on D and keep things out of the paint and generate some easy points on the break it just seems like that keeps them away from the strength of Houston's (theoretically) good interior defenders, Asik and Howard.

 

James Harden's "defense"

[video=youtube;NIyiEc1741s]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NIyiEc1741s#t=65[/video]

Dude is awful on D.

 

If the Blazers can out score the Rockets I think we have a good chance to win, but don't quote me on that.

 

Also it might be worth trying to run them off the floor with Houston coming off of a fast-paced game the night before.

 

One highlight video?

I think Harden can be a good defender, he was in OKC. He wasn't focused as much on offense there though.

 

You have it completely ass backward. He was (is?) an all O, no D player.

 

He used to have a pretty good reputation for defense. But that was back in OKC, where he wasn't asked to put up 26ppg. Most of those blunders were just mental lapses.

I'm kind of hoping a similar thing is kind of going on in Portland with LMA. Now that he isn't being asked for much on the defensive end, he seems to be shooting with more accuracy from more parts of the floor.

We all want our leading scorer to be in the Duncan/LeBron/MJ mode of also being an elite defender, but how common is it really? Seems like for every Duncan there are 8 or 10 Dirks/Loves/Roys/Barkleys/etc who pretty much coast on defense. It's a hard league and playing at 100% on both ends is draining.

If Aldridge transforms from a good defender and a decent offensive player to a mediocre defender but an awesome offensive player, I think I can live with that.

 

LaMarcus Aldridge vs. Dwight Howard

Many Trail Blazers fans probably remember the 2006 NBA Draft as if it happened yesterday. Portland came away with a bag of goodies, including now second-year Trail Blazer Joel Freeland, NBA Rookie of the Year Brandon Roy and two-time All-Star LaMarcus Aldridge. Now, if you can believe it, Portland’s bruising power forward enters his eighth season in the red and black. Only 12 active NBA players have spent more time with their current teams. And for Aldridge, it has been time well spent. In his 508 games entering the 2013-14 season, which rank outside the team’s all-time top 10, Aldridge has shot up to seventh in scoring, sixth in rebounding and eighth in blocked shots. His counterpart in the post on this night is much less familiar with donning a red uniform. But just because Dwight Howard is new to his team, it doesn’t mean the Rockets don’t know what they’re getting from the prized big man. Now almost a decade into his career, Howard is chasing some NBA record numbers. On his current pace, the new Rockets center is five seasons away from being among the top-10 rebounders and shot blockers in NBA history. He has also appeared in seven straight All-Star Games, the fifth-longest active streak in the league behind only Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.

LaMarcus Aldridge
• In his eighth season with the Trail Blazers, which is tied for the 13th longest active streak for an NBA player with one team
• Ranks seventh on Portland’s all-time list for points scored, sixth in rebounds and eighth in blocked shots
• One of 11 multi-time NBA All-Stars in Trail Blazers history

Dwight Howard
• Playing in his 10th NBA season and first with the Rockets in 2013-14
• Among active NBA players, ranks second in field goal percentage, and sixth in both rebounds and blocked shots
• His seven consecutive All-Star Game nominations are fifth most among active players (Bosh, Bryant, James, Wade)

What 2 Watch 4 - Trail Blazers Vs. Rockets

 

^^ I hadn't noticed it will be 12 vs 12 until just now.

 

I hope we avoid letting Harden travel down the lane and get an and 1 or foul shots tonight. If we can hold him to 6-8 FTA we should win.