(Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images)
(Page 2 of 3)
At halftime several things were obvious. First off, the Blazers were at a severe disadvantage. This was one of the worst officiated games I have seen in a long time. As in game one, the Blazers were getting into the paint with regularity. The Rockets were staying on the perimeter more except for Wafer. Yet the Rockets had a marked advantage at the line.
Unlike game one, this was not because they were playing solid defense. This was blown call after blown call. The real reason the calls were blown was because it was not being called the same way for both teams. Artest, Shane Battier, Scola, and Ming were allowed to knock people down without being called for fouls whereas the Blazers were being called for a lot of questionable calls. A couple of second half examples demonstrate it pretty well.
Scola ran off a screen on the left block. Aldrdige was getting by Ming, so Ming hip-checked him with a screen that moved about three feet. This hip check threw Aldridge into Scola, knocking Scola to the floor. We started celebrating that Ming would be picking up his fifth foul. Instead, it was called on Aldridge. Now, sure, he DID foul Scola...because he was fouled by Ming. This was Aldridge's fifth foul and would play a big role in the game's outcome.
Another example came when Greg Oden was under the basket on the defensive end. Brooks drove to the basket and Oden, seeing he could not stop him, stood there with his arms raised just as Ming had done at the other end. Moments later, Brooks was at the line and Oden had fouled out. Had they made that call against Ming, he would have fouled out in the first five minutes.
If the games are officiated this way in Houston, look for two blow-outs because Portland cannot continue to compete five on eight. They were only able to in this game because of Roy and Aldridge. IN the second half, it was primarily Roy.
He scored 11 of the first 13 points in the second half, keeping them in the game until the rest of the team was finally ready to join him. The Rockets were scoring with regularity and only Roy kept this game from turning into a blow-out.
All game long it was Roy who kept the Blazers in contact when the rest of the team struggled except for the mid to late second quarter when Aldridge took over. Roy scored from inside. He scored from mid-range. He scored from outside.
At one point late in the fourth quarter, the Blazers were clinging to a tenuous 93-90 lead. Roy was given the ball at the top of the key with very little time left on the shot clock. Defending him one-on-one was Artest, a guy who is certainly one of the better wing defenders in the league.
In fact, it was the ability of Artest and Battier to defend that had many Blazer fans convinced the Blazers would be unable to pull off a win in this game. And now, in a key moment, here was the match-up Blazer fans feared. There was a real feeling this possession could decide the game. And here was Artest via Roy with all the advantage to Artest: Little time to work, no screens to free Roy, and officials who were unlikely to call a foul. Yeah, I know...he did shoot 12 free throws in the game. He should have had 20+.
Be that as it may, Roy did what All-Stars are supposed to do in these situations, even when matched up with top defenders. He found a way to score. He ball faked, got Artest moving and hit a contested three to give the Blazers a six-point cushion.
This game was about several things. First, it was Aldridge stepping up and having a big game. He did that. It was about Roy dominating, which he did with 42 points while adding seven rebounds and coming up with a key late block.
And it was about Joel Przybilla, Greg Oden, Aldridge, and everyone else focusing on not letting Ming dominate as he did in game one.
They fronted, they double-teamed, they switched up on him, they came at him from a variety of angles, and just generally kept him from scoring. Certainly, that opened things up for other Rockets to score as evidenced by six Rockets scoring at least 10 points apiece. However, instead of shooting 60 percent plus when the game mattered, in this one they shot 50 percent. Still too high, but much more manageable.
By the time Roy hit a free throw with five seconds left to give Portland a 105-100 lead, it was apparent that Portland had learned a lot of lessons from the first game. They grew up fast.
They never got down on themselves, even when Houston took a five-point lead early in the second. Roy hit all the right notes to keep the Blazers in the game. Przybilla provided some veteran leadership and Nate McMillan did a fantastic job of coaching to get their heads back in the game.
This article is also featured on
Darth Weasel and the Blazer Blog
We're going to send you the most entertaining Portland Trail Blazers articles, videos, and podcasts from around the web.
1 Comments
Loading more comments...
This comment and all replies have been deleted This comment has been deleted Undo delete