Some excerpts from articles on game 1:
http://www.theprovince.com/sports/Aldri ... story.htmlJames Harden missed a pull-up 3-pointer on the other end and Howard was whistled for a controversial loose-ball foul on Joel Freeland.
It was such a horrible call. Should have been Dwight shooting FTs.
Harden got stuck near the right elbow with time running out and heaved a tough fadeaway jumper at the buzzer that caught the back of the rim.
"He had a shot late, he's made them before, but it wasn't a smooth running play, wasn't the look that we wanted," said Rockets coach Kevin McHale.
Real disappointing.
Aldridge's 46 points set a Blazers' franchise record for points in a postseason game.
Just wow, TJ isn't up to task, we need TT and Dmo.
"That was a tremendous game. Obviously when we fouled Dwight he missed some of the free throws, that was a turning point," said Blazers coach Terry Stotts.
This is tough......I used to love it when hack-a-shaq was working, now I know how it feels......
http://blog.chron.com/ultimaterockets/2 ... -our-time/Lin struggled in his only previous playoff appearance, injuring a pectoral muscle late in the first half of Game 2 last season. He missed the playoffs with a knee injury the previous season with the Knicks.
“I think (last season’s experience) will help a lot. Last year, we were all wide-eyed, young kids that didn’t know anything about anything. We only had six games of experience but I would say those six games are still really helpful in terms of being able to understand what is going to happen.”
It's nice that he actually played four playoff games last year, even tho it was disastrous, it was invaluable experience. Everyone played horribly in game 1 then but this year most played OK.
http://houston.culturemap.com/news/spor ... east-mode/Jeremy Lin scores seven of the Houston Rockets 14 points in overtime
Harden misses not once, not twice, but three times in the final 33.9 seconds.
Beverley clearly reinjures his knee when he draws Portland forward LaMarcus Aldridge's sixth foul of the game. But instead of limping to the bench and accepting well-earned congrats for getting the Blazers' unstoppable force out of the game, Beverley refuses to leave the game himself.
He'll play on even though he can't move at all on defense. Predictably, Portland guard Damian Lillard promptly blows by Beverley on the baseline, hits a layup and draws a foul for a three point play that puts the Blazers up for good. Beverley won't leave the game, so Lillard gets to make his move on a crippled defender.
"I've been telling our guys, the playoffs is like another level — a whole other season," Aldridge says in his postgame press conference. "I wanted to lead and be the guy showing that."
This guy is a little nuts but did provide some good facts. I didn't realize that Bev let Lillard score because he didn't want to come out of the game.
NBA roundup: After one playoff game, Lillard looks like he'll hoist a trophyhttp://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/lama ... ade-042114Damian Lillard appears to be the type of big-game player who will hoist a trophy over his head one day. And that’s only partially a knee-jerk reaction. There’s something about his confidence that points to future greatness.
OK......this is a little crazy.
http://www.nba.com/rockets/news/other-side-cointhis defeat deservedly stings. Houston let a 13-point fourth quarter lead slip away and then doubled-down on heartache when it failed to hold on to a six-point advantage in overtime. On so many occasions, the Rockets appeared primed and ready to put this one to bed. And time after time, they allowed the Blazers just enough of an opening to prolong the proceedings until Houston’s players and coaches were the ones left feeling down for the count.
In many ways, Sunday’s marathon affair was a replay of the madness that took place between these same two teams March 9 – only with the Rockets and Blazers switching roles this time around. That night Houston was the club rallying back from a 13-point deficit in the final frame to force overtime and ultimately prevail while Portland was the one left to rue the myriad miscues it made down the stretch that allowed the Rockets an opportunity to oblige the more larcenous aspects of their personality in the first place. There were what-ifs galore that night, just as there were in Game 1. And there were also historic, heroic performances: while Houston needed Harden to summon the spirit of MJ in its miracle win, Aldridge ironically delivered a stat line last night that had only been produced by the likes of Olajuwon and Howard over the past three decades.
The key difference, of course, is that while Portland still had more than a month left in the regular season to get over that loss and regain its equilibrium, the Rockets have fewer than 72 hours to do so. They have precious little time to lament what transpired; instead they must rapidly refocus and resume the process of crafting – and adhering to – a game plan that can send this series back to the Pacific Northwest tied at a game apiece.
Nice insight. Losing with leads of 13 and then 6 in OT really sucked. Game plan for next game I hope:
Asik
D12
Parsons
Harden
Lin
Bench:
Canonball/Trojan Daniels
Cisco
TJ
TT guarding LMA, Lin facilitates and make Lillard play D, Canonball/Trojan Daniels spot up, TJ offense off the bench a la Odom. Sounds like a good playoff team. They'd probably need time to gel tho, especially since their starting five have been playing together all season long except only 13 games when LMA was out. But it's not like the team was on a roll or anything, they have been coasting for a while at the end of the regular season, not such a good thing.
*Edit: DMo starting with Dwight and plays a little bit might also be an option, it seems like those two play well together. If he can't defend LMA we could start Asik in the next half.
Wolverine! Patrick Beverley tells SN: 'I am starting to believe it a little bit'http://www.sportingnews.com/nba/story/2 ... mes-hardenDang, not sure if it's a good thing anymore, better to be scientific? Unless Logan really comes back quickly again!
