These Portland Trail Blazers are just full of surprises.
After stealing game 1 from the Houston Rockets, Portland could already be satisfied. They did what the road team needed to do. However, Portland did what they have done all season. They got greedy. Leading up to this game, the Rockets two-man tandem in Dwight Howard and James Harden both called this game a “must-win”. Howard put it upon himself to demand the ball more and to make Robin Lopez and LaMarcus Aldridge tire out.
Well, Houston certainly started off well, but sputtered out of control as the Trail Blazers beat the Rockets 112-105 and now command a comfy 2-0 lead as the series shifts to Portland.
There are three things that I want to touch on that I saw during this game.
One, the Rockets energy level. At the beginning of the game, all of the Rockets players were jacked up and were ready to go from the tip. This was evident by Howard completely taking over the first quarter by going 8-for-9 from the field and finishing with 19 points and five rebounds in the quarter. Considering that Howard was saying he wanted the ball more, I think he got his wish. Houston was running up and down the court and Howard looked like another person. Just one problem, LaMarcus Aldridge was going off as well. He went 5-for-7 and had 11 points in the quarter. Houston outscored Portland 31-23 in the quarter and really looked positioned to run away with the game.
However, I think the Rockets may have gone a little bit too aggressive at the beginning of the game. Portland only had to absorb the blow that the Rockets put on them. As the second quarter started, you could see the energy level of the Rockets slowly dwindle. This was evident in Howard going 3-for-8 and only having six points and three rebounds in the quarter. Houston shot themselves in the foot somewhat by using up all of their energy early. Portland never really looked winded and by the third quarter, the Rockets looked winded and sluggish. Their defensive rotations were not as sharp and you started to see the Portland ball movement really hurt the Rockets. One that comes to mind is when Batum drove baseline and had Lin on him. Batum tricked Jones into coming to help defend and he slipped a pass back to a driving Dorell Wright for a dunk.
Another part where energy level becomes a factor is offensive efficiency. The Rockets really had nothing going shooting wise. Houston only shot 3-for-16 from the three-point line. James Harden went 6-for-19, 2-for-5 from three. Chandler Parsons only went 5-for-15, 0-for-3 from three and Terrence Jones went 5-for-11. Here is a stat that will seal this: Houston shot 57% in the first quarter, 44% in the second, 35% in the third and 38% in the fourth. The second half blues really hurt the Rockets and I think that has a lot to do with the energy.
Houston needs to do a better job of conserving their energy. Yes, both teams were obviously pumped to play, but you did not see Portland get tired (even though they were probably exhausted by the end). LA was swishing jumpers from everywhere and still found ways to be effective throughout. Really, Portland just outran Houston in the marathon.
Second, Kevin McHale’s adjustments in the woeful power forward matchup. After LA drops 45 points on your team, it might be time to reassess and adjust what you are doing. There was some question as to whether the Rockets could actually do something different. Well, whatever they changed, it didn’t work and I didn’t see it. The Rockets once again started with Jones on LA and then switched to Asik (which did work for a bit, but it slowly deteriorated once LA started hitting from the highway). LA dropped 43 points this time on Houston. If you are the Rockets, this is a glaring problem and one that might be their downfall. LA is playing the best basketball of his career, but he is also having a field day with this Houston defense. Houston is throwing everything at him and it is still not working. Credit to LA for being on fire, but, honestly, Houston just does not have the players or the tools to guard him effectively without giving up the lethal three-point line.
Finally, Terry Stotts outcoaching Kevin McHale. If Portland can pull out this series, then the matchup that got beat the most was not anyone on the court, but the sidelines. Stotts is brilliantly coaching this Blazer team right with his rotations, timeouts, type of plays being called and just confidence in his players. In the second quarter, LaMarcus Aldridge, after being red hot in the first, sat for over half the quarter. This was even with Houston going on a few runs. That is depending on your players and having the presence of mind to sense whether or not this run or situation warrants putting someone like LA back in the game. Because of that, LA had plenty of rest and went right back to work.
McHale, on the other hand, is forced to play his starters a ton of minutes as his bench has been abysmal. Total, his bench provided 13 points on 5-for-12 shooting. They combined for a -19 in plus/minus. Portland’s all-star in LA played only 36 minutes, while Harden was forced to play 44. Another sequence that happened late in the game was after Howard swished two free throws. Houston attempted a full-court press on the Blazers, but forgot to check behind them as Wesley Matthews was under the hoop for an easy lay-up that signaled that the game was over. Little things like this and the fact that McHale can’t seem to adjust to LA is reason to say that at this very moment, Stotts is outcoaching McHale superbly.
The game itself was exciting for Portland after the first quarter. Really, this game seemed to be in hand by Portland early. The Blazers outscored Houston 30-22 in the second, 30-24 in the third and 29-28 in the fourth. That is closing out a pivotal game in a series.
The giant elephant in the room is that Portland continues to struggle from the three-point line. Portland finished going 8-for-23 and shot 35%. If Portland can get the three-pointers flying, then this series is over, in my opinion. Portland is finding ways to win even without their main weapon. However, Houston hasn’t shot well either from downtown, so the same thing applies to them.
An impressive defensive stat for Portland as the Blazers had 11 blocks to Houston’s four.
Individually, who else? LaMarcus Aldridge brought it once again. He finished with 43 points on 18-for-28 shooting, eight rebounds and three blocks. LA is playing out of his mind and has really taken this series by the throat. He single-handedly carried the Blazers throughout this game and swished some ridiculous shots. You say that you don’t expect him to do this again, but did you expect him to drop a combined 89 points in the first two games? Not to mention that it was on the road too. What else is there to say? It is amazing how well he is playing.
The bench got some much-needed production from Mo Williams and Dorell Wright. The veterans came through for Portland. Dorell finished with 15 points on 4-for-5 shooting, 3-for-4 from three, four rebounds, two assists, two steals and three blocks. Mo finished with 13 points on 4-for-8 shooting, 2-for-4 from three.
The Blazers only get one day off before taking on the Rockets once again in game 3 at the Moda Center Friday night at 7:30 p.m. PST. Obviously, the Moda Center will be rocking, but Portland has a golden opportunity to really send the Houston Rockets into a panic, if they haven’t already. This should be a good one. Stay tuned!