Brutal, but there is hope

Short of an injury, that game could not have gone much worse for Portland. However, after letting my thoughts settle and looking at the box score, I think Portland will bounce back in game 2, because just about everything went right for Houston and about everything went wrong for Portland.

Yao and Scola went 16-18. You could completely ignore them in Game 2 and leave them wide-open, and they would not match that again. It was a fluke.

Portland shot 9% from the 3-point line. That won't happen again.

Aaron Brooks had 27 points and 7 assists. Granted, he is better than anyone Portland has, but that won't happen again. He hit five 3-pointers Saturday. In the regular season, he hit five only once, and scored over 22 points only once.

As much as I hated to buy into what the "experts" say (because the same ones said Boston would sweep Chicago), it appears they were right in saying that Portland's youth and inexperience would cause them to panic if they started slowly.

Hopefully the Blazers got it out of their system and realize now in retrospect that when the going gets tough, you can't abandon your strengths and start going 1 on 5 every possession; Portland will not win with Roy putting up 23 shots with two assists. I looked up the season game logs, and Roy put up 23 or more shots only four times all season and Portland lost every one of them (including a game against Houston).

Contrary to what everyone is saying, LMA needs to realize that Houston wants him to put his head down and pound it inside, because that isn't his strength but it is Houston's strength defensively. While we all want LMA to drive it inside more than once a game, it doesn't make sense to do so when they are packing four guys in the lane waiting for him, as they did on the first possession when Yao blocked LMA's shot.

LMA has to hit some of those outside shots to open things up, and THEN drive. Same with Roy; I love the aggression, but driving it inside on four guys, when all of them are taller than you, is not wise. Kick it out to the open three. If Rudy and Blake and Outlaw can't hit and outside shot, it is on them, but you won't know until you try; don't abandon the strategy that got you here because you fall behind early... weather the storm.

Blake and Sergio have to man up and do something to stop Brooks... they need to take it personally. If they really are incapable of stopping him, and they are going to miss open shots and turn it over, then start Bayless and play him for 48 minutes. Of course, I am being facetiously, but Brooks is not that good. If you are going to get torched, then at least hit some shots and take care of the ball.

Good game for Oden. 15 points 5 boards in 22 minutes with only 3 fouls (6-7 from the field).. he was active and looked good. Oden was probably the only positive for the Blazers in game 1.

Nate needs to consider starting Rudy or Outlaw over Batum for offense. Some will say you don't change this late, but the playoffs are all about adjustments, because teams don't play each other 4-7 times in a row in the regular season. There is no shame in tweaking.

Or, if Batum is going to start, he needs to show up. Two points and 0 rebounds in 19 minutes isn't going to cut it as a starting SF on a playoff team. He is a nice player, but I don't see value in this series. His strengths are defense and finishing on fast breaks, but Portland doesn't run against Houston, and there is no one for him to shut down, as Battier isn't known for offense and Artest is too strong. So, his defense is wasted, and meanwhile, Portland gets 2 points from their starting SF.

Nate could start Outlaw and not get hurt defensively by leaving Battier open, but Portland would at least have another offensive option (although Travis' two rebounds in 26 minutes is mind-boggling as well).  

If Portland can win Game 2, I think all will be okay. What everyone is forgetting in this working theory that the Blazers are too young and inexperienced is that the Rockets are very experienced... with losing in the first round!

The Rockets have not made it out of the first round since 1997. In other words, they have more playoff experience, but the memories are of losing and choking. If Portland can get back on track, the pressure all falls on Houston to not blow it in the first round, yet again... don't underestimate the pressure of that albatross on the Rockets' neck.

Final note: Continuing the trend of the national media having no respect for this series, one game after pulling two people randomly out of the crowd to call game 1, game 2 is on NBA TV, which is available in 15 living rooms across the world.