Game 1: Houston Rockets 108 Portland Trailblazers 81
Analysis: Portland got creamed on the boards in Game 1 being outrebounded 44 to 30 by the Rockets. Aldridge, Oden, and Przybilla definitely need to step things up on the boards if Portland wants to be victorious in this series. You have to wonder how much the youth of the Blazers factored into how awful they played in this game. The Rockets are a more veteran team and it definitely showed in Game 1. I think this game exposed some flaws with the offense of the Blazers. Other than Brandon Roy, they really don't have anyone that can create their own shot. However, on the positive side for the Blazers, I don't think the Rockets can repeat their offense production in this game throughout the series, especially for Aaron Brooks and Luis Scola. Brooks killed the Blazers with 27 points on 10-17 shooting, including 5 of 8 from deep. However, Brooks, while capable of having big scoring nights, is wildly inconsistent and I doubt he repeats his Game 1 performance throughout this series. He did expose the defense of Steve Blake though, which is one of my beefs with this Portland squad. I just don't like Steve Blake on either end of the floor enough for me to take Portland seriously as a threat out West. I still think they can get past the Rockets in the first round though.
Key Players of The Game
Aaron Brooks: Brooks as I mentioned above was excellent in Game 1 and I feel like his performance is the reason why the Rockets won. 27 points on 10 of 17 shooting, including 5 of 8 threes is not a normal game for Brooks; but definitely something he is capable of doing. He also 7 assists and 4 rebounds in the victory. It will be interesting to see if he can repeat this performance. I say he doesn't, but the Rockets wouldn't have traded away Rafer Alston if they didn't think Brooks was capable of having these types of games on a regular basis.
Yao Ming: Yao was perfect in Game 1, shooting 9 of 9 from the floor and 6 of 6 from the line to finish with 24 points. He also added 9 rebounds and 2 blocks. If I was the Blazers, I would seriously think about doubling Yao and forcing the Rockets to beat them from the outside.
Luis Scola: Scola was almost as good as Yao was in this Game, finishing with 19 points and 8 rebounds on 7 of 9 from the field and 5 of 6 from the line. Scola is definitely capable of playing like this on a night in and night out basis because he is a highly efficient player.
LaMarcus Aldridge: Aldridge was down right horrible in Game 1, shooting just 3 of 12 from the field and grabbing just 3 rebounds. The Blazers have no chance to beat the Rockets if Aldridge doesn't play much, much better than he did in Game 1. Without Aldridge, the Blazers do not have a consistent second scorer behind Brandon Roy and will struggle to score points against the strong defense of the Rockets.
Analysis: Portland got creamed on the boards in Game 1 being outrebounded 44 to 30 by the Rockets. Aldridge, Oden, and Przybilla definitely need to step things up on the boards if Portland wants to be victorious in this series. You have to wonder how much the youth of the Blazers factored into how awful they played in this game. The Rockets are a more veteran team and it definitely showed in Game 1. I think this game exposed some flaws with the offense of the Blazers. Other than Brandon Roy, they really don't have anyone that can create their own shot. However, on the positive side for the Blazers, I don't think the Rockets can repeat their offense production in this game throughout the series, especially for Aaron Brooks and Luis Scola. Brooks killed the Blazers with 27 points on 10-17 shooting, including 5 of 8 from deep. However, Brooks, while capable of having big scoring nights, is wildly inconsistent and I doubt he repeats his Game 1 performance throughout this series. He did expose the defense of Steve Blake though, which is one of my beefs with this Portland squad. I just don't like Steve Blake on either end of the floor enough for me to take Portland seriously as a threat out West. I still think they can get past the Rockets in the first round though.
Key Players of The Game
Aaron Brooks: Brooks as I mentioned above was excellent in Game 1 and I feel like his performance is the reason why the Rockets won. 27 points on 10 of 17 shooting, including 5 of 8 threes is not a normal game for Brooks; but definitely something he is capable of doing. He also 7 assists and 4 rebounds in the victory. It will be interesting to see if he can repeat this performance. I say he doesn't, but the Rockets wouldn't have traded away Rafer Alston if they didn't think Brooks was capable of having these types of games on a regular basis.
Yao Ming: Yao was perfect in Game 1, shooting 9 of 9 from the floor and 6 of 6 from the line to finish with 24 points. He also added 9 rebounds and 2 blocks. If I was the Blazers, I would seriously think about doubling Yao and forcing the Rockets to beat them from the outside.
Luis Scola: Scola was almost as good as Yao was in this Game, finishing with 19 points and 8 rebounds on 7 of 9 from the field and 5 of 6 from the line. Scola is definitely capable of playing like this on a night in and night out basis because he is a highly efficient player.
LaMarcus Aldridge: Aldridge was down right horrible in Game 1, shooting just 3 of 12 from the field and grabbing just 3 rebounds. The Blazers have no chance to beat the Rockets if Aldridge doesn't play much, much better than he did in Game 1. Without Aldridge, the Blazers do not have a consistent second scorer behind Brandon Roy and will struggle to score points against the strong defense of the Rockets.
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