PrintRockets Have Reason to be Optimistic For Game 6
Home-court advantage, overall resilience bode well for Houston tonight
Jason Friedman
Rockets.com Staff Writer
Houston - It’s practically impossible to hear the Rockets discussed these days without the word “pressure” being mentioned in the same sentence. Funny, how something as simple as perception can change so quickly. Just two days ago, Portland was supposedly the team feeling all the pressure while the Rockets were loose, relaxed and in control. Then the Blazers responded by winning Game 5 at home and, suddenly, the “pressure” had shifted.
All of which makes one wonder: How much of an effect does something as ambiguous as pressure really have anyway? If the Blazers were, in fact, feeling under the gun Tuesday night - and common sense says they probably were at least a little bit, especially after falling behind by four in the fourth quarter – then whatever pressure they were feeling certainly didn’t prevent them from pulling out a season-saving victory.
What, then, are we to make of the Rockets? Players like Ron Artest and Yao Ming have openly addressed the topic, saying they do feel pressure to win tonight in order to put the Blazers, and the ghosts of first-round failures past, away once and for all. But is that even a bad thing? If Portland could play its best ball under pressure, why would anyone rush to assume the Rockets will crumble under similar circumstances? It seems safe to say Houston was under a fair amount of pressure to protect its home floor in Games 3 and 4 and the Rockets passed that test with flying colors, highlighting its own ability to deliver the goods in crunch time by winning both games with critical plays down the stretch.
At the very least then, pressure can clearly be just as much of a positive as it can be a negative. And for those who will continue to believe that it manifests itself more as the latter, it should be noted that Portland’s pressure to win did not simply evaporate the second they wrapped up Game 5. After all, they’re still the only team in this series facing a true do-or-die situation.
So let’s table the pressure talk as any sort of meaningful measure to determine a winner of tonight’s pivotal Game 6 and instead focus on seven serious – and admittedly not-so-serious – factors which should bode well for Houston’s chances to emerge victorious this evening. Why seven? We’ll explain later.
1.) Home Sweet Home
The Rockets are not merely very good at home, they are elite. Since the calendar flipped to 2009, Houston is a remarkable 24-4 (.857 winning percentage) within the friendly confines of Toyota Center. What’s more: Houston has been an especially ungracious host to the Trail Blazers, as Portland has lost 12 of its last 13 games in Clutch City and is 0-7 all-time in Houston during the playoffs.
Another number to consider: 52-27 – that’s the all-time record of home teams in Game 6 which find themselves up 3-2 in a best-of-seven series in the NBA Playoffs. Then there's this: Portland has never won a postseason series when trailing 3-2. The Blazers are 0-5 all-time in such situations.
2.) The ‘R’ in Rockets stands for “resilient”
That Houston is a team possessing profound bounce-backability (yes, I just made that word up) is no surprise to fans who have watched this season’s Rockets’ squad all year long. By now we all know the stories of how this group came together after a start plagued by injuries and inconsistency to make it as far as they have. But perhaps nothing reveals Houston’s true fortitude more than its record following defeats. The Rockets are a jaw-dropping 24-6 in games after losses this season (including playoffs). Pretty strong evidence that we’re in for a top-notch performance in Game 6.
3.)Everything that could go wrong, did go wrong in Game 5, yet the Rockets still had a chance to win
Walking out of the Rose Garden after Game 5, I had a serious case of déjà vu – the experience was just so strikingly similar to the feelings experienced following Game 2. Both games were seen as must-wins for Portland, and both witnessed offensive explosions from Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge. But the similarities don’t end there. The Rockets also played far from their best ball in those two contests and foul trouble played a key role in each as well. All those things and more went against Houston during both games.
Now give credit to the Blazers – they were a desperate team, they played well and certainly had a great deal to do with the Rockets’ struggles. However, for everything that conspired against Houston in those two games, one simple fact remains: The Rockets still found themselves right in the thick of things at the end with a reasonable chance to win both games. Call me crazy, but I think it’s a great sign that Houston can take the Blazers’ best punch, in the Rose Garden no less, and still hang right in there ‘til the bitter end.
4.) Ron Artest is due for a big game
It’s no secret that Artest has struggled to find his stroke from the field in this series. He’s shooting just .377 through five games and, as a result, all his offensive numbers are appreciably down from his regular season averages. But good players always find a way to right the ship eventually – just look at Boston’s Ray Allen last year – and the bet here is that Artest delivers a signature performance before the Toyota Center faithful tonight.
5.) The grizzled vet
How many times have we seen it in sports? The aging, experienced player relegated to spot duty suddenly finds himself thrown into the postseason fire and conjures a bit of his old magic while helping his club to victory. With Von Wafer’s injury forcing him to the sideline for Game 6, the stage is now set for Brent Barry to fill just that role.
6.) Feliz cumpleaños, Luis!
It’s probably safe to assume Luis Scola’s birthday wish list consists of just one thing: A Rockets win tonight. And given the fact he’s been Houston’s most consistent player throughout this series, you can count on Scola bringing his ‘A’ game in an effort to turn tonight’s contest into one big birthday bash.
7.) The reverse jinx
The time has come for me to re-visit the preview pick I made at the beginning of this series. I concluded that column of seven key match-ups (hence, the seven reasons listed here) by picking Portland in 7. I (rightfully) caught a great deal of grief for doing so. That said, while I fully own up to my despicable and unforgivable act of treason, I do feel as if it’s only fair to note that I pointedly picked the Blazers while praying it would serve as a reverse jinx against them – and now the Rockets have a golden opportunity to make that happen.
Let there be no doubt: I remain respectfully fearful of Portland and, especially, Brandon Roy. But for all the reasons listed above, I now find myself feeling refreshingly confident and optimistic prior to tonight’s tilt. The tortured Houston sports fan in me longs to resist such positive thinking, but I’ve chosen to embrace it all the same.
Pressure? What pressure? Bring on the Blazers and Game 6.
I believe.
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