The On Deck Circle

That’s what we have in the NBA Western Conference 4/5 matchup with the Portland Trail Blazers and the Houston Rockets. This seems to be the most intriguing first round matchup in either conference. The Blazers, the second youngest team in the NBA, come into the playoffs on a hot streak having won their last six and ten of their last 11. The Rockets had a chance to wrap up their division and the second seed in the Western Conference with a win at Dallas in their regular season finale, but had a fourth quarter collapse and lost home court advantage and have fallen to the fifth seed.

The Blazers are making their first playoff appearance since 2003 and have gotten to where they are through solid drafting by management. Three of their stars have been drafted in the top-6 since 2006 and have developed and blossomed in Portland under potential coach of the year, Nate McMillan. The problem with the Blazers youth this time of year is that they lack that much needed playoff experience and did not go out and secure a veteran leader at the trade deadline. Sure, they do have Spaniards Rudy Fernandez and Sergio Rodriguez, who have experience playing in the Spanish league and for the silver-medalist Spanish national team, but that isn’t like playing the NBA. Michael Ruffin does have 19 playoff games under his belt but he is averaging a mere 1.9 points per game in the playoffs. What they lack in experience, they hope to make up in athletic ability. The Blazers are quick and a dangerous shooting team…and have a big time impact player in Brandon Roy who plays like a veteran despite being in the league for only three years. Also, winning their last game of the season, against division champion Denver, got Portland home court in this series, where they posted the second best home record in the Western Conference. Having that home court advantage will really help settle this team down come Game One of the series.

Although the Rockets do have some playoff experience, having made it to the tournament stage for the third time in a row now, they have not been able to make it out of the first round, having lost to the Utah Jazz each of the last two years. The Rockets have not won a playoff series since 1995! One thing going for the Rockets is that they will not be facing the Jazz here in the first round. All-star Tracy McGrady is also out for the Rockets, but that may be a good thing because McGrady has never won a playoff series anywhere he’s played. For Houston to win this series, they are going to need to get on the boards and have Yao play like a monster down low. They’re also going to need Ron Artest, Von Wafer and rookie Aaron Brooks to step up and provide some secondary scoring. Most importantly, they are going to need to contain Brandon Roy, who manages the game so well and has amazing ball-handling abilities.

If the Blazers can get over their youth and play like they did in the regular season, they should be able to move past the Rockets and into the second round. Some people might think this sounds crazy, but if the Blazers play like they have since the All-Star Break, they could, and will, challenge Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers (or anyone else for that matter) in the Western Conference. Sure, there may be some nerves for these young guys, but having that home court advantage early will play to their advantage and will get those butterflies out early. And when you have a player as big as Brandon Roy, the nerves will not affect his performance and he will influence his teammates to play smart and play hard.