Speaking of uniform numbers, that reminded me I meant to post this yesterday: Why the No. 37? That’s how many weeks Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” album was No. 1 on the charts. Hmm, why not No. 5? That’s the number of fingers in Michael Jackson’s famous glove.

Things have changed in the NBA. It used to be that the players were influenced more by another MJ. Oh well.

Is there anyone out there who doesn’t think Ron-Ron lives in some sort of parallel universe? I’m still believing Kobe Bryant is going to have trouble with this guy before it’s over. I’m even thinking this might be the player capable of running Phil Jackson out of his job and back to Montana.

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Tags: 37, Dwight Jaynes, Michael Jackson, Phil Jackson, Ron Artest

A lot of people are pointing at Los Angeles coach Phil Jackson and saying yes, Phil can handle Ron Artest. After all, Phil made it work in Chicago with Dennis Rodman. Artest joining the Lakers can do nothing but make the Lakers better.

I would not be so quick to jump to that conclusion.

Rodman, while probably crazier even than Artest, was not the problem on the court that Artest will be. Rodman did not want to shoot. In fact, when you passed him the ball he reacted as if you’d just pulled the pin on a hand grenade and lobbed it to him. What Dennis wanted to do is rebound and he did that just about as well as anyone ever has.

Artest not only wants to shoot, he’s the most toxic kind of shooter — the type who thinks he’s good at it and isn’t. I think it’s going to make for some long nights for Kobe Bryant, trying to somehow get it through Artest’s noggin that those long jump shots he favors aren’t going to be what’s best for the Lakers.

And that team does play in Los Angeles, you know. Ron Artest anywhere near Hollywood just seems like such a potential trainwreck. I’m not sure if Artest looks for trouble or if trouble just has a way of finding him but it’s going to be fun to watch this play out.

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Tags: Dennis Rodman, Dwight Jaynes, Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers, Phil Jackson, Ron Artest

Two disheartening games last night, as far as I was concerned. I know in Orlando they’re saying they got the shaft in Boston last night when officials said an airball hit the rim, allowing the Celtics to retain possession. People are saying for sure it was an airball but I saw three replays where you just couldn’t tell.

But the Magic can’t blame referees for that loss. They imploded in the final four minutes of the game, getting poor shots or no shots and then not stopping the Celts at the other end. “We just quit playing,” Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy said. “We looked like we were trying to run the clock out.”

That injury to Jameer Nelson, the outstanding Orlando point guard, has really hurt in the playoffs. His replacement, ol’ Skip to my Lou — Rafer Alston — is an “And One” streetball refugee who just isn’t up to this kind of heavy lifting, at least so far.

And then there is the Laker-Rocket series. Houston has done a great job of putting together meticulous preparation and monster effort but is way too overmatched. I love how hard the Rockets play but seriously — they’re just not good enough at this point. At the same time, the Lakers have been very inconsistent.

So far, Los Angeles does not look like a team capable of winning an NBA title. The Lakers are just out of sync right now and out of rhythm.

And for all you people who think Ron Artest is the answer for the Blazers, come on. This is a guy who looks great on the odd night when his shot is falling. Or when, for some reason, he decides just not to take any shots. But for the most part he’s a guy who thinks he’s a scorer who will rattle off 20 shots, hit four of them and then shake his head and wonder why everyone is mad at him.

I wouldn’t touch him.

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Tags: Boston Celtics, Dwight Jaynes, Houston Rockets, Jameer Nelson, Los Angeles Lakers, Orlando Magic, Rafer Alston, Ron Artest

First thing about this game: The Trail Blazers are going to have to find out right away how the game is going to be officiated in the post area. Each officiating crew is different. I don’t think you need to automatically assume it will be called tighter than the last game — that’s not necessarily true. The farther we get in series, the more lax the officiating often gets.

All I’m saying is that it’s the job of the post players to adjust to whatever way it’s called. That’s what professionals do — they don’t keep doing the things that referees are calling as fouls. It’s simple — stay out of foul trouble, no matter what it takes. No excuses. This one’s not on the referees, or the fact the game is on the road, fatigue — anything.

By now, each team knows what it takes to win and if it doesn’t do that, well, see you next season.

I’m convinced Houston is going to get Yao Ming more touches tonight than he’s been getting. His frustration, not only on the court during the game but in comments afterward, was apparent. The Rockets must get him the ball more frequently.

In a way, that’s fine. The Blazer centers need to be patient. He’s going to get it a few times. He’s going to get some dunks. What Joel Przybilla and Greg Oden need to recognize is that Yao is not a volume shooter and he’s not used to playing long minutes. Rather than give up a cheap foul to keep him from getting the ball, it’s OK once in a while to allow the basket. In the big picture, Portland’s bigs must stay out of foul trouble.

That’s because the longer the game goes, the more tired Yao is going to get. He’s working on back-to-back 40-minute games and he’s having to play this time with only one day’s rest and a long plane flight. The commute in this series with only one day off is brutal, by the way. I believe you can work a little rope-a-dope with Yao. Let him have shots but make him work — and I think he might just punch himself out after a couple of quarters.

I should also mention that I expect Ron Artest to be a factor. He’s not played well for most of the series and probably has his mind made up he’s going to impact this game. Whether that’s a positive or negative impact remains to be seen.

I’ve said from the start the Blazers will get better as the series drags on. They’re adjusting to playing the Rockets. They’re getting better, Houston is starting to sputter. Portland’s young legs have an advantage — as long as Nate McMillan uses his bench enough to keep the starters fresh.

I fully expect Portland to break through tonight. This is a big game for both franchises but Houston’s recent history of playoff flameouts will be a heavy burden if the Rockets fall behind. The Blazers have a very big opportunity here to make a statement about themselves and where they’re headed in the future.

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Tags: Dwight Jaynes, Houston Rockets, NBA playoffs, Portland Trail Blazers, Ron Artest, Yao Ming

Here are a few (of the many) things I DON’T know about this playoff series:

– Will Aaron Brooks step up and be the point guard the Rockets expected him to be when they shipped Rafer Alston off to Orlando? A lot of people think he’s the key guy in this series for Houston. I’m not sure if he’s quite ready for that yet.

– Will the Blazers, with playoff pressure that can make a basketball feel like a bowling ball, be able to make all those jump shots?

– Will the Rockets be able to score enough points to win if Chuck Hayes has to play more than 20 minutes a game because Luis Scola can’t guard LaMarcus Aldridge?

– Will Portland be able to run on Houston? Will Portland WANT to run on Houston?

– Will the Blazer coaching staff be able to handle the adjustments from game to game that need to be made in the postseason?

– Is no playoff experience actually better than six seasons of first-round playoff exits? You can say all you want about Portland’s inexperience, but I’m not so sure that if a team with a history of six straight first-round playoff flameouts gets down 2-0 in a series, it will be able to climb back into it.

– Will Brandon Roy survive the physical beatdown the Rockets will try to put on him?

– Will Yao Ming survive the physical beatdown the Blazers will try to put on him?

– Who will be the unsung player who will step up in this series and provide the contribution that will mean victory?

– Who will be the star player who will NOT step up in the series and thereby cost his team dearly?

– Has this city been this geeked up about ANYTHING for the past half-decade or so???

A few things I think I DO know about this series:

– The Blazers will be very difficult to beat on their home court, but the most vulnerable game they’ll have will be tonight’s game.

– Ron Artest, at some point in this series, will have a meltdown. The only question will be how severe it will be.

– There will be a moment at some point in one of these games when many Blazer fans will find a referee to blame for whatever bad things have happened.

– Portland’s youth is a big key. While everyone else seems to be dragging into the playoffs, the Blazers may seem a little banged up but they’re in way better shape than most other NBA teams. Portland’s energy should be a big key to this series.

– The city’s collective mood will rise and fall with the bounce of a ball over the next two weeks.

– The two coaching staffs will coach their tails off but in the end, they have a thankless job in the playoffs. If their team wins, the players get most of the credit. If their team loses, they get ALL the blame.

– Break it down. You can make a case that Portland is better than Houston at four of the five positions on the floor and off the bench. You can even say that at center – the one spot where the Rockets have an edge – Portland’s two centers, together, are as effective as what Houston has.

– The Trail Blazers will win their home games and steal a win in Houston, taking care of the Rockets in five games.

– Making predictions is a dicey proposition. Do not bet the mortgage on anything ANYONE says. Luck decides more games than we’d like to admit.

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Tags: Aaron Brooks, Brandon Roy, Dwight Jaynes, Houston Rockets, NBA playoffs, Portland Trail Blazers, Ron Artest, Yao Ming

I have a feeling the Trail Blazers — and most of their fan base — could not have chosen a better first-round opponent to educate them about what the NBA playoffs are really like.

You think you know what a physical game is? Not yet, you don’t. You think you just can’t stand a few players around the league? Wait until you’re done with a best-of-seven battle against Ron Artest, Yao Ming, Luis Scola and Shane Battier. I’m serious here, you’re going to reach hatred by the time this series is over.

The Rockets are going to come hard. And there are not many teams in the league equipped to come quite as hard as Houston. Yao is enormous, as everyone knows — difficult to move, strong as a bull and whining to the officials everytime you as much as breath on him.

But Yao is so long that he’s short on agility. His feet don’t move as fast as he’d like them to move. You see this when he’s fronted at the post and when he’s trying to chase rebounds. He’s a plodder, like most of the Rockets.

But Artest is the real monster. He’s as the strongest small forward/off guard in the league and one of the few players who can herd you around without using his hands. He will body up on you and bump the daylights out of you — and he’s just got enough of a psycho streak in him to make you worry about cheap shots.

But Artest’s legs aren’t as good as they used to be. His lateral quickness is just about gone at this point. He’s also very streaky at the offensive end. It isn’t uncommon for NBA players to run hot and cold, but you don’t necessarily want it to be the guy on your team who takes the most shots — which Artest is. He’s a guy capable of winning you the series by himself — or losing it the same way. He’s no one I’d want to depend on as my key guy.

One thing you can do with Artest is get inside his head. You can rattle him, make him lose his focus and cause him to forget why he’s out there. It’s been happening to him for years. I’m just not sure there’s anyone on this Trail Blazer team skilled at doing such things.

In fact, now that everyone has had their rally and spent a couple of days celebrating their team, it’s time to remind everyone that the NBA playoffs are no place for choir boys. This series is going to get down and dirty in a hurry. Houston is going to march in here Saturday night and try to bully the Blazers all over the floor.

It’s going to be a physical war from game to game and the Blazers must meet force with force. In basketball at almost every level, the aggressive team gets the calls. If you push first, if you slap or grab first, as crazy as it sounds, you’re probably going to end up at the free-throw line first. This isn’t just the NBA, either — it’s the same at the high school level.

You’re going to hate the Rockets by the time this series ends, folks. They’re going to hate you, too.  And that’s the way it’s supposed to be when the stakes are high.

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Tags: Dwight Jaynes, Houston Rockets, NBA playoffs, Portland Trail Blazers, Ron Artest, Shane Battier, Yao Ming

Yes, I believe I’m about the only guy in town who believes the Blazers have an edge in this series. If you’d only forget about the regular-season games between these teams, you’d be able to visualize it a little better.

And that’s what you have to do. The playoffs are a different animal, as you’ll see soon enough. And as far as I’m concerned, you can talk about experience all you want, but it’s not as if there’s a locker room full of playoff success over on Houston’s side. Portland, from top to bottom, has better players than the Rockets. In a seven-game series, that’s going to show.

Just a few early thoughts about this matchup:

– This will be a very physical series. The Blazers are capable of wearing Yao Ming down. He’s going to have a couple of very big and strong defenders laying on him the whole series. And if the Blazers, with that size, choose to play in front of him — which he doesn’t handle well — he’s going to have some frustration getting his hands on the ball.

– The Rockets are going to be very physical with Brandon Roy. Trust me, if he’s tired now, just wait until Houston gets done with him. Ron Artest isn’t even close to as good on defense as he used to be, but he’s super strong and will try to manhandle Roy.

– Portland needs to get good shots and push the ball when it can. The Rockets are not capable of rolling up a lot of points. They don’t have a single player on their roster who can just go get his own shot the way Roy can. They have to keep a lid on the tempo and keep Roy from going off.

– Houston has nobody who can guard LaMarcus Aldridge.

– Rick Adelman is very tough in playoff series, when he can zero in on an opponent’s weaknesses. He’s got a tiny bit of Dick Motta in him — if he finds something that works against you, he’ll run it 100 times in a row until you stop it.

– The Blazers have improved through the course of the long season as much or more than any other team in the league. This isn’t the same Portland team we saw even a month ago. The Blazers are getting better and better the longer they play.

– It’s going to be difficult for Portland to get to the basket. Houston will defend the 3s and the basket area and allow you the medium-range jumpers. The Blazers better not be too anxious to take those shots.

– The best thing about having homecourt advantage is that if you slip up and lose a home game, you have to win only one on the road to regain the homecourt advantage. If Houston loses one at home, it has to win twice up here — and good luck with that.

– It’s been a few years since you’ve seen playoff games, Blazer fans. Remember this — everyone always thinks the team that won the last game is going to win it all. People jump on and off the bandwagon in a hurry. But it’s a long series and you can’t overreact, either way, after just a game or two. Goofy and unpredictable things almost always happen. Luck will play a part somewhere along the way, you can count on it.

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Tags: Brandon Roy, Dwight Jaynes, Houston Rockets, Portland Trail Blazers, Rick Adelman, Ron Artest, Yao Ming

Just a few things to keep an eye on:

– The Rockets are not playing real well right now and have been struggling to find points. This is not a team with a lot of great offensive players, other than Yao Ming. Ron Artest still thinks he is a scorer but he’s never been a great shooter. Aaron Brooks has not been consistent. The others are mostly role players. It’s important that Von Wafer isn’t allowed to get it cranked up in his off-the-bench role. He’s probably the best shooter they have from the outside.

– Rick Adelman’s teams always do a good job of keeping you from getting to the basket. They wall off the paint and make you take medium-range jumpers. He’s always liked his players to take personal responsibility for their defense, though — and this is a very good defensive team. I do not believe Artest is anywhere near the defender he used to be. The big thing with him is that you can’t let his bumping, talking and overall demeanor distract you from what you’re trying to do. At this point of his career, he’s more talk than talent at the defensive end. Shane Battier is the solid defender you have to worry about.

– The Blazers should get second-chance baskets. They should also keep the Rockets from getting them.

– This could be Adelman’s best coaching job. These guys, when you break them down, really aren’t as good as their record indicates.

– Houston has lost two straight. Stretching that streak to three is going to be extremely difficult. Portland has won four straight games by 20 or more points. Stretching that streak is going to be next to impossible.

– I’ll say the same thing I said when the Blazers last visited Texas: It isn’t necessary to win this game. But Portland must keep it close. Take it into the final minute with a chance to win. Show themselves that they can win down there. Another blowout loss to these guys on the road would kind of cancel out all the good things of late.

– Three big words: Possible. Playoff. Preview.

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Tags: Aaron Brooks, Dwight Jaynes, Houston Rockets, Portland Trail Blazers, Rick Adelman, Ron Artest, Shane Battier, Yao Ming

It would be Houston.

Nobody has more respect for Rick Adelman as a playoff coach than I do. He’s going to get the Rockets out of the first round and all the way to at least the conference finals one of these seasons. But I still think it’s the best option for Portland this year in the first round.

First, you’re talking about a team that the Blazers match up pretty well against. The Rockets’ best player, Yao Ming, happens to play the position — center — where Portland’s best defenders play. Portland’s weakest defenders are at point guard, where Houston will start a player, Aaron Brooks, with a lot of talent but not a lot of experience.

Houston also features a player in Ron Artest who is about as predictable as Portland’s weather. The guy can get stormy on you in a real hurry. He’s also one of those guys who can’t shoot but thinks he can make every shot he takes. He’s capable of emotional outbursts and miserable offensive games. The guy is a trainwreck waiting to happen under playoff pressure and Adelman is very likely the only coach in the league who can handle him for any length of time.

There’s also Houston’s run of first-round disappointments. Ideally, I think Portland would profit from NOT having the homecourt advantage. It would put even more pressure on the Rockets, who could easily lose one of those first two playoff games at home.

That would set up the Blazers to hold serve at home and steal the series. I’d also tell you that even though Portland is 0-3 during the regular season against Dallas, I wouldn’t be afraid of the Mavericks in the first round. Frankly, Dallas’ talent level is the weakest of any of the playoff teams — that’s why the Mavs are probably going to be the eighth seed. Given time to prepare, Portland would handle them.

I like the Blazers against Utah, too. The Blazers, top to bottom, are more talented than the Jazz.

I’d worry about San Antonio, whose playoff experience sets it apart from the other teams, and Denver. The Nuggets are unpredictable but seem to have great confidence against the Blazers. Chauncey Billups has been such a difference maker for them.

The Lakers? Portland couldn’t beat them in the first round but it would be a series with nothing to lose and a lot to learn. Good experience. But it’s not likely to happen because the Blazers are going to get higher than the eighth seed, I’d assume.

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Tags: Dallas Mavericks, Denver Nuggets, Dwight Jaynes, Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Lakers, Portland Trail Blazers, Rick Adelman, Ron Artest, Utah Jazz, Yao Ming

Of course, Brandon Roy made it. Any attempts to portray it as doubtful were uninformed or just plain stupid. The coaches are not fools.

But on the other hand, any thought of LaMarcus Aldridge getting there were just as ridiculous. Way too many good forwards in the West and guys with a lot of years in the league, too. It’s quite frankly always going to be difficult for the Blazers to get more than one player in the game unless they’re the best team in the West.

Someday, Greg Oden, Aldridge and Roy could all be there at the same time — as long as Portland has the best record in the West. Usually, for this to happen, at least one of them has to be voted into the game and the others added by coaches.

Which reminds me, my feeling is that Blazer fans aren’t doing a very good job of stuffing the ballot box. I’m calling you out right here and now, Blazermaniacs. You just aren’t representing. Roy got 468,688 votes. That’s puny. Jamal Crawford got more votes than that. Next season, you’re going to have to get organized and hit it a lot harder.

Either that or the front office is going to have to swing a trade for a Chinese player. Yao Ming’s teammates always do wonderfully well in the balloting. Heck, Ron Artest, who has either been hurt or worthless most of the season, got 1.3 million votes.

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Tags: Brandon Roy, Dwight Jaynes, Greg Oden, Jamal Crawford, LaMarcus Aldridge, NBA All-Star Game, Portland Trail Blazers, Ron Artest, Yao Ming