I totally agree that *in this series*, the Aldridge / Scola outcome has been a draw, or (at least until last night) an edge to Scola, but I still believe that Aldridge’s talent far outstrips that of Scola.

Regarding your comment of:

“And the Rockets have had more “men” show up in this series. The Blazer boys have had their rites of passage re: the NBA postseason handed to them, courtesy of Houston”

I couldn’t agree more. The Rockets have played mostly up to their potential, and have executed far better. If the Blazers play anywhere close to their own potential, and take better advantage of their own matchup advantages, I think they own this series.

You lost me there. No one in their right mind would advocate trading Scola for Aldridge. But in this series, the 29 year-old Argentinian has outplayed the younger Texan. A lot of this is due to the attention that Portland has to pay to Yao, but the PF combo of Scola/Landry/Hayes has more than neutralized whatever advantages LaMarcus should’ve had “on paper”

So, basically you and Dwight are saying that with better coaching decisions and preparation this roster of Blazers would beat Houston in a 7 game series? Fire Nate McMillian and bring in Jeff van Gundy, is that the answer? Blame the coach, blame the refs, it can’t that be the matchups stink or maybe the players (outside of Roy and Rudy) really aren’t as good as everyone thought? At least not yet, anyway

Changes will be made to the roster, that goes without saying. The only way to find out who the real “keepers” are is to put them through some playoff adversity, that’s when the men are seperated from the boys

And the Rockets have had more “men” show up in this series. The Blazer boys have had their rites of passage re: the NBA postseason handed to them, courtesy of Houston

Ron Artest is shooting 38.3% for the series. He can get the ball all day for all I care. He hasn’t been, and isn’t going to be an offensive factor in this series. In fact, the more he shoots, the better it is for Portland.

Do you seriously believe that we’re in better defensive shape when Travis guards Artest instead of Roy? The play you describe was 1 play. Big deal. How many points did Travis give up when he drifted away from his man and his man cut to the rim for a layup, dunk or offensive rebound?

Roy is the infinitely better defender. And there’s just no scenario where you’re not better off with Rudy than Travis. Rudy only has to guard Battier, which is not a tough draw for him.

Going with Rudy over Nic does not constitute “going small” Rudy’s 6’6”. Brandon is 6’6”. We lose 2 inches at SG/SF against players who aren’t going to be big scorers for Houston anyway. And on the offensive end, we immediately become a smarter, better shooting, better passing, less confused team with Rudy on the floor. It’s a no brainer.

The reason the Blazers are down 3-1 has little to do with “bad matchups”. Portland has huge edges at the PF, SG spots. Houston has a pretty good edge at PG. It’s a draw at SF. Houston has a slight edge at Center, but with the bench, it’s not that big of an edge. Portland’s bench has a huge advantage.

The reason Portland is down 3-1, is that their execution/preparation has been awful, and they’ve got too many players that have looked way too scared and tentative. Portland’s problems are mostly themselves – not the Houston Rockets.

This is the playoffs, not the regular season. History is not on the side of teams that “go small” and try to “impose their will” on the bigger opponent. Ask yourself this…how many championships has Mike D’Antoni or Don Nelson won with their strategy of creating quickness mismatches? No, my friend. Defense and rebounding win games in the playoffs, the game is slower and bumping/grabbing are condoned.

I think the Rockets were the worst possible matchup for Portland in the west, because their roster negates the Blazer’s regular-season rebounding advantages and forces Portland to play a tempo that they don’t like.

It’s not all about coaching, the Rockets have the right players to counter everything that Portland does well. That’s why I was pissed that Portland drew Houston in the first round, and why I (objectively) picked the Rockets to win the series in 6

Sure there is. Outlaw is the only defender with size that Nate can put on Artest. When the game starts and Batum is guarding Ron, what does Houston do? They dump it into the poast and Ron backs Nic down and either gets a lay-in or FTs.

(And who can forget the play where Ron-Ron backed Brandon down, scored the “and 1″ and flexed to the crowd?)

But when Nate puts Travis on Artest, Ron drifts out to the perimeter and shoots 3 pointers.

Size matters.

Now, we agree that Outlaw is not a great defender, especially when it comes to rotations and situational recognition. (I was all over Blazersedge with trade proposals last February begging KP to make a deal and bring in a veteran forward with playoff experience for just this kind of contingency.) But if Nate starts Rudy against Houston, Roy will have to guard Artest (unless you want him guarding Scola and Aldridge on Ron? Let’s not go there) and Artest is going to “abuse” Brandon just like he’s done to Batum.

For now, we’re stuck with Outlaw as the “power small forward” option. But when Artest goes to the bench, THEN Nate can play your 3-guard lineup and Rudy can get his shots up

All of Nate’s substitutions feel reactionary, like he’s plugging holes in a dam to keep it from breaking for 48 minutes. To me, it comes off like we’re scared of losing more than we’re trying to win. We have more talented guys then they do – we just need to play like it! Put ‘em out there and go **** up the Rockets!

You’ve already mentioned how Adelman likes to play the “matchups” game, and he will make sure Artest gets the ball in the post against any skinny wing player the Blazers send out there. Travis is the best defender that Nate has to counter this (which didn’t need to be, if Pritchard had pulled the trigger on a deal at the deadline, but I’ve covered that in previous posts)

Good point marc about Outlaw having success to increase his trade value. This is how Blazer fans “should be” rooting, for all the players. Not all the players will stay around forever, and when it comes time to deal them, you want KP dealing from a position of strength