Tonight, the Portland Trail Blazers and the Houston Rockets are set to play in the second game of their first round series. The Blazers shocked the Rockets in game 1, winning in Houston in overtime.
The Portland Trail Blazers took the first game of the series 122-120 in a high-scoring, fast paced overtime game. With the win in Portland, the Blazers took home court advantage from the Rockets. This means that if the Blazers were to lose all of their road games from now on, and win all of their home games, the series would end in six games, with the Blazers on top.
The Rockets need to win this game to stay in the series. If the Blazers win this game, they will have a large amount of momentum going back to Portland to play two more games. This momentum could be the downfall of the Rockets. This game is expected to be as high-scoring, high-octane as the previous matchup.
What the Blazers need to win:
LaMarcus Aldridge needs to continue his streak. After scoring a franchise playoff record 46 points, and grabbing 18 rebounds in game 1, the Blazers will need Aldridge to continue his excellent play. Aldridge was a key player, any run that the Blazers made in game 1 started with LaMarcus Aldridge.
Damian Lillard also needs to keep his play up. Second year point guard Damian Lillard scored 31 points, dished out 5 assists, and grabbed 9 rebounds in his first ever playoff game. Lillard need to continue his 4th quarter production, while scoring some more early in the game. If Lillard can take his fourth quarter play, and use that aggressiveness in the first two quarters, it would be a large help in acquiring an early-game lead.
Robin Lopez did more than was expected from him, considering he was guarding Dwight Howard. If Lopez can stay out of foul trouble, it would help the Blazers tremendously. If Lopez fouls out in this game, and Howard doesn’t, the Blazers will feel the effect of it for the rest of the game.
A solid performance from the bench. Bench scoring was a little below where the Blazers need it to be in the playoffs. If the Blazers want to have a chance at winning in late close game situations, they will need to be able to rest their starters more. Mo Williams will have to step up his defensive effort when playing Jeremy Lin as well. Thomas Robinson has been effective on the defensive end, but he lost some easy offensive rebounds that could have made the game much easier for the Blazers.
What Houston Needs to Win:
Patrick Beverley. Beverley has been the key component in stopping Blazers’ guard Damian Lillard from exploding on the offensive end. Beverley did an outstanding job guarding Lillard last game, but Lillard somehow still managed to score 31 points. If Beverley can keep him at 20 PPG for the rest of the series, it would be huge for the Rockets.
Dwight Howard needs to continue his play. Howard has been effective on the offensive end of the floor, and has been efficient at boxing out offensive rebounding machine Robin Lopez. Howard needs to continue this play, but he needs to make more of a presence in the post on the defensive end. Foul trouble will also be a huge factor in the Rockets’ play.
Jeremy Lin is going to have to score at least 15 points off of the bench in this series. In game 1, he was consistently matched up with Mo Williams, which is a matchup that he can take advantage of on the offensive end. If he can lead the Rockets’ bench to a high-scoring night, the Rockets are almost guaranteed a win.