(My Sportsbook) - The talented but untested Portland Trail Blazers are back in the postseason for the first time since 2002-03 and will begin their Western Conference quarterfinal series against a Houston team that was pushed to the fifth seed after a blowing a 14-point lead against Dallas in their season finale on Wednesday.
The best-of-seven series kicks off Saturday night at 10:30 p.m. (et) from the Rose Garden.
The Rockets won two of three games with Portland this season, but the Blazers took the lone contest between the two clubs in the Rose City, a 101-99 overtime thriller in November won by Brandon Roy's three-pointer as time expired.
Portland finished a stellar 34-7 on its home floor this season, while Houston was also a much better team at home this year, compiling a 33-8 mark in south Texas.
Houston star swingman Tracy McGrady won't be around for the series after being sidelined since undergoing microfracture surgery on his knee but that might be a plus, considering the veteran has never won a first-round series in his career.
The Rockets are still loaded without McGrady, featuring talent like All-Star center Yao Ming, Ron Artest and Luis Scola. but haven't won a playoff series since 1997, a span of six straight first-round exits. Wednesday, Houston was trying for their first division championship since the 1993-94 season when the franchise won the first of back-to-back NBA titles.
Although the Rockets haven't had much success in the postseason recently, they have never lost to Portland in the playoffs, winning a pair of five-game series by 3-1 margins in both 1987 and 1994.
The Blazers, however, feature an extremely young and athletic team that may be the deepest in all of the NBA.
MATCHUPS:
POINT GUARD: Neither club can boast a star at the point. Portland's Steve Blake is a good if not dynamic floor leader, averaging 11.0 points and 5.0 assists per contest. Blake is a steady quarterback that stays away from mistakes, a key component with a young team.
Aaron Brooks took over the point for Houston when the team dealt Rafer Alston to Orlando. He matches Blake at the offensive end, netting 11.0 ppg but manages only 3.0 apg, a laughable number for the de facto starter. Brooks did average 16.0 points per game against the Blazers, however.
EDGE: BLAZERS
SHOOTING GUARD:
Roy is the game's unknown superstar playing underneath the cover of darkness the Pacific Northwest provides. Roy scored 22.6 ppg and added 4.7 rpg and 5.1 apg this season. The All-Star can beat you on both ends of the floor and is especially effective in the waning moments of a close contest. In fact, the Blazers are 9-1 in games decided by three-points or less this season making Roy the best closer this side of Mariano Rivera. A McGrady-less Houston team is just 5-8 in such situations.
The Rockets counter with the volatile Artest, who has played very well since McGrady went down with his season-ending microfracture knee surgery. Artest has kept his nose clean in Houston and can still be a lock-down defender, but doesn't do it as consistently as he once did. Artest is also no slouch at the offensive end, recording 17.1 ppg this year.
EDGE: BLAZERS
CENTER: Joel Przybilla and Greg Oden split time for Portland but the veteran has earned the starting job. Przybilla offers great size and a presence on the boards but certainly can't touch the skill level of Houston's Yao Ming.
Yao amassed 19.7 points and 9.9 boards per game this season and is one of the few legitimate low post threats in the NBA. Yao can also run the offense from the high-post and has a deft passing touch for such a big man. Rockets coach Rick Adelman would also like Yao to develop a more physical presence on the defensive end but that ship has sailed.
EDGE: ROCKETS
SMALL FORWARD: Rookie small forward Nicolas Batum will start for the Blazers but he won't finish, that's Travis Outlaw's job. Batum's main job description is taking threes from the weakside and he did muster a 36.9 percentage from long range this season.
Shane Battier is one the best pure on-ball defenders in basketball when right and should be healthy for this series. Adelman will throw both Artest and Battier at Roy, hoping to wear the All-Star down with a pair of superlative defenders.
EDGE: ROCKETS
POWER FORWARD: A pair of emerging stars will be at the power forward in this game but the Blazers' LaMarcus Aldridge clearly outclasses Houston's Scola.
Aldridge can put up some gaudy numbers, averaging 18.1 ppg and 7.5 rebounds on the season and has too much athleticism for Scola. The Argentine will never give up, however, and will make things difficult for Aldridge with his energy level, tough interior defense and rebounding prowess.
EDGE: BLAZERS
BENCH: The Blazers may be the deepest team in basketball. Nate McMillan can look to his bench and field another group that resembles an NBA starting lineup. Outlaw is one of the top sixth men in the league, averaging 12.8 ppg, good for third best on the team. The sharp-shooting Rudy Fernandez adds another 10.4 ppg and set the NBA rookie record for three-pointers in a season with 159, one more than the previous record-holder, New Jersey's Kerry Kittles.
Oden has had his growing pains and remains injury prone but he's an undeniable presence when on the floor, netting 8.9 ppg and 7.0 rpg. Meanwhile, backup point guard Sergio Rodriguez recently dished out a career-high 12 assists in 18 minutes and forward Channing Frye can contribute here and there.
The Rockets will try to match that firepower with guards Kyle Lowry and Von Wafer along with forward Carl Landry and Chuck Hayes. Wafer and Landry offer the most offense while Lowry will spell Brooks. Hayes, meanwhile, offers energy and an ability to rebound.
PREDICTION: Houston was the big loser on the final day of the NBA season. The Rockets had a chance to win the Southwest Division and snare the No. 2 seed but blew a 14-point advantage against the Mavs, losing home-court advantage in the process and drawing the West's most talented team outside of Hollywood in the young Blazers.
McMillan's team has everything a championship contender needs but experience. Portland's size, shooting ability, defensive intensity and finisher (Roy) will send the Rockets packing in the first round again.
BLAZERS in 7
