Beat (up by) LA!

The Rockets succumbed to the Lakers yet again last night, allowing a clean sweep for the season by the hated west-coast team. Worse yet, they fell to fifth seed in the playoff standings, behind Portland. I say worse yet because Houston has historically not fared well in the Pacific time zone. I think there is something about playing late games out there that just screws up Texans' equilibrium.

Once again, during crucial stretches in the fourth quarter, Aaron Brooks lost all memory of how the offense was to work and Ron Artest tried to challenge the Lakers to a one-on-five game. Maybe I should just cut-and-paste that comment from the last 20 times I've written it. It's getting old and it is a prime reason why the Rockets are not favored to get very far in the playoffs. Perhaps it's time to just mail it in and wait for McGrady to get back next year. The Rockets desperately need a go-to guy down the stretch.

If the season ended today, the Blazers would be Houston's first-round opponents. That is a distinct possiblilty eventually anyway. Of Houston's six remaining games, 3 are on the road and 4 are against playoff teams. Portland, on the other hand, has 4 of their last seven on the road, but only 3 are against playoff teams. The status quo may be the way it ends up. On paper, Houston matches up pretty well against the Blazers, but the game isn't played on paper and the young Trailblazers are hungry and would have home court advantage. Still, of all the first round match-up possibilities, I like the Rockets' chances in Portland best.