So THIS is why the Rockets got Ron Artest

We said the Rockets needed a leader or at least a co-leader. We said that Yao needed a partner to share responsibility for this team's fortunes. Ron Artest took over in game six helping the Rockets create a 20 point lead in the third quarter that would ultimately be enough to put Portland away. He was awesome early and entertaining late.

The Rockets are out of the first round. There are many people to thank. But Artest deserves the MVP award for at least the close-out game.

This was no small feat. Avoiding Game 7 in Portland was almost like the Mets avoiding seeing Mike Scott in Game 7 of the NLCS in 1986. This was a must win game and the Rox came through splendidly.

The supporting cast played well enough but it was Artest and Yao in the third quarter that did the job. Aaron Brooks was big in the fourth.

Artest's performance was so complete he even took time to celebrate with fans along the baseline while the ball was still in play. He also saluted the Blazers on the P.A. after the game and announced that the team isn't done. That the first round victory is a stopping point not a destination.

You'll have to excuse Rocket fans if they are a tad on edge. Their team has one of those must win games at Toyota Center Thursday that, if lost, would send them into a Game 7 buzzsaw which they might not recover from.

A loss in this first round series with Portland will have most questioning the direction of the franchise, fair or not.

I picked the Rockets in six and stated at the time that I wasn't utterly confident in that prediction. I certainly didn't see them winning a game seven on the road. Now you see why. It's hard to put your finger on it but the team lacks a leader to take charge down the stretch and make sure these games come in for a soft landing.



Can Sully play point guard?


Yao, Scola, Artest, Battier and Brooks are all fine players but you just can't help but remember that this team was originally designed for a certain player in street clothes to be the driving force in crunch time. Yes, the Rockets are up 3-2 because their ensemble cast has made plays. But I'm thinking that the search for the next great Rocket leader is still on.

This takes nothing away from Yao. When the opponents defense is designed to stop one player that's a tremendous compliment. But almost never do you see great centers winning titles without having another superstar or two along for the ride (insert your 'Dream' response here).

Hakeem had a solid if not super team around him in '94 (look at the bench numbers and you'll weep in nostalgia). The next year Drexler shot over 50 percent from the floor and pumped in over 20ppg. Then look at Kareem, Shaq, Wilt, Moses etc. They all had hall of famers with them. Duncan had David Robinson and later a point guard (Parker) who shot anywhere from 46% to over 50% for him (plus Manu).

Yao needs a costar. The TMac era appears to be over and the great complimentary piece to Yao's puzzle might does not appear to be on the roster. That being said, Toyota Center can still be the place of a great moment Thursday night. The Rox have the tools to close this one out. Never mind the mismatch the Lakers appear to be. Let's worry about the 12 year monkey being removed and dwell on the future later.

No Running Backs in the draft?

That's how important defense was to the Texans. And that's how confident they are in getting a combination of a healthy Chris Brown, quality undrafted free agents and/or a player in the second wave of free agency.

Brian Cushing should be a solid player for a Texans front seven in need of more firepower. Hearing the comments of Gary Kubiak, Rick Smith and Frank Bush makes one realize this is the player they wanted all along. It would have been interesting to see what would have happened had Malcom Jenkins been available but Cushing was clearly the most coveted defender at their spot.

Connor Barwin will play defensive end and be expected to make a prompt impression as a pass rusher. It's not like he has to have starting chops right away but he must at least show potential as a situational player. When you consider that he was a tight end and has ability as an OLB you get the idea that he could contribute.

What both players have in common is energy and versatility. Cushing can play all three linebacker positions and has a great motor. Barwin had the drive to make it through a position change into the second round of the draft.

You might look at picking Antoine Caldwell in the 3rd as a bit of an "upset" but the Texans were quick to point out that it's rare to see an offensive line hold together for the entire campaign like last year's did. Plus, if you're not trying to move forward and improve you tend to get worse.

And that's what they're thinking in the secondary with safety Glover Quin out of New Mexico. He played corner in college and was the Lobos first cornerback team captain in over a decade so you know he has leadership skills. He's got good speed and ball skills and, along with Barwin, should be a factor on special teams. Gary Kubiak said late in the day that Quin could play nickel back.

Anthony Hill is a blocking tight end who can also catch when needed. But James Casey is intriguing as someone who can not only play tight end but Wildcat QB as well. Defense rounds out the rest of the draft with CB Brice McCain out of undefeated Utah and Troy Nolan, a safety who will have to really shine to make the squad.

The Jets gave up a ton for Mark Sanchez who should start right away against the Texans in the opener. Somewhere, when that deal was announced, Kellen Clemens probably looked like he just ate some bad cheese.

Do you think they sit around in the Raiders draft room and think of ways to throw everyone's mock drafts out of whack?

Here's thinking that the NFL will crack down on teams calling picked players before they're announced. Tweeting, webcasting or texting pre announced picks should also go away because it ruins the TV coverage by taking the surprise out of it. It would be like those bubble teams on the NCAA selection show knowing they are in before the camera can get the reaction.

Game three: Will Yao get fronted again? That's a rhetorical question. Of course he will. But last time it happened the team still managed to get 35 points from the bench, put up over 100 points and shoot 50% in a tight contest. Defense is what's going to make the difference at home.

The NBA has entered it's best era since the 1980s. The Bulls (and Rockets) dominated 90s were fun but Jordan never had a suitable rival. The reason why the Celtics and Lakers were so much fun in the 80s was that they lifted each others' game. Plus, there were a lot of other compelling, fun-to-watch teams like the Rockets, Sixers, Hawks, Spurs, Pistons, etc.

Right now we have so many marquee names to enjoy besides the obvious: Lebron and Kobe. Unfortunately, for this first round series, Brandon Roy is one of them. Throw in Dwayne Wade, Chris Paul, Deron Williams, Tony Parker etc. and you have a lot of young players who are helping this league be as competitive and nearly as entertaining as it was when Magic and Larry roamed NBA arenas.

The Astros bullpen is a concern. They won the first two games from the Dodgers and lost three of four against Cincinnati. In five of the six games the pen had trouble holding leads. Whether it's Geary, Byrdak, Fulchino or Sampson, it's been way too much of an adventure. Good thing the offense is coming around and the team won the Dodgers series despite struggling with relief pitching. You should be encouraged that the starters have pitched pretty well and the 'experts' say the forecast for the pen is good, especially with Brocail coming back soon.

If I'm Nate McMillan I'll have my guys fronting Yao from the opening tip. I will have them chanting "front" in practice. They will have to watch the old Woody Allen movie "The Front" several times. And, the Simpson's episode with the same title. They will be reciting mock weather reports featuring cold 'fronts.' They will handle Yao this way or be threatened with a frontal lobotomy. Anything else would be an afront to the Portland organization.

The simple fact is that from a Blazers point of view Yao cannot be allowed to wheel and deal with straight man to man coverage. In the first minute of Saturday's game one he had five points, a blocked shot and a rebound. Game over.

McMillan will have to take his chances with the Rockets getting another career night from Aaron Brooks or have Artest go off. He just can't afford to let Yao get going the way he did. Of course, Rick Adelman will have something to say about it as well.

Did the Astros really botch another solid starting performance. After Jose Valverde gave up the two run rope to Hernandez on Friday night, Tim Byrdak and Geoff Geary blasted propane all over Felipe Paulino's six shutout innings on Sunday. And you thought starting pitching was an issue.

The silver lining is that...never mind there is none right now. You can't afford to squander these chances early in the season. The Astros need all the help they can get and flushing good pitching work at home is not the recipe for the kind of start they were seeking.

I'll go ahead and pick the Rockets to win this series in six. If it goes seven you can't feel good about winning on Portland's floor because by then this young team will have "grown" with the experience of already having three playoff victories.

But this is hardly a confident pick. Game one is crucial. Without looking at the numbers you would have to say that road teams that win NBA playoff series most often take game one. It sets the tone, quickly reverses home court advantage and puts the 'favorite' on edge.

You could easily see things going right for the Rockets. Yao scores 20ish points. Artest gets lose for 25 and the rest of the guys do their thing as Houston plays good defense. You could also see some obstacles coming into play like poor shooting on the road, crunch time offensive difficulties and surprisingly overall effective play from the young Blazers.

OK Rox fans. You are cleared to be around sharp objects again. I've been hearing from some people in the know that this little trek to Portland might be a blessing in disguise. Portland is a young team that the Rockets match up well against while Dallas is, you know, Dallas. And there was an uneasy feeling about what might happen in seven games with the boys from the Metroplex.

All that being said, it still is mind blowing that 81 games of hard work could go by the boards in one night. Home court in the playoffs has a better than 70% success rate and is worth every floor burn suffered.

The Rockets marketing campaign slogans for next year could include everything from...

Houston Rockets Basketball - So What If We're Playing the Clippers Tonight!? We Need This One and You Know It!

t0

Houston Rockets Basketball - 85% Chance We Win if Yao Doesn't Get Fronted!

But seriously folks, win one game in Portland and home court is yours again. The dream is still alive to make it out of the first round. If that happens we can declare the season a success. It won't be worth closing down Richmond for...but it's a start.

Hey, the Astros won a couple of games in Pittsburgh. Let's close down Richmond.

The Texans schedule looks favorable early then tough the rest of the way. Sure you can talk about playing a 'weak' division in the NFC West plus getting the Raiders and Bengals but the fact is there are some real challenges here as you get deeper into the season.

Opening with three out of four at home is a delight compared to last year. But then it's four out of five on the road. And the Texans have to go about a month (2 road games and a bye) between home games.

They get MNF with the Titans but have to follow up with a short week before hosting the Colts. Then it's more fun on the road with three of the next four away from Reliant Stadium. The capper is the finale against New England at Reliant Stadium.

The road has not been kind to the Texans. They are 12-4 at home the past two years but the opposite away from Reliant. They thought they exorcised the road demons last season when they won at Cleveland and Green Bay. But then they fell flat at Oakland. This year should be different as the team continues to mature. A late season date at a potentially fading St Louis team should spark "remember the Raiders" cries from the coaches.

It appears that weather will not be much of a factor but don't discount the possibility of an ugly day in Buffalo in early November or a monsoon in Miami in December (remember the Colts Super Bowl win?)

Bottom line: if the Texans are going to be a playoff team then beating the big boys will have to be part of the recipe. So bring on a road date with Miami and home tilt with the Pats to close out the regular season. If the Texans are going to break into the post season they will once again have to be playing their best ball in December.

Andre and I had a debate on Friday's show. I said the Texans need to hit a home run with at least one defensive pick in the draft. He thought that as long as they get a player who could eventually start they should be fine based on what they've done in free agency.

I'm not necessarily saying they need an opening day starter but they need to draft the next Pro Bowl-caliber Texans defender for sure. Whether the player begins his career as a situational pass rushing defensive end, a linebacker getting half the snaps or a DB that forces his way into the line up doesn't matter. For Houston to have a great defense a top notch player must be found.

This is no short term thinking. With the issues surrounding Ryans and Robinson we are reminded of how good teams often have trouble hanging on to big name players (think Pittsburgh and New England). I'm not saying the Texans are an elite defense but they have a nucleus of players that are entering second contract territory and things don't always work out the way fans want.

That's why this draft is crucial. Of course you could have said that about '06. '07 and '08 and you would have been right. After 2-14 in 2005 there was little if any room for error in April. Thank goodness, the current regime has been correct more often than not in their decision making in the Spring Super Bowl. They need another big weekend to get this defense in the top half and help keep it that way in the coming years.

You get to Minute Maid Park. You wait on line to get a beer or an upside down small batting helmet with ice cream. You look forward to snapping peanut shells without having to clean up. Then you sit down and wonder "why is Russ Ortiz pitching?"

Brian Moehler got blasted out of the game before many of the Astros fans had a chance to settle into their seats. Ortiz wasn't much better. How can a team possibly hit five home runs and still get blown out? That's a rhetorical question, by the way. A caller asked why Brandon Backe is still on the team. Hey, you need all the pitching you can get. Moehler currently has an ERA of 37.80.

With the Masters starting up we had a question on the show about whether Golf is a sport or a game. The bottom line is it doesn't matter. We all agree that Golf is extremely difficult no matter what you call it. Being in better shape helps but when Angel Cabrera can beat Tiger head to head in a major while chain smoking I'll go ahead and call it a game.

With the Spurs losing to Portland and Tim Duncan looking like he's in need of a bionic limb, the Rockets have a golden opportunity to finish third in the west and avoid the Lakers in the second round. Considering the lack of first round success that's like you saying you'll make a play for Halle Berry after you break up with Anne Hathaway. You can't concern yourself with the second item until you take care of the first.

Forget about the Masters. I'm supposed to play golf with Matt Schaub today. Don't worry, I'll make sure he's not in the path of any of my potentially wayward shots.

Yao Ming bested Dwight Howard in the Rockets win over Orlando last night solidifying his position as the top center in the game. A caller on the morning show said that's like saying Ginger is the best looking redhead on Gilligan's island.

--That was a funny comment but the analogy falls a bit short. We are certainly out of the era of great centers but Yao is easy offense and despite being not the fleetest of foot, anchors a top five defensive team. So just because we don't have a lot of 'red heads' on NBA island we do have a center in Yao Ming who is highly productive against almost all the Gingers, Mary Anns and "Loveys" you put him up against. By the way: Ginger over Mary Ann.

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Is Ed Wade a genius for bringing in Jeff Keppinger? Not really, but last night Keppinger's broken bat hit reminded me of those clutch second half wins the Astros earned last year. Now if they can only get about 89 more of these. Latroy Hawkins was cog in last year's second half run. He didn't give up any home runs in brick red in 2008. But last night Alphonso Soriano hit a shot that made Albert Pujols 2005 shot off Brad Lidge jealous.

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Cleveland has the best record in the NBA. they smashed the Spurs Sunday. Does anyone believe they can win the title? I do. But they have to have home court where they have only lost once this year.

Another question: Would David Stern rather have another Boston-L.A. reprise or get Lebron vs. Kobe? It's hard to imagine NOT wanting Celtics-Lakers but Lebrons star is shinning even brighter than it was in his first Finals appearance in 2007. More importantly, his team is much better now and can actually win a championship.

Fred Couples said he got tired down the strectch of the Shell Houston Open. With so much golf bunched into the final three days several players said their legs were not up to snuff for crunch time. Phil and Vijay can't be happy about not playing well and missing the cut but at least their legs will be fresh for Augusta.

Michigan State looks like a team of destiny but can they really beat a North Carolina team that still looks upset over getting derailed in the Final Four last year?

The Texans may not be making major national headlines with their defensive signings but each player makes them at the very least a little bit better. Cato June still has starter potential. Antonio Smith is certainly an upgrade over Anthony Weaver. Shaun Cody might end up starting. They have improved the team before hitting draft day. Considering the current regime's outstanding draft track record, that's great news.

It's opening night. The NCAA Championship is being played. And 24 is on. Thank goodness for DVRs.

Another thing that makes watching professional golf so compelling for me is that I play the game. Those of you who have seen my game and are snickering now can stop. I never said I played it well but I do play. And that helps me appreciate the efforts of these pros. Plus, Redstone's Tournament course is public. You can play on the same surface as Sergio and Phil. You cannot take batting practice at Minute Maid park, shoot free throws at Toyota Center or catch passes at Reliant Stadium.

I've gotten a lot of feedback on my comment on Denver blowing it in the Cutler deal. Orton is no Cutler. He's not a franchise QB. So picks don't do much in the short term to make you prounounce Denver as a possible playoff team in '09. A talent infusion on defense with a happy, never-shopped Cutler would have at least given them a chance to win a relatively weak division.

Tennessee was in the hunt for Cutler? Say what? Think about the drama surrounding these QBs from the class of '06. If Cutler had ended up with the team that passed him up for Vince it would have been a horror story for #10. You should be happy that Cutler didn't end up in Nashville. They took a big hit on defense with the loss of Haynesworth but Cutler would have made them that much more dangerous offensively to compensate. As is they will be good but right now you can't say they look better than they did going into last year.

Everywhere I go there is doom and gloom about the Astros. They need too many things to break right to consider this a contending campaign. But no one should be surpirsed if they hang around long enough to make this exciting in September. Milwaukee has pitching issues. The Cards are filled with question marks. And the Cubs have a way of staying in striking distance despite having the most talent in the division. One of the starting pitchers will either have injury or performance issues and maybe we see some one like Jose Cappellan or, much later, Bud Norris help out. The bullpen is solid. You know they have firepower but aren't you at least a wee bit concerned about the low OBP potential of Michael and Kaz?

The Final Four is here but the biggest college story of the week was Cal to Kentucky. He stole the ink for a good 48 hours. I like UConn beating 'Nova in the final. I'm starting to get a distinct Larry King in USA Today vibe from this post so I'll check out until the weekend heats up.

The wind at the Shell Houston Open was nasty but not unlike some of my winter romps at Wildcat. However, with the greens rolling at 12-14 you're probably better off putting with a baseball.

Opening day thoughts:

Lefty looks remarkably, relatively in shape.

These guys take an enormous amount of time to get ready for their shots...something you don't always get from television. You're probably watching dramatic finishes on Sunday but it's amazing the level of concentration that goes into making an approach on the second hole on Thursday morning.

You don't have to be in great shape to watch golf but it helps. Prepare to do a lot of walking.

The PGA campaign "These Guys are Good" is dead on. My favorite shots to watch are the approaches. At this level they are throwing darts. When they end up beyond 20-25 feet it's a loss.

Other stuff:

Shaun Cody was on with us Thursday morning. Very thoughtful, intelligent interviewie. Enjoy it on the podcast. He and Antonio Smith certainly make the Texans D-line better. How much better? Get back to me in mid October.

The Broncos blew it. Jay Cutler blew it. Denver was married to Angelina Jolie and made a play for Jessica Alba. Now they're stuck with Molly Ringwald. They had a great offense and took away it's main cog. Sure they can rebuild but how long to the Bronc's faithful want to wait?