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.