Kevin Pelton's thoughts on the game, from Basketball Prospectus

[Minstrel]

1. Welcome to the Rose City, Andre Miller
During the second quarter, Andre Miller demonstrated why the Blazers signed him last summer. At the start of the period, with Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge on the bench, Miller orchestrated a 23-7 run that gave Portland control of the game. The style was what I envisioned when suggesting Miller might fit better as a reserve. He pushed the tempo, turning Houston turnovers into layups and dunks at the other end. Miller was in the game most of the stretch run, even briefly teaming with Steve Blake in a small backcourt. Here, the results were more mixed. Miller's steadying presence was useful and he nailed a huge set-shot three-pointer (after first stopping for several beats to think about it, with no Rocket defender finding him). However, Miller also took a leading role at the expense of Brandon Roy at times, one of the concerns about a Roy-Miller backcourt.

4. Greg Oden?
The Portland big man certainly stayed busy all night long. There's a palpably different air of confidence around Oden this season that even extended to his pregame address from center court. However, Chuck Hayes tested Oden's developing post-up game. Even giving up six inches at 6'6", Hayes battled Oden in the post and earned a complete victory. Oden did not score until a follow dunk in the game's final minute. That's not to say Oden had a bad night, even with seven turnovers. He anchored the Portland defense with five blocks and something that will not show up on the stat sheet, his improved ability to step out and defend the pick-and-roll. Add in 12 rebounds in 26 minutes, and it was an effective outing--even if it caused us to check Basketball-Reference.com to see if any player in NBA history has ever gotten a rebound-block-turnover triple-double (it's never been done, for the record).

http://www.basketballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=751

 

[BenDavis503]

Heck yeah! Good read.

And you guys, Chuck Hayes is a good player. I am not worried that he gave Oden a mess of trouble.

 

[ebott]

The one thing I agree with more than anything else is "I love Red Panda at halftime."