Plenty of Positives in Opener

On opening night at the Rose Garden on Tuesday, the positives certainly outweighed the negatives (there were a fair amount of both), and the ultimate goal was achieved. The Trail Blazers beat the Houston Rockets and got the season started with a win.In the third quarter it looked like the Blazers were about to make this thing a blowout, as they built a 20-point lead, but the scrappy Rockets hung tough, cutting the lead to six very late, before falling 96-87.There were also some odd things about this game, and that was probably expected. The Rockets, in their current state, are a very unconventional team. That will probably spell defeat for them on most occasions this season, but they also have the potential to cause people problems with how they play. It's so different that you really can't concentrate on how you want to attack them, or how at all times you can stop them. They'll be chippy at times, outwork teams on some nights, but mostly will probably see a lot of game...