Clutch: Ranking the Rockets Potential Opponents

I agree with those, except for Portland being number 2. I'd switch New Orleans and Portland around and everything else I agree with. Thanks for the article Clutch.

 

Mine are a bit different.

1. New Orleans - Beat 'em by 11 earlier without Yao and in New Orleans. They even had Chandler. I just can't see them winning.

2. Portland - Great match-up, but Portland is young... they could beat us with pure energy. Still, the second-best match-up IMO, and I don't see much of a problem here, either.

3. Dallas - They're insanely hot at the moment. They're crushing other teams... but New Orleans did beat them, so it may all just be a fluke.

4. San Antonio - They're gimped, but still have won several championships together and it's an odd year. Never count 'em out.

5. Denver - They're overrated and I'm pretty sure we could beat 'em, but Mr. Big Shot has been there before.

6. Utah - Bad match-up for us and we all know the history...

7. L.A. Lakers - Yeah, don't want to ever face them if possible. I'd love it if Utah knocked 'em off in round 1 and then Portland knocked off Utah. Or Portland knocked off L.A. in round 2 (since apparently L.A. can't win in Portland)... either way, knock 'em off please.

 

I must be out of the loop here.

Am I really supposed to be scared about Denver's defense? Maybe they D up in spurts, but other times I see them totally quit on defense like they're the Warriors. George Karl a mad scientist? I guess he's so mad the players stop listening to him sometimes. At least that's what I've seen in their epic 1st round playoff busts. I think we could beat Denver even without homecourt advantage.

 

Good analysis!

I like this:

 

Good article Clutch.

Mine:

1. Portland
2. Hornets
3. San Antonio
4. Dallas
5. Denver
6. Utah
7. Lakers

Other than the Jazz and Lakers you can make credible for/against any of the other 5 teams, and I'm not afraid of Denver at all.

 

1. Dallas
2. Portland
3. San Antonio
4. New Orleans
5. Denver
6. Utah
7. L.A.

 

1. Dallas
2. Nola
3. Portland
4. Spurs
5. Nuggets




yes I left out the Jazz even though I think this year we can finally beat them.

 

Mine is a LITTLE different:

1. Dallas - It would just be sweeter than sweet to beat these guys in a playoff series....almost to the point of being cathartic. And I think the Rockets are more than capable of doing it.

2. New Orleans - Outside of Chris Paul, they just don't have anybody that the Rockets couldn't handle. Our second unit is heads and shoulders above theirs.

3. Portland - Conventional wisdom shows that on paper, we are the superior team (which we are), but I don't really want to deal with those insane crowds in the Rose Garden in a playoff series until I have to.

4. Utah - This Jazz team is low on confidence, execution, and toughness right now, but all it would take is one slip-up in Toyota Center to get these guys believing in themselves again. Even though I truly believe we can beat them this year in a 7 game series, I don't want to find out until at least the second round.

5. San Antonio - They could be without Duncan, Parker AND Ginobili, and I would still fear them in a 7 game series. Gregg Popovich is the greatest post-season coach of this era, and I think it would be a tall order to win 4 games against our I-10 rivals.

6. Denver - Again, we've taken the season series from them 3-1, but the regular season is FAR different than the post-season, and this team seems like it's built for playoff success. Couple the fact that they have a long athletic front-court (Nene, Martin, Andersen) with the fact that they have a rock-steady force at PG, this could end up being a nightmare match-up for us. I would still love to get a crack at them.....but only in the second round.

7. LA Lakers - This is a no-brainer. This team is just flat-out better than us in every area where it counts. The only time I want to see these guys is in the Western Conference Finals.

 

I would prefer to play the Mavs or Blazers in the 1st round for the simple reason that they are the only other teams in the playoffs without a top tier point guard. Rank those for me as 1 and 2.

3 is New Orleans because I think last year they got extremely lucky to do as well as they did. They had no injuries. Paul has to do it all now. There is no Pargo to bring off the bench to hit jumpers in your face. Peja and Chandler's health can't be 100%. You contain David West and Paul can go nuts and it won't matter (See the last two times he went for 40+ points)

4 is San Antonio for me. I think they are severely limited without Manu and a spry Duncan, but they can still run the halfcourt game as good as anyone as long as they have Tony Parker. Still they don't scare me as much as long as Mason and Finley don't catch fire, they are very beatable in a 7 game series.

5 is Denver just because they are a scary, scary team. I don't want to be facing Chauncey Billups in the playoffs to begin with. The X factor is JR Smith. Sometimes he comes off the bench and drops 15 points before you can blink, sometimes he's a knucklehead. Chris Andersen annoys Yao down low and Nene is also pretty adept at finding ways to score on Yao. They have an 8 man rotation that is as solid as you can get.

6 is Utah, I just don't want to see them again. I hate their guts, I hate their flopping, I hate how they exploit us defensively with Boozer and Okur, and I hate how Williams annihilates us. Just Please God no.

7 Lakers... Duh. We didn't really prove we could beat them.

 

Mm... It is an analysis very based on stats. Mine would be:

1.- New Orleans. Because strangely we can defend Paul better than Parker or Williams. He's gonna make better stats, sure, but thats because Hornets abuse grossly of him. To play a series of 7 games against that monotonous offense is in the long run easier than to defend a team that uses more resources. In other words, the quality of thiur game is pretty low. We play better, we have better roster and if they have Paul, we have Yao.

2.- Dallas. Dallas Mavercks are declining. Arguably the playoff team with the worst shooting selection, that's a poor offense. They have potential to be dangerous, but again, in a long series I believe more in better organized and better worked teams. They have 0inside presence offensively. Nobody can play back to the basket. Defensively, there are harder teams.

3.- Portland. Yes, we've won them 2 times in Houston, playing very good basketball. But Rose Garden is gonna be very hard arena in playoffs; they have some 'playoff players' like Roy, Aldridge, Rudy, Outlaw, who can step up and take over a game, they're players who grow up with a heated atmosphere. They have enough talent to stay on every game even playing a bad game, and they have one of the better players in NBA closing games in Roy. On the other hand, they are rookies in playoffs, they are somewhat predictable with the Roy-Adridge tandem, and also we have players who can defend them well.

4.- Denver. Like Dallas, another team with a potential not too efficient offense in playoff basketball, in my opinion. Same with Mavs, they don't have a guy who can play back to the basket, and that always difficults the quality of your game. Yao has destroyed them in some games, and Scola has overtaked Martin too. Plus teams of that game style fix well with players like Brooks or Artest. However, they have talent, they have athleticism, and with Karl I'm smelling already that fronting defense...

5.- Utah. Absolutely a playoff team. Lot of weapons, an open game more difficult to defend over 7 matches; the hardest arena; the psychological factor (the're convinced that they are better), and one of his biggest weaknesses (that's inside defense) is rarely converted into a strength against Yao and us. Nevertheless, we can beat them, I believe Yao can definitely play good against them (it's alll mental). We know their plays, we have a solid scout and the homecourt advantage.

6.- San Antonio. No Ginobili, but still a very dangerous team on a series. Winners, elite defense, lot of experience, no bad shots, a serious problem for Aaron like Parker, and a smart coach who can nullify the Artest effect (like Phil Jackson).

 

I think Portland is dangerous because they are very young with a very mature leader on Roy. i think other than Jazz, portland probably the worst matchup for Rockets.

 

But should I say nullify or effloresce?

 

1. Portland. We're a matchup nightmare for them.

2. Hornets. Sean Marks, Hilton Armstrong, Melvin Ely, a hobbling Tyson Chandler? BRING IT ON.

3. Dallas. Hello, 2nd best center in the world.

4. Spurs. Timmy, how's your knee?

5. Denver. Good matchup. Should be an interesting series.

6. Utah. Not again...

7. Lakers. Will lose. Hopefully we'll be able to avoid them until the WCFs.

 

I agree with your assessment sir clutch

 

I think that everyone seems to buy into the bad match theory of the Utah, and rank them too high without accounting they are not good as last year, so I put them in the number 5.

Mine:

1. Portland
2. Hornets
3. San Antonio
4. Dallas
5. Utah
6. Denver
7. Lakers

 

1. Spurs: they don't have Manu.
2. Portland: they are bad except Roy.
3. Hornets: Chris Paul+ scrubs
4. Denver: Denver will have HCA. horrible place.
5. Dallas: Terry is still a Rockets killer.
6. Lakers: They got Kobe and Referee.
7. Jazz: nightmare.

 

Jason Terry hits every big shot against the Rockets. I don't want Dallas in Round 1 for that reason.

 

Bingo... I get a chill down my spine every time he goes up for a shot.

 

Jason Terry's cockiness bothers me much in the same way that Gary Payton's use to...just don't like that guy.