[ClutchFans] How the West playoff matchups could best align for the Rockets

Dream Scenario?

Doesn’t matter, we gotta win 2 series to face the wars, and we will defeat any and every opponent 95% of the time. This year, we just have the superior team vs everyone not named GSW.....when we are healthy and they are healthy.

If GSW gets knocked off, an asterisk will be beside our names again.

TL;DR....Don’t care who we face, don’t care about the asterisk either, get the chip, and all of the world will be ok.

 

Don't agree with this statement. Is there an asterisk assigned to the GSW for winning 2015 with no Kevin Love or Kyrie Irving? No one mentions this at all.

I think if the GSW get knocked out before playing Houston, it's going to reflect how bad of a job Kerr did getting these guys prepared. Without Curry, there are three all-stars on that team. Name one other team that has three all-stars right now? It's also going to reflect badly on KD. KD is supposed to be the guy anyways.

At the end of the day, I think it's Houston's year to win it. These guys are hungry and there is truly a chip on their shoulders this year.

 

and the warriors played injured teams their entire 2015 run. did steph even face a starting point guard? dwight had a knee injury in the first game and was hobbled thereafter. steph got to work over jason terry because pat was out. no one cares about your injuries.

 

If it stays like it is today, I think it is in our favor. The GS/OKC series will be the one to watch. I am wanting OKC to "pave the road."

 

What is it going to take in order for OKC to stay at the 7th seed?

 

not really considering we won the season series and were 2-0 against them when we had Harden in the line up

 

OKC in the 7th doesn't look possible to me. Looking at the records and standings and a couple assumptions, I think it will shake out close to this:

1 HOU
2 GSW
3 UTH
4 POR
5 NO
6 OKC
7 SA
8 MIN

*assumptions: OKC beats MEM (probable), UTH beats POR (just based on how both teams have been playing in last 5 games/5-0 vs 1-4), NO over SA (looking at last few games, NO at home) and a MIN over DEN (no real reason, just guessing, addressed below*).

No matter what happens tonight either SA or NO will end up with 47 wins, if OKC beats MEM, then they'll have 48 and be seeded above one of those teams keeping them out of 7th. If OKC loses then check out the scenarios below. If MIN wins and OKC loses, things get even more confusing, see below.

* now if DEN beats MIN, and SA loses to NO, then SA and DEN have the same record, and are both 2-2 against each other, since different division, have to look at conf records, those will be the same, then you have to look at their records vs playoff teams in the western conf, which I haven't done, also if DEN wins, they have the tie breaker against OKC, so they would be above them, but below SA, so it would seed 6 -SA, 7 -DEN, 8- OKC) IF NO loses to SA, then DEN seeds higher than NO, 2v1 record, and above OKC due to record, so then 6 -DEN, 7 -NO, 8 -OKC. If NO loses along with OKC and MIN wins then those 2 will be in the 6 7 8 positions, buts there it gets weird(er). they have identical wins, ok each holds a versus advantage over a different team, (NO over OKC, OKC over MIN, MIN over NO by virtue of record against each). So now its a paper/scissors/rock thing. Normally you have to look at div if they are division rivals, but NO isn't in the NW like the other 2, so I'm not sure if you go to Conf records for all 3 then? Not sure, but I bet some one here would know.

I may have made a mistake somewhere in there, but I think its right...

 

Houston will play either Minn or Denver and GSW will play either SA or OKC in first round. We is all good.

 

Can we even play Denver under any scenario? I thought them finishing in 8th was impossible at this point.

 

No... and OKC cannot end up 7th either...

 

Badically it will be NO or Minn.
Favorabte either way.

 

I thought if OKC lost tonight vs MEM there could still be a possibility they will be a 7th seed?

 

I think that would drop them to the 8th seed. 7th is not possible for them.

 

The only way we play the Spurs in the 1st round is if the Nuggets/Pelicans/Thunder win tonight.

The dream scenario would be Jazz, Pelicans, Thunder, Wolves all win. Then the standings would be:

1. HOU
2. GSW
3. UTA
4. POR
5. NOP
6. OKC
7. SAS
8. MIN

Rockets would have an easy path to the WCF, even with Luc Mbah a Moute. Probably sweep the Wolves, or win in 5...then they'd get either a Pelicans team with only one reliable good player or they get a Blazers team who have struggled lately.

Warriors would have to beat Pop and the Spurs in the first round without Steph Curry, and then have to face either a red-hot Jazz team who just beat them by 40 points, or the Thunder.

 

If Denver wins and SA loses, both would end up with 47 wins and SA holds a 2-1 record against Den. Assuming OKC beats MEM (they'll have 48 wins along with NO and either POR or UTH), in that case DEN would be in 8th and SA 7th postion.

 

This could happen! Im looking at that UTA vs POR game -thats going to determine everything in my eyes

 

I don't mind seeing the SAS play Warriors 1st rd which is more likely to happen than OKC playing them.

 

I wonder if the Blazers prefer playing Rockets in 2nd rd vs. Warriors. If so, they might want to lose tonight and drop to 4th.

 

There is no chance OKC plays the Warriors as 7th seed. I posted the same chart last night. It explained why
the Warriors completely laid over for the Jazz last night. They didn’t want anything to do with the Thunder
in the 3 possible scenarios that could pit them together had the Warriors won.

Cowards. Kinda explains why the Warriors have been playing wimpy like for the last 10 games.
They’ve been more concerned with jerking around the seedlings than actually playing right.

If Memphis wins tonight. That means the Thunder want us in the first round. Bring it on.