Intentional... Rocket usually get the most b2b's any given year. The team needed this rest 2-3 weeks ago. Now, we get plenty rest before getting plenty more rest (All-Star Break).
You won't be happy with March then. The Rockets have another 2nd night of a B2B in Denver(and the Nuggets will again be well-rested).
Adam silver instructed the schedule makers to make life as difficult as possible because aliens. The burden of proof is on everyone else to disprove me. Until I see evidence to prove me wrong Im gonna assume adam silver hates the rockets because aliens
pretty sure as of a couple of days ago (haven't checked lately), the Lakers had had more away games than we did
any chance that has to do with being situated in the middle of the country? as opposed to teams on either coast? serious question, haven't really given it much thought before, but I wonder if there's a rational reason rather than just the "NBA is out to screw us" conspiracy theories.
THE NBA IS NOT OUT TO SCREW THE ROCKETS IN MARCH AND APRIL AS THE THREAD STARTER CLAIMS. The schedule is not bad at all in March and April. I will post it again: Assuming you are using March as the last month, the Rockets have 2 sets of back to backs. (one set in April). They played more games in December and January than in March and the same amount in November. Obviously less in February due to the All Star break and only having 28 days. Out of the 15 games in March, 8 are against teams that currently have winning records. 8 home games, 7 on the road. In April, they have 6 games in 12 days split 3 home/road, with the game against the Clippers the only one against a team with a winning record. Further post: How are they 'screwed' by the schedule makers? What is 'bad luck' about the schedule? Including March and April there are 43 days and 21 games. 3 back to backs in that time. Less games in March than any other month except February. 11 home games, 10 road games. 9 games against teams with winning records, 12 against teams with losing records.
Who cares? We are sounding like a bunch of special snowflakes..... Just play the game, stop whining, and win. DD
DD we agree!!!! I think it's good for us. The team can look back at it during the allstar break and honestly say, since training camp, we've had the hardest travel and b2b schedule in the league and we still have the 3rd best record. Even better than the defending champs. We are set to really take off after the allstar break. I think 58-59 wins is very realistic. Unfortunately we dropped some easy ones that will prevent us from getting to 60+ but nothing wrong with 58-59. But this team could go 19-5 after the break assuming they handle the heat weds. It's def not that far fetched.
I don't miss the grind. I like the February Rockets(last 8 minutes of the ATL game notwithstanding). They look like the December Rockets.
This. 4 games back in the loss column puts the spurs squarely in the drivers seat. I would love to take the 2nd seed. But it is not likely. 3rd seed seems like the spot. If those below us beat each other up and we clinch the 3rd seed and 2nd looks like a pipe dream I say we trot out Brewer, Trez, Wiltjer, Ennis and Brown as your starters. Give our rotation guys spot minutes just to make sure they don't fall asleep on the bench.
The fact is that the majority of teams in the course of the entire NBA season are *never* at a point where they have played significantly more games than the average team AND the very most road games. Let alone at that point for the better part of a month. That means the Rockets had a longer and more extreme fatigue/injury-susceptible stretch than anyone in the league will probably ever have this season. I don't believe this means anyone is out to get us -- someone has to have the worst schedule every year. But it DOES mean we had some bad luck.
Schedules tend to balance out over the long haul. If a team has a tough first half schedule they also have a light second half schedule, and vice versa. The Rockets had a very tough first half schedule this year but the second half is pretty favorable. I think the Rockets have like the 3rd or 4th most favorable schedule to finish the year among all NBA teams. Don't quote me on that, though because last time I checked it was 2 weeks ago and depending on how other teams have moved or what deals are made before the deadline it could change things a bit. The Rockets have played 58 games so far, so they only have 24 more games left to finish the season. While most other teams are sitting on 55 or 56 games played. The Rockets are currently tied with the Lakers, Grizzlies and Magic for most games played so far and are currently tied for 2nd most road games played among western conference playoff contenders. The Rockets only have 2 more B2B games for the remainder of the season. The shitty thing is that one of those B2B's will be against Portland the first night and GS the next, both on the road. Late March will be the toughest portion we have left, but the schedule looks pretty good for the most part from here on out. Only question is will the Rockets capitalize on it? I think they will.
