Lottery balls that is. We can still catch Denver for the 4th spot. We're 3 games back, with 6 games left to play. With a concerted team effort & some luck, we can catch Denver. That would give us 120 balls, as opposed to 89. The Rockets would have to lose all 6 games & Denver would have to go 3-3 or better. Here's the teams remaining schedules & records against those teams: Houston 9 Tue @ Miami (0-1) 11 Thu @ Dallas (1-2) 12 Fri Portland (1-1) 14 Sun Memphis (1-2) 16 Tue @ Denver (2-1) 17 Wed @ Portland (1-1) The one win against Portland was without Stoudamire. Denver 9 Tue @ Memphis (3-0) 10 Wed @ San Antonio (0-3) 12 Fri Golden State (0-3) 13 Sat Phoenix (2-1) 16 Tue Houston (1-2) 17 Wed @ Minnesota (2-1) Houston has to lose all 6 & Denver has to win the Houston game, Memphis game, & one other game. We would have the same overall record & be tied in head to head competition, but would have the worst division record with Houston being 8-16 & Denver being 9-15. Voila! We would have 31 more precious balls to call our own. Those extra balls could mean the difference between having the #1 pick or the #8 pick in the draft. Tank away baby!
Perhaps now is the time to send Steve to the Mayo clinic that would all but remove any chance of hurting our own draft status
one good thing is that we got swept by cleveland this year so all we have to do is tie them in order to get more balls than them
This thread is depressing....I can't wait to see the day when the Rockets will have barley ANY BALLS...........you know what i mean...
Naw, NJ......I heard that we get the same number of lotto balls if we tie.....and then a coin toss to decide draft position if neither wins any of the top 3 spots...
Hottoady, I was thinking about catching Denver too when I lokked at the standings this morning. Of course losing to Denver is a must, at then tonights game and the Grizzlies games are critical. It would not be as strange as Toronto making the playoffs once VC went on the IR for good. I feel greedy!
Unfortunately, you might be right. The Rockets, in recent years, have shown the ability to take a lost season & go on a winning streak at the end. Just enough to screw themselves out of a higher draft pick.
The Rockets can still get the 4th pick away from Denver. They'll need a major miracle to do it. If Denver wins their last 3 games & Houston loses their last 3 games, we'll be tied in won-lost, head to head & division records, but we'll have the worst conference record. Thus, giving us the 4th pre-lottery pick. This is an extremely long shot, since Howard strained his groin last night & they still have to play Phoenix, Houston, & Minnesota, but stranger things have happened. You just gotta believe. As for you non tankers. Get over it. The team isn't going to learn any new, good or bad, habits in the last 3 games. We're playing for the best possible draft position this year. With NY & Cleveland breathing down our necks, we need every loss we can get. (We're trying to lose, so we can win. Talk about an oxymoron) Otherwise, we could end up with the 7th slot & ultimately the 10th pick in the draft. Would you rather have the 10th pick, or increase your chances of getting the #1 pick? You just gotta believe.
Can Houston & Denver do it one more time? That's all we need to tie for the 4th pick, a Houston loss & a Denver win. The interesting stat, is that Denver is 2-1 against Minnesota this year. Minnesota has clinched the 5th seed. Therefore, they may rest their starters for the last game. I read somewhere that they did that last year as well. Those extra balls could be the difference between being in the top 3 picks or ending up with the 8-9 pick. Go Denver!
