Which potential first round opponents do the Rockets match up best with?

Not sure bout best matchup but Mavs would be ideal. Rivalry, Texas Tussle and sticking it to Cuban.

For Cap Jackarse alone.

 

Nuggets>clippers>okc> memphis> jazz

 

Utah is the only team that I agree is a tough matchup. I don't know what makes you think OKC is tough. The Grizzlies have size on us, but I don't think they can defend us in a 7-game series. If the regular season is any indication, we have the clear advantage against all those teams (again, except Utah).

... That said, my first pick is OKC. Yeah, we've played LAC well, and I definitely would expect us to beat them, but if Griffin and Paul get back in a groove before the playoffs, they could be trouble. Remember how hot that team started the season before they began to get obliterated by injuries.

 

spot on, duder.

 

I think we have a real chance to win against any team besides GSW. Grizz/Clips/OKC don't matter much I think we could handle all, Jazz/Spurs would be tough series but we could win.

 

I would not take anyone lightly, but I'm hoping for OKC or Grizzlies. Tired of playing Cali teams with the late starts and Clippers is going to be a lot of hacking, FTs and whining. Rather avoid that.

 

OKC and Memphis second. Memphis is in decline mode so they would be my first choice, but it looks like we are playing OKC.

 

I beg to differ. OKC would be an easier road. No need for paybacks from the Clips as they can get hot real fast.

But for MVP sake, I would prefer to have OKC finish 7th. We can take Memphis as the 6th seed.

 

I think the clippers are the best we can hope for. I think we lose to the spurs and to Utah in a series. I think we can beat Golden State without KD.

 

Just throwing this out there for the 2nd round opponent. We have never lost to the Spurs in 3 series with them... EVER!

Rockets vs. Spurs Playoff History

YEAR ROUND ROCKETS RECORD OPPONENT
1980 First Round Houston 2 - 1 San Antonio Spurs
1981 Semifinals Houston 4 - 3 San Antonio Spurs
1995 Conference Finals Houston 4 - 2 San Antonio Spurs

 

it really doesnt matter , what matters is how we play...

but it would be sweet to obliterate utah jazz..they hit a lot of lucky shots against usin rs ...it would be very hard for them to repeat that in playoffs

 

I would be fine with playing Memphis or OKC, I'm not really worried about either team.

I think we're a bigger matchup problem for Memphis than Memphis is for us. They beat us in that 1st game in Memphis by going 13-26 from 3 which is uncharacteristic for them. In the 2nd matchup, we were up by like 17 points early in the 2nd half and choked it away while Tony Allen dropped 22 points on 8-10 shooting which is also uncharacteristic. We destroyed them in the final 2 matchups. They don't have a true offensive star which can make it difficult for them to keep up with us offensively.

OKC can destroy us on the boards, they have defenders like Roberson that can make life difficult for Harden, and they are the 2nd best team in the NBA in clutch time while the Rockets are below average. However, they are not good offensively. They have no spacing. Westbrook is an inefficient, high volume player. If the Rockets are hitting their threes at an above average rate then they should handle OKC. The Rockets would be trading 3's for 2's. There's no way that OKC could keep up with the Rockets if the Rockets are making around 15 threes a game.

The Clippers are the most difficult matchup of the 3 solely because they have by far the most talent in comparison to Memphis and OKC. Blake and CP3 are stars, and DJ is 1 of the best at his position. The Clippers can play at a level that the Grizzlies and Thunder just can't reach.

 

Utah is our worst matchup. They have long defenders everywhere, they challenge the 3, protect the rim, and slow down the pace. It's also very difficult to win in Utah.

 

Any team in the first round will be a tough matchup, but if I had to pick one it would be the grizzlies.

I don't believe the grizzlies have enough offense to keep up with the rockets.

I would like to play OKC as well just so it would leave no doubt in the voters minds that harden is the true MVP.

 

Take a look at some of the Nuggets game film recently. Jokic has become a problem down low.

 

Memphis is the best match-up lost likely. While Marc is still fantastic defensively and offensively he doesn't have that raw length and athleticism to stop us at the rim like Gobert does. Once you beat him to the rim he can't recover and destroy you. Contrary to belief our offense is predicated on getting to the rim not the 3 pt shot. We live and die by the 3 but getting to the rim is a bigger priority to us.

Defensively it's the best for us because they have so many mid range players. We gladly allow the mid-range attempts. While they will hit at a decent rate they just wouldn't be able to keep up with us if we are hitting because they do not shoot the 3 well at all.

A close second is okc in my opinion. Lock everyone down besides Russ and let him Chuck their way to a loss. You can cheat off Roberson if you decide to double Russ here and there.

Clippers is kinda random. B3cause they started the year and we're playing wow great. And then injuries and such and they haven't looked the same. But their 2 biggest stars are at our 2 weakest defensive spots of 1/4 or harden/anderson. Most likely we put bev and ariza on cp3 at different points and ariza on Blake sometimes but that leaves Harden on reddit and you don't want Harden chasing him all game and 2asting his energy or losing him because he's ball watching. So there is match-up problems that concern me with them.

Utah is an absolute match-up nightmare because of Gobert length and ability to recover once you beat him to the rim for the chase down block. They also guard and run you off the 3 pt line very very well while they shoot the ball very efficiently themselves.

 

We need to keep that 3rd seed and pray OKC keeps 6. Much rather play SAS than GSW in round 2 if we get there.

Anyone think we are able to beat 56 wins? Its going to be tough.

 

I think the answer is OKC