Option 1: play thunder in first round followed by the 4th/5th seeded team and let the spurs and warriors beat each other up in the second round Option 2: play both the spurs and the warriors to get to the finals just to avoid the pacer killing thunder... As my late great grandmother used to say "Oy vey, this is not how you dress a table!"
Fear the Thunder? Why? Are they even going to make the playoffs? Is this one of those questions where you are asking if getting such an easy opponent in the playoffs (if they make it) would hurt the team going forward because it would make them think they don't have to try very hard?
dude its been a while since the rockets have been true contenders... last time we were was 1996-1997.. So yeah, I fear every opponent.. specially in the current era of super teams.. as good as we are, we are still no super team.. if we get lebron then we get that status.. but I am sorry as much as I like Capela and Eric Gordon they have zero all star appearances and are studs but doesnt make us super team..
The Rockets should "fear" no team!!! You can have respect for them and their abilities but, NO, they should not fear the Thunder! Remember: you can lose to any team on any given night.
fear ? of course not. but if i have to pick they are the LAST team i would want the rockets to play in the first round. the playoffs are just a different beast and it always comes down to the stars. their level focus and desperation WILL increase in the playoffs. the fact is they have have three stars plus steven adams who can have a star level impact on a game. i highly doubt they finish in 7th or 8th though. they still arent playing well and still managed to climb up into 8th. at some point they will actually start to play well move up higher, probably top 5.
I would absolutely love it if the Thunder were our first round opponent. You know how it'd go down? Just like all our playoff games did last year (and how most of the OKC games have gone this year)... they'll keep it close for 3 quarters, maybe even take the lead into the 4th. Once it comes time to close out, Russ will come in the game and proceed to shoot his team in the foot repeatedly by playing 1 on 5. There's not a "playoff team" in the league that I fear less than the Thunder.
OKC's ceiling is much higher than any of the teams 4-8. By playoff time they are going to be same level as the top 4. The offense still hasn't clicked and they are the 6th seed. All the other teams are about as good as they are going to be. A path of OKC, SA, GS, CLE is just brutal.
OKC will probably be 4th or 5th seed by the end of it, which means GSW will likely play them in the second round. We won't be able to avoid the Spurs though.
Best case scenario for us is 2 seed. Don't see us catching up to Golden State when they get Curry back and their schedule eases up. Hopefully Thunder get 4/5 so we can avoid them. Would much rather play the Spurs than the Thunder. Thunder are a really bad matchup for us. CP3 would have helped, but it still would have been a close game.
