Well 4-5 would play Warriors most likely in the second round. You could also make the argument that you want to play Warriors in the second round (as an older team).
Benefit of 4-5 seed is Chris Paul is likely to be healthy in Second. I think 3 seed is better. Morey did not do enough for Paul to rest first round.
I'd rather lock in the 8th seed and rest everyone a week or two before the playoffs. We would take on GSW fully healthy. Let's be the first 8th seed to win it all!
we will have home court in the first round if we get 2nd or 3rd seed. more importantly we would avoid worriers until west finals.
If we are the 4th or 5th seed we likely face GS in 2nd round. If we are 2,3 or 6,7 it looks like an easier path to the Western Conference Finals. I personally want them to stay out of the 4 or 5 slot for those reasons. I think we can beat Denver or OKC without home court if we face them in the first round if we happen to finish 6th or 7th. Second gives us home court for the 1st 2 rounds as well.
It's true. We actually SHOULD want to face the Warriors in round 1. You first need to develop the mindset that no matter what we will inevitably have to face the Warriors. We WILL have to beat the Warriors to get a title and as it stands we will not be getting home court against them. You also need to develop the mindset that the playoffs are a much more exhausting style of basketball. With those two in mind, as a much older team it'd make the most sense to face the Warriors in round one when we would have the freshest legs and the least bit of old age wear & tear/knick knack injuries. But even though that realistically makes the most sense none of us want to face the Warriors in round 1 haha I'm just saying ideally we SHOULD In a way, since none of us want to face the Warriors in round 1 even though we claim we want the Rockets to have the best chances of winning a title.. we are all basically hypocrites. You're a hypocrite, I'm a hypocrite, every Rockets fan on Clutchfans is a hypocrite.
Well, obviously the 2nd seed is better than 4th or 5th as that means home court through two rounds instead of one or none. But also, we wanna avoid the Warriors as long as possible. The ideal scenario would be: Rockets - 2nd or 3rd Nuggets - 2nd or 3rd OKC - 4th or 5th Portland - 4th or 5th Either Utah or San Antonio - 6th or 7th So we'd face the Jazz or Spurs in the first round and beat either one. Then we'd get the Nuggets or the team that upset them and beat them. Then we get the Warriors or Thunder, but we wouldn't have to face both. And odds are good they'll have just slugged it out for 6 or 7 games.
I really don't understand wanting to put off the Warriors. Whether we play them in 2nd Rd or CF we have to beat them and OKC/Den. Ideally you don't want to drop to 6th and have to face OKC in the first round, but 3-5 really doesn't matter. That one extra home game in the first round shouldn't matter. If we need it to survive we have no chance at GS anyway. I don't give a f**k about appearances, anything that isn't a title is a failure, first round or conference finals.
You make great points, were it not that the NBA would have the Rockets playing 8 on 5 in the first round. That may be unduly tin foil wearing and cynical, but the NBA and ESPN/TNT have spent a great deal of time and money building stories about the Warriors and their players. I doubt that they want that investment to flame out in the first round. Also, playing the Dubs in the first round guarantees you three tough, long playoff series before the Finals. Get the 3 seed and the Rockets might get a cupcake for the first round. I mean, I can dream, right?
The goal is winning a title, not getting past the first round Unfortunate truth is that it will inevitably be 8 v 5 no matter what round against the warriors.. just as we saw last year. Yep, it doesn't matter if we play the Warriors in round one or in the western conference finals.. it will still be 8 v 5 either way.
Let's say if your team wins, you get cookies. So if you like cookies, you'll want to win. Well the Rockets really REALLY like cookies. Like more than any other team, they love cookies the most. So if they're 2nd or 3rd seed, they have a better chance to win and you know what winning means, right? That's right, cookies! Well, 4th - 6th seeds will probably win a cookie or two, but if you want lots of cookies you better try your best to be 2nd or 3rd seed.
If we meet the Warriors in the second round, we're giving only one other team a chance to take them out. If we can avoid hitting them till the WCF, we more than double the chance that somebody will take them out before we have to face them. Also, if we meet them in the second round and manage to win, we will have spent a lot of energy, and possibly accumulated injuries, while our opponent will arrive having dealt with easier opposition. It would totally suck if we did the hard work of beating them, only to ease somebody else's path to the finals. Make that other team do the work. The Warriors are a bigger problem for us than the whole rest of the league put together. If I could wait to meet them till the finals, I would. Short of that, WCF is the best option.
I like cookies! I'd also like to get as high a seed as we can manage. When we face Oakland, we'll have to beat them, whenever it is, and we'll beat them, if we're healthy.