A lot of people on the boards are talking about us catching up to Portland (currently the 8th seed in the Western Conference), However, after comparing the schedules of the Spurs and the Blazers, I think its more likely that San Antonio is the team we will be fighting with for the last playoff spot. Right now the Rockets are 4.5 games back of the Blazers and 5 games back of the Spurs. While we are closer to the Blazers, there are a few reasons why the Spurs have a greater chance to fall. One reason is the fact that the Spurs and the Rockets still have 16 games to play. The Blazers on the otherhand, only have 13 games left to play. Also, the Spurs schedule will be much more difficult than the Blazers. 12 of the Spurs next 16 games are against teams with records above .500.... 10 of those 16 games are against playoff teams. The Spurs next 6 games are against: GS, ATL, OKC, LAL, CLE, BOS. Then they get a break agaisnt the Nets, and then travel home to play THE ROCKETS. The Spurs could potentially go 2-5 (assuming they beat GS) before a huge game against Houston. A win against the Spurs would be huge in making up ground on the 8th seed. After the game against Houston, the Spurs go on to face teams such as: LAL (again), ORL, PHO, MEM, DEN, and DALLAS. Looking at their schedule, its obvious that the Spurs will be facing some tough opponents, and could potentially struggle. While Portland also plays its share of difficult games, they play 3 less games than the Spurs, and out of their 13 games, 6 of them are against sub .500 teams. By comparing their schedules, I believe the Spurs will struggle in their last 16 games, fall to the 8th seed (portland to 7), and then ultimately drop out of the top 8 in the WC (Rockets taking 8th). There are other factors that foreshadow a Spurs collapse, Injuries. The Spurs and Blazers have had their fair share of injuries, but I believe the recent injury of Tony Parker, is the most significant. While George Hill is a solid NBA player, I don't think he compares to what Tony Parker does for that team. Also, it seems that due to the lack of rest he was promised from POP, Duncan is becoming physically exhausted. Anyways, I guess it doesn't matter who falls out, but the fact that A TEAM falls out......... and if this doens't give you hope, maybe the recent play of the Rockets is inspiring. Currently on a 4 game winning streak, the Rockets are playing great ball right now. With 16 games left, the Rockets play 8 games against current playoff teams, and the other 8 against non-playoff teams. If the Rockets can take care of business, I believe they will sneak into the 8th seed. And with most of our guys healthy, this team is coming together at the right time. I'm not going to predict, but let's just say, I LIKE OUR CHANCES!!! GO ROX !!
I agree with you as I posted on another thread. The Spurs are the most likely to falter but don't expect them to play below 500 the rest of the way out. Even without Parker they almost beat Cleveland and have won 4 out of 5 since. Which means we can't afford to lose more than 3. Wow can we do that? Honestly the only way I feel confident of making the playoffs is if we win out. Someone will falter enough then for us to make it then. Portland could 3,4 or 5, SA could lose 5 or 6. Winning out gets us in against those teams. Anything less will be to much dependent on good teams losing.
And for number 1 Lakers, I'm sure they're praying that we won't get the number 8 seed cuz I think our roster right now is capable of spanking their a$$es.
I know I would much rather give the lakers all they can handle in the first round than sit at the end of the draft lottery, I think the spurs are the team to fall out of the playoffs if there is one. But the rockets will have to be damn near perfect for the rest of the season to even have a chance of making it
Yep, the Spurs have a BRUTAL schedule to close the season but it just seems hard to picture the playoffs with the Spurs in it.
Let's look at the schedules for both teams, and assume that they beat teams with worse records, and lose to teams with better records: Spurs GSW @ SAS: W SAS @ ATL: L SAS @ OKC: L LAL @ SAS: L CLE @ SAS: L SAS @ BOS: L SAS @ NJN: W HOU @ SAS: W ORL @ SAS: L SAS @ LAL: L SAS @ SAC: W SAS @ PHX: L MEM @ SAS: W SAS @ DEN: L MIN @ SAS: W SAS @ DAL: L Record: 6-10 Overall: 46-36 Rockets: BOS @ HOU: L HOU @ NYK: W HOU @ CHI: W HOU @ OKC: L LAC @ HOU: W LAL @ HOU: L WAS @ HOU: W HOU @ SAS: L HOU @ BOS: L HOU @ IND: W HOU @ MEM: W UTA @ HOU: L CHA @ HOU: W HOU @ PHX: L HOU @ SAC: W NOH @ HOU: W Record: 9-7 Overall: 44-38 If Houston beats San Antonio in their meeting, we'd both be 45-37, but guess who has the tie breaker? So in other words, if the Spurs/Rockets beat teams with worse records and lose to teams with better records, but the Rockets beat the Spurs in the head-to-head match-up, the Rockets steal their playoff spot. It is certainly a ray of hope since the Rockets are playing better these days, but so are the Spurs.
the spurs have guys like manu, duncan, and pop...i'll give them the benefit of the doubt and just hope we continue to win, i just want everyone in the playoffs to go on an awful losing streak so we can cruise in haha
Great breakdown. Still, I'm sorry but I really don't see Manu, Duncan, and Pop ever allowing that to happen. Not only will they beat the below .500 teams but I expect Manu and Duncan to be able to pull off a couple wins against the top tier teams, as they did against Cleveland. We just don't have that in us...or maybe we do, we'll see. I kind of feel that Denver was a fluke but if they take out the Celtics tonight, then I'll believe.
I have never watched the Spurs so closely as I have the second half of this season. Going to be pulling for Golden State tonight to beat them. But who am I kidding the Warriors play like a girls high school team. But I agree the Spurs are the team we could possibly take out of the playoffs. They have a very difficult schedule left and my guess will lose more than they win. As for the Rockets...same old, same old.....have to win pretty much all of our remaining games.
For each game San Antonio wins against a team with a superior record, we must match the feat. If they beat OKC, we could beat them too a still remain even (remember, we've beaten them every time this season). But yeah, we'll see. Still, it's comforting to know that the status quo for our records may be good enough to get us into the playoffs. We don't need an absolute miracle.
Hooray for making the playoffs! Your prize?! A sweep by the LA Lakers. I'd rather have a shot at a high draft pick, regardless how low the odds will be.
The Rockets are 35-32. They have 6 tough teams and 9 okay teams. Let's assume they win all 9 against the bad teams making them 44-32. That sounds great, but there are 6 tough teams left. The Rockets need to win 4/6 of them to have a chance at making the playoffs. HOU @ NYK: W HOU @ CHI: W HOU @ OKC: W LAC @ HOU: W LAL @ HOU: W WAS @ HOU: W HOU @ SAS: W HOU @ BOS: L HOU @ IND: W HOU @ MEM: W UTA @ HOU: W CHA @ HOU: W HOU @ PHX: L HOU @ SAC: W NOH @ HOU: W Red games are back to backs. They would be 48-34 if they use up the two losses @ BOS, and PHO.
Momentum feeds itself if we can get the next 4 or 5, anything can happen then. The key to me is to win the next 4 games no matter what. If we slip one there, our season is likely done. Well, that might not be a bad thing for higher draft.
