Losing 4-1 in a first round playoff series does nothing for us. And that's the most likely scenario if we finish at 7 or 8. And we lose our pick. Finishing 6 and rising up to punk OKC/LAC is fantasy.
Would you rather bang a sure 7/10 chick now or wait to bang 10/10 chick that MAY or MAY NOT come around in 20 years?
You can bang a 7 anytime, all the time. You go for 10s and take all the 9s and 8s you can get in the meantime. So much for childish sexist analogies.
Who's to say we lose 4-1? Why not 4-0? What if it were 7 games? What if Curry or Leonard got seriously injured early in a series and missed the rest of the playoffs? What if the #14 pick isn't as valuable as you think it is? What if we end up stuck with the pick since no GM bites... And we get stuck with another player like PPat, Jones or Morris?
Let him whine and gnash his teeth about a 14th pick, when our team is still fighting for chance that every team plays for, a shot at the ring. I bet this loser was crying about draft picks when Rockets limped into playoffs in 1995. Losers give up easily, always look for easy way out/path of least resistance and rationalize it as being "smart". Quitters and crybabies don't grow up to be champions.
Yeah, I understand and am conflicted. For the first time in my Rockets fan career, I was actually considering the benefits of not making the playoffs, so we get the pick back. I mainly felt that after the huge disappointment of the trade for a pick getting voided. And in practical terms, it was before the 3-2 road trip. Now, it doesn't really seem that likely to fall into the lotto. And we got Beasley looking promising. So, I'm back to wanting as strong a finish as possible, and DMo/Beasley getting legit playoff time with Harden. That has value, imso. I'm not talking fantasy to advance. Going down fighting has value. It can carry over to next season, and free agents like that. Utah passing us is getting close to fantasy, as well. And I'm not willing to sit Harden to achieve it. I just don't have it in me to root for that type of tanking.
Yeah man, completely understand... It's like is it worth making the playoffs and losing a pick. It's life... At the end of the day, if the team just plays with love and heart for the game, whatever happens should be okay with us. As of now eff it, this team can win games... Upsets happen. Bring on whoever.
We are a half game behind the Blazers for the 6th seed. We are 2-1 against the Clips and 1-1 against the Thunder this year. Winning the 6th seed and beating either of those teams is reasonable. You should work on having more imaginative fantasies, or at least a better memory, last year this team pulled off one of the most improbable comebacks in playoff history.
There are positives to each side, while it is true that the Rox could end up being a 1 and done, let's remember the Rox are counting on FREE AGENCY next year and not the draft, we basically have capspace to sign 2 other max players while keeping the dirt cheap role player cadre on board. So if your priority is to lure and sign a free agent then it is actually better to go into the playoffs and fight than to get a low lottery pick, esp if the gains would be yet another role player like Patterson or Dekker or whoever. If the Rox go 1-4 against a team like OKC or the Spurs it is still more marketable to potential free agents because then you can say they will be the guys who can put Houston over the top or at least a contender, whereas if the Rox can't even make the playoffs than maybe the free agent will say he will just make them a playoff team. I also don't get why you think the team is ****ed, 5th seed Grizz are only 4 games ahead and with their key guys injured they might slip even more. The Rox are on a roll since Lawson got waived, I think the current Rox team is better than the team last year who went to the WCF.
"Yeah, but" last year's team had 'something'; I may be seeing the genesis of it, but I'm not yet sold. But, oh, do I want to be!
I was there. That team had a chemistry that these guys don't have. And Dwight is about 60% of what Hakeen was then. Harden =Clyde. No comparison in rest of rosters.
in other words, these Rockets are the Dan Quayle of basketball--not John F. Kennedy. <iframe width="480" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/O-7gpgXNWYI" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Getting to the playoffs is leverage when it comes to convincing free agents, when Dwight finally signed with Houston it was because they went to the playoffs and gave OKC a decent fight, if they couldn't even reach the playoffs would Dwight be as interested? Just ask Philly if Dwight gave them the time of day. What benefit is there to KD or horford if you tank for a rookie? There's a saying that goes everyone loves rookies except the coaches because rookies lose games, and this is true when it comes to free agents as well LBJ even had his would-be protege shipped out of cleveland because Love is an instant impact player, whereas someone like Wiggins might take a couple of years before he becomes good. Point is whoever we sign wants to now and not 4-5 years down the road, and reaching the playoffs will show the team is a better position to winning in the short term rather than tanking for a low pick in a draft that analysts have said to be a bit weak.
They only had that something around this time last year, IIRC the Rox were hovering around 0.500 as well before the JSmith and Brewster trade happened. The rox has always been better on paper than their record, I think this is around the time they start playing to their potential. "The Rox is a team nobody wants to see in the playoffs" this always gets mocked on the board but if you have to bet real money would people really say the Mavs, Portland and Memphis can beat the Rockets in a 7 game series? You have got to be kidding me this team will stomp all over those teams like Tjones did to that homeless guy.
Players and agents are smart enough to see what each team will look like after they are added. Being a playoff team the previous season has a little bearing but not to the degree that fans think. Eg. Miami pre-Lebron/bosh
Wade definitely attracted Lebron and Bosh based on his playoff success. And it was a known plan by Riley to purge salary for one year to have money. Very poor example of yours. Teams that purge salary typically suck the year before they have a buttload of money to spend. They usually don't succeed, but sometimes like NJ, they do attract some names. But tanking teams really don't have that good of a record (discounting the allure of LA and NYC for obvious reasons). Playoff teams that show some grit and immediate future show more success with Free Agents. That increased value can offset the value of a #13 pick all by itself. Then you still factor in the value of DMo/Beasley getting some real, big game playoff burn with Harden. That is pretty huge, and necessary for their development. It's better than making the Olympic team this year and playing on that stage.
Doesn't matter. They all know who Harden is and what he is capable of. Along with the rest of the players, the cap situation, etc. The players and their agents aren't a bunch of dummies.
