Remaining Strength of Schedule

Intriguing

Rocket River

 

3rd is well within reach for us...and Portland and Utah. If we finish 3rd that has to be one of the greatest turnarounds in recent NBA (not just franchise) history, going from second to last in the standings at one point to 3rd.

 

Yea, I saw this at the break. Thanks for bring this up. OKC has a terrible schedule. They pulled off a damn comeback last night too or we already be tied

Also cool site, thanks for sharing.

 

I know this sounds crazy, but are the Nuggets within reach at 2nd seed? I think it is possible but want at least the 3 seed. 2 seed would obviously be ideal IMO. Would like to avoid Jazz, Blazers and Thunder if possible. Clippers or Spurs in 1st round would be good.

 

FWIW, 538.com has Denver finishing 54-38 for 2nd in the West and us finishing 51-31 in the current CARMELO models. In the ELO model, it has Denver at 52-30 and Houston at 51-31. Is there a chance? Sure but EVERYTHING has to break right for us and that starts with the next two games against Toronto and Philly. If we can win both I think it gives us a better shot to leapfrog the rest of the West sans GSW.

 

The Rockets' schedule the rest of the way is a joke. They're underdogs in only 4 games(if healthy):

@Tor
GSW
@mil
@OKC

And I'm being generous calling the Warriors the favorites in that game at Toyota Center. The Rockets will probably be slight favorites with the oddsmakers in that matchup. So if they win every game they're supposed to win, they finish 53-29 which should be good enough for at least 4th place. It is possible Portland winds up ahead of us since they currently have 24 losses, are on a roll, and own the tiebreaker. But 53 wins should get us ahead of OKC and Utah(and possibly even Denver if they struggle down the stretch).

 

Denver has a tough slate of games too. 2 x against GSW, Portland, Pacers, Spurs (?) and 1 x against Houston, OKC, Utah. It's conceivable they can go under .500 the rest of the way.

 

I don’t believe seeding will matter too much. I think it can make things easier in terms of other teams beating each other up, but ultimately if the Rockets are healthy, I believe they will get back to the WCF without much resistance. No one is going to stop Harden and CP3 will keep the role players engaged on defense and reward them with open shots. The Rockets will absolutely steam roll through rounds 1 and 2. Brace yourselve’s though, as this isnt even the bold part of my post.

Here’s the bold part...Rockets will beat the Warriors in 5 this year. Internal strife, a weak bench and heavy doses of Curry and Boogie being taken out to island vacations with Harden and CP3 will be too much to overcome against a Rabid Rockets team out for blood and revenge....

Just sucks that a good team will actually come out of the East. Which would be the case since the Rockets finally get there...Im not sure how the finals will play out though...

 

No, it's not crazy. Here are Denver's remaining games:

@sas
@LAL
@GSW
MIN
DAL
IND
@bos
@WAS
@NYK
@IND
DET
@HOU
@OKC
WAS
@GSW
SAS
POR
@POR
@UTA
MIN

Assuming in those late season matchups against the Blazers and Jazz that those teams still have something to play for and aren't resting players, I easily see 9 games there that the Nuggets could lose. If they do(and assuming the one at Toyota Center is one of the losses), the Rockets can go 15-4, finish 53-29, wind up tied with Denver, and own the tiebreaker.

 

I believe OKC plays the Bucks in their last game of the season which sucks because the Bucks may rest everyone of note if they already have their seeding locked up by then. Pretty much gives the Thunder an easy W. I do not think this SoS factors in items like that.

Those are the "breaks" but it kind of sucks how the timing of when you play someone factors so much. Like losing to some of these teams the Rockets did when they were all banged up or opponents playing teams when some of their guys are hurt.

Biggest thing is the Rockets NEED to take care of business. They were so good at that last season never losing to the teams (outside of the Grizzlies early) that they shouldn't be losing to.

 

Would be nice to sweep the Warriors. I believe the Warriors are vulnerable in a few key areas. Boogie is getting worse by the game and the bench play has been eroding since at least last season. This year it is borderline borderline pathetic. In addition there

I really want to win both of those games. It’s the home stretch and a season defining run win streak would be a confidence booster and chemistry builder...

 

The Rockets should beat the Sixers and Warriors at home. Not saying they necessarily will, but they'll be slight favorites in each game. I don't see them winning in Toronto tomorrow, but if they do, I'm gonna start to put a lot more stock in the possibility of getting as high as 2nd by season's end.

 

The crazy thing is, had the Rockets even played half decent over the first two months, they’d have a top 3 record. They have literally handed games away....

Minnesota (up by 21) nov
New Orleans (up 15) no AD
Lakers (up 19)
OKC (up 26)
Minnesota (up 15)
Brooklyn (up 7) with a min to go
Orlando - stopped caring in the second half
Milwaukee (up 15)
Dallas (lets Luka destroy us in the final minute)

If we had just won those games where we had massive leads, Rockets would be 47-16 right now, which isnt much worse than our 48-14 record last season.

The bright side of all this is that Rockets are an elite team masquerading as a mediocre one...

 

I can’t look right now. But I think the the thunder and rockets play each other last game.

 

Its the Rockets last game of the season but the Thunder play the Bucks the next night in Milwaukee

 

Bucks might be resting their starters for that game, if their lead over Toronto holds (and I expect it to).

 

oh ok. that makes sense