We dont match up good against the Thunder and Clippers. In a playoff matchup I think the Spurs would be tough for us as well as the Mavs.
My eye tests tell me we are third best in the WC. My heart wants the Rox win the WC finals. But checking the SOS of the remaining games for all the nine teams in the WC playoff chase and considering all other factors including numbers of H/A games and games left against Eastern teams, I have to tell myself the odd % proposed by playoff status.com is more probable than I would like otherwise. And no matter what, the Rox do not have control to stay in the top three seeds. It will be determined by how Thunder, Spurs, Clippers and Blazers play in their remaining games. Clippers and Blazers have the easiest remaining SOS. We have the toughest remaining SOS and most remaining games (8) against the top 7 teams in the league as of today. We had a chance to get to the #2 seed if the Spurs beat the Clippers and Blazers and we beat the Lakers and Warriors. Unfortunately that didn't happen and the gap between us and Spurs widened to three games. BTW the reason we got to #3 was because the Clippers beat the Blazers, plus we already have a 2-1 head-to-head advantage over the Blazers. We would have remained at #5 and never got to #3 if that didn't happen. All in all, let's be realistic and hope the Rox continue to win every winnable game. Other than that we can only pray that SAS, LAC and POR lose enough winnable games for us to get back to #3 seed or even #2.
I really don't give a flying fart who we see in the playoffs, as long as we are fighting for a title. Bring-'em on!
Damn it looks like what is probably going to happen is we are going to be at 5 and LAC at 4.... not liking that at all, good chance we'll get ousted in the 1st.
I'm going in order of who I don't want to see in the 1st round. Thunder - We don't do well against them. As bad as people think Kendrick is, he is a big body that can slow Howard. He's also backed up by a great blocker in Ibaka, and good perimeter defenders. Possibly the worst match up since it neutralizes our 2 stars. We also don't have the perimeter defenders to stop Durant or Westbrook, who is likely to get healthy by playoffs. Memphis - We always have a tough time against them, but we could count on their inability to score. That's not true anymore. I think they will beat out Dallas or Phoenix for the 8th seed, possibly going even higher. Clippers - We can beat them if everyone is healthy and is shooting their normal percentage from 3s. Granger and a healthy Crawford will make them hard to beat. Golden State - They seem to work very hard when playing us. If Curry or Thompson catch fire, they have the team defense and perimeter defense to slow us if Iggy and Bogut are healthy. Spurs - We seem to match up well against them. There's also a chance one of their big 3 breaks down. Mavs - We should be able to beat them. But if refs keep the game close, I don't like our chances guarding Dirk. Portland - Aside from their jump shooting, they really don't have the defense to stop us. When Harden also plays solid D. We should beat them. Phoenix - They can't stop Howard and Harden had bad games. I'm not willing to give PJ Tucker that much credit yet.
Another possibility is that OKC loses the top seed to SAS and the standings look like this 1. Spurs 2. Thunder 3. Clippers 4. Rockets/Portland 5. Portland/Rockets I also checked the schedule and it looks like the Clippers will get the 3 seed without any problem, but this scenario would still allow us to avoid OKC/LAC until the WCF.
The Rockets "laid back" can't hold a lead attitude makes them vulnerable against anyone. There are so many "x" factors in the playoffs like who gets hot and who gets cold. There are players who just excel against certain teams. Like when Dirk sees Rocket Red it is almost a certain "40." OKC is better than anyone else in the West, but they can have a bad series. It happens. Match up wise, I like our chances against SA rather than Memphis. I think the Rockets are going to struggle to get out of the first round regardless of who they play. They lack consistency, intensity, and focus. They throw the ball around with abandon, and in tight games, turnovers can do you in.
Yes, 25% chance for Spurs to get to #1 as of today. Clippers will be protected for a top 4 seed unless Warriors overtake the division and has a higher overall win%. I have explored several scenarios in the Western Conference Standings thread to find the easiest path to the WC finals. The next two weeks' games are the among the most important for the Rox season seeding.
dreading a 4-5 matchup with the Clippers, but given our remaining tough schedule, it looks like a real possibility
