Before this season started we had a very tough time against the likes of the Mavs and the Kings but I would have prefered to take on Dallas in the play-offs. But now that we have had our butts handed to us this season by the Mavs I am starting to thing otherwise. Dallas: We seen to have no answer for Dirk this season, he is having a great season. We have been alot better at containing Nash most likely by Yao's inside presence not allowing him to get easy lay-ups (which have killed us in the past). Finely can go nuts at times but I think that in the play-offs, Mobley would adjust and play much tighter defence on him. None of either Lafrenz or Bradley scare us, Yao can handle them easily. The bench, Van Exel is one reason why I think the Lakers didn't go higher in the playoffs in his Laker days, the guy is nuts, so he's a wild card. The rest of the bench speaks for itself. Kings: Webber is tough for us to stop but disappears in the play-offs at times. Predrag is a mismatch for most teams and shoots the lights out whenever needed, I seriously don't ever want to see him with the ball with 5 seconds on the clock and the game on the line (see the dreaded Stockton shot). Bibby is highly touted in the play-offs for what he did against the Lakers but IMO it was just that he didn't have a whole lot of defensive pressure on him, Francis can win that battle. Christie is a good defender and it would be tough for Mobley during a play-off series to keep scoring. Divac is a flopper etc etc, however, he is a very smart player and Yao will have a tough fight on his hands which I think he can overcome. The bench, Hedu, Clark are "starting" quality players. Both Jim and Bobby Jackson are good scorers who will be tough to keep up with. All 4 players are very good 1-2 punches off the bench. The Kings are a tough team no matter which way you put them, everyone is an offensive threat, even some of their bench players are likely to go off for 20 points on any given night. But we have had some success against them which I am very happy with because this shows this team has got balls. So I think I would rather face them in the first round, Dallas has our number this year. What do ya'll think?
I don't think we can win a series against either team, so I don't have much of a preference. However, I would prefer the Lakers to play Sacramento in the first round to get Bryant out of the playoffs as early as possible, so I'm willing to draw the Mavs. As an added bonus, the road trip won't be as long so that should be a little easier on the players.
I would like to face the LA Lakers. Shaq-Yao in playoffs should be interesting and a great learning experience for our players!
I had a thought about them before I posted but I'm sure they will stay at 3rd place with Webber back in the Kings line up.
The only way the Spurs would be a second or first seed is if they passed the Mavs, which probly won't happen.
i don't like the potential prospects of having dallas beat us 8 consecutive times in the same season, that's for sure.
It would be sweet if we could move up to the 6th seed and face the Lakers if they could get up to 5. Playoff teams we could beat, Utah, San Antonio, Lakers, and Phoenix. I think we could beat the T-wolves, but KG has a way of just man handeling our team. Mavs and Kings would eat us alive. I don't think we could beat Portland in a series either.
Generally don't care. It would be great for the Rox to get some playoff experience. However, there is much more motivation versus the Mavs: 1) Revenge. 2) Intra-state rivalry. 3) The Yao v. Bradley matchup. 4) The Steve v. Nash matchup. It is exactly the type of series which could allow the Rockets to grow beyond the level of expectations. With an admitted bias, I feel the Rockets are a scary team to meet in the 1st round.
It would be sweet if we could move up to the 6th seed and face the Lakers if they could get up to 5. Playoff teams we could beat, Utah, San Antonio, Lakers, and Phoenix. I think we could beat the T-wolves, but KG has a way of just man handeling our team. Mavs and Kings would eat us alive. I don't think we could beat Portland in a series either Actually, the 4th and 5th seeds play each other.
Hell yeah. Bring on whoever. The Mavs, Kings, Spurs, whoever. We might get our ass kicked but we're going to go down fighting.
Unfortunately, it looks as if the 8th seed is as good as we're getting. Unless something other that a monumental collapse of the Mavs, it will be Rox/Mavs in round 1. Even more so unfortunate, the Mavs are the only team in the West race that the Rox haven't beaten at least once. It will be a blow out of 4 games. Luckily, Stevie and Cat will get the playoff experience they need to push them to the next level. I just think Yao will be nothing short of exhausted by that point and won't be able to help save the Rox from a sweep. It's all about baby steps, though. They get the experience of the playoffs. There is no first round pick this year anyway, so it's not like being in the lottery is going to help anyone but Memphis. Maybe we get lucky and they learn how to play a little zone against the Mavs and they steal a game or two.
I actually root for the Lakers to go up to 5. If we end up with 8 (most likely) and somehow beat Dallas in the 1st round (very long shot), we could face the defending champions in the playoffs. Gonna be great fun.
Who would we like to see the Rockets face in the playoffs more? At this point,I think we'd all be happy just to see them IN the playoffs against anybody. Maybe you guys would disagree,but I think anything short of the playoffs is a failure for this team. Yes they're young,coming off injuries and illness last year,alot of "newness" with each other,they're in the West,etc. But they've had good health this year and most of their downfall in the standings is due to mental errors and thick headedness,which is totally inexcuseable. I'm not saying they should be contenders by now,but they should be firmly entrenched in the 5 or 6 spot by now. PS...even Dallas,however short-lived and one sided that series would turn out to be.
What I meant to say was that the same mental errors continue to be made. It shouldn't take this long to correct alot of their repeated mistakes. That's the part that is inexcusable.
Just getting in is a huge positive. You have to earn your stripes in the playoffs, so losing, even being swept, is part of that learning process. Heck, just look at how much more comfortable Francis was in the all star game this year versus last... the Rocket players will all be nervous in the playoffs (except for Rice... don't think anyone else has any playoff experience). That said, what a choice to have to make. DAL is tough in that they all shoot well, making switches on D poisonous (except when Radja Bell and less so Bradley are in there, and even Bell and Bradley were hitting their shots last game). Najero gets away with murder on the inside, so their interior D isn't very bad nowadays. SAC also has five guys that can score too. If anything, better passing. maybe slightly less guard play, but better low-post offense. With Clark they have better interior D than last year. Between the two, it probably doesn't matter (and yes, getting to play SAN or even LAL would better, but that won't happen).
We had one good quarter against the Mavs. Maybe we could string some of those together. We found a weakness last game when we ran them. I like our chances against the Mavs. They don't play Defense as well either.
