The best first round matchup for the Rockets would be?

I'd say Denver has a great chance to be there too. In fact, i'd bet they finish above the Grizzlies and compete for the 3rd with the Clips.

 

Too obvious. Next.

 

Obviously its the Grizz. But we only get to play them if we can make 5th seed. And if we get 5th seed, we may end up playing the Nuggets instead, which is a tough matchup for us.

I'd say of 6th seed is the highest we can reasonably hope for. I know 4th or 5th is mathematically possible, but come on, we just shipped out 4 rotational players. So out of OKC, Spurs, and Clips, we've been the most competitive against the Spurs - so probably 8th seed is fine. But since we just beat OKC, and the Clips looked kinda vulnerable last time, it's almost a wash. Anywhere in the playoffs is going to be a fun matchup.

 

Ya'll don't wanna hear this, but you know it's true. Our best chance is against San Antonio.

JVG alluded to this earlier in his radio show with Charlie and Lance. The Rockets have all the athleticism in the world, we can run teams out of the gym, and in the playoffs there's a chance that we get amped up enough to actually play some good defense to boot. We're too young to get intimidated by hall of famers. We're too ignorant to know when we've been outmatched. We ARE this year's Golden State Warriors that took down the wily 67-win Mav'ricks.

And we won't have ANY advantage over a team that can run just as hard as we can. This is why Denver and OKC are such awful matchups. San Antonio can only outwile you for so long: it's the reason why they lost four straight to OKC last year after taking the first two games by the thinnest of margins. Those first two games they won because of veteran savvy. We also call this "cheating". Because clearly the talent differential was on the side of OKC, and thankfully that's the way it played out in the series.

This year San Antonio is even wilier than last year. They take the young kids to school each night, out-smarting everyone they meet. In the playoffs though, talent tends to rise. You can only fool people so long. You can only patch up Tim Boring and Baldy McNobly for so many years. Tony Parker is playing like an MVP, sure. But in a matchup against the Rockets, the Spurs will NOT have the best player on the court. That matters a huge deal in the NBA, where the last two minutes often get decided by which player has the best reputation. Calls will be blown in favor of the team with the greatest superstar. Against OKC and the Clippers we won't have that advantage. I fear Durant and Paul's abilities to get whistles at the end of games. I don't fear Tony Parker in that way. San Antonio needs to fear us in that way.

 

Grizzlies and Spurs are the only teams we have a prayer against. We'd need another superstar to compete with the others.