No way the Rockets have a chance against the Thunder. If we play them in the first round without a serious upgrade at the trade deadline it's over in four games.
Update: After going 2-1 against three of the best teams left on the schedule, the Rockets are sitting quite pretty. Portland is basically out of the equation. So hoping they beat the Lakers. Home-Road split: 14-11 Remaining games against elite teams: 2 (Clippers, Spurs) Remaining games against 2nd level teams: 4 (Pacers, Grizzlies x2, Nuggets) Remaining games against teams jockeying for playoffs: 5 (Warriors x2, Jazz, Blazers, Lakers) Remaining games against the rest: 14 (including all WC lottery teams and lesser EC that are either lottery, or would be lottery if they were in the west) Conservative estimate. If the Rockets go 10-4 against weak competition, 3-2 against the teams they're fighting for position, 1-3 against tougher competition, and 0-2 against Spurs/Clips, they still finish 45-37. Meaning the Lakers have to go 19-8, including beating the Rockets at the end of the season, to beat us. And this also assumes GSW and Jazz both keep up their paces/ I see the Rockets finish anywhere from 45-48 wins. Which is basically a lock for the playoffs Tiebreaker Note: Rockets lead head-to-head 2-0 against Warriors, 2-1 against Jazz(last game at home), 1-2 against Blazers, 2-1 against Lakers. The Rockets likely will lose any tie-breaker after head-to-head due to their weak conference record
You forgot to factor in that Kobe guaranteed a playoff berth in your calculations. That is an automatic 5 extra losses for each of Golden State, Utah, and Houston.
Why do you think Dallas are not in the playoff picture. We havn't play well against them. Next week two games against the Mavs are going to be critical. If we lose both, Mavs and Lakers will be right on our heels. You can't just break games down like this, the orders are important in terms of pressure.
One note you should mention is that they have a 7 game home stand in March for the home road split. Usually, it's a good time for a team to go on a nice little streak.
http://www.playoffstatus.com/nba/westernsosrg.html After last nights game, we have by far the easiest schedule remaining in the Western Conference, with a SOS of remaining opponents at a super low 46%
Hollinger's Playoff Odds: HOU goes 18-7 for the rest of the season to end up at 49-33. I know the schedule is relatively easy but 18-7 would be a surprise (and hell of a fun ride!).
