Looking at who plays who next I think i ends up like this San Anontio OKlahoma Clippers Houston Portland Warriors Memphis Suns Mavs get booted That 8th between Suns and Mavs is going to be a duel Mavs have a super tough schedule whiles Suns is fairly easy with a few tough games, but Mavs usually find a way to squeak in so they have a shot
I feel like the Warriors will take that 5th spot. Portland has looked like utter crap lately. The Rockets have figured it out because they know how to turn on the defense when they need too. Portland just can't play defense.
LMA has been out and is due to come back fairly soon. It shouldn't surprise anyone that Portland is mediocre without LMA.
If the Mavs miss the playoffs the season will officially be a success. They are the only team I get to watch on a regular basis (Fox Sports SW-remember the good ole days) and I always cheer for their opponent. Seeing them get beat is so special.
Defense is more than just shot blocking and steals. I think the Rockets are strong in: Protecting the paint, stopping penetration, stopping fast break plays. We are average in: Low post defense (Jones is terrible), overall FG% defense, Defensive rebounding, forcing the other team into turnovers. We are below average in: Defending the 3-pt arc, defending back door cuts.
+1 Portland not so hot. Dubs have similar offense as in fast pace just like us, could be good or bad. but it feels like they're our doppelgänger. Not an easy win in a series.
A really good take. Defending the arc requires perfect rotations and optimal defensive spacing on the weak side. The back door cut is a communications issue. Both will improve as the team plays more together. Season to season roster stability would help immensely. Four new starters last season. Three this season.
Not sure where you got the idea that my opinion is based on steals & blocks. I actually don't disagree w/ anything you posted -- and IMO, those are not the hallmarks of a team that plays "no defense," which remains the mainstream narrative relative to Houston (and GSW, to a somewhat lesser degree).
I didn't. The main reason Houston and GSW are seen as weak defensive teams, is because opponents tend to score more points in games vs. us >100 pts a game. But that is because we play at a FASTER PACE and put up more shots way before the clock expires. Therefore, with shorter Rockets possessions, the opponent also gets more possessions in a game and puts up more shots. It's all about clock management, not necessarily bad D.
I like our chances against both Portland and Golden State. The Clippers I would worry about, and the Thunder. Those are the two teams that I would like to avoid until the WC finals. I don't fear the Spurs as much. Go Rockets!!
I think our best bet is to hold onto 4th, and play 5th seed Portland in the 1st Round. That is a team we know how to beat, they don't have playoff experience, and we match up well against them. 6th, 7th, 8th seeds will go to: Warriors, Mavs, and either the Grizzlies or Suns, I hope that they can take Spurs, OKC, and Clippers to 7 games and either upset them, or wear them out enough that they are exhausted by the time they play vs. Rockets. I think the Grizzlies have a better shot at taking the Spurs to Game 7 than the inexperienced Suns. But they are only 0.5 games apart in the standings. So it could go either way.
Portland. They're falling apart now that teams have stopped doubling Aldridge and if they get cold from 3 or we can shut down Lillard- forget about it.
Unless GS goes into a funk, Portland will fall from the #5 seed. It wouldn't shock me to see them fall to the 6th seed even.
Just looked at all the schedules and I think this is quite reasonable: SAS 61-21 OKC 60-22 LAC 59-23 HOU 59-23 MEM 52-30 GSW 52-30 POR 52-30 DAL 52-30 PHX 49-33 I think we'd end up playing Memphis under that scenario.
That would be the ideal scenario at this point. I also think two of the lower seeds (GSW and Memphis) have great chances to upset the higher seeds.
Not probable, but not out of the realm of reason either. It would take a huge Griz push to pull that off.
Damn This is like a game of Russian Roulette. Too bad we don't own the tie-breaker vs. Clippers. [video]http://youtu.be/FTDeOPFr9e4[/video] Always bet on Black.
Portland has gone from everyone's Dark Horse team to the team everyone wants to face in the 1st round.
