2013-2014 Magic Numbers against the Western Conference

Tied records, Rockets win the tiebreaker since we've beaten them 3-1 this season.

 

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Rockets need any combination of 2 wins or Portland losses to clinch HCA. Play Pels twice, Spurs at home; Blazers home for Warriors, Clips.</p>&mdash; Jonathan Feigen (@Jonathan_Feigen) <a href="https://twitter.com/Jonathan_Feigen/statuses/454837272135745536">April 12, 2014</a></blockquote>
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Rockets potentially needs just one WIN and a Blazers loss will seal the home court advantage.

 

It'll happen. I can't even remotely see us not having home court.

 

Portland obviously has a much harder remaining schedule, and we have the tiebreaker. But Portland is very capable of winning the two games at home and it is conceivable that we lose to the Spurs and once to the Pelicans.

 

Portland is not losing that game at home to the Clippers. L.A. will have nothing to play for that night, so if the 4th seed is still on the line, rest assured that the Blazers will go all out, the Clippers will be resting players, and Portland will win that one easily.

The Golden State game is different. The Warriors are still technically alive for the 5th seed(although that's a longshot after they lost to Denver Thursday night) and they obviously want to make sure they don't drop any further in the standings. So we're likely to see them do everything they can to win that game and not rest any starters.

I view the situation as the Rockets needing to win 2 more to clinch HCA. It's foolish to assume Portland will drop anymore games. It could happen. They did lose to Phoenix at home and nearly collapsed against the Kings a few nights ago. But right now, it's probably gonna take winning 2 out of the remaining 3 games to clinch the 4th seed.

 

some of you are so ridiculous with your over confidence.

 

Or vice versa with lack of confidence

 

Same here. I am just saying it is nice to also have the talent.

 

We haven't played defense since Sampson left. I sure hope that's just a coincidence. In the two wins we gave up 130 points to the absolutely terrible lakers and barely scraped by a bad Denver team. It's obviously still likely that we get homecourt and getting Dwight and Bev back will be huge, but no one should be 100% confident right now in this team. Last nights defensive effort was hugely embarrassing.

 

There is a good reason. You can't roll into the playoffs with no intensity. Instead of securing the 4th seed early and resting the last couple games, we now have to play harder to ensure this happens.

Lazy ball will not win you games in the regular season, much less the post season.

 

Does anyone else think that the Rockets aren't going to be able to get the cork back in the bottle? I can't see Howard and Beverly coming back in mid season form. It will take the rest of the season and maybe a playoff series for them to get comfortable. Maybe home cooking will help but the team looks dead in the water defensively. Portland is rolling and with the Clips disinterested at this point I don't see them stumbling. The Rockets are. Home court advantage is likely lost. And even if it isn't the Rockets don't look like a team ready for the playoffs run.

 

It's a legit concern. This is three straight years now that McHale has seemingly lost control of the team in April. While this season you could explain some of it away with the injuries and departure of Sampson, that doesn't excuse the lack of effort in Minnesota last night or against Denver in the second half last Sunday. It's a disturbing pattern and I'm not sure why it keeps happening.

 

Momentum and trends sometimes last, and sometimes change direction game to game. Its hard to discern what mindset and form the Rockets will have come playoff time.

While recent games could be taken as disheartening or a sign of worse things to come, they may also induce some needed humility and serve as a wakeup call.

I do think the team will coalesce mentally to the task of winning their first round series. Its been a elephant in the room not to advance past the first round for far too long to think they will take this lightly. Having said this, it doesn't mean they are locks for a first round victory. But I think the effort will be there.

 

Agreed 100%, but we still have 3 games to go to get back on track and we also are getting two of our most important players back as well. Better days are ahead very soon.

Maybe I'm just being a homer, but I don't think these last few performances are indicative of how we'll perform when the playoffs are here. More motivation, full roster, etc. We'll be fine. I think these last couple of losses are being way overblown.

 

Rockets win tonight and all panic stops

 

Tonight's game will be the easiest among the remaining games, at home against NO. The Spurs are rolling, and even if they rest their starters, they have proven that they can still win.

The last game at NO could be the killer. The Pelicans have nothing to lose and will love to play the spoiler role.

 

BTW, the dogfight at the bottom is going to be interesting. Dallas, Phoenix, and Memphis will slug it out down the wire, beginning tonight.

 

Senior Gus, are you saying that you believe the Rockets will be the 5th seed in the Western Conference playoffs and not the 4th?

I am confident that the Rockets will be #4, having HCA in the first round. I am so confident that I am willing to bet the 1st taker here $100 to the Clutch Fans tip jar. If the Rockets don't hold on to the 4th seed, I'll donate, and if they do, you or whoever takes up my offer will donate $100 to the jar.

All in fun.

 

Magic number 1