Some of you guys need to step into the modern world and let go of your beliefs in supernatural causation.
In this first game, it was close until Corey Brewer came out of no where and started knocking down 3s. He's been a terrible 3 point shooter until now. In the 2nd game, it was close until Josh Smith went nuts with alley oop assist to break the game open. It's not like we have blown out the mavericks from start to finish, in both games we relied on a hero to win it for us in the end. I'm not nearly as confident as everyone else in this forum is.
The Rockets were in control of both games. The Rockets played great in both games, but especially the second game. They weren't shooting very well, and they were still in control of that game. If their shots would have been falling more, it would have been a blowout before the 4th quarter. I'm not necessarily confident that the Rockets will sweep, but it's easy to see that the Mavs are out-matched.
Also, look how close the other games are around the league... Cleveland has been in a battle with the Celtics at home. Those games weren't won big. Atlanta almost lost to the Nets last night at home. The Warriors have been in 2 close games with the Pelicans at home. Chicago has been battling with Milwaukee at home. All of those teams are big favorites, but they've all been in close battles. The Rockets have beaten the Mavs more soundly than just about any other series other than Memphis and Portland.
The Rox have only won by 10+ pt margins and the games were closer than you think. These are still pro basketball players within a decent system. None of the games have been a 20+ blowout of yet...
Parsons and Rondo out INCREASES their chances of NOT being swept. Go buy a broom before the rush, but use it tidy up your house until Houston wins the series 4-0.
It's very likely Dirk, Chandler and possibly someone else will go off enough to win a game or two. I can see where you thought we would have a great chance at sweeping Dallas, but Dirk can score with the best of them. I have to at least give one game to Dallas.
Listen to this please.... lets just enjoy each game because we are playing amazing basketball, lets not get ahead of ourselves here, game by game mindset, this is the playoffs
I will be happy to walk out of Dallas up 3-1. I would LOVE to see Dallas get swept in Dallas, it would be such beautiful payback for all of the misery they have caused us over the years, the Cuban face gif that would inevitably result would be golden for years to come, but I just don't see it as likely. After the last game they are gonna have a chip on their shoulders and will want to prove something...
Ben Alamar's predictive model has it at only 14%. Road wins are not easy. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Updated odds for each first round series <a href="http://t.co/Gn9q8GCqYU">pic.twitter.com/Gn9q8GCqYU</a></p>— Ben Alamar (@BenAlamar) <a href="https://twitter.com/BenAlamar/status/591186887555084288">April 23, 2015</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> I might go more like 20-25% but I think 50% is way high.
Lol. Take the bet. Regardless of whether they sweep or not, the benefit of PTO > 4 hours of work on Saturday. So even if you lose, its not too big a deal.
For those of us who are getting a little cocky over two wins so far, just remember, Dirk is like an old boar in the weeds. He may not be able to contribute defensively, but he is very capable of getting hot and pouring in 50 or 60 points.
