Well, it's that time again. The Rockets magic number to clinch a playoff spot is at 7. That means any combination of Rockets wins and the 9th seed's (currently the Clippers) losses that total 7 gives the Rox a playoff spot. The Rockets magic number to clinch the 5th seed is at 10. Any combination of Rockets wins and the 6th seed's (currently the Lakers) losses that total 10 gives the Rockets the 5th seed. Utah's magic number to obtain home court over the Rockets is at 15. Our magic number to take home court away from the Jazz is at 20. We are currently 41-25 with 16 games remaining. The Rockets are on pace to have a record of 51-31 which means they will finish the last 16 games at 10-6. More likely we will finish 11-5 which will give us a 52-30 record. Utah has 17 games remaining with their record currently at 43-22. If we go 11-5 the last 16 games, Utah only has to go 10-7 to guarantee home court. We need them to go 8-9 to take home court. If the Jazz finish 9-8 then the two games remaining against them will be crucial due to the head-to-head record that will decide the tiebreaker. I will try and update the magic number after each Rockets game, so stay tuned.
thanks for the info. As long as we play the Jazz in the first round, with or without homecourt advantage, I am satisfied.
home court is easily within our grasp... if we beat Utah two more times we are one behind them in the loss column... look at their remaining schedule vs. our remaining schedule... even if we end the season tied, as long as we beat the Jazz in our next two matchups we get homecourt... do the math! the Clippers are currently 8th and the warriors are 9th according to nba.com, but yahoo has the warriors at the 8th seed by one percentage point .463 to .462
what would happen if the rockets lost their next 16 and the warriors won their next 15? they would be 46-36 and Houston would be 41-41 so wouldnt the magic number be something more like 8?
We'll you probably dont know the rules. They are rather stupid I think. Even though Rox will have the 5th seed as long as they have a better record than Utah they will have the home court advantage. The 4th and 5th seed is pretty much just for name not for reality. Yes its stupid I know.
I went with Yahoo's standings which has the Warriors at the 8th spot and the Clippers at the 9th spot. The Warriors have one more loss than the Clippers so the magic number would be 6 if the Warriors were in the 9th spot. Under your scenario, if the Warriors finished 46-36, the Rockets would need to win six games to finish 47-35, hence 6 as the magic number. The magic number is like a guarantee of a one game lead, not a tie.
Its nice to have a Magic number thats not just Astro related. I still think we can land that 4th seed.
Good thread. We're getting down to that point where seedings and homecourt advantage are going to start becomming the focus for all playoff teams from this point on. Astrorocket I agree, how freaking good does it feel to see the return of the "Magic Number" thread??
I think the chances are very slim. In order for us to land the 4th seed, both we and the Jazz have to have a better record than the Spurs. At the same time, the Jazz have a better record than us. And the prize for doing that is we have to face the Spurs in the 1st rd.
Games remaining in regular season: 15 Magic number to clinch playoff spot: 5 Magic number to clinch 5th seed: 9 Jazz magic number to keep homecourt: 15 Rockets magic number to take homecourt from Utah: 18
The problem is that you have to factor the 2 games against Utah in the Rockets magic number to keep homecourt. If the Rockets win their last 15 games, they secure homecourt by being the 4th seed.....so their magic number for homecourt is the same as Utah's. DD
The Rockets won't be the 4th seed, even if they finish with a better record than Utah, because Utah will win their division, thus guaranteeing them one of the top 4 spots. As someone else already mentioned, the only way for the Rockets to be the 4th is if both the Rockets and the Jazz finish ahead of the Spurs, in which case the Jazz would move up to 3, the Rockets would be 4 and the Spurs 5. Not very likely.
Not true. Even if the Rockets lose both remaining games against Utah as long as any combination of Rox wins and Jazz losses that total 18 gives the Rockets homecourt against Utah. The Rockets will not have the 4th seed. The best they can do is 5th, even if they have a better record than Utah. If the Rox have a better record than the Jazz and get the homecourt, the Jazz are still technically the 4th seed and we're the 5th seed. New rule for this year.
I understand Jet Blast, but the Rockets control their destiny for the homecourt. If they win all 15 of their games, and Utah only loses 2...both to Houston, we end up with identical records, and the Rockets get homecourt advantage due to winning the season series 3-1...so how do you account for that? Oh, and you are correct, Utah would win the 4th seed but we would still have homecourt advantage.... DD
The magic number doesn't account for ties, only an outright lead. You're right about a tie. If we win both games against Utah and somehow finish with the same record, then we would get homecourt because of the tiebreaker.
The Rockets are getting home court, and will roll into the playoffs as one of the league's hottest teams.
