So if I'm reading that right... Houston has 15 games remaining, and Utah/Denver both have 12. A few scenarios: If Houston goes 9-6, Utah *and* Denver would have to go 11-1 to tie. If Houston goes 7-8, Utah *and* Denver would have to go 9-3 to tie. If Houston goes 5-10, Utah *and* Denver would have to go 7-5 to tie. We play the Nuggets twice (home and away) and the Jazz once (away). In other words, we're still in, unless we collapse in a VERY ugly manner.
topfive: Not trying to be a pessimist. I still believe. But wanted to point out you're leaving Portland out of your equation. They're only a half game behind Utah (who are tied with DEN for 8th now) and I think they're really a bigger threat than Denver at this point.
You're right. Thank God we don't have to worry about those Eastern Conference playoff monsters like Cleveland, Boston and Toronto!
Remember, these ARE the Rockets we're talking about.... I was hoping that they would do their collapse earlier in the season and put us out of our miseries early, but it looks like they're going to wait until the bitter end to break our hearts again....
Well, I did say 'shocked,' which is perhaps a bit strong. But I really don't have any confidence in this team right now. JVG sort of summed up what I feel about them: I don't have any confidence that we can beat a good team right now, especially on the road, and obviously you can't count on our beating bad teams either, so I'm beginning to steel myself against the familiar.
With the win over Portland, magic number is 8 The magic number will decrease one with each Rocket win, or another loss from Denver. Rockets already clintched season tie-breaker over Portland.
Number 8!!! Who was the last Rockets player to wear #8? Remember when we demanded Kobe for Pippen, when Pippen demanded to get traded to the Lakers? He'd would have been the next #8. 8
The real magic number is 7 Portland record 35-35 Denver record 37-35 Utah record 36-34 Houston record 40-29 if Houston wins 7, Houston record will be: 47-35 The best Portland can do is 47-35. We have the tie breaker over Portland. Portland out. Current won-lost between Houston, Denver and Utah: Houston: Denver 1-1 Houston:Utah 2-1 Denver:Uath 3-0 There have one game left between Utah and Denver. If Denver wins, the best Denver can do is 47-35 and the best Uath can do is 47-35. Then the won-lost between Houston, Denver and Utah will be: Houston: Denver 1-3 Houston:Utah 2-2 Denver:Uath 4-0 Denver gets 7 wins, Houston gets 3 wins, Utah gets 2 wins. Denver and Houston get the Three-Team Tiebreaker. Utah out. If Utah wins, the best Denver can do is 46-36. Denver out. Therefore, current magic number is: 7
The number is 9 against the #9 team in the West (i.e., Utah or Denver). However, wining the tie breaker against Portland does help Rox a lot in case Portland makes a charge to take over the #9 spot. Last night's win is a two game swing.
The problem with our magic number is that we are #7 and there are 3 other teams in the hunt. We are out of the playoffs only if 2 of the 3 teams finish ahead of us. And those teams play each other. I think cancan is right: 7
In this senario, Denver takes the #7 seed. The #8 seed will decide between Utah and Houston who are tied at 2-2 face-to-face. A different tie break has to be used. Therefore, the magic number is a little more than 7.
cancan's analysis is interesting, but not complete. Portland could ends up in the 3-way tie scenarios instead of Utah or Denver.
Three-Team Tiebreaker 1. Best head-to-head winning percentage among all teams tied 2. Highest winning percentage in conference games 3. Highest winning percentage within division (if teams are in the same division) 4. Highest winning percentage against playoff teams in own conference 5. Highest point differential between points scored and points allowed If Denver wins, the best Denver can do is 47-35 and the best Uath can do is 47-35. Then the won-lost between Houston, Denver and Utah will be: Houston: Denver 1-3 Houston:Utah 2-2 Denver:Uath 4-0 Then Denver takes the #7 seed and Houston takes the #8 seed.
If the rule book says the three-team tiebreaker overrules the two-team tiebreaker, your conclusion is right. By the way, I forgot to mention that I like the analysis in your previous post.
True. Since there have one game left between Portland and Denver and they all have 35 losts, so the Houston, Portland, Denver Three-Team Tiebreaker Senario is not possible. Current won-lost between Houston, Utah and Portland: Houston:Utah 2-1 Houstonortland 3-1 Portland:Utah 2-2 For Houston, Portland, Utah Three-Team Tiebreaker, Houston takes the #7 seed.
What are the records between Portland and Utah/Denver? Are there any games left among them (the more games left among them, the better for Rox)? Is there a 4-way tie scenario?
