Will the Rockets intentionally lose games for playoff positioning?

Go for the best possible regular season record, then punch our first-round opponents in the face.

ESPECIALLY if it's the Warriors.

To eventually be the best, we're going to have to go up against some really good teams in the playoffs.

 

CamBrons revenge! Starters minutes incoming!

 

Have we even figured out who is Numero Uno by now......

 

I don’t want to get eliminated by the Warriors again. Avoid the Warriors at all cost!

 

is it too late to tank for flag?

 

I’ll be happy to hold this kind of discussion, ONCE we secure a top-6 spot to avoid play-in. It might take a while, as we’re only 3.5 games ahead of T-wolves with 15 games left. I hope that in about 2 weeks we’ll be able to secure our spot.

 

No offense, screw the premise of this thread. We are 1 game out of the 2 seed. We were more than 5 games ahead of everyone else when we owned the 2 seed and challenging OKC at one point. You are kidding yourself if you don't think this young team was tired, demoralized, and pissed off around the trade deadline. Not getting help, injuries and losing streak, losing position, and losing that momentum.

You want a young team to BELIEVE. We should be the 2 seed, WE SHOULD BE THE BEST. This was a 17-win basement dweller, laughing stock with no future. Losing like that kills you or forges you. The Rockets arc is the Astros arc. We need to recapture the 2 seed and own it. F**k whoever we have to play. I hope its the Worriers and you stomp them in the ground where they belong. Stop imagining hurting our young players egos and BELIEVE IN THEM. It can only go up from here. Imagine how great they would feel and grow from stomping out the Worriers future. This is what helped OKC. It will help us. The history of the NBA is young upstart teams burying the titans of the past. They sacrificed their future to win now so let them know they failed.

Our young guys have proven who they are to a fault. They play like young stupid idiots (TOs, FTs, bad 3s, lazy D, etc) and lose games they should win. It is never a case of they are blown out by far superior talent. When they play OKC, Cavs, Celtics, Nuggets, Grizzlies, etc. they go for their throats and usually beat them because they want to prove something. In life that is what you want to see. Over time we can fix the leaking oil stupidity problems. Can't fix heart. Luckily that's not the problem.

 

Yeah....nah.

I want no parts of that Warrior team and I doubt any other team wants to see them in the first round.

Kuminga destroys our team, no one on our team can guard him, not sure why, but then you add Curry and Draymond who I believe are actually fueled by Rocket fans tears plus a possible playoff Jimmy sighting?

Nope. Sorry. I just will not believe this franchise will win a playoff series as long as Draymond and Curry are on that team. Let someone else take them in the first round. Hopefully Denver or something.

I feel like our best matchup will be Memphis. No superstar shenanigan officiating that we'd get with LA or GSW and its a team we've beaten now a few times so have confidence we can beat them 4x I would hope and its the only other team in the top 6 that doesn't have an MVP level player. Shai, Jokic, Doncic, Lebron, Curry, all these are MVP level players that can carry their team consistently through a series, even if some are old, that age probably won't be a factor in the first series where they will go in with a bit of a few days rest then the every other day.

So yeah, if the last game a loss gives us Memphis instead of GSW or something I'd happily take that L.

 

The playoff opponent doesn’t matter. We’re trying to to find out WHAT WE NEED to take the next step to contender status. Ducking teams is bullshit.

 

Do you want the Rockets to play OKC? I believe the Cavs, Celtics, and OKC are better than the Rockets right now. If the Rockets are successful they are going to have to beat Grizzlies and Warriors in some order before OKC. If you ask me who is surviving the West that is the list. I am giving you the seeding I believe below. At this point, I'm sorry record does matter 70 games in.

OKC>Clippers
Rockets>Warriors
Grizzlies>Wolves
Nuggets>Lakers

You have to remember what you are saying. You see the Rockets going in the tank 4 times in a series against these teams. I believe that with OKC. I think it is a 6 game series maybe 7 at best against a clearly better team.

Cav and Celtics will own the East. Its still incredible to me how losing teams in the East will make the playoffs. I thought no one wanted Jimmy?

 

I want Lakers

 

It's the western conference. Every ****ing team is good.

I want the #2 seed because I don't want to face OKC until the WCF...

 

Despite we so far lost 3 out of 4 matches with Warriors this season, it feels like it was more of us loosing those games rather than Warriors won them. I can relate to what you wrote about Curry and Green fuelled by Rockets tears.. And that’s exactly the reason why I rather trying face them again in the playoffs and beat those MFs instead of avoiding them. Worst case scenario - we’re loosing them again. Best case scenario - we beat them, thus avenging all of our previous decades’ heart-breaking losses.

 

Warriors would demolish us…could be a 5 game series even with HCA

Rockets should want no parts of them in a 1st round series

they have our number, and it’s obvious

 

There are no good matchups (except for maybe Memphis)

Fake. Chris Mannix wouldn’t pick the Rockets against OKC, Denver, LA, GS, and I suspect he’d “lean” Memphis too. And probably Minnesota as well. So…

At one point, it was 4-5 Rockets/Lakers … be serious.
Another point, 4-5 Rockets/Grizzlies … ok, they got a shot.
Right now, it’s 3-6 Rockets/Warriors … owned this team since 2014-15
Golden State & Minnesota the two hottest teams in the West

Not exactly going out on a limb but Grizz, Warriors, Lakers or Wolves will be their first round opponent.

 

He said Ime thinks out of the box. LOL

 

I could see warriors or twolves finishing strong enough to capture the 4 or 5 seed if one or two of the current 2-5 seeds falter. Heck the Lakers might end up 6 or 7 with LeBron’s injury. Rockets need to get on a roll and finish strong and maybe as a 2 or 3 seed they get the Lakers.

 

Trust me I don’t want to play the warriors but screw it we going for that second seed!!

 

Get the #2. It will be a good exp for our young guns.