[Calm Down] Sitting at 0.632 and #2 Seed in the Western Conference!

That’s up to Ime. No reason it has to be that way. It is the whole fallacy of starting Fred in the backcourt, but it is what it is.

 

Dillon, Tari, or Jabari.

 

don't think it'll be as automatic as you suggested but hopefully you're right.

 

If Kawhi plays great and Harden is shut down we still win. Harden is the engine as the orchestrator of the offense

 

A 30th loss is guaranteed tonight for the Lakers or Grizzlies.

 

Looks like Memphis is done, Lakers gonna win this one. Would be fun to face the Grizz whether that's like #2 vs #7 or #3 vs #6. we have their number and they're in freefall

 

Be nice if it ended like this...

1Thunder vs 8TWolves
4Lakers vs 5Clippers
2Rockets vs 7Grizzlies
3Nuggets vs 6Warriors

 

Swap the Nuggets/Warriors spots with the Lakers and Clippers and you got a deal from me.

 

If Memphis is done then they are probably dropping all the way to 8. We will be playing Minny

 

Precisely my thinking and Dallas might make the Play In as well.

 

After disposing of the Suns, the Rockets will basically clinch #2 or #3 by beating the Lakers tomorrow. It would give them a 4-game lead including the tiebreaker, which really means a 5-game lead over them with only 6 games remaining.

If they don't win tomorrow, they'll have another chance to beat the Lakers in game 81.

Here is a good scenario for the Rockets that might be coming together:

1Thunder vs 8TWolves
4Lakers vs 5Warriors
2Rockets vs 7Grizzlies
3Nuggets vs 6Clippers

If the Grizzlies completely collapse, switch them with the TWolves.

 

Left this out: Because they blew the game in Denver, good chance the season final with the Nuggets determines who gets the #2 seed.

 

.653 and climbing

 

Here's a weird stat: a team that can generate wins when they shoot poorly.

• The Rockets (46.1%) shot worse than the Jazz (54.4%) on Thursday, but had seven fewer turnovers and 15 more offensive rebounds. It was their 20th win (they’re 20-23) in games in which they had a lower field goal percentage than their opponents, with that total tied (with two Raptors teams that also employed Fred VanVleet) for the most for any team in the last six seasons.

 

It's to the point I always expect the Rockets to shoot worse than the opponent but make up for it with positive differentials in offensive rebounds and turnovers. I document these in each game thread.

 

Any way we can clinch tonight? Little confused by the magic number.

 

Imagine if we had some form of offense system

 

What system works well with bad shooters?

 

Memphis lost to GSW and slipped to #6. They probably fall to play in as Minny and Clippers has easier schedule.