Its a must win tomorrow. If we tank we run the risk of being in the 5th seed which is no home court advantage and we face Lakers rd 2, if we get there.
I don't care if this helps Denver get to the second round, I want to ensure the Rockets get there, and the easiest path right now is by playing NO. That happens if NO wins, rockets win, and nuggets win. SW title is important as a milestone for this team, org and fan, so I really want to win that, but that 2nd seed vs 3rd thing is a wash. We have been a decent road team this year against playoff teams, even if historically we haven't played well in Denver. Honestly, all the pressure will be off if we win that first round series and then face Denver on the road the first two games. I feel we will play better then too. Yes, I realize that all the stats show how important HCA is in a playoff series, but honestly if we really think this team is championship material year or in the next 2 years, they have to be able to win playoff games on the road. To win 1 road game you have to win 1/4 or 1/3 road games which translates to just about Utah's road record for the past few year that everyone makes fun of. Even if you have HCA, to close a team out you have to win a road game unless you want to play 7 games every series. Once the quality of the playoff teams increase and they become much more evenly matched, HCA becomes overrated in my opinion. It becomes more of a mind game, and the more mentally strong team will win even if they the lower seed.
our road record this year is about 50%, not that it's a reliable indication of what's ahead in the playoffs. of course #2 >>> #3. never underestimate the importance of the home court in the playoffs.
It's a win-win situation IMO. If Denver loses, Houston gets the #2 seed and HCA for 2 rounds. If Denver loses, Houston gets to play the Hornets in the first round and watch Denver scrap it out against Dallas. As long as we beat Dallas, we can't go wrong either way.
We'll have the opportunity of finding out who to root for since they're game will mostly take place after our game with Dallas has finished. So, if we win, I'll be rooting for Portland, but if we lose, I'd want home court no matter what and would root for Denver. At this point matchups are irrelevant to me, I think we should beat anyone we face homecourt or no. Suck it Utah!
exactly. i root for the rockets to win, every game. i will never root for a loss, unless they have no mathematical chance at the playoffs. of course we need to root for the rockets to get #2. we should root for them to get as good a seed as possible. why are people thinking of finishing with a worse seed to avoid some other team? it's BS! now, since i always root for the rockets to win and improve their standings and seedings, that doesn't mean i don't root against tougher match ups. for example, lets say the #2 rockets beat the mavs... i'm rooting for the hornets to upset the #3 nuggets all the way. and after that i'm rooting for the spurs/blazers to upset the lakers. i don't mind getting some breaks along the way, but losing to avoid a challenge, or even rooting against the rockets getting a better seed for that reason is just being a puss.
Our road record sux, we need the home advantage so I hope we can get 2nd seed. If you're only worried about getting past the first round, then yes, let's just get 3rd and play the hornets. I think this team has realistic chances of making it to the conference finals.
So do I. I think 3rd place is better than 2nd. 3rd place means we will face Hornets at 1st round, while if we get 2nd place, we need to meet Dallas. Even I believe Rox can beat both...
I think it is pretty even IF the Rockets win. Then... If Port wins.. Round 1: #2 Hou versus Dallas Round 2: #2 Hou versus Den/NO winner at Hou If Den wins.. #3 Hou versus NO Round 1: #3 Hou versus NO Round 2: #3 Hou @Den/or Dal at Hou. Either option we get about as easy of road as we can get and still be in the WC playoffs. Great to have the possibility of only having to beat one of LA, Port and Jazz to make the finals. If I were picking in all honestly, assuming a Rocket win, yes I think I'll have to route for ever so slightly Denver to win. Drawing NO over Dallas is worth the extra possibility of having to win 1 extra game in Denver (and it is only a possibility, Den's 4-0 record over Dallas is misleading, 3 were wins by a bucket, including both Den home games). THE KEY things is for the Rockets to take care of business--I don't care if we back into the #2 seed from the #3 or not. Losing and we run great risk of losing homecourt in round 1 and being in the 4/5 spot to have to open with Port/SA only to be rewarded almost assuredly with LA. I expect Portland to handle Denver in Portland rather well manana anyway. I think Dallas has a better chance against us at their home, as does NO even @ SA.
Guess i'm on my own here but I want Denver if we win. I think we can beat dallas and NO but NO is an easier match up so i'd take the 3 seed and NO over the 2 and Dallas, especially if Tyson is still hurt for the post season. Ely can not guard Yao and the series will be over in 5 tops
As long as we get the #2 or #3 seed, that's all I care about. I'm not scared of Denver with or without the HCA.
That some people are saying denver is sad. Two rounds of home court advantage? We want to win a championship, a first round win is trivial in comparison. And since when are the Rockets scared of the Mavs. If Tmac hadn't got all cocky, we would have swept the fools a couple years back. I want them to beat the Mavs, then the Jazz next year.
