Do you really think an 8th seed is embarrassing in the West? LOL.

Brook Lopez, Steph Curry, Brandon Jennings and Eric Gordon are all players I'd take over getting the 8th seed and they weren't top 5 and that's only counting the last two drafts classes excluding the most recent one.

 

I wonder why they play the games then? I mean we might as well just surrender and forfeit the games the second we make the 8th playoff seed. Maybe we should just quit.

I'd much rather watch 82 games of ****ty, heartless basketball for an AT MOST 25% chance to draft somebody that *MIGHT* be a great player.

No.

In all honesty I'd rather watch a mediocre team fight and play with fire every night then watch a team with a diva *superstar* that cares more about his shoe sales then winning.

 

Over the years there have been more a lot more all-star players taken outside the lottery than the 6-14 range.

 

But most of the *Superstar* players are top 3 picks.

Durant, Rose

Soon to be: Griffin, Wall

 

Wow, can't believe what I just read. How many 8th seeds under the 7 game 1st rd format have ever won a series...ONE and that was probably the best 1/8 matchup of all time because the Warriors matched up PERFECTLY. Analysts were even saying before the series began that the Mavs were in trouble.

You can have your gritty mediocre team trying to make the playoffs and get destroyed first round every year and pick 15 or 16 in the draft. I'll take my chances struggling one year for a chance to get a top 5 pick and clearing room to sign a star player down the road. EVERY team that has won a title in the last 30 years has done it this way, with the exception of Detroit in 04 and Philly in 83.

Lakers - Magic and Bryant

Celtics - Bird and Pierce

Detroit - Thomas and Dumars

Rockets - Olajuwon

Bulls - Jordan and Pippen

Spurs - Robinson and Duncan

Heat - Wade

All these teams built the their foundation through the draft and used trades/FAgent signings to complete their championship team. All these guys are HIGH draft picks with the exception of Dumars who was the 18th player chosen in his draft and Bryant who was chosen 13th then traded but that will probably go down as the best mid first rd choice of all time.

 

Not if you win the playoff series.

 

you're assuming that the "best team" by that point will be better than a Rockets team that not only started 0-5, but dealt with injury and went on to be what, 3-11? If we're 9-14 now, and can actually get a low playoff seed, then we may actually BE one of the BEST teams in the West (healthy) not due to our overall record, but how we finished the final 60+ games.

that 95 team was a LOT better by the end of the year than their 47 W record, but what mattered was the team they were when they "reached" the playoffs, not their record.

If Yao and Brooks com back, we'll play well and end up above .500 to finish. We've dug a great enough hole that itll be tough to get between 45-50 wins, but if we get to about there then we should make it in the finals seeds in the West this year. This doesnt look like a 50+ win 1-8th seed year.

 

I proudly admit to preferring the Rockets tank for the lottery over getting crushed in the first or second round.

 

Teams that are starting to fade and fade fast:

New Orleans
Portland
Phoenix


Hello Playoffs. I'm convinced we're going and maybe even as high as the 5th or 6th seed. Especially if Denver tears it down.

 

Yeah, watch them fade after the break. They will fade big time. And Randolph has NEVER been a winner. He's a r****d.

 

If this were baseball, I'd agree with you. Chance plays such a strong role in the outcome of a game that even the best teams lose a third of the time, and even the worst ones win. A team that gets hot at the right time can win it all, so making the playoffs is very valuable.

NFL and college hoops are similar: Because their playoffs are single elimination, inferior teams that overperform at the right time can make a serious run. Because of this, again, making the playoffs is very valuable.

But the NBA isn't like this. Sure, there are upsets from time to time, but because of the nature of the game the best team is almost certain to win over a 7-game series, and it's usually clear when the playoffs start which teams are contenders and which ones are going home early.

The other problem is that Houston isn't a destination city, like New York, LA or Miami, that players want to come to just because it's cool. Even if we win 45 games a year through guts and grit, we can't expect that stars will choose to play here.

That leaves the draft, and I'm with Raven on this one. While I would never suggest that we intentionally lose games, I'm all in favor of playing our young guys, trading some of our aging veterans for future value, and keeping the minutes of our more fragile players like Lowry, Martin, and Yao down. Our staff's got a great eye for talent, and I just don't see how we get out of the 45-win trap without a few high lottery picks.

 

Well Said.........

 

Thank you for bringing me off the ledge.

I don't condone "tanking", but this season has had me thinking of taking that plunge.

Kind of like a guy thinking of committing suicide, standing on the ledge looking down. Then you come along and convince me of how irrational I was being, It's not that bad. The Yao situation is coming to a cross road and the team is sitting in a good position over the long term.

And hell maybe they still have a good winning streak left in them and hell maybe Yao comes back injury free.

It could be a good day after all, Thanks!! :grin:

 

Nothing like multiple years of late-lotto, low playoff-seed limbo to continue to suck the life out of a once-proud franchise.

Listen to Prohokorov. The Nets are only a couple of games out of the playoffs too...in a far easier conference, but he knows what the best long term outcome is, and it's not finishing .500 and getting smoked by Boston/Miami/Orlando in 5 games.

EDIT: BTW, being "2 games out of the playoffs" is quite misleading. This presumes that the 8th seed (currently Portland) is going to continue along a sub .500 clip, so that 41-41 gets you in in the West.

Probably not going to happen.

 

Anyone can beat anyone in the wild wild west