They are not dead yet. Only 1 and 2 games behind the Lakers in the loss column. Both have tiebreaker over HOU and Portland beat SAS badly. Either of those team, plus the Lakers, may knock off one of HOU, GS and UTA.
I don't know about you, but I don't have a good feeling about us, especially after last year. I wouldn't be surprised if Portland, Dallas, AND LA get in at the expense of GSW, Utah, and us. I hate playing in the West. Look at the Eastern conference, where the Bucks are more or less guranteed the 8th spot with a .500 record.
I've been watching this and wondering why the media is ignoring these possibilities. Portland or Dallas would have to go on a great run, but it's still possible with the way Utah, GS and the Rockets are playing right now.
It just never easy to make the playoffs in the West. Even teams who look dead sometimes come back into the picture. There just really aren't too many "no chance in hell" teams like there are in the East. You never know about Portland-- somehow they always seem to come back from whatever ails them (Oden injury, Roy injury, implosion last season). Dallas would be at least a few games ahead of their current spot if not for Dirk injury. Minnesota looked like a viable playoff team before injuries claimed basically their entire team.
Rockets have had some truly awful losses that are going to come back and bite us in the ass Suns kings 76ers Mavs Pelicans
Portland is done. But Dallas is going to make it I think. I said in another thread L.A. will take the 6th seed, Houston the 7th, and Dallas the 8th
Dallas next 5 games are tough though. Their easiest of the 5 against the Bucks and the Cavs... But the Bucks have beat all of these teams in west race funnily enough and if the Cavs have Uncle Drew then that isn't a guaranteed win for them. We'll see, I don't think either are making it in. GSW has too many home games to fall out I think and the Rockets should make good ground during their own homestand.
it's just never easy for the rockets to make the playoffs in the west, you mean. 8 other teams seem to have a pretty easy time with it year in and year out.
Blazers were done even before they lost 7 in-a-row. Lakers will get 6th. I wouldn't pencil the Mavs into anything just yet even though the Rockets and Warriors look very shaky.
I feel the Lakers are gonna get the 6th spot with the way their playing. 7th and 8th spots will be either Warriors, Rockets, Jazz, or Mavs.
Also, how are there still people who don't understand that "the loss column" doesn't have any special significance? and please don't reply saying anything along the lines of "it means they control their own fate".
It is meaningful if your team has been hotter recently than it has been earlier in the season or if you have recently gotten a major player back which means that those future games that you have not lost have a better chance of turning into Ws than you'd think judging by the team's win%.
don't know what you are saying, but negate all that and apply it to "the win column", and you are making the same argument for the win column. isolating the loss column as a number means nothing. only means something when combined with and relative to the win column.
Trading away 2Pat & MM has definitely had an impact on both sides of the court. We're a much weaker team without them and I think that's where we are seeing us struggle more lately. Plus Harden doesn't look 100%. I don't think we'll will more than 45 games if even. But that might be good enough. I think we'll make it through though, with Dallas and G.S. fighting for the final spot.
I hope Morey's decision to nuke the Rockets PF rotation helps long term because it's killing them now. Morris for Donuts is almost a wash but giving up Pat Pat for Thomas Robinson is a giant step down. We'll see what Harden has left these final 18 games. Because of youth, it's hard for me to give the Rockets the benefit of the doubt. But in their favor, the Warriors and Jazz are also coughing and wheezing to the finish line. Rockets' schedule is favorable from here on but I won't take anything for granted after last year's spectacular collapse in mid-April.
