Is it wrong to hope that the Rockets will lose vs the Clips?

We can't get cute with the standings. This is the best Western Conference I have ever seen in my life, in terms of both the top teams and depth. The 1st round is going to be tough but we should be favored, the 2nd round is going to be extremely tough regardless of who we face. I am still scared of the Spurs in playoff series even if we sweep them in the regular season. I'm all for resting players once we lock into a spot for better or worse, but it's a slippery slope trying to get cute with the seeding.

Look at it this way, according to Hollinger, we are the 3rd best team in the league with only the Clippers and Spurs ahead of us. 8 of the top 10 teams are in the Western conference. It's going to be a ridiculously hard task to come out of the West this year and if we're going to, we better figure out a way to beat Clippers/Thunder anyways.

As I said earlier, if the ultimate goal is championship, we have to consider trying to get the HC advantage in the Finals against the Pacers/Heat. That's how good we are that it's not ridiculous to be thinking that way.

 

1. Don't hide from the Thunder.

2. Don't underestimate the Spurs. They were literally a bounce away from beating Lebron James for the championship last season. Just because we took some regular season wins doesn't mean they'll be easier than the Thunder in the playoffs.

3. It'd be nice to show we can beat the Clippers because we might see them in the playoffs.

4. There has been a clear separation of the WC top 4 elite and the rest of the pack. I don't want to be last of the top 4 elite teams. Third star candidates think more highly of teams seeded third than they do of teams seeded fourth.

 

This is completely valid and actually the way to go. You're right, we'll get destroyed by the Thunder/Clippers. The Spurs always seem to turn it on during the playoffs but I like our chances vs them much better.

 

We've proven that we don't know how to beat their asses multiple times

 

Being more afraid of the Clips and Thunder more than the Spurs and Pop is the stupidest thing ever. Be careful what you wish for...

 

Third star candidates think of more highly of teams that make it further in the playoffs

 

In terms of playoff chances, Warriors/Blazers/Spurs are better matchups for us than Grizzlies/Clippers/Thunder.

We probably don't want to lost on purpose, but I won't be mad at all if we did.

 

We're 2.5 games behind Indiana in W/L. The season record is tied, and we have a better opposing conference record so all we'd have to do is tie them to lock in home court.

In terms of Miami, we're in a similar but better boat. Right now we're a 1/2 game ahead of Miami and have split the season series (1-1), however we have the superior record against opposing conference, so if we tie we also lock in home court.

Give that we're 2.5 games back, and getting TO the Finals is a very, very dodgy proposition, and we're probably going to have HCA against Miami anyway, do we really want to break our necks trying to catch Indiana's record when we're 2.5 games back and 10 games to go? That seems like a TON of effort for very little reward.

As for those in a rush to run into the OKC/Clippers because they want to take on the best, I am reminded of these wise words by Sun Tzu...

“So in war, the way is to avoid what is strong, and strike at what is weak.”
― Sun Tzu, The Art of War

The play off rounds are just a bunch of battles. I want to win the War. And the War is fought for the Championship.

You guys can want to dive into OKC/LAC all you want. However what good does it do us if we exhaust ourselves early only to have nothing left at the end? To get ourselves eliminated against stronger opponents early in the game when we can let them fight amongst themselves before meeting us?

Anyone can be upset this year. The West is stacked top to bottom. It's foolish to try to take the "hard" route. There are no "easy" paths in the West. Only Hard, and Really freaking hard.

And no matter how hard or easy the route, nobody puts an asterisk beside their banner, or in the record books.

You think Miami's championships don't count because they've been in the crappy Eastern conference? They still get the trophy, the rings, and the banners.

I'll take the smart route and higher chance of winning a championship any day of the week.

A few more wise words from Sun Tzu to think about.

“One mark of a great soldier is that he fight on his own terms or fights not at all.”
― Sun Tzu

Yes, we'll have to face OKC or the Clippers sooner or later. We should do it on the terms most favorable to US. IE, after they've beaten their heads in fighting through Memphis and each other.

 

I prefer to pass them both in the standings and have them have to come to OUR house for the series. THAT would be the most favorable terms for us.

 

I don't think it matters where the play they are just bad match ups. I would rather the rockets get the WCF which they haven't been to in nearly 2 decades.

 

yeah, so. Are you saying losing to the Clippers means we go further.

weird

 

We need to beat both the Clippers and the Thunder. Don't want to go into the playoffs losing to both of them in all of our matchups. We win the last one and it won't matter we lost the previous ones.

 

My motto as a fan will always be "Win first, worry later!"

 

You would sooner face the Spurs than the Grizzlies? I think the tankers in this thread are seriously underestimating the Spurs on the basis of a couple of regular season games (which we know never figure very high in the Spurs' priority list). The Spurs are a playoff monster.

We should make it through the first round okay. Whether we draw the Thunder or Spurs in the second round, we're going to have our hands full. Both teams are very tough. I think you're fooling yourself if you think it's possible to pick the easier road through the second round.

 

I agree. But i'd like to add that most of that is in the strength of seeds 5-9. Add to that that seeds 1-4 are not invincible either. That is, while OKC and SAS are very, very good, they dont have that overwhelming margin over the other teams like Miami & Indy in the east this year, or like those championship Laker teams (Magic, Jabbar era) of the past.

What that reveals to me is that this years western conference playoffs are ripe for some upsets.

 

I see where you come from, but winning Clippers goes a long way boosting our confidence and going strong into playoff. I'd say just enjoy the battle, and don't be too upset if we lose(for the reasons you mentioned).

 

Facing the Thunder or the Clips is pretty much inevitable in the WCF. So there is no point running away from them.

 

Of course there's a point.

Would you rather lose in the WCF or lose in the 2nd round? Or lose in the 1st round? Even if it was to the SAME team?

The difference is we get to watch more basketball. The players get more play off experience. The team gains confidence. And we get a clearer picture of what we need to push us over the top as we run through multiple teams.

If you know a team is a bad match up, you put it off as long as possible. You let them tire themselves out. You let them get into long wars in bad match ups. You let them get pounded on the boards by Gasol and Zbo for 7 games.

Then you get to see how fast and athletic they look at the end.

If I'm going to fight a guy that's stronger, I'd be a fool to take him on on even terms. Fight him in the mud where he loses mobility. Fight him in the rain so that you're slippery. Fight him with your back to the sun so he can't see clearly. Fight him early in the morning so he's groggy, or late at night so he's tired.

More play off games is ALWAYS better, even if the end result is the same. Not to mention, it's a LOT easier to get more talent when you can say you went to the WCF or deep into the 2nd round than getting run off the court early in the 2nd round.

Think of the Rockets as Mohammed Ali... rope a dope. Let OKC and the Clippers punch themselves out.

 

Sounds like a b**** move, one Dallas or the Jazz would make.

 

Our last home game against the Clippers was Nov 9th. OKC was Jan16. I think it's possible we have improved since then. Now is the time to see where we stack up, not to concede defeat.