Why do some people assume we will be out in first round again?

its better to think we wont get out the first round anymore otherwise last year will happen. That humbled my ass big time

 

Against the four teams we most likely will face in the first round--Mavs, Spurs, Clippers, Blazers--we are 6-6 this season. So if this is any indication, it is pretty much a coin toss.

We have been very good at beating up bad teams this season. That gives us a false sense of confidence. But we have not been consistently good against the playoffs teams. Hence the pessimism is not unfounded.

And, yeah, the history in the past 20 years ....

 

Sounds like the OP got his questions answered. I hope he understands now.

 

I blame Limelight and Sticky Promotions, and V Live too..gots to keep the players out of all the Houston clubs

 

Is HOU-SA First Round matchup your official prediction? :grin:

 

lol Sure is. I hope I'm wrong, lol.

 

despite obviously not wanting to play them, if we play the Spurs we are underdogs despite seeding and home court - with no expectation and irrational confidence that I have that we can beat everyone I actually embrace the challenge. I am confident in this team and in james

 

Assume the worst and hope for the best I guess.

 

it's psychological as simple as that

people are used to see us out in the first round so they'll say it

while they are used to see the spurs , Thunder... succeed so they predict them to always succeed

 

Rockets better make it out of 1st round. Otherwise, without you-know-who to blame, this place is gonna explode. lol

 

rockets were dark horses but after the bev injury i dunno. we're the only west playoff team w/o a scoring pg. bev's offense can be replaced but defense is gonna be missed bigtime. terry is a vet and priggs has ploenty of experience overseas so rockets can compensate but it will be tough as hell.

this is exactly why rockets should change up their rotation, they dont have many options now that bev is out. brewer should be starting. priggs and terry are still serviceable bench players. plus remmber priggs is the only real pg on the team. then u got kostas who was doing good in november with all the injuries.

the bench will take a hit but overall its not much since there's still smith and dmo/jones. terry, priggs and kostas aren't useless, but none of them should be avg more than 15mpg in the playoffs. smith can also play some sf if his threes are falling int he playoffs. if rockets wanna change the roation they should do it now so there's some chemistry when the playoffs start

 

The Rockets has as good a chance as any team to advance to WCF, unless they meet the Warriors. I think and hope Howard can get back to his former form using next few games, becomes the dominated defensive force he was.

 

McHale is still here.

 

I love the Rockets. IU want us to get out of the first round. I want us to be Western Champs. I want us to be NBA Champs!

BUT...

That doesn't mean that I automatically expect the team I love the make it out of the first round. There is no correlation between your love for a team and your expectations.

I don't understand how the "positive" fans out there cannot understand this point. They all think that every negative poster hates the Rockets? If so, why are they so emotional about the last 17 years? To me it shows that they love the Rockets more than the positive fan who seem to not really care that we have previously lost.

Anyway, I would think I'm a neutral poster when it comes to this topic. I wouldn't be surprised if we lost in the first round, but I by no means expect that we will lose. I think it's too tight in the West to just assume we are locks to get out of the first. I believe we can win any matchup in the west other than maybe the Warriors. I also believe that we can lose any match up in the west for the same reason, it's just TOO DAMN TIGHT!

Where my positivity comes from is the fact that we've played injured all season and are still a top 4 team. With a healthy team, we are clearly better than we have been so far and could easily make it to the finals when 100% healthy. Add the fact this is our best team since '97. And we're looking good.
One more thing, we're a good defensive team this year. DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS!

Where my negativity comes from is also the fact that w have been injured all season. (it's a double edged sword). Who is to say we are magically healthy come playoffs? We assume we will be healthy and ready to compete, but the fact of this season is that we've had constant injuries. This needs to be taken into account as a possibility in the playoffs (ie. Yao vs the Lakers in round 2, 2009).
Also, our successful style of play is really built for the regular season. Will harden get as many calls in the playoffs? I assume he'll get less FTs. This can really affect our chances to get out of the first round.

 

Rockets won't make it out 1st round as long as Mchale coaching.

 

Indeed, fans cling to the past like it’s gospel. Well, it’s not just fans, as people in general tend to think this way. It’s the same reason why Dallas fans are still clinging to the fact that in 2011, no one believed in them and they won. That they still think Rondo will turn into “Playoff Rondo” like it’s just a switch he’ll turn on. It’s the same reason why “preseason predictions” basically follows past year record/success.

The truth is that the Rockets have a significant chance to advance, but also a significant chance to lose in the first round. The uncertainty makes fans withdraw to what they’re familiar with, which is Rockets failure. Even if the fact that the Rockets lost in the first round 10 years ago have absolutely no bearing on this year’s team.

 

That was so dumb even Josh Smith couldn't believe it.