2013-2014 Magic Numbers against the Western Conference

Dang still got to beat one of the last two.

DD

 

Who cares how "confident" they are? Rockets just need to play their game, tighten up on defense now that Dwight and Bev are back, and they'll be just fine.

 

Rockets have to win 1, or have Portland lose to Clippers.

 

damn it, warriors.
like i needed another reason to hate golden state.

 

Would've been nice to rest our guys a bit but I think GS is a much tougher matchup in the playoffs.

 

Not sure. With Bogut injured and Lee not 100%, they might be an easier matchup

 

if bogut is injured to miss playoff time, then yea. that's unforeseen though. lee being out doesn't do much tbh...draymond is a better defender, and he spaces the floor better. they're still an effective team without lee, especially cuz jermaine has been good off the bench for em.

 

I wonder if Popovich will rest his players because they are locked into the best record and have nothing to play for....???

DD

 

The Spurs theoretically do have one thing to play for(other than pride). With the Rockets needing a win to clinch home court, San Antonio could try to play the role of spoiler. Despite our current slump, you figure the Spurs still would rather play the Blazers than us in the 2nd round, so why not try to prevent the Rockets from getting home court in Round 1.

 

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>If I'm guessing: Spurs' regulars play tomorrow vs Rockets, perhaps with certain guys' minutes highly monitored. Perhaps rest vs. LAL on Wed.</p>&mdash; Jeff McDonald (@JMcDonald_SAEN) <a href="https://twitter.com/JMcDonald_SAEN/statuses/455475970414108672">April 13, 2014</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>No word yet, but good chance he plays his regulars. RT <a href="https://twitter.com/slickkmoneytx">@slickkmoneytx</a>: <a href="https://twitter.com/Jonathan_Feigen">@Jonathan_Feigen</a> Have any idea who Pop will rest tomorrow?</p>&mdash; Jonathan Feigen (@Jonathan_Feigen) <a href="https://twitter.com/Jonathan_Feigen/statuses/455561761643442176">April 14, 2014</a></blockquote>
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so we just need 1 more win and home court is ours.. right?

 

That's correct.

 

Very true

 

Feels so good to have the tie breaker against Portland. We knew that game against Portland in early March was important, but now, we are really seeing it.

"THE LEAD: James Harden erupted for 20 of his 41 points in the fourth quarter and overtime, rallying the Houston Rockets from a 13-point, fourth-period deficit to outlast the Portland Trail Blazers 118-113 on Sunday at Toyota Center. Jeremy Lin also helped fuel Houston's comeback, netting 15 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter and extra session. Dwight Howard finished with 17 points and 12 rebounds for the Rockets (44-19)."

QUOTABLE: "We showed some great resilience. We knew how important this game was. It's two games record-wise and for the [head-to-head] tiebreaker, so it was more important, and we fought through it. ... "
-- James Harden

 

So it's 1993 all over again?

 

Props for that memory recall. Rockets could have gone to the Finals that year bc game 7 should have been in Houston if it weren't for a botched allowed David Robinson tip-in way after the buzzer (before replay of course). At least they could have made the Western Conference Finals against the Suns.

 

Don't forget the Rockets blew home court against Seattle that year not just on that Robinson tip-in after the buzzer, but when they lost the previous game at home against the Dallas Mavericks by a score of 128-123. Yes, that was the Mavericks team that finished with an impressive 11-71 record(and was playing in The Summit on the 2nd night of a B2B to boot).

They only needed one of those two to lock up home court which would've likely meant at least a trip to the WCF if not more. We'll see if history repeats itself this year. This Rockets team again only needs 1 win in their last 2 games and while the Spurs tonight will be a very tough opponent, they have no excuse against the Pelicans on Wednesday.

 

magic #:0!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

We got the HCA at last!

 

It's official. The Rockets regular season has been a smashing success, B+.