There is a good bit of discussion about this in the Magic Number thread. Basically what they decided is that this is the seeding to decide who gets into the playoffs. We would get the 3rd seed once the playoff standings are released.
This is why we still need to try win every single game, because if we do, we can jump over the Spurs and Nuggets for the 2nd seed in the West. We need try to win every game, even if it is against Portland, Phoenix, and LA on the road. Why should we settle for 4th and only have homefield in one round and play the top seed on the road in 2nd. If we get to #2, we'll have homefield until the WCF, unless the Lakers lose and then we have for the rest of Western playoffs. Shoot for #2, ROckets
all this won't matter since denver probably will win more games than the rockets anyways. 4th seed is the best the rockets can hope for.
this doesn't make sense. my interpretation is that the division leader wins the tiebreaker in seeding but the head to head winner wins homecourt advantage should the two teams meet down the line. we've just never been tied with a division leader before this season, you would think nba.com had it right, right?
I dont see us pulling ahead of Denver unfortunately. They have a ridiculously easy schedule, and well, we dont. We both play 8 more games. Denver plays 3 legit teams. Thats Utah at home, lakers away, and portland away. Our schedule is much much more ridiculous. I think we finish 4th...
in 06-07, as well as 07-08, we were the 4th best team with the 5th seed(with HCA). Utah got the 4th seed both times because they were division leaders. we were behind San Antonio and Dallas, but were not granted a 1-4 seed. by virtue, it didn't matter, we had homecourt advantage anyways. but neither situation had us tying another division leader.
Denver is 3rd and Houston is 4th. Denver would be matched up against the Jazz and Houston would match up against the Blazers. Are you happy with that or are you still upset
strange indeed. kinda sums up the whole playoff pairings in general though. its gotten downright weird.
I'm still not convinced this is right and am looking forward to some real confirmation (more than just Feigen in a comment). Last year, we had confirmation that the Rockets would be the #1 seed if they wound up tied with New Orleans and LA, although the Hornets would have won the division. Back on March 3 (and again on 3/7), we were listed as the #3 seed on ESPN and NBA.com even though we were tied with the Nuggets and they were leading their division. That whole line about division leaders winning tie breaks over non-division leaders is a new line. I've read those rules so many times this season, and they were definitely not being used earlier in the season.
If we split our road trip to PHX and LA, then I think the Rockets can finish 7-1. That's taking care of home court and very winnable road games. If we do that, then I say we finish ahead of the Nuggets and surpass the Spurs. I am predicting a division championship for our boys.
I'd say the whole division thing in the NBA is fairer than any other sport. I mean, in the NFL you could have 8-8 division winners hosting 12-4 wild card entrees.
Because Portland is my 2nd favourite team (before they got good, no bandwagoner) my dreaming, yet realistic playoff seeding would be this: 1. LA Lakers 2. San Antonio Spurs 3. Houston Rockets 4. Portland Trail Blazers 5. Denver Nuggets 6. New Orleans Hornets 7. Utah Jazz 8. Dallas Mavericks? (Phoenix would be sweet here, but probably won't happen) Like most posters here, I think only the Lakers & Jazz are the "huge" threats. Spurs would be tough as well. The Hornets, IMO, would be a perfect confidence booster to get to the 2nd round.
