I think it's: You play teams in your division 4 times each (4*4=16) You play the remaining teams in your conference 3 times each (3*10=30) You play the other conference 2 times each (2*15=30) For the remaining 6 games, you play them against the other teams in your conference, but I think they determine the last 6 by random within the conference but not in your division.
Why do a lot of you assume 50 wins are needed to get into the playoffs? 50 wins would probably put us in the 4-5 spot in the conference. http://espn.go.com/nba/hollinger/playoffodds These predictions seem about right and we would need 41 wins to get in past the Blazers. Im not saying these will be the final standings but they seem about right. With Yao and Brooks back and hopefully playing with an entire team will get our confidence and our chemistry back up and I feel we can win 41 games this year. Obviously things will change, injuries happen, trades happen. 50 wins should not be the minimum we have to get, thats obviously out of the question. I think we could win 40-45 games this year. 32-28 or 37-23 seem more realistic...
exactly Zlic, i knew this back when i created this thread when we had a horrible record to start the season...but lots of posters here who don't think much about the game or NBA are apocalyptic and blind to the fact that 50 wins are not necessary this season.
Im glad someone agrees lol 40-45 wins should be good enough... I know this team can beat the Lakers and wouldnt be afraid of them if we were the 8th seed
I really don't think 40-45 wins will be enough IMO. And if we do end up with the 8th seed, i dont think it'll be the Lakers we play. It may come down to the Spurs or the Mavs. The way the Mavs have been playing, i think it would be the Mavs at the #1 spot - and we dont match up very well with them at all - with or without Brooks n Yao.
Very true about the lakers not being #1...I just forgot about the spurs. While i think we fair better against the lakers, i think we could beat the spurs or the mavs at full strength... Its not how you get there its how you perform come playoff time.
Wow, I hope you are right. Even I have to admit the Spurs look outright hellish right now. I would not count on them flaming out the way the Mavs have in the past.
Portland currently holds the 8th seed and they are on pace to win 41 games. It looks like 40-45 wins is all you need this season.
really jinx? really? go back to the first post of this thread...it clearly stated the time I thought the Rockets would start getting in sync..december 11 against the cleveland cavaliers.. thank you.
here's what i don't understand.....just fine? what does that mean? in your OP you said something like, "we're the deepest team in the league and don't make trades...it's just that we've had a tough schedule." That was November 18. When you say, "fine," ....did you mean fine to still grab the 8th spot in the playoffs? Fine to the point where they don't need to be looking to make upgrades in their roster going forward?
From my POV, DM is doing the right thing. Sure, I would like to see certain moves, or types of moves made, but I'm sure there are reasons that they don't all happen right now. I'd like to see a serious SF like AI, though maybe with a better contract, brought in, and I would really like for us to get back to being a defensive team. As for this year's regular season, right now I'd settle for the 8th spot, simply because they have already dug themselves too deep of a hole. I also believe they can have their act together by then, and do serious damage in the playoffs, maybe making the 3rd round.
Or "fine" as in "they're performing as expected?" Beginning the season, it was pretty much a given that we'd be at best a .500 team without Yao, and playoff contender with him. We look on track for that. If you felt that this team had 50+ win potential with Yao basically being non-existent, then your expectations must've not been in line with level-headed fans.
i meant fine in both areas, as in making the playoffs 8th seed or better AND fine as a team! we don't need any trades we have too many good players! the rockets have had a tough schedule to deal with and the injuries made it worse, they didn't have many chances if any to feel confident going into a game. You better know that the game on the 14th is the most confident game of the season that the Rockets have had. They will have been rested, coming off a win, and are against a crappy team and most importantly at HOME, where if anyone hasn't noticed...we're becoming an ELITE HOME TEAM that knows how to ball and shoot in our arena. Especially k-mart, there are no depth perception issues with him on this court and that's an absolute great thing. Right now they're figuring it out and are coming to realize that these lateral passes to the hoop and drives to the line are much easier to come by.
Dredging up this older thread. SlimJim appears to be correct with post 161. FWIW in the western conference it appears we play the other teams four times and the following teams three times: Utah, Portland, Phoenix, and LaLakers. This question came up in another thread so thought to research further. Hope I have it right - in that case I am glad I only have to see the ugly mugs of LAL., Portland and Utah three times.
