This year is different last year. After Yao went down with an injury, I don't think anyone realistically gave us good odds to even make it out of the 1st round. This year, we were like 6-8th when Tmac went down. It's been a month or two since then and we've slowly crawled to #3. No reason to suggest that this is just a fluke, or a result of a weak schedule. We've beaten quite a few major teams since Tmac went down.
If T-Mac never played with an injured knee this season and thus keeping himself out, we would probably have only 12-15 losses. We are arguably the 6th best team in the NBA, I agree with the rankings on ESPN.
Eh... I don't know if you can say that. First of all, the first part of the season, we were actually playing solid basketball. Then there was that period where Tmac and Artest were both alternating... it seemed like a really long time but that was maybe like a month. And we were still winning like half the games anyway. Then Tmac went out for the season and here we are now. I think looking back, there were 7-8 losses where an injured Tmac killed us. But then there was like 2-3 wins when Tmac would put up an average to stellar performance and actually helped the team win. That Wizards comeback early in the season comes to mind.
Most of our losses came to loser teams. Has this current squad lost to a pathetic team? Bulls maybe, but otherwise we are pretty strong.
I don't know about 12-15 losses, but something around 20 is more reasonable. He did play well in some games but towards the end he was absolutely horrible.
More like, he was more inconsistent than Rafer... I remember the Phoenix game; I thought Tracy was "back." Then after the Celtics game, I knew it was a long way...
this is probably an overstatement. i will say this though; 7 losses to last place teams. without tmac the teams line up and rotation became consistent, which lead to chemistry. this current team would not have lost those games. give us 7 more wins this season and we would be assured the #2 seed.
Yeah... that was the 7-8 losses I was referring to. There was Toronto, Washington, a couple of others. There were probably a few losses to good teams where Tmac played horribly. But then there were times where without Tmac it was just Yao, no Artest, no Battier. Tmac has a decent game and we barely win. Some of those we would've lost without him I think.
<B> Games H2H Div Con Overall Magic </B> <B> Team W/L L10 H2H Left TB Div TB Conf TB TieBreak Number Diff</B> 1 Lakers 55-14 7-3 0-3 1A L 37-7 L No*<B> 22</B> (-1) 2 Rockets 47-25 8-2 8-6 30-13 3 Spurs 45-24 5-5 2-2 None T 9-5 L 29-13 W No<B> 12</B> (-2) 4 Nuggets 45-25 6-4 3-1 None W 27-14 W Yes*<B> 10</B> (-1) 5 Hornets 43-25 7-3 2-1 1H W 7-4 L 25-15 W Yes<B> 11</B> (-1) 6 Blazers 44-26 6-4 1-1 1H T 22-19 W Yes<B> 10</B> (-1) 7 Jazz 43-26 7-3 2-1 1A W 29-11 L Yes<B> 10</B> (-1) 8 Mavericks 42-28 6-4 2-1 1A W 5-7 W 22-20 W Yes<B> 8</B> (-1) 9 Suns 38-31 4-6 2-0 1A W 22-17 W Yes*<B> 4</B> (-1) * Indicates the Tie Break is final For more information on the Magic Number Chart or about seeding or tie break rules, read the FAQ <B>Clinched the #9 seed</B> Here is the latest batch of Magic Numbers after the <B>Rockets @ Spurs game</B>. I’m posting this early edition of the Magic Number Chart after the Spurs game. I’ll post another chart this evening after the Hornets game. How sweet it is! The Rockets just showed that they are very serious about taking the Southwest division and the #2 seed with a clutch victory over the Spurs in San Antonio. It didn’t look good in the first quarter or late in the game, but the Rockets persevered and had a bunch of players step up in a hard-fought game. What an awesome win! All Magic Numbers drop 1, and the Spurs lose an additional Number. The Rockets currently sit in the #2 spot, a ½ game ahead of the Spurs, but make no mistake: the Spurs are still in the driver’s seat for the division title. We’re 2 up in the win column, but still 1 back in the all too important loss column. The Spurs Magic Number is 12, and we have only 10 games left (and the Spurs 13). The Spurs Magic Number over the Rockets is 13, so if they win their remaining games or just don’t lose more games than the Rockets down the stretch, they’ll win the division. That means we need help, but there is a question of how much help we’ll require. Let’s take an in-depth look at the complicated scenario of the Spurs-Rockets tie break to see if we can shave an additional Magic Number from the Spurs. Currently, the Rockets and Spurs have split their season series 2-2, but the Spurs (9-5) have the better division record than the Rockets (8-6). This gives the Spurs the tie break edge. If the Spurs clinch the tie break over the Rockets, we would have to make up 2 losses in our overall records with only 10 games for the Rockets and 13 for the Spurs, which is going to be pretty difficult. However, we can still tie the Spurs in the division record or even win it outright. Essentially the Spurs have a Divisional Magic Number of 3 to tie and 4 to win, but there are only 4 divisional games left: Rockets – Hornets (4/13); @Mavs (4/15) Spurs - @Hornets (3/29); Hornets (4/15) If the Spurs lose both their games, and we win both, we win the divisional tie break and would clinch the overall tie break over the Spurs, reducing their Magic Number 1 plus an additional 4 points for the Spur losses and Rocket victories. We would have a 1 game lead in the loss column and have the tie break. We’re in excellent shape to take the Southwest with this best-case scenario. Otherwise we need some combination of 3 Spur division losses and Rocket division wins. This doesn’t seem that farfetched. If we can do that, we make up the 1 loss in our overall records, drop the Magic Number an additional 3 for the Spurs (for the Rocket wins and Spur losses), and we would tie them in the division record, which then throws the tie break to Conference Record. The Rockets (30-13) have a slight edge in their Conference Record over the Spurs (29-13). We have to assume if we’re using this tie break scenario, the Rockets have made up 1 game over the Spurs on divisional opponents, so that gives the Rockets a built in 1.5 game lead in the conference record. However both teams have non-conference games left. The Rockets host the Magic, and the Spurs play on the road against the Hawks, Pacers, and Cavs, so it’s still too early to tell who would have the best Conference record if the Spurs and Rockets tied at the end of the season, but the Rockets have the edge in this scenario. If the 2 teams were tied in head-to-head, division record, and conference record, the tie break goes to best cumulative record against all Western Conference Playoff opponents. I’m assuming the Suns will finish as the #9 seed and miss the postseason. Currently the Rockets are 12-10 against their fellow Playoff teams, while the Spurs are 10-11. Here are the remaining games against Western Conference Playoff teams: Rockets - @Jazz, @Lakers, Blazers, Hornets, @Mavs Spurs - @Hornets, Blazers, Jazz, Hornets Once again, if we’re at this stage of the tie break, the Rockets would have made up 1 game over the Spurs against divisional opponents and padded our cumulative record lead an additional game. We would definitely have the advantage and should win the overall tie break. So put on your rally hats and root hard for New Orleans when they face the Spurs. If we take out last 2 division games, and the Spurs drop at least one of theirs, the Rockets are in the driver’s seat for the division title and the #2 seed. Of course, we still need to beat a lot of quality opponents to keep up with the Spurs, who also have a difficult schedule although not quite as tough as the Rockets. If we are neck and neck with the Spurs down the stretch, the division winner could well be decided on the last day of the season when the Rockets play in Dallas, and the Spurs host the Hornets.
thanks for the early edition scribo. nice set of greenies you got there how sweet it is indeed! i'm being realistic when i say i dont think we will hold on to #2 for too long. however, the win today was a HUGE help to stay ahead of the rest of the pack. the only thing that could possibly make this day better is if the warriors beat the hornets, and my date goes really well. those were the worst losses of the season for sure, but a total of 7 losses to last place teams (including 2 to memphis) really hurt. how does 7.5 games IN FRONT of the spurs sound?
Artest matches up well against the Jazz. But because of the awful memories, I say it's not a good matchup.
It's not just the Jazz we are battling when we are at their place. We gotta worry about the refs, the timekeeper, the fans...
