I'll also add this. While the Rockets lost to the Jazz team that went on to the Western Conference Finals in JVG's last season, that was a tremendous series. Both teams were disciplined, smart, and talented. Both benches weren't as deep as they are now. Jazz had Fisher, Giricek, and a young Millsap...Brewer didn't play much for he was too young. And the Rockets made due with the typical JVG no offensive talent all hustle bench of Hayes, Mutumbo, and Head. Actually, Deke barely played. So that year, the Rockets in my mind lost the series by one bounce of the ball. It happened twice. Yao got beat by Boozer on an offensive rebound and Battier got beat by Harpring by an offensive rebound. If either of those two balls would have bounced off the rim shorter, than I strongly believe that the Rockets would have won the series. It was that close. And while I do believe that the Rockets are a better and deeper team now than 3 years ago (+ Artest, Scola, Landry, Brooks, Wafer, Lowry, Barry vs - TMac, Rafer, JHo, Head), so are the Jazz. And the fact of the matter is while Adelman does have more movement in his offense and more creativity, the Rockets still aren't running it to it's potential...watch old Kings games...the Rockets are still way behind in terms of that type of fluidity and creativity. And they've also lost defensive discipline...though they do have better defensive talent. I just don't see a series win vs. the Jazz. I hope to my core for it, but I wouldn't bet on it.
Actually nothing would be better than to beat the Jazz in the First round, but if we don't play the Jazz I certainly won't complain.
Kind of a mixed feeling - this year, if we do face and beat the jazz in the first round, then mentally, we'll have two break throughs - we're out of the first round AND we beat the jazz to have our revenge. If so, then with a little luck in terms of seedings, I can see us going all the way to contend for WC champ and then who knows... On the other hand, how many rational fans here would bet that we can beat the jazz this year if we do meet them in the first round? We've been called a first round loser for so long that I know some of us, including myself, just want to fludging get out of the first round - it doesn't make us feel good to have to "dodge" a team but if we have to. So sigh, let's focus on getting HCA for the first round and grab the highest seed possible, we'll let our luck to decide who we face.
I predict the Jazz will lose a ton of games down the stretch and be overtaken by the Suns for the final playoff spot.
Well I see a lot of Magic fans want to avoid the Pistons at all cost. They understand like us that the matchups just don't work well. We gotta do what we gotta do and in the end it's the results that matter. The results could be making it to the WCF...since I feel us between San Antonio is a toss up we've played them close all year...as for the lakers... The results, that's what matters, at the same time if we play the Jazz so be it. It's not like it is a automatic loss. We've tied the season series 2-2 and last season when they beat us doesn't really count. Them beating us last year without Yao is like us beating them with Deron Williams.
and what if we lose? hear about how we lost to the jazz for the 3rd time? how about the rockets have won a playoff series in a gazillion years? revenge is great and all but i would rather somehow get to round 2.
<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 56-14 8-2 0-3 1A L 38-7 L No*<B> 22</B> 2 Spurs 47-24 6-4 2-2 None T 9-5 L 30-13 L No<B> 12</B> 3 Rockets 47-26 7-3 8-6 30-14 4 Nuggets 46-26 6-4 3-1 None W 28-15 W Yes*<B> 9</B> 5 Hornets 44-26 6-4 2-1 1H W 7-4 L 26-16 W Yes<B> 10</B> (-1) 6 Jazz 44-27 6-4 2-2 None T 30-12 L No<B> 9</B> (-1) 7 Blazers 44-27 6-4 1-1 1H T 22-19 W Yes<B> 9</B> 8 Mavericks 43-28 6-4 2-1 1A W 5-7 W 23-20 W Yes<B> 8</B> 9 Suns 40-31 6-4 2-0 1A W 24-17 W Yes*<B> 4</B> * 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 all games were played on <B>March 25</B>. It was an OK night for the Rockets. An advantageous few teams lost in a pair of Contender matchups, but our other 2 competitors skated away with victories. I had high hopes for the Spurs-Hawks game. Atlanta has been absolute money at home, and the Spurs are old and were playing the second game of a back-to-back. As usual, Popovich rested Duncan on the second night, but they got a boost with the return of Manu Ginobili. They didn’t get much from Manu, but Tony Parker was absolument magnifique in leading the Spurs to a victory and snapping Atlanta’s 8 game home winning streak. Parker finished with 42 points and 10 assists. The Spurs stay 2 losses up on the Rockets, but this wasn’t a conference win so the Rockets stay only a ½ game back in the conference record tie break. Sunday is shaping up as a must-lose game for the Spurs if the Rockets want to get the division title. Joe Johnson had 30 points for the Hawks, who are 3.5 games up on Miami for home court in the East. It’s usually fun when Don Nelson gets to torment his former team. GolXen State lit up the Mavs a couple of weeks ago, but the Mavs were well rested and blitzed the Warriors early and maintained their lead for an easy win. It’s the ninth straight home win for the Mavs, who have 7 of their last 11 in Dallas (including the last game of the season against the Rockets). Dirk and Jason Terry both scored 26 for the Mavs, who keep their 3 game lead on Phoenix and are now just a game back from Utah and Portland. Anthony Morrow scored 29 for the Warriors, and Monta Ellis chipped in 22. The Hornets haven’t looked good in a few weeks, despite their 3 game winning streak. The Nuggets are a confounding team. They looked dreadful, then won 5 in a row against scrubs before dropping a tight game to Phoenix. Maybe I should give them more credit. Enver took a major step towards winning their division with a decisive win over the Hornets. Carmelo had 29 points, and Chauncey Billups added 26 points and 6 assists for the Nuggets, who are 1.5 games up on both the Blazers and Jazz. Chris Paul had 19 points, 13 assists, but 6 turnovers for the Hornets, who were missing Tyson Chandler for a 4th straight game. The Hornets lose a Magic Number. New Orleans is in some trouble. They really needed to build a cushion before their brutal 7 game closing, but they’re barely holding on to the #6 spot. I’m taking the high road towards the Jazz and am trying to be a mature adult about them. Basically Utah sucks on the road. Not just a little, we’re talking blowing chunks bad. It’s probably because they don’t get the pansy ass flopping calls on the road. Utah got to face the pretty Suns on the second night of a back-to-back. Not a good sign when you’re players are tired and have to play at a breakneck pace. In a typical Phoenix game, the Jazz were able to run for a while with the pretty Suns, but ultimately they wore out and the Suns ran them off the floor. Phoenix has won 6 straight and is now 2-0 on their stretch of games I’m calling the 9 Games of Mostly Doom (7 Contenders, 2 games against Suckramento). If they keep this up, I might have to start calling them the plucky Suns. Utah drops a Magic Number and have now lost a pathetic 14 straight road games against teams with winning records. That does not bode well for them down the stretch with their schedule. Phoenix is only 4 games behind Utah, and these 2 teams match up again Saturday in Utah. If Phoenix wins they take the season tie break 3-1 over Utah. On tap for Thursday: Lakers at Pistons, Suns at Blazers
I see it shaping up like this: 1. LA 2. SA - getting closer to a lock, with today's win over ATL 3. HOU - I think we finish 7-2 or 6-3, to compile a record of 54-28 or 53-29. The interesting thing is that we have our last 2 games home against NO, and then at Dallas. More on that later. 4. DEN - highly likely that Enver finishes with 7-3 kick, to close out at 53-29. We hold tie break head to head vs Denver and get the 3 seed. 5. Portland - highly likely that Portland finishes with 9-2 or 8-3 kick, to close out at 52 or 53 wins. (Edit - right now, if there's a three way tie among Hou, Den and Portland, we're looking pretty good. We have a 4-2 record in this bunch, with 1 left against Portland at the Toyota Center. Denver has a 3-4 record with 1 left against Portland. Portland has a 2-3 record with a game against us at our place, and against Denver in Portland. They need to take both to tie us at 4-3, but I think the chart by Scribo indicates we have the edge in conference record. In short, if there's to be a 3 way tie, we look like we'd come out on top). 6. New Orleans - it's going to be hard for them to do much better than 7-5 the rest of the way, which would net them 51-31. Maybe they pick up some health and an extra win to close at 52 wins and possibly a tie with Portland. They are tied 2-2 in heads up games with Portland. Depending on how things shake out, I'd like to see us being in a position to help NO stay in front of the j*zz by giving them our 2nd to last game. Alternatively, if we don't want to face portland and Utah is struggling, maybe we take NO to the woodshed to stick them with a loss to keep them below Portland and in the 6 seed. 7. j*zz - They have the hardest road and will finish with a 6-5 or 7-4 kick, leaving them with 50 or 51 wins. If Utah is closing strong and looks to pass NO to land the 6th seed, then I want the rockets to dump the Dallas finale to drop to the 4 seed. I'm tired of looking at Utah and want to watch something different. 8. Dallas - I see a closing kick that lands them with 50 wins. I would love to be in a position to rest all our starters for the season finale with Dallas, to give them a win to boost them to the 7 seed, ahead of the j*zz. Currently, Utah holds the tiebreak lead vs dallas with a 2-1 edge, but they have a critical 4th game coming in Dallas. As far as I'm concerned, I want Dallas to win baby win. They're not a threat to us and can possibly push Utah into a matchup with the Lakers. Question for all: If we could choose, would you rather face NO or Portland. I'd take my chances with NO. In fact, I'd rather face Denver the most, then NO, then Portland.
I'd rather face Portland than NO. Portland is a young team. Young teams don't do very well in the playoffs. But I agree with you. I'd rather have the Nuggets than both of them.
I like our chances vs. portland over the nuggets and the hornets the reason is portland is a young team but the point guard play billups and cp3 have been there before and won in the playoffs ab0 has been there but hasnt won and lowery has never been there..... so that would set up the match up between Blake and Rodiguez no experience (maybe Blake has when he played in denver not sure) vs. AB0 and Kyle. In addition ron and battier could hold Roy and Yao>oden and joel.....the only match up where we would struggle is a the 4 but scola WILL step it up he has won before internationally. And the ideal spot would be 2nd so we could face the spurs with home court but if we finish 3rd it would still feel like home court becasue of the distance between SA and HOU (i'll would try to go to a game in SA) what do yall think???
A great night for the rockets because the jazz lost. Now we could have a choice to avoid the jazz at the end of the season by losing one or two games, let lakers or spurs handle them first, if not, we handle them later.
I know Nuggets aren't that good, but what I have been thinking lately is they have Billups and Billups finds ways to win in the playoffs. That could be a little worrisome. I agree mostly though, but I'd take Portland then Denver (obv Dallas above either one of them, but I don't think Dallas is gonna make it to the 6 or 7 seed)
<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 57-14 8-2 0-3 1A L 38-7 L No*<B> 22</B> 2 Spurs 47-24 6-4 2-2 None T 9-5 L 30-13 L No<B> 12</B> 3 Rockets 47-26 7-3 8-6 30-14 4 Nuggets 46-26 6-4 3-1 None W 28-15 W Yes*<B> 9</B> 5 Hornets 44-26 6-4 2-1 1H W 7-4 L 26-16 W Yes<B> 10</B> 6 Blazers 45-27 6-4 1-1 1H T 23-19 W Yes<B> 9</B> 7 Jazz 44-27 6-4 2-2 None T 30-12 L No<B> 9</B> 8 Mavericks 43-28 6-4 2-1 1A W 5-7 W 23-20 W Yes<B> 8</B> 9 Suns 40-32 6-4 2-0 1A W 24-18 W Yes*<B> 3</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> The Suns had won 7 straight and were making a bid to rise from the ashes and miraculously make the Playoffs. Thursday night they traveled to Portland and got pounded by the Blazers. The loss likely kills any chance of the Playoffs for the Suns. Barring them winning out or only dropping a single game, it’s hard to see how they catch any of the teams in front of them. Brandon Roy had 26 points and 6 assists, and LeMarcus Aldridge added 29 points and 12 rebounds for the Blazers, who are just 1 game behind Enver for the division lead. Shaq had 20 points and 7 rebounds, but Steve Nash managed just 15 points and 5 assists for the Suns, who lose a Magic Number. We can likely clinch a Playoff berth with a win in Phoenix on April 1. The Lakers continued their road show with a stop in Detriot to face a short-handed Pistons squad. Detroit battled to a halftime lead before the Lakers put a beatdowon on the Pistons en route to an easy victory. Kobe had 30 points, 8 rebounds, and 7 assists for the Lakers, who remain just 1 back from Cleveland for best record in the NBA. Will Bynum had 25 points and 11 assists for the Pistons, who have dropped to the #8 spot in the East. On tap for Friday: Lakers at Nets, Hornets at Knicks, Nuggets at Mavs, Clippers at Spurs
Here are my predictions: <table> <tr><td><b>Houston</b></td><td><b></b></td><td><b>Utah</b></td><td><b></b></td><td><b>San Antonio</b></td><td><b></b></td><td><b>Dallas</b></td><td><b></b></td><td><b>Phoenix</b></td><td><b></b></td><td><b>Denver</b></td><td><b></b></td><td><b>New Orleans</b></td><td><b></b></td><td><b>Portland</b></td><td><b></b></td></tr> <tr><td>L.A. Clippers</td><td>W</td><td>Phoenix</td><td>W</td><td>L.A. Clippers</td><td>W</td><td>Denver</td><td>W</td><td>@Utah</td><td>L</td><td>@Dallas</td><td>L</td><td>@New York</td><td>W</td><td>Memphis</td><td>W</td></tr> <tr><td>@Phoenix</td><td>W</td><td>New York</td><td>W</td><td>@New Orleans</td><td>L</td><td>@Cleveland</td><td>L</td><td>@Sacramento</td><td>W</td><td>Golden State</td><td>W</td><td>San Antonio</td><td>W</td><td>Utah</td><td>W</td></tr> <tr><td>@L.A. Lakers</td><td>L</td><td>@Portland</td><td>L</td><td>Oklahoma City</td><td>W</td><td>@Minnesota</td><td>W</td><td>Houston</td><td>L</td><td>New York</td><td>W</td><td>@Sacramento</td><td>W</td><td>@Oklahoma City</td><td>W</td></tr> <tr><td>Portland</td><td>W</td><td>@Denver</td><td>L</td><td>@Indiana</td><td>W</td><td>Miami</td><td>W</td><td>Sacramento</td><td>W</td><td>Utah</td><td>W</td><td>@L.A. Clippers</td><td>W</td><td>@Houston</td><td>L</td></tr> <tr><td>Orlando</td><td>W</td><td>Minnesota</td><td>W</td><td>@Cleveland</td><td>L</td><td>@Memphis</td><td>W</td><td>@Dallas</td><td>L</td><td>L.A. Clippers</td><td>W</td><td>@Golden State</td><td>L</td><td>@Memphis</td><td>W</td></tr> <tr><td>@Sacramento</td><td>W</td><td>@New Orleans</td><td>L</td><td>@Oklahoma City</td><td>W</td><td>Phoenix</td><td>W</td><td>@New Orleans</td><td>L</td><td>@Minnesota</td><td>W</td><td>Utah</td><td>W</td><td>@San Antonio</td><td>L</td></tr> <tr><td>@Golden State</td><td>W</td><td>@Dallas</td><td>L</td><td>Portland</td><td>W</td><td>Utah</td><td>W</td><td>@Memphis</td><td>W</td><td>Oklahoma City</td><td>W</td><td>@Miami</td><td>L</td><td>L.A. Lakers</td><td>L</td></tr> <tr><td>New Orleans</td><td>W</td><td>@San Antonio</td><td>L</td><td>Utah</td><td>W</td><td>New Orleans</td><td>W</td><td>@Minnesota</td><td>W</td><td>@L.A. Lakers</td><td>L</td><td>Phoenix</td><td>W</td><td>@L.A. Clippers</td><td>W</td></tr> <tr><td>@Dallas</td><td>W</td><td>Golden State</td><td>W</td><td>@Sacramento</td><td>W</td><td>@New Orleans</td><td>L</td><td>Memphis</td><td>W</td><td>Sacramento</td><td>W</td><td>@Dallas</td><td>L</td><td>Oklahoma City</td><td>W</td></tr> <tr><td></td><td></td><td>L.A. Clippers</td><td>W</td><td>@Golden State</td><td>L</td><td>Minnesota</td><td>W</td><td>Golden State</td><td>W</td><td>@Portland</td><td>L</td><td>Dallas</td><td>W</td><td>Denver</td><td>W</td></tr> <tr><td></td><td></td><td>@L.A. Lakers</td><td>L</td><td>New Orleans</td><td>W</td><td>Houston</td><td>L</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>@Houston</td><td>L</td><td></td><td></td></tr> <tr><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>@San Antonio</td><td>L</td><td></td><td></td></tr> <tr><td>Predicted Finish</td><td>8-1</td><td></td><td>5-6</td><td></td><td>8-3</td><td></td><td>8-3</td><td></td><td>6-4</td><td></td><td>7-3</td><td></td><td>7-5</td><td></td><td>7-3</td></tr> <tr><td>Current Record</td><td>47-26</td><td></td><td>44-27</td><td></td><td>47-24</td><td></td><td>43-28</td><td></td><td>40-32</td><td></td><td>46-26</td><td></td><td>44-26</td><td></td><td>45-27</td></tr> <tr><td>Predicted Final Record</td><td>55-27</td><td></td><td>49-33</td><td></td><td>55-27</td><td></td><td>51-31</td><td></td><td>46-36</td><td></td><td>53-29</td><td></td><td>51-31</td><td></td><td>52-30</td></tr> </table>
^^ You think Houston is going to have the best finish of all the contenders and only lose to the Lakers. Your glasses are probably a little too red-tinted. Knowing us, I say we'll beat the Lakers and lose to the Hornets and Mavs or something.
