I am sorry but this is wrong if Dal, Por, NO win: 4th seed, playing Spurs. 3 out 8 we will play the Hornets.
now I'd like to see what Charles wants to say lol he's such a big Jazz fan, I can't even understand why he loves Jazz.
Final Standing: LA Lakers Houston Denver Portland San Antonio New Orleans Dallas Utah Playoff: 1st round: HOU vs DAL 2nd round: HOU vs NO 3rd round: HOU vs SAS PS: Utah win LAL and SAS win Utah. XD
I disagree. We need to pummel Dallas, TAKE the division title and ram it down whoevers throat we play in the first round. Keep the winning streak going, ride the momentum into the first round and steamroll our opponent, no matter who it is. WAR ROCKETS
This is so great, I hate the Jazz and they do not have a chance against the Lakers!! The Lakers didn't even play like they had to win but you could really tell that the Jazz did and after the half the Jazz simpley got blown out.
the only player on the jazz i don't dislike is ronnie price and thats because he went to my highschool... did we ever have a real chance to get kobe for tmac or was that just the media making stuff up??
Its good that we can most probably avoid Utah during the playoffs (unless Kobe gets hurt), but its still too early to celebrate. The Rockets have to take care of business tomorrow. The Mavs have been playing better as of late, especially Howard and Terry. Artest and Hayes can slow down Dirk, so we atleast have that advantage. Battier can do a good job on Howard if he plays (they may want him to rest that ankle knowing they won't have to face the Lakers). The Rockets still need to finish 2 or 3. I think we should try to avoid the Spurs, just because of the defense they can still play and Parker would abuse Brooks all series long. Yao can outplay Duncan, cuz TD is hurt, but it wouldn't be that significant to give us an edge down low. Then with Artest you never know who's gonna show up on offense: calm and plays in the offense Artest or wild and 1-on-5 Artest. Also finishing 2nd or 3rd would allow us to face either Dallas or New Orleans instead of the Spurs. I think we could beat Portland, but I think the Rockets home court could be a huge advantage for them. Also, IF we were to beat our 1st round opponent, I would not want to face LA in the 2nd round. As bad as Utah is playing right now, they never lack physicality, and at the very least they would beat the Lakers a little and maybe steal a game or 2 in Salt Lake. Then if the Spurs or Blazers play the Lakers, they would also be able to push the Lakers to maybe 6 or 7. I don't think the Spurs could this year, but I think they would still play tough and physical, and you would have Bowen defending Bryant for a series. The Blazers actually have the depth and athleticism to match up with LA and beat them, although that is unlikely. If we finish 2nd or 3rd, we would have to play Denver or Dallas, both of whom I think we could beat. I think the altitude would be an issue for Yao in Denver, but overall I think we could beat Denver, even without HCA. Battier and Artest can take turns guarding Melo and J.R. Smith. Yao has his way inside with Nene and Martin. The one advantage they have is Chauncey, who could murder AB inside. But I still the see the Rockets being able to win that. So as you can see, winning tomorrow is basically essential for the Rockets success. If we win, we avoid LA, let them get challenged physically by Utah, then they would have to face a very tough minded and familiar opponent in the Spurs and a bad matchup in the Lakers. The Lakers would be a little worn out, especially Bynum and maybe Bryant having to face Harpring, Brewer, and Kirelenko on Utah and Bowen and Udoka on the Spurs. The Rockets would have favorable matchups vs. either Dallas or NO and the winner of the Nuggets vs. NO/Dallas series. Depending on how potentially worn out the Lakers COULD be, Artest and Battier would be the best individual defense Kobe would face for 48 minutes and Yao would be the most effective big man Bynum would have to play (TD is hurt), so anything could happen... I know I'm thinking kind of far ahead myself, but if we lose tomorrow, you better hope Portland and San Antonio lose as well, because we will be losing a big advantage. The Rockets HAVE to win tomorrow and atleast finish #3. #2 would be great, but I'll take a 3rd seed any day and the Division Title!
Right now, this setup would be perfect, in my mind. Rockets play New Orleans with home court in the first round, and the winner of Dallas/Denver in second round, with home court if it's Dallas. I strongly like our odds in all of these matchups. The Lakers, to meet us in the Western Conference Finals, would have played Utah (a team that hates them, and punishes them physically), then the winner of Portland/San Antonio. I think Portland may win that series, though I see it going 6 or 7, especially if Duncan isn't healthy. Regarding the next round, Portland has beaten the Lakers every single time in Portland for the last two years. These guys should either push the series to 6 or 7, or possibly even win the series. Yeah, you read that right. Even if San Antonio is there, they will give the Lakers somewhat of a challenge (if they are able to get past Portland and demonstrate that they are healthy enough to compete at their normal high level in the playoffs). Then we get our crack at 'em. Let's just hope everyone stays in their spots tomorrow.
thanks for taking the time and writing this up. was too lazy to write such a long post myself. i thought it was obvious from the beginning that the highest seed (#2) possible was the best thing for us all along, regardless whom we face in the first round. but it turned out it wasn't so obvious for quite some fans here...
i would love to face the hornets rather then the mavs. for some reasons we have their numbers since lowry and wafer were inserted in the line up.
