from being a playoff team! so the spurs, lakers, mavs, wolves, and kings are for-sures. it also doesn't seem like the suns will slip out of the top 8, and as much as we hate the jazz... they should be able to slip in. so that leaves the sonics, clippers, blazers, and us for that last spot. clippers? they're just too good at losing to make me believe in them. blazers? do i really need to give reasons? sonics? payton can't do it all for them. and with the rockets getting francis back, and hopefully rice back soon.. and the emergence of griffin... hey, i don't see why not?
wow, another long timer with few posts. I think the key number to watch is how long the 8th seed stays at around .500. We can make .500, and it should become our goal. We simply are going to need a lot of help making the playoffs, though, especially with our April schedule. The help begins with the 8th seed being around .500. Let's pray for a Utah injury (for once!!! in a decade, sheesh) and pray for the Clippers to come down from their very fortunate early schedule. But first, beat the Warriors!
The Rockets have an awful uphill climb. Their worst enemy at this point is time. 53 games remaining sounds like a lot to make up <I>just</i> 6.5 games, BUT... <TABLE BORDER=0 CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=3><TR BGCOLOR=#CCCCCC ALIGN=CENTER><TD COLSPAN=8><FONT FACE=VERDANA SIZE=1><B>Rockets Uphill Climb - 12/28/2001</B></FONT></TD></TR><TR BGCOLOR=#CCCCCC ALIGN=CENTER><TD><FONT FACE=VERDANA SIZE=1><B>Standing</B></FONT></TD><TD><FONT FACE=VERDANA SIZE=1><B>Team</B></FONT></TD><TD><FONT FACE=VERDANA SIZE=1><B>Wins</B></FONT></TD><TD><FONT FACE=VERDANA SIZE=1><B>Losses</B></FONT></TD><TD><FONT FACE=VERDANA SIZE=1><B>Games<BR>Remaining</B></FONT></TD><TD><FONT FACE=VERDANA SIZE=1><B>Winning<BR>Percentage</B></FONT></TD><TD><FONT FACE=VERDANA SIZE=1><B>Projected<BR>Wins</B></FONT></TD><TD><FONT FACE=VERDANA SIZE=1><B>Projected<BR>Losses</B></FONT></TD></TR><TR BGCOLOR=#99CC99><TD ALIGN=CENTER><FONT FACE=VERDANA SIZE=1>8.</FONT></TD><TD><FONT FACE=VERDANA SIZE=1>Rockets</FONT></TD><TD ALIGN=CENTER><FONT FACE=VERDANA SIZE=1>8</FONT></TD><TD ALIGN=CENTER><FONT FACE=VERDANA SIZE=1>21</FONT></TD><TD ALIGN=CENTER><FONT FACE=VERDANA SIZE=1>53</FONT></TD><TD ALIGN=CENTER BGCOLOR=#FF9999><FONT FACE=VERDANA SIZE=1>63.5%</FONT></TD><TD ALIGN=CENTER><FONT FACE=VERDANA SIZE=1>42</FONT></TD><TD ALIGN=CENTER><FONT FACE=VERDANA SIZE=1>40</FONT></TD></TR><TR BGCOLOR=#CCEECC><TD ALIGN=CENTER><FONT FACE=VERDANA SIZE=1>9.</FONT></TD><TD><FONT FACE=VERDANA SIZE=1>Sonics</FONT></TD><TD ALIGN=CENTER><FONT FACE=VERDANA SIZE=1>15</FONT></TD><TD ALIGN=CENTER><FONT FACE=VERDANA SIZE=1>15</FONT></TD><TD ALIGN=CENTER><FONT FACE=VERDANA SIZE=1>52</FONT></TD><TD ALIGN=CENTER><FONT FACE=VERDANA SIZE=1>50.0%</FONT></TD><TD ALIGN=CENTER><FONT FACE=VERDANA SIZE=1>41</FONT></TD><TD ALIGN=CENTER><FONT FACE=VERDANA SIZE=1>41</FONT></TD></TR><TR BGCOLOR=#99CC99><TD ALIGN=CENTER><FONT FACE=VERDANA SIZE=1> </FONT></TD><TD><FONT FACE=VERDANA SIZE=1>Jazz</FONT></TD><TD ALIGN=CENTER><FONT FACE=VERDANA SIZE=1>15</FONT></TD><TD ALIGN=CENTER><FONT FACE=VERDANA SIZE=1>15</FONT></TD><TD ALIGN=CENTER><FONT FACE=VERDANA SIZE=1>52</FONT></TD><TD ALIGN=CENTER><FONT FACE=VERDANA SIZE=1>50.0%</FONT></TD><TD ALIGN=CENTER><FONT FACE=VERDANA SIZE=1>41</FONT></TD><TD ALIGN=CENTER><FONT FACE=VERDANA SIZE=1>41</FONT></TD></TR><TR BGCOLOR=#CCEECC><TD ALIGN=CENTER><FONT FACE=VERDANA SIZE=1>11.</FONT></TD><TD><FONT FACE=VERDANA SIZE=1>Blazers</FONT></TD><TD ALIGN=CENTER><FONT FACE=VERDANA SIZE=1>13</FONT></TD><TD ALIGN=CENTER><FONT FACE=VERDANA SIZE=1>15</FONT></TD><TD ALIGN=CENTER><FONT FACE=VERDANA SIZE=1>54</FONT></TD><TD ALIGN=CENTER><FONT FACE=VERDANA SIZE=1>46.4%</FONT></TD><TD ALIGN=CENTER><FONT FACE=VERDANA SIZE=1>38</FONT></TD><TD ALIGN=CENTER><FONT FACE=VERDANA SIZE=1>44</FONT></TD></TR><TR BGCOLOR=#99CC99><TD ALIGN=CENTER><FONT FACE=VERDANA SIZE=1>12.</FONT></TD><TD><FONT FACE=VERDANA SIZE=1>Warriors</FONT></TD><TD ALIGN=CENTER><FONT FACE=VERDANA SIZE=1>12</FONT></TD><TD ALIGN=CENTER><FONT FACE=VERDANA SIZE=1>17</FONT></TD><TD ALIGN=CENTER><FONT FACE=VERDANA SIZE=1>53</FONT></TD><TD ALIGN=CENTER><FONT FACE=VERDANA SIZE=1>41.4%</FONT></TD><TD ALIGN=CENTER><FONT FACE=VERDANA SIZE=1>34</FONT></TD><TD ALIGN=CENTER><FONT FACE=VERDANA SIZE=1>48</FONT></TD></TR><TR BGCOLOR=#CCEECC><TD ALIGN=CENTER><FONT FACE=VERDANA SIZE=1>13.</FONT></TD><TD><FONT FACE=VERDANA SIZE=1>Nuggets</FONT></TD><TD ALIGN=CENTER><FONT FACE=VERDANA SIZE=1>9</FONT></TD><TD ALIGN=CENTER><FONT FACE=VERDANA SIZE=1>18</FONT></TD><TD ALIGN=CENTER><FONT FACE=VERDANA SIZE=1>55</FONT></TD><TD ALIGN=CENTER><FONT FACE=VERDANA SIZE=1>33.3%</FONT></TD><TD ALIGN=CENTER><FONT FACE=VERDANA SIZE=1>27</FONT></TD><TD ALIGN=CENTER><FONT FACE=VERDANA SIZE=1>55</FONT></TD></TR><TR BGCOLOR=#99CC99><TD ALIGN=CENTER><FONT FACE=VERDANA SIZE=1>14.</FONT></TD><TD><FONT FACE=VERDANA SIZE=1>Grizzlies</FONT></TD><TD ALIGN=CENTER><FONT FACE=VERDANA SIZE=1>8</FONT></TD><TD ALIGN=CENTER><FONT FACE=VERDANA SIZE=1>20</FONT></TD><TD ALIGN=CENTER><FONT FACE=VERDANA SIZE=1>54</FONT></TD><TD ALIGN=CENTER><FONT FACE=VERDANA SIZE=1>28.6%</FONT></TD><TD ALIGN=CENTER><FONT FACE=VERDANA SIZE=1>23</FONT></TD><TD ALIGN=CENTER><FONT FACE=VERDANA SIZE=1>59</FONT></TD></TR></TABLE> As of today, the Rockets need to win 63.5% of their games remaining and the rest of the teams ahead of them must not exceed their current winning percentage in order for the Rockets to guarantee themselves a playoff spot. For comparison, a 63.5% winning percentage over an entire season gets you 52 wins. I don't know that anyone really believes the current lineup is capable of a 52-win season. It's a daunting task, but it should be fun to watch.
Like I said, a daunting task that should be fun to watch. We also were able to get a good contribution from Dream down the stretch. Maybe Griffin provide us that same lift this year. Torres certainly seems to be able to give us as much, if not more, than Shandon did. Thomas seems to be the equal of Taylor's contribution, on paper at least.
On the flip side, we currently have 157 ping pong balls, which in all likelihood will get you a top 5 draft pick this summer.
crispee: yeah... sorry for not posting much. i visit like everyday, but hardly post. I'm getting sick of all the Rudy T bashing and how terrible our offense is that the BBS just isn't as friendly as it used to be. Tb-Cain: wow, nice graphic. looks like you put more thought into this than me. Clutch: i don't think another lottery pick will help this team. I think we got the talent. if we do get another lottery pick, i would rather see them trade it for a solid veteran (like the clippers).
TB, nice chart. It is too early to think about the draft. To make the kind of move outlined in the chart, the team needs to play uptempo ball and pressure defense. Of course our poor shooting days must be behind us. We need to go to the line more often We need to move the ball more We need Francis to be more aggressive offensively taking 23 shots a game. We need def fg% to be 43% maximium We need to create more turnovers per game We need to start the offense earlier
