Albatrosses bring a ship good luck, so please do not confused the he-who-shalt-not-be-named with an albatross. Unless of course, your saying that his injury resulted in him being a dead albatross, in which case your reference makes sense.
Portalnd will go above 9-10 but the Rockets chances of going 15-8 is much higher than slim to none. Of the remaining games, we have games against people above us with: boston, denver, okc, lakers, san antonio, boston again, utah, and phoenix. There's exactly 8 games here, and so if we win the others....that's 15-8. I also doubt that we can't even squeeze a game against any of them. So yes, our margin for error is very thin...no choking at all allowed. But I'd say 1-2% are way too low considering even this has us higher: http://espn.go.com/nba/hollinger/playoffodds
Chances to miss playoffs: Lakers: 0%. Don't even think about it. Way too far ahead in the win column, loaded with vets, deep playoff and championship experience all around, plus this guy named Kobe Bryant plays for them. Spurs: 0%. Say what you will about their age, being a step slow, but Timmy D has never missed the playoffs. He has also never won less than 50 games in a season, except for the strike shortened season. Book it, they're in. Denver: 1%. Don't count on them to miss the playoffs unless Billups and Anthony go out with season ending injuries. Dallas: 1%. Dallas, along with Denver may be battling not only for the #2 seed but for the #1 seed....maybe. Utah: 5%. This is it for the Okur, Williams and Boozer era. A Utah team that was built five years ago and hasn't made any major moves since. Minus Harpring and Brewer, their chances won't be hurt. Portland: 10%. Roy is a winner and a leader. They haven't missed much without Pryzbilla and Oden other than the interior D, but Camby can make up for some of that missed defense. Batum and Fernandez are back. Substituting Martell Webster for Travis Outlaw is a lateral move at worse. Phoenix: 50%. This team, minus Frye, missed out last year late in the season, folding under pressure. Rockets need to step up the addition of W's to have Phoenix repeat history. Wizards: 51%. Probably the best case for the Rockets to make the playoffs is the Wizards' lack of playoff experience (or competing for thereof). Their most veteran starter is Nenad Kristic, and 75% of their players have to take their ID's to the bar just in case. Other than Collison and Kristic, their 5+ year vets aren't getting playing time: Kevin Ollie, Etan Thomas and Matt Harpring (inury).
The Rockets' chances are slim at best unless we start to play some defense. The Thunders are not going to fall apart unless Durant goes down with an injury, and Portland has Roy and an easy schedule down the stretch. I think that this is the year we miss the playoffs, and it will be the last one in a while.
Who was that guy that made a thread titled " Playoffs No wayyyy!!!! " or something to that effect a few years back? We need him to create another.
Spurs will not get to 50 wins this year. The Rockets will have a chance IF their defense improves. The key will be Ariza and Lowry coming back in time to make a strong run. Need to win all games coming up to the Nets game.
I really feel like the spurs and thunder will give up some ground starting the end of this week. They both have a lot of games against playoff contenders coming up and we play both of them so if we have a chance to close the gap even more in the head to head. We do need Lowry and Ariza back soon to have a real chance . I will not be upset if we don't make it, i think it will be fun to watch the guys push to make it. I know they are aware of the schedule and their position. If we could get Jeffries, Armstrong, or Hill to step up in the paint that would be really helpful.
I'm implying it's easier to win 15 games than it is to win 17 games, and providing a more positive and attainable goal (not to mention accurate) for the Rockets and the fans that still believe that making the playoffs even to become first round fodder; is important to a city, its team, and its fans... one victory as the 8th seed gives me enough joy for an entire off-season...
Yay, bring on the ass whipping we're bound to receive from Kobe, Artest and the Lakers. Sounds like fun.
LIKE AN ASIAN HAVING SEX, NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE HEART OF A SMALLER, BUT DETERMINED TEAM ROCKETS PLAYOFFS '10
OK, so the way I see it, if we make the playoffs this year, the team we'll be knocking out will be the Spurs. I say this because they're in our division, we have a March 31st meeting with them to decide the tiebreaker, and they have a tough schedule the rest of the way. If the Rockets win the next 5 games (the Rockets will be favored in all 5 of the games) then in my opinion, they will have a GREAT shot at making the playoffs. So, Red Nation, here's what I propose: I think that IF the ROckets win the next 5 games, we should buy a block of tickets for the March 31st game at San Antonio and support our team ON THE ROAD. If the Rockets play their card right in March and win in San Antonio on 3/31, then they'll head into April in the 8th seed. !!! Who's with me? I happen to work for a ticket broker so I should be able to get us a block of tickets at about 20% less than market value... Who's in?
The way you have it, conditional probability states that there's less than 25% chance that rockets DON'T make playoffs. Really? 75% chance that Rockets makes playoffs? That seems kind of high compared to 2 of those teams above us.
ask the '99 Knicks and '07 Warriors if they had any fun in their playoff appearances. The way I see it, if the Rockets have to play eventual NBA champions, well then the Champions had to go through the Rockets to get their title.
