The way Dallas is playing I think we are better off playing the Sonics in the first round..... anyone agree or no?
I agree that they have a better chance with the Sonics.. Sonics don't have Vlad either. But I don't think they are going to purposely lose games to do this.
You son of a coward bi...tch!!! You can't be a bird ditching your head to the sand. You get to beat everyone to reach the final, make the second round by not playing Mav? So what? you still get to beat everybody to win. Otherwise don't mean a thing.
exactly. the rockets have to prepare and be their best so that they can beat teams like the spurs/mavs/heat...but if it turns out that weaker teams eliminate those 3 so the rox don't gotta face them, i don't think anybody's gonna be complaining except maybe the tv ratings.
lost_elephant, how do you know rockets couldn't have been able to beat sonics that year? There is no "if" in historyargument, so it's not a valid point. I just think you can't have this kind of mindset before going to the real battle, otherwise you are weak, psychologically. psychologically weak team can't win. Period.
I think Sac Kings got a tougher schedule ahead of them than us. We might and probably will wind up playing the Mavs... maybe not.. who cares.. If we want to win the finals.. we have to be prepared to beat anybody.
if this team is talking championships and wants to win one then it doesn't matter who they play. if its the mavericks then bring it on. their only mindset should be to win every game they play and if they get it rolling in the playoffs they can beat anyone.
This topic has just been beaten to death. Plain and simple: playing for a lower playoff seed to try and get matchups in your favor is BS. Period.
I would hate to see the board after the Sonics end up beating us in the first round. We must prepare to compete vs any and every team. We can be competitive with any team, let's just try to improve and win as many games as we can and let the peices fall naturally.
I think I slightly prefer the Sonics, but I like our chances against either the Sonics or Mavs. Just don't fall to the 7th seed and have to start the playoffs at SA just as they got Duncan back. Match-ups do matter in the NBA. While no matter what happens we will have to beat elite teams to advance to the NBA finals, it is much better to only have to play a good versus great team right off the bat. Remember we may still have to get Howard back to game condition too--our strongest team (ready to take on SA or Phx) may be by the 2nd round. Also, I kind of believe difficult series do have a cumulative effect on your chances in subsequent ones (accumulative injuries, physical and mental fatigue). It is no small advantage to meet a team where they had a more difficult series than you--especially if the teams otherwise are pretty even. Right now with us as 6 and Seattle as 3, and say Denver as 7 and SA or Phx as 2, I'd like the looks of that. 1) Seattle is as good as any match-up for us to start on the road. 2) Denver is not going to be a walk over for anyone. But I'll be happy with whatever match-ups so long as we don't start at Phx or SA (assuming TD is 80%+). But nothing wrong with hoping everything else works to your advantage.
Dallas probably is stronger than Seattle now. But, I still want the higher seed. Dallas isn't stronger than Phoenix and San Antonio and we'd meet one of them in the second round regardless. What good is beating Seattle if we lose to Pho or SAS? And, if we can't beat Dallas, what chance have we got against the real powerhouses?
Dalls certainly a better team than last year, Dampier give htme a solid inside defense and 10 pts per game. they are better team than ROX
The Rox are capable of beating any team in the league in a seven game series. I want to see them win every game from now until the postseason is over, no jockeying, no tanking, no playing the odds.
Negative, without Nash they are wining games but they are not the sick offensive threat that they were in 2003-2004. Jumpshots have a tendency to fall at a much slower rate in the playoffs.
I agree that we would have a better chance against the Sonics than anyone else but so the **** what? Pride, my brothas and sistahs. Pride. I would rather win as many games as possible, period. How many can we get? Maybe 50 or so. Not a bad markup after 45 wins last year. And we go for 55 or better next year. I don't want this team to run from anyone. If we go in the playoffs with no more significant injuries (knock on wood), our only "problem" will be integrating Juwan back into the fold; but he'll probably be coming off the bench at first so as not to jack with the chemistry-on-the-fly that the team has developed. If we have to play Dallas in the first round, yes, Dirk Nowitzki will shoot lights out and he'll scream like he's just been shot EVERY time a Rocket breathes near him (and he'll get the call); but by the same token, who can really slow down T-Mac except T-Mac on an off night? And what better time for Yao to sack up (for a change)? Hell with it. Bring on the 5th seed.
The important part is tuning up the team for the playoff run. We need to continue playing winning basketball and let the chips fall where they may. If we are playing winning basketball coming down the stretch, it doesn't matter who we face in the first round, we will give them a run for their money. Moving up to 5th would give us more confidence and swagger with which we can push the Mavs out with JVG style basketball, a style that works in the playoffs. It remains to be seen whether either Seattle or Dallas has the kind of half-court game that will win in the playoffs and both teams are questionable WRT defense. We need to be thinking about playing our best basketball, if we tank to try to draw a certain opponent, that can only come back to bite us. Karma is a beyotch.
