What if... ...The Rockets catch up to NO Hornets and become the 3rd seed by the end of regular season? This would mean home court 1st round and perhaps 2nd round advantage in the playoffs... ...NO Hornets in the 6th seed by the end of the regular season? Instead of looking to play the Jazz (and D-Will), we will get to face a Hornets team that is sputtering in the 1st round. ...If Dallas lose a few more games and Denver/GS wins a few more games? Mavs may be outsiders looking in come playoffs. (Dallas currently in the SEVENTH POSITION in the West) ...Phoenix continues to struggle (Shaq the new anchor to Sun's ship)? They do not develop that chemistry and identity when playoffs start? And if the above four "what ifs" come true, then the only teams that really are considered road-blocks to the NBA finals are the Lakers, Spurs, and Jazz. ...We lost the game against Sacramento the last game before the All-Star break? Now, we would NOT have a 15 game winning streak and perhaps the confidence level to play as well as we are playing. For all the negative posts after that game, never did the posters realize how big of a shot Novak's game winner was, regardless of the Rockets meltdown in the second half. We control our own destiny, but the degree of difficulty in getting there depends on things outside of our control. Of course, I'm looking at all of this optimistically. A cynic can spin what I just wrote and start another thread on any nit-picky negative areas that he/she may see. I, and more and more others on this board are seeing the positives in this team and appreciating the heart and grit that the players now have. Let's go. 23 more. Show the world what you got.
I think the teams that made major moves are screwed with the exception of the LA Lakers with the addition of Gasol and the Jazz with the addition of Korver. The Suns trade made them slower. The Mav's trade took power out of the middle and also made them slower. Hornets trade didn't do much for them and I sense they are starting to sputter now. Nuggests are falling even with Melo and Iverson. The Warriors don't have any power in their frontcourt. The most dangerous teams to be concerned about in the West are the Lakers, Spurs, Rockets and Jazz.
I was down on the Jason Kidd trade for the Mavs, but I've watch a couple of their games recently and I think they'll be alright. Kidd is working out better than I thought he would. The Shaq trade, on the other hand, should be worrisome for Suns fans. It's like the Suns were focused on adding Shaq that they completely forgot what they'd be losing in giving up Marion. I can see us passing Phoenix eventually, but I think the Mavs will eventually get a top 4 seed.
I think the ideal spot for the rockets is actually the 5th spot because we would play the northwest division winner, most likely utah and we would also most likely have home court advantage. It would be another shot at the team that beat us last year and also yaos absence would hurt us the least against them as they don't have a real center to bang down low, and boozer would not have as easy a time scoring with landry/scola/hayes guarding him than with yao. Being 5th with home field advantage against utah is a heck of a lot better than having a higher seed and playing the suns/mavs/warriors.
That's why I'm more sadden by Yao's injury With the way we are playing and the way the West is looking I think we can play these Dallas/Phoniex better than in the past If we had Yao I think we might have a shot to go pretty far this yr ... but we'll seee
The Kidd trade was a lateral move if anything. Dallas was good without him and they're still at that level with him. I defintely dont see us getting past Dallas who should be a top 4 seed. I'm so glad the Suns are falling though. The Shaq trade has made them worse and they don't scare me anymore. It would be great if we could pass Phoenix.
Let's not get crazy. This board gets schizophrenic when we lose games and too high when we win. The Rockets will lose mutliple games this year. They could go .500 or worse the rest of the way. You can't seriously expect to beat the teams above us without the best player. Could the Lakers consistently beat us without Kobe, the Suns without Nash? We're not going to sneak up on anobody. Nobody will be taking us lightly and we will be getting everybody's best shot. I hope we make the playoffs and get a good matchup. As crazy as this sounds, I really think the Suns are our best matchup. I think they have lost their identity and we play good enough defense with Deke on Shaq.
