The Lakers would give us a really hard time with their 2 big men in the middle. Mutombo would give Bynum fits, but when he's on the bench, I think we would really suffer. However, realistically, I don't think we have to worry about them until at least the second round, because I think both us and them will end up in the Top 4. Even if we end up in the 6th spot, I don't see the Lakers finishing any worse than 2nd in the West. Lakers in 6 if it does happen, though. The Suns give us a similar matchup with Shaq and Amare. We saw what having no inside presence against Shaq will do, and in a 7 game series, the problems will only get magnified. This is a matchup that we will have to avoid in the first round at all costs in my opinion, if at all possible. I'm actually really worried that we might end up facing them if we end up in the 3rd or 6th spot in the West. Suns in 5 or 6. The Mavericks do not worry me nearly as much as they used to. Jason Kidd is actually a better matchup for Rafer than Harris was, because Harris was twice as quick. Plus, Josh Howard's game has suffered tremendously ever since Kidd has come on board. Howard has not been able to adapt to moving without the ball. Dirk is always a problem, but if he pulls his famous disappearing act in 2 or 3 of the games, then we should be able to win this in 5 or 6 games. The Spurs are another team that I feel we can beat if we are firing on all cylinders. The one thing the Spurs have over us, and really every other team in the West, is CONSISTENCY. They NEVER beat themselves. They play their game no matter what the scoreboard reads, and they will wait for you to get worn down and complacent. Battier will have his hands full with Ginobili, but it will come down to how well the Rockets execute. This would be a knock-down drag-out series that I could see going either way. Spurs in 7 if I had to choose though. The Hornets are an enigma. On the one hand, they are explosive, young, talented, deep, and have a lot of firepower that can burn you if you let them. Yet, they are inexperienced, inconsistent, lack a legitimate scoring threat off the bench, and too reliant upon Chris Paul. I think they have what it takes to beat the Rockets in a 7 game series, but I don't think they have the execution and experience to pull it off. Rockets in 6 or 7. F the Jazz. Rockets in 4. Haha, no, but seriously, I think this is one team that became more beatable when Yao went down. Now, we can allow Scola to move out to the 3 pt line, and guard Okur, while Landry/Hayes bang in the middle with Boozer. Something that's lost on a lot of people is the fact that the Jazz lost Fisher, who was a HUGE help for them in the playoffs last year because of his leadership. Plus, Giricek did a great job bothering T-Mac the entire series on the defensive end. The X-Factor could be Kyle Korver and how locked in he is during the playoffs. I see it ending differently than last year though. Rockets in 6. The Warriors are impossible to contain. You basically just have to play your game, don't force the issue, and don't turn the ball over. The Warriors will beat themselves with their freestyle play, and bad shot selection. The Jazz showed the league last year that if you just play within yourselves, and don't try to outflash them, they are an incredibly flawed and beatable team. I think Adelman will handle Nellie with ease, and the Rafer has to understand that he is not Baron Davis. If this happens, Rockets in 6. The Nuggets suck. Rockets in 5. I'm not joking this time.
The matchups would only look good on paper. Its just a bunch of good teams and slightly better teams. Might as well draw a team out of a hat. If the Nuggets had Nene they'd probably be 7 or 8 over Golden State So my pick would be the Jazz for payback reasons. After that the Mavs cuz they seem to be a sinking ship
I wanna see if rockets would be able to ride the 22 winning streak and get themselves in the top 3 seed. If we playing the way we played now, we could be the 2nd or 3rd seed, which would pit us against either dallas or SA. However, I see dallas misisng the playoffs with Dirk out and Denver climbing back.
The Lakers and Suns scare me more than anyone. They'll have size in the middle that we can't contend with, and they're too good on the offensive end. We've played the Spurs pretty well, but it will be interesting to see how we match up against them later this month without Yao. The Jazz are certainly beatable, particularly if they don't have HCA. If I had to pick one team, I hope Denver sneaks in and we play them.
Honestly best case: Seeding: 1 Rockets/8 Nuggets 2 Hornets/7 Warriors 3 Lakers/6 Spurs 4 Jazz/5 Suns No Dirk = No Mavs in playoffs If this happens: We can take Nuggets, Jazz/Suns 2nd round will be tough but we have a chance (+ home court advantage), then WCF: Prob Spurs/Lakers (this way though we avoid 1 of them) and that series we fight and hopefully pull it out Finals: Gotta hope Cavs make another run , probably not so I'd rather take on Detroit than Boston. That would be dream playoffs for this team.
if the lakers and the suns are bad matchups for us now, the spurs is kinda more so. a kurt thomas and tim duncan interior is something we're unable to have an answer for right now. not to be too pessimistic, but imo almost a sure loss this sunday.
12 games left, there can be a lot of things happening around the league. Someone might get injuried, some team might lost their fighting spirit, some might get a suspension. I have confidence in the rockets. Let's wait till playoff and see.
But we wanna win something in this years playoffs even without Yao. I even thinh we have a good chance with T-Mac and role players (and banch) playing so well. You just wanna make sure you play against an opponent which you can beat, especially in this Wild West.
working? hey, if saying i am a loser makes you feel better for the day, i'd be happy to let you have the final say. the rockets have a much bigger chance of losing than winnng this sunday. i've stated why. now your turn to state otherwise and why, if you have a good reason.
Worst matchup: Suns. We're helpless (w/o Yao) against that Amare-Shaq frontcourt. Obviously, the Nuggets, Warriors, or Dirkless Mavs are the most desirable matchup, but we'd need to be at least the #2 seed for that to happen, which'll be a tall order. I'm not too terrified of the Lakers, since Bynum isn't likely at all to be the double-double force he was before the injury. He's missed a TON of time and it'd be unrealistic to think he'd be full strength (to say nothing of rust) so soon. Gasol is guardable by our frontcourt. Battier/McGrady vs Odom/Kobe isn't that awful. Rafer gets a rare mismatch against Farmar and Fisher. Turiaf and Walton aren't as good as Landry, Hayes, and Head off the bench. The Spurs are the Spurs, but they haven't been looking too tough lately. The Hornets...I don't like our chances. Chris Paul seems too wound up over us. Paul, West, and Chandler give you 53, 23, and 15 (+ 2.5 blocks) a night. Without Yao, you've got to go 4 deep on our end to match that, and I just don't know that I'd be confident in McGrady matching Paul in 30+ point games. The Jazz, we'd have a better chance than last year, but we'd still have match up problems. Boozer has an edge, Williams has an edge, Korver and Harpring have a big edge over Head, etc. I guess my biggest concern isn't our potential opponents. It's whether McGrady can give us an All-Star performance night in and night out. I fear his no-shows. Evan
You just hope that if we get out of the first round that other teams will take out the teams we match up poorly agaist. Like maybe Golden State knocks of Phoenix. Golden State is Phoenix's achilles heel. You hope that the Jazz knock off the Spurs or something like that.
agree to your take on jazz. but it shouldn't be too bad for us, relatively speaking. and though mcgrady is a no-show in the regular season, in the playoffs he ups his level of play noticeably.
