Why are we worried about playing Seattle over Dallas..

I don't care who the Rockets play, they can beat Dallas or Seattle.

The only team that I think has a clear advantage over Houston is San Antonio when Duncan is healthy, the rest of them are all about equal.

DD

 

And Erick Dampier is the starting center for Dallas, not Shawn Bradley. Dampier is a lot better than Bradley.

 

If Howard isn't back, Nowitzki would average 40 in playoff series with the Rockets.

 

I think the Rockets are currently in a no-lose situation. If they finish the season strong, they go into a series with the Mavericks with momentum. If they struggle a little bit and stay in the six spot, we've got Seattle sans Lewis and Radmanovic in the first round.

Obviously the worst thing that could happen would be Denver catching us, but I don't see us struggling that bad in our last nine games.

 

The Mavs are getting beat by the Cavs by 16 right now so we shouldn't be THAT scared of them ...

 

There are several reasons to why I feel the Rockets have a better chance of getting out of round 1 if they face the Sonics:

1. The Mavs have more experience than the Sonics. Finley, Dirk, and Stackhouse have all been there before and have much more playoff experience than the Sonics.

2. Mavs have a much deeper bench than the Sonics who will be without their 6th man (Radmanavich). Stackhouse, Daniels, Armstrong, and Van Horn can all catch fire and carry them for a quarter if Dirk or Finley are on the bench.

3. Dirk creates a huge huge mismatch for us at the PF spot. With Seattle Spoon/Padgett/Bowen can even out Fortson, Collison, etc. But with Dallas, Spoon is a liability on defense and Bowen is a liability on offense. If Howard comes back he could help out but he still can’t hold Dirk.

4. I am convinced that Yao will have a huge series against the Sonics who have no answer for him. However, Dampier and even Bradley have given Yao problems at times. If the Mavs do slow down Yao then the Rockets chances of winning take a big hit.

5. the Mavs are getting heathy at the right time and the Sonics seem the be a bit injured. Mavs are aslo playing thier best ball of the entire season and seem to actually want to play defense under Avery Johnson.

With all this being said, I still feel that the Rockets can still beat the Mavs if they do indeed face them in round 1. However it would be a much easier series if we were to face the Sonics instead.

 

The playoffs are all about matchups. The Rockets match up favorably against Seattle. Therefore we would be at an advantage if they play them in the first round.

Dallas IMO is the second best playoffs team in the West behind the Spurs if Duncan is healthy and the best if he's not. They are a different team this year than the ones that made early exits in the previous years. The Rockets would have a very tough time against this team in the first round.

 

Dallas came back and are now leading in Cleveland

 

er.... cavs leading again.....

anyway, I dun think it matters which team we are going to play.... wat really matters is which Rockets team are going to show up.... the one that went on the 4 game road trip with wins at Seattle, Phoenix.... or the team that lost to Hornets last night.....

 

I'd much prefer for the Rockets to play Seattle. Having said that I don't think the Sonics will be pushovers.

 

Seattle worries me as much as Dallas does. Rashard Lewis has been a thorn on the Rockets side every since they passed on him. He always shoots well against us. Plus, he presents a matchup problem against Mcgrady with his length and height.

The Wesley/Allen matchup worries me a lot too. Wesley looks like he’s already wearing down. I’m just as afraid of what Allen could do against Wesley as I am about what Dirk could do against Howard.

 

If anyone thinks Houston might not get past Dallas, then what you're really saying the Rockets aren't contenders.

Dallas isn't a contender. If Houston can't beat Dallas in the first round, then all that means is we'll play Seattle, get past them, and eventually lose to Dallas or a team that beats Dallas.

So I say:

Bring on the Mavs.

 

The Rockets better keep winning, or they may get pushed back in the standings! Look at Denver and Memphis!

 

Good point Houstonian-in-NYC, as I'm definately not wishing to play one team over another as that always seems to backfire. Just tyo go into the playoffs on a roll, but... the longer that you are in the playoffs the more chances that someone else could get knocked out (remember Mutombo's Nuggets over Seattle in '94). That opened the door to give us homecourt throughtout the playoffs. So the key is to stay alive, don't worry about beating the best team first because you might not even have to face them. As much as I hate to admit it, had Malone not gotten injured last year the trophy would probably be in LA. You never know when an injury or upset could benefit you down the road.

 

Over JVG's dead body he will.

 

Rashad Lewis is out indefinitely too.

 

If the Rockets don't win enough games, they may slip all the way to 7th place. Denver is on fire. IMO, it's 50/50 on whether Denver finishes in front of the Sacramento. The Rockets need to get on a roll, win as many games as possible and hope they finish 6th to play Seattle.

There is a chance Avery's act could wear thin if the Mavs hit some adversity. The more I think about it, the Mavs can't continue on this roll indefinitely. Maybe they will slip some in the first round.