7-1 since the All-Star break. Playoffs, here we come!

2 out of the next 3 games are against Phoenix... really important if we want to make that move. I would rather be the 8th seed in the playoffs then have the 14th pick in the draft and a 1% chance at the lottery.

Rockets are a completely different team right now. I have seen great defensive nights, and I have seen great offensive nights. I want to see how we stack up against one of the playoff teams like LAkers, Mavs, Spurs, Thunder, or Denver.. although we did beat New Orleans with a banged up Scola and destroyed the Blazers who were sparingly using Roy.

Let's look realistically at playoff chances. I'll (very) optimistically say the Rockets only lose 5 more games, giving them 37 losses. Losses: SA, BOS, @MIA, SA, DAL. Doable, but still pretty optimistic.

To catch New Orleans (37-29) or Memphis (36-29), they would have to lose 8 games. Looking at both of their schedules, it's tough to find 8 losses. I can pick out 6 or so that are probable losses but getting to 8 is stretching it.

Portland (36-27) is interesting because Roy is still coming back from injury, and they've got a pretty tough schedule. They would need 10 losses; I can count 8-9 probable losses left for them.

Denver (37-27) would also need 10 losses. I can find 8 or so probable losses for them.

The bottom line is the Rockets need to shoot for less than 5 losses the rest of the way, and still need lots of help, including passing Phoenix and Utah along the way. It can definitely be done, but for right now, I'm just enjoying watching this team play ball right now.

Hollinger playoff for the Rockets have gone from about 15% 10 days ago or so, to about 35%.

I would also say that their best team to catch is NO with CP3 out for a few days, and the fact that NO and Portland have the two toughest remaining schedules in the West. Also, the Rockets have no more games against Portland and Memphis.

Portland also get the Heat the game after they lost to the Bulls, and right after Portland just beat Orlando last night.

Good lord Budinger is pwning since getting in the starting lineup. Another ridiculous steal late in the draft by Morey.

Wasn't Morey a clueless hack coasting on some long-ago lucky moves as of two weeks ago?

I never said that. It's impossible not to recognize his hit rate on 2nd round picks and late first round guys like brooks, landry, and Budinger.

Not you in particular, but lots of Rockets fans seemed to be down on him.

tough loss

Brad Miller

Brutal way to lose after controlling the game so much early on. Kevin Martin and Brad Miller are the reason wr lost.

And the two points the refs took off the boards.. coupled with the three pointer they gave Carter where he was clearly on the line, and the foul that netted a point when him and Martin both flopped.

Even after all that, we still had a chance to win and Brad Miller threw it away. Adelman should have seen he did not have a clear head and taken him out.

[This message has been edited by RAM 12 (edited 3/9/2011 2:04p).]

Brad Miller is a waste of skin and it makes me sick that Rick continues to run him out there. At this point I'd rather have the ghost of Ralph Sampson playing in that spot than Brad Miller.

After Memphis lost to NY last night, the Rockets are 2 games out now and have a 34% chance of going to the playoffs. The good thing is we are definitely playing out best basketball of the year and have some easy games down the stretch. Right now Hollinger has us finishing 8-5 to finish with a 43-39 record, whereas he predicts Memphis to finish 8-5 also with a 45-37 record.

Rockets have this schedule left:
Boston - likely loss
Utah - likely win
Golden State - almost sure win
@Miami - almost sure loss
@New Jersey - almost sure win
@Philly - probable loss
San Antonio - likely loss
Atlanta - likely loss
Sacramento - sure win
@New Orleans - likely loss
Clippers - almost sure win
Dallas - likely loss
@Minnesota - sure win

Honestly, I think Hollinger is being a little bullish on us at 8-5 to finish. I'm predicting 6 wins right now. To get competitive, we definitely need to take care of the wins and also beat Atlanta at home, New Orleans on the road, and Philly at home. To feel REALLY good about our chances, it sure would be nice to beat Boston, Dallas, or San Antonio at home. The good thing is that we DO have 8 games at home left and only 5 on the road and all but 1 of those road games are winnable.

[This message has been edited by HotardAg07 (edited 3/18/2011 9:19a).]

Utah plays both Houston and Memphis in their next couple games.

Memphis plays 6 < .500 games (5 at home) and 7 >= .500 (3 at home)

Houston plays 5 < .500 games (3 at home) and 8 >= .500 (5 at home).

FWIW, Utah plays 2 < .500 games (1 at home) and 11 >= .500 (5 at home). I think Utah is done.

Also, NOLA and Portland also play 11 >= .500 teams in their schedule.

The Rockets are beating Boston 62-40... this will help

Wow so that's a good start to the playoff chase. Got a win I didn't expect in dramatic fashion.

Let's assume we need 45 wins to make the playoffs... that would be a 9-3 record to finish. Gotta beat Atlanta, Philly, and San Antonio or Dallas to make it.

Rockets have this schedule left:
Boston - likely loss -- W
Utah - likely win -- W
Golden State - almost sure win
@Miami - almost sure loss
@New Jersey - almost sure win
@Philly - probable loss
San Antonio - likely loss
Atlanta - likely loss
Sacramento - sure win
@New Orleans - likely loss
Clippers - almost sure win
Dallas - likely loss
@Minnesota - sure win

Projected Record 42-40

[This message has been edited by HotardAg07 (edited 3/21/2011 8:10a).]

3 out of the next 4 games are very winnable. One game at a time.

1 game at a time






Through this life I've rambled
I've seen a lot of evil men
Some will rob you with a pistol
And others with a pen

Have all 5 teams in the same division ever made the playoffs?

quote:

---

Projected Record 42-42

---

The NBA now has 84 games?

Sorry, 42-40.

Hollinger has us predicted at 44-38 right now. Still need 45 wins to make the playoffs.

Aside from the Miami, San Antonio, and Dallas games the rest of our schedule looks promising.... sure there are some tough teams in there like Atlanta, Philly, and New Orleans but those games are winnable.... but if we can steal one of the games with San Antonio or Dallas (both at home) then the Rockets have a legitimate shot at the playoffs never thought this would be the case a month ago.

Memphis has the Jazz, Celtics, Bulls and Spurs this week. With the Rockets having GS and then off until Sunday @Miami... we should be able to push into the 8 spot by the end of the weekend.

Spurs fan here, but I pull for the Rockets for 78 games a year. I like your chances, given Rudy Gay is out, and the way Houston is playing right now. I'm not sweating a first round series against the Grizz, but I'm worried about a series against y'all. Hopefully you guys can pull it out, and give us a challenging first round opponent, so our guys don't coast through like we have in the past. I wouldn't be surprised if the Spurs don't show up to the game on the 1st, because we should have a pretty good idea of what we need to do in order to wrap up 2nd round HCA. I'm also predicting 7-8 more wins for you, the last one being iffy because it's against my Spurs. GL, and hope you make it.

Rockets have this schedule left:
Boston - likely loss -- W
Utah - likely win -- W
Golden State - almost sure win -- W
@Miami - almost sure loss
@New Jersey - almost sure win
@Philly - probable loss
San Antonio - likely loss
Atlanta - likely loss
Sacramento - sure win
@New Orleans - likely loss
Clippers - almost sure win
Dallas - likely loss
@Minnesota - sure win

Projected Record 42-40

Unfortunatley, the Grizz beat the Celtics tonight. Ugh.

[This message has been edited by HotardAg07 (edited 3/23/2011 10:24p).]

By the way, when you review the box scores from the Rockets games lately, you see the true vision of the Daryl Morey. The team normally doens't have a dramatic advantage in shooting percentage. But, we go to the free throw line much more than the competition and we make a very high percentage of our free throws. We don't turn the ball over much.

hotard,

you really project us at 42-40?

some of those game outcomes are not what will likely happen

Well, Philly beat us at home pretty comfortably, so I don't think I can pencil us to win that game. I think Atlanta at home is pretty much a toss up at this point and we've struggled with athletic teams like them in the past. We won't be favored to beat New Orleans on the road, even though we did earlier this year. Which other games would you disagree with, if you had to choose a FAVORITE at this point?

Honestly, I'm not ruling out getting to 45 wins, but I put that out there to show where we would be if we just met expectations and which games we probably need to win if we intend on sneaking into the playoffs.

IT's worth mentioning that we're at the tail end of a 6 game home stand. Things are going to look much different when we're on this 3 game road trip with the most pivotal game at the end (Philly)... and then you go home to play San Antonio! If I remember correctly, it's 3 games in 4 days.


[This message has been edited by HotardAg07 (edited 3/24/2011 2:08p).]

Boston - likely loss -- W
Utah - likely win -- W
Golden State - almost sure win -- W
@Miami - almost sure loss
@New Jersey - almost sure win
@Philly - I see tossup, zero pt spread
San Antonio - very likely only 2-3 pt underdog
Atlanta - likely win
Sacramento - sure win
@New Orleans - 2-3pt underdog
Clippers - almost sure win
Dallas - probably 1-2 pt ffavorite
@Minnesota - sure win

i made some changes, i think you sold our chances short of about 5 of those games