Rockets Reclaim Division Lead, But What Is Really At Stake?

[duncan228]

Rockets reclaim division lead, but what is really at stake? (http://blogs.chron.com/nba/2009/04/rockets_reclaim_divsion_lead_b.html)
Jonathan Feigen

While re-reading the NBA Western Conference standings and sneaking peaks at the Lakers-Nuggets after a fairly forgettable 115-98 Rockets win over the dreadful Kings (http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/6367498.html), that same, tired question suddenly hit me again.

Did Memphis really give the Lakers Pau Gasol? I know that is about as topical at this point as whining about the Grizzlies trading Vancouver for Memphis, which is also a terrible trade despite my taste for blues and dry rub ribs.

Yet, with one more play to close out the win, Kobe Bryant just split a trap, forced the ball into the paint and to Gasol, who put it in as if it were nothing, and it still amazes that the Lakers added this gift to their other riches.

They handled the Nuggets pretty much the way they handled the Rockets four times this season. It looked like a pretty good game. The Nuggets have become a strong, balanced, deep team. They will probably still be the No. 2 seed in the West. But every team on this side of the NBA is looking a long way up at the Lakers.

With that, however, there is opportunity.

Other than the team that happens to be facing the Lakers in the first round, or those stuck in a particularly unfavorable matchup (and the Rockets know how that goes), every Western Conference team can legitimately believe itself capable of doing some post-season damage, or as Leslie Alexander put it before the season, having "a long playoff run."

This is why the Rockets' pursuit of the division title means something. Yes, the immediate goal is to finally get out of the first round. They have not won a playoff series since 1997. Just as Rick Adelman always said "if we get to the playoffs" until the spot was clinched, the Rockets' primary goal has to be winning a playoff series. They can worry about winning another one later.

That would seem to mean avoiding Utah. They will not play the Lakers in the first round. That is not a concern. They would seem to be best-served to do anything necessary to not have to start another post-season against the Jazz (and I could live without another trip to Salt Lake City).

The problem with that — besides that it doesn't seem particularly gutsy to seek to avoid a team currently tied for seventh — is that the Rockets really can't maneuver themselves out of the Jazz's way.

If they close out the season with wins, the Jazz might stay where they are or move up a notch and still match up against the Rockets. If the Rockets lose a game or two in the final three, the Jazz could win enough to meet them in another four versus five match up.

The Rockets might, however, be able to control their pursuit of the division title. They have a half-game lead on the Spurs with the Spurs holding the tie-breaker (with a better division record.) If the Rockets win out and win the division, they will be the third seed.

That would mean they could not play the Lakers until the conference finals.

They have a long way to go to get that far, of course. A franchise unable to win one playoff round for so long probably does not need to concern itself with winning two series.

Still, other than avoiding the Lakers' side of the Western Conference bracket, there doesn't seem to be much else to win by winning.

It is not as if they hang up division championship banners.

Then again, if the Rockets can win their way away from the Jazz, that would be good, too.

[GuerillaBlack]

I don't think we'll play the Jazz, especially if we're the 3rd seed. I see the Jazz staying in seventh, or dropping to 8th and the Mavs moving up. The Hornets aren't looking to hot right now, so the Jazz could still move up to as high as the 6th spot and play the Rockets (3rd). So much can go on.

[Indazone]

Rockets’ alarm sounds in time

Third-quarter awakening brings win over Kings, division lead

By JONATHAN FEIGEN Copyright 2009 Houston Chronicle

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Yao Ming trudged his way back to the floor looking straight ahead and wearing a scowl, as if he had spent halftime chewing on rusty nails.

Facing a Kings team with the NBA’s worst record and without its leading scorer, Kevin Martin, the Rockets had slopped their way through the first half, falling into just the trap they had spent days warning one another to avoid.
They began the second half with three more sloppy minutes and got an early timeout. Having waited long enough, they finally blew out the Kings 115-98 to move past San Antonio to the Southwest Division lead, a half-game in front of the Spurs and Trail Blazers for third place in the Western Conference.
“I just wanted to play my game, which is to get easy field goals and open (up) my teammates by forcing the double-teams,” Yao said. “I think in the first half we didn’t know that. We didn’t run that well. We have to know who we are and also who our opponent is. We have to know our weakness and their weakness and know our best and their best. In the first half, we didn’t.”
The Rockets knew, however, that they were in trouble and that it was largely of their own making.
From the horrible rebounding in the first quarter against the league’s worst rebounding team to the sloppy offense in the second quarter against the worst defensive team, the Rockets invited the Kings to a lead that grew to as much as seven points in the first half and eight early in the second.
The start of the third quarter was no better than the first two, with the Kings making three of five shots, Yao missing a dunk, and he and Luis Scola committing turnovers while the offense bogged down.
So three minutes into the half, Rick Adelman had to call a timeout to say everything he had just said at halftime.
“I repeated the same thing,” Adelman said. “We had to get our heads into it. We were just a step slow. We weren’t helping each other.
“The first half, they came out shooting the ball well, but we were very inactive defensively. We didn’t have the intensity we had the last two games at home. Our guys turned it up in the second half. When we started defending, it led to a better offensive game, too.”
After trailing 61-55 when Adelman went to his quick timeout, the Rockets outscored the Kings 30-13 the rest of the quarter, even scoring between quarters when an Aaron Brooks shot originally ruled to be a two-pointer was changed to a 3.
“We had a rough first half, and I wish we could have played better, but it just doesn’t happen like that every time,” said Ron Artest, who led the Rockets with 26 points. “Even though Sacramento’s record (16-62) is not that good, we did a lot of little things tonight. We got loose balls, and we boxed out in the second half. We outhustled and were quicker in the game — all the things that count.”
The Rockets’ 36 points and 15 field goals were their most in a third quarter this season. They ended up making 47 of 87 shots, their most field goals in a game this season.
Yet in many ways, the difference was the defense. The Rockets expected to score on the Kings. Everyone scores on the Kings, the NBA’s worst team in field-goal-percentage defense. They were, however, making it too easy for the Kings on the other end.
“We all knew we had to pick up our defense,” Shane Battier said. “We just needed to have more focus and cohesiveness. It’s hard to play a team that plays loose. Over time you can wear a team like that down, and we did in the second half.”
Said Adelman: “I don’t know if it was because we had those two tough games at home, but all we talked about how dangerous this team is. But give our guys credit. In the second half, they really did what they needed to do.” [email protected] ([email protected])

[Indazone]

Rockets will meet Dallas in the first round as the 2nd seed after the Nuggets lose to Sactown.

[Caltex2]

Rockets reclaim division lead, but what is really at stake? (http://blogs.chron.com/nba/2009/04/rockets_reclaim_divsion_lead_b.html)
Jonathan Feigen

While re-reading the NBA Western Conference standings and sneaking peaks at the Lakers-Nuggets after a fairly forgettable 115-98 Rockets win over the dreadful Kings (http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/6367498.html), that same, tired question suddenly hit me again.

Did Memphis really give the Lakers Pau Gasol? I know that is about as topical at this point as whining about the Grizzlies trading Vancouver for Memphis, which is also a terrible trade despite my taste for blues and dry rub ribs.

Yet, with one more play to close out the win, Kobe Bryant just split a trap, forced the ball into the paint and to Gasol, who put it in as if it were nothing, and it still amazes that the Lakers added this gift to their other riches.

They handled the Nuggets pretty much the way they handled the Rockets four times this season. It looked like a pretty good game. The Nuggets have become a strong, balanced, deep team. They will probably still be the No. 2 seed in the West. But every team on this side of the NBA is looking a long way up at the Lakers.

With that, however, there is opportunity.

Other than the team that happens to be facing the Lakers in the first round, or those stuck in a particularly unfavorable matchup (and the Rockets know how that goes), every Western Conference team can legitimately believe itself capable of doing some post-season damage, or as Leslie Alexander put it before the season, having "a long playoff run."

This is why the Rockets' pursuit of the division title means something. Yes, the immediate goal is to finally get out of the first round. They have not won a playoff series since 1997. Just as Rick Adelman always said "if we get to the playoffs" until the spot was clinched, the Rockets' primary goal has to be winning a playoff series. They can worry about winning another one later.

That would seem to mean avoiding Utah. They will not play the Lakers in the first round. That is not a concern. They would seem to be best-served to do anything necessary to not have to start another post-season against the Jazz (and I could live without another trip to Salt Lake City).

The problem with that — besides that it doesn't seem particularly gutsy to seek to avoid a team currently tied for seventh — is that the Rockets really can't maneuver themselves out of the Jazz's way.

If they close out the season with wins, the Jazz might stay where they are or move up a notch and still match up against the Rockets. If the Rockets lose a game or two in the final three, the Jazz could win enough to meet them in another four versus five match up.

The Rockets might, however, be able to control their pursuit of the division title. They have a half-game lead on the Spurs with the Spurs holding the tie-breaker (with a better division record.) If the Rockets win out and win the division, they will be the third seed.

That would mean they could not play the Lakers until the conference finals.

They have a long way to go to get that far, of course. A franchise unable to win one playoff round for so long probably does not need to concern itself with winning two series.

Still, other than avoiding the Lakers' side of the Western Conference bracket, there doesn't seem to be much else to win by winning.

It is not as if they hang up division championship banners.

Then again, if the Rockets can win their way away from the Jazz, that would be good, too.

Yeah, the New Orleans Hornets never did that.:rollin