For the Rockets, the Playoffs Begin Now

[FoxPerez]

From an article at PlaymakerOnline.com:

The Houston Rockets aren’t dead and buried yet… but they’re close.

With seven games left on the schedule, Houston is three back in the loss column of the 8th seeded Memphis Grizzlies and four games back of the Portland Trailblazers and New Orleans Hornets. The Rockets not only need to win out, but they need to catch some breaks along the way after losing to the Philadelphia 76ers last night.

It’s ironic how after this game the two teams have identical records, but the 76ers are one win away from clinching a playoff spot and Houston is clinging to a small chance that they might slip into the last spot in the Western Conference.

Against the 76ers, Houston appeared to run out of gas. In the 2nd game of a back-to-back set, the Rockets had a three point lead at the half and slowly slipped as the 2nd half went along until they couldn’t hang anymore. The problem that Houston has been having lately is not on the offensive end, but the defensive end. They’ve gone 3-2 in their last five games, but have allowed an average of 104 points per game. Philly dished out 30 assists as a team and 23 of those came from Jrue Holiday and Andre Iguodala. The team shot better than 54% and had five players in double figures. Meanwhile, Houston’s starters struggled from the field and they didn’t get any help from the bench.

The Rockets next host the San Antonio Spurs, but that isn’t all bad news. Throw out how poorly the Spurs have been playing. All that has to be considered is that it’s the 2nd game of a back-to-back for San Antonio and even if every starter is healthy, there’s no way Gregg Popovich plays all three of the combination of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili after what should be a chippy game against Boston. So the Spurs should be undermanned from the start in a must-win game for Houston. The Rockets also have Dallas left on their schedule, but luck out because it’s the 2nd to last game of the season and it’s also the 2nd game of a back-to-back for the Mavs. So Dallas should be undermanned in that game as well.

Houston also has to root for Memphis to win out. The Grizzlies play the Hornets twice before the season is up. Memphis beats New Orleans twice, plus the Rockets win their matchup against the Hornets and all of a sudden there’s a pulse in Houston.

The kicker against Houston is that they have to clear New Orleans by a game in the final standings because they have a worse division record (the 3rd tiebreaker).

Houston’s playoffs start now… and the first seven games are single-elimination. Right now one loss won’t mathematically eliminate them. But one more loss and the season is over.

For more NBA coverage, check out PlaymakerOnline.com
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[Giuseppe]

Bad loss last nite for the Rockets. Inexcusable.

[hater]

so they will lose the next 4?

[Kai]

Very improbable, but not impossible

[#41 Shoot Em Up]

Rockets really playing good ball right now. Might be too late
but I wouldn't bury dem s yet