Houston Rockets March to the Playoffs

[eagle eye]

I find it hard to believe that NOBODY has taken up the torch for the Rockets. These guys are pretty good and we actually get to see them on Root Sports Network, that is unless you have Time Warner Cable. I have admit I was skeptical when Houston signed James Hardin. I felt like the Rockets got a good guard who can come off the bench like he did in OKC but I sure didn't see him becoming a bonafide star. Until this year it was acknowledged that Hardin was a great scorer but he wasn't an all around player because he didn't play defense worth a crap. Hardin must've heard the grumbling because he obviously worked hard on improving his defense and while he's made himself into an MVP candidate. Most people agree the race is down to Hardin and Golden State's Steph Curry with OKC's Russell Westbrook still lurking. I think Hardin should have the edge because he's been THE MAN in the 2014-15 season because Dwight Howard has spent more time on the bench than he has on the floor. Howard is back and the Rockets are making a final push for position in the playoff. Currently they are the 2 see in the Western Conference but any slippage and they could end up the six seed.

The Rockets are fun, yet frustrating, team to watch but one thing for sure, when it comes to the 4th quarter these guys know how to finish. With Howard back the Rockets are a team nobody really wants to face with very nice contributions by Jason Terry, the man mountain known a Demo, Terrence Jones and Josh Smith they have made themselves a very formidable unit. Patrick Beverley had also been making major contributions to the lineup until a wrist injury ended his season on March 23rd. On March 28th Houston lost Demo to a back injury but they continue to soldier on. They are 7-3 in their last 10 games going into tonight's tilt against the San Antonio Spurs at home in the Toyota Center. The Rockets last loss was earlier this week to these same Spurs in San Antone. The Spurs, BTW, are on fire right now winning 9 in a row. At the half it's a 2 point Rockets lead at 48-46. I fell out of love with the NBA during the Allen Iverson era but with some high quality play from all over the NBA and the rise of LeBron James I'm starting to drift back in the NBA fan line. It's cool that my interest is returning at around the same time the Rockets are relevant again.

[eagle eye]

Still no takers on this thread? The Rockets play the last game of the regular season tonight and depending on whether they win or not and whether San Antonio wins or not Houston could actually be either a 3 seed or a 6 seed in the playoffs. James Hardin is a legit candidate for MVP. Good times in H town. It looks like it's going to be Houston as the 5 seed playing the 4 seed Trailblazers. Portland dumped Houston in the first round of last year's playoffs but Portland is beat up injury-wise and Houston will have home court advantage because they have a better record than Portland. Portland has a higher seed because they have clinched their division. A lot like March Madness in college the NBA playoffs is when pro basketball starts to get interesting.

[eagle eye]

You know that old saying about counting chickens before they're hatched? Last night was a perfect example of just that. Listen to ESPN yesterday and they outlined what was surely going to be the playoff scenario after the final games to be played last night were in the books. No way was San Antonio going to lose to New Orleans. They did. No way was New Orleans going to make the playoffs. They did. The whole Western Conference landscape changed in the span of a few hours.

Houston began the evening as the 5th seed and ended it the 2nd because of the Spurs loss to the Pelicans. This loss knocked San Antonio all the way down to the 6 and Memphis, who also won is the 5th seed because they hold the tie breaker over the Spurs after both finished with a 55-27 season record. Houston finished with a 56-26 record and they won the Southwest Division. When the night began it looked like Houston would face Northwest Division winner Portland as they did last year with Houston holding home court advantage despite Portland being a division winner. That's just the way the NBA playoff seedings work. The 3 division winner in each conference have to be in the top 4 seeds regardless of their season record. If the playoffs were decided by record alone Portland would be the 6th seed instead of the 4th. So, here is the Western Conference matchups as the 1st round of the playoffs begin this weekend.

8 New Orleans @
1 Golden State

7 Dallas @
2 Houston

6 San Antonio @
3 LA Clippers

4 Portland @
5 Memphis

BTW before the night began the Oklahoma City Thunder and New Orleans were tied and it was assumed OKC would beat Minnesota (which they did) and the Pelicans was a sure loser to the Spurs (They weren't-they won). When the night was over the surprise winning New Orleans was the 8 seed and OKC was left standing outside the playoff's door by virtue of the Pelicans owning the tie breaker between them and OKC. The only thing OKC got was the 2015 NBA scoring champ in Russell Westbrook. Just goes to show you just never say never in sports.

[eagle eye]

In assessing the Rockets roster the most scrutinized player isn't necessarily James Hardin or Dwight Howard. They automatically are the most scrutinized because they are the stars of this team. But, when it comes to the supporting cast I think the most scrutinized guy is G Jason Terry. The so-called experts rail on about how "The Jet" is 37 and question whether his legs will hold up through the playoffs. I think this is another boy crying wolf here. Since the Rockets play the Dallas Mavericks in the first round of the playoffs lets use the Mavs latest NBA Championship season of 2011. Jason Kidd was an integral part of the Mav Championship run at guard at 38 and there's no reason to think Terry can't do the same. Kidd was a Hall of Fame player while Terry may or may not be but he's made the 3rd most 3 point shots in NBA history and at this point in Terry's career he compares very favorably with Kidd in terms of ability. I'm not saying the Rockets will win a championship this season but if or when they lose I'll bet it won't be because Jason Terry faultered down the stretch.

[eagle eye]

Rockets up 1-0 after beating Dallas by ten, 118-108. It was a good game that Houston refused to let slip away despite constant pressure from the Mavs. They were able to maintain a 10 point margin in the 4th and it seemed every time the Mavs made a push Corey Brewer or Trevor Ariza or Jason Terry was there to made a big basket to stop a Maverick's run. Game 2 on Tuesday.

[eagle eye]

I woke up this morning and the first thing I did was check to see if Houston held on to beat Dallas and it was a good morning indeed! Houston beat the Mavs 111-99 but from the write up it didn't seem like the score was even that close. Houston did what they did all season and that's explode in the 4th quarter. If Houston is close in the 4th they have a better than even chance IMO to walk off the court with a win, I don't care who they're playing. Not bad heading to Dallas up 2-0.

The Wizards and Cavs both won last night making it a clean sweep of teams who are 2-0 in the playoffs so far. Game 2 for the rest of the playoff teams is tonight.