2/23 Western standings watch
February 24th, 2008by John
With the Rockets right in the thick of things in the Western Conference playoff race and how tightly packed the top 8 or 9 teams are, it’s starting to get fun to watch what the other teams are doing. So occasionally I’ll reference what they are doing to get a better sense of the Rockets’ potential playoff opponents. Not that it really matters, though, because whatever the matchups end up being, they’re all going to be tough.
On Saturday night, New Orleans played the Spurs in San Antonio, and the Hornets came back from a 17-point deficit to tie the game with 7:05 remaining in the game, but couldn’t pull out a victory. Both teams are now tied at the top of the Southwest division at 37-17. I was pulling more for the Hornets since I think the Spurs will be a tougher opponent.
In that game, new Hornet forward Bonzi Wells played 19 minutes and made only 1-of-7 shots for 2 points. Ouch.
I was surprised that Mike James, who had hardly played with the Rockets before being traded to the Hornets, got 15 minutes of playing time – more than Chris Paul’s backup Jannero Pargo (14 minutes). The Hornets must be really desperate to play a rusty James that many minutes. James made 2-of-3 shots for 5 points and was in the game late when the Hornets tried to steal the victory. The one shot he missed shot really hurt the Hornets from being able to steal a victory.
Milwaukee amazingly came back from a 23-point deficit to beat Denver. The Nuggets have now lost 3 of their last 4 games, which is all good for the Rockets.
Atlanta gave Utah fits in Salt Lake, but couldn’t pull off the upset, losing 100-94. With Denver’s loss, that gives Utah more breathing room with a 2.5 game lead in the Northwest division, as well as give Houston a 2-game lead over Denver for the 7th seed.
Here’s what the standings look like after all games ended late Saturday night taking into account tie-breakers:
1. *LA Lakers
2. Phoenix - .5 games back from conference lead
3. *San Antonio - .5 games back
4. *Utah - 2.5 games back
5. New Orleans - .5 games back
6. Dallas - 2.0 games back
7. Houston - 3.0 games back
8. Golden St. - 5.0 games back
9. Denver - 5.0 games back
*Division leader
February 24th, 2008 at 3:40 am
Bonzi also contributed one block and two steals.
Still a bit surprised that he and James played for Hornets so soon and so many minutes.
As other teams like Spurs and Suns are getting better, Hornets is going to drop more. It is somewhat like the overrated Portland Blazers.
Do we need a backup Center for Yao? Mutombo has rarely seen in the court nowadays while Yao’s logged excessive minutes.
AR
I think their fine with Scola and Landry when they play small. If they have to play a big for defensive purposes, I think Mutombo has shown in the past he can come in and be a stopper. He knows all the tricks. And remember, he goes up against Yao in practice, which isn’t bad to remain sharp. Put Scola and Landry next to him on the front line for offensive purposes, and I think they’re fine. — John
February 24th, 2008 at 11:39 am
I have a question for the Playoffs seedings for the Western Conference.
Let’s say for example IF…8 teams from the Southwest and Pacific Division have better winning record than the Northwest Division Champion…do they (Northwest Division Champion) get into the Playoffs too? And if YES, at what seed number???
The Northwest Division Champion is guaranteed a playoff spot, and I believe can be seeded no lower than the 4th regardless of tie-breakers. — John
February 24th, 2008 at 12:49 pm
Thanks for your reply!
But…if the Northwest Division Champion is guaranteed at least the 4th seed, it is not that unfair for all the other 6 teams…since the 5th will host the 4th in the Playoffs and the 4th has the worst record of all the eight teams in the Playoffs???
(With all the same record standings I mentioned above!).
It used to be worse. Check out this entry I made 3 years ago after the Rockets were rooked by a screwy playoff seeding system, which the NBA has since improved:
http://www.yaomingmania.com/blog/2005/05/09/review-of-the-2005-playoffs
…and start reading the 6th or 7th paragraph that starts off with “As you may already know…”
– John
February 24th, 2008 at 12:55 pm
Wouldn’t that be better for the NBA Playoffs if the best 8 teams that have better record go into the Playoffs regardless if it’s the Division Champion or not???
I mean, what’s the point of playing hard and winning games if the Division Champion is guaranteed a Playoffs spot regardless of their record is???
Right or wrong, that’s how all the major leagues do it. They want to build intra-division rivalries so it will create more interest in different regions of the country (ex: Houstonians hate Dallas) where a guaranteed playoff spot could be at stake, which will sell more tickets in the long run especially in down years when a division may not be very good. — John
February 24th, 2008 at 1:05 pm
I see you point on the role Mutombo. He is more of a cheer leader now.
At least Rockets should purchase more insurance if want to make a good run. At least purchase some health insurance for Yao and T-Mac. Or just pray. Even fatigue can catch Yao and T-Mac off guard at some point.
Alston is Alston.
Forget the hype about Rockets. Do you remember two the seasons ago, Mavericks looked outstanding and logged how many wins in the regular season????? They got the biggest disappointments in the Finals when pitted against Heat!!!! The same concern should be given to Rockets’ run to the second round.
Yes, it is a matter of time to see a crack in the Rockets even before it is playoff time. But let’s now just enjoying the ride with the bandwagon of Great Rockets.
AR
February 24th, 2008 at 10:18 pm
AR >＞＞＞＞ you are so damn concerns over nothing…..yes, rox might break soon but let’s just enjoy the ride while we at it and cheer for the rox..
and yeah, Mutomobo is the best cheerleader in the whole NＢＡ．．．ｈａａａａ ｉ ｌｉｋｅ ｈｉｍ．．．ｇｉｖｅ ｔｈｅ ｏｌｄ ｍａｎ ｃｒｅｄｉｔ ｆｏｒ ｃｈｅｅｒｉｎｇ ｈｉｓ ｔｅａｍ．．．．
February 26th, 2008 at 3:29 pm
I DIDN’T EXPECT A “CRACK” of rockets
(i mentioned in your blog comments)
IS
HIS STRESS FRACTURE
AND
CAME
SO
SOON.
may be i shouldn’t have said so.
AR, a superstitious man.