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[Red94]

New post: A glance at the Houston Rockets' schedule for the week of March 1 through March 7
By: Rahat Huq

 

Five games in seven nights, including three in a row against three of the strongest finals contenders in the league.  The East's representative in late May will surely be one of Cleveland or Atlanta.  Take note that the game against Cleveland today will begin at 2:30, rather than the 6PM listed originally on the Rockets' web site, as it was picked up by ABC.

 

The Cavs will be without Kyrie Irving, but are just as dangerous, with Lebron James on a mission.  After his performance last week against the Warriors, one can expect James to take similar aim at the Rockets' James Harden.

 

That Tuesday/Wednesday back to back will be murderous, and Houston would have to feel good about even getting a split.  And then, with a back to back against Detroit and Denver, in games you would expect the team to win, the fear is that the exhaustion from the week will reflect in the results.

 

 

Having now gone 7-3 in their last ten, and winning four straight, the Rockets have put some distance between themselves and the rest of the pack, a feat truly remarkable considering their injury status.  Houston could even conceivably catch Memphis, with just two games separating the teams.  But they'll have to get through this week first, and that will truly be a test.

[Johnny Rocket]

Hollinger's statistical prediction system has us going 14-10 the rest of the way, which would give the Rox 54 wins.  That seems about right, given the difficulty of our remaining schedule.  If you had told me at the beginning of the year that Jones and Howard would each miss 30 to 40 games, I would not have predicted 54 wins.

[cointurtlemoose]

^Very true.

 

I thought I had remembered this, and I just checked that, surprisingly, we're 10-4 on the second game of a back to back. But then again I don't think we've ever had a four day gauntlet with three opponents this tough.

 

I might get to go to that Denver game!!

[thejohnnygold]

I thought this would be a good time (and place) to brag about Houston's season.

 

According to ESPN's NBA Standings Page, Houston is in some rare company.

 

First, we are 5-0 in OT games.  Nice!

 

We are 18-15 against teams above .500 (and if you take out the 4 Warriors L's we are 18-11!).  Only 4 teams in the league have a better record in this category: Atlanta (21-8), Chicago (17-12), Golden State (20-8), and Memphis (19-12).  Pretty cool.

 

We are 5-1 in games decided by 3 points or less.  (the best percentage in the WC and 3rd best in the league.  Amazingly, Brooklyn is tied with Chicago for 1st.)

 

Out of everyone in the SW Division, New Orleans has the best in-division record at 6-4 (Who would have guessed that?!?!).  We are 3rd best at 5-5 behind Memphis.

 

We are 9-0 against the Atlantic Division.  We are 10-1 against the NW Division.

 

That's all.  

[YaoMan]

My only thought is that Rahat is quite inaccurate about putting some distance between the Rockets and the rest of the pack. Current seeds 4-7 are still right there. How is it some distance when Portland is only back 1 game in the loss column? I will say this though: Only the Warriors, Blazers and Rockets rank in the top 10 in both offense and defense so that is a good sign for being a playoff contender.