After an entire season of resenting the Golden State Warriors for all their success, their probable league MVP and their do-what-we-do-but-better style, they finally gave Rockets fans something to be happy about. By beating the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday night, the Warriors gave Houston a little more say in how their season ends up. But it did little to actually decide the Western Conference playoff picture. That will have to wait until Wednesday, when the NBA regular season comes to a close.
The Southwest Division is hands down the best division in the NBA, and all five teams could make the playoffs if the Pelicans beat the Spurs in the Big Easy on Thursday. Not only would a Pelicans win cement the 2015 Southwest Division as one of the most impressive in NBA history, it would go a long way to helping Houston get back to the 2-seed. As it stands now, Houston is fifth, which means Portland would come to town for game one (Houston would have home-court advantage because they have a better record, even though the Blazers technically sit fourth due to winning the Pacific Division). But so much can change between now and Thursday morning. The only things that are certain is that Portland is the 4-seed and will not have home court in the first round, and Memphis cannot win the Southwest Division or the 2-seed. A Memphis loss to Indiana on Thursday would lock them into the 6-seed. As for the rest: Buckle. In. Because this is not easy. First, we’ll start with the schedule and all the games that will affect the Rockets. Los Angeles Clippers @ Phoenix Suns. Tuesday, April 14 @ 9:30 pm. Utah Jazz @ Houston Rockets. Wednesday, April 15 @ 7 pm. San Antonio Spurs @ New Orleans Pelicans. Wednesday, April 15 @ 7 pm. Indiana Pacers @ Memphis Grizzlies. Wednesday, April 15 @ 830 pm The Southwest Division winner will be the 2-seed, regardless of what L.A. does in Phoenix on Tuesday, if either the Rockets or Spurs win their final game. If they both win and the Clippers do as well, the Spurs would take the division and the 2-6 seeds would look like this: 2. Spurs3. Clippers
4. Blazers
5. Rockets (home court)
6. Grizzlies But if the Clippers were to lose, Houston and L.A. would swap spots and the Rockets would be the 3-seed. Now, if both Houston and San Antonio lose and the Grizzlies beat Indiana, resulting in a three-way tie for the division, that changes things. A three-way tie would be decided by the combined records in head-to-head match-ups of the involved teams. Houston went 2-2 vs MEM, and 1-3 vs SA, meaning 3-5 total. San Antonio split the season series with Memphis, and would win the tiebreaker because their 5-3 record is better than the Grizzlies 4-4. The only way the Southwest champ doesn’t win the 2-seed is if the Clippers finish with the best record of all four teams. A three-way tie coupled with a Clippers win would mean the 2-6 seeds would look like this: 2. Clippers
3. Spurs
4. Blazers
5. Grizzlies (home court)
6. Rockets In that same scenario, but with a Clippers loss to the Suns, 2-6 becomes: 2. Spurs
3. Clippers
4. Blazers
5. Grizzlies (home court)
6. Rockets The only way the Rockets can win the 2-seed is if they win their final game and the Spurs lose theirs. Then, 2-6 would be: 2. Rockets
3. Clippers
4. Blazers
5. Grizzlies/Spurs (MEM if they win)
6. Grizzlies/Spurs (MEM if they lose) Whew! I think that covers it. It’s amazing that this late in the season, with only two days and one game per team remaining, so little of the playoff picture has been settled. Not one single Western Conference playoff match-up has been decided, and only three seeds are set! The Rockets don’t control their own fate currently – even a win might only take them as high as fifth – but they definitely have the easiest game remaining of the four teams involved: at home against a Jazz team that should be trying to lose for draft purposes. And luckily for Houston, the Spurs should have the toughest go of it, with Anthony Davis (at home, no less) scratching and clawing to make the playoffs for the first time. But having said that, with so little decided, a win or loss might not even matter depending on who you hope to see in the first round. I’ll be back later in the day to discuss and breakdown the potential first round match-ups that the Rockets might face. Stay tuned.
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