Never thought about it from that perspective... but I can dig it. Ultimately I guess it depends on health. I’d rather play GSW when completely healthy and having been so a few weeks to get in rhythm. And then sooner rather than later, you’re right. To the average fan it’s orobably a more successful season losing in the WCF than 1st or 2nd round though. But like you I don’t really care as much. Win it all or lose in any round... loss is a loss either way. So get em sooner if healthy. Get past them if at all possible. Play a worse team in the WCF. Makes sense.
Agreed. I'd rather face them early. Either knock them out and move on or get knocked out. No need to drag it out longer.
Right , it all depends on health . Health is kinda random . We could have a guy be injured for round 2 but healthy for round 3 . I think in general having less high stress games before playing GS is better because it's a bit more likely we are healthy . But think about it from GS's perspective. They might have injuries . But they can also afford to rest guys in previous rounds . For example, the first year KD got there he really didn't play much until the finals . Or at the very least I remember him resting up during the wcf. That's a huge advantage. The earlier we get to them the less of an edge their 5 all-stars give them
This doesnt make much sense. If u play them later means u beat teams to get there. Which implies u are a good team. If u just play them at the 8th seed. First round means u arent good.
yup. it doesn't matter when you face them at this point. the championship goes through them. Whether you lose in the 1st round or the next, makes no difference. If you aren't good enough, you just aren't good enough
Chances are you are more healthy and less banged up...If we had faced the Warriors in the second round last year and CP got hurt in the WCF we still would have won it all
Spoiler How soon before he exits with injury again? Spoiler 2 weeks? 6 weeks? 10 weeks? Final day of the season? 1st round?
Something has got to happen to keep the Rockets in the hunt. They are looking pretty marginal of late. Need all hands on deck or the season is a wash.
At full health, they are competitive team with a trade to make and currently sitting at the 5 seed. Despite the panic Around here, the rockets are in a favorable position
its still 50-50 but its not like we are kicking butt when capela cp3 and gordon were playing early in the season. but we'll see if its really just chemistry prob with melo, when cp3 and capela return and beastmode harden continue to dominate.
The only goal is to beat GSW. imso, if you can't get HCA against them, then our best chance to beat them will be in the 1st round...while fresh and before Paul gets his annual, Playoff nagging injury...and before other teams release their playoff-secret defenses against Harden for GSW to go to school on. And remember, Curry was injured in the 1st round last year. I have no fear of a 1st round matchup against the Warriors, to the point I'd consider welcoming it...and certainly not basing Harden/Paul minutes decisions now on trying to get 2nd or 3rd seed.
The only issue with playing GS in the first round is you bet your last dollar Silver needs them in the finals.
I think our best chance of having CP3 healthy is early in the playoffs. It's also our best chance to catch GS sleeping. By the time it's the WCF they will be primed up and running at full steam. That's why I'd rather face them in the first round.
I wouldn't mind facing the Warriors in the first round, but that would likely mean we'd need to be 8th seed. The 8th seed came down to the very last game of the season last year. Five Western playoff teams were within one game of each other. The difference between 4th and 9th in the West was literally two games! The West looks more bunched up than ever this year. There is no room for error, nor a way to reliably determine our seeding in such a crowded field. I wish we could be dominant enough to blow teams out and rest our players, but the reality is that blowing leads like in the Orlando and Brooklyn games could cost us a playoff spot. Capela is out for around another month. It's going to be a battle to stay in the playoff race and I hate it.
All this talk about facing the Warriors earlier than the WCF (in the hypothetical world where we get that far) so that CP3 has less wear and tear on him...makes a lot of sense. Playoff basketball is brutal. Potentially 14 playoff games before seeing our nemesis again in the same scenario doesn't sound too good for Chris Paul's hamstrings. That said... The only way you potentially face GSW before the third round is to be the 8th, 4th, or 5th seeds. In the history of the league, pre- and post-merger, only two teams lower than 3rd seed entering the playoffs have ever won the championship. One was the 68-69 Celtics with Russell. The other one I'm sure I don't need to explain around these parts. That said, even with Harden doing unprecedented things in NBA history, I'm not willing to put this team on par with that team, even completely healthy. We need a top 3 seed just to have the raw data not nearly impossibly against us, and that means no GSW until the WCF again (assuming THEY win through).
I think this is something they’d need to discuss and get on board with 100% as a team internally as there are psychological elements at play too. Plus having to figure out how to exactly get the 8th seed and not better or miss the playoffs altogether. So you’re right but I don’t it’s oossible to plan for this.
