Houston, You Have A Problem...

by you'vegottomakeyourfreethrows on Mar 3, 2009 1:39 PM PST

Fear not, Blazermaniacs! This isn't about Gregory Wayne. It's not about Comcast. There's no scandal involved. Actually, this problem isn't even ours; it's Houstons.

I'd like to present to the forum evidence that strongly suggests why it will be Houston who collapses down the stretch.

I giveth you:

13 Games In 22 Days... DUM, DUM, DUM!!!

Please direct your attention to the March schedule for Houston below. Now be careful; what you're about to see may shock you.

via farm4.static.flickr.com

I don't know what Houston ever did to David Stern and the League's schedule makers, but this is just severely brutal on so many levels:

13 games in 22 days
No more than ONE day off in between any games throughout that time
3 back-to-backs, all of which are a home & an away game (NASTY!)
6 road games, including: Denver, New Orleans, San Antonio, Charlotte (before flying out that night for a game against San Antonio the next day and the 4th game in 6 days), and Utah TWICE!
7 home games, including San Antonio (after flying in from an away game the night before and the 5th game in 7 days), Toronto (before flying out for a game at Utah the next day... trap game?), a (rejuvinated?) Phoenix team, the F*kers, Detroit, Minnesota (before flying out to face San Antonio and Utah), and Memphis (before flying out for a game at Denver the next day and with the F*kers a couple days out, also the 1st of 5 games in 7 days... trap game?)
No road trip or home stand longer than 2 games

That's 9 of the next 13 games against teams vying for a playoff spot (legitimately good teams). The only potential gimme's come with the caveat of stupidly difficult games ahead.

Is this the end of the line for Houston? Can they possibly hold on? Will Yao be able to stay fit? Can they muster even a 7-6 record? Is Houston doomed? Will the Trail Blazers make it to the postseason regardless of their own record just due to the jacked up nature of Houston's schedule? Vote... and let's discuss.

Poll

Will Houston represent the Western Conference in the Finals?

Yes.

0 votes

No.

0 votes

0 votes | Poll has closed

Tweet Comment 27 comments | 2 recs |

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Comments

yes! at 1:41 pm, i claim all 100% of the votes

by Tofu Anonymous on Mar 3, 2009 1:41 PM PST reply actions

you voted yes...

did you see that schedule? It is truly thuggish.

Give the man his "M"!!!

by you'vegottomakeyourfreethrows on Mar 3, 2009 1:44 PM PST up reply actions

i did see that.

but I don’t think it will be likely that they would drop out of the playoffs.

by Tofu Anonymous on Mar 3, 2009 2:44 PM PST up reply actions

ooohhhhh

Now I see where I know your username from….

by ericande on Mar 3, 2009 2:05 PM PST up reply actions

really? where?

by Tofu Anonymous on Mar 3, 2009 2:44 PM PST up reply actions

pnwdp

by ericande on Mar 3, 2009 4:13 PM PST up reply actions

ahhh

yeah

by Tofu Anonymous on Mar 3, 2009 5:12 PM PST up reply actions

For the record...

in April, Houston has 8 more games, 6 against likely Playoff teams, 5 road games, and one more back-to-back.

Ooph.

Give the man his "M"!!!

by you'vegottomakeyourfreethrows on Mar 3, 2009 1:41 PM PST reply actions

This is why

I don’t think Houston is the greatest threat to our hopes of a high seed. N.O. is, and Utah might be.

But they’ll still be in the top 8. The reason for this statement is seen in Phoenix’ nice little six game stretch on which they embark tonight. The easiest games on that stretch are at Miami (on a back to back) and home to Dallas. They will be easily the underdog in the other four games (and probably will be at Miami as well).

When I rule the world, everyone will know how to use Excel.

by jscot on Mar 3, 2009 1:51 PM PST reply actions

Utah also has a pretty rough schedule for the rest of the season

22 games, 13 of them on the road, 14 against likely playoff teams. Dallas has a similarly tough schedule. The team with the easiest remaining schedule is probably Denver, though they do still have to play against us twice.

by trk on Mar 3, 2009 3:10 PM PST up reply actions

Agreed

But Utah is so hot right now that you have to consider them a threat, even so.

April is particularly brutal for them. They need to be at least two games ahead, maybe more, by the time they hit April.

When I rule the world, everyone will know how to use Excel.

by jscot on Mar 3, 2009 9:59 PM PST up reply actions

I’ll rec you just for the previously unseen F*kers nomer. WOW.

by 50backflips on Mar 3, 2009 1:55 PM PST reply actions

Yes

I don’t think they get 4 or 5 seed as discussed in one of Jscot’s threads, but odds are they’ll stay ahead of at least 1 team. Probably Phoenix.

by Zaig on Mar 3, 2009 1:58 PM PST reply actions

Why is Dallas always so low in Hollinger's rankings?

Maybe they’ll fall. I don’t think it’ll be us.

by rmcdougall on Mar 3, 2009 2:05 PM PST reply actions

Very tough schedule ahead, too

Precisely 1/2 (18) of the Mavs’ wins are home wins against losing teams. They only have three such games remaining. They have four road games against losing teams (and they lose some of those games, as in OKC), and they have 15 games against winning teams. They are only 10-17 against winning teams this year.

So they might struggle to even hit .500 the rest of the way.

When I rule the world, everyone will know how to use Excel.

by jscot on Mar 3, 2009 10:03 PM PST up reply actions

Phoenix also has a schedule of death coming up

The Blazers are looking to have this locked up if they keep playing the way they are.

by robrun2 on Mar 3, 2009 2:08 PM PST reply actions

I forsee them taking at 6 of these games

They’ll be fine…but I wouldn’t be surprised to see them floundering come April.

Want more aggressiveness? Try less Baylesslessness.

by prezofdeath on Mar 3, 2009 3:31 PM PST reply actions

Glad we had our 13 games in 22 nights back in November

here were our results (9-4)

Wed 05 @ Utah L 96-103
Thu 06 vs Houston W 101-99
Sat 08 vs Minnesota W 97-93
Mon 10 @ Orlando W 106-99
Wed 12 @ Miami W 104-96
Fri 14 @ New Orleans L 82-87
Sat 15 @ Minnesota W 88-83
Tue 18 @ Golden State L 106-111
Wed 19 vs Chicago W 116-74
Fri 21 @ Sacramento W 117-96
Sat 22 @ Phoenix L 92-102
Mon 24 vs Sacramento W 91-90
Wed 26 vs Miami W 106-68

It feels good having that out of the way.

by NWfan on Mar 3, 2009 3:32 PM PST reply actions

Outside of that Golden State fiasco we did awesome.

Beat all the teams we’re supposed to beat. (Sans GS)
Lost to Jazz on the road, Phoenix on the road, and Hornets on the road.
Beat Houston at home, Magic road, Miami Road.

by Zaig on Mar 3, 2009 3:40 PM PST up reply actions

our 13 and 22 looks much easier by compareson

Man, we should forfeit before roy’s hammy explodes, knocking him into LMA’s ear who loses his balance and hits Greg’s knee… - HurraKane212

http://www.nba.com/news/miles_10_080919.html

by maid tu rek on Mar 3, 2009 4:17 PM PST up reply actions

At the time our tough schedule was viewed as an albatross...

something that could keep us from making any noise early in the season.

It turns out that having the hard part first might be best.

IMO, we caught some teams off guard early on. With everyone gearing up for the playoffs, I doubt there will be too many teams NOT gunning for it every night.

Give the man his "M"!!!

by you'vegottomakeyourfreethrows on Mar 3, 2009 4:49 PM PST up reply actions

what doesn't kill you makes you stronger

I think throwing the kids into the meatgrinder early in the season was a good learning experience for them

by postup on Mar 3, 2009 8:04 PM PST up reply actions

we are about to embark on a 12 games in 20 nights

nearly as bad except when one looks at the opponents

Wed 04 vs Indiana 7:00pm CSN 95.5 FM, THE GAME
Thu 05 @ Denver 7:30pm 95.5 FM, THE GAME
Sat 07 vs Minnesota 7:00pm CSN 95.5 FM, THE GAME
Mon 09 vs LA Lakers 7:00pm CSN 95.5 FM, THE GAME
Wed 11 vs Dallas 7:00pm KGW 95.5 FM, THE GAME
Fri 13 vs New Jersey 7:00pm CSN 95.5 FM, THE GAME
Sun 15 @ Atlanta 10:00am CSN 95.5 FM, THE GAME
Mon 16 @ Memphis 5:00pm KGW 95.5 FM, THE GAME
Wed 18 @ Indiana 4:00pm CSN 95.5 FM, THE GAME
Thu 19 @ Cleveland 5:00pm CSN 95.5 FM, THE GAME
Sat 21 @ Milwaukee 5:30pm KGW 95.5 FM, THE GAME
Mon 23 vs Philadelphia 7:00pm CSN 95.5 FM, THE GAME

by NWfan on Mar 3, 2009 3:39 PM PST reply actions

First 6, last 6

First 6 have 5 at home, but 1 vs Lakers and 1 vs a team that beat us at home. The lone road game is tough too.

Next 6 only had a couple of winning teams, but 5 road games in 7 days is brutal. At least Atlanta to Memphis and Indiana to Cleveland aren’t too long of flights.

by Zaig on Mar 3, 2009 3:41 PM PST reply actions