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The NBA has their perfect scenario and it's not good for the Rockets

Discussion in 'Houston Rockets: Game Action & Roster Moves' started by Hemingway, Feb 21, 2020.

  1. Hemingway

    Hemingway Member

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    I think the Rockets have the right personnel and the right system to go all the way this year, but do you really believe the NBA is going to let the opportunity for an all LA WCF fall through their greedy little fingers. ESPN, TNT are slobbering all over themselves. No way the refs let the hated Harden/Westbrook duo stop their gravy train. Only way Rockets make the WCF, is if Davis and Kawhi get hurt, not because of talent but because of hero worship.
     
  2. smp

    smp Member

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    If the NBA gets the Lakers in, I don't think they care about the Clippers as they will already have their LA team televised. I think the Rockets would actually be the most compelling matchup for the Lakers as far as ratings go. People dislike Harden and WB and would love to see us get stomped by the almighty LeBron and his Laker squad.

    No matter what, I don't think the NBA will "influence" a Clippers series. I do think they would straight up rig a Lakers series though.
     
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  3. harold bingo

    harold bingo Udoka Only Fan
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    Gotta get the Clippers to the 4 seed. I'm also not sure the league cares that much about the clippers. I'm more worried about the league rigging the whole thing for the lakers, because of the "this one's for Kobe" narrative. If the entire playoffs are Kobe-branded, which I think they might be...look out for this.
     
  4. bmelo

    bmelo Member

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    Kawhi/AD won't both hold up to western conference finals. IT IS NOT POSSIBLE. They will either play through injury or break down and not play at all. PG is a suspect case too... We have 3 of 5 most durable players in the league - Harden, Westbrook nad PJ. And those three are fundamentals to our team
     
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  5. pippendagimp

    pippendagimp Member

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    not to belittle OP's thread, but this is pretty obvious to most anyone who follows the nba, even fakers fans
     
  6. Nick

    Nick Contributing Member

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    Nobody cares much about the Clippers outside of LA. The Rockets are a bigger draw, even if its due to hate.
     
  7. Zboy

    Zboy Contributing Member

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    Need to get Clippers to play the Lakers before the WCF just for ***** and giggles.

    Lebron is a coward.

    He wants no part of Kawhi.

    Clippers will destroy the Lakers.
     
  8. don grahamleone

    don grahamleone Contributing Member

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    Why would the NBA want an all Los Angeles conference finals? Drew League ratings have never been nearly as good as the National Basketball Association's. Seriously, you either love LA or hate them and there's no way to hate LA when the city wins regardless. So the storyline isn't big enough to garner nationwide interest. It would be a big deal for Californians, but California is too small a market compared to the entire U.S. market.

    In other words, an all LA WCF would have low ratings. The entire NBA's ratings are down right now, but the Rockets are up. If anything, things are looking up for us because our ratings are up while everyone else's are down.
     
    #8 don grahamleone, Feb 21, 2020
    Last edited: Feb 21, 2020
  9. J Sizzle

    J Sizzle Member

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    Lakers haven't been relevant for years. They now have LeBron and Davis. They are obviously the media's favorite team. They obviously bring in the best ratings. They obviously want Lebron vs. Giannis in the Finals. You already see clowns like Rachel Nichols using the Kobe tragedy as the "narrative" factor.

    They're going to get every whistle imaginable come playoff time. League will do whatever it takes to secure them at least a trip to the Finals.
     
  10. Jugdish

    Jugdish Member

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    Two best teams in the conference meet in the WCF...conspiracy!
     
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  11. Kevooooo

    Kevooooo Member

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    I am not so sure the league benefits from an all-LA WCF. It's only one market. A large one, sure, but fans don't want to see Clippers v. Lakers that badly. The league would be better off with two teams with some distance from each other to draw in other mid-market viewers. A Houston v LA WCF would be great for ratings, IMO.

    Though I disagree that this team has what it takes to go all the way. They just don't have the size necessary to make a deep run. They may be able to play without a center, but they need one beefy, usable body for certain matchups. And of course we all know they're going to be using a LOT of energy to play small 48 min/game.
     
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  12. Kevooooo

    Kevooooo Member

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    They definitely would want to see LA in the Finals, but I don't think they benefit from having BOTH LA teams in the conference finals.
     
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  13. DeBeards

    DeBeards Member

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    either hard-nosed teams or big-market-team (w/ pedigree) win. we got no choice.
     
  14. Hemingway

    Hemingway Member

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    I didn't think of it from that perspective and you might be right. Hell, the Clippers might get jobbed as well given the Kobe story line.
     
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  15. J Sizzle

    J Sizzle Member

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    Why not?

    Media slurps the LA teams the most ---> casual fans slurp the LA teams the most ----> best ratings ensue from teams the media slurps the most.

    There's a reason the media is already practically begging Giannis to leave Milwaukee
     
  16. Zoplicone

    Zoplicone Member

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    People may view me as being a pessimist or being negative with this thought process. But I’ll ask anyway:

    Do any of you actually believe we would be able to beat a Bucks team in the finals, especially after winning three Western conference series’ in a row?

    I do believe we can beat an L.A. team in a series, I’m not convinced we can win 3 series’ in a row but I have some faith with this squad. And there is no guarantee that Bucks will make it out of the East; but I truly believe we would have no chance against them. The way they’re built, they are easily our worst match up. They can handle our transition and yet have such a lengthy team.
     
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  17. Tfor3

    Tfor3 Member

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  18. BallSoHarden

    BallSoHarden Member

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    Even if everything aligned and they made the finals, there has been no indication over the past 2-3 seasons that the Rockets can beat the Bucks in a series. Their gimmick defense worked on Harden when he was at his absolute best. I definitely think there are enough variables this year and in the playoffs in general that could prove this to be incorrect, I hope it is.
     
  19. bmelo

    bmelo Member

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    Clippers stomp lakers and then rockets end clippers
     
  20. harold bingo

    harold bingo Udoka Only Fan
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    I'm of the opinion that the gimmick defense will not work against 5 out. You can't guard Harden from behind and force him to drive if there's nobody waiting in the paint. It used to work because Capela was waiting in the dunker spot so his defender was camped in the paint. As long as that defender on Capela is good enough to defend the Harden layup and the lob threat(like the Jazz/Bucks have), it works. They won't have that anymore with 5 out. We'll have to wait and see how it actually plays out, but this is just my opinion.
     

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