Houston Rockets: Analyzing The Low-Seed Murkiness Of The West

Mar 18, 2016; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Rockets forward Michael Beasley (8) celebrates with guard James Harden (13) after making a basket during the fourth quarter against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Toyota Center. The Rockets won 116-111. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

With the Houston Rockets 116-111 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves, they move to 35-34 on the season and are now a half game back of the Portland Trail Blazers for the 6th seed.

We’ve been waiting all year for the Rockets to put it together but they have continued to linger around that .500 mark and in that context of being in position for the 6th seed, and possibly the 5th, is a fantastic result.

First off, we’ll have a look at the remaining schedules for the Blazers, Memphis Grizzlies, Dallas Mavericks, Utah Jazz and your Rockets in the battle for those bottom four seeds in the West, and then discuss the possible match-ups for the Rockets in the first-round of the playoffs.

Just quickly, in terms of teams making the playoffs:

Playoff chances:

FiveThirtyEight
HOU 87%, UTA 77%, DAL 39%

ESPN
HOU 90.6%, UTA 69.6%, DAL 50.1%

BBall-Ref
HOU 79.2%, UTA 70.5%, DAL 58.8%
— Eric Walden (@tribjazz) March 18, 2016

For those of you that are Negative Nancy’s, these analytical models give the Rockets the greatest chance of these three teams making the playoffs, and I have to agree.

Therefore, we’ll look optimistically at the Rockets’ chances throughout the rest of the regular season and into the playoffs.

Next: CLICK HERE: How Will Our Competition Fare?