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It's time to start throwing around Jim Mora's favorite word as just two games remain before the playoffs get underway, and both are against Western Conference playoff foes -- at home against the Hornets and the finale on the road against the Mavericks.
Win them both and Houston takes the mighty Southwest Division.
What would the reward be? Not much. From top to bottom of the playoff bracket, the West is completely unkind. Utah could win 49 games and be the 8th seed. It's that crazy. There are no automatic tickets to the second round for the Rockets, but neither are there any opponents that they can't beat.
That doesn't mean I don't have my preferences. 1 through 7, here are the teams in order I'd most like to see the Rockets dance with in the postseason.
 Assuming the refs don't extend the court again, a series with the Mavs would be payback time... and hopefully bring another Photoshop thread
Why? It's about karma.
When Tracy McGrady delivered that silky-smooth knockdown 21-footer in the waning seconds of Game 2 of the 2005 NBA playoffs, putting Houston comfortably up 2-0 in the series, the downhill spiral was set to begin. The Rockets slowly descended from up-and-coming monster to a jumbled mess of broken bones and unrealized expectations. For that reason, this is Houston's Mount Doom: They must go back to where it started, plunge the dagger deep in Mark Cuban's heart and end the misery that has plagued Clutch City.
BRING IT ON
Dallas has no one to stop Yao -- the Great Wall put up 26 and 13 in a pair of games this year and is averaging 27.8 points and 12 boards on a scorching 64.2% shooting in his last 6 against the Mavs.
RUN LIKE HELL
Rockets record against Dallas is not one you run home to show momma, having gone 4-7 against them dating back to 2006-07 (5 of those games without Yao). Despite Yao's big numbers, Rockets are still only 3-3 against the Mavs when he plays.
Speaking from the numbers and not the heart, Portland should probably top my list. The Rockets have won 7 of their last 8 games against the young Blazers, with their only loss coming in Portland this season when near-Rocket Brandon Roy managed to stump David Copperfield by squeezing 1.3 seconds out of the final 0.8. Roy is tallying 23 a contest, LaMarcus Aldridge (18.4 points) seems to improve with each game and secondary players Travis Outlaw and Rudy Fernandez can put up numbers on any given night.
BRING IT ON
Aaron Brooks (16 points on 44% shooting) and Luis Scola (15 points on 69% shooting) have played extremely well against the Blazers this year. Portland is young and talented but has no playoff experience at all.
RUN LIKE HELL
Neither Yao (42%) nor Artest (36.4%) have shot the ball well against the Blazers, so there really hasn't been any single player the Rockets have relied on to beat Portland. While the Blazers have a bright future, no one expected them to be this good this year, much less advance past the first round -- which could make them dangerous. They also have Roy, which ups the danger factor.
It wasn't that long ago that New Orleans had Houston's number, taking 7 of 8 games, but since then the Rockets have turned the tables, going 5-3, including a pair of big road wins. New Orleans throws two 20-point scorers at you in Chris Paul (22.9 points) and David West (20.7), but they drop off considerably after that. Peja Stojakovic and Tyson Chandler have both seen their production drop this season and the Hornets have a very weak bench.
BRING IT ON
If left single-covered by Chandler, Yao can thrive... he put up 20 and 9 in a pair of games this season. This would be a very physical series, which would favor the Rockets in my view. I could see a few accidental elbows from Luis Scola and West as every time those two square off it looks like they're about to come to blows.
RUN LIKE HELL
Yes, he's whiny and yes, he's a flopper extraordinaire, but Chris Paul can be lethal... and he thrives at the position where the Rockets are weakest.
The Spurs just plain win, having won 3.5 titles in the past 10 years, but in the Tim Duncan era they have never been as vulnerable as they are right now. Manu Ginobili is done until 2009-10 and Duncan's knees are looking like Play-Doh. Tony Parker however is having a career year in both points (21.9) and assists (6.9) while hitting over 50% from the field.
BRING IT ON
In 4 games against San Antonio this season, the Rockets have held the Spurs to 41.4% shooting.
RUN LIKE HELL
They're the Spurs and they live for the playoffs. Duncan and Parker have played in 155 and 117 playoff games respectively. Parker is a brutal cover for Aaron Brooks and the Rockets would have to hope that Kyle Lowry can work some defensive magic on Mr. Longoria.
 Jeff Van Gundy: A man who knows how to win in Denver no matter the odds
BRING IT ON
Despite Denver holding opponents to 43.9% shooting this season, the Rockets shot 47.5% against them and for all the athletes that the Nuggets possess inside, they've done nothing with Yao -- he averaged 24 points on 59% shooting in the 4 matchups this season.
RUN LIKE HELL
It's not just their defense that can hurt you -- the Nuggets can put up points in bunches with an offense that statistically is right there with the Jazz and Lakers.
Are the Jazz a bad matchup for the Rockets? Well, it's not the team I'd choose. Offensively, Utah is the most efficient playoff team in the West (47.5% shooting) and Deron Williams creates issues. The biggest problem they present however is how they turn Yao Ming into a defensive liability, leaving Rick Adelman to pick his poison: Pull Yao away from the basket to guard Mehmet Okur out to the three-point line, leaving no defensive presence inside, or watch the quicker Carlos Boozer go by Yao for baskets or hit midrange jumpers if Yao stays low.
Having disclosed that, exactly how bad of a matchup they are for Houston has been grossly exaggerated.
These teams are very evenly matched and Utah has a major, major flaw: They can't win on the road. The Jazz have the worst road record (15-25) of all the West playoff teams, but that doesn't tell the whole story -- they are an eye-opening 1-13 against the other Top 8 teams in the West on the road, with their lone win coming in New Orleans. 1-13. Throw in that Houston would have homecourt in any series and has an identical home record (32-8) as the Jazz and "Roid Rage" Harpring and the gang could exit a Houston series packing for the mountains.
BRING IT ON
Despite poor shooting, Ron Artest is averaging 22 points and 8 boards in 3 games against the Jazz this season. Utah has the worst defensive FG percentage (46.3%) of the West playoff teams.
RUN LIKE HELL
Despite the fact that Utah has no one that should be able to cover Yao Ming, they have inexplicably held him to 40.5% shooting in his last 5. One single slip up at home and it's trouble -- Houston has won games in Utah, but it is an extremely difficult place to come out of with a 'W'.
 On an entertainment scale of 1 to 10, a 7-game series of Ron Artest vs. Kobe Bryant would register an 11
BRING IT ON
You're not going to find anyone in the league that can stop Bryant, but if that's the task before you, you can't do much better than to have Shane Battier and Ron Artest on your roster. They have each had their share of success guarding Kobe in their careers, though it has been sporadic.
RUN LIKE HELL
Houston was 0-4 against the Lakers this season and with Tracy McGrady gone, Houston has no offensive option to turn to that comes close to the assassin that is Kobe at crunch time.
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