The pattern of the West has changed again, the Clippers are in an ideal ranking, the Lakers are in a dilemma, and the Warriors are approaching the top ten!
On January 31 in Beijing, the NBA held a total of five events, three of which were from the Midwest. The game turned out like this: the Knicks lost to Utah, the Lakers lost to the Hawks, and Golden State lost to the 76ers.
The top four in the West did not play, and the situation of the first place was the most miserable, almost the Foresters and Thunder took turns, these two teams are the biggest dark horses in the East, and the strength of the Timberwolves is very balanced, Conley, Edwards is outside, and the three towers are also there, and whether they can stand out in the playoffs depends on Edwards' performance. The Thunder are a youth army, Alexander is now the best shooter in the league, he shoots well from mid-range, but he also has good skills to make opponents, Holmgren is very talented, Jalen Williams, Kidd are not to be underestimated, however, their lack of playoff experience can easily become their weakness.
The Clippers are currently only fourth in the East, in fact, for the Clippers, their long-term goal is to be in third and fourth, because they are strong enough, so they are not afraid of the Lakers, but they have a big weakness, that is, they have a big brother with a thick forehead, so their strength has not been affected too much. Moreover, if the two teams meet in the first round, they will have absolute home-court advantage, and even if the Clippers win against the Lakers, they will lose a lot, so they should be the ideal third or fourth place in the West.
The Lakers couldn't win 122-138 against the Rockets, there was no big controversy in this game, trailing by 7 points in the first quarter, and by the time of the second quarter, the gap between the two sides had reached double digits, but in the third quarter, they still suppressed the Lakers, and in the last quarter the Lakers fought back stubbornly, and as a result, the Hawks opened up again, and the Lakers lost in the end. In terms of technical statistics, James has 20, 9 rebounds, 8 assists and 3 assists, while Reaves has 28, 6 assists, 2 blocks and 2 turnovers; Russell had nine and five assists, which was also miserable with Murray's 24, four rebounds and nine assists. Because the Jazz also lost to the Knicks, the Lakers are still ninth in the West, along with the Jazz in tenth place.
After this battle, the Lakers changed Russell's mind, maybe he will become more decisive, and Morey is a very offensive player, his stability and defense are very good, if the Rockets don't want Russell, they can use Reaves instead, in Yang Yi's words, Russell Garives, is the most suitable choice. The current Lakers are also in an embarrassing situation, they have not been in the ninth position in the West for a long time, they are far from the Pelicans, but they have not been surpassed by the Warriors and the Rockets, at most they are in tenth place, which is why the Lakers entered the playoffs.
The Warriors defeated the 76ers 119-107, which was a game full of twists and turns, the 76ers only had a 5-point advantage in the first quarter, and tied the score in the second quarter, and in the third quarter, although the 76ers wanted to fight back, the Warriors still controlled the pace of the game, and the Warriors won when Embiid was injured. In this game, Curry had 15 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 turnovers in the 3rd quarter, Kumingo had 26 points, 7 rebounds and 2 assists, and Wiggins had 23 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 blocks. With two straight losses by the Lakers and Utah, Golden State is now just 1The gap of 5 games is up.
The sixth place can be promoted, as for the seventh to tenth, it is to participate in the playoffs, so the Rockets still have a chance, while the Lakers do not have such a good chance of falling behind, Zhan Mei is still in peak condition, and standing in the position of the entire league, it is natural to want the Lakers to enter the playoffs, in that case, the Rockets and the Warriors can catch up and become the strongest team. Finally, let's take a look at the results of the Eastern Conference Finals (after the season): Minnesota, Nuggets, Clippers, Thunder, Suns, Kings, Mavericks, Lakers.