The Western Rankings are wild! The Thunder set a record of shame, the Clippers were on the way, and the Suns were in a fiasco!
On January 29, Beijing time, the NBA played a total of five rounds, four of which were in the West, namely: the Thunder lost to the Pistons, the Grizzlies lost to the Pacers, Phoenix lost to Orlando, and Portland lost to the Bulls, which made the entire Western Conference rankings chaotic, and the current situation can be simply summarized as: the Thunder set a humiliating record, the Clippers were on the way, and the Suns were upset.
The difference in strength between the top four in the West is not very large, and the first place is basically occupied by the Thunder and Timberwolves alternately, and both teams are the biggest dark horses. The Thunder lost 120-104 to Detroit, and the result exceeded our expectations, with a seven-point lead in the first quarter and a tie in the second, but in the third quarter, they still held the advantage. In terms of technical statistics, Alexander scored 31 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 turnovers, while Holmgren was completely beaten by Duren on the other side with 9 and 12 rebounds, 22 rebounds and 6 assists, while Jalen Williams had 20 and 20 3 assists.
As the weakest team in the league, the Pistons can't even win against the Thunder, and they have set a shameful record, according to NBA official statistics, the Pistons have a win rate of less than 15 percent, defeating more than 70 percent of opponents, which is the second record in NBA history, and before that, there was also a 73-74 season. This means that they are not as strong as people think, they are still very young after all, and they are in the second half of the season, and they are likely to fall out of the top three and then be overtaken by the Clippers who are close behind.
The Clippers have five wins after their victory over the Green Army, making them the strongest team in the entire West right now. Again, the Thunder lost this game, and the Clippers are already 10 wins, maybe in two or three games, they will be the first in the East. Thirdly, there are reports that Zubac is in good condition and that he has been scheduled for a check-up in three weeks, but it is also possible that it will be postponed. As Su said, when the Clippers are injury-free, they will be the strongest team in the entire NBA, and no one can beat them in a single round. You know, in the next round they will play Minnesota, the Clippers will play the Cavaliers, who have won six games, and if they win, they will move up to second place in the East, and one of them will be eliminated.
The Suns and the Thunder are the same, they are both upsets, 98-113 lost to the Magic, this game was very difficult, the Suns led by 11 points in the first quarter, the Magic tied the score in the second quarter, and in the third quarter, the Magic still had the advantage, and the Suns offense suddenly blacked out in the final quarter, and there were no sports goals for up to 8 minutes, and the Magic directly locked the win. And Durant had 15 points, seven rebounds, five assists and seven errors, while Beal had nine points, five rebounds, six assists and four errors, and he didn't play very well, Allen had eight five rebounds, and one had nine Gordon nine.
And in this battle, the Suns are still sixth in the East, and there is no problem in qualifying, but with the current state of the Suns, even if they reach the playoffs, they are likely to be eliminated, although their lineup is strong, but they are not a whole, Booker shot a total of 26 three-pointers, more than Beal and Durant combined. The Suns only arranged Booker alone, while Durant and others sat on the hill and watched the tiger, which is also the difference between the two teams, without a point guard, will Durant miss Harden?
The regular season is only halfway through and the Warriors and Warriors are in a terrible situation, especially the Warriors, who have almost no chances, and they simply can't make the playoffs without a big exchange. There is still hope for the Rockets, and it will not be easy to overtake the Lakers, but Utah can still catch up, and the Rockets will have to fight for 10th place in the West. Finally, let's take a look at the results of the Eastern Conference Finals: Minnesota, Clippers, Nuggets, Thunder, Suns, Kings, Mavericks, Lakers.