Los Angeles.
On the night of the 10th.
Wang Zelin came to the nightclub and was having a blast. He was celebrating tonight's victory with his teammates, and was also feeling excited about the smooth progress of the team's plan.
At the mobilization meeting at the end of last month to look forward to the final schedule of April, the entire Blazers team set a bottom line for the next seven games:
5 wins from 7 games!
As long as they win 5 games, they can ensure that the Portland Trail Blazers are crowned regular season champions!
Now, apart from taking a break against the Pacers on No. 1, there are three remaining games against the Jazz, Warriors and Clippers, and Wang Zelin and the others won them all. As for the opponents Mosaic, Cavaliers and Lakers in the last three games in this year's regular season, they have not won every time they met the Trail Blazers.
So, will the Trail Blazers win 68 games next?
…
The other end.
Oklahoma.
Energy Arena.
After nearly three weeks away, Russell Westbrook will return tonight, and the reason why this game is scheduled is entirely because tonight's opponent is different.
Los Angeles Lakers!
This is the Thunder’s opponent tonight.
That's not to say how strong the Lakers are now. After all, just looking at the Lakers' current record, we know that after playing 79 games, the Lakers' record at this time is only 47 wins and 32 losses. Although they are still ranked 8th in the Western Conference, the 9th-place Dallas Mavericks have also reached 47 wins, and the Lakers' 8th place looks like it is about to be lost.
Therefore, tonight's longest game near the end of the season is quite important for the Lakers.
As for the Thunder, their current record is 57 wins and 23 losses. Although they cannot keep up with the first place Trail Blazers, who have achieved 65 wins and 14 losses, they cannot catch up with the second place Spurs, which have achieved 63 wins and 16 losses.
But no matter what, the fourth-ranked Clippers still maintain a record of 55 wins after losing to the Trail Blazers. It is very difficult to catch up with the Thunder within three games.
Therefore, the Thunder's position as the No. 3 player in the Western Conference this season is considered stable, and Durant and Westbrook can sit back and relax for the time being.
But Kobe is different.
If they can't win tonight, and if Nowitzki leads the team to win again tomorrow, the Lakers may only miss the playoffs for two consecutive seasons.
For the proud Black Mamba, this is unacceptable.
You must know that before the All-Star Game, the Lakers have entered the top six in the Western Conference. Unfortunately, the team leader Nash is too old. This season has been intermittently, which has greatly affected the Lakers' regular season plan.
After the All-Star Game, a winning rate of about 50% was barely maintained...
But don’t forget, this is the Wild West!
Did you think it was the east?
The winning rate in the regular season has never exceeded 45%, which means that as long as you win more than 37 of the 82 regular season games, you can definitely get a ticket to the playoffs.
However, in the Western Conference, there is no regular season winning rate of about 60%, less than 50 regular season wins, and basically no chance of the playoffs.
It sounds ironic.
But this is the cold reality!
Not long after, something happened that made Kobe feel even more cold.
On the night of the 10th, during the Lakers' away game against the Thunder, Russell Westbrook, who was determined to return for the penultimate game of the season, broke out in full force.
He made 12 of 24 shots from the field and scored 30 points, 11 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 steals, 1 turnover and 2 fouls, a super triple-double.
Although the shooting rate of 0 of 3 three-pointers is a bit embarrassing, from an overall perspective, the flaws are not concealed.
What makes Kobe even more desperate is that Westbrook scored 30+ triple-doubles tonight, but it did not affect Durant's overall performance too much.
He played 41 minutes and made 8 of 26 shots. Although his shooting rate was a bit inefficient, he still scored 27 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks, 2 turnovers and 3 fouls.
Durant is as steady as an old dog!
For the Lakers, Nash, one of the elderly Big Three, was affected by a back injury and missed most of the Lakers' games this season. Even if he does not play, he can only play again in the first round of the playoffs.
Another giant, Pau Gasol, cannot play tonight due to a recurrence of an old injury and can only rest.
In the end, only Kobe and a group of young people were left to fight until the last moment.
At the end of the game, Kobe, who had 28 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists, was in despair!
When facing the Thunder players, he once again felt that his strength was insufficient.
Perhaps, I really should withdraw from the stage of history.
Let's not talk about Kobe's complicated feelings. After all the games of all teams on the 10th, they have basically played 79 regular season games. Of course, some teams have played 80 regular season games.
For now, let’s not mention the East. The West is ranked as follows:
No. 1: Portland Trail Blazers (65 wins, 14 losses)
No. 2: San Antonio Spurs (63 wins, 17 losses)
No. 3: Oklahoma City Thunder (57 wins, 22 losses)
No. 4: Los Angeles Clippers (55 wins, 24 losses)
No. 5: Houston Mosaic (51 wins, 28 losses)
No. 6: Golden State Warriors (50 wins, 30 losses)
No. 7: Memphis Grizzlies (49 wins, 30 losses)
No. 8: Los Angeles Lakers (47 wins, 32 losses)
No. 9: Dallas Mavericks (47 wins, 32 losses)
No. 10: Phoenix Suns (46 wins, 33 losses)
No. 11: Minnesota Timberwolves (38 wins, 39 losses)
No. 12: Denver Nuggets (36 wins, 43 losses)
No. 13: New Orleans Pelicans (35 wins, 45 losses)
No. 14: Sacramento Kings (26 wins, 50 losses)
No. 15: Utah Jazz (24 wins, 55 losses)
Judging from the current situation, the fiercer competition in the West is probably in these two areas.
First, there is the final ranking competition between the Mosaic Warriors and the Grizzlies ranked 5th to 7th. Of course, the three teams have basically secured tickets to the playoffs. Now the so-called ranking competition is actually more profound, which is to select the opponents in the first round of the future playoffs from the 2nd to 4th place in the Western Conference. .
The second is the competition between the Lakers, Mavericks and Suns between 8th and 10th.
In Wang Zelin's view, the competition between the last three teams is far better than the first three, after all, it involves the last ticket to the playoffs.
If an NBA team wants to create greater commercial value, the most fundamental way to do it is through playing games.
In the playoffs, the outside world will pay far more attention than the regular season, which will also help the team seek greater commercial value.
In the final analysis, there are still two words that cannot be avoided - interests!
Players want to make it to the playoffs and stand on a higher stage to show their value, thereby seeking the next bigger contract.
The team's top management also wants to make the playoffs, because it will give the team greater exposure and better pursue business interests.
…
…
On the night of the 11th, the Mavericks defeated the Eastern Conference underdog 75ers 107:101 at home, winning their 48th win of the season and successfully overtaking the Lakers to join the top eight in the Western Conference. As soon as the news came out, it instantly caused a sensation in the league.
After triggering this sensation, the most intense discussion among fans and media was not King Nuo's heroic performance of 34 points and 10 rebounds, but...
The Lakers are in danger!
