After the All-Star Game, various clubs in the East and West entered final preparations. Everyone knows that in the remaining more than a month, record and ranking can determine many things.
Of course, it doesn't matter those teams that are in bad shape. They went into vacation early and are just waiting for the draft to come after the regular season.
After all, for weak teams, the draft is the only way to escape the slump.
For playoff teams, what really needs to be done is ensuring that the team's lineup is in a healthy state and fully preparing for the arrival of the playoffs.
After a period of fierce battle, the regular season finally came to an end. The situation in the east and west has generally emerged.
In the East, the number one team is still the Milwaukee Bucks.
Antetokounmpo Giannis Antetokounmpo has performed well and has worked very hard from the start of the season to this point. It is precisely because of his leadership that the Bucks have firmly stabilized their record in the first place in the Eastern Conference.
At the same time, Antetokounmpo has also become a favorite on the MVP list.
Although the final result of the MVP has not been completely determined, judging from his average of 27.7 points, 2.5 rebounds and 5.9 assists per game, his performance this season is quite stable.
Moreover, the Bucks have also become the favorite team to win the championship, which further confirms his strength and leadership.
The second-ranked team in the Eastern Conference is the New York Knicks.
The win gap between the Knicks and Bucks is not big. It can be said that if the core strikers like Porzingis and DeAndre Jordan hadn't suffered injuries, I'm afraid the Knicks would have had a chance to overshadow the Bucks and take first place in the Eastern Conference.
On the MVP list, Zhao Feiyang averaged 27.1 points, 9.7 assists and 8.1 rebounds per game. Just looking at the points per game, he is certainly not the best. James Harden's average points per game this season is as high as 36.1 points.
However, the selection of MVP is not only based on scoring, but also comprehensively evaluated on the player's efficiency, the important value the player plays in the team, and whether the player can make his teammates better.
Zhao Feiyang's scoring average is not the highest, but the team he led has the second best record in the Eastern Conference. This was despite the two strikers suffering from injuries, and the team completely relied on his leadership to stop the defeat and turn the situation around.
On this point, his leadership is unquestionable.
In addition, Zhao Feiyang's score could have been higher, but he did not do so. Zach LaVine, Adrian Ennis and others all needed the ball. He could concentrate the ball in his own hands, but he did not do this. Instead, he took the initiative to share it with his two brothers.
At the same time, he also cooperates a lot with the inside, which makes his ball possession rate unable to compare with players like Harden.
The third-ranked team in the Eastern Conference is the Toronto Raptors.
Since Kawhi Leonard came to the Raptors, the mental outlook of the Raptors has indeed changed. At the beginning of the season, their record was not outstanding, but in the middle and later stages of the season, the team got better and better, and their ranking naturally improved further.
Leonard, who has returned from injury, is in good shape. As a key killer, he has repeatedly helped the Raptors defeat some strong teams that were difficult to defeat before.
Coupled with the organization of "little steel cannon" Kyle Lowry, the Raptors seem to have full hope of making a run at the Eastern Conference finals this time.
Ranked fourth in the Eastern Conference are the Boston Celtics.
The Celtics are finally no longer full of injuries this season as before. While maintaining their health, the young players here have also performed quite well.
Of course, the Celtics' internal problem still exists, that is, the antagonism between Irving and the young players. The two sides are not as tense as last season, but the gap between them still exists.
Apart from practicing with his teammates, Irving hardly communicates with many teammates in private. The same goes for other young players. Everyone hugs each other to keep each other warm and only maintains a superficial peace.
Such a problem is a time bomb for any team.
Irving doesn’t know!
But he has no solution! There is nothing anyone else can do! For the Celtics, all everyone can do is maintain the current situation without making it worse, and then wait for the end of the season.
After all, Irving's contract expires at the end of this season!
The teams ranked fifth to eighth in the Eastern Conference were also successfully released, namely the Philadelphia 76ers, Detroit Pistons, Orlando Magic, and Indiana Pacers.
Over in the West, the No. 1 team is still the Golden State Warriors.
Needless to say, the Warriors' lineup is of course different from last season, but the core players are still in the team. Especially their super killer Kevin Durant.
The league's top forward player determines that the Warriors do not have many obstacles at the third position, and also determines that the Warriors still have the strongest ability to defend the ring.
Ranked second in the Western Conference are the Denver Nuggets.
The Nuggets can be said to be on a strong rise this season. They didn't even make the playoffs last season, but they rushed to the front early this season. In the middle and late seasons of the season, under the leadership of Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray, the team's ranking was firmly maintained.
There are quite a few strong teams in the Western Conference, and they are not at all like the Eastern Conference. Maintaining a record in this situation is not an easy task.
As a result, the outside world has speculated about this. Some people in the industry believe that the Nuggets have a chance to advance to the second round and may even become the biggest threat to the Warriors.
Ranking third in the Western Conference is the Houston Rockets.
Needless to say, the combination of James Harden and Chris Paul goes without saying. The two have also performed very well this season, especially Harden, who averaged 36.1 points per game. Like Antetokounmpo and Zhao Feiyang, they are both strong contenders on the MVP list.
The Rockets' record in recent seasons has been pretty good, but they always fall in the second round or the Western Conference Finals.
This is undoubtedly their biggest problem!
Ranked fourth in the Western Conference are the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Since Zhao Feiyang left the Timberwolves, this team is destined to go downhill. At the beginning of this season, LaVine and Adrian left one after another, and together with Dwight Howard, who couldn't agree on a price, it can be said that almost half of the original championship lineup was gone, with only Derrick Rose and Sergei left. Ibaka and others are still struggling to support themselves.
The fourth place result was not easy for them.
In the absence of other core players, the Timberwolves chose to support Rose as the team's new core.
It turns out that their choice was good, or Rose did not let them down. Rose's performance has been very stable in the middle and late stages of this season, and he has been able to average 20+ per game, and his attendance rate has reached 73 games, which is close to the Bulls' attendance rate at their peak.
This is really not easy for him whose career is on the decline and he has suffered serious injuries.
