On January 8, Beijing time, the 2021-22 NBA regular season continued. As of today, the new NBA regular season has been running for nearly 80 days or so. Earlier today, the U.S. media updated the championship odds, with the Nets in first place, the Warriors second, and the Lakers only in sixth place.
The specific rankings are as follows:
1. Nets +250
2. Warrior +500
3. Bucks, Sun +700
5. Jazz +900
6. Lakers, Heat +1200
8. Clippers, 76ers +2200
10. Bulls, Nuggets +2500
With Irving's return, the Nets' competitiveness is undoubtedly on the rise. In the last game to beat the Pacers, the Nets showed a different look. The Nets are currently 24-12, ranking second in the East. But the downside for the Nets is that Irving can only play in away games at the moment.
The Warriors have encountered some crises recently, with Curry feeling bad in several consecutive games, and the Warriors losing consecutively to the Lone Rangers and Pelicans, suffering their first two-game losing streak of the season. The Warriors are currently 29-9, ranking second in the West. However, with the return of Thompson and others, it is believed that the strength of the Warriors will be even higher.
Defending champion Bucks and Suns are tied for 3rd place. The Bucks are currently in Third Place in the East with 25 wins and 15 losses, while the Suns are soaring all the way, and after beating the Clippers yesterday to win three straight games, they surpassed the Warriors to rise to the first place in the league with a 30-8 record.
Among the other teams, the Lakers, as the big favourites before the start of the game, are not currently in satisfactory results, with only 20 wins and 19 losses to rank 6th in the West, a 10.5-win gap from the Suns. But the Lakers have seen a marked improvement in their recent form, winning four of their last five games.