The Nets continued their road trip today, eventually losing 104-124 to the Nuggets, suffering an eight-game losing streak, continuing to set a new record for the longest losing streak of the season.
Harden continued to be absent today, with Irving leading the team alone, playing 41 minutes and shooting 10-of-26, including 3-of-9 from three-point range and 4-of-5 from the free throw line, with 27 points, 5 rebounds, 11 assists and 3 blocks.
On the Nuggets side, Jokic, a popular candidate for MVP, played 29 minutes, shooting 12-of-15, including 0-of-2 from three-point range and 3-of-4 from the free throw line, with a triple-double of 27 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists. In addition to Jokic, the Nuggets have six players on the team to score in double figures.
After suffering eight consecutive losses, the Nets' record reached 29 wins and 24 losses, slipping to seventh in the East, and the winning percentage was only 0.2 percentage points higher than the eighth in the East, and the ranking may continue to decline. If the Nets can't stop the losing streak, they may also fall out of the top eight in the East and participate in the playoffs like the Lakers.
The Lakers are also in a very bad position at the moment, with a win rate of less than 50 percent and only ninth in the West. If the regular season ends now, the Lakers will only make it to the playoffs through the playoffs. Although the Lakers also made it to the playoffs through the playoffs last season, they are seventh in the regular season rankings, only need to win one playoff to enter the playoffs, and have two more to win this season.
Similarly, the Nets, although still in seventh place in the East, also have to participate in the playoffs, but only need to win a playoff to advance to the playoffs.
It is worth mentioning that at Christmas, the Nets are still ranked first in the East, and before the All-Star, they have fallen to seventh in the East and may continue to decline.
Compared with the Lakers, the Nets are more dangerous, because there is no more threatening team behind the Lakers, that is to say, the Lakers are the worst in the ninth place (under normal circumstances), and if the Nets cannot return to normal conditions, they may fall out of the top ten in the East, and even have no chance to participate in the playoffs.