On March 17, Beijing time, the Lakers lost 104-124 to the Timberwolves and suffered three consecutive defeats. After the All-Star, the Lakers played a total of 11 games, 2 wins and 9 losses! The Lakers are currently 9th in the West with 29 wins and 40 losses, only one win ahead of the 10th Pelicans and 2.5 wins ahead of the 11th Spurs, and even the playoffs are unstable.
First look at the statistics of the two teams in this game: Towns 30 points and 8 rebounds, Edwards 27 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals, including 5 three-pointers in the second quarter and 20 points; James shot 8 of 21, with 19 points, 5 boards, 4 assists, 1 break and 2 blocks, plus or minus -19; Westbrook 5 of 12, with 15 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals, plus or minus -1.
Playoff Rules: 7th vs. 8th, with the winner locking in the playoffs' No. 7 seed. In 9th against 10th, the winner competes with the loser in the 7th and 8th places for the final playoff spot. That is, division 9th and 10th must win 2 consecutive games in the playoffs to advance to the playoffs. If you rank 11th in the division, you won't even qualify for the play-offs.
The Timberwolves currently rank seventh in the West with 41 wins and 30 losses, five wins ahead of eighth-place Clippers and 1.5 wins behind sixth-place Nuggets. For example: Playing the playoffs according to the current ranking, the Timberwolves and Clippers play first, the winner locks in seventh in the West, and the loser competes with the winner between the Lakers and pelicans for eighth place in the West.
While the Lakers are currently in ninth place, they have lost a full 60 points in their last three games: On March 14, they lost 111-140 to the Suns, with a net loss of 29 points; on March 15, they lost 103-114 to the Raptors with a net loss of 11 points; and on March 17, they lost 104-124 to the Timberwolves, with a net loss of 20 points! If you continue to play like this, it is likely to fall out of the top 10 in the West!
Today the Lakers trailed by 14 points 17-31 in the first quarter, losing 26 and 21 points in the first quarter of the past two games. The Lakers team was like sleepwalking, and it collapsed at the beginning! In addition, the Lakers are 25+ in three consecutive games, and this is the first time that james' team has seen this happen. This is also the first time since James' rookie season that he has won 11 games away from the 50% difference in the regular season.
As soon as Wei Shao took the ball today, the Timberwolves home fans shouted: "You vote, vote!" Westbrook responded after the game: "To be honest, I really don't care what they say. The Timberwolves have achieved nothing in this alliance. They did win one game and I congratulate them, but I'll focus on the next one. ”
Beverley countered with Westbrook after the game: "I go into the playoffs every year, follow two different teams to the Western Conference Finals, look at the personal data or the team data? Basketball is not a team sport? In this game, Beverly had 18 points, 6 rebounds and 2 blocks on 6-of-9 shooting, which was the first time in Beverley's career and Westbrook's hand that he scored higher than Westbrook.
Artest supported the Lakers, writing: "The Lakers are not completely cool, now is the perfect time to enter the playoffs, especially after the return of thick eyebrows, Wei Shao will definitely rebound." "So when will the thick eyebrows come back?" AD himself said: "I am confident of a comeback this season, but I am not 100% sure because there are not many games left! ”
The Lakers have suffered 11 consecutive away losses, five games left before the team's all-time 16-game away losing streak. In the next three games, the Lakers challenge the Raptors, Wizards and Cavaliers on the road, how many games do you think the Lakers can win?