Looking at the flowers in the fog and the moon in the water, can you tell the difference between this unpredictable world?
The ranking in the east is like this, and the whole east side is chaotic into a pot of porridge.
This "chaos" is not absolutely disorderly, but hierarchical chaos. As of the end of the game on March 26, the fifth Bulls in the East are 3.5 wins behind the fourth Celtics in the East, which is not a distance that can never be chased, but considering that the Bulls only have 9 regular season games left and the last 6-1 wins and 5 losses, the Celtics have recently won 10 of 11 games, and the probability of the Bulls returning to the top four is not very high.
The top four in the East, the top half of the playoffs, already have a clear outline, and if nothing else, the four teams will be the Heat (in march 26 post-game ranking order) the Heat, the 76ers, the Bucks and the Celtics.
The distribution of the four seats in the eastern high-level is generally clear, but the specific ranking is a big question mark. From the current first Heat to the fourth Celtics, the win difference between teams has not exceeded 0.5 games, the Heat are 0.5 wins ahead of the 76ers, the 76ers and the Bucks have the same record, they have one win each other, both teams are the first in the division, and the 76ers are ranked ahead of the Bucks by their slight win rate against the Eastern Conference team. The Bucks and Celtics are 0.5 win differentials, meaning it's possible to change the rankings in just one game.
On March 19, the Heat were still 2.5 wins away from second place in the Battle for First place in the East, but then they lost to the 76ers who neither Harden nor Embiid played, losing to the Warriors of Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green, and the clash between Butler and Haslem ignited the "powder keg" within the team, and then was reversed by the Knicks, which can be described as "adding fuel to the fire".
The Heat will have to play the Nets, Celtics, Bulls, Raptors and Hornets and Hawks who are still trying to secure play-off spots in the next 8 regular season games, and the possibility of rebounding against the trend and "free fall" exists, which is the most significant difference between the Heat and the Sun, which is also the first in the division, the Heat and the Sun, the Sun is incredibly stable, and the Heat has a lot of floating space up and down.
The Bucks have been in a good position recently, they have won 10 of their last 12 games, but they have two disadvantages in grabbing the top of the Eastern Conference, one is that the schedule is not easy, the remaining 9 games are not easy to play except for the Pistons, namely the Grizzlies, 76ers, Nets, Clippers, Lone Rangers, Bulls, Celtics and Cavaliers, the second is that the Bucks have begun to prepare for the playoffs, the planned rotation of players, alphabet brother's knees, Middleton's wrists have some minor injuries, the balance of the Bucks lineup, the chemistry between players, It all determines whether they are the first in the East in the regular season, they are the big favorites to fight for the East in the playoffs and compete for the championship, and it is more important to embark on the journey of defending the title in a healthy state.
Compared with the Bucks, the 76ers' desire to hit the first place in the East may be stronger, there is a personal factor in the player, Embiid has surpassed Jokic in the NBA's official MVP competition list, and if the 76ers can lock in the first place in the East, Embiid's chances of winning will be greatly increased. The last time a 76ers player won the MVP was iverson in 2000-01, when the 76ers were the number one in the East and reached the Finals. If the 76ers now take the first place in the East after Harden joins, it can both boost morale and ensure home advantage in the first three rounds of the playoffs, and in the case of the Eastern Conference's championship pattern is still a fog, it is still important to have one more home stadium in the series.
Judging from the schedule, the 76ers do have a chance, after beating the Clippers, the next 5 opponents are the Suns, Bucks, Pistons, Hornets and Cavaliers, this game is somewhat difficult, only the Pistons are easier to deal with, but the next 4 opponents are the Pacers (play twice), raptors and pistons, the Pacers have determined that they are not in the playoffs, and the pistons are broken, only the game against the Raptors is slightly more difficult. In this tight and loose regular season finale, if the 76ers carry it down in the first half and harvest the win in the second half, the first place in the East is still promising.
In the chaos of the East, the Celts contributed a lot. The Greenshirts only won 16 and lost 19 at the end of 2021, and after entering 2022, it seems to be hanging, playing a record of 30 wins and 9 losses, which is the second highest winning percentage in 2022 after the Suns. The Celtics played the fourth most offensive efficiency in the league and the first defensive efficiency in the league in the 2022 stage, with an average net offensive and defensive efficiency of +12.7 per game, making it the only team in the league to reach +10 in 2022. After polishing the first half of the season, Uduka's infinite change of defense system finally showed its effectiveness in the second half, Tatum played a leading role in the offensive end, and the offensive and defensive ceilings of the Green shirts were raised.
However, the Celtics' schedule is not very friendly, and they have only the Pacers and Wizards relatively weak in the remaining 8 regular season games, the other 6 opponents are the Timberwolves, Raptors, Heat, Bulls, Bucks and Grizzlies, and the last three games of the regular season are still three consecutive games, first to Chicago, then Milwaukee, and finally to Memphis.
The top four in the East are in the top four, and the fifth to seventh in the East are vying for tickets to the playoffs. The Fifth Bull leads the Sixth Cavaliers by one win, and the Cavaliers have the same record as the Seventh Raptors, who are ranked high by virtue of their head-to-head advantage between the two teams.
On Feb. 25, the Bulls were no. 1 in the East, and then plummeted, losing 10 of their 13 games. The Bulls' problem is that the defense collapsed, with 3 wins and 10 losses being the fourth-to-last defensive efficiency league in the league and directly at the bottom of the East.
The bulls' defensive crux is the weak internal defense, which is a defect in the lineup configuration, and it is difficult to solve the problem at this stage of the season, the ball brother's suspension due to a knee injury has allowed the Bulls to use the outside line to give the inside line defense the ability to reduce, and DeRozan's groin injury has hindered the bulls' implementation of the plan to drive the defense with offense. To make matters worse, the Bulls' next opponents include tough teams like the Cavaliers, Bucks and Timberwolves, as well as the Celtics, who are the number one heat in the East and have recently exploded in form, and it wouldn't be surprising if the Bulls ended up in the playoff zone.
On paper, the last two spots through the playoffs (fifth and sixth) are between the Bulls, Cavaliers and Raptors, because the Raptors now have a 3-game difference with the eighth in the East, which is not easy to chase, but now the eighth place in the East is the Nets, they are the first spoilers in the East, may not enter the playoffs, may become the championship, the lower limit can be refreshed, the upper limit is not capped.
The Nets are likely to miss the playoffs because, although they are 6.5 wins ahead of the 11th Knicks in the East, holding a playoff spot is not much of a problem, but they are only 0.5 wins away from the Ninth Hornets and 1.5 wins from the Tenth Hawks. If the Nets fall to ninth or tenth, according to the playoff rules, they have to win two games in a row to pass the level, who can guarantee that they will not overturn? If the Nets hold eighth, seventh or Raptors, the first round of the playoffs will have to go to the road, Toronto has a vaccine restriction order, Irving can not go.
However, the Nets' ceiling is visiblely high, and as New York adjusts the vaccine statute to give professional athletes a vaccine exemption, Irving ends his part-time status and can play full-time. "711" finally combined two swords, the average score of the two people per game is in the top five of the league, and the single score per round is also a common entry into the league's top five, compared to the attack, the 76ers on paper "Dengdi" can fight, but the "711" bloodbath Philadelphia is not long ago.
The Nets' competitive advantage is that they have two of the league's top offensive breakers, who can give offensive performance regardless of the team's on-court configuration and the opposing defensive system, and "711" as two pillars supports the Nets' season sky. However, the Nets also have obvious shortcomings, their defensive efficiency is 22nd in the league, and their defensive rebounding success rate is directly at the bottom. Nash likes to change defenses indefinitely, but the Nets don't have the defensive resources of the Celtics, they are the third worst team in the league, and they only lose points per game better than the Pacers and Lakers.
The complete Nets are the version of Ben Simmons' healthy comeback, Simmons can bring the Nets undifferentiated defensive coverage inside and outside, from one defense to five, no position restriction defensive alignment, but also protect rebounds, organize offense, block and dismantle the misplaced strong eating, but Simmons is still in the back injury recovery period, if the recovery goes well, it will take another week to train, and there will be a few days between the start and the start.
The Nets' last three regular season games were played against the Knicks on April 7, at home against the Cavaliers and Pacers on April 9 and April 11, and against the Knicks in New York, so they didn't have to travel long distances, and if Simmons could catch up with these three games and win some run-in time, it would be ideal for the Nets.
If Simmons can recover, the main use is still the playoffs, the regular season is a warm-up stage, and the Nets' final ranking in the regular season cannot be expected to be helped by Simmons. In terms of schedule, the Nets have nine regular season games left, six home games and three away games. The Nets have lost 16-19 at home and 22-16 on the road this season, mainly because Irving could not play at home before, and as Irving enters full-time status, the Nets are no longer just "away advantage".
The Nets' remaining 9 games are divided into three levels of strength, the first layer is the Heat, bucks, the Nets this season is 1 win and 5 losses for these two teams, but 4 of them do not have Irving, Irving participated in the two Durant games did not play, that is to say, the Heat and the Bucks have not yet faced the "711" hand in hand this season, March 27 in Miami, April 1 in Brooklyn, will be more gold-rich strong showdown.
The second layer is the fifth to tenth team, the Cavaliers, Hornets and Eagles, the Nets this season played the Cavaliers 2 wins and 1 loss, play the Eagles 2 wins 0 losses, against the Hornets 1 win 1 loss, the Eagles and Hornets are typical offensive strong and weak defense, prefer to play against the attack of the team, in terms of the bombardment, "711" afraid of whom? The Cavaliers dropped the quality of defense after Jarrett Allen's injury, without Allen's defensive efficiency these days the league is 25th, the last 8 games lost 5 games, the Nets if they can win the Cavaliers, for them to grab six will be of great benefit.
The Nets' third tier opponents are the Pistons, Rockets, Knicks and Pacers, three of the four teams have been determined not to qualify for the playoffs, the Knicks into the playoffs is only theoretically possible, the Nets have won 8-1 against these four teams this season, and the one lost is against the Rockets, Irving and Durant did not play.
After Irving's home game was lifted, the Nets' odds for winning the Eastern Conference championship ranked first among the Eastern Conference's strongest, but that was a long-term goal, and the Nets' immediate goal was to go all out to rush to the sixth direct playoff "ashore", followed by promotion to seventh to get playoff home advantage and "two lives", and again to hold the eighth, the playoffs have two chances, if the first round is not passed, the second round can also play a life and death battle at home.
According to the Nets' paper talent, they should not have been in the current competitive situation, but it began with the chain reaction of Irving's non-vaccination, causing the Nets to worry about whether they could enter the playoffs at the end of the regular season.
But with Irving unsealed and the Nets back in the expectation that everything is possible, there will be some anxiety in the Top Three in the East now, in case the Nets are encountered in the first round of the playoffs?
The waves are flying and the flowers are blossoming, and this swaying and colorful eastern war situation may not be able to see this disturbance clearly and clearly until the last day of the regular season.