On March 27, Beijing time, in an NBA regular season game that ended today, the Spurs narrowly defeated the Pelicans 107-103 on the road. With this win, the Spurs' record reached 30-44, just one win away from the tenth pelicans in the West (31 wins and 43 losses) and only 1.5 wins away from the ninth Lakers in the West (31 wins and 42 losses), further approaching the play-off area.
After the game, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich spoke to the media about the game, saying: "It's always great to win away from home, and I'm happy with the team's performance today. We played a very good defensive game for most of the day today. The joint defense allowed the Pelicans to lose the offensive rhythm, which was very important, which provided a little help to our victory today. ”
It is worth mentioning that the Spurs' victory can also be regarded as a gift to their old enemy LeBron James. After losing this game, the gap between the Pelicans and Lakers reached 0.5 wins, which gave the Lakers a temporary lead in the Western Conference play-off card position battle with the Pelicans and Spurs. However, this does not mean that the Lakers have firmly ranked ninth in the West, and the next two key factors may determine whether the Lakers can eventually enter the playoffs, or which ranking they will enter the playoffs.
The first is the upcoming 3 consecutive games, the Lakers will next challenge the Pelicans, Lone Rangers and Jazz on the road, of which the first game with the Pelicans is particularly critical, if the Lakers can win this game, then it will further open the gap with the Pelicans, stabilize the ninth position in the West, but once lost, the Lakers will immediately be completed by the Pelicans, which is why in the previous interview, Westbrook said that this game must be won.
The good news is that Lakers star LeBron James will most likely make a comeback in this game, and James has been given nearly 6 days of rest since the game against the Cavaliers on March 22, which will undoubtedly bring him plenty of physical fitness and healthier form, and eventually prompt James to usher in a big outbreak against the Pelicans.
In addition, it is worth noting that the Lakers are currently temporarily ranked ninth in the West with 31 wins and 42 losses, the Pelicans are in tenth place in the West with 31 wins and 43 losses, and the Spurs are eleventh in the West with 30 wins and 44 losses. With no more than two wins between the three teams, and with 8 or 9 games remaining in the regular season, it's completely unpredictable who will win a play-off spot, and the Warriors could be that key X factor.
That's because the Warriors' last three games of the season are against the Lakers, Spurs and Pelicans. The victory or defeat of the Warriors and the three teams will most likely determine the last two play-off places, and it can even be said that in these 3 games, whether the Warriors choose to take a break, whether they choose to release water, and who to rotate or release water, may affect the final result.
Of course, considering that the Warriors are currently absent due to Curry's injury, the team has lost more than won less during this time, and the gap between the Jazz and lone rangers behind them is also narrowing, so in order to keep the third position in the West, the Warriors may fight until the last regular season, facing the all-out Warriors, the Lakers, Spurs, pelicans may need to grab the ticket for the play-off with real ability.