On March 27, Beijing time, the NBA regular season continued. Recently, the Nets, which have been at the forefront of public opinion, have won again, beating the Heat, the first team in the East, and it is a 15-point victory, showing the strength of the team. Even though they are ranked lower, only 8th in the East, no team dares to despise them. There is even an interesting phenomenon: the top 4 teams in the East have been "competing", at the expense of "losing" in order to keep the team's ranking away from the top two in the East. The Heat are a prime example, but the Heat's recent internal conflicts have also been the trigger for their losses.
In this game, Heat coach Sponene was absent for personal matters, and assistant coach Quinn served as interim manager. The Heat Legion, which was originally in a good situation, may become a runner again. After winning this game, the Nets' last 9 games are: 7 wins and 2 losses, and they are slowly back on track. With just 8 games left, the Nets are 7-1? Will hit 6th in the East, and only one team in the top 4 in the East is not afraid of Durant.
Why are the Nets so powerful? Why did you suffer 11 consecutive defeats before? There are two roots: (1) Irving's status as a part-time player still has a great impact on the team. (2) Whether Harden will leave or stay behind, this has also affected the whole team, and the atmosphere in the locker room is not harmonious enough. Now, both of those problems have been solved: Harden has joined the 76ers, and also exchanged rebounding champion Drummond, and top scorer Seth Curry. The new mayor of New York City also officially announced that Irving can play in the home game normally.
Another important reason is that the new signings Seth Curry, Drummond and Dragic have played very well, making the team's rotation lineup better and there are no obvious shortcomings. According to Nash, Ben Simmons' comeback is basically determined, and he will certainly be able to see him in the playoffs.
Now that the power is back, the Nets need to do something big. Just today, Durant said in an interview with reporters: "I don't pay attention to the rankings, no matter who we may face in the playoffs or the playoffs, we will play." This sentence can see Durant's self-confidence, and today's Nets also have this strength. So, is it possible for the Nets to break out of the playoff circle? Let's take a look at the 8 games they have left.
Opponents are: Hornets, Pistons, Bucks, Eagles, Rockets, Knicks, Cavaliers and Pacers. Only one of these 8 games is back-to-back, and the other 7 games except for the Bucks have great hope of winning. Nash has mentioned more than once that he wants to hit the 6th place in the East and doesn't want to make the playoffs through the playoffs. If you want to achieve this goal, you must achieve a record of 7 wins and 1 loss, or even win all 8 games.
Let's take a look at the Rankings in the East and analyze whether the Nets have any hope of climbing to No. 6. As of now, the 6th team in the East is the Toronto Raptors, three wins ahead of the Nets. With only 8 games left, the 3-win difference is still a huge gap, and with the raptors required to win every game, they also need to expect the Raptors to lose a few more games. Let's take a look at the Raptors' schedule, and the remaining 8 opponents are: Green, Timberwolves, Magic, Heat, Hawks, 76ers, Rockets, Knicks. Aside from magic and rockets, none of the other 6 opponents are easy to deal with. Compared to the Nets, the schedule is still quite difficult.
However, from the perspective of the above factors, it is still possible for the Nets to hit the 6th place in the East. Irving can play in the home game, and the combination of Durant + Irving + Curry is indeed very strong.
Whether it's hitting 6th in the East or making it to the playoffs as 7th or 8th, the Nets are the biggest spoilers in the East. That said, the top 4 teams in the East are going to be under a lot of pressure. The first in the East is the Philadelphia 76ers, the OK combination of Harden + Embiid lost to the Nets in the last meeting, and the combination of Irving + Durant made the 76ers feel afraid. The Second Heat in the East was infighting, coupled with the lack of star quality, and it was difficult to put pressure on the Nets. The third-place Greens in the East lost 4-1 to the Nets in the first round of the playoffs last season. Only the 4th In the East, the Bucks, have a certain psychological advantage over the Nets, and only the top 4 teams in the East are not afraid of Durant.
Guys, which team would you most like to see the Nets play against in the first round? Can the Nets take the next gram and eventually win the championship?