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In the last 10 days of the 2021-22 regular season, as of the end of the game on April 2, the ranking situation has changed again, the Grizzlies locked in the league second, the Lakers lost the key game of the playoff card position, and the Warriors returned to third in the West with the "help" of the Wizards.
The Lakers are tragic again
Against the Pelicans, this ball is a game that the Lakers can't afford to lose, James and Thick Brow brother came back together to cut 61 points and 20 rebounds, but still failed to stop the Lakers' downward trend, losing at home by 3 points. Both the Pelicans and Spurs won on this day, and the three-team battle for two play-off spots became the Pelicans taking the lead in 91st with 34 wins and 43 losses, the Spurs in tenth place with 32 wins and 45 losses, and the Lakers in 11th place with 31 wins and 46 losses. The Lakers are one win behind the Spurs and have a three-win difference with the Pelicans.
According to the ranking rules, the Lakers due to the disadvantage in direct confrontation and the record of the Western conference team, whether the final result is that the two teams or three teams have the same results, the Lakers will be ranked behind, so the Lakers now only have the direct winning rate to dominate this road to enter the playoffs, and the Lakers are the most difficult of the remaining schedules of the three teams. The Lakers have five regular season games, four of which are currently in the top six in the West, namely the Nuggets (played twice), the Suns and the Warriors, and the Lakers have only 1-6 of these three teams this season.
The Wizards "gave gifts" and the Warriors returned to third
The Wizards, who had already determined not to make the playoffs, erupted into strong firepower, defeating the Lone Rangers by 32 points and giving the Warriors a "big gift". The Lone Ranger lost 48-30, the Warriors 48-29, the Warriors led 0.5 wins to return to third in the West, and the Lone Ranger returned to fourth in the West.
In the top four in the West, the Suns, Grizzlies and Lone Rangers have all locked up the playoffs, and the Warriors ensure that the playoffs are in the countdown, as long as they win one more game, perhaps the Seventh Timberwolves in the West lose one, the Warriors will ensure that they enter the playoffs.
Although the playoffs are basically worry-free, the specific ranking of the Warriors is not stable, after all, the gap with the Lone Rangers is minimal, and they are only two wins ahead of the Fifth Jazz in the West, and it is still under pressure to maintain the top four rankings in the West. Curry's sprained left foot ligament won't return until the playoffs, and the Warriors have to complete the regular season without Curry, and they will play the Jazz on April 3 to save the top four.
The Nets' direct access to the playoffs is about to close
The Nets, Hornets and Hawks are all 40-37, with the Nets top-up eighth with a three-team head-to-head record advantage, the Hornets and Hawks ninth and tenth, and all three teams have made sure they won't fall out of the playoffs.
The sixth Eastern Conference Raptors took the Magic lightly, with the same 45 wins and 32 losses as the Bulls, and the Bulls ranked fifth with a 3-1 hand advantage against the Raptors. The Hornets have lost 0-2 against the Bulls and 1-2 against the Raptors this season and have determined that there is no edge between the two teams, so the Hornets have completely lost the chance to enter the top six and are sure to fall into the play-off area.
The Nets have won 1-2 against the Bulls and 2-2 against the Raptors this season, and the Nets theoretically have the possibility of catching up with the Raptors, but only in theory. As long as the Raptors win one more game, or the Nets lose one more game, the Nets are sure to be turned out by the top six in the East, losing the opportunity to go straight to the playoffs.
There is basically no hope of grabbing six, the Nets have two win differences with the Seventh Cavaliers of the East, and the goal is set at the eighth place in the seventh lower limit of the upper limit. The Nets' next move to the Hawks on the road will be an eight-card game, after which the Nets have three of the remaining four games to play against teams that have been determined not to qualify for the playoffs (Rockets, Knicks and Pacers), and another is a seven-card game with the Cavaliers, and there are still opportunities.
When will the 76ers lock up the playoffs?
The top four in the East have not changed, and the first to fourth places are still the Heat, Bucks, Celtics and 76ers, but the gap between them has changed. The Bucks lost to the Clippers, and the gap between them and the Heat widened from 0.5 wins to one win. The Celtics manpowered the Pacers, narrowing the gap with the Bucks to 0.5 wins, one win ahead of the 76ers.
In the top four in the East, only 76ers have not yet locked up the playoffs, which is directly related to their recent wave of three consecutive losses, and after the "honeymoon period" of Harden's joining, the problem of running-in gradually revealed. However, the 76ers don't have to worry about the playoffs, they are 46 wins and 30 losses, the Seventh Cavaliers of the East are 42 wins and 35 losses, the 76ers have 3 wins and 0 losses against the Cavaliers this season, as long as the 76ers win one more game, or the Cavaliers lose one more game, the 76ers will pocket the playoff tickets.
The Grizzlies locked the league in second
The Grizzlies once again received a ranking guarantee after securing the playoffs and determining the second place in the West and the top spot in the Southwest. The Grizzlies, after beating the Suns, have won 55 games this season, locking up the league's second-place finish, meaning they have home-court advantage over teams other than the Suns in the playoffs.
The Seventh Timberwolves of the West beat the Sixth Nuggets of the West, a game that had two ranking implications, one was that the Nuggets were 0.5 wins behind the Jazz in the fifth battle in the West, and the other was that the win gap between the Nuggets and the Timberwolves narrowed to two games. The Timberwolves spelled out their hopes of grabbing six, and they won 3-1 against the Nuggets this season, and if the two teams end up with the same record, the Timberwolves are ranked high.
Another team in the West that decided not to make the playoffs was created, and the Blazers, after losing to the Spurs, have lost the theoretical possibility of entering the playoffs and said goodbye to the playoffs once and for all, which is the first time since 2013 that the Blazers have missed the playoffs. If the Blazers are 15 to 30 first-round picks in 2022, 1 to 14 will be left behind, and the playoffs will allow the Blazers to keep the first-round picks.