With more than 10 games left in the regular season, the battle for playoff tickets is intensifying. In the East, the Bucks have lost only 2 of their last 23 games and have won their 50th game this season, becoming the first team to lock a playoff spot this season, followed by the Celtics, who have fallen behind a little and have not been in stable form in recent times, while the Philadelphia 76ers, third in the East, have become more and more courageous, ushering in a wave of 5 consecutive wins, only one win away from the Celtics. These three teams are now in the first tier of the East, and they are strong contenders for the championship in terms of squad depth and actual performance, which is bigger than all the teams in the West. This season's West, although the offensive competition is fierce and the average strength is strong, but it lacks absolute dominators, and no team has the ability to ride the dust.
In the eyes of most fans, who is the team that has the best chance of attacking the championship in the Western Theater? There are only two, the Suns and the Nuggets. The Suns were already going downhill this season, and they experienced a series of difficulties at the beginning of the season, Crowder had a conflict with the team and refused to play, Ayton was not motivated in the game, Paul had a lot of offensive efficiency compared to last season, and Cameron Johnson suffered a serious knee injury in the early stage. In the first two years, the Suns were the first in the West in the regular season, and this season, the Suns once fell to 11th in the West, losing the former "regular season god of war" style. However, since Durant joined the team, the Suns have been reborn, the atmosphere of the team has risen, Booker has been activated one after another, and the Suns have re-entered the championship ranks.
The Nuggets, as a big dark horse in the Western theater, have been ranked first in the West for a long time, and the Nuggets' advantage lies in the offensive end, the organizational tandem and offensive efficiency are the top in the league. Ranked second in the league in assists of 29.2 per game, 2nd in offensive efficiency with 117.4 per game, and 1st in the league in shooting percentage of 50.8 percent. With Murray and Porter Jr. back on the court this season, Jokic's pressure to lead the team has been shared, and with the addition of new members Pope and Bruce Brown, the Nuggets have two more backcourt shooting points. As for Jokic, he once again posted MVP-level numbers this season, averaging 24.7 points, 11.9 rebounds and 10.0 assists while shooting 63 percent from the field. In this way, the Nuggets still have a chance to compete for a championship this season.
However, the Suns and Nuggets also have some shortcomings of their own, the Suns, Durant just joined the team, it will definitely take a period of running-in, and Durant's injury risk is too great, pre-game training can be injured, only play 3 games, and need a long time to rest, to the playoffs, whether Durant can adapt to a higher level of intensity, is still unknown. And the Nuggets, the defense is too crotch-pulling, the core players Jokic, Porter Jr. and Murray, are not good at defense, Jokic's pace is too slow, and the honor is targeted in the playoffs, in addition, Mr. Jokic has a flaw, that is, his scoring ability in key moments is insufficient, and there is no hard solution technique, which has also become an important factor limiting his further breakthroughs.
It's strange that the Suns and Nuggets, the two giants of the Western Conference in the eyes of fans, have recently suffered Waterloo. The Nuggets ushered in a four-game losing streak, losing to weaker teams, the Spurs, Bulls, Raptors and Nets. On the other side, the Suns actually suffered a wave of 3 consecutive losses, it seems that the Suns, without Durant on the floor, is still not good, and the Nuggets, also showed the "pseudo-strong team" horse's feet, close to the playoffs repeatedly dropped the chain, can not be like the Bucks, Green Army and 76ers in the East, no pressure in the face of weak teams, has been maintaining a stable state overall. In this way, the strength of the top teams in the West is really difficult to compete with the Eastern side, except for the Suns, such as the Clippers, Warriors, Lakers, including the top three Kings and Grizzlies in the West, have not shown any deterrent.
Of course, from the current situation, the Warriors are sitting on the advantage, because the Suns continue to lose, and the 5th Warriors in the West have a better chance of surpassing the Suns and squeezing into the top four, and the two teams currently have only one win gap. Curry is still in his prime, Thompson's scoring explosiveness is still there, and this Warriors still has a championship background, and it must not be underestimated in the playoffs. The Lakers, in recent times, are also in hot form and on the right track, new signing Beasley and Russell have repeatedly brought surprises, and thick eyebrows have also ushered in an awakening in a recent game and no longer lose themselves. James should be happy, because his Lakers team, compared with the team and the Lakers who are still in the pre-season and mid-season, are not a little stronger, and the probability of the Lakers hitting the playoffs has also increased rapidly. Who do you think is most likely to highlight the Western Conference this season?