On April 1, Beijing time, after today's games, there are still nine game days left in the NBA regular season, and the Western Conference playoffs are still fierce. The Nuggets rotated Jokic, Murray and other cores, lost to the Suns 93-100, suffered 2 consecutive losses, the Nuggets' mind was also exposed, for other opponents in the West, Zhuge Malone is really too calculating. The Clippers lost 94-108 to the Grizzlies and clearly didn't want to win either, because the Clippers didn't want to be in 5th place and compete with the Warriors for the 6th spot in the West. The Lakers won a key victory over the Timberwolves 123-111 and rushed to 7th in the West, and because the Suns, Clippers and Warriors are all playing their own calculations, they may deliberately lose the game, while the Lakers have a chance to pick up the leak to finish 6th in the West. The Western team is acting again, and it will be up to who can have the last laugh.
First, the Nuggets lost 2 straight games
The Nuggets took a turn with Jokic in the last game, and there was no suspense in the result, and Zhuge Malone achieved his goal of losing. And today's strong dialogue between the Nuggets and the Suns, Malone let Jokic, Murray and Porter Jr. and other superstars all miss, and the Nuggets also lost to the Suns by 7 points, after suffering 2 consecutive losses, the Nuggets ranked 1st in the West with 51-26, but only 2 wins ahead of the 2nd Grizzlies in the West, considering that there are 5 regular season games left, the Nuggets are likely to be ranked 2nd, in this case, it is very likely to avoid the Lakers in the first round.
The Nuggets' idea is already very clear, first of all, they have locked in the top 3 of the playoffs, there is no need to use knives and guns with other teams, just play casually, and save their strength to fight for the playoffs. Moreover, from the current ranking of the West, the Lakers are very likely to enter the playoffs through the playoffs, most likely ranked 7th or 8th in the West, and the Nuggets may slide to 2nd after suffering 2 consecutive losses, so that they can easily deal with it according to the Lakers' record ranking, and the goal is not to play the Lakers.
Second, the Clippers lost by 14 points and didn't want to win
The Clippers didn't want to win at all, and eventually lost 94-108 to the Grizzlies, and after a 14-point defeat, the Clippers could be in sixth place in the West at any time, and Tyronn Lue's goal was achieved. Leonard of the Clippers came back and played only 17 minutes with 12 points and 3 rebounds, Wilson played 25 minutes and scored 4 points and 11 assists, and all 5 Clippers starters played less than 26 minutes, obviously rushing to lose. Because if they are 6th in the West, the Clippers may reach the second round of the playoffs.
Currently, the Clippers are 5th in the West with 41-37, while the Warriors are 6th in the West with 41-37, and even with two straight wins, they still haven't overtaken the Clippers. The Suns are 4th in the West with 42-35, and the Suns will definitely be 4th in the West, so the opponent will be one of the Clippers and Warriors. Since George won't be able to return until the second round, for the Clippers, picking an easy opponent to play in the first round could determine the fate of the entire season, and if the Warriors are in No. 5, they will play the Suns in the first round. In short, the Clippers' goal is to finish 6th, and next, it is estimated that the Warriors will also act.
Three, the Lakers won 2 straight or missed 6th in the West
The Lakers performed very strongly, thick eyebrows cut 38 points and 17 rebounds, led the team to defeat the Timberwolves 123-111, after winning 2 consecutive games, the Lakers ranked 7th in the West with 39-38, 1.5 wins ahead of the 10th Thunder in the West, so the Lakers have no problem entering the play-offs, it depends on the final ranking. Moreover, the Lakers even have a chance to pick up a leak to get 6th, and the possibility is also very high. If they were in 6th place, they would face the Kings in the first round, and the Lakers would be very easy with their lack of playoff experience.
The Clippers and Warriors are playing games, do not want to rank 5th in the West, the two teams will definitely lose deliberately in the next few games, and this is the opportunity for the Lakers, as long as the Lakers win the next 5 games with all their strength, they have the hope of ranking 6th in the West, after all, only 1.5 wins behind the Clippers and Warriors, and even have a chance to rank 5th in the West, so it is better to play the Suns in the first round than to be ranked 7th to participate in the play-offs. In short, when the Clippers and Warriors play the game, the Lakers may take advantage of the fisherman, let's wait and see.