This season, the regular season teams played more than 20 games, the situation gradually stabilized, several championship giants, after experiencing the turmoil in the early days of the season, quickly on the right track, the Lakers in the past month, counting the midseason finals, hit a proud record of 13 wins and 5 losses, thanks to the thick eyebrows on both ends of the offensive and defensive dominance, thanks to James to treat the playoffs with the attitude of the midseason, plus the return of injuries, the Lakers lineup grinded into shape, everything fell into place. The trajectory of the Clippers and the Lakers is similar, when Harden first arrived, the team lost 6 in a row, Harden played 5 games, and the net efficiency value once fell to the second lowest in the league. However, in the last 13 games, the Clippers have won 10 of them, and the trio of Xiaoka + George + Harden has the first in the league in terms of net efficiency, three-point shooting percentage, and offensive efficiency.
Of course, the main theme of this season is the dark horse, the Timberwolves and Thunder in the West have secured the top two positions, and the Magic in the East also firmly occupy the top three, in addition to the Mesozoic stars in the league (Timberwolves are Edwards, Thunder Alexander, Magic Banchero and Wagner Jr.), the main thing is that the defense of these three teams is too strong, the Timberwolves 106.8 defensive efficiency is the first in the league, the Magic 108.7 defensive efficiency is third in the league, and the Thunder 110.2 defensive efficiency is fifth in the league. Another team, also rising with a strong defense, is the Rockets, with a 12-9 record at the start of the season, only 2 wins away from the Mavericks, who are third in the West, and the Rockets have a defensive efficiency of 107.8 this season, and the second in the league.
Truth be told, the Rockets are a very "wonderful" team. This season's home record is 11-1, the away record is 1-8, and the only away win is the victory over the defending champion Nuggets, and the Nuggets have a home record of 9-1 this season, and they have only lost to the Rockets! The Rockets have conceded an average of only 105.5 points per game this season, the lowest in the league, and in the words of the Houston media, if it weren't for the referees' frequent blowing penalties against the Rockets, Udoka might have been able to lead the Rockets to concede fewer than 100 points!
In the last two games, the Rockets have beaten the Spurs and Grizzlies in a row, and the opponents are not strong, but the Rockets have played more difficult. As the core of the team + the cornerstone of the team, Jalen Green added up to 4 of 22 in two games and only scored 15 points (7 points in one game and 8 points in one game), while Udoka's response was two games, and Jalen Green sat on the bench in the fourth quarter, which is equivalent to being abandoned! Including the team's offensive axis Shen Jing, when he didn't feel good, Udoka also let him watch on the wall in the fourth quarter, in Udoka's own words, no one is irreplaceable, it's not that they don't work hard, since the team aims to win, we have to let the players who perform better play, I believe in the determination of our players. To put it another way, would the Nuggets dare to abandon Murray and Jokic at a critical moment?
The second example is the teenager Ethan. Playing the Spurs, Ethan scored 18 points and 14 rebounds, including 14 points and 6 rebounds in the fourth quarter, leading the team to change his life! Eason played 19.4 minutes this season, averaging 8.7 points and 7.2 rebounds per game, but the defensive efficiency is 94.9 second in the league, the net efficiency value is 15.6 and the fourth in the league, and the weighted average frontcourt rebounds in 36 minutes are close to 4, which is the level of the top five in the league!
The way the Rockets have risen this season has become a guiding light for the Warriors! Green has been suspended indefinitely, and the Warriors have previously negotiated a two-year, $48 million contract with Klay, but it has not been resolved. The Bay Area media has been suggesting that the team send away Kuminga and Wiggins to pursue Sika, and the Warriors' starting five Tigers have gone from being first in the league in net efficiency last season to being at the bottom of the league this season. To put it bluntly, Green, Wiggins, and Klay are all lying in the credit book, and Curry's mistake is to let the situation develop uncontrollably! The Warriors do need to trade, but who dares to take over Green? What chips can Klay or Wiggins exchange for back at this stage? These are all put in the back, and Curry can't even make up his mind to remove the burdens behind him one by one, which is the biggest obstacle!
The answer to the problem given by the rocket is a perfect fit for the warriors. The other four starters did not perform well, Curry + Paul + Moody + Kuminga + Saric, as well as Payton Jr. and Podemski, can these hard-working players play competitively? Everyone understands the reason why Rockets coach Udoka can do it, but Kerr can't? Paul has infinitely raised the ceiling of the Warriors' bench lineup, and young people can replace those who lie on the credit book from efficiency to offensive and defensive enthusiasm! In the case of the Warriors not trading, there is still a glimmer of life for change, otherwise the main team will lose self-confidence, the bench will be discouraged, and what championship will it take, go for the championship!