The Timberwolves are 18-5 and rank first in the West, and the gap between the second-place Nuggets is equal to the gap between the Nuggets and the ninth-place Pelicans. The Magic also firmly occupy the top three positions in the East by virtue of the league's top five defense + the league's strongest push counterattack and lethal ability. In addition to the dark horses, several championship giants are gradually on the right track. On the Eastern side, the Celtics, with the strong team of the Big Four, actually didn't have much pressure in the regular season, and the goal was to train more role players and prepare for the playoffs. Although the Bucks' defense has always been outside the top 20 in the league, Brother Alphabet's average of 32 points per game + Lillard's average of 25 points per game has made the Bucks an offensive team. Unlike other teams, the Heat can get a play-in ticket in the regular season.
The West is extremely polarized. In addition to the Timberwolves and Thunder, the two dark horses + Nuggets dominate the top three, the Lakers and Clippers are also catching up, the Clippers have won 11 of their last 14 games, and the Lakers have won 13 of their last 18 games. Harden gradually found his new position: low-post defensive core + offensive metronome + pitcher role when Leonard was pinched, and the entire Clippers were combed and renewed. The Lakers have benefited from the role players who have returned from injury one after another, and the pressure on thick eyebrows has been reduced a lot, and James, who is about to turn 39, still contributes an average of 25.3 points + 7.5 rebounds + 6.7 assists + 1.5 steals per game. But there are two teams struggling to varying degrees, 10th in the West and 11th in the West!
Starting with the Suns, the Suns started with a 13-11 record, which is not bad, but the tenth position in the West is embarrassing, this is the second group crane tail position, and then there is the fish belly group! The Suns' injury list is interesting: Durant ankle injury daily observation, Booker ankle injury daily observation, Beal lower back injury, Gordon knee injury, Allen groin injury. The source of the Suns' struggle is Beal, who suffered a lower back injury in the preseason, played three games after his comeback, and was absent for a long time, losing to the Nets in his combined debut after the big three. Beal's salary this season is $46.74 million, averaging 16.4 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game, and the two-point shooting rate of 43.3%+40% is reasonable, but the net efficiency value is -15.5, ranking 271st in the league!
At the age of 35, Durant still maintains a stable output of 30.8 points, 6.5 rebounds and 5.6 assists per game, with a two-point shooting rate of 52%+48.4%, but he averages 36.8 minutes per game and is third in the league, Durant is not used like this, once Durant falls, the Suns may lose their achievements this season! Booker insisted on playing with an ankle injury, averaging 28 points and 8.3 assists per game, and the two-point shooting rate was also 48.9%+42.5% , forced to transform into an organizational point guard, has higher requirements for Booker's ball-holding attributes, but Booker, like Durant, is a player who determines height, not a tool to fill the barrel's shortcomings. The key is that Bill still has a veto power on the trade, and he still has a four-year, $210 million contract! Overdraft Durant and Booker have only one ending, and the Clippers are a lesson from the past, but the bigger worry is that Beal is going to be smashed in his own hands!
The Warriors are worse than the Suns! From 6-2 in the opening game to 4-12 in the last game, Curry was initially able to maintain an average output of about 30 points per game, but as Klay and Wiggins continued to slump, Green blew himself up, and the whole team was out of luck. Kerr finally couldn't sit still and wanted to take the lead in winning Wiggins, which was a counterexample to the third game of the Clippers, Curry was sluggish, Klay broke out and couldn't do anything, the key is that Wiggins also broke the balance of the bench, the opportunity came to him, hesitated, and the defense was constantly named by Harden. As the second-best player in the Finals in the summer of '22, Wiggins' form this season has been completely rotten, not because he didn't break out, but because he didn't have the willingness to take responsibility. It's just that Paul suffered, he led the team to the bench, and they all played the role of filling in the holes for the starters, but let him partner with Curry, Paul was very tired.
Apparently Curry is also struggling, not in the touch, but on a psychological level. The Warriors need to make a decision about the future of Green and Klay (the Warriors offered Klay a two-year, $48 million contract, which soon fell apart). Of course, the Warriors management can sell at a low price, but Curry's attitude is the most important, and Curry has always insisted that Kutang chase the three brothers to the Warriors. But Green obviously has a mental problem, and Gobert himself sighed afterwards, he didn't expect to drag Gobert for so long, turned around and slapped Nurkic hard, and kept apologizing afterwards, saying that he didn't mean to, just trying to make the other party foul. But if you can't control your behavior, what's the difference between that and being sick? Klay just wants to top the salary, he wants flashy statistics, his fighting spirit and aggressiveness are fine, and the key defense has slipped badly.
The problem of the Suns stems from Beal, if they don't trade Paul for Beal this summer, maybe the Suns are now the top four in the West, and Paul's ability to lead the team to ensure the lower limit is the same as Harden, which is the top level of the league; These problems are piled up, and there is only one ending, and the Warriors and Jazz, Trail Blazers and even Spurs are reduced to a notch.