The west is in a mess! The two dark horsepower overwhelm the defending champion, and the rocket lies up in the top 8, and the fish belly rebounds and approaches Hu Yong

With the Warriors trading Paul choosing to win now, the Suns betting on Beal to fully bet on offense, the Clippers introducing Harden to upgrade the Big 4, and the Rockets ending the rebuild and returning to the ranks of competitors, the fierce competition in the West this season has further escalated, especially compared to the East with obvious strength divisions, this season's West can be described as a mess.

Two dark horses beat the defending champions

After defeating the Lakers led by Brother Thick Mei 118-111, the Timberwolves once again surpassed the Green Army to the first place in the league with a 21-6 record with a record of 4 wins in 5 games.

This season, the Timberwolves have become the biggest dark horse in the league, and the "400 million twin towers" Gobert and Towns have completed the run-in, leading the Timberwolves to play an inexplicable performance with one offense and one defense.

In the game of defeating the Lakers, Lakers legend James Worthy said bluntly during the commentary: "The Timberwolves definitely have a chance to win the championship this season." ”

Another dark horse team is the young Thunder, who have teamed up with Alexander to form an inside and outside duo after Holmgren's return this season.

After beating the Clippers 134-115, the Thunder finished second in the West with an 18-8 record ahead of the defending champion Nuggets, and over the next seven years, the Thunder also have 37 draft picks, including 15 first-round picks.

The Clippers' nine-game winning streak came to an end

Back-to-back against the fierce Thunder, the Clippers who were rested by the small card were defeated by a big score, and Coach Lu tactically gave up the game with more than 9 minutes left in the final quarter, and the 9-game winning streak was ended without the slightest entanglement, and the team's ranking was overtaken by the Kings and fell to fifth.

Due to the dense schedule and the team's winning streak, the Clippers were exhausted, with Harden hitting just 1 of 11 of his first 11 shots but 6 of his last 7.

George and Wei Shao are also in very good shape, and I believe that after a short adjustment, the Big 4 Clippers will soon return to the top four, and even attack the top three.

The Rockets rose to eighth

After becoming a dark horse at the beginning of the season, the Rockets' strategy to increase speed in the second phase suffered a setback, and recently suffered three consecutive losses and fell to ninth, but after the Lakers lost to the Timberwolves, the Rockets lay down to eighth in the West, and the Suns lay down to ninth.

The young duo of Shin Kyung and Green have both exposed their shortcomings in the rapid transition between offense and defense, and have been DNP by coach Udoka many times in key moments, and the good news is that Jabari Smith Jr. and Ethan, who are more physically talented, have been given a bigger role positioning.

Coupled with Whitmore's domination of the Development League, there is a high probability that they will be recalled, and it is believed that the slump of Shin Kyung and Green will not hinder the progress of the Rockets.

The belly of the fish rebounds and approaches Hu Yong

After a 25-game ban at the start of the season, Morant finally returned, and the Grizzlies finished with a 6-19 record during his suspension and became one of the best in the West.

After Morant's return, the Grizzlies won two consecutive victories, following the previous comeback whistle to beat the Pelicans, Morant led the team to defeat the Pacers in his home debut to win two consecutive wins, and the record improved to 8-19 to approach the 10th Lakers and the 11th Warriors.

The Lakers' form has plummeted since winning the midseason tournament, with just one win and five losses in their last six games, and the team has suffered a four-game losing streak since losing to the Timberwolves, and will face the Thunder in their next game.

However, the team's coach Ham is full of confidence, and said in the post-match interview that the team's recent slump is mainly due to injury problems, and it will be broken when the team is fully returned.

The Warriors are gradually getting out of the slump, and after a wave of three consecutive wins, their record has improved to 13-14, and with two games less, they are only one win away from the Lakers in front of them.

Considering that the Warriors will play against the Wizards and the Trail Blazers in succession, the Warriors are likely to continue their winning streak and are expected to overtake the Lakers.

The latest rankings and results are as follows

1-6: Timberwolves, Thunder, Nuggets, Kings, Clippers, Mavericks;

7-10: Pelicans, Rockets, Suns, Lakers;

11-15: Warriors, Jazz, Grizzlies, Trail Blazers, Spurs.