On January 2, Beijing time, the NBA arranged a total of 8 games, of which the Western team participated in 6 games, the specific situation is: the Timberwolves lost to the Knicks, the Rockets beat the Pistons, the Nuggets beat the Hornets, the Suns beat the Trail Blazers, the Mavericks lost to the Jazz, and the Clippers defeated the Heat.
First of all, the top 8 aspects in the West, we can be divided into four echelons according to the difference in wins, the first echelon is the Timberwolves, Thunder and Nuggets, the top three in the West are difficult to fall behind, the Timberwolves used to be overwhelmed, you can see their performance this season, Edwards continues to improve, Towns, Gobert and Reed's three-tower lineup power has also been shown, until the end of the season, the Timberwolves may still be at the top of the list, after today's loss to the Knicks, they are still 1.5 wins ahead of the Thunder.
The Thunder and Nuggets are competing for the second position in the West, and further on, the Clippers and Kings are the second echelon, the Pelicans and Mavericks are the third echelon, and the Suns are listed separately as the fourth echelon, which we will talk about later. According to the arrangement, only the top 6 in the division can directly enter the playoffs, and the 7th to 11th will play the play-offs, as far as the current situation in the West is concerned, the top four seem to be difficult to change, you can't imagine who will fall behind, so it is difficult for the teams behind to squeeze in, but the future of the Kings in 5th and the Pelicans in 6th is full of variables, and both teams may fall in the rankings, such as being overtaken by the Suns.
The Clippers beat the Heat 121-104 today, in fact, looking at the whole game, the Clippers once trailed by double digits in the first quarter, Leonard exploded by 13 points in the second quarter, and Harden assisted George to hit a three-pointer in the third quarter. After this battle, the Clippers are in a good situation, not only ushered in Leonard's comeback, but also won 3 consecutive victories, but it is too difficult for the Clippers to squeeze into the top 3, because there is still a gap of 2.5 games with the Nuggets, and they will definitely not be able to catch up in a short time, of course, with the strength of the Clippers, even if they can't break into the top three in the end, I believe that there is no problem in keeping the 4th.
The Kings, Pelicans and Mavericks will all struggle to keep their rankings in the future, especially the Mavericks, after Irving's comeback, the Mavericks actually lost to the Jazz 90-127 today, which really opened our eyes, is Irving really a cancer? In this game, Doncic's performance was also sluggish, only 6 of 20 shots, 19 points, 6 rebounds and 14 assists, and Irving contributed 14 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists in 6 of 14.
The Suns beat the Trail Blazers 109-88 today to make it four wins in a row, and in this game Durant was absent, Beal continued his last game, scoring a game-high 21 points, and Booker was in a slump again. It must be admitted that Beal, who has regained his form, is indeed an offensive killer, able to shoot suddenly, which greatly liberates Durant and Booker, and as the Big Three continue to run in, the Suns will only get stronger and stronger. After defeating the Trail Blazers, the Suns have secured the 8th position in the West, 1.0 wins ahead of the Rockets behind them, and only 0.5 wins behind the 7th Mavericks.
This inevitably reminds us of the Clippers of the past, when Harden first arrived, the Clippers had a bad record, once ranked 11th or even 12th in the West, and then as the Big Three found a way to coexist, the Clippers climbed all the way up the rankings, and now they have been sitting in the 4th place in the West for a long time, and the Suns seem to be trying to replicate the Clippers' feat, I don't know how long their winning streak will last.
The Lakers lost to the Pelicans yesterday, the Rockets defeated the Pistons today, the Rockets are currently ranked 9th in the West, the Lakers fell to 10th, the rankings of these two teams are changing almost every day, the Lakers are in a dilemma, they can't continue to improve the rankings, and they won't be overtaken by the Warriors behind them, if the Rockets and Lakers can keep the 9th and 10th and keep the Warriors out there, that's acceptable, after all, they can enter the playoffs by playing the play-offs, but the Lakers will encounter the devil's schedule next, and the opponents are the Heat, Grizzlies, Clippers, Raptors, Suns, The Thunder, the Mavericks and the Clippers are almost all tough bones, can the Lakers hold on to the top 10 positions?
Now the most anxious must be the Warriors, no way, the 11th in the West can't even enter the play-offs, the important thing is that the Warriors can't make us see hope, Curry is extremely unstable this season, often playing iron all over the court, the cute god who can carry the whole court with a three-point shot in the past is no longer gone, Thompson is also the same problem, unstable, even 11 in 1 when playing the Mavericks, Wiggins offense and defense have regressed comprehensively, Brother Zui is not a lack of ability, but a problem with the mentality, obviously don't want to play seriously, if such a Warrior can't enter the play-offs, frankly speaking, it is expected, although Podemski and Davis The two rookies performed well, but they are too young after all。
The last four teams are the Jazz, Grizzlies, Trail Blazers and Spurs, the Grizzlies are the most embarrassing, they were second in the West last season, and now the record is not watchable, even if Morant returns, the Grizzlies have suffered three consecutive defeats recently, don't think about the playoffs, and it is not realistic to hit the play-offs.