On January 9, Beijing time, the NBA arranged a total of 6 games, of which the Western team participated in 4 games, the Thunder, Jazz and Clippers won, and the Rockets lost.
First of all, the top three aspects in the West, the Timberwolves are still at the top of the list, after all, it is interesting to see the Thunder and the Nuggets, the Nuggets have a smaller difference in victory, but they are ranked behind the Thunder. Overall, the gap between the top three is narrowing, because the Timberwolves have not been on a good momentum recently, losing 3 of 5 games, losing to the Knicks, Pelicans and Mavericks, the Timberwolves are not easy to keep the top spot, they may be replaced by the Thunder and Nuggets at any time, and even with the Clippers making efforts, they also have the hope of hitting the top spot.
The Clippers defeated the Suns 138-111, the first half of the game was quite intense, and the third quarter did not open up, but the Clippers showed real strength in the final quarter, led by Leonard, Harden and George, with a 15-2 offensive attack directly sealed the victory. In this game, Harden scored 19 points, 7 rebounds and 10 assists, including 15 points in the second quarter, Leonard 17 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 5 steals and 3 turnovers, giving us the feeling that we have not yet made a force, George 25 points and 7 rebounds performed well, and Wei Shao had 9 points, 2 rebounds, 7 assists and 2 steals.
The same giant team, the gap between the Suns and the Clippers is obvious, after this game, the Clippers are happy, they and the Nuggets only have a gap of 2.0 games, the Thunder and the Nuggets have recently lost and won, the Clippers are losing less and winning more, maybe after 3-4 rounds, the Clippers can rush into the top three. In an interview after today's game, George said of the Western Conference standings: "We still have a lot to do better and keep the momentum going, but we're certainly not satisfied with where we are right now (No. 4 in the West)," and George said it was easy to understand that the Clippers would go all out to move up the standings.
After that, the 5th Kings, the 6th Mavericks, and the 7th Pelicans, the difference between the three teams is 4.0 games, and the competition with each other is very fierce, according to the regulations, the top 6 in the division can directly get the playoff spots, and the 7th needs to play the play-offs, so it is conceivable that these three teams do not want to lose. It should be noted that the 7th Pelicans are 3.0 wins ahead of the 8th Rockets, which is not a small gap, which means that starting from the Rockets, including the Suns, Lakers, Jazz and Warriors behind, it is extremely difficult to hit the top 7, let alone enter the top 6 and directly get the playoff spots.
The Rockets lost 113-120 to the Heat, and the Rockets were behind for most of the game, with the Heat opening up the gap in the third quarter and the Rockets failing to fight back in the final quarter. In terms of data, Van Vleet got 32 points, 5 rebounds, 7 assists and 2 blocks, shooting 10 of 22, although Van Jordan can score, but occupies too much of the ball, Shen Jing's data is 22 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals and 3 turnovers, the offensive performance is not bad, the defensive end of the basket protection ability is almost non-existent, Jalen Green is not in good shape, 2 of 10 only contributed 11 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists and 3 turnovers.
Whitmore came off the bench for 17 minutes, contributing 11 points and six rebounds on 5-of-8 shooting, and for Udoka, it was time to reuse the White Devils, especially when Jalen Green didn't have a touch, and the White Devils tended to play better. The Rockets are currently in 8th place in the West, and the win margin is the same as the Suns behind them, and the Rockets should have no problem finally getting a play-in spot, because the Lakers and Warriors will have a hard time catching up.
The Suns lost to the Clippers 111-128, Durant scored 30 points, 7 rebounds and 2 assists, Booker had 20 points, 5 assists and 6 turnovers, and Beal had 15 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and 2 turnovers. So far this season, the Suns have given us the feeling that they can't play tough battles, and they often overturn in the face of weak teams, to put it bluntly, they are up and down, although the Big Three have been combined, but there is no playmaker like Harden, this is a hard injury, similar to the situation of the Rockets, the Suns should eventually be able to enter the play-offs.
The Lakers and the Warriors did not have today, and the Jazz defeated the Bucks 132-116, the alphabet brother cut 25 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists, the highest scoring Jazz was Markkanen, 21 points, 14 rebounds and 2 assists, after this game, the Lakers ranked 10th in the West, the Jazz 11th, and the Warriors were 12th, we all know that the 10th can enter the play-offs, so the situation of the Warriors is already very dangerous, and they will never dare to lose again, and the same is true for the Lakers, try to avoid losing, after all, the Jazz have been very good recently. It must be admitted that the Lakers and Warriors are probably destined to miss the play-offs, and the Lakers are in a better situation at the moment.
The last three teams are the Grizzlies, the Trail Blazers and the Spurs, according to the latest news, Morant will undergo shoulder surgery and be reimbursed for this season, so the Grizzlies are estimated to be rotten, and the Trail Blazers and Spurs have nothing to say, they are rotten. Finally, predict the final standings in the West, the Timberwolves, Nuggets, Clippers, Thunder, Kings, Suns, Rockets, and Lakers.