15-4! Quietly won 6 in a row! Beat the Nuggets, overturned the Bucks, and the strongest dark horse in the NBA officially rose

This season, some teams in the NBA regular season have played more than one-half of the schedule, and surprisingly, there are still three teams with a winning rate of more than 70%. The Eastern Conference Celtics and Bucks are in the top 2 with a 31-9 record and a 28-12 record, respectively. In the absence of Brown, the Celtics took over the offensive banner in time and led the team to win the Raptors to two consecutive victories. The Celtics have been excellent both offensively and defensively, ranking third in the league on offense and fourth in defense so far. The Bucks have been under a lot of pressure on both offensive and defensive ends this season due to the leaky defense of Lillard and Beasley in the backcourt, so the overall defensive efficiency of the Bucks is only 116.3, ranking 19th in the league.

But the Bucks have their own advantages in being able to secure the No. 2 spot in the East, averaging 31.2 points, 11.4 rebounds and 5.9 assists per game so far this season. Lillard is also on the back of the slump at the start of the season, averaging 25.2 points and 6.8 assists per game, but his three-point shooting percentage has only risen to 35 percent, and Lillard needs to increase his three-point shooting percentage to at least 38 percent before the playoffs to maximize his space. And with the play of Antetokounmpo and Lillard, the Bucks played with an offensive efficiency of 121.1, which is second in the league. And there is also a team in the West that has shot more than 70% from the field, and that is the Timberwolves, who have shown great competitiveness from the beginning of the season to the present.

The Timberwolves even took the Clippers in an extremely easy state, and the core Edwards averaged 26 points, 5.4 rebounds and 4.9 assists per game. The paint-zone defense, led by Gobert and Towns, helped the Timberwolves play a league-leading defensive efficiency of 109.4. But as the season progresses, young teams like the Rockets, Pacers, and Magic who lack enough experience gradually show signs of fatigue, and the rankings begin to slip. However, there is a team that has survived the slump at the beginning of the season, and has shown great potential so far, and even recently won teams at the top of the league. 15-4!Quietly 6 consecutive wins!Crazy victory over the Nuggets, overturning the Bucks, the NBA's strongest dark horse officially rises!

The Jazz once finished first in the West last season, but due to the team's inexperienced young players and a series of injuries to the core, the lack of stamina in the regular season also became apparent. The Jazz didn't make the playoffs in the end, but at least last season's performance moved the team from a rebuilding mentality to an all-out playoff this season. A key factor in this is Markkanen, the 26-year-old who spent the early part of his career with the Bulls and Cavaliers, but was not heavily used within the team. It wasn't until he joined the Jazz that Markkanen unleashed his full offensive and defensive potential.

Markkanen's scoring increased to 25.6 points last season with just four minutes per game, 11 points higher than the previous season. There has also been a corresponding increase in the number of rebounds and assists per game. This season, Markkanen averaged 24 points, 8.8 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game, shooting 39.7% from three-point range. Markkanen has averaged 25.3 points and 9.2 rebounds per game in the last nine games, and this period is also a crucial stage for the Jazz to get on track. And in the last 9 games, the Jazz have a record of 8 wins and 1 loss. The change in the starting lineup has made the Jazz's offense and defense more fluid, especially the move to replace Sexton in the starting lineup, which makes the Jazz's offense more reasonable.

Since Clarkson was relegated to the bench, his offensive stats have improved. While Clarkson's ability isn't high enough to match the league's elite-level guards, he has the edge when it comes to duels against opponents' benches. At one point, Clarkson's shooting was below 40 percent from the field and 30 percent from three-point range, but after coming off the bench, Clarkson shot 41 percent and 31 percent from both fields. And in the last 9 games, the shooting rate is as high as 46%, and the three-point shooting rate has also increased to 36%. Sexton entered the starting line-up and was in full swing, and after getting more possession, Sexton showed his offensive and playmaking ability to the fullest.

In the 19 games since Sexton entered the starting lineup, the Jazz have a 15-4 record, and after beating the Pacers last time out, the Jazz have won a wave of six in a row, and their record has improved to 22-20, which has been promoted to the ninth place in the West. Sexton scored a season-high 30 points against the Pacers and has averaged 21.9 points and 4.7 assists per game over the past 20 games while shooting 52 percent from the field. Compared to last season, Sexton's interior finishing rate has increased by more than 14%. During the 6-game winning streak, the Jazz won the Jazz and the Bucks one after another, and they were also comfortable facing the 76ers and Lakers without Endby and James. Obviously, halfway through the regular season, the Jazz, the league's dark horse team, has risen.