There are always a lot of unexpected upsets in the NBA, but it's extremely rare for the first place to be killed by the last place. Just like last season's Eastern Conference playoffs, the Heat's Black Eight directly killed the Bucks, which is rare in history. Now that the first in the East and the first in the West lost together, the Green Army's strength to fight a tough battle is really not good, and the Timberwolves may just be short-lived. NBA reporters reported that the Green Army's last 9-3 losses and three losses have all been tough games (Clippers, Bucks and Nuggets). The first place in the West fell with a bang, the super champion has risen, and the Clippers have received a big gift.
The Green Army has not won a championship since the Big Three of Garnett + Pierce + Ray Allen. In 2022, Tatum and Jaylen Brown led the team to the finals (runners-up), which is already the most brilliant result of the Green Army in the last 10 years. This season, the Green Army smashed the pot and sold iron to bring back All-Star helpers such as Porzingis and Jrue Holiday to form a luxurious championship lineup, which is obviously the goal of completing the dream of winning the championship as soon as possible. However, Tatum and Jaylen Brown's lack of strength and offensive ability to play key games led to their consecutive losses to the Bucks, Nuggets and Clippers, which made fans wonder, "Can the Green Army really win the championship this season?"
The Timberwolves and Thunder have risen to prominence this season and have been in the top two spots in the West. The Timberwolves have recently lost consecutive upsets, and the loss to the Thunder was understandable, losing to the Hornets, who are third from the bottom in the East, and losing to the Spurs, who are the bottom of the West, which can't help but make people doubt the real strength of the Timberwolves. The Spurs give you a chance, and the Timberwolves are useless. Due to the Timberwolves' back-to-back upset losses, they have lost the first place in the West. The Thunder team won 5 consecutive victories, and Alexander + Holmgren + Jalen Williams and others led the team to fight more and more fiercely, and rushed to the first place in the West.
The Timberwolves seem to be going to go high and low, and it is doubtful that they will be able to hold on to the top three in the West. The Spurs are super champions, Wembanyama is leading the team to play better and better, and he seems to be driving low and going high. NBA statistics, Wembanyama's last 15 games, contributed an average of 24.4 points + 11.2 rebounds + 3.6 assists + 3.2 blocks per game, and the shooting rate was as high as 52.6% (this is still the data that he averaged only 28.5 minutes per game, and Popovich wanted to protect his health). I remember that at the beginning of the season, Wembanyama played poorly, shot inefficiently, and was criticized and questioned, and now as the regular season deepens, Wembanyama is playing better and better, and Spurs fans see the light.
The NBA league officially announced the latest edition of the best rookie list, Wembanyama ranked first, and Holmgren ranked second. Wembanyama is the first rookie in NBA history to score at least 20 points + 10 rebounds + 5 assists + 2 steals + 2 blocks in a single game and hit 3 three-pointers. Wembanyama averaged at least 20.4 points + 10.1 rebounds + 3.2 blocks in 30 minutes per game, the only person in NBA history. Wembanyama, the super-champion show, is on the rise, but the Spurs' Popovich is still asking him to play and avoid injury, because the Spurs and Popovich want Wembanyama to stay healthy, and there will be plenty of opportunities in the future.
The Clippers have also been on hot form lately, winning five in a row against the likes of the Thunder, Lakers, Nets, Raptors and Green Army. And the Clippers received a big gift: the Timberwolves lost, the winning percentage of the record declined, and the Clippers once again narrowed the gap with the second place in the West, only one win away. Due to the Nuggets' last loss to the Knicks, the Clippers have overtaken the Nuggets and moved up to third in the West. Thunder, Timberwolves, Clippers, Nuggets, such a ranking position will definitely not be the final record ranking of the regular season. NBA experts in the American media believe that the Timberwolves are likely to fall behind, because their offensive efficiency has slipped to 19th in the league.