The pattern of the West has changed again: the Clippers hit the top spot, the Lakers are on the way, and the Rockets are reaping the benefits

On February 2, Beijing time, the NBA only arranged 4 games, of which the Western team participated in 3 games, the specific situation is: the Lakers defeated the Celtics, the Grizzlies lost to the Cavaliers, and the Jazz lost to the 76ers.

The top four in the West did not play today, and the current order is the Timberwolves, Thunder, Clippers and Nuggets, many fans do not understand why the Clippers are behind the Nuggets, but they are ranked higher, this is because the Clippers have a slightly higher winning percentage. In fact, in the long run, the top four in the West can basically be determined, and it is difficult to change again, the 4th Nuggets are 4.5 wins ahead of the 5th Kings, and they can't catch up at all, the only suspense is the ranking of these four teams against each other.

The Clippers are 2.0 wins behind the Timberwolves, and they clearly have the strength to attack the top of the standings, first of all, the Clippers themselves are strong enough, and the league's first Green Army is also vulnerable. Secondly, according to the latest reports, George will return for the next game against the Pistons, and Zubac is also recovering well and has already started his road trip with the team, which means that the Clippers are close to a full roster. In the third quarter, the Clippers will also have a friendly schedule for a period of time in the future, with opponents being the Pistons, Heat, Hawks, Pelicans and Pistons, and are expected to play a wave of consecutive wins, so the time has come for the Clippers to hit the top of the list.

The Lakers defeated the Green Army 114-105, and Zhan Mei was absent in this game, and the result was beyond our expectations, the Lakers only led by 3 points in the first quarter, and the difference in the second quarter came to double digits, and the Green Army had the upper hand in the third quarter, and the last quarter of Pojin broke out, fortunately, Hachimura became the Lakers' wonder soldier, plus others could also stand up, and the Lakers finally won. In terms of statistics, Reeves scored 32 points, 2 rebounds and 3 assists, Russell had 16 points, 8 rebounds and 14 assists, Hayes 16 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 steals, Prince 11 points, 8 rebounds and 2 assists, Vanderbilt 10 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals and 3 turnovers, and Hachimura 15 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 turnovers.

Zhan Mei didn't play, the Lakers could still beat the Green Army away, it can only be said that the strength of the Lakers is seriously underestimated, although Russell has a poor hand, but the organization revitalizes the whole team, and Reaves is focused on scoring. The Lakers were on the verge of three wins, the Jazz lost, and Van der Biao's foot examination was negative (no structural damage), indicating that there was no major problem. After this battle, although the Lakers are still ranked 9th in the West, they are already 1.0 wins ahead of the 10th Jazz, and the gap with the Mavericks is 2.0 games, which is not a big gap, maybe after 2-3 rounds, the Lakers can rush into the top eight in the West, at least there is no problem in getting the play-off places.

The Jazz lost to the 76ers 124-127, the process of ups and downs, the Jazz trailed by 7 points in the first quarter, the second quarter difference came to double digits, the third quarter Jazz won by 10 points in a single quarter, the final quarter stalemate for a long time, Maxey hit both free throws at the critical moment, and then Beverley grabbed the rebound, and finally the Jazz could only lose. In terms of statistics, Maxey scored 51 points and 2 rebounds, scoring a career-high high, Markkanen 28 points, 10 rebounds and 3 assists, Sexton 22 points and 6 assists, and Clarkson 16 points, 2 rebounds and 10 assists. After this game, the Jazz remain in 10th place in the West, but only 0.5 wins ahead of the Rockets.

And the Rockets are reaping the benefits, because the Jazz lost to the 76ers, so the Rockets continue to narrow the gap with them, looking at the situation in the West, if the Rockets want to impact the play-offs, the only one who can surpass may be the Jazz, after all, the Lakers are almost impossible to fall behind, only the Jazz is the target of the Rockets to catch up. Finally, predict the final standings in the West (after the play-offs): Timberwolves, Clippers, Nuggets, Thunder, Suns, Kings, Mavericks, Lakers.