The Western standings are messed up again: the Clippers are in jeopardy, the gap between 6-9 places is narrowing, and the Rockets are creating an NBA miracle
On March 29, Beijing time, the NBA only played 2 games, and the specific situation was: the Green Army lost to the Hawks, and the Pelicans beat the Bucks, so that the Wild West ranking has changed again, and the current situation can be simply summarized as: the Clippers are in danger, the gap between 7-9 places has narrowed, and the Rockets have created an NBA miracle.
The top three in the West did not play today, the Nuggets, Timberwolves and Thunder can be regarded as an echelon, the top of the list is basically to sit in turns, the former All-Star Clippers were originally comparable to them, but now the gap has widened, according to statistics, after the All-Star, only the Clippers have a winning rate of less than 50% in the top four in the West, and now the Clippers are 5.0 wins behind the third Thunder, and they can't catch up. For the Lakers, if they can enter the playoffs, the first-round opponents will be born in the Nuggets, Timberwolves and Thunder, the Lakers definitely do not want to touch the Nuggets, the Thunder is the most ideal opponent, the Lakers have killed the Thunder three times in the regular season.
The Pelicans defeated the Bucks 107-100, the process of the battle was full of ups and downs, the Pelicans only led by 1 point in the first quarter, the Bucks suddenly lost power in the second quarter, the Pelicans won 15 points in a single quarter, the Bucks had the upper hand in the third quarter, not bad or behind double digits, the Bucks launched a counterattack many times in the final quarter, but fortunately, Zion scored 7 points in a row to end the suspense. In terms of statistics, Zion had 28 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block and 3 turnovers, and according to statistics after the game, in the past three games, Zion averaged 31 points, 5.7 rebounds and 6 assists per game, with a shooting rate of 70%. McCollum had 25 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists, Valanciunas had 17 points, 10 rebounds and 1 block, and Murphy had 15 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals.
After this battle, the Clippers are in danger, only 0.5 wins ahead of the Pelicans, from the current situation in the West, the Clippers are likely to meet the Pelicans in the first round, because the gap between the Clippers and the top three in the West is too big to catch up, and the Clippers dare not fall to the 6th, after all, the gap between the 7th and the 6th is only 0.5 wins. The Clippers 1-3 Pelicans in the regular season, Zion's impact is too strong, the Clippers have no one to defend inside, and Ingram will also return in the playoffs, so the Clippers' playoff prospects are actually not optimistic, they must defend the 4th place in the West, if they fall to 5th and lose their home court advantage, then the Pelicans will most likely have to travel in the first round.
Overall, the gap between 6th and 9th in the West is narrowing, with the 6th-ranked Mavericks 2.5 wins ahead of the ninth-placed Lakers, who are now on a five-game winning streak and are expected to continue to move up the rankings. Or as mentioned earlier, the final ranking of the Nuggets may be the top of the West, so it is not a good choice for the Lakers to enter the playoffs as 8th, the most ideal ranking is 7th in the West to beat the Thunder or Timberwolves, which requires the Lakers to rush to the top 8 in the regular season, and then finally get 7th by playing the play-offs, according to the regulations, the 7th and 8th play-offs in the division have two lives, and the 9th and 10th lose one game and are completely out.
The Rockets recently won 10 consecutive wins, which is the longest winning streak in the current league, and the Rockets have also created an NBA miracle, with a 12-1 record since March, the first in the league at the same time, which shows that the strength of the Rockets is seriously underestimated, since Shen Jing was injured, Jalen Green continued to break out, averaging 28.5 points and 6 rebounds per game in March, coupled with a 12-1 record, Green should have no run of the month, and Amen is in a similar situation, and the better he plays. However, it is still difficult for the Rockets to overtake the Warriors, and the gap between the two sides is currently 1.0 games, and the Warriors will definitely go all out next.
Summing up the situation in the West, the top three are an echelon, the Clippers and Pelicans are competing for No. 4, No. 6-8 are the most fierce, because No. 6 can directly get a playoff spot, the Lakers are more uncomfortable, not only to work hard to improve the rankings, but also to be careful of being targeted by the Nuggets, and the Rockets are trying to catch up with the Warriors. Finally, predict where the West will stand after the play-offs: Nuggets, Thunder, Timberwolves, Clippers, Pelicans, Mavericks, Suns, and Lakers.