The NBA's regular season has entered the final end of the competition, and I have to admire the person who proposed the concept of the play-offs, although he was frequently questioned at the beginning, and even insulted and unfair, but from the perspective of the program, especially this year's Western competition, the star level, currently includes Durant, Booker, Fox, Sabonis, James, thick eyebrows, Curry's All-Stars, and even some of the most watched all-time superstars, are in contention for the play-offs, feasting the eyes of fans and making the competition extremely fierce. However, the situation of the Lakers and Suns is quite different from their current standings.
The Lakers ushered in a big gift!
Although the Lakers lost to the Pacers away and ended the team's five-game winning streak, considering that this is the last game of the Lakers' 4 days and 3 games, the team is exhausted and played the lowest points of the season, this ending is actually acceptable. But the Lakers were not opened up because of the loss, but the Suns lost to the Thunder 103-128, which gave the Lakers a big gift. At present, the Lakers are still 1.5 wins away from the Kings in front of them, and 2.0 wins away from the Suns, and the gap has not been widened. The Lakers still have the potential to overtake them in the final stage. Then again, the Kings also lost to the Mavericks, so why would the Lakers have their eyes on the Suns?
This has to do with the head-to-head record between the two sides, this season, the Lakers have a 3-2 record against the Suns, which means that as long as they tie the Suns in terms of record, the Lakers can surpass their opponents in the rankings. As for the Kings, the Lakers have a 0-4 record against their opponents this season, and they have been swept properly, in the case that the Suns and Kings are currently 31 losses, and the Lakers are 33 losses, the Lakers need to do it in the last 8 games, 3 less than the Kings, this difficulty, everyone should think about it clearly, once the Kings play a 6-2 record, the Lakers can't surpass their opponents when they win all, and the Lakers are also difficult to win, the Kings basically play a 5 percent win rate, and the Lakers are a little unable to catch up.
The first 8 suns are unstable!
The relationship between the Suns and the Lakers is different, on the one hand, the Lakers are in the lead due to the mutual record relationship between the two sides, and it looks like the Suns are leading by 2.0 wins, but in fact it can be seen that they are only 1 game ahead, as long as the Lakers win 2 more games than them, the Suns will be squeezed out of the top 8. Moreover, it is very difficult for the Suns to play a record that makes the Lakers unable to surpass the ranking in the last 8 games, their 8 opponents are: 2 Pelicans, 2 Clippers, 2 Timberwolves, and the anomaly and the Kings in the card battle, one against the Cavaliers, the third in the East, without exception, all of them are playoff and even championship-level teams. Of course, the Suns' top-8 spot is unstable, and the key lies with themselves.
In the past 3 games, facing the Spurs, Wembanyama did not play, facing the Nuggets, Murray was absent due to injury, facing the Thunder, who rested Alexander, and the opponent gave the Suns a chance, but the Suns lost to the Spurs and the Thunder one after another, and the performance on the court was a disaster. That is, after losing to the Spurs, the whole Suns team felt the pressure, and only then defeated the Nuggets without Murray away, and then was directly washed by the Thunder without Alexander for 25 points on the road.
NBA does have teams in the final stage because of stable rankings or selection of playoff opponents to choose the main rotation, but the players on the court, will not be polite to you, they need to think about their future, need to do their best for their professional style, the Suns' defense, has always been an unstable factor and hidden danger, although they are still ranked 7th in the West, but there is a competitive situation about the play-offs, has quietly changed.
The play-offs have changed dramatically!
There is no need to compare the difficulty of the remaining schedule between the Lakers and the Suns, just look at the next three games, the opponents of both sides. The Lakers have challenged the Nets, Raptors, and Wizards, all of which are ranked in the bottom 5 of the East and have no play-off qualifications. The Suns, on the other hand, have to face the Pelicans, Cavaliers, and Timberwolves successively. Truth be told, no one would be surprised if the Suns and Lakers change their rankings after these three games, and the Suns themselves can only blame the Suns for not taking advantage of the opportunities their opponents gave them.