The season is coming to an end, but the 6-10 standings in the West are still confusing. Which team will be the lucky one to make it straight to the playoffs, and which teams will have to go through one or two brutal play-offs?
The Warriors, who have been in a very hot state recently, beat the Lakers again today, but their overall record of 44-35 is still 0.5 games behind the Lakers, and the ranking continues to be 10th in the West and the bottom of the play-offs. With three games left in the regular season, the Warriors still have a glimmer of hope of finishing in the top six in the West and making it straight to the playoffs. However, the conditions for the Warriors to be restricted are too harsh, not only to ensure that they get the final three consecutive wins, but also to hope that the competitors Suns, Pelicans, and Kings will collectively fall off the chain and suffer consecutive defeats, so that the Warriors can achieve a ranking overtake and enter the top 6. Truth be told, that hope is very slim.
The Warriors have caused the current unfavorable ranking situation this season, and some of them are to blame. At the beginning of the season, in addition to Dream Green's repeated brain-dead offenses and being banned by the league many times, resulting in the loss of the team's combat strength, the Warriors had as many as 7 games of big lead due to their own ball wind, but the game that was finally reversed by the opponent was also one of the main reasons.
Today, when predicting the final ranking of the Warriors this season, the American media deliberately listed the Warriors' 7 games in which the Warriors had a big lead but were reversed, and frankly said that if the Warriors played more vigilantly and kept half of the 7 games, the total record would have been enough to go straight to the top 6 in the West.
The Warriors' 7 games are:
1. Playing the Clippers, the score was 59-44, leading by as many as 15 points, and the result was 125-130, losing the game by 5 points.
2. Playing the Lakers, the score was 88-73, also leading by 15 points, the result was 144-145, and the final foul was killed by James with 2 free throws.
3. Still playing the Clippers, the score was 70-48, leading by 22 points at most, and the result was 112-113, a regrettable defeat.
4. Played the Thunder, the score was 81-63, leading by as many as 18 points, and the result was 123-130, losing in overtime.
5. Beat the Nuggets, the score was 56-40, leading by 16 points at most, but the result was 103-119, but it was a big defeat.
6. Still playing the Nuggets, the score was 123-105, leading by 18 points at most, and the result was 127-130, and he was beaten by 3 points by Mr. Yue.
7. Playing the king, the score was 72-48, leading by as many as 24 points, and the result was 123-124.
In these 7 games, the Warriors led by at least 15 points and at most 24 points, and the advantage was not small, but in the end they were successfully counterattacked by the opponent. If they can hold on to 3-4 of those seven games, the Warriors' overall record will be 47-48, tied in the standings, and even surpassed the Pelicans, who are now ranked sixth, 47-32. Looking at the last three games, there are two weak teams, the Trail Blazers and the Jazz, and the Warriors can be said to be stable in the playoffs.
After missing out on those seven games, the Warriors now aim to go all out to win the final three straight games, improve the final ranking to 7-8, and ensure that they have two playoff chances to qualify for the playoffs. If you are unfortunate enough to stay in 9-10 in the final position, and you happen to face the Lakers again in the play-offs, although you have won 3 times out of 4 regular battles, anything can happen under the premise of a win-win game.
Do you think the Warriors will make it to the playoffs?