The playoff matchup is out! The Timberwolves are afraid of being hacked when they meet their nemesis, and the Lakers pick the most difficult fight!
With the end of the final game of the regular season, the rankings of the NBA's East and West teams have finally been locked, and the first-round matchups of the playoffs have also been released. In the last game, the Thunder and Nuggets won one after another, while the Timberwolves lost, so the Thunder ended up in first, the Nuggets second, and the Timberwolves third. The Suns locked up a playoff spot with a big win over the Timberwolves in the last game, so the fourth, fifth and sixth spots are the Clippers, Mavericks and Suns.
Play-off situation
The Pelicans and Lakers are currently in seventh and eighth place, and the Kings and Warriors are ninth and tenth, and the Warriors are also unlucky, with a record of 46 wins and only 10th in the West, and they have to play the play-offs, and the situation is not optimistic. Because they need to win two games to advance, the Pelicans and Lakers only need to win one game to lock up the playoffs, and the Lakers just have a psychological advantage over the Pelicans by a big score, plus the Lakers have been in very good form recently, and they have a very good chance to play the playoffs as seventh.
Playoff matchups
Clippers vs Mavericks
This set of matchups has been decided early, the two sides have been preparing for the game for a long time, the Big Four play against the ball-holding duo, this game is absolutely good-looking, both sides have strong offensive capabilities, it depends on who can limit each other, this group of matchups may be the best looking group of matchups in the first round of the West.
Timberwolves vs Suns
The Timberwolves still met the opponent they didn't want to meet the most, although the Timberwolves played very well this season, but the advantage was just restrained by the Suns, because the Timberwolves' interior defense is very strong, it is difficult to break through, but the Suns are just a jump shot team, whether it is Durant, Booker or Beal have strong projection ability, people don't break through your inside line at all, and losing to the Suns by a large score in the three games of the regular season is a good example, plus Tang Si has just returned from injury, and the team has no psychological advantage in the face of the Suns, so if the Timberwolves don't play well, they are likely to be beaten in the first round。
In addition, the Thunder's opponent has not yet been determined, and they need to wait for two more games, and the Nuggets also have to wait for the results of the Lakers and Pelicans play-offs, and there is a high probability that they will play the Lakers. Because the Lakers are 3-1 against the Pelicans in the regular season, and they have just won by a big margin, the Pelicans Lakers have a lot of experience and have done a good job of limiting Zion, if this is the case, then the Lakers have picked the strongest opponent for themselves, the defending champion Nuggets. However, there is nothing wrong with the Lakers' choice, it is better to play late than early, while the Lakers are currently in good shape, while James is still physical, the Nuggets may be able to fight early, and if they meet later, they may really have no chance!