Halfway through the NBA play-offs, the Warriors in the West and the Hawks in the East worked hard for a season, but they came to naught! On the contrary, the Lakers and 76ers were all soldiers, playing more like a team, each finishing seventh in the division and successfully advancing to the playoffs. Many people are worried that the Lakers will be swept when they meet the Nuggets in the first round.
Because since playing in last year's Western Conference Finals, including this year's regular season encounter, the Lakers have not tasted a win, and they have all been crushed. However, some media people threatened that there may not be no chance of winning, and in the first round of playing the Nuggets, Lao Zhan has abundant physical strength and may be able to turn things around.
Relying on the Suns' last efforts and the Lakers' support, the Suns finally squeezed out the Pelicans and advanced to the playoffs in sixth place in the West. The opponent in the first round is the Timberwolves, who have the league's highest defensive efficiency. But the Suns are not afraid, with a record of 3 wins and 1 loss in the regular season, and the singles of the Suns' Big Three are just the way to restrain the Timberwolves.
In addition, the Galaxy Clippers got their wish and qualified for fourth place in the West, and the opponent in the first round was locked in the Dallas Mavericks, and these two teams are also old rivals. Doncic has made the playoffs three times, and two of them were beaten out by the Clippers. After this super evolution, with the help of Owen, as well as the assistance of two strong reinforcements from Gafford and Washington, it is a needle on the tip of the needle.
The Clippers have had ups and downs this season, and when Harden first joined, he had a six-game losing streak, and his record and morale fell to the bottom. After that, Willis made a sacrifice, and Harden took control of the team. Under Tyronn Lue's direction, the Clippers embarked on the Northern Expedition and even briefly topped the rankings in the West. But after the All-Star, the Clippers didn't seem to be able to play, Harden's offensive desire was sluggish, and the team was reversed one after another. But the good news is that Xiaoka and George have very high attendance this season, and if they can withstand it, the Clippers can withstand it. In the end, the record came to fourth in the West, and also avoided strong opponents.
But now the biggest problem for the Clippers is whether Xiaoka's knee is inflamed, can he play in the playoffs?
Shams spoke about Ka's injury on the Stadium podcast.
"The Clippers remain 'cautiously optimistic) about whether the Clippers can make a comeback at G1. According to my sources, Xiaoka had an injection into his knee, which helped him relieve inflammation. ”
However, Frank, the president of the Clippers, came with a wave of desire to get away with it. When asked if he had received the injections, Frank would not give any details about the treatment, saying only that he was doing everything he could to recover.
You must know that Wei Shao's fracture only took a month, and if Xiaoka didn't have a big problem, he would have been able to play a long time ago. Many people bluntly said that the Clippers were hiding the injury situation.
In Tyronn Lue's system, Harden is the team's main control core, and George and Xiaoka are the two forwards to do the endpoints. The absence of Xiaoka is a big regret at both offensive and defensive ends. Speaking of two games, in December last year, the Clippers were one of the best teams in the league, but after the absence of Xiaoka, they first lost to the Thunder by 19 points, and then lost to the Celtics by 37 points, directly returning to their original form. When the card was healthy, the Celtics were beaten in the third quarter, completing a 19-point victory.
Without the card, the Clippers may not even make the playoffs this season. This time, the Clippers concealed the injury internally, and even the players could not tell it. I'm afraid Harden's championship dream is going to be shattered again!