The NBA playoffs officially started, and the league arranged a total of 4 sets of matchups today, the Suns, Timberwolves, Lakers, and Nuggets, the four Western giants, appeared to participate in them, and the specific situation is as follows: The Suns lost to the Timberwolves 95-120, and the Lakers lost to the Nuggets 103-114. At the same time, some subtle changes are taking place in the Wild West landscape, so let's take a look.
The defending champion overthrows the Lakers and goes first!The Lakers were swept out of the Western Conference finals last season, and this series is seen as a continuation of the Western Conference finals and a revenge journey for the Lakers. From the beginning of the first quarter of the game, the Lakers pulled up the offensive and defensive intensity, scoring 33 points in a single quarter and occupying the initiative early. The Lakers extended their lead to 12 points in the second quarter, and the Nuggets' counterattack came late, and they relied on the rebounding advantage to play a wave of 14-2 offensive to tie the score, and the Lakers relied on Lao Zhan's over-the-top three-point shot to take a three-point lead at halftime. Yibian fought again, and the three collapses of the lake came as promised, and the Nuggets won by 14 points in a single quarter, turning the tide of the war in one fell swoop. The Lakers then tried to fight back, and the Nuggets always responded, holding a 10-point lead! In the end, the Nuggets beat the Lakers 114-103!
The Lakers had the intention to kill the enemy and were powerless to return to the sky, and once again experienced the Nuggets' "slow stew on a small fire, and collect the juice on a big fire"! Lao Zhan and Thick Eyebrows took the lead and finished their work in one battle, among them, Lao Zhan fought hard for 40 minutes, scoring 27 points + 6 rebounds + 8 assists + 1 steal + 1 block; Thick Eyebrows fought hard for 44 minutes, slashing 32 points + 14 rebounds + 5 assists + 4 blocks. Lao Zhan and thick eyebrows are exhausted at both ends of the offensive and defensive ends, in stark contrast to the Jokic and Murray combination of 54 points + 17 assists, the Nuggets team shot through the Lakers with 15 three-pointers, this scene is similar to last season's West Conference - the Lakers can rely on Zhan Mei to support, but the Nuggets are too strong as a whole, they can find a misplaced advantage to blow up the Lakers backcourt in minutes! At best, the Lakers have to face a tough series, or at worst, the Lakers have to fight for honor and figure out how to avoid being swept again.
It was not surprising that the Lakers could not win against the Nuggets, and the Suns were somewhat surprised by the Timberwolves. In the regular season this season, the Timberwolves and the Suns played three times, and the Suns killed the Timberwolves three times. In the second quarter, the Timberwolves won by 11 points in a single quarter and opened the score in one fell swoop; in the third quarter, the Suns finally chased the difference to 4 points, but then fell into a scoring drought, and the Timberwolves launched a wave of 21-5 offensive momentum, expanding the difference to 20+ in one fell swoop. In the final quarter, the Timberwolves went completely crazy, hitting three three-pointers, and the difference came directly to 27 points, and the Suns were gone! In the end, the Timberwolves beat the Suns 120-95!
The Timberwolves made a 25-point tragedy, what are the Suns' Big Three doing? Booker became an undercover agent, scoring only 18 points in 5 of 16; Beal was also invisible, only 10 shots contributed 15 points, and the two brothers plus one seemed to be only a giant! Durant was online, very hard and efficient, scoring 31 points + 7 rebounds on 11-of-17 shooting, but Hua Zi was not far behind, and he scored 33 points + 9 rebounds + 6 assists in the whole game, and he was the number one contributor to this tragedy! The Suns can't rely on offense to train the Timberwolves, and the defense is basically powerless! After the whole game, the Timberwolves rebounded 52-28 to blow up the Suns, the frontcourt rebounds 13-3 to crush the Suns, and the inside score 52-34 to beat the Suns! As the saying goes, offense wins the regular season, defense wins the playoffs, and those who win the interior line win the world.
The Timberwolves and Nuggets are the first to play, and the other two groups in the West will face off against the Pelicans vs Thunder, and the Mavericks vs Clippers will also start tomorrow! The Pelicans' number one star Zion cannot play, and it is also very difficult for them to overturn the No. 1 Thunder in the West! The strength of the Mavericks vs Clippers is between the best, and the Mavericks have the possibility of being on the following lines. The big war is imminent, the Mavericks have good news, but the Clippers have bad news! On the Mavericks' side, the team's injury report shows that Hardaway Jr. is suspicious of playing due to illness, and the rest of the personnel can play. Hardaway Jr. is a double-edged sword, dispensable, and Lively, who was injured at the end of the regular season, can still play in G1, which will give the Mavericks a tiger on the inside. On the Clippers' side, the team's injury report shows that Xiaoka is suspicious for playing due to an inflammation of his right knee! Tyronn Lue said helplessly in an interview: I don't know if Xiaoka can play or not, I can only prepare with both hands. There are all kinds of indications that Xiaoka has only participated in the team's shooting training, and has not yet participated in any confrontational training, and the possibility of playing in G1 is decreasing! If Xiaoka does not play or is not in good shape, the opportunity for the Mavericks will come! Fans and friends, what do you think about this? Leave me a comment to discuss.