The NBA playoffs are in full swing, with all four rounds played, and a few teams even playing five games, with the Timberwolves and Nuggets advancing ahead of schedule and will also be opponents in the semifinals. However, other teams still need to continue to fight for a place in the qualifiers. After the playoffs G4 is over, the names of these 4 "pseudo-strong teams" are completely confirmed
The 76ers have always been favored because of Embiid, and they have also been in the top half of the league in the past few seasons, rarely going out in the first round. However, this time, due to Embiid's injury, the ranking fell to the bottom half of the East, and they met the top four teams in the East in advance, and they were beaten back to their original shape. Although the Knicks are second in the East, they are also missing the interior core Randle, and in such a situation, they can still lead the 76ers 3-1. It can be said that it is only a matter of time before the 76ers are eliminated, looking back on the past few years, they have not reached the Eastern Conference Finals, and every time they meet other teams in the top four in the East, they will be eliminated, and they can only bully those weaker opponents in the first round.
This is the second season that the Magic have drafted Banchero, which means that they will be in less than two years at most, and most of the team is young people with not much playoff experience. But in this case, he was still able to withstand the pressure to equalize the series score after falling behind 0-2, and it was the second big win in a row. It can be said that the Cavaliers lost too ugly, they were originally full of talent, and when they encountered greater competition intensity in the playoffs, they played abnormally one by one, Garland only averaged 12 points per game, and Mitchell was also very inefficient.
Let's talk about the West, the Lakers won the midseason championship and are the king of the play-offs, so it stands to reason that the strength should be very strong. But in the face of the Nuggets, which were not as strong as last year, the result was eliminated 1-4, of which the score was once 0-3 behind, that is, when losing G3, in fact, there was no suspense in the series. In every game, the Lakers were able to take the lead in the first half, but the final result was reversed by the Nuggets, proving that the strength of the Lakers and the Nuggets is not at the same level at all. Hoping that the Lakers will win the championship is more of the wishful thinking of fans, except for Zhan Mei, the Lakers' other player configurations are not at the championship level.
Finally, there is the Suns, who have a big three lineup and pay a huge luxury tax, but they are the first to go out of the playoffs and are directly swept by the Timberwolves. It's not that the Suns haven't worked hard, G4 Booker has scored 49 points, and he lost the same game. The defensive end is inherently inadequate, but the offensive end also fails to play the firepower that the Big Three should have. What's even more uncomfortable is that the Suns have no chance to rebuild, Durant is old and no one wants it, Beal has a trade veto, and the team has no first-round pick for the next 7 years.