This season's NBA regular season will end next month. The 7th-10th teams in the east and west are fighting for the playoffs or playoffs, but the top teams are already considering What opponent will you face in the playoffs?
As we all know, Nuggets head coach Malone likes to arrange for the team to perform at the end of the regular season in order to pick his favorite playoff opponent in the ranking. In addition to the Nuggets this year, the jazz team has also begun to follow this practice.
The latest rankings in the West
As of April 22, all games are over. The latest top 10 rankings in the West are as follows:
The Jazz ranked first in the West with 44 wins and 15 losses, ahead of the second-place Suns by 1.5 games. The third is the Clippers , the fourth and fifth in the West are the Nuggets and the Lakers, the sixth is the Trail Blazers, and the 7th-10th in the West are the Mavericks, Grizzlies, Warriors and Spurs.
The seventh and eighth in the west are to be determined.
As we all know, after the end of this year's regular season , some changes have taken place in the rules of the play-offs, and the ranking of the top eight in the west is particularly critical.
The regular season will end on May 17, and the 7-10 play-offs will be held from May 19 to 22. There are three specific competition rules:
1, the seventh and eighth place in the division will play the first game first, and the winner will be the seventh seed.
2, the 9th and 10th place in the division will play the second game, the winner will qualify for the playoffs, and the loser will be eliminated directly.
3. The loser of the first game and the winner of the second game will play the third game. The winner will participate in the playoffs as the eighth in the division. The loser will be eliminated and will not qualify for the playoffs. From the current ranking of
, from the sixth pioneer in the west to the tenth Spurs in the west, the winning gap between these five teams is currently not large.
The Trail Blazers are only 23.5 games ahead of the Spurs, the Mavericks are only half a game behind the Blazers, and the Warriors and Spurs are only one game behind the eighth-place Grizzlies.
Therefore, it is still unknown which two teams will eventually become the seventh and eighth in the Western Conference through the play-offs and reach the playoffs.
The Jazz advance to the second round should not be a problem.
The first place in the West enters the playoffs.
If the Jazz maintains the No. 1 position in the West, they will face the eighth in the first round.
Currently, the three most likely teams in the West are Grizzlies, Warriors and Spurs. But no matter which of the three teams, there is basically no chance of winning against the Jazz in the first round, and it would be good not to be swept out.
The second place in the West enters the playoffs
If the Jazz choose to rest in the regular season and eventually fall to the second place in the West, then their potential opponent in the first round may be one of the Blazers and the Mavericks. Although the Blazers are currently ranked high, there is a statistic this season that the Blazers belong to a pseudo-strong team and are not good at fighting tough battles!
According to statistics, this season, the Blazers have only achieved a record of 1 win and 10 losses against the top five teams in the Western Conference, and they have been double-played by the Jazz in the regular season!
Of course, the Jazz is basically stable in the first or second place in the West, and it is impossible to fall to the third place. So to sum up, it should not be a big problem for Utah to advance to the second round!
In order to avoid the Lakers , should you give up the No. 1 in the West?
After advancing to the second round, the Jazz must carefully consider their opponents. According to the current Western Conference rankings, the 3-5 positions are basically set, namely the Clippers, Nuggets and Lakers.
The first in the West, the second round against the Lakers
This season's MVP is highly likely to be a teacher appointment, but for the Nuggets, the lack of the team's second star Murray is a fatal blow, especially in the playoffs. Last season's playoffs, Murray has shown how reliable he is in clutch moments, a big-time player. But in this year's playoffs, the Nuggets can only rely on the teacher to lead the team with a single core.
On the other hand, the Lakers suffered from constant injuries in the regular season, but when the playoffs came, all members were already healthy, and Lao Zhan Nongmei Xiaojia could all return. The Lakers with a complete lineup are still the biggest favorite in the Western Conference for the championship. Therefore, in the first round matchup, there is a high probability that the Nuggets will play in the first round.
If the Jazz eventually enter the playoffs as the No. 1 in the Western Conference, the second round is likely to face the Lakers ahead of schedule. This is certainly not good news for the current lofty Jazz this season.
If you want to avoid the Lakers in advance, the Jazz can choose to lose on purpose in the rest of the regular season, fall to the second place in the West, and let the Sun rise to the first place in the West. Such a situation where the Jazz beat the Lakers will only happen in the Western Finals!
Second in the West, the Clippers in the second round
The Clippers are currently the third in the West. The opponent in the first round is still uncertain, but whether it is the Blazers or the Lone Ranger, the Clippers have a higher probability of promotion.
This season, the Clippers have also made great progress with the injuries of the two core players, George and Leonard, which also benefited from the change of the head coach. From last season's Lao Li to this season's Lu guidance, the Clippers team has undergone tremendous changes.At the same time, the strength of the team has also been greatly enhanced: the introduction of excellent players such as Ibaka , Rondo, Reggie Jackson, Kennard, , especially with Rondo, will definitely be even more powerful in the playoffs!
The following two data can illustrate how terrible the Clippers are this season:
1. The Clippers have back-to-back second games this season, 11 wins and 1 loss, only lost to the Magic, and the winning percentage ranks first in the league.
2. The Clippers have won 10 of the past 11 games. After the All-Star break, the Clippers are 18-5.
If the Jazz eventually reach the playoffs as the second-ranked player in the West, they will face the Clippers in the second round, which is also not easy to play.
As long as you want to enter the Western Conference Finals, Los Angeles duo Jazz must play one in the second round! Whether the Lakers or the Clippers are super strong teams!
The biggest weapon the Jazz have this year is the three-point shot. They have replaced the Rockets that played magic balls in previous seasons and become the new league three-point team. ranks first in the league in terms of average shots, hits and hit rate!
In the playoffs, if you want to beat the Lakers or the Clippers and advance to the Western Conference Finals, in addition to the internal and external dual-core Mitchell and Gobert to play well, the team must also shoot three-pointers, otherwise it will be difficult to hit!
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-