Wang Zelin came to the nightclub to have a blast. He was celebrating tonight's victory with his teammates, and was also feeling southwest for the smooth progress of the team's plan.
At the mobilization meeting at the end of last month to look forward to the final schedule of April, the entire Blazers team set a bottom line for the next seven games:
5 wins from 7 games!
As long as they win 5 games, they can ensure that the Portland Trail Blazers are crowned regular season champions!
Now, in addition to the rest of the No. 1 game against the Pacers, there are three remaining games against the Jazz, Warriors and Clippers, and Wang Zelin has won them all. As for the opponents in the last three games, the Cavaliers and Lakers are in this year's regular season.
, every time I met the Trail Blazers, I never won.
So, will the Trail Blazers win 68 games next?
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The other end.
Oklahoma.
Energy Arena.
After an absence of nearly three weeks, Russell Westbrook will return tonight. The reason why this game is scheduled is entirely because the opponent tonight is different.
Los Angeles Lakers!
This is the Thunder's opponent tonight.
That’s not to say how strong the Lakers are now. After all, you can tell just by looking at the Lakers’ current record. After playing 79 games, the Lakers’ record at this time is only 47 wins and 32 losses. Although they are still ranked 8th in the Western Conference,
The 9th-place Dallas Mavericks have also reached 47 wins, and the Lakers' 8th place seems to be about to be lost.
Therefore, tonight's longest game near the end of the season is very important to the Lakers.
As for the Thunder, their current record is 57 wins and 23 losses. Although they cannot catch up with the Trail Blazers, who are in first place, with 65 wins and 14 losses, nor can they catch up with the Spurs, who are in second place, with 63 wins and 16 losses.
But no matter what, the fourth-ranked Clippers still maintain a record of 55 wins after losing to the Trail Blazers. It is very difficult to catch up with the Thunder within three games.
Therefore, the Thunder's position as the No. 3 player in the Western Conference this season is considered stable, and Durant and Westbrook can rest easy for the time being.
But Kobe is different.
If they fail to win tonight, and if Nowitzki leads his team to win again tomorrow, the Lakers may only miss the playoffs for two consecutive seasons.
For the proud Black Mamba, this is unacceptable.
You must know that before the All-Star Game, the Lakers have already entered the top six in the Western Conference. Unfortunately, the team leader Nash is too old. This season has been intermittently, which has greatly affected the Lakers' regular season plan.
After the All-Star Game, we struggled to maintain a winning rate of about 50%...
But don’t forget, this is the Wild West!
Did you think it was the east?
The winning rate in the regular season has never exceeded 45%, which means that as long as you win more than 37 of the 82 regular season games, you can definitely get a ticket to the playoffs.
However, in the Western Conference, there is no regular season winning rate of about 60%, less than 50 regular season wins, and basically no chance of the playoffs.
It sounds a bit ironic.
But this is the cold reality!
Not long after, something happened that made Kobe feel even more cold.
On the night of the 10th, during the Lakers' away game against the Thunder, Russell Westbrook, who was determined to return for the penultimate game of the season, broke out in full force.
He made 12 of 24 shots from the field and scored 30 points, 11 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 steals, 1 turnover and 2 fouls, a super triple-double.
Although the shooting rate of 0 of 3 three-pointers is a bit embarrassing, from an overall perspective, after all, the flaws are not concealed.
What makes Kobe even more desperate is that Westbrook scored 30 triple-doubles tonight, but it did not affect Durant's overall performance too much.
He played 41 minutes and made 8 of 26 shots. Although his shooting rate was a bit inefficient, he still scored 27 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks, 2 turnovers and 3 fouls.
Durant is as steady as an old dog!
For the Lakers, Nash, one of the aging Big Three, suffered a back injury and missed most of the Lakers' games this season. Even if he does not play, he will only be able to play again in the first round of the playoffs.
Another giant, Pau Gasol, has relapsed due to an old injury and cannot play tonight, so he can only rest.
In the end, only Kobe and a group of young people were left to fight until the last moment.
At the end of the game, Kobe, who scored 28 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists, was in despair!
When facing the Thunder players, he once again felt that his strength was insufficient.
Perhaps, I really should withdraw from the stage of history.
Let's not talk about Kobe's complicated feelings. After all the games of all teams on the 10th, they have basically played 79 regular season games. Of course, some teams have played 80 regular season games.
For now, let’s not mention the East. The ranking of the West is as follows:
Judging from the current situation, the fiercer competition in the West is probably in these two areas.
First, there is the final ranking competition between the 5th to 7th ranked Mosaic Warriors and the Grizzlies. Of course, the three teams have basically secured their tickets to the playoffs. Now the so-called ranking competition is actually more profound.
, which is to select the opponents in the first round of the future playoffs from the 2nd to 4th place in the Western Conference.
The second is the competition between the Lakers, Mavericks and Suns between 8th and 10th.
In Wang Zelin's view, the competition between the last three teams is far better than the first three, after all, it involves the last ticket to the playoffs.
If an NBA team wants to create greater commercial value, the most fundamental way to do it is through playing games.
In the playoffs, the attention from the outside world will be far greater than in the regular season, which will also help the team seek greater commercial value.
In the final analysis, there are still two words that cannot be avoided - interests!
Players want to make it to the playoffs and stand on a higher stage to show their value, thereby seeking the next bigger contract.
Team executives also want to make the playoffs, because this will give the team greater exposure and better pursue business interests.
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On the night of the 11th, the Mavericks defeated the Eastern Conference underdog 75ers 107:101 at home, winning their 48th win of the season and successfully overtaking the Lakers to join the top eight in the Western Conference. As soon as the news came out, it immediately caused a sensation in the league.
After triggering this sensation, the most intense discussion among fans and media was not King Nod’s heroic performance of 34 points and 10 rebounds, but...