On the Trail Blazers side, everyone arrived in Los Angeles on the morning of the 16th. Wang Zelin took a look at the Western Conference rankings and analyzed the situation of the bottom four in the Western Conference.
Just yesterday, on the 15th, the Dallas Mavericks ended their entire regular season schedule. Their record was finally settled at 49 wins and 33 losses, with a winning rate of 59.8%. They are still ranked eighth in the Western Conference.
As for the ninth-ranked Lakers, after losing to the Thunder, in the next three games except for playing the Trail Blazers in the closing ceremony, the remaining two opponents were very average, namely the Kings and Jazz, which were relatively low in the Western Conference.
The Lakers deserved to win both games, which also made the competition between the Lakers and the Mavericks for eighth place in the Western Conference extremely intense.
According to the league's ranking rules for two NBA teams with the same winning percentage, the Mavericks are dangerously ahead of the Lakers and ranked eighth due to their high point difference.
The Lakers' only way to the playoffs right now is to defeat the Trail Blazers tonight.
But is it possible?
Yes, but it’s difficult!
Wang Zelin was still a little excited when he saw that his team's win or loss would affect the final playoff ticket in the Western Conference.
In fact, whether they win or lose, it does not affect the Trail Blazers' ranking first in the league. After all, they have already won 67 games, which is completely guaranteed that no one can overtake them.
But if they win this game, it doesn't seem like the stakes are high, because they can't reach the 70-win mark.
Strictly speaking, this game is the Blazers' last chance to pick their first-round opponent in the regular season.
In fact, for Wang Zelin and others, no matter whether the opponent in the first round is the Lakers or the Mavericks, it actually has little impact. Because in the previous regular season games between the Trail Blazers and the Lakers and the Mavericks, the Trail Blazers won all of them.
But in the eyes of coach Terry Stotts and general manager Nel Orsi, since they can decide their opponents in the first round, why not choose the one with a greater chance of winning?
After the game against the Cavaliers on the 14th, the Blazers' coaching staff and management had a heated discussion, and finally came to the result on the night of the 15th.
…
In the afternoon, Wang Zelin met up with the team, went to Staples Arena, and got into the rhythm of the game.
Before the game, both sides announced their lineups.
Lakers: Marshall, Kobe Bryant, Nick Young, Pau Gasol, Robert Sacre.
Trail Blazers: Lillard, Connett Lee, Will Barton, Yi Jianlian, Wang Zelin.
On the 16th, as the closing game of the NBA regular season this season, a total of 15 games were scheduled, and there was no shortage of strong confrontations among them.
So what if it's possible?
This game between the Lakers and Trail Blazers has attracted a lot of attention, and it can even be said to be the first in the league!
Especially in China, the number of people watching this game was several times higher than the number of people watching other games at the same time.
On one side, there is the Los Angeles Lakers led by Kobe Bryant, who has the best reputation and fan base in the league; on the other side, after Yao Ming played for the Mosaics, another NBA team with Chinese players as the core - the Portland Trail Blazers.
What's more, the Trail Blazers also have Yi Jianlian, the only two players of Chinese descent in the league, who are both playing for the Trail Blazers, so it's strange that they don't get much attention.
However, when the rosters of both sides came out, especially the Trail Blazers' roster, it immediately caused an uproar.
At the commentary booth of the Imperial Court, the two pairs who will provide live commentary tonight are Zhang Lili and Yu Jia. They can also be regarded as a ceiling combination in domestic basketball commentary.
Yu Jia said: "Mr. Zhang, in tonight's closing game, the Trail Blazers chose to rest all three main players, Will Matthews, Nicolas Batum and LaMarcus Aldridge, except Lira at No. 1.
The King of Dehe No. 5 has not changed, what do you think is their intention in making such an adjustment?"
Zhang Liyi coughed twice, sat upright and said: "First of all, judging from the previous matches between the two teams and the actual situation, although I don't want to admit it, I have to admit that it is really difficult for the Lakers to beat the Trail Blazers..."
"But I think this is not the fundamental reason why coach Terry Stotts despises the Lakers, otherwise he would not put out such a lineup."
"Oh, what do you say?"
Yu Jia was very cooperative and put on a puzzled look.
"To put it bluntly, Tristos is choosing the opponents for the Trail Blazers in the first round of the playoffs." First expressing his views, Zhang Lili continued:
"We all know that the outcome of tonight's game is related to the final ranking of eighth place in the Western Conference. If the Lakers lose, they will completely miss the eighth place. But once the Lakers win, they can achieve a comeback in the last game and get the last place in the Western Conference.
A ticket to the playoffs.”
Yu Jia added silently: "In other words, the king and the others believe that they are more confident in playing the Lakers in the first round than playing the Mavericks!"
"At present, it seems like this."
…
On the TNT TV station, Barkley and O'Neal are responsible for commentating tonight's all-American live broadcast.
Barkley said: "You rested three main players right from the start? Shaquille, it seems like the Lakers are in a good position for the playoffs."
"It seems like Wang and the others have decided to choose the Mavericks and Lakers as their opponent in the first round of the futures series," O'Neal said.
"But more than this, I want to see what Kobe's face will be like at this time. I know the pride in that guy's heart better than anyone else. The Trail Blazers' actions tonight are definitely a charity for him...
But unfortunately, he still has to accept the king’s charity!”
"Hahaha! It's so funny!"
"..."
Barkley on the side felt a little speechless. He wanted to ask, man, is this how the media said that you and Kobe have settled their differences?
Good guy, when it comes to eating and watching the excitement, O'Neal is probably older than many fans.
But sometimes, when O'Neal talked about it, Barkley himself was quite curious about Kobe's inner thoughts.
the other side.
The camera goes into the arena.
Originally, Kobe wanted to get the last victory and let the Lakers advance to the playoffs. Yesterday, he had been paying attention to the outcome of the Mavericks' last away game against the Heat.
When he learned that Nowitzki's performance was average and the Mavericks lost the last game, he was extremely excited.
If yesterday he saw the dawn of the Lakers' advancement.
So now, when he saw the Lakers' roster, that light suddenly became extremely bright.
Although he never went to college, Kobe has never stopped learning knowledge. Whether it is emotional quotient or IQ, he is even higher than many players in the NBA who have gone to college for one or two years.
Therefore, Kobe quickly understood the purpose of the Trail Blazers' closing game move.
Pick the Lakers as your first-round opponent!?
On the Trail Blazers side, everyone arrived in Los Angeles on the morning of the 16th. Wang Zelin took a look at the Western Conference rankings and analyzed the situation of the bottom four in the Western Conference.
Just yesterday, on the 15th, the Dallas Mavericks ended their entire regular season schedule. Their record was finally settled at 49 wins and 33 losses, with a winning rate of 59.8%. They are still ranked eighth in the Western Conference.
As for the ninth-ranked Lakers, after losing to the Thunder, in the next three games except for playing the Trail Blazers in the closing ceremony, the remaining two opponents were very average, namely the Kings and Jazz, which were relatively low in the Western Conference.
The Lakers deserved to win both games, which also made the competition between the Lakers and the Mavericks for eighth place in the Western Conference extremely intense.
According to the league's ranking rules for two NBA teams with the same winning percentage, the Mavericks are dangerously ahead of the Lakers and ranked eighth due to their high point difference.
The Lakers' only way to the playoffs right now is to defeat the Trail Blazers tonight.
But is it possible?
Yes, but it’s difficult!
Wang Zelin was still a little excited when he saw that his team's win or loss would affect the final playoff ticket in the Western Conference.
In fact, whether they win or lose, it does not affect the Trail Blazers' ranking first in the league. After all, they have already won 67 games, which is completely guaranteed that no one can overtake them.
But if they win this game, it doesn't seem like the stakes are high, because they can't reach the 70-win mark.
Strictly speaking, this game is the Blazers' last chance to pick their first-round opponent in the regular season.
In fact, for Wang Zelin and others, no matter whether the opponent in the first round is the Lakers or the Mavericks, it actually has little impact. Because in the previous regular season games between the Trail Blazers and the Lakers and the Mavericks, the Trail Blazers won all of them.
But in the eyes of coach Terry Stotts and general manager Nel Orsi, since they can decide their opponents in the first round, why not choose the one with a greater chance of winning?
After the game against the Cavaliers on the 14th, the Blazers' coaching staff and management had a heated discussion, and finally came to the result on the night of the 15th.
…
In the afternoon, Wang Zelin met up with the team, went to Staples Arena, and got into the rhythm of the game.
Before the game, both sides announced their lineups.
Lakers: Marshall, Kobe Bryant, Nick Young, Pau Gasol, Robert Sacre.
Trail Blazers: Lillard, Connett Lee, Will Barton, Yi Jianlian, Wang Zelin.
On the 16th, as the closing game of the NBA regular season this season, a total of 15 games were scheduled, and there was no shortage of strong confrontations among them.
So what if it's possible?
This game between the Lakers and Trail Blazers has attracted a lot of attention, and it can even be said to be the first in the league!
Especially in China, the number of people watching this game was several times higher than the number of people watching other games at the same time.
On one side, there is the Los Angeles Lakers led by Kobe Bryant, who has the best reputation and fan base in the league; on the other side, after Yao Ming played for the Mosaics, another NBA team with Chinese players as the core - the Portland Trail Blazers.
What's more, the Trail Blazers also have Yi Jianlian, the only two players of Chinese descent in the league, who are both playing for the Trail Blazers, so it's strange that they don't get much attention.
However, when the rosters of both sides came out, especially the Trail Blazers' roster, it immediately caused an uproar.
At the commentary booth of the Imperial Court, the two pairs who will provide live commentary tonight are Zhang Lili and Yu Jia. They can also be regarded as a ceiling combination in domestic basketball commentary.
Yu Jia said: "Mr. Zhang, in tonight's closing game, the Trail Blazers chose to rest all three main players, Will Matthews, Nicolas Batum and LaMarcus Aldridge, except Lira at No. 1.
The King of Dehe No. 5 has not changed, what do you think is their intention in making such an adjustment?"
Zhang Liyi coughed twice, sat upright and said: "First of all, judging from the previous matches between the two teams and the actual situation, although I don't want to admit it, I have to admit that it is really difficult for the Lakers to beat the Trail Blazers..."
"But I think this is not the fundamental reason why coach Terry Stotts despises the Lakers, otherwise he would not put out such a lineup."
"Oh, what do you say?"
Yu Jia was very cooperative and put on a puzzled look.
"To put it bluntly, Tristos is choosing the opponents for the Trail Blazers in the first round of the playoffs." First expressing his views, Zhang Lili continued:
"We all know that the outcome of tonight's game is related to the final ranking of eighth place in the Western Conference. If the Lakers lose, they will completely miss the eighth place. But once the Lakers win, they can achieve a comeback in the last game and get the last place in the Western Conference.
A ticket to the playoffs.”
Yu Jia added silently: "In other words, the king and the others believe that they are more confident in playing the Lakers in the first round than playing the Mavericks!"
"At present, it seems like this."
…
On the TNT TV station, Barkley and O'Neal are responsible for commentating tonight's all-American live broadcast.
Barkley said: "You rested three main players right from the start? Shaquille, it seems like the Lakers are in a good position for the playoffs."
"It seems like Wang and the others have decided to choose the Mavericks and Lakers as their opponent in the first round of the futures series," O'Neal said.
"But more than this, I want to see what Kobe's face will be like at this time. I know the pride in that guy's heart better than anyone else. The Trail Blazers' actions tonight are definitely a charity for him...
But unfortunately, he still has to accept the king’s charity!”
"Hahaha! It's so funny!"
"..."
Barkley on the side felt a little speechless. He wanted to ask, man, is this how the media said that you and Kobe have settled their differences?
Good guy, when it comes to eating and watching the excitement, O'Neal is probably older than many fans.
But sometimes, when O'Neal talked about it, Barkley himself was quite curious about Kobe's inner thoughts.
the other side.
The camera goes into the arena.
Originally, Kobe wanted to get the last victory and let the Lakers advance to the playoffs. Yesterday, he had been paying attention to the outcome of the Mavericks' last away game against the Heat.
When he learned that Nowitzki's performance was average and the Mavericks lost the last game, he was extremely excited.
If yesterday he saw the dawn of the Lakers' advancement.
So now, when he saw the Lakers' roster, that light suddenly became extremely bright.
Although he never went to college, Kobe has never stopped learning knowledge. Whether it is emotional quotient or IQ, he is even higher than many players in the NBA who have gone to college for one or two years.
Therefore, Kobe quickly understood the purpose of the Trail Blazers' closing game move.