The NBA regular season has all been played today, and many teams in the West have game tasks today, with the Warriors 101-93 Magic, the Clippers 108-107 76ers, the Timberwolves 106-91 Pistons, the Lakers 136-124 Grizzlies, the Rockets 132-126 Thunder, and the Suns 104-97 Nuggets. There have been new changes in the standings and playoff situation for teams in the West.
1. The Timberwolves overtook the Thunder to rise to second in the West, and the Thunder fell to third. The Timberwolves' record did not plummet after the absence of core player Thoes, but they were still able to play steadily, and today they moved up to second place in the West after defeating the underdog Pistons. The Thunder lost to the Rockets in overtime after missing Alexander today, slipping to third in the West. The Nuggets lost to the Suns today and are still in first place for the time being, but only 0.5 wins ahead of the Timberwolves and Thunder, and the competition for the top spot in the West is still fierce.
2. The Clippers hold fourth in the West. With the Clippers narrowly beating the 76ers away, the Clippers stabilized the fourth place, but only one win ahead of the fifth-place Pelicans, and could be retaken by the Pelicans at any time. The battle for fourth and fifth place in the West is also confusing.
3. The Suns overtook the Kings to rise to seventh in the West. The Suns beat the mighty Nuggets to move up to seventh, just 0.5 wins shy of the sixth-place Mavericks. The Mavericks, Suns, and Kings are all battling for a sixth-place spot and want to finish sixth and make the playoffs without falling into the play-in zone. The battle for 6th-8th place in the West has entered a white heat, and the Mavericks are currently winning five in a row and holding the initiative in sixth place.
4. The Lakers sit ninth in the West. The Lakers are 1.5 wins behind the eighth-place Kings and 2.5 ahead of the tenth-place Warriors. The Lakers have won five in a row but are still ranked ninth in the West, so it can be said that it is difficult for the Lakers to move up to eighth in the current standings, and it is unrealistic to fall to tenth. At the end of the season, there is a good chance that the Lakers will enter the play-in race with a ninth-place finish.
5. The tenth-game battle between the Warriors and the Rockets has entered a white-hot state. Both the Warriors and the Rockets won today, and the Warriors still lead the Rockets by one win. The Rockets, who have won 10 in a row, are unstoppable, and today they defeated the mighty Thunder, and the Warriors also stopped their decline and defeated the Magic. The battle for play-off qualification between the two teams may be decided by a direct meeting on April 5.
I have to say that the play-off format is really exciting, in the past, the teams after the 9th place basically began to rot, and now the 11th team in the West is still firing for the play-off qualification. The competition for teams in the West has been particularly fierce this year, and perhaps the ranking of the teams in the West will not be finalized until the final game of the regular season.