If the ranking competition in the western region in 2019 is described by one word, it should be confusing. The Warriors and Nuggets occupy the 1st and 2nd place with the same record, but the Nuggets have a tougher schedule, so the Warriors are likely to enter the playoffs as No. 1 seed. The 5678 Thunder, Clippers, Jazz and Spurs are only one win at most, and it seems that the 5th to 8th position will be extremely intense.
With 10 games left in the regular season, they are bound to fight and improve their record to avoid the 8th place and the Warriors. Who is the most likely opponent of the Warriors?
It is not difficult to see that the Warriors' most likely opponents will be generated from the last four Thunder, Clippers, Jazz and Spurs. Through the analysis of the schedule and their recent performance, let us first look at who is the least likely to face the Warriors, and then see who is most likely.
After winning five consecutive games, the Jazz lost to the Hawks this Friday, but in the next eight games, the Jazz will face teams with a winning percentage below 50%, five of which will be The Jazz played at home, which gave the Jazz a chance to win a wave of winning streaks. This is not the most important thing. The point is that this wave of winning streaks will give them more confidence to win in the final two key battles between the Nuggets and the Clippers.
The game against the Nuggets is played at the Jazz home, and this season the Nuggets have only 18 wins and 16 losses. The next game with the Clippers will determine the final ranking. Xiao Bian estimates that the Jazz's final ranking is likely to be Between 6th and 7th.
Although the Spurs once again lost to Harden's super-romantic rocket, ushered in a two-game losing streak after their 9-game winning streak, but considering that these two games are a small score, and the Spurs are obviously under the training of Popovich. The best condition is reached on both ends of the attack and defense. In the final nine games of the regular season, the Spurs will have seven teams with a winning percentage below 50%. If they can win six of them, it is hard to imagine a 48-win team in the Western Conference. 8 people, isn't it?
For the Warriors, the first team they hope to meet in the first round may be the Clippers. After all, their two teams are close to home, reducing the fatigue of long journeys, and the Clippers are in addition to head coach Rivers, others. Lack of rich playoff experience. However, Xiao Bian believes that their hopes may be defeated. The Clippers have won nine games in the past 10 games. The team is under the leadership of Rivers. The next nine games, except for four games, respectively. Deer, Rockets, Warriors and Jazz will be tougher, and the other opponents are the bottom of the league. If the Clippers can achieve even one victory in these four strong conversations, they will be able to stay away from the eighth place with a 47 or 48 win.
In the end, the Thunder, they just won a victory at the Raptors home, but given their last five games lost four games, and then will face a very difficult schedule, including the home game against the Pacers, the Nuggets The Pistons and the Rockets ended the season at the Bucks' home game. If they can't play well, they are likely to fall to the No. 8 seed position in the first round to face the Warriors.
This result will not be dissatisfied with the Thunder, I think this will not be good news for the Warriors, but we have the opportunity to see the two teams that have been plagued for a long time to bring a show of stagnation, although the Warriors are more optimistic One side, but the Thunder's tough defense and the control of Gemini are bound to make the Warriors in trouble.