NBA opening draw to twilight Shaquille O'Neal

Chapter 440 The Lakers Are In Danger
Los Angeles.

On the night of the 10th.

Wang Zelin came to the nightclub and was in high spirits. He was celebrating tonight's victory with his teammates, and he was also feeling happy 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 in April, the Blazers team set a bottom line for the next 4 games:
7 battles and 5 victories!
As long as you win 5 games, you can ensure that the Portland Trail Blazers will be crowned the regular season champion!

Now, except for No. 1's break against the Pacers, there are three remaining games against the Jazz, Warriors and Clippers, and Wang Zelin and the others won them all.As for the opponents Mosaic, Cavaliers and Lakers in the last three games in this year's regular season, they never won every time they met the Blazers.

So, will the Blazers win 68 next?
……

the other end.

Oklahoma.

Energy Arena.

After an absence of nearly three weeks, Russell Westbrook will return tonight, and the reason why it is scheduled for this game is simply because tonight's opponent is different.

Los Angeles Lakers!
This is the Thunder's opponent tonight.

It's not to say how strong the Lakers are now, after all, just look at the Lakers' current record.Also played 79 games, the Lakers' record at this time is only 47 wins and 32 losses.Although still ranked 8th in the Western Conference, the 9th-placed Dallas Mavericks have also won 47 wins, and the Lakers' 8th position seems to be about to lose.

Therefore, tonight's longest game near the end of the season is very important for the Lakers.

至于雷霆队，目前的战绩为57胜23负，尽管赶不上第1名已经取得了65胜14负的开拓者队，也追不上第2名已经取得63胜16负的马刺。

But in any case, after losing to the Trail Blazers, the fourth-ranked Clippers still maintain a record of 55 wins. It is very difficult to catch up with the Thunder within three games.

Therefore, the Thunder's position in the Western Conference this season is considered stable, and Durant and Westbrook can sit back and relax for the time being.

But Kobe was different.

If they can't win tonight, and if Nowitzki leads the team to win again tomorrow, the Lakers may only miss the playoffs for two consecutive seasons.

For a proud black mamba, this is unacceptable.

You must know that before the All-Star Game, the Lakers have already entered the top 6 in the Western Conference. However, the team leader Nash is too old. This season's stop and go has greatly affected the Lakers' regular season plan.

After the All-Star Game, the winning rate of about 5% was barely maintained...

But don't forget, this is the Wild West!
You thought it was the East?

The non-win rate in the regular season is over 4%, that is, as long as you win more than 5 games in the 82 regular season games, you can securely get a ticket to the playoffs.

However, in the West, there is no regular season winning rate of about 6%, less than 50 regular season victories, and basically no chance for the playoffs.

It sounds ironic.

But this is the cold reality!

Not long after, something happened that made Kobe feel even colder.

On the night of the 10th, in 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 swing.

全场24投12中狂揽30分11篮板8助攻2抢断1失误2犯规的超级准三双数据。

Although the 3-of-0 three-pointer shooting rate is a bit embarrassing, but overall, the flaws are not concealed.

What makes Kobe even more desperate is that Westbrook scored 30+ triple-doubles tonight, but it didn't affect Durant's overall performance too much.

出战41分钟，26投8中，命中率虽然有些低效，但还是拿到了27分3篮板4助攻2抢断2盖帽2失误3犯规的全能数据。

Durant is as stable as an old dog as always!

For the Lakers, Nash, one of the old Big Three, was affected by a back injury and missed most of the Lakers' games this season. Even if he didn't play, he could only play again in the first round of the playoffs.

Another giant, Pau Gasol, will not be able to play tonight due to the recurrence of his old injury and can only take turns.

In the end, only Kobe was left to fight to the last moment with a group of young people.

After the whole game, Kobe, who scored 28 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists, was extremely desperate!

When facing the Thunder players, he once again felt that his heart was more than enough but his strength was not enough.

Perhaps, I really should withdraw from the stage of history.

Leaving aside Kobe's complex feelings, after all the teams on the 10th have played their games, they have basically played 79 regular season games. Of course, some teams have played 80 regular season games.

At present, leaving aside the east, the west ranks as follows:

No. 1: Portland Trail Blazers (65 wins and 14 losses)
No. 2: San Antonio Spurs (63 wins and 17 losses)
No. 3: Oklahoma City Thunder (57 wins and 22 losses)
No. 4: Los Angeles Clippers (55 wins and 24 losses)
No. 5: Houston Mosaics (51-28)
No. 6: Golden State Warriors (50 wins and 30 losses)
No. 7: Memphis Grizzlies (49 wins and 30 losses)
No. 8: Los Angeles Lakers (47 wins and 32 losses)
No. 9: Dallas Mavericks (47 wins and 32 losses)
No. 10: Phoenix Suns (46 wins and 33 losses)
No. 11: Minnesota Timberwolves (38 wins and 39 losses)
No. 12: Denver Nuggets (36 wins and 43 losses)
No. 13: New Orleans Pelicans (35 wins and 45 losses)
No. 14: Sacramento Kings (26 wins and 50 losses)
No. 15: Utah Jazz (24 wins and 55 losses)
Judging from the current situation, the more intense competition in the West is probably in these two areas.

First of all, it is the final ranking competition between the 5th to 7th Mosaic Warriors and the Grizzlies.Of course, the three teams have basically secured their tickets to the playoffs. The so-called ranking competition now, in fact, is at a deeper level, from the 2nd to 4th in the Western Conference, to select the opponents in the first round of the playoffs in the future.

The second is the competition between the Lakers Mavericks and the Suns between the 8th and 10th.

In Wang Zelin's view, the competition between the last three teams is far better than the first three. After all, this involves the last playoff ticket of the season.

The most fundamental way for an NBA team to create greater commercial value is through playing games.

When it comes to the playoffs, the outside world will pay far more attention than the regular season, which will also help the team seek greater commercial value.

In the final analysis, those two words cannot be avoided~ interest!
Players want to break into the playoffs, and want to stand on a higher stage to show their value, so as to seek the next bigger contract.

The team executives also want to break into the playoffs, because this will give the team a higher exposure and better seek commercial interests.

……

……

11号当晚，小牛队在主场以107:101战胜了东部弱旅75人队、拿到赛季第48胜成功反超湖人跻身西部前8行列的消息一经传出，瞬间轰动联盟。

After causing this sensation, fans and the media discussed the most intensely not about Nuo Tianwang's 34 points and 10 rebounds, but...

The Lakers are in danger!

(End of this chapter)