super heavy artillery

Chapter 428 The Best Chance
After the game between the Thunder and the Grizzlies, several other games of the day also came to an end.The final battle for the playoffs is also settled.With the end of the game between the Rockets and the Kings, the final rankings of the regular season are also out.

In the West, the Thunder, Rockets, and Warriors are firmly in the top three.This is something that has been decided early on, and basically hasn't changed in the middle and late seasons.The Blazers hit fourth in the West, which is surprising.But with Lillard's ability, coupled with the increasingly mature McCollum, the Blazers finally achieved the results they should have achieved.However, the Blazers are not the most surprising, the fifth Pelicans are eye-opening for everyone.In fact, at the beginning of this season, everyone was still very optimistic about the Pelicans.The twin-tower lineup of Davis and Cousins, two players who can be called the "No. [-] Center" and "No. [-] Power Forward", coupled with Rondo's series, let everyone see the recovery of traditional basketball hope.As a result, before the All-Star Weekend, Cousins ​​was reimbursed for the season due to injury, which made the hearts of New Orleans feel so cold.Everyone thought that this season, the Pelicans had no hope.But what I didn't expect was that under the leadership of Davis, the Pelicans did not retreat but advanced, and made great strides all the way.Especially after the All-Star Weekend, the Pelicans have been successful all the way, almost reaching the top four in the Western Conference.

The next three teams did not surprise everyone.The Jazz, Spurs and Timberwolves ranked sixth, seventh and eighth respectively.Therefore, the Thunder's first opponent in the playoffs is the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Timberwolves with the "poor man's Big Four".

In fact, Donovan and his coaching staff have already made preparations.In the last few games, the Timberwolves failed to seize the opportunity to overtake the Spurs in front.Of course, the Nuggets who have been chasing after them have been chasing more vigorously since they were killed by An Luo, but their luck is not good. They lost two more games and failed to squeeze the Timberwolves out of the West. top eight.

Speaking of the Nuggets, An Luo really felt sorry for them.Jokic finally came out this season. His superb pass handling ability really inspired the abilities of the Nuggets players.Coupled with Murray's rapid growth, the Nuggets have really improved a lot.And this season, their winning percentage is over 60%.If this is placed in the East, there is no doubt that it can advance to the playoffs.such a pity!They are in the west.The only two [-]-win teams in the league are both in the West!
However, according to Anluo, as long as the Nuggets maintain their current lineup, there will always be a day when they will succeed.And, that day is not far away.Maybe next season, this year's playoff teams will fall behind.But the Thunder have nothing to worry about. Even in the worst-case scenario, Paul George leaves Oklahoma. With Westbrook and An Luo, the Thunder is still the top four in the Western Conference.It is estimated that the Timberwolves and Pelicans are the most dangerous.

Of course, An Luo doesn't need to worry about that!His attention is now focused on the upcoming playoffs.However, no one would think that the Timberwolves can bring much trouble to the Thunder.After all, one is barely squeezed into the top eight in the Western Conference, and the other is the No. [-] Western Conference that has already confirmed the playoff spot a long time ago.What they need to consider now is how to defeat the Timberwolves as soon as possible, freeing up their hands to prepare for the next opponent.However, between the fourth Trail Blazers and the fifth Pelicans, they really don't know which one they will encounter?The two teams have their own strengths. Before they played against each other, they really couldn't see any clues.But one thing that can be expected is that these two teams basically won't cause much trouble for the Thunder.

After the last regular season game, Donovan did not give his players a holiday.They quickly entered into training.However, under Donovan's arrangement, everyone didn't seem so nervous.Instead, a series of drills against the Timberwolves were carried out in an orderly manner.Although I know in my heart that the Timberwolves are not too much trouble, but there is a saying that sailing with care, neither Donovan nor Westbrook wants to make mistakes because of their own carelessness.

Especially Westbrook.He knew very well that this year was definitely the best time for the Thunder to win the championship.After all, they won the regular season championship this year and maintained the momentum of the championship. Next year they will face Paul George's contract renewal.Moreover, Paul George is not the only player whose Thunder contract expires, but also has to face the problem of leaving other important role players.Once this season's lineup cannot be retained, it will be difficult to say whether it will be able to have such combat effectiveness.

Furthermore, this year's situation has been very obvious.Before rushing out of the West, the Thunder's opponents were only one of the two teams, the Rockets and the Warriors.On this point, Thunder has a huge advantage!The Thunder can completely concentrate on eliminating the opponents in the first two rounds, and then wait for work at leisure.The Rockets and the Warriors are bound to be a life-and-death contest, and the Thunder, as a bystander, carefully examines these two possible opponents and finds a way to defeat them.In addition, in the regular season, the Thunder had three wins and one loss against these two teams.The Thunder are confident they can beat each other in the series.

And no matter which Eastern Conference team rushes to the finals, it is unlikely to be the opponent of the Thunder and Warriors.The situation where the west is strong and the east is weak is fully reflected in this season.Moreover, LeBron James, who has dominated the Western Conference for many years, is also in decline this year.This allows teams such as the Raptors and Celtics to see their day.However, none of these teams has the air of a king yet.

This is the situation this year, and it is very beneficial to the Thunder.If it's next year, it's hard to say.Next year's top giants, the Lakers may usher in the hope of rising. Their goal is obvious, which is to win two to three All-Stars this summer, and they have prepared for it for a year.The Clippers, which also belong to Los Angeles, overthrew their own luxurious lineup this season, and are also preparing to do a big job in the offseason.Perhaps, this is another super team.There are also the Jazz who have risen this season, and the Nuggets with full potential. Next season, chaos in the West will start!

Therefore, this season is really the best opportunity for the Thunder.Donovan, Westbrook, An Luo and even Paul George are well aware of this.No one can say clearly what will happen next season, but everyone knows what to do now.

(End of this chapter)