Vol 3 Chapter 258: Best chance

After the Thunder and Grizzlies game, several other games of the day also ended. The final battle for the playoffs has also been settled. With the end of the Rockets and Kings game, the final ranking of the regular season has also come out.
In the West, the Thunder, Rockets, and Warriors are firmly in the top three. This has been set a long time ago, and it has basically not 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 Mike Ram, the Blazers finally achieved the results they should have achieved. However, the Blazers are not the most surprising. The fifth Pelican is the eye-opener for everyone. In fact, at the beginning of the season, everyone was still very optimistic about the Pelicans. Davis and Cousins, the two towers that can be called the "first center" and "first power forward", combined with the series of Rondo, let everyone see the revival of traditional basketball Hope. As a result, before the All-Star Weekend, Cousins ​​was reimbursed for an injury season, making New Orleans people feel chilled. Everyone thinks that this season, the Pelicans have no hope. But what I didn't expect was that under the leadership of Davis, the Pelicans did not retreat but moved forward, all the way forward. Especially after the All-Star Weekend, the Pelicans played well all the way, almost reaching the top four in the Western Conference.
The next three teams did not surprise everyone too much. The Jazz, Spurs and Timberwolves are sixth, seventh and eighth. 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 are already prepared. In the last few games, the Timberwolves did not seize the opportunity to overtake the Spurs. Of course, the Nuggets, who have been chasing behind 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 push the Timberwolves out of the West. Top eight.
Speaking of the Nuggets, An Luo really felt sorry for them. Jokic finally played this season. His superb passing 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 has exceeded 50%. 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 60-win teams in the league are in the West!
However, Ian Luo believes that as long as the Nuggets maintain their current lineup, there will always be a day when they will come out. Moreover, this day is not far away. Perhaps next season, this year's playoff teams will be left behind. But the Thunder has nothing to worry about. Even in the worst situation, Paul George leaves Oklahoma. With Westbrook and Anlow, the Thunder are still the top four in the Western Conference. It is estimated that the Timberwolves and Pelicans are the most dangerous.
Of course, there is no need to worry about An Luo! His attention is now focused on the upcoming playoffs. However, no one would think how much trouble the Timberwolves can bring to the Thunder. After all, one is barely squeezing into the top eight in the Western Conference, and the other is the first place in the Western Conference who has already confirmed the playoffs long ago. What they need to consider now is how to defeat the Timberwolves as soon as possible and free their hands to prepare for the next opponent. However, between the fourth Blazers and the fifth Pelicans, they really don't know which one they will meet? The two teams have their own strengths, and there is really no clue before they meet. But one thing that can be expected is that these two teams will basically not cause much trouble to the Thunder.
After the end of the last regular season, Donovan did not give his players a holiday. They quickly entered the training. However, under Donovan's arrangement, everyone did not appear to be so nervous. Instead, a series of drills against the Timberwolves were carried out in an orderly manner. Although I knew that the Timberwolves weren't too much trouble, there was a saying called Be careful to sail the boat for ten thousand years. Neither Donovan nor Westbrook wanted to go wrong because of their carelessness.
Especially Westbrook. He knew very well that this year is 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 face the issue of Paul George's contract extension. And the player whose contract expired with the Thunder is not only Paul George, but also has to face the issue of leaving and leaving other important players. Once this season's lineup cannot be retained, it will be difficult to say whether there will be such a fighting capacity by then~EbookFREE.me~ Furthermore, this year's situation is already very obvious. Before rushing out of the West, the Thunder's opponent was only one of the Rockets and Warriors. At this point, the Thunder has the upper hand! Thunder can concentrate on solving the opponents in the first two rounds, and then wait for work. The Rockets and the Warriors are bound to be a life-and-death contest, and the Thunder happened to examine these two possible opponents carefully as a bystander and find a way to defeat them. In addition, in the regular season, the Thunder played three wins and one loss to both teams. The Thunder are confident to beat the opponent in the series.
And no matter which Eastern team rushes to the Finals, it is unlikely to be the opponent of the Thunder and the Warriors. The situation where the West is strong and the East is weak is vividly manifested this season. Moreover, LeBron James, who has dominated the West for many years, has also been in a decline this year. This allowed the Raptors and Celtics teams to see their early days. However, none of these teams has that kind of kingly spirit.
This is the situation this year, which is very beneficial to the Thunder. If it's next year, it's hard to say. Next year, the top giants Lakers may usher in hope of rising, their goal is obvious, is to win two or three All-Stars this summer, for which they have prepared a year. The Los Angeles Clippers have toppled their luxurious lineup this season, and are also preparing to do a big job in the offseason. Perhaps this is another super strong team. There are also the Jazz who have risen this season, and the Nuggets with full potential. Next season, the Western Conference will be chaotic!
So, this season is really the best opportunity for the Thunder. Donovan, Westbrook, including Anlow and even Paul George knew this well. No one can tell what will happen next season, but everyone knows what to do now.