We have now been a regular NBA 2024-25 season and teams across the league are preparing for the postseason battle they remember.
Especially at the Western conference, the playoff race was never tighter, with 3 to 8 seeds inverted almost every night, all separated by only 1½ games, at most.
Keep your attention reversed to Minnesota Timberwolves, Clippers, Memphis grizzlies and Golden State WarriorsAll neck and neck for this seed No. 6 and a chance to avoid the playing tournament.
While Los Angeles Lakers are on the verge of securing their first six seed from the 2019-20 campaign, Phoenix Suns looking at the capture Sacramento Kings down the section for a chance at least Play playback.
Drama the Western Conference – including what lies before us Kevin durant and whoever Stephen Curry And the warriors would like to avoid in the first round – they could meet on Sunday until the last day of the regular season.
Here is what our initiates NBA Michael C. Wright, Brian Windhorst, Dave McMenamin, Ohm Youngmisuk, Tim Macmahon, Kevin Pelton and Zach Kram said about this Wild West.
What will be next I more And Grizzlies, when fighting for the advantage of a domestic court under a temporary coach?
Memphis got a hard part on Thursday by finally won his first game under Tuomas Iisalo, while Morant nailed Bummer to limit 30-point performance to Miami Heat. With such little time remains in the regular season, Grizzlies must now be home for the elements of the Iisalo system, which will best build a team for success in Play -off. It is clear that Iisalo wants to represent more at the offensive end, but Grizz must find a way to do this while optimizing Years of Jackson Jr. and Desmond Bane. Postseason expects to be internally low, while Zach Kleiman, the CEO of Kleiman, says he is looking for a “clarity of the direction” under Iisalo. However, if Memphis finds a way to surprise in Play -OFF, it could go a long way to stabilize the shaking situation between the team and the moantka caused by the sudden launch of Taylor Jenkins. – Michael C. Wright
Which team in the West represents the greatest threat Oklahoma City Thunder?
The Denver NuggetsThe last western team, which won the NBA (2023) title, is most likely to upset against the Oklahoma City team, which will end with the best score in the history of the league. Nikola Jokic presents a huge problem with the match for anyone, even a team that can play a few 7 feet of rims Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein. Jokic offered a significant reminder of this in Oklahoma City March 10, when he registered 35 points, 18 rebounds and 8 victory assists that helped help Jamal Murray34 points for ensuring the division of 2-2 in the series of regular season. Nuggets will need this kind of production from their possibility 2 to get through Oklahoma City, which will be quite a challenge with the Murray’s Team Canada Teammate team Lu sleeps Leading the highest defense of Thunder. – Tim MacMahon
What will be for the sun if they completely miss playback?
What’s worse than being a second aprons? Being the one that missed the Play -off wage of $ 400 million, including luxury taxes. What’s worse than that? Have a player in which you need to trade Bradley Beal Own clauses without trade and provide quotations on the record of holding all cards. Well, one more question: do the sun want to trade with Kevin Durant this summer? No, not really. But the fact is that the roads of the sun, how to get out of the second apron – to ensure that they have flexibility – they all seem to lead to Durant. They cannot trade with Beal and will not trade Devin Booker. That is why, in the deadline of sun, interviews with a handful of teams about Durant shops, conversations that will lead to the event this summer. One of the reasons why the Durant trade was not in February – except Durant itself, who explained that he did not want him – the sun was looking for a massive haul in return for resources.
No matter how much durant there was left in the tank, it may not be on the cards. Durant will be 37 years old at the beginning of the next season, and although it has absolutely $ 55 million, which will earn next season, two -year -old, $ 120 million Max Extension, which can look for, do not have to attract suitors. Teams who want durant will be a job seekers who already have high wages. If the sun arrives at the intersection where the durant must move, they may have to decide between what they want, which is a beautiful package of players and capital design, and settlement for what they need, which is flexibility. For example, last summer, Clippers chose flexibility before all the other when letting Paul George holiday. It was a difficult decision, but it changed all its horizon. The sun could end up carefully studying this decision. – Brian Windhorst
What will it take for the Lakers to run the NBA final?
Demonstration. With a handful of games remaining in the regular season, La could end anywhere from 3 to 8 in the west. Avoiding a playing tournament and providing space 6 or better by the Lakers to prepare for the playoffs and provided some time for a few of their boxed players (LeBron James, Doncic and Rui Hachimura Claim this list) to heal. If they can complete No. 4 or better, they would begin by hosting their first round at Crypto.com Arena, where they have the second best home record in the west. “We would like to be in the first four,” said JJ coach Redick on Thursday. “We would like to have a domestic court (advantage). I think that for playing only well at home, it would be nice for our boys to complete (regular season) in Portland and then be able to be home for nine or 10 days. Avenge Previous Playoff Series Against the Nuggets Could Provide and Boost. – Dave McMmenamin
The Warriors team should want to avoid in the first round: _______.
Oklahoma City. It would be devastating for warriors, after spent most of the last two months of persecution and then held in sixth place, they fell into the playing tournament in the last week of regular season. If the warriors drop below the sixth, they would lose a valuable week off before the first wheel and would have to fight in playing. Stephen Curry (Age 37 years old), Draymond Green (35) and Jimmy Butler III (35) could potentially face young and athletic thunder. Warriors believe that they can go against any opponent due to the championship of Curry, Green and Steve Kerr not to mention the addition of “playoff Jimmy”. But even though it is 2-1 against the thunder in front of the Butler store, it will face a relevant difficult match.
In addition, finding a way to limit your favorite MVP Shai Gilgeous-AlexanderWarriors would have to deal with developing stars chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams. With one of the highest defenses in the league, Thunder can send more defenders in curry, starting with a physical lu cake and Alex Caruso. And inside, Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein can cause problems with smaller warriors. Curry said ESPN in January that he and warriors feel they could beat anyone in the series of seven games. Butler’s arrival only increases this trust. However, warriors would rather avoid the best team team in the first round and use their leave to prepare their star players. – Ohm YoungMisuk
What is the late Timberwolves season and is it sustainable?
Minnesota maintained basically the top 10 ten defense, but the crime jumped forward after the section. At the end of February, Timberwolves placed on 13th place in an offensive evaluation. But since the beginning of March they had the third best offense, only for Clippers and Boston Celtics. Much of this improvement stems from hot shooting in backcourt: above this section, Mike Conley made an amazing 53.2% of his 3-reporters while Donte Forenzo shoots 43% of Hluboká. Jaden McDaniels (38.2%) and Julius Randle (36.6%) also increased their efficiency surrounding Anthony Edwards With lots of spaces.
We should not expect Minnesota players to stay so hot for the rest of the season; Nobody in the NBA does 53.2% of their 3 with a long span. Timberwolves also used relatively easy opponents’ slate during this section: in March they went 10-1 against the sub-500 rivals and 3-2 versus teams with winning records. Now they look better than looking for most of the campaign and trying to incorporate randle and divinczenzo. – Zach Stall
What do the projections say will probably be the first matches in the West?
For Western Playoff teams, there are bad news that hopes to jump on the search for their first rivals: with less than a week in a regular season, nothing but Oklahoma City, which ended first, is almost not decided. Unlike the Eastern Conference where the 4-5 match could basically include only Detroit Pistons, Indiana Pacers and Milwaukee BucksNo single Western match happens in more than 27% of simulations using the ESPN basketball energy index.
Even the most likely Western series, between Grizzlies and Houston RocketsIt does not have to be determined after the first night of playing events, because Houston will most likely face the winners of the opening games as seed no. 2. – Kevin Pelton
