"Suns 11 in a row? Losing just one game in 18 games? Fisher's eyes widened as the Lakers returned to Los Angeles after finishing their game against the Utah Jazz to prepare for their final games.

In fact, by this time of the season, the vast majority of teams have given up on preparing for the regular season.

Playoff teams, because their opponents have already been decided, will begin to prepare for the first round of playoff games in the final week of the regular season. The current first round of the playoffs is still a best-of-5 system, and many top teams will also overturn in five games, and the example of defeating the strong with the weak is many times more than the 7-game 4-win system in later generations.

Rather than a playoff-caliber team, the team's focus has shifted to next season. Players are starting to enjoy vacations or starting to contact their next family, and management is starting to prepare for the draft and free agency. They don't care too much about the outcome of the last few games, just clock in and out of work.

And there are only two scenarios for teams that are still struggling to play the regular season.

The first is for home-court advantage in the playoffs, such as the regular season battle between the Lakers and the Bulls, and the other is for glory. On the other hand, in order to gain the advantage of the home game in the finals, don't underestimate the home advantage, every slight advantage is crucial in the strong confrontation. Home field advantage in particular does exist, and every team will always have a higher win rate at home than on the road, which is especially evident in some home stadiums with big markets and fanatical fans, such as Los Angeles and Chicago.

The second is to compete for a playoff spot, such as the current 7th in the East, the Orlando Magic is 43-35, the Washington Bullets are 43-36 in 8th, and the Cleveland Cavaliers are 42-36 in ninth. The records of these three teams are tightly knit, and it is difficult to say which of the two teams will make it to the playoffs in the end, and what the seventh and eighth positions will be.

Hardaway, Webb, and Brandon are all three stars who are desperately trying to bring the team to the playoffs.

On the one hand, for honor, on the other. The monetary rewards for making the playoffs are also staggering, as the current salary of MLB only includes the regular season, and all playoff bonuses are provided by the team owner with an additional prize pool. The best record in the league, the first to sixth place in the division, the winner of the first round of the playoffs, the winner of the second round, the winner of the division finals, the winner of the finals, and the losing team can all receive a generous share of the profits.

Even in the first round, you can get a lot of money from the team owner. If you win a few more games and the team owner is happy, then there will be a lot of rewards. The richer the boss, the greater the rewards. The better the player, the more money he gets!

This year's prize pool totals $6.5 million, and Bryant knows that the prize pool will rise to $10 million in a few years. While it's not a lot for a superstar, it's a great joy for most players and working players to get this salary.

The Suns' performance in March and April was really amazing, and Kevin Johnson seemed to be the explosive point guard who could do everything in the sky again. And before them, there was already a player named Kevin Johnson who played like this.

"It's said that the April Player of the Month is Kevin Johnson's bag." Campbell was also gossiping.

On April 9, when the Lakers returned to Los Angeles, they immediately took a day off. On April 11, the Lakers returned to the Great Western Forum arena. This time the Lakers didn't know anything about the Suns, up to Harris and down to Fisher. You haven't even watched the footage of the Suns' recent games, but now we only know that Kevin Johnson has returned to the form of competing for MVP, and he has led the team to a 11-game winning streak that forced the team into the playoffs.

"Whatever the hell, we've got Kobe and Shaq!" Most of the Lakers' players seem to be a little uncaring, which is a common pride for big teams, and after O'Neal's return, the Lakers have won these games with ease. Wang fried in his hand, and it didn't feel too cool to fight. The offensive space created by Bryant and O'Neal makes it very comfortable for role players to play. It's no wonder that these players have a sense of pride and arrogance.

"Don't be careless." Kirtlambis looked at the Lakers players with some concern, and now the Lakers' players are very high-spirited, but they are really physically tired. At the end of the long season, the Lakers had very few injuries, which was lucky. But almost all of the players have played more than 70 games, and in such a team full of rookies, the physical exertion of the players is very high.

Especially the game with the Jazz the day before yesterday, although it was won. But every player gave it their all in that game and was exhausted at the end.

Those who travel a hundred miles are half ninety!

Kirtlambis is very worried about the state of the Lakers players.

Sure enough, the game against the Phoenix Suns fell behind from the start.

The Lakers' starting lineup is back to normal, with Kobe Bryant, Jones, Bowen, Campbell, O'Neal.

The Suns' starting lineup is PG Jason Kidd SG Kevin Johnson SF Cedric Ceballos PF Danny Manning C Hoult Rhodes Williams.

Danny Angie's defensive set-up is very similar to that of the Jazz.

Kidd's single defense against Kobe Bryant has been very good, and Kidd is a rare point guard with perfect strength, speed and defensive skills. At 24 years old, he is in the prime of life, and he is no worse at defending Kobe than Payton.

Danny Manning held off O'Neal on the inside, and Hult Williams waited for an opportunity to help. The two physicalities and their excellent interior lines make O'Neal a little awkward.

The same is to pinch the inside, single defense outside line. This is already a standard way to defend the Lakers, and the gist of this defense is the need for a player who can defend Kobe Bryant's shot one-on-one. At the same time, the first defender on the inside was able to resist O'Neal's direct score and wait for the second inside to complete the package. This minimizes the offensive threat of the OK combination.

If Kobe Bryant and Eddie Jones have a good hand, then they can complete the offense with plenty of mid-to-long-range shots.

It's a pity that the Lakers players in this game are not in shape, their projection is inaccurate one after another, and O'Neal is dominated by two talented men on the inside, and it is deadlocked.

Harris continued to adjust the lineup, and the coming off the bench of Horry and Dell Curry gave the Lakers some vitality. The offense and defense of the two veterans are still very stable, but the Suns' bench also has a number of strong players such as Rex Chapman, Steve Nash, and Wesley Persson. The substitutions of the two sides are evenly matched.

Kobe Bryant forcibly wanted to change his name against the sky at the beginning of the fourth quarter, and scored consecutive points with sudden shots. Kevin Johnson responded with a score explosion that was no less than Kobe's, and firmly maintained the lead.

The final score was fixed on the Suns 114-98 Lakers.

Kevin Johnson was named the best player of the game, shooting 11-of-17 for 31 points, six rebounds and four assists. Kidd had 9 points, 8 rebounds and 10 assists. Ceballos had 21 points and seven rebounds. The three of them formed a trident, and under the mobilization of Danny Angie, the Lakers' defense was directly broken up.

Bryant had 27 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and 3 turnovers.

O'Neal had 26 points, 14 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocks and 5 turnovers.

The Phoenix Suns are on a 12-game winning streak, while the Lakers are on their 10th loss of the season.