The top three in the West this season were somewhat unexpected, and after the All-Star Weekend, the Spurs, Trail Blazers and Thunder firmly locked up the top three spots, and even the Kobe-led Lakers were a big distance behind, which had to be jaw-dropping, considering that the Lakers were considered one of the favorites to win the championship before the start of the season. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

Originally, the Trail Blazers wanted to rush to the first place in the West in one go, after all, they didn't mind, but the home court advantage in the playoffs is indeed useful, if they can get the first place in the West, it means that they can sit on the home court advantage at least before the finals, which can also increase the probability of the team qualifying. However, it is now the end of the season, and the Spurs have always occupied the top of the Western Conference with a one-win advantage, which has made the teams behind a little discouraged.

Looking at the schedules of each team, McMillan couldn't help but smile bitterly, the Spurs have five or six games left in the schedule much better than them, although 1 win is not a difficult gap for the Trail Blazers to catch, but coupled with the obvious difference in difficulty between the two sides, McMillan is really not sure to surpass the Spurs in this short period of time to rank first in the West. However, this also means that the Spurs' previous schedule is more difficult than that of the Trail Blazers, and they are worthy of being an old powerhouse, and they can still be at the top of the table in such a situation.

Considering that the Spurs' core Parker, Ginobili and Duncan are not young, it is really surprising to be able to play such a strong performance in such a dense schedule. Of course, Popovich's rotation strategy played a big role, which allowed the players to maintain their energy at all times.

The Spurs and Trail Blazers now have only six games left, and the third-place Thunder have seven games left, and they are only 1.5 wins away from the Trail Blazers. However, the Thunder's schedule is similar to that of the Trail Blazers, with more than two-thirds of the teams currently ranked in the top eight teams in the East and West, and with their strength, it will not be easy to catch up with these 1.5 wins. Spurs only have two of the remaining six games against strong teams, and the difference in the difficulty of the schedule can be said to be very large.

So McMillan also put out the idea of fighting for the top spot in the West, and he only asked the players to do their best every game, win the games they have to win, and try their best for those games that they are not sure about. If you want to be the first in the West, you can only wait for the Spurs to make mistakes themselves, and the Trail Blazers just need to be careful not to be caught up by the Thunder from behind. Of course, the Lakers, who are in fourth place, have a full 4-game gap with them, which is equivalent to closing the coffin.

The Trail Blazers' opponents in the last six games are the Celtics, Magic, Jazz, Knicks, Nuggets and Warriors, except for the Jazz and the Warriors, the other teams are in the playoffs, the Celtics are fourth in the East, the Magic are sixth, the Knicks are eighth, and the Nuggets are seventh in the West. Even with the two teams that haven't finished in the top eight yet, the Jazz are ninth in the West, just one step away from the playoffs, and the only underdogs are the Warriors.

The only good news is that these six games are home and away, although two of the three are in the East...... If there were more away games than at home, it would be bad for the Trail Blazers. After all, now everyone is starting to accumulate physical strength for the playoffs, and long-distance flights are one of the most physically demanding things, even if you adjust it after landing, the state will not be too good, and it is very painful when the playoffs are coming.

Unfortunately, the Trail Blazers got off to a bad start in the closing stages, losing their first game on the road to the Celtics. Although Ye Feng had a quasi-triple-double of 27 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists, only Matthews scored 18 points and Aldridge scored 15 points. The old and strong Celtics triumvirate teamed up to score 72 points, and it was reasonable for the Trail Blazers to lose.

However, back at home, they defeated the Knicks and Jazz and continued to follow in the footsteps of the Spurs. In the game against the Knicks, Ye Feng really played soy sauce once, and only played 27 minutes and got 18 points and 6 assists, the reason is very simple, the Knicks were beaten in the first half, and Ye Feng naturally didn't need much playing time. McMillan clearly used the game as a drill, with Roy getting 28 minutes of playing time and Oden playing 23 minutes and both playing well, with Roy having 23 points, three rebounds and five assists and Oden contributing a double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds.

It won't be so easy against the Jazz, who are now only one win away from the Mavericks, who are eighth in the West, and still haven't given up on the pursuit of a playoff spot, which is the toughest team to deal with. If it weren't for Matthews hitting a quasi-kill 4.5 seconds before the end, the Trail Blazers might have to drink at home, knowing that the Thunder have chased the gap to only 0.5 wins, and they may surpass the past at any time, so now the Trail Blazers can't afford to lose.

They then flew to Orlando in the southeastern United States, where they came away with Howard scoring 24 points and 22 rebounds. This time it was Aldridge, who had been tepid, who seemed to regain his confidence, scoring 37 points and 14 rebounds in the game, dwarfing Howard's big double-double. Ye Feng posted another triple-double: 23 points, 10 rebounds, and 13 assists.

After beating the Magic, the Trail Blazers flew to Oakland for their last away game in the regular season of the season, and although it was tiring to fly from the West to the East and back to the West, the opponent in this game was the Warriors, who were third from the bottom in the West, and the difference in strength between the two sides was so large that the fatigue of the journey could not be repaired. Sure enough, the result of the game did not surprise anyone, the Trail Blazers easily defeated the Warriors 123-99, and under the organization of Ye Feng, all seven players of the team scored double-doubles, and Roy and Oden once again got more than 25 minutes of playing time to find the right form for the upcoming playoffs.

In the finale, the Trail Blazers defeated the Nuggets without danger, setting their record for the season at 49-17. Of course, this record is something that the Thunder can't catch up, although they also beat the Timberwolves in the finale, but it has no impact on the overall situation, and in the end the Thunder has a record of 47 wins and 19 losses, two wins away from the Trail Blazers, and helplessly ranks third in the West. However, the Trail Blazers were also unhappy, and the Spurs won all of their last six games, with a final record of 50 wins and 16 losses, just ahead of the Trail Blazers and at the top of the Western Conference.