As March progressed into April, the situation in the alliance gradually became clearer.

The competition in the east is mainly reflected in the competition for the first place in the east.

The Cavaliers, Celtics, Bulls, and Heat, the four teams are basically neck-and-neck.

The Cavaliers, who had been riding high in the regular season for the first two seasons.

After beating the Clippers to reach the top of the East, he suddenly hit the brakes.

Several generals in the team have rested "due to injuries".

New players like Danny Green increase their playing time.

James' average minutes per game has shrunk, from 39 minutes last season to 38 minutes this season, and has dropped to 35 minutes per game in April.

The Cavaliers are preparing for the playoffs, and James doesn't want to take the meaningless league first and triple MVP.

His goal is only to win the championship.

If he doesn't win the championship this season, then the three-time MVP in the regular season is not only not an honor for him, but a burden.

Just like Nowitzki's regular season MVP in 2007, if you don't get the ultimate honor, too many other honors will create a kind of "brush" and "strong outside" impression.

James listened to Min Congda's advice, and he and the whole team stepped on the brakes to recuperate and prepare for the playoffs.

The Celtics, who were very successful last season, were on a standstill in the East, but lost in the Finals because of one less home-court advantage.

Therefore, this season, the Celtics did not stay easily in the regular season, but played steadily and strive for good regular season results.

Otherwise, it would be a shame to play at a high level and lose because there is no home field advantage.

The Heat and Bulls, as new powerhouses, will have to compete for a higher ranking in order to occupy a good position in the playoffs.

The Bulls, led by Rose, began the sprint in March, winning eight straight games before losing to the Pacers in overtime.

This was followed by another wave of four straight wins and nine straight wins from the end of March to April, pushing their winning tally to 62 in one fell swoop.

The first place in the East and even the first place in the league are firmly held in their hands.

In a series of wins in April, the Bulls slashed the Celtics, Cavaliers, and Magic one after another, and the Bulls were shocked.

Derrick Rose scored 30 points and 39 points in succession.

His violent breakthrough style of play occupied the attention of all fans at the end of the season and became the brightest star.

And this is only Derrick Rose's third season.

Conversely, the Heat, who make up the Bosh-Wade-Gay triangle, have had problems in their late-season sprint.

Guy was on and off with a shoulder injury, and Riley had to spend draft picks to get Sean Battier from the Rockets.

The combination of Bosh and Wade is very strong, but because of Bosh's defensive problems, it is always almost meaningless.

After Battier arrived, the depth of the squad has been improved, but the team's firepower is not enough.

The third point of attack, Guy, could not be fully integrated into the team's offense, and the Heat's offensive and defensive system was always imperfect.

They fell behind in the race for first place in the East and fell to fourth place.

However, the cunning Riley dropped the team to fourth place, apparently wanting to meet the Bulls in the semifinals early.

Although the Bulls were unbeatable in the regular season, they won 9 consecutive games and had high morale.

But the NBA playoffs and the regular season have always been two worlds.

The Bulls' single-core system on the offensive end is easy to target in the playoffs.

The Heat's dual-core lineup has a higher margin for error, and Wade has more playoff experience.

The Heat didn't want to face the Celtics early in the semifinals, so they lost back-to-back games in the last few games, giving up the third spot to the Cavaliers.

In this way, the ranking of the Eastern Conference Final Four is the Bulls with 62 wins, the Celtics with 56 wins, the Cavaliers with 55 wins and the Miami Heat with 54 wins.

Of course, the Heat's loss means they will face the Orlando Magic in the first round.

After a tumultuous season for the Magic, and after Carter proved unfit for the Howard system, the Magic traded Turkoglou back to the Magic team in hopes of repeating the glory of 2009.

But after just two seasons, it is difficult to reproduce the once perfect chemistry.

And Howard has a conflict with the team because of the contract extension.

In the context of the Celtics and Cavaliers are still stable, and the Bulls and Heat are rising.

It's unknown how much of the Magic's championship spirit remains.

From this point of view, the Heat's first-round play against the Magic is not a good choice.

Because the third-place Cavaliers will face the Atlanta Hawks in the first round.

With Joe Johnson, Al Horford, and Jeff Teague, it's not so easy to play against in the playoffs.

As for the seventh and eighth Knicks and 76ers, they are basically here to play soy sauce, and it is difficult to pose enough threat to the Celtics and Bulls.

But the situation is different in the west, which is the opposite of the east, where the top four rankings have long been framed.

The Spurs, who changed their style of play, gradually widened the gap between them and the teams behind them from the middle of the season.

With a very consistent performance, he has a 60-22 record.

This is the third time Duncan has led the team to a 60-win record in the regular season since coming to the Spurs.

After the 2006 season, it returned to the first place in the West in the regular season.

However, the Spurs, who finished first in the West in 2006, did not have a good result in the playoffs.

They were killed by the Mavericks in the semifinals and failed to defend their title, and I don't know if this time the first place in the West can bring them a breakthrough.

Second in the West is the Los Angeles Lakers, who have the same record as last year with 57 wins and 25 losses, aiming to defend their title.

The Lakers' opponent in the first round was the Memphis Grizzlies.

The battle for seventh and eighth place in the West did not come to an end until the final round of the playoffs.

In the final round, the Clippers had a 46-35 record, the Grizzlies had a 45-36 record, and the Hornets had a 45-36 record.

If the Clippers win the last game, they will be in the top eight and will finish in seventh place.

And the Clippers' last opponent happened to be the Memphis Grizzlies.

The Grizzlies and Hornets have the same record, but when it comes to winning and losing, the Grizzlies have the upper hand.

So, with the same record, the Grizzlies are at the top of the rankings.

However, the Clippers are behind the Grizzlies and Hornets in terms of win-loss relationship.

In other words, with the same record, the Clippers are worse than the Grizzlies and Hornets.

If the Clippers lose the last game to the Grizzlies and the Hornets win, all three teams have a 46-36 record.

Then, the Clippers will be in ninth place and miss out on the playoffs.

If the Clippers win the Grizzlies in their final game and the Hornets win, the Clippers and Hornets are seventh and eighth in the West.

If the Clippers lose to the Grizzlies in the final game and the Hornets lose, the Grizzlies and Clippers are seventh and eighth in the West.

Of these three situations, the first two are more likely to occur.

Because in the perception of normal people, in order to enter the playoffs, the Clippers must hold the initiative in their own hands.

Therefore, the Grizzlies must win the last game to ensure a place in the top eight in the West.

Once you lose, the initiative is given to the Hornets, who have to bet on the Hornets to lose to finish in the top eight.

As a result, before the game began, the Clippers' roster was a big surprise.

They came on as all the substitutes, obviously they just didn't want to win the game.

(End of chapter)