The Clippers and Golden State have made it to the playoffs.
On the 10th (Korean time), all 30 NBA clubs finished their 2022-2023 regular season schedule with the final match.
On this day, a total of 15 games were played, some teams played leisurely, while others faced the final match nervously. This is because there were many teams whose final rankings were not confirmed in the Western Conference.
Until the final game was held, the Clippers, 6th, Golden State, 7th, Lakers, 8th, New Orleans, and 9th Minnesota, who were ranked 5th in the West, could change their rankings depending on the results of the last game. Fans paid a lot of attention because there is a big difference between going directly to the playoffs and going to the play-in tournament.
The direct tickets to the playoffs were taken by the Clippers (44-38) and Golden State (44-38), which were in the most favorable position. The two teams laughed after defeating Phoenix and Portland, respectively, in their final matches. Depending on the tiebreaker situation between the two teams, the Clippers advanced to the playoffs as the 5th seed and Golden State as the 6th seed.
The Clippers struggled somewhat, giving up the lead until the end of the third quarter against Phoenix, which lacked a large number of key players such as Kevin Durant. However, Kawhi Leonard (25 points), Russell Westbrook (25 points), and Norman Powell (29 points) scored 79 points and won the victory.
With this, the Clippers, who occupied the 5th seed, met Phoenix, their final opponent in the regular season, in the first round of the playoffs. The clash between the two teams is expected to draw a lot of attention due to the meeting between former Oklahoma City teammates Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant.
Golden State finished 6th after pouring out 157 points against Portland without any big surprises. Four people scored 20 or more points, including Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Moses Moody and Jordan Poole. Golden State’s first round opponent is Sacramento, which is ranked third in the West.
The Lakers (43-39) beat Utah in the struggle of LeBron James (36 points) and tried to reverse the rankings, but failed. It is the Lakers who are heading to the play-in tournament with a one-win margin.
In the game between New Orleans (42-40) and Minnesota (42-40), which was a bloody single-legged battle, Minnesota laughed. Minnesota, where Carl-Anthony Towns (30 points) and Anthony Edwards (26 points) shone, overtook New Orleans (42 points), where Brandon Ingram performed a one-man show, and rose to the 8th place in the West with a last-minute overturn.
8th and 9th places have a big difference in play-in tournaments. Eighth place can make the playoffs with just one win, but ninth place needs two wins in a row. New Orleans, who could even aim to go directly to the playoffs depending on the results of the final game, had the worst scenario. This is because of the result of the game that day,먹튀검증 Minnesota was pushed out of the opponent’s record.
The NBA Play-In Tournament begins on the 12th with games between Miami and Atlanta and the Lakers and Minnesota. Which team will survive the play-in tournament?