The 2023-2024 NBA regular season has come to an end, and after today's game, most teams will only have five games left in the season.
In the past, there should have been several teams that had already confirmed the rankings, but this season is very special, so far, the only team that has confirmed the rankings is the Celtics, who are No. 1 in the East. The Celtics have locked up the top spot in the league, but the rest of the playoff and play-off spots are still full of suspense.
The top 10 rankings in the East and West are currently only 1, and the other 19 are still in suspense.
The situation in the east
The Celtics did lock up first place in the group and the only team in the East to qualify for the playoffs.
In addition to the Celtics, from the 2nd Bucks to the 10th Hawks, they have at least locked up the play-off qualifications, that is to say, the top 10 teams in the East have all been determined, it is these 10, but the ranking of these 10 teams, 9 of them are undecided, and even the competition in the East is more fierce than in the West.
From 2nd to 8th, the gap between the adjacent teams is not large, and the biggest difference is only 1.5 wins between 5th and 6th.
The situation in the East is such that teams ranked 2-8 still have various possibilities in theory, such as the 76ers in 8th, and the possibility of hitting 2nd, and the 2nd Bucks may also fall to 8th.
The Bulls and the Hawks in the 10th place in the East, they have locked in the 9th and 10th, that is, they are sure to meet in the play-offs, the difference is that the ranking between them has not yet been determined, who is 9 and who is 10 is still in suspense, and the gap between them is only 1 game at present.
The competition in the east is far more fierce than in the west, but the traffic is small and there is a lack of attention.
The situation in the west
The top 10 in the West is basically decided, but the 11th Rocket still has the possibility of theoretically surpassing the Warriors to become 10th, but it is unlikely, which is also the only remaining suspense of the Rocket.
And the western binning is like this.
The Nuggets, Thunder, and Timberwolves lock up the top 3, but the gap between them is also very small, and who is the first and who is the third is still undecided, and both are possible.
Then there are 4th-10th, and the competition between them is fierce, and although the overall competition is fierce, the situation is very different.
For example, the 4th Clippers and the 5th Mavericks, they are likely to lock the top 6, but they are just competing for the ranking between the 4th and 6th places. And the 10th Warrior is likely to be 10th, although there is still a glimmer of hope for the 9th.
The Suns, Pelicans, Kings, and Lakers, these 4 teams, are competing for 6-9 places, of course, the Suns have opened up a position, which is relatively safe, and there is a high probability that they can hold the 6th, or even chase the 5th, the Pelicans, the Kings, and the Lakers are really intertwined, and they will compete for 7-9 places, which is also the most fierce place in the West.
The cruelty of the West is that none of them are certain, the rankings are uncertain, the matchups are uncertain, and the East has at least confirmed the matchup between the first place in the East and a group of play-offs.
Not only that, but some teams are also in a situation where they can go up and down, that is, they may win one game in heaven, and lose one game in the geographical extreme.
It can be said that the last few games of the NBA regular season this season are really full of highlights, due to the competition with the traffic team, the games of the non-traffic team have also received a lot of attention, such as the King's consecutive losses to the Knicks and the Celtics, which have been on the hot search, and the reason for the hot search is not because of how much attention the King has, but simply because there are Lakers behind him to catch up.
The play-offs, the competition was fierce, no matter how much Xiao Hua was questioned, the NBA became what he wanted, and he did win.