At that time, the Timberwolves and Nuggets were ranked eighth and ninth, with the same record. The last game was a direct match between the two teams.

In the end, the Timberwolves, led by Jimmy Butler, sent the Nuggets home and made it back to the playoffs after 14 years.

And this year’s chaos in the West is not just this one!

In the last round, the Jazz will play the Suns and the Spurs will play the Lakers!

This year may not be the most exciting one that determines the outcome, but it is closely linked.

To describe it in another sentence: Don’t guess, you can’t even guess what the final ranking will be!

Karl also had a headache, so he set the goal for the team: beat the Hornets and win this game.

April 17th, NBA final game.

At this time in previous years, fans have already turned their attention to the playoffs that are about to begin.

But this year, facing what may be the most unpredictable regular season ranking in NBA history, the attention is no less than the playoffs.

The game between the Nuggets and the Hornets started first.

The previous record between the two teams was 1 win and 1 loss. The Nuggets cannot afford to lose in this game, and the Hornets cannot afford to lose.

The game was extremely fierce, with all kinds of people upset, and even Martin and David West exchanged passionate blows twice.

Apart from anything else, this allowed Lin Ying to experience first-hand the atmosphere of the NBA playoffs in advance.

Previously, when it comes to the NBA playoffs, it all goes back to when he and Durant watched the Rockets playoffs before he entered the NBA.

After a fierce battle to the end, the Nuggets unfortunately lost.

In addition to being unstable, this Hornets team is strong on both offense and defense.

Speaking of which, even at the same time in history, this Hornets finally advanced to the playoffs as the second seed in the Western Conference!

Losing the game, the Nuggets also lost their initiative.

They can only hope that the Suns will be strong behind them.

The truest voice of Nuggets fans at this moment: We are all Suns fans now!

In fact, let alone the Nuggets wanting the Suns to win, the Suns themselves also want to win after all!

Because the NBA has three divisions in total, and the NBA restructured it last season, the top spot in the division is no longer locked into the top three in the division, which means the Suns have a chance to make the top four!

So the next game was even more intense than the Nuggets and Hornets.

It can even be said that the winning-losing relationship between them will directly cause the Western Conference rankings to show two completely opposite trends.

In the fierce competition, there was also a very interesting scene.

Halprin wanted to use a small move, but the Suns, who suffered losses last year, learned well and directly used O'Neal to crush Halprin.

Poor Halprin, a player with a rugby background, could only be ruthlessly destroyed by the "big shark" in the end.

Although the shark is old, it is still a shark!

In the end, after four quarters of fierce battle, the Suns won the game with difficulty.

Because of their victory advantage against the Spurs, this made them directly third in the Western Conference!

At this point, although the game between the Spurs and the Lakers has not yet been played, the ranking of the Western Conference is basically clear.

It's roughly as follows:

1, Lakers, 61 wins and 20 losses;

2, Hornets, 57 wins and 25 losses;

3, Suns, 57 wins and 25 losses;

4, Nuggets, 55 wins and 27 losses;

5, Spurs, 56 wins and 25 losses;

6, Jazz, 55 wins and 27 losses;

7, Rockets, 55 wins and 27 losses;

8, Mavericks, 51 wins and 31 losses;

This result is a great celebration for the Hornets, Nuggets and Suns fans.

But for Jazz and Spurs fans, it's a bit cruel.

Especially the Spurs, they have fallen to the bottom half this time!

Moreover, regardless of whether they can beat the Lakers in the end, they will still be ranked this way.

Popovich is so depressed!

Originally I was second, but now I am fifth regardless of life or death.

It’s not too much to say that heaven goes to hell!

The rankings were divided, and the Spurs had no intention of playing. Popovich played with a full substitute lineup in the last game, and the Spurs also "successfully" lost in the end.

In this way, the final ranking of the playoffs is determined, and the first-round matchups are also announced.

Lakers VS Mavericks, Hornets VS Rockets, Suns VS Jazz, and Nuggets VS Spurs!

The Nuggets are going to play the Spurs!!

This result was actually not what Lin Ying had thought before.

He thought they would probably end up playing against the Jazz.

After all, I set the flag when I chatted with Anderson before.

He had even thought about how to deal with Boozer.

It may sound magical to say it, but Boozer's worst matchup was Gasol, or he was the worst against the Lakers.

To paraphrase Lakers fans, peak Boozer is an All-Star center? Isn’t that a handsome mid-range shot?

The reason is very simple. The Lakers have Gasol who is taller and has a better wingspan than him and can move as fast as him. They also have Bynum guarding the inside.

Entering the paint? You really treat me like Malone!

As for the Nuggets, Lin Ying is also taller and has a better wingspan than him, and Martin or Nene are on the inside to help defend.

Which Lin Ying is taller than Boozer?

correct!

Boozer's official height is the same as Lin Ying's, 2.06 meters, but his actual bare feet are less than 2.03 meters tall.

In addition, Lin Ying has short hair, so when they stand next to each other, you can clearly feel that they are much taller.

It's just a pity that we are playing against the Spurs now.

Spurs!

Let’s not talk about the feud between the Nuggets and Spurs in last season’s playoffs. Lin Ying and the Spurs also had a feud before.

No, to be more precise, it should be the first big scene of the season, where the two teams have become enemies.

This is a meeting between enemies, and they are extremely jealous! It is definitely the most anticipated first-round matchup in this year's playoffs.

…

After the matchup was determined, the Nuggets players seemed a little annoyed.

In the eyes of fans and the outside world, this matchup is very interesting, but for the Nuggets, this may be the "most difficult road" they have to take.

If you don’t believe me, please cover up the team name and take a look first.

In the first round, they will face the defending champion, and in the second round they will probably face the Lakers, who are first in the division.

Just these two steps, not to mention the rest, if you can get through these two steps, you are already very awesome.

Not to mention that even if they reach the finals, they are likely to face the Celtics, the Big Three!

It would be great if they beat the Hornets in the last game of the regular season!

This is the thought in the minds of most of the players and maybe even the Nuggets coaching staff.

A slight difference is a thousand miles away!

Lin Ying is probably the only person who doesn't have big mood swings.

The most important thing is his character as mentioned before.

Don’t regret what you do, and work hard to make what you do successful in the end.

The best proof is to have signed with ANTA before.

Similarly, losing to the Hornets has already happened, so the next thing to do is to try to beat the Spurs.

And there’s what Rick Barnes said, which may now have become his motto:

Difficulties mean opportunities!

If they can defeat the Spurs this year, no matter how far they go, they will be impressive!
To be continued...