The main point of observation at the end of the regular season of the US Professional Basketball (NBA) this season was ‘what the Phoenix Suns playoff opponent team will be’. The Suns acquired Kevin Durant, 35, the league’s top scoring machine in a trade in February without any major power leaks. In all eight games Durant played, the Suns won easily. Among them are two wins against the Denver Nuggets, who are ranked #1 in the West. As a result, the Suns finished 4th in the Western Conference rankings, but were evaluated as virtually no different from candidates for the championship as they possessed genius guard Chris Paul (38) and Durant at the same time.
As the 30 NBA teams played their last regular league game on the 10th, the final bracket for the 2022-2023 season playoffs was confirmed. The team that will face the Suns in the first round of the playoffs is the LA Clippers. The Clippers are considered the best match in the first round thanks to the lead of Kawhi Leonard (32), who is regarded as Durant’s rival. The opponent record this season was also tight with 2 wins and 2 losses. It is also noteworthy that Russell Westbrook (35), who shared nine seasons with Durant at the Oklahoma City Thunder in the past, is in the Clippers.
The Golden State Warriors, led by Stephen Curry (35), settle for 6th place in the West and face the 3rd place Sacramento Kings, who are making the playoffs for the first time in 16 years this season. The Kings are led by Domantas (27, Lithuania), the son of Avidas Sabonis (59, now Lithuania) of the Soviet Union, who sunk the United States at the 1988 Seoul Olympics. The champions of last season, the Wizards, have to show the dignity of champions against the Kings, a young team that performed better in the regular league than they did. The Warriors have the experience of making it through the playoffs to the end despite a relatively low ranking of 3rd in the West last season.
LeBron James’ (39) LA Lakers enter the play-in tournament as the 7th ranked team in the West. The play-in tournament is the last spectacle of the season, like a ‘revival match’. If the teams ranked 7th and 8th in the conference win a single game,카지노사이트 they get the 7th seed. The losing team will play against the winning team in the 9th to 10th place matches for the 8th seed. The Lakers, who started the season with 2 wins and 10 losses, rebounded with James’ injury fighting spirit and finished the season with 43 wins and 39 losses. The 8th place Minnesota Timberwolves will have a showdown. Since the 2020-2021 season when the system began, all teams that have gone through the play-in tournament have been eliminated in the first round.
The first place in the regular league was won by the Milwaukee Bucks (58-24) of the Eastern Conference, led by Giannis Antetokounmpo (29, Greece). The top of the Western Conference was Nicola Jokic (28, Serbia)’s Denver Nuggets (53-29). The NBA starts the play-in tournament on the 12th.