roccoschili Chapter 876 The goal has never changed
Chapter 876 The goal has never changed
Chapter 876 The goal has never changed
The Thunder defeated their opponents in the finals of last season on the last day of 2019 and returned to No. [-] in the Western Conference.Definitely a perfect ending as well as a perfect start.
As the saying goes: new year, new atmosphere.This brand-new Thunder team is full of expectations and confidence for the upcoming 2020.
The Thunder are naturally more than one confident team.
Compared with the beginning of the season, the positions of many teams have undergone considerable changes.But the leading teams are always those strong teams that everyone sees in their eyes. A dark horse like the Grizzlies can only hold the eighth place in the West without making any progress, and they have to beware of being overtaken by the Trail Blazers at any time .
Among all the teams, the No. 84.4 team in the league has become the Milwaukee Bucks led by Antetokounmpo.They now rank first in the league with a winning percentage of [-]%.
At the beginning, the teams in the West maintained an advantage in record.Until the first ten days of November, the Thunder, Spurs and Nuggets all led the Eastern Bucks.But then, Antetokounmpo led his teammates to a wave of 11 consecutive victories, counterattacked directly, and reached the top of the league.
Following the Bucks is the Thunder.This season's Thunder was more or less affected by Paul George's departure, coupled with Donovan's single-minded training of the rotation headed by rookie Alexander, resulting in the Thunder losing some games that had a chance to win.Compared with the same period in the previous two seasons, the Thunder's record this season has indeed dropped a bit.
But no one thinks that the Bucks must be stronger than the Thunder.Even, no one thinks that the Bucks are stronger than the Lakers and Clippers with worse records.
The Los Angeles Lakers, with James and Davis, rank third in the league with a 73.4 percent winning percentage.The gap between them and the Thunder is very small, and they can re-climb to the top of the West at any time.Although the Lakers last season also reached the fourth place in the Western Conference before the Christmas game, everyone still feels that it is not a stable record.But the overall strength of the Lakers this season is enough to reassure everyone.
It has to be said that the Lakers have completely risen.As everyone said, the Lakers have cultivated young players for so many years, and they are not worth a deal.This is also the advantage of the Lakers. Being in a prosperous place like Los Angeles, there has never been a lack of attraction to big-name stars.
After the Lakers are the Boston Celtics.Their winning percentage is 72.0%.The fifth is the Miami Heat, the dark horse in the East this season, with a winning percentage of 71.3%.Jokic led the Nuggets, also with a 71.3% winning percentage, sharing the league's fifth position with the Heat.
In fact, compared with the previous month, the winning percentage of these top five teams in the league has basically decreased.However, their positions are relatively stable.
For the next few rankings, there are some slight adjustments.
This season is also the league's favorite team to win the Los Angeles Clippers.Currently led by Leonard and Paul George, they are tied with the Philadelphia 69.7ers in winning percentage of 76%.It seems that the Clippers' current record is not bad.However, as the most successful team in the offseason, this level cannot be considered good.They should compete with the Bucks, Thunder, and Lakers.
But the Clippers don't seem to care about the team's record in the regular season.They have only one goal - the championship.Therefore, in the previous two months of games, the Clippers rarely went all out.Rivers has done more boldly than Donovan in resting stars.You know, so far this season, Paul George and Leonard have not played many games at the same time!Especially Leonard, he almost takes a break after a game, which not only caused dissatisfaction among the league officials, but also caused dissatisfaction among the fans.Even, within the Clippers, some players are very resistant to Leonard's "privilege".This season, the contradictions in the Clippers locker room have been very serious.If Rivers can't handle this matter well, the Clippers are likely to capsize in future games.
The Houston Rockets, Indiana Pacers and Toronto Raptors all have a 67.7% winning percentage and occupy a place in the league's top ten rankings.However, this is nothing to be proud of.Compared with the previous teams known as championship teams, they are weaker.Whether it is the overall strength of the team or the performance of the stars, they are relatively poor.
But the difference here is summed up by news media reporters and those basketball commentators.According to their performance in the first half of the regular season, combined with their respective winning percentages, the results of the comprehensive evaluation.Most people are happy with this ranking, but these people still don't represent the whole population.At least, the fans of these teams themselves, as well as the players and team staff all hold different opinions!
When the Thunder returned to Oklahoma with a two-game winning streak on the road, it was already the first day of 2020.
The local media in Oklahoma immediately spread the fact that the Thunder overtook the Lakers to reach the top of the Western Conference.For a while, Thunder fans were as happy as Christmas.It stands to reason that the fans of a team that has won two championships have a high level of vision. The regular season is a warm-up, and the playoffs are the real battle.
But the Thunder's deal about Paul George weakened everyone's confidence in this season.The reflected situation is that the performance of the Thunder in the regular season is much worse than that of the previous two seasons.
Now, at last, once again to the top of the West.The Thunder can finally once again declare to the world their unchanging goal.
"No matter when, no matter what we are going through, our goal will always be one, and that is the championship. For this, we will give everything."
This is An Luo's answer when he was asked by reporters about his plans for this season after defeating the Raptors.Concise and clear, firm in mind.
Donovan said something similar.That was when the Thunder fell to fourth place in the Western Conference. The reporter asked him which team was most likely to win the championship this season, and the Thunder was not among the alternative answers.
"I think the Oklahoma City Thunder is the most likely team to win the championship! After all, no one knows how to do this better than us."
Perhaps, when Paul George left, the Thunder was shaken up and down.But as the season progressed, the excellent performances of Gallinari and Alexander made everyone regain confidence.No matter how the situation and structure of the league change this season, the Thunder will always be a pivotal part of the league.
(End of this chapter)