Chapter 1 The End

That day's game concluded, and the 2015-2016 season officially came to an end.

The final rankings for both the Eastern and Western Conferences were finalized.

In the East, the Cavaliers' final record was locked in at 61 wins and 21 losses.

Tyronn Lue gave James absolute freedom on the court, and although the defense was still a problem, the Cavaliers' offense clearly improved.

The Knicks finished second with a record of 56 wins and 26 losses.

Their record was similar to last year, with the Anthony and Howard combination still competitive in the East.

The Raptors finished third in the East with a record of 55 wins and 27 losses.

The growth of DeRozan and Lowry allowed them to maintain their strength in the regular season.

These were the only three teams in the East with more than 50 wins.

And the rankings that followed were a historically rare sight.

The Heat, Hawks, and Hornets all had a record of 47 wins and 35 losses.

In the end, they were ranked according to their head-to-head record and their record against Eastern Conference teams.

The Heat were fourth, the Hawks fifth, and the Hornets sixth.

The Pacers, ranked seventh, only managed a record of 44 wins and 38 losses.

The Nets were ranked eighth with a record of 43 wins and 39 losses, returning to the playoffs after a year, with D'Angelo Russell's performance being very bright.

The Celtics finished ninth with a record of 40 wins and 42 losses.

After being crushed by the Pelicans, they suffered a long losing streak, and it took them more than half the season to recover, ultimately failing to catch the last train to the playoffs.

The Eastern Conference playoff matchups were also released.

The Cavaliers will play the Nets in the first round.

The Cavaliers have performed well since changing coaches, and James will have to teach the lottery pick D'Angelo Russell a lesson, just like he did with Derrick Rose back then.

The Knicks will face the Pacers.

Paul George is struggling to lead the team on his own, and if role players don't step up, the Pacers have little chance of winning.

The Raptors will play the Hornets.

This is the best opportunity for Walker and the Hornets; if they hadn't been unlucky, they could have been in the top half of the bracket, but this is enough to show the strength of their roster this season.

The Raptors' reliance on their outside backcourt duo, like the Trail Blazers in the West, is easily limited, and the playoffs will be a test for Lowry and DeRozan.

The Heat will take on the Hawks.

This is the most suspenseful matchup; the Heat have more playoff experience, while the Hawks' team play didn't work last year, but besides Wade, there aren't many Heat players who can gain an advantage in their matchups.

The Eastern Conference's record and matchups are not much different from previous years, and can be described as conventional.

But the Western Conference is a battle of powerhouses.

The Pelicans finished with a record of 74 wins and 8 losses, improving the NBA regular season record by a full two wins.

Before the season, no one thought the Pelicans could achieve such a record, but in the end, they realized that if the Pelicans really went all out, they could have done even better!

In his fifth year in the league, Tang Tian averaged 30.6 points, 7.4 rebounds, 9.3 assists, 1.9 steals, and 1.1 blocks, with a field goal percentage of 51.2% and a three-point percentage of 44.8%.

He was first in the league in scoring and fifth in the league in assists.

The Warriors' final record was 73 wins and 9 losses, and although Draymond Green was also injured, they tried their best and also broke the Bulls' 72-win record.

In one season, two teams broke the regular season wins record, which is simply unbelievable.

Michael Jordan stood up from his owner's chair and said that he could still play.

But these weren't the only two terrifying teams.

The Spurs were ranked third, and their record also reached 63 wins and 19 losses!

Although their performance against the Pelicans and Warriors was poor, the Spurs still had a clear advantage against other teams.

The Rockets' record was 60 wins and 22 losses, ultimately failing to overtake the Spurs.

This ranking also made their playoff journey more difficult.

They will face the fifth seed in the first round, and even if they win, they will have to face the Pelicans in the second round, who swept them in the regular season, putting them in hell mode.

The top four teams in the West formed the leading group, and the teams behind them were in a more miserable situation.

The Trail Blazers were ranked fifth, but their record was only 50 wins and 32 losses.

This record was more than 10 games behind, which shows the situation of the teams in the bottom half of the bracket.

The Thunder only managed 49 wins and were ranked sixth; their record before the All-Star break was good, but they fluctuated greatly after the All-Star break, especially Durant's performance.

If Durant hadn't recovered his form in the last period, their record and ranking might have been even worse.

The Clippers finished seventh with a record of 48 wins and 34 losses, and despite losing Paul, they still performed well.

The Mavericks finished eighth with a record of 46 wins and 36 losses.

Embiid missed games from time to time, and Deron Williams was in poor form; the roster that Cuban put together in the summer did not perform as they expected.

The Grizzlies were ranked ninth with 42 wins; the Grizzlies' roster and strength have not changed much compared to two years ago.

They were squeezed out of the top eight in the end, which can only be said that other powerhouses have become even more abnormal.

The Jazz were ranked tenth with 41 wins and 41 losses; their situation was similar to that of the Grizzlies, and this was supposed to be their best season since the Sloan era, but unfortunately, they were in the West.

As for the Kings, who were eleventh, their record was a cliff-like drop, with only 28 wins.

The better the record of the teams in front, the worse the record of the teams behind, and for the last few teams, the good news is that they will be able to get a good draft pick in this year's draft.

The first-round matchups in the West have also been freshly released.

The Rockets will face the Trail Blazers in the first round.

As early as the Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady era, the two teams had played against each other, with Roy's 0.8-second buzzer-beater against the Rockets and the Rockets' first entry into the second round in the Yao Ming and McGrady era being classics.

The two teams are playing against each other again this time, but things have changed, and it is clear that the Rockets are overwhelming the Trail Blazers in terms of strength and experience.

If the Trail Blazers want to advance, they need their backcourt duo to shoot like crazy every night.

The Spurs will face the Thunder.

This is the most suspenseful matchup in the West.

Although the Spurs' record is significantly better than the Thunder's, the Thunder's ranking in this position is more due to their own performance fluctuations.

When it comes to playoff strength, no one dares to underestimate a team with Westbrook and Durant.

Considering that they will have to face the Warriors even if they advance, the Spurs' road to advancement will only be more difficult than the Rockets'.

However, the Spurs have Popovich sitting in charge, and their chances of winning are also very high, with the outcome of the two teams full of suspense.

The Warriors will play the Clippers.

Theoretically speaking, it will be difficult for the Clippers to contend with the Warriors without Paul, but the Warriors have been playing too hard in the regular season, and it is unknown how much of their strength they will be able to exert in the playoffs.

The Clippers still have a glimmer of hope of advancing.

The Pelicans will play the Mavericks in the first round.

The Mavericks' performance was not as expected, but their paper strength is there, and Embiid's attendance rate at the end of the regular season was not low.

Although it is the eighth seed playing against the first seed, the Mavericks still have a chance of winning.

Speaking of which, they were upset by the Warriors in the past, and now they can work hard to create another upset.

And for the Pelicans, who are determined to win the championship, what they need to do in the first round is to maintain their mentality, keep the whole team together, and then just cruise past.