April 19th, the last day of the 1997-1998 regular season.
All teams will complete their regular season journey today, finalizing the playoff rankings.
Of course, by this day, the top eight rankings in both Eastern and Western Conferences have long been determined.
No matter the outcome of the final game, it will not affect the playoff matchups.
In past seasons, the rankings for eighth, seventh, or even sixth place might only be determined by the last game.
This season, the NBA displays a huge "gap between the rich and the poor," with weak teams being quite weak and mostly in rebuilding phases.
Take the Denver Nuggets, for example, who achieved a dismal record of 11 wins and 71 losses, making it difficult to lose against them.
In the Eastern Conference, the Toronto Raptors only achieved a record of 16 wins and 66 losses, leading to the collapse of Isiah Thomas’s team-building philosophy.
Accordingly, the veteran powerhouse teams at the top remain strong. In the Eastern Conference, the Chicago Bulls made a late push, securing the top spot with a 62-20 record, surpassing the Boston Celtics and Indiana Pacers, and gaining home-court advantage in the Eastern playoffs.
In the Western Conference, last season’s Western champion Utah Jazz also made a late surge, rising from fourth to third and then from third to second, completing the regular season with a 62-20 record, marking the second time in team history to achieve 60 wins.
Additionally, during the regular season, the Jazz team defeated the Chicago Bulls twice and gave the Portland Trail Blazers a loss at home, sufficiently proving their formidable strength and vitality.
Ranked third and fourth in the Western Conference are the Seattle SuperSonics and the Los Angeles Lakers, with records of 61-20 and 60-22, respectively.
The Lakers completed their final game of the season yesterday, while the Seattle SuperSonics have one more game to play, and their opponent is the Portland Trail Blazers.
The Trail Blazers have already secured the league’s top spot with a record-breaking 76-5 record. Regardless of the result of the final game, they will create the best historical record in NBA history, surpassing the Chicago Bulls’ 72-10 record by several wins.
No matter who wins or loses the last game, the Western Conference will have four teams with 60-win regular seasons, setting another historical record for the NBA.
It’s the first time a single division has four 60-win teams, highlighting the significant disparity in strength within the league.
This disparity has led to a large gap between top-tier teams and mid-to-lower-tier teams, resulting in many regular-season games losing suspense.
This is one reason why the Trail Blazers achieved such an astonishing record, with two 70-win teams appearing within three years and the further dilution of talent by new teams. The inadequacy of the labor agreement plays a significant role in this.
The labor negotiations in the summer of 1998 are inevitable, and the league will undoubtedly push for a new labor agreement to ensure balance in team strength, consider the interests of small and medium-sized teams, and promote talent flow.
At 7:30 PM, at the Rose Garden Arena, the game between the Trail Blazers and the SuperSonics began.
Since both teams are located in the West Coast Pacific Division, their time zone is the latest, resulting in the latest start time for the game.
Therefore, this is the last game of the 97-98 regular season in the true sense, marking the season’s closure.
Originally, this was a clash of titans, but since it does not affect the rankings, neither team would go all out.
However, the Trail Blazers still want to push the regular season’s best record up by one more win to 77, so they won’t take it lightly.
As for the SuperSonics, they have always been at odds with the Trail Blazers, and if George Karl gets a chance, he won’t pass up the opportunity to take a bite out of the Trail Blazers.
Before the game started, George Karl’s bearded face caught the attention of the live broadcast camera.
In the mid-to-late part of the season, Karl and the SuperSonics coaching staff decided to grow beards, determined to make something remarkable this season.
To be honest, if it weren’t for the Portland Trail Blazers this year, the SuperSonics would have a good chance of breaking through the Western Conference.
In the middle of the season, the SuperSonics made a significant trade, sending away Sam Perkins and acquiring Ewing’s former ally Charles Oakley from the Detroit Pistons.
This trade further strengthened the SuperSonics’ interior defense, and the Seattle people are one of the few Western teams with hopes for this season.
Beginning in the 1970s, they’ve harbored animosity against the Trail Blazers, battling in the playoffs; defeating the Portland people has been Seattle’s long-cherished wish.
However, since 1984 when Gan Guoyang arrived in Portland, the SuperSonics have been firmly suppressed by the Trail Blazers, unable to rise up.
Only during the brief window in 1995 and 1996 when Ah Gan retired, did the SuperSonics seize the opportunity to break through the Western Conference.
Yet, they were not strong enough to defeat the powerful Eastern teams in the finals, and until Ah Gan returned, fear descended once more.
George Karl, starting from his time with the Warriors, has continually faced defeat against the Trail Blazers and Ah Gan, enduring loss after loss, always unwilling to yield.
In the final regular-season game, he still looked defiant, sending out his full lineup to take another bite at the Trail Blazers.
Ewing, Oakley, Hawkins, Payton, Schlammfeste — a very strong starting lineup.
For the Trail Blazers, Sabonis and Chris Mullin, two veterans affected by injuries, opted for a rest.
Kobe and Little O’Neal, two young players, stepped into the starting positions, and Gan Guoyang certainly would not rest, continuing to hold up his end at the center circle under the Rose Garden.
Standing across from Gan Guoyang was old friend Ewing. Although Ewing entered the NBA a year later than Gan Guoyang, he is two years older, now 36 years old.