Welcome to Dallas

The Lakers bosses insist that Dwight Howard is their future star, the one who will hold the reins long after Kobe Bryant has thrown in the towel. Dwight would love that. But first he has to prove that he can carry a team, and fate gave him that chance when Kobe got injured and missed the playoffs. What better way to put that stamp by playing his hearts out in front of Lakers fans, Kupchak and the Buss family.

This is why Dwight Howard gets my pick in Day Seven. Lucky Seven perhaps? Game 3 when it is a must win, not Game 4 when it will be too late the hero.

If you already picked Dwight before, here are alternatives:

Pau Gasol. Consistent 20+ PRA. He too has something to prove -- that he can work within the new system and not be a constant trade bait. If not for the Lakers, for another team that needs him. I have him for an elimination game.

Paul Pierce. The consummate all-around go-to-guy. 30 PRA is what you can expect from him. I have him next on my list. Knicks will not lose 4 of the next 5 games.

Kevin Garnett. 20+ PRA and on the upswing. They said Celtics will work him hard in Game 2 but it seemed like a ruse because it did not happen. Maybe Game 3 will give him that chance. I have him for a do-or-die game.

For the Warriors-Nuggets series (1-1), stay away from it for now. We'll get back to them after Game 3 :)

UPDATE: Blake out; Nash will play injured; Meeks doubtful. Definitely pick Dwight or Pau.

Comments

  1. Why do I even bother? Day 5 brought me Pau Gasol. He started well, then started missing all of his shots and got stuck with a 13/9/4. Howard was better, if marginally, with a 16/9/2. Ron Artest had 20 PRA, Steve Blake had 24, and I wasted Pau on a 26 after his 38 PRA in game 1.

    Meanwhile my pick from day 2, Al Horford, showed that of course he can be the best there is, as he led all Hawks in PRA (28, more than Gasol, more than game 1, more than any other player from Atlanta).

    But no reason to quit. For day 7 I will leave the Warriors-Nuggets alone (Denver should still win the series) and leave Pierce for another day. I will pick DH12 for the reasons you stated above, thereby dooming his performance, thereby guaranteeing a Lakers loss, thereby having influence on the Playoffs. I have that power, wait and see. I still fondly remember a series a few years ago when Howard had PRAs of 50+ and 60+ against the Hawks (the Magic lost in 6 games in the first round) and I picked him for a whopping 16 in a blowout win that ended with 8 points and 8 rebs from Howard. Ah, memories...

    In the meantime I hope the Celtics start making this a series and winning 1 or 2 at home. Pierce is pencilled in for a later game.

    I´m still itching to pick Dirk, though. Why did you name this entry "Welcome to Dallas"?

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    1. I bit it with Pau yesterday as well. After seeing him in game 1 and they way they were running the offense through him and with this being a must-win I expected him to put up 40+. He had 20 points at the half, then disapeared the rest of the game. Ugh.

      What made it worse was I nearly took Harden. I expected James to have at least one huge game in the series but figured it would be in game 3 or 4. He'll likely still put up big numbers but I think he peaked last night and it will likely be in the 40s.

      I'm taking a big gamble and going with Monte Ellis tonight. It's just a hunch, but I have a feeling he goes off and if I'm wrong I'm hoping to make it up in the later rounds.

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    2. Seda, good luck with Ellis. He needs to be himself and be aggressive.

      Alex, answer to your question is..
      ", Dwight Howard"
      ;)

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    3. I haven't picked and Lakers or Celtics. I'm assuming Celtics will last longer so that's why I want to go with a Laker. But don't you think that with the guards on the Lakers playing injured that Pau would be better pick? Because he will have to do more playmaking and could easily get a triple double.

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    4. Ouch. I really ate it with Ellis. I had Jennings in...then had this super vivid dream last night that Ellis goes off and has a huge night. So I switched it just before the game thinking I would be really upset if he actually did have a great game and I didn't take the risk.

      Lesson learned. Play percentages and save the hunches. That just cost me 16 points.

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  2. Luminosity, you have a good point. I'd go with Pau if I didn't have Dwight available. Pau seems more like a pick-n-roll guy -- I don't think Nash can be a threat running that while injured. With Dwight, they'll just pound it in. just guessing.

    Seda, it happens to the best of us. Yep, second-guessing hurts more when it fails, than sticking and failing. It happens.

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  3. I had a bad start, but I've been lucky with the last two picks. Harden and Boozer scored high PRAs and this gave me a big recovery.
    Today, I'm going with Pau. It was the easier pick. I knew from the begining I'll pick Pau on this game. So, no reasons...

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  4. Worth pointing out that Garnett was not played much in game 2 because of early and persistent foul troubles, not because he wasn't a part of the Celtic's game plan or whatever.

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  5. You are right, Shepherd492. KG got 31PRA

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