We are now a week into Drive to the Finals, and we have a bit more clarity on which teams are likely to win their series. In today's post, we will examine the slate of games over the weekend, which series are the smartest bets to pick from, and which players are standing out.
Friday
Boston @ Atlanta [Boston leads 2-0]
Cleveland @ NY Knicks [Series tied 1-1]
Denver @ Minnesota [Denver leads 2-0]
We can immediately remove the Cleveland and Knicks series from consideration, as it is far too close to make a decision on at this time. Instead, we are presented with two easy series to drain players from. The top two picks from Atlanta are Trae Young and Dejounte Murray. The top two picks from Minnesota are Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards. If given all options available, I would totally pick Towns here. I think he is poised for some solid home cooking, and that is my pick in the Fantasy Postseason league. Most players should have at least one of these options available to them. In the Google Drive league, I am an exception to this as I picked Towns in the play-in and picked the other three early. For that reason, I'll need to dip into a third option on one of these teams. I currently have Rudy Gobert, but could change my mind before tip-off.
Saturday
Philadelphia @ Brooklyn [Philly leads 3-0]
Phoenix @ LA Clippers [Phoenix leads 2-1]
Milwaukee @ Miami [Series tied 1-1]
Memphis @ LA Lakers [Series tied 1-1]
There is little reason to pick from the tied series, and instead the focus goes to the other two. Brooklyn is sure to be going home after getting their groins kicked in so far. Nearly everyone should have picked Mikal Bridges so far, but if you haven't yet he is a must pick. Otherwise, your best Nets options are Spencer Dinwiddie or Cameron Johnson. I planned to pick Dinwiddie yesterday, but the sudden injury to Kawhi Leonard saw me pivot towards a Russell Westbrook pick.
Speaking of the Kawhi Leonard injury, if he is playing in Game 4, it will be very tempting to skip picking a Nets player and instead grab Kawhi while he's healthy. You never know when suddenly Kawhi will be out again. At the time of writing, I am weighing between taking the safe choice in Dinwiddie vs taking Kawhi now (if he's healthy enough to play).
UPDATE:
Kawhi Leonard is out for Game 4. Adjust your picks accordingly. This makes Russell Westbrook a near must-pick if you haven't already. Norman Powell also rises, but it does feel like a trap to expect anything near a repeat. The safe play of picking a Brooklyn Net remains strong.
Sunday
Cleveland @ NY Knicks [NY Knicks lead 2-1]
Sacramento @ Golden State [Sacramento leads 2-1]
Boston @ Atlanta [Boston leads 2-1]
Denver @ Minnesota [Denver leads 3-0]
Sunday's games lack the clarity needed to make an informed decision at this time. I would advise avoiding Sacramento vs Golden State until a team is facing elimination. This series feels like one where the home team will continue to cook until a Game 7 where anything can happen. If Cleveland beats the Knicks on the road in Game 3, it opens up the option to pick a Knick here. If the Knicks defeat the Cavs in Game 3, I would likely still advise waiting on Game 4 before you start to pick from the Cavs. The best option likely will remain holding serve by picking more Hawk or Timberwolf players, especially if either of those series are at a 3-0 elimination point.
UPDATE:
NY Knicks now lead the series 2-1. My logical side would suggest giving the Cavs one more chance before locking them in for a game 5 pick, should they are down 3-1. That being said, the upcoming game 4 does feel like the table is set for Donovan Mitchell to have one of his classic big playoff games. I am currently deciding how I want to play it.
Good luck with your picks!
took westbrook in other money league should have takin in both But took Curry.Dinwidee too low ball so is Johnson but ill consider them.May take Butler
ReplyDeleteAnyone taking Curry or any Warriors I still think was too soon... I'm not picking any unless Sac goes up 3-1 tomorrow which they won't
DeleteUnless we get a 3-1, my plan for GS and Sac is to pick from Game 6 and Game 7. Curry and Sabonis. Whichever order is given to us.
DeleteI’m risking not picking from Clippers. I reckon when Suns are up 3-1, that’s when I start picking Kahwi. And the series extending to have a chance to pick Westbrook is just a bonus. Meanwhile, there are other players from other teams to pick — while they are not close to Westbrook’s numbers, still decent (I pick Spencer).
ReplyDeleteKahwi carrying his team to a 2-2 split is not farfetched. A Clippers team leading 3-2 would drive everyone to pick KD. I would be lucky to have an advantage of a complete Clippers pool going on to the next round.
Just wishful thinking. Coz if it’s real money I’m betting, it’s on the Suns.
Bah! Kah! Why!?
DeleteWestbrook, G5. GG.
DeleteI'm sure we WON'T see Kawhi again this series
DeleteWas sooooo tempted to take Lebron today. Since it should be fun to watch Dillon and Lebron go at it. but came to my senses and picked Westbrook. Sure, hope, Kawhi gives it at least a go during next game. Sunday either Rudy Golbert or D. Mitchell or.. Sundays are always undecided since I get to watch the games live. And thanks for the many blogs this year!! Good Fun!
DeleteIt's a no brainer for me with Westbrook on Saturday. And I believe in my Knicks, so I will pick Mitchell on Sunday. It could go wrong, but if the Knicks win G4, next Wednesday could be a difficult pick with the other game 5s played on the same day
ReplyDeleteI'm waiting on the Cavs until they're down 3-1. If it's 2-2 advantage Cavs with home court and that can still easily happen. Westbrook did GREAT todayl.
DeleteI know it's a risk, but as I said I trust the Knicks. And I want to avoid a difficult situation on Wednesday if both the Knicks and Kings win G4, and also same team of the Lakers-Grizzlies wins both G3 and G4. We could have more than one elimination game on Wednesday. After all, even if the Cavs advance, they would still have several decent options to pick from
DeleteI'm leaning this way as well. At least in leagues without any sort of round multiplier. I actually think the Cavs will win, but I also expect Mitchell to put up enough points that reduces the sting of losing him for next round. It's just better than picking someone like Mike Conley Jr lol
DeleteHappy with the Knicks' spirit, not so much about Mitchell's game. I guess you can't have everything xD
DeleteDamn, Mitchell really blew it last game. Sets him up perfect for me to pick in Game 5 though.
Deletewestbrook in 1 league.Powell in the other
ReplyDeleteDecent hedge
DeleteThe Heat and Lakers did not get the memo that the best player of their opponents were out in game 2. I took Westbrook on GD today but are using him in game 5 on FP. I took Bam on FP today.
ReplyDeleteI realize I may not even get to pick Bam and I''m honestly okay with that. However, I'll probably get to pick him at some point next week. Gettin Jimmy off the board first right quick. Heat have no shot.
Deletewhy u say heat have no shot They up 2 to 1 and destroyed Bucks..Tough pick today.I have Young picked but then tuesday will be tough .I may switch to Garland.I already took Mitchel
DeleteI really am not good at this. I even read that Kawhi would miss g3 before the game started, and not once did it occur to me that it my be a good idea to pick Westbrook in g3. Russell dropped 50 PRA. Than, again Kawhi is out of game 4. But I dallied the whole day, and when I logged in late at night (over here in Germany), Phoenix had already won the game, Westbrook delivered another 47. Argh.
ReplyDeleteWhat I did not know was that Ja Morant played. Probably wouldn´t have picked him anyway. I had Bane pencilled in. In FP I had Jackson (ugh).
For tonight I am clueless. I go with Klay in GD and Middleton in FP. Of course, if Giannis would play, that would be a totally stupid pick. Wait and see.
Ah early games today! Been goong back-and-forth between Capela and Hunter. Settled with Capela.
ReplyDeleteTomorrow is tricky. That Lakers-Grizzlies series is hard to predict now (thank Dillon and his big mouth). If Giannis plays G4, it’s Butler picked. Otherwise, I really am clueless.
Lesson forgotten. When not sure, trust your guts. Changing pick from Hunter to Capela was a negative DTTF swing 😅
DeleteNah, today's pick is easy. JA MORANT.
DeleteDaren
ReplyDeletei got young today tomorow Morant.Tuesday tricky Im not sure if Leanord coming back if not i may take a sun they have 4 good options or Hunter or Capella
ReplyDeleteI can't find a message page on google drive. A dark green should represent the best score by a player on a losing team before the NBA Finals if the best picked player was on a winning team.
ReplyDeleteI think Jason just went in and edited all the colors. I've been doing the simple green/red thing, but will try to be more diligent moving forward. I didn't even realize there were so many colors now, lol
Delete“The media making me a villain, the fans making me a villain, that just creates another persona on me,” Brooks said.
ReplyDeleteIf you are gonna trashtalk, go own it. You don’t go there not expecting any backlash. There are no halos. Steady your stance, take the heat, and make them see.
Dillon Brooks had an entire world of whoop-ass opened up on him last game.
DeleteActually a dark green should represent the best score by a player if on a winning team before the Finals and a bright green the best score by a player on a losing team. If the best score by a player in on a losing team that should be gold! Blue if the best overall player wasn't picked (teal on a winning team)
ReplyDelete4/22 Davis teal, Westbrook blue (Ja Morant was gold but not picked)
DeleteI think Jason or someone adjusted all of this. I can see the 2nd tab has the color coding descriptions defined as well.
DeleteAs the great Shaggy once said "It wasn't me"!
Delete