Here's my third AGAINST THE GRAIN of these playoffs. There are two games on the slate today as both the Lakers & Heat have chances to win each series on their home floor.
NYK/MIA: The Knicks have quite a tall task in front of them since teams down 3-1 lose 95% of the time historically & they just don't seem like a team to buck that trend. However, they did win the last game & could find themselves in a favorable position if they somehow win tonight & host a Game 7 on their home floor at the Garden. If you're looking to go ATG with your picking pattern, then selecting any quality Miami Heat player today would certainly achieve that & you'd look really smart if the Knicks somehow advance. But perhaps a wiser, less popular pick would be someone like Quentin Grimes. With Immanuel Quickley doubtful for today's game, Grimes should be in line for another full slate of minutes as he played ALL 48 min available last game. His statistical output definitely varies from a lot to a little, but with that much time on the court, he could be a sleeper pick if you've already utilized Randle & Brunson. If you still have Barrett, he's likely the better pick of the two though, but also probably a popular pick for today.
GSW/LAL: This is where things get really interesting. IF the Warriors win today it seems to me like they'll win the series as facing the defending champs in a Game 7 at their arena just sounds brutal for the Lakers. An ATG pick today would definitely be a Lakers player if you feel GS will win these next two games, which while unlikely, is not impossible for them as they're one of the few teams who have come back from down 3-1 in the playoffs previously. A safer ATG pick (while almost everyone is probably picking Steph Curry or Klay) would be someone like Draymond Green who came alive offensively last game with a line of 20/10/4/2/1. It certainly seems like this may be a good time to pick him as Wiggins has banged up ribs & Looney's minutes are still down as a result of a recent illness.
Butler just too much for the Knicks. Kudos to Brunson for carrying the team on his shoulders. Stephen A. Smith may have to wait for next season for his beloved Knicks.
ReplyDeleteLakers were ready for Game 6 Klay, he was a non-factor. Maybe Dray’s gone to join LeBron next.
Btw, whoever’s that spy within GSW, he’s good eh?
Next pick: Tobias Harris. Celtics in a Game 7. Let’s do this!
Concur on all of that. I've got Maxey in Game 7 though.
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