This may come as a shock to everybody...
Why am I picking LeBron James? The Heat-Pacers series will definitely will go at least 3 more games and I only have two notable Pacers picks left: Lance Stephenson (to be picked in an elimination game) and George Hill (friend specifically told me not to pick him). And I will eventually pick a Heat player to compensate for that. I can pick other 20-RPA guys from the Heat, but why not LeBron James? ;)
I pre-picked LeBron even before his matchup Paul George was hurt with a concussion, and I stayed with LBJ more so after Paul said he had a blackout. That threatened a Game 3 absence at the time. Of course, by now, you guys already know that Paul is 100% healthy and will definitely play. Still, I am hoping for at least LBJ's average PRA of 44. I am currently at 98 percentile, and this pick should shoot me further and peak me at 99 for this postseason.
I realize I will get a lot of heat (see what I did there?) because of this pick, especially if he gives me a sub-44 PRA in this game. If you think this is the wrong pick (pre-game and post-game), let it rip in the comments section. I'm in Dark Knight mode -- I can take it :P (disclaimer: the Batman doesn't stick his tongue out ever).
For Sunday's game, there is a danger of the Thunder being swept. I don't believe they will get swept, but for safety reasons you have to pick either Kevin Durant or Russell Westbrook now if you still have both. If you don't, you might lose one of them later.
The Thunder received big news that Serge Ibaka is out of the "out-of-season" status, and is now "day-to-day". He is yet to be cleared by doctors to run but he is in high spirit. The Thunder should be super-pumped now in Game 3 and they will try to prolong this series so that they can give Ibaka more time to come back and help them. If not later this series, onto the next.
There is a strong possibility that Coach Brooks will replace Thabo Sefolosha with Caron Butler in Game 3, the same thing they did in Games 6 and 7 against the Grizzlies. Watch out for that. If that happens, I may pick Caron Butler.
But for now, my default pick is Reggie Jackson. Unlike the Saturday pick, this is comparatively a meh pick. The dynamic duo will need ALL the help that they can get, and I think it is time for Reggie to go supernova on this.
I don't see why people would think of this as the wrong pick, unless they can predict that LeBron will underwhelm. Otherwise, LeBron James is just as good a pick as Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Ray Allen, Mario Chalmers, etc. In fact, probably even better. I've got David West tonight, but I also have 3 Pacers left so I have to drop my first of the 3 tonight. Good luck with LeBron!
ReplyDeleteThanks! And good luck with David West, he looked pumped up in the interviews.
DeleteAs long as he does at least twice as good as Kawhi Leonard did, I'll be happy haha. West seems to show up in big games on the road. I've got a feeling so we'll see if it comes to fruition!
DeleteI like the LBJ pick.... COLD :) ....
ReplyDelete...
......I"m going one colder with C. Anderson(P) don't go easy on me!!
Not going to. hehe
DeleteI never know which of these threads to post in for the current situation/game. There always seems to be several going at once. I need to catch up a bit, as I wasn't really following during the hiatus of the last two days without games.
ReplyDeleteDerek Fisher (7 PRA) was an awful pick. He reverted back to his normal do nothing form, certainly nowhere near the 19 PRA, he posted in Game #1. He had 3 quick fouls after just a quarter, and pretty much did nothing the rest of the game. Fortunate in all of this was the fact that the entire OKC team was dreadful, and almost any pick of any player from their team was very underwhelming. Their stars were way below par (Durant and Westbrook). Steven Adams (18 PRA) was best from their squad), and similar 15-18 PRA games were posted by Caron Butler, Reggie Jackson, and Jeremy Lamb (15 PRA) out of nowhere, were the best picks from their squad.
I took the bait on Derek Fisher, after his Game #1 performance, and he failed miserably, and I paid for it.
Picking a Spur @home was the best way to go on this night. Unless of course you picked Kawhi Leonard (9 PRA) who was miserable. Leonard did his best Derek Fisher impression, picking up quick fouls and becoming a totally non-factor in this game.
Danny Green (25 PRA) and Tiago Splitter (23 PRA) were good plays from the Spurs, and they were even hurt by the mega blowout, or those numbers could even have been more, if those players didn't find the bench early because of the absolute annihilation that the Spurs put down on OKC.
I need to start trying to pick players that are at home. I always get sidetracked from doing that, and most players play their best games at home.
Shout out to Tangent:
DeleteYou were right and had an excellent point the other day. The Spurs have several options to choose from. Far more than the usual 5 to 6 (1 or 2 great) that most teams have. The Spurs can actually go 8 or 9 deep with worth players to pick to earn decent enough PRA scores.
I should have picked one of the Spurs players while they were at home instead of chasing rainbows from a team that was going to get annihilated. There are times you definitely do have to chase rainbows for picks, especially with a very limited number of decent options (well actually 2) on the Thunder. But the ideal pick, on this night easily came from the Spurs. Almost whoever you picked (other than Kawhi Leonard), had a decent to acceptable game.
Thanks! I was right and wrong at the same time, because I had Kawhi haha
DeleteYeah I had Green for that game and was wonderfully overwhelmed with happiness and a tingly feeling....
Delete@ Tangent : Sorry to hear that
Delete@ Imawake: Congrats! One of the better picks on that night.
As always, a good read from Daytona! Likey likey!
DeleteI lost my LeBron James pick with his 3rd worst game of the playoffs. Watch him go off tonight, 1 game after I used him.
ReplyDeleteWell. A low scoring game after 3 quarters. Crossing my fingers
DeleteFor tonight's Game #3 of the Heat vs. Pacers, I went with Chris Andersen of the Heat. Andersen put up 16 PRA and 18 PRA in his first two games vs. Indiana on the road, and should be able to at least do that, if not more tonight @ home, in front of the home crowd.
ReplyDeleteC. Anderson here too.... I'm a Bird Man fan tonight...
DeleteNeed Bird Man to fly higher. I want to get at least one player I pick this week to crack the 20+ PRA mark.
DeleteThose who have LBJ, if not already, will be in tears at halftime :/
ReplyDeleteWith 2;35 left before half LBJ finally passed Bird Man's 7pra with 10pra.... :)
DeleteLeBron has 14 PRA but that is more than he had in G2 with 12. Even though I used him, I hope he does well for you, my DTTF season is over for all practical purposes although I'll still continue to make picks.
DeleteThere's always segment 4 prizes, if you saved enough stuff for the finals.
DeleteI still haven't used LBJ, Wade or Bosh yet... I've got Bird Man for tonight... :)
DeleteI wouldn't bother picking Bosh now. He is completely useless, at least against Indiana. Maybe he will do better vs. the Spurs (or OKC if that happens). There is no sense using him in this series, that's for sure.
DeleteWhat if Indiana were to win this series? Use Bosh at X-3?
DeleteYes.... IF somehow IND does win this I would end up using Bosh, but there is no X-3 in this game (that was espn)
DeleteI miss that game. ESPN made a mistake not bringing that back again this year. It was stupid not to.
Deleteimawake, I meant use Bosh if the Heat have 3 losses in the series so that would now be at 2-3 or 3-3 with a potential G7 in Indiana.
DeleteGotcha :)
DeleteDaytona, ESPN existing is a mistake, they are a selfish company who constantly disappoint.
DeleteHey Ray Allen did you forget there is a game going on? At this rate I'll set the humiliating record as the first person to pick someone that plays in an existing game and puts up a BIG FAT ZERO! ....... And I thought it couldn't be worse then the 7 PAR he got in G2.
ReplyDeleteI had him for that 7..
Delete.... I'm rooting for you.. no one should have to experience that...I was sad.... so sad...
Hey, Ray Allen is off the 0 mark! 3 free throws has him on the board!
DeleteThe Ray Allen show in the late quarter.. !!!
DeleteArent u lovin Allen right now? :)
DeleteThat was an amazing comeback!
DeleteThese teams are awful, and PRA scores so far are horrible, except for Lance Stephenson.
ReplyDeleteGuess neither of these teams wants to win their home games. Definitely the story of this year's playoffs. I have never seen so many teams punt away their home games. Usually teams strive hard not to lose at home. Not this year. Some of the worst played games have been by home teams.
Well after 3 quarters, I'm sitting with 3 PRA from Ray Allen, by miles my worst pick of the entire playoffs (my next worse showing was Monta Ellis with 16 in his elimination game). I need a big 4th quarter from Ray Allen jut to get to 10 and there is no guarantee he'll even tie the 7 he got last time as it took a trip to the line to get him off the donut hole!
ReplyDeleteYou are up to 6 now with Ray Allen, with the resurgence. I think Chris Andersen fell asleep, he is stuck at 12 PRA.
DeleteRay Allen is going to town now. Double Digits! Way to go.
DeleteRay Allen's on FIRE! Up to 17 and not my worst pick of DTTFs!
DeleteHey guys, don't blink now but Ray is at 10!
ReplyDeleteWhat a comeback by Ray Allen, 17 PRA after having 0 at the half including 4 for 4 from downtown! At halftime I was thinking that this was the worst pick in DTTFs history and now he maybe the MVP of the Game (even though it's tough to compete with LBJ for that role).
ReplyDeletenah, it's Ray who's MVP this game. loving' Allen's game now.
DeleteHa! Told you so. Don´t pick George Hill. Good to see you listen to me :)
ReplyDeleteI had two Indiana starters left, the one I picked was George Hill, he collected fouls like nobodys business, and finished with a whopping 12, thanks to a rebound and a 3pt shot at game´s end. Meanwhile, I left Lance Stephenson on the table, and he turned out to be the best Pacers player.
It might be time for me to rig this series by picking Wade the next game and thereby singlehandedly stop him from scoring so much (4th 20 point game in a row if I am not mistaken). Don´t be surprised if he manages a 14-4-2 game.
Tonight it´s Russell and game 4 of that series depends on game 3. Should be either Durant (0-3) or Jackson (1-2).
I always listen to you haha
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