Out Of Options

Several are running out of options in DTTF. Across the board on polls, they have the San Antonio Spurs winning the series especially now that Serge Ibaka is out of the playoffs. One would think people will pick Kevin Durant or Russell Westbrook in Game 1 if they still have them, or at least another Thunder. But if you look at Monday's picks, Kawhi Leonard and Tim Duncan are the hottest ones. Game 2 is no different; people are turning to the Spurs roster for picks early, and that will certainly have a major impact on the Finals for DTTF.


Here are your options for Game 1 from the Thunder..

  • Kevin Durant (45 PRA). KD is the most likely to pick up the slack of losing Serge Ibaka. He will be extra-active especially on defense and will grab more rebounds. I already used him, but if I still have him, he'll get my pick.
  • Russell Westbrook (43). There's talk of him attacking the paint more in light of Tony Parker's hamstring. He also is one of a rare breed of rebounding point guards in the league, and that will be displayed more now that the Thunder needs all the rebounds they can get. As my best available player in the team I consider to lose the series, he gets my pick.

Reggie Jackson (17) is the third hottest pick for Monday and Wednesday. The only reason I can think of why that is so is that many have already used Durant and Westbrook and they are left with Reggie. 17 PRA is not bad considering the options that are left, but I suggest waiting to see what the Thunder plans to do with their starting lineup and minutes distribution. For now you may pick from the other team...

If you are running out of options from the Thunder, feel free to use the Spurs in advance so that you delay picking of duds in the Finals instead of here now in the Conference Finals..
  • Tony Parker (27). If you still have him (I don't) and are planning to use a Spur anyway within the first four games, I highly recommend picking him now. Not only is the Thunder paint open to Parker's drives for exploitation without Ibaka's rim protection, that hamstring (even if it is Grade 1 strain) still worries me. I am telling you, it will not get better until the playoffs are over. Pick him now while he's still moving fine.
  • Tim Duncan (26). Mr. Fundamental gives you the Spurs' most consistent and reliable production. You are sure to get a PRA around his average. Ibaka's absence will benefit him too.
Kawhi Leonard and Manu Ginobili (both averaging 22 PRA) are also options but I wouldn't recommend them now, unless they are your remaining top options among the Thunder+Spurs pool. If you are still picking them because you want to reserve Tony or Timmy for an elimination game, I don't see how that differs from picking them now. The Spurs system pretty much eliminates the need for hero-ball anyway, no matter the record.

As for the other series, the Pacers pulled off a convincing win over the Heat by using their height and spacing in Game 1. Despite that, I am still picking the Heat to win. My remaining pickable Pacers are George Hill and Lance Stephenson. I, too, will run out of options. That means if the Heat are to win, it will take at least up to Game 5 to finish the series. That means I am to use LeBron James and Dwyane Wade in Games 4 and 5 (unless a Pacer bench player comes out of hiding). So, how about I just switch a Heat pick in advance? My Round 3 usage of players will stay the same. So here now tentatively, my pick for Tuesday is Dwyane Wade.


Now that the Heat switched off Dwyane Wade from guarding Lance Stephenson after Game 1's halftime, he doesn't need to chase Stephenson anymore. That means, he'll conserve his energy during the game, and hopefully have more wings for offense.

Note that I am still sticking to my guns :) Just running out of options ;)

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Comments

  1. I still have whole OKC and Spurs squads to choose from. Still I want to take Tony Parker today, so that if his inury gets worse, my competitors lose his value. Good or bad idea?

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    1. Good idea. Just make sire you pick KD, Westbrook and Jackson before series ends (assuming you believe Spurs sdvance)

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  2. Dwyane Wade should make for a nice pick, I liked what I got from him in Game 1. For Game 2, I'm going with Roy Hibbert. Of my 4 remaining Pacers options (Hibbert, Stephenson, West, Hill), Hibbert matches up better against the Heat than any other team. So if the Pacers pull off the surprising, I'd still want to have picked Hibbert in this series. He's allowed to stay in the paint and guard the rim in this series, and hopefully he doesn't get into foul trouble guarding LeBron drives (because he shouldn't get fouls guarding 3 point specialist Chris Bosh). I like Hibbert to remain highly involved. We'll see how we do going with Hibbert and Wade on opposite games. Go Dr. Hibbert!

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    1. Hibbert doing it in his 1st game in this series is a good sign. Hopefully he will not need to be helped up like twice happened in R ounds 1&2

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  3. Parker or Ginobili? I have seen Tony Parker has done great in both game 1's so far in these playoffs, however I am worried about how he will play with the injury and how many minutes he will get.

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    1. Jo, if you're worried now of Tony's injury, you'll be more worried later. Pick him now, people said he had good practice session

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    2. Ok Taong, I trust you. Going with Parker.

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  4. I'm going with Reggie Jackson tomorrow. Not because I don't have Westbrook or Durant (Still have them both), but because if Parker's injury keeps him from being 100%, I can expect Jackson to have a solid game tomorrow while Westbrook run laps around Patty Mills. I also read from some website that Jackson will automatically go at it when he sees Parker defending him, might be a good thing or bad thing but I am leaning on the good side.

    I still have Tony Parker available but I am risking a chance of not going with him early in this series because I believe that the Spurs are capable of beating the Thunder in 5. And the NBA will take 2 days off after Game 2 as teams switch home sides. Thus giving Parker another couple days of rest.

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  5. I don't really see the logic in picking Westbrook right now. Even if the series is a sweep (which it won't be), the Thunder don't have enough reliable PRA guys to choose from and the Spurs have a ton. Using your logic of picking Wade even though you think the Heat will win, would apply even moreso to picking a Spur in Game 1. You've got to pick Spurs at some point in this round so may as well pick 1 right away and see how the Thunder's rotations work. Also in case OKC wins game 1 or even the unlikely scenario of them winning the first 2 games, you shouldn't blow your Westbrook pick as you'd really be hurting in the finals if OKC were to advance, so my pick goes to Leonard, the most reliable (non-star) on the Spurs and a great safe first pick.

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    1. You are right in your logic. But I am not afraid of losing Westbrook. He's still my best available player by a large margin.

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    2. Remember how it only took a Beverley to deny us the chance to pick Westbrook last year?

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    3. You are not afraid of losing Westbrook, it's more like your afraid of losing Westbrook. Losing in two different ways that is. Makes sense to pick him while you can. Injuries are a potentially frightening part of DTTF. Always start near or at the top.

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    4. And other reasons listed on previous post ;)
      Look, I can pick Duncan now, but it wouldn't feel right.

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  6. C.J. Watson (16 PRA) turned out to be much better than expected and did almost as well as George Hill, who I would have picked instead had I still had him, or a full squad of other Pacers to choose from.

    Initially I was going with Evan Turner at home, but fortunately I saw that he was on the inactive list, and switched my pick over to C.J. Watson. Otherwise picking Turner when he never saw the court, would have been a disaster.

    Luis Scola was a disappointment, and the Pacers have virtually no options off the bench, other than Watson (now used), and Scola.

    Unfortunately the Pacers won. So now options are even less, and the Pacers could even make it out of this round, especially since the Heat did not look good at all in this game. Looks like some tough decisions to make on the horizon.

    Obviously, people with full or mostly full Pacers rosters have a huge advantage at this point. The Pacers might even make the finals with more games like yesterday. With only two options left to pick from the Pacers left for me, I'll save Hibbert until an elimination game, and mix in some Heat picks now to try to make it though this series, and beyond. This looks like a long series now, and Hibbert, believe it or not, has fantastic numbers vs. the Heat, since they have no interior game to stop him. Sorry Chris Bosh, that means you.

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  7. For the OKC/San Antonio Spurs series, I am not even going to try to pick the winner of this. That's how I got in trouble with the Pacers, earlier in the DTTF season. San Antonio has the advantage with the extra home game, so until they lose that, you have to think they will move on, until OKC wins a game @San Antonio. Road teams have never won more games than this year in the playoffs, so apparently anything is possible.

    Losing Serge Ibaka will be huge for OKC, and losing out on not picking him will be a huge loss for DTTF players, as Ibaka regularly put up 20+ PRA vs. the Spurs and also had a 43 PRA game once vs. them. It will be interesting to see who OKC starts in Ibaka's place, and how effective that player or players will be. The one site I look for lineups right now lists Nick Collison as the starting PF, but that could change before game time.

    Based on past Spurs vs. Thunder games, the best players seem to be (in some sporadic order):

    Spurs: Tony Parker, Tim Duncan, Kawhi Leonard, Boris Diaw, Manu Ginobili, Marco Bellinelli, Danny Green etc.

    Thunder: Kevin Durant (1), Russell Westbrook (1A), Serge Ibaka (out for the season), Reggie Jackson, Thabo Sefolosha (big ?) Nick Collison, Steven Adams, Derek Fisher

    Nick Collison and Steven Adams could both play well beyond their numbers with Serge Ibaka out. Or will someone else emerge?

    For tonight's pick in Game #1, I am going to pick a Spur, Boris Diaw. Diaw seems to do much better at home vs. on the road, so might as well pick him in a home game, and get a feel for how this series is going to take place. Reasonable expectations for Boris Diaw tonight, based on past games vs. OKC playing at home, should yield 20-25 PRA. Hopefully that happens.

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    1. +10 Likes on you for researching on that matchup and posting about it here. Seems like Thunder have Green's numbers

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  8. Parker line for total pts assists and rebounds is 27 and 1/2. Westbrook is 41 and 1/2, duncan at 29 and half. I will go with Tony Parker hope to get 30PRA from him. Westbrook should average close to 40PRA this series, and will save him for game 2. I might save reggie jackson for a home game, and Durant for elimination game. Even though Thunder has Ibaka out, I think they will fight and this won't be an easy series for the Spurs. I wouldn't be shocked if Thunder advanced, will have a better idea after the first two games. Going with Parker Tonight.
    A

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    1. I'll be extremely happy with a t parker 27pra
      .....Thunder UP !

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    2. Parker did well. Should jump you up +1 percentile.

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  9. went with spiltter today. he was doing fine 6/8 in 18mins. then he blows catching 2 passes right under the basket, could have been 2 dunks. Pop takes him out and never puts him back in... -_-

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  10. he would have gotten at least a double double (10/10) but thats the risk u take in picking any spur. Pop sits your ass down and someone else sets up

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  11. Funny.... I joined the Spurs Nation group and all but seven people on the leader board picked a Spur for last nights game....
    .... #confidence ??

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