Game Six

What part of "close out" do the Clippers not understand? That was a tragedy! Were the Rockets just down 1-3 a little while back? Two chances to close out.. fail. Third chance? I do not know about you, but the last two games showed that the Rockets now deserve to win this series. Let's see. I'll get back on that pick for Game 7 in two days.

Meanwhile, the Cavaliers took care of business on the road to eliminate the Bulls from the playoffs. Can the Hawks and the Warriors do the same on Friday? It will be hard because it will be on the road. I can bet at least one of these will get extended too for Game 7.

DTTF Note: Game 7 will have a remix of teams. The Warriors series if it comes to a Game 7 will be paired with the Rockets series on Sunday. The Hawk's Game 7, if necessary, will be on Monday. These may affect the timing of your picks.

My pick for Saturday is John Wall. At 35%, he is the hottest pick, and at far second is Beal at 14%. It's a no-brainer for most. Ever since he was injured in Game 2, drivers of course stayed away from him. As everybody saw in Game 5, Wall is alive and well. He did not look like someone who had fractures in his wrist whatsoever.

However if you have Zach Randolph, Marc Gasol or Bradley Beal, you may want to use those instead. They've been consistent with their high PRAs.

Another of note is Tony Allen. He is listed as questionable for Game 6 with that hamstring injury, although he said he will play. The Warriors already figured out Allen by leaving him at the perimeter so they can double team the bigs. That makes Allen on the offensive end a liability. However, the absence of the defensive-minded Allen has opened up the Splash Brothers; that is where he is needed. I'm curious to see how the Grizzlies use Allen in Game 6.

May Friday's games be like Cavs' Game 6.

Comments

  1. Last night was a prime example of both terms Choke and Lay Down. In the Bulls vs. Cavaliers game, Cleveland showed up to play, and the Bulls didn't show up at all in a miserable lack of effort from them. Cleveland annihilated the Bulls on their home court in an embarrassing fashion, and Cleveland played for mostly all of the game without their 2nd best player, Kyrie Irving (7 PRA), and a substandard effort from LeBron James (35 PRA). Despite that the Chicago players were far worse, and they got absolutely destroyed in this elimination home game for the Bulls where they simply did not show up at all. Coaches get fired for this type of thing, and it wouldn't be surprising at all if the Bulls coach gets the axe for this lack of effort, since you can't fire all of the players. Actually rumors are out there that Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau may have already had his fate sealed before these playoffs even began. This certainly will do nothing to change those rumors of new coach next year for the Bulls.

    Now for the catastrophic collapse of the night, That goes to the LA Clippers. The Clippers should have easily won this game, they were up by 19 points at one point during it and James Harden was ineffective for a lot of it, posting a very poor performance for him (28 PRA) and not playing at all in the 4th quarter. Yet the Clippers despite all of that, despite being at home, in a series they had dominated up until Game #4 in Houston, up by 19 points at one point in a close out game, failed miserably to finish the job. Not only did the Clippers implode at home, but they embarrassingly got crushed in the process. Instead of being well on their way towards advancing to the 3rd Round, they very well may be making vacation plans. This was deplorable and inexcusable. Coaches also get fired for catastrophic collapses, as this was, so Doc Rivers, I wouldn't feel all too comfortable if I were you, especially if the Clippers get eliminated now. The Pelicans unfairly just fired their coach, and nothing was expected of that team. So seeing that, no one is safe when you have a lay down by one team and a catastrophic collapse by another.

    My pick of James Harden (only 28 PRA) was very, very disappointing. He was well below average, nowhere near his best playoff game (56 PRA), and did not play the entire 4th quarter. It is true Harden does always seem to choke in an elimination game, and he did it again this year. Despite all that though, his other teammates had some of their best games of the playoffs, and Houston pulled off a miracle, with a lot of help from a sinking Clippers squad who were horrible down the stretch.

    Best picks from losing teams: (Take your pick at which teams will eventually win now, and which will lose----totally up in the air now in the LA vs. Houston series). Chris Paul (49 PRA, Clippers), Dwight Howard (42 PRA, Houston), Corey Brewer (31 PRA, Houston).

    Horrible Picks: Kyrie Irving (7 PRA), Austin Rivers (8 PRA), Jamal Crawford (12 PRA), James Harden (28 PRA), LeBron James (35 PRA), Derrick Rose (22 PRA). Every single one of these players absolutely stunk it up vs. their average.

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    1. I wouldn't say that Harden choked. He was actually having a good game, and kept his team alive in the second quarter. He was likely ready to come back in the 4th quarter, but something strange happened. The group that was on the floor caught fire, and McHale was smart and stuck with that group. I was very impressed by the coaching job by McHale. A lot of people would have brought Harden back in, but he realized that he shouldn't mess with a good thing.

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    2. Harden didn't play in the fourth quarter? Well, he didn't need to, not with Corey Brewer (15) and Josh Smith (14) lighting it up. They alone would have been enough for the Rockets to win because they outscored the Clippers by 14 points.

      This might get ugly in a hurry.

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    3. Well none of that did me an ounce of good. And getting 28 PRA from Harden is not a good night. Harden did not play even a second in the 4th quarter. True he didn't need to, not with the complete Clippers meltdown in progress.

      If I switch Game #6 Harden pick and Game #5 Dwight Howard pick, I would have a Net Gain of +26 now, instead of a Net Loss of the same number. Put these damn players in the wrong order again, naturally.

      Still none of that will even be remotely as bad as the Rockets advancing to Round #3 (and beyond) instead of the Clippers. Probably around a 25% chance at best the Clippers move on now after that catastrophic collapse and heading back to Houston. Momentum has shifted.

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    4. I give the Clippers a 50-50 chance in game 7. They are notorious for choking and very fragile, but so are the Rockets. Look at Game 1, 3, and 4. This series have been unusual, so an unusual finish with the Clippers winning seems possible. I won't be shocked if the Clippers win.

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  2. Argh! Stupid Clippers! How can they be up by 19 in the middle of the third quarter and lose that game? Now what?

    When everything goes as it is supposed to, I will go into the conference finals with every player but Griffin, Irving and Horford. Now? Hmm...

    For tonight I was considering picking Wall over Beal but decided to keep my first pick Beal. May happen that it will either be a blowout or Wall will overshadow Beal. I hope for the best.

    Just like I hoped for with the Butler pick. Let's not talk about that one again.

    For saturday, there is no game.

    For sunday, even though we don't know if there is more than one game I will pick Chris Paul (right after a 49, sigh). Even if the Grizzlies force a game 7 I bank on the Warriors winning the series in the long run and I already picked Gasol and Randolph. Should the unthinkable happen and the Grizzlies manage to reach the next round I will need all the scrubs, especially after the disaster in the other West series. Stupid series.

    If Atlanta - Washington goes to game 7, it will be Wall and hoping for the Hawks.

    I mean, what's the worst that could happen? Conference Finals Grizzlies (no Gasol, no Randolph) vs. Rockets (no Harden, no Howard, no Smith) and Cavs (no Love, no Irving) vs. Wizards (no Beal, no Wall, no Porter). That wouldn't happen, would it? I sure hope not.

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  3. Speaking of catastrophic collapses that is what has happened now with many DTTF team rosters heading into the next round(s). If the Rockets move on, most people have drained much if not their entire Houston roster they way this series has played out. And many have used at least one, if not more of their Clippers roster. Golden State has at best 5 good PRA producers to play, so that isn't going to be enough at all. And anyone that didn't play at all or those that were far more careful, have a lot more options to compete for Round #3 and Round #4 prizes. I am pretty much screwed, especially if Houston moves on, after I drained their roster, and got very poor results in doing so, getting some of these players worst games of the playoffs.

    This is totally miserable and completely reminds me of 2014 when I used all of the Indiana Pacers players too early and was left picking nothing but scrubs for as long as they went in the playoffs, which was far longer than most expected, as poorly as they started.

    That wasn't fun at all, and this isn't going to be fun either, not that all hope of winning Round #3 and Round #4 prizes seems obliterated.

    For tonight, Washington vs. Atlanta is a toss-up IMO, anyone can win this series, and Washington is home tonight, if that even matters any more. Home teams all of a sudden have done a miserable job protecting home court, which normally is suicidal in the playoffs. Every game in this series but one has been close, and I still like Washington to win tonight to force a Game #7, where anyone can win. I will stay away from this series tonight.

    Instead I will pick from the Memphis vs. Golden State series, picking a Grizzlies player. I believe Golden State has turned the corner now and I definitely believe they will at least win their home game in Game #7 if it gets to that, or perhaps this ends tonight, as the Warriors have really rebounded nicely after a sluggish Game #2 at home, and a poor Game #3 in Memphis.

    With that in mind, I will pick Marc Gasol tonight at home. Gasol has been ultra-consistent so far in this series, ranging from 33-38 PRA, and hopefully he will continue with that type of performance today or hopefully even better.

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  4. I haven't posted since Shumpert was tearing it up until he got injured. I was busy the past week so I'll give you guys an update of my picks(if you care).
    Pick/Reason
    Rose 44/ knew he would come out strong in 1st home game
    Z-Bo 33/ 1st home game
    D12 14/ originally was Harden changed to D12 because of Roto saying they'll feed him the ball more so fell for that.
    Teague 38/ Didn't want to use a Wiz/Griz so I decided to pick match up pra wise what was best and it was Teague playing here then in the Cavs series.
    Harden 47/ well had no choice in fact I would have had more pts if I picked him when I picked D12 and D12 here like I originally had.
    Gortat 26/ was coming off a poor 11pra + Wall back helped
    Butler 26/ Elimination

    Cavs closed out Bulls like I expected Lebron is their kryptonite and Bulls go on horrible shooting runs it finally happened wrong time for them.
    Rockets drew level which was unbelievable and its been since Smith has gone in the starters. Still think Clips will win and I can still pick Ariza :)
    Wiz should win today and push it to a game 7 we just need to pray that Hawks don't choke.
    Griz will also win in my opinion but if they don't doesn't matter most have used their players and they'll eventually lose in game 7.

    Today I have Conley in a Elimination, the last of the big 3 of Griz. I'm also picking him because I want to pick Ariza next game but they fall on the same day so I need to pick him here. I still have Wall but I'm fairly confident they'll win today so I can pick him when he's on much less than 36% and on Monday when it will be only them playing.

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  5. STILL can't believe the shot by The Truth was waved off... so close
    heartbroken Wizard fan over here

    as for Game 7 between the Clips and Rox, I'm just going best player available... no idea how this crazy series plays out in the end - not taking any risks though

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  6. Well, that's it, isn't it?

    Last year we had the best first round, with game 7s galore, and in the end it was the two top seeds in each conference finals and both number 1 seeds in the NBA finals.

    This time around, after an incredibly boring first round with just one worthy series (but what a series that was), it seemed to get really exciting in the second run. All series tied after two games. All lower seeds up 2-1 after game 3. Wow. And what happened next? Three of the four higher seeds rip off three consecutive wins, two of them on the road. The only higher seed that seemed like the underdog was down 1-3 and forced a game 7 on their homecourt. So it might as well be the two top seeds in the conference finals again.

    As mentioned earlier, I will pick my best remaining player on sunday. Chris Paul it is. Right after a 49, but what can you do? So I will be down the two top players of the Warriors opponents. Oh, this will be a tought DTTF conference finals for me in the West. Luckily I have all Warriors left in my arsenal.

    In the East finals I have nearly full squads, having picked just one player from each team. Let's see how that one goes down.

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  7. I'm happy that series were closed out yesterday, especially the Wizards-Hawks series (what a crazy finish, as usual!). I have all of my Hawks, and that will be my advantage in the next round, as many people have already taken one of their players when it was either 1-0 or 2-1 Washington. My Wizards picks hurt me big time. Bradley Beal at 28, John Wall at 26, and Otto Porter at 12. All at their lows. The Rockets game 6 win made me switch from Pierce (9 PRA) to Conley (21 PRA), so there's that to be happy about.

    Along with the Cavs and Warriors, I've got a full slate of players from the 3 teams that have advanced. That makes me OK with what's going on with LA and Houston. I think all of us are in the same boat on that series. I feel bad for everyone else because I'm the one who should be burned on that pick. I had 3 Rockets picked before the series reached Game 5. Once it went 3-1, everyone seemed to join me by picking Howard, Harden, and one of Ariza or Smith, and a couple who even went 4 or 5 deep. So if the Rockets win, it doesn't hurt my chances in DTTF, because only the most diehard Rockets fan didn't drain them. All it does is force me to make sketchier picks in the next rounds.

    For Game 7 on Sunday, I'm going best available player. The way both teams have handled Round 2, I can't see either of them getting past the Warriors. So with 4 good Clippers left (Jordan, Crawford, Redick, Barnes) and 3 good Rockets left (Jones, Smith, Brewer), I'm going to hedge my bets and pick a Clipper. I'll have to go with the best available, and pick Jordan, although with Hack-a-benching a possibility, I'm nervous. Plus, if the Clippers do advance, we might remember last year Jordan had some dominant performances. But with the Rockets holding all the momentum, I can't risk losing DeAndre. My plan for the conference finals is to start Hawk heavy and see if my guess that the Cavs advance is correct, and start with a Warrior or two, before draining my last remaining Clippers/Rockets.

    For game 7, somebody is going to win by double digits, as per usual. The question is, who will it be?

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