AGAINST THE GRAIN: To Beal or Not To Beal

I know this blog is coming late with just an hour before game time so we’ll make it short & sweet here to start.

Beal is likely the hottest pick today w/ Wall the likely runner-up. This is the case due to Toronto’s 1-0 lead & the high, stat-heavy minutes that Washington’s backcourt duo provides to us DTTF players. 

So what about The Greek Freak? He fouled out of Game 1 in the closing moments & the Bucks went on to lose. Fouling out usually leads to a player having a high level of focus the following game & Giannis has publicly vowed to be smarter in Game 2. His numbers are through the roof regardless of home/away & if the Bucks have any chance to tie this series, it’ll be because he goes BIG. If he does go big, they’re still capable of losing as we saw in Game 1 where Giannis posted a game-high 55 PRA.

Why is everyone down on Boston? The TNT crew (most notably Barkley) has the Bucks winning this series due to the Celtics being too depleted, but honestly, is Rozier really that far off from Kyrie’s production? There were times during Game 1 where Rozier literally looked like Kyrie with both his finishes at the basket & crossover, step-back triples. I don’t have time here today (with first game tip-off in an hour) to dive into the statistics of Rozier vs Kyrie as far as production when starting is concerned, but I’m certain Rozier has held his own since his triple-double fueled coming out party earlier this year. Game 1 was a further indication of this & with home court advantage, I see Boston as the clear favorites in this series. Even if the series swings at some point, the Bucks still have viable high-level picks in Middleton & Bledsoe with a few other mid-tier picks (Brogdon, Henson, Parker) that you’ll have at your disposal in the next round. So in other words, don’t be afraid to Go Greek!

Note: In the future, these posts will highlight some even lesser likely options to go “Against The Grain” with. Went with The Freak, because I hadn’t any time to prepare & well… I have him picked as my guy tonight :)

RESULT: The Greek Freak played very well & grabbed 47 PRA for those who went "Against The Grain," while John Wall came on strong in his own right for 42 PRA amidst Bradley Beal's foul-ridden, 14 PRA failure. Overall, a great success!