The Brow is the pick of the day for sure & that's completely understandable. I'd be picking him if I hadn't picked him already; however, let's dig into how this pick could potentially go wrong.
Injury Risk: In the previous game, Davis came down hard on his ankle & had a noticeable limp out there. While he'll surely attempt to play big minutes, if that ankle flared up at all / he goes too hard to the basket on offense or defense early in this game, there could be repercussions that limit him in the 2nd half.
Role Players: Davis will always "get his," but that doesn't seem to be the recipe for beating the Warriors in this series. I expect the role players to play much better at home & Davis will need to hold back a bit to allow for them to be more involved. I'm mostly talking about the shooters (Ian Clark, E'Twaun Moore, Solomon Hill, etc) & that includes Jrue Holiday who is yet to really "go off" in this series. Jrue clearly knows big games from AD just aren't going to be enough, so I believe he needs to have a big game today (along with AD) for them to get a win.
Blowwww Outttt: Curry is back & playing without a minutes restriction. With the Warriors' stars in full effect, there's always a risk (even on the road) that they'll blow the opponent out of the building. GS wants to get this series over with as soon as possible & they smell blood. If they're up 20+ going into the 4th, perhaps Gentry doesn't risk having AD overly extend himself, particularly if the ankle or any other part of him isn't 100%.
RESULT:
AD got off to a slow start, but really turned it on in the 2nd half for a great 54 PRA outcome. I wasn't able to watch the game, but don't believe there were any injury concerns. The role players I mentioned did indeed get it going (Ian Clark in particular), but clearly didn't affect Davis's ability to go off. The Warriors never came close to a blow out; in fact, it was an essentially a blow-out in the other direction! That was such a big win for the Pelicans, but the only way to really shock the world would be to win Game 4. Can't wait!
Injury Risk: In the previous game, Davis came down hard on his ankle & had a noticeable limp out there. While he'll surely attempt to play big minutes, if that ankle flared up at all / he goes too hard to the basket on offense or defense early in this game, there could be repercussions that limit him in the 2nd half.
Role Players: Davis will always "get his," but that doesn't seem to be the recipe for beating the Warriors in this series. I expect the role players to play much better at home & Davis will need to hold back a bit to allow for them to be more involved. I'm mostly talking about the shooters (Ian Clark, E'Twaun Moore, Solomon Hill, etc) & that includes Jrue Holiday who is yet to really "go off" in this series. Jrue clearly knows big games from AD just aren't going to be enough, so I believe he needs to have a big game today (along with AD) for them to get a win.
Blowwww Outttt: Curry is back & playing without a minutes restriction. With the Warriors' stars in full effect, there's always a risk (even on the road) that they'll blow the opponent out of the building. GS wants to get this series over with as soon as possible & they smell blood. If they're up 20+ going into the 4th, perhaps Gentry doesn't risk having AD overly extend himself, particularly if the ankle or any other part of him isn't 100%.
RESULT:
AD got off to a slow start, but really turned it on in the 2nd half for a great 54 PRA outcome. I wasn't able to watch the game, but don't believe there were any injury concerns. The role players I mentioned did indeed get it going (Ian Clark in particular), but clearly didn't affect Davis's ability to go off. The Warriors never came close to a blow out; in fact, it was an essentially a blow-out in the other direction! That was such a big win for the Pelicans, but the only way to really shock the world would be to win Game 4. Can't wait!
That gif makes me think he’s the next goofy Dwight Howard.
ReplyDeleteDon’t be a Dwight Howard.
Good advice for us all to all live by. Never be a Dwight Howard.
DeleteI'm glad you advised me of this. I picked Anthony Davis, and indeed there was a "Hot Pick Advisory", because that dude was on FIRE!
ReplyDeleteHaha things looked bleak at the beginning but he sure did turn it around!
ReplyDeleteIt wouldn't be me if I didn't royally mess up picking Jrue Holiday in Game 3 after using him in Game 2, in fact I never even realized I had double picked him until I noticed a pick go black and to my horror discovered that it was in my row. I was splitting between Holiday and Davis and apparently due to the different combination and/or double off day forgot about my Nikola Mirotic/Jrue Holiday Game 2 split and as a result it will cost me a Jazz player. Gotta go all out to make up for 32 lost points from Mirotic!
ReplyDeletehttps://imgur.com/a/XgMpBwN
DeletePhilly loses yet again this time on home court and a -525 favorite is not only going to lose the series but in possibly a sweep or otherwise 5 games! Another choke though unlike the Raptors Philly at least is new to the playoffs but coming up empty in Boston and then can't even win at home, now we're facing losing DeRozan or Lowry (whomever is not picked today) and most of the 76ers!
ReplyDeleteBad news for me as i still have embiid and simmons available. Game 4 Embiid
DeleteSorry guys too busy this weekend.
ReplyDeleteQuick picks:
Sunday: Holiday
Monday: Embiid
WTF is happening in the East? Oh, this year, the Raptors are the team to beat, James and the Cavs nearly lost to the Pacers. Yes, the Celtics are number 2 and have homecourt, but they lost Irving, Philly has Embiid and Simmons, the 76ers might go all the way. That´s what I was led to believe. And now? The Cavs and the Celtics are up 3-0. Both series look like a sweep. I sincerely hope the 76ers can at least force a fifth game. I don´t trust the Raptors any longer. DeRozan? Ugh, that one really hurt.
ReplyDeleteIn the West meanwhile, not many believed that even one of the series would go more than 4 games. Both series are 2-1. This really is a strange Playoffseason so far. Where is Dirk anyway?
I hope the 76ers can at least extend the series to game 6. Very bored these next day without a basketball game in the eastern semifinals. I know the Cavs will sweep the Raptors and pick the best remaining player left. So we can have more time to pick Embiid and Simmons.
DeleteThe west is easy picking and both are the favorites up 3-1 in the series. Can pick either ur best remaining player in either a Jazz or Pelican.
Dirk’s enjoying life, buddy!
ReplyDeleteDraft’s coming. Hopefully we get either a good starter center or SG, or a very serviceable sixth man. Either way, he should be NBA-ready just like Smith
Man, they have done it again. First round was so great. A few really interesting series. And then, when it is supposed to get even better, because the remaining teams should be closer in strength, this happens. After a disappointing East we all looked to the West, both series only 2-1 for the favorites. And then came both g4s, and the Jazz and the Pelicans led for a combined 0 seconds. Clear wins for the big guys with both games close only at tip-off. Harumpf. No wonder you can hardly blog.
ReplyDelete„Pick your best remaining player of the Raptors/76ers or Jazz/Pelicans.“ End of blog.
Is there any series that won´t be done after the next game? I hope at least Philly can squeeze out a win. So I can pick Simmons in g5 (hoping he will not repeat his g3 performance).
I am also giving up on the Sixers. It's Embiid today and Mitchell tomorrow for me. The good news is I only used Horford and Tatum from the 4 remaining teams...At least I didn't use LeBron and Love is coming back as a good pick
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