AGAINST THE GRAIN: Don't Shai Away From Mr. Brogdon

The Thunder are down 0-1 & looked terrible in Game 1 so it's fair to pick an OKC player if you feel like they're on track to lose the series. The question then becomes, which player? Most folks will pick the veteran, Chris Paul, who didn't play very well in Game 1, yet still flirted with a triple double or perhaps even Steven Adams who gets decent numbers easily against the small-ball Rockets even though he won't play big minutes. And of course there's also Gallinari who led the Thunder in scoring in Game 1; however, I tend to think that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will go BIG after an absolute disaster of a Game 1. He's had a standout year with the Thunder, averaging 19/6/3 & he's capable of gaudy statistical numbers on any given night. He plays solid minutes & Game 2 seems like a good bet to me & he also makes for a solid hedge if you feel the Thunder still have a chance to upset the Rockets, given those other players listened above that you'll still have available.

So in the continued spirit of going against the grain, I decided to make this post a double since I hadn't yet posted any specific game content here over these first three days. It's pretty clear to avoid the two 1-8 matchups where the 8 seeds are up 1-0, so that leaves Heat vs. Pacers as the only other matchup to pick from. It seems that the Heat were favored to begin with & Game 1 only furthered that belief so it's fair to pick a Pacer at this point. While T.J. Warren will likely be the popular pick due to his scoring prowess & overall statistical output in the bubble, he's definitely had his problems against Jimmy Butler & the Heat. Oladipo is questionable with an eye injury (I'm betting he'll play) & just hasn't been great this year so I believe that Malcom Brogdon will be a better pick than both of them in Game 2, or at worst, a comparable pick. He tends to contribute well in all PRA categories & much like my OKC explanation, he makes for a decent hedge if the Pacers somehow take control of the series as it's safe to assume that Warren & Oladipo would have even stronger outputs against the Lakers or Blazers in the next round.

As always, I'll edit this post tomorrow night with the RESULTS of how this AGAINST THE GRAIN pick worked out!

-------------------------------------

RESULT: What an incredible start to my Against The Grain column! I'm nailed these pics with both Brogdon (31) & SGA (39) securing the highest PRAs on their team. I went with my bounce-back gut that told me Shai would be the best of the two & that also went my way. Maybe I should buy a lottery ticket while I'm feeling lucky, because this surely won't last!