The Final(s) Countdown: Show me the best you got

Ladies and Gentlemen, it's NBA Finals time, so it's the final countdown to the last battle in this year's playoffs between conference champions: Boston Celtics and Golden State Warriors. In this post, I will give you some interesting tips for the last round in Drive to the Finals - what should we look at to pick the right players at the right time?

 

 

1) Select players you will pick

Every series can last just 4 games, but it can be as long as 7 games, so be prepared and write your 4 best remaining players and 7 players you will choose from if there is Game 7. Of course it can change in some circumstances, but those will be your players to pick from. That shows who you should choose from in the remaining games ;)

2) Pay attention to the injury report

At this point of the playoffs, players aren't 100% healthy and it can get worse as we are after 82 regular season games and 3 playoff rounds...

It is especially a case now with Celtics as Marcus Smart and Robert Williams battle through injuries, so make sure they are healthy to pick them or use the opportunity to pick others, for example Derrick White with a larger role without Smart. Pay attention to the injury report and think about who can benefit the most with someone's absence (it can also be players from the opposite team!).

Moreover, look if there is a suspension (hello, Draymond) which can change a lot and make someone as Kuminga great pick one day.

3) Better at home?

Role players usually play better at home, so if you're taking fourth or fifth option from any team, it is probably better to pick this player when he is more familiar with the court they play on. Of course that doesn't always work, but it can help you get more points.

4) Bounce-back

If there is a player who has a really bad shooting night, there is a nice chance he will try to do his best next game and will play a lot better. That is called bounce-back, so if there is a guy who played below expectations, then you can pick him to prove that it was just a worse day in his job. At worse, he won't prove it and you believe that he is worse than you thought... and he will bounce-back next game :p

It can also work the other way - if a player has a long series of great games, he can have just a really bad night exactly when you pick him... but maybe the series of long games will continue ;) 

5) Blowouts are tricky

Games can be over really quickly and if you want to take a risk, you can pick players from the bench who will score more in blowouts. That is risky, but this year there were many blowouts and when they appear, starters usually have scores lower than expected, so there is a chance it is better to take the end of the bench guy when you smell blowout somehow ;)

Aside from those, you should trust your gut and have fun as we made a drive to the Finals ;) hopefully we pick players in the right order and the Finals will be exciting.

Thanks for your time to read this post :) Feel free to discuss in comments upcoming games, your remaining picks and strategy for the Finals. And whenever you read it, have a great day!