The New Orleans Pelicans host the Portland Trail Blazers at the Smoothie King Center on Thursday night. The NBA playoff contest will begin at 8:00 pm central. The Pelicans were on the wrong end of a 3 way tie at 48-34 on the season, earning them the 6 seed in the west. The Blazers, on the other hand, finished 1 game ahead at 49-33. Although they were only one game ahead, they are 3 seeds ahead in the number 3 slot. New Orleans comes into this game slightly favored, at -3.
Game 1 saw a monster game from Anthony Davis. Davis put up 35 points in his 41 minutes on the floor, while also pulling down 14 rebounds. The dominating center was a one man wrecking crew on the inside, willing the Pelicans to a 97-95 victory. Davis and the Pelicans had to weather the storm during the 4th quarter which saw the Blazers outscore the Pelicans by 10 points.
While Anthony Davis put up another double double in game 2, Jrue Holiday was the story of the game, scoring 33 points in less than 40 minutes of play. The Pelicans won that contest, 111-102.
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Trail Blazers: Keep Up the Balanced Scoring
In game 1, only 4 players scored 10 or more points for Portland. However, all but one player who saw minutes for the Blazers scored. In game 2, the scoring as a whole improved, with all but 3 players who saw the floor scoring 10 points or more. This type of efficient bench scoring will need to be an integral part of the game for Portland, should they wish to not go down 3-0.
On the other side of the ball, Portland’s defense will need to be focused on not allowing a huge performance for anyone on the Pelicans’ team. Jusuf Nurkic and Zach Collins will have to stand tall in the interior, keying in on stopping Davis on the inside. They will also have to be willing to beat him to a spot and take a charge when he decides to put the ball on the floor. Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum will have to step up as the leaders they are to slow down the explosive Jrue Holiday.
New Orleans Pelicans: Trust Davis
Anthony Davis has been the man for the Pelicans to rely on all year long. Sure, Demarcus Cousins averaged 25 points per game, but even sharing the frontcourt spotlight with Cousins, Davis averaged 28. Establishing the inside presence with an absolute wrecking ball like Davis can open up the outside shots for Guards like Jrue Holiday and forward Nikola Mirotic. Also, if the Blazers are forced to start double teaming Davis inside, look for lanes to open up for Holiday to drive to the rim. Also, Rajon Rondo might be looking at a potential double double night if he can get into the paint.
Pelicans Over Trail Blazers
Any team headed to their opponent’s court down 2-0 knows they are facing an uphill battle. Most basketball fans know that teams in these situations are going to lose more often than not (Unless you are the Celtics last year who won because the Bulls absolutely fell apart when Rondo got hurt). Anything can happen for any team, especially a quality team like the Trail Blazers, but it would be hard to bet against a team headed home having just taken games 1 and 2 on the road. Look for another big performance from Anthony Davis, perhaps even a triple double if he gets double teamed. Take the Pelicans at -3.
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