The Underdogs
The first round of the NBA playoffs is well underway, and the underdogs are showing up. The lesson is clear–the playoff games are not the same as the regular season ones.
The Minnesota Timberwolves beat the Denver Nuggets, 113-96, to lead the series 2-1.
The Wolves played that tough, gritty, and nasty brand of defense that even great offensive teams struggle to play against. This resulted in a blowout for much of the game, and suddenly, the Nuggets are in danger of falling into a 3-1 hole. Nikola Jokic struggled with shooting, and key piece Aaron Gordon sat out the game because of a calf injury. Before the series began, no one thought that the Timberwolves would even stand a chance on the account of the Nuggets beating the San Antonio Spurs so convincingly, that it is quite impressive that they just stole the homecourt advantage away from Denver. The Minnesota front office must be patting themselves on the back for acquiring Ayo Dosunmu during the February trade deadline. Dosunmu has been a key part of the rotation in the recent game.
DAILY FANTASY PICKS:
Captain: Anthony Edwards
Vice Captain: Nikola Jokic
Key picks: Ayo Dosunmu, Jaden McDaniels, Rudy Gobert, Julius Randle, Jamal Murray
The Los Angeles Lakers beat the Houston Rockets, 101-94, to lead the series 2-0.
Obviously, the Lakers did not win game one because it was a fluke, nor was it because Kevin Durant did not suit up. After game 2, a lot of pundits now are insisting that the Lakers might even have a good chance of winning this first round series, even with the absence of Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves. Luke Kennard and Marcus Smart have been so valuable to the Lakers’ offense–the arena was even chanting MVPs when Kennard was on the free throw line. The other team saw a bunch of setbacks–Kevin Durant turning the ball over 9 times, and shooting an uncharacteristic 24% from the three. The credit goes to the Laker defense who blitzed KD whenever he got the ball, but the loss is also because the Rockets could not exploit a depleted Lakers line-up.
DAILY FANTASY PICKS:
Captain: LeBron James
Vice Captain: Luke Kennard
Key picks: Marcus Smart, Kevin Durant, Alperen Sengun, Jabari Smith Jr., Amen Thompson
The Atlanta Hawks beat the New York Knicks, 109-108, to lead the series 2-1
The Hawks will play game 4 at home, and will have the chance to put the heavily-favored Knicks in a 3-1 chokehold. Veteran presence becomes insanely valuable in the playoffs, as evidenced by CJ McCollum’s late game heroics during game 3. Jalen Johnson and Jonathan Kuminga were both producing, and it seems that the decision to trade Kristaps Porzingis for Kuminga is now paying off. The Knicks fell behind by double-digits early, and if they want to recover, they have to start strong (and finish stronger). Mikal Bridges had an off-night with 4 turnovers and zero points–the Knicks will need him to be more aggressive on offense if they want to even just get out of the first round.
DAILY FANTASY PICKS:
Captain: Jalen Johnson
Vice Captain: CJ McCollum
Key picks: Jalen Brunson, Karl Anthony-Towns, OG Anunoby, Jonathan Kuminga
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Here are the matches this week!
