New Orleans Pelicans 104-113 Golden State Warriors
The Western Conference semi-final between the New Orleans Pelicans and the Golden State Warriors was practically a done deal the moment the Pelicans had to return to the Bay Area with a 3-1 series deficit.
Everyone and their mother knew that pulling off an upset against the Warriors at the Oracle Arena was a difficult prospect, so not even the most daring betting sites advised a bet towards the Pelicans. The Dubs dominated the floor and didn’t allow the Pelicans to sweep another game from under their noses.
Now that the Big Easy will take a hard trek into the offseason, fans can now look forward to the matchup that’s been talked about since the regular season!
Highlights of the Game
The game was considerably close during the first half. The Pelicans were able to keep up with the high-tempo offence the Warriors implemented, with Anthony Davis and Jrue Holiday doing most of the power-hitting for the Big Easy.
However, the best bookmakers know that the game doesn’t really start for the Dubs until the third quarter. The Warriors outscored their visitors 36-19 in the third frame, and the Oracle Arena roared in delight as the lead inflated to 26 points.
The third quarter saw many uncharacteristic turnovers from the Pelicans, which allowed Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant get some of the easiest baskets. The Dubs had the Pelicans’ number on offence. Durant used his unique threat as a supreme scorer to creat some space and sink easy midrange shots. Curry also played around, scoring floaters from way outside the paint.
Key Statistics
While the game seemed to end what appears to be an uninteresting series, statistics suggest that the Pelicans were actually a tougher opponent than what the final scores were saying.
Anthony Davis is in the Top Ten for field goals, field goal attempts, free throws, total rebounds, blocks, steals, and points. Davis had an incredible run, and Alvin Gentry even compared him to one of the greatest big men in history. Many expect him to come back stronger next year.
However, the revelation of the playoffs has to be Rajon Rondo. He was an important cog to the Pelicans’ playoff run to the point that this humble writer considered his gravitas before making a recommendation. He led the playoffs in assists and assists per game, so I won’t be surprised to see him getting big money wherever he goes in the offseason.
The more intriguing fact in these playoffs is the shockingly subpar shooting of the Warriors from beyond the arc. The Dubs are 13th-worst in the playoffs with 34% shooting from beyond the arc. Superb defensive coverage from the Pelicans and the San Antonio Spurs forced the Dubs to take a lot of bad shots. However, stopping the Dubs at the three-line also opened lanes for Durant and Curry to dash to the inside and make closer shots.
Lastly, it is simply impressive that Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry haven’t missed at the charity stripe in these playoffs. Curry made all 14 of his free-throw attempts while Thompson converted his own 15 shots. It will be interesting to see if both players will be able to maintain their perfect strokes at the line for the rest of the playoffs.
What’s Next?
The New Orleans Pelicans are in an interesting pickle this coming offseason, and they have a lot of questions to answer.
The first big question is the DeMarcus Cousins situation. Boogie will be an unrestricted free agent in the summer and can literally go anywhere he wanted. He won’t likely be getting max money unless Solomon Hill and Nikola Mirotic are shipped off. How will the front office convince him to take less money to stay when they have such a big roadblock out West in the Warriors?
Rondo is the other major question mark that needs to be addressed. The man showed that he can thrive in the system, but he will definitely demand considerable amounts of money in the summer. Will they keep him in the Big Easy? Or will they shop around and let Rondo leave?
Meanwhile, two of the West’s best teams will square up in the Western Conference Finals. This is Chris Paul’s first foray into the Western Conference Finals, and he will do anything to make it to the biggest dance in professional basketball. James Harden is equally hungry to get in on the action, too.
We will surely see an exchange of physical plays, dirty looks and seething words come out of both sides as the Larry O’Brien trophy looks closer than ever. Many a sportsbook will keep one eye on this series because we will likely witness a classic!
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