Drive to the Finals Picks - April 28, 2011

The Intuition Statistician

Must - Andre Miller

• Tonight I expect big numbers out of Miller. He is a veteran point guard, facing elimination with home court advantage. My intuition says the blazers will win a close one tonight and then lose in game 7. Miller and Aldridge have been fairly consistent so far, so either one of these two players would be a good pick for tonight. Their fight to avoid elimination should result in big PRA numbers.
  
  
  

Bust - Trevor Ariza

• Sorry NBA.com experts, I am not really feeling this pick tonight. For those of you who saw Game 5, you saw vintage Kobe. Kobe was attacking and dunking on the Hornets big men with a vengeance. I think Kobe's new attitude will transfer into his teams performance tonight. Sparked by Kobe, I think the Lakers are going to show what they are capable of tonight. I don't think Ariza will be able to handle what the Lakers are going to bring to New Orleans tonight.

Stat Guru

Must - Jason Richardson

Yet again I feel J-Rich has been a player in this series flying under the radar. It seems the Hawks still haven't notice that the Magic are one of the best 3-point shooting teams in the league and Richardson has been one of the main contributors after the blockbuster deal with Phoenix. With the Magic facing elimination, Richardson will get all the minutes he can handle and I expect Van Gundy to give him the green light for this game. Don't be discouraged as he will play through his injury.

Bust - Carl Landry


Although Landry has been dominating Pau with his speed and quickness, his ability to shut down in an instant was proved in Game 5. Pau Gasol returned to his usual double-double role and the Lakers rotated well to prevent Landry's penetration. The Hornets seem to rely on players like Aaron Gray and Jason Smith off the bench to keep them in games and look for Monty to get these guys going as the bench has kept New Orleans close in this series. My Laker bias is telling me this is it for the Hornets run, and Kobe posterizing Landry in Game 5 isn't my only reason.

Fantasy Fresh Wes:
Must - Jamal Crawford

• I don't usually like taking players from teams leading their series, but felt like I had to make an exception here. Crawford has been a disappointment at best this year, and I didn't expect him to be a factor at the start of the series. But he seems to have found his groove against the Magic, and has arguably been the Hawks best player in this series . Based on his inconsistency this year, it's hard to predict how he will perform against the Bulls if ATL moves beyond the first round. This may be his best round, so I want to use him while he still looks like a strong option for PRAs.

Bust - Trevor Ariza

• Okay, I'll admit that Ariza's PRA game has been pretty impressive this series (by Ariza's standards). This bust is more about me playing devil's advocate, than me doubting his performance tonight. This will be CP3's night to shine once again, and I don't expect the PRA of any other Hornet to come remotely close to his.