New Orleans now owns a 2-0 lead over the Blazers as their first-round series shifts to the Bayou for Game 3 on Thursday.
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While Anthony Davis has predictably been a problem for Portland, the biggest story of the series thus far has been how the Pelicans’ starting backcourt has badly outplayed the Blazers’ starting guards.
The former UCLA product was the driving force behind the Pelicans victory in game 2. The Pelicans were enjoying a 26-21 record and were on track for its fourth consecutive win when DeMarcus Cousins tore his left achilles tendon against the top-seeded Houston Rockets this January, effectively ending the center’s season just one week after he was selected as an NBA All-Star Game starter. The Trail Blazers now find themselves in a 2-0 deficit going on the road, meaning they’ll have to win at least one here in order to return to the Moda Center. He delivered a pull-up 3-pointer to push the lead to five.
By the looks of things, they would meet the Golden State Warriors in the second round, and while the Warriors outmatch almost anyone, Holiday’s play adds an interesting dimension for the Pelicans. He’s 7 of 17 from deep in this series, and his plus-minus leads the entire team at +31 through two games, in a series where he’s played in about 40 minutes in both games. Portland was eight of 10 at the line, held a narrow 45-43 edge on the glass and was hurt by 16 turnovers in the loss. Holiday has also been brilliant defensively, particularly when tasked with guarding Damian Lillard. Jusuf Nurkic (13 points), Zach Collins (12) and Maurice Harkless (11) also had double-digit scoring nights.
Terry Stotts compromised this strategy by moving Evan Turner from being the sixth man to the starting small forward. There were only two games separating them from the No. 8 Timberwolves by the season’s end, but they entered the playoffs with expectations of making it out of the first round for the third time in the Lillard era.
“If you’re gonna have him on your team you’ve got to believe in him enough to understand he’s gonna put guys in the right situation”, Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry said at shootaround on Monday.
NBA.com reported that Holiday has guarded Lillard for 74 possessions in the first two games, about half the time Lillard has been on the court, and Lillard has scored just seven points on 2-of-18 shooting. But on the following play Nikola Mirotic hit a insane rainbow three to take the lead right back.
Trail Blazers are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 vs. If Lillard continues to struggle with his shot, this series might not even make it back to Portland.
The two teams will be back in action tomorrow night in New Orleans. Will Davis be able to do it again to help the Pelicans have a 2-0 lead? The Blazers defense will be better prepared for New Orleans’ brisk style of play. Davis absolutely feasted on Portland in the three regular season games he played against them, shooting an astronomical 65 percent. “I’m more concerned about the nuts and bolts of the game and the attitude and the fiber and the grunt and all that sort of thing”. That’s the difference in the series is late game execution.
But the Pelicans pulled away in the clutch. What can Portland do to stem the tide?
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The Trail Blazers rank third in rebounds per game (45.5) while the Pelicans rank 24th in rebounds allowed per game (45.6).
