The NBA Pelicans beat the Suns in the first round of the playoffs G2, and the first round of the series score became 1-1 draw, which is an incredible thing, to know that before this game, the pelicans beat the Suns to advance to the second round of the probability is only 5%, ESPN predicted that the Pelicans' first-round G2 loss probability is as high as 86.9%, making the impossible possible, this is the charm of the NBA, the Pelicans' performance is indeed amazing!
The Suns are the first team in the league in the regular season, the Pelicans are the No. 8 seed through the playoffs, if the Pelicans can win 3 more games in the first round of the series, then they have achieved the "Black 8", which may be the strongest "Black 8" in NBA history, after all, the Pelicans' regular season record is actually the 9th in the West, so is it possible for the Pelicans to play such a miracle? Here the octopus brings 3 reasons, these three reasons can make the Pelican's Black 8 possible?
Sun defender issues
Devon Booker played 7 minutes and 25 seconds in the third quarter of the first round of G2, 0 minutes and 0 assists in the single quarter, and then it was passed that Booker was injured with hamstring, and when you mention hamstring, you will think of James Harden, from last season to this season, Harden will occasionally have problems about hamstrings, hoping that Booker can return to the game as soon as possible, but you can't deny that this injury may have a fatal impact on the Suns, whether it is the first round, or the championship...
Another starting guard for the Suns is Chris Paul, Paul G2 shot 11 iron in the whole game, shooting 31.3% of the time, the downwind game Paul always seems to be at ease, but once the opponent is tenacious, Paul's performance against the wind is too soft, such as last season's finals, Paul is about to turn 37, he has suffered many injuries in his NBA career, Paul's attributes and age, coupled with Booker's hamstring, the problem of the Suns' core guard, which cast a thick haze on the Suns.
The Pelicans rebound stronger
"The rebounder wins the world", this sentence is not necessarily true, but it is absolutely justified, more rebounds mean more offensive opportunities than the opponent, giving the opportunity to not be used is also seen, but this is better than no chance, in the first round of G1 + G2 games, the Suns won a total of 68 rebounds, including 13 frontcourt rebounds, the Pelicans took a total of 98 rebounds, including 35 frontcourt rebounds, the Pelicans took 30 more rebounds than the Suns, including 22 more frontcourt rebounds!
22 more frontcourt rebounds, which means at least 22 more direct offense opportunities, averaging 11 per game, so far in the playoffs so far, Jonas Valanciunas averaged 19 rebounds per game, Brandon Ingram and CJ McCollum are averaging 8 rebounds per game, their height advantage is highlighted in rebounds, rebounds are different from many statistics, that is the data that can be obtained by eating talent and working hard, the Pelicans are stronger than the Suns' rebounds, which gives them hope.
Great Killer Ingram
Many people say that Brandon Ingram is an extended and poor version of Kobe Bryant, 201cm tall but has the technology of a defender, which is true, which has had a negative impact on Ingram for a long time, because at that time, his skills were not enough, his physical confrontation was too weak, which led to his movements and the ball could not be scored, and the 21-22 season was a season in which Ingram improved very obviously, and Cain Williamson's injury gave him a chance.
After experiencing the first round of G1's discomfort, G2's he shot 37 points in 13 of 21 shots, and in these 13 shots, he had 4 shots after receiving the ball, 1 layup, 1 self-shooting, and the other 7 were individual singles, and the list ate Chris Paul, Strong Bridges, Yan Shoot Crowder, stopped jumping shots, turned over, plus 3 shots in all three-point shots, 8 free throws in all 8 free throws, and now Ingram has become a big killer!
The core defenders of the Suns have a problem, the Pelicans have a strong rebound, coupled with the big killer Ingram, the overall strength of the Pelicans is actually not as good as the Suns, but the gap between these 2 teams, that is already much smaller than the gap during the regular season, to know that the regular season Suns win rate of 78%, pelicans only 43.9%, this article these 3 reasons let the Pelicans have the hope of achieving a black 8, from almost impossible to possible, the Pelicans may write an epic masterpiece, then it is fair to say, Are you bullish on the Pelicans achieving the "Black 8" miracle this season?
(Incidentally, in the latest forecast of the US media 538, the Probability of the Suns advancing to the second round is 80% and the Pelicans is 20%).