This year's playoffs have been unprecedentedly open, and the Pelicans, who are no. 9 in the Regular Season in the West, have made a splash in the playoffs, first winning two consecutive playoff tickets in the playoffs, and then causing the Suns a lot of trouble in the first round! Currently, the Pelicans are tied 1-1 with the Suns, promising to make history and become the first Black 9 team in history.
This is not alarmist, through the first two games of the series, the Pelicans have built confidence and found their own advantage points, enough to make up for their lack of experience! Perkins gave his prediction after G2: "My prediction now is that the Pelicans can beat the Suns in seven games, and Ingram is now the best player in this series." ”
The Pelicans' young leader, Ingram, completed the metamorphosis ahead of schedule before the playoffs through two play-off games. G2 Ingram blasted a quasi-triple-double with 37 points, 11 rebounds and 9 assists on 13-of-21 shooting, and in him we see Durant's shadow, he can shoot at anyone's head, and he can do more than just score, he has a good passing vision.
Like Pelicans coach Willie Green said, in the final moments of the game, I didn't have to direct myself, I just left things to Ingram, he could handle it.
And the Pelicans are now not just relying on Ingram's team, the Warblers also have playoff experienced McCollum around him, who scored 23 points yesterday, hit six three-pointers, and contributed a key 8 points in the final quarter.
In addition to the expected performance of the double star, the Pelicans played a dominant performance in rebounding, the Pelicans won 30 rebounds by the Suns in two games, and the G1 Pelicans frantically grabbed 25 rebounds in the frontcourt. The rebounding advantage stems from the Pelicans' height advantage, which can be steadily throughout the series!
However, the most worrying thing for the Suns is Booker's accidental injury, according to ESPN reporter Brian Windhorst reported today, Booker suffered a grade 1 hamstring strain, may miss 2-3 weeks, is unlikely to play in G3, G4, and even miss the first round of the series. Without Booker, a steady average of nearly 30 points per game, the Suns would face a tough test on the offensive end, and the burden on Paul Sr.'s shoulders would become so heavy that he might need to start working in the first quarter.
Speaking about Booker's injury, Paul said in an interview: "He's our number one scorer and we think he should be the MVP of the year. So without him, I think a lot of people might think they need to do more, but we just need to do more together, not just one person. ”
It's easy to say, but it's easy to fill the gap for a superstar! If the Pelicans continue to be efficient on the offensive end, plus Zion, who could come back at any time, they could continue to shock the world, we'll see!