Before the start of this year's playoffs, the Nets were unanimously recognized as the team with the best chance of "committing the following crimes". Because the reason why they fell to seventh in the East in the new season has a lot to do with Irving being "banned", Harden leaving, and Durant suffering injuries. However, Lu Kai did not believe in evil and bumped into the "muzzle of the gun" with the second ranking in the east.
In the first round of the playoffs between the two teams, the Nets not only did not achieve the advantage as expected, but even the two teams did not show a balanced result. Instead, Green Kai took a 3-0 lead and was about to eliminate the Nets with "Durant + Irving"...
Compared to the Nets, who were infinitely optimistic about being able to "commit the crime" before the start of the playoffs, the Western Pelicans vs. Suns, the Pelicans were considered impossible to beat the Suns in the series, and their probability of qualifying was only 5%. After all, the Performance of the Suns in the regular season has been very stable, and there are two major stars, Paul and Booker; and the Pelicans are worse than the Suns in terms of overall strength and superstar appearance.
Pelicans vs Suns: Draw 2-2 and make the impossible possible!
And the Pelicans vs Suns Series G1, Paul shot 12 of 16 in a single game, scored 30 points, 7 boards and 10 assists, Booker shot 8 of 19, got 25 points, 4 boards and 8 assists, basically played out their status and strength in last year's playoffs.
As for the Pelicans, McClem shot 9 of 25 and got 25 points, 6 boards and 8 assists; Ingram shot 6 of 17, got 18 points, 5 boards and 4 assists; finally, in the case of a clear gap between the core of the two sides, the Sun easily beat the Pelicans 110-99...
I thought that according to the development of the situation in G1, the Pelicans would not be able to play the sixth game even if they were not swept 4-0 by the Suns. Unexpectedly, G2 Booker's injury became a turning point in the series, and the Pelicans seized the opportunity to win the next game and forced an equalizer.
And in Series G3, the Pelicans were caught off guard by Paul's sudden "outburst" though. But after the G4 adjusted, the Pelicans once again seized the opportunity to beat the Suns 118-103. And just as the Pelicans equalized the series again, they seemed very promising in the first round of the "Black Eight" Suns.
So, in the face of the sun without Booker, can the Pelicans really complete the "Black Eight"?
Before the Pelicans won the G4, someone might have realized that the Pelicans vs. Suns series would play six games, or seven games, but no one thought the Pelicans had a chance to "Black Eight" Suns. After all, G3 didn't have Booker's Suns, and they couldn't win either, but when the Pelicans won the G4, everything seemed different...
1. Compared to the Suns, the Pelicans have a rebounding advantage. Before the start of the playoffs, I thought that with such a core combination of "Ayton + Booker + Paul", the Suns were unlikely to suffer in the lineup. But I didn't expect that after the Pelicans, because the sun's overall body was smaller, they "suffered" a lot in rebounding.
Without a high enough forward to assist, the Suns couldn't grab the Pelicans on Ayton alone. After all, the Pelicans, whether it is Valanciunas, Ingram, or McCollum, have good rebounding ability.
Series G1: The Pelicans grabbed 55 rebounds (25 frontcourts) while the Suns grabbed only 30 (5 frontcourts); Series G2: The Pelicans grabbed 43 rebounds (11 frontcourts) while the Suns grabbed only 33 (8 frontcourts); Series G3: The Pelicans grabbed 45 rebounds (11 frontcourts), while the Suns only grabbed 35 rebounds (9 frontcourts).
Series G4: The Pelicans grabbed 48 rebounds (19 frontcourts), while the Suns only grabbed 39 (12 frontcourts). Judging from these games, the reason why the Suns play so passively has a lot to do with the rebounding being downwind. After all, the Suns' rebounding disadvantage in the frontcourt gave the Pelicans too many opportunities to fight back...
2, Ingram played a superstar performance, he has begun to adapt to the playoff level of confrontation. When Ingram first entered the league, he was recognized for being able to become a superstar in the future, or even a superstar. But in the first few years of the Lakers, he did not cash in on his talent - in the first three seasons of his career, he could not even average 20 points per game.
It wasn't until he was traded to the Pelicans that he played an All-Star individual for three consecutive years. However, there is still a certain gap between this and the expectations of the outside world...
So when the sun is on the Pelicans, the outside world thinks that the sun does not have to be too "hearty" for Ingram, as a "playoff rookie", he is difficult to play. The performance of G1 Ingram with 6 of 17 shots and 4 assists on the 18 boards, 5 boards and 4 assists also seems to confirm this.
What is just unexpected is that after the "playoff test" of G1, Ingram showed strong adaptability. In the last three games of the series, they were able to cut: 37 points, 11 boards, 9 assists + 61.9% shooting rate, 34 boards, 7 boards, 2 assists + 57.9% shooting rate, 30 points, 4 boards and 5 assists + 47.8% shooting rate...
3. Booker is absent and Paul is old. Series G1, although the Suns lost 25 rebounds (20 frontcourts), but under the efficient performance of Paul 30 points, 7 boards and 10 assists, Booker 25 points, 4 boards and 8 assists, the Suns were still able to cover up their own shortcomings and take the Pelicans lightly...
In fact, as long as Booker is not injured, with the combination of "Paul + Booker + Ayton", even if the interior rebounding is at a disadvantage, they can make up for it with strong offensive firepower. Even if G3 Booker was injured, when Paul was able to score 19 points in a single quarter, Ayton 28 points and 17 rebounds, the Suns could beat the Pelicans 114-111.
Paul is 37 years old after all, and even if he can occasionally "break out" in the attack, he will certainly not be able to maintain the normal. Especially without Booker sharing the offensive pressure for him, Paul, who scored harder, would have a greater chance of playing an aberration.
Just like in series G4, when Paul played abnormally on the offensive end and Ayton could no longer grab 17 rebounds, the Pelicans easily relied on their rebounding advantage and Ingram + McCollum's firepower advantage to beat the Suns head-on.
In summary, "good rebounding advantage + Ingram's evolution", although the Pelicans have the capital to compete with the Suns. But even so, it's hard for the Pelicans to beat the Suns head-on in the series, let alone want to "Black Eight." But Booker's "first-round playoff reimbursement" became the Pelicans' biggest breakthrough.
In the current situation, as long as the follow-up Pelicans can stabilize the internal advantage, Ingram continues to stabilize the output, then in the face of this Suns team without Booker, they really have a great possibility to complete the "Black Eight". And the key factor in determining whether the Pelicans can "black eight" in this series depends on how many times Paul can "explode"...