It's not too late. Play Drive to the Finals Now!
By John Schuhmann
May 1 -- This is the easiest pick of the playoffs so far. The Nuggets are facing elimination and we haven't taken Carmelo Anthony yet. End of story. Good night. Drive (to the Finals) home safely.
Hmmm ... I'm supposed to write more than that.
OK. Let's look at some other options, just in case you've picked Carmelo already. But that would mean you haven't been taking the advice of us experts. If that's the case, then maybe you don't need (or deserve) me to go over any more options for today.
| Today's Expert Pick | |||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
May 1 -- There are three games on the Monday slate: Dallas at Memphis with Dallas up 3-0, Detroit at Milwaukee with Detroit up 2-1 and Denver at the Clippers with L.A. up 3-1.
If you haven't taken Michael Redd yet, he's an option since the Bucks have another game at home Monday and there's a good shot that the Pistons take the next two. Other than Redd, there are no decent option on the Bucks, and you obviously want to save your Pistons. Still, the Bucks have at least one more game after tonight.
At worst, the Clippers have two more games after tonight and they're looking good for the second round, so save E.B. and Sammy. Obviously, you're not taking any Mavs at this point.
That takes us to the Grizzlies. Pau Gasol is definitely an option if you haven't taken him yet (we have). And if you have taken Carmelo and not Gasol, Pau's your man tonight. If you have taken both, then Mike Miller is an option, but there are actually two better options on Denver.
Andre Miller and Marcus Camby will probably both get you better numbers than Mr. Sixth Man, and Miller is likely the better option of the two. Just to make sure, let's take a closer look at the numbers. We'll throw in every possible option for tonight into a handy table showing their regular season numbers and playoff numbers ...
|
If only they awarded points for style.
Garrett Ellwood/NBAE/Getty Images |
| Player | PRA R.S. | PRA Playoffs |
| Carmelo Anthony | 34.1 | 31.1 |
| Pau Gasol | 33.9 | 29.7 |
| Andre Miller | 26.2 | 27.8 |
| Marcus Camby | 26.8 | 26.1 |
| Mike Miller | 21.8 | 13.7 |
So, there's your list right there. The only other variable is which team you think is more likely to pull off a victory. The Nuggets are down 3-1, but they're playing on the road. The Grizzlies are down 3-0, but they're playing at home. Tough call. If I had to guess, I'd say that the Grizzlies are more likely to stay alive, but that's just a hunch.
Either way, the order should be pretty clear. If you haven't taken Carmelo, he's your man. Pau's next, followed by either Andre Miller or Camby. We prefer Miller, as his numbers in the playoffs are almost two points better.
And I don't think I could squeeze another word out of such an easy pick.
 | |
| |
| |
