Nnothing more to finish the play-in with the victory of the New Orleans Pelicans sportsbooks and analysts cast their predictions on the Louisiana team’s series against the Phoenix Suns, the best team in the NBA and the big favorite for the ring this season. No one or almost no one gave a euro for Alvin Gentry’s team, an irregular team that this season has not had its great star Zion Williamsonwho continues to recover from his foot injury while posting videos on social media of his warm-ups prior to the team’s games.
Without Zion, but with Brandon Ingram, CJ McCollum, Jonas Valanciunas, Herbert Jones, and Jose Alvarado. Five players who have already become the great nightmare of Monty Williams and the Suns, who have seen how the Pelicans rose to their beards and made it 2-2 after an exercise in resistance and defense in the fourth game of the Serie.
Ingram was the leading scorer for the Pelicans with 30 points.to which he added four rebounds and five assists, while Valanciunas was dominant with 26 points, 15 rebounds and four assists and CJ McCollum had 18 points, with nine rebounds and two assists. However, the key to victory was in the defense of the team that took advantage of Chris Paul’s mistakes (rare for him) and remembered that he finished the season being one of the best defensive teams in the entire NBA. And all without Zion Williamson.
But yes with a José Alvarado who has become one of the sensations of the season and who in the fourth game left an image that should be studied in all basketball schools. The player with Puerto Rican and Mexican roots and who was not drafted caused the loss of Chris Paul with exemplary pressure that prevented the Suns point guard from crossing half court in eight seconds. An image that reflects the spirit of a team that wants to die with their boots on.
José Alvarado, a nightmare for Chris Paul and the Suns
Los Pelicans they did not count on Zionbut they are enjoying the best version of Brandon Ingram. The forward was the leading scorer for the Pelicans with 30 points, to which he added four rebounds and five assists and was a nightmare for the defense of a Suns that are having more problems than expected to stop the Pelicans outside line.
The night of Chris Paul. We are not used to seeing a bad game from the base but even the best scribe has a blur. The point guard was never able to withstand the pressure from Jones and Alvarado and signed one of his worst games in the playoffs with four points, 25% shooting from the field and without shooting a single triple or free throw.
Los Chicago Bulls are on the brink of the abyss after losing the fourth game of their series against the Milwaukee Bucks in a match in which Billy Donovan’s pupils had serious problems when it came to attacking the rival hoop. Especially from a long distance as evidenced by his nine of 36 from 3-point range with DeRozan missing all five of his attempts.
Los Miami Heat put on track this Sunday their pass to the second round of the NBA ‘playoffs’ by winning 110-86 at home to the Atlanta Hawkswith a double-double of 36 points and 10 rebounds from an intractable Jimmy Butler, to take a 3-1 series lead. The shooting guard completed his performance with four assists, four steals and a shot
The Denver Nuggets managed to beat the Golden State Warriors 126-121 this Sunday in a game they were forced to win, down 3-0 in the tie. They dominated the game thanks to Nikola Jokic (37 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists) and an unexpected Bones Hyland, who scored three triples in a row coming off the bench and gave his team a distance of +17.
