The Suns remained as championship favourites for their second year in a row, as the first seed, 8 wins more than the 2nd place grizzlies. It is no surprise the Suns are favourites to win the championship, as they have the best playoff-experienced playmaker of today's NBA, CP3, as well as their key scorer and clutch shooter, Devin Booker. This is of course supported by a potential DPOY Mikal bridges, and their young first round pick , Deandre Ayton, who is looking towards being a great center
The Suns matched up against the Pelicans, who barely made the playoffs by clinching a win against the Clippers. The Pelicans have plenty of young players, with two young stars, supported with an experienced CJ McCollum. CJ McCollum has taken a leading role, setting the tempo for both the offence and defense.Unfortunately, Pelicans main star Zion Williamson is still injured, but their other star, Brandon Ingram carried that burden and dropped 37, shooting for 100% from the 3. CJ McCollum dropped 23 points, shooting for 60% from the 3, essentially double the average in the playoff.
The Pelicans have found a way around DPOY favourite Mikal Bridges, and the Suns. Zion has released statements about how him and the team disagree on the extent of his injury, and he has released videos of him windmilling on padded floors. This hints towards Zion possibly coming back in this playoff to help the pelicans reach the next game. Brandon Ingram has proven once again he does not play nice, with 27 points, 11 rebounds and 9 assists, at the age of only 24. Was this just a fluke, or can the Pelicans turn out to be the dark horse of this year’s NBA playoff?
By Shantanu