New Orleans (7) vs Portland (2)

 

The No. 2 Portland Trailblazers and No. 7 New Orleans Pelicans will face off in the 1^st round of the 2022 NSL Playoffs. The Blazers finished the season with a 68-14 record, while the Pelicans went 47-35 and had to make the playoffs the hard way through the play-in tournament. Portland won the season series 3-1. The 2 teams will be facing off in a playoff series for the first time in NSL history.

 

Portland Trailblazers � Featuring the big 3 in Kevin Durant, James Harden and Russell Westbrook the Portland Trailblazers battled all season for the top seed in the West with the Spurs and Timberwolves falling short of the 1^st seed tie with the Spurs. The Blazers have size, an elite shot-maker, and 2 elite playmakers. They are one of the more daunting teams in the league that no one wants to face. Portland having featured in the conference final in every NSL season to date look to push back to the former glory of being the NSL champions once again after falling short last season to the San Antonio Spurs. However, face a tough task in the 1^st round having to face off with the up and coming and very young Pelicans who are right on the cusp of breaking out and becoming a formidable championship contender.

 

 

New Orleans Pelicans � New Orleans has one of the most enviable young rosters in the NSL. Featuring the highlight machine Ja Morant, Donovan Mitchell in the backcourt, and some of the best rotational players in the league. The Pelicans run deep and have a steady rotation of 3 and D and plenty of scoring with a 6^th MOTY contender in Terry Rozier. New Orleans held a playoff position for most of the season but in the end, their position was hindered due to injury to key personnel leaving them to duke it out in the play-in tournament if they wanted to compete in the playoffs for a title. The Pelicans dispatched of their play in opponent now 8^th seed Denver Nuggets 105-83 and get to face one of the scarier top teams in Portland for their trouble.

 

Key points

1.      How does Portland slow down the backcourt of Ja Morant and Donovan Mitchell?

 

Both Morant and Mitchell shared the scoring load well each averaging 23ppg respectively, Morant features as 15^th in the league in scoring and 10^th in Assists while Mitchell was 17^th in scoring. The Pels backcourt can create their shot and are elite isolation scorers as well having the ability to create the offense for others and have competent lob threats to pass to at the 4 and 5. One thing the Blazers sorely miss in their squad is any elite perimeter defenders and lack a real shot-blocking paint presence outside of their bench unit and an aging Hassan Whiteside who doesn�t appear to have the same verticality he was known for. While Portland�s identity on the season has been along the lines of outscoring you rather than taking away your offense. In a playoff series and a potential 7 games, the Pelicans backcourt could prove troublesome if Pels GM Leeroy can figure a way to run them in a heavy isolation system.

 

2.      Will the real Russell Westbrook please stand up?

 

The Pelicans have one of the better units to combat Portland�s offensive stars with Donovan Mitchell and Mikal Bridges at the 2 and 3 where Harden and Durant are expected to be lining up. Westbrook has been on a drastic decline over 3 seasons his scoring has all but disappeared dropping from 35ppg 2 seasons ago to 19ppg this season but has proven to still be very serviceable as a rim threat and an elite playmaker as the NSL Assists leader this season. With the matchups, Westbrooks�s output will be crucial if his running mates are slowed by the defensive studs of the Pelicans. Russ when facing the Pelicans this season averaged 15/5/10 on 40/30 splits showing that he can stand up as the lead playmaker against the Pels and will need to carry similar playmaking output into this series but will need to stand up more in terms of his scoring output if Durant and Harden find their matchups are a difficult matchup to score on.

 

3.      The difficult task of keeping Portland off the boards.

 

Portland is an elite rebounding team; they boast three 7-footers and have Drummond still grabbing every rebound in his area Drummond ranks 6^th in offensive rebounding and 10^th in overall rebounding. Portland as a team rank as the 5^th best offensive rebounding team and the 2^nd best defensive rebounding team. This forces Leeroy to answer a question, does he switch up the team system to try to negate the inevitable rebound advantage that Portland holds? New Orleans sits at 19^th in defensive rebounding and will need to get creative in ways to keep Portland off the glass on that side of the ball, giving up 2^nd chance opportunities to Portland is a recipe for disaster.

Portland GM JMAC on the series. "This is what we have been playing for all season, an opportunity to try and rectify what happened last season. I think our team is ready and looking forward to the challenge and opportunity. Hopefully, our best is yet to come.

We hoped to avoid the Pelicans, but you must face the best teams if you hope to advance. Great GM, great culture. It's obvious how talented they are and how well they fit together and play; they are right on the precipice of bursting into their window to contend and we are just hoping to not be the victim that allows that.

It will be a helluva series, especially with their great bigs looking to return. We are hungry to do well."

 

New Orleans GM Leeroy on the series: "We know we are massive underdogs and go into the playoffs with nothing to lose"

 

Series prediction 4-1:  History has proven that if you win the rebound battle, you will usually win the game. Unless Pels GM Leeroy can work the team system to negate that rebounding advantage, I think Portland will make quick work of this series. Joel will have a burning desire to win the championship this season after falling short last year and battling with a star sidelined. I don�t believe Portland will take this series or the playoffs lightly and will look to take advantage of any weaknesses shown by the Pelicans unit.  

Nelsbet odds:

H2H:

Portland $1.18 New Orleans $3.47

Series total games:

4 games $1.64

5 games $2.85

6 games $5

7 games $12

Series MVP

KD $1.12

Harden $2

Westbrook $3.50

Morant $5

Drummond $7

Mitchell $12

Anyone else $21