winforlose wrote:Klomp wrote:The series is over in my mind.
Phoenix might win a game or two, but as Dane and Kyle talked about postgame, I'm not sure what other wrinkles they can add to the gameplan that would completely derail us. Booker and/or Durant and/or Beal can go nuclear and shoot their way to taking a game, but honestly I think that's their best opportunity. Especially with Grayson Allen likely down and out.
We won Game 1 with Mike Conley and Naz Reid struggling. Last night, Towns, Ant, Reid, etc. didn't do a whole lot. And still we won both convincingly. The biggest worry is that Towns and Edwards start to play with their food, but I don't see Gobert and Conley allowing it to go very far.
Between their own playoff narratives (Ant wants to build his legend and Karl wants to fix his reputation,) and the Mike Conley plea, I cannot imagine them playing with their food. They have a real incentive to win in four. Those extra days aren’t just rest days, they are game plan and practice days. They are days they can spend in Denver adjusting to the altitude. I wouldn’t even wait for the LAL vs DEN series to end. I would hop a plane straight from the Phoenix airport (assuming we win in 4,) and get to Denver early. Rent a private gym and get to work in altitude. If LAL steals it, great. If not, you have the jump on the Nuggets. Whoever wins the Wolves vs Nuggets series will be NBA champions!
I said it on the General board, but Allen's ankle injury is a major source of my optimism. Allen averaged 19 ppg in the regular season. Can they replace that if he misses more time?