Drive to the Finals Expert Pick: 5/2/08
Print RSS Feeds E-News Sign Up
Play Drive to the Finals Now!

By John Schuhmann

We've got three Game 6s on Friday...

Boston @ Atlanta - Game 6
Celtics lead series 3-2
Players used so far: Joe Johnson, Josh Smith

Cleveland @ Washington - Game 6
Cavs lead series 3-2
Players used so far: Caron Butler, Antawn Jamison

Rockets @ Jazz - Game 6
Jazz leads series 3-2
Players used so far: Tracy McGrady

I'd say that Boston and Utah are likely to close out their series in six. But I think Cleveland-Washington is about 50-50.

We've basically used all our options on the Wizards, while the Cavs are pretty much one-deep. And we can save LeBron for Game 7 or for future rounds.

Remaining options on the Rockets are Luis Scola (24.8 PRA in the postseason) and Rafer Alston (23.3), while the only remaining option on the Hawks is Al Horford (27.6).

Now, the only issue with ignoring the Celtics, Cavs and Jazz is that if more than one of them loses on Friday, we'll run the risk of losing one of the teams without using any of their players, because all of these series would play Game 7 on Sunday.

But I'm going to take that chance. I think the most likely scenario is that only Cleveland is forced to play a Game 7. And at that point, we'll probably use LeBron.

So, back to the Rockets and Hawks. Horford looks like the clear choice. His worst PRA of the series so far has been 19 and he's had two games with a PRA over 30. He's a safe pick.

If you had asked before the playoffs started if we'd be using Al Horford in this game at all, we would have said, "No way." The chances that the Hawks would win a game, let alone two, and that a rookie would put up nice numbers against KG and the Celtics were pretty slim.

But here we are.

Go get 'em rook.

Play Drive to the Finals Now!

Al Horford, ATLWhen: Friday, May 2 at 8 p.m. ET
Opponent: vs. Boston
Pts: 10.1 Reb: 9.7 Ast: 1.5
Regular Season Average PRA: 21.3
Yesterday's Pick: Andre Iguodala, PHI
Expert Pick Playoffs Total: 336
Expert Pick Archive
1. Rafer Alston, HOU @ UTA (21.9 PRA)
2. Luis Scola, HOU @ UTA (18.0 PRA)
3. Kevin Garnett, BOS @ ATL (31.4 PRA)
If you'd rather go with a Rocket, because they're more likely to be eliminated, I'd go with Alston over Scola. With his ability to get hot, he's got a higher ceiling, and when in doubt, I go with the guy who's got the ball in his hands. Also, I feel more sure about a guy who's not afraid to look me in the eyes. I'm over here, Luis!

Perhaps you think the Hawks are going to win the series? No. 1: You're crazy. No. 2: Go with KG.

Monday
July 28
WNBA Olympic Break Begins

Friday
August 8
Summer Olympics Begin

Sunday
Sept. 14
WNBA Regular Season Ends

Sign up for our free newsletter, contests and exclusive team information