The Miami Heat get their Eastern Conference Finals series tipped off on Tuesday. If Goran Dragic can outduel Kemba Walker, I like their chances.
The Miami Heat and the Boston Celtics are all set to do battle on Tuesday. As the NBA’s Eastern Conference Finals are getting all set to tip-off though, what are some things that can actually serve to tip the scales?
There are a few of them in this series, from playing styles, to coaching, to the actual players on each team, of course. Here though, our focus lies one particular matchup of players.
The matchup between two of the littlest, yet most explosive, players on the court is the one that has our eyes today. Yep, that’s right, we are looking at the matchup between Goran Dragic and Kemba Walker.
Let’s put a few things on the board to begin though.
Neither of them will ever be confused with anyone’s defensive stoppers. Both of them are offensive dynamos though who could help swing fate in one way or another for their teams.
The Miami Heat and the Celtics are almost ready to do batter. The battle between the littlest guys on the court will probably best serve to predict a winner though.
They are both leaders on their teams, charged with getting the team back going or out of a slump if need be. They are both absolutely key to what their teams have done this season.
On a more immediate note, Kemba has struggled at times in these playoffs, putting up only five points in a Game Six defeat to Toronto. Outside of those moments though, he has had a good postseason this year, averaging 19.6 points, 5.3 assists, and 4.1 rebounds.
On the flipside, Goran has only mostly excelled in these playoffs. He is averaging 21.1 points, 4.7 assists, and 4.4 rebounds per contest.
With both putting up decent numbers, it all boils down to this. If Goran Dragic can outduel his point guard counterpart of the Boston Celtics in Kemba Walker, I like our chances.
Goran is bigger than Kemba, so that’s an advantage. He has proceeded to put up bigger numbers than Kemba, so that too is a good thing.
While, again, neither is a defensive savant, Goran’s effort has massively increased on that end and it’s noticeable. With his size, his effort, and what this series means, I expect to see even more of that same effort moving forward.
It will be about more than just those two, but trust, whoever is having the better night of the two should be a prime indicator of who’s chances to win that particular game are strongest. That’s why I believe that Miami Heat’s chances exponentially increase if Goran Dragic can outduel Kemba Walker.