NBA HORSE-- Semifinal & Finals Predictions

The NBA season has been put on hold and while they are looking at ways of restarting the regular season, the League is also thinking of ways to entertain their fans. On Sunday, the league put on a game of H.O.R.S.E, which consisted of eight players competing on their home courts. Zach LaVine, Allie Quigley, Chauncey Billups, and Mike Conley all advanced to the semifinals, which will take place on Thursday night at 9:00 pm. ESPN will cover all the action.

I did an article on Sunday about the competition and I went 3-1 in my first-round selections. I watched the first-round and I thought it was good. The video was a bit off but still, the competition and the banter between the players were fun to watch. I am very excited about the semis and finals as we have some good matchups, so sit back and enjoy.

(Odds are Courtesy Of Odds Shark).

The Semifinals

Zach LaVine vs Allie Quigley

Zach LaVine: LaVine is one of the most underrated shooters in the game. LaVine hit 45% of his shots from the field overall, including 38% of his shots from long range this year. He has an immense bag of tricks and if you look back to my article on Sunday, you will see that I picked him to win it all at +400. In the first round, Zach dominated Paul Pierce by not even picking up a letter in the contest. I didn’t expect that, but I did expect him to win the contest and I am sticking by my pick for him to win the whole kit-and-kaboodle. In the Semifinals, he will be taking on Allie Quigley, who looked good in her first-round matchup. It will not be a cakewalk for LaVine in this one.

Allie Quigley: Allie Quigley was a dog of +250 in her first-round matchup with Chris Paul, who is one of the best players in the league and she shocked him with a very hard-fought win. She won by beating him HORSE to H-O-R. Quigley is one of the best pure shooters in both the WNBA and the NBA and she showed that with her ability to hit many long-range shots while also pulling out some very nice trick shots. This past year, for the Chicago Sky, she hit 54.8% of her shots from inside the arc and 44.2% of her shots from long range. Allie is a tough customer and is very dangerous, despite the fact that her court may be the least glamorous of all the one in the tournament. It is in her back driveway.

Conclusion: This would have been a great finals matchup. I am going with Zach LaVine to win it all, so that means I will be taking him to beat Allie Quigley in this one. This is a tough one though as I was very impressed with Quigley in her win against Chris Paul. She has a huge array of tricks in her bag and is lethal from long range. Still, Zach LaVine is one of the better overall players in the NBA and he has a huge array of tricks in his bag as well. Zach will not be able to dunk but I still see him making the shots needed to take down the sharp-shooter from the WNBA. Prediction: Zach Lavine

Chauncey Billups vs Mike Conley

Chauncey Billups: Chauncey Billups came into this competition at +900 and he faced Trae Young, who was favored to win it all. It was a tough battle but Billups, who is no longer in the league and the oldest player in the competition, went on to shock most with the first-round upset. Billups has been out of the league since 2014 but the 43-year-old showed that he still has some tricks up his sleeve. He began the contest against Young down three letters to none before rallying to grab the upset and move on to the semifinals. He has a tough matchup against Mike Conley, who has an indoor court and that could give him the edge in this one.

Mike Conley: For the first 12 years of his career, Mike Conely played for the Memphis Grizzlies but this year he moved on to the Utah Jazz and had a decent season, posting a 48.8 effective FG% while knocking down 37.6% of his shots from long range. In my Sunday article, I had Conley beating Tamika Catchings and he did just that. It was a bit of an unfair contest in my opinion as Tamika’s court was outside in the cold and wind of Indiana, while Conley’s court was an indoor court. Still, he used that advantage to take out Catchings and move on to the Semis. Conley only accumulated the letter “H” in the contest but he will have a much tougher test in this one.

Conclusion: This will be an interesting matchup. Mike Conley had a big advantage in his first matchup as he was playing indoors while Tamika Catchings was outside in the cold and win. She never got on track in the contest. Chauncey Billups pulled a shocker in the first round by taking down the tournament favorite in Trae Young. He made some good shots in the contest, but I do not see him keeping it up in this one. Conley has that indoor court and I feel that he has a much better array of shots than Billups has. Look for Conley to pull out a few more tricks and move on to the Finals. Prediction Mike Conley

The Finals

The Semifinals and Finals will take place on the same night, so I have to make these predictions early. In the original article, I had Trae Young and Zach LaVine meeting in the finals. Well, Young was knocked out in the first round and I expect Mike Conley to knock out Chauncy Billups in the semis, so a LaVine vs Conley finals is what I am expecting here. It should be an exciting competition. Mike Conley showed can hit some shots and he has that indoor court to play on but he does not have the repertoire that LaVine has. Zach will not be able to dunk in this contest but he still has more than enough tricks in his bag to win the whole darn thing. I predicted Zach to win it all at the outset and I will stick with that prediction here. Prediction: Zach LaVine