Sunday's NBA playoff action will feature a pair of Game 7s, as the Portland Trail Blazers will head to the Mile High City to take on the Denver Nuggets and the Toronto Raptors will play host to the Philadelphia 76ers.
While home teams generally win Game 7s, you simply never know what can happen over the course of an individual, 48-minute basketball game.
So, while the Nuggets and Raptors are the favorites, you would probably be making a mistake if you penciled both of them in for the conference finals.
Here are a few things to look out for in both games:
4. Rodney Hood's Unreal Shooting
In case you haven't noticed, Rodney Hood has been really, really good for the Blazers in this series.
The wing is averaging 16.2 points per game while shooting a ridiculous 60.4 percent from the floor and 57.9 percent from three-point range, numbers that are obviously not sustainable over an extended period.
But can Hood do that for just one more game?
With Jusuf Nurkic out, Hood has emerged as Portland's clear No. 3 scorer against the Nuggets, which is something most of us didn't think he had in him after his miserable playoff showing with the Cleveland Cavaliers last spring.
Hood's NBA Jam-like series has been even more significant given Damian Lillard's shooting struggles, and if Lillard were hitting his threes (or if Al-Farouq Aminu were able to do something), this series might already be over.
I'm not sure any of us had Rodney Hood as a huge playoff X-factor earlier in the season, and yet, here we are.
3. The Raptors' Role Players
Kawhi Leonard has been an absolute monster in this series, as expected. But, the Raptors' claim to fame all season long has been their depth. The problem is, that depth has not gotten them very far against the 76ers.
Guys like Fred VanVleet and Norman Powell who were so crucial to Toronto's success all year have been all but invisible in this series, with VanVleet averaging a paltry 1.7 points per game and Powell coming in at 3.5 points per game.
Not only that, but Serge Ibaka has been horrific, shooting just 38.8 percent from the floor while misfiring on all nine of his three-point attempts.
Here is the thing: if the Raptors' bench plays well in Game 7, they should win. Philadelphia simply does not have the depth to match Toronto's when the Raptors are firing on all cylinders, and we got a hint of that in Game 5 when Toronto won by 36 points.
Again, we know Leonard will go off, but what the Raptors' role players do may end up deciding who advances.
2. Which Versions of Kyle Lowry and Joel Embiid are Going to Show Up?
Both Kyle Lowry and Joel Embiid have had their struggles in this matchup, with Lowry averaging just 13.7 points per game while shooting 41.4 percent from the floor and 28.4 percent from long distance and Embiid registering 17 points a night off 37.8 percent shooting (with a strange 40 percent efficiency rate from deep).
The question, which Lowry and which Embiid will show up in Game 7 on Sunday?
Lowry has had a tough year in general, dealing with persistent back issues and clearly declining at the age of 33. But, you have to think that the wily veteran still has a couple of big playoff performances left in him for this season, and Game 7 will obviously be a pretty good time for one of those outings to occur.
As for Embiid? He has historically had a tough time against Marc Gasol, and aside from Game 3, that theme has continued in this series, as Gasol's bulk and savvy has made life very difficult on Embiid in the post.
Now, in Philly's wins, Embiid has been able to make some threes, which is not something that seems all that sustainable, but if Embiid can knock down some perimeter shots in Game 7 to open up the floor, it could go a long way in helping the Sixers steal an upset win.
1. Damian Lillard vs. Nikola Jokic
Let's just come right out and say it: Jokic has outplayed Lillard in this series. Yes, the two players play entirely different positions, but they are the best players on their respective teams, and you just had the feeling that whoever had the better series would end up leading their team to victory.
Thus far, it has been Jokic, who has feasted on Portland's shaky frontcourt to the tune of 26.8 points, 14 rebounds and 8.7 assists per game while making 54.6 percent of his shots and 50 percent of his triples.
Lillard, on the other hand, hasn't been himself. While he is recording 27.2 points per game and hitting on a respectable 43.8 percent of his field-goal attempts, he is making just 29.8 percent of his treys, which isn't going to get it done if the Blazers want to win Game 7 on the road.
To put it plainly, Lillard needs to be the best version of himself in order for Portland to steal this game. Jokic? He is going to get his, as the Blazers simply don't have anyone to defend him, but it's just a matter of making sure he doesn't create for everyone else.
If Jokic is dropping 30 while also tallying double-digit assists, the Blazers have almost no shot.
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