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One of the more surprising matchups of the first round in the 2018 NBA Playoffs is between the New Orleans Pelicans and the Portland Trail Blazers.
The Pelicans finished the second half of their season without center DeMarcus Cousins, while the Blazers hit their stride going on a tear winning 13 in a row at one point and finishing the season at the third spot in the Western Conference with a 49-33 record.
This easily began as one of the league's most exciting matchups, no team looking more dominant than the other on paper, but that actually hasn't been the case at all.
Thursday night's Game 3 turned out to be a complete washing of the Blazers with Davis being front and center all over the court, throwing down thunderous lobs and backed up by his teammates who were all on fire that both teams emptied their benches early in the fourth quarter. Blazers commentator Kevin Collaboro referred to the last seven minutes of the game as agonizing because the game was over long before the final buzzer.
On one particular play, Davis pulled off a jam that explicitly describes exactly how this series has been between the two teams seemingly out of nowhere.
Ian Clark missed a corner 3-point shot as Blazers center Jusuf Nurkic waited for the rebound to fall, only it never did.
In a blinding second, Davis came flying high over Nurkic's head and throwing down a monstrous hammer, making Nurkic stumble towards the floor, as Jrue Holiday pointed at him as if it were a vintage Shawn Kemp dunk.
https://twitter.com/World_Wide_Wob/status/987160543030112261
What has become apparent is that the Pelicans have a clear advantage over the Blazers, for no other reason than Anthony Davis.
There hasn't been an answer to stop the Olympian and All-Star big man who promised to bring his A-game once Cousins was declared out for the season, and he's still making good on that promise.
