2018 NBA Playoffs: One Big Takeaway from the First 2 Games of Each Playoff series

#7 The Pelicans are winning the battle in both frontcourt and backcourt

Holiday dribbles past Lillard on the pick and roll

If you haven't been paying attention to the Pelicans of late, do take note of Jrue Holiday's post-All Star break numbers - 19.8 points, 4.9 rebounds and 7.2 assists on 50.8% shooting from the field and 37.6% shooting from the 3-point line.

Here's the bigger reveal - Holiday's offense is not even his calling card now. It's his defense, which is deserving of All-Defensive team consideration, that has set the tone for the Pelicans in this playoff series.

Damian Lillard has shot 0-for-8 from the field with Holiday as his primary defender - the same Dame who averaged 31.4 points per game in the month of February and got his name thrown around as a fringe MVP contender. To put it in more memeworthy fashion, Dame Time took a Holiday off for games 1 &2.

Rajon Rondo, on the other hand, has been doing Rajon Rondo things, averaging 11 points and 13 assists per game over the 2 contests. He sets the pace for every Pelicans possessions, and it is impossible to quantify how great of a distributor he is for this very reason - the pace and timing of their offense is on a different level with him running it.

Together, the former All-Stars have managed to contain CJ McCollum and Damian Lillard to heinously bad statlines over both games, and that has been the difference between the two sides.

It does go without saying, at this point, that the Pelicans' frontcourt duo of Mirotic and Anthony Davis have also been outperforming their counterparts from Rip City.