Every NBA Playoff Team's Go-To Guy in the Clutch

By the time two teams meet in the NBA playoffs, both coaching staffs and rosters know each other so well that the element of surprise is virtually non-existent. 

With defenses prepared for whatever an attacking offense is ready to throw their way, the importance of an individual scorer who's able to produce by himself is incredibly important.

Here are 16 go-to scorer's who will need to step up when games get close if their teams have any chance at advancing. They're ranked in no particular order.

Unless otherwise noted, the term “clutch situation” is referring to plays occurring with five or fewer minutes in a game, with the point difference between the two teams at five points or less.

All statistics are used from NBA.com/Stats.

Boston Celtics: Jeff Green

The presumptive answer for the previous 10 years would be Paul Pierce, one of the best late-game shot-makers, and takers, in NBA history.

But not right now. Pierce shot 34.3 percent from the floor in clutch situations this season, and the Celtics went 19-19 (the definition of average) in games Pierce played in where the game's margin was within five points with five minutes remaining.

Meanwhile, Jeff Green was astounding. His numbers are lifted from an understandably small sample size, but whenever Green's playing up to his ability at the end of a game, the Celtics are in good hands.

He went 12-of-20 in situations where Boston trailed by five points or fewer with three minutes to go. Cut down to one minute, he went 6-of-8, notably hitting two game-winners at the final buzzer, against the Indiana Pacers and Cleveland Cavaliers.

Milwaukee Bucks: Monta Ellis

Only Kyrie Irving, Kobe Bryant and Kevin Durant scored more points in crunch time than Monta Ellis (he tied for as many as LeBron James and James Harden), a whiz of a scorer capable of leaping into the air and contorting his body in ways we previously didn't think to be possible.

Ellis is relatively efficient at the end of close games, which is surprising since he's the antithesis of efficiency. He shot 42.3 percent from behind the three-point line in clutch situations and had a plus/minus that was greater than Bryant, Harden, Paul Pierce and Chris Paul.

Los Angeles Lakers: Pau Gasol

Gasol gets selected by default here, being that Dwight Howard can't shoot free throws, Steve Nash is redefining the word "totter" and Kobe Bryant is laying down somewhere with TweetDeck open on his lap.

Gasol has been non-existent all season in clutch situations, scoring just 29 points in 87 minutes. But he's the best option Los Angeles has right now, whether it be putting the ball in his hands at the high post and letting him choose how to attack, or feeding him an entry with his back to the basket.

The Lakers are in deep trouble, and their lack of options down the stretch only makes a bad situation worse.

Atlanta Hawks: Josh Smith

Josh Smith could be partaking in his last playoff series as a member of the Atlanta Hawks right now, and for that reason alone, as their most talented player, he should be the player they go to down the stretch of close games.

Even though he has a reputation for shooting Atlanta out of close games, it isn't all that bad a decision. This year Smith shot 41.2 percent from behind the three-point line in clutch situations, and 44.8 percent overall from the floor. 

The good part about having him shoot is he'll always be left open by the defense, and his poor free-throw shooting (40.7 percent on 27 attempts) made it so that taking the outside jumper was/is the smarter strategy. 

Houston Rockets: James Harden

His percentages in clutch situations aren’t as efficient as you might imagine (28 percent from behind the three-point line on 25 attempts), but that’s mostly because opposing teams already know what the Rockets are planning to do.

Still, Harden scores. Out of all players in clutch situations this season, only Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant and Kobe Bryant scored more points. 

Brooklyn Nets: Joe Johnson

Deron Williams' clutch numbers were atrocious this season, below 30 percent from both the field and three-point line.

Insert Brooklyn Nets shooting guard Joe Johnson, the team's closer all year. He, not Williams, will most likely be the player they look to design a play around in the final moments of a close game.

With one minute left in the game and the Nets down five or fewer points, Johnson has been nearly automatic this season, missing only three of his 13 attempted shots.

Denver Nuggets: Ty Lawson

It could be Andre Miller one night. It could be Andre Iguodala on another. It could have been Danilo Gallinari before he got hurt. 

However, Ty Lawson is the guy the Denver Nuggets should be giving the ball to now that he's (presumably) back to full health.  Not only does he lead his team in clutch points (9) so far through the playoffs, but that also puts him in the league's top 5. 

As the Nuggets struggle to regain footing against the pesky Golden State Warriors, they might want to remember that Ty Lawson was also just outside the Top-10 in clutch points this regular season with 109 total. 

Though Denver's diversified attack has been its greatest strength, that has typically only held true during the beginning and middle of games. The common consensus is that their hierarchy becomes muddled at the end of contests. Will that be the same for the season's final chapters too?

Give Ty the ball.

Memphis Grizzlies: Mike Conley Jr.

Memphis has been a poor offensive team this season, especially in the clutch. But that's what happens when your offense is built around two post-up threats who're susceptible to double teams whenever they make a move.

They finished the season below-average in clutch situations but, in a limited sample size, were nearly top five after the All-Star break (and without Rudy Gay).

As the team's lead ball-handler and primary decision-maker, Mike Conley Jr. has actually been decent at the end of close games. He shot 46.7 percent from behind the three-point line while having the ball in his hands at all times.

Moving forward, it's he who should be taking the last shot.

Chicago Bulls: Carlos Boozer

Carlos Boozer is understandably an unexpected choice—and one that solely focuses on the offensive side of the ball.

But this year Boozer's been pretty great in clutch situations, making 57.8 percent of his shots. Twenty-eight of his 45 shot attempts were made around the basket, but Boozer has shown he's more than capable of stepping outside and making the other team pay from beyond the paint as well.

When plays aren't designed for him, Boozer is capable of making offense on his own. Only four players in the NBA grabbed more offensive rebounds than him in clutch situations this season.

Los Angeles Clippers: Chris Paul

Without a doubt, Chris Paul is the best closer in the NBA. When he's on the court in clutch situations, the Clippers scored 122.6 points per 100 possessions, tops in the league among players who've appeared in at least 100 clutch minutes.

Frankly, Paul rarely misses, shooting 49.2 percent from the floor and averaging 38.9 points per 36 minutes in all crunch-time situations this season. Stopping him begins with forcing him left, but that's like saying hacking someone's Twitter account is as simple as knowing the password.

Nobody in the league today is more competent with the ball in his hands at the end of games than Paul.

Golden State Warriors: Stephen Curry

Stephen Curry is coming off the most prolific three-point shooting season in NBA history, and there's no reason to believe he won't keep it up in the playoffs.

He's already hit one humongous three-pointer that nearly pushed Game 1 against the Denver Nuggets into overtime, but overall his numbers this season were a little disappointing at the end of games.

He shot 28.1 percent on 32 attempts from behind the arc in clutch situations this season, but in that time the Warriors were 12.1 points per 100 possessions better than their opponents.

Curry is good enough a shooter that the small regular-season sample-size in the clutch shouldn't dissuade Golden State's coaching staff from taking the ball out of his hands.

San Antonio Spurs: Tony Parker

Tony Parker is an incredible playmaker off the dribble, especially when the San Antonio Spurs big men give him a high screen and room to operate.

In clutch situations this season, Parker shot 47.1 percent from the floor, made half his three-pointers (he only attempted eight) and attempted 31 free throws in 158 minutes.

The Spurs move the ball better than any team in the league, but they still need a player who can score when defenses tighten up in the fourth quarter. 

Tony Parker is that player. 

Indiana Pacers: David West

Even though Paul George is Indiana's primary scorer—and arguable best player—David West is still the best option at the end of tight games.

Throwing him the ball with five seconds left on the shot clock and expecting him to create something by himself isn't smart, but letting West operate in the mid-range is always a good decision. And he's dependable at the free-throw line, too, making 21-of-24 attempts in clutch situations this season.

Oklahoma City Thunder: Kevin Durant

The best scorer in basketball is Kevin Durant. Only Kobe Bryant scored more points in clutch situations this season (two more points on 11 more shots).

Durant basically wills himself to the free-throw line at the end of games, and once he gets there, the 90-percent accuracy typically results in good things happening for the Thunder.

Purely looking at it from a visceral perspective, there's no player in the league any opposing coach should fear—with the ball in his hands and his team trailing by one point—more than Kevin Durant. He's capable of getting his shot off whenever, wherever he wants.

Miami Heat: LeBron James

LeBron's work in the clutch this season is predictably eye-popping. His plus/minus was plus-125, which is almost too good.

In clutch situations, he led all players in the league in assists (50, while accounting for over 50 percent of Miami's assists when he's on the court) and was third in rebounds (51) while turning it over just nine times.

If you extrapolated James' numbers in the clutch to a per-36-minute setting, he'd average a triple-double with 29.1 points. And in 35 games this season where LeBron James took the court with his team in a clutch situation, the Heat went 28-7.

New York Knicks: Carmelo Anthony

It goes without saying that New York’s go-to player in the clutch would be Carmelo Anthony, arguably the league’s best scorer and winner of his first scoring title this past season. 

Anthony accounts for 41.3 percent of all field goals attempted by the Knicks in clutch situations. He hasn't been the most efficient shooter at the end of games (37.7 percent from the floor and 29.4 percent from behind the three-point line).

But, numbers aside, Anthony is still the hub of his team's entire offense, and putting the ball in anyone else's hands with the game on the line wouldn't be the smartest strategy.