Best Individual Matchups in the 1st Round of 2015 NBA Playoffs
There is more to the NBA playoffs than pitting championship-seeking team against championship-seeking team.
Individual matchups matter just as much. They help shape the bigger picture that is the title race. They pit player against player, upstart sensation against upstart sensation, star against star.
This year's playoff bracket is no different. There are a ton of noteworthy player battles to watch and enjoy through the first round. Singling out the best clashes is all about identifying the most captivating ones.
Usually, they're the highest profile battles of the series, including two of the best players at their respective positions, a pair of playoff veterans or, put simply, two players who will heavily factor into the series outcome.
More than anything, they're attention-grabbers, giving even the most casual fan a reason to tune in without any ulterior interests.
Indeed, that means this is a largely subjective exercise open to interpretation. But that's part of the fun.
Matchup advantages will not be as subjective. The final verdict will take all factors into account: regular-season performance, stats, play styles—everything.
Knowing that the postseason is officially breathing down our neck, let's get moving.
Honorable Mention: Mark Cuban vs. Daryl Morey
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Not all playoff beefs unfold on the hardwood.
Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban and Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey have a less-than-warm, not-at-all-cordial relationship. And it all started because of an innocent, albeit gutsy, phone call.
Cuban took exception to Morey's attempt at brokering a Dirk Nowitzki trade, telling KRLD-FM 105.3 The Fan, per The Dallas Morning News: "They just have a different understanding and approach to chemistry than we do. Some teams, and that's not just the Rockets, just put together talent and the talent takes care of itself. We think chemistry matters."
Morey then took exception to Cuban's exception.
"Our teams have had great chemistry, and it's something we believe in," he quipped to Yahoo Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski. "Hey, if Mark believed so much in chemistry, he wouldn't have busted up a title team for cap room."
Months later, as their respective franchises meet in the playoffs, Cuban and Morey are liable to engage in some serious, soul-searing trash talk. That, or they'll settle this dispute in the executives' jungle: inside the V.I.P. room of a haughty cigar lounge, legs crossed, snifter of brandy in hand, with Dean Martin playing in the background.
"Because they are very talented, and James Harden, I think, is the MVP," Cuban told Grantland's Kirk Goldsberry. "Because that's not a very good team over there.”
Subtly soul-searing trash talk it is then.
Mike Conley vs. Damian Lillard
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Asterisk incoming.
Individual matchups are predicated on said players, you know, actually playing. And when the Memphis Grizzlies play host to the Portland Trail Blazers, Mike Conley may not be playing.
A sore left ankle kept him out of action in Memphis' campaign-closing win over the Indiana Pacers, a game he wouldn't have played even if it were a postseason tilt, according The Commercial Appeal's Ronald Tillery.
Part of what makes this head-to-head encounter compelling is how totally not OK his absence would be. The Grizzlies are light on floor spacing, and Conley is their second-most consistent shooter among everyday rotation players, trailing only Courtney Lee.
Generating offense at all is already a cumbersome undertaking, so losing Conley would come as a huge blow. The Grizzlies pump in 4.9 points more per 100 possessions with him compared to when he sits.
Plus, they need someone to defend Damian Lillard, who follows a strict diet consisting only of nitrous-infused protein shakes and rusty nails around playoff time.
Lillard's declining three-point rate is slightly concerning, but his player efficiency rating of 20.7 is a career best, and he's still draining a respectable number of his catch-and-shoot treys.
Besides, we're not about to dismiss last year's playoff crusade, during which he averaged 22.9 points and 6.5 assists while banging in 38.6 percent of his deep balls, killing the Houston Rockets' hopes and dreams in the process.
Lackluster defense is the lone barrier standing between Lillard and a clear advantage over Conley. He struggles mightily guarding against isolations and pick-and-rolls, and in what stands as a reflection of his work, the Blazers are among the 10 worst teams in point guard defense, according to HoopsStats.com.
Yet, despite Lillard's defensive limitations, this matchup is now about something else entirely: One of these point guards is healthy, while the other is not.
Advantage: Lillard
Kyle Lowry vs. John Wall
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Compared to the point guard matchups elsewhere in the Eastern Conference, this Kyle Lowry-John Wall rodeo is a godsend.
Jeff Teague vs. Deron Williams? This would be fun if Williams owned a working time machine. Kyrie Irving vs. Marcus Smart? Circle back three to five years from now, Marcus. Derrick Rose vs. Michael Carter-Williams? Yeah, no.
That brings us back to Lowry and Wall. Both are All-Star point men. More importantly, both represent teams that cooled to below freezing as the regular season progressed.
Wall looks to have the immediate edge. He is the bigger name, boasts more explosion and goes from zero to layup faster than a fully loaded Ferrari. He also finished second in total assists during the regular season, behind only Chris Paul, despite playing within one of the league's most pedestrian offenses.
But Lowry is a bully when healthy. He defends well against half-court sets and is one of the few floor generals Wall won't overpower.
Let's not forget he also pilots a Toronto Raptors offense that ranked third in points scored per 100 possessions for the regular season. His shooting percentages are down from 2013-14, and Toronto's offense is statistically better without him on the floor, but he's still a dangerous off-ball scorer and patient dribble penetrator.
Shaky jump shot in mind, Wall remains the better all-around player. He functions at a high level within the Washington Wizards' top-five defense, and their offense actually approaches decent with him on the floor—so much so that he'll need to eclipse 40 minutes per game for Washington to survive the first round.
Advantage: Wall
Tim Duncan vs. Blake Griffin
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Blake Griffin is young and awesome, with an offensive skill set that bears more resemblance to Larry Bird's as seasons wear on and his repertoire deepens.
Tim Duncan wears a lot of flannel is ageless, bending time and leapfrogging dimensions like a real-life Interstellar protagonist. He is awesome, too.
Given the smaller, more versatile lineups the San Antonio Spurs are wont to run, as well as Griffin's perimeter-happy shot selection, these two won't be going toe-to-toe all the time. Kawhi Leonard will see spot duty on Griffin; Duncan will frequently find himself admiring DeAndre Jordan's biceps.
Still, in this first-round date between the Los Angeles Clippers and Spurs, we have two of the game's best forwards waging battle.
At 38 going on 29, Duncan is still a supernatural specimen. Aside from the well-balanced numbers, he remains a defensive dynamo. His stoppage ability stretches beyond the elbow, and he champions timely double-teams. He also polices the rim to superb consequence; opponents are shooting 7.8 percentage points below average against him inside 10 feet, the range from which most of Griffin's shots come.
Matching up against Griffin will be no small feat, though. He averaged a LeBron James-esque 21.9 points, 7.6 rebounds and 5.3 assists during the regular season. He'll exploit you as a scorer, passer or rebounder, and then kill you with rationale-rending stat lines.
To wit: Griffin is now just the second player in NBA history to eclipse 7,500 points, 3,500 rebounds, 1,400 assists and 350 steals through his first five seasons. The other is Bird.
This should be fun.
Advantage: No one (!)
Jimmy Butler vs. Khris Middleton
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Two breakout players going head-to-head, striving for rights to the league's unofficial "My Emergence is Better Than Yours" award? Yes please.
Watching Jimmy Butler and Khris Middleton going up against one another is guaranteed fun. To be sure, they won't be staging one-on-one battles every second of every minute of every quarter. The Milwaukee Bucks run Rubik's Cube lineups, so Butler's defensive assignments are bound to vary.
As Eric Freeman writes for Yahoo Sports:
"Milwaukee is not such a known quantity. Carter-Williams mans the point while Khris Middleton serves as the nominal shooting guard at 6-7. These positional designations mean little because of small forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, a 6-11 monster who does a little bit of everything. The Greek Freak can handle the ball, rebound, pass, defend pretty much anyone, and rove between all those roles.
"
Leave it to the positionless Bucks to create matchup mayhem. But even with Butler shimmying between Antetokounmpo and Middleton, the latter is his main squeeze.
Middleton is doing enough to warrant the nearly undivided attention of the Chicago Bulls' best defender. His first step is quick and covers a lot of ground, allowing him to reach the paint at will. He's also the consummate off-ball threat, someone who can contribute as a lethal spot-up shooter or backdoor-cutter.
Butler counters Middleton's vast skill set with one of his own. He too is a deadly standstill shooter, drilling 39.5 percent of his catch-and-shoot three-pointers. But he's also a primary playmaker now, for both himself and his teammates.
Out of necessity, Butler averaged more drives this season than in 2013-14. He's more accustomed to scoring off the dribble, and his passes out of traffic are now offensive staples.
With all things being equal—or at least close to equal—on the defensive end, it's Butler's experience and more expansive offensive arsenal that propel him past Middleton. He's not only an All-Star; he's been to the playoffs before. That matters.
Advantage: Butler
Tony Parker vs. Chris Paul
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This matchup is made possible by late-season Tony Parker, who is similar to early-season Tony Parker, only much better.
Few point guards are able to weave in and out of the paint like San Antonio's point man. His floaters are deadly, he has X-ray court vision and he's shooting a career-high 42.7 percent from downtown, making him a matchup nightmare.
Even for Chris Paul. Maybe.
Paul kicks it into high gear when the playoffs begin. He's lampooned for a failure to advance past the second round, but the numbers prove that he's a postseason pistol.
Through 53 playoff games, the point guard is averaging a "Wait, what?!?" 20.6 points, 9.7 assists and 2.4 steals on 47.8 percent shooting. In 13 outings last year, he averaged 19.8 points, 10.3 assists and 2.8 steals while shooting a ridiculous 45.7 percent from deep.
Here's the kicker: Paul's career postseason PER checks in at 25. Among every player with at least 2,000 playoff minutes to his name, that ranks fifth all-time.
"I just lock in," Paul told Bleacher Report's Chris Palmer of his play style. "I don't know how else to describe it. I play hard, I talk and I see everything."
He sees even more during the postseason. That's just how he is. So while it'll be fun to see Parker's systematic savvy contend with a topsy-turvy Clippers defense, Paul's selfless—yet potent—on-court heroism remains unreachable.
Advantage: Paul
Anthony Davis vs. Draymond Green
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Anthony Davis and Draymond Green are going to make for the most entertaining one-on-one matchup of the first round. Write that down. Tattoo it on your forehead. Or just remember it. Whatever.
Green gives up three inches to Davis when wearing stilts, but the Golden State Warriors run small and sometimes even super small. And that demands Green defend power forwards and centers, which he's done spectacularly well.
"Do not discount what Draymond Green does—the Warriors had the best defense in the NBA and did it with a system that switches everything," writes NBC Sports' Kurt Helin. "That only works because of Green's versatility. He can guard spots 1-4, even some centers, which allows the entire Warriors scheme to function smoothly."
Opposing small forwards, power forwards and centers—the three spots Green defends most—are averaging a combined PER south of 11 against him, according to 82games.com. He's constantly up in your grill while often switching onto two or three different positions during the same possession.
Now, Davis is no ordinary assignment. He does everything on the offensive end, beating opponents with a combination of length, quickness, semi-polished footwork in the post, off-the-dribble drives and face-up jumpers.
Tussling with him is every player's worst-case scenario. He averaged 24.4 points, 10.2 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 2.9 blocks during the regular season—benchmarks only ever matched by David Robinson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Hakeem Olajuwon.
Both Green and Davis will have their hands full trying to defend and score on one another. Hence why this projects as an individual clash that, by NBA law, you must watch.
Advantage: Davis
Unless otherwise noted, statistics used courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com and NBA.com.
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