2015 NBA Playoffs Heat Check: Ranking the Top Performers at Every Position
The 2015 NBA playoffs have already yielded a string of memorable performances from stars on both sides of the bracket.
There's Tim Duncan turning back the clock in L.A., Stephen Curry's miraculous make in New Orleans, Dwight Howard's happy day at the Dallas Mavericks' expense, LeBron James' fourth-quarter explosion in Game 2 against the Boston Celtics, Blake Griffin's triple-double, John Wall's Magic-like moments in Toronto and Paul Pierce firing back at the Raptors' swear-prone general manager.
And to think, that all happened in less than a week. This year's series may not be the most competitive—save for the blood feud brewing between the San Antonio Spurs and Los Angeles Clippers—but that doesn't mean there isn't greatness on display from the individuals involved every single night.
To get caught up on who's made these playoffs well worth watching, let's rank the top three players at each position, based on statistical contributions and overall impact on their respective teams' fortunes.
Point Guards
1 of 5
3. John Wall, Washington Wizards
Per-Game Stats: 18 PTS, 38.2 FG%, 33.3 3PT%, 3.5 REB, 12.5 AST, 3.0 TO, 41.5 MIN
Wall needed a game to get himself in gear, but once he did, the Kentucky product looked every bit like the superstar into which he grew this season. The Wizards' All-Star point guard shot just 5-of-18 from the field in Game 1 against the Toronto Raptors, albeit while taking great care of the ball (eight assists, one turnover) in a 93-86 overtime win for Washington.
Come Game 2, Wall was on fire. He finished with 26 points and a playoff career-high 17 assists. Only six other players in NBA history had ever posted such an impressive postseason double-double, of whom two are in the Hall of Fame (Magic Johnson, John Stockton), two belong there (Tim Hardaway, Kevin Johnson) and two will likely wind up there (Steve Nash, Chris Paul).
2. Chris Paul, Los Angeles Clippers
Per-Game Stats: 26.5 PTS, 60 FG%, 60 3PT%, 7.5 REB, 6.5 AST, 3.0 TO, 40.5 MIN
Statistically speaking, Paul is off to yet another sizzling start to his postseason. He's dishing assists at a postseason career-low rate (30.7 percent), but that has more to do with Blake Griffin's playmaking (more on that later) than anything else.
Paul's practically made up for that shift with his stifling defense on Tony Parker and scorching-hot shooting—that is, aside from the contested 19-footer he missed at the end of regulation in Game 2, which would've delivered the Clippers a 2-0 series edge over the San Antonio Spurs. "I missed a shot I should have made there to win the game," Paul said after the 111-107 overtime loss.
1. Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors
Per-Game Stats: 32 PTS, 42.7 FG%, 35 3PT%, 4.3 REB, 6.7 AST, 3.7 TO, 40.3 MIN
Need to dig yourself out of a hole real quick? Give Curry a call.
The sharpshooting point guard scored 26 of his 40 points after halftime of Game 3—none bigger than his desperation three over the outstretched arm of Anthony Davis to tie the game toward the end of regulation. With Curry's help, the Warriors erased a 20-point fourth-quarter deficit and seized a commanding 3-0 series lead against the upstart New Orleans Pelicans.
Want to win? Inquire with Curry.
Shooting Guards
2 of 5
3. James Harden, Houston Rockets
Per-Game Stats: 24 PTS, 32.1 FG%, 22.2 3PT%, 3.5 REB, 8.5 AST, 15 free-throw attempts, 36.5 MIN
As former NBA head coach Vinny Del Negro noted for Bleacher Report, Harden hasn't enjoyed the steady diet of three-pointers to which he's become accustomed, courtesy of the Dallas Mavericks' defensive game plan:
"The first thing you have to do with Harden—and it's exactly what the Dallas Mavericks are doing—is try to make him a two-point shooter. Have him take contested two-point shots. He can knock down threes, and he's so creative getting to the basket and to the free-throw line, so the first priority is making him attempt as many tough twos as possible.
"
Harden, though, has had little trouble finding other ways to butter his bread at the Mavs' expense. He got to the line a whopping 17 times in Game 1 and went 13-of-13 from the stripe in Game 2.
And when the looks haven't been there, Harden hasn't shied away from passing it off—to the tune of 17 assists so far.
2. Klay Thompson, Golden State Warriors
Per-Game Stats: 25 PTS, 47.3 FG%, 46.2 3PT%, 3.3 REB, 2.7 AST, 5.0 free-throw attempts, 38.3 MIN
Thompson's played the part of second fiddle to perfection for the Warriors. He backed up Stephen Curry with 21 points in Game 1 and chipped in 28 points, second to Curry's 40, amid Golden State's shocking comeback in Game 3.
In between, Thompson took the lead in the Warriors' Game 2 victory. As Grantland's Kirk Goldsberry put it:
"When the Warriors needed to wrestle the game back from the Pelicans, Thompson scored or assisted on every bucket. He ended up with 26 points on just 17 shots, playing big in the game's biggest moments, scoring 14 huge points in the fourth. Anthony Davis and Steph Curry were on the floor, but Klay was the most valuable player...
"
1. Jimmy Butler, Chicago Bulls
Per-Game Stats: 26.7 PTS, 49.1 FG%, 28.6 3PT%, 4.7 REB, 3.3 AST, 10.0 free-throw attempts, 44.7 MIN
Forget "Jimmy Buckets." Butler ought to go by "Jimmy Minutes" with the load Tom Thibodeau has him shouldering.
Butler played in 53 of a possible 58 minutes during the Bulls' 113-106 double-overtime win over Milwaukee in Game 3. He did plenty in those massive minutes, too, tallying 24 points, three rebounds, two assists, two blocks and three steals.
With Derrick Rose seemingly rediscovering his prior form against the Bucks, Butler gives Chicago a backcourt that is capable of contending for a title in the weeks to come.
Small Forward
3 of 5
3. Paul Pierce, Washington Wizards
Per-Game Stats: 15 PTS, 52.9 FG%, 54.5 3PT%, 3.0 REB, 1.0 AST 1.0 STL, 1.0 BLK, 2.0 TO, 32 MIN
With John Wall and Bradley Beal struggling to connect from the field in Game 1, the Wizards needed a hero to help stave off an 0-1 start to their 2015 playoff push.
Enter Pierce. The 37-year-old poured in 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the field to propel Washington to an overtime win in Toronto. As Grantland's Jason Concepcion suggested, Pierce's big game came off as much as an answer to Toronto general manager Masai Ujiri's baiting as it did an assist to his younger teammates:
"Masai reacted to Pierce's assertion that the Raps don't have "it" by first saying he didn't have enough money to respond to Pierce—then, drunk on the atmosphere of Maple Leaf Square once again, yelling, "We don't give a s--- about Pierce!" Result: Pierce scores 20 (his highest point total since Feb. 24), Toronto loses Game 1 at home, and Masai gets fined $35,000 U.S.
Paul Pierce is like Candyman. Never say his name.
"
2. Kawhi Leonard, San Antonio Spurs
Per-Game Stats: 20.5 PTS, 57.1 FG%, 60 3PT%, 7.5 REB, 3.0 AST, 2.5 STL, 3.5 TO, 36 MIN
Leonard, the newly minted Defensive Player of the Year, has been his usual, disruptive self on that end of the floor against the Clippers' top-ranked offense. But it's Leonard's own exploits as a scorer and passer that have truly come in handy for the Spurs.
"He was clutch, man, he was clutch," Tim Duncan said in praise of Leonard after San Antonio's Game 2 victory. "He was big for us. When we needed baskets down the stretch, he was the guy we went to, and he made some baskets for us."
1. LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers
Per-Game Stats: 27 PTS, 48.5 FG%, 23.1 3PT%, 8.7 REB, 6.0 AST, 2.0 STL, 1.7 BLK, 4.3 TO, 42 MIN
James didn't have to single-handedly close out Game 3 to the extent he did Game 2, but his effort in Boston was no less impressive. James turned in his second straight 30-point outing for the Cavs (31, to be exact) to go along with 11 rebounds, four assists, fours steals and two blocks in a 103-95 Cleveland victory over the Celtics.
This, after showing up early to the team's morning shootaround to work out with the struggling J.R. Smith. "He didn't necessarily have to, but he wanted to be with his teammate," head coach David Blatt said, according to ESPN.
That's what leaders do.
Power Forward
4 of 5
3. Tim Duncan, San Antonio Spurs
Per-Game Stats: 19.5 PTS, 54.5 FG%, 11 REB, 4.0 AST, 1.5 STL, 1.5 BLK, 1.0 TO, 37 MIN
To paraphrase the late, great Paul Robeson: Old Man Riverwalk, that Old Man Riverwalk, he must know something, but he don't say nothing. That just about sums up Duncan's brilliance, particularly in Game 2 against the Clippers.
Duncan started 12-of-16 from the floor on the way to a vintage 28-point, 11-rebound night, but he couldn't ignore a fourth quarter in which his poor play contributed to San Antonio squandering a 10-point lead.
"I was awful," Duncan said after the win, via Yahoo Sports' Jeff Eisenberg. "I missed two or three layups. I made two or three defensive mistakes where I got out of position and gave up dunks. I was awful in that fourth quarter."
Other than that, though, Duncan was as lethal as ever.
2. Blake Griffin, Los Angeles Clippers
Per-Game Stats: 27.5 PTS, 46.7 FG%, 12 REB, 8.5 AST, 2.0 BLK, 2.0 STL, 3.0 TO, 44.5 MIN
By and large, Griffin has been on point for the Clippers in these playoffs. He's made minced meat of the Spurs' front line with his aerial attack and has taken over Chris Paul's spot as L.A.'s most prolific passer.
Still, there's no ignoring the untimely turnovers in Game 2, at the end of regulation and in overtime, that cost the Clippers what would've (and probably should've) been a 2-0 start to the team's series against San Antonio.
"That game is pretty much 100 percent on me," Griffin admitted afterward. "I got the ball and up two, needed to take care of it, needed to get a good shot or try to get fouled and turned it over, so that game is on me."
1. Anthony Davis, New Orleans Pelicans
Per-Game Stats: 30 PTS, 49.3 FG%, 11 REB, 2.3 AST, 3.0 BLK, 1.7 STL, 4.0 TO, 43.7 MIN
Don't blame Davis for the Pelicans' fourth-quarter meltdown in Game 3 against Golden State. New Orleans' newest sports savior put in some serious work to total 29 points, 15 rebounds, three assists, three blocks and two steals.
That fell right in line with his exploits in Game 1 (35 points, seven rebounds, four blocks) and Game 2 (26 points, 10 rebounds, three assists, two steals, two blocks), as did the final result. As heartbreaking as this series has been so far for New Orleans, the team and the city have to be more than encouraged by the performance of their 22-year-old cornerstone.
Center
5 of 5
3. DeAndre Jordan, Los Angeles Clippers
Per-Game Stats: 14.5 PTS, 60 FG%, 14.5 REB, 3.5 BLK, 3.0 FLS, 41.5 MIN
Jordan was a defensive force against the Spurs in Game 1, grabbing 11 boards on that end and holding his marks to 3-of-10 shooting with the help of four blocks.
Game 2 wasn't quite so pretty for Jordan, though. San Antonio went right at him, thereby preventing the Clippers' stopper from roaming the floor for quite so many swats, deflections and redirections. Jordan's 6-of-17 performance at the free-throw line, amid the Spurs' persistent hacking, didn't look too good, either.
Then again, San Antonio's spate of intentional fouls coincided with the Clippers climbing out of a 10-point hole in the fourth quarter. The fact that the Spurs paid so much mind to Jordan speaks to how important he is to the Clippers, and how much his ability to adjust to San Antonio's tactics could dictate this series.
2. Dwight Howard, Houston Rockets
Per-Game Stats: 19.5 PTS, 62.5 FG%, 8.5 REB, 3.5 BLK, 4.5 FLS, 25 MIN
Howard had himself a grand ol' time against the Mavs in Game 2. He dunked his way to 28 points on 10-of-15 shooting in a 111-99 Houston win with a helping hand from his AAU buddy Josh Smith.
"This was the Peach Jam, the Big Time tournament in Vegas," Smith told Yahoo Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski.
Howard, indeed, has looked surprisingly young and spry in this year's playoffs, just as he did in last year's. If he can continue to be his board-grabbing, shot-swatting, high-flying self, the Rockets may well do much more this spring than beat up on a banged-up Dallas squad.
1. Marc Gasol, Memphis Grizzlies
Per-Game Stats: 15 PTS, 35.5 FG%, 9.0 REB, 6.0 AST, 3.0 BLK, 2.5 FLS, 37 MIN
Don't let Gasol's poor shooting numbers fool you; he's been every bit the two-way fulcrum against Portland that he has been all season.
Gasol dropped seven dimes in Game 1 and five more in Game 2, in addition to the 15 points, three blocks and one steal he tallied in each. He's also done wonderfully to pester LaMarcus Aldridge into 37 percent shooting and six total turnovers between the two contests.
All of which is to say that Memphis probably has this series in the bag already, thanks in large part to Gasol's greatness on both ends of the floor. The numbers aren't always eye-popping across the board, but that's usually the case for the ultimate glue guy who holds the Grizzlies together.
Josh Martin covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. All quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Follow him on Twitter.
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