Ranking the Biggest Villains of the 2015 NBA Playoffs
What defines a villain?
In the case of the 2015 NBA playoffs, answers vary.
As the first and second rounds have exemplified, villains aren't just players who create friction with opposing fanbases and generate on-court tension.
Those classic basketball antiheroes exist, without question, but we've reached the point where tactical approaches can be considered devious in and of themselves.
Just check with Cleveland Cavaliers head coach David Blatt after his near-late-game miscues in Game 4 against the Chicago Bulls, or Houston Rockets head coach Kevin McHale, who has implemented the Hack-a-Shaq strategy to no avail.
Using clutch play, verbal jabs and tactical missteps through Rounds 1 and 2 as a way to classify villainous proceedings, these are the names fans have loved to hate.
8. Austin Rivers, PG, Los Angeles Clippers
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Austin Rivers is a villain because he's combated three adversaries in the postseason—two conventional and one unconventional.
Rivers' emergence started with a 16-point outburst on 7-of-8 shooting in Game 4 of the Western Conference quarterfinals against the San Antonio Spurs, and his legend has only grown from there.
He's followed that opening act by dropping double-figure scoring totals in all four of the Los Angeles Clippers' games with the Houston Rockets to date, including a 25-point showing in Game 3.
Which leads us to the atypical foe Rivers has battled: His critics.
Ever since being drafted 10th overall by the then-New Orleans Hornets in 2012, Rivers had failed to meet expectations. He started 30 games over two years with the franchise and was then hit with the news that New Orleans was declining to pick up the fourth-year option on his rookie deal.
That's a pretty clear endorsement of where his NBA career was headed.
But in a pinch, Rivers has morphed into the scorer L.A. has pined for to stabilize its bench. The 22-year-old is shooting 48.8 percent from the field, drilling 48 percent of his triples and averaging a solid 9.3 points in the postseason—second among Clippers' second-unit scorers behind Jamal Crawford.
Once a laughingstock, Rivers is now helping lead the franchise toward never-before-seen success with his hater blockers on and his stat line inflating by the day.
7. Draymond Green, PF, Golden State Warriors
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It didn't take long for Memphis Grizzlies fans to break out the boos for Draymond Green.
As the Golden State Warriors torched the Grizzlies, 101-84, en route to tying their second-round series at two games apiece, Green was heckled relentlessly.
And in typical villainous fashion, the 25-year-old is embracing his new label and loving every second of it.
"It's fun," Green told reporters after the Game 4 win, according to the Warriors' official Twitter account. "Every time I touch the ball, they boo. I never saw myself being that guy in the NBA. I guess that means I've arrived."
In the win, Golden State outscored Memphis by 19 points with Green (16 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, two blocks, two steals) on the floor, which was tied with Stephen Curry for second on the team behind Andrew Bogut (plus-21).
Green will get a reprieve in the animosity department as Game 5 gets set to unfold at Oracle Arena, but if the Warriors can take a 3-2 series lead heading back to FedEx Forum, he's going to hear the boos like he never has before.
6. Matt Barnes, SF, Los Angeles Clippers
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Don't instigate a war of words with Matt Barnes. Really, just don't bother. Whatever the battle is, you'll lose, because Barnes is a master instigator who touts a Ph.D. in provocation.
First, Barnes was fined a cool $50,000 for directing some not so pleasant comments the way of James Harden's mother during the Los Angeles Clippers' 115-109 Game 2 loss to the Houston Rockets.
"It was the 17th fine he’s received this season from the NBA, a career high for him and a mark of a distinct new angle to Barnes’ career: That of the NBA villain that the league has been missing since Metta World Peace’s career ended," Nina Mandell wrote over at USA Today's ForTheWin.
Fortunately, that altercation appears to be a thing of the past.
"We've made our peace," Barnes said, according to the Los Angeles Times' Broderick Turner. "We've spoken twice since the incident. She said something, I said something back. I've heard speculation of what I've likely said, which is crazy."
But Barnes didn't stop there.
After Dwight Howard got slapped with a technical foul during Sunday's 128-95 blowout loss in Game 4, Barnes had some choice words for Houston's center, one of which appeared to be of the profane variety.
And imagine this: Barnes could be sharing the floor with Tony Allen in the Western Conference Finals if things shake out favorably for the Memphis Grizzlies in their semifinal tilt with the Golden State Warriors.
That's must-see TV.
5. Kelly Olynyk, F, Boston Celtics
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Cleveland Cavaliers power forward Kevin Love is out for the remainder of the postseason after undergoing surgery to repair a dislocated left shoulder and torn labrum after he engaged in a run-of-the-mill rebounding tussle with Boston Celtics big man Kelly Olynyk.
Except Love didn't think it was so ordinary at the the time.
"I thought it was a bush-league play," Love said after sustaining the injury, according to ESPN.com's Dave McMenamin. "I have no doubt in my mind that he did it on purpose."
Olynyk was quick to respond, according to the Boston Herald's Mark Murphy (via Yahoo Sports' Ben Rohrbach): "I would never intentionally hurt Kevin or anyone else. He locked my arm up, I locked up his as we were fighting for a loose ball. You lock up arms all the time in this league."
Regardless of Olynyk's intent (or lack thereof), Cavaliers fans have watched a team that swept the Celtics struggle to make up for Love's absence. And that alone is reason enough to cast Olynyk as a villain.
In the four games since Love suffered the injury, Cleveland is shooting 41.1 percent from the field and 34.2 percent from three while averaging an even 95 points per night. That scoring total ranks No. 7 overall among qualified semifinal teams.
The silver lining? The Chicago Bulls are scoring 93.3 points per game on 40.8 percent shooting, both of which rank last among the remaining Eastern Conference title hopefuls.
4. Hack-a-Shaq
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Intentional fouling isn't just stripping the Houston Rockets' second-round showdown of entertainment value—it's hindering their chances of advancing to the Western Conference Finals.
That should be abundantly clear after Houston sent Los Angeles Clippers center DeAndre Jordan to the free-throw line 34 times Sunday night (he made 14 of those attempts) and still lost by 33 points.
If it was an effective strategy, that would be one thing.
But the Rockets aren't winning, and they're stripping games of the pace they so desperately need in order to work their magic on offense.
"Personally, I don’t like it," Rockets shooting guard James Harden said after Sunday night's loss, according to The New York Times' Benjamin Hoffman. "But I guess different coaches have their different philosophies."
With Houston in a 3-1 series hole, it would seem to be in head coach Kevin McHale's best interest to abandon the intentional fouling that grinded Game 4 to a standstill.
And while Hack-a-Shaq can create more possessions for the Rockets, they aren't generated within the flow of the game in ways that would normally be beneficial to Houston's fast-paced approach.
3. David Blatt, Head Coach, Cleveland Cavaliers
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It's been a rough couple of days for David Blatt.
As if he wasn't already having a tough time trying to reconfigure his offense without Kevin Love (shoulder) and work around the limitations of a hobbled Kyrie Irving (knee, foot), his escapades during the waning seconds of Sunday's 86-84 Game 4 win over the Chicago Bulls have thrust his decision-making into the limelight for all the wrong reasons.
After dodging disaster when all three referees missed his attempt to call a timeout when the team had none remaining following Derrick Rose's game-tying basket, Blatt wanted to draw up a last-second play that called for LeBron James to inbound the ball.
James thwarted those plans, though.
"To be honest, the play that was drawn up, I scratched it," James said, according to Sports Illustrated's Ben Golliver. "I just told coach, 'Give me the ball.' We're either going to overtime or I'm going to win it for us. It was that simple."
By knocking down the game-winner as time expired, James saved Blatt's back side—and potentially the Cavs' season. Had Cleveland gone down 3-1, historical data from WhoWins.com indicates the Bulls would have had a 96.4 percent chance to advance.
2. Paul Pierce, SF, Washington Wizards
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Paul Pierce has embraced his villainous side better than any other player in the playoffs. And unlike David Blatt, he's done so in a calculated, maniacal fashion.
Prior to the postseason, Pierce fired a shot at the Toronto Raptors and the rest of the Eastern Conference.
"We haven't done particularly well against Toronto, but I don't feel they have the 'It' that makes you worried,'' Pierce said, according to ESPNBoston.com's Jackie MacMullan. "There isn't a team I look at in the Eastern Conference that makes me say, 'They are intimidating, we don't have a chance.'"
That statement was backed up with a tidy four-game sweep, during which he shouted, "I don’t want to go through customs no more," according to The Washington Post's Michael Lee.
And that was just an appetizer for his semifinal heroics.
In Game 3, he slammed the door shut on the Atlanta Hawks with a buzzer-beating fadeaway off glass, and then proceeded to drop the mic in his postgame interview, declaring, "I called game."
And after Hawks point guard Dennis Schroder called Pierce's heroics "lucky," The Truth provided a stellar response.
"I guess Schroder's going to say that because he’s a little young," Pierce said, according to The Washington Post's Jorge Castillo. "He's only in his second or third year so he hasn't been able to see it over the last 17 years."
To this point in the Wizards' back-and-forth with the Hawks, Pierce is gashing Atlanta by hitting on 51.6 percent of his shots from beyond the arc. In total, 16 of his 25 second-round makes have come from three.
For those of you keeping score at home, that's two teams Pierce has burned repeatedly and one conference he's put on high alert with the Wizards eyeing an appearance in the Eastern Conference Finals.
1. Injuries
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That's right. The biggest villain of the playoffs hasn't been a player, coach or a key decision-maker.
It's been injuries, which have affected almost every team that is still playing and several that were bounced in the first round.
For instance:
- Memphis Grizzlies point guard Mike Conley missed three games after suffering facial fractures.
- The Houston Rockets have been playing without Patrick Beverley (wrist) and Donatas Motiejunas (back) for the entirety of the playoffs.
- Chris Paul suffered a hamstring injury that forced him to miss Games 1 and 2 of the Los Angeles Clippers' series with the Rockets.
- Atlanta Hawks center Al Horford suffered a dislocated pinkie, and Jeff Teague's dealt with a tender ankle at times.
- Washington's John Wall is sidelined until further notice with five non-displaced fractures in his left wrist and hand.
- Kevin Love's out for the rest of the playoffs with a dislocated left shoulder and torn labrum, while Kyrie Irving's battling right foot and left knee discomfort. Oh, and LeBron James turned his left ankle in Game 4.
- Chicago's Pau Gasol is suddenly dealing with the effects of a hamstring injury.
- The San Antonio Spurs were at less than 100 percent because of Tiago Splitter's calf injury and nicks to Tony Parker's left thigh and left ankle.
- Golden State Warriors forward Marreese Speights is out at least a week with a calf injury.
That's more bullet points than I'd prefer to have jotted down.
Injuries are an unpredictable, inevitable part of the game, but they have piled up at such an insane rate all season that it felt like a regression to the mean was due come playoff time.
Sadly, that hasn't been the case.
Nearly every title hopeful has been forced to adjust their lineups and tweak game plans on short notice, which has allowed a feeling of uncertainty to hover over the semifinals after Round 1 was largely dominated by predictability.
All statistics are current as of May 11 and courtesy of NBA.com unless noted otherwise.
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