2015 NBA Playoffs Heat Check: Final 4 Teams Showcasing League's Elite Players
And then there were four.
Four NBA playoff teams, that is.
Fortunately for us, there are way more than four stars still fighting for a title. The Atlanta Hawks, Cleveland Cavaliers, Houston Rockets and Golden State Warriors each employ scores of household names who are playing some of their best basketball on the NBA's biggest stage.
Knowing this, we have no choice but to rank them. Obviously.
Put on your recency-bias caps, folks. Imminent performances carry the most weight here.
Entire bodies of work matter, to be sure. We care about excellence in volume. But these rankings are substantially impacted by the most recent performances and aim to account for big games and big stretches.
Statistics, profound impacts, single-game heroics and season-defining moments are the criteria by which we will judge. And no matter how those judgments unfurl, we can all take comfort in knowing that despite being light on teams, the NBA's playoff picture remains heavy on big-time performers.
Point Guards
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3. Kyrie Irving, Cleveland Cavaliers
Per-Game Stats: 18.9 points, 3.3 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.1 steals, 46.9 percent three-point shooting
Full disclosure: Kyrie Irving doesn't look right. He's not moving as freely on the offensive end and is thus unable to create shots for himself as easily. In addition to "hiding" him on the defensive end more than usual, Cavaliers coach David Blatt is now, from the looks of Cleveland's Game 1 victory over Atlanta, starting to become wary of his minutes.
Counterpoint: A banged-up Irving is still better than no Irving at all. The Cavaliers offense is more potent with him on the floor, and he has the team's second-highest player efficiency rating among active talent.
Oh, he's also putting in treys with insane frequency. More than 33 percent of his total offense has come from beyond the arc, and he's drilling 66.7 percent of his spot-up bombs. So long as he's doing that, he'll remain the dangerous scorer he's always been. Hobbled, yes—but dangerous.
2. Jeff Teague, Atlanta Hawks
Per-Game Stats: 16.2 points, 3.2 rebounds, 7.2 assists, 1.6 steals, 40.6 percent shooting
Appreciating Jeff Teague's performance is easy once you get past the inefficient shooting slashes. He's reaching the restricted area at will and draws in two or three defenders on every drive.
When he's on the floor, the Hawks offense, a disappointment in the playoffs, is worlds better. Good thing, too, because Dennis Schroder is having a polar opposite effect.
Whereas the sophomore point guard isn't looking to hit Atlanta's orbiting shooters once he attacks, Teague's passes off straight-on dribble drives are creating open shots galore. And even though he wasn't perfect to start the Eastern Conference Finals, he turned in a huge 27-point effort that kept the Hawks close for most of Game 1 against the Cavs.
1. Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors
Per-Game Stats: 29.1 points, 5.0 rebounds, 6.6 assists, 1.8 steals, 46.3 percent shooting
Stephen Curry is making a mockery of everything.
It's not that the reigning MVP exploded for 34 points, six rebounds, five assists and two steals in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals against the Rockets. Nor is it that he shot 6-of-11 from downtown or that the Warriors would have assuredly forfeited home-court advantage if he didn't go supernova.
It's that games such as those are par for his course. That's the level Curry is operating on now—the same one that carried him through the regular season and into the conference finals and remains inaccessible to normal human beings.
Shooting Guards
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3. J.R. Smith, Cleveland Cavaliers
Per-Game Stats: 13.1 points, 4.1 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 1.3 steals, 46.2 percent shooting
No need to pinch yourself. This is actually real life, and J.R. Smith is actually here.
Sure, the pickings are slim. But Smith is also playing extremely well. He tallied 28 points, eight rebounds, three assists, one steal and one block in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals and has been huge in general as the Cavaliers try to navigate their injury maze.
Fear not, though. Just because he's more offensive lifeline than migraine these days doesn't mean he's totally changed. In many ways, he's still the same ol' walking, talking conundrum.
Exhibit A, per ESPN's Dave McMenamin: "I'd rather take a contested shot than an open shot any day. ... It's kind of boring when you take open shots."
2. Klay Thompson, Golden State Warriors
Per-Game Stats: 19.6 points, 4.0 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 0.8 steals, 46.2 percent shooting
Klay Thompson is starting to sympathize with Jimmy Butler.
The Chicago Bulls shooting guard spent the entirety of Round 2 attached to LeBron James' hip, and it killed him. He forced James into some tough shots, many of which he missed. But staunch defense came at the price of offensive energy.
Which brings us to Thompson, who has been all over James Harden during the Western Conference Finals—to a fault. While he's successfully cutting off most of Harden's open lanes and only leaving him with impossible step-back jumpers, the bearded wonder is hitting those impossible step-back jumpers.
Spending so much time on Harden is visibly impacting Thompson's offensive stamina. His shots are falling short, and he's seldom attacking or posting up as he did through the first two rounds.
Still, shooting guard is a thin position—especially now—and it's unfair to dismiss Thompson's lockdown defense solely because Harden eats lockdown defenders for mid-game snacks.
1. James Harden, Houston Rockets
Per-Game Stats: 27.6 points, 5.6 rebounds, 8.1 assists, 1.6 steals, 45.3 percent shooting
Speaking of Harden, he's playing scarily good basketball right now.
After a rough end to the Los Angeles Clippers series, he's the primary reason Houston hasn't been left for dead in the Western Conference Finals. He flirted with a triple-double in Game 1 (28 points, 11 rebounds, nine assists), and his 19 points on 7-of-10 shooting in the first half of Game 2 helped the Rockets erase a 17-point deficit.
Assuming his current numbers hold, Harden will become just the third player in postseason history with a minimum five appearances to clear 26 points, five rebounds, eights assists and 1.5 steals per game. His company: Michael Jordan and Russell Westbrook.
Small Forwards
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3. Trevor Ariza, Houston Rockets
Per-Game Stats: 13.2 points, 6.4 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.7 steals, 37.8 percent three-point shooting
Trevor Ariza can be unpredictable on the offensive end. And that's sometimes a good thing.
He shot 17-of-34 from behind the rainbow through the final four games of Round 2, playing a crucial scoring role in Houston's series comeback. He then proceeded to torch the Warriors' typically stingy defense for 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting to start the Western Conference Finals.
Mind you, all this is happening while Ariza acts as the Rockets' defensive lifeline on the perimeter. He suffocated J.J. Redick and Jamal Crawford to close out the second round, and now he's putting the screws to an exhausted Thompson in the Western Conference Finals.
If Houston is to upset Golden State, Ariza will have to contribute more consistently on the offensive end. Overall, though, his two-way play has been enough for Rockets fans to forget about that Chandler Parsons guy.
2. DeMarre Carroll, Atlanta Hawks
Per-Game Stats: 16.2 points, 6.4 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 1.2 steals, 51.3 percent shooting
On the heels of their Game 1 loss to Cleveland, the Hawks got a break—mostly because DeMarre Carroll didn't have a break, tear or partial fracture in his left knee.
Carroll left early in the fourth quarter after suffering what appeared to be a gruesome injury to his left knee. But an MRI revealed no structural damage, according to USA Today's Jeff Zillgitt, making it more likely the soon-to-be free agent returns before the conference finals are out, if not in Game 2.
This has to come as a relief to the Hawks. As Bleacher Report's Alec Nathan wrote: "Defensively, he's the one stout perimeter option the Hawks had to throw at [LeBron] James. During the regular season, Carroll held him to 2-of-13 shooting, and his coach readily acknowledged that profound impact."
Lucky for Atlanta, then, that Carroll's prognosis is optimal under the circumstances. He's tied with Teague for the team lead in points per game, and without him, the Hawks have no chance against the James-led Cavaliers.
Here's hoping that optimal prognosis can be parlayed into a speedy return.
1. LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers
Per-Game Stats: 26.9 points, 10.0 rebounds, 7.7 assists, 1.8 steals, 1.5 blocks, 42.8 percent shooting
There's something beautifully ugly about James' 2015 postseason run.
Although he's posting his lowest playoff true-shooting percentage ever—in large part because he's hitting just 14.3 percent of his deep balls—his shot totals have never been higher.
Injuries have forced him to put the Cavaliers on his back. He's constantly in attack mode, ceding control and touches to no one. And the frequency with which he's blitzing the heart of defenses is opening the door for guys such as Matthew Dellavedova and Smith to score like whoa off wide-open looks.
Rebounding, playmaking, shooting, scoring, chase-down blocks—James is doing it all. And quite predictably, the Cavaliers remain in the championship hunt because of him.
Power Forwards
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3. Josh Smith, Houston Rockets
Per-Game Stats: 13.0 points, 5.6 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 0.9 blocks, 34.5 percent three-point shooting
Is this actually happening?
Josh Smith's season-saving heroics in Game 6 against the Clippers matter here. A lot. He spearheaded the Rockets' fourth-quarter run, totaling 14 points in the final frame and setting the stage for a Game 7 Houston would inevitably win.
Moreover, the ever-erratic Smith is actually draining threes at respectable rates and emerging as the serviceable stretch 4 he wasn't while in Detroit. That's kind of a big deal—big enough that he edges out Tristan Thompson, resident rebounding reaper, for a top-three spot.
2. Paul Millsap, Atlanta Hawks
Per-Game Stats: 15.5 points, 8.8 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 1.7 steals, 1.1 blocks, 41.2 percent shooting
Substandard shooting displays haven't stopped Paul Millsap from filling the box score in demonstrative fashion. He's crashing the glass hard and tossing nifty dimes from the extended elbow regularly.
Without his 20-point, 13-rebound, two-assist and two-block performance against the Washington Wizards in Game 6 of the second round, the Hawks would've found themselves preparing for Game 7. And who knows if they would've made the Eastern Conference Finals in that scenario.
Millsap has been almost flawless on the defensive end. Opponents are having trouble scoring on him within six feet of the hoop, and he's doing a nice job sticking to all three frontcourt positions at various times.
With that in mind, Millsap looked exhausted in Game 1 against the Cavaliers. Chasing around James took a lot out of him. And with Carroll recovering from injury, Millsap is bound to see even more of James in the coming contests—an assignment that'll test his endurance beyond compare.
1. Draymond Green, Golden State Warriors
Per-Game Stats: 13.6 points, 10.1 rebounds, 5.5 assists, 2.0 steals, 0.9 blocks, 42.4 percent shooting
Draymond Green's playoff campaign is a dream within a dream. His scoring contributions have been up and down since the second round, but he's still guarding everyone and their friend's cousin's whale-watching sailor husband on the defensive end.
Opponents are shooting 10.1 percentage points below their postseason average against him, which is no small feat, considering he spends most of his time bodying up with power forwards and centers who have four or more inches on him. He played a pivotal role in icing Marc Gasol through the latter half of Round 2, and he's already matched up with both Dwight Howard and Harden in the Western Conference Finals.
And yes, his per-game line is every bit as ridiculous as it seems. Only three other players have ever averaged at least 13 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and two steals through 10 or more playoff games: Charles Barkley, Larry Bird and Magic Johnson.
Let that marinate for a minute or 50.
5. Centers
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3. Timofey Mozgov, Cleveland Cavaliers
Per-Game Stats: 8.6 points, 7.5 rebounds, 2.0 blocks, 44.9 percent shooting
Sorry, Andrew Bogut.
Timofey Mozgov is feasting on rival offenses. More than his two blocks per game, he's forcing adjustments at the iron; opponents are shooting 33.8 percent at the rim when he's on their case. That ranks second among all players who have contested at least four point-blank looks per game in the playoffs, behind only overlord Anthony Davis.
The cherry atop the cherry already on top of the ice cream sundae that is Mozgov's postseason showing is that he has a higher net rating than James.
2. Dwight Howard, Houston Rockets
Per-Game Stats: 16.6 points, 14.0 rebounds, 1.4 steals, 2.3 blocks, 59.1 percent shooting
Forget Dwight Howard's Game 1 letdown against the Warriors. He could barely move after injuring his left knee in the first quarter. He couldn't catch lobs, and he couldn't grab rebounds. It was bad.
But not so bad it erases everything he's done to this point. Danny Chau broke down Howard's previous impact for Grantland:
"We were just reacquainting ourselves with Dwight Howard, defensive fulcrum. Never mind his personality, his antics, or his contributions to the degradation of this pure sport—the last three games of the Clippers series reintroduced us to the player who came in second in the 2011 MVP race but probably should have won it.
In those three consecutive series-changing victories after being down 3-1 against the Clippers, Howard obliterated opponents who challenged him, allowing for only 35.5 percent accuracy at the rim—an 18 percent decline from what the Clippers normally convert at from that range.
"
That mutant defensive ninja is still in there somewhere. Howard came out for Game 2 looking sprier and more engaged. He grabbed rebounds (17), hassled dribble penetrators and played above the rim (19 points).
So while the Howard of old isn't necessarily back, the postseason, setbacks and all, remains his statistical playground.
1. Al Horford, Atlanta Hawks
Per-Game Stats: 15.6 points, 9.7 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 0.9 steals, 1.6 blocks, 50.3 percent shooting
Al Horford is good at basketball. Like, really good.
He turned in two huge performances during the final three games of Round 2 to help the Hawks advance, and his gritty fourth quarter in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals (four points and five rebounds) helped Atlanta deliver Cleveland a real last-minute scare.
Unsurprisingly, Horford has the highest playoff net rating of any Hawks starter.
Less surprisingly still, he was the postseason's best center long before now.
Stats courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com and NBA.com unless otherwise cited.
Dan Favale covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter: @danfavale.
