Ranking the 10 Best Players in the NBA's Conference Finals
By Jason McIntyre
The NBA Conference Finals begin tonight in Golden State at 9 pm. (Thank you for the early start, NBA!) Cleveland travels to Atlanta Wednesday night at 8:30 pm. We ranked the 10 best players left in the postseason, based on this postseason. Not future prospects. Or their careers prior to these playoffs. This ranking is based on what they’ve done this postseason, and their value to it.
1. LeBron James, Cleveland. The good: 10.2 rpg is a playoff career high; 7.9 apg the second most he’s averaged since taking the Cavs to the Finals when he was 22. The bad? Shooting just 42 percent from the field, a jaw-dropping 16 percent on 3-pointers, and he’s never taken this many shots per game in the postseason (24.3). The 4.6 turnovers per game are the most since he took the Cavs to the playoffs at 21. Still … it’s LeBron. He’s clutch.
2. Stephen Curry, Golden State. The MVP is the best show in the NBA right now. Look at this move. And this shot. Averaging 28.2 ppg through 10 playoff games, shooting 41 percent on 3-pointers. It’s more likely the Warriors sweep the Rockets than lose the series to them. Curry absolutely torches Harden or Terry.
3. James Harden, Houston. MVP runner-up gets in here above Irving only because of the injuries. Harden averaged five turnovers per game against the Clippers, and the Warriors actually play good defense. Only shot 39 percent from the field after shredding the Mavs on 46 percent shooting. Very curious to see what Harden does against Klay Thompson.
4. Kyrie Irving, Cleveland. Not at full strength, but here’s hoping he is against Curry in the Finals. Went bonkers against Boston (23.3 ppg shooting 48 percent on 3-pointers), but really struggled for two games against Chicago, at one pointing missing 18 of 23 shots. Wouldn’t be smart to have him chase Kyle Korver. He let Derrick Rose get into the lane often, so expect Jeff Teague to attack him.
5. Klay Thompson, Golden State. Is he the best shooter in the NBA? At the age of 24, he’s made 48 percent of his FGs in this postseason, and an astonishing 47.7 percent of three-pointers. Smart, tough defensive player. Will absolutely torch Harden or Terry.
6. Draymond Green, Golden State. I bet you could find a stat guy to put Green 1st. Here’s why: He’s the +/- leader in the NBA playoffs and it’s not close: +135. Curry is 2nd (+96) and JR Smith (+78) is 3rd. Green will probably guard Josh Smith, or light up Terrence Jones, and he definitely will get in Dwight Howard’s head.
7. Dwight Howard, Houston. I know, you hate him. And yes, he is prone to foul trouble, pouting, and players throughout the league love taking shots at him (to his face). Still, Howard had four 15-15 games against the Clippers and a 28-12 showing against Tyson Chandler in the first round. For the Rockets to have any chance, he’ll have to be a shot blocking menace (zero blocks in two games against the Warriors this season), and get Andrew Bogut in foul trouble.
8. Al Horford, Atlanta. Why aren’t there more Hawks on this list? Korver was shut down by the Wizards, DeMarre Carroll has played very well, and Jeff Teague has been more up than down. But Horford has been the team’s bedrock, averaging 15.6 ppg, 9.9 rpg, 4.1 apg, and makes their most important plays at both ends. Will be the last line of defense when LeBron attacks the rim.
9. Harrison Barnes, Golden State. Perhaps a surprising inclusion, but he’s been the Warriors’ glue guy in the playoffs, shooting a blistering 54 percent against the defensive-minded Grizzlies. When Barnes shifted to defend Zach Randolph in the final three games, he held his own. Don’t be surprised if Barnes spends some time on James Harden, when he’s not shutting down Trevor Ariza.
10. Tristan Thompson, Cleveland. Narrowly edged out Carroll, Teague, Dellavedova and Prigioni. Thompson has been a force since Kevin Love’s season-ending injury. Thompson averaged 9.3 ppg and 11.2 rpg against the Bulls. Most importantly, he’s averaging 3.9 offensive rebounds per game, which means he’s accounting for around 10 second-chance points a night.