NBA Playoffs 2013: 5 Under-The-Radar Players Who Have Surprised
Mike Conley is at the helm of a very good Memphis Grizzlies team. Photo Credit: Mark Runyon, Basketball Schedule
The playoffs aren’t even a week old, but there have been five under-the-radar players who have stepped up. By under-the-radar, I actually mean under-the-radar.
To clarify, under-the-radar isn’t, say, Paul George. It’s not Stephen Curry, Andre Miller or Tony Parker.
Instead of explaining what makes up an under-the-radar player, let’s dive in:
Mike Conley, Memphis Grizzlies
Mike Conley’s emergence started a while ago, but few people decided to take note of it. Now, those people are paying for it.
When the Grizzlies sent Rudy Gay to the Toronto Raptors in late January, Memphis indirectly invested more confidence in Conley to handle the duties of a creator. Gay was one Memphis’s few perimeter threats, despite his inefficient style of play. While Conley isn’t as athletic or explosive, his moves and decisions are crafty.
It’s safe to say that Conley answered the bell, averaging more than 17 points per game in March and April combined, compared to his overall season average of 14.6 points.
His usage percentages naturally increased:
Games 41-50: 20.6 percent
Games 51-60: 21.1 percent
Games 61-70: 23.2 percent
Games 71-80: 24.9 percent
Conley’s scoring spurts haven’t faded in the playoffs either. He’s averaging 14.6 points, which isn’t an eye-popping total. But he exploded for 28 points in Game 2 against the Los Angeles Clippers and his facilitating abilities haven’t dropped off, as he’s averaging 7.3 assists in three games.
The fact that Conley still isn’t recognized as a solid point guard is criminal. He’s more than worthy of a spot on this list.
Jeff Green, Boston Celtics
With Boston’s aging veterans–Kevin Garnett (10.7 points per game in the playoffs) and Jason Terry (7.7 ppg)–unable to carry the burden, the Celtics have slowly begun to hinge on Jeff Green’s youth.
Well, he hasn’t been able to do it all, as the New York Knicks have Boston on the brink of defeat, up 3-0. But he is averaging 19 points in 41.3 minutes per game and has made Carmelo Anthony work for his points–Anthony took 29 shots to compile 36 points in Game 1, took 24 shots to compile 34 points in Game 2 and needed 25 shots for his 26 points in Game 3. Sure, Anthony’s box score looks good, but at least Green is making him work.
It’s tough to blame Green for the Celtics’ shortcomings in the win column. After all, he averaged just 12.8 points in 27.8 minutes per game in the regular season, and he wasn’t considered to be “the guy.” Suddenly in the playoffs, he’s playing 40-plus minutes a game and he’s Boston’s primary source of points next to Pierce, who’s been the lone veteran pulling his weight.
The Celtics might fall to the Knicks in the first round, but Green’s emergence must have Celtics management at ease, especially when considering that Green signed through 2014-15 with a $9.5 million player option for 2015-16.
Klay Thompson, Golden State Warriors
With merely 148 games under his belt, Klay Thompson can hardly be considered experienced.
However, his postseason stats will indicate that he’s already extremely comfortable in the environment of playoff basketball. In two games, he’s averaging 16.3 points on 52.5 percent shooting and 43.8 percent shooting from 3-point range.
Shooting, particularly 3-point shooting, is Thompson’s bread and butter. The basketball world knows that. And as his numbers above evidence, he’s been extremely good on the shooting front, both from beyond the arc and on in the mid-range.
For Thompson, consistency will make or break his legacy as one of the NBA’s most fearful shooters. Everyone knows he can shoot, but in 2012-13, he struggled to grasp consistency. When he would burst for five-plus 3-pointers in a single game, he’d go cold for a two to five games span.
Through three games in the playoffs, however, Thompson has some semblance of consistency. If he maintains his dangerous stroke and the Warriors upset the Nuggets, Thompson’s status as an under-the-radar shooter might be erased. At the age of 23, though, he’s got plenty of time to prove that point.
George Hill, Indiana Pacers
For all the attention that’s been thrown at Paul George after he recorded a triple-double in Game 1 against the Atlanta Hawks, George Hill has been pretty good too.
In Game 1, he totaled 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting. In Game 2, he totaled 22 points on 7-of-12 shooting. Both point totals came within the flow of Indiana’s offense, and better yet, he’s only turned the ball over three times in two games, as a point guard.
When it comes to revealing the Pacers’ primary ball-handler, look no further than George. He has the ball in his hands, well, a lot. He’s a start, though. Stars demand the ball, and rapidly, that’s what George has evolved into–a star.
So, Hill isn’t exactly working as a point guard rather than an option for George on the perimeter.
Still, Hill’s numbers aren’t trifling figures to overlook even the slightest.
Brook Lopez, Brooklyn Nets
There’s a group of people that enjoy bashing Brook Lopez because he doesn’t properly optimize his lengthy frame. For a “true” 7-footer, rebounds generally fall into your hands. The sheer size makes that process second nature.
For Lopez, it doesn’t come that easily. He might be 7′, but he averaged just 6.9 rebounds per game during the regular season and he’s averaging just 6.3 in the playoffs. I get where people are coming from in this regard.
But it’s hard to focus too much on Lopez’s average rebounding efforts when he’s averaging 21.3 points per game (in the playoffs). His ability to effectively knock down the mid-range jumper gives Brooklyn’s heavily-based isolation offense to thrive. On offense, he does use his size effectively by posting up (39th best post-up player in the NBA this year according to Synergy Sports), and through pick and rolls.
Lopez, for all the scrutiny he has endured since he was drafted, is finally meeting the expectations of a lottery pick. Not to mention that he’s doing so at the perfect time of the year.
Stats Courtesy of NBA.com, Basketball-Reference and Synergy Sports