NBA Playoffs 2019: 10 Best individual performances so far
With the NBA Finals around the corner, we will finally witness a showdown between two elite teams. Toronto Raptors, the first time finalists will face off against the two-time defending champions, the Golden State Warriors in the best of seven game series starting Thursday night. Many teams tried hard but perished in pursuit of the Larry O'Brien trophy.
Along the way, there were many noteworthy performances by individual players on these teams who deserve some recognition for their individual brilliance. There are players on this list who oftentimes put their teams on their backs, led them to victory and also the ones who surprisingly played out of their skin when their teams needed them the most.
From clutch performances in the fourth quarter to insane game winners, from go-to signature moves to an incredibly versatile display of playmaking, there are many ways a player has impacted the outcome of the games in these playoffs. We will cover ten such individual performances in this article.
For this list, we have only put forward the single best performance (one entry per player) as standouts like Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard, and Stephen Curry have had numerous mind-boggling performances which if included, would make the list long and tedious. Further, aside from the regular stats such as points, rebounds, and assists, we have also considered advanced metrics such as effective field goal percentage, and Box Plus/Minus (BPM) to rank the performances from the least impressive of the lot, to the most impressive.
Honorable Mentions:
Giannis Antetokounmpo: 30 Points,17 Rebounds, 5 Assists (10-20 FGM) vs Toronto Raptors, Game 2, Eastern Conference Finals
Jamal Murray: 34 Points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, (10-20 FGM) vs Portland Trail Blazers, Game 4, Western Conference Semi-Finals
So without further ado, here are the ten best individual performances of this postseason so far
#10 Draymond Green (Golden State Warriors) | Game 3, Western Conference Finals vs Portland Trail Blazers
Stat line: 20 points (6-12 FGM), 12 assists, 13 rebounds, 4 steals, box plus/minus +11
Draymond Green is at his absolute best when he's running the floor as a small ball center for the Warriors, dishing out dimes for the 'Splash Brothers'. This is exactly what he was doing against Portland in game 3 of the Western Conference Finals, dropping his third triple-double of these playoffs to put Warriors up 3-0 in this series.
In this game, his offense was clicking and he was his disruptive self on the defensive end as he recorded four steals to go along with 20 points, 12 assists, and 13 rebounds. The 29-year-old power forward dominated in all aspects of the game as the Trail Blazers had no answer for his all-around game.
His energy was pivotal as the Dubs overcame a huge deficit in the third period to take the game away from the Trail Blazers.