Top 5 X-Factor players in the Eastern Conference playoff race for the 2021-22 NBA season
Throughout the NBA, there are players who have known contributions on a night-to-night basis, and there are players with wider variance in production. The latter are sometimes referred to as X-Factors and end up the reason a team overperforms relative to their given expectations.
Players recently removed from significant injuries are a prime example, as it's impossible to predict their form upon returning to NBA play. Young players and their potential development jump are another, along with anyone recently traded or signed with a new team. There are always just players who are inconsistent on a yearly basis as well.
Michael Porter Jr, Julius Randle, Bogdan Bogdanovic, Russell Westbrook, and Terry Rozier could all have been considered X-Factors going into last season. All of them turned out to be difference makers that helped their respective rosters either overachieve or underachieve.
Here are five players who are X-Factors in the NBA Eastern Conference playoff race.
#5 Pascal Siakam
While a player the caliber of Pascal Siakam is not your typical X-Factor, his production level is a question. With the best Toronto Raptors player of all-time, Kyle Lowry, headed to the Miami Heat, it is now Siakam's team.
There have been comments from Siakam this offseason surrounding the front office's trust in him being "the guy," despite him receiving a supermax contract recently. If he wants to be the guy in Toronto, then now is the year to make that happen and lead them back to the playoffs.
After his 2019-20 NBA All-Star appearance, his production slipped in 2020-21, primarily with three-point shooting. Going from 35.9 percent on 6.1 attempts per night to 29.7 percent on 4.4 attempts hurts the rest of his game.
Siakam's downhill driving is his elite skill, and his patented spin move is well-known. If teams are not concerned with him shooting the ball, the paint becomes more clogged.
If Pascal Siakam can cement himself as an NBA All-Star this season as a valid number one option, the Toronto Raptors could find themselves as contenders in the Eastern Conference playoff race once again.
#4 Patrick Williams
Sadly, Patrick Williams just suffered a severe left ankle injury this week that will keep him sidelined for roughly 4-6 weeks. Ankle injuries also tend to have lingering effects on NBA players, and the Chicago Bulls are likely to rely on the former fourth overall pick a notable amount in this upcoming NBA season.
While the impressive additions of Lonzo Ball, DeMar DeRozan and Alex Caruso should improve the roster substantially, the frontcourt depth remains questionable. The centers include Nikola Vucevic and Tony Bradley, but when it comes to larger wings after Williams, you're looking at Alize Johnson and Derrick Jones Jr. Both of those players are probably better fit to play small forward in the NBA.
Patrick Williams can be the perfect defensive complimentary piece on the guard-heavy Bulls' roster while remaining competent on offense. There is no other player who is able to supply the unique skillset Patrick Williams does, not to mention his intriguing upside revolved around versatility.