The best and worst performers in the 2023 NBA playoffs so far
The 2023 NBA Playoffs have been a rollercoaster to remember From the Milwauakee Bucks upset to the unexpected run from the Los Angeles Lakers, each team has had their share of both stunning and underperforming players.
Better known as “Playoff Jimmy,” Miami Heat small forward Jimmy Butler has been the main driving force behind the success of the Heat, beating the top-seeded Milwauakee Bucks and then the New York Knicks in the second round. Butler is currently averaging a highly impressive 31.1 points per game to go along with his 5.4 assists per game, not allowing his team to fall to anyone. “”I just know how much of a competitor he is.,” veteran teammate Udonis Haslem said per ESPN. “And the playoffs is when the stakes are the highest, and he rises to the occasion.”
On the other hand, Jordan Poole was one of, if not the most disappointing players of the second round in the playoffs. Poole had been set as the back-up guard for the Stephen Curry-led Golden State Warriors team. However, he gave away every crucial game for the Warriors, essentially giving the Los Angeles Lakers the series and tarnishing head coach Steve Kerr’s undefeated Western Series winning record in the Western Conference Finals. His high in the second round was 21 points in game 1. However, the performance did not continue throughout the rest of the series. From five points in game three, to an extremely upsetting zero points in game four, his performance made Golden State fan disappointed intheir former fan-favorite.
“I always play with an edge,lay with a chip on my shoulder,” Poole said to ESPN. “Finding ways to get better, and not necessarily proving people wrong, but just knowing what I’m capable of and trying to reach that night in, night out.”
One of the brightest performers in the first half of the postseason, center Anthony Davis kept the Lakers up against the competition. He averaged a solid 21.5 points and 14.5 rebounds per game in the second round to obliterate the Warriors’ center Kevon Looney. From his 30-point performance in game one to the 17-points in the game six closeout, he has been the defining factor for Lakers’ victorious surprise.
“We want to shock the world. Us starting 2-10, knowing that at trade deadline, we got better. Now it’s time to go get it, unfinished business,” Davis said to Fannation Fastbreak News.
As the conference finals approach fast, stakes are high and intensity is imminent.
“We’re all trying to win one, whatever it takes,” Joel Embiid said to ESPN.
Your donation will support the student journalists of Diamond Bar High School. Your contribution will allow us to purchase equipment and cover our annual website hosting costs.
