With the 2017 NBA Playoffs preparing to tip off, these five players face more pressure than anyone else
After 2460 regular season games, the 2017 NBA Playoffs are here. Now the eight best teams from each conference will all compete towards the ultimate goal of winning the NBA Finals and posing with the Larry O’Brien Trophy. That may not be the realistic goal for all 16 teams, but it’s the goal nonetheless.
If there’s been one thing that’s carried the 2016-17 season, it’s been strong narratives. The race for MVP between Russell Westbrook and James Harden, coupled with Westbrook’s (successful) pursuit of averaging a triple-double have been in the forefront of every news-cycle. Throw in Kevin Durant joining the Golden State Warriors and his subsequent injury, the Cleveland Cavaliers looking to repeat, the San Antonio Spurs thriving even without Tim Duncan and the emergence of players like Bradley Beal, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Nikola Jokic and even Isaiah Thomas to a degree, and the narratives have been plentiful.
Narratives change when it comes to the NBA Playoffs, though. Granted, they may not change as much for the likes of LeBron James and the Cavs or Durant, Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors. However, things like the MVP race become obsolete. So too does the focus on young players as they’re expected to experience postseason growing pains.
Instead, the story shifts to the pressure that players and teams are facing, which is why LeBron and Durant’s narratives don’t evaporate. Who needs to step up because a title or strong performance is needed or expected? Whose future could be in question if they falter? All of these things and more are in play in the 2017 NBA Playoffs. But who faces the most pressure this postseason?
Notable Exclusions: Russell Westbrook and LeBron James
Before we dive into the five players facing the most pressure in the 2017 NBA Playoffs, it feels necessary to note a couple of players that aren’t listed: Russell Westbrook and LeBron James. Because of their talent and pedigree, obviously much is going to be expected of both players in the postseason. However, they aren’t facing the same amount of pressure as these other players, though for vastly different reasons.
In the case of Westbrook, his team just isn’t expected to do much this season. Westbrook has them in the No. 6 seed basically by sheer force of will. With that said, it’s telling that the main knock against Westbrook’s MVP candidacy is the lack of success from the Oklahoma City Thunder as a whole. The Thunder’s offense as a whole isn’t mediocre because of Westbrook, but because of the lacking supporting cast. If Westbrook and Oklahoma City have any success in the playoffs, it’s another feather in his cap for this season. But he’s certainly not under pressure to carry them to the Finals or anything of the sort.
James is a different case, starting with the fact that he’s expected to get the Finals. Even if the Cavs hadn’t won the title last year, that would still be the expectation for LeBron. But is there really that much pressure on him? He returned to Cleveland and brought the city a championship, causing the Factory of Sadness to crack a smile. Yes, they’d surely like more real estate occupied in their trophy case. However, the monkey is off of James’ back and it’s not the same level of pressure that he’s faced so many times before.
With the exclusions out of the way, let’s delve into the five players who will be facing the most pressure in these playoffs, starting in The North.
5. Kyle Lowry — Toronto Raptors
Kyle Lowry certainly had an unfortunate break (no pun intended) this season as he was sidelined for nearly 20 games due to a broken wrist. He returned, obviously, in time to finish the regular season and for the playoffs. Now that the Raps enter the postseason coming off a trip to the Eastern Conference Finals one year ago when they pushed the eventual-champion Cavalier to six games. Even when dealing with Lowry’s absence, they still secured the No. 3 seed in the East.
Despite the Boston Celtics usurping them as the second-seed in the conference, the Raptors should still have Eastern Conference Finals expectations. The addition of P.J. Tucker could prove pivotal to making them an even more formidable playoff opponent than they were a year ago. If Lowry is able to regain his form quickly, they could conceivable push the Cavs once again as well.
However, that’s not why the pressure is on Lowry in the 2017 NBA Playoffs. Instead, it comes down to the fact that Lowry is likely going to be a free agent this offseason. He’s slated to make $12 million next season, but has a player option in his deal (per Spotrac) that he’ll surely take with the money he’ll get on his next contract with the salary cap continuing to skyrocket.
Because of what Lowry has meant to the Raptors amidst their recent rise to prominence, the assumption has been that they’ll pay whatever it takes to re-sign him. However, if Lowry comes into these playoffs and struggles to perform, thus costing the Raptors, that complicates matters. The NBA is a business and, though past contributions and loyalty matter, would it really be prudent to pay a 31-year-old point guard top-tier money if they don’t believe he can get them over the hump? To avoid that question and a potentially difficult decision, Lowry must step up for Toronto in the playoffs.
4. Chris Paul and Blake Griffin — Los Angeles Clippers
Bypassing my own rules a bit and including two players, the pressure is again high when it comes to the Los Angeles Clippers duo of Chris Paul and Blake Griffin. Despite having won 53 or more games in each of the four seasons prior to this year, the duo (along with DeAndre Jordan) has yet to make it past the Western Conference Semifinals in the playoffs. And that look was worsened last year with a first-round exit at the hands of the Portland Trail Blazers.
Obviously the expectations have always been there for Paul and Griffin since they joined forces with the Clippers. So the fact that they’ve had marginal (if any, really) postseason success is damning to a degree. However, the stakes are now higher than they’ve ever been given the fact that the organization now has decisions to make regarding their future with the franchise.
Griffin will become an unrestricted free agent this offseason. Meanwhile, Paul has an early-termination option on his deal. Given the still-rising salary cap and the fact that he’s 31 years old, it’s expected that he’ll exercise that option and become a free agent himself to cash in on one more lucrative deal.
Why this all matters is that the Clippers, in essence, have to decide whether or not continuing forward with this Big Three of Griffin, Paul and Jordan is worthwhile or if they should reconstruct. Though they enter the playoffs as the No. 4 seed given their struggles due to injuries this season, that makes a strong playoff performance is necessary from both Paul and Griffin. If they fall victim to another premature exit, they could be playing somewhere other than LA in 2017-18.
3. Isaiah Thomas — Boston Celtics
This might appear like a weird inclusion on this list. On the surface, anything that Isaiah Thomas does in the playoffs will be gravy. After being doubted because of his size for essentially hist entire life, Thomas established himself as a bonafide star this season. What’s more, Danny Ainge and the Boston Celtics can in part take the blame for any postseason failures of the team. They had the assets (again) to make a ploy for another star at the trade deadline, but didn’t get a deal done.
While that may be so, what Thomas does in this postseason is going to be a critical statement as to what the future holds for both him and the Celtics. No one can take away his late-game heroics during the 2016-17 regular season. He’s been both productive and efficient as a scorer in a way that few players in the league are capable of.
However, it’s also important to recall that Thomas has been quite awful in the playoffs over the past two years with Boston. In 10 games, the diminutive point guard has averaged 21.5 points and 5.8 assists per game, but with an abysmal 51.7 true shooting percentage along the way (Basketball-Reference). He’s been overmatched by bigger defenders and not been able to create in the ways that make him special when it comes to the playoffs.
Sure, that could change this season given the uptick in his production in the regular season. But then again, it could be something that plagues him for his career. Whether it’s fair or not, these playoffs could decide that for him. In turn, they could also decide whether Thomas is ever truly considered a star in this league and if he can be a cornerstone for the Celtics moving forward.
2. James Harden — Houston Rockets
While Russell Westbrook might not make this list, the other top MVP candidate for this season does without question. James Harden’s 2016-17 regular season work has been incredible, which is both obvious and still worth stating. He may not have the triple-double average of Westbrook, but he’s posted a better assists per game number (11.2) and a more efficient season than the Thunder point guard.
However, the semi-dirty secret when it comes to Harden is that his postseason production hasn’t been the greatest. In four playoff trips with the Rockets, Harden has averaged 26.9 points, 6.7 assists and 5.6 rebounds per game. That may look fine, but when you factor in that he’s also shot a meager 41.3 percent and turned the ball over 4.4 times per contest in those 34 games, it’s far less impressive (Basketball-Reference).
It’s also not a coincidence that the one year (2015) the Rockets made it out of the first round is the one year of the four that Harden shot better than 41 percent from the field. Harden’s playoff shortcomings aren’t breaking news by any measure. Many have pointed to the decrease in foul calls in postseason play as a primary factor, which is certainly in play.
But with his MVP-worthy season and with much of the argument for him over Westbrook being predicated upon the Rockets being the better team, he’s going to be expected to again make it out of the first round. In fact, he’s going to be expected to at least challenge to make the West Finals with this Houston team. That’s going to require him to submit his best postseason performance of his career. Pressure doesn’t get much greater than that.
1. Kevin Durant — Golden State Warriors
Just because its obvious doesn’t make it any less true. Kevin Durant may have just returned from injury a week prior to the start of the 2017 NBA Playoffs, but every eye will be honed in on him in the postseason. It’s pressure that he ultimately brought on himself in free agency by electing to sign with the Golden State Warriors. Whatever the reason why he’s under such pressure, though, no one will be facing more from April-to-June.
Whether or not Durant arrived in Golden State or not, the Warriors would’ve been the favorites to emerge from the Western Conference and likely to win the title as well. But with the Warriors addition of the perennial All-NBA forward, they were considered a shoe-in for a championship. It’s hard to imagine expectations for a team that won 73 games in the 2015-16 regular season to increase, but they did because of Durant. And that puts his performance in the playoffs under intense scrutiny.
Simply going out and playing well isn’t going to get people off of Durant’s case—even coming off of the injury. Durant has to play every bit like a superstar and MVP-caliber player in the playoffs. The level of difficulty for doing so is increased when playing alongside Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, but it’s the bed he made for himself. Anything less than utter dominance is going to be panned by fans.
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What’s more, the backlash against Durant is going to be monstrous if the Warriors don’t hoist the Larry O’Brien Trophy come June. Obviously he could play fantastically and Golden State could still lose, but that doesn’t matter. That will only cause fans to start the “Durant broke the Warriors” narrative. With such tremendous expectations for him individually and his team, no one will feel the heat more than Kevin Durant in the 2017 NBA Playoffs.