NBA Playoffs 2017: 5 keys to Wizards vs. Hawks matchup
By John Buhler
4. Can Paul Millsap be the best player on the court in this series?
For Atlanta to have a legitimate shot at advancing, the Hawks will need their best player in power forward Paul Millsap to be the best player in the series. That’s asking a lot out of Millsap, but he is a top-tier power forward in the game today.
He does a little bit of everything for the Hawks. Millsap made his fourth straight Eastern Conference All-Star team in 2017. He averaged 18.1 points, 7.7 rebounds and 3.7 assists this season. 2015-16 was his best year as a professional, but Millsap was still the best player on the Hawks every night he took the floor for them this winter.
Millsap has been an underrated defender and a solid, undersized rebounder for years. He is excellent at posting players up in isolation sets and can hit the occasional big three-pointers. The problem is that he will never be a consistent go-to scorer. Millsap will give the Hawks 15 to 20 points a night and play all-around good ball. However, he’s not built to put up 30 points a game to keep the Hawks’ playoff dream alive.
Add in that he will have to do work against the solid starting Washington frontcourt of power forward Markieff Morris and center Marcin Gortat and he could be left physically drained by Game 4. Atlanta will need four wins to advance. Two of them have to come from Millsap doing the heavy-lifting for the Hawks.