The playoffs are a time for the league’s best to show what they are made of. Players gain most of their reputation in the post season.
Westbrook averaged a triple double this year and almost every radio host sang his praises. The moment game one between the 76ers and Wizards ended, the conversation on him turned sour. What was once considered an incredible feat, was now thought to be empty stats.
Stars aren’t the only players who can be disappointing. Some teams depend heavily on on their role players like the Utah Jazz with Jordan Clarkson.
This list encompasses the players I feel have been the most disappointing relative to their importance with the team in this year’s playoffs:
Jimmy Butler (SF), Miami Heat:
One of the most interesting first round matchups turned out to be a one sided affair. The defending Eastern Conference Finals champions were swept. A lot of people predicted the Heat to win this series.
Jimmy Butler was electric in the 2020 playoffs and the primary reason they were able to make the finals. He averaged 22.2 points on 48.8% shooting to go along with 6 assists and 6.5 rebounds last year.
This season, the Miami Heat struggled with COVID-19 and injuries. However, by the time the end of the season came around, the team was 8-2 in their last 10 games. People’s expectations of the team grew leading many to believe they could make another run.
They played a tightly contested game with the Bucks to open the series. It took a Khris Middleton 3 in the closing moments to give Milwaukee a 1-0 series lead.
Jimmy Butler shot 4/22 in that game and many people the Heat could get back on track if he could step up his game. The problem was that he never really got better.
The Bucks would go on to outscore the Heat 46-20 in the first quarter of game 2 and never looked back. Jimmy Butler scored just 10 points that night.
Milwaukee outscored Miami in 10 of the last 12 quarters of the series.
With the Miami Heat season ending early, the franchise has a lot of questions going into the offseason. Butler still has 2 years left on his contract so I would expect the team to stay aggressive this summer. Some of their young pieces like Tyler Herro and Kendrick Nunn could be on the move to bring in another star to the team.
Jae Crowder (F), Phoenix Suns
The Suns are not backing down from the defending champion Lakers. Even through Chris Paul’s shoulder injury, Phoenix has fought back to tie the series 2-2.
Devin Booker is averaging 28 points on 41.9% shooting in his first trip to the playoffs. Even second year player Mikal Bridges is averaging 10.2 points on 49.7% shooting.
The odd player out for the Suns so far has been Jae Crowder. He is supposed to be their veteran leader. He was in the NBA finals last year. He shot 33% from 3 point range in that series against the Lakers. While he had a good game 4 performance shooting 6/12, they’ll need him to be better consistently as Chris Paul eases himself back into the offense.
Crowder is playing too well defensively to take him out of the game. They need him to guard the forwards of the Lakers. When he is able to shoot the ball well, the Suns offense becomes extremely difficult to guard.
Julius Randle (F), New York Knicks
Julius Randle’s struggles have been duly noted.
The most improved players of the year does not seem ready for the big stage just quite yet in his career. After essentially securing himself an All-NBA spot in the regular season, the bright lights in the playoffs have been too much for the 26 year old.
The Knicks have needed him to be slightly better than average next to the re-emergence of Derrick Rose. The former MVP is averaging 24.3 points, 4.7 assists, and 5 rebounds per game in the Hawks series.
Randle has just fallen flat on his face so far in the 1-3 series. He has forced himself into the offense by averaging 18 shot attempts per game when nothing has fallen for him.
The Hawks should not be a matchup issue for him either. In the regular season, he averaged 37.3 points, 12.3 rebounds, and 6.7 assists against them.
He might actually just be nervous.
Michael Porter Jr. (F), Denver Nuggets
Michael Porter Jr. started his 2021 NBA playoff campaign with 25 points and 9 rebounds. Since that game he has been pedestrian at best. In the last game of the series he was flat out terrible. He scored 3 points in 22 minutes of action.
In the last 10 games of the season, Porter averaged 21.9 points on 44.5% shooting from 3 point range and 53.8% overall. They needed him to take the scoring responsibility in the absence of Jamal Murray and he seemed ready to do that.
The matchup should be perfect for him considering the Trail Blazers had the second worst team defensive rating in NBA history this season.
The Nuggets need him to step up big if they are to win their series against the Blazers which is currently tied 2-2.
Final Thoughts
Besides Jimmy Butler, each of these players have an opportunity to turn their post season woes around. Their team’s series will likely be determined based on how they play moving forward.
Who do you think has been disappointing this post season? Who would add to this list? Let me know on twitter @SpencerTheWiz !
