Joel Embiid, Jimmy Butler, Lead List of NBA’s Best Playoff Performers
The 2022 NBA Playoffs are off to a hot start and halfway through the first round. Some players have already begun turning in big time performances. We’re just about one week into the postseason and we’ve already seen overtime thrillers, underdog upsets, and historic stat lines. Although we aren’t crowning a Finals MVP anytime soon, here’s a look at some of the league’s top performers this postseason.
1) Joel Embiid, C, Philadelphia 76er's - 27.7 Point Avg., 13.0 Rebounding Avg.
Embiid has the Sixers up 3-0 and a sweep against the Raptors in the first-round matchup between 4-seed Philadelphia and 5-seed Toronto. After a quiet start in Game One, the imposing big man has taken over the series, averaging 32 points in the last two games. The iconic moment of this series came as the clock ran down in overtime of Game Three, when the ball found its way into the hands of Embiid with the score tied. As time on the game clock dwindled to less than a second, the MVP candidate launched a fadeaway three that hit nothing but net and sealed Philadelphia’s victory.
That shot may have been a backbreaker for the Toronto Raptors who desperately needed to carve out a win at home. No team in NBA history has surmounted a 3-0 deficit in the playoffs and this series looks all but over. The Sixers will try to close out the Raptors in Toronto on Saturday afternoon so they can focus on Round 2.Jimmy
2) Jimmy Butler, SF, Miami Heat - 33 Point Avg., 60% Shooting
The Miami Heat are also hoping to extend their first-round lead as they travel to Atlanta up 2-0 in the series. Jimmy Butler has been absolutely on fire for this Heat team averaging 33 points on an insanely efficient 60% shooting from the field. He torched the Hawks for 45 in Game Two as he got to the basket with ease in the absence of injured Atlanta big man and rim protector, Clint Capela. He is just the second player in NBA history to record 45 points with no fouls or turnovers in a playoff game.
Butler isn’t just getting it done in the paint though. The 6’6” forward is also shooting 55 percent from three-point range, a huge spike from his regular season clip of 23.3 percent. Honestly, Jimmy would be number one on this list had Joel Embiid not hit a filthy overtime game winner in his most recent outing. The Heat’s All-Star swingman looks poised for a career defining performance in this postseason. Butler will try to keep his hot streak alive Friday night when the Miami Heat travel to Atlanta for Game Three, where the Hawks have won 20 of their last 23.
3) Jalen Brunson, G, Dallas Mavericks- 32.5 Point Avg., 7.5 Rebounding Avg., 5 Assist Avg.
If somebody said a week ago that the Dallas Mavericks, without star guard Luka Doncic, would be up 2-1 against the Utah Jazz, that person would have been laughed out of the room. But here we are, thanks to Jalen Brunson. After dropping Game One at home, the Mavs needed to bounce back or face going to Utah down 2-0. And bounce back they did. Jalen Brunson put the team on his back in Game Two, lighting it up for 41 points as Dallas tied the series 1-1.
Brunson laced in six shots from long range in that game. In Game Three at Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City on Thursday, it was “new court-same story” as Brunson played the Jazz to the tune of 31 points this time in the Mavericks’ second straight win of the series. Brunson, a national champion at Villanova, has stepped up big time to fill the shoes of the injured Doncic. His ability to be a number-one scoring option may be the key to Dallas’ playoff hopes.
Honorable Mention:
Jordan Poole, G, Golden State Warriors, 29.5 Point Avg.
Jordan Poole is having a breakout season and has taken charge in Golden State’s first round matchup with the Nuggets. Poole, who was once the league’s best kept secret, is shooting the lights out in this series with a 66% field goal percentage and a 59% 3-point percentage. With numbers like these, it was hard to exclude him from the top three spots on this list, but Golden State has been absolutely wiping the floor with Denver and it’s hard to tell if Poole’s numbers are just a byproduct of the defense focusing on Steph Curry and Klay Thompson. Considering the Warriors’ commanding 3-0 lead over the Nuggets, it's likely we will have plenty more chances to watch Poole and see if he can continue his electrifying scoring attack.
