We’re well into the first round of the 2024 NBA playoffs at this point. It’s gotten to the stage where we can say with some certainty how players are performing and what teams needs to do if they are going to punch their ticket to the conference semifinals, and we can start to look back at stuff from before the postseason started and see how poorly (or terribly) it has aged.
So, we’re doing that today. Before things tipped off, we looked at the most important player on each team in both conferences. There’s still a long way to go, so we’ll do this again later in the postseason, but for now, here’s how things have shaped up through the first round.
Boston Celtics: Kristaps Porzingis
Porzingis was awful during the team’s Game 2 loss to the Miami Heat, but he was far better in Games 1 and 3, which they won. He is, and will continue to be, the bellwether for the Celtics, because when he plays well, they might be unbeatable. He has to play with urgency on both ends of the floor, he has to be able to space the floor so Boston’s perimeter players can attack the rim, he has to be able to punish switches, and he has to protect the rim on defense. In the team’s two wins, he did that stuff. In their loss, he looked a bit lost. Get him going and good things will happen.
New York Knicks: OG Anunoby
Funny enough, the game where Anunoby has shouldered the biggest offensive burden for the Knicks was the one they lost. He’s mostly doing what he’s needed to do this postseason — he’s taking about one fewer shot and one fewer three per game from his regular season numbers, which, that’s partly a small sample size thing and partly a “Josh Hart has fireballs shooting out of his hands” thing. He’s also one been the primary defensive assignment against Tyrese Maxey, and he’s certainly battling and doing everything he can against Philly’s offensive spark plug.
Milwaukee Bucks: Damian Lillard and Khris Middleton
Both guys have needed to step up in Giannis Antetokounmpo’s absence. Both have shouldered heavy offensive burdens — Lillard had back-to-back games of huge first halves and poor seconds halves, then played about as well as he could on a bum wheel in Game 3. Middleton had two solid games before exploding in Game 3. The problem: Both are now banged up, with Middleton dealing with a bad ankle and Lillard maybe missing Game 4 with an achilles injury.
Cleveland Cavaliers: Darius Garland
Garland has flat out not been good enough against the Magic. With Donovan Mitchell clearly not looking like himself — he was great in Game 1 and hasn’t been able to reach those highs since — Cleveland desperately needs Garland to look like the All-Star he was in 2022. Instead, he’s struggled to impose himself on games against the pitbulls that Orlando throws out there at guard. His numbers aren’t up to what he’s capable of (12 points and six assists per game on 41.9 percent shooting from the field), and if Cleveland is going to make it out of the first round, he has to find the rhythm that has seemingly eluded him all year.
Orlando Magic: Franz Wagner
What a player he is. Wagner has grown into the series against Cleveland, and in Orlando’s emphatic Game 4 win, he hit every right note — 34 points on 13-for-17 shooting, 13 rebounds, four assists, a block. He’s getting more and more comfortable with playoff basketball, and now, the real test comes with the series shifting back to Cleveland. If his first two games (he shot 37.5 percent from the field across both games and put up 18 points both times) were just early playoff jitters and his good form in Orlando travels, the Magic very well could be hosting a Game 6 this week with the ability to punch their ticket to the conference semis.
Indiana Pacers: Tyrese Haliburton
Haliburton’s playoff debut has been a bit weird. He’s been turning down open shots to get guys looks, but his shot is just not falling (only 22.7 percent from three) and he’s averaging 12 assists a game. Winning is what matters, though, and the Pacers are up 2-1 on the Bucks so far. He finds his shot a bit (and perhaps his game-winner in Game 3 builds his confidence up) and the Pacers won’t just win this series, they can go on a bit of a run with how everyone else is playing.
Philadelphia 76ers: Joel Embiid
Embiid has been outstanding against the Knicks. The numbers back that up — he’s averaging 37.7 points on 47.1 percent shooting from the field and 37.5 percent from three with 8.7 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game. He doesn’t look totally comfortable on his knee, and he’s now dealing with Bell’s palsy, but he’s battling through all of this and put up a 50-piece in a win last time out. He has to keep battling if Philly is going to beat New York, which, don’t count that out.
Miami Heat: Tyler Herro
The Heat won Game 2 against the Celtics. Herro had 24 points and 14 rebounds while going 6-for-11 from three. The Heat lost Games 1 and 3 against the Celtics. Herro had 11 points and four assists in Game 1, 15 points and two assists in Game 3, and shot 3-for-9 from deep in both games. He either gives them a major shot in the arm on offense — one where he gets going, but also, he gets everyone else involved — or Miami’s going home.
Oklahoma City Thunder: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
This one’s easy enough: He hasn’t shown a single ounce of fear or reservation in his first playoff series as the man in Oklahoma City. It helps, of course, that the Pelicans are having an awful time trying to deal with everything the Thunder can throw at them, but Gilgeous-Alexander is taking it to them despite spending most of his time on the floor getting hounded by Herbert Jones. If they’re going to compete for a championship, he has to be able to spend an entire postseason doing this (28.3 points, 5.7 assists, 4.7 rebounds, two steals per game with good efficiency numbers overall, albeit a bit of a step back from his regular season numbers). But his first act has been quite good.
Denver Nuggets: Michael Porter Jr.
After a rough playoff run last year, Porter has done everything Denver has needed out of him in the first round. His 22 points and 9.5 rebounds per game are only behind Nikola Jokic, while his effective field goal percentage of 64.8 percent actually leads the team among players who have played in every game. He’s getting better at knowing how to use his size as a weapon on defense, too. But his calling card will always be his ability to punish opposing defenses — he’s done it well against the Lakers, and assuming Denver win this series, he’ll have to keep doing it if the Nuggets are going to go back-to-back.
Minnesota Timberwolves: Karl-Anthony Towns
The bad: Some of the problems that have plagued Towns in previous postseasons, namely a propensity for committing some truly baffling fouls, have popped up again. The good: His worst game of the series was Game 1, which the Timberwolves won, and he’s done a good job in his role as a stretch big who helps punish a tiny Suns team on the glass since then. So far this series, he’s third on the team in scoring (how about Rudy Gobert at 17 points a game?), second in rebounding, and he’s hitting 45.5 percent of his threes on 3.7 attempts a game. With Anthony Edwards performing as well as he has and Gobert enveloping whatever big man Phoenix throws at him, that’s exactly what they need out of him.
Los Angeles Clippers: James Harden
The Clipper offense has been absolutely horrible against the feisty Mavericks so far, but despite his reputation for being a playoff choker, Harden’s not at fault. Paul George has not seemed all that interested in imposing himself on games, while Kawhi Leonard is clearly not right. While Ty Lue definitely needs more Ivica Zubac (who has been great), Harden’s doing what he can considering his limitations at this point in his career, as he’s averaging 23.7 points and seven assists on 47.7 percent shooting from the field and 44.8 percent shooting from three. Getting George, in particular, going is crucial, but if he doesn’t, Harden might need to find an extra gear to save the Clippers.
Dallas Mavericks: Kyrie Irving
Luka Doncic is averaging 29 points on absolutely brutal efficiency, shooting 37.7 percent from the field and 30 percent from three. And yet, Dallas is up 2-1 because of two things: the team’s defense, and the play of Kyrie Irving, who has been the exact running mate Doncic needs. His ability to initiate the offense and attack the Los Angeles defense has been a huge boost, and while he’s not Gary Payton on the defensive end or anything, he’s playing well on that end of the floor and has been a pest in passing lanes. The duo can use some help, but Irving is certainly holding up his end of the bargain so far.
Phoenix Suns: Bradley Beal
Beal has given Phoenix what it needs out of a third option: 19 points, 5.3 assists, 50 percent shooting from three on six attempts per game (that last number needs to be higher, but Phoenix must have a moral opposition to shooting threes, since literally nothing else explains why they just do not let it fly). The interesting thing: The guys above him (Kevin Durant and Devin Booker) are not filling it up the way we know they can, while it’s just been a brutal series for the Suns’ non-stars against a tenacious Timberwolves team. Beal had his best game in Game 3 of the series, a 17-point loss for Phoenix, and if the Suns want to avoid a sweep that could send them towards an existential crisis, he might just have to build on that.
Los Angeles Lakers: Anthony Davis
The downside is the Lakers are down, 3-1, to the Nuggets, and despite winning Game 4, we’re on gentleman’s sweep watch as the series heads back to Denver. But Davis (and LeBron James) has been brilliant, as he has his fingerprints all over this series — 30.5 points, 15.8 rebounds, four assists, 1.5 blocks in 42 minutes a game while shooting 62.2 percent from the field. You have to be near-perfect to beat the Nuggets, and for the most part, Davis has done his job here.
New Orleans Pelicans: Brandon Ingram
Ingram has found himself stuck in the Dorture Chamber, as Lu Dort is all in his business every time the two are on the floor. As a result: 16.3 points and 4.7 rebounds per game, 41.5 percent shooting from the field, 2-for-5 from three for the entire series, and the Pelicans are in an 0-3 hole while Zion Williamson watches. We’ll see if this series sends New Orleans towards some difficult questions this offseason, or if they decide to run it back next year.