While some teams will return to the Playoffs for the first time in a while, we have decided to focus on the players who will take their… first steps in the postseason. They are strong, hyped, All-Stars, for some even the faces of their franchises, and yet the counter always shows zero when it comes to spring games. Who are they, how did they get there, what to expect from them, will they break the entry record? We tell you everything.
You can imagine, but there are quite logically a lot of people who discover the Playoffs every season. Since we don’t really have the time or the inclination to look for the list of rookies who are at the end of a contender’s bench, we prefer to focus here on the most important elements. So, no disrespect to Elfrid Payton, who will also discover the postseason after 450 career games, but we will rather watch players of another caliber.
- Mention “we will watch them but they are not at the top of the list”: Mikal Bridges, Deandre Ayton, John Collins, DeAndre Hunter, Bogdan Bogdanovic, RJ Barrett, Jaren Jackson Jr., Dillon Brooks.
Devin Booker
Devin Booker has been in the most beautiful league in the world for six years and yet he’s only… 24 years old. Lots of crazy attackers like this famous 70-point game against Boston, at only 20 years old, an NBA record of course. And then the years go by, we say to ourselves that it crashes a lot but that Phoenix still does not fly very high. He is finally associated with a “real” leader with Ricky Rubio and things are already looking better. Rebelote with Chris Paul this season, two calibers above, and here are the Suns who shine again in the desert. It still took eleven seasons to see them again at this level! And now what…? What will this baptism of fire look like in the annual high mass (against the reigning champion moreover)? Should we expect a quiet start within the collective or a big fire to recall its status among the best arsonists in this League? The first time is always an experience that you will never forget, ahem, so maybe it’s time to send a message. As a reminder, Luka Doncic seized the record for the most points scored for a first in the Playoffs: 42 points against the Clippers. One hot night, it’s quite in the ropes of the former Kentucky, the season is already magnificent, the course in Playoffs is anything but acquired but if there is success for the Suns it will probably rhyme with Devin Booker.
The records to be struck with the Suns :
- Points on a Playoffs match: Charles Barkley – 56 points
- Best point average on a Playoff campaign: Amar’e Stoudemire – 29,9 points
- Best points average for a first appearance in Playoffs: Connie Hawkins – 25,4 points
Julius Randle
Our respects Mr. Mayor of New York and our congratulations on qualifying for the Playoffs. The goal seemed so improbable at the start of the season that we want to believe that everything else is just a bonus now. Having said that, even if it means being there, why not push the success even further to make this year even more beautiful? For that, we will have to rely on a good big defense, on the fighting spirit that we have seen in recent months and, of course, on a sparkling Julius Randle. One of the last three finalists in the 2021 MIP race has come a long way, and this should not be forgotten. At the start of the season, we heard those who wanted a trade to make way for Obi Toppin and today that sentence just seems ridiculous. Gone are the days when he scored his 20-10 in the wind, just for the stats, Julius Knicksius has since turned into a real team leader and he can savor his revenge after several years of blowing the heat and the heat. cold between Los Angeles and the Bayou of New Orleans. With an All-Star star on his chest and a rating that has already passed through the ceiling of the Garden, he knows he will be in a strong position when it comes to negotiating a new deal. Luckily, he whispers that he has already started talking to New York about it. No doubt that a big performance during this postseason will give him even more arguments when it comes to convincing Leon Rose to put the tickets on the table but for that it will already be necessary to defeat the Hawks, a team which ended up with a record similar to the Knicks. The 13,000 or so fans who will fill the Garden this weekend are just waiting for this!
Knicks records to hit :
- Points on a Playoffs match: Bernard King – 46 points
- Best point average on a Playoff campaign: Bernard King – 34,8 points
- Best points average for a first appearance in Playoffs: Willis Reed – 27,5 points
Bring young
Just two months ago, the Hawks were a team that made you pull your hair out. No defense, no chemistry, wounded in shambles and leaders more interested in their stats than anything else. Since ? Lloyd Pierce packed up and took all the bad karma and the rotten vibe with him. Nate McMillan has since taken over and the results were quick to show. More concerned players, the desire to fight together and now Atlanta goes from eleventh to … fifth place. What about Trae Young in all of this? A rather special year, because even if the figures are always nice (25 points, 9 assists), there is always irregularity and air defense to be lacking. The bad relationship he had with Pierce was an open secret and we feel he was much more concerned since the replacement. The Piou-Pious finished the season with a bang (seven wins in the last nine games) and they will now discover a whole new challenge with the Playoffs. The goal was to qualify, now you have to binge on every moment to progress and learn. Unlike these two top comrades, Young may have less pressure compared to the stats line that he will have to come out every night given the cast around him (Capela, Bogdanovic, Collins, Gallinari, Williams ) but we still expect him to behave as a leader for what is the first participation in the Playoffs of Georgia’s men for four years. Now to see if the bald man will be able to fly higher than the other cuckoos.
The Hawks’ records :
- Points on a Playoffs match: Dominique Wilkins et Bob Pettit – 50 points
- Best point average on a Playoff campaign: Bob Pettit – 31,8 points
- Best points average for a first appearance in Playoffs: John Drew – 26 points
- Best assists average for a first appearance in the Playoffs: Spud Webb – 7,2 assists
Ja Morant
This time it’s good for the Grizzlies! Winners of the Warriors in the final game of the play-in, the Bears exorcised last year’s old demons and that cruel elimination in the Orlando bubble. To guide them, a boss-sized Ja Morant, who has delivered one of his best career games and perhaps the most important to date. Fate sometimes does things well because here is the Jazz on the road to the Oursons. So there will be a duel with a certain… Mike Conley. On the one hand, the one who ran the Memphis game for twelve years and on the other, the one who will lead them for perhaps the next fifteen years. The symbolism is beautiful and some may see it as a kind of passing of the torch between the veteran and his young opponent. Even if he sometimes lacked regularity in his performances, Ja Morant has all the weapons to become a very great player. Excellent distributor, stunning dribbler, nerves of reinforced concrete when attempting important shots and a pleasure to go smash the circle in each match. Typically the type of League Pass player who makes you click every night rather than going to cuddle your pillow. The Grizzlies’ qualification in the first round of the Playoffs is a superb accomplishment for this young group (third youngest average age in the League) and the postseason will be an excellent test to bring maturity and experience. Exactly what helps shape great players and something tells us that Ja Morant falls into that category.
The Grizzlies’ records :
- Points on a Playoffs match: Mike Conley – 35 points
- Best point average on a Playoff campaign: Mike Conley – 24,7 points
- Best points average for a first appearance in Playoffs: Rudy Gay – 19 points
- Best assists average for a first appearance in the Playoffs: Mike Conley – 6,4 assists
That’s it for our new kids and they have plenty to do! These blues will do their baptisms by fire and no gift will be given to them. Leaders of their respective teams, they’ve already brought fan dreams to life by bringing the Hawks, Knicks, Grizzlies and Suns back to the Playoffs, but now it’s a whole different story that begins. Will they touch the stars and fill the history books? We can only wish them.
Source texte : Stats Muse
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