Playoff Jimmy's and Joe's
187 sats \ 19 comments \ @Undisciplined 4 May Stacker_Sports
I was going to do a different post about the passing of the torch from one NBA generation to another, but I'd rather put some respect on Donovan Mitchell's name. He was awesome last night and that's not at all unusual for him when he gets into the playoffs.
There have always been a small number of players who go from good to great in the playoffs.
Who are the guys that come to mind, when you think of players who elevate into a different tier when the stakes are highest.
Here's a starting lineup's worth of guys who are regular season stars, but playoff superstars:
  • James Worthy
  • Jimmy Butler
  • Reggie Miller
  • Jamal Murray
  • Donovan Mitchell
None of those guys were regularly on All NBA teams, but I think they would all have gone top 15 in a playoff draft during their careers.
Honorable mention: Manu
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110 sats \ 10 replies \ @gnilma 4 May
Oh man, right on topic! I just watched this video last night talking about Jamal Murray's jump in performance from the regular season to the playoffs. The video presents a lot of numbers and metrics to make the case that Murray is the "most improved" when comparing regular season performance to playoff performance. Check it out!
And after watching the video, I'm convinced Murray should be on top of the list you presented.
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41 sats \ 9 replies \ @Undisciplined OP 4 May
The eye test really backs it up with Murray, too. My only reservation is that he doesn't have to carry his team, because the best player in the world is his teammate. We don't know what it would look like if the other team was primarily focused on stopping him.
By contrast, Reggie Miller perennially led his Pacers on long playoff runs and went toe-to-toe with Michael Jordan. And then Jimmy Butler basically turns into Jordan when the playoffs start, leading the Heat to more playoff wins than any other team while he's been there.
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41 sats \ 8 replies \ @gnilma 4 May
Agreed that Murray has the luxury of having Joker take care of things for him until the last 5 minutes of the game. He is not driving the bus, but also tends yo take over the wheel during clutch time.
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41 sats \ 7 replies \ @Undisciplined OP 4 May
I think this Minnesota series will tell us a lot about Murray. It's going to be the toughest defense Joker will have to deal with and they have really athletic wing defenders to throw at Murray.
If he can scorch Ant and McDaniels, while Gobert's guarding Joker, then I'll be pretty sure Murray could do it in any situation.
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41 sats \ 6 replies \ @gnilma 4 May
I missed the first quarter, and half of the second, but will go and watch the game now.
Will see how both teams play in game one. It seems Ant is on a mission, with 18 points already. Looking like another 30+ point game on this trajectory. Meanwhile, Murray still only has 0. Maybe he's waiting for the 4th quarter to start scoring...
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41 sats \ 5 replies \ @Undisciplined OP 5 May
Apparently Murray’s been playing with a calf injury.
It’s been a very physical game so far.
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42 sats \ 4 replies \ @grayruby 5 May
Is anyone other than Ant Man going to score for Minny this series?
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41 sats \ 3 replies \ @Undisciplined OP 5 May
Looks like his teammates finally showed up.
It also looks like Murray’s only going to make circus shots tonight.
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69 sats \ 3 replies \ @grayruby 4 May
Didn't realize you were a Mitchell fan. I thought you were a Cavs hater when you scoffed at the idea of the Cavs being a contender for me as part of the Top Dogs vs Field bet.
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50 sats \ 2 replies \ @Undisciplined OP 4 May
Something about the Cavs just seems off, but it's hard to argue against Mitchell as a playoff performer.
I was really hoping the Heat would trade for Mitchell at the deadline. I think he could actually play defense, too, if he had a coach who would make him.
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21 sats \ 1 reply \ @grayruby 4 May
Cavs are taking down the fraud Celtics next round.
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50 sats \ 0 replies \ @Undisciplined OP 4 May
I certainly hope so, but Holiday and White are going to be a tough challenge for Mitchell.
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21 sats \ 0 replies \ @Bell_curve 5 May
Worthy for sure
His peak years were 1984 to 1989
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21 sats \ 2 replies \ @TNStacker 4 May
Worthy!!!
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21 sats \ 1 reply \ @Undisciplined OP 4 May
Are you a Worthy guy?
He's a little before my time, but I certainly remember hearing about Big Game James. I looked up his stats before doing this post, just to make sure he belongs on the list. All of his numbers improved in the playoffs, despite him mostly being the third guy on those teams.
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21 sats \ 0 replies \ @TNStacker 4 May
Yes, he and Jordan played together at UNC. And then he finished a lot of fast breaks for the SHOWTIME Lakers.
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