The NBA Playoffs are now headed to the conference finals. Out west, the Dallas Mavericks and Minnesota Timberwolves will begin their series from Minneapolis on Wednesday.
Tuesday night will see the Boston Celtics host the Indiana Pacers in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals.
Both Indiana and Minnesota came through with big Game 7 wins. For the Timberwolves, that included an historic comeback against the defending NBA champion Denver Nuggets on Sunday. With the conference finals set to get going, let’s take a look at the 10-best players remaining in the NBA Playoffs.
10. Jrue Holiday, Boston Celtics
Acquired in a blockbuster trade ahead of the 2023-24 season, Holiday saw his numbers take a hit. Though, that has more to do with Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown being legitimate No. 1 scoring options. From an overall standpoint, Holiday continues to play stellar basketball. In fact, he finished sixth in the NBA Defensive Player of the Year voting. Thus far in the NBA Playoffs, Holiday is averaging 10.4 points, 5.0 rebounds and 4.2 assists on 44% shooting. His matchup against Tyrese Haliburton is something to watch in the conference finals. That’s for sure.
9. Karl-Anthony Towns, Minnesota Timberwolves
Fair or not, Karl-Anthony Towns continues to be on the receiving end of criticism. He did answer the call in Game 7 against Denver, scoring 23 points with 12 rebounds. That represented Towns’ best performance of the conference semifinals. He’ll now be forced to go up against underrated Dallas bigs in the conference finals. That includes stud rookie Dereck Lively. It’ll be interesting to see what KAT is able to bring to the table for the upstart ‘Wolves.
Related: Karl-Anthony Towns rose up when the Minnesota Timberwolves needed him the most
8. Rudy Gobert, Minnesota Timberwolves
Rudy Gobert was on the receiving end of a ton of criticism earlier in the NBA Playoffs. It makes sense with the four-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year having to contend with reigning MVP Nikola Jokic. Boy, did Gobert step up when the Timberwolves needed him the most. The veteran center scored 13 points with nine rebounds in Game 7. He also played a major role in holding the aforementioned Jokic to 2-of-10 from three-point range. Gobert’s importane to the Timberwolves can’t be denied. We’ll see that come out in droves during the conference finals.
7. Pascal Siakam, Indiana Pacers
At time thus far in the NBA Playoffs, Siakam has come up small. At other times, he’s performed extremely well for the upstart Pacers. Game 7 against the New York Knicks was a prime example of this. The All-Star forward scored 20 points on 8-of-15 shooting. Indiana was also plus-eight in his 36 minutes of action. The Pacers are going to need this and more against the likes of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown in the Eastern Conference Finals. That’s for sure.
Related: 10 winners and losers from Sunday’s action in the NBA Playoffs
6. Kyrie Irving, Dallas Mavericks
Kyrie Irving was absolutely electric in his first full regular season with the Mavericks, averaging 25.6 points on 50% shooting. This did not necessarily spill over to the NBA Playoffs. In fact, Irving entered Game 6 against the Oklahoma City Thunder having scored single digits in two of the Mavericks’ previous three outings. He responded big time on Saturday, scoring 22 points. Despite shooting just 9-of-23 from the field, his aggressive nature was important. Dallas is going to need much more of this against Minnesota in the conference finals.
5. Tyrese Haliburton, Indiana Pacers
Much like we’ve seen with other big-name players in the NBA Playoffs, Haliburton has been on the receiving end of criticism. It makes sense. The All-Star struggled with aggressiveness at times against New York, attempting nine shots or fewer two times heading into Game 7. Haliburton responded big time in the do-or-die game, scoring 26 points on 10-of-17 shooting. This is the iteration of Haliburton Indiana will need if the team is going to pull off an upset against Boston.
Related: 10 worst performances in the history of the NBA Playoffs
4. Jaylen Brown, Boston Celtics
Jaylen Brown does not want to be seen as a No. 2 option. For good reason. The wing has more than proven himself capable of shouldering the scoring load. After all, he averaged 23 points on 50% shooting during the regular season. Unfortunately, Brown’s scoring was down last round against the Cavaliers. That included dropping just 11 points in Boston’s Game 5 close-out win. He’ll need to be closer to 20 per game in the conference finals if the Celtics are going to avoid being upset.
3. Anthony Edwards, Minnesota Timberwolves
Was Anthony Edwards great in Game 7? No. He shot just 6-of-24 from the field while adding 16 points. But Edwards’ overall game continues to be simply dominant. That included grabbing eight rebounds while dishing out seven assists as Minnesota put up a comeback for the ages. Edwards is him. He doesn’t shy away from the biggest spots. He comes to play 100%. We saw that come out in droves as the Wolves shockingly dismissed Denver in seven games. What will he do for an encore in the Western Conference Finals?
Related: Comparing Anthony Edwards playoff resume to Michael Jordan, LeBron James
2. Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics
We can no longer look at Tatum and say that he’s not a No. 1 option on a contending team. That narrative was crap in the first place. But it can be completely thrown out the window now. Tatum averaged 26.9 points, 8.1 rebounds and 4.9 assists during the regular season. Last round saw Tatum score 25-plus points in each of the final four games against Cleveland. That included an amazing 33-point perfromance in Game 4. He’ll certainly be up to the task against Indiana, too.
Related: 10 greatest players in the history of the NBA Playoffs
1. Luka Doncic, Dallas Mavericks
How good has Doncic been since he entered the NBA as a first-round pick back in 2018? All he’s done in six NBA seasons is average 28.7 points to go with 9.2 rebounds and 9.8 assists. Unfortunately, Doncic has also been dealing with injuries throughout the postseason. It has impacted his overall numbers. With some reast ahead of Wednesday’s Game 1 against Minnesota, the hope is that he’ll be close to 100%. If so, the Timberwolves are going to be in for a rude awakening.