With the NBA playoffs starting Saturday, let’s take a look at the eight biggest x-factors. These players aren’t the stars of their teams, but they will play a big role during the postseason and could make the difference in winning or losing a series.
We’ve seen more often than not in the playoffs that x-factors are important to a team’s playoff run. So here are the eight that figure to be that this year.
Tristan Thompson, Cleveland Cavaliers
Coach Tyronn Lue said Monday that Thompson will be the permanent starter at center for the rest of the season, Chris Haynes of Cleveland.com reports. With that said, the Cavaliers are hoping Thompson gives them better production than what Timofey Mozgov has given them lately— one of the worst seasons of his career.
Thompson is a better rebounder and a more versatile defender. Plus, he averaged 9.6 points and 10.8 rebounds in the postseason a year ago. This backup-turned-starter is going to have a huge impact in the Cavaliers’ playoff run.
Andre Iguodala, Golden State Warriors
That Iguodala missed 13 straight games because of a sprained ankle and the Warriors still set the record, just goes to show how deep this team is. But now that he’s back, Iguodala can get back to being Golden State’s sixth man. Last year’s Finals MVP is averaging seven points, four rebounds and 3.4 assists.
“Andre is so important to everything that we do,” coach Steve Kerr said in March when the team announced Iguodala would miss a minimum of two weeks. “It’s not just schematically, but in terms of emotion: He settles us down. … He’s one of our guys who knows what’s happening on the floor.”
Boris Diaw, San Antonio Spurs
Diaw (groin) might continue to be eased back into a full load of playing time during the first round playoff series against the injury-ravaged Grizzlies. He totaled four points, seven assists and two rebounds in 20 minutes during the Spurs’ 96-91 win against the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday.
Other choices for the team’s biggest x-factor include Manu Ginobili and David West, but Diaw played well in the postseason a year ago. He averaged 11.6 points, 6.1 rebounds and 3.6 assists in a seven-game series against the Los Angeles Clippers.
DeMarre Carroll, Toronto Raptors
It’s unfortunate the Raptors didn’t get more time with Carroll during the regular season, what with him missing 42 games because of knee surgery, but better late than never.
“I wish we had more time to be whole,” coach Dwane Casey told USA Today Sports. “We’re trying to get DeMarre incorporated back in right at the playoff juncture. As a coach you wish you had more time to be whole to get a rhythm, to get chemistry with those guys again. This is the first time we’ve been whole.”
Carroll averaged 14.6 points and 6.1 rebounds in the playoffs a year ago with Atlanta. He’s versatile and a good perimeter defender, which will be key in the first round of the playoffs against the Indiana Pacers’ Paul George.
Enes Kanter, Oklahoma City Thunder
The trade to get Kanter from the Utah Jazz a year ago has really paid off for the Thunder. He averaged 12.7 points and 8.1 rebounds this season, and he finished with the fourth-highest field-goal percentage in the NBA. In his only start of the season, Kanter had a career-high 33 points and 20 rebounds in a loss against the Portland Trail Blazers.
Steven Adams might start the games at center and be the better rim-protector, but Kanter is so valuable coming off the bench for the Thunder.
Jeff Green, Los Angeles Clippers
It costed them a first-round draft pick in 2019, but the trade to get Jeff Green from the Memphis Grizzlies was one that had to be done by the Clippers. Lance Stephenson wasn’t doing it for them at forward, and the Clippers wanted Green’s length to match up against Oklahoma City’s Kevin Durant, San Antonio’s Kawhi Leonard and Golden State’s Harrison Barnes.
“I really wanted more length,” coach Doc Rivers said of the move, according to Sports Illustrated’s Ben Golliver. “When you look at the teams we have to beat, we need to get longer, more athletic and we need to increase our shooting. And I think with Jeff we did all three of those things. … I thought of all the things that were offered he was the best available for us.”
Green is averaging 11.7 points and 4.2 rebounds.
Joe Johnson, Miami Heat
He’s not coming off the bench for the Heat, but Johnson is flying under the radar because he was a late addition to the team and he’s an aging player with diminishing skills. But in the 24 games he’s played for the Heat, Johnson has been rejuvenated, shooting 51.8 percent from the floor and 41.7 percent from the 3-point line. And with Chris Bosh still out due to a recurrence of blood clots in his left calf, the Heat are going to need scoring from someone other than Dwyane Wade. That’s where Johnson comes in.
He’s averaging 13.4 points with his new team and he averaged 14.9 points over the last eight games of the season.
Jeremy Lin, Charlotte Hornets
He’s sporadic at times, but Lin can be the difference if Charlotte gets out of the first round of the playoffs or not. There were times he’d look awful, but he would follow that up with a huge game. Take last Sunday for example, Lin scored one point in a loss to Washington, going 0 for 6 from the field. The next day he dropped 25 points in a win over Boston.
Kemba Walker runs the show and will get most of the attention when the Hornets play the Heat in the first round of the playoffs, but Lin’s minutes off the bench will be key.
