NBA Dream Team: 2016 Playoffs edition Round 1

Al Horford

The 2016 NBA Playoffs have been a mixed bag so far, in terms of competitiveness. Teams like the Golden State Warriors, Cleveland Cavaliers, San Antonio Spurs and the Oklahoma City Thunder have breezed into the next round in either four or five games.

The other four match-ups have been hard fought and have been pushed to Game 6 or in some cases Game 7. Second seeded in the East, the Toronto Raptors would not have expected a flight back to Indianapolis for Game 6 in their series with the Indiana Pacers.

All of the remaining series’ could end on Friday with the Portland Trailblazers’, Raptors and the Charlotte Hornets having a chance to advance to the next round of the Playoffs. Even if any team fails to wrap it up, Game 7 is scheduled for Sunday.

So through two weeks of 2016 post-season, here’s a NBA Dream Team edition for the first round:

Center: Al Horford – Atlanta Hawks

First round averages: 12.5 points, 8.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.7 blocks

The absence of a dominant post-up center in the Playoffs has made it much harder to decide this spot for the team than any other. We go with Al Horford of the Atlanta Hawks who did anything the team needed him to do. He scored, rebounded, dished out dimes and blocked shots (three games with more than 3 blocks).

Horford can post up but he’s more of a modern day big man, who can run the fast break, shot 15-20 foot jumpers (or even three’s) and make nifty passes. By no means is Horford the back bone of his team on either end of the court. It’s Atlanta’s team mentality that makes his presence and play crucial to their success.

Again, Horford is not someone who is going to garner a lot of attention in the league. Nobody will hear tales of how dominant or unstoppable Horford was this season but clearly he’s been a step ahead of other center’s in the league, when it comes to positively contributing to their team’s success.

DeAndre Jordan’s free throws, Dwight Howard’s lack of effort, Andre Drummond facing a tough match-up in the Cavaliers and the likes of Hassan Whiteside and Jonas Valanciunas not being consistent, all made it possible for Horford to sneak into this spot.

Draymond Green

Power Forward: Draymond Green – Golden State Warriors

First round averages: 13.2 points, 9.6 rebounds and 6.6 assists

Draymond Green is one among very few players in the league whose biggest asset is their versatility. With Stephen Curry out with either ankle or knee issues, lot of players stepped up, with Green as the center piece of the team, to take the Warriors past the Houston Rockets in five games.

Other than a particularly bad Game 3 (seven turnovers), Green was simply amazing for Golden State. With the importance of his role on the team, to commit just five turnovers in the other four games of the series is remarkable.

It’s been repeated time and again over radios and broadcasting channels about how Green is the heart and soul of the Warriors. He is their vocal leader, their instigator, their fire when they desperately need one and he proved that in Game 4.

When Curry left for the locker room in Game 4 after spraining his right knee, Green along with Thompson shot lights out from beyond the arc and brought some much needed swagger back to the Warriors’ bench.

With the role he plays on his team, there hasn’t been any player giving Green a tough competition for this spot. Paul Millsap dropped 45 points on the Boston Celtics but it was a game spark and it came in a losing cause. Kevin Love was good against the Detroit Pistons but nothing close to Green.

LeBron James.

Small Forward: LeBron James – Cleveland Cavaliers

First Round average: 22.8 points, 9 rebounds and 6.8 assists

The Cleveland Cavaliers might have swept off the Detroit Pistons but it wasn’t easy. Cleveland’s Big 3 had to fire all four games in order to put away the young Pistons. However, the importance of James cannot be understated in this series.

Through the four games the Cavaliers are +50 when James is on the floor, the highest +/- recorded by any player in the series. That speaks volumes to James’ importance to the team’s success. Despite having Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love, Cleveland needs James on the floor to excel.

His game is such that he excels at various departments of the game, allowing him to do what is necessary for the team at any given moment.

If the team needs some quick offense, he is happy to stand aside as a threat and let Irving do his thing. If his team needs offense through the post, he is happy to drop the ball to Love in the post and stand at the three point line as a threat or cut towards the basket.

If neither of Love and Irving are firing, James can take over the game in more than one way. He could physical dominate the game and score some quick buckets or attract the attention of the defense with his penetration and then kick out to his wide open teammates.

James beat Kevin Durant and Kawhi Leonard to this spot. Durant had some off-games in his chippy series with the Dallas Mavericks while Leonard hardly played any meaningful minutes to make a decent argument for the spot.

Dwyane Wade.

Shooting Guard: Dwyane Wade – Miami Heat

First Round averages: 19.6 points, 6 assists and 5.2 rebounds

In the absence of Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade has really stepped up his game especially in the Playoffs. Given it was his solo plays late in Game 5 that led to a loss but there’s more to Wade’s game and contribution in this series than that. After losing Game 3 it was Wade with 12 points, 10 assists, 7 rebounds and 2 blocks in Game 4, who kept the Heat poised to make a comeback that would eventually end in defeat.

Throughout the series, Wade has been able to find the balance between looking for his shots and getting the team involved. Having an accomplished veteran like Joe Johnson on the court helps Wade and the team.

He beat the likes of James Harden and Klay Thompson to the spot. With the over reliance of the Rockets offense on Harden, his game was way too inefficient to make a claim for the spot. The “Strength in Numbers” philosophy of the Warriors allows Thompson to shoot more when Curry is absent but unlike Wade, Golden State do not depend on Thompson for his play making.

Russell Westbrook

Point Guard: Russell Westbrook – Oklahoma City Thunder

First Round averages: 26 points, 11.2 assists and 7.2 rebounds

Charlie Villanueva, Mark Cuban and the Dallas Mavericks decided to anger the wrong person. With all the off-court antics they undertook to get under Westbrook’s skin, it only made him play with more anger and help the Oklahoma City Thunder finish off the series in five games. He did average four turnovers for the series, a tad too much against really good teams but nonetheless when he decided to play with a lot of energy on higher gear, the Mavericks simply had no answer.

The OKC’s offense is hugely a one two punch consisting of Westbrook and Durant. However, for some reason Durant was a shell of himself this series, according to the percentages. Not to worry, Westbrook took over and sometimes single handedly outplayed the under manned veteran Mavericks squad.

There are still some defensive issues Westbrook needs to work on, especially in the fourth quarter but even with that, there is no point guard in the league who comes to close to Westbrook’s level of play.

Chris Paul’s game is more valuable and efficient than Westbrook’s is but Paul injured his right hand, failing to play the rest of the Playoffs. Reigning MVP Stephen Curry also sat three of the Warriors’ five games with ankle and knee problems. That left Westbrook with no competition for this spot on the team.

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Edited by Staff Editor