2008 NBA Playoffs
                                                            Young Talent Shines in Postseason

                                         By: Patrick Crawley

 

May 10, 2008 - Re-Evaluating the Top 25 Under 25 for the Postseason

2008 has been an unprecented season in the NBA for young talent. LeBron James, fresh off of his 2007 playoff breakout against Detroit, developed a bit of Kevin Garnett-like attitude and began to play like he gave a crap in the regular season. Chris Paul shattered expectations with the best season from a point guard since the days of John Stockton. Dwight Howard re-invented the Slam Dunk competition with his Superman impression. And Deron Williams proved that, yes, he did deserve to be picked third overall in the 2005 draft.

Anticipating this NBA renaissance, at the beginning of the season the Davis Sports Deli staff embarked on a five month quest to evaluate these young players by creating the Top 25 Under 25 list; the top 25 NBA players under the age of 25. (For the most recent version of the Top 25, click here). We followed the stocks of shoe-in superstars like LeBron, CP3 and Melo, as well as lesser-known talents like Monta Ellis, Andre Iguodala and Al Horford, as they spurred the greatest NBA season since Jordan's (second) retirement. Now that it's playoff time, we get to see how these players respond to the pressure of the postseason.

Today, we'll be looking at the players from our list who are still alive in the second round. Which players are rising to the occasion and which ones are taking a proverbial dump?

LeBron James (1) - Stock In Decline

It's hard to say anything bad about LeBron. He's a megastar playing in his home state. He single-handedly led the Cavs to a championship appearance last season. And he delivered the best regular season of his career in '07-08. Then again, it's easy to forget all of that stuff when you see him stinking out the joint, as he did this week against the Celtics. LeBron's shooting percentage has dropped 8% in the postseason and he's turning the ball over at an alarming rate (4.3 times per game in the playoffs). Against the Celtics he has been like a heroine addict who can't find the vein; he just can't a good shot off. A few more Dog Crap performances like Games 1 and 2 in Boston and we may have to begin next season's list with Chris Paul at the top.

Chris Paul (2) - Stock Sky-rocketing

It's not easy to improve on regular season numbers that earned MVP runner-up status and an All-NBA 1st Team selection. But as good as Chris Paul was in the regular season, he has been even better in the playoffs. In his first-ever playoff appearance, CP3 continued to shatter expectations with a 35 point, 10 assist explosion against Dallas. Paul's Hornets absolutely dismantled the favored Mavericks, mostly because no one on the Dallas roster could stop him. Against the Mavericks, he averaged 27.3 points and 11.3 assists while shooting 50% from the field and turning the ball over just 1.3 times per game. Not surprisingly, Paul has continued that dominance against the defending champion Spurs (the Hornets have a 2-1 series lead over San Antonio). His battles with Tony Parker have been epic and he is the highlight of the playoffs so far.

Dwight Howard (3) - Stock Rising

Howard is the third player on this list to be named to the All-NBA 1st Team; a selection he certainly earned during his most successful season to date. In the playoffs, Howard elevated his Orlando Magic past Toronto with two consecutive 20-20 games right out of the gate. As well as Chris Bosh played for Toronto in Round 1, Howard made him look irrelevant with strong interior play and absolute dominance on the offensive glass. D-Howard has improved in nearly every statistical category in the postseason, but his most notable improvement has been on the defensive interior. In eight playoff games to date, Howard has increased his blocks per game average from 2.2 blocks (regular season) to 3.8 (postseason). 3.8 blocks per game! That's Hakeem Olajuwon territory.

Deron Williams (4) - Stock Unchanged

D-Will has been a bit of an enigma in the playoffs so far. Some games he is terrific (Game 3 against Houston, Game 2 against Los Angeles). In others, he is merely capable (witness, the Game 5 blowout loss to the Rockets). It's not that Williams has played poorly, he has yet to have a legitimately bad game, it's more that he hasn't been consistently dominant. Using Chris Paul as a measuring stick is somewhat unfair, but it's the only true measure of Williams' game that we have (given his draft status and his rivalry with Paul). Right now, Paul outpaces Williams in six major playoff categories (field goal %, rebounding, steals, turnovers, assists and scoring). Not to take anything away from Williams, but right now he's Matt Damon to Chris Paul's Leonardo Di Caprio (very good but not yet great).

Rajon Rondo (26) - Stock Rising

Despite the challenge of facing playoff veteran Mike Bibby in the first round, Rondo proved that he can handle the pressure of the NBA playoffs. Rondo flatly outplayed Bibby in Round 1 as his Celtics edged out Atlanta in seven games to advance to the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals. In doing so, Rondo improved his playoff averages to 12 points, 7.1 assists and 4.3 rebounds. He also cut down his turnovers (to 1.4 per game) and improved his free throw shooting (to 81.3%), making him one of the most dependable point guards in the postseason. In other words, you can expect a quick rise by Rondo on next season's Top 25 list.

Ronnie Brewer (28) - Stock In Decline

Let's face it, Ronnie Brewer isn't even on the radar in the Lakers-Jazz series. In fact, he's a complete after-thought to Kobe Bryant, Deron Williams, Pau Gasol and Carlos Boozer. Brewer's calling card in the regular season was tight defense and the ability to make open shots. In the postseason, those skills have been less apparent. Utah trails L.A. two games to one in the conference semi-finals and Brewer's inability to contain Kobe Bryant is one of the most glaring reasons why. Granted, it's a tough assignment to cover the league's MVP, but in Games 1 and 2 Bryant was like Danica Patrick (he flat out ran Brewer over). Couple that with Brewer's poor postseason free throw shooting (66.7% compared to 75.9% in the regular season) and you have a recipe for demotion. His stock is officially dropping.

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Check back with The Deli tomorrow for more NBA playoff coverage.