Community Shootaround: Best Postseason Player

The first round of the 2019 NBA Playoffs is underway, with all series now having played three or four games. Heading into Easter Sunday, the Bucks, Rockets, and Celtics all had 3-0 series leads over the Pistons, Jazz, and Pacers, respectively, while the Warriors, Raptors, and Blazers lead 2-1 over the Clippers, Magic, and Thunder, respectively. Meanwhile, the Sixers have taken a 3-1 lead over the Nets and the Spurs and Nuggets are tied up at 2-2.

The leading postseason scorer so far is Damian Lillard, who is averaging 30.3 PPG to go along with 4.0 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game. He is also ninth in PER at 27.7. He nearly led Portland to a 3-0 series lead over the Thunder in Oklahoma City with a 25-point third quarter in Game 3.

In the Eastern Conference, Joel Embiid has managed to play his way through pain and put up dominant averages of 25.3 PPG, 13.7 PPG, and 4.0 APG in in three games to give Philly a likely insurmountable 3-1 lead over Brooklyn. His numbers so far rank ninth in scoring and first in rebounding, while he also has the top PER of 40.4.

Other candidates for best player so far include some unsurprising candidates like Stephen Curry, Nikola Jokic, and MVP-front runner James Harden, as well as some less heralded players in Pascal Siakam and Lou Williams. Siakam is averaging a double-double through three games while Williams’ performance in Game 2 of the Clips’ series with Golden State helped lead the biggest comeback in playoff history.

So what do you think? Which player has had the best 2019 postseason so far? Is it one of the players listed above of another player? Is is purely based on stats or for some other, less-obvious reason? Head below to the comment section to weigh in with your thoughts!