Throughout the playoffs, we've been tracking soon-to-be free agents week by week as they make their final impressions heading into the offseason. With 12 members of the Finals-bound Thunder possessing guaranteed contracts for next season, most of the cases have been closed. So, here's a look at the three impending free agents who made the most significant leaps throughout the entire postseason, and the three who took the greatest steps back.
Three of the four conference finalists should return next season with their rosters largely intact, as the Thunder, Heat and Spurs all have at least eight players with fully guaranteed contracts for next season. By contrast, the Celtics only have four such players, so this week's Money Time has a heavy Boston influence. This week, we'll expand our look at free agents in the playoffs to include players with option years and non-guaranteed deals for 2012/13, and next week we'll wrap it up by identifying the free agents who've had the best and worst postseasons overall.
It's time for another look at soon-to-be free agents and their playoff performances as we put a bow on the conference semifinals with the Sixers-Celtics Game 7 tonight. You can find previous Money Time posts by clicking on the tag at the bottom of this entry or by clicking here.
Winners
Danny Green, Spurs (restricted): Last year's D-League refugee doesn't have to worry about NBA job security anymore, especially after what he's done this postseason. In San Antonio's four-game sweep of the Clippers, Green delivered on 11 of 19 three-point attempts , shot 56.3% overall, and was fourth on the team in scoring at 12.3 points per game.
Boris Diaw, Spurs: He's fit so seamlessly with the Spurs that GM R.C. Buford may regret signing Diaw to just a rest-of-the-season deal when he was bought out by the Bobcats. Diaw took over the starting power forward spot next to center Tim Duncan shortly before the playoffs, and really turned it on against the Clippers, averaging 10.0 points, 6.5 rebounds and 2.0 steals. He had 12 rebounds in Game 1, and shot 7-for-7 for 16 points in Game 2.
Lavoy Allen, Sixers (restricted): He's forgiving about his preseason ranking as the worst player in the NBA by ESPN.com, and he didn't get down when he was benched after starting Game 1 against the Bulls. Allen has instead turned into one of the most important figures for the Sixers in their series against the Celtics, shooting 62.9% from the floor and averaging 1.2 blocks and 1.0 steals in 23.5 minutes a game against Boston. He has a chance to make an even more profound impression with a strong performance in Game 7 tonight.
Losers
Kenyon Martin, Clippers: We'll circle back to catch up with one of the many Clippers done in by the Spurs. He averaged 1.5 blocks, but brought down fewer than three rebounds per game in that series, disconcerting for a big man even though he played just 16 MPG. He was nonexistant on offense, shooting just 40% and averaging 4.0 PPG.
Spencer Hawes, Sixers: We had him listed as a winner in a previous installment of Money Time, but he has not carried his encouraging play against the Bulls over to the second-round series with the Celtics. He's the team's eighth leading scorer, at 8.0 PPG, in the series, and has averaged just 24.3 minutes of court time. The Celtics are a poor rebounding team, but the 7'0", 245-pound Hawes is putting up just 5.5 RPG against them.
Leandro Barbosa, Pacers: The Pacers looked to him to spark the team's offense as a reserve, but Barbosa, a double-figure scorer for six of the last seven regular seasons, couldn't get it done. He shot 31.8% against the Heat, and the career 82.3% free-throw shooter went just 3-for-6 at the line. His 6'3", 176-pound frame made him a liability at shooting guard when he was defending Dwyane Wade, and as a 29-year-old who has long used his speed to his advantage, Barbosa's prospects look dim going forward.
With another week of the playoffs in the books, let's check again on how soon-to-be free agents are faring in the postseason. You can catch up on the first and second installments by clicking the links. A number of players on expiring contracts are putting up impressive performances in the second round, but with size always a premium in the NBA, let's focus on three big men who are getting it done:
Winners
Kevin Garnett, Celtics: Garnett turns 36 today, but he's not atop this list because it's his birthday. It's hard to overlook his 3-for-12, nine-point, seven-turnover outing in the Celtics collapse against the Sixers last night, but Garnett's playoff renaissance has been one of the most compelling stories of the past few weeks. His 192 total points in 10 playoff games is more than anyone except Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and teammate Paul Pierce. Garnett's scoring (19.2) and rebounding (11.0) averages are his best in the playoffs since the Celtics' run to the title in 2008. He's protecting the basket, too, averaging 1.8 blocks per game. That's a figure he only exceeded once in the regular season, during his MVP year in 2003/04.
Tim Duncan, Spurs: A few weeks after his 36th birthday, Duncan can't believe how healthy he feels, and that's certainly been reflected in his play. He's led in his team in scoring with 22.0 PPG in two wins over the Clippers, while also averaging 7.5 rebounds, two steals and a block during the series. His 53% shooting for the postseason as a whole is the third-best percentage he's ever had in the playoffs, and his 25.4 PER is the fifth best of anyone on any playoff team this year. It's hard to imagine him leaving the Spurs, but he's probably earned a few extra dollars and another year or two on his next contract with his throwback performance.
Roy Hibbert, Pacers (restricted): He has exploited the Heat's weakness inside to the tune of 14.7 PPG and 13.3 RPG in three games against Miami, with three blocks a night to boot. He's pulled down 14 offensive rebounds in the series so far, and forced Miami coach Erik Spoelstra to start little-used Dexter Pittman in a vain attempt to match up with Hibbert's 7-foot-2, 278-pound size. For the playoffs as a whole, he's averaging 12.4 PPG and 11.8 RPG, and at age 25, he might be the No. 1 center on the free agent market this summer.
Losers
Ray Allen, Celtics: His 1-for-7 performance in Boston's closeout victory over the Hawks in the first round has carried over to the series against the Sixers. Allen is averaging only 9.3 points per game against Philadelphia on 29.4% shooting from behind the arc. That's not much of an improvement over his 27.8% three-point accuracy against the Hawks. Odder still is his 60% postseason free-throw shooting. He says his right ankle feels all right, but you have to wonder.
Matt Barnes, Lakers: His appearance on this list has a lot to do with Metta World Peace's return from suspension, but it never helps a free agent's case to become a forgotten man. He's played just 41 minutes so far against the Thunder, taken just seven shots, pulled down four rebounds and has more turnovers (four) than steals (three). The red flags will be flying especially high if he doesn't get much time tonight, with the Lakers playing a rare playoff back-t0-back.
Reggie Evans, Clippers: Evans, too, has seen his minutes cut drastically in the second round, but in his case there's not a clear reason why. Foul trouble might be to blame for his paltry eight minutes in Game 1, but he picked up just one foul as coach Vinny Del Negro went to him for just 11 minutes in Game 2, and his lack of playing time has contributed to an 82-66 advantage for San Antonio on the boards. Evans has seven rebounds in the series so far after bettering that total in six of the seven games against Memphis.
Last week we looked at some players on the cusp of free agency who were making some surprising postseason impressions, both positive and negative, on prospective employers. With the first round almost over and the conference semifinals about to begin, let's check in with some more soon-to-be free agents in the playoffs:
Winners
Reggie Evans, Clippers: Anyone who can spark a 27-point comeback in the playoffs, as he did in Game 1, deserves to be on this list, and his energy throughout the first round has been critical for the Clippers. His already superb number of rebounds per 36 minutes has jumped from 12.7 in the regular season to 13.7 in the playoffs, and, for what it's worth, has his team's best defensive rating in the playoffs, per Basketball-Reference.
Andre Miller, Nuggets: It's easy to forget about Miller sometimes, particularly since he's been coming off the bench for Denver. Yet the NBA's 10th leading assist-maker all-time reminded everyone, including the Lakers, of what he can do with a 24-point, eight assist performance full of clutch shots in Tuesday's Game 5. He's the team's third leading scorer in the postseason at 12.7 PPG, outdoing Arron Afflalo, who signed a $36.75MM deal before the season.
Jordan Hill, Lakers (restricted): He had his breakthrough in the final week of the regular season against the Thunder, and he's continued to justify coach Mike Brown's decision to use him as the primary backup to both Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol in the playoffs. He's pulling down more rebounds per game than Gasol in significantly fewer minutes, and has 25 offensive boards, more than anyone else in the postseason. Hill's rebounds-per-36-minutes number (13.4) nearly equals that of Reggie Evans.
Losers
O.J. Mayo, Grizzlies (restricted): The postseason is a terrible time to go through a shooting slump, but that's exactly what's happened with Mayo, who's hitting on just 31.4% of his field goal attempts against the Clippers. He went a combined 3-for-20 in Games 3, 4 and 5, and took only three shots in Game 6. His inability to efficiently handle the backup point guard duties — he's got 13 assists and 17 turnovers — isn't helping his cause, either.
Randy Foye, Clippers: Foye's minutes are up but his scoring is down for the playoffs, which is about as inauspicious as it gets for a free agent wing player. The culprit appears to his inability to get off shots and get to the line. His attempts in both categories are off while his postseason shooting percentage of 37.8% is not that far down from the 39.8% he shot in the regular season. His excuse may be that he's being guarded by Tony Allen, an elite defender, but Allen isn't with him on every possession. His Basketball-Reference defensive rating is the second worst on the team, so his struggles aren't limited to one end of the floor.
Jodie Meeks, Sixers (restricted): He started 50 games this season and played 24.9 minutes per contest, but barely got off the bench once he was removed from the starting five after Game 1 against Chicago. He took a total of three shots from the floor, missing each of them, in 32 minutes during the first round.
This is the time of year reputations are made in the NBA. A breakout performance or a disappointment at playoff time can change how teams view some of their most important players. The stakes are even higher for players about to head into free agency, since this is their last chance to make an on-court impression before they sign a contract.
With that in mind and a week of playoff action in the books, let's take a look at some upcoming free agents who've played particularly well, and some who've played especially poorly:
Winners
Nick Young, Clippers: He's always been capable of heating it up, and in his first playoff appearance since his rookie season, he hasn't shrunk from the spotlight. He canned three straight treys in the Clippers' amazing 27-point comeback in Game 1, and is the team's third leading postseason scorer at 15.0 PPG on 10 of 16 shooting so far.
Spencer Hawes, Sixers: When he wasn't in the starting lineup for Game 1, it looked like Hawes would have little opportunity to showcase his abilities, and the outlook was pretty grim when coach Doug Collins got visibly upset with Hawes when he got in foul trouble in Game 2. But as a starter in a Game 3 victory for the Sixers, he went for 21 points and nine rebounds in more than 32 minutes on the floor, and was a go-to option down the stretch.
JaVale McGee, Nuggets (restricted): It looked like he was adding to his lengthy personal blooper reel during an 0-for-6 playoff debut in Game 1. It's easy to get carried away with his 16-point, 15-rebound performance from Game 3, but it's a sign of the potential that makes the 7-footer a commodity. Plus, he had nine rebounds in 24 minutes in Game 2.
Losers
Ryan Anderson, Magic (restricted): He might have won the Most Improved Player of the Year award this week, but his performance in the playoffs has fueled speculation that his regular season play was a product of having a dominant center like Dwight Howard around. He's just 10-for-31 from the field, and has averaged 8.5 PPG and 3.8 RPG. He went to the bench early in the fourth quarter during today's Game 4 against the Pacers, and the Magic rallied from 19 down to force overtime without him.
Steve Novak, Knicks: He's played 67 minutes over three games, but the Heat's defense has only allowed him to shoot seven three-pointers the entire series. Novak has proven he's deadly when he gets the chance to fire away, but he's of little value if he can't get a shot off.
Josh Howard, Jazz: You could excuse him here, since he just came back from knee surgery that originally looked like it would end his season, but he's shot just 3-for-13 and averaged 5.0 PPG as the Jazz have struggled mightily against the Spurs.