NBA Playoffs 2018: Role players who'll make a difference

Postseason is up and its shaping out to be one of the most engaging ones. For the first time in over 8 years, there is no clear favourite to win from either the Western Conference title or the Eastern Conference berth to the Finals. The playoff is filled with high quality teams and NBA fans are promised a treat this season. The list looks of some of the key players that will make a difference in the NBA Playoffs 2018.
 

Steven Adams

Image source: ftw.usatoday.com

Steven Adams, the New Zealand player for Oklahoma City Thunder is no doubt one of the best players on the OKC roster this season. The 25-year-old player is putting up a statline of 13.8 points, 9.0 rebounds while securing 1.2 steals and 1.0 blocks per game. Adams is fourth in the league in field-goal percentage at 62.7% and second in his offensive rebounding percentage of 16.4% in the NBA.
 

Terry Rozier

Image source: givemesport.com

Rozier plays point guard for the Boston Celtics and is proving to be a star in the making. Celtics has had some of their star players injured and due to this, the team needed their role players to step up, which they did. In the past 15 games Rozier has had an average of 15.1 points, 6.1 rebounds and 4.4 assists while playing 32.7 minutes per game. Roizer has a field goal percentage of 39.5% which hasn’t been that impressive, but he also has a 3-point percentage of 38.1% on over 7 attempts per game borders on the realms of the elite 3-point shooters in the league.

 

JJ Redick

Image source: businessinsider.com

The American basketball player who plays for Philadelphia 76ers has slowly won the hearts of the people that doubted him. He is known as the player that received a contract worth $23 million only for his elite skill to score 3-pointers at a high rate. Redick has scored a season average of 17.1 points, 2.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game. He also scored at high efficiency making 46% of all his field goal attempts, 42% from 3-point range and 90.4% from the free throw line. He is expected to keep up his productivity and be a major part of his team’s success.
 

Jusuf Nurkić

Image source: hoopshype.com

The Bosnian centre player for the Portland Trail Blazers has shown a spectacular skill of getting nearly all of his points from within 14 feet of the basket, but he has also been the rock of his defence team. Nurkić is averaging 14.3 points, 9.0 rebounds, 0.8 steals and 1.4 blocks per game. He is a big body who can not only crash the glass and defend, but he can also be a real handful on the offensive end as his 7', 280-pound frame gives him a size advantage over most centres.
 

Jrue Holiday

Image source: givemesport.com

The American basketball player for the New Orleans Pelicans of the National Basketball Association has a statline of 18.9 points, 4.5 rebounds and 6.0 assists in 36.2 minutes per game makes a convincing case of why he would make a legitimate contender for All-Stars honours if he were playing in the Eastern Conference.
 
Holiday also has efficiency of 4.9% from the field, 33.9% from the 3-point line and 78.5% from the free throw line. He ranks 14^th in the league in win shares per game with his defensive contributions which have earned him the All-Defence team attention. In the absence of DeMarcus Cousins over the final, Holiday showcased his amazing skills with a statline of 21.3 points, 4.5 rebounds, 6.9 assists, 0.7 blocks and 1.4 steals in the month of February.





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