ESPN's top 10 players in this Finals

[nickagneta]

Clearly Brown has cemented himself in the top 3. Wiggins being in front of him was always ridiculous.

Brown was his same old ridiculously consistent self with a 24/7/5 night last night. He catapulted the team to an historic comeback with 10 points and 5 assists in an incredibly clutch 4th quarter performance. AND he shut down everyone he guarded. That's not hyperbole. Here are the stats:

https://www.nba.com/stats/player/1627759/head-to-head?PerMode=PerGame&SeasonType=Playoffs&dir=A&sort=GP

Right now, Brown is probably top 2 on the list based on his performance in just this series after one game.

Him being able to stay out of foul trouble (thanks to no Jimmy Butler / Giannis) will also be huge. He had 11 fouls in games 6-7 against Miami, and just the 1 foul in the first game. Enables him to a) stay in the game without having to be yanked and b) be more aggressive on both ends.

Tatum is special, but if the Cs win it all, Jaylen being the best #2 guy in these playoffs by a wide, wide margin is going to be a major reason why Boston does win it all.

I think his performance in these playoffs will give him more national recognition and jumpstart a string of All-Star and All-NBA awards. Winning titles does that for players

Kinda reminiscent of how Klay went from a good All-Star tier guy to an All-NBA / All-Defence tier guy once Golden State started winning. Obviously different players, but similar kind of dynamic 1-2 duo.

Siakam too

[gouki88]

Clearly Brown has cemented himself in the top 3. Wiggins being in front of him was always ridiculous.

Brown was his same old ridiculously consistent self with a 24/7/5 night last night. He catapulted the team to an historic comeback with 10 points and 5 assists in an incredibly clutch 4th quarter performance. AND he shut down everyone he guarded. That's not hyperbole. Here are the stats:

https://www.nba.com/stats/player/1627759/head-to-head?PerMode=PerGame&SeasonType=Playoffs&dir=A&sort=GP

Right now, Brown is probably top 2 on the list based on his performance in just this series after one game.

Him being able to stay out of foul trouble (thanks to no Jimmy Butler / Giannis) will also be huge. He had 11 fouls in games 6-7 against Miami, and just the 1 foul in the first game. Enables him to a) stay in the game without having to be yanked and b) be more aggressive on both ends.

Tatum is special, but if the Cs win it all, Jaylen being the best #2 guy in these playoffs by a wide, wide margin is going to be a major reason why Boston does win it all.

I think his performance in these playoffs will give him more national recognition and jumpstart a string of All-Star and All-NBA awards. Winning titles does that for players

Kinda reminiscent of how Klay went from a good All-Star tier guy to an All-NBA / All-Defence tier guy once Golden State started winning. Obviously different players, but similar kind of dynamic 1-2 duo.

Siakam too

Could really go on and on. It's pretty cool that the Finals MVP race is pretty open. I could see any of Tatum, Brown, Horford or Smart winning it

[footey]

Clearly Brown has cemented himself in the top 3. Wiggins being in front of him was always ridiculous.

Brown was his same old ridiculously consistent self with a 24/7/5 night last night. He catapulted the team to an historic comeback with 10 points and 5 assists in an incredibly clutch 4th quarter performance. AND he shut down everyone he guarded. That's not hyperbole. Here are the stats:

https://www.nba.com/stats/player/1627759/head-to-head?PerMode=PerGame&SeasonType=Playoffs&dir=A&sort=GP

Right now, Brown is probably top 2 on the list based on his performance in just this series after one game.

Him being able to stay out of foul trouble (thanks to no Jimmy Butler / Giannis) will also be huge. He had 11 fouls in games 6-7 against Miami, and just the 1 foul in the first game. Enables him to a) stay in the game without having to be yanked and b) be more aggressive on both ends.

Tatum is special, but if the Cs win it all, Jaylen being the best #2 guy in these playoffs by a wide, wide margin is going to be a major reason why Boston does win it all.

I think his performance in these playoffs will give him more national recognition and jumpstart a string of All-Star and All-NBA awards. Winning titles does that for players

Great point. Was thinking of this today.

[LilRip]

JB took out his DIY kit in the 4th. I just watched the game again and when he went on his 7-0 run to give the C’s life, it wasn’t because of team play or ball movement. He just owned his match up. We often bemoan iso play but it can swing the game in doses (as we saw last night).

If the C’s win it all, I’d be surprised if JB doesn’t get more all star berths just from reputation alone.

[Vermont Green]

The current betting odds for Finals MVP may be a better barometer for the top players in the series than the opinions of ESPN:

Tatum        +140
Curry         +325
Brown        +550
Horford    +1000
Smart      +1400
Thomp     +2800
Wiggins    +3300
Green      +5000
Poole       +5000

This is after game 1 so accounts for the now more likely case of the Celtics winning the title but still, the list to me lines up pretty well with who the best or top players are at this point in time.

[Phantom255x]

Draymond is so overrated and I don't understand why.

Like I don't even mind having Wiggins above Brown, but how is Draymond ahead of Smart and Klay and only 1 spot behind Jaylen in this?? I actually think Horford and even Timelord should be ahead of him too

[gouki88]

Draymond is so overrated and I don't understand why.

Like I don't even mind having Wiggins above Brown, but how is Draymond ahead of Smart and Klay and only 1 spot behind Jaylen in this?? I actually think Horford and even Timelord should be ahead of him too

If you took Draymond off of Golden State you'd see why. I think they bumped him due to importance. But, then chose to ignore the importance of Smart and Horford (and to an extent TL).

I dunno, ESPN isn't really a go-to for any sort of valuable analysis

[johnnygreen]

I couldn't help but think of this thread, when Wiggins was the best player in the game last night. I guess ESPN was pretty good in their analysis with having Wiggins ranked 3rd. Then again, maybe they should have had him a 2, since Tatum has turned into a record breaking turnover machine and can't make free throws consistently.

[Vermont Green]

Curry still wins it (or should) if the Warriors win the series.  Curry will need to have another big game or the Warriors may not win.  If the Celtics win, no way Wiggins gets the MVP.

Wiggins has not been more valuable than Curry overall and I am not sure even in Game 5.  Wiggins benefits from the defensive attention that Curry gets.  If Curry has two more off games, more likely we win the series.  Just as likely, Curry has a big game, the Warriors win, and he cements his MVP.

Finals MVP can be a quirky award for sure but Curry has been the man for them all series.  If they win, he would deserve the MVP.

[gouki88]

It seems us all mocking the Wiggins placement has come back to bite us..