The fifth day of the 2012 NBA Playoffs is over, as there were two games played. The favorites in Oklahoma Thunder City and Miami Heat kept up their roles in their respective match ups, as they took a lead of 3-0 in the series.
Considering there were only two games yesterday, it will be for the first time a short top five list. Who ranks at the top? Without any further ado, here are the best individual performers.
5. Mario Chalmers
I start the list with Miami's guard whose excellent yet somewhat overshadowed performance helped his team to win on the road. Mario Chalmers definitely played on a top level.
He was doing the little things. He was lights out, as he found the bottom of the net with his shot. Mario also was great on the glass, played great defense and was active on the lanes.
Chalmers scored 17 points, grabbed seven rebounds, recorded three steals, shot 7-11 from the field, 5-7 at the arc with three turnovers in 40 minutes of action.
This has been statistically and overall the most impressive game that Super Mario has had so far in the series, in which he's been solid. The Heat will need this version of him later on in the post season.
4. Russell Westbrook
Russell Westbrook has had beyond good playoff series versus the Dallas Mavericks. Although this wasn't as good as the ones before, he certainly continued in similar fashion. And that's to play well.
The Thunder's All-Star point guard was all over the court again, displaying his versatility and producing quite big for his team.
Russell scored 20 points, dished out four dimes, pulled down four boards, recorded three steals, shot 8-19 from the field, 2-5 from distance and 2-4 from the stripe while committing three turnovers.
Despite not being the leading scorer of the game, Westbrook exploded in the third period. He poured in 11 points in the third when his Thunder weren't hitting anything.
With him finding nothing but net on his shot and keeping his head calm, others team will be in a lot of trouble due to him.
3. Dwyane Wade
Dwyane Wade, like almost all of his other team mates, are in shadows of James' dominance versus this New York Team. Nonetheless, he's been doing a similar thing to his opponents just in quiet mode and Game Three of the playoffs is case in point.
The veteran shooting guard did his normal things in Miami's win. He carried the offense, displayed his terrific skills and coming up huge in the key period.
Dwyane scored 20 points, grabbed four boards, dished out four assists, had five steals, while shooting 8-17 from the field, 2-5 from distance and 2-3 from the charity.
Wade's presence is certainly more than needed for this Heat team. He breaks the defense in many ways, is a tough guy to cover, gives points in the post, is active on defense, plays off-the ball well and so on.
He'll probably need to pick it up, which I'm sure he'll most likely do considering the fact that he's a great performer in the playoffs.
2. Kevin Durant
Kevin Durant, one of the league's leading candidates for the MVP, has shot below his normal percentages against Dallas. However, that wasn't the case yesterday, as the All-Star forward led the way for his Thunder.
He actually had statistically his most impressive performance of the series so far. Kevin shot lights out, did a great job of involving his team mates and was certainly impressive from an all-around point of the view.
Durant poured in 31 points, dished out six dimes, grabbed three boards, recorded two steals, denied a shot, shot 11-15 from the field, 4-6 from deep and 5-7 at the free throw line with one turnover.
Unlike in some of the games of the playoffs, he kept the ball under control and found his stroke. That all has been a huge factor to Thunder's terrific win over the Mavericks.
He'll definitely need to continue to play in such fashion for his team.
1. LeBron James
When a player of his caliber goes off in a way that very few if not at all could do, it's tough not to rank him at the top. LeBron James played like a real MVP yesterday and a man who's ready to accomplish his goal.
He was active on both sides of the court, where he played amazingly throughout the entire game and turned to be the key factor once again. In other words, LeBron simply dominated his opponents when it mattered most.
He poured in 32 points, grabbed eight boards, dished out five assists, recorded two steals, shot 9-21 from the field, 2-5 from beyond the arc and 12-13 at the charity while committing eight turnovers.
Although he didn't take a great care of the basketball nor was efficient for his usual standards, James made up for that by going off in the fourth quarter. He scored 17 points in that period to close out New York.
Like him or not, he definitely put on a show on the road against his opponents. He takes the No.1 spot yet again.
Considering there were only two games yesterday, it will be for the first time a short top five list. Who ranks at the top? Without any further ado, here are the best individual performers.
5. Mario Chalmers
I start the list with Miami's guard whose excellent yet somewhat overshadowed performance helped his team to win on the road. Mario Chalmers definitely played on a top level.
He was doing the little things. He was lights out, as he found the bottom of the net with his shot. Mario also was great on the glass, played great defense and was active on the lanes.
Chalmers scored 17 points, grabbed seven rebounds, recorded three steals, shot 7-11 from the field, 5-7 at the arc with three turnovers in 40 minutes of action.
This has been statistically and overall the most impressive game that Super Mario has had so far in the series, in which he's been solid. The Heat will need this version of him later on in the post season.
4. Russell Westbrook
Russell Westbrook has had beyond good playoff series versus the Dallas Mavericks. Although this wasn't as good as the ones before, he certainly continued in similar fashion. And that's to play well.
The Thunder's All-Star point guard was all over the court again, displaying his versatility and producing quite big for his team.
Russell scored 20 points, dished out four dimes, pulled down four boards, recorded three steals, shot 8-19 from the field, 2-5 from distance and 2-4 from the stripe while committing three turnovers.
Despite not being the leading scorer of the game, Westbrook exploded in the third period. He poured in 11 points in the third when his Thunder weren't hitting anything.
With him finding nothing but net on his shot and keeping his head calm, others team will be in a lot of trouble due to him.
3. Dwyane Wade
Dwyane Wade, like almost all of his other team mates, are in shadows of James' dominance versus this New York Team. Nonetheless, he's been doing a similar thing to his opponents just in quiet mode and Game Three of the playoffs is case in point.
The veteran shooting guard did his normal things in Miami's win. He carried the offense, displayed his terrific skills and coming up huge in the key period.
Dwyane scored 20 points, grabbed four boards, dished out four assists, had five steals, while shooting 8-17 from the field, 2-5 from distance and 2-3 from the charity.
Wade's presence is certainly more than needed for this Heat team. He breaks the defense in many ways, is a tough guy to cover, gives points in the post, is active on defense, plays off-the ball well and so on.
He'll probably need to pick it up, which I'm sure he'll most likely do considering the fact that he's a great performer in the playoffs.
2. Kevin Durant
Kevin Durant, one of the league's leading candidates for the MVP, has shot below his normal percentages against Dallas. However, that wasn't the case yesterday, as the All-Star forward led the way for his Thunder.
He actually had statistically his most impressive performance of the series so far. Kevin shot lights out, did a great job of involving his team mates and was certainly impressive from an all-around point of the view.
Durant poured in 31 points, dished out six dimes, grabbed three boards, recorded two steals, denied a shot, shot 11-15 from the field, 4-6 from deep and 5-7 at the free throw line with one turnover.
Unlike in some of the games of the playoffs, he kept the ball under control and found his stroke. That all has been a huge factor to Thunder's terrific win over the Mavericks.
He'll definitely need to continue to play in such fashion for his team.
1. LeBron James
When a player of his caliber goes off in a way that very few if not at all could do, it's tough not to rank him at the top. LeBron James played like a real MVP yesterday and a man who's ready to accomplish his goal.
He was active on both sides of the court, where he played amazingly throughout the entire game and turned to be the key factor once again. In other words, LeBron simply dominated his opponents when it mattered most.
He poured in 32 points, grabbed eight boards, dished out five assists, recorded two steals, shot 9-21 from the field, 2-5 from beyond the arc and 12-13 at the charity while committing eight turnovers.
Although he didn't take a great care of the basketball nor was efficient for his usual standards, James made up for that by going off in the fourth quarter. He scored 17 points in that period to close out New York.
Like him or not, he definitely put on a show on the road against his opponents. He takes the No.1 spot yet again.