Here are the top performers on May 16 and the stats to highlight their impact.
BEST PLAYER OF THE DAY:
Stephon Castle SAS PG 32 PTS | 11 REB | 6 AST | 52.2 FPS (vs. MIN)
The Spurs’ guard set the tone early today, posting 14 points on 5-for-6 shooting in the first quarter alone. He kept going from there and finished 5-for-7 from three while also having excellent percentages from both the two and the line. Offensively, Castle was outstanding, posting his second 30-point game of the playoffs. Still, he added more, recording his best rebounding game of the playoffs while also maintaining high level production in assists, where he ranks fifth in the league.
BREAKOUT:
Jalen Duren DET C 15 PTS | 11 REB | 3 BLK | 40.2 FPS (vs. CLE)
Facing elimination, the Pistons needed Duren to give them more offensively, and that’s exactly what he did. He was effective today, going 7-for-10 from the field to match his highest-scoring game of the playoffs. He also stepped up on the boards, matching his rebound total from the previous three games combined. If he can repeat this performance in Game 7, the Pistons will have an even better chance of winning the series.
SLEEPER:
Julian Champagnie SAS SF 18 PTS | 5 REB | 2 STL | 33.0 FPS (vs. MIN)
In the first two games of the series, Champagnie delivered on the scoring end, averaging 14.5 points and 3.5 threes per game. However, he wasn’t able to sustain that production, scoring fewer than 10 points while going 4-for-19 from deep in each of his next three games. Today, though, he got his rhythm back, knocking down four threes for the third time this postseason.
ELITE ASSET:
James Harden CLE SG 23 PTS | 7 REB | 4 STL | 41.4 FPS (vs. DET)
Despite not shooting well from the field, Harden continued to do his damage at the line, going 8-of-10 today to lead the team in scoring and record his third consecutive 20-point outing. He also delivered a solid all-around performance, though he struggled again with turnovers, finishing with eight today and averaging seven over his last two games.
CATEGORY SPECIALIST:
Duncan Robinson DET SF 14 PTS | 2 REB | 2 AST | 19.4 FPS (vs. CLE)
Robinson was sidelined in Game 5 because of a back injury, but he was back in the lineup today and came up huge offensively, knocking down four threes. He has now made a total of 38 threes this postseason, which is the second most in the league, while shooting at a 44.7% clip.
PLAYER TO WATCH:
Daniss Jenkins DET PG 15 PTS | 3 REB | 3 AST | 23.1 FPS (vs. CLE)
In the first two road games of this matchup, Jenkins had a really difficult time offensively, scoring just four points on 1-for-9 shooting from the field. Today, however, he broke out of that slump, hitting three triples and finishing as one of the team’s top scorers.
STREAMER:
Luke Kornet SAS C 6 PTS | 6 REB | 4 BLK | 25.7 FPS (vs. MIN)
Despite not playing a lot of minutes, Kornet still made his presence felt with this performance. He was impactful on both ends of the floor, especially on the defensive end, where he led all players in blocks. While his production has been largely up and down lately, he has remained a major contributor on defense, posting nine rebounds in Game 4 while averaging 3.2 stocks over his last five games.
FLOPPER:
Tobias Harris DET PF 6 PTS | 5 REB | 2 STL | 20.5 FPS (vs. CLE)
Through the first 10 games of the playoffs, Harris has been a steady threat on offense, averaging 21.3 points. Recently, however, he’s struggled to come close at the level. He was even worse today, shooting just 2-for-7 from the field and finishing under the 10-point mark for the first time in the playoffs.
