6. DANNY GREEN, SPURS
2014 POSTSEASON STATS
A player sent me a text during Game 3 that read: "Green is not a top-300 player in the league during the season and the conference playoffs but he's a top-20 guy in the Finals!" He's not far off. Green had almost as much of an impact on San Antonio's Game 3 win as Kawhi Leonard, looking for his shot or, more importantly in this case, driving angles to make the Heat pay for not attending to him closely enough.
He also set an important tone with his on-ball defense, stripping guys and playing aggressive defense whenever he could. He helped the Spurs build a mindset of toughness that permeated throughout the game.
Nothing changed in Game 4. In their two easy road wins: Green made an astonishing 10-of-13 shots overall and four of his seven 3s. And his defensive toughness was a great example of a Spurs role player doing his job to perfection.
Heat fans may be wondering if they can get another star to join the former "Big 3" (Wade is nowhere close to being a superstar player anymore), but they should be thirsting for more players like Green instead.
(Previous rank: NR
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Photo credit: Steve Mitchell/USA TODAY Sports