Chris Paul among top 10 players to never reach conference finals
Again, Chris Paul has been denied a trip to the Western Conference finals. Despite dominating the first four games of the series en route to a 3-1 lead, Paul's Los Angeles Clippers lost the last three games to the Houston Rockets, including Sunday's deciding Game 7.
With eight All-Star appearances in 10 seasons, six All-NBA selections (including four spots on the first team), an All-Star MVP and a Rookie of the Year award to his credit, Paul is clearly the best player never to appear in the conference finals. But he's hardly alone in not seeing his individual success translate into extended playoff runs.
The Rockets' win meant Josh Smith will make his first trip to the conference finals, as will All-Stars Elton Brand (Atlanta Hawks) and Andre Iguodala (Golden State Warriors). That leaves the following list of the 10 best players since the ABA-NBA merger (in terms of my wins above replacement player (WARP) statistic) never to reach the conference finals.
A dubious Top 10
1. Chris Paul
151.5 WARP
10 seasons, 7 playoff appearances
4 trips to second round
The closer Paul has gotten to the conference finals, the greater the heartbreak his teams have generally experienced. This is the second time Paul's teams have lost a Game 7 in the second round. In 2008, Paul's New Orleans Hornets lost to the San Antonio Spurs at home even though Paul had 18 points, 14 assists, eight rebounds and five steals while playing all but 25 seconds.
Last season, Paul's late-game miscues played a big role in the Oklahoma City Thunder's comeback in Game 5 with the Clippers on the verge of taking a 3-2 lead in the series. And this time around, the Clippers lost both a 3-1 series lead and a 19-point lead in the second half of Game 6. Again, Paul's brilliance wasn't enough.
2. Dominique Wilkins
140.3 WARP
15 seasons, 10 playoff appearances
3 trips to second round
The most memorable playoff moments of the Human Highlight Film, such as his shootout with Larry Bird in Game 7 in 1988, came in the second round. That 118-116 loss was the closest Wilkins came to reaching the conference finals with the Hawks, who were perennial bridesmaids in a conference that also included the Boston Celtics, Chicago Bulls and Detroit Pistons. And after leaving Atlanta, Wilkins never got out of the first round. By the way: Until Friday, the Hawks hadn't reached the conference finals since 1970, so get ready for an Atlanta-heavy list.
3. Mookie Blaylock
129.1 WARP
13 seasons, eight playoff appearances
4 trips to second round
Blaylock was one of the leaders of the 1990s Hawks, who stalled out in the conference semifinals four times in seven consecutive playoff trips from 1993 to 1999. In 1994, much like this season, Atlanta entered the playoffs as the No. 1 seed in the East. But the Hawks were knocked off 4-2 by the Indiana Pacers in the conference semifinals, with Blaylock shooting just 8-of-29 from 3-point range in the series.
4. Rod Strickland
118.7 WARP
17 seasons, 11 playoff appearances
2 trips to second round
During his 17-year NBA career, Strickland had terrible timing. After Strickland's teams won series in each of his first two NBA campaigns, they went 0-for-9 in the first round the rest of his career. He left the San Antonio Spurs in the summer of 1992 just as they were about to become contenders in the West and joined a Portland Trail Blazers team that had just reached the NBA Finals but would not get out of the first round again until Strickland already was in Washington.
5. Baron Davis
115.9 WARP
13 seasons, seven playoff appearances
3 trips to second round
After leaving the Hornets, Davis made just two playoff appearances in his last eight seasons in the NBA. One of them was certainly memorable. Davis led the Golden State Warriors as they became the third No. 8 seed ever to knock off a No. 1, the Dallas Mavericks (67-15), in 2007. Alas, the Warriors lost to the Utah Jazz in the conference semifinals, and Davis' last playoff run and NBA career were ended by a torn ACL in Game 4 of the New York Knicks' 2012 first-round series with the Miami Heat.
6. Stephon Marbury
115.5 WARP
13 seasons, five playoff appearances
1 trip to second round
After four opening-round losses, Marbury's best chance at a deep playoff run came in his final NBA season. Marbury joined the Boston Celtics as a free agent midway through the 2008-09 campaign and played a reserve role on a team that went 62-20 in the regular season. Without the injured Kevin Garnett, however, the Celtics lost in seven games in the conference semifinals.
7. Andre Miller
98.1 WARP
16 seasons, 10 playoff appearances
1 trip to second round
Quietly, Miller has been one of the NBA's most cursed players in the playoffs. Until his Washington Wizards knocked off the Chicago Bulls last year, Miller's teams were 0-for-9 in first-round series. Alas, the Wizards stalled out against the Indiana Pacers in the conference semifinals, and Miller missed out on this year's Washington run after a deadline trade to the lottery-bound Sacramento Kings.
8. Alvin Robertson
85.3 WARP
11 seasons, five playoff appearances
1 trip to second round
Robertson is the all-time WARP leader among players who never saw action in the conference semifinals. He was on the roster when the 1994 Denver Nuggets knocked off the No. 1 seed Seattle SuperSonics and became the first No. 8 seed ever to win a series, but he never suited up for the Nuggets due to a back injury. In the four playoff series he actually played in, Robertson's teams won just one game.
9. Antawn Jamison
80.1 WARP
16 seasons, seven playoff appearances
2 trips to second round
After five seasons in the lottery with the Golden State Warriors to start his career, Jamison made the playoffs more often than not -- but typically with teams just on the wrong side of seriously contending. His lone season with the Dallas Mavericks coincided with Dallas' only first-round loss in a six-year span, and after several Washington Wizards playoff appearances fizzled out in the first or second round, Jamison unsuccessfully chased rings with the Cleveland Cavaliers (upset in the 2010 conference semifinals beforeLeBron James left for Miami) and the disappointing (through no fault of Jamison's) 2012-13 Los Angeles Lakers.
10. Dan Roundfield
79.6 WARP
11 seasons, eight playoff appearances
3 trips to second round
The late Roundfield, who tragically drowned in 2012 while trying to save his wife, represents another era in Hawks history. A three-time All-Star in Atlanta, Roundfield played for the Hubie Brown-coached teams that lost in the conference semifinals in both 1979 and 1980; Roundfield teamed up with Wilkins for the first two years of Wilkins' career before being traded to the Detroit Pistons.
Here is a digest of the top 10 list:
Again, Chris Paul has been denied a trip to the Western Conference finals. Despite dominating the first four games of the series en route to a 3-1 lead, Paul's Los Angeles Clippers lost the last three games to the Houston Rockets, including Sunday's deciding Game 7.
With eight All-Star appearances in 10 seasons, six All-NBA selections (including four spots on the first team), an All-Star MVP and a Rookie of the Year award to his credit, Paul is clearly the best player never to appear in the conference finals. But he's hardly alone in not seeing his individual success translate into extended playoff runs.
The Rockets' win meant Josh Smith will make his first trip to the conference finals, as will All-Stars Elton Brand (Atlanta Hawks) and Andre Iguodala (Golden State Warriors). That leaves the following list of the 10 best players since the ABA-NBA merger (in terms of my wins above replacement player (WARP) statistic) never to reach the conference finals.
A dubious Top 10
1. Chris Paul
151.5 WARP
10 seasons, 7 playoff appearances
4 trips to second round
The closer Paul has gotten to the conference finals, the greater the heartbreak his teams have generally experienced. This is the second time Paul's teams have lost a Game 7 in the second round. In 2008, Paul's New Orleans Hornets lost to the San Antonio Spurs at home even though Paul had 18 points, 14 assists, eight rebounds and five steals while playing all but 25 seconds.
Last season, Paul's late-game miscues played a big role in the Oklahoma City Thunder's comeback in Game 5 with the Clippers on the verge of taking a 3-2 lead in the series. And this time around, the Clippers lost both a 3-1 series lead and a 19-point lead in the second half of Game 6. Again, Paul's brilliance wasn't enough.
2. Dominique Wilkins
140.3 WARP
15 seasons, 10 playoff appearances
3 trips to second round
The most memorable playoff moments of the Human Highlight Film, such as his shootout with Larry Bird in Game 7 in 1988, came in the second round. That 118-116 loss was the closest Wilkins came to reaching the conference finals with the Hawks, who were perennial bridesmaids in a conference that also included the Boston Celtics, Chicago Bulls and Detroit Pistons. And after leaving Atlanta, Wilkins never got out of the first round. By the way: Until Friday, the Hawks hadn't reached the conference finals since 1970, so get ready for an Atlanta-heavy list.
3. Mookie Blaylock
129.1 WARP
13 seasons, eight playoff appearances
4 trips to second round
Blaylock was one of the leaders of the 1990s Hawks, who stalled out in the conference semifinals four times in seven consecutive playoff trips from 1993 to 1999. In 1994, much like this season, Atlanta entered the playoffs as the No. 1 seed in the East. But the Hawks were knocked off 4-2 by the Indiana Pacers in the conference semifinals, with Blaylock shooting just 8-of-29 from 3-point range in the series.
4. Rod Strickland
118.7 WARP
17 seasons, 11 playoff appearances
2 trips to second round
During his 17-year NBA career, Strickland had terrible timing. After Strickland's teams won series in each of his first two NBA campaigns, they went 0-for-9 in the first round the rest of his career. He left the San Antonio Spurs in the summer of 1992 just as they were about to become contenders in the West and joined a Portland Trail Blazers team that had just reached the NBA Finals but would not get out of the first round again until Strickland already was in Washington.
5. Baron Davis
115.9 WARP
13 seasons, seven playoff appearances
3 trips to second round
After leaving the Hornets, Davis made just two playoff appearances in his last eight seasons in the NBA. One of them was certainly memorable. Davis led the Golden State Warriors as they became the third No. 8 seed ever to knock off a No. 1, the Dallas Mavericks (67-15), in 2007. Alas, the Warriors lost to the Utah Jazz in the conference semifinals, and Davis' last playoff run and NBA career were ended by a torn ACL in Game 4 of the New York Knicks' 2012 first-round series with the Miami Heat.
6. Stephon Marbury
115.5 WARP
13 seasons, five playoff appearances
1 trip to second round
After four opening-round losses, Marbury's best chance at a deep playoff run came in his final NBA season. Marbury joined the Boston Celtics as a free agent midway through the 2008-09 campaign and played a reserve role on a team that went 62-20 in the regular season. Without the injured Kevin Garnett, however, the Celtics lost in seven games in the conference semifinals.
7. Andre Miller
98.1 WARP
16 seasons, 10 playoff appearances
1 trip to second round
Quietly, Miller has been one of the NBA's most cursed players in the playoffs. Until his Washington Wizards knocked off the Chicago Bulls last year, Miller's teams were 0-for-9 in first-round series. Alas, the Wizards stalled out against the Indiana Pacers in the conference semifinals, and Miller missed out on this year's Washington run after a deadline trade to the lottery-bound Sacramento Kings.
8. Alvin Robertson
85.3 WARP
11 seasons, five playoff appearances
1 trip to second round
Robertson is the all-time WARP leader among players who never saw action in the conference semifinals. He was on the roster when the 1994 Denver Nuggets knocked off the No. 1 seed Seattle SuperSonics and became the first No. 8 seed ever to win a series, but he never suited up for the Nuggets due to a back injury. In the four playoff series he actually played in, Robertson's teams won just one game.
9. Antawn Jamison
80.1 WARP
16 seasons, seven playoff appearances
2 trips to second round
After five seasons in the lottery with the Golden State Warriors to start his career, Jamison made the playoffs more often than not -- but typically with teams just on the wrong side of seriously contending. His lone season with the Dallas Mavericks coincided with Dallas' only first-round loss in a six-year span, and after several Washington Wizards playoff appearances fizzled out in the first or second round, Jamison unsuccessfully chased rings with the Cleveland Cavaliers (upset in the 2010 conference semifinals beforeLeBron James left for Miami) and the disappointing (through no fault of Jamison's) 2012-13 Los Angeles Lakers.
10. Dan Roundfield
79.6 WARP
11 seasons, eight playoff appearances
3 trips to second round
The late Roundfield, who tragically drowned in 2012 while trying to save his wife, represents another era in Hawks history. A three-time All-Star in Atlanta, Roundfield played for the Hubie Brown-coached teams that lost in the conference semifinals in both 1979 and 1980; Roundfield teamed up with Wilkins for the first two years of Wilkins' career before being traded to the Detroit Pistons.
Here is a digest of the top 10 list:
bullsht list, bullsht analysis...great hustle though
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