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NBA: The All-Surprise First And Second Team Of The NBA Playoffs

By Ryan Magdziarz

Feb 1, 2017; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Milwaukee Bucks forward Thon Maker (7) defends against Utah Jazz forward Joe Johnson (6) during the first half at Vivint Smart Home Arena. Mandatory Credit: Russ Isabella-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 1, 2017; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Milwaukee Bucks forward Thon Maker (7) defends against Utah Jazz forward Joe Johnson (6) during the first half at Vivint Smart Home Arena. Mandatory Credit: Russ Isabella-USA TODAY Sports /
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Apr 23, 2017; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Utah Jazz forward Joe Ingles (2) celebrates after scoring a three point shot during the fourth quarter against the LA Clippers in game four of the first round of the 2017 NBA Playoffs at Vivint Smart Home Arena. Utah Jazz won the game 105-98. Mandatory Credit: Chris Nicoll-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 23, 2017; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Utah Jazz forward Joe Ingles (2) celebrates after scoring a three point shot during the fourth quarter against the LA Clippers in game four of the first round of the 2017 NBA Playoffs at Vivint Smart Home Arena. Utah Jazz won the game 105-98. Mandatory Credit: Chris Nicoll-USA TODAY Sports /

Joe Ingles, Utah Jazz, SF (Second Team)

“Jinglin” Joe Ingles is just a dad meandering through opposing defenses. He is as “average Joe” looking as it gets, but there is nothing average with his playmaking this post season.

He is averaging 6.8 points, four rebounds, and five assists per game. The Utah Jazz are so fun to watch because just about everyone that plays meaningful minutes doesn’t have a set position.

His epic Game 4 is why Ingles makes All-Surprise Second Team. In a game where Gordon Hayward and his hair had food poisoning, the two Joe’s (stay tuned) stepped up enormously in his place. If you watch the clip above, the Jazz put Ingles in numerous pick and rolls as the ball handler.

He has a unique craft to his game making nonchalant pocket passes with a sexy left hand. How can you not be romantic about role players stepping up big to win playoff games? That’s exactly what Jinglin Joe did, playing 33.4 minutes when he played an average of 24 minutes during the regular season.

Paul Millsap, Atlanta Hawks, PF (Second Team)

Paul Millsap is already an NBA All-Star who averaged 18.1-7.7-3.7, but the reason he makes Second Team here is he’s taking his game to another level. His entire career is summarized by being unknown and underappreciated.

In this series, Millsap averaged 23 points, 9.2 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game, which are all noticeably higher than his already great numbers during the regular season.

Markeiff had been talking smack to Paul the whole series, and even called him a cry baby, but on this play Millsap had the last laugh.

Robin Lopez, Chicago Bulls, C (Second Team)

Coming into this series, anyone else who is a basketball nerd had a sense this was coming. The Boston Celtics can’t rebound. For hustle rebound bigs like Robin Lopez, this is a match made in heaven. Robin has been über effective on the offensive glass, allowing his team to have numerous second-chance points.

He’s averaged 5.2 offensive rebounds and 2.4 defensive rebounds per game against the Celtics. He has also upped his regular season scoring average from 10.4 to 13.2 points per game.

Lopez’s coming out party for Surprise Team honors was in Game 2. He was a plus-17 on the night, and logged 18 points and nine rebounds. He shot 67 percent from the floor (8-12) in his very efficient 32 minutes of play.

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