NBA: 5 players with the most to prove heading into the postseason

NBA players with the most to prove: Giannis Antetokounmpo

Quite possibly the player with the most to prove these playoffs. Yes, Mike Budenholzer’s stubbornness to adjust has taken much of the blame for early exits, and deservedly so. But the Bucks star has to show up too.

He has not choked in the playoffs by any means. His stats largely remained the same from his regular-season numbers in last year’s playoffs. He even averaged 22/11/5 on okay shooting in the surprising loss to the Heat last season. Those are All-Star numbers.

He’s left All-Star behind, though. He’s a two-time MVP and one-time DPOY. If he’s not the best player on either team in the series, his team is going to lose. And Jimmy Butler took that mantle the last time these teams met in the postseason. You could even argue Bam was the second-best player in the series.

Good numbers are nice, but Giannis Antetokounmpo needs to control the game. He has a great chance to build confidence in the first round. The Heat is worse than they were last year, and the addition of Jrue raises the Bucks’ ceiling on both ends. As long as Giannis is ready to dominate, the Bucks should be just fine.