Today we're taking a look at the bubble's Middle Class. We'll start with those that left the bubble with mixed results, and span all the way to the fringe of the Top 100 (or the top 10 percent).
If you missed Part I: The Losers, you can check it out here. Otherwise, let's pick up where we left off...
499. Washington Wizards
I straight-up completely forgot that they were even in Orlando, so they couldn't have done anything overly embarrassing. Call it a push.
485. Khris Middleton
His 36/8/8 in a must-win Game 4 vs. Miami (largely sans Giannis) quieted some of the haters who think Freak needs a better second fiddle. Ultimately, nobody associated with the Bucks really came out of this a winner.
466. Kendrick Perkins
Perkins is quickly becoming one of the NBA's most insufferable talking heads, his half-baked hot takes served with an extra zip of arrogance and entitlement as a former player and ostensible clout-haver.
But he's also one of the most inescapable sports personalities on the internet, and got himself a Sports Illustrated cover feature, so he's doing at least something right.
451. Markieff Morris
Threw quite possibly the worst pass in NBA Finals history, but had the extreme fortune of doing so seconds after viral pariah Danny Green missed a wide-open three for the NBA championship, thus waltzing away mostly-unscathed.
440. Utah Jazz
Were spirited in defeat, especially Donovan Mitchell, who leveled up in a huge way these playoffs. But Utah fancied itself a contender coming into this season, and got bounced in the first round after choking away a 3-1 lead. Bojan Bogdanovic's injury aside, the result was sub-expectation.
432. Fred VanVleet
426. Kelly Olynyk
419. Dennis Schroder
413. Orlando Magic
Saddled with injuries, they were more competitive than anyone expected in their opening-round loss to Milwaukee. But one of those injuries - Jonathan Isaac's second major left knee tear this calendar year - could alter the course of their franchise.
402. Kristaps Porzingis
Speaking of untimely bum knees, Kristaps' absence had many questioning if the Clippers' upset might not have otherwise happened a round earlier. But the frequency of Zinger's leg injuries has to start becoming a red flag for a running mate to the generational Luka Doncic.
388. Daryl Morey
On one end, his team was sent packing earlier than they'd set out to, for like the sixth straight year. On the other, neither that reality nor the almost-half-billion he lost the NBA a year ago have cost him his job yet.
379. Gordon Hayward
In one of the bubble's most bittersweet subplots, Hayward pushed himself back to playing shape after yet another injury, but had to miss the birth of his son to do so.
362. Brian Anderson
He's no Marv Albert, but Anderson did well for himself to not lose his mind mid-broadcast on Reggie Miller and/or Chris Webber after having to repeatedly hang out with them together for hours on end.
355. Bol Bol
346. Kawhi Leonard
Kawhi gets a bit of a pass here vs. the rest of the Clippers' roster. After all, he did just average 28/9/5/2+ for their playoff run, and at several times looked to be re-asserting himself as the very best player in the league. Unlike many of his teammates, he also kept his mouth shut for most of the season (as Kawhi does), dodging much of the backlash when they imploded.
But the implosion is still a reality. As is the fact that the team Kawhi left behind also lost in a painfully ironic second-round Game 7, imploring many, probably Leonard himself, to wonder what might've been if he'd just stayed put.
308. James Harden
Harden had a fairly neutral bubble. He delivered the summer's first signature game - a 49/9/8/3/3 masterpiece on 70% shooting in an OT win over Dallas on opening night, eventually being named to the All-Bubble First Team. He did more or less what was expected of him: Score 30/game, lose in the second round, everything in its place.
Houston faces a serious organizational crossroads this offseason, but Harden has little to fear. Their main goal will be to better maximize his talents, although Russell Westbrook's contract is a massive shackle.
Bonus points for, in a rare twist, delivering one of the postseason's best plays on a defensive effort.
298. Jae Crowder's shooting
It was really good. And then it really wasn't.
277. Michael Porter Jr.
Burst onto the scene as a multi-tool scorer who has altered Denver's ceiling and possibly given them some tantalizing trade bait.
But he's also complete trash on D, and outed himself as an anti-vaxxer who thinks COVID is a government control mechanism, taking some of the shine off his breakthrough.
243. Nikola Jokic
Somewhat similar to his teammate Porter, Jokic was straight-up dominant for stretches of Denver's captivating playoff run, but his limitations on D are becoming a serious obstacle. Jokic is the worst rim protector physically possible for a player of his size, and is increasingly hunted in the pick-and-roll.
Jokic's defensive ineptitude is of far graver concern since he's the franchise player (ie definitely not being traded), spends more time on the court, and can be plausibly hidden against fewer opponents.
But overall, these playoffs were a definite win for him, and Denver has plenty of maneuverability to help plug their defensive holes.
221. Toronto Raptors
It sucks how the Raptors went out. Pascal Siakam shrunk like he was visiting Anatomy Park. Marc Gasol mummified. The bad end of three-point variance struck Toronto in the worst way, at the worst time.
Still, their title defense, after losing Kawhi, was nothing short of remarkable. They were able to milk a few extra months as champs, and made Boston fight tooth-and-nail to finally dethrone them in the final minute of a Game 7.
202. OG Anunoby
201. Alex Caruso
200. Jaylen Brown
187. Boston Celtics
Nobody can really blame them for losing to the Heat. They played very well throughout the bubble (largely without Gordon Hayward), gutted out an impressive W over the reigning champs, and were still the youngest team in the playoffs.
They have upside and assets to spare as they continue their ascent, with Jayson Tatum now looking like a bonafide superstar.
176. Gary Trent Jr.
175. Jusuf Nurkic
174. Wenyen Gabriel
161. Dallas Mavericks
150. Robert Covington
149. Caris LeVert
148. Mikal Bridges
144. Portland Trail Blazers
They won the West's 8th seed, which must have felt like its own mini-championship after the all-out melee the NBA contrived. The Blazers unearthed found money in several places (Carmelo Anthony, Gary Trent Jr, Wenyen Gabriel), and played their hearts out.
But ultimately, the Blazers are largely still a one-way team with a fairly low ceiling. They've run it back for a half-decade as non-contenders, and look to be a major roster shift away from a breakthrough.
But for one brief moment, they took the NBA by storm.
125. Serge Ibaka
124. Jeff Green
123. Jerami Grant
112. Jayson Tatum
102. Dwight Howard
Dwight has been one of the most-scorned NBA players over the course of his 15-year career. Despite his Hall-of-Fame talent, pretty much everything else about him has made him incongruent to winning basketball.
After forcing his way out of Orlando in the most awkward and pretentious way possible, Howard bounced around the NBA for the better part of the last decade, always finding some way to ostracize himself.
His signing by the Lakers was a gesture of mutual desperation, and many felt it was doomed for disaster with LeBron's championship aspirations and the lack of any evidence that Dwight could conform and behave.
Well, he did. Howard was one of the NBA's best bench big men all year. By the Finals, he was starting. And now, after a highly turbulent career was written off by virtually everyone, he's an NBA champion.
