Quick refresher: In Croshere's first two years in the league, he averaged just over 3 points and 1.5 rebounds per game. Following his third season in the NBA, Croshere burst into the national spotlight during the playoffs as he helped lead the Pacers to the NBA Finals. This run was highlighted by Croshere averaging over 15 points and 6 rebounds per game against the Lakers in the finals. After that, the Pacers proceeded to give Croshere $51 million dollars over 7 years and both parties involved were never the same from that point on. That's right, the Pacers decided it would be a good idea to give this guy $51 million dollars to play basketball for them:
So here we are in 2011 and I present to you the All Austin Croshere Team for this years playoffs:
PG- Jeff Teague
Teague is a guy who you didn't really hear much about through his first two years in the league. He averaged just over 4 points per game in limited minutes (about 12 per game). Honestly, I had only seen him play a few times. He got his chance in the second round against Chicago and responded by averaging: 15 ppg, 4.2 apg, 2.8 rpg, while shooting 54% and playing 38 mpg. He only committed 7 total turnovers in 6 games and played respectable defense on Derrick Rose. I'm excited to see Teague's role expanded next year with the Hawks to see how he produces night in and night out in a guard dominated league.
SG- James Harden
Out of my list, Harden got the most national recognition for what he did during the playoffs. He carried the Thunder at times and really provided help offensively when they needed someone to step up. I was impressed by his versatility being able to run the point and then create his own shot when needed. More than anything, Harden really passed the eye test for me. There were times when he was on the court and without knowing any better you would have assumed he was the captain of his team. At 21 years old, I think Harden has all-star upside.
F- Tyler Hansbrough
Hansbrough really didn't have that great of a postseason as far as numbers go. However, he did have a huge game where he gained some national attention and people have started to actually think that he could be a consistent starter on a winning team. I'm still not convinced that Hansrough is anything more than an off the bench energy guy, but you do have to give him credit for his production over the second half of the season. He had a string of 13 consecutive games where he scored in double figures; which is quite an achievement considering he only scored in double figures twice in the first 23 games of the season. If nothing else, the playoffs made people talk about his improvement during the regular season.
F- Taj Gibson
Ok...hear me out on this one. First of all, I'll go ahead and acknowledge that Gibson's numbers actually decreased from the regular season to the postseason. My reason for naming him to this team is simply that some GM had to be watching him and saying "that is a guy who could bring something to our team." I think the Bulls should have given him more of Carlos Boozer's minutes. I don't care how much you have overpaid a guy or "invested" in him, when he becomes a defensive liability to the point where teams are isolating him regardless of who he is guarding (Boozer), you have to get him out of the game. I think Gibson offers as much offensively while bringing much more aggressiveness and effort to the defensive end. I didn't know that or recognize that before these playoffs and for that reason I have him on this team.
C- Marc Gasol
I had no idea how skilled Marc Gasol is. His minutes increased in the playoffs and he responded by averaging 15 ppg and 11 rpg. This was quite a step up from the 11 and 7 he averaged in the regular season. The center position is thin in the NBA right now but Marc Gasol has established himself as one of the best we have.
Honorable Mention- Mike Conley, Darrell Arthur, Jose Berea, and Joel Anthony.
I wanted to mention Conley and Arthur specifically, but you could just about name anyone on the Grizzlies roster and make an argument for how they stepped up their game.
Berea may fit the Croshere comparison the best if I was looking for a guy who has shown flashes of unsustainable brilliance and may end up getting overpaid for it.
Joel Anthony has stepped up at times during the Heat's run to the Finals. While most of his work has been on the defensive end of the court, I do want to point out that he doubled his season high for field goals made in a game during one of the games in the 2nd round against the Celtics. Not sure where it came from, but for a moment it looked like had some offensive skills.
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