It’s imperative for players to be on the rise during the NBA playoffs, and that has reflected in the results of first-round series. We’re analyzing players who’ve gone up, but also some whose play has gone the other way.
One reason the NBA playoffs are so tantalizing is because people love watching how the human mind deals with high-stakes situations.
Some rise to the occasion, while others stumble and fall.
With the first round of the 2025 NBA playoffs nearly complete, we have a decent amount of data to see which players are falling into which categories, so we bring you three risers and three fallers.
But instead of merely focusing on the household names, we have three different categories: stars, veteran role players and first-timers. There’s one riser and one faller for each of those buckets.
Stars
Riser: Anthony Edwards, Minnesota Timberwolves
It’s easy to think Edwards should build off his “Hustle” movie character Kermit Wilts and go into acting full-time once his NBA days are over. Not because he’s some egregious grifter (although hat tip to him for the 96th percentile free throw rate). Rather, it’s because he lives to be in the limelight.
For yet another season – this is three in a row, if you were wondering – Edwards has taken his play to another level, going from a fringe All-NBA player (15th in DRIP) to a bona fide superstar. According to our WAR metric, he’s second in the playoffs behind only three-time MVP Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets.
Edwards is one of the rare perimeter stars to give you high scoring (No. 7 in the NBA playoffs at 26.8 points per game) and be a lockdown defender.
Anthony Edwards + Minnesota Timberwolves outstanding team defense pic.twitter.com/0i1BXzB5gK
— Timberwolves Clips (@WolvesClips) May 1, 2025He also easily vanquished a Los Angeles Lakers team that rostered three of the top 25 players in the NBA in O-DRIP (Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves and LeBron James).
Faller: Tyler Herro, Miami Heat
Fresh off his first career NBA All-Star nomination and being handed the keys to the castle after Jimmy Butler was traded to the Golden State Warriors, Herro was set to handle his first postseason series as the Heat’s true leading man.
Yes, his first-round opponent was the ultra-formidable Cleveland Cavaliers, but you have to think an All-Star that now has 50 playoff games under his belt would stand out.
Unfortunately, that was not the case. Herro went from averaging 23.9 points and 5.5 assists per game on pristine 60.5% true shooting in 77 regular-season games to 17.8 and 2.8, respectively, on 51.2% TS in a not-so-gentleman’s sweep.
Unlike Edwards, Herro was not the one dictating things on the defensive side of the ball. In fact, he was the moving target the Cavaliers chose to mercilessly target (sixth percentile D-DRIP), provoking comments like this from the normally stoic Darius Garland.
Darius Garland was asked what the key to playing clean basketball/limiting turnovers against the Miami Heat is: "Pick on Tyler Herro and take care of the ball. Don't play in tight spaces and pick on their weak defenders."
— Danny Cunningham (@RealDCunningham) April 24, 2025Veteran Role Players
Riser: Jaden McDaniels, Minnesota Timberwolves
Part of the reason the Timberwolves struggled at times this season is because McDaniels failed to live up to the Platonic Ideal of role players status he previously carved for himself. However, the forward made sure to realize his full potential in the first round against the Lakers.
In the NBA today, the perfect role player is someone who can hit their 3-pointers, attack closeouts off the dribble, and wear multiple hats on defense. In their five-game series win, McDaniels hit 37.5% of his 3s (up from 33.0% in the regular season) and posted a 58.7% true shooting on drives (up from 50.0%). He also sits in the top 25 among all postseason players in D-BPM.
He worked relentlessly to make life difficult for Luka, one of the NBA’s most offensively skilled players. If McDaniels and Edwards remain on their playoff rise, a second straight Western Conference finals berth could soon be in the Wolves’ future.
Faller: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Orlando Magic
Long valued as an elite three-and-D player whose two-way prowess makes him immensely valuable in the playoffs, Caldwell-Pope has been a part of nine playoff series victories and two NBA championships in his 12-year career.
That is what makes his five-game showing against the Boston Celtics puzzling. Yes, the Magic were faced with a nearly impossible task (no team has ever won a playoff series against a team that has had a regular-season net rating nine points better than theirs), but Caldwell-Pope didn’t help the cause. In nearly 33 minutes of action per game, he averaged just 5.0 points and was just 6 of 23 (26.1%) from behind the arc.
Some would argue this was part of a season-long slump from the veteran wing. However, even in a down regular season, Caldwell-Pope averaged 8.7 PPG and shot 34.2% on 3s.
First-Timers
Riser: Alperen Sengun, Houston Rockets
The main goal of the Rockets’ postseason – other than winning as many games as possible – is figuring out which of their young players are born to perform in the second season. Through five games, the Rockets can rest assured their All-Star big man is no paper tiger.
On the surface, Sengun doesn’t seem to be an obvious riser. His scoring (20.8 PPG) is only slightly up from the regular season (19.1). Meanwhile, his efficiency (51.6% TS) is slightly down (54.5%).
However, Sengun ranks fifth in the playoffs in WAR – ahead of standouts such as Donic, the Milwaukee Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Los Angeles Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard, New York Knicks’ Jalen Brunson and Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry, to name a few.
Sengun’s post game is the one of the few lifelines keeping the Rockets’ halfcourt offense afloat. His physicality coupled with Steven Adams’ brute strength has actually dominated the Warriors when the two share the floor (30.1 net rating in 54 minutes, per PBP Stats). Plus, he’s managed to excel on defense against a team that should be a bad matchup for him (fifth in D-BPM in the playoffs).
Faller: Jalen Green, Houston Rockets
While Sengun has looked ready for battle, Green seems to still faces some growing pains. Green had a phenomenal Game 2 against the Warriors, totaling 38 points, six assists, four rebounds and three steals with 69.9% true shooting.
But if you remove that shooting star from his numbers, Green has averaged just 8.8 points and 2.5 assists on 37.7% true shooting in the other four games. Those numbers are a far cry from the 21.0-point and 3.4-assist averages with 54.4% true shooting during the regular season.
The worst part is Green has intentionally been trying to pick on the older, slower Curry, but to no avail. According to NBA.com matchup data, Green is just 1-for-8 (12.5%) from the floor on shots defended by Curry.
Oh, and he’s also fourth among the four main Jalens (Green, Brunson, Williams, and Duren – sorry, Jalen Pickett) in playoff WAR.
For more coverage, follow us on social media on Instagram, Bluesky, Facebook and X.
Risers and Fallers of the 2025 NBA Playoffs Opta Analyst.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Risers and Fallers of the 2025 NBA Playoffs )
Also on site :