Prez wrote:ElPeregrino wrote:H2tObes wrote:Stop acting like Bledsoe is the same player in the playoffs
He literally is the same player. I've heard people say that about so many players over the years and the players generally always revert to their level of regular season performance. Bledsoe has played 679 games in his career and you're judging him based on 24 of them. I don't believe Bledsoe is incapable of performing in the playoffs just like I don't believe Giannis is either.
No, no he is not. During his time with the Bucks -
Regular season:
57.7% TS
2.6 BPM
19.0 PER
.148 WS/48
Playoffs:
49.4% TS
-0.8 BPM
13.4 PER
.059 WS/48
In the 3 series the Bucks got eliminated in (17 games): 12/4/4 on 45% TS
The man went from getting all star consideration in multiple regular seasons with the Bucks to being an offensive liability at various points in the playoffs. He absolutely was not the same player. If you want to believe 4th time's a charm then okay but I would hope the organization is quicker to move on than that and thankfully they were.
So we're only talking about the series when the Bucks were eliminated. It's an opinion based on less than the 24 games I had said. It's based on 35% of Bledsoe's playoff career. One year you count the 1st round. The next year you don't count the 1st or 2nd rounds but only count the 3rd round. But then the third year you do count the 2nd round. You're using a very random selection of evidence to support your claim. I could find players who choke every year from January 10th-20th if I looked.
The old adage goes those who don't remember history are doomed to repeat it. From 2003-2008 in series when the Mavs were eliminated (31 games), Dirk averaged 24.0 ppg on .431 FG% and .311 3P%. People said Dirk wasn't a playoff performer. He's too soft and folds under pressure. Then from 2009-2011, Dirk averaged 27.3 ppg on .503 FG%, .423 3P%, and a Finals MVP.
From 2010-2016 in series when OKC was eliminated from the playoffs (34 games), Durant averaged 18.7 ppg on .438 FG% and .313 3P%. Since then, he's been a historically great Finals performer averaging 30.2 ppg on .545 FG%, .476 3P%, and two Finals MVPs.
LeBron was once considered incapable of winning on the big stage in his first stint in Cleveland. Kyle Lowry used to be viewed as a notorious playoff choke artist. Bledsoe is hardly unique in attracting criticism for his playoff performances. He would only be unique if he doesn't revert to the mean.