There were some outstanding performances in the first round of the NBA Playoffs, and those players deserve some recognition

I don’t care that he averaged less than 20 minutes and 10 points per game, Alvarado was crucial to the New Orleans Pelicans nearly upsetting the Phoenix Suns in an emotional and entertaining first round series. Alvarado made some timely shots but it was his one-on-one battle against Chris Paul that provided much of the theater in this series.

Paul is one of the greatest guards in the history of the NBA. Most games, the basketball is like an extra appendage for Paul he controls it so well. In this series he was put to the test with Devin Booker missing much of it with a hamstring injury. Alvarado, an undrafted rookie, made Paul work every second that he was guarding him. Jamie Foxx’s good buddy forced Paul not only into turnovers but into an actual eight second violation. He also got 30 minutes in a classic Game 6 at home. Alvarado was far from a gimmick or simply an irritant, he made plays and kept Paul’s life miserable. He was a treat watch.

The return of Luka Dončić certainly sealed the victory for the Dallas Mavericks in the first round against the Utah Jazz, but that return would’ve held no weight if the Mavericks went down 3-0 without the NBA’s leader in usage rate for the last two seasons. Dončić returned for Game 4 to a team that was up 2-1 against the Jazz. Much of the reason for that was a championship effort from Jalen Brunson.

During the Mavericks’ loss to the Los Angeles Clippers in last year’s postseason, they opted to go with Trey Burke instead of Brunson down the stretch. Brunson’s struggles in that series sat with him all offseason, and this regular season he tallied career highs in minutes and points. He would go on to torch the Jazz in the first round. His 41 points in Game 2 caught the basketball world’s attention as he made all the big plays for the Mavs in the fourth quarter. He followed it up in Game 3 with 31, and had another run in the fourth quarter to keep the Jazz from taking the lead and keeping his Mavs in control. They were hoping to win one game without Dončić, and Brunson got them two, and now the Mavs might be the sleeper team in the West.

Yes the Minnesota Timberwolves vs. Memphis Grizzlies was six games of chaos. However, even though Wolves have mostly themselves to blame for all of the double digit leads that they lost, they can be comfortable in the fact they absolutely nailed the No. 1 overall pick last season. In his first playoff appearance, Edwards led the Wolves in minutes and scoring per game. He averaged 25.4 points per game on 45.5/40.4/82.4 shooting splits.

All of the help that he received from D’Angelo Russell in the clincing play-in game was non-existent for much of this series, and the Wolves veteran No. 1 overall pick, Karl Anthony Towns, his play fluctuated from game to game. Edwards took the pressure on himself as best he could, reminiscent of Ja Morant in the playoffs last year, and he almost succeeded. He had the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference on the ropes with an offensive game that has come a long way. He has all the strength and quickness to get to the rim, but his 3-point ball in one season has gone from beast to beauty. Edwards showed it all off against the Grizzlies, and should be a favorite to make his first All-NBA team next season.

Yes, I’m going to reward another first-round loser. While this performance has no bearing on the MVP, Jokić showed why that award should go to him this season. The Golden State Warriors are back, and by back I mean championship contenders. Stephen Curry didn’t start until the fifth game, but he averaged 30 minutes per game. That may not sound like much, but no one averaged more than 35 for the Warriors in their 4-1 series win because as a team they were that dominant, and even more frightening, their leader in minutes was Klay Thompson.

That left poor Jokić out there with Will Barton, Bones Hyland, and Monte Morris to take on a dynasty. It didn’t go well but it wasn’t Jokić’s fault. He fought through the Warriors’ swarming defense and discouragement from his teammates’ misses off of beautiful feeds, to still be virtually unstoppable. He averaged 31 points on 57.5 percent from the field and earned a giant bro hug from Draymond Green after the series. You want to know just how well Jokić played in this series, listen to Green gush about him in the postgame press conference after the Warriors pulled out Game 5.

Was the Boston Celtics’ sweep of the Brooklyn Nets and Jayson Tatum’s performance against Kevin Durant a changing of the guard moment in the NBA?! I mean that’s the logical A-block topic after the performance Tatum had against Durant. He was the Celtics’ leading scorer, top playmaker, and hounded Durant all series, holding one of the best scorers in NBA history to under 40 percent shooting from the field for the series. In a must win Game 3 at home, Durant only took 11 field goal attempts.

It’s a team effort to make someone that great look so bad, but Tatum was tenacious and a big reason why Durant could not find his rhythm. It’s not often that players make that kind of distinct impact on both sides of the floor for an entire series. Tatum owned the floor for nearly every second that he was on it against the Nets, and had the Celtics playing their best basketball since they went to the NBA Finals in 2010.

As well as Tatum played in that first round, the MVP has to go to Jalen Brunson. This is a player who has never averaged 20 points per game in a season, and he averaged 27.8 on 48.4 percent shooting against the Jazz. Again, he became the focal point of the series after the 41-point outburst in Game 2. Then with all of the arrows and circles and clicker lasers pointed towards him, he returned with a 31-point game to show that he is for real.

The Mavericks were not a big three, or a one-two punch going into this postseason. They were an improved defense, some capable supplemental scores, and Dončić. Brunson, at his 6-foot-1 stature, stepped into Dončić’s shoes and led the Mavericks to their first playoff series win in over a decade. Yes, Dončić returned to close the show, but without Brunson, the show is over long before Dončić is able to return to the stage and give the final soliloquy. Brunson filled a role that no one ever thought that he would be able to in the NBA, and for that he is the MVP of the first round.