The Washington Wizards and Boston Celtics head into the second round of the NBA playoffs rolling. Both teams have won multiple games in a row leading to their advancing in the playoffs. Here are four players you need to watch in this second round matchup.
John Wall
John Wall has been one of the best players in the playoffs. Averaging 29 points and ten assists per game in the postseason, John Wall is getting whatever he wants, and he's setting up his teammates nicely. He's shooting 52 percent from the field and 47 percent from three. Not only is he putting up really good numbers, but it also doesn't matter who is guarding him.
Dennis Schroder defended him for most of the first round series, and even though Schroder is a plus defender, Wall made him look silly time and time again.
Isaiah Thomas
Isaiah Thomas didn't have the greatest first round series. This is completely understandable from what he's going through and the trials that are going on in his life right now. Even with everything going on, he still managed 23 Points Per Game against the Bulls. This series gets real interesting from his point of view. He's going to have a harder time getting open space against the wizards than he did against the Bulls, but Isaiah is so explosive that it might not matter. He's going to go to work at will, and it's John Wall's job to slow him down.
Bradley Beal
Bradley Beal has been the Robin to John Wall's Batman since they've been together. Wall has always carried the team, but we're starting to see Bradley Beal elevate his game to performances that we've never seen from him before.
Averaging 25 points per game on 46 percent shooting from the field, Bradley Beal has arguably his toughest matchup that he'll have in the playoffs.
He'll be seeing a lot of Avery Bradley who just finished locking down Jimmy Butler two games straight. Beal has been on a scoring tear, though, and he's doing it without being efficient from three. Shooting just 26 percent from beyond the arc, Beal will be even more dangerous when that starts getting consistent again.
Al Horford
Horford is the big key to this whole series for the Boston Celtics. When the Celtics turned their series around against the Bulls, Horford was a direct reason behind this. The team as a whole played well, but Horford was being aggressive and being a threat.
When he does that, he opens up so much for this team. His ability to pick and pop and pull Gortat out of the paint will come in handy throughout the whole series. Look for him to knock down shots in their pick and roll game this series. This series has firepower from all angles, and it will be interesting to see which team slows down the other or if we'll just get some fast paced basketball.
