The All-Star weekend is now over and now it’s time to make pushes for the playoffs for a lot of teams. The first half of the season has been wildly entertaining, but the second half of the season is what’s going to matter the most. It’s going to be interesting to see how certain players play and if they can have an impact on their team for a possible playoff berth and more.
Let’s get into the top 3 players to watch out for after the All-Star break…
1. Luka Doncic, Dallas Mavericks
Luka is my #1 player to watch after the All-Star break and well… for good reason. Before the season started, Luka Doncic was considered the primary MVP candidate and by many… the #1 MVP candidate. The Mavericks have had a slow start to the season which hasn’t allowed Luka to get the spotlight needed to win MVP. Luka is actually having a great season, he’s averaging 28.6 PPG, 8.4 RPG, and 9.0 APG on 47.8% (career-high) from the field and also 35.7% (also career-high) from three-point land.
Doncic has been playing at a higher level as of recent and the Mavericks are winning due to it. They’re 8-2 in their last 10 games and have looked like they’re finding their stride finally. I expect Doncic to go off and have a dominant second half of the season.
The MVP race is dominated by Joel Embiid, Nikola Jokic, and LeBron James right now, but I fully expect Luka to make things interesting in the second half of the season.
2. Caris Levert, Indiana Pacers
As a Pacers fan, I had to add Caris Levert to this list. But honestly, it’s not even biased at this point. I truly do believe that Levert will be one of the more interesting players to watch out for this second half of the season. Caris has been out for a few months now due to a small mass being discovered on his kidney.
Before he got injured, Levert was averaging 18.5 PPG, 4.3 RPG, and 6.0 APG while shooting 43.5% from the field and 34.9% from three. Those are pretty impressive numbers, but they get more impressive when you realize he did that coming off the bench. I have high expectations for Levert on the Pacers and believe he’s the missing piece for them to get back into being a top 4 seed in the East. Caris Levert will bring energy, fearlessness, and another ballhandler the Pacers have been needing ever since Oladipo got traded.
I think Levert comes back and finishes the season strong for the Pacers, averaging around 23-25 PPG for the rest of the season. Levert has shown a lot of growth these past years and I think his growth continues as he becomes the #1 option for a playoff contending team like the Pacers.
3. Jimmy Butler, Miami Heat
A lot of people have shown doubt in Jimmy Butler and the Heat (including me as well) early in the season, but he’s been slowly proving us all wrong again. At the beginning of the season, the Heat didn’t look pretty at all and was sitting around the 13th-15th seed which caused many fans to call them a fluke.
In the past 10 games, the Heat have been 7-3 and Jimmy Butler has been a huge reason why. Sure, Butler isn’t averaging a crazy amount of points but he’s doing everything for the Heat right now. He’s averaging 20.5 PPG, 7.5 RPG, and 7.8 APG for the Miami Heat right now.
My expectations for Jimmy Butler for the second half of the season are to keep pushing towards a top 4-5 seed in the East and becoming a top 5 MVP candidate. There are a lot of candidates this season, but if Butler can push the Heat to a top 4 seed in the East, he’ll definitely be considered an MVP candidate for sure.
