The NBA playoffs are in the second round, and the Celtics beat the Cavaliers early to reach the Eastern Conference finals in the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs. On the Western side, the Nuggets and Timberwolves entered a tiebreaker, and the Mavericks led the Thunder 3-2, and the situation on both sides was unclear. For the other eliminated teams, they will focus on strengthening the weak points in the team in the offseason, especially the players who perform poorly but take advantage of the team's high salaries may be traded or purged. So, which players are performing in the playoffs this season that can be called high-paid and incompetent? Let's take stock of it today.
5 Harris
The 76ers were eliminated by the Knicks in the first round of the playoffs this season, although the 76ers duo Embiid and Maxey performed well, but Harris's performance was not worth at all, Harris's annual salary this season was second only to Embiid, and his annual salary was as high as $40 million, but in the six playoff games against the Knicks, he averaged only 9 points + 7.2 rebounds per game. There is little presence on the offensive end, and such stats obviously don't help the team. This offseason, the 76ers are likely to abandon the forward altogether.
4 Ingram
Also the team's second-leading scorer, Ingram struggled in the playoffs. Originally, after the Pelicans lost Zion, they hoped that Ingram could take on the role of team leader, but his performance in the playoffs was disappointing. Facing the inexperienced Thunder, the Pelicans originally had the strength to fight, but they were swept in the first round of the playoffs. In the first four games of the playoffs, Ingram averaged 14 points per game, a significant reduction from the 27.5 averaged in the playoffs for the first time. Ingram's salary this season is $33 million, but that performance is hard to accept.
3 Garland
The Celtics eliminated the Cavaliers 4-1 in the second round. On the one hand, because of the serious injury of the Cavaliers, the core player Mitchell and the core of the interior Allen withdrew from the game due to injury, on the other hand, the team's defeat is inseparable from the poor performance of Garland, the team's second leader. In the 12 games of the playoffs, although he averaged 15.7 points per game, he was mediocre on the offensive end and was frequently targeted on the defensive end. The practice of stealth at key moments has also disappointed many fans, and his salary this season is as high as $33 million, which has made the Cavaliers management start to package trades.
2 Murray
When it comes to the most overrated player in this year's playoffs, Nuggets guard Murray, in the first round of the playoffs, Murray became famous by eliminating the Lakers with two stunner shots, but in fact, Murray's performance in this year's playoffs was very bad. He was 4-of-18 from the field and 3-of-18 from the field against the Timberwolves, averaging just 6.5 shots from 17 from the field in six playoff games against the Timberwolves, a 38 percent shooting percentage. Throughout the playoffs, Murray averaged just 19 points on 20 shots per game, shooting just 31 percent from three-point range and 38 percent from the field. His annual salary is $31.85 million this season, and if the Nuggets are out of the Game 7, then Murray could be traded.
1 Hayward
The highest-paid low-energy player in the playoffs this season has to be Hayward, the former All-Star small forward who has been on the fringes of the team after being traded to the Thunder this season. In the playoffs so far, Hayward has not scored in seven consecutive games, and in the last two playoff games, Hayward has been completely abandoned by the team and has not even played time. Having failed to score a point in his last nine games, Hayward's second-highest salary this season is the team's second-highest, and it is also the last contract of his career with a multi-million annual salary, and no team may be willing to sign him next season.