The NBA regular season has come to an end and the playoff matchups are set in the East and the West.  The Miami Heat and ready to defend their crown thanks in part to having three of the best players in the NBA today.  They aren’t the only team loaded with talent ready to challenge the Heat for the Title though.  The Clippers, Pacers, Rockets, Spurs and Thunder are all poised to try to dethrone LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and company.  With that in mind, I have decided to rank the best players from 2013-14 that are in the post season.  These are the guys who played the best during the year and helped to carry their respective teams.

25t. Paul Millsap, Atlanta Hawks: in his first season with the Hawks Millsap did something that he had never done in his seven years with the Utah Jazz, make an All-Star team.   Millsap also took on the Hawks’ main scoring load after Al Horford went down for the season with an injury.  One of the main reasons Millsap was able to do that was because he added a consistent 3-point game to his arsenal.  After never making more than 13 shots from behind the arc in a single season, Millsap knocked down 76 of 212 3-points attempts in 2013-14.  On the season, Millsap averaged 17.9 points, 8.5 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 1.7 steals and 1.1 blocks a game.

25t.  DeMar DeRozan, Toronto Raptors: DeRozan was relied much more on at the offensive end of the floor after the departure of Rudy Gay in a midseason trade with the Sacramento Kings, and he produced in a big way.  DeRozan was the leading scorer for the Atlantic Division Champions and also made the Eastern Conference All-Star team for the first time in his career.   On the season, DeRozan averaged 22.7 points, 4.3 rebounds, four assists and 1.1 steals a game.

24.  Chris Bosh, Miami Heat: playing next to LeBron James and Dwyane Wade is great when it comes to jewelry, but not so spectacular when it comes to your stat line.  Such is the case for Bosh anyway.  His scoring and rebounding numbers have gone down every year since he left Toronto, but Bosh is still an elite player.  He made his 9th straight All-Star game after averaging 16.2 points and 6.6 rebounds a game for the Heat.  He also became a valuable outside threat for the Heat this season while making a career-high 74 3-pointers.

23.  Serge Ibaka, Oklahoma City Thunder: in his fifth season in the league Ibaka has completely transformed himself into a legitimate third option for the Thunder on the offensive end of the floor after averaging a career-high 15.1 points a game this season thanks to his improved 3-point and free-throw shooting.  Ibaka also had his best season on the glass in his young career averaging 8.8 rebounds a night while leading the league for the fourth straight year in total blocks (219).

22.  Mike Conley, Memphis Grizzlies: even though his minutes are down for the fourth straight year, Conley had his best offensive season of his career in large part because of his added aggressiveness.  Conley shot a career-high 14.1 shots a game while also shooting a career best 45 percent from the field.  For the season, Conley averaged 17.2 points, 2.9 rebounds, six assists and 1.5 steals a game for the Grizzlies.

21.  Kyle Lowry, Toronto Raptors: Lowry had by far the best season of his NBA career and is the main reason why the Raptors have been so successful this season.  After starting off the season slowly, Lowry picked it up after the Rudy Gay trade and helped the Raptors turn a 6-12 start into a 48-34 season.  For the year, Lowry averaged 17.9 points, 4.7 rebounds, 7.4 assists and 1.5 steals a game for the Atlantic Division Champs.