20.  Marc Gasol, Memphis Grizzlies: Gasol played in 59 games for the grizzlies this season because of injuries.  In those games the Grizzlies had a record of 40-19.  In the 23 games Gasol missed Memphis went 10-13.  That leaves no doubt of the impact that Gasol has when he is on the floor.  In his 59 games of action, Gasol averaged 14.6 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 3.6 assists a contest.  Along with being an important part of the Memphis offense, Gasol is the backbone of a very stingy defense averaging 1.3 blocks and a steal a game.

19.  Zach Randolph, Memphis Grizzlies: even though Randolph is in his 13th season in the NBA, he isn’t showing any signs of slowing down at all.  In fact, two of his best games of the year came in the Grizzlies’ last two games of the season.  In a must win game against the Phoenix Suns,  Randolph scored a season-high 32 points while hauling down nine rebounds as Memphis earned the final Western Conference playoff spot 97-91 in Phoenix.  Two nights later, Randolph was at it again.   Thanks to a 27 point, 14 rebound effort he helped Memphis knock off the Mavericks and jump them in the standings .  On the season, Randolph is averaging 17.4 points, 10.1 rebounds and 2.5 assists a night.

18.  Damian Lillard, Portland Trail Blazers: Lillard has had an impressive sophomore campaign and is a huge reason why the Trail Blazers are back in the playoffs.  After winning the Rookie of the Year award a season ago, Lillard stepped up his game on his way to making the Western Conference All-Star team.  On the year, Lillard finished 10th in the league in free-throws made (371), eighth in free-throw percentage (87.1) and third in made 3-point shots (218).  Thanks to his ability as an inside and outside threat, Lillard averaged 20.7 points a night to go along with 3.5 rebounds and 5.6 assists.

17.  John Wall, Washington Wizards: the Washington Wizards are back in the playoffs and Wall is the main reason why.  He is a dynamic lead-guard who can do it all on the basketball floor.  After an injury riddled 2012-13, Wall played all 82 games this time around and played well enough to make his first All-Star game appearance.  A huge part of his growth is because Wall added the 3-point shot to his game.  After hitting only 49 3’s in his first three seasons in the league, Wall knocked down 108 triples this season.  With the added dimension to his game, Wall one of the toughest guards in the league to stop.  On the season, Wall averaged 19.3 points, 4.1 rebounds, 8.8 assists and 1.8 steals a game.

16.  Al Jefferson, Charlotte Bobcats: Jefferson struggled early on in his first season with the Bobcats scoring 20 or more points in only eight of his first 28 games.  At that point, Jefferson caught fire and scored at least 20 points a game in 37 of his last 45 games including 13 games of at least 30 points.  During that stretch the Bobcats had a record of 28-17 to help them earn a spot in the playoffs.  His most impressive game of the year came in a 10-point road win over the Los Angeles Lakers when Jefferson registered 40 points, 18 rebounds four assists and three steals.  For the season, Jefferson averaged 21.8 points, 10.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.1 blocks a game.