5 players ready to make splash in their first NBA playoffs ft. Cade Cunningham

With the NBA playoffs ready to begin on Saturday, teams are gearing up to make their championship aspirations a reality. However, this year's playoffs give multiple young stars a chance to show off their skills on the highest stage. Players with no postseason experience offer a wide range of results, either tuning out the pressure or crumbling under it.

The Detroit Pistons and Houston Rockets are full of young players who have helped their teams rebuild and have earned the respect of the league. For players getting their first look at the NBA playoffs, though, they are offered an opportunity to see how they measure up against the game's elite stars in the intense environment the NBA playoffs provide.

There are players in both conferences for whom this year's postseason will be their first taste of the NBA playoffs. How they deal with the increased intensity will go a long way in showing just how far they and their teams still have to go before they can seriously contend for a title. We picked out five players who could make the biggest impact on this year's NBA playoffs.

Detroit Pistons G Cade Cunningham

Cade Cunningham is this year's ascending star, earning his first All-Star selection while leading a Pistons team that tripled their win total from last season. He will be in consideration for the Most Improved Player award as well as an All-NBA spot. After three up-and-down seasons, the Detroit Pistons are finally on the right track, reaching the NBA playoffs for the first time since 2019.

The Pistons will go as far as Cunningham takes them in the NBA playoffs, but they face a tall task in the first round, taking on the New York Knicks. This series, more than any other first round matchup, is expected to be tough and chippy between two teams that love to play physically. However, in a matchup where both teams are mostly even, it often comes down to which stars outperform their opponent.

While Cunningham doesn't have an All-Star teammate to help him match Karl-Anthony Towns and Jalen Brunson, he might be the best player in the series, which is all a team needs sometimes. However, Cunningham will have to deal with OG Anunoby and Mikal Bridges throughout the first round as they try to shut him down.

Houston Rockets C Alperen Sengun

Alperen Sengun is one of the NBA's quieter stars, but he has led the Rockets on an impressive campaign this season. He has given a young Houston squad an offensive hub to work through, as well as provided a big boost on the glass, where the Rockets dominate. His team might have home-court advantage in the first round against the Warriors, but Sengun and his team are the underdogs.

On an individual level, Sengun will face arguably the toughest matchup he could have drawn, having to deal with Defensive Player of the Year candidate Draymond Green in the post. The Rockets have struggled when Sengun fails to score his averages, and Green will be focused on removing the young center from as many games as possible.

While a lot of the Rockets' young talent will make their NBA playoff debuts this season, they have been learning about what the postseason entails from the veterans on the roster.

Fred VanVleet, Stephen Adams and Dillon Brooks have all made deep NBA playoff runs and understand what it takes to advance through the postseason. They will have Sengun and Co. ready for their opening game against the Warriors.

Indiana Pacers G Bennedict Mathurin

The Indiana Pacers made it all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals in last year's postseason before being swept by the eventual champion Boston Celtics. This year, however, they enter the NBA playoffs with a player they didn't have available during that run, Bennedict Mathurin. Mathurin missed what would have been his first NBA playoff run with a shoulder injury that kept him off the court.

Now that he is healthy, the Pacers have a chance to see what their team can do when at full strength. Mathurin is expected to receive some votes for Sixth Man of the Year, providing the Pacers with 16.7 points off the bench throughout the season. How he is able to lead the offense when Tyrese Haliburton sits will go a long way in determining how far the Pacers can go.

While Indiana is optimistic about the NBA playoffs and faces the same first-round opponent as last year, things are much different. Giannis Antetokounmpo, who was injured for the Milwaukee Bucks' playoff run last season, is healthy and playing his best basketball of the season. That being said, the Pacers have belief and home-court advantage that makes them a tough out in the opening series.

Houston Rockets G Jalen Green

Similarly to Sengun, Jalen Green is one of the offensive leaders for the Rockets who has yet to step foot into the postseason atmosphere. However, there might be more pressure on him than his center thanks to his scoring prowess. Green has had 14 games this season where he has notched over 30 points, proving that he can explode for a big performance every night.

Just like Sengun, Green will face one of the best defenders in the Western Conference in Jimmy Butler, who has already shown the world that "Playoff Jimmy" is alive and well, even in Golden State. The Warriors-Rockets series will be one predicated on defense, so it is up to Green to find a way to score consistently before Steph Curry and Co. leave his team in the dust.

Head coach Ime Udoka has spoken highly of his young stars throughout the season and expressed that they are ready for the challenge of the NBA playoffs. Having the confidence of their head coach is important, but the best thing for both Green and Sengun would be to get off to a strong start. If they can, they could ride the momentum into the second round.

Detroit Pistons C Jalen Duren

Heading back to Detroit, Jalen Duren has been battling alongside Cade Cunningham for three years, finally cracking the code and helping to lift the team into the NBA playoffs. He might not be one of the Pistons' top scorers, but his presence on the interior will be paramount against the New York Knicks.

Duren is likely to match up with All-Star center Karl-Anthony Towns in their first-round series, where the young center's defense will be tested by one of the more offensively gifted stars in the game. If Duren can hold his own on that end of the floor, he could take advantage of Towns' defensive shortcomings and own the paint for Detroit.

Duren and backup center Isaiah Stewart play with a lot of passion and pride themselves on being the enforcers for the Pistons. With the bigger stakes and intense atmosphere the NBA playoffs provide, both players will be crucial in instilling confidence into their team as they try to pull off another upset in what has been an inspiring year.