Who has the most to prove in the NBA playoffs?

You can't fault players for looking ahead to the postseason.

With only two days left in the 2018-19 campaign, 15 NBA teams have already secured playoff berths and only one spot in the Eastern Conference is still up for grabs. It's therefore likely that some stars' mindsets have already begun shifting from surviving the grueling marathon of the regular season to securing elusive playoff success.

To find that success, though, some will need to erase bad memories and past postseason narratives along the way.

Here are four players looking to prove themselves anew in the playoffs:

Kyrie Irving

Kyrie Irving could only watch from the sidelines last season as an undermanned Boston Celtics squad took LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers to seven games in the Eastern Conference finals. Sidelined indefinitely after knee surgery revealed an infection, he'd also missed the first two rounds and final 15 games of the regular season.

Now fully healthy, the 27-year-old will relish the opportunity to finally lead his own team in the playoffs. A successful Celtics run will only help his cause when he likely hits free agency this summer, even if he's already all but guaranteed a max deal wherever he lands.

All of the Houston Rockets

It's almost poetic that the Rockets shattered the NBA record for most 3-pointers in one game by dropping 27 of them against the Phoenix Suns on Sunday; Houston bricked that exact number of consecutive attempts from deep in May against the Warriors, allowing Golden State to take Game 7 of the Western Conference finals.

The Rockets' accuracy from beyond the arc won't be the only playoff narrative to overcome if they intend to make a deep run. After missing Games 6 and 7 last year against the Warriors with a hamstring injury - the same ailment that also cost him two games in the 2015 playoffs - Chris Paul will need to prove he can stay healthy in the postseason.

Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum

Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum have formed a talented backcourt duo for the Portland Trail Blazers since Lillard's sophomore year in 2013-14, but they've yet to advance past the second round in five consecutive postseason appearances. Their most disappointing trip to the playoffs arguably came last season when the lower-seeded New Orleans Pelicans swept Portland in Round 1. It wasn't much better the year before when the Trail Blazers suffered the same fate against Golden State.

It may be unfair to pin Portland's postseason woes solely on the two guards, but another first-round exit will generate questions regarding just how far this core can go. And after Jusuf Nurkic's season-ending leg fracture in March, Lillard and McCollum will have to prove doubters wrong on their own.

Kawhi Leonard

Kawhi Leonard last played a postseason game on May 14, 2017 - Game 1 of the Western Conference finals against Golden State. It was in that game that Zaza Pachulia closed out too aggressively on Leonard, forcing the then-San Antonio Spurs forward to miss the rest of the series with an ankle injury. The following year, a still-mysterious quadriceps injury cost Leonard nearly the entire regular season as well as the Spurs' five-game exit against those same Warriors.

Barring a last-minute catastrophe, Leonard will make his first playoff appearance in two years thanks in part to the Toronto Raptors' load management and abundance of caution. Whether he re-signs north of the border or opts for warmer pastures this summer, a healthy postseason foray from Leonard could remind interested teams exactly what the former Finals MVP is capable of in the playoffs.