Which NBA players do you expect to have a breakout (or breakdown) season in 2014?

I don't have too many predictions or insights of my own at this point, but I figured this would be a good dog days thread.

The real thing that got me thinking about this was how my Grizz have only slightly augmented their roster from last season. Between Zach Randolph and Tony Allen, I can see one of the two going downhill or getting hurt, just given the aggressive style that both players approach the game with, combined with their age.

Looking around the league though, it looks like someone in Utah should finally make a name for themselves... maybe Derrick Favors, maybe Gordon Hayward... hell, maybe even Enes Kanter. With Jefferson, Millsap, and Williams gone, any of the three could really be poised for a breakout season.

I'm also thinking this could be DeMarcus Cousins' first All-Star year. We all know the talent's been there, but the roster shakeups and interviews with Cousins really paint a picture of the perfect scenario and time for Cousins to finally break out as the next great big man.

 

I hear Oden is running now. He's scheduled for swimming pool exercises and 3-on-3 by the end of preseason.

 

They say Aldridge has gained 15 pounds of solid muscle. The Oregonian's Freeman is, to use his favorite word, giddy.

 

Will that 15 lbs. change his game at all? I've always respected Aldridge as a talented player, but I never really respected his game. I'm a new school guy that likes post players to play old school. 15 lbs is a dramatic weight gain though. I don't know what that means in terms of his game, but it should definitely allow him to be more of a traditional four.

Anyway, without turning this thread into another Aldridge conversation, one of the guys that I saw in summer league that I thought could be a real contributor this next season is Viacheslav Kravtsov. He was just a big body last season, but in the summer league, he looked like he's learned a lot of the nuances of the game to use that big body. I'm not saying I expect him to be a star, or even a starter for that matter, but I wouldn't be surprised to see him elevate his game to where he's a reliable, better Tsakalidis-type option off the bench this season. He really showed some good instincts in Orlando.

I can also see Evan Turner finally coming into favor with the casual fan. I've always liked the guy's game, since he was a Buckeye. Entering the draft, all of the comparisons were "Scottie Pippen," but with every lottery pick, analysts place unrealistic expectations on their shoulders. Fact of the matter is that he was described as a promising, do-everything wing, that could be a prototypical wing with intangibles. How has he disappointed people, given that description? How many 24 year old 6'7" SF's can post averages like 13+/6+/4+?

With Philly being stripped of Holiday, I can realistically see this being Turner's year to take over as an elite point-forward.

EDIT: Just another aside on Turner... his numbers ain't sexy to the casual fan, but aren't ya'll better than that? Why's everyone always considering him a bust? At 24 years of age, he neared triple-doubles on several occasions this season. If you can post 18/7/12 against the Spurs, you're cool in my book...

Just look at his game log -

http://espn.go.com/nba/player/gamelog/_/id/4239/evan-turner

Yeah, he had a rough night or four, but every player does. Looking at that game log, I'm just drawn to how well-rounded his game is, just at the age of 24.

I mean, we're all attracted to high scoring players, but just look at the productivity of Evan Turner... the guy can score, board, and dish. He's the consummate point-forward. Why is he considered a bust instead of one of the "next big things"?

 

He's a solid player but seems to lack the star mentality people are expecting from a 2nd pick. He could be good, even great, complimentary player but so far hasn't proven he can really carry a team. Holiday was a late lottery pick but was clearly their go-to player and leader last year.

 

Even if he never carries a team though, his draft position is being unfairly held against him. If he was something like the #7 pick, I think that people would be touting him as the next big thing.

I mean, the reason the 76'ers drafted him at #2 is because he'd be a sure contributor... and has he not been that? All of the talent at the top in that draft was so volatile, so Philly wasn't in the market for Favors or Cousins. Really, at the end of the day, they passed on Wes Johnson for Evan Turner, and they scored big.

 

I can make a few predictions based on the work i'v done for Fantasy BBall so far. Haven't done a lot since i'm working more on Football at the moment but the few players I have an eye on are
Kawhi Leonard - Was featured more in the post season and I think he will be featured more in the offense this year
Jeff Green - When looking at the Celtics there doesn't' seem to be any stand out players aside from Rondo but Green did produce at times last year and will have a bigger opportunity to establish himself with Pierce gone.
Bradly Beal - With the relative lackluster crop of SG I expect him to keep up his hot 3% shooting and be more efficient with a healthy Wall all year.
Jose Cealderon - He still wont' play a lick of D but with that Dallas team that isn't going to be content with losing I expect him and Dirk to develop a nice chemistry, he wont' rack up the points but he will continue to shoot a great 3% and rack up 8+ Dimes a game.
Eric Gordon - Finally seems to be healthy, and if he can stay relatively injury free I think he will overshadow both The Brow and Holiday
Jimmy Butler - Played well when he started last year and with Rip gone I expect him to beat our Dunleavy for the starting spot and play solid D while putting up double digits in points.

Thats all my notes iv jotted down so far on players to watch and thats from a Fantasy perspective.

Edit-
NoVooDoo: no clue if Freeman actually reported the LA weight gain or not but they seem to report that same increased muscle weight number every year for the last 3 or 4 years.

 

Easy: Jonas Valanciunas.

 

Voodoo, disregard my questionable news release. Portland papers reported player weight gains every summer for about 3 summers. We all got tired of it and started making fun of the pattern.

 

Will be interesting to see how Vasquez does. Kind of a prove it year, playing on a different team.

 

Link? (not because I don't believe you. I just wanna read the story.)

 

Sucks when people take something you post seriously, jlprk. They haven't been paying attention.

 

For breakout or bust, I'll pick the same player: Tyreke Evans

 

Funny you say that. I was thinking the same with Howard. Something about his game last season looked on a big decline. I don't think it was the system either.

Howard seems like the guy that wants all the stardom but buckles under pressure. Maybe harden will overcome this; but Kobe wasn't able to.

 

It was a joke.

 

I'm riding on Terrence Ross. The kid will be a star!

 

Marshon Brooks. He should be the starting 2 in Boston. I think he is the real deal.

 

Breakout players: Damian Lillard, Bradley Beal, Robin Lopez, Thomas Robinson

Breakdown players: Greg Oden, Zach Randolph, and Marc Gasol

 

Oh shit, starting the 2014 Grizz trolling already?!

:MARIS61:

He's an offensive beast, but he's so bad on defense that even his own teammates joke about it.

Good call... he looked like he had really beefed up in the Summer League. He really seemed out of place with the rest of the youngins...

Another guy on the Raptors that I could see having a breakout year is Rudy Gay. As much as I hated him as Grizzly, apparently he had corrective eye surgery this summer, and now he's shooting a lot better.

I'm not sure how much weight to put on those reports, but if that's true, I'd be pissed that he waited this long to have that procedure. His shot selection was really the only thing wrong with his game, and that was because he couldn't hit anything outside of 10+ feet with consistency, but he'd still take them. If he can finally start hitting all of those mid-range shots that he hacked up in Memphis, I'll feel real jipped as a Grizz fan.