Bleacher Report - NBA Preseason 2015: Potential Breakout Players to Watch on Exhibition Schedule

[Utah Jazz Newsfeed]

Results of NBA preseason games mean nothing. There is little reason to pay attention to the final box score in any game. Extended minutes are given to players who won't even be on rosters in a few weeks, and players run vanilla sets meant to merely get them into game shape before the regular season.
However, that doesn't mean we should write off the preseason as a worthless endeavor. First of all, it's basketball. We don't know about you, but these last few months have been torture. Second of all, the NBA preseason product represents its regular-season form more than any other major professional sport.
Don't believe it? Take a look at the top scorers from last year. That's a lot of awesome players...and Jamal Crawford. The story is similar as you look in all the other major categories; great players can't help but to be great, even in the preseason.
In some cases, that even carries over to young players on the verge of breakouts. Had you watched closely enough, you could have seen Jimmy Butler's emergence as a 20-point scorer coming in early October. Samesies for Rudy Gobert's transformation into a rebounding monster.
Who are the players most likely to emerge this preseason? Here's a look at a handful of the best bets.

[h=2]Andrew Wiggins, SF, Minnesota Timberwolves[/h]

OK, fair enough. This is a copout. Wiggins was great as a rookie last season, and even a standard second-year leap would put him in breakout category.
That said, anyone who watched Wiggins play this summer for the Canadian national team knows he's primed for a leeeeeap in 2015-16. The former Kansas star averaged 15.1 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.3 assists across Canada's 10-game FIBA Americas run, leading them to a third-place finish. He shot an impressive 51.7 percent on three-point attempts—a promising sign given his 31 percent rate a year ago—and continued to flash his aggressiveness drawing contact near the basket.
“He’s a killer,” Raptors forward Anthony Bennett, Wiggins' international teammate, said last month, via Eric Koreen of the National Post. “Anywhere he goes, he has that mentality—just go out there and play hard.”
Wiggins' becoming a "killer" is a vital development, especially given the criticism about his tepid ways at Kansas. We'll never know if Wiggins would have been better off learning under LeBron James' wing in Cleveland, but it appears he's ready to lead this Minnesota franchise into the future.

[h=2]Marcus Smart, PG, Boston Celtics[/h]

Unlike Wiggins, Smart did not have a perfect rookie season. He started only 38 games, shot 36.7 percent from the field and didn't do much to dissuade opinions about his shaky skills as a primary ball-handler. If you're a point guard who can't hit 70 percent of his free throws, you better be someone with Rajon Rondo's court vision and basketball IQ.
Smart hasn't made that connection yet, but that's not the end of the world. We live in an era of increasing positionless-ness, and Smart might be hitting the NBA at the perfect time. If he's not a "primary" point guard, Smart is more than good enough to take a secondary role and is already a dynamic on-ball defender.
“I see the daily work that he puts in, so he’s getting better,” Celtics coach Brad Stevens told reporters. “He can still get a lot better. Obviously defensively, I’ve said this from day one: He’s way ahead of the curve for a 21-year-old. Defensively—on and off the ball—he’s outstanding, and he’s continuing to get better on the offensive end. Because he’s very capable; it’s just about picking the right spots.”
The underlying numbers also indicate that Smart is more effective than his per-game numbers give him credit for being. Boston outscored opponents by 3.5 points per 100 possessions when Smart was on the floor last season and was outscored by 2.9 when he was on the bench, according to Basketball-Reference.com. While lineup stats tend to be noisy, the Celtics' three-best lineups with at least 10 games played together all featured Smart.
If Smart can become even an average NBA point guard this season, look out.

[h=2]Rudy Gobert, C, Utah Jazz[/h]

We already got a preview of the Stifle Tower era in the second half of 2014-15. Despite starting only 37 games, Gobert finished fifth in the Defensive Player of the Year voting, serving as a centerpiece to a...well, stifling Utah defensive effort.
The 7-footer's insertion in the starting lineup was seen by most as a catalyst to Utah's torrid post-All-Star run. The Jazz went 19-10 after the break and held opponents to an NBA-low 94.8 points per 100 possessions. That number was nearly five points better than the next team.
Gobert averaged 11.1 points, 13.4 rebounds and 2.6 rebounds per game after the break. For the season, opposing players shot 40.4 percent when Gobert was at the rim, besting Serge Ibaka for the best number in the NBA among players who were involved in five or more such plays per game.
Utah hopes Gobert's biggest improvement will come offensively, where he's still a blank slate. A vast majority of his shots come right at the rim via dunks, layups, tip-ins, etc., and things haven't gone well on the rare occasions he's stepped out of his comfort zone. Gobert made just eight of 57 jump shots and was 7-of-24 on hook shots last season.
"I'm more confident," Gobert said of his offensive game, via Aaron Falk of the Salt Lake Tribune. "Really, in the first season and early last season, I wasn't really trying anything offensively. Now I can really work on my game and try to show it on the floor."
Shot-blocking centers without much of an offensive game have a place in the NBA, but Gobert will have to summon his inner Tyson Chandler at the beginning of this season to truly reach his potential.

[h=2]Victor Oladipo, SG, Orlando Magic[/h]

After a rookie season filled with growing pains, Oladipo began flashing signs of living up to his No. 2-overall pick in 2014-15. He was one of 16 players to average at least 15 points, four rebounds and four assists per game, joining a list that includes some of the NBA's best players (and George Hill and Tyreke Evans).
Oladipo was the worst of those players when ranked by win shares, but it's also telling that he was the youngest by two years. Emerging as a good secondary ball-handler and improving shooter, Oladipo upped his numbers across the board while continuing to emerge as a solid on-ball defender.
His deft athleticism and aggressiveness allows him to go one-on-one against most wings without giving up an inch, and he appears to relish doing the difficult work on the perimeter.
Still, he's yet to master the basketball IQ portion of the program, too often relying on his athleticism to get by. The third-year guard said that's the biggest improvement he made this offseason.
"Just the mental part of the game as far as picking my spots, being confident and making the simple, precise play while not trying to do too much is the key,’’ Oladipo said, via John Denton of the Magic's official website. "I just need to let the game come to me. So I’ve been focusing on my mental game. A lot of this game is mental. The greats kind of separate themselves with that mental edge, and that’s what I’m trying to focus on.’’
Beyond a more integrated mental approach, the Magic hope Oladipo's three-point shot continues to tick toward average. He shot 33.9 percent last season, which is good enough that he should continue taking open looks but not good enough to make defenses close hard.
With Orlando already committed to non-shooters in Elfrid Payton, Aaron Gordon and Tobias Harris (an average shooter), Oladipo's progression as a spot-up guy will be huge for what could be a borderline playoff team.

[h=2]C.J. McCollum, SG, Portland Trail Blazers[/h]

Simply put: The Blazers are going to need more from McCollum, whose NBA career has been mired by injuries and intermittent playing time. There should be no shortage of available minutes in 2015-16, as a mass exodus of talent leaves Portland as the team most likely to fall from the playoffs to the lottery.
McCollum and Gerald Henderson will compete to fill the roster void left by Wesley Matthews and Arron Afflalo, now plying their trades in Dallas and New York, respectively. Henderson, a better defensive player, might have been the favorite to start heading into camp had he not been recovering from hip surgery. It would appear—for now—that McCollum will start alongside Damian Lillard on opening night.
"When you come into the NBA, your goal is to be one of the go-to players and be a guy your team can depend on and be a guy who's consistently performing every night and giving consistent minutes," McCollum said, via Mike Richmond of the Oregonian. "That's your goal. And when the opportunity presents itself, you make sure you're prepared to seize it."
Blazers fans have been optimistic about McCollum having a more expanded role since last season's playoff series against Memphis. The former Lehigh standout averaged 25.7 points over the final three games, including a 33-point outing in Game 5 that saw him hit seven threes.
It's unlikely McCollum and Lillard will ever become a dynamic defensive backcourt, but their scoring prowess will be fun to watch on a team that's going to lose a bunch of games.

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