2009 NBA Fantasy Preview: Top 5 Breakout Players

In the early parts of last season, former No. 1 draft pick Andrea Bargnani was struggling.

He was dealing with inconsistent playing time, a lack of confidence, and the "bust" label.

But everything changed once Sam Mitchell got fired and Jermaine O' Neal got fired. Bargnani began to look like a completely different player becoming a much more versatile scorer, as well as a much improved shot blocker.

Bargnani really started to turn it on after January, partially due to 20 pounds of muscle increase over the previous off-season, and the addition of a much needed pull up jumper to his dangerous arsenal.

As Bargnani’s confidence began to grow under Coach Jay Triano, he began using his strength to get to the basket. He should benefit with the addition of Hedo Turkoglu, and another year in the high octane team offense.

Bargnani averaged 19.8, 17.9 and 20.3 points per game for January, February and March respectively, and with a little work on his rebounding, he should be ready to truly breakout next year.

No player on this list changed the outcome of Fantasy Leagues at the end of the season more than JR Smith.

Smith is an incredible long range shooter and one of the streakiest players in the NBA. He began the season on the bench, but had a tremendous end to it as the starting SG.

The exuberant SG really found his stroke once Chauncey Billups came on board, and should be an excellent source of 3 PTM and PPG for next year.Smith not only has seemingly limitless range on his jump shot, but is also extremely confident.

Fantasy owners won’t forget his 45 point game at the end of the season, where he hit 11 3PT in only 27 minutes, or even his 19 PPG/ 3.3 3PTM average's since March 1st.

Smith has always been an undeniable talent and will have the green light from George Karl next year with a heavier workload.

He ended the season off with a scorching April where he averaged 22.4 PPG and 3.7 3PTM, and should be selected within the first six rounds of any draft.

When Carlos Boozer went down with injury in late November, backup PF Paul Millsap began to shine in a starting role and became one of the hottest fantasy pickups of the year as a double double machine.

Millsap is a great rebounder, especially on the offensive end, and started to get more and more confident with his offensive game with more consistent minutes.

Though Millsap got injured in January, he averaged 18.6 PPG/ 11.5 RPG in December including 17 double doubles in 17 games. As a post scorer, Millsap should complement Okur nicely and really began to mesh well with PG Deron Williams as a starter.

With Carlos Boozer on the trading block, Utah seems ready to hand the starting job over to Millsap and he’s more than earned it.

At the end of the 2008-09 season, Anthony Randolph caught fire in the starting SF role on a fast paced Warriors offense averaging 14 PPG/ 11 RPG/ 1.4 Blocks/ 1.5 Steals, for fantasy owners in the final 10 games of the NBA season.

Randolph has great length and athleticism at the SF spot, and has won the starting role in the Warriors line-up next season.

The second year player has added 20 pounds of muscle over the off-season, and could potentially be a 5-cat player next year with consistent minutes in a high octane Warriors offense.

The versatile athlete should be a great source of rebounding and blocks at the SF position. Randolph shoots a great percentage due to his ability to get to the basket.

We all saw him turn it on for the Warriors the last month of the season, and ripped up the Vegas Summer League to the tune of 27 PPG / 10.5 REB / 3.0 Blocks.

Let the hype machine begin.

Russell Westbrook reminds me of a young Dwayne Wade. He is a phenomenal athlete with explosive leaping ability, quickness and excellent offensive rebounding skills as a PG.

The second year player started 2008-09 in a tough position backing up Earl Watson, but earned the starter's role in late November. In a matter of a month, he won the Western Conference Rookie of the Month award for December averaging 15.5 PPG / 5.1 APG/ 5.1 RPG.

What makes Westbrook so tantalizing as a fantasy prospect, is that he has the type of all around game that oozes with triple double potential, and improved leaps and bounds throughout the course of his rookie year.

Westbrook has an uncanny ability to get to the basket and uses his strength and athleticism to attack the rim. Though initially, Westbrook went through some tough rookie growing pains turning the ball over, he improved greatly in that category as he got more comfortable as a floor general.

With the addition of James Harden, Westbrook’s assist numbers should be even better, while his offensive game should benefit heavily from Kevin Durant attracting double teams.

Westbrook continued his marked improvement by averaging 20.6 PPG/ 6.1 RPG/ 5.9 APG in February, and his triple double in March was the first by a rookie since Chris Paul did it in 2006.

Entering 2009-10, Westbrook should be much more comfortable in the PG position, and will be counted on by Coach Scott Brooks to take on a heavier workload.

He ended the year averaging close to 7 APG in April, and seems more ready than ever to breakout as one of the most dynamic PG's in the fantasy world.