5 NBA Players on Pace to Shatter Expectations During 2014-15 Season
The 2014-15 NBA season is still young, but it's safe to say a handful of players have exceeded expectations at this point in the process.
For example: Who thought Rajon Rondo would be averaging a near-triple-double after playing just 30 games last year and breaking his hand over the summer?
Then there's Kobe Bryant, who is second behind Steph Curry in scoring despite averaging just 13.8 points in five contests during 2013-14.
Although all of the players exceeding expectations were supposed to be good, they're dominating at a level that many didn't see coming. Keeping momentum will be tough, but the following players have a shot to do just that as the year progresses.
*All statistics are courtesy of ESPN.com and are current as of Nov. 10 at 3 a.m. ET.
Honorable Mention: Anthony Davis
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The fact Anthony Davis is playing at a high level should be a surprise to no one. We've seen his potential in the past, and the assumption was that he'd come back ready to have a career year in his third season.
What's surprising (at least to a small degree) is just how elite he's been. In Game 1 on Oct. 28, the big man torched the Orlando Magic for 26 points, 17 rebounds, nine blocks and three steals in a 101-84 victory.
Since then, Davis hasn't slowed down. He's averaged 24.4 points, 12.8 rebounds and 4.4 blocks while shooting 50.6 percent from the field. According to ESPN.com, his Personal Efficiency Rating (PER) of 34.98 is third league-wide, trailing only an injured Russell Westbrook and Dennis Schroeder of the Atlanta Hawks.
At this point, Davis is not only an early-season MVP candidate, but it can be argued that he's actually leading the pack. But again: We saw this coming to a certain extent.
As B/R's Grant Hughes put it, "AD has done all he can to put himself in the MVP conversation this season. He belongs there—now, and as long as he continues to blow us away with stats and highlights."
Odds are, Davis will indeed continue to blow us away. The bigger question is: Can he push the Pelicans near the top eight seeds out West this season?
Brandon Knight
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Brandon Knight had the best season of his career in 2013-14. During his first year with the Milwaukee Bucks, he posted career highs in points (17.9 PPG), assists (4.9 APG), rebounds (3.5 RPG) and field-goal percentage (42.2).
In 2014-15, he's managed to one-up himself.
Through seven games, Knight is averaging 17.6 points, 7.3 assists and 6.4 rebounds per game while shooting 45.5 percent from the three-point line. He also has a game-winner to his credit, as he hit the go-ahead and-1 on Nov. 8 to beat the then-undefeated Memphis Grizzlies 93-92.
Up to this point, the concern with Knight has been whether he could turn into a more versatile player. He's always been a scorer, but could he ever become more is what people wanted to know.
Although the sample size is small, he seems to have turned a corner under new head coach Jason Kidd. He's playing the most complete basketball of his career, and at just 22 years old, the hope is that he's only begun to scratch the surface of his potential.
Rajon Rondo
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Rajon Rondo's season has kicked off with a bang. Just ask former teammate Kevin Garnett, who watched the floor general record 13 points, 12 assists and seven rebounds in the first game of the season.
“Rondo was classic,” Garnett said after the Boston Celtics defeated the Brooklyn Nets 121-105 on Oct. 29, via Steve Bulpett of BostonHerald.com.
“I don’t know what he said he was, 89, 83 percent? That’s a hell of an 82 percent. He played well and he led his team to a win tonight.”
Through five games, Rondo is nearly averaging a triple-double (9.0 PPG, 11.2 APG, 8.0 RPG). In fact, he's already recorded one triple-double, posting 13 points, 15 assists and 10 rebounds in a 110-107 loss to the Toronto Raptors on Nov. 5.
Whether Rondo can keep up the pace is a question worth asking. However, in a contract season, the 28-year-old has all the motivation he needs to perform at a high level.
What Rondo's future holds is still up in the air, but he's looking good at this point in the process.
DeMarcus Cousins
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Entering the 2014-15 season, the hope for Sacramento Kings fans was DeMarcus Cousins would make the transition from very good player with loads of potential to undisputed superstar.
Although it's early in the year, the big man is on pace to do just that.
Cousins, 24, is showing more maturity than ever before. Having been in the league four years, it's natural for that to happen. However, playing with Team USA this past summer likely expedited the process.
Although Cousins' numbers are certainly a large part of the discussion (23.0 PPG, 11.1 RPG, 1.4 BPG, 28.32 PER), it's his overall demeanor that's taking him to the next level. For instance: Who would have ever imagined Cousins being the one restraining head coach Mike Malone after he fouled out against the Phoenix Suns on Nov. 7?
You just can't help but be impressed with what he's done thus far. The Kings are 5-2, and the big man is making a case as the game's best center.
Klay Thompson
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Before the 2014-154 season began, the people at ESPN ranked Klay Thompson as the 38th-best player in the NBA.
At this point in the year, they might be rethinking that ranking.
Through five games (he missed Game 6 on Nov. 9 against the Phoenix Suns with a sprained wrist), Thompson is the seventh-highest scorer in the league. He's posting 23.8 points per contest, sandwiching him between DeMarcus Cousins (eighth) and Chris Bosh (sixth).
Although Steph Curry is the face of this franchise, Thompson is quickly becoming just as crucial for success. That was evident when the team signed him to a four-year, $70 million extension in October.
So far this season, the 2-guard is knocking down 40.6 percent of his three-point attempts. That's right on par with his career average of 40.1 percent, so there's little reason to believe he'll regress as the year continues.
Kobe Bryant
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Following back-to-back season-ending injuries, people were skeptical about Kobe Bryant's return. ESPN even took the liberty of ranking him as the 40th-best player in the league—a ranking that caused Bryant to call the people at the popular sports provider "a bunch of idiots," according to Bill Oram of the Orange County Register.
As it turns out, the Mamba is back. He's struggled with efficiency (39.4 FG percent), but he's averaging 26.5 points per contest—the best mark in the NBA behind Steph Curry.
The problem here for the Los Angeles Lakers is they're playing awful basketball. Six games into the year, they have just one win, and their 112.7 points per game allowed is the worst league-wide.
Can the Lakers turn it around? Not likely. Bryant is one of the best players to ever play the game, but he's not a magician.
Then again, you can never count the future Hall of Famer out on a personal level. Barring injury, this is what we should see out of the incredibly driven 2-guard between now and the end of the season.
