Surprising Studs Who Emerged from 2016-17 NBA Preseason
Admit it: Even in your wildest, most optimistic, anything-is-possible-during-the-NBA-preseason dreams, you didn't see these performances coming.
We expect to be surprised when superstars and starters are ceding touches and minutes to prospects, projects and roster hopefuls. Many of us welcome it, no matter how many caveats are attached to exhibition efforts.
Temporary hardwood detonations, after all, are still fun.
But certain players soar up their teams' pecking orders more demonstrably, playing their way into roles for which they weren't originally slotted. They have exceeded expectations in decisive fashion and, in the end, should earn regular spots in the rotation because of it.
Honorable Mentions
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Alex Abrines, Oklahoma City Thunder
Alex Abrines isn't much of a passer or rebounder, nor is he the most gifted defender. But boy can the Oklahoma City Thunder rookie get buckets.
After five preseason tilts, Abrines is sporting a 50/60/100 shooting slash. That is clearly sustainable, and he should be penciled in for MVP candidacy immediately.
If you're feeling more reserved, you're free to guess that he becomes Russell Westbrook's favorite new spot-up toy instead.
Bryn Forbes, San Antonio Spurs
Of course the San Antonio Spurs would wind up with an honorable mention.
Bryn Forbes latched on in NBA Summer League, and the Spurs never let go. He has repaid them by averaging 21.8 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.3 steals per 36 minutes during the preseason. Oh, he's also shooting 50 percent from beyond the arc.
San Antonio's backcourt rotation is set as long as Tony Parker stays healthy, but Forbes looks like he's ready to fill the gaping garbage-time-superhero void left by Boban Marjanovic.
Andrew Nicholson, Washington Wizards
All Andrew Nicholson has ever seemed to need is a consistent role in which he can showcase his versatility. The Orlando Magic never gave him that stability, and he didn't do too much to force their hand during his short bursts on the court either.
Nicholson hasn't run into the same problem with the Washington Wizards. He's averaging 17.9 points and 9.2 rebounds per 36 minutes, shooting 46.7 percent from three-point land and regularly outplaying every other forward-wing on the Washington roster.
Markieff Morris, in fact, may want to watch his back. His regular-season minutes could be impacted accordingly.
Willy Hernangomez, New York Knicks
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It turns out Willy Hernangomez, the No. 35 overall pick in 2015, is more than just a novelty who poses shirtless with Kristaps Porzingis. He belongs in the NBA, and the New York Knicks did themselves a service by picking him up from the Philadelphia 76ers.
Though Hernangomez was a borderline first-round prospect, the Knicks pieced together a roster dominated by veterans, suggesting they would have little, if any, time to invest in non-unicorn projects. Hernangomez is forcing them to reconsider.
The 6'11" newbie is averaging 12.1 points, 10.6 rebounds and 3.4 assists per 36 minutes on 55.2 percent shooting (15.8 minutes per game). He seldom looks for his shot outside the paint and doesn't play above the rim, but what he lacks in range and explosion, he makes up for with smarts.
Hernangomez's passing has been a pleasant surprise, and you won't catch anyone out-hustling him for loose balls. He has the second-highest defensive rebounding percentage on the team, to go along with an uncomfortably high foul rate, and won't hesitate to put the ball on the floor when he catches it beyond the charity stripe.
Kyle O'Quinn's minutes behind Joakim Noah and Porzingis feel unsafe as a result. Head coach Jeff Hornacek has all but tabbed Hernangomez as the backup center and more, telling reporters, per Newsday's Laura Albanese: "I think [Hernangomez] probably is [in the running for sixth man] for some of the things that he's been doing for us."
That's not something any of us should have expected to hear this soon.
And yet, given how the 22-year-old bounds up and down the court, with a combination of reckless diligence and perfected poise, he doesn't seem like some fly-by-preseason fad, either.
Mindaugas Kuzminskas, New York Knicks
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Two Knicks rookies? As happy surprises? Unironically? Is that, like, even allowed?
Granted, Mindaugas Kuzminskas isn't your typical NBA newb. He just turned 27 and is a four-time Lithuanian All-Star. His level of practice and polish belies his status.
Still, it's safe to say that the Knicks weren't expecting...this.
Kuzminskas averaged 24.4 points, 6.3 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 1.5 steals per 36 minutes through his first five preseason outings, albeit in limited playing time. He can be a turnover machine, but you have to let that slide when he's shooting better than 52 percent from the field and is unafraid to fire away from deep.
Like Hernangomez, he is making a case as an immediate backup. He can play either forward spot at 6'9" but is much more of an offensive mismatch at the 4. New York hasn't committed O'Quinn to a specific role, and Maurice Ndour doesn't quite look like the player from 2015 summer league, so there are minutes to go around behind Porzingis. Lance Thomas will find himself playing some 2 when Hornacek cannot justify keeping Sasha Vujacic on the court, and that will invariably open up spin at the 3.
Predicting an everyday role for a rookie on a team that fancies itself a contender is always risky, and Hornacek's substitution patterns don't imply Kuzminskas is in line for one. But the Knicks don't have any frontcourt second-stringers who can create their own looks, and they can't stagger Carmelo Anthony and Porzingis long term without completely compromising their greater offensive appeal.
Kuzminskas' shot-making abilities alone should be enough to land him inside a fixed rotation, even if his minutes come in nightly drips and drabs.
Patrick McCaw, Golden State Warriors
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Patrick McCaw is the latest proof that the Golden State Warriors are unbelievably, unrelentingly unfair.
It's not that McCaw, a rookie, is clearing 16.4 points, 4.3 assists and 2.6 steals per 36 minutes in substantial court time (20.8 minutes a night). It's not even that his three-point shooting (42.9 percent) has thus far improved since leaving UNLV.
It's that he's playing well enough to nab a steady backup role, behind Klay Thompson, for a Warriors squad that can sleepwalk its way to 65-plus victories.
And it's most definitely that Golden State scooped him up for practically nothing. The Milwaukee Bucks shipped him to the Warriors for a $2.4 million payday, because, well, the powers that be apparently smile down upon teams that blow a 3-1 lead in the NBA Finals.
Remember that. Remember all of it.
This way, years from now, when this Warriors core has collected its seventh straight title, long after McCaw has solidified himself as Shaun Livingston with three-point range, you'll know the Bucks are partially to blame.
Kelly Oubre, Washington Wizards
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Kelly Oubre is having himself a preseason. He's scoring with ease and defending with resolve, almost making you forget that his first year in the NBA wasn't all sunshine and daisies.
Almost.
Former Wizards head coach Randy Wittman seldom let Oubre see the light of day. It was an inexplicable move for a team that ranked poorly in offensive and defensive efficiency at the 3 and 4, according to HoopsStats.com.
New head coach Scott Brooks is already granting Oubre more freedom. We saw it in summer league, where he led the Wizards in scoring—only this time, he isn't clanging jumpers off the rim with excessive volume.
Oubre is seeing more minutes than any Wizard aside from Nicholson, and his usage rate, while still modest, jumped north of 20, easily dwarfing Otto Porter's mark (16.3). His 18.5 points and 2.6 steals per 36 minutes are accompanied by a 35.7 percent clip from downtown.
Preseason performances aren't everything, and Oubre must make more passes and plays off the bounce if he's to shed his secondary offensive role. Having routinely outplayed Porter, though, he is positioned to inherit the starting small forward job sooner rather than later.
Heck, at 6'7", with a wingspan greater than 7'2", per DraftExpress, Oubre might follow Nicholson's lead and cut into Morris' minutes at power forward, too.
Terry Rozier, Boston Celtics
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Maybe we should have seen Terry Rozier coming—Isaiah Thomas sure did. He told Bleacher Report back in August that Rozier was going to "surprise people."
A couple of months and seven preseason appearances later, Thomas looks like a seer.
Rozier wrapped the Boston Celtics' exhibition slate averaging 20.1 points, 4.8 assists and 1.8 steals per 36 minutes on 54 percent shooting. And while some will chalk this up to preseason serendipity, it looked too natural to be entirely fleeting, as Jay King wrote for MassLive.com:
"Fans and analysts spent much of the offseason wondering how the Celtics would replace Evan Turner, but it's possible they had an upgrade developing behind him last season. Since the beginning of summer league, Rozier has looked like a knockdown shooter; if he really can burn the nets like he's been doing -- while continuing a turnover boycott -- the improvements could lift the ceiling of Boston's second unit. ...
Rozier sometimes acts too eager to wait for a screen, but still committed just four turnovers over 120 preseason minutes. He entered the NBA with questions about his outside shot, but has made 16 of 31 triples (51.6 percent) since the start of summer league, including a 9-for-15 (60 percent) showing during the exhibition slate. Rozier's not just hitting from behind the arc, either.
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There will be plenty of time for Rozier to test his mettle at the start of the regular season. Marcus Smart won't be ready to rock for a couple of weeks after injuring his left ankle in Boston's preseason finale, per CSN New England's A. Sherrod Blakely. Failing a Gerald Green renaissance or R.J. Hunter takeover, Rozier will (temporarily) be the team's first guard off the pine.
Even when Smart returns, Rozier should still play an expansive role. He replaces Evan Turner's offensive handling and vision and has made far more progress on his outside shot than Smart. The Celtics, one of the worst three-point shooting teams last season, need that extra playmaker who also spaces the floor.
And it looks like they've found him.
Stats courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com and NBA.com and are accurate as of games played on Oct. 20 unless otherwise cited. Salary information via Basketball Insiders.
Dan Favale covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter, @danfavale.
