Eric Gordon and NBA's Best Breakout Candidates for 2011-2012
The 2011-2012 NBA season is sure to showcase a number of promising young players finally living up to their billing and blossoming into stars in the league.
Much like last year when Kevin Love, Blake Griffin, Russell Westbrook and many other players proved they are going to be studs to build franchises around for years to come, these five guys are all poised to make “the leap” and become All-Stars.
They are in great situations to display their talent and will become the hottest names in the game this season.
Let’s take a look.
Eric Gordon
1 of 5Gordon is going to stuff the stat sheet this year in New Orleans.
He’s the best young two-guard in the league and will finally get a chance to relentlessly attack the basket and chuck up jumpers without a conscience for the Hornets.
The CP3 trade was actually a blessing in disguise and a change of scenery will be good for Gordon.
While his team might be terrible, the Indiana product will have a breakout year and will unquestionably be their star.
He becomes a free agent in 2013 and will be one of the most coveted players on the market.
DeMarcus Cousins
2 of 5Cousins came back from the lockout reportedly looking slimmer than ever and hungry to win.
The Kings are a young, upcoming team, and their sophomore center will be the focal point this year after a solid rookie outing where he averaged 14.1 points and 8.6 rebounds.
He should improve on those averages and continue to grow on the defensive end.
With Tyreke Evans and Jimmer Fredette occupying defenders backcourt, and J.J. Hickson now in the frontcourt, Cousins will dominate the paint and be a go-to down-low scorer in 2011-2012.
James Harden
3 of 5After his incredible playoff run last year, Harden is finally showing why he was taken third overall in the 2009 NBA draft.
He’s poised to take over Thabo Sefolosha’s starting spot at the two this season and add even more firepower to the Thunder starting five.
Sefolosha is too inept offensively to continue starting in this league and is better served as a defensive boost of the bench.
This ASU product will put his shooting touch and uncanny passing ability on display for a very good Oklahoma City team this year and help them on another deep playoff run.
Iman Shumpert
4 of 5The New York Knicks have an injured Baron Davis and an ineffective Mike Bibby on the roster to play point guard.
No one seems to be talking about the No. 17 overall draft pick this year.
The 6’5” combo-guard plays lockdown defense and has incredible athleticism.
He's probably going to start out at the two, but the Knicks will need to move him to PG eventually because of their terrible signings.
If he can build some rapport with Carmelo Anthony and Amar’e Stoudemire, Shumpert would provide another solid defender on the court in crunch time to pair with Tyson Chandler, who will be patrolling the paint.
If he could only find better court vision and passing ability, he'd be a lock to bring the Rookie of the Year Award to the Big Apple.
Bismack Biyombo
5 of 5The Bobcats have some of the worst big men in the league, and they actually downgraded their frontcourt by letting Kwame Brown walk away.
Biyombo just reached a buyout agreement with his Spanish club and is all set to head to Charlotte this season after they made him the No. 7 pick in the draft.
He’ll quickly overtake Boris Diaw and DeSagana Diop as the best big man defender on the roster.
He’s also a dunk artist who will be flushing down ferocious jams and creating quite a highlight reel with his tremendous shot-blocking ability.
Expect him to get heavy minutes in the Bobcats’ rotation this year and prove that he is the next Ben Wallace-type defensive star in this league.
