Key Contributor from Each NBA Team Who Could Lead Them to Success in 2011-12

The 2011-12 NBA season is right around the corner, and along with so much anticipation and excitement for the season that nearly didn't happen, there are also several interesting storylines which are currently unfolding.

How will the Heat fare the second time around? Will the Oklahoma City Thunder be the team to beat out West? Are the Clippers ready to become the new best team in Los Angeles?

Each individual team also has its own stories. Many of those stories stem from individual players who, while not stars or in some cases not even starters, will play a huge role in how far their team is able to go this season.

Here's a look at one key player from each team whose play will have a significant impact on how the season plays out. Some are role players, and some are stars, but because of injuries, recent poor play or lack of NBA experience, their contributions are somewhat of an unknown at this point.

Boston Celtics: Brandon Bass

Brandon Bass may be new to the Celtics this season, but how he performs will go a long way towards determining the Celtics' fortunes this season.

Beyond the "Big Four" of Rajon Rondo, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett, most of their roster is full of unknowns. Those four will make the Celtics a playoff team if healthy, but not a true contender unless guys like Bass can come through.

Last year he had the best year so far of his career, starting in over half of Orlando's games and posting career highs in points, rebounds and assists per contest. If the Celtics want to be a contender this season, they will need a big year from Brandon Bass.

New Jersey Nets: Kris Humphries

If there is one NBA player with reason to be distracted this season, it's Kris Humphries.

While now going through a nasty, public divorce that is painting Humphries as the bad guy, he needs to find a way to focus on the task at hand, which is helping the Nets win basketball games. If they are going to appeal to the free-agent class of 2012 and make the last season before the move to Brooklyn a memorable one, they need contributions from the supporting cast.

He was an important cog in the Nets rotation last season, averaging a double-double and having a career year. It's up to him to show that it was no fluke, because the Nets need more than Deron Williams and Brook Lopez in order to make the playoffs.

New York Knicks: Baron Davis

This one is a bit of a question mark, since Baron Davis isn't healthy right now and, at this point, it looks like he won't be playing for another few weeks.

Even so, he could be the biggest reason why the Knicks end up taking the next step in the standings and, potentially, the third member of their so-called "Big Three." Toney Douglas will likely be the starter at point guard for the Knicks to begin the year, but once Baron is back, I see him stepping into the starting lineup very quickly, unless Douglas is playing out of his mind.

Baron hasn't been playing particularly well the past couple of years as he has toiled away on lousy teams with no hope of making the playoffs. However, he showed signs of life while with Blake Griffin and the Clippers last year. Once he gets healthy, he should do very well when his job involves getting the ball to Carmelo Anthony and Amar'e Stoudemire and throwing lobs to Tyson Chandler.

If Baron steps up and has a good year, the Knicks could make a lot more noise in this year's playoffs.

Philadelphia 76ers: Spencer Hawes

The 76ers were able to surprise a lot of people last year when they first made the playoffs, and then put up a strong showing against the Miami Heat in the first round.

The team has not improved much from a season ago in terms of adding new talent, so it will be primarily up to the players currently present to show the year-to-year improvement that is expected of them. Spencer Hawes is one such player.

Last season he regressed a little bit, and will have to do more to earn the confidence of, and minutes from, coach Doug Collins. He is still only 23, and has a lot of room for growth, including the potential to be a very good center in the Eastern Conference. The 76ers will probably need something close to a double-double average from Hawes if the are going to take the next step towards being more than just a lower-seeded playoff team.

Toronto Raptors: DeMar DeRozan

The Raptors are really an odd collection of players right now, and it's hard to know what their future strategy is for becoming a competitive team. They have some good young talent, but some of those guys are going to need to become stars, or at least play at an All-Star level, for the rebuilding project in Toronto to start gaining traction.

DeMar Derozan is probably the most promising player on their roster, other than possibly incoming rookie Jonas Valanciunas, who most likely will not play in the NBA this season. DeRozan showed dramatic improvement in certain areas of his game from his first to second seasons, and will need to continue to improve if he hopes to become the franchise cornerstone that the Raptors can build around.

One area he needs to improve in specifically is his three-point shooting, as he currently has very little ability to stretch the floor. Toronto won't be good this season, but DeRozan's potential improvement will make the difference between the Raptors being halfway decent or among the league's worst.

Chicago Bulls: Richard Hamilton

The Chicago Bulls were a few missed opportunities away from going to the NBA Finals last season. They were the NBA's best team during the regular season, and the addition of Rip Hamilton should help them make an even stronger push for an NBA Championship this year.

Hamilton has been disgruntled and somewhat forgotten on a couple of bad Pistons teams, but at age 33, he probably still has a couple of above-average seasons left in him. At the very least, he should be able to replicate some of what Ray Allen did for the Celtics the past few seasons, and will certainly be an upgrade over Keith Bogans as the starting shooting guard.

If he plays well, then Hamilton could easily be the missing piece that leads the Bulls to the top. If not, then they will likely come up short once again.

Cleveland Cavaliers: Kyrie Irving

Kyrie Irving may end up being the best player on the Cleveland Cavaliers by season's end, but last summer's No. 1 pick needs to show that he has what it takes to be the new franchise cornerstone of the team. He was a great player in limited action in college, and his true ceiling is still somewhat of an unknown.

Cleveland spent most of the early part of last season without much of an identity and, although they finished the season somewhat stronger, still were not anywhere near being a playoff team again. Getting two of the top four picks in the draft should help, but that all depends on what those players do.

Being picked No. 1 is a high honor. Irving will have to live up to that honor and become a very good player if the Cavaliers are going to think about making the playoffs again in the next two to three seasons.

Detroit Pistons: Greg Monroe

The Pistons are an interesting team. They have a lot of money committed to several players who play the same positions. At the same time, it's hard to pick out who the best player really is among those groups, and so lineups and team chemistry are a bit of a mess at this point.

At center they could be set, however. Greg Monroe is the clear starter and, if he continues the strong play he exhibited as a rookie, could be the starting big man in Detroit for years to come. He did better as the season wore on last year, and is a key player in the Pistons' rebuilding process.

Monroe needs to be able to handle the increased attention from other teams, as well as the media scrutiny that comes with being a franchise player. If he can and continues to progress, the Detroit Pistons won't be as far outside of the playoff picture as they have been in recent years.

Indiana Pacers: Darren Collison

The Indiana Pacers are one of the most intriguing and unpredictable teams going into this next season. They have an interesting blend of skilled veterans and talented young players which could make them the sleeper team of the Eastern Conference.

For all the offensive weapons that they have, Darren Collison needs to be the one who makes the machine go. He's a good defensive player as well, but his most important role will be efficiently running the team. 

He's not an elite point guard yet, but if the Pacers are going to be more than just a tough first-round out this year, Collison has to take the next step in his play towards reaching that level.

Milwaukee Bucks: Andrew Bogut

This one was a bit of a hard choice, since both Brandon Jennings and Andrew Bogut struggled with injuries and inconsistency last season and both are also directly linked to the success of the team. I went with Bogut, however, because there seems to be more uncertainty surrounding how quickly he will be back to his form of two seasons ago.

Bogut is an All-Star when healthy, and the Bucks need him at full strength. It turns them into a dangerous playoff team, while without him, they will end up near the bottom of the Eastern Conference.

If Bogut is back at full strength, which I hope he will be, the Bucks could make a run at home-court advantage in the playoffs this year.

Atlanta Hawks: Josh Smith

The Atlanta Hawks have been one of the most frustrating teams in the NBA over the past few seasons. They can't seem to get past a certain point, yet team management doesn't seem interested in doing anything to improve their fortunes over the long run.

Even though we've been saying this for several seasons now, Josh Smith will have to realize his full potential for the Hawks to realize theirs. 

He has superstar-level talent and ability, but doesn't always show that on a consistent, everyday basis. The Hawks need him to be that franchise player who, along with Joe Johnson, can make the team a championship contender. If he never quite reaches that level, then the Hawks won't make it past this point as long as he's on the roster.

Charlotte Bobcats: Tyrus Thomas

The Charlotte Bobcats are a mess right now. In fact, they have the potential to be the worst team in the NBA this season, with such an odd assortment of young players and bad contracts currently on their roster.

Tyrus Thomas is one of their most important young players, and they need the former fourth pick in the draft to finally live up to his potential as a franchise cornerstone and NBA All-Star.

Thomas could put up some big numbers on a Charlotte team that will struggle to put up enough points on most nights. If he is able to do so, he could make the team more competitive and respectable, instead of a laughingstock.

Miami Heat: Mario Chalmers

The star-studded Heat will need more than just their Big Three if they want to win the championship, as we saw last season. Mario Chalmers ended up being an important part of their playoff rotation, hitting some big threes and standing out as a pretty good defensive player.

Chalmers is a player who is experienced in high-pressure situations, from winning the championship in college while at Kansas, to playing in the NBA Finals in only his third season. His minutes dropped last season with the presence of Mike Bibby on the roster, but now that he's gone, Chalmers should have the chance to start for a full season.

He is an important part of the Heat because he takes the pressure off Wade and LeBron to have to initiate the offense every single play, and with him at his best, they are the team to beat in the East.

Orlando Magic: Jameer Nelson

The Orlando Magic have seen better days, and with the rumor mill surrounding Dwight Howard now in full force once again, it's hard to say if this team will be a contender or headed for the lottery by the end of the season.

Jameer Nelson is a player who could end up having a big impact on whether or not Dwight stays or leaves. He has the ability to play at an elite level, and though probably not on the same level as Deron Williams or Chris Paul, Nelson is a great team player and terrific point guard. 

Nelson's scoring and shooting percentages have been way down after that career year in 2008-09, but if he can find a way to return to those levels and do a better job of getting the ball to Dwight in good situations, he could help the team return to contender status. It could also make it that much harder for Dwight to insist on being traded elsewhere.

Washington Wizards: John Wall

The Washington Wizards have been collecting young talent for a couple years now, and they are probably a move or two away from looking at contending for a low playoff seed.

John Wall, who was one of the top rookies in the NBA last season, is who all of the team's plans hinge on at this point. He is the most promising player of this group, and has the chance to develop into an elite NBA point guard. Last season he was slowed at times by injuries and a developing jump shot, but hopefully those aren't signs of things to come.

If Wall can make a leap similar to what Derrick Rose made over his second and third seasons, the Wizards may be a very exciting team to watch. If not, they will end up near the bottom of the conference.

Golden State Warriors: David Lee

Another team that has been stuck in a rut in recent years, the Golden State Warriors are always just good enough to avoid landing a top lottery pick, but never quite good enough to contend for a playoff spot. The recent signing of Kwame Brown to a one-year, $7 million deal shows that trend is likely to continue, even under new management.

However, David Lee is one player who could be doing more to help change that. After signing a big contract with the Warriors before last season, his numbers dropped across the board and he really went through the season without making much noise or helping lead his team to very many victories.

Lee has never been great on defense, so it will be interesting to see how he responds to new coach Mark Jackson's defense-first philosophy. If he listens and gives more effort, the high-powered Warriors offense could potentially get a taste of the playoffs once again.

Los Angeles Clippers: DeAndre Jordan

Perhaps no other team in the NBA has had such a dramatic shift in expectations from last season to this one, after the fortunes of the Los Angeles Clippers have apparently taken a turn for the better.

The new additions (Paul, Billups and Butler), along with the newly re-signed DeAndre Jordan, would seem to make this team a lock for the 2011-12 playoffs and potentially a contender to make the conference finals as well. The importance of having a dominant big man cannot be understated, however, and the Clippers will need Jordan to be that guy.

He is extremely athletic, talented defensively and showed some signs of life on offense last season. Most of what he is asked to do will be finish alley-oops from Chris Paul and protect the rim, and if he can do that as effectively as Tyson Chandler did last season for Dallas, then the Clippers will be in good shape.

Los Angeles Lakers: Andrew Bynum

The Los Angeles Lakers are suddenly searching for an identity, after unforeseen trades, injuries and a couple of preseason beatdowns at the hands of the crosstown rival Clippers. For the first time in several seasons, they don't come in as the team to beat out West, and that is a hard thing to handle for most Lakers fans, who are accustomed to being in contention for a title year after year.

Bynum is a source of frustration for some people, as he has been very inconsistent through his NBA career up to this point. Due to his size and power, he should be able to dominate much more often than he does, but has struggled with injuries and hasn't played in more than 65 games once in the past four seasons.

Last year he seemed to regress offensively, but he is still only 24, and provided he stays with the Lakers for the duration of the season, has a chance to be a very special player for them. In fact, with Kobe hobbled and the rotation as thin as ever, they need him. Their status as a contender depends on it.

Phoenix Suns: Marcin Gortat

The Phoenix Suns are at the end of an era, with Steve Nash being the only real link to the highly successful and popular Suns teams of a few years ago. The roster is now laden with a lot of bad contracts, though the trade that brought them Marcin Gortat during the previous season appears to have been a steal of a deal.

He played very well through the end of the season, though it is debatable how much of that is because of the presence of Nash and how much of that came simply from an increased opportunity to play and get minutes. Either way, the Suns need Gortat as a cornerstone to build around for the future.

If he can continue to play the way he did after the trade, the Suns will be decent. If not, they might be the worst team in the conference.

Sacramento Kings: DeMarcus Cousins

The Sacramento Kings are finally starting to put together an interesting roster, and should be more competitive this year than they have been in the past couple. Getting solid, high lottery picks will do that to a team.

However, they still have a ways to go, and a lot of their progression will depend on how much consistency they can get out of DeMarcus Cousins. He has a reputation for having attitude issues, and has only shown himself to be as dominant as he can be from time to time.

As good as Tyreke Evans is and as good as Jimmer Fredette can be, Cousins has the potential to be a superstar, or at least a dominant franchise player. If he puts it all together, the Kings' rebuilding plan will get a much-needed boost.

Dallas Mavericks: Rodrigue Beaubois

There were really several options for this spot on the aging Dallas Mavericks roster, since there are several players who are either recovering from injuries, struggling with inconsistency or at a point in their careers where we really aren't sure how long they will continue to produce at a high level.

Rodrigue Beaubois was very highly valued by the Mavericks early on in his NBA career, and tantalized fans in his rookie year with big numbers in small stints off the bench. He was not the same last year after breaking his foot in the offseason. With the loss of J.J. Barea, and Jason Kidd unlikely to produce for too much longer, the Mavericks now need Beaubois more than ever.

He was once thought of as the face of the future in Dallas, alongside Dirk Nowitzki, and if they are going to have a smooth transition in the coming years, they need him to live up to that potential.

Houston Rockets: Chase Budinger

After thinking about it for a while, I couldn't really settle on a good choice for the Houston Rockets. They have a lot of good assets but, somewhat like the Minnesota Timberwolves, don't really seem to be going anywhere unless they can make a trade for a superstar at some point.

The failed trade for Pau Gasol left a lot of people disappointed in Houston, and now the post-Yao rebuilding era seems to have stalled. Chase Budinger has emerged as an important part of that project, and has carved a niche for himself as the starting small forward on a fringe playoff squad.

If Budinger continues to progress, he can end up being better than the starting small forwards for a lot of other teams in the West, which will make the Rockets more competitive going forward.

Memphis Grizzlies: Rudy Gay

The Memphis Grizzlies were one of the most positive stories to come out last year's NBA season, winning a lot more than people expected and taking the Oklahoma City Thunder to a surprising seventh game in the second round of last year's playoffs.

Rudy Gay is different from most other players on this list, in that he is already an established All-Star-level player and franchise cornerstone. The injury factor is a big one with him, though. A lot of people have questioned whether or not he's really needed on the team, and there's also a question of how his return to the lineup will affect the chemistry built by last season's incredible run.

If Gay is able to return to his former play quickly, and within the chemistry established by his teammates last season, the Grizzlies will be a legitimate contender for the NBA Championship this year. If he becomes a distraction or a disruption, progress will stall.

New Orleans Hornets: Eric Gordon

The New Orleans Hornets will be very interesting to watch this season, mostly because I have no idea what to expect from them. They received decent value in return for trading Chis Paul to the Los Angeles Clippers, but that required them giving up Chris Paul, their best player. In addition, they also lost David West, their second-best player, to free agency.

That leaves them with a nucleus of Eric Gordon, Emeka Okafor, Chris Kaman, Jarrett Jack and Trevor Ariza. Gordon has the highest ceiling of the bunch, and is also currently the best player of the group, so the pressure is on him to produce this season.

He's replacing a superstar, and if he is able to take the next step towards being one himself, as some expect he will, the Hornets will probably end up as a surprising contender for a low playoff seed this year.

San Antonio Spurs: Tiago Splitter

San Antonio, through careful drafting year after year, smart contract extensions and excellent luck with foreign players, has been one of the top NBA franchises for several years. Last year they had the best record in the West, though as it turned out, they weren't built for the playoffs.

Age finally seems to be catching up with them, and unless they can rebuild on the fly, they may soon find themselves struggling to find a place in the playoff picture. Tiago Splitter has been talked up for several years now, and he is a critical part of their (hopefully quick) rebuilding process.

Splitter has been a top prospect for some time, and last year he showed that he has the potential to be the Spurs' big man of the future and heir apparent to Tim Duncan. The Spurs sure hope so. 

Denver Nuggets: Ty Lawson

No one really seems to know what to expect from the Denver Nuggets this year. After the Carmelo Anthony trade last season, they finished very strong in the regular season, before being ousted in the first round of the playoffs by the Oklahoma City Thunder.

They lost three key players in China due to the NBA lockout, but still look fairly deep and balanced heading into the 2011-12 season. Some analysts have them finishing near the top of the conference, while others have them missing the playoffs entirely. How much progression they see from Ty Lawson will go a long way towards determining how far they end up going.

If Lawson really is the point guard of the future, undersized as he is, they need to see continued progress from him as a top floor general and full-time starter. If he is able to pull it off, they will be a dangerous team.

Minnesota Timberwolves: Ricky Rubio

At long last, the time has come. Spanish phenom Ricky Rubio has finally found his way to American soil, and is ready to join a somewhat-improved Minnesota Timberwolves team. While the team has been mired in a long and seemingly unsuccessful rebuilding project for several seasons now, Rubio and others have given fans a reason to hope for the future.

No one is really sure what Rubio will bring to the NBA, but his low shooting percentages may be something to worry about. He is definitely a floor general, and will be a successful point guard in the NBA, but how well he can learn to shoot will go a long way towards determining how much better he makes his team.

If he can develop a reliable jump shot, the Wolves will be back into the playoff picture sooner rather than later.

Oklahoma City Thunder: Kendrick Perkins

Picked by most as the team to beat out West this year, the Oklahoma City Thunder are a terrific team which was very close to making the finals last year. A lot of things went right for them, however, including very few games missed due to injury. It will be interesting to see if that holds up this season, even with the condensed schedule.

Kendrick Perkins was brought in to be their center of the future during the middle of last season, and so a trade was made, despite him having some knee issues. He played decently during the regular season but did not provide much help towards the end of the playoffs, and more will be needed from him this year.

The Thunder won't need a lot of points from Perkins, but having him healthy, active and motivated could be the difference-maker in leading to the franchise's first finals berth in their new city.

Portland Trail Blazers: Nicolas Batum

The Portland Trail Blazers have been so beset by injuries in recent seasons that it is really hard to know where they are at, or what to expect for sure. Are they a contender? Are they still just a lower-seeded playoff team? One thing we do know is that, with the West wide open this year, they are in just as good a position as any team to take a leap towards making it to the NBA Finals.

Nicolas Batum is a key player, one who has been an important contributor for a couple of seasons now, but who really needs to step up his game in order for the Blazers to move beyond the first round of the playoffs.

He won't be an All-Star as long as he's coming off the bench, but he needs to get better, both defensively as a stopper for the second unit and offensively as a consistent contributor. If they can get that from Batum, then the Blazers will be in very good shape this year.

Utah Jazz: Derrick Favors

The Utah Jazz have been in the playoff hunt for so long that last year was a bit of a rude awakening as to the beginning of their current rebuilding process. With Deron Williams gone and Derrick Favors in town, it will be up to him, as the centerpiece of the trade, to show fans and analysts that he was worth it.

Favors didn't play much last season, but he needs to become a superstar in his own right, in order to make the trade not as lopsided as it originally seemed. The former No. 3 pick will have his chances in Utah, but he'll need to take advantage of them.

How far Favors progresses this season will determine whether or not the Jazz get a whiff of the playoffs.