Empty the Bench

Andray Blatche, F/C, Washington Wizards

The injury bug has long since burrowed its way into the fabric of the Washington Wizards franchise like bed bugs in a skeezy Howard Johnson Inn mattress. Last year it was Etan Thomas and Gilbert Arenas bitten most heavily, and this year the Wiz have already seen starting center Brendan Haywood lost for the season and… mmhmm, ol’ Agent Zero, the $100 Million Man, sidelined for at least a few months. Like Haywood benefited from Thomas’ absence last year, this season it figures to be the intriguing, if not entirely unproven Andray Blatche who should have the opportunity to take a few steps up in Eddie Jordan’s rotational pecking order.

Blatche made somewhat of a name for himself early last season by racking up a slew of blocked shots in a limited time (37 in 17 games), then quickly fell off the map and into relative obscurity before eventually reappearing in fits and spurts. At times, you see the makings of a special NBA talent: at 6-11, this kid can put the ball on the floor, drive to the hoop, and finish with a surprisingly soft touch. He also has pretty good court vision, solid passing skills, and plenty of ups. Like many young players, however, the knock on Blatche thus far has been consistency and maturity, and those remain the chief stumbling blocks on his way to making a real, sustained impact.

If Jordan is smart, however, he’s going to let Blatche fight through these lingering issues and find his way on the court—not watching from the bench. And though it may take a few weeks (months?), we see no reason why the man won’t at least get his chance; let’s face it, Etan Thomas isn’t going to set the world on fire with his Dan Gadzuric-esque contributions. By the end of December, I think Blatche is a permanent, valuable fixture in the Wizards’ rotation, and when that happens he should prove to be more than just a garbage man cleaning up Caron Butler and Antawn Jamison’s trash.

David Lee, P/C, New York Knicks

Though at times his foot speed seems akin to that of an old mule pulling a plow through wet cement, David Lee is exactly the kind of player these Knicks have sorely needed in the starting lineup for some time now. With Eddy “Feed Me Seymour!” Curry now assuming his rightful position next to Jerome James at the end of head coach Mike D’Antoni’s all-you-can-eat buffet bench, Lee is finally in line to get the 32+ minutes per he deserved last season.

The (very) early results have been (very) good: 14.5 points, 11 boards, 4 assists, and 2 steals per over the Knickerbockers’ first two contests. The 6-9 Lee is the consumate intangibles guy, one who doesn’t have much flare to his game but one who’s smart, hustles, and has a knack for being in the right place at the right time. The NBA would be a better, more well-rounded league if David Lee were cloned for every team, but the Knicks, especially and desperately, need him to shore up the selfish, me-first mentality of his starting frontcourt mate Zach Randolph.

As long as he stays healthy, we see no reason why this restricted free-agent-to-be won’t fulfill that role exceedingly well… and why some smart GM out there won’t throw a nice chunk of change his way next summer to force Donnie Walsh’s hand. (Brilliantly enough, Walsh declined to extend Lee before last week’s deadline to do so passed.) We’re big fans of Lee here at ETB—especially from a fantasy perspective—and think he’s a guy you should float trade offers for now before his asking price gets out of hand.

Four more NBA players in line for breakout seasons after the jump…

John Salmons, G/F, Sacramento Kings

With Ron Artest’s schizophrenic shadow no longer looming large over John Salmons’ role with the Sacramento Kings, it appears we’ll finally see what the 6-6 swingman is capable of when given consistent burn on the court. And based on what we saw last year during his on-again, off-again stints in the starting lineup, the Kings’ lone “does a little bit of everything relatively well” guy could be major contributing factor towards keeping his team in games that should otherwise be blowouts.

Now, that’s not to say Salmons has All-Star potential, or that he ever will. He won’t. Last year we did a piece detailing some of the NBA’s Best Glue Players, and that’s exactly the kind of guy Salmons can be for the Kings. Sure, he’s certainly capable of hanging 25 points on defensively challenged opponents from time to time, but that’s not his chief calling card. Head coach Reggie Theus would be thrilled if Salmons finished out the 2008-09 campaign with per-game averages somewhere around 15.5 points, 7 boards, 4 assists, 1.5 steals, and 0.7 blocks. His fantasy owners would be ecstatic, too.

Al Thornton, F, Los Angeles Clippers

Second-year forward Al Thornton is a beast in the making, both in real and fantasy basketball terms. For all the hullabaloo surrounding the Clipper Ship’s acquisitions of Baron Davis and Marcus Camby during the summer, right now we don’t see this team making much improvement of note this season. Camby doesn’t want to be there and seems to have little to no motivation to push himself through injuries big and small, and while it’s no big secret that we’re big fans of Baron, something tells us we’re going to see him healthy and on the court somewhere south of 65 games.

And let’s go ahead and call a spade a spade: even with a totally motivated, fully healthy Camby and Davis in the lineup, this team has about as much depth as a Michael Bay action “film” (or Twitter post). Put two and two together, then, and you can see why we’re so high on Thornton. Big stats on bad teams are still big stats, and during the second half of last season we saw what this young man can do: I give you his 33 point, 12 rebound, 4 assist effort on February 29 against the Denver Nuggets as a small glimpse into Thornton’s capacity for dominance.

He must love playing against the Nuggs, as he’s already done it again in hanging 30 points, 11 boards, and 3 steals on them last week—and he’s going to have every opportunity to continue to seize the day. While his numbers may not necessarily translate into wins, they’ll look real nice when you’re scanning the West Coast game box scores in the morning.

Randy Foye, G, Minnesota Timberwolves

The Minnesota Timberwolves roster is ridiculously high on potential and low on proven results, and standing at the head of their class is Randy Foye. Now in his third NBA season and seemingly—finally—healthy and ready to go to start the season, the former lottery pick is facing somewhat of a now-or-never situation. He has a firm lock on the starting point guard position, and he’s technically surrounded by more talent than he ever has been thus far with veteran Mike Miller now his starting backcourt mate, Al Jefferson pushing All-Star status on the blocks, and a cadre of developing forwards in Corey Brewer, Ryan Gomes, and fellow lottery pick Kevin Love to compliment him.

We know Foye is fully capable of great things. We know he likes to have the ball in his hands late in close games, that he relishes the opportunity to take big shots, and that he (can be) very good at getting into the lane and scoring easy buckets. His split-stats during the final month of the 2007-08 season were tantalizing: 18.4 points, 5.2 assists, 3 rebounds, 1.1 steals, and 45% FG. Now he just needs to extend those positive results over the course of a full season… and if he stays on the floor and off the injury report, we’re confident he will. Don’t get too down on his early shooting struggles this season–he’ll come around.

Thabo Sefolosha, G/F, Chicago Bulls

Am I the only one a little uneasy with the gluttony of mismatched guards in Chicago? First-overall pick Derrick Rose looks like the real deal at PG, but while some might see great depth behind him, I see nothing but question marks, spare parts, and guys that have worn out their welcome and need to go. (Yes, I’m talking about Kirk Hinrich, Ben Gordon, and Larry Hughes. Blech—not my cup of tea.)

The exception is Swiss-born, ex-lottery pick Thabo Sefolosha, whom new head coach Vinny del Negro has a little surprisingly inserted into the starting lineup early this year ahead of the aforementioned vets. He hasn’t been great, but then he hasn’t gotten the volume of minutes we’d like to see either. After a few years in the league, Sefolosha is a talent who’s still very much in development, and he’s going to need time to work out the kinks, establish his confidence, and zero in on what he can do best: nag opposing shooting guards and small forwards, create turnovers, and score some opportunistic baskets.

For this kid to really make good on the breakout status I’m pegging with here, he’ll likely need to see his team’s logjam at guard to be cleared out via trade. This team is still at least a season or two away from legitimately competing, so I think that given the tainted history with Hinrich and Gordon, one or both of them will be sent packing before the February trade deadline. And once/if that happens, watch for Sefolosha to start turning some heads.