NBA season 2014-15: Top 10 players with most to prove

WE’RE just one day away from NBA tip-off. From spurned Andrew Wiggins to returning Kobe Bryant, here’s our Top 10 players with most to prove.

NBA’s Top 10 players with most to prove

WE’RE just one day away from NBA tip-off. We can’t wait — and neither can these guys.

From spurned No. 1 draft pick Andrew Wiggins to returning Lakers icon Kobe Bryant, here’s our Top 10 players with most to prove in 2014-15.

DERRICK ROSE (Chicago Bulls) — Can he ditch injury and march to greatness?

Derrick Rose.

One of the NBA’s next all-time legends? Or the next Penny Hardaway-style injury bust? The 2011 league MVP, the NBA’s youngest ever at 22 and the first Bulls player to win the gong since Michael Jordan, has come through pre-season with flying colours, so hopefully it’s the former. Rose has been showing off the speed, grace and all-round brilliance that made him a superstar ahead of the season, he has been oozing confidence, and it’s got Bulls fans drooling.

Provided Rose stays fit, this story should take care of itself. The lithe point guard is a magnificent player who has looked hungry and aggressive in pre-season, with his exceptional ability to get to the rim seemingly reignited. Stats from the NBA have shown he is driving to the basket more this pre-season, as opposed to last year when he was getting stuck taking his weaker jump shot. With Joakim Noah in beast mode and a new teammate in Pau Gasol, Rose has every expectation of having a stellar season in a Bulls outfit favoured to make the Finals from the East.

ANDREW WIGGINS (Minnesota Timberwolves) — Can he make Cleveland sorry?

Andrew Wiggins.

He was such a sensation in college that fans of lowly NBA teams were turning up at games bearing signs “Riggin’ for Wiggins”, referring to their willingness to tank in order to snare the University of Kansas superstar in the 2014 Draft. Ultimately, the Cleveland Cavaliers took him with the top pick, before trading him to Minnesota in order to get Kevin Love as a blue-chip foil for championship-hungry LeBron James.

The period of limbo for Wiggins was truly awful, with the 19-year-old repeatedly having to answer questions about his uncertain future that he did not have the answer to as it became clear the Cavs were using him as a glamorous pawn. He kept his cool throughout and will no doubt be keen to show Cleveland they were foolish to let him go — or at least make them wonder what could have been.

CHRIS BOSH (Miami Heat) — Can he thrive as top dog again post LeBron?

Chris Bosh (left).

After four heady years playing with LeBron James, including two championships, Bosh now finds himself as the main man at the Miami Heat — with the maximum salary ($118 million over five years) to show for it. The challenge for Bosh is to become the alpha male again, filling the void left by LeBron.

Bosh has certainly put the spotlight on himself, with a string of recent interviews making it clear he didn’t miss LeBron and spent a large part of the past four years resenting his role as a support player to King James. Yet just how well Bosh can readjust to being the franchise player again will be intriguing. Having added a genuine three-point threat, it seems clear he’s a better player than the one that carried the Toronto Raptors, where he averaged 23 points and 10 rebounds per game in his last five seasons.

CHRIS PAUL (Los Angeles Clippers) — Can he finally be a winner, not just good?

Chris Paul (No. 3).

Just about everybody will tell you that Paul remains the NBA’s premier point guard and among the top five players in the league. Yet with his 30th birthday looming next May, he has precious little to show for it. This will be his 10th NBA season and he has never even made a conference finals appearance.

Paul is under pressure on a number of fronts. One, he now has a team good enough to go deep into the playoffs, so the excuses are gone. Two, he needs to show he’s the man to deliver playoffs success, after he added to doubts over his big-game composure with a fourth-quarter meltdown against Oklahoma City in Game Five of the playoffs second round last season. Three, he has a bunch of young bucks — headed by Steph Curry, John Wall and Damian Lillard — gunning for his mantle as supreme point guard. He’s also got a battle to remain the alpha male of his own team, with Blake Griffin getting better every season.

KOBE BRYANT (Los Angeles Lakers) — Can the legend prove he’s not spent?

Kobe Bryant (right).

Kobe is only on this list because his will to win and prove people wrong borders on psychotic. And because he will play this season, with rickety knees, on a hugely controversial $23.5 million salary. The Lakers icon is cemented as one of the greatest players in the history of basketball and nothing that could happen this season will really change that.

But at age 36, coming off the back of his achilles and kneecap injuries, his fires are burning because of the perception that maybe, just maybe, the legend is finally cooked. His pre-season has suggested otherwise, with his form good enough for Kobe to get some of his old swagger back and declare himself capable of again doing anything he wants out on the court.

He’s likely going to find this season difficult, in a poor team stripped of the traded Pau Gasol and the injured Steve Nash. But further fuelling his rage to succeed is his march up the NBA’s list of all-time scorers, with his No. 4 tally of 31,700 fast bearing down on Michael Jordan (32,292) — though No. 1 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (38,387) and perhaps even No. 2 Karl Malone (36,928) may now be out of reach.

LEBRON JAMES (Cleveland Cavaliers) — Can the King finally win a ring for his home town?

LeBron James.

LeBron’s harshest critics will tell you that by winning two championships with a Miami Heat team that featured three franchise players, he didn’t really prove much at all that forgave his Finals fade-outs with the Cavs. To be picky, even if he wins a championship with Cleveland, the same asterisk remains given he is now playing with Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love.

Be that as it may, the greatest player of this generation has gone home to the team he cruelly left for South Beach, with the stated aim of winning an elusive first championship and being a beacon of hope for Ohio’s capital. With LeBron, Irving and Love all at the peak of their powers, absolutely no-one will be prepared to write the Cavs off. If LeBron’s Miami rings are derided, one delivered for Cleveland will have a definite feel-good factor.

RAJON RONDO (Boston Celtics) — Can the temperamental star regain blue-chip status?

Rajon Rondo (No. 9).

Rondo is still in doubt for the start of the season due to a broken hand, another setback on top of injuries (including an ACL tear) that have seen him miss about half of the past two seasons. It has just added to the mystery: What is Rondo these days? Still a game-changing phenomenon, or a wildly expensive gamble? He will hope to have proven himself as the former by the end of the season, when he becomes a free agent.

Rondo will enter free agency aged 29 and chasing a maximum contract, which for him could equate to about $19 million per season. He will need an absolutely sensational season to prove to anybody, be it the Celtics or any potential suitors, that he is worth that kind of coin. For starters, he will need to remain fit and healthy for the opening months of the season. He remains one of the NBA’s greatest triple-double threats, so should have no lack of lucrative options come season’s end if his body co-operates.

CARMELO ANTHONY (New York Knicks) — Can his epic scoring actually achieve something?

Carmelo Anthony (left).

Melo is Melo. His scoring will always be phenomenal, his defence dismally lazy and the money will keep rolling in. In some respects he sums up the recent incarnations of the New York Knicks very neatly. But hey, even if you consider him more style than substance, the man is still averaging 27.4ppg over his career and just signed a new (slightly below maximum) five-year contract worth $124 million. And he does genuinely love his home town NYC.

At age 30, the big question for Melo is whether he just tied the rest of his career to a losing cause. This season appears to be a transitional one, with a new, rookie coach in Derek Fisher and a tweaked roster that will try to better implement the Phil Jackson triangle offence. It seems likely Melo will still be an NBA top-five scorer and it should be a breakout season for Tim Hardaway Jr. Melo could be feeling genuine positivity about his team come season’s end, should its leaky defence offer at least some resistance to speedy opposing teams.

AMAR’E STOUDEMIRE (New York Knicks) — Can he make it up, just a tiny bit, to Knicks fans?

Amar'e Stoudemire.

Set to be forever remembered by Knicks fans as the man they handed an insane contract too after missing out on LeBron James, Stoudemire at least looks fit, healthy, motivated and willing to offer something headed into this season. Turning 32 next month, he has declared his love of the game is back and he feels 19 again, having overcome major injury problems including multiple surgeries on both knees. It may be his bizarre habit of bathing in red wine that is to thank for his rejuvenation.

Stoudemire, essentially, is trying to avoid being known as one of the most horrible wastes of money in an organisation famous for horribly wasting money. Though he will be just one suspect defensive link in a New York team that is likely to struggle with its D, his handful of pre-season outings have suggested he could return as a potent scoring force. He still offers the versatility of playing either centre or power forward and is feeling good about his chances of consistently contributing to the season.

DANTE EXUM (Utah Jazz) — Can Aussie teen show the gamble was worth it?

Dante Exum (right).

Drafted with the No. 5 pick out of high school in Australia, on the basis of one stunning international youth tournament and mind-bending physical potential. Yep, the Utah Jazz took an enormous punt on the Australian teenager, who has immediately been put under searing pressure to show he was worth the risk.

Exum’s height, wingspan, speed and basketball nous are exceptional, so he has all the tools to succeed. He has been compared to a young Kobe Bryant, such is his enormous promise, yet all experts have warned he has the greatest boom or bust ceiling in the entire 2014 draft class.

Watch this space. Australian hoop fans will be desperately hoping he produces the goods and gains superstardom, whether it’s this season or the next couple.

Originally published as NBA season 2014-15: Top 10 players with most to prove