Here’s a guide for the players to watch in the 2015-2016 NBA season

REHAB clients, 220cm giants and coaches accused of tanking all make the list of people to watch in the upcoming NBA season.

You may not have noticed, thanks to Daniel Murphy doing his best Linsanity impression, but the NBA season is finally upon us.

Though the Knicks and Mets both appear headed for trips to the lottery this season, that doesn’t mean there aren’t going to be plenty of fascinating topics to follow around the NBA this season.

Here’s a guide for what to watch — The Post’s most interesting people in the NBA for the 2015-16 campaign:

15. TY LAWSON

After a rocky final season in Denver, including multiple driving-related arrests, Lawson was shipped to the Rockets this winter for virtually nothing. The off-court trouble submarined the potential for Lawson, who is a speedy floor general, quality playmaker and capable three-point shooter.

If Lawson can get his life together — he has done a stint in rehab and spent time with former NBA player and coach John Lucas over the winter — he could be the difference maker to finally put Houston over the top in the insane Western Conference playoff race.

14. SAM HINKIE

The 76ers general manager has taken tanking to the extreme the past two seasons, stripping his roster bare in an effort to try and accumulate as many assets as possible. It has been a rocky road thus far, with the Sixers spending four lottery picks on big men, and they find themselves staring at a third straight atrocious season — after doing little to even feign competitiveness this year. At some point, the Sixers have to try, and the seat is beginning to get a little warmer for Hinkie.

13. DERRICK ROSE

Multiple knee injuries over the past four years have caused Rose to miss more than two-thirds of the Chicago Bulls’ games. And that was before Rose got hit with a Taj Gibson elbow this pre-season that caused a left orbital bone fracture.

If he can stay on the court, perhaps he could reproduce the form that made him a clear choice for MVP in 2011.

Rose will be looking to rediscover his best form.

12. LAMARCUS ALDRIDGE

As free agency approached, the thought was, if Aldridge left Portland, it would be for a larger market such as Los Angeles or New York — not San Antonio. Yet that’s exactly the choice Aldridge made this winter.

Questions persist about how Aldridge will fit into the Spurs’ offensive system, which is reliant on ball movement, but that won’t be an issue. Instead, the focus should be on how much fun it’s going to be to watch Aldridge and Tim Duncan play together.

11. KRISTAPS PORZINGIS

The Knicks spent last season losing a billion games and earning a high lottery pick, then drafted the unknown European forward who was showered with boos on draft night.

Porzingis, however — with a colourful personality and a tantalising offensive arsenal — has ingratiated himself on and off the court. He is expected to start this season, and his progress will be scrutinised on a daily basis.

10. DEMARCUS COUSINS

One of the enduring storylines of the off-season was who would win a power struggle between Cousins and Kings coach George Karl, with both seemingly ticketed for trips out of town at different points this summer.

In the end, both survived and have pledged to work together. But the status of this relationship is going to be under constant surveillance.

9. PAUL GEORGE

Finally healthy after losing virtually the entire 2014-15 season to a broken leg, George now has a new problem. Pacers president Larry Bird has decreed George, who has spent his career as a wing, will be primarily a power forward this season.

Indiana let David West and Roy Hibbert go and didn’t exactly replace them, so George won’t have a choice — despite his public grumbling.

George will have to get used to a new role on the court.

8. BILLY DONOVAN/FRED HOIBERG

Both coaches are coming to the NBA from the college game, taking over talent-laden rosters. Donovan is going to have plenty of stress in Oklahoma City, specifically regarding Kevin Durant’s upcoming free agency, and will be expected to produce big-time results immediately.

Hoiberg should have more time to grow in Chicago — being the guy targeted to replace Tom Thibodeau for some time. But the Bulls have a roster full of talented pieces that don’t quite fit, making his a complex, challenging job.

7. KEVIN LOVE

Like the Heat in 2010, everything about the Cavaliers was scrutinised last season — and no one more so than Love, who never seemed to mesh with Cleveland’s roster, not to mention he plays the same position as Tristan Thompson, who shares an agent with LeBron James.

But Love proved his commitment to the team by signing a five-year deal this winter. Now it’s up to him to live up to the billing being a borderline top-10 player in the league upon arriving in Cleveland last summer.

6. RUDY GOBERT

When he was drafted two years ago, the 220cm centre resembled a baby giraffe — arms and legs going all over the place, but not quite sure where they needed to be. That changed when he replaced Enes Kanter in Utah’s starting line-up after the All-Star break. Utah was the NBA’s best defensive team the rest of the way.

Now the Jazz are the popular pick to snag the eighth seed in the West. How much further he develops could determine Utah’s ceiling.

5. ANDRE DRUMMOND

If there is one player who has the potential to make a mercurial leap into the top 10 this time next year, it is Drummond — a gigantic man who possesses everything you would want in a dominant NBA centre.

Pistons tsar Stan Van Gundy will be hoping to have the same kind of impact on Drummond that he did on Dwight Howard in Orlando. If he can, Detroit could become a force in the East.

Drummond is set to realise his full potential.

4. CHRIS PAUL

Paul never has reached a conference final. But unlike many stars with a similar shortage in post-season success, he hasn’t been tainted too much by it. That could change this season. The Clippers have no reason not to make a deep playoff run after a strong off-season helped fortify the bench — last year’s biggest weakness — behind one of the NBA’s best starting units.

3. KOBE BRYANT

This year’s Lakers team is going to be awful, and Bryant hasn’t been realistic about where he is at this stage of his career. On a team hoping to build around young guards D’Angelo Russell and Jordan Clarkson, Bryant says he’s going to play 35 minutes a game — and he’s not going to stand in the corner and be a decoy.

Things could get ugly in a hurry — and that’s assuming Bryant, after three straight season-ending injuries, can stay healthy.

2. ANTHONY DAVIS

Now that Davis is shooting three-pointers, the basketball world should be terrified. He is a prime candidate to win both MVP and Defensive Player of the Year this season, and he turns just 23 in March.

The marriage of Davis and new Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry is made in heaven — Davis will be able to unleash havoc in Gentry’s spread pick-and-roll system. His ceiling seems limitless.

1. KEVIN DURANT

There are so many factors here: Durant’s health, after missing most of last season with injuries to his right foot, his impending free agency next winter, the Thunder’s several near misses at a title.

Mostly, it will be fun to see Durant play again — undoubtedly with a massive chip on his shoulder after the injury and the number of sceptics and doubters who have cropped up.

So settle in, grab some popcorn and enjoy the ride.

Durant is Oklahoma’s linchpin.

Originally published as Here’s a guide for the players to watch in the 2015-2016 NBA season